The school week was a joke seeing that many students and a handful of teachers were off for Thanksgiving. The school had cut way down on midyear holidays to give room for snow days and if not used, school ends earlier in the spring.
Steve had swung by the bank depositing most of the bonus cash into his account and authorizing his bill payments though his phone. That taking care of the month, he was left with $100 of fun money and was eager to use it! Very out of the ordinary for him, he stopped by Starbucks opting for their caramel apple flavored drink and grabbed some apple fritters from a nearby doughnut shop.
Arriving at school he did confide in Dan that he got the job at the mall but did not share the details. The last thing he wanted was for students to come just to haze him at work. Dan was happy for Steve and asked for Steve to use the bonus (he let slip) to buy them breakfast. Steve was feeling generous and kind, and using his 'superpower' of eye contact, felt the strangest feeling that his friend needed this from him.
As the week wore on the fun money disappeared and Steve found himself never too far from a snack. Though sweets were generally out of character for him, they seemed to be the only thing to hit the spot. The last bit of Halloween candy, early morning stops a the supermarket bakery section, pancakes covered in syrup, an so on without end. Despite his sudden change in eating habits he didn't gain an ounce despite this all being in addition to his normal meals.
Thanksgiving came and went, and Steve feasted, finding endless room for the holiday cookies, treats and pie despite having 4 heaping plates for dinner. Steve himself was astonished and a fair bit alarmed by his appetite but his mother dismissed it as a growth spurt, and his father said he might finally get some meat on his bones. On a whim, Steve checked himself on the bathroom scale and was the same weight he was when he weighed himself Tuesday after realizing he had gained an insatiable sweet tooth, which only confused him more, but was again dismissed by his family.
Steve woke early on Black Friday weighing the benefits of working today or putting it off till tomorrow... Despite all the horrible things he'd heard about working retail today, he remembered how good it felt to 'see' people and craved that again pulling himself out of bed. He had already claimed 5 hours from last Sunday and needed at least another 7 before end of day tomorrow.
Steve was contemplating what he'd expect from going in, trying to convince himself to go back to bed but his body just kept moving. Shocked, Steve realized it was 5:30 instead of his normal wakeup time of 6:30 but even that wasn't enough to get him back into his warm covers. Confused by his body's changing habits he resigned himself to make some breakfast and then he can decide.
The initial thought of cereal went out the window once Steve went for the milk and saw all the leftovers... Everything looked and sounded so good and in a bit of a daze he began prepping and cooking. Eggs? That's easy. Can even throw in some of the turkey and some fresh onion... Pancakes? Of course, the recipe is right there and ... do we have chocolate chips? Didn't Mom put bacon bits in the green bean casserole? I can put that in the oven and forget about it for a while... simple...
Before Steve knew it it was 7am and there was a feast fit for the whole family. Steve made himself a plate and left the rest in the kitchen for buffet style serving. Halfway into his first plate his daze slowly lifted as his tongue tasted for the first time the black coffee he had poured himself, and he gazed on in wonder feeling a growing sense of dread... He had never cooked before. He doesn't drink coffee, that's an old people thing. What's more, the kitchen was spotless and the dishwasher was running... This isn't like him at all. Steve's stomach growled as though he hadn't just eaten half a plate of food and with little other choice he continued to feed.
A little while later his family (and the visiting extended family) began awakening and came to the kitchen to find breakfast ready. Many thanks were given and Steve had a hard time accepting and equally hard time denying the praise. When his mom appeared she was appreciative but ultimately unphased by Steve's new skill, despite his growing alarm.
"Honey, you've been watching me do this for years... Is it really so strange that you picked up on it and put it together? You're a smart young man, and how hard is following pancake instructions?"
"I guess..." Steve said comforted but not entirely convinced.
As the family ate, Steve went to the bathroom and checked his weight again, he had lost count of how many plates of food he just ate but still he hovered within a pound of his weight from earlier this week. He lifted his shirt and tightened his ab muscles seeing his 2 pack pop out... he looked at his face realizing he needed his weekly shave. Not yet having full coverage and a really slow growth rate kept maintenance easy.
Come 8 am Steve realized he was ready for work and saying bye to people even though he hadn't consciously decided to work. His mind started rationalizing the decision, this time encouraging him to go in instead of the earlier push to go back to bed. 'You need the hours. Two 3.5 hour shifts are better than 1 7-hour shift if it is bad. You already said bye to people. Do you really think you can sleep now, the sun is up!' Steve was unable to deny the logic.
Walking in at 8:30 Steve got to his locker as people were passing on the message of a staff meeting. Mr. Wright was there giving an inspiring speech to all the employees which were comprised of janitorial and maintenance staff from what Steve could gather. "Today begins a new season and with changing demands, we ourselves must change to meet the new needs. This weekend heralds that the coming weekdays, not just weekends, will demand more from you. Do your best and our customers will notice!"
Clapping followed and Mr. Wright stepped down making his way to Steve. "Good Santa holding out for today! A few years ago we hired someone and they only came at the slow times. They just weren't what we needed in a Santa. But I think you are something special, I think you will do something wonderful with this season and I just can't wait to see it!"
Steve was trying to come up with a reply but Mr. Wright was walking back to his office... Strangely enough, Steve felt the same way.
Suiting up Steve entered the Mall runway as he was beginning to think of it. The place where he was on display. Like before people he engaged with had so many different responses to him but each time he felt he got a sense of who they were and stories would just come to him. That guy smiled and looked down, he's sad, hes about to be divorced but is still trying to bring the magic back and doesn't know how to do it. Her? Oh, her smile shows that Christmas is always her favorite time of year, and she loves giving cookies to everyone around her.
Before Steve realized night had fallen, it was past dinner time, and patron volume was beginning to decrease. "How did I miss lunch?" Steve muttered to himself after he returned to his locker. Then he remembered that breakfast probably covered him calorie wise for the day.
"A lunch break is required after a 5.5 hour shift. If you 'forget' to punch out a 30 minute lunch will still be docked from your pay..." Mr. Wright was there locking up his office. "Don't skip lunch, our Santa's already a twig, we can't have you blowing away in the wind."
"Not for lack of appetite." Steve muttered
Mr. Wright heard this and responded, "Oh good then the other changes should start soon. I was surprised to see you still so youthful and ... petit... but that isn't my department."
"What?"
"Our contract Steve, 'We will do our part to help you embody the role of Santa until end of day on Christmas Eve.' Your build is honestly much more suited for elf work but you do make an amazing Santa. It's been years since I've seen patrons respond so well. You've got the magic." Mr. Wright walked off with a smile as if that explained everything.
Steve left speechless watched him go but ultimately just stood there making confused faces at the back of the man's head until he was gone. With a huff he removed the suit and put it into his locker, getting into his car Steve immediately began munching on cookies from a box he bought from the supermarket earlier that week.
"Okay, I work for crazy, but nice and inspiring, Christmas obsessed folks. It could be worse." Steve was tired and suddenly hungry, but already decided to work the next day...