Please Christmas, Don’t Be Late ~ Naughty and Nice Episode Eight

Hello friends!

We’re already on episode 8…can you believe it? Naughty and Nice is almost over…*gulps*

Anyway, today’s episode is a bit shorter than the others, but I still feel that it’s the perfect length. I’m very proud of the emotional impact of this episode. Please enjoy!

(Don’t worry if you’ve missed an episode! You can catch up here.)

He’s Making a List ~ Naughty and Nice Episode One

A Mantle of White ~ Naughty and Nice Episode Two

We Are Santa’s Elves ~ Naughty and Nice Episode Three

Checking It Twice ~ Naughty and Nice Episode Four

I’ll Have a Blue Christmas ~ Naughty and Nice Episode Five

Santa Tell Me ~ Naughty and Nice Episode Six

Candy Canes and Silver Lanes Aglow ~ Naughty and Nice Episode Seven

The next few days passed with a mix of excitement and agony. I missed my parents. I’d never been away from them for more than one night before.

But then again, the energy of the North Pole was infectious. It’s true that the elves weren’t quite the cheerful creatures that Christmas movies showed, but they were still joyous, especially as Christmas crept closer.

“Only a few more letters to go through,” Jack grinned. The system we’d helped to inspire worked like a charm. Cocoa had said that the list-keepers normally had to work until late Christmas Eve to get everything sorted. And here we were, finishing up a whole day early.

We worked in silence. Even though it was a tedious job, the contagious Christmas cheer spread throughout us all today.

Before too long, the experienced list-keepers finished, leaving Jack and me to wrap everything up ourselves.

I was checking my last letter when I heard a gasp.

“What?” I asked, dropping everything. 

What had Jack found?

I reached for the letter Jack was gaping at, but he snatched it away.

“Nick,” he asked. “What did you ask for for Christmas?”

My heart dropped. Could Jack possibly be holding my letter to Santa?

I hoped this wouldn’t happen.

“Oh, I don’t remember,” I lied. “The usual…candy, toys, socks.”

Yes, I was the sort of person who enjoyed getting socks for Christmas. Especially the fuzzy ones with colorful prints.

Jack held out the list. I could clearly see my name signed at the bottom.

“Want to try again?”

I grabbed the list. I read it over, trying to remember just how I’d worded the letter.

“Dear Santa Claus,

“I hope it doesn’t sound presumptuous of me to say that I’m probably on the Nice List this year. I just know that I probably am. I also know that my brother, Jack White, probably is not. I know the point of writing letters to you is to list the things we hope to find under our tree on Christmas morning, but I can’t think of anything I want.

“Well, I guess there is one thing. I really wish my brother could get anything he wants. I don’t care how you do it. If you have to put me on the Naughty List in his place, I don’t care. I’d rather get a lump of coal than watch Jack get one.

“Respectfully yours,

“Nick White”

I blinked. Jack was never meant to read this letter.

“So this is why you were on the Naughty List, huh?”

I nodded. “You see why I was so against you changing the list?”

“Why would you do this for me?” A tear moistened the edges of Jack’s eye.

“Because you’re my brother,” I answered without hesitation. “I would do anything for you.”

He looked away. “But I wouldn’t do the same for you…”

I wrapped my arms around him. “Yes, you would. Look at where we are now! You hacked into the North Pole for me!”

A smile slowly crept onto Jack’s face. “I guess you’re right. It’s just easier to do something nice for someone when you aren’t giving anything up.”

“We all make different sacrifices for the people we love. Sometimes they’re easy, and other times they’re hard. But Jack? I know that you’d do anything for me.”

We both started to cry. It had been a long week.

“Thank you so much,” Jack finally said. “I don’t even care that much about presents anymore really, but to know that you’d do this for me…”

I nodded. “I feel the same way. I’m glad you’re my brother.”

We shared a smile. Soon enough, we’d be home. And I had a feeling that this Christmas was going to be our best one yet.

This Christmas was truly unforgettable.

D’awww, well I suppose Jack and Nick are stronger than ever! Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for some more Christmas posts! The last two Naughty and Nice episodes will go up before Christmas, with the finale on Christmas Eve.