When I had first entered the Vanderbilt family, they had separated me from my friends. So, being the only “Elf on the Shelf” that came back during Christmas was a difficult feat. Two snotty-nosed children ran around screaming in their matching attire and enjoyed eyeing me suspiciously and threatening to touch me with their slime-coated fingers.

         When I had returned to continue my second year of tireless work of entertaining the bratty children, I had found one of my closest friends, Elfonzo, sitting on the marble mantle. A squeak of bewilderment escaped my mouth, and it seemed that my magic could not get me to him fast enough. When I finally reached him, my mouth ran faster than my mind could function. And that was a difficult achievement because my brain worked more quickly than a hummingbird on a sugar high.

    “When did you get here?! Are you here to stay? Are you here to save me? Pl-” Elfonzo cut off my rambling by his laugh.

        “The Vanderbilts recently bought me. This place is way better than shivering my nubs off in Santa’s workshop. But, if I’m being honest, I don’t remember you. I was created a long time ago, and I’ve decided that I get along better with humans than with elves. So please calm down.” Elfonzo sneered.

      A grin broke out on my face before my brain caught up with my mouth. A frown etched my features once Elfonzo’s words sunk in before I checked the microwave for the time in pure fear. Dread seeped through my stuffed body.

        “Oh, no! It’s 5:38 a.m! We have to hide before the-” my mouth curled back in disgust, “children find us in the same place. Follow me!” I flew into the only room I had not hidden in and pouted when I realized it was the foreboding bathroom. Pulling pieces of toilet paper, I wrapped it around my and Elfonzo’s body and sprinkled the rest on the floor. I yelled for him to sit still and stay quiet.

        We waited until Maria, the girl, entered the bathroom to brush her teeth. Her flaxen hair was in crisp pigtails, and her uniform was perfect. Then, her brother, Maximus, plowed in, knocking over the poor girl in the process, and I felt the water overtake us before I could comprehend what happened.

        You see, we elves were not taught to swim because we lived in the North Pole. We learned to fly and walk, but never swim. So, when the water drowned us slowly, I think I watched the children and their parents in a state of panic.

    Everything was going black when suddenly a large gush of wind swirled through the water and flushed us.

****

HOURS LATER

ELFONZO’S POV

          They swirled through the tubes. Boo’s hat was ripped from her head as the vicious waters pulled them through.

          A few hours later, Elfonzo woke up as he was floating down the water of a sewer.

        “Where am I…… eww, why am I floating down a green river! Wait, where’s Boo?” I pondered.

        “Boo! Where are you?”

          Elfonzo noticed a hat floating towards him. His heart raced with fear. Though he didn’t care for the red-suited girl much, he couldn’t be alone in this sewer! What would Santa think? Elfonzo? A murderer?

         ” I don’t know where I am! Please save me!” Boo cried out, her voice echoing through the sewer.

        “How am I supposed to help you if I don’t know where I am! How about you save ME?” I shot back

        A mischievous smirk painted her face, and she swam away, out of range for Elfonzo to ever hear her again.

           “I don’t like you, but we need to find each other; I have your hat. Where are you?” I cried once more into the silence.

      As silence overtook the chilled tunnels of the sewer, fear dragged itself within Elfonzo’s body. Guilt gnawed at his body, and he wondered if he would ever see the slightly annoying elf again. A part of him wished he wouldn’t, and another scolded him for ever thinking so. But, unfortunately, he owed Boo. She had saved him from the humans he loved so dearly.

      Gathering his bearings and Boo’s hat, he set off on his mission: Finding Boo. And then, maybe, he would get the chance to explain to her that they could be friends. Maybe.

       Thoughts swirled through his mind like melted peppermint sticks in Santa’s workshop. What would he do now that the Vanderbilt’s were convinced they were lost forever? Boo might not have enjoyed that house, but it looked comfy and warm. It was a fun place to chill after a challenging year of work in the North Pole. Now he was stuck in the tunnels of green water.

      Clutching onto Boo’s hat, he pulled himself out of the water and walked along the edge. He would find the strange elf and return to the workshop with her. He didn’t want to think about how angry Santa would be if he didn’t.