Reindeer House pt.11
“What date is Christmas again?”
Rudorufu choked on his mouthful of lunch, violently hacking and coughing as he turned to face Dansaa.
“SORRY?!!?!”
Dansaa blinked innocently. “I wanna know so I can do Christmas post on my social stuff!! It must be soon, right?”
Rudorufu opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again like a traumatised goldfish. “Wh — WH — WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘WHAT DATE’?!! IT’S — IT’S — IT’S CHRISTMAS!! HOW DO YOU NOT—???”
“Isn’t it sometime in… November??” Dansaa pressed a finger thoughtfully to his lips.
“NO!!!” Rudorufu slammed his palms onto the table. “THAT’S IT. EVERYONE — LIVING ROOM. NOW. WE’RE DOING A CHRISTMAS COMPETENCY TEST!!”
Soon enough, the reindeer filed in with varying levels of enthusiasm. Bikkusen flounced in with a notebook titled ‘How To Get Full Marks With Flair’. Kometto brought three candy canes, a cup of cocoa, a romance manga, and absolutely zero intention of focusing. Puransa arrived only because Buritsen grabbed him by the hood and dragged him. Dansaa had already forgotten why they were assembling. Kyuupiddo was carrying a suspicious knife. Donaa brought snacks.
Rudorufu stood before them like a tired substitute teacher. “RIGHT. FIRST QUESTION. What is Santa’s job?”
Kometto's shot his hand up. “Ooh!! OOH!! Easy!! To distribute gifts to good children and deliver romantic opportunities to hot strangers!!”
“No.” said Rudorufu.
“Yes.” Kometto whispered stubbornly.
Buritsen raised his hand. “To manage the reindeer boarding house?”
“NO.” Rudorufu took a deep breath. “Santa delivers presents. That’s literally it. Presents!! TO CHILDREN!!”
The room erupted in murmurs of shock.
“That’s all? Really??”
“Feels anticlimactic.”
“I thought he was, like… a celebrity?”
“Kinda disappointing actually.”
Rudorufu twitched and dropped the clipboard.
“…Okay. I give up.”
He lay face-down on the carpet. Kometto patted his back. “Do we… pass?”
“No.”
“Do we… get participation awards?”
“No.”
“Do we… get hot cocoa??”
Rudorufu slowly raised his head. “Yes,” he croaked. “...Yes."
The reindeer cheered wildly, absolutely failing to grasp the crisis of their own ignorance.
To be continued...