True Love!

by Katrina Kahler

  The elves and Nitivia rushed to me and patted me on the shoulders. I heard all their remarks.

  “Wow, that was amazing!”

  “Great job!”

  “Good use of science power!”

  “Nice, nice, nice!”

  Then I heard in a very familiar voice, “Show-Off!” Looking down, I saw my wannabe arch-rival Paula White standing there next to Zeke.

  Zeke started jumping up and down, clapping his hands together excitedly.

  Turning to Nitivia, I asked. “Ah, why are they here?”

  “The big guy and the Mrs. want them to be part of your investigative team!” she said

  “But Paula wants to be my arch rival!” I replied.

  Nitivia nodded. “We are aware. The big guy thinks you will work well together.”

  “Why Zeke?” I asked.

  “The big guy just likes him!”

  “I am lovable!” Zeke said.

  Paula walked up to me. She offered me her hand to shake. I leaned in to shake her hand. She pulled it away. “I don’t like this arrangement any more than you do!”

  “You couldn’t like it any more than I do!” Zeke said, glowing. “I’m on an adventure in the North Pole with my two best gal pals!” He patted us both on the back.

  Paula and I exchanged glances. We both sighed.

  “Wait, how can I be your pal?” Paula asked. “I’ve literally insulted you every day since I met you.”

  “Yep, you are always paying attention to me!” Zeke said.

  “I’ve called you every name in the book!” Paula told him.

  Zeke grinned. “Yep, pet names!”

  “I once said you make pigs look clean!” Paula reminded him.

  “It’s true, I do! But pigs are very cool animals,” Zeke said.

  Zeke turned his attention to me. “And Super Teen, you are always saving me!”

  “That’s cause you’re always in trouble!” I replied.

  “See? You care!” Zeke said.

  “I care about everybody!” I told him.

  Zeke smiled. “Exactly! I’m part of everybody!”

  “You can’t argue with that logic,” Paula told me.

  Nitivia walked over to us. “Come…Big Guy and the Mrs. are ready to see you.”

  Nitivia snapped her fingers. The next thing I knew we were all standing around a long wooden table in a conference room. A tall man with a large round belly and a white beard stood at the head of the table alongside a white-haired woman.

  The man spoke, “Lia, Paula, Zeke, thank you all for coming!” Motioning to the chairs, he said, “Please sit.”

  We all sat down. A few elves walked into the room, carrying plates of food. Of course, one of the elves carried a plate filled with fish sticks for Zeke. Zeke’s eyes popped open when he saw them.

  “Wow! You know what I like!” he said.

  The man, who I had to assume was Santa, grinned. “Yes, we are all about making people happy here!”

  “That is why this is such a problem!” Mrs. Claus said. “This is a place of purely positive energy. We are supposed to send good positive thoughts throughout the universe. That's hard to do when candy canes are attacking you!”

  “Do you think whatever is causing the problems here also caused the giant snowman to appear in our world?” I asked.

  “Yes, we know it!” Santa said.

  “If we don’t stop this problem now, it will only grow worse!” Mrs. Claus added.

  “How do we stop it?” I asked.

  “Why us?” Paula asked.

  “You got any more fish sticks?” Zeke asked.

  “To stop it, you have to locate who or what is causing this weird energy and stop them!” Mrs. Claus said.

  “We picked you because we feel you will all work well together!” Santa said.

  “And about the fish sticks?” Zeke repeated.

  An elf walked up to him, carrying another tray of fish sticks. Zeke smiled. “Never mind!”

  “Why do you think I’d work okay with these two goodie-goodie guys?” Paula asked. “Surely, you know I plan on running our world someday!”

  Santa nodded. “Yes, your intentions are quite clear.”

  “Good!” Paula smiled.

  “You are mainly here because we believe you think like whoever is causing these rifts in magic,” Nitivia said. “They are taking holiday magic and changing it; making it do bad things!”

  “Oh, that is kind of right up my alley,” Paula replied. “I truly believe the world is a better place because of me being in it. Once I take it over, the world will be even better.”

  Santa nodded. “Yes, we understand that. We are trying to use your potentially evil mind for good. We hope that you will not only help us find the cause but discover that you can use your brain for good.”

  Paula snickered. “Well, you’re partly right. I’m sure I’ll be able to help goodie-two-shoes out. But I guess I should ask, what do I get out of it?”

  “I suppose the satisfaction of helping the world isn’t enough?” Mrs. Claus asked.

  Paula shook her head. “Not even close. Like I said, my very presence just helps the world. I need more if I’m going to join this merry club.”

  Nitivia crossed her arms and glared at Paula. “If you don’t help us, you will stay here forever with us, always listening to our happy tunes!”

  Paula sat back in her chair. “Wait. You would do that to me?”

  Nitivia nodded. “If I have to.”

  Paula pointed to Santa and Mrs. Claus. “You two are cool with that?”

  “When it comes to the protection of the worlds, we do what Nitivia wants,” Santa said.

  Paula smiled. “I respect that. I’m in.”

  Santa focused his attention on me. “Super Teen, you are awfully quiet.”

  “Don't knock it, Santa. She tends to babble on!” Paula rolled her eyes.

  “I like it when she babbles. It’s funny!” Zeke said.

  Turning to them, I said, “I don’t babble! I think out loud so others can chip in!”

  “I like chipping in!” Zeke replied. “I also like wood chips!” He smiled and rubbed his stomach.

  Turning to Santa and his crew, I asked. “Do you have any leads at all?”

  “Are any of your elves acting weird?” Paula asked.

  “Do you have any more fish sticks? Or wood chips?” Zeke asked. He looked at the table. “This table looks tasty!”

  “We will bring you more food,” Santa told him.

  “Dude, do not eat the table!” I said to Zeke.

  “Man, I get that a lot!” Zeke sighed. “So many rules about what a zombie can and can’t eat.”

  Paula made a fist. Her body armor activated. “Zeke! Stop thinking about food!”

  “Gee, most people usually want me to think more!” Zeke said. “I bet I’ll be good at not thinking.” A blank look came over his face.

  “That’s actually better,” Paula said.

  “I agree!” I said.

  “See, Zeke is bringing the team together already!” Santa smiled at each of us.

  I know that seemed kind of absurd, but Zeke really did seem to have that effect on Paula and I. We both agreed that Zeke could really make us crazy. I felt confident that Paula thought I was usually pretty crazy anyhow. But still, Zeke made me more so. I could feel that Paula felt the same way.

  Turning to Paula, I said, “I think we can both agree that Zeke is different.”

  “That’s being kind! Way too kind!” Paula replied. “The guy is a freak of nature. Actually, he’s an unnatural freak. Even freaks are freaked out by him.”

  “But his heart is in the right place,” I commented.

  Paula snickered. “Yeah, but I don’t consider that to be a plus.”

  Zeke held his hand over his heart. “Oh, that almost hurt me! You know, just because I’m mostly dead doesn’t mean my feelings aren’t alive and kicking!”

  “Sorry, Zeke!” I lowered my head.

  Paula
pointed at him. Flames shot out of her gloved fingers. “I can do something about that!”

  Nitivia shot up to her feet. “Paula, you do not make threats to kind-hearted creatures here!” Waving her hand at Paula, Paula’s heat jet flames sizzled out.

  “Hey!” Paula shouted. “If you want my help, it comes on my terms!”

  Now Mrs. Claus stood up. Her big blue eyes seemed to grow in size. “Paula White! That is not how we deal with each other here. We work together as a team for a greater good. We give each other compliments!” she said sternly.

  Paula sank back down to her seat. “Sorry ma’am,” she said. “It’s just that Zeke drives me crazy! He makes me want to pull out my hair! He makes me want to pull out his hair! I deal with him all day at school, and now I have to deal with him here, too! Do you hear me?”

  Zeke laughed. “You used ‘here,’ ‘hair,’ and ‘hear!’” he said.

  Mrs. Claus nodded. “We understand that this can be challenging. But challenges make us better. They help us to be our best. We rise to the occasion. We concentrate on the good points of others.”

  Paula sighed. “I guess.”

  Mrs. Claus looked at Zeke. “Zeke, tell us Paula’s good points!”

  “Right!” Zeke said. “She keeps me on my toes with all her sharp remarks. She’s really smart. She smells pretty decent. She knows a lot of stuff which I guess is the same as being smart. She’s kind of cute if you don’t mind a girl who thinks she’s evil.” He winked at her. “I don’t mind.”

  “Gross, but thanks!” Paula said.

  “Now can I do Lia?” Zeke asked.

  Mrs. Claus shrugged. “Sure, I guess.”

  “Lia is also really smart, she never gives up, and she always fights for what is right. She usually smells good. Even when she doesn’t, she can use her smell as a super powerful weapon,” Zeke said. He raised a hand then added. “Plus, she is way cute!”

  “Thanks!” I told Zeke.

  “Now, Paula, please say something nice about Zeke and Lia!” Mrs. Claus said.

  “Do I have to?” she asked.

  “You don’t have to. I can just have Nitivia turn you into a candy cane!” Mrs. Claus frowned.

  “You know you people are pretty passive aggressive!” Paula remarked.

  “Just do it, dear!” Mrs. Claus said.

  “Zeke has a very unique way of seeing the world. Sometimes I am jealous that he sees the simplest things with such wonder. But then I remember he’s a simpleton, so my jealousy fades away,” Paula said.

  “Okay, I’ll accept that,” Mrs. Claus locked eyes with Paula. “Now say something nice about Super Teen.”

  “Ugh!” Paula sighed. Without looking at me, she said, “She has a lot of cool powers. I’m kind of jealous.”

  “Thanks!” I replied with a grin.

  “Now, Super Teen, please say something nice about Zeke,” Mrs. Claus said.

  “He eats more sticks than anybody I know. He really is filled with wonder. His heart may not beat that often, but it is still a kind heart. He makes a great distraction for the bad guys!” I smiled.

  “I do!” Zeke said proudly. “I’m like an almost human target! I’m really hard to hurt! Plus, the fact that I’m so dense really helps!”

  “Now say something nice about Paula!” Zeke grinned. “This is so fun!”

  “Next to Jason, Paula is the most brilliant person I know,” I replied.

  “Does that mean if Paula stands next to Jason, she is the smartest person?” Zeke asked.

  “Let me correct that. Paula is the only person I know who comes close to my dad and Jason in brilliance. I envy Paula’s amazing brain. I just wished her parents gave her more attention than money. That way, I think she’d be less focused on taking over the world.”

  “I’d actually like both,” Paula said. “I love the money, but more attention would be nice.”

  Mrs. Claus smiled and sat down. “Very good, team. Now, what questions do you have for us?”

  “Do you have reindeer that fly and pee in the snow?” Zeke asked.

  “Yes of course,” Mrs. Claus said. “We try not to think about the pee part too much. Just don’t eat the yellow snow!”

  “Check!” Zeke said. “Got it!”

  “Any idea who could be behind this?” Paula asked. “Do you have any enemies?”

  Santa spoke up. “Our mission here is to bring happiness and joy to all by sending out positive thoughts and emotions, ‘vibes’ if you’d like. Now, who could be against that?”

  “Somebody who wants things to be worse,” Paula replied.

  “Any elves get angry or mad lately?” I asked.

  “It’s impossible for the elves to get angry or mad. They are creatures of pure joy!” Santa said.

  “You know, Santa, I’ve been a superhero for a little over a year now, and I’ve learned one thing…nothing is impossible!”

  “I love that attitude!” Santa stood up. He pointed to the door. “Now get out there and solve this!”

  Dear Diary: Over the last year or more, I’ve had a lot of weirdness in my life. I’ve grown to accept and embrace the weirdness. I now pretty much mostly see the weirdness as wonderful. Weirdness brings new experiences and chances for growth and learning.

  But wow, being in the North Pole, in a different dimension, helping to keep the world a happy, pleasant place…now that feels really different, really big. Quite an important task to have to accomplish without my normal friends by my side. No Jason, Adam, Tanya, Marie, or Lori. But I do have Zeke and Paula to work with. I know we can make it work. We have to make it work!

  So Many Questions

  After the meeting, Zeke, Paula, and I stuck around to talk with Nitivia. We figured she knew the Pole better than anybody but Santa and Mrs. Claus. I especially felt anxious to hear what Nitivia had to say. Paula wanted to search around and see what we could find, but I convinced her that our best first move would be to gather more intel.

  “Tell us more about holiday magic,” I said to Nitivia.

  “Yeah! It sounds cool!” Zeke smiled. “Hey, I kind of made a cold joke. This is a cold place that makes magic.”

  “Good job, Zeke!” Paula said.

  “Guys, let her talk!” I ordered the other two.

  “Right!” Zeke said. “I like her; she’s pretty!”

  “Sure, elf lady,” Paula said. “Talk!”

  “Thank you,” Nitivia said. “This place generates a unique kind of energy based on all the goodness and niceness that we create here. Beings who are attuned to this energy can manipulate it to perform magic, like bringing candy canes to life.”

  “Or sending giant snowmen to attack our world!” I remarked.

  “Exactly!” Nitivia said.

  “Now, can any of you use this energy?” Paula asked, actually taking this seriously.

  “Yes, some of us, like Santa and Mrs. Claus, are very good at it. I am also quite good because I am their daughter. Once they decide to retire, this entire realm will be mine to run.”

  “Wow! That is so cool!” Zeke said. He leaned on the table and smiled. “I think I’m in love!”

  “Zeke, you always fall in love!” Paula rolled her eyes.

  Yeah, Zeke did tend to fall for any pretty face. That was part of his charm, but also part of what made him so annoying.

  “Man, running this place alone will take a LOT of time and responsibility!” Zeke commented.

  I had to admit that Zeke had made a good point. But then he added, “Are you looking for a husband?”

  “Not yet, I’m only a hundred and forty,” Nitivia said.

  “Man, you’ve aged well!” Paula said.

  “Hey! I’m older than you!” Zeke said.

  “You haven’t aged, but you still haven’t aged well,” Paula told him.

  Zeke winked at Nitivia. “We could be great together! We don’t age!”

  “I do age, but at the rate of about eight times slower than humans, plus we elves live for a LONG time!” Nitivia
said.

  “Great,” Zeke replied. “We can spend a LONG time together. It will be amazing. I’m a great cook, as long as you like fish sticks. Or sticks. I also like ice.”

  “Zeke, I’m sorry, but I have no interest in getting married now,” Nitivia said.

  “Of course not!” Zeke said, waving his hand at her. “Not now. These things take time to plan. I think tomorrow would be good.”

  “Zeke, read the clues,” I told him in my gentlest voice.

  “Okay, next week. I’ve got time since I’m not getting any older,” Zeke said.

  “Dude, she doesn’t want to be with you!” Paula shouted.

  “You don’t know that!” Zeke said to Paula. Zeke turned to Nitivia. “Tell her she doesn’t know that. You and I are perfect together.”

  Nitivia sat in science for a moment. “Zeke, I could never take you away from your world. It is the only world you know. Plus, I could never leave this world since I’ll need to take over running it in a couple of centuries of your time.”

  “So that’s an ‘I’ll think about it?’” Zeke asked.

  Nitivia shook her head. “No, that’s a ‘no.’ That’s a ‘let’s just be friends,’” she answered softly.

  “Oh, I think I just felt my heart beat twice,” Zeke said. He smiled. “I get it. Kind of. I’m just worried about you running this big world all by yourself!”

  Nitivia smiled. “Well, my little sister, Luna will help me.”

  “Plus, there are a lot of cute elves around for her to choose from!” Paula commented.

  “I don’t need that, really,” Nitivia said. “If it’s just me and my sister, Luna, I will be perfectly happy!” She smiled, and her teeth glowed.

  “Very modern,” Zeke said.

  “Bravo!” I said.

  “I can’t blame you for finding others useless,” Paula said.

  Nitivia shook her head. “I don’t find them useless. I am just happy with myself. Maybe I will find somebody, someday. If I do, great. If I don’t, great!”

  “Wow,” Zeke sighed. “I think I like her even more now…”

  “Where is Luna?” I asked.

  “She’s helping me with security. Last I heard, she was hovering over the northernmost part of the Pole to see if she felt anything unusual.”