Drabble: What does a dragon do for Christmas?

This post features characters from School Spirit
No Spoilers

I have a little Christmas story for you this week 🙂 I was actually really happy with the way this cavity-inducing tale turned out. Unlike some of my other drabbles, this one is In-World, taking place after the events in Trevor and Rodney’s original story. I hope you enjoy it!

 ~*~

“Are you sure that’s the way it was before?” Rodney called from the top of the enormous pine tree.

Trevor squinted up at the sky, and was far more concerned with the likelihood of snow than he was in the placement of the star. “It’s great. It’s perfect,” he told the dragon for the fifth time.

“And you’re sure nothing else fell off?”

“Positive. Just come down.”

Rodney circled the tree once more before landing next to Trevor with his signature satisfied whinny. “Good thing we noticed it, huh?” the dragon gushed. “It wouldn’t be Christmas if the star wasn’t on.”

And he was probably right. Decorating a huge tree like that was their school’s way of showing off and declaring “Hey, we have a dragon!” But it was also officially vacation, and Trevor didn’t have the benefit of thick scales and unceasing optimism to keep him warm.

“So, what are you doing for Christmas?” Rodney asked as he trailed Trevor back to his car.

“Oh, just the normal stuff, I guess. Family. Presents. Tree. Cookies.” He paused before getting in the car, suddenly curious. “What do you do?” He knew Rodney loved Christmas, but the dragon never talked about family or relatives.

“Me? Oh, I’m on the short list for the big man!”

“The big man?” Trevor repeated.

Rodney did a little hop that would have been cute on a small dog, but kind of intimidating on a dragon. “Yeah. You know: Santa Claus. If one of his traditional sleigh-pullers gets sick last minute, I’m on call. Neat, huh?”

“You do know I’m seventeen, right?” Trevor asked.

“Yeah. And I’m six-hundred-something. Doesn’t mean I don’t believe in Santa.”

Trevor rolled his eyes, but couldn’t keep himself from smiling. “Alright, so don’t tell me. Well, whatever you’re doing, have fun.”

 ***

The snow came later that day, and to everyone’s delight, it stuck around until Christmas Eve. Trevor couldn’t help but wonder if Rodney was in town to see it or not. To most people, a white Christmas was pretty, but he felt sure Rodney would consider it a miracle.

What did Rodney do on Christmas? He was content at first to let the dragon have his secrets, but it had been bothering him. Rodney was normally as open as they come. But he was also naïve enough to think he could talk a high school senior into believing in Santa again. Trevor had lost that particular part of childhood years ago.

Well, not so many years. He held onto the belief longer than most because when he was younger he heard something on the roof. It was probably a dream, but his parents played along. It made for a fun childhood.

He was so focused on the memory that he even heard the distant rooftop thumping…no, wait, that was an actual sound. Trevor’s eyes snapped open and stumbled to his window. At first he saw nothing, and chastised himself for abandoning the warmth of his bed, but then a shadow passed over the lawn and Rodney glided into view.

Trevor watched as the dragon landed on the roof of his neighbor’s house. After a pause, a dim light shown through the brightly colored curtain’s of the child’s room. Rodney remained still for a moment, and then proceeded to take tiny, delicate steps across the shingles. Trevor smiled as two mysteries were revealed at once.

Rodney prepared to take flight again, but then glanced towards Trevor’s window and smiled. He pointed to Trevor’s backyard with a questioning look, and Trevor nodded, because why not? Pulling on a coat and boots, he crunched through the snow just as Rodney made a soft landing.

“So, this is what you do on Christmas?” he asked.

“Silly, right?” Rodney said, since that was how Trevor described most of his actions.

But not this time. “Nah, it’s nice. You definitely got me when I was a kid.”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. Santa’s real,” Rodney said. “It’s just that his magic keeps the sleigh from making any noise when he lands. I find that sometimes kids need a little push, you know?”

A stylized version of Jingle Bells inserted itself into their conversation, and it took Trevor a moment to realize that it was coming from a plastic band Rodney was wearing around the wrist. “What’s that suppose to be?” Trevor asked, expecting Rodney to say it was a tacky gift that he thought was the best thing ever.

But instead the dragon was nearly paralyzed with elation. When he could talk again, he said. “Trevor, do you know what this mean?! I’m being called in!”

“Called in… what?”

“By Santa! I get to pull the sleigh this year!”

Trevor gaped at him. “…What?”

“Look, I’ll tell you all about it later, okay? Promise. But I really need to go now.” He backed up so he could stretch his wings and pushed off into flight. “Merry Christmas, Trevor!”

Trevor stood there for almost a full minute before he understood, and then he went back inside with an amused chuckle. Amazing. Even now, Rodney was trying to rekindle his belief in Santa. Well, it was a cute effort. And a nice touch, buying that wristband to start beeping. He would thank Rodney for trying when he saw him next.

As he took the coat and books off, he realized that maybe he could pretend for Rodney’s sake that the trick had worked. It would make the dragon really happy. He would tell him that yes, just for this one night, he believed again.

Before Trevor returned to bed, he even prepared a little plate of cookies and milk.

You know… Just in case.