Four bloody weeks I spent on this gift. Four. Bloody. Weeks. I really hoped my best friend liked this gift that I've spent so long making and put so much of my effort into.

I put the neatly wrapped present on my desk and let sleep envelop me into darkness. Tomorrow is going to be wonderful. Because tomorrow is Christmas.

Crash! I shot up from my bed and checked the time. It was midnight. I furrowed my eyebrows and wondered what that loud bang was coming from downstairs. It was probably my little brother doing something daft but I had to be sure. I crept downstairs, avoiding the creaky floorboard, and peeked through the living room door.

It was Santa!

I couldn't believe my eyes! What was Santa doing in my living room? Wait a minute, how does Santa even exist? I shook my head; this couldn't really be Santa and I knew exactly how to prove it. I slipped back upstairs and retrieved a brown package. It contained a brand new tracking device that I had never used before and now was the perfect time to use this brilliant little device.

I crawled back downstairs and crept up behind Santa. Before he could even realise, I stuck the device inside his hat which he had taken off whilst devouring his mince pies and I crept back upstairs.

I smiled. Mission complete.

***

"Merry Christmas!" I exclaimed as I handed the gift to my best friend Maria.

"Thank you, Alyssa!" she replied whilst taking my gift.

She gave it a little rattle and said, "I wonder what it is!"

"Open it."

She hastily tore open the sparkly, pink wrapping paper and removed the present from the box. A little clown sprung out and starting bobbing forwards and backwards. Her face suddenly turned as white as snow and she stifled a gasp.

"I—I love it," she stuttered whilst inhaling sharply but I could tell something was wrong. "I've always wanted a Jack in the box." She smiled but it wasn't genuine.

"I've got to go to um... do stuff," Maria muttered quickly. "Bye."

Something wasn't quite right with Maria. She didn't seem particularly pleased with the gift, almost like it was haunting her. I had to find out what was going on.

I crept after her and watched as she turned the corner towards the children's home. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the Jack in the box tightly, almost as if she wanted to squeeze the life out of it. I watched from the window in astonishment as she entered the children's home and handed my beautiful present to the Reception desk, muttered a few words and walked out.

How could she? After everything I did to make that present perfect? Hours of cutting, weaving, sticking, knitting and attaching gone down the drain in a matter of seconds. How could she?

Tears pooled in my eyes and a strong emotion began stirring inside of me. It wasn't sadness. It wasn't grief. It was rage. Boiling, furious rage.

I snatched my phone out of my pocket and opened up the tracking device app to see the location of Santa. He wasn't far actually. Just a few streets away. But wasn't his home supposed to be in the North Pole? I didn't have time to worry about that as I'd already raced off in the direction of his location.

***

"Ah, I see," Santa said. "So basically, what you're saying is, you spent a really long time making this gift for her and she gave it away and now you're really angry and you want to kill her but you need adult supervision to do that because children aren't allowed to kill people themselves. Is that right?"

"Yes," I replied. "Exactly that."

"So how old are you?" Santa asked.

"I'm eleven."

"Kids these days are a bit daft, aren't they?" Santa muttered quietly.

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Nothing, nothing," he replied quickly. "Why don't you just ask your parents to help you kill her?"

"Yeah, right," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Like my parents would help me kill Maria. It's more likely that they'd eat their own socks! You're the only one I can trust, Santa. Please help me." I gave him my best puppy eyes and he chuckled.

"Very well," Santa replied. "I think you have potential to be a criminal, Alyssa. After all, you very sneakily attached that tracking device to me and followed me all the way here!"

"Thank you." I blushed.

"But I'm only helping you because I don't like that girl, Maria, myself."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Last Christmas, she asked me for a machine gun and when I refused, she kicked me! The nerve of her! I'd be very happy seeing her dead. Anyways, we better go find her now. Where would she be at this time?"

"Probably at home," I thought aloud.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Santa ushered. "Let's go!"

We travelled on Santa's sleigh and reached Maria's house in just a few minutes. I patted Rudolph's bright red nose before walking towards Maria's door. The plan was for me to get Maria out of the house and then Santa and I would attack her and kill her.

I knocked the door and Maria's mum opened the door with a smile.

"Alyssa, sweetie!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Merry Christmas! Come inside!"

"No thank you, Mrs Walker. I've just come to see Maria."

"Of course, I'll just go and get her."

After a few moments, Maria appeared at the doorway.

"Um... hey, Alyssa. What's up?" She stared at her feet and wrung her hands together.

"I want to show you something." I smiled and guided her across the road to the next street.

"Surprise!" I yelled as Santa popped out of his hiding place with a knife. "Merry Christmas," I growled and we killed her.

***

Her bloody corpse on the floor made me sick. I looked away and gagged, vomit threatening to escape my lips. Ugh. How do serial killers do this every day of their lives? It was disgusting.

"What's that?" Santa asked, pointing at a little book sticking out of Maria's coat pocket. He picked it up, opened up a random page and read:

Dear Diary,

Today, Alyssa gave me a Jack in the box for my Christmas present but I couldn't bear to look at it. It reminded me too much of my little brother, Max, who always used to play with Jack in the boxes. It was his favourite toy before he passed away. I gave the Jack in the box to the children's home because every time I looked at it, I became teary-eyed. It was too much to handle; all the memories came flooding back to me. I simply couldn't keep it. I haven't told Alyssa; she'd be really upset if she knew I gave away her present. I hope she doesn't find out.

Signing off for today,

Maria Walker

I felt a bit bad for what I'd done but I didn't really care. Maria was dead now. And it was her own fault. If she hadn't hid her secret from me, she wouldn't have had to deal with this fate.

"Right, that's done," Santa said, wiping his bloody hands on his red jumper and throwing the diary away. "Where shall we hide the body?"

I didn't get the time to reply because we suddenly heard sirens screeching in the distance, the blue and red flashing lights heading towards us.

"Uh oh," Santa said. "Plan B. Leave the body. Run!"

And that's the story of how I, Alyssa Greenwood, became partners in crime with Santa Claus and became a serial killer. I've been on the run ever since. And my thirst for murder has only increased. I've killed countless people and I don't regret a single one. This is my life now.

And I love it.

***

- Co-written by me and my friend

🥇1st Place in The Sparkle Awards - Humour (27/06/20)

🥉3rd Place in The Evergreen Awards - Humour (31/07/20)

***

Written in Dec 2016