Page 42 of Never Sleigh Never
“I overheard my dad on the phone talking about you.”
My ears perk up.
“I was supposed to be sleeping, but I wasn’t tired. I overheard him talking about how it’s been a long time since he’s felt happy.”
That can’t be right. Surely, she was mistaken. I shove the thought away. “Are you practicing for the snowman competition?”
“What competition?”
“At the Holly Jolly Festival. Every year, we hold a snowman building contest.”
“That sounds really fun!”
“It’s a blast. You should enter. Your snowman would definitely be in the running for first place.” My gaze wanders over her unconventional snowman. “Why’s the snowman wearing a mask? Is he in hiding?”
“He’s a secret agent snowman.” She beams.
“Oh, that’s fun! I’ve never seen one of those before.”
As Josie turns back to adjust her snowman’s hat, an idea snaps into place. During wartime, one often crosses enemy lines to gather intelligence. It’s time to go secret agent, gather intel, and out-holly that carnival till it jingles surrender.
Fifteen
The Dynamic Duo
Brie
My pulse hammers like a snare drum, and with every ring through the speaker my bravery dwindles. I’ve never done anything like this. I tend to stay on the right side of the law—parking within the lines, stopping for pedestrians, returning library books only fashionably late, but desperate times and all that. The call clicks. Before Willa can say hello, I blurt, “Meet me at my place—and wear a disguise.”
“What’s the disguise for?”
“A real best friend wouldn’t ask. They would just do.”
Willa laughs. “Alright, alright. Disguise, check. I’ll be there in twenty.”
“Twenty? You only live ten minutes away.”
“I’m at Mason’s. He had the night off.”
“Okay. But hurry.”
Twenty-five minutes later, my front door opens, Jason Voorhees steps into my entryway… in tan MUK LUKS. “Sorry I’m late,” Willa says through the white hockey mask. “It sounded urgent, so I didn’t want to stop at home. Luckily, Mason had this in his closet.”
“Really? A Jason mask?”
“You told me a disguise.” Willa rips the mask off her head. “You didn’t give me any direction. So I interpreted this as a disguise.” She waves the mask in front of me. “Are you going to tell me what we’re doing now?”
“I’ll tell you what we’re not going to do. That is taking a trip to Camp Crystal Lake and partaking in a murderous rampage.”
“But I have the perfect mask for it,” Willa whines.
“Maybe next time, but tonight we’re going on a little recon mission.”
“Oh, shit,” Willa mutters.
“I heard that.”
She sighs and tosses the mask onto the entry table; it skitters into a glass bowl with a clink. “Well, I wasn’t trying to be discreet about it. Either way, the trip to Camp Crystal Lake and murderous rampage sounds more fun than whatever this is.”
