Christmas and Wrapping Paper

"Come here, Nick." A wiggled my finger back and forth to indicate my direction.

He faked fright and rose. "Please Miss, I swear I didn't do it. So what's up." He inquired, dropping his facade.

"What's this whole club thing about?" I had anger selling from my voice, I don't know what it was, but Wrapping Paper got all my motherly hormones in a tizzy.

Puzzlement flashed through his face and he started to talk, bewildered. "What club? There's a club? A club of what? Where is this club? Who's in-"

I cut him off, I didn't have time for twenty questions. "A club against Wrapping Paper!" I was pissed. How dare these little demonic brats do this!

Sadness plastered itself across his face. "I didn't realize it was so bad, I-I-"

"Shh, I know," I stated placing a finger over my lips. "You didn't know, but it needs to stop."

***

I grabbed a notepad out of the main room and grabbed a pretty blue pen. The Pink Panther song played in my head as I snuck around a corner. Bu-dum bu-dum, budum budum budum budum bu-buuuuum. I peaked around the corner and chips of cheap paint rubbed off on my black shirt.

The child with the white-blonde hair, Brennen, walked into the storage room for the late Mr. Higgins dusty crap. I had been stalking this kid all day, he had gotten a note from another brat.
When he went to the bathroom I took a picture of it with my IPhone and learned of the club. It spoke of how Brennen did a good job and that he needed to meet them in the "usual spot" for his "initiation" whatever that meant.

I had armed myself with a tattered copy of Nancy Drew's, The Hidden Staircase. A copy that must've been donated long ago, probably before I was born. Nancy Drew had always been a favorite of mine and I remembered all of her sleuthing tactics.

I snapped back with my back against the wall as I saw Brennen's head start to turn in my direction. I heard a small, barely audible click, the only reason I heard it was because it echoed through the wall that my ear was pressed against.

I craned my neck and saw a vacant hallway. silently pattering down the hall I pulled he oak door open, inch by painful inch.

After realizing no one was in my direct line of vision, I pushed the door the remaining way open. Racks and racks of musty old cloths and books and anything you can imagine filled my sight. Coats raining dust and old man shoes that I could even imagine anyone wearing. Stacks of trousers that probably weren't fashionable since the 1600's, and probably not even then.

I crept around terribly smelling trinkets as I tried to locate this club. I spotted a boy, in his acne covered glory, spewing crap about the demon, Wrapping Paper. He was probably about fourteen or fifteen. The way the other children were staring at him, I knew he was some sort of leader, like Hitler, only Wrapping Paper was replacing the Jews.

I had to stifle a gasp as I realized just how bad this situation really was. All of a sudden, as I was backing up, an ugly cane fell over onto the concrete floor.

A half dozen little heads turned in my direction, there was no where to run.