When Santa Went Missing by Parinita Shetty

Author:Parinita Shetty
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789351188810
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2014-11-04T16:00:00+00:00

‘You were great, Avery!’

The elves and I were on our way to the next factory and we were updating North Pole about our exploits.

The radio crackled with my brother’s laughter.‘Nothing compared to Coral’s genius,’ he chuckled.

I nodded enthusiastically even though he couldn’t see me. ‘Coral was pretty brilliant, wasn’t he?’

‘The master of psychological warfare,’ Avery agreed.

‘We had to stop him from shouting obscenities at the kids from the megaphone,’ I said. ‘But it all turned out spectacularly.’

Coral rolled his eyes at me. ‘It was nothing,’ he said gruffly.‘Even an ostrich could have come up with that plan. And those dimwit birds have brains smaller than their eyes.’

He wasn’t being modest. He genuinely believed the rest of us were stupider than ostriches. I sighed.

‘What happened to the captives?’ Avery asked.

‘We set them free,’ I replied. ‘When we last saw them, they were more excitable than Dad after he’s had four cups of coffee. Speaking of whom, any news?’

‘It’s getting a bit impossible.’ There was a sudden downward shift in Avery’s tone. ‘We have the best elves out there, but nothing.’

‘Christmas is only five days away!’ Gilmore was frantic. ‘What will the elves do if Santa’s not found by then?’

‘What if Dad’s really in trouble?’ I asked quietly. I had avoided thinking about it all this while, but the scary thought now set up home in my head.

‘You know he’ll be fine, right?’ Avery said.‘Dad is tough. He can handle anything.’

And what happens if he can’t handle everything? I squeezed that thought into the back of my mind. I couldn’t get distracted. ‘Why don’t you ask Granddad?’ I suggested. ‘He should be able to help.’

Granddad was Dad’s father. He always used to say that he never got to meet too many people as Santa Claus. So when Dad took over, Granddad travelled and made friends all over the world before settling down in the Himalayas.

‘That’s a brilliant idea!’ Avery exclaimed. ‘He’ll know what to do. Where are you guys headed now?’

I looked at Bean quizzically. She looked back at me, quivering with excitement.‘Egypt,’ she said, grinning. My eyes lit up. I could understand her glee. Bean and I seemed to be the only ones excited about getting to visit all these exotic places.

‘More sand,’ Coral scoffed. ‘Fantastic.’

‘The Egyptian factory isn’t in the desert,’ Gilmore replied. ‘It’s in the middle of a bazaar.’

‘How do you know that?’ Bean asked. She sounded a little offended at not being the only one who knew where we were going.

‘I spent six months there on an exchange programme when I was your age,’ he said, shrugging. ‘Nice place. A long way from the North Pole though.’

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