[Secret Santa] Norma and Melville
Everything around Budehuc might be as cold as ice at the moment, but Norma hopes to bring the warmth of holiday cheer to one person.
Sitting in front of the fireplace, Melville was grumbling a little about how the flash freezing had destroyed his long, hard hours of shovelling snow. Trying to cheer himself up a little, he thought he'd try playing the... kazoo that his dad had given him.
Norma walked out from a hallway carrying a clear bag that was tied with a silver and gold ribbon at her side. She brought it along with her since the sudden ice covered everything in hopes that she'd run into her secret santa, but had no luck so far. Now she started to believe he might not even be in the mansion.
Melville was busy tooting out a really bad-sounding, dull note on the kazoo until he realized that someone else near his age was nearby. The note cut off short as Melville quickly shoved the kazoo in his pocket, hoping that no one had seen him practicing... i-if you could even call that practicing.
Hearing a weird honk sound emit from the open area she entered, Norma turned her head and saw Melville. "Oo... Oh! It's you!!" She pointed at first then realized that it could be rude and put her hand down again.
Melville looked taken aback at the sudden pointing, and he quickly stood up from his seat by the fireplace. "I-it's me!?" He blinked at her, looking nervous. H-had he done something wrong? ... or, well, had his dad done something wrong?? He shivered a little as he remembered what his dad had been doing at the christmas party, then tried to swallow his fears. "... Miss Norma! ... Hi!"
Norma smiled a little bit with relief seeing him. It looked like he got trapped here with her afterall. Maybe he'd just got stuck in a room like a lot of other people! "Hi. You don't have to call me 'miss' either, by the way. I have the feeling we're close enough in age, so there's no need for formalities!"
"R-right... Norma." Melville looked a little hesitant at that, but smiled and figured he could get used to it. Maybe he should just think of her as Alanis... e-except without the massive flustering and -- he was waving his hands around now as he spoke. "How are you? With the ice and all... you haven't gotten hurt, right?"
"Hurt? Oh, no, no. I was stuck in my room earlier, but I eventually got out so I feel better now!" The colorful tamer nodded once and made sure to appear cheerful, "what about you? Do you know what happened? I haven't been able to find anyone who does."
Melville looked relieved that she wasn't hurt, but shook his head at her question. "I really don't have any idea...! I've been around this area for seventeen years, and I've never seen this happen before... It's creepy, isn't it?" He laughed nervously.
She was a little uneasy. "Yeah.. it kind of is. I know I've heard of something that emits a light that bright before, but I think we'd all be burnt up and it's far away from here," Norma was really sure of herself, "anyway, how was your holidays? I hope this storm didn't dampen your spirits."
That didn't really help ease his worries about the whole flash freezing, but Melville just grinned and brushed it off. "Oh, my holidays were alright." He pulled the kazoo out of his pocket. "... My dad gave me this." He said it a little stupidly.
"Is that a... kazoo?" Norma looked at it and wondered who his dad could be. Even after the Christmas party, she was only mildly suspicious.
"Uh... yeah." Melville looked at it, wondering why he was showing her something so embarrassing. Awkwardly, he blew another flat note on the kazoo. "... I-it's... a good present, huh??"
"Ah, well..." Norma thought she recalled Ernst trying that or a different instrument trick for their shows. Maybe? It seemed like something they would do, but wasn't positively sure, "Yep! You can really celebrate with those things, you know! But.. ah." She put her gift behind her back.
"... but...?" Melville echoed her, wondering what she was going to say next. He looked back down at the kazoo, furrowing his eyebrows a little. "I guess they're pretty good for making noise... Maybe at a party..." He looked more contemplative now, and maybe a little more optimistic about the kazoo as a present.
"I hope you'll find my present just as good." She revealed the gift from behind her back. Norma held out the see-through bag filled with holiday-shaped sugar cookies. They were even decorated with appropriate color frosting and sprinkles.
"... huh?" Melville did a sort of little double take as he saw the bag of cookies, blinking stupidly and almost blushing furiously. Aaah, w-why did she get him a present, this was embarrassing, he didn't get her a present -- w-wait, was he even meant to?! Melville tried to get his brain under control. "Aaaah." ... But he kind of failed at the attempt. "Th-these are for me???"
Norma smiled and nodded again. "Well, yeah. You're my secret santa, so of course they're for you! You do like cookies, right?" Hopefully, he didn't mind sweets.
"O-oh." That calmed his mind a lot, though he was slightly embarrassed at his reaction now. He was still in his stunned silence when he realized she had asked a question. "A-and yeah, of course I like cookies! Cookies are the greatest! ... And I bet you're a great baker!" He paused, and then suddenly added stupidly, realizing he had no clue. "... wait, do you bake?"
"I thought you read minds for a second there. I did bake them myself." She had laughed before answering him. "Don't worry. I'm actually pretty seasoned at it!"
"Haha, seasoned... th-that's a good joke!" Melville clearly thought that was a pun or something because he was laughing a little (although his laughter was partially due to nerves, too.) He quickly rushed on. "They look really nice! You're really talented... thanks!"
Norma looked pleased with herself after hearing him laugh, too. "I'm glad that you think so...! If you like them, maybe I'll try to make some more for you another time." She gave him a genuine promise.
"Ah! Only if it isn't too much trouble." He seemed rather embarrassed and... oh man, if his father caught wind that he was getting cookies off a girl at the castle, he would never hear the end of it. "A-and, uhh. C-can you do me a favour?"
"A favor? Alright.." Norma was curious if he was going to ask for something other than cookies.
"... Please don't tell my dad about this." He said it rather quickly and in a rush, as if it was the stupidest request ever. "Please?"
"Your dad? I can do that," she had to question though, "Oh. There was a... strange man at the Christmas party. Maybe you saw him, but.. was that your father?" That little father-son resemblance and not the glaringly obvious hounding about Melville that Billy had done during the party was why she asked.
Melville went silent straight away, and then he had to keep back a long-suffering groan. It was only after a few seconds that he finally had the guts to admit it. "That... that was him," he mumbled grudgingly. "... wh-why was he strange? What did he do?"
"Hm, h-he just pointed you out to me once or twice. That's all! And spoke to me from under a table for some reason." Norma mumbled her last sentence since she realized that Melville probably didn't want to hear anything embarrassing about his father. "I was just a little surprised by it I guess!"
"My dad... is a kind of surprising guy, I guess." Melville looked almost amused before continuing. "He didn't do anything... creepy, right? Maybe I should talk to him, I really don't want him scaring you... he gets that way sometimes, I'm sorry!" He hoped desperately his dad wasn't trying to set him up again or something. Th-that could only lead to disaster.
Norma stayed calm and collected about it. "Nope! I wasn't scared or anything really! I'm sure he's enthusiastic is all.. so don't worry about it, please."
"R-right." He breathed a sigh of relief. "... I'll enjoy these cookies, then!" He was smiling again, fears now settled. "I'm sorry I don't have anything give you in return!"
"I was the secret santa. You don't have to get me anything." She really hadn't expected anything, obviously. "I was late getting it to you anyway. I hope you have a nice day even with the way things are right now."
"Y-yeah, you too! Thanks." He looked a lot happier now as he took the bag of cookies, actually looking forward to enjoying this present~ "Take care, Norma."
"You, too, Melville." Norma smiled at him once more before heading back to her room.
Sitting in front of the fireplace, Melville was grumbling a little about how the flash freezing had destroyed his long, hard hours of shovelling snow. Trying to cheer himself up a little, he thought he'd try playing the... kazoo that his dad had given him.
Norma walked out from a hallway carrying a clear bag that was tied with a silver and gold ribbon at her side. She brought it along with her since the sudden ice covered everything in hopes that she'd run into her secret santa, but had no luck so far. Now she started to believe he might not even be in the mansion.
Melville was busy tooting out a really bad-sounding, dull note on the kazoo until he realized that someone else near his age was nearby. The note cut off short as Melville quickly shoved the kazoo in his pocket, hoping that no one had seen him practicing... i-if you could even call that practicing.
Hearing a weird honk sound emit from the open area she entered, Norma turned her head and saw Melville. "Oo... Oh! It's you!!" She pointed at first then realized that it could be rude and put her hand down again.
Melville looked taken aback at the sudden pointing, and he quickly stood up from his seat by the fireplace. "I-it's me!?" He blinked at her, looking nervous. H-had he done something wrong? ... or, well, had his dad done something wrong?? He shivered a little as he remembered what his dad had been doing at the christmas party, then tried to swallow his fears. "... Miss Norma! ... Hi!"
Norma smiled a little bit with relief seeing him. It looked like he got trapped here with her afterall. Maybe he'd just got stuck in a room like a lot of other people! "Hi. You don't have to call me 'miss' either, by the way. I have the feeling we're close enough in age, so there's no need for formalities!"
"R-right... Norma." Melville looked a little hesitant at that, but smiled and figured he could get used to it. Maybe he should just think of her as Alanis... e-except without the massive flustering and -- he was waving his hands around now as he spoke. "How are you? With the ice and all... you haven't gotten hurt, right?"
"Hurt? Oh, no, no. I was stuck in my room earlier, but I eventually got out so I feel better now!" The colorful tamer nodded once and made sure to appear cheerful, "what about you? Do you know what happened? I haven't been able to find anyone who does."
Melville looked relieved that she wasn't hurt, but shook his head at her question. "I really don't have any idea...! I've been around this area for seventeen years, and I've never seen this happen before... It's creepy, isn't it?" He laughed nervously.
She was a little uneasy. "Yeah.. it kind of is. I know I've heard of something that emits a light that bright before, but I think we'd all be burnt up and it's far away from here," Norma was really sure of herself, "anyway, how was your holidays? I hope this storm didn't dampen your spirits."
That didn't really help ease his worries about the whole flash freezing, but Melville just grinned and brushed it off. "Oh, my holidays were alright." He pulled the kazoo out of his pocket. "... My dad gave me this." He said it a little stupidly.
"Is that a... kazoo?" Norma looked at it and wondered who his dad could be. Even after the Christmas party, she was only mildly suspicious.
"Uh... yeah." Melville looked at it, wondering why he was showing her something so embarrassing. Awkwardly, he blew another flat note on the kazoo. "... I-it's... a good present, huh??"
"Ah, well..." Norma thought she recalled Ernst trying that or a different instrument trick for their shows. Maybe? It seemed like something they would do, but wasn't positively sure, "Yep! You can really celebrate with those things, you know! But.. ah." She put her gift behind her back.
"... but...?" Melville echoed her, wondering what she was going to say next. He looked back down at the kazoo, furrowing his eyebrows a little. "I guess they're pretty good for making noise... Maybe at a party..." He looked more contemplative now, and maybe a little more optimistic about the kazoo as a present.
"I hope you'll find my present just as good." She revealed the gift from behind her back. Norma held out the see-through bag filled with holiday-shaped sugar cookies. They were even decorated with appropriate color frosting and sprinkles.
"... huh?" Melville did a sort of little double take as he saw the bag of cookies, blinking stupidly and almost blushing furiously. Aaah, w-why did she get him a present, this was embarrassing, he didn't get her a present -- w-wait, was he even meant to?! Melville tried to get his brain under control. "Aaaah." ... But he kind of failed at the attempt. "Th-these are for me???"
Norma smiled and nodded again. "Well, yeah. You're my secret santa, so of course they're for you! You do like cookies, right?" Hopefully, he didn't mind sweets.
"O-oh." That calmed his mind a lot, though he was slightly embarrassed at his reaction now. He was still in his stunned silence when he realized she had asked a question. "A-and yeah, of course I like cookies! Cookies are the greatest! ... And I bet you're a great baker!" He paused, and then suddenly added stupidly, realizing he had no clue. "... wait, do you bake?"
"I thought you read minds for a second there. I did bake them myself." She had laughed before answering him. "Don't worry. I'm actually pretty seasoned at it!"
"Haha, seasoned... th-that's a good joke!" Melville clearly thought that was a pun or something because he was laughing a little (although his laughter was partially due to nerves, too.) He quickly rushed on. "They look really nice! You're really talented... thanks!"
Norma looked pleased with herself after hearing him laugh, too. "I'm glad that you think so...! If you like them, maybe I'll try to make some more for you another time." She gave him a genuine promise.
"Ah! Only if it isn't too much trouble." He seemed rather embarrassed and... oh man, if his father caught wind that he was getting cookies off a girl at the castle, he would never hear the end of it. "A-and, uhh. C-can you do me a favour?"
"A favor? Alright.." Norma was curious if he was going to ask for something other than cookies.
"... Please don't tell my dad about this." He said it rather quickly and in a rush, as if it was the stupidest request ever. "Please?"
"Your dad? I can do that," she had to question though, "Oh. There was a... strange man at the Christmas party. Maybe you saw him, but.. was that your father?" That little father-son resemblance and not the glaringly obvious hounding about Melville that Billy had done during the party was why she asked.
Melville went silent straight away, and then he had to keep back a long-suffering groan. It was only after a few seconds that he finally had the guts to admit it. "That... that was him," he mumbled grudgingly. "... wh-why was he strange? What did he do?"
"Hm, h-he just pointed you out to me once or twice. That's all! And spoke to me from under a table for some reason." Norma mumbled her last sentence since she realized that Melville probably didn't want to hear anything embarrassing about his father. "I was just a little surprised by it I guess!"
"My dad... is a kind of surprising guy, I guess." Melville looked almost amused before continuing. "He didn't do anything... creepy, right? Maybe I should talk to him, I really don't want him scaring you... he gets that way sometimes, I'm sorry!" He hoped desperately his dad wasn't trying to set him up again or something. Th-that could only lead to disaster.
Norma stayed calm and collected about it. "Nope! I wasn't scared or anything really! I'm sure he's enthusiastic is all.. so don't worry about it, please."
"R-right." He breathed a sigh of relief. "... I'll enjoy these cookies, then!" He was smiling again, fears now settled. "I'm sorry I don't have anything give you in return!"
"I was the secret santa. You don't have to get me anything." She really hadn't expected anything, obviously. "I was late getting it to you anyway. I hope you have a nice day even with the way things are right now."
"Y-yeah, you too! Thanks." He looked a lot happier now as he took the bag of cookies, actually looking forward to enjoying this present~ "Take care, Norma."
"You, too, Melville." Norma smiled at him once more before heading back to her room.