SORA's Part-time job

不經不覺，還有一個星期左右就到聖誕了，同學們都紛紛為自己的課室佈置裝飾。

我們的課室今年也跟往常一樣，依舊會放置一棵古老小型聖誕樹。這棵聖誕樹從我讀幼稚園的時候已經存在，每年聖誕都會從後院搬回課室當值。而今年負責為聖誕樹裝飾的剛好是我跟 SORA。

正當我們開始替這位老朋友打扮的時候，我在放滿裝飾品的小盒子裡發現了一件久違了的東西。

是一個紅鼻子。

「原來它在這裡啊！我還以為已經弄丟了。SORA，你記得這個嗎？」我興奮地試著把這個紅鼻子套在鼻上，卻發現它的大小已經不適合我了。

「噢噢，想不到在這裡哩！」SORA 從我手上拿過去試戴，當然也一樣戴不上去。

「在幼稚園的聖誕派對時，你在交換禮物環節把這個送給我，還跟我說是第一次打工的報酬。我看你根本是忘記準備禮物，然後隨手就把聖誕樹上的裝飾拿過來頂替吧？」我為幼稚園時期受騙的自己抱怨道。

「才～沒有騙你啦。記得那年我在後山遊玩時偶然遇到那位老公公，他跟我說由於當年純鹿的出生率很低，讓他十分煩惱，然後就問我要不替他打工。我可跟他忙了整個平安夜哩！而這個紅鼻子就是當時的報酬了。」SORA 的解釋疑幻似真。

「老公公......平安夜......？你的打工內容是什麼？」我心中雀躍，卻還是故作冷靜地問道。

「就跟老公公養的純鹿們一起拉著他那輛會飛的雪橇，然後把禮物丟進有煙囪的屋子裡。可惜我們學校的宿舍沒有煙囪，要不然我們都應該會收到禮物哩！」SORA 悠然地形容。

「那......那不就是......！」我整個呆掉。

「今年那位老公公也有來找我打工啊！說起來我也差不多要出發去幫他整理禮物了。今年的平安夜大餐，你留起給我回來吃就好！」SORA 拋下這句說話後就一支箭地衝出課室，剩下我呆呆地拿著這個小小的紅鼻子。

「誒誒誒誒！？不會是真的吧！？」

Only a week was left for Christmas, everyone has started to decorate our classroom.

As tradition we'd put an old tiny Christmas tree in our classroom, which I could see on every Christmas since kindergarten. The tree would be taken from backyard to the classroom for displaying and it's SORA and my responsibility this year.

By the time we were about to dress our old friend up, I discovered something hadn't been seen for years in a tiny box filled with decors－ a red nose.

'Oh! I thought it was lost! SORA, do you still remember this?' I attempted to put it on my noise yet it couldn't fit any more.

'Oh! So it was here!!' SORA took it and put it on, naturally it didn't fit at all.

'You gave this to me during the Christmas party when we were kindergarteners, and told me it's the first pay of your job. But I'm sure it's just something you randomly took from a Christmas tree as you forgot to prepare my present, isn't it?' I grumbled.

'No! It's really my pay for work! I met an old man when I was playing in the mountain that year, he told me that the birth rate of reindeers was very low and he was troubled. He asked if I wanted to work with him so I had been busy with my job for whole day on Christmas eve.'

'Old man...? Christmas eve...? What's your job about?' I pretend to be calm yet in fact I was so excited.

'To take care of reindeers with the old man and pull a snow slide, also throwing presents into chimneys － what a pity that our school has no chimney, or else we may get our presents too!' SORA said causally.

'If...if that wasn't...!' I was stunned.

'The old man came to me this year again! Speaking of this it's almost time for me to help him to pack the presents, please keep me something good in the Christmas eve feast tonight!!' SORA rushed out of the classroom, leaving me who was holding the red nose stupidly behind.

'Whaaaaaaat!? Could that be real!?'

-JOBI