December 2022

One could argue that there's always something going on in the underworld of New York’s subway.

And for some shoppers heading to the Atlantic Mall on that cold December day, this statement revealed itself to be especially true when they saw an elf rushing through the corridors, trying to cut corners and failing miserably, knocking up against walls and bumping into the unlucky few standing in his way instead. “Sorry! I’m so sorry!” he shouted, his voice muffled behind the mask covering his face. Angry remarks trailed off behind him as he ran away. Hey, watch out! Who’s this dude? No answer. Nothing but the chimes of the bell dangling at the end of the elf's hat. (ding ding ding)

It was Jayden.
Jayden gasping for air as he dashed down the stairs. Is this how I fucking DIE? Maybe. It was getting hot underneath his costume and his vision was so blocked by his mask that he wouldn’t be surprised if he found himself falling on the tracks by accident. But (un)lucky for him, the train was already waiting at the station. His heart skipped a beat when he heard the familiar “Stand clear of the closing doors!” coming out the speakers. No, no, no, no! And so Jayden darted to the train, recklessly sticking his arm and leg between the closing doors. Someone from the inside was kind enough to help him hop in as the doors briefly opened again. “Thanks…” he said between two breaths.

Thanks God.
He made it.

And while he could feel the many eyes of the commuters burning through his costume as he laid his back in the corner of the train, he could not really see them. Not with this mask on. The thing was, he couldn’t take it off, no, he needed his hands to slip his fingers under his mask and undo the thing that kept it attached to his head. But in order to free those hands, he had to take off the costume piece that covered his whole body, legs and arms first, which he would have done easily, if the zip wasn't stuck. For days he had been relying on fellow elves to free him from his costume, but today, he was so caught up in panic when he read Sofia’s text in the locker room, that he just left with his “work uniform”.

No one was supposed to leave fully dressed up.
His manager was going to kill him.

It didn’t matter, not at this moment. Jayden was fully focused on trying to use his phone despite his gloves. He struggled a few minutes before managing to open his messages and use the speech to text to answer:

message archive:

JAYDEN: Okay hold on I’m on the train
SOFIA: Make it go faster ffs
JAYDEN: If I was driving I would I ran
JAYDEN: I should be here in 15 min max

The phone screen turned off as he waited for an answer that never came. Okay. It’s alright. Everything's fine. I’m cool. But his heart disagreed, still beating at the speed of light against his chest. Sofia didn’t say anything, but there was this fear crawling in the back of his head, images of her lying down unconscious on the floor. Chill out, it’s not that and even if it was, you’re ready. The Narcan was in his backpack, he knew how to use it, he had read the Alcohol and Drug use : Prevent Overdose page on the NYC health website a billion times and he also knew how to do rescue breathing. She would probably be so pissed by it that she would wake up from the dead just to punch him.

So lost in his thoughts as he was, Jayden didn’t notice the man standing in front of him, nor did he see his hand reaching for him. The touch on his shoulder startled Jayden so much that a loud shriek burst from his lips: “AAAAAAH WOW, what the-” he stopped as he turned his head from right to left, then up and down. (ding ding ding ding) But he was unable to fully see the person that just touched him. Damn, this… strangely polite dude is tall. “Hi…?” he answered, confusion breaking through his voice. That wasn’t the first time some random guy approached him on the train and that would certainly not be the last time. But what went on was truly something else. Wow… Jayden could only stare in bewilderment as the stranger started to talk to him in a way that made him feel like he was a character in Downton Abbey and not a stupid clown stuck in an elf's costume. And it kept getting weirder.

What in the fuck?
His kind? The Sandy-what-now?

Was this man really mistaking him with an actual elf? No, no way. However, he truly seemed to confuse him with someone else.“I’m sorry, you must be so confused…” Hell yeah. “I know I don’t look like it, but I am Jack ! Do you remember ? Christmas 93’? I’m sure you do!” What is he on about? Now, Jayden kind of wished he could see the people around him and lock eyes with someone else, maybe share a bombastic side-eye that would make him feel less alone in this situation. But no one was here to help him out. “I’m sorry, I wasn't born yet in 93… I was born in 98…” was the only answer that came into his mind. As if he would have remembered this Jack if he were born a few years earlier. Jayden couldn’t tell if this man was high, into some intense roleplay or just… an odd tourist. He decided to go with the latest and to pretend that nothing strange was going on there: “But if you want to meet Santa, I guess there’s like, Bryan Park’s winter village. It's pretty dope there, they got lots of cute little shops as well. And then there’s also Santa Land in Brooklyn's Atlantic Mall.” That's where he spent most of his days lately, under the white lights of the shopping centre, his head ringing with the noise of children, their screams blending in with Mariah Carey’s voice. He didn’t really mind, or so he pretended (the song is a banger and I've got some sick moves on it, I even won the last elf's dance-off). But he could still hear all the sounds throbbing in his ears every time he tried to fall asleep. “You'll find Santa chilling there every weekend and the whole week before Christmas as well, from 12 until 8 p.m.” He raised a hand, his index and middle finger up in a peace sign. “I just hope you don't mind kids screaming because you'll have to wait in line with all of them.” And maybe it was a good thing that his face was left unseen behind his masks, for Jayden failed to repress the smile that dawned on his lips. He didn’t mean to be mean, no, he just couldn’t help it. His imagination presented the scene to him with too strong colors.