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The mall: a massive facility filled with countless stores where people could come to empty their wallets and fill their hands with shopping bags. And it was hectic during the holiday season, when people were buying presents for their families and friends. During the holidays, malls, like all other businesses, were decked out with so many decorations to attract potential buyers. The holly, sparkly-coloured lights, and assortments of ornaments always brought a sense of excitement and festive cheer whenever Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy – nicknamed Bee and Oum – came to the shopping utopia. It was where they liked to get all their Christmas presents. Including the gifts they'd bought for their daughter/only child, Anne. As well as her adoptive talking-frog family, who were from another world.
They really liked coming here during the holiday season, and they would have loved to bring their daughter and frog relatives with them. However, when asked if they wanted to tag along for some Christmas shopping, most declined. Anne said she had to focus on her parents' Christmas gift, while Hop Pop and Sprig were hesitant to go back to the mall after their last visit had all but ended in disaster, and Hop Pop had to take multiple showers to get the "cursed" fountain water off his skin.
This left Polly, the youngest member of the Plantar family, who was still a tadpole, to join the Boonchuy couple. Unlike her brother and grandfather, Polly was not afraid to charge headfirst into dangers she'd already faced. Having been eaten eight times in her young life – and now having grown a sense of enjoyment whenever it happened – she was more than prepared to fight the mindless other children at the mall should they stand in her way.
However, having learned firsthand just how volatile the young tadpole could be – and having been warned of the multiple violent rampages she'd gone on since birth – the Boonchuys were more than prepared. As it happened, Anne had also been an energetic little monster as a baby. Thus, the couple had long ago bought a stroller that was more than capable of holding dangerous kids, with its tight, steel roof harness. Thankfully, they'd been smart enough to keep it in case they had another wild child.
"Augh!" Polly groaned as she tried to bite herself free of her harness, with little to no success.
"Smile," Bee announced before popping up in front of the little human-disguised tadpole and snapping a quick picture of her, which temporarily blinded Polly for a quick minute.
The photo came out, and Bee couldn't help but gush at the adorable picture of Polly chewing on the stroller harness. "Aw!"
He then showed the picture to his wife, who was pushing the stroller, and she gushed over it too. "Reminds me of Anne whenever we took her for walks when she was little," she cooed. Seeing that picture of Polly as a feisty little girl reminded them of the early years of their daughter's life, and it brought tears to both the Thia parents' faces. Their little girl was growing up, already a teenager, and it felt like it wouldn't be long before she was off to college, getting married, and starting her own family.
The couple had grown fond of the Plantars, especially Polly, because her young age allowed them to relive past moments they'd shared with Anne.
Among them was arguing about letting the young girl out of the stroller.
"C'mon, can you let me out of these damn restraints?" Polly complained.
"Nuh uh. Last time we did that, you went and beat up a mall cop," Oum reminded her.
"Hey, in my defence, he said I was too weak to hurt a fly," Polly argued. "But I showed him."
"Yeah, you're lucky the blackeyes you gave him caused his eyes to swell up enough that he couldn't see us running away," Oum added.
"I still can't believe you managed to knock that guy down," Bee confessed. "He was like nine feet tall and was built like a brickhouse."
"Pfft… I've tackled bigger creeps than him," Polly spat. "And I still could've done a lot more to that bozo."
"And that is why you're staying in the harness," Oum stated.
"Oh phooey," Polly replied, slouching down into the stroller harness she'd now given up trying to escape from.
Seeing the disappointed expression on her face, Bee tried to do with Polly what he used to do with Anne when she was little and disappointed. "Heh, heh. If you behave yourself, we'll go get ice cream when we're done shopping."
Polly's eyes lit up at the mention of ice cream. "With extra sprinkles?!"
Bee looked over at his wife, who reluctantly nodded her head towards him. "Absolutely," he replied.
"Wahoo!" Polly cheered, sitting up with a renewed sense of excitement at the idea of enjoying a sugary treat. Among the things she enjoyed most about Earth was the many delicious sweets that were always available for purchase, especially in the city where the Boonchuy's resided. Even the lack of bugs in these treats was made up for with extra sugary deliciousness that always made the tadpole's taste buds feel like they were flying on a cloud. "Away we go!"
The couple smiled at the little tadpole's eagerness. Being further reminded of Anne when she was little.
The three of them spent another hour Christmas shopping, buying gifts for family and friends. The couple even let Polly out of the stroller so they could "get" her to try on tiny Christmas sweaters. This led to the tadpole getting into another fight, but this time the Boonchuys weren't as upset – even though they still had to put Polly back in the stroller – because somehow, they'd managed to leave with free clothes courtesy of the manager.
"Alright, I think it's time for some ice cream," Oum announced, following another store after the sweater fiasco, much to both Polly and Bee's excitement.
"Wahoo!" the two cheered simultaneously.
They were about to turn in the fastest direction to Dairy Queem when they heard a jolly voice booming nearby. "Ho, ho, ho! Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!"
The three looked over to see the iconic red-suited, white-bearded older man, known as the face of Christmas – aka Santa Claus – sitting on an overly decked-out chair, with people dressed as elves standing beside him, and one even taking a picture of him with a child on his lap.
Both Bee and Oum's eyes lit up when they realized that the perfect opportunity to relive another moment of Anne's childhood had sprung up.
"Who's the fat guy with the white beard?" Polly asked.
The couple's eyes widened as they suddenly remembered that Polly's homeworld didn't have Christmas, so she knew nothing about Santa.
Kneeling so that she was at eye level with Polly, Oum revealed one of the most significant holiday facts about Christmas. "That's Santa Claus. An immortal man who gives presents on Christmas to all the good little kids."
The mention of presents lit up Polly's eyes. "Presents?!"
"Yep," Bee chimed in. "Every year on the night before Christmas, Santa flies around the world on his magic sleigh, pulled by reindeer and delivers toys to every child who is good."
"What about the kids who are naughty?" Polly asked. "Do they get anything?"
"They do," Oum answered. "Though instead of toys, he gives the naughty children lumps of coal."
Polly couldn't help but smirk at this. "Well, I've been more than good this year. I only attack people who provoke me."
This caused both Boonchuys to chuckle nervously. "Yeah," Oum replied.
"And I spent five months helping Anne get back home to you guys and have fought to defend Wartwood numerous times against toads and other dangerous beasts."
Boonchuy's nervousness gave way to confidence after hearing this, and Bee even gave Polly two thumbs up. "That cha do it. Now all you have to do is tell Santa what you want for Christmas, and he'll get his elves to make it for you."
"Anything I want?"
"Within reason," Oum pointed out. "So best not to mention that you're a frog from another dimension trying to find your way back home. Maybe ask for a big toy."
"Or a rolling pin with spikes?" Polly asked.
Both parents looked at each other awkwardly before Bee replied. "Eh, why not. It's Christmas. But only if you promise to use it responsibly."
"Like defending my family against Andrias' evil robots?"
"Exactly," Oum replied.
"Awesome!" Polly cheered.
As they headed over to Santa, they passed by a toy store with a couple of robots in the window, which Polly noticed. This caused her to think about Frobo, her most trusted and loyal best friend. She'd been working on repairing him since she and her family had arrived on Earth. So far, Frobo was functioning, but only as a head. Yes, she had plenty of help from her IT friends, but even then, it appeared it would be quite a while before Frobo's body was fully restored.
When they reached Santa, Oum let Polly out of her harness and placed her on the jolly man's lap.
"Ho, ho, ho, hello little one," Santa greeted. "And who might you be?"
"Polly. Polly Petunia Plantar."
"Well, Polly, what do you want for Christmas?"
"Actually…" reaching into her pocket, Polly pulled out a picture of Frobo back before Andrias crushed him and handed it to Santa. The jolly fellow was at a loss for words. He had never seen a robot like him before.
"This is Frobo. He's my best friend," Polly revealed. "He's the coolest robot ever, and the most loyal friend a girl could ask for. He was crushed when saving me from an evil bully, and I've been trying to repair him since. Any chance you could maybe provide some parts or tools that I could use to help him?"
"Aww…." Several of the "elves," along with the Boonchuys, cooed.
Santa appeared touched by this, as shown by the tear that came out of his left eye, which he quickly wiped away with one of his mitten-covered hands.
Unfortunately, the touching moment was cut short by an angry security guard wearing sunglasses that obscured his eyes.
"There you are!" the guard called out, pointing a dead finger at Polly, drawing everyone's attention.
"I have half a mind to kick you and your parents out of the mall. And the other half agrees."
The whole mall went silent for several long moments before one of the "elves" spoke up.
"Wow… did you just… did you seriously just say that…? Wow."
The guard began marching towards Polly, shoving "elves" who tried to stop him out of the way. Luckily, Bee and Oum stepped in before the angry guard could reach Polly.
"Listen, officer, we're sorry about what happened earlier. It was a simple misunderstanding," Bee argued.
"And in Polly's defence, you did call her weak," Oum added in.
"Because she's so tiny, I didn't think she could even squash a puny fly," the guard countered.
"Wait, you're the kid who beat up that security guard earlier?" Santa gasped.
"Uh… yeah…" Polly replied.
Much to everyone's surprise, Santa began to chuckle. "Well, good job, kid," he said while laughing. This caused everyone else to look over at the jolly man with shocked expressions.
When he saw this, the older man shrugged. "What? That's what he gets for underestimating the power of someone small. Besides, that guy still owes me money. Hearing about him getting humiliated by a little girl was the best thing I've heard all day. Well done, little one," he said, patting Polly on the head. "Well done."
"He owes me money, too," one of the "elves" piped in.
"And me," another said.
"He hasn't paid me back for the money I loaned him three years ago," a janitor said.
"My grandma used to work with this sleazeball," a random guy with purple hair spoke up. "Before she retired, she lent him money, and she died before receiving it back. Now I want what is owed to her."
Others started walking over to the security guard, including Santa, demanding money that he'd loaned them.
"Hey, go easy on me, it's Christmas. Besides that, money was lost from bad bets on turtle races."
"Turtle races!" an "elf" shouted. "Are you kidding me?!"
"Can't a guy have a hobby?" the guard asked. No one gave him any sympathy for this. So, he attempted to redirect the attention to Polly, whom Santa had carried over with him when confronting the guard. "Look, that tiny-little weakling brat nearly destroyed my eyes," he said while taking off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of bruised blackeyes. "And I'm gonna deal with that ugly squirt of a kid."
Everything he just said reignited Polly's temper to the point where she couldn't control it. "I'll show you who's weak and ugly," she cried out before leaping out of Santa's arms, lunging towards the security guard, and figuratively mopping the floor with him while giving additional bruises.
Someone should've stopped this. However, given all the people he'd screwed over with his turtle race betting obsession, and because it was funny, and some were even a little terrified to mess with a five-year-old who possessed the strength of a tenth-foot-tall bodybuilder, no one stopped. Some even took bets while others recorded the beating on their phones. Eventually, the guard begged for mercy, which Polly only granted on the condition that he pay back everyone he owed, starting with Santa.
Terrified at this point, the guard agreed. Crawling over to a nearby ATM, he withdrew all the money he needed to pay everyone back. Once they were all paid up, the guard went to hide in shame somewhere, and everyone applauded Polly for getting their money back. At the same time, Bee snapped a picture of Polly being praised by everyone while being held up by Santa Claus.
Afterwards, Polly and the Boonchuys went for ice cream to celebrate a successful trip to the mall, which had been much more enjoyable for Polly than her first visit. As they ate, Bee snapped a few more pictures of Polly while she enjoyed her frosty treat, and some of Oum wiping the tadpole's messy face.
That night, when everyone had gone to bed, the Boonchuy parents looked over the pictures taken during their outing with Polly. It warmed their hearts to have been able to relive the younger days of Anne's childhood and made them wonder.
"Should we… have another…?" Oum asked, blushing.
Bee looked at his wife, with a blush on his own face. It was tempting. However, there was one key factor that they had to consider.
"Is now the right time? What with Andrias plotting to invade our world?"
In response, Oum placed a comforting hand on her husband's shoulder. "We've gone through so much already. I think we can handle another kid in times like these…. But maybe we should wait until after the invasion."
Bee nodded his head in agreement.
"However, that doesn't mean we can't practice trying," Oum winked, her blush intensifying as she said this.
Bee's own blush also intensified at the suggestion. But quickly, his surprise expression turned into that of a mischievous one.
Next thing Oum knew, her husband was playfully tackling her on the bed, locking his lips with hers. "Let's," he said after releasing her lips for air, before resuming kissing her.
The following nights in the Boonchuy couple's bedroom were filled with passionate pleasure and love. Thankfully, the walls were soundproof. Meaning neither Anne nor the Plantars heard their intense lovemaking. If they had, they would've been mentally scarred for life.
A month before Andrias launched his invasion, the couple discovered they were expecting another baby, filling their hearts with immense excitement.
Epilogue
On Christmas morning, both the Boonchuys and the Plantars rushed down to the tree – Hop Pop and Sprig not understanding what was going on – to find presents from Santa. Among them were not one, but three presents addressed to Polly, who eagerly tore the wrapping away to reveal what Santa had left for her. The first present was a toolbox filled with the latest tech and robot parts. Perfect for Polly's efforts in rebuilding Frobo. In the second present, she found a one-of-a-kind rolling pin with spikes sticking out everywhere, except for the handles. Polly immediately dubbed her new rolling pin Doris 2.0.
Finally, the final gift. This one was an envelope covered in wrapping. Inside, she found cash. The exact amount that the security guard owed Santa, which Polly had made him pay back.
Polly was touched by all these gifts from a man she'd only met a few days before. And was very grateful for them.
Later, after an eventful day participating in a parade while fighting a mad robot Santa controlled by Andrias, Polly decided to write a very important letter to a certain someone, including several photos of herself in her frog form, along with Frobo and her gifts.
Dear Santa Claus,
My name is Polly Plantar. We met at the mall a few days before Christmas. I was the little girl who asked for robot parts and who got you the money that the deadbeat security guard owed you. First, thanks for the gifts. They were perfect. Secondly, this might be the last you hear from me. What I'm about to say to you is absolutely true, and it may shock you, but I'm actually a young tadpole from another dimension.
A while back, a girl whom I've come to see as my big sister, Anne, and her friends got teleported to our world thanks to a magic music box. Long story short, while my grandfather, my older brother, and I were trying to get Anne back home, we ended up coming along with her after being chased by an evil king, aka the bully who destroyed my best friend, Frobo. Since then, we've been trying to get back home so we can save both our world and yours from the evil king who plans to conquer the whole universe. We've met some cool friends along the way, and I've learned quite a bit about technology and Earth cultures. I've even become fluent in Thai after watching Oum's Thai soap operas.
Anyway, I had a really fun Christmas. We don't have Christmas where I'm from, but I'm glad we were able to experience it, and with the Boonchuys. Like with Anne, my family and I have come to see the Boonchuys as members of our family too. Oum and Bee are like the mom and dad I never knew. I love them so much and am going to miss them when I return to my homeworld.
I'm also going to miss all the friends I've made while on Earth, including you. Our meeting was short, but fun. You didn't have any problem with my temper and supported me over that sleazeball security guard. I wish we had a Santa Claus back in Amphibia.
I hope you remember me, because I certainly won't forget you, no matter how old I get.
Again, thanks for the gifts. I plan to use the money and supplies you gave me to help repair Frobo. Oh, and thanks for the spiked rolling pin. I named him Doris 2.0, after my original rolling pin. Together, those two and I will do some severe damage to Andrias and anyone else who tries to mess with my family and me.
Sincerely, Polly Petunia Plantar.
P.S. Merry Christmas; )