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Billy was excited. It was Christmas Eve, the night he had been waiting for, the night that his plan was to be carried out. This year, he was going to do it. He was going to catch Santa Claus in the act, he was going to be able to tell all of his friends that he had seen him, finally talked to him! He would be the most popular kid in the Second Grade after this.

The day had been dragging on, and Billy could hardly stand it anymore, he looked at the clock again. Well.... five minutes past eight o'clock... which was exactly four minutes after the last time he had looked at the clock. Would the time ever come?

"Time for bed Billy!" his mom called.

Billy trudged up the stairs.

"Do you want to pick out some treats for Santa Claus? You know that he loves it when you leave something good!"

Billy walked into the kitchen, his mom had left the cute little plates with the reindeer faces on them sitting on the counter. Billy picked the one he wanted, it would be Dancer this year. Billy didn't usually do what all of the other kids did and give Santa milk and cookies. He thought that was boring, eating the same thing house after house all night. If it was him, he wouldn't want to see a cookie again in his life. No, Billy gave Santa a different treat every year. This year it would be celery with peanut butter on top and apple juice. This was currently Billy's favorite snack, so Santa might like it too, Billy thought.

Billy put the snacks out on the table by the fireplace and went into his room to put on his Christmas pajamas with the little elves on. He was all ready for bed, now it was just time to wait. Billy had no idea what time Santa would arrive this year, he would have to be very quiet and listen to make sure that he caught him.

Billy crawled under the covers and waited. He didn't want to fall asleep so he thought about all of the things that he wanted to say to Santa Claus. He had so many questions, he just might have to make an arrangement with Santa to meet up next year.

A thud came from the living room. That had to be Santa, it just had to! Billy snuck out of bed slowly. He tiptoed to the living room and peeked around the corner. The only light coming from the room was the twinkling lights of the tree. Billy peered into the room, there Santa was, standing in front of the fireplace, eating the celery that Billy had left for him. Billy watched him for a few minutes. He watched as he took presents from his bag and placed them under the tree. All of the things that Billy wanted to say to him were racing through his mind. He took a small breath and gathered the courage to come out from his hiding place. He stood up straight and placed one foot forward. He took his foot back quickly, what was he doing? He didn't need to talk to Santa, part of the fun of Christmas was the mysterious illusion of it all. Billy all of a sudden desperately did not want Santa to see him. Billy started to step backward and just as he stepped behind the wall, Santa looked up and peered into the dark corner to see what he had heard. There was nothing there.

And just as he had the year before, Billy narrowly escaped the searching eyes of Santa, looking forward to playing their little game again next year.

Learn more about this author, G. A. Sylverston.
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