Christmas Full Throttle
Part 2: Hunt for Santa
The next morning, Jonas was sitting in the classroom, staring at his math notebook and pretending to pay attention. In reality, he only saw lines, numbers, and absolute emptiness in his head. His brain was fully in Christmas mode. Instead of “x” and “y”, he was thinking about red coats, fake beards, and that weird Insta post from yesterday.
“Mr. Berger?” he suddenly said way too loudly, without even thinking.
The math teacher looked at him over his glasses. “Yes, Jonas? A question about the problem?”
Jonas blinked and turned red. “Uh… no, all good, I misread something.” The class giggled softly. Mehmet, who was sitting two desks away, sent him a message at that exact moment. Jonas’ phone vibrated in the middle of his pencil case.
Mehmet: Bro, you’re so lost 😂
Jonas bit his lip to stop himself from laughing and glanced at the clock. Three more hours of school, then the Christmas Challenge could officially begin. Challenge No. 1: Find Santa!
During break, the Chaos Crew gathered near the doors to the assembly hall, where it was somewhat quiet. Everywhere else, people were running around, kicking half-melted snow, or arguing about whether “Last Christmas” had already been played officially too many times.
“Okay,” Lea said, holding a notebook like she was in charge of a top secret mission. “We need a plan, not some brainless running around.”
“So no standard ‘let’s just go there and see what happens’?” Jonas asked. “Shame, that’s kind of my special move.”
Sofia leaned against the wall, arms crossed, smirking. “We should start by collecting what we already know. Proper Sherlock style, just with less hat and more cringe.”
Lea flipped to a clean page. “Good. Facts about the Christmas market Santa. Number 1: he shows up on stage every evening around six.”
“Number 2,” Sofia added, “his beard is so fake, it looks like someone stole craft cotton from elementary school.”
“Number 3,” Mehmet said, “he laughed weird. Like, ‘Ho ho ho’, but it sounded like he had eaten a ton of chips first.” He grabbed his own belly as he said it, like he was the one who had eaten them.
Jonas nodded. “And number 4: someone thinks he’s sus. Otherwise no one would’ve tagged me in that story. Something is different this year.”
Lea looked at him. “Did you find out who posted the story?”
Jonas pulled out his phone. “Yeah, it was an account called @stadt_kleinstadt_news. Some local page that posts anything slightly interesting. School events, market photos, lost cats, that kind of stuff.”
“So basically trash TV, but on Insta,” Sofia commented.
“Yup,” Jonas said. “Exactly our level.”
The school bell dragged them back to reality. Lea snapped the notebook shut. “Okay, straight to the Christmas market after school. Meeting at 5:30 p.m. by the fountain. Everyone brings a, uh… ‘totally not suspicious’ outfit.”
“What’s a ‘not suspicious’ outfit?” Mehmet asked. “I’m naturally suspicious.”
“Just nothing with a giant neon print, bro,” Sofia sighed. “And maybe no chip stains on your hoodie.”
“That’s my brand,” Mehmet protested.
Jonas grinned. “Congrats, you’re officially our distraction man.”
The rest of the school day dragged on like cold chewing gum. In English class they had to write a letter to Santa – “to get in the mood,” as the teacher said. Jonas wrote: “Dear Santa, please reveal your true identity asap, it’s important for content reasons.” He handed it in with a dead serious face. The teacher frowned, but didn’t comment.
When afternoon finally came, Jonas ran home, threw his backpack in a corner, and put on a thicker jacket. Outside it had gotten even colder, and the sky had that grey “maybe I’ll snow, maybe not, lol” look.
At 5:30 p.m. he stood by the fountain at the Christmas market. Lights shone in warm colors everywhere, and the smell of roasted almonds, sausages, and something with cinnamon floated in the air. In the background, a cover of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was playing, the kind that would probably make Mariah Carey spin in her grave – if she were dead.
Lea was the first to arrive, with a thick beanie and a scarf wrapped around her neck about three times. She held her notebook and a pen like she was about to interview half the city.
“Agent Lea reporting for duty,” she said, giving a half-ironic salute.
A moment later, Sofia and Mehmet appeared. Mehmet was actually wearing a relatively neutral hoodie – except for the small but very visible “Snack King” print on his chest.
“So,” Sofia said, looking around. “What’s the plan? Act like normal people who just want to buy overpriced almonds?”
“Plan A,” Lea said, flipping her notebook open again. “We observe. Who walks toward the stage before the show? Who disappears behind the curtain? Who’s carrying a suspiciously big bag of red fabric?”
“Plan B?” Jonas asked.
Lea grinned. “Plan B: Mehmet queues at the crepe stand and gathers intel.”
Mehmet blinked. “How am I supposed to gather intel while buying crepes?”
“Bro, you can talk to literally anyone,” Jonas said. “Just ask: ‘Hey, do you know who’s playing Santa today?’ Then pretend you have a cousin who knows him.”
“That’s not even a lie,” Mehmet said. “I probably have a cousin who knows everyone.”
They split up. Jonas and Sofia stood near the stage, pretending to just admire the lights. Lea walked slowly past the stalls, making notes of anything suspicious. Mehmet disappeared into the crowd, heading towards the crepes.
“Do you also feel like we’re in some low-budget detective series?” Sofia whispered.
“Yup,” Jonas replied. “Just without the cool soundtrack. And without the budget.”
After a few minutes, Jonas got the first messages.
Mehmet: In line. It’s long. Everyone wants crepes. I’m a victim of my own plan 😭
Mehmet: Talked to a woman at the stand. She said Santa is a different person every year.
Mehmet: This year it’s supposed to be “someone from city hall”. That’s all she knows.
“City hall,” Jonas muttered. “Great. That’s like fifty people in boring office clothes.”
Lea walked back over to them. “I overheard two of the stall owners talking. One said: ‘The new Santa is super nervous, he already went to the bathroom twice.’”
“Perfect,” Sofia said dryly. “We’re looking for a nervous guy who looks like he’s about to faint. That really narrows it down here.”
The area in front of the stage slowly filled up. A host with an overly loud voice announced a children’s choir. Small kids in Santa hats sang bravely against the cold and the background noise. Jonas recorded a few seconds on his phone – you never knew what might become meme material later.
Then things got interesting. The host grinned into the mic. “And now, kids, the time has finally come! He came all the way from the North Pole just for you – please welcome our Santa Claus!”
The crowd clapped, a few kids screamed with excitement. Jonas zoomed his phone in on the side of the stage. The curtain moved.
A red figure stepped out. Red coat, white beard, hat – the full package. From a distance he looked like a totally normal Santa. But Jonas’ eyes locked onto one detail.
“Do you see that?” he whispered. “The shoes.”
“What about the shoes?” Sofia asked.
“He’s not wearing boots,” Jonas said. “Those are… sneakers.”
Lea squinted. “Whoa, true. White sneakers. And not even Christmas-y. The man is literally in Nikes under the costume.”
“That makes him officially sus,” Sofia said.
Santa waved, laughed his “Ho, ho, ho,” which really did sound like he’d just come out of a lunch break at the office. He handed out candy and asked a few standard questions: “Have you all been good this year?” – the kids screamed “Yeees!” – “Are you excited for Christmas?” – even louder “Yeees!”
Jonas felt his fingers itching to film everything. That “Ho ho ho” was perfect material. But he knew: today wasn’t just about content. Today was about finding out who was hiding under the beard.
He quickly typed a message in the group chat:
Jonas: Plan C: we follow him after the show. Somebody has to see where he goes.
Lea: I’m in.
Sofia: That doesn’t sound creepy at all. I’m in too.
Mehmet: I’ll spy after the crepes. Sacrifices must be made.
After about twenty minutes, the show ended. Santa waved one last time and disappeared behind the side curtain again. Most people turned back to the stalls, the next line, the next sugar rush.
“Okay,” Lea said. “Attention. Spy mode on.”
They walked along the side of the stage, pretending to just pass by. Behind the curtain there was a small, half-blocked backstage area where a few people stood smoking or staring at their phones.
Jonas’ heart beat a little faster. He felt both ridiculous and weirdly alive. Maybe it was the cold, maybe the sugar smell in the air, or maybe the fact that they were literally stalking Santa.
Then he saw him: the red coat was half off, the beard was hanging crooked, and the hat was off. Santa stood with his back to them, talking to someone.
Jonas narrowed his eyes. “If he just turns around once…”
Right then, someone bumped into him lightly from behind. “Sorry, man,” a stranger mumbled.
Jonas turned around for just a second – a guy with a beanie, phone in hand, headphones in, totally unremarkable. When he looked back…
Santa was gone.
Only the crooked beard was still lying on a box. And deep in Jonas’ stomach he felt that this Christmas Challenge was going to be anything but easy.
“Well,” Sofia said after a moment. “That wasn’t exactly a win.”
Lea took a breath, looked at the beard and then at Jonas. “Not a win,” she said. “But also not game over. We’ve got new intel: Sneaker-Santa is fast. And somewhere on this market, he’s walking around right now. No beard. No hat. Somewhere among us.”
Jonas felt his phone buzz again. A new Insta notification.
@stadt_kleinstadt_news: New story: “Did anyone else see how fast Santa disappeared just now? Something’s off… #ChristmasChaos”
Jonas had to laugh. “Great,” he said. “Santa is officially going viral. And we’re right in the middle of it.”
Lea grinned. “Challenge No. 1 isn’t over yet,” she said quietly. “The hunt for Santa continues.”