Page 78 of Fake it For Good
“Ten,” Mrs. Drummond answered.
I nodded. “Okay. I can do that.”
Noelle patted my chest. “You’ll do fine. Only the front door will be open.”
“Will they be meeting the people that come by?” I asked.
“Not usually,” Mrs. Drummond said. “We have to protect the kids from, well, everyone. Some of the older kids would like to volunteer, but the younger ones will go about their normal routine.”
“Come on,” Noelle said. “Let me show you who you are supporting.”
I wasn’t great with kids, so I was suddenly very nervous. Noelle pushed open a door. Brightly painted walls and a loud carpet greeted us. The door latched behind us. I stood near the door, prepared to make an escape.
No one seemed to notice us. A few kids were sitting on the floor in front of the TV watching cartoons. Two others were playing checkers. Two girls were reading, and another boy was playing a handheld video game.
“Hey, guys,” Noelle said.
Everything changed in a matter of seconds. “Noelle!”
Everyone shouted at once. The kids rushed toward her. I stayed out of the way while she hugged each one of them. I didn’t catch all the names.
“Guys, I would like you to meet my friend, Cane,” she said. “He is a very nice man that has donated a bunch of gifts for you guys. What do we say to Cane?”
“Thank you!” they all shouted in unison.
“You’re welcome,” I replied.
A little boy tugged on her sleeve. “Noelle, berries, berries!”
“Just a minute, Benji,” she said gently. “Why don’t you find the book and wait in the reading circle?”
He rushed off and she was immediately being pulled in various ways. She laughed and didn’t seem the least bit bothered by all the pulling.
“Alright, there’s only one of me, guys,” Noelle said. “Why don’t you two take Cane to play cars? I’m going to read Benji a story. Then we can play a game, okay?”
A little boy, maybe seven, looked up at me with the biggest blue eyes I had ever seen. “Do you like cars?” he asked me.
I nodded. “I do like cars.”
“Guys, I have to tell you a little something about Cane,” Noelle said with a pretty smile. “Cane makes toys.”
All of the kids looked at me like I was a god.
“You do?” a little girl asked.
“I don’t make all the toys, but I do run a company that makes the toys,” I clarified.
“Like Santa Claus?” The little boy was so innocent and sweet.
“Yes,” Noelle answered before I could. “And guess what? Pretty soon, there’s going to be a delivery from his store.”
“For us?” the little girl asked.
“Yes,” I said.
The kids all jumped up and down with excitement. The boy tugged my hand and pulled me to a huge toybox. Toys were scattered around the area. I had a good eye for toys. The ones I saw scattered around the floor were not of great quality.
“You have to get down here,” the boy said.
