Perry was stuck in a box. Dressed in jester's clothes a big hat, long purple hair, and cute tights, he crouched down in the dark. He waited for the metallic tune to play and the box lid to throw itself open so Perry could leap to the outside world. He would bounce slightly, as if on a spring, and let all the people of Santa's Village see him. After about a minute, the lid would push Perry back down into the dark of his box.
 
He had chosen this fate for himself as part of his plan to sneak inside the Springridge Mall after hours so he could rob all the stores blind. The mall was known for its huge Santa's Village, which this year included several life-sized toy decorations. His plan was as beautiful as it was simple: take the place of one of these displays and hide in plain sight for a day. Once the mall had gone to sleep, Perry would spring to life and take whatever he wanted.
 
He decided to take the place of the Jack-in-the-Box. It was centrally located in the Santa's Village and the mall itself, giving him easy access to the most amount of cash drawers. He also wouldn't be required to stand in place for nine hours. And on top of it all, the box itself served as a great hiding place for his ill-gotten gains until he could make his escape the next morning.
 
The fact that the Jack-in-the-Box was clearly more of a Jill-in-the-Box didn't deter him. That might have deterred a lesser thief, but Perry wasn't just a Master Thief, he was a Master of Disguises. Besides, he already knew that he looked rather fetching in tights. He snuck inside earlier this morning and was set up before the Santa's Village opened for the day. Once inside, he was consigned to be a toy for a full nine hours. The Jack-in-the-Box had a default timer of ten minutes, though children over-eager to see the clown inside could push a button to make Perry appear. Still, he figured he had sixty to seventy chases around the mulberry bush to put up with.
 
For hours, he was in a pattern of in and out. Bright world. Dark box, punctuated through it all was the metallic notes of 'Pop Goes the Weasel.' He had had worse and more boring jobs than leaping from a box. To be honest, the worst part of his job today was that he was near a cookie shop and the delicious chocolate smells made him hungry. The children, and especially babies were annoying, even more so when parents trying to 'capture the moment' took pictures of their spawn with Perry. He had to try to freeze and be a perfect Jill-in-the-Box then.
 
However, on the plus side, he also got to see the cute Christmas Elves that helped man the village, college girls in red tights and silly shoes with bright red blush on their cheeks. And he noticed through the day that one of them, a Hispanic girl with blondish hair, had noticed him. Or he thought she had noticed him, but by the next cycle of the box, she was fully engrossed in her elfin job. And Perry went back to his Jack-in-the-Box job without worry.
 
Hours of mindless dark and automatic leaping wound down until seven, when the village closed. He sat in his box and watched movies on his phone, listening through earbuds taped to his ears. He was so engrossed with this small bit of entertainment he only barely heard steps outside the box. He stopped and listened for a minute, but heard nothing else outside but the distant tune of Christmas jingles. Perry shrugged it off and went back to his movie.

Time passed slowly in the darkened box, even with the entertainment. He began to feel more and more restless at his predicament, squeezed into the box. Dressed in a girl's costume with long hair and big hat. But more than that his body began to feel strained. Like he was constantly pushing against the walls of his box, and it was a feeling that became harder to ignore. But Perry shrugged it off as his body finally getting tired of its confinement.

That was, until he heard the melodic sounds of his activation song. Perry tried to get ready to leap, but his body was weak and slow to move. He couldn't understand what was happening or why or . . . the lid of the box flew open and Perry burst into the world. Despite his tired, sore, and cramped body, somehow seemed to jump hire and bouncier than he had all day. Everything felt strange. His body somehow hard, yet springy. More fitting to his tight costume.

While he tried to figure this all out, he saw the elf who had noticed him earlier in the day standing in front of his box, a smile on her face and arms on her hips. And then Perry, who was a Master of Memory, recognized her. She was a petty thief who got busted stealing from the mall a few years ago.

"Now, just what do you think you're doing, Jill?"

Perry stared at the elf in shock. He still bounced back and forth as if on a spring, and for some reason couldn't stop. He tried, but actually couldn't.

"Wha--" his mouth felt sluggish. He could speak but only by focusing completely on it, "what did you call me?"

The elf let out a girlish giggle and bounced on her curly toed shoes. "Well, you're a Jill-in-the-Box, aren't you?"

Perry had to think about it. It felt like a very difficult task. "I -- but this is a costume."

That got another round of laughing, followed also by dancing of her bells. Then she pushed on Perry's nose and sent him bouncing some more on a spring. "Not anymore."

He looked down at himself. He certainly filled out his costume better, what with the boobs and more slender figure. Everything kept spinning and his mind kept getting dizzy, but not in a physical way. More like it was hard to keep on task. Like it naturally just wanted to bounce away to other things.

"How?" Perry asked.

The elf pulled the Jill-in-the-Box down to her level. Her touch on his hollow plastic body felt so strange and alien. She plucked the earpods from his ears and whispered.

"That's just for us elves to know." Then she let Perry go again and he bounced and spun on the spring he knew was somehow attached to him. Each bounce seemed to send more and more of his mind around inside his head until everything felt jumbled up and out of place.

Was this what Jill's life would be like? Just bouncing about, hiding, and leaping? Jingly bells, sparkly suits, and floppy hats? This couldn't be right. It didn't feel right. It wasn't what . . . She was supposed to be outside her box. Taking. Taking green things.

The elf laughed again and put her hands on Jill's shoulders, stopping her. And then, with a smile and a kiss on her plastic cheek, she pushed Jill all the way back into her box.