It was late in the evening. A couple of adults were making preparations to leave the house when the doorbell rang. While the mother walked towards the door to answer it, the father approached his kids who were sitting on the couch.
"Now Shaw, please, please, PLEASE be on your best behavior this time," the father pleaded to his son.
"Aw, why?" the boy complained with a frown. "It's so much fun to watch the babysitter freak out!"
As the mother opened the door, a very nonchalant Amelia and Bro stood before her.
"Thank goodness you're here," the mother sighed in relief. "Right on time, too. Now, we'll be out for a couple hours. There's some leftover pasta in the fridge-"
She then focused her eyes on Bro.
"YOU?!" she growled through clenched teeth.
"Oh, hey, Sweaty," Bro greeted with a smirk. "Didn't think I'd see you free from house arrest this quick. How are those family humbling exercises?"
"Bro, you know her?" Amelia asked.
"Oh, do I! She was the woman who thought I worked at SmallMart!"
"No, no, no, no, no, NO!" the woman exclaimed. "There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near my kids!"
"Honey, we need to go! We'll be late for our reservation!" the father urged, looking at his watch.
All the mother could do was stammer in frustration. She turned over and glared at Bro.
"If you do so much as touch my babies, you can expect the police at your door," she hissed.
"Yeah, which door? I have a lot of them." he taunted, gently nudging the lady outside. "You two have fun on your date now."
"I'm serious!" she called back. "I will get the police, and they will be on your butt!"
"Oh, Felicity..." the father muttered, walking outside and closing the door behind them.
The two teens turned around to see the kids on the couch. The boy, Shaw, was watching TV and not paying attention to either of them, whereas the other child, a daughter, was nodding at them as she read a book.
Bro leaned over to Amelia and whispered, "You wanna be the good cop or bad cop this time?"
"Good cop. Always the good cop," she whispered back as they approached two the kids.
"Hey, kiddies!" Amelia said, smiling. "We're going to take care of you while your parents are out for the evening. Just listen to us, and everything will be-"
"Hah!" Shaw scoffed and stuck his tongue at Amelia. "I don't have to listen to you, Mommy told me!"
"Actually, you do," Bro replied, stomping his foot and stepping forward. "And as long as they're out, your parents have given us the task of watching you."
"Yeah, right!" Shaw scoffed again. "Like my Mommy would ever allow you to take care of me! She knows better than to have weirdos like you take care of me!"
Bro looked visibly irritated by this point. He looked at the girl and asked, "Where's your bathroom?"
"Umm, upstairs, third room to the left," she replied.
Bro nodded and trudged his way up the stairs as Shaw burst out laughing. "Wow! He's so easy to mess with, isn't he, Cassidy?"
Cassidy, who was older and slightly more mature than her brother, simply shook her head. "Dad told you to be on your best behavior. You're not even trying!"
"So what?" Shaw argued, glaring at Amelia. "They can't tell me anything! I only listen to Mommy! She didn't tell me to be good, so I don't have to!"
Shaw's ranting was interrupted by some screaming from upstairs. Bro walked back down to Amelia, holding a fake smile.
"Don't worry, I didn't punch any walls," he said.
Shaw didn't look convinced. "Yeah, sure! Mommy said people like you always find a way to mess something up! I'm going upstairs to check."
He hopped off the couch and ran upstairs, probably to prove Bro wrong. As he inspected the bathroom, he grew more irritated as he couldn't find anything incriminating.
"What am I going to do now? I can't admit he was right! People like him should know their place!" he mumbled to himself.
Suddenly, he looked at the window and got an idea...
Back downstairs, Amelia was reading the book with Cassidy when a question rose in her mind.
"Bro? If you didn't punch the walls, what did you do?" she asked.
"Let's just say their toilet was like that when I walked in," Bro answered with a chuckle. "You're okay with it, right, Cassidy?"
She winked. "It's not like our mom will notice anyway. Who do you think dents it in the first place?"
Amelia looked up at the ceiling where the bathroom was. "Shouldn't he come down now? It doesn't take this long to check on a bathroom..." she muttered.
"I'll check. He probably flushed himself to avoid us," Bro replied, heading back up the stairs and towards the bathroom.
"Kid? You there? You didn't drown, did you..?" Bro whispered as he peeked into the bathroom.
A minute later, he arrived back downstairs, fear on his face.
"He's gone!" he yelled.
Amelia and Cassidy looked shocked but skeptical.
"Did you check the-"
"Yes, I checked everywhere upstairs, I can't find him!" Bro interrupted Amelia. Soon enough, she too started to go in a panic.
"What are we going to do now? We can't just go to the parents and say one of their kids are missing!" Amelia exclaimed.
The three spent ten minutes searching around the bathroom, Shaw's and Cassidy's rooms as well as the attic and storage room, turning up with nothing.
"Oh no! We lost him!" she cried. "We're gonna be in so much trouble!"
"Um, this probably might be a bad time to say this, but..." Cassidy mentioned.
"'But' what?" Bro asked Cassidy.
"Chances are he's at the arcade in the city by now. That's his favorite place to go," she suggested.
"That would've been nice to know as we were panicking..." Bro sighed.
"Sorry."
The three went to the kitchen and opened the door leading to their backyard. Bro rushed out while Cassidy stayed behind.
"Wait, you're not going with us?" Amelia looked at Cassidy.
She only shook her head. "If we all go after him, the house could get robbed or we could get locked out. I'll hold down the fort here while you track him down."
Amelia nodded and followed Bro as he hopped over the fence.
Cassidy shut the door and muttered, "To be frank, my dad and I are the only normal people in the family..."
The two ran down the street into the city. By now, Softener City was a neon haven, a place to hang out and have fun, opposite to its slow business life during the day.
Despite being late in the evening, the streets were bustling with people. Bro and Amelia struggled to push through the sea of partygoers and late-night shoppers. Eventually, they made it outside of a building with bright lights and tall arcade cabinets.
"How much time do we have left?" Amelia asked.
Bro looked at his wrist (which had no watch) and replied, "Roughly an hour and 20 minutes."
The two burst into the front end of the arcade. Although the arcade was still open, it didn't look like anyone was inside.
"Where is he?" Bro asked, annoyed. "Cassidy said he's probably here!"
"Probably. We just got here, let's have a look around. He might be somewhere around here," Amelia responded.
They looked around the rows of cabinets old and new, but didn't see anyone; just scattered noises from the machines. They searched the plastic playground above the arcade and the ball pit below, but nothing. A few minutes later, they found a door with shadows lurking on the other side.
Bro and Amelia looked at each other and slowly crept inside.
In the room, they could see Shaw playing a game as two boys cheered him on. They snuck closer, careful not to bring any attention as they watched him play.
"Come on, dude!" one kid shouted.
"Just 70,000,000 more points until you get the high score!" the other kid added.
"Will you two shut up?! You're breaking my focus!" Shaw yelled.
"...And you better get back here before your parents break our necks!" Bro warned from behind.
The three kids turned around, startled. The cabinet played a losing jingle as the words "Game Over" appeared onscreen.
"Oh, thanks a lot, idiots!" Shaw screamed, stomping the floor. "Because of you, I lost the game!"
"You're going to get us all in trouble because of your carelessness!" Bro shouted back as he and Amelia stepped forward.
"Shaw, you know these guys?" the kid asked, confused.
"Uh, no! These two were asked by my parents to take care of me!" Shaw replied, looking terrified.
Bro and Amelia stepped closer to the kids.
"Guys! Help me! Don't let them take me back home!" Shaw ordered.
"Sorry, dude. We have and want nothing to do with this," the first kid replied, stepping away.
"Yeah man, what gives? You said your parents knew you were out!" the other kid added, also moving away.
The distance from the two kids gave Bro and Amelia an opportunity to catch Shaw, but he was faster and evaded both siblings.
"You're all a bunch of traitors!" he screamed as he ran out of the arcade.
Before anyone could say anything, Bro and Amelia got up and rushed after Shaw, leaving the two kids behind.
"He treats us like garbage, why do we even hang out with him?" one kid wondered.
Amelia and Bro ran out of the arcade, chasing Shaw through the city. Because of the crowd, the siblings couldn't catch up to him, but at the same time, Shaw couldn't outrun them.
"How'd you even get asked to take care of this kid?" Bro asked his sister.
"Well..."
SmallMart, Hours Earlier
Amelia was browsing the breakfast aisle, going through what kind of cereal she should buy.
"Hmm... Yucky Charms, Frosty's Corn Flakes, Cran Bran... What to buy..." she muttered to herself.
As she was about to make a decision, she heard a loud conversation going on in another aisle. Curious, she left the aisle and followed the noise.
The source of the shouting was a woman in a crimson sweater, black pants, and her black hair in a bun. She was on her phone, distraught.
"What do you mean you won't babysit my kids anymore? They're sweet, little angels! My daughter is caring and my son..."
She paused a bit before continuing.
"He's been acting better! Can't you do this for me one more time if that's the case?"
Whoever was on the other line hung up seconds after she said that. She yelled in frustration, loud enough for half the store to hear her.
"Great! Now who's going take care of my kids while me and my husband are out?! Maybe I should just cancel the reservation..." she sighed.
Amelia, being eager to help anyone, stepped up to her.
"Excuse me, you said you needed someone to take care of your kids?" she chimed.
The woman looked at Amelia, suspicious. "Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?"
Before she could respond, the woman continued. "Know what? I don't care. Yes, I need someone to take care of my 8 and 12-year-old. I saved a reservation at a restaurant three months ago and my regular babysitter just quit on me. I could really use some help."
Amelia obliged, and the two shared information.
"Before I forget, one more thing- my son, Shaw can be a bit of a handful, but he's behaving slightly better," she added.
"Oh, I'll don't think that'll be a problem. I take care of my younger siblings all the time! I've got it!" Amelia chirped.
"Great! I'll see you at 6," the woman replied.
Back to the Present
"Behaving slightly better, huh?" Bro muttered. "If this is him behaving slightly better, I'd hate to see him acting worse..."
The loud crowd died down a bit, providing some space for the three to run. Soon enough, Shaw turned into a dark alley, the two siblings following close behind. Running deeper into the alley, he stopped at a dead end and backed himself into a corner. He started to panic as Amelia and Bro drew closer.
"D-d-don't come any closer..!" he warned. "Or else..!"
"Look, we're not going to hurt you. We just want to get you home so your parents don't freak out," Bro reassured, although he seriously wanted to slam some humility into this kid.
Shaw only screamed louder, alerting the cats in the alley. With their heavily scratched faces and mangled fur, saying they weren't happy someone disturbed their sleep would be an understatement.
Several alley cats jumped out of their hiding spots and crept towards Shaw, Bro, and Amelia, hissing and yowling at them.
"This is all your fault! You got us into this mess!" Shaw whined.
"Excuse me, but who ran out of the house first?!" Bro responded.
The cats crept closer and closer to them until their backs were up against the wall.
Amelia spotted a large box just barely in reach of her. In that moment, she got an idea. If she made her move right, she could launch her brother and captive out of the alley.
Quickly, she grabbed the box and pulled out a heart from her pocket, then tossed the heart on the ground and covered it with the box. She then grabbed Shaw and placed him on the top of the box.
"Wait! What are you-" Shaw protested.
Amelia hopped on after him, then Bro. As one of the cats lunged toward the box, the heart exploded from below, propelling them into the air. The height was just enough to get them over the sea of claws and out of the alley. The flight was short-lived as they crashed onto the pavement.
The three got up and breathed a sigh of relief, believing all they needed to do now was get back to the house.
"Why didn't you two attack the cats?" Shaw asked.
"Are you kidding? They're cats! They already suffered enough from their owners...clearly. It would be cruel to hurt them!" Bro shrugged.
"Don't relax just yet! We're not out of the litter box! Look!" Amelia warned, pointing back at the alley.
Many more cats crawled out of the alley, hissing and looking even more irritated.
"We should get going. Right now," Bro said as the three stepped back, the cats stepping forward at the same pace. The steps got quicker, and soon enough, Shaw, Bro and Amelia were being chased around the city by the alley cats.
Somewhere else in the city, the mother and father were having dinner at Flamenco Bistro, a fancy restaurant far from the crowd. They were seated where the windows were, which overlooked the city.
"It's been an hour and I haven't heard anything from the kids," the mother stated, worry on her face. "Max, what if those reckless teens took them?!"
"Weren't you the one who hired them in the first place?" the father asked.
"Well, yes..." The mother stammered.
"And... you didn't do any background checks, no CPR or First Aid training? No search for a criminal record?" The father added.
"I was in a panic, okay?!" the mother yelled. For a moment, everyone in the restaurant looked at her.
She got up from her seat and took her phone out of her pocket.
"At least I have her number. I'll call her and ask if everything's okay," she sighed, taking out her phone and walking to the restroom.
The father turned and looked out the window, sighing. All he could see was the moon, the neon lights dancing across the night skies and the other side of the street.
In his sight were three individuals, two boys and one girl. One boy looked exactly like his son. They were screaming as a horde of street cats chased them. All three met eyes with the father as they ran past the window. He didn't look surprised in the slightest. All he did was sigh again and shake his head.
"Really, Shaw? Again?" he muttered to himself.
As they continued running, Bro's phone started to ring.
"Who on Seal Island is this?" he asked, looking at the number on his phone. It didn't have a name.
"That might be Shaw's mom! Here, let me answer it!" Amelia replied.
Bro tossed his phone over to her, and she answered it as they ran. "Hello?"
"Um, are the kids okay? I haven't heard anything from them in a while," the voice on the other line asked.
"Oh! Oh, yeah, they're fine! We're just watching TV right now!" Amelia replied.
"Really? What are you watching?" the voice asked.
One of the cats meowed loud enough to be heard through the phone.
"You know, that show! With all the cats..?" Amelia hesitantly answered.
The line went silent for a moment.
"Oh, that one!" the voice exclaimed. "I watch that all the time at work!"
"It's a cute show, isn't it?" Amelia giggled.
"Yeah, although Shaw doesn't really like cats. Speaking of, can you pass the phone to Shaw?" the voice requested.
Amelia stammered. "Uh... He's in the bathroom."
"Oh. Well, can I speak to Cassidy?"
"She's... Also in the bathroom.."
"They're... Both in the bathroom... At the same time?"
"Yes..?"
The voice on the line let out an audible sigh, then spoke.
"I knew we should've lived in a house with more than one bathroom. Just tell them I called when they get out, okay? I'll be home soon."
As Amelia hung up and tossed the phone back to Bro, Shaw pointed at the road ahead.
"Hey, airheads! The bridge is out!" he yelled.
The three stopped by the edge. They were between a fairly low drop into a ravine and a bunch of angry cats ever closer to them.
"Bro, use your bands and get us across!" Amelia suggested.
"You're joking, right?! There is no way I'm carrying that kid!" Bro responded. "Besides, what did I tell you about my bands?"
The cats moved closer, shrinking the space between them and the unfinished bridge.
"We're going to have to jump, then!" Amelia groaned.
"Like we had any other choice?" Bro replied, jumping backwards off the bridge.
Shaw looked down at the drop and backed away slowly. "I am NOT jumping down there! Do you know how dirtier the water is now because he jumped in it?"
"That's my brother!" Amelia replied, slightly irritated.
"Really..? It sure doesn't like it!" he sneered.
"It... It's a long story," Amelia sighed, looking at the cats, who were dangerously close by now.
Before the cats could pounce on the two, Amelia grabbed Shaw and leapt off the bridge.
Their screaming lasted only a few seconds as they splashed into the waters below.
As they swam up to the surface and caught their breath, Bro was sitting on a rock not too far. Somehow, he was completely dry.
"Don't you know how how dirty that water is now because he fell in it?" He goaded with a smirk.
Some time later, Bro, Shaw and Amelia were trudging back to the kids house. Bro was carrying Shaw in a way that wouldn't allow him to run off.
"Let go of me!" he yelled.
"Alright, we're finally back," Amelia sighed. "All we have to do now is-"
By now, Shaw had broken free from Bro's grip. He kicked Bro straight in the knee causing him to let go. As Bro yelled and covered his knee, Shaw ran away.
"That errant child!" he shouted before running after Shaw and leaving Amelia.
Meanwhile, Amelia walked up to the house and knocked on the door. Cassidy answered it and asked if they caught her brother.
"We did, but he ran off again," Amelia groaned.
Cassidy sighed and shook her head.
"Typical Shaw. Never listening to anyone other than mother. He drove off three other babysitters because of this," she confessed.
Cassidy let Amelia back into the house and took a seat.
"We have about fifteen minutes before they get back. You sure were gone a while."
"Yeah," Amelia sighed, "he was in the arcade like you suggested, then we caught him in an alley, but then these cats started to chase us, and we got a call from your mom, and..."
She took a seat next to Cassidy.
"Why is he like this..?" she asked, covering her face with her hands as she sobbed quietly.
"Because he was protected by mother, even back then," Cassidy explained. "When Shaw was in kindergarten, he stole another kid's lunchbox and was sent to the office. Despite there being clear proof, our mother still believed he did nothing wrong and the school was trying to expel him. Long story short, stuff happened and she tried to sue the school, losing miserably."
She paused and mentioned something else.
"I don't think mother understands that shielding Shaw from everything is just setting him up for a life of false expectation and failure. And I think he knows our mother will defend him no matter what, even if he is in the wrong, which is why he only listens to her."
"He only listens to her..." Amelia repeated. She put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment. Repeating those same words over and thinking of the call from earlier, she had an idea. "Can you do an impression of your mom?" she asked.
Cassidy shrugged. "I can, but not very well. Why?"
Amelia smiled. "Shaw's gonna get home, or 'mom' is going to have a fit."
As Amelia explained her plan to Cassidy, there was another knock on the door, and when Cassidy answered it, Bro was on the other end.
"I found him," he announced.
"Really?" Cassidy and Amelia exclaimed. "Where?"
"You're not gonna like it..."
10 Minutes Later
Bro and Amelia ran into a construction site not far from the neighborhood. Amelia also told Bro the plan as they ran. As they climbed the floors of the building, they found Shaw playing at the top, dangerously close to a ledge.
"Shaw, please get away from there! It's dangerous!" Amelia called.
"I can't hear you!" Shaw taunted.
As Amelia stepped closer to Shaw, he stepped back until was just a few steps from falling off the edge.
"Get back here! What would your mom say if she saw you up here?!" Bro yelled.
"Mommy lets me do what I want! Back off!" Shaw replied and stepped closer to the edge, sticking his tongue out at them.
"Don't!" they both screamed.
As the three fell into a standoff, Bro's phone rang. Bro slowly pulled out his phone and answered, "Hello?"
"You! You two are in so much trouble!" a voice yelled through the speaker. "Cassidy is by herself, scared, and Shaw is nowhere in the house!"
"Ooh, you're in for it now!" Shaw chortled, folding his arms and looking smug.
Amelia grabbed the phone and tried to speak. "Look, we can explain-"
"No excuses! I relied on you to take care of my kids while we were out, and because of you, one is traumatized and the other is missing! None of our other babysitters have done as bad as you!"
"We found him, but he won't listen to us!" Bro added. "You'll have to tell him!"
The line went silent.
"Shaw, get back home. I need to have a talk with these two delinquents," the voice ordered.
As Bro hung up, Shaw stepped away from the ledge and pushed the two aside, cheering to himself. "What did I say? I only listen to Mommy. She'll put you in your place!"
Bro and Amelia looked defeated, not saying anything.
As the three returned to the neighborhood, Shaw skipped along the sidewalk laughing and taunting Bro and Amelia, who slowly followed. When he reached the house, he burst through the door, expecting his mom to be on the other side.
"Mommy...?" he called.
Amelia and Bro slowly shut the door and shouted, "NOW!"
Cassidy moved from behind where the door was and tackled her brother while Amelia wrapped him with a blanket. As they struggled to keep him down and drag him to his room, Bro searched the garage for some duct tape.
Some Time Later
By now, the parents had made it back to the house. They opened the door to see Amelia, Bro and Cassidy sitting on the couch watching TV.
The mother sighed in relief as it seemed nothing was out of place.
"So, how was everything?" the mother asked.
"Oh, it was great!" Amelia replied with a smile. "Cassidy was so sweet, and Shaw was... barely any trouble!"
"Speaking of, where is Shaw?" the father wondered.
"He's in his room, probably asleep," Bro replied. "He's probably exhausted, much like us right now."
"Definitely exhausted," Amelia agreed with a yawn. "We should get home."
As the mother walked upstairs, the father and Cassidy went to the front door with Amelia and Bro.
"Here's forty dollars. It's the best that I can do, but I know it's not enough, considering all the stress he must've given you," The father said, handing each of them a twenty.
"That's fine. It's not like random shenanigans don't happen to us on a regular basis," Bro admitted.
"We really can't hide anything from you, can we, Dad?" Cassidy asked, smiling.
Her father smiled back and pat her head. "At least you listen to authority," he chuckled.
While the siblings ran home, the mother quietly walked into Shaw's room to check on him. He was shaking under the covers, and when she lifted them up, she saw her son tied up with blankets. His mouth was duct-taped, and there was a sticky note on his forehead that read "Teach your son some manners!" in Bro's handwriting.
As the mother let out a scream that woke up half the neighborhood, Bro and Amelia laughed all the way back home as her shouting faded in the distance.