I don't think I have ever embarrassed myself more than I did in the last eight minutes. First, I show up two hours late looking like I was about to cry (which I was), then I think I accidentally insulted him, I told him about my punishment, and worst of all, I can't stop stuttering. He is very intimidating. He wore all black, has a very cold look in his eyes, and keeps looking at me like I'm crazy. I would just like to clarify that I am not crazy.
As I walk back from putting the stroller away, with the twins in my arms, I hear part of a sentence:
"-Before I give you shaken baby syndrome." Oh no he did not. I leave this boy with Hanah for two seconds and he is already being mean. He has an accent. It is English.
"Excuse me, sir," his bright green eyes look over at me with a bored expression. "I know I did not just hear you say that." Yes! Stutter has left the chat.
"Yeah actually, you did."
"You never, and I mean never speak to another child like that again. If I hear you insult, yell at, or curse at any of them, even your siblings, I will not hesitate to not only punish your actions but tell your mother what you said." He looks amused.
"Really?" He askes in mock fascination.
"Y-yes real-ly," I suddenly notice that he's not holding Hanah the right way, "You can't h-hold a b-baby l-like that!" Stutter has re-entered the chat.
"I can hold a baby however the hell I want." he snaps. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I hope nothing is actually wrong, I would feel terrible.
Dear God,
Please make sure that all of the Shradings are protected from harm's way and live lives filled with happiness.
Amen.
"Tradsies!" I smile up at him
"Huh?" Before he has a chance to think, I quickly put Abby in his arms and take Hanah into my own. "Bitch, stop putting children in my arms."
"S-stop c-cursing, it's m-making m-me uncomfortable," he rolls his eyes.
"S-stop s-stuttering, it's m-making m-me uncomfortable," he mocks in a high pitched voice. I can feel tears building up in the back of my eyes. I try to make them stop, but can't. I sniff and he becomes aware of my almost-crying state.
"Shit. Stop it. Now," he glares at me. What did I do? "I am not going to get yelled at because you're a sensitive, stuttering mess." He says sharply.
Think about him. You don't want to get him in trouble for nothing.
"Sorry," I whisper.
Just then, Abby reaches up and starts grabbing at his face. He groans and walks inside. I wipe my eyes and follow him to the living room, where Lily and Grace are playing dolls and Jet is playing by himself. I set Abel down to play with him and put Hanah on the couch. Don't worry, I made sure there was nothing that could harm her. By then my eyes have fully dried. It was a long walk from the door to the living room.
I told you they lived in a mansion.
When I look back to the boy, he is swinging Abby back and forth, a game we play all of the time. Then, he releases her. I think my heart stopped for a second. I mean yeah, I do it all the time, but it's different when it's someone else. She flies through the air and lands safely on the couch. She starts giggling and by then the girls have realized that we're here.
"Bewie! Yo heuh!" Lily runs over to me and I bend down to catch her as she jumps into my arms. I lift her up and spin her around.
"That I am, Captain Snickerdoodle Banana-Pants," She giggles at the nickname. It's a long story. She hugs me and I adjust her in my arms.
"I mifed you," she says into my neck.
"It's only been three days," I remind her. I love this child.
"It wav a wong free dayv."
"I love you," I laugh a little.
"I wuv you too!" She smiles and pucks her lips, indicating she wants a kiss. I peck her lips and put her down. She runs back over to Grace and they start playing again. Abby has gone over to play with Jet and Abel, leaving everyone occupied.
Go check on the big kids, see what they're doing.
Good idea.
I then realize that I don't know where anything in this house is. I guess I'll have to ask the demon boy. I mean seriously, who threatens to give a baby shaken baby syndrome?
Calling people demons is mean, no matter how oddly they might dress or speak. You wouldn't like it if someone called you a demon, would you?
"Umm, Boy?" He doesn't look up from his phone. "Boy?" he must not hear me. Looks like I have to do this the hard way. I walk right up to him and.....
...poke him. Right in the shoulder! He finally looks up at me.
"I have a name you know," So he did hear me, he was just blatantly ignoring me.
"Well, actually I don't know," The boy raises an eyebrow. "You haven't told me."
"Were you being sarcastic?" He asks.
"No! I would n-never. Sarcasm is r-rude, and being rude is being m-mean, and being mean is a s-sin." I shake my head quickly. Why would he think that? Sarcasm is a very rude thing, and I have never used it in my life. And I don't intend to. He rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. The names Elec." Elec says. I've heard that name before. Where though? Oh, that's right! He is owned by Victoria. "Are you going to sit there like an idiot, or are you going to tell me your name?" Little gasps are heard.
"Ewec!" He looks over at a very upset Grace and an outraged Lily. Grace has been taught not to get upset often, yell, call names, defend, or even raise her voice if something angers her. Lily has not.
"Yes, Sister Dearest?"
"Bewie iv not an iviot. You aw," She says with her hands on her hips. That was so cute! But also kind of rude.
"Lily," I say in a warning tone. She looks at me. "I love that you stood up for me, that was a very kind thing to do," she smiles, "But,"
"But?"
"Calling people idiots is not. If we call the person names, we are just as bad as they are."
"Weewee?" Her sad face pouts.
"Yes, really,"
"But he wav bein' a derk,"
"No, what he did was jerky, but he is not a jerk."
"Yef he iv,"
"Yes I am," Elec interrupts.
"I don't believe that," I argue.
"But I am. I like to be. I try to be," He argues back. You have to do something really bad to be a jerk. No one is really a jerk. They can do mean things, say mean words, and make you feel bad, but that doesn't justify calling someone a jerk. Explain how their action made you feel instead. You want to make them stop hurting you, not hurt them. I always try to see the good in people, always. It's what Jesus would do.
"You c-can do jerky things, but you are n-not a jerk."
"God, are you always this stupid?"
"I'm not s-stupid,"
You have got to work on this stutter. It makes everything you say sound weak. My subconscious tells me.
Not my fault. I always stutter when I'm yelled at. I argue.
Maybe that's why you are always getting yelled at. They are probably doing trying to make you braver. She makes a good point.
I'll stop right now. Hopefully.
You better.
"Yes, you are. You are stupid, stubborn, and currently wasting my time." He tells me and walks off to...somewhere. I dont know where anything is. Which reminds me of why I was talking to him in the first place.
"Wait!"
"What the hell do you want?" I want to tell him off for cursing, I really do, but I have a feeling it's just going to make him yell at me again.
"I was going to a-ask you-"
"No."
"You don't even know what I was going to say," I frown.
"I don't need to. The answer is no." he snaps. I don't know what I did to make him so angry, but I'm walking on thin ice; which is a very silly and dangerous thing to do, so I don't know why people do it. What? The saying has to have come from somewhere.
"What I'm going to ask is going to benefit you," I reason. I mean, technically it is.
"Hard to believe anything you do will do will benefit me in any way." New mission: do anything you can to calm this boy down.
"If you don't want me accidentally waltz into your room, I suggest you do what I'm asking you. Oh wait, you don't know what that is, do you?" I snap. Oh my goodness, I just snapped at him.
Why did you do that? I thought the mission was to calm him down, not get him angry!
"Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I don't why I did that, it was mean. Sorry!" My subconscious is patting me on the back for losing the stutter.
"God, you're annoying. What do you want?"
"Oh, umm, can you show me around?" My small voice peeps out.
"No,"
"Why?"
"Because,"
"Because why?"
"Because I said so,"
"Ca-"
"I said no! Is that so hard to accept?" He yells. I flinch at his tone.
"I w-was going t-to ask i-if you c-could at least show m-me to Mia's room."
"Fine," he says and I smile, "But if you say one word I'm leaving you in the middle of nowhere." It's not hard to believe. The house is big enough to get lost in for days. In fact, I sure someone could house an entire family in here without the Shradings knowing a thing.
"Ok! My lips are sealed, I promise."
"So weird," I hear him mumble under his breath. Eh, his opinion.
<>
What. The fuck. Just happened.
When mom said that the babysitter was pure, I didn't think she meant like that. I don't even understand how it's possible to be like that. She kept saying things that would have been sarcastic if any other person on earth said them, but she was being genuine. I am purposely being an asshole, yet she refuses to believe that I'm a jerk. Every time I cursed she scolded me or frowned. She's like an angel, and no that is not a compliment of any sort.
She does look the part though. She's wearing her long, wavy, blonde hair down; except for two small ponytails on the top of her head. She has her bangs (that make her all the more angelic) swept to the side. Her big and soft blue eyes are almost violet, and her long lashes add to her creepily perfect face. An adorable button nose leads to perfect lips. And God, does she have an amazing body. Her tits aren't so big they look fake, but she is nowhere near flat-chested. They are perfectly round and don't hang out of her shirt. And that ass. How does one acquire an ass such as her's, I will never know. What I do know is that it is perfect. Why did she have to be exactly my type? The only explanation as to why she is so perfect is that she is a cartoon. I look at her again. Definitely a cartoon.
The conversations we had were...odd. Not like any other conversation I have ever had. Instead of explaining it, let's just relive it.
The REST OF THE CONVERSATION THAT ELEC AND CLARABELLE JUST HAD, BUT WE'RE BACK IN ELEC'S POV
"Excuse me, sir," I look over to see the girl glaring at me much harder than the last time. The two toddlers in her arms are looking at her with interest. "I know that I did not just hear you say that,"
"Yeah actually, you did," Poor girl doesn't know who she's talking to.
"You will never, and I mean never, speak to any child like that again. If I hear you insult, yell at, or curse at any of them, even your siblings, I will not hesitate to not only punish your actions but tell your mother what you said." Huh, she lost the stutter. I think she is trying to be intimidating, but her cute face and soft voice betray her. Cute. I don't use the word cute. There was only one ti-
Holy fucking shit. That's where I know her from. School.
She's the fucking nerd. I was wondering where I knew her from.
"Really?" I say in mock fascination.
"Y-yes real-ly," she looks down at the child in my arms. I still have not figured out why there is a baby in my arms, but there is. "You can't h-hold a b-baby l-like that!" Ahh, the stutter has returned. I'm happy to see that she is still afraid of me.
"I can hold a baby however the hell I want." I snap. She flinches a little. Good. Then she smiles. What?
"Tradsies!" she has somehow switched the children in my arms, so I am now holding the older of the two baby girls. I'm getting tired of this. "Bitch, stop putting children in my arms,"
"S-stop c-cursing, it's m-making m-me uncomfortable," she stutters. I roll my eyes.
"S-stop s-stuttering, it's m-making m-me uncomfortable," I mock in a high pitched voice. I honestly can't believe this girl is fifteen and still thinks it's bad to curse. All of the sudden, I hear a sniff. I snap my head to the girl to see that she's crying. My eyes widen. Fuck. Shit. Fucking shit. Why is she crying? Sensitive bitch.
"Shit. Stop it. Now," I glare at her. "I am not going to get yelled at because you're a sensitive, stuttering mess." She starts nodding her head slowly, almost as if agreeing with something someone said.
"Sorry." She whispers.
Then the toddler I'm holding starts grabbing at my face. I groan and walk inside. She follows me into the living room. Lily and another little girl are playing dolls, while Jet is playing with some toddler toys. The girl sets the other toddler down to play with Jet and puts the baby on the couch. I start swinging the little girl back and forth, then release her on to the couch. She goes off into a fit of giggles and then slides off the couch to play with Jet and the boy.
I lie down on the other end of the couch to text the boys.
Me: Little Miss Perfect is here
Alex: Is she wearing a crop top and booty shorts?
Me: No. Shes the literal definition of angelic
Hunter: u guys r already in the compliment stage of ur relationship
Me: No dumbass. It wasn't a compliment
Hunter: oh
Zeke: Describe her in 10 words
Me: Sickenigly pure, innocent, good, stuttering mess, entitled, favored, clueless, annoying, childish, with a creepily perfect face
Alex: It sounds like you just complimented her ten times.
Me: She's everything that makes me sick
Alex: Interesting.
Me: I told you about LMP. Describe Dora in 10 words
Zeke: Annoying, sassy, annoying, bitchy, annoying, opinionated, annoying, outgoing, annoying, hot
Dylan: wait
Dylan: dora is hot? i want her. i havent had sex in two days
Me: Wow, life must be so hard for u. Meanwhile, me & zeke have to figure out how to survive with girls in our homes
Dylan: fuck 'em
Me: Your sex drive belongs in the guinness book of world records
Hunter: we need 2 have a party 2nite
Alex: Why?
Hunter: bc
Dylan: where are we having it?
Me: Mine
Zeke: Don't you have a built-in babysitter
Me: The girl can't speak around me, what makes you think that she's going to say anything about a party
Alex: The fact that she is in charge of you.
Hunter: ur the only 1 that can tell us what 2 do and thats only bc we dont like 2 get caught
Alex: I'm honored.
Dylan: that was sarcastic wasn't it?
Alex: What do you think?
"Umm...Boy?" Do not acknowledge the cartoon. "Boy?" she asks again. When I don't answer she...pokes me? That was weird.
"I have a name you know," She frowns at me.
"Well, actually I don't know," I raise an eyebrow. "You haven't told me." Is Little Miss Perfect using sarcasm?
"Are you being sarcastic?" She looks horrified at the thought.
"No! I would n-never. Sarcasm is r-rude, and being rude is being m-mean, and being mean is a s-sin." she shakes her head quickly and I roll my eyes. What is this girl on?
Holy water
"Yeah, yeah. The names Elec." I tell her. She doesn't do anything for a bit. It's as if she were trying to recall something. "Are you going to sit there like an idiot, or are you going to tell me your name?" Tiny gasps are heard.
"Ewec!" I look over at an outraged Lily.
"Yes, Sister Dearest?"
"Bewie iv not an iviot. You aw," She says glaring at me, with her hands on her tiny hips. Does everyone in this house favor the babysitter over me?
"Lily," the girl says in a warning tone. Lily looks over at her and smiles. "I love that you stood up for me, that was a very kind thing to do. But,"
"But?" Lily frowns.
"Calling people idiots is not. If we call the person names, we are just as bad as they are." What. The fucking hell. Did this girl just defend me? Why the fuck would she do that?
"Weewee?" she asks, frowning
"Yes, really,"
"But he wav bein' a derk,"
"No, what he did was jerky, but he is not a jerk." Seriously, what the fuck. I do not appreciate this. If I am being a dick, you are supposed to get mad, sad, offended, something like that. What you are not supposed to do is defend me.
"Yef he iv," she argues
"Yes, I am," I agree with her statement.
"I don't believe that." She really is a stubborn bitch, isn't she?
No, you're the bitch. The smaller of my two inner voices sneers.
No, I'm not. She is. The other one defends.
She is being the nicest she can be and here you are parading on the bitch train.
I am not. She's is just an entitled bitch who needs to learn her place.
You're not wrong.
"But I am. I like to be. I try to be," I argue. I am a jerk. If I'm not a jerk, I am nothing. Remember that, kids.
"You c-can do jerky things, but you are n-not a jerk."
"God, are you always this stupid?"
"I'm not s-stupid," she sounds weak. No way is she going to be able to stop this party from happening.
"Yes, you are. You are stupid, stubborn, and currently wasting my time." I get up from my spot on the couch to go to my room.
"Wait!" This bitch.
"What the hell do you want?" I can see that she wants to say something about my language, but decides against it;
"I was going to a-ask you-"
"No." No way am I doing shit for her.
"You don't even know what I was going to say," She frowns.
"I don't need to. The answer is no." I have a party to plan.
"What I'm going to ask is going to benefit you," she tries. Still no.
"Hard to believe anything you do will do will benefit me in any way." The only good thing her coming here has brought me is more freedom.
"If you don't want me accidentally waltz into your room, I suggest you do what I'm asking you. Oh wait, you don't know what that is, do you?" she snaps with a glare. Finally. I was waiting for her to blow her lid. Her eyes widen with the realization of what she did.
"Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I don't why I did that, it was mean. Sorry!"
"God, you're annoying. What do you want?"
"Oh, umm, can you show me around?" It doesn't sound like she expected me to agree.
"No,"
"Why?"
"Because,"
"Because why?"
"Because I said so,"
"Ca-"
"I said no! Is that so hard to accept?" I swear to God if this girl flinches one more time...
"I w-was going t-to ask i-if you c-could at least show m-me to Mia's room."
"Fine," I agree after a lot of internal battling. She instantly smiles as if nothing happened. "But if you say one word I'm leaving you in the middle of nowhere." She nods her head in understanding.
"Ok! I promise, my lips are sealed."
"So weird," I mumble. She shrugs her shoulders as if to say Eh, whatever.
"So," she starts.
"I said no talking,"
"How's Victoria doing?" She continues as if I didn't say anything. Wait, what?
"How do you know Victoria?" She does not seem like the type of person that Victoria would hang around. Then again, Darla hangs around that Abigail kid, so anything is possible.
"She came to my table on the first day of school because Layla was talking about some kid named Dylan," Oh, that's right. I remember the Five Bratty Bitches going over there for something. The school knows them as the Five Bitchy Beauties, but me and the boy's know them as the Five Bratty Bitches.
"Dylan huh? I wonder why," I know exactly why. He is the lady's man. I'm pretty sure he cheats on Miriam any and every chance he gets.
So do you
That's besides the point
The point being?
The point being that he cheats way more than the average human male
The average human male doesn't cheat
Every male cheats, that's why the female population hates us. It's just so hard to say no to a good blowjob...
"The boy sounds disgusting. I don't want to call him anything bad, but seriously-" This is going to be good. I quickly take my phone out to take a video. "-he needs to stop everything. He was looking at Layla the entire lecture, so much so that she couldn't pay attention! I mean yeah, all the teachers treat us like we are one robotic mind that should all learn the same way even though most of us are poles apart, but still!"
I laugh. I can't help it. She stops speaking for a second but doesn't look at me. Or the camera.
"Anywho, she can't pay attention the entire time. And guess what she tells me he did? Guess!"
"Told her he wanted to sleep with her," I know it's probably what he did. He couldn't leave the freshmen alone on the first day of school. Classic Dylan Fusser.
"Sleep with her? Why would he want to sleep with her?" Oof. And here I was thinking she was a good person and all that shit. "I mean, it's not like they are going to have a sleepover, and even if they did, they probably wouldn't share a bed."
I laugh again. She doesn't. Hold up.
Is this girl serious? Like, seriously serious. She does know what sex is, right? Oh God, I hope so.
"Carry on,"
"He whispers in her ear 'hope to see you again, beautiful.' Disgusting!" Is that all he did? Really? "Anywho, wait. I shouldn't be telling you this. This is Layla's personal business. But I already told you. Darn it!" She looks very disappointed in herself.
"We're here. This is Mia's room. And next time, don't talk when I tell you to stay quiet."
"Bye-bye! Thanks for walking me to her room. And sorry, I won't do it again."
Weirdo.
I then send the video of her to the group chat and try to stop laughing at the amount of offense Dylan took to that.
<>
I still don't know this girl's name. But that's unrelated.
"Who are we inviting?"
"Let's see...The Five Bratty Bitches, the Wannabe's, the ones that are actually cooler than the FBB, but are not part of the FBB, and everyone else in the entire school." Alex provides. We are planning the back to school party, as you can see. The boys are here and Babysitter Chick is somewhere.
"Zeke, are you inviting Dora?" Dylan askes hopefully. What is his obsession with Dora?
"Madilyne? Yeah, sure. She's not gonna sleep with you, though," Zeke shrugs his shoulders, then goes back to doing whatever he was doing on his phone.
"And why not?" Hunter asks but then his eyes widen and he gasps. "You don't like her, do you?"
"What? No," Zeke rolls his eyes.
"Are you sure? Because it seems like you want her all to yourself." Hunter interrogating him is actually pretty fun to watch.
"My God, no I don't like her. She has a boyfriend," he looks at Dylan. "Just like you have a girlfriend. Even if she didn't, sleeping with her isn't going to be a good idea."
Suspicion has arisen inside me.
"And why not?" I question.
"One, she has a boyfriend. Two, she is extremely annoying. So much so that she declared a prank war. Thr-"
"Wait, what?" Alex laughs a little. "Dora declared a prank war? Why?"
"Oh. My. Fucking. God. If I tell you why sleeping with her is a bad idea and why she declared war, will you shut up?" Whoops. Might have made him angry. We should probably drop it...who am I kidding? This is way to much fun.
"No." We all answer in unison.
"If you don't drop this topic after I finish I will tie your hands behind your back and-"
"Fuck us?" No need to say who asked that one. Someone needs to get this boy help.
"Dude," Alex puts his head in his hands. "Why would you even go there?" Dylan just shrugs his shoulders. "Zeke, continue."
"One, she has a boyfriend. Two, she is really annoying. Three, everyone is going to find out about it, seeing as we will always and forever be in the public eye,"
"Why is it a bad thing if everyone finds out? I really don't give a fuck,"
"Ahhh, Dylan," Alex looks at him solemnly. "When will you find out that your actions have consequences? Miriam is part of everyone, and that will make it final. We all know she pretends not to hear the rumors, or when girls brag about fucking you. If people actually find out for real for real, she'll finally have to leave you. Poor girl."
"I-uh-um-it-yeah. Okay. I guess it might be a bad idea to sleep with Dora."
"Mhmm," Zeke looks at him with a 'told ya so' face. "Also, I'm pretty sure Dora's a virgin, and we all know that Dylan is the worst possible person to deflower her. Anyone actually."
"I have a feeling you're saying that because you want to do it yourself."
"God, Elec. How many times do I have to say I don't want to fuck Dora? My mom had gone to pick Dora up, and I was just in my room. I get bored and go down to the basement to swim. I walk down and see a random chick in the music room playing a song on the guitar. I thought the girl was hot, but it's kind of creepy to have a fucking stranger in your basement. I yell to get her attention, she walks out, I ask her why she's in my house, she calls me a dumb fuck-"
"Dude, what?" I honestly can't believe someone actually had the balls to call Zeke a dumb fuck.
"Shut up. She calls me a dumb fuck, I get confused, then she says 'does the name Madilyne Dawson ring a bell? Because I'm here bitch.' The-"
"I'm liking Dora more and more. Are you sure I can't fuck her?"
"Holy fucking shit, Dylan," Alex is definitely annoyed. "No, you can't fuck her. If you don't shut up, I'm not letting you sleep with anyone for the next two weeks."
"You can't do that!"
"Watch me, bitch,"
"Meanie."
"Dumbass."
"Asshole."
"Fucktard."
"Douchbag."
"Sexaholic."
"How dare you insult my incomparable sex drive?"
"He's not wrong," I step into the conversation. "You do have an animalistic sex drive, and honestly it's concerning."
"If you don't shut up right now I won't finish," We all shut up. "Dora says that I splash her and she splashes me back. Then I pick her up and throw her into the pool, she screams something about how she's wearing jean shorts and basically declares war. I'm honestly kind of scared of what she might do." He shivers as if he is really afraid of her. Zeke isn't afraid of anyone, and neither am I. Hunter is like, emotionless around anyone other than us. Kind of weird.
"Dude," Dylan looks at him with wide eyes. "Jeans and water don't mix. We know this." Zeke shakes his head and chuckles. "And about the whole 'prank war thing,' hide your leather. All of it. Put it somewhere that she will never find."
"She's going to find it." Alex deadpans.
"How? It's foolproof," Dylan defends his warning.
"Because. She's Dora the Explorer. What do explorers do? Anyone?" He looks around the room like a teacher. "Elec." Calling on me? Really? I swear if he doesn't end up being a professor, I will fuck my non-existent dog.
"They explore, obviously."
"Good. Thank you for proving that you are not a complete dumbass."
"Should I be offended? I think I should be offended. I am offended." I place my heart over my heart and pretend that he has wounded me.
"I am totally and completely fucked." Zeke puts his head in his hands.
"Yes. Yes, you are." He looks at Hunter with a "seriously" expression.
"Thanks. I really needed that."
"Anytime, brother. Anytime."
<>
"It's gonna be the best one yet!"
"Not if we can't find a suitable bartender."
What? I was just bringing a suitcase up when I pass what I would imagine is Elec's room. His friends are here, and I think that's what I hear. I decide to walk in. Probably a bad idea.
"But Mike can't do it this ti-who the fuck are you?" One of the boys looks up at me. He has brown hair hazel eyes. All of them are dressed for a funeral. A very casual funeral, but a funeral all the same.
"Language. I'm Clarabelle." The boys look at Elec, expecting him to introduce me.
"Little Miss Perfect." He provides, and all of the boys nod their heads in understanding. Little Miss Perfect?
"Umm, no. Clarabelle."
"So that's your name," Elec exclaims.
"Well hello, Clarabelle. I'm Alex." I know him! Or at least of him. He is Anastasia's property. Or is he Darla's? Whoever's he is, he's the only one who introduced himself to me. No one else did.
Rude.
What's rude is you having such high expectations. You haven't even introduced yourself to Elec. Wait. You haven't introduced yourself to Elec! Shiz winkles.
"I heard something about a bartender?" I want to make sure I heard right, so I just ask. All of the boys suddenly get a bit nervous. Except for Elec.
"We're having a party tonight."
"Oh, okay." That makes sense. A party won't do any harm. All of the boys look at me like I said okay to a massacre.
"What do you mean 'okay?' You're just going to let it slide? I thought you were responsible." Alex shakes his head.
"Should I be offended? I think I should be offended. I am offended." I place a hand over my chest and feign hurt. Everyone looks really creeped out. Why? Did I do something weird?
"Dude. That was like, really creepy."
"Agreed." Alex shakes his head.
"Anywho...I am responsible. One sec, what's your last name?" You must be wondering why I asked for his last name. You'll see.
"Umm...Melders, why?"
"Let me guess. You have a twelve-year-old brother and a seven-year-old sister named Luke and Mila, correct?"
"How the fuck?"
"No cursing." I scold lightly. I'm not really one for yelling.
"Sorry."
"I forgive you, just don't do it again. I kn-"
"Why the hell did you just apologize?" One of them asks. (It was Dylan, but she doesn't know that yet.)
"Language." I remind softly, but they don't hear me. Either that or they were ignoring me.
"I don't fucking know."
"IF ANY OF YOU CURSE ONE MORE TIME I WILL GROUND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK, I KNOW YOUR PARENTS." I take that back. Maybe I am one for yelling. But I mean, seriously. Is it so hard to pick a different word? There are millions of words, I'm sure they can get creative,
"How do you know my parents?" The one boy looks kind of scared.
"I babysit every kid in LA," They laugh a little. "How do you think I know Luke and Mila?" They stop. "And how do you think I know that their favorite dinner is lasagna? Or that Mila's favorite toy is her babydoll, even though she won't admit it, or that Luke's favorite superhero is Captain America? Oh, and just so you know, your mother loves you to death and wishes you were home more."
"You're like really creepy. And just because you know Alex's family, doesn't mean you don't know the rest of ours."
"I think I do. You, person in the corner. What's your last name?" I point to one of them, who is the creepiest of the five. He hasn't talked the entire time, and I'm starting to think he's actually a ghost that has come back to haunt me for something I did in my past life.
Past lifes don't exist, stupid.
"Peterson."
"Oh, I love your family! Camila, Asher, and Max, right?"
"Yeah." A man―er boy—of few words.
You need to apologize.
Why?
You barged in, you yelled at them, you challenged them, you were rude, and you just had to be creepy and tell them about their own families. Honestly, you're being a brat.
You're right. But first, let them answer the original question.
"Back to the original topic. I am responsible, but why do you need a bartender at a party? Are you throwing an engagement party? That's the only way any of you should be around alcohol. None of you are old enough to get engaged, though. And either way, none of you are drinking alcohol."
"See? She's dumb and naive." Elec makes a gesture with his hands. I feel tears building up again. Why did I have to be so emotional? He did hurt my feelings though. I don't like being called names.
"Elec! You made her cry. Apologize." Alex scolds. I'm starting to like this boy. No, not in a romantic way. That's not allowed, why would that even cross your mind?
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"No."
"Ye-no. NO!"
"Boys." The attention is on me. Whatever streak of weird confidence I had gotten has disappeared, and I want to go with it. The conversation I had with Mia and Pheonix popped back into my head.
"She's talking about the parties where there are drinking and dancing half-naked."
That reminds me of something Layla said.
"One of these days I am going to take you to a real party. One with drinking, people making out, loud music, people dancing without clothes; one of those parties."
"Umm...you c-can't have a p-party where there is d-drinking. Or loud music. Or...umm...whatever else L-Layla said about parties. But th-those don't actually exist though, right?" I ask nervously.
Alex is about to say something, but Elec interrupts.
"Yes they exist, yes we are having a party like that, and now you can't do anything about it."
"No, y-you're not."
Stutter. Lose the stupid stutter you weak-
"No, you're not. I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that." I manage to get out. I am not stupid, I am not weak.
"Too late. The party starts at six. Better be ready by then." Elec taunts. I have to start putting the little ones down for bed at six forty-five. If they are having a party like that, they can only invite a few people. If there's too much noise, I won't be able to get them to sleep. And why must I be ready? If I can't stop it, there's no way I'm joining.
"I'll let you have a party-"
"Really?" The boy closest to Elec is no doubt very surprised. He has blue eyes and black hair. They haven't heard my conditions.
"-but I have conditions." They all laugh. Rude.
"Hurry up and spit them out. The faster you stop bothering us, the faster we can start the party." You know who that was. That's it. I've tried to keep my calm, but they are not being nice and I'm sick of it.
That's not an excuse to yell at them. They are older than you, and they can probably hurt you. You know what Mommy says. You have broken all of her rules. You spoke out of place, you yelled, you used a smart mouth, you talked back, should I go on? They all probably hate you. Say whatever you want today. Tomorrow will be your chance to redeem yourself. Don't waste it.
"You can't have a lot of people, there are twelve young children in the house. The music will not be loud. No drinking or illegal activity. It ends at nine-thirty." I look down the entire time. I speak in a small voice. I do what my mother would approve of, even though I am down to my last nerve.
"Is that all? Those rules should be easy enough..." Elec smirks, "...to break. Right boys?" he looks around the room and his friends nod. Alex looks like he feels bad for me, though he still nods his head.
"They aren't there for you to break, their there for you t-" I catch myself raising my voice.
Redeem yourself.
"I would appreciate it if you would not break the rules." I soften my voice and force a sweet smile.
"Are you done now? You know what, I don't care. Get the fuck out of my room." There goes my control.
"Give me your phone,"
"No."
"NOW." Their eyes go wide. Guess they weren't expecting me to raise my voice. To be honest, I wasn't either. "If you don't hand it over, I am calling all of your parents right now, and you can kiss your party goodbye." My tone surprises them. And me.
Apologize.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice or used that tone." I direct my attention to his friends. "If you give me Elec's phone, you keep yours."
You just threatened them, dummy.
"You know what? Never mind. Sorry for bothering you, I hope your party is fun." And with that last act of submissiveness, I walk out.