schlatt (+lunch club) : babysitter

+ five

i quickly tie up my bathrobe and get up. it sounded like ted, i hope he's not hurt. there are no lights on in the kitchen so i flick the switch at the doorway.

"schlatt?"

he's holding his wrist and wincing at the slit on the side of his hand at the base of his index finger. in front of him on the chopping board is a knife and some half-sliced pepperjack cheese.

"you need a little help?" i whisper
"no." he scoffs.
"...a band aid?"
he huffs and looks annoyed, "well..."
i walk past him and up into my room, quickly grabbing the band aids in my meds bag.

as i go back down i see him looking nervously back for me. his expression quickly returns to grumpy and he rolls his eyes at the packets in my hands. "here." i go to take his hand. he whips it back but soon decides to let me take it right afterwards. i unwrap one of the band aids and gently press it onto the cut, smoothing the edges down. it's a little heart shaped one from a pack i got as a kid. these days i just use them for the occasional injection.

as soon as it's fully stuck he pulls his hand away and holds it. "aren't you smart enough to just listen when i tell you leave me alone?"
"aren't you smart enough to not cut yourself with a cheese knife?"
he looks back at me angrily.

"i'm going back to bed. let's do a mario kart tournament tomorrow i think i could get you."
"you won't."
"well, let's find something to bet then."
"your laptop."
"i'm not THAT stupid."
he looks around for a little while,

"that little pink camera."

i look at him, a little shocked, "how do you know about that?"
"ted asked me to leave your bath towels under your bed and i saw it on the cabinet." he sighs as though i'm stupid, "i saw an ad for one. i want it."

"you can't-"
"oh you don't think you'll win?"
i hesitate.

"fine."

"alright. see you tomorrow then."
"night." i go back to bed.

immediately i'm woken by connor, "dude you're insane. you realise he'll beat you right? he never loses 200cc"
"nice pep talk." i yawn, stretching.
"i'm literally just being honest. which camera did you bet?"
i point to the little pink one on my cabinet.

"...oh" he laughs a little, "i thought it was a real camera."
"it's not terrible! and i don't want to lose it because i've been documenting this trip on it after nurse jo asked me to."
"why does he want it then?"
"i don't know apparently he saw it on amazon and wanted one i don't know,," i yawn again and throw off my covers.

"well, come down soon. everyone's up and waiting already." he leaves.

shit, i actually slept well last night? that's rare.

i pull on some sweats and a graphic tee and jog down the stairs to the kitchen.

noah shows a grin and plonks a plate of waffles down before me, "morning."
"morning, thank you." i smile and dig into breakfast.

"why did you ask for a rematch?" ted sighs, sipping a coffee.
"i think i could beat him." i say confidently.
"you're delusional, y/n."
"sure, must be female hysteria." i chuckle through a mouthful.

"alright we're gonna do three rounds with randomised tracks. winner takes all, loser gets nothing. both players can have their optimum gear and there are no time advantages or do overs." charlie decrees, entering the room in a bathrobe.
"thanks, ref."
"good luck out there champ. counting on you." he pats my back.

"wait hold on- surely this is unfair, i mean- y/n loses a camera if she loses but just keeps it if she wins?"
"you're right there ted." connor nods.

"well i was thinking... y/n's been out of a job since the middle of her last stay in hospital and-"
"connor, don't it's fine."
"no c'mon! i think she'd be a good asset at... fart club..."
"connor.." i sigh.

"well... you good with computers?"
"i speak a couple coding languages and did some computer courses. i couldn't be a content creator though i mean-"
"any experience in this area?"
"i've literally never performed in my life. i'm probably not even that funny, connor." i leave my plate in the sink.

"well maybe that can be her end of the bargain anyways." ted shrugs.
"if you're sure."
"we'll see."
"we'll see."

schlatt pops his head round the doorway, "god are you fuckin done sucking each other's nuts in there? i've been waiting for ages!"
"alright i'm ready now." i jog over and take my place beside him on the couch.

charlie stands at the side as we select our gear and characters. then, as the time to start comes he stands before us with his hands raised.

"3, 2, 1..."

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