A Mother's Touch

Chapter 11

The next morning, she was abruptly woken up by a loud text notification appearing on her phone's lock screen. It turned out to be instructions from Aizawa. It was simple and straight to the point, much like the sleepy teacher's personality. Dry and demanding.

"Meet me in my classroom with your problem child in 15."

She dutifully sent back a saluting emoji and sluggishly got out of the bed to get ready for the day. Aylee quickly threw on her usual clothes before struggling to find some clothes for Shoto that would fit him. She managed to find something for now but made a note that they needed to go shopping together later. His growth spurts were no joke. The young caretaker walked back to the bed and slowly peeled back the covers clutched in the tight grip of the sleeping child. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, all children usually did. But, she wasn't going to take the brunt of Aizawa's irritation if they were late.

"Shoto, it's time to get up and ready for the day! Rise and shine!" the child groaned before blinking his heterochromatic eyes open. He glared at the ceiling for a second before meeting her waiting gaze. Aylee's hopes for his cooperation were diminished and she immediately knew it would be one of those mornings.

"I don't want to." He closed his eyelids and rolled over onto his side so his back was facing her. Shoto then snuggled further into the fleece blanket, cocooning himself in the warmth. She couldn't believe her little peppermint was ignoring her! Another approach will have to be used instead of being cool and laid back.

She wasn't expecting this much attitude from the newly turned 7-year-old, but at least he was talking to her more now. It really wasn't that big of a deal, she's cared for kids who were absolute terrors or heavily spoiled. It was nothing new to Aylee's previous line of work. You just have to find what works for each child specifically, and she has multiple tricks up her sleeve.

"Alright, I guess you'll be missing the surprise I had planned later tonight. Since you don't want to get dressed to start the day.

Aylee turned around with a loud sigh and fiddled with her purse a bit. She grabbed the pack of wipes, hand sanitizer, snacks, and cherry chapstick sitting haphazardly on the dorm's small dresser. The brunette carefully placed the stacked items in her hand before dropping them into her purse. Or in her perspective, the neverending bag where she could never find anything she wanted. It was like a living breathing creature whose goal was to make her late to every appointment she schedules. A black hole sucking her makeup and keys into oblivion, never to be seen from again. She wished she had the purse that Mary Poppins used, at least she could find the things she put in the never-ending bag.

Her ears picked up the noise of shuffling covers and soft footsteps making their way towards the outfit she had previously laid out. Aylee smiled in quiet victory and made sure to keep an eye on the time. She didn't want to rush Shoto, especially since he was actually listening to her now, but they were getting short on time. She turned around after getting her bag finally settled and saw that her charge was struggling with tying his shoelaces on his sneakers.

The woman knelt down without a word and grabbed the loose laces into her thin fingers. "You got the tie part, but now you have to make two bunny ears like this." She slowly instructed as she showed him the two looped laces trapped between her fingers. "Then you need to cross the bunny ears together and slip one of them underneath the other." His grey and blue eyes attentively watched her hand's actions with fascination. "And lastly, you tighten." Her hands pulled the ends of the two loops and let Shoto inspect the final product.

"Do you want to try to tie your other shoe?" She asked as she saw how focused he was on the process and her short explanation.

A determined look fell across the future hero's face and he grabbed his left shoelaces tightly. Aylee watched as he thought back on how she did his right shoe. He went through the steps with minor difficulties and she heard him mumble under his breath. The only words she could make out were "bunny" and "slip". It was really amazing how fast he picked up on things and he also had amazing memory retention for a child of his age. Maybe he would benefit from some short lessons instead of just playing or watching tv all day.