Gainesville Roses [Prinxiety/Logicality]

Chapter Two

"Emma?" Patton sat down next to the crying toddler, his voice full of concern. "Why're you crying?"

The two year old wiped her eyes and sniffed. "I miss my mommy."

"Your mommy will be back soon! She just had to work, that's all. But she'll be back before you know it, and you can play together all you want." Patton told her.

Emma hesitated. "How soon?"

Patton checked the daycare clock. "Just about half an hour."

"Is that long?" Emma asked.

"Not at all." Patton shook his head. "Do you wanna watch tv? It'll make the time go by faster."

"Is the tv magic?" Emma asked.

Patton laughed. "No, it's just technology."

"Sounds like magic." Emma said.

"You know, it kind of is." Patton said. He scooped up Emma in his arms and walked across Morality Daycare, the small and friendly place he owned. He set her down on the couch in front of a small black tv. He turned to the other kids at the daycare. "Does anyone else want to watch tv?"

"I wanna watch the show we watched last time!" Jake, a three-year-old boy, told Patton excitedly, dragging along his twin sister Rachel with him.

"Steven Universe, you mean?" Patton smiled. He was glad the daycare kids liked it. That show has been one of his favorites ever since his brother Thomas introduced him to it.

Rachel nodded. "I like the short purple one! She's funny."

"You mean Amethyst?" Jake said, insistent on correcting his sister.

"Yes, Amethyst." Rachel met Jake's tone.

"We're watching tv?" A little girl named April blinked.

Patton nodded and got all the kids of the daycare together. "I'm going to put on Steven Universe. Can we all be good?"

The kids nodded.

"Good." Patton said. He turned on the tv and played the third episode of the first season.

The kids watched Steven Universe, and Patton figured he had maybe a minute or two at most before they started getting bored. He walked over to his hired help, a teenager named Amanda.

"Do you have the snacks?" Patton asked.

Amanda nodded. "And I was sure to check that none of them have allergies or any other dietary restrictions. I have Goldfish for them, and what toddler doesn't love Goldfish?"

"Perfect. Thank you." Patton said.

Amanda had poured the Goldfish into individual plastic cups, one for each of the kids. She had extra Goldfish in case one spilled.

Patton noticed that the kids were starting to lose focus on the show, and he offered them snacks.

"You can get snacks only if you're quiet and you wait in a single file line." Patton told the kids.

The kids formed a single file line while chatting. Jake fidgeted with his favorite stuffed bunny, Mr. Carrots, while he waited.

"Lucy, don't put your fist in your mouth!" Patton said.

Once all the kids had their snacks, they went back to watching Steven Universe. They were doing more eating and whispering than they were watching, but as long as there weren't any problems, Patton didn't mind.

The minutes passed by quickly as the kids watched tv and snacked. The first parent came by to pick their kids up, and other parents followed soon after. It was only about twenty minutes before the last kid was picked up by her mom, and it was Emma.