Babysitting the Bad Boy's Little Brother

Chapter 3

I woke up to Sophie jumping on me. Why was I at her house? I must have slept well last night.

"Wake up, Emma! Wake up! Mommy is home." She yells.

"Okay. What time is it?" I groan.

"I don't know. I can't tell time." She says.

I looked at the roman numeral clock on the wall. It said 7:30 am. "Sophie, it's 7:30. I doubt your mom is awake and I wouldn't want to leave you alone while she's sleeping."

"Stay then. Play with me." She tells me.

"But we played all day yesterday," I exclaim.

"Time to play again!" She screams.

"Shh. You might wake your mother."

"She doesn't care. We can all play then."

"No." I say, "She needs her rest just like you need yours, missy."

"Okay."

***

"But Ken, you said I was the one you loved!" Sophie's barbie says.

"Sophie, what do you know about love? You're only six." I say.

"I know Ken loved Francesca, not Violet. You're the one who doesn't know about love. Violet is too bossy for Ken. He needs a caring woman like Francesca, not her."

"Wow," I say, shocked. This girl is only six and acts like she knows more about love than I do. Not that I care because boys are the least of my worries.

"Good morning," Ms. Kate says as she lazily comes out of her room, her face void of makeup. "I'm sorry I woke up late, it's almost noon. Thanks for taking care of my baby." She tells me.

"No problem, and it's okay. I knew you would be tired." I reply.

She turns to Sophie, "Are you playing Barbies?"

"Yes, and Emma is too! Tell her that Francesca is a better match for Ken than Violet is." Sophie exclaims.

"Actually, I like them both," Ms. Kate says to Sophie.

"Really mommy? I should ask Alex. He would agree with me!" Sophie suggests.

"Who is Alex?" I ask.

"Alex is one of Sophie's friends from school. His mom and I know each other." Ms. Kate replies.

"That sounds nice," I respond.

"Oh, also, his mother might need a babysitter too if you are interested. She works long hours and has to leave him with his older brother. Alex is a good kid." She tells me.

"I would love too! Could I have her number or something?" I ask her.

"Sure, I'll give it to you. Alex has a brother your age, I think. But his mom won't leave him in charge of Alex a lot because he isn't that responsible, to say the least." She says, shaking her head in disapproval. She gives me the number, "I'll tell her that you're interested. Thank you!"

"You're welcome, and thank you. I need to head home."

"No! Don't leave me, Emma! I want you to stay." Sophie yells.

"Honey, she'll be back soon, okay. If she doesn't mind and isn't busy, that is." Ms. Kate says.

"Yay!" Sophie screams. She runs to hug me, "Come back real soon Emma! Byeee!"

"Bye Sophie, Bye Ms. Kate," I tell them and slowly made my way out of their house.

***

When I get home, I take a warm shower. It felt good to be clean. For some reason, I think a lot in the shower. Maybe because it's peaceful and calming, I don't know. I'm aware some people find this weird, but so do I. When I was younger, I made some of the toughest, life-changing decisions in the shower.

I got out of the shower and put on some athletic clothes. Then I went for a jog. I decided it was the best thing to do since exercise is great for one's overall health and well-being. I ran around my neighborhood for almost a mile. I got tired and decided a mile was more than enough for me today.

**
I went back home and took, yet another shower. Running can make you sweaty and smelly. I don't know why I took a shower before I ran, maybe because I like showers, but I did.
After I showered, yet another time, I put on my light blue kitten pajamas and cooked myself dinner. I made myself a salad since I am becoming a vegetarian. Honestly, I think I could do it. Vegetables and fruit don't sound too bad considering animals' lives are at risk here. I've been doing this diet plan for almost two weeks now and I am liking it. Plus, I have felt better since I've started it.

Ever since I hit twelve or thirteen, I've had this thing about body insecurity. Besides school and literature, when I was younger, I'd over-exercise to lose weight. I thought I was fat and overweight although my BMI said otherwise. I was tall for my age, and I was ten or fifteen pounds over my age weight due to myself being a few inches over the normal height for a teenager. I'm only 5'9. But, I worked 24/7 trying to get the perfect model body I dreamed of. Turns out, you are what you are and you can't change that. At least not at thirteen years of age. I learned that the hard way around almost a year ago.  The vegetarian diet, believe it or not, has actually let me lose weight. I've already lost five pounds or two and a half kilograms.

I dialed Alex's mom's number. She answered after two rings. "Hello, this is Emma Wells. I babysit for Ms. Kate's daughter, Sophie." I say.

"Yes, she has bragged about how great of a babysitter you are and how good you take care of her daughter."

"Yes, ma'am. I was wondering if you were needing a babysitter for Alex anytime soon." I said.

"Yes, I actually do. Since school is out for the summer, I don't have anyone to watch him so I've been staying home instead of working." Alex's mom tells me.

"Well, I would be more than glad to babysit him for you while you work. I don't mind." I reply.

"That would be great, thank you, dear." She exclaims.

"You're welcome, Ms. -"

"Claire. You can call me Claire, honey."

"Okay, thank you Claire," I tell her.

"You're welcome. Thank you. If you could come babysit tomorrow, that would be great. You could come a eight in the morning. I could call into work tonight and tell them the good news."

"Yes, I can. I'll be there tomorrow at eight." I tell her. "I'll see you in the morning, goodbye."I hang up and get ready for bed. It has been one long day.