𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣

Chapter 9

My life was one big jumbled up and confusing mess. One, I went to the North Pole by way of a flying reindeer named Comet. Two, I was offered a job to be a reindeer trainor up in the North Pole. Three, the only friends I have are elves. Four, I have confusing and conflicting emotions about one of my elvan friends. Five, I have to keep this part of my life a completely hidden true and lie to everyone around me.

Not to mention that I haven't believed in Santa Claus for almost ten years, a decade. Now, I have to suddenly believe in him again or else, in my theory, I start to lose the memory of the world. This world. The one I felt more apart of than any other. But I had no idea how to process it all without sounding like a scared lunatic or an incredibly stoic lunatic.

Hey, you never know what some of these authoritative people might say. But anyways, currently, my life was something of a little grander than before.  Not just because I didn't have a life before with no exact friends. Or because I had something more to look forward to than a possible boring future on the farm. Two possible futures.

One possible opportunity of the lifetime (actually, or as a child's lifetime dream of helping Santa Claus (do kids still want to grow up to become Santa Claus)) or one possible opportunity to be alone with just the farm animals and the people that come through the marketplace. But why would this all be confusing? Because part of me thinks if I don't choose to go to the North Pole that I'll forget all about it.

I know I voiced this opinion before, but it's relevant. At the moment. Now, anyways, I was on my way to the Miller house to babysit their daughter, Lucy. Charlie would have done it, but he was going out with his girlfriend, Danielle. And my aunt and uncle had finally given me some Breathing room for me to go and babysit (and my give some breathing room, I mean they bombarded me with questions after I told them I was babysitting).

Never would I have been so happy than in that moment to have an excuse to leave the horrid place of horridness. I just desperately wanted an out at that moment, and I took it. In full stride. So, here I am climbing the steps of the Miller family's porch, so I can knock on the door. I knocked once. Then, twice. Then, thrice. Then, they answered it.

Actually, it was Laura who answered the door with a small girl who couldn't be much older than eight with red hair and brown eyes. Laura let me inside her home. Man this place is nice.

"Hello, [Y/N]. This is Lucy. Now, Charlie will be leaving soon, I think, and me and Neil are off." I had no idea why they needed a babysitter and I wasn't going to ask. "All the information you need is taped on the fridge. And dinner is leftovers in the fridge. She can watch TV, but only until nine. I hope you two have a good time. We will be home at about ten. I love you sweetie."

"Bye, mom." Lucy gave her mom a hug and the two adults vacated the premisses.

"Okay, so what do you want to do? Play card games? Watch cartoons? Play card games while watching cartoons?" I asked her.

"Mom doesn't let us eat in the living room." Lucy told me.

"Well, then, we can eat dinner and then go into the living room, but I'll angle your chair, so you can still watch cartoons." I told her taking out the leftovers from the fridge and putting it in the mcrowave.

"What will you be putting on?" she asked me.

"You're about eight right? I was eight when I first started watching Kim Possible. Your mom said you can watch TV, so let's go." And I put on Kim Possible via the Disney + app while I waited for the microwave to ding.

"Have you done this before?" asked Lucy.

"No, but how different could it be from pet sitting?" I asked her.

"I like you." she told me as I handed her what looked like leftover spaghetti and meatballs.

"Eat your dinner." I told her.

"I need a fork." she told me with big innocent eyes.

"Can't you get it yourself?" I asked her.

"No." she said.

I went to a drawer and pulled out a fork. "Will this one do, Lucy?" I asked her.

"yes." she took the fork from me and started eating her food.

I had already been here for about five minutes, and this was going easier than I thought it would be. All these other people say baby sitting is like trying to wrestle with Satan. I have no idea what they were talking about. This is easy and simple. All I have to do is watch Lucy watch TV while playing cards. And seeing that it is only about six thirty, this was going to be as easy and simple as I initially didn't believe it was going to be.

The time quickly passed with Lucy moving into the living room to watch TV when she was done with her food (and during that time, Charlie had left the house) and we were playing card games. We had settled on Go Fish after she had practically slaughtered me at war and ERS (how the hell did she know how to play Egyptian Rat Shrew?).

Anyways, it was going good until she asked me the one question I was dreading anyone asking me.

"What's your decision on the job my uncle Scott gave you?"

Of course, she would know who was Santa Claus and who I was and why her mother had entrusted me with babysitting her after I had only known her for like a week. And she asked a question I didn't know how to answer. Because truth be told I had not yet decided, and we had been going down this road for two weeks.

"I haven't decided." I admitted to her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I don't know how to decide." I admitted.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Why?"

"Because I dont know okay? My grandparents gave the family farm to my uncle and aunt, but I don't feel comfortable leaving it to them. I don't feel comfortable leaving my animals from my pigs and my chickens to my horse and the cows to the cats and the dogs and my dog. And I don't want my brother or my little cousins there without me, but there isn't anything I can do, because my grandfather's will was lost along with my grandmother's! So, I have no hope of inheriting the farm or ranch for whatever it is! So, I've been hesitant on choosing for that exact reason!"