The Babysitting Contract | j.jk

02 • proposition

◦ ◦ ◦

As I walk out of second-period math class, the throng of plaid and navy practically swallows me whole. Books clutched to my chest, I slip past people, smiling at a few acquaintances and peers as I make my way towards my locker. My mouth waters at the promise of lunch and that alone drives me to hasten my steps.

Suddenly, an arm links itself with mine, an action so second nature to me that I instantly know it's Choi Nayeon who's fallen in step beside me.

"Well, well, well," I drawl, mouth curving into a teasing smile. "If it isn't my favourite ray of darkness—"

"Huston, we most definitely have a problem."

I smile to myself. Nayeon definitely isn't someone who beats around a bush. She gets straight to the point.

"Where have you been?" she presses on, undertones of both panic and annoyance lacing her tone. "I called you last night, like, a thousand times. I could have been dead, Taehee. Dead. In a ditch somewhere. Naked."

I scoff, rolling my eyes at her dramatics. "But you're not. And you know I have babysitting on Mondays." I wince. "It just so happens to be the same reason my phone is shoved in a bag of rice."

"Oh, right," she comments absentmindedly, but I know she isn't really listening.

Normally, Nayeon would relish in the attention she gains as we walk through the school, but today she's fidgety and unfocused. Her gaze bounces face to face as she evidently searches for a specific person.

I gently nudge her with my shoulder. "Alright. Spill."

"Oh, Taehee," she cries, taking my invitation in a stride. "It's terrible. Worse then you could ever imagine. My own personal hell. You know the guy I've been hooking up with? Well, he..." She pauses, bringing her lips to my ear as if to reveal some deep secret. "He said he wants to date me."

I can't help myself. I laugh.

Nayeon is the beach breeze, the burn of whiskey and the dramatics of theatre all bundled up in one whimsical, free-spirited flower child. With waist length violet hair, creamy skin and a knockout smile, she was practically gifted a spot atop of Bangtan High's popularity hierarchy. However, my best friend is also notoriously known for playing the field, and more often then not, she bites off more then she can chew.

And it's in times like these when she seeks my award-winning advice and delightful commentary.

"It's not funny!" She hisses, slapping my arm. "I'm seventeen, for crying out loud! I can't be tied down! I'm too young for commitment!"

"Remind me which guy we're talking about again?"

She tosses a quick glance around but is soon to realize that there's too many prying eyes and open ears for her to say the name out loud. The boy obviously goes to our school, and Bangtan High would have a field day picking apart Choi Nayeon's latest conquest. Especially if they heard he asked her to date him.

Instead she choses to sign his name. Her hands move faster then usual but I don't think she needs to worry. It's not like anyone else happened to learn sign language over the summer in a fit of boredom. As far as I know, no one else in our grade knows how to sign.

The boy's name sparks a flicker of recognition, but not enough for me to pin a face to the name.

"So what gives?" I prompt, squeezing my way past a couple who stand in the middle of the lunch commotion, sucking face. Gross. "You were raving about the guy on the weekend. I even thought he had a fighting chance."