Who's The Fool Now? A Bartholy Halloween Story

SHORT STORY

"I want to go trick-or-treating! Now!"

Lorie yells, stomping her foot for emphasis.  I give her a blank stare.  Although I've been her nanny for close to three months now, I still can't get used to her bossy attitude.  Frankly, it makes me want to comply with her requests even less.

"Too bad," I reply dryly.  "I have a bad cold."

"No, you don't!"  She immediately argues back.

I roll my eyes and sigh.  Alright... to be fair, I am not anywhere close to death's door.  But it's frigid, dark and damp outside, and I am reluctant to go walking all over God's acre.  Especially just to accompany the little vampire shrew.  Knowing how Lorie operates, I'd just end up following her around and carrying her candy bag for her like a lowly servant.  And I am simply not up to it.  In fact, all I want to do is put on my PJ's and crawl into bed with a good book.  End of story.

"Sorry, Lorie.  I'm too sick to take you," I address her, adding an exaggerated cough at the end for good measure.

"Why can't anyone take me?"  At first, Lorie whines.  When that doesn't produce a reaction, she puts both hands on her hips and stares me down, doing her best to intimidate me.  Tonight, it's not really working.

"Maybe because you haven't asked anyone else?"  I suggest, arching an eyebrow.  I then return to my reading, ignoring her.

"Fine!"  She scowls.  "I'll go talk to Nicolae!"

"You do that," I mumble under my breath.  "We'll see how much good that does you."  I feel positively sure that Lorie's eldest brother will refuse to go trick-or-treating through the neighborhood.  After all, he has an image to maintain.

With her super acute sense of hearing, I'm sure Lorie heard every word, because she throws me a deadly look over her shoulder.  But, thankfully, she exits my room like a storm, and leaves me in peace.

However, my state of quiet bliss only lasts about five minutes, because the little brat shortly reappears.  She is smiling from ear to ear and can't hide her extreme joy — and that can only mean bad news for me.

"What?"  I barely manage to ask before I spot Nicolae looming behind Lorie.

To my dismay, he is frowning.  What did the little imp tell him to make him give me that look?  I try to smile, but it comes across more like a grimace.

"Yes, Nicolae?  How can I help you?"  I ask in my sweetest possible voice.

Nicolae grabs Lorie by the shoulders and gently pushes her through the door, back into my room.  Wonderful!

"Lorie would like you to take her trick-or-treating," he tells me in his most authoritative tone.

I raise both of my eyebrows.  "Pardon me?"  I will not let him push me around.  Not today!  I get up from my desk and face him... rather unsuccessfully, since he is a good foot taller than me.  Still... I do my best to stand up to him, even if it means doing it on my tippy toes.

"Correction!"  I wave a finger in front of his nose.  "Lorie already asked me to take her, and I told her I can't."  I sniffle demonstratively.  "I have a really bad cold... which... to us humans, implies that I am feeling like total crap."

Nicolae is not impressed.  He bats my finger to the side like it's a tiny pest, and wrinkles his nose in apparent disgust.

"You are Lorie's nanny... and our full-time employee.  That means your job here is twenty-four-seven," he reminds me.  "Cold or no cold," he adds, in a threatening tone.