After a long time, here's part 2. Enjoy!
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Avery kept wondering if she should have second thoughts about the favor Oliver asked her to do. Taking care of a dozen of kids could be troublesome, especially kindergarten kids.
"Avery you know where the kindergarten is right? My aunt Mary will be waiting for you there" Oliver gave her a pat on the shoulder and left to join the others on their secret business. Ray still stood there beside her in an awkward position. "Just say it" Avery announced with an encouraging motion of her hand. He smiled mischievously at her. "If I don't make it in time, could you please pick up Tony from the kindergarten after you're done with your work there?"
"You mean the little devil? He might as well find this as the perfect chance to make his dream come true and send me to Mars with his supposed spaceship made from candy wrappers. What will happen of me and my safety?" she spoke dramatically as she kept moving her head with rejection. "He's not that bad" Ray defended his little brother but as soon as he saw her angered face and remembered all the things Tony had done to her, well he was ready to take it back. "Ok maybe he's that bad, but please you have to do this, there's no one else to pick him up. What would happen to a kid that's walking home all alone, in the night" Ray was trying to play the pity card on her but she knew better than to fall for it.
"Don't be so dramatic, it won't be night by the time they have to go home" Avery pointed out with a shrug.
"Please"
"No"
"Come on"
"Naha"
"Please"
"No way, your brother is a little devil and we both know that"
"So what if he threw you in the pool, on a winter day and you caught the flue? So what if he tried to put your hair on fire? So what if he painted your face and you went to school like that without noticing? So what if he placed baby rats in your room? So what if he threw tons of salt on your last birthday cake" the more he spoke the more his voice became a whisper since he knew that reminding her of all those things was doing the opposite of persuading her. He couldn't even stop himself from wondering how could a kid be so... energetic, so devilish and such a prankster.
Avery sighed since the conversation had been pointless and she had wasted her time listening to him, because in the end she knew she wouldn't be able to reject his pleadings. "I'll take him home don't worry" Avery stated with a defeated smile. Ray gave her a thankful smile and patted her hair and then he messed it up earning a smack on the head. No one should ever mess with a girl's hair. "I knew I could count on you, come on we can take you there" Avery declined his offer because if she was seen with them, she would be in trouble.
It would have been fine if they were normal guys whom you hang out with for fun, but they were gangsters and their idea of fun didn't match hers. "I umm" Ray shot her a questioning look as to why she wasn't following him towards his car. "I umm I have a car-phobia. yeah sorry I can't come with you. I'll walk" she smiled apologetically but her inner self was making a victory dance. "A car-phobia?" Ray raised his eyebrow with an amused chuckle. He cleared his throat and let her have it her way, for the first and last time, he thought while watching her slim figure moving towards the kindergarten.
"I should be granted with an Oscar prize" Avery mumbled to nobody but herself and punched her fist on the air, celebrating her victory.
Shut up, you're lucky you're still alive
"Oh don't you mean WE'RE lucky WE'RE still alive? huh?" if someone saw her they would think she was a nuts woman probably with a split personality or an imaginary friend, but to her defense, it was her consciousness that was bothering her.
