"Ok, so I'm going to need confetti. As soon as Ray walks through those doors I want it to just fall all over her," Oliver said. We were planning a huge surprise birthday birthday party for Ray. She'd just turned 16 but she didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I did. Turning sixteen is supposed to be a milestone. Whether she liked it or not, we were throwing her a surprise party. Oliver was in charge of decorating and set up. I was in charge of invitations and budget. We worked well this way.
"Hey, I gotta go sweetheart," he said nonchalantly. It took me a bit to notice it was already 10:30. We'd watched Grease 1 and 2 and put in lots of extra planning for the party, which was soon. I was kind of apprehensive. I didn't know whether or not this whole surprise party would work. Somehow, I had a feeling she knew about it already and was just playing along. Whatever. It's the thought that counts. I said goodbye to Oliver and got ready for bed, ready for another uneventful day...
***
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! My alarm clock blared in my ear, over alarming me. My hand swung towards the snooze button, but ended up knocking it over...damn it. It was definitely broken now. I picked it up and, to my surprise, it was still intact and working. I almost break it about twice a week. Instead it just chooses random times now to wake me up. I kind of wished it would just fall apart and let me sleep. It was 12:47, of course a very normal time for me to be waking up.
I ended up being very bored that day. There were many friends I could've called, but none of them I really felt like calling. That and I couldn't find my phone. I kind of just moped around my house for a while, going to the fridge, sitting on the couch, going back to the fridge, sitting back on the couch, sleeping...
I woke up again at 5:00, almost forgetting I had to babysit in an hour. I had to jump in the shower to rid myself of that dirty feeling that always sits with me as soon as I wake up. After that, I resided to searching for my phone for 20 minutes, finally finding it lodged between the pillow cushions, expected.
I drove myself to the address that the woman sent to me. I could've waited for my mom, but the house was in the neighborhood so it wouldn't really be a problem. Besides, I had a permit. Close enough.
The house was very hard to see. I passed it a twice before I found it. It was kind of tucked between two others and had no distinguishing features except a broken swing set in the lawn. My neighborhood wasn't a high class neighborhood of any sort. It wasn't a ghetto, but the residents are in that have-enough-to-get-by class. I knew nothing of this family. I hadn't heard of them, but then again, I don't talk to any of my neighbors, so I wouldn't have really cared anyways.
I knocked on the door, and almost immediately Mrs. Gates, I think, opened the door.
"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" She said letting me in. "Our other babysitter canceled last minute." I looked around the house. Obviously a house for boys. All sorts of sports equipment was scattered by the back door with cans and food on the table.
"I am so sorry about the mess! I didn't have time today to get to it!" She exclaimed worriedly.
"Oh, it's fine," I stated. "Where's your son?"
"He's in his bedroom right now getting dressed," she said, and then moved on to pay, bedtimes, rules, etc. "Oh, and his older brother, Julian, is out at a party or something. I'm never really sure... But anyways, I don't know what time he plans on getting back. He might not even be back while you're here, but if he is, he'll probably come in through the front door and then stay in his room all night. He won't bother you. Ok?" I nodded. We quickly discussed pay and house rules for a few minutes before her husband was ready.
"Thank you!" She said as she and her husband scurried out the door. As soon as the door closed, I went over to the son's bedroom and knocked. He didn't answer. I opened the door and peeked in. There were action movie posters and Sports Illustrated posters plastered all over the wall, with the occasional band poster. A bunch of work out equipment was stuffed in the corner along with an old TV. I could tell this wasn't the eleven year old's room. I closed the door gently and walked to the door across from it. I knocked.
"Come in!" He said majestically. I walked in to see a room that fit the age more appropriately. He was holding a book in his hand and was sprawled across the floor.
"Hey," I said, " I'm Eden." He stuck his hand out politely.
"And I'm Greg. Nice to meet you Ms. Eden," he said comically. He was a cute kid, with scruffy hair and no pants, an example of a soon-to-be wild generation. He took my hand and shook it like a real business man. I laughed a bit to myself.
"So, we're gonna be here for a while," I stated, "Do you have any clue what you wanna do?"
~£~
We'd been playing Call of Duty for about 3 hours now. My thumbs were getting tired and numb. If been beating the kid for a while, but I eventually decided if heard enough of his complaining and groaning and decided to stand in the middle of the map and shoot the air the whole time, much to his delight. Just then keys started fumbling at the front door. I stopped what I was doing and silently pulled Greg closer to me.
"What?" He asked. I tried to shush him and pointed at the door. Just as I was trying to herd him into his bedroom, he stopped me.
"It's just Julian," he stated very matter-of-factly. The door opened and in came Julian. Whoa. The first thing I noticed is that the workout equipment in his room is used very often. And his face. He had a cute face with small brownish eyes and light brows. His perfect, sculpted lips accentuated his lower face. He had a rather smug look on his face.
"Julian!" Greg yelled. He jumped over the couch and ran to his brother. Julian's smug look left his face as he saw his little brother.
"Greg, mah man!" he said as he picked his picked as brother up. Greg crawled over his head on to his back and tried to tackle him. It had come to my attention that he hadn't noticed me there yet. I crouched down in an attempt to keep it that way.
"Why are you home so early?" Greg grunted while trying to choke him out.
"I don't know," Julian managed between gasps, "the party wasn't fun tonight. Are you here alone?"
"Nope," Greg replied, "Babysitter's here." Julian finally managed to pull his brother off his back and threw him on the couch beside me. His eyes blinked when he noticed me there.
"Oh, hi babysitter," he said with a huge grin.
"Hey," I replied awkwardly. He looked at the TV and then back at his brother.
"Can I jump in?" He asked his brother while ruffling his the hair on his little head.
"Sure, but she's pretty good," he responded, " The only kills I've gotten we're when she was texting or shooting clouds."
"Oh, really?" Julian stated quizzically, an award-winning smile creeping back to his face.
"No. Not really," I put in, "he just doesn't know where I keep sniping him from."
"It's really annoying!" Greg blurted out, practically inviting Julian and I to laugh at his miserable ideal. He jumped over the couch and seated himself between Greg and I, uncomfortably closer than I would have liked.
Julian grabbed a remote while his brother started up a new game. It all went smoothly. I went up the crane towards the roof where my secret sniping spot was located. As soon as I jumped in, another guy was standing there, immediately ending it with a hand gun. My jaw dropped for a second. Someone killed me?
"I guess your spot isn't as secret as you expected," Julian whispered in my ear, chuckling lightly. I tried to hold back a smile, but I didn't. I had another spot planned.
"It's fine," I remarked, "I've got a better one."
"I bet I know where it is," he said.
"There's no way. This one is way less well known than yours," I said with a smirk.
"Alright. I'll find you as soon as you get there. No screen cheating," he claimed with an evenly matched smirk on his face. Greg, of course, was groaning after getting killed for the 4th time since the game started two minutes ago.
"Come on you guys! Are either of you even on the ground? OH COME ON!!!" His yell proceeded me knifing him and running swiftly towards my second spot. There was just no way Julian would find this- What? His chuckle was nauseating as I realized he'd just sniped me.
"Told ya'," he said through a series of laughs. I just shook my head with a heavy frown. Well, this is disappointing. Now I have to stay on the ground.
"Where'd you even learn to play? Girls don't play this game," Greg asked.
"The xBox was a Christmas gift for my cousin, but he already had one so he let me keep it and gave me a few of his games. I didn't really use it much, until-. Never mind. I just play it sometimes," I ceased to mention my dad's passing because I hate crying. I don't always do it on the topic of my dad but I'm on my period so I'd rather avoid the chance. I was thankful they didn't notice it. The entire night pretty much turned into Julian and I switching positions every time we got each other out of the spot and killing Greg in between.
"Hey, you're mom gave me instructions as to bed time, and I'd rather not get in trouble," I said after a few games.
"What? It's so early! Come on! Can't we play one more game?" Greg begged.
"It's already 10:30! You were supposed to get to bed half an hour ago," I replied. Greg complained for about a minute, but his brother picked him up over his shoulder and hauled him to to bed. I decided I would let Julian put his brother to sleep. He'd probably listen to him more than me. I turned off the game and went to the bathroom. As I walked by the room, I overheard them talking. I didn't want to eavesdrop, but my body wouldn't move.
"You're not running away again, are you?" Greg's voice creaked.
"Naw, little buddy. Why would I want to leave you?" Julian said soothingly.
"But you did before. Why did you?" Greg asked.
"Mommy and I don't get along so good," Julian replied, his voice tensing up.
"Why not?" his brother kneaded. I could tell Julian was hesitant about answering.
"We just don't," he simply stated, "So, how'd you like the babysitter?"
"She's nice. She's actually fun. The other ones just let me play alone while they use their phones. This one actually does stuff. She's not very fast though. We were playing tag and I kept getting her. I don't think she was trying too hard. But I don't really care since I kept winning," I laughed a bit and immediately covered my mouth, hoping they didn't hear me.
"If only she'd played easy on Call of Duty," his brother responded with a slight laugh.
"Yeah, that woulda helped a bit," he said, joining in the laughs.
"Good night, kid," I heard Julian plant a kiss on his brother as he turned off the light. I made my way quickly to the bathroom and closed the door.