"Jordan! Stop throwing stuff at Gazzy!" I snatched the pair of scissors out of his hands
"Metri! Don't eat that!" I hurried over to him.
"Oh sh- Taymor! C'mon now, stop using that sign language or whatever you call it and clean up like I told you to!" I groaned. He flipped the bird at me. Nick pinched him.
I collapsed in one of the beanbags. This shit was stressful as hell.
We got four more kids today, Gazzy, Gus, Jordan, and Micheal.
Gazzy wasn't very bright, but he wasn't completely stupid either. Just a little slow. He liked hanging around Metri.
Gus was chill. He was quiet, always playing with his Nintendo switch. He usually sat in a corner silently.
Jordan's little bad ass couldn't sit still. Nigga was always running or throwing something at somebody. He was with Metri too.
And Micheal was always in somebody's business, adult and the other kids. His ugly ass loves to put in his two cents. He usually hung around Diego.
So far we have 8 kids. My momma said it's supposed to get up to 14 real soon. I'm gon die.
And I'm supposed to be working alone in a few days. Alone with all of the kids. I could feel a headache coming on.
I didn't even get to read the files yet because when I got home yesterday I practically flopped on my bed.
I noticed a small crowd forming around somebody, and I heard crying.
I groaned and made my way over to the kids, all with guilty faces.
"What did y'all do now? Who crying?"
At the sound of my voice, they all ran off, scrambling in different directions. Bad asses.
I looked down and saw hunched shoulders, curly hair, and heard an occasional hiccup.
"Aww, Diego. What happened?" I bent over to pick him up. I also learned that Diego loved being held, or babied for that matter.
He replied with a loud so, and then he rested his head on my chest. Probably getting boogers and tears on my new hoodie. Damn.
I rubbed his back soothingly. "You gonna tell me what's wrong?"
He unballed his fists from my shirt and wiped his eyes. "T-taymor call-led m-me ugly." His lisp made it hard to understand, but I could make it out.
He looked up at me. His eyes were red and puffy, and so was his cheeks. Poor little dude really looked heartbroken.
"Taymor? He called you ugly and that made you cry?"
He nodded. "I t-thought he was my f-friend, but t-then he said that I was t-too much of a 'g-girly punk'."
"Well, I don't think you're girly at all, or a punk for that matter. Not all boys have to be aggressive." I wiped a tear from his cheek.
"Okay." He rested his head back on my shoulder, putting a thumb in his mouth. Another thing, if he wasn't eating candy, he was sucking his thumb.
I looked around for the little bastard. I spotted him helping Nick with some building blocks.
"Taymor, come here." I took a seat at one of the round tables. Adjusting Diego on my lap, I motioned for Tay, who was just giving me an annoyed look.
"Boy, I swear to God."
Nick nudged Tay. Tay rolled his eyes and came to sit in the seat across from me. "What? Didn't you see that I was doin' something?"
"What did you say to Diego?"
Tay kissed his teeth. "I ain't said shit to that little crybaby. And if I did say something, it was probably for him to find his nuts." Tay said matter-of-factly.
I resisted the urge to flip the table. Not because I would hurt Tay, but because I still had Diego on my lap.
Diego pouted. "Why are you so mean to me? I-i thought we was friends?"
Tay snorted. "I ain't gon be no friends with no bitch like you."
Diego didn't say anything else, he just buried his face back into my chest and cried again.
"Oh my God. Tay man, c'mon now. You hurt his feelings. See?"
"Ion care. Now can I go?"
I grit my teeth and covered Diego's ears. "I'm getting tired of that lil attitude Taymor. Now, Diego ain't did shit but try to be your fucking friend. I wouldn't even do that myself, cause you rude as hell. Now either you can be nice and apologize, or I swear to God I'll take my belt off and beat yo ass myself like your daddy should have! Now apologize nigga!"
Tay crossed his arms. "Fine."
I moved my hands from Diego's ears and cleaned his face again. He looked at Taymor.
"Don't you have something to say, Tay?" I asked sweetly.
"No."
"What the hell you mean no?!" I yelled. Diego flinched.
Smack!
There was the sound of a slap.
I looked back up and say Nick standing behind Tay, who was rubbing the back of his head.
"Nick! Why you hit-"
"Apologize to Diego." Nick deadpanned.
"But I ain't-"
"If you don't apologize, then I'm not going to be your friend anymore. I can't be friends with a bully." Nick put his hands on his hips.
Tay sighed. "Okay, okay."
He looked down at the table. "My bad."
"Look at Diego and say it like you mean it."
Tay huffed and looked up at Diego, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be...mean. You just be acting a little sus sometimes."
"Sus?" Diego asked, popping his thumb back in his mouth and sitting up.
"Yeah, like ga-"
"Alright! That's it, Tay and Nick y'all can go now." I cut him off.
Tay got up out of the chair at rocket speed. Nick walked around the table and over to me and Diego. He waved at me.
"Hey, Diego. You want to come play with us?" He asked softly.
"I don't know. Will Tay be mad?"
"Not if I tell him not to. He'll listen to me." He grabbed Diego's arm.
Diego looked up to me for permission.
"Go ahead." I helped him off of my lap.
He started to walk away with Nick, before turning around and hugging my leg.
"Thank you, dad." He said quickly, and ran off.
I froze.
Did Diego just call me dad?
------------------------------------------------------
Symere just got here a few minutes ago, and he's already managing to calm everyone down.
Jordan stopped throwing stuff, and is now coloring in a coloring book that Sy brought.
Gazzy was trying to color as well, but it turned out looking like chicken scratch. Micheal was trying to help Gazzy.
Metri was helping Diego color.
Tay and Nick were busy arranging the crayons to their correct color patterns.
It was strangely quiet. I wasn't complaining. I was chilling, playing Clash of Clans.
My game was paused when I got a call. Geneva.
I sighed, walked outside and answered the phone.
Before I could even ask what she wanted, she started cursing me out.
"Stop yelling, I can't even understand you!"
"Geneva, what are you talking about?!"
"Girl, I ain't got time, I'm busy."
"You know what, fine. Go be with that nigga then!"
"Alright then! That's what's up. Yep. Go ahead. I hope Kentrell bum ass give you herpes too!"
I started from go back and forth with her.
"Bitch yo momma baldhead! And she a broke hoe!" I hung up. She ain't about to disrespect my moms.
I put my phone back in my pocket and walked back inside. Walking down the hallway, I noticed how quiet it was.
No lie, I started to get a little scared. I've only been here two days and it's never been this silent.
I peeked into the playroom, and what I saw made me gasp.
The little niggas was all asleep. Cots out, chairs put away, blankets and all. And Symere was sitting in the chair that I usually sat in, he was just watching them.
He looked up and noticed me. He smiled and stood up, adjusting his purple sweater. "I saw that you had stepped out, so I took over. Hope you don't mind."
"Oh, thank you! I don't mind. That was very mature of you Sy." I dapped him up.
"I take care of my baby sister sometimes so I know what to do."
"That's cool lil man. How old are you?"
"I turn six in two weeks."
"That's cool. You ain't tired yet?" He looked over to the other kids. "Not really. I have insomnia."
I nodded. "You want to go raid the pantry in the kitchen? We got snacks."
He pushed his glasses up. "Sure."
I took his hand, and together we made our way to the kitchen.
When we got there, we were greeted by the janitor, Daniel. He acknowledged me with a head nod, but then began to stare at symere.
"How old is he?" He asked, leaning against the wall.
"Uh, five. He got a birthday soon though."
"Oh, that's cool. What y'all up to?"
I pointed to the back room in the kitchen. "Snacks."
He got up from the wall and made his way over to the pantry, me and Sy following suit.
"I just restocked. Yo momma be stealing and taking shit home with her like don't nobody know what she doing." He laughed.
"If she do, it's for herself. I don't get nothing." My shoulders slumped.
"That's alright. Y'all go crazy while it's still stuff here." He gestured to the colorful selection of snacks.
"Thanks." I gave him a fist bump. He crouched down and gave Symere one too before he went back to doing whatever it was he was doing before.
"He seems cool." Symere said, reaching for some Cheetos. I nodded.
I grabbed some Starbursts for myself, then some cherry ringpops, strawberry suckers, and Skittles for Diego.
"That's all you want?"
"Yeah." Symere reached for my hand. I held his hand.
When we got back, the kids were starting to wake up. Micheal being the first to wake, and Jordan being the last.
Him and Symere were sitting by the window, splitting the cheetos and talking about God knows what.
Nick was playing in Metri's hair, and Tay was bouncing a ball against the wall.
Micheal was sitting next to me with his head down, playing with a fidget spinner.
Diego, of course, was seated in my lap with candy in his mouth and a fistful of my shirt. He seemed calm.
My momma walked in the doorway. "Y'all behaving nice. Better than with me." She grumbled.
"Y'all like Stokeley?"
She got a room full of yes, and one no.
"Taymor!"
"What? Ion like him" he stopped bouncing the ball and gave me a stank face.
"Yes you do. Now say yes." Nick snapped, momentarily stopping braiding Metri's hair.
"Yes I do." He went back to playing with the ball.
I laughed, and Diego giggled.
"I like Stokeley a lot." He said around the ringpop, lisping.
"Thank you Dieg-"
"He's my new dad." He hugged my torso.
I choked again and my mom gave an amused grin.
"That's cute. Looks like the boy is attached to you now." She cackled. "At least somebody is."
"Momma!" I clutched my chest.
-Jada