Rebecca Lee walked down the sunny streets of Erie, Pennsylvania. She stopped at a low-set brick building. She stepped inside and spoke to a woman behind the counter. "Come for a check-up?" asked the receptionist in a cheerful tone.
"No, actually I was wondering if I could use your copy machine. Would that be okay?" she replied.
"Sure, but what for?"
"I need to make copies of a flier for my new baby-sitting services."
"Go right ahead."
Rebecca walked over to the copy machine and took a crinkled piece of paper from her book-bag. She made copies of the flier that said:
Baby-sitter for hire
Low wages ($5.00 an hour $10 after nine o'clock)
ExperiencedCan handle any kid, no matter how rotten
Please call Rebecca at 555-6453
Rebecca made a hundred copies and then left the office building to hand them out and hang them on light posts. Then she headed for home.
The following Friday, she received a phone call from a new client. "Will you be able to work tonight?" asked the pleasant voice on the other end of the line.
"Sure," replied Rebecca. "I'd be happy to."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" exclaimed the voice. "For some reason, my old baby-sitter quit. She left without even being paid. Isn't that shocking?"
"Yes, it is. What time would you like me to come over?"
"Is seven o'clock alright?"
"Sure, where do you live?"
"We live at thirteen-thirteen, Cemeteryside Avenue," was the reply.
"Thank you, ma'am," was all Rebecca said before hanging up.
At six forty-five, Rebecca was standing on the doorstep of a large four-story house. That wasn't even including the attic and the basement! She rang the doorbell and it let out a clearly audible ding-dong
The woman who answered the door looked as if she was worth a fortune! She was dressed in a scarlet blouse with a black knee-length velvet skirt. She had diamond earrings hanging from her ear lobes and a ruby necklace hanging from her throat. Maybe I should have charged a higher price after all, thought Rebecca as she stared in amazement at the beautiful woman.
"Welcome! Welcome!" greeted the woman as she ushered Rebecca into the house. "We've been waiting for you. My name is Cornelia Graver. This is my husband, Victor and my two children, Felicia, who is seven, and Tempest who is just a year shy of her age. You are welcome to anything in the refrigerator. If you have any problems or if there is anything you need, please call this number," said Cornelia as she and Victor headed for the front door. "We'll be back around two o'clock. See you then!" And they were gone.
As soon as her parents disappeared through the door, Felicia took the tiny card with the number of the restaurant on it and tore it into tiny little pieces. "You won't be needing that!" she said with a look on her face that reminded Rebecca of an innocent newborn puppy.
"Okay," said Rebecca, drawing the word out slowly. Then she turned to Tempest. "I've heard the name Felicia before but I have never heard the name Tempest."
"It means 'a great storm,'" offered Tempest shyly. "Don't ask me why I was named that."
"Hey!" Felicia suddenly exclaimed in a louder-than-necessary voice. "D'ya wanna see my lab?" she asked with a look that made her look as if she were begging.
"Aren't you a bit young to have a laboratory?"
"Nope! My mom said that I could have one because I have such an interest in science."
"Okay, I'll take a peek."
The three of them walked down a long flight of stairs. When they reached the bottom, they crossed an immense basement to a small oak door. Felicia opened the door and revealed one of the most impressive laboratories that Rebecca had ever seen. (Actually, it was the only one she had ever seen but she had a pretty good idea of how elaborate it really was.) The back wall was lined with cages filled with any animal from rats to opossums, to cats. Just about anything Rebecca could imagine. In the center of the room stood a worktable. On it, were scientific instruments and vials filled with colorful bubbling liquids. "Wow!" exclaimed Rebecca and she let out a long low whistle. "What's that?" she asked pointing to the back of the room at a large glass aquarium.
"Oh, he's one of my favorites. He's a Boa Constrictor."
"Yuck," was the first word out of Rebecca's mouth. "I hate snakes."
"I'm bored," Tempest suddenly complained. Lt's play a game!" he added.
"That's a great idea!" said Rebecca. "But what should we play?"
"How about hide and go seek?" suggested Felicia with a creepy gleam in her eye.
"Okay," said Rebecca uncertainly. She didn't like the look on Felicia's face. I'll be 'It,'" said Rebecca. I'll count to one hundred and then I'll look for you. Whoever I find first will be 'It' next. How does that sound?" she added. The two children agreed and Rebecca covered her eyes and began to count. Both children instantly ran into the attic.
When Rebecca reached one hundred, she began to search for the two. She started in the basement and worked her way up. She didn't see any sign of the children on the "house" floors so she began to climb the rickety old stairs to the attic. She searched all over the attic but she couldn't find a trace of the children.. Then she spotted a small door near the back of the room. "Alright you guys. Game's over. I know where you're hiding," she said as she crossed the room. She opened the door and peered into the darkness of what seemed to be a walk-in closet. When her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she began to search the dusty old space.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut. Rebecca heard a groan as a heavy iron bolt was slid into place. "Hey! Hey, guys! Let me out!" she shouted to the two children. Then she heard the kind of whirring sound you hear when you're near a hornet's nest. Rebecca passed out in fright.
When Rebecca awoke, she was behind bars. She looked around and realized that she was in one of Felicia's many cages for her "specimens" as Felicia had called them. She screamed and yelled, but nobody heard.
Upstairs, the children's parents had returned home. "Where's the sitter?" asked Victor. "I'll pay her now. The children smiled up at their parents sweetly and informed them that Rebecca had left, in unison.
"How irresponsible!" exclaimed Cornelia. "I guess we can save our money on her!" With that said, she turned to her daughter and said, "I haven't seen your lab in a while, dear. Would you like to show mommy how it's coming along?"
"Sure!" exclaimed Felicia in a hyper, enthusiastic tone, despite the hour. "Tempest helped me catch a new specimen!" The two went down the winding stairs and entered the oak door.
"My, my, my," said Cornelia. "It looks like it's coming along nicely."
Felicia's mother continued to poke around the room, examining the experiments and peering into the microscope. Then, Cornelia spotted Felicia's new specimen. "Ah, what a beautiful snake that is, darling!" she said beaming with pride at her daughter and Rebecca saw that the woman was staring right at her.
Inside the cage, sat the fattest python anyone had ever seen.