Afraid of The Dark

Needed Sleep

A/N ))

Because it's New Year's Eve, here's an early chapter in case I'm busy later.  I hope this year has been okay for y'all.  Stay safe try not to worry so much during 2022.  

By the way, I will be accepting requests.  No NSFW as we have some very young readers here.

Sunny looked as if he'd fall asleep on his feet.  He swayed back and forth, nodding off.  

All the while, he was attentive to the children, playing with them to the best of his ability.  It seemed he lost the energy to scold any naughty children, so I tried duplicating how he scolded me.

It didn't work well.  Despite how few children there were, they made it feel like Sunny and I were caring for fifty at the time.  

One child would not let go of my leg no matter how hard I tried to shake her off.  Stacey seemed to be guarding the light switch with her life.  

I didn't feel tired.  I just felt stress bubble up inside me like hot oil.  I tried to blow it off by chasing one of the children through the play spaces to get my damned room key back.

"Y'know, I really need that," I spoke through shallow breaths.  The kid escaped through an orange slide, only to be met with Sunny who sat at the bottom.

He took the key from the child and climbed up the slide.

"This is yours, I believe."  He handed it to me, kindly.  His hands were shaking.

"Hey Sunny, when is nap time?" I asked.  These kids were going to tear us apart.

"In about two minutes."  He laid down on the edge of the slide as chaos sounded across the room.  I worried if he was at his limit.  Hopefully he'd rest well while Moon was in charge.

Sunny clicked.  He allowed himself to go down the slide.  It was a sad sight.  

I could hear the children hushing each other as they saw Sunny go to the light switch.  The pulled out napping mats and stuffed toys that now littered the floor.  One child just grabbed a yellow ball from the ball pit.

The ceiling lights went out, replaced by the quiet glow of night lights. 

I slid down to see what was going on.  

Moon was walking around, tucking in children with plush blankets.  He hummed.  In response, a chorus of yawns could be heard.

It was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.  It was truly like night and day, looking at these children.

I walked up to Moon and tapped on his shoulder.  He turned slowly, the light in his eyes dim.

"How did you do that?" I whispered.  Moon put one of the blankets around my shoulders.

"From the look of it, I guess some of the kids got into Sunny's pockets," he said, holding out his hand to show an orange-colored candy.  A Sundrop.

"It's all caffeine." he explained.  I nodded.  

A child walked up to us, wide-eyed and maybe shaking.  He was either scared or on whatever Sunny usually was.  Moon placed a blue candy in his palm and patted his head.

"Go to bed now," he told the child.  The kid nodded and went to wherever he'd nap.

I pulled the blanket around me tighter.  

Moon turned to me and spoke in a hushed voice.

"Some of the kids have some trouble sleeping.  The candies are usually for troubled adults, but this is a special case."