Babysitting adventures with Robin Buckley

The "friend"

Since operation croissant was sort of a bust, I've decided to go for plan B. aka just operation croissant but nothing gets in my way this time. My parents confiscated all my money I got from working at the movie theater. Once I convinced them that I was not selling drugs or something like that, they gave me half the money. Hardly enough for one plane ticket let alone all the other things I would have to pay for. And since me getting a job has proven very difficult, I moved to the safest option. Babysitting. You don't have to interview to babysit. And as long as you don't kill a kid or trash the house, you're pretty much golden. And, depending on how rich the family is, and how long, it's a decent amount of money. Word got around that I was looking for a family to babysit, and Nancy Wheeler somehow picked it up. She pulled me aside in the hallway and told me her mom would need a babysitter that weekend, because Nancy is going to be at some study group or something, and Mr and Mrs Wheeler will be gone. Nancy is sort of really hot. Okay focus, Robin. I don't need another useless crush.

I ring the doorbell to see a beaming Mrs Wheeler. It's a smile that you can tell is definitely fake, but still a little sincere. She looks all fancy and whatnot.

"Oh hi-" She pauses.

"Robin." I say, reminding her what my name is.

"... Robin! Right."

"Well come on in!" She says, motioning to her house. It's a nice house. Pretty much what I expected.

"The list of things you should know is on the kitchen counter; Holly doesn't do naps anymore, so you're good there; don't let Mike ride his bike around while I'm gone; and in case of an emergency, my phone number is on the list!" She says.

"Alright, cool!" I say. She walks out the door immediately. Seems like someone's in a rush. I see a tall pale boy with a haircut that is almost a bowl cut come down the stairs. Mike. Holly is in her highchair, eating applesauce.

"So, you're the babysitter?" He asks, a bored look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm Robin!" I say. I hold my hand out, but he doesn't shake it.

"Cool, so can I have my friend over?" He says, shrugging.

"I'm not sure your mom wants me to-"

"COME ON ROBIN SHE DOESN'T NEED TO KNOW."

"Look... I-" I pause.

"Who do you want to come over?" I ask. He sighs in relief.

"Just my friend Will. He wants to watch a movie. Just us, since we really only hang out with the party but never alone." He explains. I raise my eyebrows.

"Sure." I say. I really want them to like me incase they need me again. He celebrates by jumping around and screaming yes multiple times, the he bolts down the stairs to the basement. I walk over to Holly. She's a tiny blonde child who seems to desperately want to get out of her highchair. I pick her up and let her roam around. She starts bolting up the stairs, which is definitely a hazard. She is fast for such a tiny child. I just had band practice, so my legs are extremely sore. Not exactly helping me catch up to the small human running up the stairs. Finally I get up to the ledge, but she's gone. One door is open though. Nancy's room. It smells good. Sort of a flowery smell. Maybe perfume? Robin. This is exactly what happened with Tammy. Focus on the child. She's going through her whole room. It's now in absolute shambles.

"Holly..." I say, groaning. She gives out a little shreak and runs out. I actually catch her this time. I take her downstairs and place her back in the highchair.

"No more running around like a little goblin, alright?" I say. She glares at me.

"Taking that as an okay." I say. I walk upstairs. I have to clean up Nancy's room. Her bedsheets are a nice pink color. They smell good too. I'm realizing Steve Harrington has been in here before... multiple times. I shudder at the thought.

It only takes a couple minutes. I hear the doorbell and I guess it's Mike's friend. I open the door to another pale child. He has an actual bowl cut. I recognize him. He's Joyce's kid. The kid who went missing. He looks terrified for some reason.

"Hey!" I say, holding out my hand.

"I'm Robin, the babysitter." That has a nice ring to it.

"I'm Will." He says. He actually shakes my hand. Mike runs from downstairs.

"BYERS." He screams.

"MIKE!" Will screams back. They run to each other in a way I've seen couples do in movies. I almost expect them to kiss. It's probably nothing. No need to jump to conclusions. Mike grabs his hand. Again, like I've seen in movies. They run to the couch and sit down excitedly. I sit directly in the middle of them, where there's a small gap. Like those crazy dads who would never let his daughter date someone, because it's funny... apparently. Comedy. They both glare at me, and I leap up.

"Don't you two get into any trouble, you hear?" I say in my overprotective-dad voice.

"Can you like... go?" Mike says.

"Keep it PG." I say, and run out of the living room.