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Imogen Halstead (age 5)
Word count: 1069
Wills POV
"You can go down the slide, but just once. Okay?" I warn as Imogen shoots me that sly look she always gets away with. She squeals and runs away to begin her climb up the outdoor jungle gym and I keep a close eye on her. This kid is a cause for concern.
"Watch me, will! Watch me!" She jumps over one of the ledges and my heart stops beating for a second. If a broken bone was a person, it's my sister. I sigh and walk along the bottom with her as she looks down at me, "woah, I'm impressed but please be careful!" I call after her as she runs along, using my fake shocked voice. It doesn't take her long to reach the slide, but when she sits down I see the familiar glint in her eye, the mischievous glint, "just once remember?" I nod as I wait at the bottom of the slide. She sighs, "but I wanna go again" she folds her arms as she sits at the top of the rather tall slide.
"No Imogen, I warned you before you went up there. Only once and then we're going home" I stand my ground. She huffs but sits there with her arms folded, her lips in a small pout, "Imogen..." I warn with a head tilt. She doesn't back down, "if i have to count to three I'm gonna come up there and get you myself..." I set my jacket on the floor. She shakes her head as if I won't climb up there to get her, "1..." I begin, yet she doesn't move, "two... don't let me get to three, Imogen" my tone isn't as nice anymore, yet she still doesn't move which doesn't shock me, "three, right that's it I'm coming up" I jog over to the entrance and begin making my way through the tiny gaps, how do kids get through these things?
The second Imogen sees me, she squeals and slides down the slide, my face drops. Did she really just make some get up here when people are watching for nothing? This is so embarrassing. Im going to kill that child. The second I reach the slide I see Imogen stood at the bottom, "one time only willllll, then we have to go..." she mimics me and I swear I don't know where we found this child, I'm going to kill her. I quickly slide down the piece of plastic, cringing as parents watch in disgust whilst Imogen holds back a laugh. Her face drops once she sees the anger clear on my face, but part of me wants to laugh, sometimes I wonder if she was swapped at birth...
I pick her up and carry her back to my car silently. Once she's buckled in and strapped down, so she can't run, I begin my lecture, "when I tell you something, I expect you to listen to me. Do you understand?" I point my finger in her face. She looks up at me through her eyelashes and nods, "what you did back there wasn't acceptable, right? When you get home you're standing in the naughty corner for fifteen minutes. You're not allowed your iPad for the rest of the night either" I decide and she kicks her legs in a paddy, "enough!" I raise my voice. She huffs and turns away from me, going on strike from talking to me. I see her tear streaked face as she looks at me through the mirror, but I don't care right now.
~
"But!" Imogen protests, "no buts, Imogen. You made the decision to be naughty, and now you're facing the consequences. So you can either continue this tantrum and make me and jay even angrier or you can calm down and do as your told" I warn with my finger pointed in her face. She grunts before turning around to face the wall, her arms crossed against her chest. I shake my head and stand up as I leave her alone, setting the time on my phone for fifteen minutes.
"You wanna deal with this or me?" Jay nods from his place at the table, his hands tapping away at his laptop. I sigh, "no, no you work. I've got it" I shake it off. He nods and continues his paperwork whilst I begin making dinner.
~
I hear the timer on my phone ping before the sound of light footsteps make their way into the kitchen. Imogen walks over to jay and buries her tear stained face into his side. Jay seems to ignore her, "it isn't me you should be sucking up to, kiddo" he replies. She makes a noise before plodding over to me instead, "I'm sorry for being naughty Will, I won't do it again" she looks up at me as she plays with the wobbly tooth at the front of her mouth. I sigh before lifting her up, "quit playing with it or it will fall out too early" I pull her fingers out of her mouth. She rests her head on my shoulder, "you can't act like that Imogen, especially not in public. Got it? When I tell you only one more time, it doesn't mean you can go against what I say. It means one more time" I lecture.
"I'm sorry" she mumbles as she sniffles. I rub her back, "it's in the past now, just don't do it again" I nod. She sighs as I set her down on the floor so I can plate dinner up. She wanders over to jay as he ruffles her hair up, "how about you help will set the table, huh?" He smiles. She nods tiredly before wandering over to grab the cutlery.
Once we're seated and eating dinner, I begin chatting with Will about the holiday to Greece next month, when we hear Imogen giggling to herself. We both pause and look over the table, "what's so funny?" Jay smiled weakly. Imogen throws her head back, "Will went down the baby slide" she giggles once again. I sigh and shake my head, "did he now?" Jay looks at me smugly. I shrug, "someone had to get her..." I brush it off. Imogen giggles, "you looked silly" she continued eating her spaghetti. Jay smiles, "he always looks silly" jay adds, furling Imogen's laughter. What a supporting family...
