A Stupid, Hopeless Crush

Chapter-5 Call Of Duty

"Hey Mom, you wanted to see me?" I ask her, entering her bedroom. Mom is sitting on the bed, a glass of lemonade in her hand.

Uh-oh.

Recounting from many past experiences, I know that whenever Mom drinks lemonade, she's about to break some news which is bad for me. Like one time, she was drinking lemonade and she told me that I had to teach Kris how to bake a cake. Trust me, I'll never let Kris into the kitchen again. He just blew up the whole microwave! And his excuse? He wanted the cake to bake faster.

Anyways, I look up at Mom solemnly as she takes another sip of the lemonade. "Kylee, I'm very sorry, but there is a slight complication," she says, bringing her index finger and thumb together.

I nod. "Go on."

She clears her throat. "Well, I just found out that I've got to go to this very important doctors' conference. And Maria Dashner is a doctor too, so we've decided to go together. Kris has gone out and as you of course know, your father is on a business trip to London," Mom pauses and takes a sip from the glass, and continues. "Maria was wondering if you'd babysit for her. And...well, I said yes."

I gape at her. "Babysit who? Jillian or Brandon?" I ask in surprise.

I'm genuinely confused. One's a four year-old, and the other one acts like a four year-old. "You have to babysit Jillian, of course! Brandon's gonna help you," says Mom.

"But Mom! I have soccer practice at eight," I whine. It's a lie - practice has been postponed because Coach is out of town. And I'm happy too; I'm in no mood to see Brandon after yesterday's 'picture' incident. Call me a wimp if you will, but I wanna let that topic rest for now.

"Just postpone it, Kylee. I've already said yes," Mom says, setting the now-empty glass on a table. "Now tell me, which lipstick should I put on? The red one or the coffee-colored one?"

Now I'm pissed. "Mom, do I look like I would know anything about lipsticks?"

Before she can respond, the doorbell rings. I run downstairs and open the door, to see Maria standing in a business suit, her doctor's coat in her arms and a smile on her face.

'Hello, Kylee. Thank you so much for accepting to babysit Jillian. She said she loves the cake you baked for us," she says, coming inside. "If she needs anything, Brandon will help you get it. You guys can watch movies when she goes to sleep. Her bedtime would be around in a few minutes."

I smile and nod at her, and just then, Mom arrives. She looks almost the same as Maria, except her business suit is blue and Maria's is black.

"Okay, then. Ready to go, Lisa?" asks Maria, addressing Mom by her maiden name. She nods and take her car-keys. I take my jacket and step out of the house. Mom locks it behind me and pockets the keys. "The spare keys are with Kris, and he'll give you a call when he's back, okay?" Mom asks me. I nod.

The two of them are sitting in Mom's red Ford Ecosport, which she's loved dearly since she set eyes on it. "Don't worry, ladies," I say, saluting. "I'll be the best babysitter ever."

The two of them say a quick thank-you and drive off. I walk over to the Dashners' place and put a hand on the front door, meaning to knock, but the door is open already.

I walk in without a noise. It's so quiet over here. I look around and hear some sound in the kitchen, and walk over there. Peeking through the kitchen doorway, I gasp at what I see - Jillian sitting on the kitchen counter, a plastic plate in her hands, and Brandon standing near the stove, wearing an apron and a chef's paper hat. He grins and bows, and drops a pancake onto Jillian's plate. "Bon Appetit, madame," he says and she laughs. "Thank you, Brandon!" she giggles in a cute way. He smiles and kisses her cheek. "Anything for you, Jill. Now come on, eat it."