careful

three

"Hey, cutie! How was your day?" Nina asks Ella when she skips out of her school toward her.

"Fun! I got you a banana," she says with a grin. "It came with lunch today but I didn't want it, so I put it in my backpack."

Nina laughs and says, "Well thank you! I love bananas, I suppose. Where's Sadie?"

"Oh," Ella says, kicking the ground. "She got in trouble, she's inside."

Nina pulls Ella into the school and immediately asks her to find Sadie. Ella motions for the woman to follow her and leads her down a sequence of hallways. They cross through a dance studio and arrive at a door. Nina pushes the door open to find that it is an office where Sadie sits in a chair, her head rolled back.

"Hey, what's going on?" Nina questions.

"Who are you?" A woman asks. Sadie rolls her head toward the doorway and lets out a relieved sigh upon making eye contact with her nanny.

Nina cocks and eyebrow and props her hand on her hip. "I'm her nanny." As the woman sizes her up, she shifts her weight with a lot of forced confidence.

Sadie huffs out an, "I told you we got a new nanny!"

"Sadie didn't have her dance bag today, would you care to explain?" And Nina recognizes that the woman's tone is far less than amicable. At that moment, she decides that two can play that game.

"I didn't know she didn't have her dance bag? I just assumed it was here or something." She explains. "I'm not a psychic, you know." This was information that Nina could absolutely guarantee was not in the handbook she so carefully skimmed.

"Oh my God," Sadie groans, "I've already told you! I left it at my uncle's house!"

"You see, Sadie tried to play this trick earlier today and then claimed she didn't know your number. I don't believe her one bit," the woman presses.

Nina rolls her eyes. "Sadie, stand up," she commands. When Sadie does, she says, "Don't call Sadie a liar when your points are baseless. She doesn't have the dance bag and for that, she deserves whatever the consequences are in class, but do not hold her after school hours because you don't have your facts straight."

Nina promptly exits the room without allowing the woman space for a response, the two young girls in tow. Low and behold, down the hall, a curly-headed man is raging in the front office of the school. By the look of it, he might just jump the counter and start swinging.

"What do you mean they've already been picked up?" He shouts. "Who the hell took my nieces?"

"Uncle Ricky!" Ella shouts and begins to sprint down the hall at him. He sighs in what looks like relief and scoops her up. Nina recognizes the name from a page of emergency contacts and "safe" adults in the handbook.

"Kid, I was about to turn this school upside down! Where the heck were you?" he asks her. She plays with his curls and gives him a little smile.

"I was with Nina!" she tells him as she points down the hall toward Nina. "See? She's coming with Sadie."

Sadie trudges down the hallway, less happy to see her uncle. "You have my dance bag."

"That I do! I brought it for you," he informs. "And Nina! You're the new nanny. I didn't know you were starting today, I thought I was getting the girls."

Nina smiles, a little intimidated by him addressing her so freely. "Yeah, that's me. I'm glad you're here, actually. Sadie was just in trouble over that bag."

"Really? Well, I'm sor-"

"Uncle Ricky, will you come hang out?" Ella interrupts.

"Ella, please don't interrupt me while I'm speaking," he says softly. "However, if Nina would be okay with me coming over, I gladly will."

Nina's eyes widen and she sputters, "Well, I mean.. I- uh... it's not really... up to me?"

The man laughs a little too hard. "It's not?" he asks. Nina shakes her head rapidly. "Huh. I thought your handbook said you were in charge of the 'well-being and care of the children' and my brother and sister-in-law are out of town so really, it's entirely up to you." He promptly spins on his heel, carrying Ella out of the building. Nina and Sadie quickly follow.

"W-well I guess then, if that's the case, I would say that's alright. Yeah? It sounds okay to me," she sputters.

Ricky pauses and laughs, turning back to the shorter woman. "I was gonna come over anyway, honestly. Not only do I have a key, but I also have more clearance than you do. Mind if I steal this one?" He points at the younger sister hanging off his hip. "I've got a booster seat."

Nina shrugs and says, "I guess? Like if she wants to?"

"She does! See you there, Nanny," he calls out as he walks to his car with Ella.