The Runaway Princess

6. Babysitting Duty

When Hazel finally exits the school, I'm leaning against her car reading a book. Appears she had some after school thing, so I just decided to read whatever was in my backpack. "Hey bookworm! Whatcha' reading?" Hazel asks as she approaches me. I angle the book so that she can see the cover. "Paper Towns? Again? Really Annie?" Hazel asks, rolling her brownish gold eyes. "Okay, one do NOT call me Annie and two it's a good book!" I say and cross my arms. Hazel just shrugs and starts the car.

The drive to my brother's school was went quick and before I knew it I was thanking Hazel for the ride. "No problem. Hey and do just want me to wait? I can drop you off at your place?" She offers, arching on of her dark eyebrows. "No, thats fine. We can walk" I say as I decline her offer. She stared at me for moment as if trying to figure me out. Then she just shakes her head of tight dark brown curls and drives off.

It's starts to snow lightly as I head into my brother's school. "Hi Mrs. Smith" I say to the receptionist. She gives me a little wave in return.
I walk down the empty hallways until I reach brothers' classroom. "Knock knock" I call and poke my head through the doorway. "Hello Annabeth" Bobby and Matthews teacher, Ms. Andrews, replies. "Annabeth!" Bobby and Matthews cheer as they run toward me. "OOF!"
I stumble backwards as they run straight into me and wrap their arms around me. "Hey boys" I say with a laugh. They grab they grave their bags and we head outside.

                          ~

"Are we there yet?" Bobby whines as we trudge through the snow. It's about five blocks from the school to our house. Since we'd left the school the snow had picked up, until it was snowing so hard I could hardly see.
"Yes Bobby, we're almost there" I mutter, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. "Annabeth I'm cold!" complains Matthew, his teeth chattering.

Finally our house comes into view and the boys race towards it. I, however, walk slowly behind them, thinking about my encounter with Percy today. "Come ON Annie! Hurry up!" My brothers shout with impatience as they wait for me by the front door. I quickly pick up my pace, and open the door for them.

As the boys head towards the basement, I run up to my room to change into sweat pants , an old t-shirt advertising a band I used to like and a baggy sweater.
I grab my homework from my bag and sit cross-legged on my bed. Thankfully nothing in my beg was wet from the snow. Crazy Beautiful by Andy Grammer plays softly from my phone, and I hum along to it as I start my homework.
~
"I'm home!" shouts Susan three hours later. By now my homework is complete, so I just sit on my bed and read. "Hi Bobby! Hi Matthew!" Susan calls down the stairs. 'No hello for Annabeth. Fine. Be that way' I think to myself as I set my book down. I've decided to see what mood Susan's in and if it's a good one I'll ask her about the dance.

I jog down the stairs and I not the kitchen. Susan is sitting on the couch flipping through the mail. She seems to be in a pretty good mood so I decide to go for it. "Hey, uh, Susan?" I start awkwardly. Slowly as stops looking through the mail and lifts her head to look up at me. Susan is a small Asian women, with dark reddish brown hair and dark brown eyes. Her dark eyebrows scrunch together as she asks "What do you want?" Her rudeness seems to get rid of my nervousness and it takes all of my will not to make a smart comment. "Well, you see there's a dance at our school next Friday night and I was wondering if I could go?" I ask and force a hopeful smile. Susan's glare shifts into a sheer. "A dance, eh?" She asks, and I can already see her answer. I don't say anything and she taps her hands together, deep in thought. She's doing this purposely. Trying to get me all nervous by leaving me hanging. Well it's not going to work.

"Yeah sure" she finally answers. "Really?" I ask skeptically. "No" she replies with a sneer. Even though I expected this I still feel disappointed, which is weird considering I never even wanted to go to this dance in the first place. "Why not?" I ask defiantly. "Because you have to watch the boys next Friday night" Susan says as she continues to sort through the mail. "Aren't you going to be home?" I reply, crossing my arms. "No. I have a dinner party to attend to" She fires back, not even bothering to look at me. "Whatever" is my last response before I roll my eyes and run back up stairs. Just as I close my bedroom door I hear my phone beep, indicating that I have a text. I check the screen, and see that it's from Piper.

Piper: So have u asked her yet???

Me: Yep.

Piper: What'd she say???

Me: Nope. Apparently I have babysitting duty Friday night. No dance.

Piper: Oh no no no, u r going to that dance if it is the last thing you do!

Me: K, whatever

I turn off my phone, laughing at Piper's determination, and yet there's a small part of me that has I feeling that she was being serious.......