The Babysitter ✯ Kellic

Chapter Three

If I was given more time, maybe I would have had more options. Maybe I wouldn't be carrying Copeland down to a daycare center I had never heard of to see a man I met at the park. Well, we hardly even met; I mean, he offered me something that sounded to good to be true, handed me a card, and never even asked my name. It seems sketchy, but if I want to be Copeland's legal guardian, it's my only current option.

I glance down at the card and make sure I'm going to the right place. The name of the daycare center is "Marie's TLC" so I'm guessing it's legit. I mean, if it was just called "The Daycare" I probably wouldn't go there. After a few steps, I find myself in front of the earlier said daycare center.

The building is pink, blue, and yellow, with building blocks painted near above the door. Each one has letter painted on it; and put together they say TLC. Again, this seems pretty legit. I hold Copeland closer to my chest with one arm and push the door to Marie's TLC open with the other. As soon as I walk in, I hear people talking and kids laughing, but that's in another room. By tilting my head, I see the kids running around and playing it what looks almost like a classroom.

Even more like a school, there's a front desk right across from the entrance - where I'm standing. I approach it and the lady behind the disk smiles at Copeland. "Well hi there, cutie!" she says in a voice commonly used when speaking to babies. The lady looks up at me. "And hello cutie," she says flirtatiously. "What can I help you with?"

Well, at least if she's hitting on me like I think she is, she isn't unattractive or too young/old for me. I smile as kindly as I can before speaking. "Actually, a man named Vic wanted me to come here to talk with him," I say awkwardly. A look crosses the woman's face. "Is there any way I could speak to him or...?"

"Yes," she replies. "Let me go get him for you." She smiles almost sarcastically before getting up and walking into the room with all the kids running around in it. I wait for a second before she comes out of the room, Vic following loosely behind her. The second he spots me, he smiles.

"I was starting to think you turned my offer down," he says happily, the sloppy smile still stuck on his lips. I shrug and he chuckles.

"Actually, I haven't yet. But I might. I came here to hear what exactly you're offering," I reply. He nods.

• • •

As it turns out, Vic's offer wasn't very far off from what he told me originally. He'll babysit while I'm at school or work, for free. The catch that he didn't tell me before was he has free access to my fridge, but other than that, he told me all I needed to know the first time. "I start my final year of high school tomorrow," I tell him nervously. "I still am really hoping you're not a murderer or a...well, you know."

He nods. "Most first time parents are scared to leave their kid in somebody else's hands, and I totally understand. But I work at a daycare center every day of my life, so I like to think I know a thing or two about little kids and babies," he repeats what he's said earlier. "You've seen my license and most anything else you would need to see to know that I am who I claim to be."

I nod. "Okay. But How good are you with kids, really?" I ask curiously. If I'm really letting this man stay in my house and take care of my kid, I need to make sure he's really a good candidate for this job. Vic shrugs and I skeptically raise an eyebrow at him.

"When I told the kids I babysit for a lot that I'm going to be busy, they were pretty heartbroken. Does that say enough?" he ask. I shrug and he chuckles. "And don't worry about paying me, once again, I promise I'll be okay without your money." I nod.

"Good, because I don't have any money to pay you with anyway..." I say, sheepishly. Vic dismisses the subject with a wave of his hand and I smile slightly. "Thank you so much, by the way," I say for probably the hundredth time.

"It's no problem. Just show me around, we've been standing in the living room for like an hour."