A Girl Named Kieran

Chapter 3: Like Gold

On my walk home from the studio, my phone rings and I rush to pull it out of my book bag.

Incoming Call: Haley

"Hey girl." I answer, holding the phone between my chin and my shoulder as I fix my bag.

"Did you miss me today?" She asks with a laugh.

"Of course I did. I couldn't handle anything without you. Riots started, children screamed, douchebags took over the world or more specifically our bus seat!" I exclaim to her dramatically, laughing.

"Elliot Robinson and Tyler Ross, I can't believe it. Did they say anything to you?" She asks.

"Well after I told Tyler that you've been secretly admiring him from afar for most our lives, he was pretty quiet." I say, biting my lip to hold in laughter.

"YOU DIDN'T!" She screams and I burst out laughing.

"You're right, I didn't." I smile even though she can't see me. I hear her take a deep sigh of relief.

"But, they were playing Oreo and Elliot did ask me to go out with him." I tell her.

"What did you say?"

"I told him no, duh. And I told him off for still playing Oreo like a 5 year old." I say, shaking my head.

"Good. Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow anyway and all uprisings with be put to rest." She says and I can imagine her taking a bow.

"Thank goodness. Hey, can I come to the studio with you tomorrow?" I ask.

"Yeah, but you gotta promise not to bother Mrs. Grace too much. She might not let you sit in on practices anymore if you get on her bad side."

"Trust me, the last thing I'm trying to do is get on Mrs. Grace's bad side. I need her to give me an audition."

"I know, it'll happen. I promise." Haley says gently. It's the voice she always uses when I'm sad, like she's got to be careful not to break my delicate feelings. 'I hate when she talks to me like this.' I think.

My phone beeps and I look down to see an incoming call from an unknown number.

"Hey Hal, I gotta take this call. I'll text you though." I say loudly, trying to recognize the number.

"K, bye!" She says before I hang up.

"Hello?" I ask, answering the unknown number.

"Yes, is this Kieran Smalls?" A woman's voice asks.

"Yes ma'am, how can I help you?" I ask.

"My name is Kelly and I wanted to know if you could babysit for me tonight. I got your number from Shelby Reyes, she's a friend of mine and she said that you were super sweet and responsible. I have a work party to go to tonight and I probably won't be home until midnight, I'm so sorry it's last minute." She rambles.

"Sure, yes I can tonight. How old is your child?" I ask.

"Well actually, children. My daughter is 7 and my son is 18, but he's got a music gig to go to tonight so he won't be home until 11. I just need you to watch Clara while we're both gone." She says.

"Sure, I can do that."

"Thank you so much. I'll text you my address and I'll see you at 6." She says before hanging up.

Before long, I get a text with her address and thankfully it's only a few blocks away so I can walk. I put my headphones in and begin walking that direction.

Soon, I arrive at a house that looks like it belongs on the cover of a magazine. I stand on a walkway with perfectly cut grass around it, heading towards a well-lit front porch covered with plants, and a floral wreath on the door around the monogram R.

I walk up and ring the doorbell, which I hear echo into the house inside. The door opens and I look down to see a small girl with long brown hair and the biggest green eyes I've ever seen.

"Who are you?" She chirps, looking up at me. I bend down to talk to her.

"Hi, you must be Clara. I'm Kieran and I'm here to hang out with you tonight while your mommy goes to her work party." I tell her.

"I've never heard a name like Kieran before." She says.

"Most people haven't, but I love the name Clara." I tell her and she smiles.

"Me too. Come on." She says, grabbing my finger with her hand and leading me inside the house.

"Mommy, I found my babysitter outside!" She cheers, taking me through the dining room and into the kitchen.

"Clara! What did I tell you about opening the door!" I hear a woman exclaim from the kitchen. She sees me and smiles.

"You must be Kieran, it's so great to meet you. Thank you so much for coming on such short notice." She says, before rushing to get all her things together.

"I see you've met Clara, I told you my son will be home later. Here's a list of emergency numbers, feel free to text me if you need anything. She's already had dinner, but she does need a bath. Bedtime is 8:00. Thank you so much again." She says, before kissing Clara on the top of the head and rushing out the door.

My eyes widen a little as I try to retain all the information she just spit out. I look down to see Clara looking up at me expectantly.

"Well, what do you want to do until bath time?"

"We could color." She says, shrugging her shoulders.

"That sounds great." I say and she takes my finger into her hand once again and leads me into the living room.