Rise Up

Talie

It was weird being in class Friday with Mr. Miranda knowing I'd be babysitting his kids tonight. I was getting a bit nervous about showing up at his apartment. What did teachers' apartments look like anyways? Were they filled with textbooks?

When I showed up at the address around 6, I found that it looked like a totally normal place. Kids' toys all over the place, but otherwise it looked clean and organized. A pretty lady answered the door.

"You must be Talie!" she smiled at me and held out her hand.

"Hi," I said politely. "Nice to meet you."

"You too. I'm Vanessa, Lin's wife," she introduced herself. Sometimes I forgot teachers had first names. He was always Mr. Miranda to me. Speaking of him, he walked out with a baby in his arms. It must be Francisco.

"Hi, Talie," he told me as he walked in. "Thanks for coming."

A little boy, about four, ran out with a Superman cloak over his shoulders, making whooshing sounds as he ran around the living room. I could tell I would be exerting a lot of energy tonight.

"No problem," I said nervously, standing in the same place. Mr. Miranda noticed me hesitating.

"Come sit down," he said as he found something in the fridge. "Make yourself at home."

I sat down on their couch, tucking my hands between my thighs. Sebastian soared over, now with some sort of action figure in his hands.

"I'm Sebastian!" he told me.

"Hi Sebastian," I smiled at him. "I'm Talie."

"Is my daddy your teacher?" he asked.

"Yep," I told him. "He's a good teacher."

"Say that again," Mr. Miranda said from the kitchen. "But let me get out my phone to record you."

I laughed as Sebastian found another superhero action figure for me. Mr. Miranda and his wife were kind of dressed up. He usually wore some slacks and a nice shirt to school, but he had a sports jacket on. Vanessa looked beautiful in a blue dress.

Mr. Miranda walked over with Francisco and sat on the couch with me with a little notebook.

"They've already had their dinner," he started. "If Sebastian asks for a snack, he can have some crackers before bed, but no cookies. They usually go down about 7:30. No bath, just have Sebby brush his teeth and use the restroom before bed. You can read them two or three stories."

He held up Francisco in front of him, balancing his little feet on his knees. "Are you gonna be a good boy for Talie?"

The little boy gurgled and smiled at his father. Mr. Miranda kissed his chubby cheek and then handed him to me. "Talie, meet Cisco."

"Cisco?" I asked as I took the child.

"That's his nickname. That and Franky," he informed me as he stood up. He turned to his wife. "You ready, babe?"

"I just need to get my shoes," she said. Mr. Miranda knelt down in front of Sebastian and talked to him a little bit. He'd said the boys were pretty well-behaved and I hoped that was true. Vanessa kissed both boys goodbye and then I was by myself with two young children.

"Alright," I clapped my hands together. "What should we play?"

"Superheroes!!!" Sebastian said loudly. He continued to run around the room in his cape, making his Superman fly through the air. I played along with the other action figure.

"Spider-Man doesn't fly, silly," he told me, looking at me like I was an alien.

"Oh. Right," I said. "Well, he's shooting his web. Pyow! Pyow!"