Babysitter Cougar [COMPLETE]

Chapter 3 page 1 - The Handover

Maia somehow already expects that my first day babysitting to be disastrous.

"You didn't tell me that I'm babysitting a little monster!" I complain. "I should've been briefed on this before I took up the task."

"I did mention 'challenging' but it never occurs to me that he's violent," Maia looks at me apologetically. "But I wouldn't put it past Saint terrorising peoples' lives especially the one he doesn't like."

"Who is Saint?"

"Hussaini," she clarifies. "We call him Saint for short."

"He's not a saint, he's a jackass," I grunt. "If I have a kid like that, I'll set him on hellish fire and let him have it."

"Sofia, he's seven."

"To fuck with that!" I infuriate.

My outburst had earned me a disciplinary offense point by a nearby school prefect who walks past us and catches me swearing.

"Is Ms. Mohammadi aware of this? She ought to know," Maia said forlornly after the prefect had obtained my details and split. "It's not fair for you to be harmed by him."

"She did," my lips twitch. "She's absorbing the news well and paid twice the promised amount out of guilt."

Maia mouths in awe but wipes fascination off her face after realising it's not appropriate to be amazed by a friend who was paid to get involuntarily tortured.

"At least he didn't lock you up in the bathroom for an hour," Maia mutters. "The security guards had to intervene to release me while he hides himself in the attic. Being in there makes me revisit one of my traumatic moments with dad, it's suffocating."

Recalling memories of her dad gives her the shudder which I pat the back of her shoulder for comfort. "Are you staying back after school today?" I change the subject to avoid her from talking about her past.

"Nah, I can't," she winks her left eye and shakes her head. "I'm taking over that babysitting job. Ms. Mohammadi had to work past office hours. Something about month end closing she said."

I sense a hint of dismal in her expression when she mouths 'babysitting' heavily under her breath like chugging down a medicine too hard for her to swallow.

"Maia, are you really short of savings that you have to take up this job?" I ask out of concern.

"I was at first but after the lock-up, I'm not so sure if I'm really up for the job anymore," she confesses.

"It's fine. I'll do the babysitting," I volunteer. "That kid doesn't dampen my spirit as much as he dampens yours."

Maia chuckles. "What do you propose? Club him to death?"

"If that's what it takes to teach him discipline," I shrug.

"How about your cheerleading tryouts?" she asks. "I thought it meant the world to you?"

"The bitch head of cheerleader has some personal beef with me so I'm out," I explain. "I'll try again next year, hopefully the new head is a nicer person."

                🍀☘️🌺🌸🍀☘️🌺🌸

After much persuasion, Maia finally decides to handover the babysitting job to me permanently just so she can focus more on her self-healing process. She called Sabina through the school's pay phone and informed her of the switch. Initially, I thought Sabina might be disappointed by the news thinking Maia could be her favourite, but Sabina adores me just the same.

I take no. 250 InterCity bus from the the bus stop which is opposite my school and alight at AmpWalk Mall before continuing my journey on foot crossing the Ampang Road to Sayfol International School where Hussaini studies. I approach the gate of the school with an expectation that he's readily available to be picked up but apparently, he's nowhere to be found.

Photo source : coachup.com