The Babysitter
Boom ........ Crash........ Pow !!! She woke up sweating. Ugh !!! The nightmare never goes away.
Sunlight shined on the gate as it creaked open. Anna Pitton walked in. She was dressed in a floral dress that day with a white coat. She always seemed to like coats as she was always wearing one and never took them off. Anna was 16 years old. She was planning to pursue Literature at the University. Anna was the baby sitter of Appy and Andy. Andrew Woods was 10 years old and Aphrodite Woods was 8 years old.
Anna had obtained a scholarship but it paid only for her tuition fees. So she was doing her part-time job as a baby sitter. The Woods family were very wealthy that they paid Anna well for taking care of the kids as the parents went away often. The kids’ elder sister was finishing her college degree in Psychology at the University.
Andy and Appy made it really tough for Anna to babysit them. Andy used to blackmail Anna to give part of her babysitting money. This ordeal continued and Anna was on the verge of quitting. ″I can’t go through this″ Anna thought ″NOT AGAIN!!″. But she needed the money.
One day Andy took it too far. He started threatening Anna to give the whole of her money that she had she received otherwise he would make up stories about her. Anna was crying but refused to part with her money. Andy was laughing loudly when suddenly out of nowhere a tight slap across his face sent him flying across the room.
Burning with anger with her hands on her hips stood Audrey Woods. Her face was in a reddish-pink shade which made her look like she was blushing all the time. She had returned from college for a break between exams to witness the scene. Appy and Andy had adored their big sister but they had never seen her so angry. She handed a tissue to Anna and asked her to go home.
Audrey now with folded hands looked at Andy. She was 20 years old. Audrey was the only person Andy and Appy listened to. Their parents had a rocky relationship and whenever they united, it resulted in a progeny.
Andy had never been slapped before. ″Is this how you behave in school Andy?″ Andy recovered from his slap still red-faced replied ''That's what Dad does to Mom. So I thought that's how you treat women''
That night Anna sat on her porch, tear-faced when Audrey walked over. She returned all the money that Andy had taken. ″I am sorry you went through that. Don’t mistake Andy. He is just a kid. He doesn’t have proper parents.
Anna stepped forward and hugged Audrey. It took Audrey by surprise.
″Do you get bullied at school?″, Audrey asked. Anna shook her head slightly and then nodded.
″You need to learn to stand up. They are bullying you only because you are letting them.″ Tears welled up in Anna’s eyes and Audrey stopped and hugged her again. ″So tell me their names″ Audrey asked ″Maarthim and Nerim. But don’t hurt them like you slapped Andy″ Anna replied. Audrey chuckled.
As Audrey walked back she recalled the only people who had hugged her before were her siblings and Katana Mansfield. She smiled to herself and walked away.
