Yeah, title sucks, I'll change it once I think of something better or I actually begin to like it…
AW BOY, ANOTHER CHEESY FANFICTION! I was reading one of my friend's fanfictions and got an idea for this one. I absolutely love those stories about troubled adults connecting with a small child that change their lives, I just think they're so dang cute. T_T Any ways, that's really what this fanfiction is going to be about. I know what's going to happen in the middle of this but the beginning is a little rough so I apologize for the quickness of this chapter. (Not like I wrote really long first chapters in the first place) This story is still in the works and might change a bit; I'll just have to see. But PLEASE, PLEASE review this once you've read this. I really love reviews, they keep me posting stories and I am open to any suggestions or comments. So, thank you and hope you enjoy.
"You want help with what?" I ask hoping that he was seriously joking.
"I want you to help me at the local daycare center! Come on! It will be fun!" Antonio clapped his hands together and bowed. We were at the park, the sun setting behind us and I was trying to head home before my brother got worried.
"I'm not going to help you drool over some stupid whinny ass brats, I have other important stuff to think about." I start to walk away and try to ignore Antonio's cries.
"B-but! I need help! The woman who works there has a child of her own and is pregnant! She can't work all the time and we really need a new person to help us!" he grabs my arm and grips it tightly.
"L-let go bastard! I said I don't want to help!" I yell trying to escape his tight grip, damn; I didn't know he was so fucking strong!
"Please! The pay is small but it's good enough! I swear, you won't have to do much! Just help me out when I need it!" he looks into my eyes like some puppy dog.
"No!" I finally yank away from his grip and continue to trudge away.
"Please?" Antonio continues to follow and whines even more.
"I SAID NO!" I snap back.
"Please! If you don't help the daycare center will be in big trouble! I don't want that! There's so many children there who really need this daycare center! The other ones are terrible!" he now sounds desperate, but I continue to try and ignore him.
"I fucking said…fucking…NO!" I turn around and see that he somehow disappeared. "…I guess…he finally got the message."
"PLEASE!" suddenly Antonio pops up behind me and I jump in fright and almost fall to the ground.
"GOD DAMN IT! FINE! I'LL HELP! JUST FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE ALL READY!" I holler and run away.
"REALLY? FANTASTIC! MEET ME HERE AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK SHARP THEN!" Antonio hollers back and waves goodbye to me. I can't believe that I actually agreed to help take care of annoying whinny little brats…ugh, damn bastard.
"Romano~ wake up! It's ten thirty! You're supposed to meet Antonio at eleven!" my brother shakes me awake and I turn over to see that he was right. Shit, I slept in. I shot upwards and looked out the window, everything was still kind of blurry and I felt really groggy.
"Fuck…" I mumble and stagger towards the bathroom. I turn on the facet and begin to splash my face with water, not realizing how freezing cold it was.
"FUCK! THIS IS FUCKING COLD!" I yell.
"Sorry Romano, I forgot to tell you that the hot water isn't working this morning for some reason…" my brother stared at my apologetically but that didn't quite cut it for me. I glare and try to endure the icy cold water until I finish washing my face.
I rush out the door and literally run to the park, it's eleven fifty, so I'm not that late. I continue down the street and the see Antonio on the other side casually walking and smiling like an idiot as usual. He notices me and waves. But he didn't realize he was standing in the middle of the road, and a truck was approaching him.
"WATCH OUT YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" without thinking I run over and tackle him aside. We both roll over to the side of the road as the truck zooms by. I take shaky breaths and look over at the other people staring at us. I didn't notice I was on top of him.
"Whoa…that was scary…" Antonio had a dazed look on his face then smiled at me. "But Romano saved me!"
"W-whatever…I was just trying to save you from being killed…" I blush a bit and try to look away from his eyes.
"Uh…are you going get off of me now?" Antonio shyly asks. I didn't realize that I was still lying on top of him and quickly get up. I brush the dirt off my clothes and try to ignore the many eyes looking at us.
"So…uh…where's this daycare center?" I try to lift the awkward atmosphere between us.
"Come on, follow me." Antonio walks off and I follow behind him without saying another word along the way.
We arrive at the small daycare building on this small area off to the side of the road. It was a bright yellow color with cheesy children's drawings all over it and shaped like an old school house. There were white stairs leading up to the small door with a small white fence surrounding the small area.
"This is the daycare center?" I ask looking over at Antonio.
"Sure is! Let's go meet the kids now!" He walks up the stairs and opens the door. Every step we take makes the floorboards creak eerily. I look up and see one big room with children's toys and things all over the place. There were small kids all over the room and when they saw Antonio, they dropped everything they were doing and ran over to greet him.
"Hola Antonio! Come estas?" They all asked in unison.
"Estoy, muy bien, gracias. Y tu?" Antonio replies.
"Muy bien, gracias!" The children all smiled cheerfully and hugged him in one big huddle. I stare awkwardly as Antonio hugs them back joyfully and I swear that I could hear him gigglinga bit.
"Everyone, I would like for you to meet my friend, Romano. He is going to work with us from now on. Say hello Romano!" Antonio glances over at me and my face heats up a bit. I hate it when I have this much attention towards me.
"U-uh…hi…I'm…Romano…" I stutter with my words and awkwardly stare at the million of little eyes staring at me. Then I notice a boy sitting in the corner flipping through a book by himself. He was very tiny and had messy black hair and had these big sad eyes that seemed hallow almost.
"That's Teddie. He's always sitting alone in the corner." One of the kids said. He must have noticed me staring at him. I blink my eyes and just stare at the kid. He stares right back and the room was completely silent. Finally Antonio tells everybody to go back to what they were doing and the kids scattered back to their places.
"Teddie is an odd 5 year old, he always sits alone in the corner trying to read some kind of book. I try to play with him but he says that he doesn't really feel like it. He's really distant with others and some of the kids have tried to include him but he just declines." Antonio stares somewhat sadly at Teddie and sighs. "I don't know what to do with him, it seems no matter what I try he refuses to interact. But he comes from a troubled home…"
"What's going on in his home?" I ask, now curious.
"His mother is struggling financially but his father constantly comes over and demands for money. He beats the poor woman to death if she says she doesn't have anything to give and Teddie helplessly watches. But, that's just rumors from the school. So I can't exactly say that it's true. I always walk him to this daycare center after school on weekdays and weekends his mother drops him off. But every single time he comes in, he just walks to the exact same corner and picks a book of the shelf and reads." Antonio takes a deep breath and I try to think of all that information he just told me. If Teddie's life is so fucked up, why doesn't Antonio try and help him out more?
I look over at Teddie again and see him trying to reach a high shelf for a book. I walk over and grab the book and hand it to him. He just stares blankly at me and blinks.
"Um…thank you sir." He quietly murmurs.
"Don't call me that, call me Romano. Also, no problem, I heard that you have quite the life back at home." I wasn't so sure if that last part was a good idea to say but I didn't really have anything else to say so that's just what came out.
"W-what? Who told you that?" he seems to be blushing now and looks really scared. Fuck, I really screwed up now. I try to calm him down by changing the subject.
"Uh…what book are you reading?" I ask stiffly trying to watch my words.
"Oh, it's one of my favorites I've read so far. It's about a boy my age who gets lost in the woods but a fairy helps him find his way back." He replies with a bit of cheerfulness in his voice. I have to say that he had good vocabulary for a 5 year old. I actually don't think this guy is too bad.
"So, uh, can you read?" Wow, what a stupid ass question that was to ask. Of course he can, why would he be trying to pick out a book if he couldn't? But Teddie replies normally.
"Yes I can Romano. I've been reading since the day I came here, which was when I was 3. It's one of the few ways I can escape from this place…" his voice falters a bit near the end and he looks down at the floor glumly. I look over at Antonio who's watching from a distance, he smiles and motions me to read to Teddie. I glare and turn back to Teddie who's still staring at the floor.
"Hey, what about I read to you for a change? It must be pretty boring just reading the book to yourself." I take a seat right next to him and hold out my hand for the book. Teddie looks warily at my hand and slowly hands the book to me. I flip to the first page and begin to read aloud.
"One upon a time there was a young boy with the name of Theodore. He lived in a grand mansion surrounded by rows of beautiful pure white roses. One day, when Theodore was out wandering around the gardens, he spotted a white rabbit scurrying through the garden. The rabbit hopped towards the woods, curious Theodore followed the rabbit ignoring his mother's words about how the woods was a dangerous place to wander into. Soon enough, Theodore did not realize how far he went and was lost. He looked around but could not see anything or the rabbit through the tall dark trees." I continue reading while Teddie sat right next to me and looked at the pictures on the pages. They were detailed drawings that looked like they could have been drawn with a really fine pencil.
I didn't realize how much I was getting into reading the story and I was actually enjoying myself at one point. I glance up and see Antonio grinning at me. He's wearing a bright red apron with a tomato sewn on it and his name right under it in curly letters. He gives me a thumbs up and goes back to playing with the other kids. I can't help but smile a bit; maybe working at this daycare center won't be so bad after all.
Remember! Review and tell me if I should continue this or not! Thank you very much!