"Are you sure you want to do this?" Zick asked, leaning against his front door with his hands in his pockets. His eyes followed Elena running from her house and back to her bike to get all of her stuff together. Why she didn't just get everything at once and then go to her bike, he didn't know.
She halted mid-run and glared at him. "Are you kidding? This is my first real mission as a Keeper!"
He raised an eyebrow and walked towards her. "Your first?" He asked, motioning towards the small baby monster at Elena's feet, jumping up and down and practically begging for her attention.
She rolled her eyes and bend down to pick him up. "Don't ruin this for me."
"I'm not!" He held his hands up innocently and smiled. "I'm just saying...Lardine's monsters aren't easy to take care of. Chumba is always trying to escape, the Zamurri* isn't...well, he isn't exactly the nicest. And Number Two is almost as bad as Bombo."
Elena sighed. "Will you stop? Lardine is needed in Bibbur-si and the Keeper from the Lighthouse is in the hospital, I've got to help!"
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you."
"Thanks a lot, Zick," she rolled her eyes and shifted Bombolo to her other arm. "Can't you just have faith in me?"
"Never said I didn't. What did you tell your parents anyway?"
Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped the baby Bombo in her arms. "My parents! I completely forgot about them!" She started pacing up and down, muttering to herself about what she should tell them.
Zick watched her with amusement, but decided to step in when she started talking about telling them she was staying over at Patty's. No way would they believe that. "Relax, my mom told your parents you were going on a trip with us for the weekend."
"Won't it be suspicious if they are still here?" She asked, her eyes wide. She was sure she nearly gave herself a heart attack.
He rolled his eyes. "Elena, do you know the meaning of 'relax'? And my parents are visiting Bibbur-si for a while, so it's just me, the monsters and my grandparents," he shrugged.
"And you?"
He smirked. "I know how to hide, don't worry."
The orange haired girl finally relaxed and took a few seconds to catch her breath. "Well, I should go, Lardine is leaving in a couple of hours and I need to be there on time," she got on her bike and took off.
"My mom also said she'd drive you there," Zick called when she was a couple of feet away.
Elena made her way back and jumped off her bike before punching his shoulder. "You could've said that earlier!" She hissed, crossing her arms and glaring at him.
He chuckled as he rubbed his arm.
The young Keeper was bouncing on her feet as she eagerly listened to the female Tutor's instructions, almost bursting from excitement.
"Well, I'll be leaving then," Lardine set her eyes on the three monsters from her Detention Oasis. "Behave," she glared at Chumba. "Especially you."
The Gingi looked away, offended. "Excuse you, I'm an artist, I don't need to be locked up!"
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't," she smiled at Elena, Zick and Greta as she walked out the door.
Greta put a hand on Elena's shoulder and smiled softly. "Are you nervous?"
Elena's smile faded a little and she nodded. "Yes...I don't know if I can handle it."
"You handled Bombolo, didn't you?"
"Yes, but that's just one little baby. Now I have to take care of three full grown-"
Greta held her hand up. "I don't want to hear it. You're going to do great, Elena, believe me. I wasn't all that good on my first assignment either, you're actually doing better than I am."
The orange haired girl smiled. "Thanks, Mrs. Barrymore. I needed that."
"No problem," she grabbed her purse and smiled. "Just remember, Keepers mustn't be shy with their monsters. They must be kind, but they must let them see that they are confident right from the start, or else they'll take control of the house."
"Of course! First rule in the Keeper's Handbook!" Elena nodded.
"Exactly," Greta looked behind her. "Zick! You ready to go?"
The blue haired Tamer looked up, a little startled. He had been talking to Number Two while his mother was talking to Elena, he hadn't even noticed the time. He said one last thing to the monster before saying goodbye to him and following his mother.
"Good luck," he said to Elena as he passed her.
She took a deep breath and smiled uneasily at him, her expression unsure and doubtful, but determined at the same time.
They had only left for not even five minutes before all hell broke loose.
Zick paused when he was about to get into the car, Greta was still standing there, her eyes focused on the Lighthouse.
"Mom, what's wrong?" He asked, frowning.
She sighed. "I...I don't know, maybe the Tutors were a bit early with giving her this assignment, she's only fourteen."
"Same age as me," he shrugged. "And I managed to do a lot of things, she'll do alright."
Greta bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm not sure, she can get a bit hotheaded."
Something flashed in her son's eyes and he smirked. "Mom, believe me, everything will turn out just fine."
She wasn't sure if she should trust the look in his eyes or not, but the Keeper got into the car anyway.
Elena was already getting frustrated.
Chumba kept running around, trying to escape, the Zamurri kept talking to his family stuck to his body, yelling out random curses once in a while; all the while kicking random things and urging Chumba on.
Number Two just sat in the corner, being oddly quiet as he watched everything happening. Maybe it had to do with the fact he had a tower of snacks lying next to him, that would keep a Bombo quiet for the time being.
It didn't really help that Bombolo was wailing in her arms because she wouldn't let him join Number Two. But it was for the best, if she let him he'd have stomach aches and she'd have to change another diaper.
The young Keeper took a couple of deep breaths, scanning her mind for Greta's advice that could help her in this situation.
Keepers mustn't be shy with their monsters. They must be kind, but they must let them see that they are confident right from the start, or else they'll take control of the house.
Of course.
She had been way to soft at first, now the monsters just thought they could do whatever they wanted!
Well, that just wouldn't do, now would it?
"Enough!" Elena yelled, catching the attention of each and every monster, Bombolo even stopped crying.
She rambled on and on about how this behavior couldn't go on and that they needed to act as if Lardine was still there. Somehow, the monsters had ended up standing in a straight line in the middle of her rant. Chumba rolled his eyes and was about to interrupt, so was the Zamurri, but Number Two nudged them and glared at them, which made them groan in annoyance.
Elena was happy to say that it actually worked! After her speech, the monsters actually started to behave!
Oh she couldn't wait to tell Zick and Greta!
"Zick!"
The young Tamer jumped up in surprise when he heard his name being called and he looked around in confusion. Was it Sunday already? He could've sworn that was-
Tessa calmly looked out the window and smiled. "It's Elena, dear."
He nodded at his grandmother before getting up and running to open the door. He nearly lost his balance when she tackled him into a hug, but he caught her and managed to stay upright...with a little help from Bombo.
"Hello to you too!" He laughed.
Elena pulled away and jumped up and down. "I did it! I actually did it! Zick! I-"
He smiled. "You did it?"
"I did it!"
"Okay!" He chuckled and placed his hands on her shoulders, holding her in place. "Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."
She followed his advice, the smile seemingly permanent on her face and her face all red from excitement. She struggled to talk in between breaths, but he still managed to understand what she was saying and his smile just widened when he saw how happy she looked and heard how well she handled the situation.
"You did great, Elena," he said, smiling softly and watching her with amusement in his eyes. She was like a bouncing ball of energy at the moment, which she wasn't really known for.
She nearly squealed and jumped on him again, hugging him tightly, so close he struggled to breath. But he said nothing, he just simply hugged her back.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She chanted. "If I hadn't met you I would've never known about this great world of monsters and I never would've been able to become a Keeper!" She pulled away again. "Where's your mother? I need to thank her too for giving me the gift of Sight!"
"Still in Bibbur-si, they should be back soon."
She nodded. "Well, I should go home then! Bye!" She turned and rushed her way back home.
"Woah there!" He jogged after her and grabbed her arm. "Don't you think you should go blow off some steam before you go home? Your parents will ask questions."
"Oh, right! Good point," she turned and took off in the opposite direction; towards the park.
Timothy circled around Zick's legs as the young Tamer watched her leave, a smile on his face.
The Tutor sat down next to him and raised an eyebrow. "Should we tell her you ordered the monsters to listen to her?"
"Nope," he shook his head, smile still on his face. "She'd kill me, besides, look how happy she is! I bet she wouldn't even yell at Teddy if she saw him. I don't want to ruin that."
"She won't properly learn to be a Keeper if we don't tell her."
"She will," Zick rolled his eyes. "Her studies are great, and today was her first assignment, she just needed a confidence boost, and I gave her that. If she gets another assignment, she'll still have that confidence," he stated.
Timothy nodded and walked back into the house, he seriously didn't understand those two. They obviously cared a great deal for each other but still denied having any kind of romantic feelings.
He shivered. Ugh, teens.
*What's his name? I'm sure it started with a L...