CHAPTER 7

My eyes wandered over to the window, and I saw that it had just started raining. Sometimes, depending on what kind of mood I'm in, rain is something I find relaxing. Other times, I feel just as gloomy as the weather. And this was one of those times.

"Haley?" Dr. Allen's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"I asked you how you felt at your meeting that day," he said.

Truthfully, I felt like the other Baby-sitters had basically left me in the dust, but instead, I just shrugged.

"Did you think that your friends were treating you unfairly when they told you that?" Dr. Allen asked, reaching for his teacup.

I could hear that whole discussion playing over and over again in my head like a broken record, and it took everything I had not to let those feelings come back. "A little," I finally admitted.

"I could be wrong, but I think the reason why they gave you that ultimatum was because they were afraid you'd lose your temper with a kid you were in charge of, and didn't want to take that risk," Dr. Allen suggested. "Have you thought of that?"

"Haley?" Mom prompted.

I brushed my hair out of my eyes. "I suppose," I sighed. "Well, you see, the thing is, I'd never blow my stack while baby-sitting, but after everything I've been through, Kristy wanted to make sure that didn't happen. And don't get me wrong, I see her point, but I still didn't expect her to say what she said."

Dr. Allen nodded, and made a note on his pad. "What were you expecting to hear?" he asked.

"I don't know, to tell you the truth," I admitted. "I'm just glad Kristy still let me take the sitting jobs I'd already been given."

One of those jobs took place at the Salems' house, and not only did it give me something to do with my time, but it also helped me get my mind off of things.

As soon as school let out for the following Monday, I started walking toward the Salems'. I've always loved sitting for them. They have three-year-old twins, Ricky and Rose, and they're a lot of fun. Not only are they pretty well-behaved, but they're almost always singing, dancing, and putting on little shows for us Baby-sitters, kind of like the Perkins girls. And after my crapfest of a week, I really could've used something to cheer me up.

When I arrived at their house and rang the doorbell, I heard two pairs of little feet running toward the door and the sound of someone starting to unlock the deadbolt.

"Hey, guys?" I heard Mrs. Salem's voice call. "What do you say?"

"Oh, yeah," I heard Ricky answer. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Haley," I answered.

"Mommy, it's Haley," I heard Rose say. "Can we please open the door now?"

"Go ahead," Mrs. Salem answered.

Despite the foul mood I was in, I still managed to stifle a laugh. You see, Mary Anne once told us that when she first sat for the Prezziosos, Jenny had started to open the door without asking who it was first, and her mom had actually asked Mary Anne to ring the doorbell again so Jenny could answer the door the way she'd been taught. That's one story we still find funny to this day.

Anyway, the door opened, and there stood Ricky and Rose. "Hi, Haley!" they squealed, throwing their arms around me.

"Hey, you guys," I smiled.

"Come on in, Haley," Mrs. Salem called. I walked in and shut the door just as Mrs. Salem came rushing in. "Thanks for coming, dear," she said. "I just got back from picking the kids up from preschool, and now I need to pick their father up from work, with his car being in the shop and all. There's cucumber slices and cottage cheese for their snack in about two minutes. Oh, and Rosie's getting over a cold, so keep them inside at all times."

"No problem," I answered, and Mrs. Salem was out the door in no time flat. She must have been in quite a hurry.

As soon as Mrs. Salem pulled out of the driveway, I turned to face the twins. "So, uh, how have you two been?" I asked.

"Fine," Ricky answered. "Rose has a cold."

"Yeah, your mommy told me that before she left," I said. Then, I knelt down to Rose's level, being careful not to get too close, and asked, "How are you feeling, babe?"

"A little better," Rose said, sniffling a bit. "Mommy says I have to stay inside until it goes away."

"Oh, that's no fun," I said sympathetically. "I remember one time when I was five and had chicken pox. I had to stay inside for two weeks!"

"Two weeks! That's almost forever!" Ricky exclaimed.

"Yeah, it sure felt like it," I agreed. "So, are you guys hungry?"

In one second flat, Ricky and Rose had made a beeline for the kitchen and were sitting at the little island next to the washer and dryer. "I'll take that as a yes," I commented as I opened the fridge, and in a few minutes, we were all having cucumber slices, cottage cheese, and chocolate milk, which I am absolutely addicted to. Betsy Sobak once told me that if there were such a thing as 12-step programs for chocolate milk junkies, I could sure use one.

"Daddy's car isn't feeling well, either," Rose said, between bites of her snack. "He said it sounded like it has brontikis."

"That's bron-chi-tis, actually," I corrected her.

"What's that?" Ricky asked.

"It's when you can't stop coughing and your chest feels all funny," I said. "You know how sometimes water can't go down the drain because there's something stuck in the pipe? It's kind of like that."

"Yuck," Ricky said.

"I know," I agreed. "I remember when Margo and Claire Pike had that. Their brother said they sounded like a couple of lawn mowers with rocks stuck in the motor."

Upon hearing that, the twins laughed hysterically, and Rose managed to spew a little bit of cottage cheese across the surface of the island. Thankfully, it didn't land on me, and it was easy to wipe up.

Amidst the laughter, I heard my cell phone ring from my coat pocket, and ran to the hall tree to get it. "So, you had a bad day..." it sang.

"Well, I could've told you that," I muttered as I hit the talk button. "Hello?"

I was answered by a loud fit of coughing and a pitiful-sounding voice saying, "Hi, it's Charlotte."

"Hi. No offense, but you really sound like shit," I said, softly enough so the twins wouldn't hear me. The last thing I needed right now was them hearing me say a swear word and telling their parents about it.

"None taken," Charlotte groaned. "I really feel like shit, too."

"Uh-oh, bronchitis?"

"Yup."

"Oh, that must suck," I said. "I guess this means you won't be able to make it to the next game either, huh?"

"I'm afraid not," Charlotte agreed. "This has gotta be my fifth cup of herbal tea as well as my tenth trip to the bathroom. And you know what? If you saw what was coming out, you'd probably have to quarantine the whole house."

"Uh, TMI, Charlotte," I pointed out. That's something we cheerleaders sometimes say whenever one of us is getting ready to say something embarassing or gross.

"Oh, right," Charlotte remembered. "Uh, listen, the reason I'm calling is beecause I was supposed to baby-sit for the Prezziosos tomorrow after school, but obviously, I can't, so--"

I don't know what possessed me to say what I said next. Maybe I was doing it to spite Kristy for telling me not to baby-sit for a while, or maybe the Prezziosos hadn't found another sitter yet. Damned if I know. All I knew was I really needed something to do with my time since I couldn't even cheer for the next few games.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," I interrupted. "I'll call Mrs. P as soon as I get done here."

"But Kristy said not to take any more jobs for a while!" Charlotte protested.

"I don't care," I shot back. "You're sick, they need a sitter, so I'm doing it. And you better not tell Kristy, or else!" And with that, I hung up before Charlotte could say another word. It wasn't until I put my phone away that I started to feel guilty. I mean, I'd just disobeyed Kristy's order not to take any more jobs, and also made Charlotte promise to keep quiet about it. Smart thinking, huh?

"Is something wrong, Haley?" I heard Rose ask.

"Huh? No, I was just talking to Charlotte about homework," I lied. "Listen, I'm gonna go put our dishes in the sink. Could you guys wait for me in the playroom?"

"Sure!" Ricky smiled. "Mommy got us a new Sit-n-Spin! Want to try it?"

"Okay, I'll be right with you," I said as they scampered downstairs. After they got to the bottom step, I cleared the island, then rushed to the bathroom, locked the door, sat on the edge of the tub, and started crying. I was still upset over what happened to Matt at the game in Lawrenceville, not to mention Mom blaming it on me, and the punishment Adam and I were given. And that wasn't all. I also couldn't believe what I'd just done, and I didn't even want to think about what was going to happen when, or if, Kristy found out.

After a while, I pulled myself together, washed my face and headed downstairs to the playroom. Luckily, the twins couldn't tell I'd been crying, and I wasn't about to give them any impression that anything was wrong. I needed to finish my sitting job, and one way or another, I was going to finish it without any more worries. Believe me, I had more than enough things to worry about already.