3. Babysitters
She lay down in her bed, listening to her Green Day CD. She wasn't wearing her boots or her goth clothes anymore. She looked like a different person; wearing red basketball shorts, a black tank, bright yellow socks and no liner whatsoever. She laid right in the middle of her bed, her legs crossed and her arms under her head. Her foot twitched with the rhythm of the song playing and for that moment, she was happy; liberated from her worries and responsibilities. All the things she had to bear because her mother was too out of it to even care. She cherished these few moments she had to herself.
Through her locked door and blaring music, she heard a muffled "I'm out, don't wait up" that sounded just like her mother. Thalia squeezed her eyes shut, ignoring the fact her mother was leaving her once again; most likely for some guy she just met. Thalia grabbed her other pillow and pulled it onto her face. She sighed into it, smelling the scent of her shampoo. She then jumped off the bed and sat at her windowsill. Her Saturday was quickly fading away behind the buildings, casting pink, red and orange rays across New York. She turned her music off and gazed through the firescape.
Her senior year was almost over. She had missed out on all the senior activities, which she didn't care much about anyways. She didn't want any memories from her school. She just wanted to graduate and get it over with. She pressed against the cold glass and just breathed, fogging it up and then drawing little figures in it, like cats sitting on the rails or bats hanging upside down from the stairs.
Her phone rang and she ran towards it, not hoping it was a friend (if she had any), but another opportunity to earn some cash. Her mother didn't work, she'd been fired from everything and everywhere, and it was only Thalia's extra cash that kept them afloat.
"Hello?" she answered, dropping herself on her bed.
"Is this Thalia?" a voice on the other line asked.
"Yep, this is she," she answered, lying on her back.
"This is Sally Jackson. I saw your little babysitter add and I was hoping you could come by tonight around 8 o'clock and take care of my two boys," the woman, named Sally, asked.
"MOM!" a voice yelled in the background. Thalia chuckled. So many times parents have asked her to babysit kids who didn't want or need them.
"Sure, just give me the address," Thalia said, trying to contain the urge to laugh. Sally recited the address like she'd done it a million times before, thanked her a million times and hung up. It was about 6 o'clock, so Thalia took her time to rummage through her closet for something decent. She ended up pulling out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, kept her black tank and slipped on her pair of ankle boots. She pulled on a studded belt and slipped on her thick black leather bracelets. She didn't put liner on, because she didn't want to give the parents a bad impression the first time she met them.
She walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She looked in the mirror. Good enough. By now, it was 7 o'clock. She grabbed her bag and a poptart as she ran out the door and down the stairs. She walked down the sidewalk, past the little park and walked towards the fifth building on the left. The sun was now completely submerged behind the horizon and the only light she had to find the building were yellow street lights. Thalia bit her lip. She was always a little nervous when she was going to be a babysitter to a new kid. What if they didn't like her? What if they liked her too much? Thalia shook her head and sighed. It doesn't matter. I just need this money. She walked up the steps to the front double doors of the building and pulled out a post-it note from her pocket. She pressed a button and after a few seconds, a woman's voice came on the line.
"Thalia?" the woman called.
"Yeah!" Thalia said into the microphone. Without another word, there was a loud buzz and Thalia pulled the door open. She walked up to the third floor and walked down the hall looking for the apartment number she had been given. After a few turns, she finally found the door number she'd been looking for; 367. Thalia softly knocked on the door and not another second passed by when it swung open. A woman, a few inches taller than Thalia stood before her. She had long brown hair with bright blue eyes. She was wearing a short black dress and a green necklace.
"Hi!" she said cheerfully, a smile spread across her face. "I'm so glad you could make it. I'm so sorry I called at the last minute, but every other person was busy!" she explained.
"It's okay Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. Sally smiled.
"Oh goodness no! Call me Sally!" Sally said. "Here, come on in," she said, stepping aside to let Thalia walk in. The apartment was nice and simple. It smelled of chocolates and candy, with nice furniture placed around. Light blue curtains hung from every window and there was a small chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was simple, but yet very elegant. Thalia turned back her gaze on Sally.
"Okay, my boys don't really need a babysitter, but they can be so reckless I need someone to keep an eye on them while I go out. One is seventeen, the other is fifteen. Oh! Here's one now!" Sally said, as she looked behind Thalia. Thalia whirled around and her jaw dropped when she saw a boy with unruly black hair and bright green eyes.
Thanks a lot to everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed this story and extra thanks to the ones who favorited me as an author. It really means a lot :) I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! If not, then tell me why, but don't be mean! And don't hesitate to review. And I know this chapter was a little shorter than the last two, but oh well, sorry about that. Hope you enjoyed it!