I walked out the door. It was a beautiful snowy winter day in New York. I was all bundled up in my new purple winter coat. I had a white toque, white finger mitts and white winter boots on. I was headed to the park to read my book. When I got to the park I sat on a bench, farther from the play equipment so it would be a bit quieter. I was reading a murder and mystery book. I loved those type of stories! They had such adrenaline! I felt a breeze behind my back and I felt like I was being watched. I took a deep breathe and turned around.
"Hiya!" A girl said.
I screamed and fell of the bench, but managed not to loose my page in my book. The girl came around and stood in front of me as I sat on the ground and inserted my bookmark in my book. The girl was blonde and had a ponytail on top of her head. She was wearing a lime green winter coat and bright pink jeans. Her high tops and headband were purple. I was very sure she wouldn't get a job as a fashion designer anywhere in this country! I knew this girl. She wasn't exactly the greatest. To be honest, she scared the living crap out of me!
"Hi. Connie." I said cautiously getting up. I put my book in my bag and slung it over my shoulder.
"Did my little Lukey-Pookey get my present?" she asked slowly walking towards me.
"Yep. So, uh, where's Kenny?" I asked slowly backing away.
"Some place you will never find it. For sure this time." Connie said with an evil smirk on her face.
"Still in your backpack?" I asked.
"Maybe." Connie replied with a slightly defeated look on her face.
"Hand it over Connie." I commanded.
She groaned, taking the koala out of her bag. She chucked it at my face but with my background knowledge of martial arts, I caught it, with surprising speed.
"So will you let Luke go to the school's 'Winter Wonderland' dance with me?" Connie asked, a murderous look in her eyes.
"Uh. Well, I think you should know, I'm letting Ravi, Emma and Luke go. It's up to him if he will go with you Connie." I said trying to tell her easily so she wouldn't stalk me in the middle of the night.
"Ugh fine." Connie said.
As she began to walk away I said, "If he says no, you are not aloud to do anything to anyone. Especially Luke and the rest of us, okay?"
She nodded and made the 'I swear to God' signal.
"Good." I whispered to mostly myself and I headed back home.
Once I got home, I found Luke in his room and told him my conversation with Connie.
"Wow. Creepy much." Luke said. "Thanks for siding with me Jessie." Then he gave me a hug.
"Oh your welcome Luke." I said. I accepted the hug for a couple seconds then got off his bed and headed downstairs.
I went into the kitchen and say Bertram and Abygail busy making supper.
"Hey Jessie!" Abygail said. She ran over to give me a quick hug and then went back to work, chopping veggies to go in the salad. Bertram was preparing chicken and cheese.
"Feel free to just chill for a little while. We have supper under control!" Abygail said.
"But," I started. "I usually help Bertram with supper. It's like our only bonding time."
"It's fine Jessie. Abygail and I can handle it. Maybe you can help us tomorrow night." Bertram said, not looking up from shredding cheese.
"Tomorrow night I'm going out to dinner with Tony." I said, starting to get annoyed.
"Oh." Bertram said as I walked over to Abygail.
I took the knife out of her hand and took my apron off of her and put it on myself.
"Abygail, go take a break. You've been working hard the whole time you've been here and that's not the point of vacation. Go relax in your room." I commanded.
She sighed but left the kitchen anyway. I could tell she rolled her eyes at me. When something didn't go her way, that's what happened. She turned sassy.
"Why so harsh?" Bertram asked.
"Bertram you don't understand. Back in Texas, Abygail was always a favourite. She always got what she wanted and did what ever she wanted whenever she wanted. No one said no to her. Now that she's in my boss' penthouse, she can't control the penthouse. You and I can. You have to be harsh on her when she tries to do something she's not supposed to." I said as I continued Abygail's job of making the salad.
"Oh. Okay." Bertram said. He put the chicken in the oven then set the table.
"Bertram." I said.
"Ya Jessie?" he replied as he set out the plates and cups.
"Do you think the kids like Abygail more than me?" I asked, scared to hear the answer.
"Well, it's hard to say. She does give them a fun time, but you do take them on adventures and give them opportunities they've never experienced before and you're a great nanny. I'd say it's a close call but don't ask me. Ask the kids." Bertram replied as he finished setting the table.
"Thanks Bertram." I said, feeling a little better.
"No problem Jessie." Bertram said as he gave me a pat on the back and then opened the door to the home movie theatre and stepped in, leaving me along to finish making the salad.
I thought about what he said and debated on asking the kids who they liked better. In the end I decided to. The next day. I really need to sleep on the decision and make sure it was a good one and that I was prepared for the answer. From now on, I decided to give the kids a fun time and make sure that I was doing my job better than my sister.
At supper, Abygail and I sat farther from each other and Bertram sat closer to me. The meal was delicious! The kids enjoyed it too. They thanked me and Bertram for the meal, not Abygail. Obviously, they heard her fiddling around in her room and thought she had nothing to do with the making of the meal. The thank you's made me feel a bit better.
After the meal, I said, "Okay kids, who wants to play a round of 'Uno' before we go to bed?"
The kids cheered and ran into the living room and gathered in front of the burning fire with the card all handed out.
We played a fun round. After we had cleaned up it was about 7:30pm. It was almost Zuri's bedtime. I thought the kids would like it if we stayed up a little later. So, we watched TV until 8:30pm, then I put Zuri to bed. At 9:00pm or a little after, I put the other kids to bed. At 9:30pm Abygail and Bertram went to bed. I stayed up in my room reading until 10:30pm. In the morning I knew I would ask the kids who they liked better out of me and Abygail. I made sure I was well rested and ready to be fun in the morning. After I was in my PJ's and I put away my book, I snuggled under the covers and fell asleep within 5 minutes after my head hit the pillow.