Chapter 9: BABYSITTING {2}

I turned to face Lucy.

" How does this work? " I asked her. I don't know what I was supposed to do, shower, lunch, sleep? I have no idea. I don't think she did either because she shrugged.

" Ummmm, I think it's lunch first, so what will you like for lunch? " That should do. After lunch, I should be able to convince her to sleep, and maybe my day will continue peacefully.

" Pizza, I like pizza" she replied overly excited, rubbing her hand on her tummy in circles.

So, she likes pizza, that's good Information just in case I ever need to bribe her. I wouldn't rely on ever being able to bribe her, Lucy is smart.

" Then that's what we shall have," I told this elated little girl.

" Order the best," she said. Apparently, she has specifications too. I looked at her as though she just told me dogs can fly..... although, I wouldn't be quick to say no to that.

" Duh, of course, I'll order the best. From the best place at that. " I picked up my phone and called the pizza place. Since she said the best, it must be a medium size pizza, with extra cheese and pineapple as toppings. I'm just kidding, I try my best to avoid whoever does that. Pizza and pineapple are not meant to be together, it's wrong and an offense to pizza lovers all over the world.

After ordering, I just had to wait for them to get here.

" So, what are we watching? " I asked gesturing to the tv. Silently hoping she doesn't pick something I can't stand as I crossed my fingers.

She looked at me smugly and narrowed her eyes. ' tsk tsk, good girl don't enjoy my discomfort '

" Dora, we're watching Dora the explorer" she slumped on the couch, ignoring me, and kept watching.

I sat beside her and occasionally turned to look at her." Ummm, Lucy don't you have assignments?" I asked almost whispering.

' Thread with caution 'my subconscious instructed

" No " she answered still fully focused on what she was watching.

" Ok, I wonder why. How was school today?"

" Good" her eyes didn't leave the screen, not even for a second.

" Nice, no bullies I suppose?" I held back my laughter after asking. I doubt anyone will dare to bully her.

" No"

" Great, hope you like your school?"

" I love my school" completely focused.

" You know, school is a good place to be, teaches you how to be a better person. Hope you like your teachers too?" I asked her. Not everyone likes their teachers. Honestly, can't say I blame them. Teachers can get a little bit { or a lot frustrating }

" Yes I do" she answered quickly

" And ummm, your friends?" I think I'm beginning to ransack my head for random questions.

"Yes"

Wait, why exactly was I asking all these questions? It's not like I wanted to keep the conversation flowing or anything.

I shifted uncomfortably as the atmosphere was suddenly awkward. At least for me, she was still watching.

I had read somewhere that the best way to babysit children is to tire them out and they'll sleep then there's finally peace and quiet. But the real question is, how exactly do I make Lucy tired, she's a ball of energy. I think she's only quiet when she's watching TV.

Oh, she hasn't eaten!

Step 1, she'll eat

Step 2, take a shower

Step 3, exercise.

Step 4, Bedtime

Step 5, Everything returns to normal.

Exercise... sounded weird I know. Probably not a regular checklist either.

I was doing a happy dance in my brain, the best way to tire anyone is through exercises. Nothing serious or anything. It shouldn't be hard to get her to exercise plus it can be a fun way to keep a child busy. Kinda at least, at this point, anything works for me. I decided to go with whatever popped up in my head.

The doorbell rang on cue and the pizza delivery guy dropped off the pizza box.

" Oh he's here," Lucy said, running to the door. Are you kidding me, now she shifts her attention!

I thanked the guy and gave him a tip before he left. I stared at Lucy as she chewed slowly, taking a few bites. Surprisingly, really excited as she chewed. Turns out she really liked pizza. This time, she focused on two things.

An hour later, I decided to bring up the topic of exercising.

I cleared my throat " Hey Lucy "

" Mmmm?" she said waiting for me to continue

" I decided, why don't perform some exercise routines."

" Exercise?" she gaped

" Yes, exercise. it's good for me and you." Wait .....is there actually a way to make exercise sound appealing? Probably yes, but to a child, I wasn't sure. Urgh, why didn't I think of a walk earlier?

" Look at me, I'm a child and I don't weigh much. I'm tiny. So tell me, why do I need to lose weight?"

" Umm, I mean you don't exercise to lose weight. You exercise to keep your body in shape. Reduce feelings of anxiety, combat cancer-related fatigue, improve joint pain, and stiffness. Also, exercise protects against many chronic diseases" She looked perplexed for a few seconds. I wondered what was going through her head.

" I don't understand what you are saying. But I'm already in shape, and fit. You're the one who needs to be in shape" I stared at the little girl showing no emotions. Huh?

" Why do I need to be in shape, I'm already in shape"

" Ummmmm, I'm not sure," she said tilting her head to the side.

" Wait what!" her eyes moved from my head to my feet and she thought carefully about what to say next.

" I didn't want to say anything at first but you've gained weight in these past few

days. You're getting a little bit fatter."

Great, just perfect. Not only did my plan not work, as a bonus she called me fat. I flinched as I stared at the remaining slices of pizza. All it took was a child to reduce the size of my ego.