Status: hai
So Keep Your Hands on Your Chest and Sing With Me, That We Don't Wanna Believe
Cradling the earth in the palm of his hands.
Stefanie and I went back to the apartment.
"Okay, what is your plan?" I asked, tossing the keys on the table. "Because I can't honestly wait anymore. I NEED TO BE IN SURREY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"Calm your non-existence tits," Stefanie said calmly. "I will tell you--"
"TELL ME NOW!"
"DID I NOT JUST SAY, 'CALM YOUR NON-EXISTENT TITS'? DID YOU NOT HEAR ME SAY THAT?" Stefanie yelled back. "I SAID I WAS GOING TO TELL YOU."
I threw my arms in surrender. "Fine, fine. I am calm."
"Okay, so, my parents are friends with these rich folk that live in Palm Springs and they're going on their 13th anniversary and they have 3 kids -- are you keeping up with me?" Stefanie pointed.
I nodded.
"Good -- and anyway, they need 2 babysitters for 5 days while they're in Europe doing the dirty," Stefanie continued. "They're gonna give us the house to stay in for the 5 days. They have a pool, they have a pool table. They have a mansion. All we need to do is look after the kids, walk the dog and by the time they're back, they'll pay us $1000 each and--"
My eyes lit up.
So much money.
So little time.
Just to look after some kids.
I was already in when she said Palm Springs.
"--that's enough money to get to London. The cheapest flight is, like, $938 or something. So yeah! That's how we're getting to England!" She clasped her hands together. "That gives us 5 days for babysitting and 2 days to get to London."
"Bless your parents," I shook my head, hand over heart. "So, when are we starting?"
"Now," Stefanie replied. "Have you forgotten that Palm Springs is 2 hours away?"
Ah.
"So, hurry up and get your things pack," Stefanie instructed. "We must leave NOW."
*
In the passenger seat as Stefanie drove on the highway, I dug through my suitcase from the front.
I wasn't wearing a seat belt, so this was illegal.
"Books, camera, pencil case, text books, VHS tapes, Teddy the bear, CD's, clothes--"
"You mean your ENTIRE wardrobe," Stefanie interrupted.
I turned to her. "Hey, hey!" I pointed. "I needed to bring majority of this stuff! I need to have a different outfit, like, everyday!"
"These kids are like under 10," She scoffed.
"Do they have a girl?" I asked.
She nodded. "She's, like, 5 years old."
"She could learn fashion if she wanted to," I told her. Stefanie cocked an eyebrow but shook her head. "Back to my counting!"
I turned back to my suitcase.
"Chocolate, towels--"
"Did you bring the rest of your room as well?" Stefanie giggled at her own joke.
"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA OH GOD STEFANIE YOU ARE JUST TOO FUNNY DEAR LORD HA HA HA YOU ARE A HOOT NOW I KNOW WHY DAN IS JUST SOOOO ATTRACTED TO YOU HA HA HA."
Stefanie took her eyes off the endless road and glared at me.
"Seriously, stop it, you're killing me," I said monotonously. "Stefanie, seriously, my stomach hurts from laughing too much."
"God knows what Matt sees in you," Stefanie chuckled.
"We all know Dan's seen inside of you," I muttered.
"Huh?"
"I said, 'Look, I bought some Van shoes'," I smiled. I then furrowed my eyebrows. "Now, keep your eyes on the road."
*
"Woaaaaaah, sweet house," Stefanie whispered, pulling up in their gigantic driveway.
"I am seriously going to buy a house here," I commented.
The mansion was painted in a custardy-color. I haven't learnt art in years, so, lets just go with a custard-colored mansion. It was very Greeky, with all the Corinthian columns.
"Ooh, a fountain," I pointed to the naked-marble-carved cherubs. "How rich are these people?"
"You know, I should tell you now," Stefanie started. "They offered $5000 each but I didn't tak--"
"You didn't take it?!" I yelped.
"We only needed $1000!"
"But $5000, Stefanie!"
"That means we'd have to stay longer!" She exclaimed.
You'd think we'd be at the house but we were still driving on their driveway.
We finally arrived at the house and our car honestly look like from the junk yard compared to the Audi that we parked next to.
"Okay, but since we're sharing secrets, I'm just going to say that I'm going to corrupt these kids with our lifesty--"
"Don't you dare!" Stefanie said. "These people are my parents' friends! These are the only kids we will not corrupt!"
I had already opened the door. "Too late," I said, perkily, slamming it shut. I grabbed my suitcase from the back.
Stefanie followed shortly after.
Stefanie lead the way, ringing the doorbell.
Two rich-looking folk answered the door with bright smiles. The parents, obviously.
The dad was soon balding but he had a bright smile that made up for the receding hairline.
The mother looked like the modest-rich. She looked rich but she didn't overdo it.
"Stefanie!" The mother squealed. "It's been so long! How is your mother?"
"They are doing well," Stefanie answered, a little formal like.
3 kids ran and smashed into their parents' legs, hiding behind them.
"This is my friend, Trixie," Stefanie introduced me as I shifted to shake their hands. "She used to babysit a lot of kids in highschool."
This was new information to me.
"Oh, so you must have a lot of experience in this, then?" Bald-dad asked.
"Yes I did!" I nervously laughed, glancing at Stefanie once. "I had a great time babysitting! Kids are just great!"
"That's so lovely!" Modest-rich-mom exclaimed.
"Only got the best," Stefanie shrugged.
The couple looked at Stefanie like she was their own child. Well, they have known her since she was a kid.
"These are the little angels," The mother pushed the 3 kids in front. They all looked down, looking up here and there.
The dad laughed. "They become devils when you feed them enough ice-cream," He gave a great dad-like laugh.
The mom gave him a warning look but then turned back to us. "So this is Hendrix, the eldest. He's 10 years-old. What do you like to play Hendrix?"
The kid was still looking down. "I like Baseball." It was barely a whisper.
"We named him after Jimi Hendrix--"
"Yeah, she had a huge obsession with him," The husband laughed. "So, technically, she named him."
She pushed him because he had interrupted her.
"This one's named Zeppelin," The mother placed her hands on the little boy's shoulders.
"Again, she named him," The man shrugged.
"Tell them what you like, Zeppelin," The mom kindly instructed.
"I like," He swayed side-to-side, clutching his pants, and looking down. "I like, uh, I like chocolate and baseball and--"
"Alright, alright," She patted his head.
She moved to their youngest but the husband was already holding the small girl.
"Now this one," He started. "I, proudly, named her. Wanna tell them your name?"
The brunette child buried her face in her dad's chest, completely shy.
"C'mon," He encouraged her. She shook her head, which made him chuckle. "Her name's Abbey, after The Beatles album--"
"He couldn't decide which member's name he wanted to have as her daughter's name," The wife rolled her eyes.
"But the name Abbey is perfect," He ignored her.
This couple must have had an insane teenage experience.
One thought came to my mind:
With names and parents like that, we didn't need to corrupt them.
Then came another thought:
How is England?.
"Okay, what is your plan?" I asked, tossing the keys on the table. "Because I can't honestly wait anymore. I NEED TO BE IN SURREY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"Calm your non-existence tits," Stefanie said calmly. "I will tell you--"
"TELL ME NOW!"
"DID I NOT JUST SAY, 'CALM YOUR NON-EXISTENT TITS'? DID YOU NOT HEAR ME SAY THAT?" Stefanie yelled back. "I SAID I WAS GOING TO TELL YOU."
I threw my arms in surrender. "Fine, fine. I am calm."
"Okay, so, my parents are friends with these rich folk that live in Palm Springs and they're going on their 13th anniversary and they have 3 kids -- are you keeping up with me?" Stefanie pointed.
I nodded.
"Good -- and anyway, they need 2 babysitters for 5 days while they're in Europe doing the dirty," Stefanie continued. "They're gonna give us the house to stay in for the 5 days. They have a pool, they have a pool table. They have a mansion. All we need to do is look after the kids, walk the dog and by the time they're back, they'll pay us $1000 each and--"
My eyes lit up.
So much money.
So little time.
Just to look after some kids.
I was already in when she said Palm Springs.
"--that's enough money to get to London. The cheapest flight is, like, $938 or something. So yeah! That's how we're getting to England!" She clasped her hands together. "That gives us 5 days for babysitting and 2 days to get to London."
"Bless your parents," I shook my head, hand over heart. "So, when are we starting?"
"Now," Stefanie replied. "Have you forgotten that Palm Springs is 2 hours away?"
Ah.
"So, hurry up and get your things pack," Stefanie instructed. "We must leave NOW."
*
In the passenger seat as Stefanie drove on the highway, I dug through my suitcase from the front.
I wasn't wearing a seat belt, so this was illegal.
"Books, camera, pencil case, text books, VHS tapes, Teddy the bear, CD's, clothes--"
"You mean your ENTIRE wardrobe," Stefanie interrupted.
I turned to her. "Hey, hey!" I pointed. "I needed to bring majority of this stuff! I need to have a different outfit, like, everyday!"
"These kids are like under 10," She scoffed.
"Do they have a girl?" I asked.
She nodded. "She's, like, 5 years old."
"She could learn fashion if she wanted to," I told her. Stefanie cocked an eyebrow but shook her head. "Back to my counting!"
I turned back to my suitcase.
"Chocolate, towels--"
"Did you bring the rest of your room as well?" Stefanie giggled at her own joke.
"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA OH GOD STEFANIE YOU ARE JUST TOO FUNNY DEAR LORD HA HA HA YOU ARE A HOOT NOW I KNOW WHY DAN IS JUST SOOOO ATTRACTED TO YOU HA HA HA."
Stefanie took her eyes off the endless road and glared at me.
"Seriously, stop it, you're killing me," I said monotonously. "Stefanie, seriously, my stomach hurts from laughing too much."
"God knows what Matt sees in you," Stefanie chuckled.
"We all know Dan's seen inside of you," I muttered.
"Huh?"
"I said, 'Look, I bought some Van shoes'," I smiled. I then furrowed my eyebrows. "Now, keep your eyes on the road."
*
"Woaaaaaah, sweet house," Stefanie whispered, pulling up in their gigantic driveway.
"I am seriously going to buy a house here," I commented.
The mansion was painted in a custardy-color. I haven't learnt art in years, so, lets just go with a custard-colored mansion. It was very Greeky, with all the Corinthian columns.
"Ooh, a fountain," I pointed to the naked-marble-carved cherubs. "How rich are these people?"
"You know, I should tell you now," Stefanie started. "They offered $5000 each but I didn't tak--"
"You didn't take it?!" I yelped.
"We only needed $1000!"
"But $5000, Stefanie!"
"That means we'd have to stay longer!" She exclaimed.
You'd think we'd be at the house but we were still driving on their driveway.
We finally arrived at the house and our car honestly look like from the junk yard compared to the Audi that we parked next to.
"Okay, but since we're sharing secrets, I'm just going to say that I'm going to corrupt these kids with our lifesty--"
"Don't you dare!" Stefanie said. "These people are my parents' friends! These are the only kids we will not corrupt!"
I had already opened the door. "Too late," I said, perkily, slamming it shut. I grabbed my suitcase from the back.
Stefanie followed shortly after.
Stefanie lead the way, ringing the doorbell.
Two rich-looking folk answered the door with bright smiles. The parents, obviously.
The dad was soon balding but he had a bright smile that made up for the receding hairline.
The mother looked like the modest-rich. She looked rich but she didn't overdo it.
"Stefanie!" The mother squealed. "It's been so long! How is your mother?"
"They are doing well," Stefanie answered, a little formal like.
3 kids ran and smashed into their parents' legs, hiding behind them.
"This is my friend, Trixie," Stefanie introduced me as I shifted to shake their hands. "She used to babysit a lot of kids in highschool."
This was new information to me.
"Oh, so you must have a lot of experience in this, then?" Bald-dad asked.
"Yes I did!" I nervously laughed, glancing at Stefanie once. "I had a great time babysitting! Kids are just great!"
"That's so lovely!" Modest-rich-mom exclaimed.
"Only got the best," Stefanie shrugged.
The couple looked at Stefanie like she was their own child. Well, they have known her since she was a kid.
"These are the little angels," The mother pushed the 3 kids in front. They all looked down, looking up here and there.
The dad laughed. "They become devils when you feed them enough ice-cream," He gave a great dad-like laugh.
The mom gave him a warning look but then turned back to us. "So this is Hendrix, the eldest. He's 10 years-old. What do you like to play Hendrix?"
The kid was still looking down. "I like Baseball." It was barely a whisper.
"We named him after Jimi Hendrix--"
"Yeah, she had a huge obsession with him," The husband laughed. "So, technically, she named him."
She pushed him because he had interrupted her.
"This one's named Zeppelin," The mother placed her hands on the little boy's shoulders.
"Again, she named him," The man shrugged.
"Tell them what you like, Zeppelin," The mom kindly instructed.
"I like," He swayed side-to-side, clutching his pants, and looking down. "I like, uh, I like chocolate and baseball and--"
"Alright, alright," She patted his head.
She moved to their youngest but the husband was already holding the small girl.
"Now this one," He started. "I, proudly, named her. Wanna tell them your name?"
The brunette child buried her face in her dad's chest, completely shy.
"C'mon," He encouraged her. She shook her head, which made him chuckle. "Her name's Abbey, after The Beatles album--"
"He couldn't decide which member's name he wanted to have as her daughter's name," The wife rolled her eyes.
"But the name Abbey is perfect," He ignored her.
This couple must have had an insane teenage experience.
One thought came to my mind:
With names and parents like that, we didn't need to corrupt them.
Then came another thought:
How is England?.