Babysitting Business

Mona took a breath in as she stood up a little straighter. She wanted to make sure she seemed peppy and fun - the worst thing a babysitter could ever be was boring.

“Alright! So I’ve got plenty of fun activities lined up for today while your grandpa’s gone—“ She said, with a wag of her tail.

She began counting off on one paw. “We’ve got some books we could read, drawing paper with colored pencils, a few puzzles, snacks for when you’re hungry, we could play hide and seek…”

But Adelaide just frowned, flopping down onto the floor. This made Mona tense. Did she say something wrong?

“Are… are you okay?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.

“I don’t want to do any of those things!” Adelaide said, firmly, still pressing herself down on the floor as though she could sink into it if she tried hard enough. “Why can’t I go on adventures with grandpa?”

Mona grimaced for just a second, before trying to not let any of her further emotion show on her face. That wasn’t a good start. It was hard to explain danger to children, and it was harder to convince them that danger isn’t fun that they’re missing out on for no reason.

“Um— well, he’s doing… boring, adult adventures?”

Mona tried to look convincing, but Adelaide’s suspicious glare didn’t budge.

“I know what errands are,” She said, flatly. Mona’s awkward smile got thinner as it was strained. She never was good at telling childrens’ ages, or what they’re supposed to know at what age.

“Uh, well, cool! Great. And you wouldn’t want to go on errands, right?” She said, clenching her teeth together in a grin. “How about we, um… make him something nice for when he comes back? We could cook…!”

Adelaide sighed. “…Fine. Sure.”

She didn’t seem thrilled, but at least Mona was able to convince her of something. She perked right back up.

“Great! Let’s go to the kitchen!”

Mona quickly prepared the ingredients for chocolate chip pancakes - Adelaide did as well, albeit a little slower and less enthusiastically.

“So, first we need to mix the batter, which means we need the pancake mix, milk, eggs, and—“

“I know how to make pancakes,” Adelaide said, flatly. She didn’t have any malice in her tone, though - it mostly sounded like she was bored.

“O—ookay!” Mona chirped, trying once more to smile through it. “Well, let’s get cooking, then!”

Adelaide was pretty good at making pancakes, to Mona’s surprise. She wondered if her grandfather had taught her about it, or if she’d just picked up the recipe herself. Regardless, they were done sooner than Mona expected.

“Here, help me set the table!” Mona said, grabbing a few plates before turning and seeing— what was that? A faint smile? Adelaide was licking some of the leftover batter from the bowl!

She quickly frowned once Mona caught her, and pushed the bowl away into the sink, but Mona couldn’t help but beam. Looks like someone was having fun after all, even if she wouldn’t admit it.