I lived in a pretty nice neighborhood. The people were friendly and the crime rates were low. It was my freshman year of college and like most college kids, I was low on cash. I looked in the newspapers and online for something local that worked with my schedule. No dice. Discouraged, I decided to take the dog for a walk to get my mind off of my situation. As I walked out the door I caught a glimpse of my neighbor across the street, Mary, waving at me. I smiled and waved back and she began to make her way over to me. I had no clue what she wanted but I stood there politely and waited for her to approach me. “Oh, good morning Darian!” she exclaimed. I’m not very good in social situations, so I simply smiled and nodded. “Your smile hasn’t changed a bit since you were a little girl! It’s so warm and inviting just like your mother’s.” I was confused by this as I’d always thought my smile was goofy and unappealing. “Thank you, Mary.” I said. My family moved in across from Mary’s 12 years ago. I was only 6 years old at the time.

“You’re very welcome dear.” she said. She continued talking. “You know, I was having lunch with your mother yesterday and she mentioned you were in need of work. Have you found anything yet?” I shook my head no. At this point my dog was getting antsy and impatient. She was ready to get on with her walk. “Quiet, Mitsy.” I said. Mary looked at her and chuckled. “Oh I won’t hold you much longer. I just wanted to let you know that Rodrick and I have been searching for a babysitter for weeks now and we haven’t found a single person who meets all of our expectations.” I didn’t like where she was going with this, but I let her go on. “Well what I’m trying to say is that I know you’re a responsible, reliable young woman so if you’re interested in the job please do give me a ring.  I know you’re someone I can trust.” I didn’t like any of Mary and Rodrick’s children. Rodney was the oldest of their three kids. He was 12 years old and as rotten as they get. He was constantly getting into trouble and yelling at his parents. I don’t know how they could stand him. Their middle child was a girl named Katrina. Simply saying she’s a spoiled brat is in understatement. She’s 10. Their youngest was a 6 year old girl named Brittany and she was the queen of temper tantrums. I told Mary I’d consider her offer and we smiled and nodded before walking away. Mitsy was happy to get her much anticipated walk underway.

For the rest of the day I weighed my options in my head and finally came to the conclusion that despite my feelings towards their children, Mary and Rodrick were my only hope. The pay wasn’t bad either. Later that evening I took a deep breath, picked up my cellphone and called their home phone. “Hello, this is Seymour.” I heard the voice on the other line say. “Seymour?” I asked. Had I dialed the wrong number? “Yeah, see more butts!” Only Rodney would be so juvenile. I rolled my eyes and faked a laugh.  “Hilarious. Could you give the phone to your mother?” I asked. “MOOOOM!!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. I had to pull the phone away from my ear for a moment. I heard some rustling around and then Mary’s voice answered. “Hello? Darian? Please excuse him. He thinks he’s a comedian.”  I laughed awkwardly. “It’s...alright. I was just calling to tell you that I’d like to accept your offer”. I heard her gasp, as if she was astonished that I still wanted to babysit. “That’s just great news! You can start tomorrow. Thank you Darian!” she hung up abruptly. I then sighed and walked upstairs to my bedroom, wondering what I’d just signed myself up for. I tossed and turned all night. The next morning I went through my normal daily routine all while dreading what was waiting for me later on. On my way back I went to Mary and Rodrick’s house instead of my own. Rodrick opened the door while straightening his uniform. “Ah Darian, just in time. Come in.” he said with a smile. Rodrick worked as a security guard at a hotel and Mary was a real estate agent. “Is Darian here?!” Mary shouted from upstairs. “Hi Mrs. Delaney!” I shouted back. I felt the need to be formal in front of Rodrick. Something about him made me uncomfortable but I couldn’t think of a reason why. It was just the vibe I got from him, I suppose. “Oh, hello Darry! I’ll be right down!” she shouted once more. I didn’t like that nickname, but I didn’t say anything. Once Mary and Rodrick were ready to leave out they gave me a small list of rules, helpful notes and emergency numbers. I skimmed the list, nodded and gave them a reassuring smile. They said goodbye to their kids and both left for work.

Right after they walked out the door Rodney said “Hey Darian, wanna see a magic trick?” I shrugged. Rodney then let out a loud, disgusting fart. “Ta-da!” he exclaimed. He and his sisters burst into laughter. “How charming…” I said. I prepared all the children their favorite meals, which their parents were kind of enough to list for me. After that I turned the list over to read the rules they’d set for me. Number one was “Please stay out of out of our bedroom for the sake of our privacy.” Fair enough, I thought.  Before I could finish reading I heard Katrina yelling. “QUIT IT RODNEY!” she screamed. Rodney was chasing her with spit on his finger so I grabbed him by his hoodie. “Hey, no wet willies.” I said. He wiped his finger on his pants and rolled his eyes. Katrina stuck her tongue out at him. Then Brittany said “I’m bored, let’s play hide and seek.” The others smiled and nodded. “You’re it!” she yelled before tagging me with all her strength. I fell back a bit and watched them all run upstairs. Ugh. This was miserable. I dragged myself up the stairs and called out. “Come out come out wherever you are...or don’t.” I murmured at the end. I checked Rodney’s room first. It reeked of sweaty clothes and old food. I gagged and closed his door quickly. Next I checked Katrina’s room. I saw her long brown hair peeking from underneath her bed. “Found ya.” I said. “NO FAIR! YOU CHEATED!!” she yelled while crossing her arms. I shrugged and pointed her down the stairs.

I made my way towards Brittany’s room and before I could completely open the door Rodney leapt out from behind it with a werewolf mask on. “BOO!” he yelled. I shrieked and punched him playfully. “Well you’re out, you dork.” He threw his hands up and ran downstairs. “So worth it!” he exclaimed. Lastly I had to find Brittany. There was only one room left and it was the one I was forbade form entering. But I had to find her, right? I slowly turned the knob of their parents’ bedroom door and talked softly. “Brittany..?” I got no answer I entered the room cautiously and looked around. “Brittany? Are you in here?” nothing but silence. Just then Brittany swung the closet door open forcefully. I gasped and gripped my chest. “You guys gotta stop scaring me like that…” Brittany just giggled and ran away. Before she got down the stairs a pile of Rodrick’s things fell off of the top shelf of the closet. I guess Brittany forcing the door open shook them out of place. She stopped and looked at the mess. “Oooh! You’d better clean that up before mommy and daddy see it!” she yelled before she ran downstairs. “Okay! I’ll just tell them you were the one who made it all fall down then.” I yelled back. Brittany began to scream. “I don’t wanna clean it up! I DON’T WANNA!” I rolled my eyes and groaned. “Fine! Just stop throwing a tantrum!” I heard her and the others laughing at me. “Rotten brats…” I mumbled to myself. I looked at the open briefcase, old photos and other things scattered all over the floor. They looked interesting. I was tempted to go through them, but I couldn’t be so rude. I began collecting them and putting them back in the briefcase.

As I was putting the old photos and trinkets back in Rodrick’s briefcase I accidentally looked at a few of the photos. However, one in particular caught my eye. “Hmm, what’s this?” I asked myself. The photo was a bit faded but it looked awfully familiar. Upon closer examination my heart sank into my stomach. The photo fell from my fingers and I sat there on my knees unsure what to think. The photo was of my bedroom taken from a distance. And I was napping in my bed. I couldn’t have been any older than 11 years old in the photo. Frantic, I dumped all the photos out of Rodrick’s briefcase and went through them. To my horror there were many others just like it amongst photos of family vacations. I covered my mouth and began to cry softly. “What kind of sicko have I been living across from all these years?” I thought. Just then I heard someone come through the door downstairs. “Hey kids, I can’t stay. I just came back because I forgot my briefcase.” I heard Rodrick say…