Jacob is sitting on the floor, bored enough that he’s considering wetting himself to have something exciting happen, when Kelsey comes over.
“Here you go, Jakey!” she chirps. She clips something to the front of his romper. “Try not to lose it, okay?” Jacob merely nods silently. Once Kelsey leaves, he unclips the item and peers at it. It’s his gym ID card, but not quite right. His membership number is the same, as is his address, name, and birthday. But the year for his birth is wrong, and the picture isn’t what it was this morning. This morning, it was his last school picture. Now, it’s a picture of Jacob back when he was a toddler.
To make matters worse, all ID cards for minors must include contacts in case of emergency, and instead of his parents’ phone numbers, Seth’s phone number is listed. This is all part of Seth’s prank! Jacob swears softly. But not softly enough. Kelsey hasn’t left earshot yet. She gasps.
“Naughty boy, saying naughty words,” Kelsey scolds, marching over to him. She puts her hands on her hips. “And you took off your ID, even though I just told you not to! You’re lucky that this is a no spanking daycare, mister.” She pulls a pacifier out of her pocket and pops it in Jacob’s mouth. He spits it out immediately. It tastes horrible!
“No spitting,” Kelsey says. “Naughty babies who say naughty words have to suck on the yucky paci.” She puts it back in his mouth. Grimacing, Jacob sucks on it obediently. Kelsey will put it back in no matter how many times he spits it out, and each time it lands on the floor, it picks up dirt and dust. “When your brother gets here, he’ll be told that you said a naughty word.”
“Bruvver?” Jacob asks around the pacifier.
“Yes. We just called him.” Seth walks into the daycare. “And here he is now! Perfect timing.” Kelsey removes the pacifier from Jacob’s mouth and carries him over to the front desk.
“Hi, I’m here to pick up my little brother,” Seth says, barely suppressing laughter.
“Here he is,” Kelsey says, handing Jacob over. Seth stares down at Jacob.