It had been a month since the court ruling had been passed down and Miss Angie had been trying to keep a low profile since then as she worked off her community service. Of course, she was still willing to use her magic talents for the right folks that would appreciate them properly. But now, she was back at the courthouse waiting to meet with her court assigned caseworker, Ellen Anderson, to check her progress. She had only met her caseworker once and wasn't sure what to expect with this meeting. She waited, feeling a nervous anxiety beginning to rise a bit within her.
Soon enough, the door to her caseworker’s office opened and a middle aged woman appeared in the doorway, dressed in a simple blouse and slacks. She had light brown, shoulder length hair and wore simple but stylish wire rim glasses. She smiled when she saw Miss Angie and gestured for her to come in.
“Miss Angie, glad to see you again.” Miss Angie felt her anxiety disappear as she got up and went into the office.
“Good to see you too, Mrs. Anderson.”
“Please, call me Ellen.” She closed the door behind Miss Angie and took her seat behind her desk. “So, how has the community service been going?”
“Uh, I think it's been going well. I've been volunteering at a farm, helping teach the kids about different animals. It's been fun.” Miss Angie tried not to sound nervous but she wasn't sure if she was pulling it off.
“That's great to hear. So you'll be continuing on there?”
“Well, yeah, if they have a need for me. I've mostly been helping with tour groups but they don't have any booked for the next couple weeks, so I don't know…” Miss Angie tried to remember if there was a time limit she needed to have her community service hours done by.
“Hmm, I'm glad you brought that up because there's actually something I wanted to ask you.” Ellen leaned forward, placing her hands on the desk. “My husband Doug and I are going on vacation for a couple weeks. Sort of a second honeymoon sort of thing. We are looking for someone to stay with our son, Nate.”
“Oh?” Miss Angie was intrigued.
“I spoke with Christina at the farm about how great you were with the kids, how warm and friendly you were and honestly I thought you'd get along great with our son.”
“I'm flattered you would trust me for this, but are you sure?” Miss Angie wasn't sure she was ready to take on another babysitting gig after everything that happened with Patrick and the ensuing trial. She was already pushing it after having transformed Christina into all those different animals. And for the son of his caseworker. If this went wrong, the consequences could be dire.
“Yeah, we’re sure. We don't really have any family close by we can ask and honestly I think you two would get along. I mean, he is fifteen so naturally he doesn't think he needs a babysitter but I just don't feel comfortable leaving him on his own for two whole weeks.”
“I would love to and I swear I'll be on my best behavior. No magic at all.”
“Well, that's the thing. I'd like you to, actually.” Ellen pulled out a simple bound composition notebook from her desk drawer and handed it to Miss Angie. “This is a book of stories he's written. They're all about him…transforming into animals, mythological creatures, monsters…you get the idea.”
“I see…” Miss Angie started flipping through the book, marveling at how detailed Nate’s prose was, especially for the transformation scenes.
“I think he actually wants to transform. That should give you some ideas, anyway. There were other notebooks with more stories too. Which I why I said I thought you two would get along well together.”
“Oh yes, I think we would. Does he know about me? About what I can do?” Miss Angie looked up as she closed the notebook.
“I don't think he does. He's been busy with school and doesn't really pay attention to the news. I certainly haven't heard him mention it,” replied Ellen. Miss Angie nodded as she started flipping through the notebook again. “Which reminds me, for the first week we are gone, he'll be out of school for Spring Break. For the second week, he’ll be back though but he's pretty self sufficient in that regard.”
“Good, good,” Miss Angie nodded as she started flipping through the book again. She would have a good time with Nate, she could tell that much at least.
Ellen handed her a piece of paper. “Here are the dates we will be gone and our itinerary. We depart Friday night, so hopefully that works for you.”
“Friday will work just fine,” Miss Angie folded up the piece of paper and stuffed it into the pocket of her jeans.
“Now, I can't count this towards your Community Service but we would like to compensate you for your time…”
“We can work that out when you get back.” Miss Angie gave Ellen a hopeful smile.
“Great, thanks. So, I guess I'll see you Friday evening then.”
“Yes, I'm looking forward to it.”
***
Miss Angie arrived at the home of Ellen and Doug Anderson early in the evening as was agreed upon. As she walked up to the house, she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect for the next two weeks. The house itself was a lovely two story home with a basement, a brick facade and a large yard and wooded area behind the house. There were neighbors but they were quite a ways off from the house, ensuring plenty of privacy. A tall wooden fence secured a large portion of the back yard, which included a good sized swimming pool.
She closed the door to her car and walked around to the trunk to pull out the large suitcase packed with everything she imagined she would need for her time at the house. She walked up the stone walkway to the front door and rang the doorbell. She could hear some faint voices in the house, most notably that of a young man yelling, “For the last time, I don’t need a babysitter! I’m old enough to take care of myself!” She was beginning to wonder what she had gotten herself into when the door opened up and Ellen appeared.
“Miss Angie! Thanks so much for coming.” Ellen stepped aside so Miss Angie could come in and then shut the door behind them.
“My pleasure! Is everything alright?” Miss Angie set down her suitcase in the foyer and took off her jacket.
“Ah, you heard that. Yeah, he’ll be fine once you get to know each other I’m sure.” Ellen turned as Doug walked into the foyer. “And this is my husband, Doug.”
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Angie.” Doug held out his hand to shake, which Miss Angie took. She was taken by the 6 foot 2 man, in his early forties with dark brown hair with a hint of gray. He had a strong build, but with a bit of paunch. With a quick flick of her wrist, she cast a quiet little spell that would have him waking up the next morning with that tightened up and give him a little more girth, a little gift for Ellen for her second honeymoon.
“Nate, can you come down here please? I’d like for you to meet Miss Angie before we leave, please,” called out Ellen, directing her voice to the second floor.
Soon a door opened and a fifteen year old boy, decked out a t-shirt and a pair of fleece shorts appeared at the top of the stairs. He wore wire rimmed glasses and was a bit overweight. He sat down at the top of the landing and looked down at his parents and Miss Angie.
“Hi,” was all he could muster.
“Hi, Nate, I’m Miss Angie. I know you aren’t thrilled I’m here but I know we’ll have a lot of fun once we get to know each other.” Miss Angie turned back to Doug and Ellen and gave them a hopeful smile.
“I doubt it. I already told them I don’t need a babysitter. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” responded Nate.
“Nate, please, we would just feel more comfortable if someone was here…in case something happened. That’s all.” said Ellen.
“Yeah, I won’t get in your way if that’s what you want. I’m just there to make sure things are taken care of,” replied Miss Angie.
Doug’s phone pinged and he glanced at it. “Ah, our Lyft is here. We gotta go.”
Nate begrudgingly walked down the stairs and gave his parents a hug. Doug gathered up their two suitcases and like that, they were out the door and loading into their Lyft to the airport. Miss Angie and Nate waved from the front steps and watched as the Lyft drove off into the distance before heading back inside. Nate began making his way back upstairs.
“You know, I’m not your average, everyday babysitter, Nate. Things could get interesting around here,” she said with a smirk. Nate stopped and stared at her for a minute before he continued his ascent upstairs. As he did, Miss Angie weaved her first of what would probably be many transformation spells over the next two weeks.