Unexpected Turn of Events
Oh No
December 20, 2013
“Don’t do love, don’t do friends
I’m only after success
Don’t need a relationship
I’ll never soften my grip”
~Oh No~
-Marina and the Diamonds
What am I doing with my life? I, Kendall Evans, at age 25 just agreed to a babysitting job. Seriously? Babysitting? That’s a teenager’s job! Ever since I graduated from university, all I wanted to do was become a dancer. I started dancing when I was four and I fell in love. Everyone else thought that it was just a hobby of mine but I took it seriously. I started competing in competition and won five out the five I've been to but stopped because my parents didn't want me to take dancing as a career. Dancing made me feel alive. Today, I take dance courses here and there but now, everyone would just tell me that it would be too hard to pursue dancing and that I probably wouldn’t get into any dance school. And on top of that, my family wouldn’t support me so if I did get in, I would have to pay for it myself. Naturally, as a 25 year old, I don't have that money and it has been so hard to find a job. This was the only job that paid pretty well and I had enough experience for. The parents of this child sent me a key to their house and told me that I would start on Friday. All I knew about this kid was that her name is Madelyn and she’s five. They live about 30 minutes away from me in Chicago where as I, live in the suburbs. I really needed the money to start my career so I guess I will have to stick with this job. Nothing can stop me to achieve my goal, not even a sucky job.
Friday came before I knew it and I was driving to my new job. The first thing I thought when I got there was damn, that’s a big house. I walked in to see a lady cooking lunch and I see a little girl who I guessed was Madelyn.
“Hi, my name is Kendall Evans and I’m the new babysitter.” I introduced myself.
“Oh, yes. I was expecting you. Hi my name is Mabel Renshaw and I’m the cook here. Madelyn’s parents had to leave for work early so they left you this binder of instructions.”
I opened the binder to find a note.
Hello, Kendall. We are sorry not to be here when you arrived. Welcome to our home and this binder should help you with everything. –Patrick and Abby
In the binder there were schedules for when Patrick or Abby would be back from work as well, there were schedules for Madelyn’s dance, swimming, hockey, and soccer lessons. She sure was a busy five year old. I copied everything into my phone and saw that Patrick and Abby would be back tonight at 6 so I guess that’s how long I’ll be here.
“Hi Madelyn. My name is Kendall. I’m your new babysitter and today we’re going to have so much fun!”
“Hi! Do you want to play with my toys?”
“Ok, sure!”
My first day ended pretty quickly. Mabel left after making lunch for us both and said she’d be back tomorrow. Madelyn and I played with some of her toys, we had a tea party, and we read a chapter of Harry Potter as was instructed in the binder. Apparently it was something Madelyn had to do every day or else she would throw a fit. After a fun filled afternoon, it was finally six o’clock and I heard the door open.
“Mommy! Daddy! You’re home! I missed you so much! Today, me and Kendall had so much fun!”
I follow Madelyn to the door to meet her parents. I froze. I was staring at none other than Patrick and Abby Sharp. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. How did I not see that from the note? Patrick and Abby. Patrick and Abby Sharp. I was probably the biggest Blackhawks fan ever and I thought that Patrick and Abby were the cutest couple in the world. My palms were sweaty and I probably looked like a weirdo just standing there trying not to be nervous.
“H-hi. M-m-my name is K-Kendall. N-nice to meet you.” I stuttered. Man, was I a loser or what?
They both giggled. “I guess you know who we are, then.” Patrick chuckled.
“Do I? I love the Blackhawks! And you two are the cutest couple ever.”
“Haha well thank you. It’s nice to meet you. I guess we’ll be seeing each other pretty often now. We heard you are very good with kids.” Abby replied, calmly, unfazed by the fact that I was a crazy fan.
“Yeah, I guess I get along with them easily and thank you for hiring me. Well I need to head home so I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow then! Bye Madelyn!”
“Wait! Mommy can Kendall come to my recital tomorrow?”
“Well, you have to ask her Mady.”
“Ok. Kendall! Will you come to my dance recital tomorrow?”
“Of course! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Oh no. What have I gotten myself into? Babysitting for the Sharps? I tried not to admit it to myself but I had fun today and fun was something I didn’t do very often.
~
I entered the Sharp residence the next day after picking up Madelyn from kindergarten to be welcomed with the smell of mac and cheese; Madelyn's favourite, which I learned yesterday. Mmm. Mabel greeted me politely before returning to making food. Madelyn jumped on top of me and telling me how excited she was for her dance recital today. Her blue eyes were filling with excitement. I smiled. How is she always so energetic?
After lunch, I packed everything Madelyn needed for her recital tonight. We drove to her dance studio where there was a short rehearsal before heading to the theatre. A long afternoon passed and finally it was seven o’clock and the doors to the theatre opened. Patrick and Abby walked up to me along with all the other Blackhawks following behind them.
“Hey Kendall! These are my teammates, everyone, this is Kendall, Madelyn’s new babysitter.”
A chorus of hi’s and hey’s accumulated around. I made my way around to all the guys, introducing myself to Seabs, Keith, Hjalmarsson, Stalberg, Toews, Kane, and all the other players. By the time I was done, the recital was just about to begin. I sat in between Abby and Toews. Even though I was 5’ 8’ because of my long legs, I felt extremely short next to Toews.
Watching Madelyn dance reminded me of myself. She was extremely talented which is probably why she was front and centre on stage. I could see that dancing made her happy just like me. When the recital ended, I brought Madelyn flowers which I bought that afternoon to congratulate her for doing really well.
“Wow Madelyn! You did amazing! You looked like a star!” Patrick Kane complimented.
“Thank you! I had so much fun!” Madelyn replied, grinning. She recently lost a tooth so there was a gap making her look goofy. Her smile was contagious. She ran off somewhere leaving me alone with Kaner.
“So, what’s it like to babysit for the Sharps?” Kaner asked.
“It’s surreal. How was I lucky enough to find a job working for one of the Blackhawks?”
“Haha, I take it you’re a Blackhawks fan?”
“You betcha. I mean, I’m from Toronto, so I like the Leafs too but I mean you guys are amazing!”
“Thanks." He winked at me and I could tell from the look in his eyes, he was slowly undressing me.
“Look, if you think I'm going to be one of your puck bunnies and that you're going to take me home tonight, then you're wrong. There is no way you'll be ever undressing me so you can dream on, Kaner.” I could see the astonishment in his face, surprised at what I had just said. He probably has never been rejected. Serves him right. Someone needs to show him who’s boss.
"How about I don't take you home tonight and I get your number instead?" He bargained.
"Goodbyeee..."
I said my goodbyes to all the players and to the Sharps and returned home.
“Don’t do love, don’t do friends
I’m only after success
Don’t need a relationship
I’ll never soften my grip”
~Oh No~
-Marina and the Diamonds
What am I doing with my life? I, Kendall Evans, at age 25 just agreed to a babysitting job. Seriously? Babysitting? That’s a teenager’s job! Ever since I graduated from university, all I wanted to do was become a dancer. I started dancing when I was four and I fell in love. Everyone else thought that it was just a hobby of mine but I took it seriously. I started competing in competition and won five out the five I've been to but stopped because my parents didn't want me to take dancing as a career. Dancing made me feel alive. Today, I take dance courses here and there but now, everyone would just tell me that it would be too hard to pursue dancing and that I probably wouldn’t get into any dance school. And on top of that, my family wouldn’t support me so if I did get in, I would have to pay for it myself. Naturally, as a 25 year old, I don't have that money and it has been so hard to find a job. This was the only job that paid pretty well and I had enough experience for. The parents of this child sent me a key to their house and told me that I would start on Friday. All I knew about this kid was that her name is Madelyn and she’s five. They live about 30 minutes away from me in Chicago where as I, live in the suburbs. I really needed the money to start my career so I guess I will have to stick with this job. Nothing can stop me to achieve my goal, not even a sucky job.
Friday came before I knew it and I was driving to my new job. The first thing I thought when I got there was damn, that’s a big house. I walked in to see a lady cooking lunch and I see a little girl who I guessed was Madelyn.
“Hi, my name is Kendall Evans and I’m the new babysitter.” I introduced myself.
“Oh, yes. I was expecting you. Hi my name is Mabel Renshaw and I’m the cook here. Madelyn’s parents had to leave for work early so they left you this binder of instructions.”
I opened the binder to find a note.
Hello, Kendall. We are sorry not to be here when you arrived. Welcome to our home and this binder should help you with everything. –Patrick and Abby
In the binder there were schedules for when Patrick or Abby would be back from work as well, there were schedules for Madelyn’s dance, swimming, hockey, and soccer lessons. She sure was a busy five year old. I copied everything into my phone and saw that Patrick and Abby would be back tonight at 6 so I guess that’s how long I’ll be here.
“Hi Madelyn. My name is Kendall. I’m your new babysitter and today we’re going to have so much fun!”
“Hi! Do you want to play with my toys?”
“Ok, sure!”
My first day ended pretty quickly. Mabel left after making lunch for us both and said she’d be back tomorrow. Madelyn and I played with some of her toys, we had a tea party, and we read a chapter of Harry Potter as was instructed in the binder. Apparently it was something Madelyn had to do every day or else she would throw a fit. After a fun filled afternoon, it was finally six o’clock and I heard the door open.
“Mommy! Daddy! You’re home! I missed you so much! Today, me and Kendall had so much fun!”
I follow Madelyn to the door to meet her parents. I froze. I was staring at none other than Patrick and Abby Sharp. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. How did I not see that from the note? Patrick and Abby. Patrick and Abby Sharp. I was probably the biggest Blackhawks fan ever and I thought that Patrick and Abby were the cutest couple in the world. My palms were sweaty and I probably looked like a weirdo just standing there trying not to be nervous.
“H-hi. M-m-my name is K-Kendall. N-nice to meet you.” I stuttered. Man, was I a loser or what?
They both giggled. “I guess you know who we are, then.” Patrick chuckled.
“Do I? I love the Blackhawks! And you two are the cutest couple ever.”
“Haha well thank you. It’s nice to meet you. I guess we’ll be seeing each other pretty often now. We heard you are very good with kids.” Abby replied, calmly, unfazed by the fact that I was a crazy fan.
“Yeah, I guess I get along with them easily and thank you for hiring me. Well I need to head home so I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow then! Bye Madelyn!”
“Wait! Mommy can Kendall come to my recital tomorrow?”
“Well, you have to ask her Mady.”
“Ok. Kendall! Will you come to my dance recital tomorrow?”
“Of course! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Oh no. What have I gotten myself into? Babysitting for the Sharps? I tried not to admit it to myself but I had fun today and fun was something I didn’t do very often.
~
I entered the Sharp residence the next day after picking up Madelyn from kindergarten to be welcomed with the smell of mac and cheese; Madelyn's favourite, which I learned yesterday. Mmm. Mabel greeted me politely before returning to making food. Madelyn jumped on top of me and telling me how excited she was for her dance recital today. Her blue eyes were filling with excitement. I smiled. How is she always so energetic?
After lunch, I packed everything Madelyn needed for her recital tonight. We drove to her dance studio where there was a short rehearsal before heading to the theatre. A long afternoon passed and finally it was seven o’clock and the doors to the theatre opened. Patrick and Abby walked up to me along with all the other Blackhawks following behind them.
“Hey Kendall! These are my teammates, everyone, this is Kendall, Madelyn’s new babysitter.”
A chorus of hi’s and hey’s accumulated around. I made my way around to all the guys, introducing myself to Seabs, Keith, Hjalmarsson, Stalberg, Toews, Kane, and all the other players. By the time I was done, the recital was just about to begin. I sat in between Abby and Toews. Even though I was 5’ 8’ because of my long legs, I felt extremely short next to Toews.
Watching Madelyn dance reminded me of myself. She was extremely talented which is probably why she was front and centre on stage. I could see that dancing made her happy just like me. When the recital ended, I brought Madelyn flowers which I bought that afternoon to congratulate her for doing really well.
“Wow Madelyn! You did amazing! You looked like a star!” Patrick Kane complimented.
“Thank you! I had so much fun!” Madelyn replied, grinning. She recently lost a tooth so there was a gap making her look goofy. Her smile was contagious. She ran off somewhere leaving me alone with Kaner.
“So, what’s it like to babysit for the Sharps?” Kaner asked.
“It’s surreal. How was I lucky enough to find a job working for one of the Blackhawks?”
“Haha, I take it you’re a Blackhawks fan?”
“You betcha. I mean, I’m from Toronto, so I like the Leafs too but I mean you guys are amazing!”
“Thanks." He winked at me and I could tell from the look in his eyes, he was slowly undressing me.
“Look, if you think I'm going to be one of your puck bunnies and that you're going to take me home tonight, then you're wrong. There is no way you'll be ever undressing me so you can dream on, Kaner.” I could see the astonishment in his face, surprised at what I had just said. He probably has never been rejected. Serves him right. Someone needs to show him who’s boss.
"How about I don't take you home tonight and I get your number instead?" He bargained.
"Goodbyeee..."
I said my goodbyes to all the players and to the Sharps and returned home.
7/21/13