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 Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:51 am
The problem with being new in town is that neighbours didn’t entrust you with their kids yet. Alessa had gone back to square one, and her reputation reset. It’s not like there were many young kids around to babysit, anyway…
However, Destiny City’s hospital didn’t know yet about her clumsiness, which was all good. And also fair, because that personality trait of hers tended to vanish when she could not afford to screw up anyway. Like… well… at the hospital.
Now, the girl was wondering if they would let her volunteer today. Sure, the staff had already seen her and even checked her wound after that incident, but she was pretty forgettable. Oh well, she was optimistic, and she had a box of cookies, a deck of cards and a portable Scrabble game. Nobody could say no to that. (Nobody says no to Scrabble, right?)
Still, the brunette walked around the main hall, rather empty at this hour of the day, odd enough, looking for someone to give her directions and possibly authorization. It’s been a long time since she had volunteered and this building was different, but she needed to rebuild herself a nice reputation before she could get paid for watching over strangers’ children, and she was very motivated to do so.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:05 am
 Sobbing slowly, Ji-Yeon Nae trudged along the spotless hallways of Destiny City's hospital. It wasn't unusual of course, for she too, had a reputation as a clumsy cry-baby among the nurses. Several doctors waved 'hello' towards her, and on normal occasions, even during a crying fit, she would pause to respond. But, no, today was different. Ji-Yeon could barely muster any energy to move her legs forward any longer. Sniffling, she leaned back into the corner of a nearby wall. Eun-Jin, her first friend in Destiny City, had passed away last night. Ji-Yeon had knew it was coming, for she had leukemia. She never quite fully understood the calamity it was. On some sub-conscious level, Ji-Yeon had knew. Knew that her friend was nearing death, but, had merely dodged the biting truth. This morning, she had received a call from one of her beloved nurses, telling of the news, and even over the phone, it could be heard that she had been crying too. Immediately, without even notifying her parents, Ji-Yeon stampeded out of her abode, thinking about all her days with Eun-Jin. She wasn't like the others, that was for sure. For a girl at the age of thirteen, she had held too much wisdom. She always understood Ji-Yeon, even when she didn't say a word. She had been like her little sister. Seeing the pale life-less body covered by a sheer blanket, tore her heart apart. Why was the world so cruel? Eun-Jin had never done anything wrong. She was a kind human, the type that wouldn't even swat at a fly.
It was then that it hit Ji-Yeon. Would Eun-Jin want this? No, she would long for Ji-Yeon to pray, smile, and move on. That was the thoughtful person she was. A death was a death, but perhaps, she'd be happier up there. Clasping her hands together, she spoke within her mind; Dear God, and Eun-Jin, if you can hear me...I pray for the best. Keep in mind, I'm always thinking of you. When the day comes, I hope to see you once again. After shedding one final tear, Ji-Yeon got up. She was in the hospital anyways, she'd make one more visit, to a stranger this time. Thinking once again of the days she had spent with Eun-Jin, Ji-Yeon giggled to herself, and moved on.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:44 am
Fortunately for her, Alessa never got to bond as much with doomed patients. Babysitting was more her thing, and usually, such children weren’t gravely ill. But now she had decided to volunteer more in order to feel more useful and less empty, the probability was high she would have to be confronted to the tragedy of life shortly.
… in this case, in the form of heartbroken Ji-Yeon. Although the brunette didn’t notice the heartbroken part at first. She noticed the girl in her research for someone.
“Excuse me, miss! I’m new here, do you happen to know who I should talk to for volunteering…”
The Korean girl may have managed to heal her emotional wounds for now through quick prayer and a quiet laugh, nonetheless, she hadn’t completely got rid of her sorrowed eyes nor her moist cheeks. Alessa’s expression shifted to genuine concern, having doubts as to who needed the most help at this instant. “Oh, huh… I’m sorry, are you alright?”
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:40 pm
Getting rid of the last of her tears, Ji-Yeon looked up at the female who had just shot an inquiry towards her. A head of perfect brown curls, chic black frames, an elegant gold bracelet dotted with blue, and a Meadowview uniform? If this girl went to her school, Ji-Yeon certainly wasn't going to disappoint her, besides, her heart had been warmed by the sincerity of the girls' question. Immediately, she switched into "pep" mode. Offering a wide grin and a hand, she introduced herself. "I'm fine, thanks for asking! The name's Ji-Yeon. As for volunteering, I'll take you there." She had been praying for a distraction from the death of Eun-Jin, and this was simply perfect. Ji-Yeon slightly giggled, in order to remove her slightly awkward and hyper introduction.
It was then that her favorite nurse, Trinity made her usual appearance, though she was running, which was unusual. "Hey! Ji-Yeon! Who's that? Your friend? Ah! I'm getting off topic. I need you to do me a favor. Y`see, all of us nurses, we're hella busy today." she took a second to pause and frown. "So, I'm pleading for you to just take care of the day-care center for like...two hours? They're harmless...kind of." Trinity let out a nervous laugh. "Pleaseeeee?" Trinity put on her most convincing puppy-dog face, and Ji-Yeon let out a sigh, shrugging and throwing her hands in the air.
"How could I say no to that, Trinity?" she giggled. "Leave it to," Ji-Yeon paused, looking for a confirmation towards the other girl, "us!"
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:04 am
It was disconcerting to witness the clash between the inner sorrow she thought she had perceived, and the girl’s apparent good mood. She didn’t smile outright, but nonetheless tried to consider that change of mood as a good thing. “Thanks a lot! I’m Alessa.”
Before she could do anything else, the nurse showed up. Trinity looked as busy as claimed; it was a common occurrence with nurses, after all. Intimidating for a future nurse, but the brunette was sure she could find the motivation to do the same when she’s older. It shouldn’t be so hard if so many women could put up with it, right?
Oh, wow, wait? She looked at Ji-Yeon… then at the nurse… then at Ji-Yeon again. “O-of course I’ll help” she replied, caught off-guard and repeating the words she was most familiar with. Wow, that was fast. “Where’s the day-care?”
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:58 pm
"Thank. You. So. Much. I owe ya one!" Trinity exclaimed, grinning with joy, then running off in the other direction. Then looking back at Alessa, Ji-Yeon omitted a bashful laugh, looking down at her worn-out red sneakers. "Erm...I'm sorry for getting you all caught up in this." Then, accompanied with a reassuring smile, she chimed, "Don't worry, we'll be able to handle it. Babies are harmless. Follow me!" With that, she took off into a maze of hallways, two rights, three lefts, the last glass door on the right side. Ah, there they were. Luckily for the two females, there were only four toddlers for them to be responsible of. How reckless of the nurses; there were none. Motioning to Alessa with two fingers to follow, she entered the room. Immediately, four sets of eyes turned towards her. The first thing to do, was to remember the names. Good thing they were all diverse. Trinity had left another clipboard with the images of the infants, along with their names. The first one, was a boy, one out of two of them. He was all-American boy called Dash. A head of wheat and eyes like the ocean. One down.
The second one, was also a boy, the only other boy. Probably would be her favorite, but she was biased. A traditional Korean boy, with eyes and hair like the night. Name; Minho. Two down.
The third, was a girl. Hispanic, it seemed. With eyelashes that seemed to go on forever, and curious brown eyes; no doubt about it, she'd be drop-dead gorgeous in a few years. Her name was Lola. Three down.
The fourth, was also the last girl. A head of frizzy brown hair, skin the color of coffee, and dark eyes, Ji-Yeon guessed she was African-American. Looking back at the clipboard, her name was Audrey. Four down. Turning her heads toward Alessa, she was in command mode, "Listen, we just need to get through these two hours. This room is fairly big. I'll take the boys and play with them on the right side. You take the girls and play with them here. Let's do this!" Ji-Yeon grinned. Piece of cake, grabbing Dash's and Minho's hand softly and urging them to play with Legos.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:57 am
Before trotting to follow Ji-Yeon, the other student scratched her head in confusion. “It’s alright…?” Alessa trotted behind her in blind faith, her large bag bouncing along the pace of her steps. Thankfully, she was used to running, and didn’t come out of breath by the time they reached the daycare.
She took a peek inside before entering the room. 4 very young kids. “Phew, good thing I babysit.”
She went to read the clipboard twice, taking at look at the kids at each line. “Yes, ma’am! Two each, that’s a good idea” remarked Alessa, “So I get… Audrey and Lola? Oooookay. By the way, Ji-Yeon, is it a Chinese name?”
She left her bag near the door, as it didn’t contain anything relevant for this situation, and walked to sit between the two little girls, staring with curiosity and concern. “Helloooooo I’m Alessaaa” she whispered to the infants with a large, silly smile.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:34 pm
Turning her head to reply to Alessa, Ji-Yeon grinned. "Close, but no cigar. I'm Korean you see." Currently, Dash was situated in her lap sucking onto a blue pacifier that matched the color of her eyes. Minho, was quite the adorable one. Burbling with excitement, he cooed towards Ji-Yeon, understanding the some-what blood bond between them. Ruffling the little hair he had, she giggled.
Babies could be so cute, and they were so harmless. Oops. She had said that too early. Suddenly, Dash broke out into a crying fit, and a new weight had been added in his diapers. "OH GOD." Ji-Yeon practically sobbed. She was horrible with changing diapers, didn't anybody know that? Setting him down, she ran about the room, looking for a package that would soothe the baby. Not a single diaper was in sight. "Mind watching them for one second, Alessa? I've got to go get diapers," Ji-Yeon shouted, running out of the room before she could hear her response. Bad baby.
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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 3:36 am
Audrey’s tiny hand reached out and grabbed Alessa’s. Perhaps for sucking on it? Lola, meanwhile, kept watching the both of them, babbling and cooing, but still too intimidated to go towards the stranger. “Oh, that’s nice!” She wanted to tell what was the origin of her name in return, but she stumbled upon a mental block. She actually didn’t have the slightest idea about it. Her parents will have to be asked about that later, she decided.
Ji-Yeon’s cry almost made Alessa jump. “Wh-whoa, what’s going on?” she asked, taking Audrey in her arms without as little as a warning in an instinctive move. Helplessly, still kneeling down, she saw the other girl leaving the room quickly. Meekly, without anyone attentive enough to listen, she mumbled: “huh… alright, I’ll be doing… that.”
Held firmly in her arms, the surprised little girl let out alarmed noises, only adding to Dash’ screams, inciting in return Minho to cry softly, all of this under the inquisitive and silent gaze of Lola.
“She-she’s coming back! Let’s listen to a lullaby now!” said Alessa, feeling herself a bit panicky as well. “Hush little babies, don’t say a word…” she started singing, cradling Audrey much more gently.
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:23 am
Ji-Yeon sprinted down multiple hallways, and before she knew it, the 'Throw all the stuff we don't use often' closet appeared before her. With an ecstatic expression, she dug through, throwing aside tissue, toothbrushes, towels, and the like. Soon enough, 'CUDDLE ME' diapers were spotted, and with some new-found energy, she grabbed several packets, and dashed back to the day-care center. From outside, Alessa could be seen cradling Audrey. She really owed her one.
"Diapers are here!" Ji-Yeon exclaimed, hurriedly opening the door, grabbing Dash, and setting him on the changing station in several fluid movements. She cringed at the scent, but knew she was going to have to do it sooner or later. It was her responsibility! Off came the old diaper, we'll skip the details, and a new one was latched on. Soon enough, Dash was back to his old giggling self. Wiping a thin layer of sweat off her forehead, Ji-Yeon glanced back at Alessa, and sent her a mental thank-you, then began to play Legos with Minho once more.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 2:04 pm
“Oh, thank God! They almost all cried at once there” sighed Alessa audibly. “Phew! Everything’s alright now, Audrey.” With the little girl in her arms going silent and holding her tops with tiny hands, she avoided moving much or getting up. That wasn’t a thing she was unused to, or something particularly uncomfortable, though, but she would have liked to interact more right now with the calm and observing Lola who was clapping her hands. She could as well keep talking until the baby let go of her. “She’s adorable! So, I’m from Meadowview.” Captain Obvious time. “Do you happen to know anyone who needs a babysitter?”
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