The babysitter is the boss

“You’re going to be gone for how long?”Penny asked.

”One month”,her mother replied,”And I arranged for a babysitter to watch you while I’m gone”

”Come on, mom”,cried penny,”I’m almost fourteen, I can handle myself”

”Yeah, m-hm”,the girl’s mother nodded,”You’ll just eat ice cream and won’t go to school”

Penny scoffed,”No I won’t”

But Penny’s mom was adamant about the babysitter. The woman arrived at the house in the afternoon. She was a tall woman in a blue dress and a head wrap covered her head. When she spoke, it sounded like a bird’s chirp. Her résumé which she gave to Penny’s mom was neatly written. The qualifications she had included being a teacher in Nigeria and day-care worker in New-Hampshire. She seemed to be too qualified for the job.

Penny’s mom wasted no time in solidifying the deal with Mrs. Parks, the babysitter. While the two women drank tea, Mrs. Parks asked,”So it is my job to keep Penny safe and on task”

”Yes”,Penny’s mom nodded.

”And I must work diligently for a month?”

”You got it”,the mother replied,”And I’ll pay you handsomely for it”

That night, Penny and Mrs. Parks saw Penny’s mom off as she drove off to the airport to catch the night flight. Mrs. Parks then told Penny to get ready for bed. Penny being Penny scoffed at Mrs. Parks request and headed to the living room. Sternly, Mrs. Parks grabbed the girl’s arm and ordered her to bed. The eyes of Mrs Parks scared the girl half to death and she slowly made her way to her room. Mrs Parks made sure to check to see if Penny was sleeping every two hours.

In the morning, Mrs Parks woke up Penny with a sort of hum. It was fast and a little loud which snapped Penny awake the second it sounded.

“Come on, girl”,Mrs Parks said,”Time for breakfast”

Penny looked at her alarm clock, it was five in the morning. She tried to fall back asleep but each time, Mrs. Parks would wake her up again with her hum. Penny grew frustrated and decided to go down to breakfast. She stomped into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Breakfast was served but Penny refused to eat. Mrs Parks was not having it and demanded,”Eat your dang food”

Frightened, Penny nibbled at the food but that wasn’t good enough for Mrs. Parks so Penny scarfed it all down to satisfy the woman. When she finished, Penny was told to go shower and get dressed for school. Quickly, Penny showered and put on her favorite hoodie and jeans.

When Mrs. Parks saw the ensemble, she shook her head,”No, where’s your uniform?”

”Uniform?”Penny queried,”I don’t have one”

Mrs. Parks sighed discontentedly,”Well, I guess we can stop by the clothing store after your haircut”

”What?!”Penny said,”I don’t want a haircut”

”Oh yes you are, young lady”,Mrs. Parks said sternly,”Now let’s go”

Penny protested but Mrs. Parks prodded her out the door and into the car. They drove into town and stopped outside a barbershop. Mrs. Parks dragged Penny out of the car, gave her a scolding which made the girl shut her mouth, and escorted her to the front door.

The place looked old with a smell of cologne and alcohol. It was early but the place was busy. Men, women, and children were having their hair cut. And all the barbers were ladies. A pretty lady with really long braids approached Mrs. Parks and Penny,”Hi, y’all. Welcome, what are we here for today?”

”This is Penny. Penny, say hi to the pretty woman”,Mrs. Parks requested, pinching the girl to do so.

”Uh!, hi. I’m Penny”,Penny reluctantly replied.

”She needs a haircut”,Mrs. Parks said.

”Alrighty, come on back”,the woman escorted the pair to her chair. Penny didn’t want to sit but was ushered into it by Mrs. Parks.

”So, dear”,the pretty woman gathered up all of Penny’s shoulder length, brunette hair and clipped it to back of the girl’s head,”What are we doing today?”

”Well, I taught in Nigeria”,Mrs. Parks replied,”The school’s rules dictate that hair, of any sex, must not distract the student whatsoever. She doesn’t need any distractions. Cut it all off”

When Penny heard the words, she tried to get out of the chair but Mrs Parks stopped her. Her eyes froze the girl in place. With Penny still, the barber woman flung a cape on the girl and snapped its buttons to secure the cape. Unclipping the hair, the woman combed through the hair before grabbing her clippers. She didn’t apply a guard to the clippers and switched them on. Penny watched her reflection as the clippers went into and over her scalp. Her brown hair came loose and was ejected from her head.

Again and again, the clippers moved up and around her head. Soon, there was no more hair to buzz off. Penny was shocked. She looked like a boy, a bald boy. The pretty woman killed the clippers and was dusting Penny’s scalp when Mrs. Parks said,”I’ll bring her back every few days so we can maintain this”

The pretty woman nodded and removed the cape from the Penny’s body. Penny herself was horrified by the result of the hairdresser’s work. Mrs. Parks took her by the hand and the two left the shop. The girl couldn’t stop running her hands over her stubbly scalp as Mrs Parks drove to a clothing store.

There, she picked out a uniform for the girl and forced Penny to put on the clothes in the changing room. Coming out of the changing room, Penny had on a white blouse with a blazer covering her shoulders. She had on a skirt that was blue in color.

“You look good”,Mrs Parks said to the girl.

”I look ridiculous”,Penny replied,”They’re all going to laugh at me”

”And if they do”,said Mrs. Parks,”Tell me, you hear. Now, let’s get you to school”

It was something for Penny to hear that her babysitter had her back a little. But the girl still loathed the woman.

Coming home, Penny dropped her bag and went straight to her room. Mrs. Parks went into her room to grab the girl for dinner.

”After dinner”,Mrs Parks said,”We will be doing your homework and you’re going to bed”

”No”,said the girl.

”What?”

”I said no”,Penny said with defiance,”After today, after you shaved my head and made me wear these stupid clothes. I’m doing nothing you tell me to”

”Listen, you lady”,Mrs Parks stepped towards the girl,”I’m in charge of you while your mother is gone. And I say you will be doing what I say. You can hate if you want but when I’m here, you will do as your told”

Penny just stared at the ground and when she looked back up, she said,”Fine. But when mom gets home, you are so fired”

”That’s fine”,Mrs Parks escorted Penny down to eat and they both ate in silence. After eating, Penny did her homework as under the watchful eye of Mrs Parks.

Every week, Mrs Parks would take Penny to the barbershop to have her head buzzed again. It was long month for Penny and she was glad when it was finally over. Her mother came home and the girl met her at the door. She hoped her mother would be mortified by her stubbly head but her mother thought it was a good change.

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