shut your eyes, feel the chemicals collide (dave)

[ericka]

Ericka got into her car and got ready to go tot he daycare to pick up the boy she had been babysitting to earn money to pay a little for her schooling and other things. She really didn't need it, since her step-father was actually paying for it. But she felt like it was better to use his money only when it was really necessary. Sighing a little, she turned her car on and buckled the seat belt. 'Well, let's get this over with.' she thought as she pulled out of the school parking lot and headed that way. She listened to one of her favorite songs, which described her perfectly.

Now I know, that I can't make you stay. But where's your heart? But where's your heart?

She hummed the song Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance while it blasted through the speakers of her car. Turning into the parking lot of the daycare, she got out and grabbed her purse. Now, this kid would be difficult to take with her since he was rather disobedient. And for the fact she didn't talk. Slowly, she made her way in and blinked, looking around at the children to see where the boy was. When the young girl couldn't spot him. She did the next best thing. Walking up to an older man hesitantly, Ericka poked his shoulder slightly and gave a pleasant smile. Quickly, she pulled out a picture of the boy and pointed at it. Then pulled out her schedule and pointed at a thing that said 'pick up Mrs. Paxton's son after classes'.

Maybe the older man would be able to help her.

tag: dave
words: 276
notes: here is your post.

[david]

If anything, David preferred to work with older kids. Elementary age was perfect, because they were sweet and adorable, but David didn't have to... explain everything to them. Sure, that was his job as a teacher, but it was nice to have little conversations about the things they already understood. Kids had amazingly high intelligence levels, even if most people didn't realize it. As a teacher, it had been his job to help nudge that intelligence along; harness it and put it to good use in the future. And he had loved it, adored the job with all of his heart. Well, he had left it for a reason, after all... He hadn't found any good teaching jobs in Paris, and his sister had offered him a position at the daycare, so here he was. No, the kids weren't as smart yet, but they were still adorable. Who was he to deny a spot in these kids' hearts?

”Mr. Davey, can I have more goldfish? Please, Mr. Davey?” asked one of the older kids, the small hand finding a spot on the older man's shoulder and the pleading yet stubborn face looking up at him, causing a small smile to spread across Dave's face. ”'Course,” he said, a thick New York accent mangling bits of the word as he stood up, away from the tiny plastic table and towards the cupboard with all the snack foods in it. It was too high for any of the kids to reach and open, so the staff had to supply the little guys with whatever food they needed. Now, normally extra food was denied because it was unhealthy and everything, but kids were allowed seconds during snack times.

Just as he was opening the cupboard, though, the man felt something hit his shoulder. Maybe not hit exactly, but... poke. That was a common word among the kids, who were, by the way, much too short to touch his shoulder. Which made him guess the poker was an adult, of course. And since none of his co-workers would poke him... The thought of dealing with the parents of these kids made him cringe; he loved the kids themselves, but David just didn't get along well with any other adults. Even his sister scared him a bit, but it was oh so much worse around girls. He was tempted to turn and walk back towards the kids with their goldfish, but that wasn't what he was being paid to do, now was it?

David forced himself to turn around and smile at the girl that had poked him, even if he took a few steps back. She looked more like a teenager than an adult, though Dave admittedly wasn't a very good judge of age once someone was over ten. ”Can I help you?” Yet another thing his job required him to do, or ask, really. She had already brought out a picture and a to do list-ish thing, though. Dave was a little confused as to why she didn't just say it, but he wasn't going to judge, or ask, for that matter. It would be rude, and David wasn't a rude person. ”You're here for Arthur, then? If you could just, er, sign the sheet...”

It was required to get the signatures of anyone picking the kids up, to match them to the list of adults allowed to take the kids. Couldn't have some random stranger taking them, could they? No, that would land the daycare in deep shit, and his sister didn't want that. Calling the little blonde child over, David moved the signature book from the shelf to the counter beside he and Ericka. He had to reach quite some way to grab the book in the first place, but David's arms were long enough that he could manage it just fine. ”Are you the babysitter?” Dave had seen the boy's mother here a few times, and even if he hadn't, this girl didn't look anywhere near old enough to be a mother to any of these kids. Of course, Dave didn't really count teenage pregnancy; he was just odd like that.

[ericka]

Ericka looked at the man as he turned around. However, she noticed how attractive he was. It didn't matter. She had a job to do and she would get it done one way or another. Smiling, she nodded when he asked her if she was there for Arthur. Slowly, she went over to the sheet and signed her name gently. Then, she looked at the man and nodded as he asked who she was. The little blonde came over and smiled. “Hewwo Ms. Silent Lady. I'm weady to go home.” the small child said as Ericka smiled and patted his head gently. Then, her eyes met back with the worker at the daycare. She was curious about him, and why he didn't ask exactly why she wasn't speaking. Oh well, things will come out with Arthur around.

Speaking of the little boy, he had disappeared away from her and she looked around confused. It was like him to run off when they needed to go. Giving a silent sigh, she looked at the male with her hazelish eyes. Blinking, she brought out a piece of paper and wrote on it. 'Hopefully he will help me find Arthur....he has a dinner date with one of his friends in thirty minutes.' she thought as she handed the paper to the guy. 'Arthur has a dinner party soon. Do you know exactly where he could have went so fast?' is what the note said. Now, Ericka enjoyed playing hide-and-seek. But today just wasn't the time for it. Especially seeing the time.

tag: dave
words: 258
notes: There you go, your post....that is shorter than yours

[david]

Kids were adorable, but they could be rude sometimes. Most of the time, it was unintentional, but Dave still corrected them. ”Now, Arthur, that isn't very nice, is it?” he scolded quietly, trying to ignore the uncomfortable twisting feeling in his gut that he got whenever women were around. ”Why don't you call her by her name? Ericka, isn't it?” He'd had to check her signature to make sure, but luckily, she wrote more clearly than some of the other babysitters that he'd seen. ”That is, if that's okay with you,” he clarified, forcing himself to look at Ericka's face. Some teenagers and young adults didn't like children calling them by their first name. In Dave's view, they were still the same generation, but he'd long since learned to pay more attention to what other people thought than his own opinions. On that topic, though, he remembered the numerous times that his little sister had told him to smile around parents and babysitters. It gave people a better view of the daycare, if the people that worked there were nice. Dave always tried to be nice, but being terrified of a large amount of the human population was kind of a drawback to how nice he could be. He forced a smile onto his face, though, trying his best not to mangle it. It was a bit easier around Ericka, seeing as she didn't look too old, but it still made him nervous to talk to her.

The only reason he disliked Ericka was that she was a girl; did that make him sexist? She seemed nice, and she was even kind of cute, but he just couldn't relate to her on an emotional level. That was happening with everyone lately, and David was pretty friendless, which was upsetting in some corner of his mind. The majority of it was telling him to stay away from people, though. They could hurt him again, send him back into that silent and zombie-like state of depression that he had suffered through for two months after the incident. He didn't think that he could stand that again, and having his sister see him like that just wasn't an option. David couldn't afford to restart his life again, so he stayed away from people in general. Kids were just so much easier to work with than adults, since they didn't scare him. In the few seconds he had been thinking, though, Arthur had disappeared, which was worrying to both him and apparently Ericka. He gingerly took the paper from Ericka when she handed it to him, taking care not to touch her hand, and read it. It was a little odd to communicate like this, but he could relate, in a twisted way. This girl was functioning much better than he had been when he hadn't been able to talk, though he had no idea if her reasons were physical and emotional, and he wasn't going to ask. Things like that were none of his business.

”He's probably outside,” he said softly, looking towards the back door. There was a small yard dominated by a hill and various children's toys scattered around that the rest of the kids had just exited to. It was recess time, and all but he, Ericka, and one other staff member had gone outside with the kids. Arthur had most likely followed them out, but that could be easily fixed. ”I guess we should go fetch him,” he said hesitantly. It wasn't the idea of finding the child he was worried about, though. No, that was just a natural thing to do when you needed to go somewhere with a kid and he wasn't around to leave with you. David was just hesitant to search for Arthur with another person, but oh well. There were a lot of things in life that he just had to deal with. ”The yard's this way,” he said, heading towards the back door and motioning for Ericka to follow him.

[ericka]

Ericka shook her head and smiled softly. She honestly didn't mind. Arthur often called her that, or Eri. Which was her special nickname. Looking at the man, she nodded to confirm her name was indeed Ericka. Then she brought out a flash card in her set that she kept with her. It said 'It's fine, he normally calls me this. Or Eri'. It always paid off to be prepared. The brunette put the card away and looked at him as the older male spoke once more. So it was recess time and he might have went outside. She watched as the male with her spoke hesitantly. Then, the two walked out into the yard in order to find the missing child. Looking around the daycare's yard, she spotted the younger male running around.

She walked up to the kid and smiled at him. But he giggled and ran away from her. “You can't get me, Ewi!” he said laughing. Rolling her eyes and smirking, she gently chased him around until finally she caught him in an embrace and tickled him gently. He giggled and laughed as he latched his arms around her neck. She carried him back over to the older male and smiled. Then, she brought out another flash card. It said 'thank you', and she put Arthur down, only for her to crouch and him climb up into her back for a piggy back ride. Now, this was one of the rare days when the two got along. It was strange for her to say this, but she actually enjoyed the boy's company.

tag: dave
words: 265
notes: --