“Help me!“ Nataly commanded, and the crying children came and held Lisa’s arms and legs down. She had no way to escape now, and was beginning to feel intimidated by four small children. Had they been watching scary movies? Where had this come from? They were usually such well-behaved children. Well in her presence anyway. Whatever the reason, Lisa had succumbed to the fact that this was no longer a game.
"Okay, you can eat the ice cream!" Lisa shouted in desperation, giving up to children.
"Good!" She beamed. "I can eat them, but you cannot!" Nataly yelled, weilding her knife in the air. She got up and ran to the freezer, giving out ice creams to her sisters.
Lisa sat and watched them in shock. Her heart still pounding in her chest.
Lisa walked upstairs slowly, trying to calm herself and dusting her clothes off from the dirty cellar floor. The children’s parents were sat on the sofa, each with a glass of red wine, relaxing without any children’s cries.
"You were playing so quietly in the basement. You have so much fun."
"We do," said Lisa quietly, not having enough courage to tell the parents that she was not able to cope with the naughty kids
Sometimes Lisa understood that she with her teaching degree was not able to manage naughty manipulative kids. Even their own parents could not manage their children.
The children were allowed to do anything they wanted to. No one corrected them or told them not to. So, they believed there were more powerful than the adults. Their parents gave them expensive gifts, often for no reason. Sometimes, those gifts were just cash. Family members and friends showered them in gifts as well. The children knew nothing about the value of money.
“Look, Lisa! I have a hundred dollars. That is what my daddy gives me every day. I bought a case for my iPhone. It was very cheap," Nick once said to her.
She couldn't believe the way these children acted.
One time during a nice dinner, Nick asked his father, "Dad, are we going to the amusement park tomorrow?"
His father looked up from his plate.
“No, Nick,” he said dismissively. Nick crossed his arms over his chest and a pout spread on his face.
“Why not?” he whined.
“We went last week, Nick. That's why,” his father answered quietly.
Then, Nick just screamed, “I hate you, dad. You're an idiot.”
There was such an anger to his voice that it frightened Lisa. His voice echoed through the massive house. Then he pushed his plate across the table, jumped up, and left the kitchen. Back home, if any child behaved like this, their parents would surely ground them. They would be without any luxuries until they learned to behave better. They would also be made to apologize for such inappropriate actions. Especially in front of a guest, such as Lisa.
His father kept silence, continuing to eat his dinner. He did absolutely nothing. He didn't even react. He let Nick storm off and casually went back to eating his meal. Moments later, the table conversation turned to something about work. It was like it never happened. This family either ignored all their problems, or Nick was always misbehaved. Lisa was surprised that the CEO of such a well off company couldn't even manage his own child.
Then she thought to herself, if these parents couldn't control their children, how was she going to? She was just an au pair. She had no real authority in their eyes. She was expected to do so much for these children. They were neither helpful nor appreciative.
The children she used to look after back home were far better behaved. There was the occasional one that acted out like Nick had. But, they were made to apologize and told why their behavior was wrong. She missed working with children like that. Children who recognized there was a right and wrong way to treat other people.
Nick expected everything to be done for him. If he could, he always made it harder than it had to be.
9
The next day came. A strange woman entered the living room. The mother of her host father had come to visit them. But this grandmother did not look like a normal grandmother. This woman looked like a Hollywood star, covered with expensive makeup. Her skin was very brown thanks to living in solariums and spas, and she wore golden earrings and bracelets. She was elegant and beautifulhaving short, blond hair, and a very dramatic haircut. She had bright red lips. She wore a dark blue silk dress with a blouse that seductively exposed some parts of her chest.
The fashionable grandmother’s immaculate eyebrows lifted, and blue eyes were suddenly icy. With a careless glance, she scanned Lisa’s faded cotton dress and smiled wryly, a contemptuous look in her amber eyes.“Good morning. Nice to meet you,”she said to Lisa, smiling with a false Hollywood smile.
“Nice to meet you, too,”Lisa answered quietly.
During breakfast, the grandmother smiled at Lisa and treated her very nicely.
After breakfast, Lisa cleaned the table carefully and went to the kids.
While Lisa was taking care of them, she heard the following conversation in the kitchen. “I see you found the right babysitter,”she heard the grandmother say with an indifferent tone.“Why did you decide to take this third world au pair?” she whispered to Clara.
“I do not know. But she is a very good person and she speaks several languages. That is why I hired her,” Clara said, on Lisa’s behalf.
They did not know that Lisa was in the next room, and she overheard the conversation. Her ears rang, and she leaned against the wall to keep from falling. Her good mood evaporated.
She left the room and took five steps before she heard.
“ Why did you order a babysitter from a poor country? Well, you are original!” the grandmother added.
Perhaps it really was original— bringing a poor au pair into a respectable house and calling her “a family member,” and not talking about it aloud, knowing that she could enter at any moment. Where are her upbringing and manners?
Lisa could not believe her ears, and she tried to hide her tears from the kids. She continued doing her duties and playing with kids. After six hours, in the evening, she turned to go back to the kitchen and found herself facing Clara, who was carrying an expensive pink champagne bottle into the living room, enjoying the life without annoying, loud kids. She looked at exhausted Lisa and asked, “What's the matter, Lisa? Are you Okay?”
“Yes, everything is fine.” Lisa felt that at least for a minute, she needed to be alone. She apologized that she had to go to sleep early, and quickly left the room. Shut up in the bathroom, she turned on the water and burst into tears. She had to succumb to bitterness and resentment. She cried for a while, her cheeks streaked with tears. Shaking with emotions, she could not understand .,hatred, self-hatred, desperation...