AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 22
Ana
“So. You’re the new nanny, are you?”
Asili and I are in one of the spare offices on the ground floor, which we’ve claimed as our own unofficial study room with the chaotic mess of his toys and my assignments littered around. He’s laying across the floor playing with his tablet, while the desk station I’m working at has been fired up with several holo-screens projecting up over the lacquered wood, and I flick through several pages as I’m about to take a bite of the thick sandwich in my hand.
That is until an elegant, plump older woman saunters into the room in a navy floor-length ensemble, her salt-and-pepper hair swept into an elegant bun and a platinum cane in her hand, and asks me if I’m the nanny.
“Um,” I say, my eyes darting between my sandwich and the woman as I try to decide which one’s more important. “Hi? Who are you?”
“Grandmother!” Asili immediately scrambles up from his sprawl across the rug, trying to flatten his cardigan neatly down with one hand and smooth his hair out with the other.
The woman’s eyes, which are the same piercing blue as all the Tzeliks, dart away from me to take in the mess of the room with a vague scrunching of her nose.
“Asili,” she says, and her eyes barely even touch over the kid, “go and fetch your grandmother a glass of sherry, will you? And take it to the drawing room.”
Asili darts away to obey her before I can even choke out a syllable, and I put my sandwich down as I stare.
“What is your name, nanny?” she asks, her voice rich and deep and not a little snooty as she looks down her nose at where I’m still sprawled inelegantly over my chair.
“I’m not a nanny.”
“What are you, then, a maid?” she scoffs. “Not in that tarty little outfit, you’re not.”
My jaw drops as I look down at my soft, high-waisted house pants and cropped shirt. What’s wrong with my outfit?
“Well, in any case, come along. This room is a disgrace.”
I just stare at her as she turns with a rustle of her thick, luxurious skirt. When I don’t immediately stand, she looks back over a plump shoulder with the absolute haughtiest lift of a single black eyebrow that I’ve ever seen.
“Are you deaf, nanny?”
“I’m not deaf,” I say, feeling a frown coming on. “And I’m not a nanny.”
“Then come, if you can hear me, and don’t dawdle.” She taps her cane down impatiently and heads out the door. “I’d like to discuss my grandson.”
For a second I’m tempted not to follow her out of sheer pettiness, but then with a sigh I stand and head after her, glancing once more self-consciously at my perfectly fine and decentoutfit.
“Is there a problem?” I ask as I catch up, and she barely spares me a glance when I come up beside her.
“With Asili? Honestly, when isn’t there.” My frown deepens, and her cane clicks rhythmically along the black and white tiles of the foyer as we cross. “But I’d like to know about you. Why did my son choose you over the many competent candidates I picked out for him?”
“Um, I mean…you’d have to ask him about—”
“What are your qualifications?”
I purse my lips briefly. “I’m a first-year student at MITL.”
“A first year? Is that all?”
I take a deep breath.
“Anything else, nanny? Or is your incomplete education all you have to brag about?”
“Oh, no,” I snap, “I also graduated top of my year from the illustriousschool #01217 on Earth-station Beta 012, and I spent two years at Popping Joe’s Popcorn factory on the packing line, after cleaning dishes for four years at Fisherman Frank’s while at school.”
Her cane smacks out suddenly before me as we’re about to enter the drawing room, wedging itself right into the corner of the doorframe and blocking my way.
