Chapter 6 Naughty Sofia

"Sofia! Don't run! You may strip and fall!" Panting, Jen held her knees as she stopped chasing Sofia. Sweats were all over her face.

But instead of listening to her, Sofia stuck her tongue out before she continued running down the stairs.

Jen has been chasing Sofia for three hours. She just wants to bathe her. And it was almost lunch, but the kid was not letting her. It has been a week since she babysat Sofia, but she always gave her a hard time. Jen remembered her second day when she thought Sofia was thoughtful to her.

"Nanna, I know you are hungry… Have some snacks first." Sofia gave her a sandwich and smiled at her cheekily.

Jen got moved and took the sandwich as she mouthed thanks to her. But when she ate them, Jen's ears blew a smoke, as well as her nose as she felt hot because of the hot sauce that Sofia put on the sandwich.

"Hot! Water! Water! I need water!" Jen hurriedly ran to the kitchen and drank a pitcher of water.

Sofia rolled out laughing, seeing that Jen was struggling and looking for a way to ease the spiciness she felt in her tongue. Fortunately, Angelo saw her, and he gave her a glass of milk.

On the third day, Jen thought Sofia was sleeping, but to her surprise… When she fixed the blanket on Sofia's bed, she jolted. A flashy toy of a huggy waggy with a stain of ketchup that looks like blood was lying on the bed. She jumped out in fear, thinking that it was a monster. Jen ran out of Sofia's room. She even stumbled and got wounds and scratches on her knees. When Angelo found out about what happened that day, he scolded the kid, but Jen still defended the naughty child.

"Don't scold her. Sofia is just a kid. Maybe she just wants to play a prank on me. And it's not her fault if I stumbled on the floor."

"But if it wasn't for what she did, you would not hurt," Angelo said.

"She was always like that to her Nanny. That is why I'm having a hard time letting my servants stay." He added.

Angelo heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry for what happened." He sincerely apologized to her while he was dressing her wounds.

Jen winced in pain as the cotton soaked with Betadine touched her wound.

"Sorry," Angelo muttered when he noticed Jen was in pain.

"It's alright," she smiled, reassuring him she was okay.

On the fourth day of her stay, Jen thought Sofia began obeying her, but she was wrong. Sofia offered to let her sit on the bench near their playground at the school. Suddenly, Sofia spilled honey on her pants, which made the bees come over to chase her. She ran around the playground, while the bees were chasing her, and ended up bitten by some bees. The next day, Jen had a fever.

She was ready to pack her things back then, but Jen remembered why she accepted to be the nanny… her goal for her family. By a house for her parents and to send her father to the treatment facility.

'She was just a kid… I should never give up. I'm Jen Sandoval… And I will never back down from any challenges… I can do it!' Jen reminded herself.

She stood up with determination and continued chasing the naughty kid. Finally! She caught Sofia in the corner. Afraid that Sofia would run again, Jen held both of her arms enough that the child couldn't let go of her grip.

"Please, princess… Nanna is tired already… Can you take a shower now?" She politely asked.

Sofia sighed exasperatingly. "Fine. Let me go and I promise I will not run away again." Jen looked her in the eyes, and loosen her grip on the young girl.

Jen let out a sigh of relief when the little girl did not run. Instead, she walked into her room to take a shower.

After taking a bath, Jen happily dresses her up as Sofia was behaving… She even hummed the Beauty and the Beast song, which made Sofia frown out of curiosity.

"What are you humming?" She asked with her brows still knitted.

"Oh… Beauty and the Beast. It is the theme song of the movie Beauty and the Beast. It's been my favorite movie since I was a child. Are you familiar with them?" Jen asked.

Sofia shook her head and pouted. "I only watch rainbow friends and play Minecraft or ROBLOX. I am not familiar with any of that."

'Kids nowadays… They have already forgotten those fairy tale movies and stories.' She thought. Jen sighed and smiled.

"Don't worry… From now on, I will tell you fairy tale stories before bedtime." Sofia's eyes twinkled.

"Really? Can you sing me a song too?" She excitingly asked. Jen nodded.

"Sure. But on one condition." Sofia looked her directly in the eyes, waiting for what she was saying.

"You always listen to me, and no more pranks on me." Sofia pouted, but eventually, she nodded in agreement.

"Promise?" Jen raised her pinky finger for a pinky swear, and Sofia made a pinky promise.

***

It's past bedtime, and Jen sends Sofia to her bed. She bought some fairy tale books at the bookstore earlier before she took Sofia to her school. Sofia got excited seeing plenty of fairy tale books that Jen bought.

"Are these all mine?" Sofia asked with her eyes twinkling while holding one of the books.

Jen nodded and smiled at her. "Yes, my lady. It's all yours. Will you please go to your bed, so I can read a book to you?"

Sofia excitedly jumped on her bed and tucked herself while smiling at her cheekily. Jen chuckled as she saw how excited Sofia was.

"Are you that excited?" She teased.

"Yes… It's my first time, someone will read a book for me." Sofia suddenly felt sad. She pouted and looked at her.

"Dad always comes late… And my previous nanny did not read a book to me. She just yells at me, and forces me to sleep." Sofia confessed, which made Jen look at the poor girl pitifully.

"Don't worry, I'll read books for you more often." She smiled at her.

From the door, Angelo smiled as he saw Jen and Sofia having a conversation. A tear escaped from his eye and he immediately wiped the tears away.

'II hope everything goes well for both of them. I hope Jen will get along with Sofia before I tell her everything.'