Making Gold Shine

I snapped my head back at Robert. The look in my silver eyes spoke for me.

"What does she mean nanny? I am only the cleaning lady... right?" I just got away from dealing with bratty little kids. Why is there a new one. Robert put both his hands up defensively,

"Whaaat you are a nanny? I thought you would be a cleaning lady." He feigned ignorance, but it was obvious by the rise in his voice that he was lying. This is why Ed said my baby. He was talking about what I assumed to be daughter, not this shabby apartment. I furrowed my brow and pinched the skin between my eyebrows. The little girl started talking once more.

"So I take it this blue eyed idiot didn't tell you about me? Well we do need a cleaning lady, this place is an utter dump."

Robert could be heard behind us, "It's not that bad!" he shouted in denial.

"Okay freaky white lady. Here is a list of what you are to do to take care of me." She spoke in an almost condescending way, as if she was giving instructions to an illiterate child. "Firstly since you obviously lack any talent you must learn all of the things you must help me to do in my training." Before she could continue I spoke up, "What training?".

She groaned over-dramatically "Uhhhh." She began again, "I am training to be a superstar model athlete. Obviously." She rolled her eyes. "With my gold and orange I must be super strong, and am destined for success, so it will happen." She shoved more papers toward me and continued her lecture still. "I have photo shoots, appointments with my trainers, shopping, going to the spa and salon, and my basic childhood needs; all of which you will be responsible for." Her eyes said 'I own you', and it this point they didn't seem to be lying.

I began "and how am I..." She cut me off.

"Now since you are too young to drive, and my daddy isn't rich enough to hire me a chauffer; you will have to memorize all of the subway stations and streets. You must do this immediately, because you start tomorrow, and I mustn't be late for any of my routine appointments." This five year old stood at my door with the attitude and privilege of a twenty year old billionaire. She gave me the up down before walking away. As she turned her back she began speaking at me, apposed to 'to' me once again, "Toodles, don't forget to read my schedule, and memorize all of the directions."

I closed the door then whipped my head to see Robert he was holding two bowls of ramen noodles.

"Heh Heh. I had no idea..." He tried lying again. I growled at him. He thrust one of the bowls of ramen towards me, "Here I made it just for you." He said. He was obviously trying to change the subject. but it wasn't going to work with me. I had spent my whole childhood babysitting for free, and was so excited to finally be done with annoying children, and he knew it. Not to mention this particular child was obviously spoiled rotten.

"I am not letting you off the hook because you made me cheap noodles." I said angrily. He looked at me with sad puppy dog eyes.

"Well I was going to be so alone without my little rice ball with me. You are my only, sort of, family after all, and I don't have any other friends in this big new city. I couldn't bare the thought of you rotting alone in that orphanage without my brotherly love." He tried to sound as pathetic as possible.

There was some truth to his words though, I would rather live in a dump with him, with a job, and no pay, than being friendless at the orphanage. I sighed and began to talk

"Fine I forgive you, on the condition that I get to have the bedroom, and you get the living room." He immediately lifted one hand with his palm showing towards me, and crossed his heart with his other hand.

"Scouts honor, I will give my only bedroom to you and I will not enter it." I looked at him unimpressed

"You have never been a boy scout." I said glumly. He looked back to me.

"Well yeah, but orphans honor sounded depressing and meaningless." He mocked. I stifled a laugh.

"Well I like orphans honor better than scouts anyways." I said with a smile on my face. He once again lifted one hand and crossed his heart with the other.

"Orphans honor, I will give the only bedroom to my pasty sister."

I raised my head a bit more and smiled saying, "Now that is more like it.". I lifted my hand and crossed my heart, "Orphans honor I will not kill you in your sleep for making me a stupid nanny."

His eyes grew big before settling back to normal,

"Got a bit dark there sis. Is being a nanny so horrible?" he said.

I looked him dead in the eye and replied, "Sir, have you ever had to wipe a butt that was not your own?" He looked utterly disgusted.

"Of course not, eww."

"Well," I said, "that is one of the many tasks that watching over small children entails. This brat seems smart, maybe she will wipe her own ass."

His face was scrunched up tight and he was showing the most discusted look.

"Are you for real?" he said, "So the whole time I knew you, those days you would blow me off to earn some green and pink points, that was the shit you were doing? Here I thought the caretakers did the hard stuff and you just played with them."

I looked at him with a look superiority and pride, much like the look that the little girl had given to me.

"Ha, those caretakers were as lazy as it gets when it comes to childcare. You may have come in when you were six, but I was there from day one, I knew how lazy the care takers were. So when I began to watch the children, I made sure that they were cared for better than I was. I did everything for them. I did the potty training, the chore chart, dealt with vomit and runny noses, kept clean laundry, took time and played intelectually stimulating games as well as games that provided them with exercise. I gave haircuts and baths, and kept them on schedule, and even planned out their snacks ahead of time. I kept those kids healthy, and on a schedule like a well oiled machine. After I had been working with them for a few months the caretakers gave up. If I was there they weren't working. I was an unofficial mom, but do you see any green or pink from my efforts...of course not." He just stood shocked at all that I had done. "How did you know all of that stuff about kids? They don't teach us that stuff at the orphanage's school, and I doubt the library has books on raising children." He asked.

I began to explain, "That is because with Mrs. Fuller's name, I subscribed to a monthly parenting magazine, and put the orphanage's address on it."

He looked at me still with surprise and a newfound respect for me. He began to ask more questions, "Isn't Mrs. Fuller that one lady who was in a near constant state of pregnancy? Also why did you apply for parenting catalogs out of everything you could have snuck in?"

I rolled my eyes "Well obviously it would be suspicious if our pregnant math teacher was ordering magazines and catalogs about new farming technique or modern politics. Mrs. Fuller was the only teacher oblivious enough for me to secretly mooch off of." I explained.

He tried to comprehend what I was saying, and decided to say it all out loud,

"Okay, so you decided to gain blue wisdom points by using other's situations to your advantage. Solely for gaining pink points and green points, by essentially raising orphans. Doing this you realize you committed fraud right? Federal crimes are probably the opposite of orange points right?" I looked at him with an excuse at the ready.

"Tell that to all of the orange billionaires who have cheated the stock market. I don't think you have to be honest to be successful; you do have to be smart though. I think blue and orange correlate. That's why most rich people have blue eyes." I explained. Looking into his blue eyes I had to comment "Though I don't believe that blue eyes neccesarily make you smart. You for example..." He stopped me before I could continue with any insults.

"Hey who do you think was the brains for getting you out of the orphanage, huh? Who was smart enough to make a total stranger think it was a good idea to adopt you? Who was smart enough to lie to you in order to coerce you to take this job to stay with me, huh? And who was smart enough to go to a store with a buy one get one mattress free sale going on huh? See I'm not as dumb as you make me sound." I sat across from him with my now empty bowl of ramen.

"You actually made a valid argument" I said with surprise in my voice.

He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest, obviously proud of winning.

"Blue might not be my dominant trait, but it is still there."

"Hey" I began, "Just because your eyes are blue doesn't mean you have to be smart, it does mean you are wise though, and that is what counts." I booped his nose and walked out the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I am going to ask Ed if his 'baby', who didn't even introduce herself, has any food allergies, or a name. I also need to study subway and bus routes, as well as all of the addresses this brat gave me."

I left the apartment and headed towards Ed's office, I was lucky that he hadn't gone home yet. "What do you want. I thought that kid said he would take care of you." he said in a dull tone.

"He is, but in order to properly care for your daughter, I need to know some things." He looked at me, impressed that I was taking initiative,

"My baby's name is Olive Roxanne Parker. Her beauty and strength are second to none. Though she does often fake fainting to get out of awkward or unfavorable situations, so don't let her fool you. She doesn't have any allergies. She is afraid of the dark, and has a bit of a temper." He spoke of his daughter with utmost pride and love. He continued "The last nanny got fired because she insulted my little girl, so you better tread carefully." He handed me some money and a bus pass. "This is for tomorrow, don't spend it on yourself" he said. He gave me a threatening stare, then headed out the door. I left shortly after him, I needed to find a subway station that I could get maps and train times at.

After what seemed like hours of searching for maps I finally found some. I turned heel happy to be going back to my new home. What I didn't expect was to be stopped by two men.

"Hey I haven't seen a lady like yourself before. You are a rare one. Probably worth something." The taller man said.

The man behind him said "I have never seen such a pure white beauty before." They both began to walk closer to me, but I had read and practiced for such things. I knew that people more often feared my white complexion than called it pretty like these perverts. I looked around to see a yellow man coming out of a DMV completely exausted, without a smile on his face, and I saw another man who was entirely pink that was kissing a kitten near a crosswalk. those two pedestrians were all I needed to scare away these to perverts.

"I appreciate you complimenting my beauty" I said calmly "but you may want to avoid coming closer to me. You see I am white because I drain the colors of anyone who touches me." I smiled as I said this.

"Yeah right." said the taller one, "We're not idiots we know that isn't possible."

I began speaking in a smooth condescending voice "Oh really, you see that pink man with the kitten. He was red, and jumped in front of a car to save that kitten. Just the brush of my hand and almost all his color faded leaving him pink." Both men looked over to see the pathetic man, they believed was previously red. I started once more "and that poor yellow man over there was orange only an hour ago, but after a handshake with me his car got towed, and he now has a $200 ticket. Now that isn't very lucky for an orange, and he doesn't seem to be a very happy for a yellow. Maybe it would be better if I took a little more color from him, that could lighten his mood, or kill him. I should be more careful." I suddenly remembered seeing on news stand, that a very light purple woman was murdered recently, and they hadn't found the killer.

I began smiling looking evil at the two now very cautious men in front of me.

"I wouldn't want him to end up like that poor purple woman, like last time." I said so calmly and matter of factly it was scary.

Both men snapped there heads back towards me with wide eyes and their expressions filled with terror.

"We were just kidding with you... haha. funny right?" said the shorter man. With that said both men ran away down an alley. I alerted a nearby police officer of what almost happened and continued on my way.

Over the years I have read multiple books on psychology. I have read a lot of different techniques on empty threats, but the color draining excuse was my new go to card, and I owe it all to my childhood bullies for starting such a rumor. Like they say every cloud has a silver lining.

When I got back to the apartment Robert was already asleep in the living room. I went to my room to study everything I was given. I rewrote all of the girls notes into a proper itinerary. I stayed up all night, but by morning I was ready for the day. Be it I was exhausted, but I even planned for that. While Olive was at her photoshoot getting her profile pictures, I would take a nap in the waiting room. I took a bus to the address given to me to pick up Olive. The house was huge, it was three stories, and looked as though it had been newly built. It didn't match the neighborhood at all. I came a bit early, so Ed let me sit in the living room while I waited for Olive to dress herself. She came down the stairs with a summer sun dress and a feather boa, wearing her hair down straight, and having the gaudiest shade of lipstick I had ever seen. My eyes grew wide with shock at how horrible this outfit choice and makeup style was.

"The ugly new nanny is speechless from my good looks I see." said Olive.

"Quite the opposite." I blurted out before thinking.

The girls face immediately scrunched up and started turning red. I had to fix this

"You yourself are gorgeous, but your outfit and makeup combo do not work." I said as if that was what I had planned on saying.

"What do you mean! I picked out this outfit and did my makeup all by myself!" She shouted.

Ed came in and gave me a cold stare, as if I had already been fired. I once again tried to fix my mistakes

"Miss Olive, you may have worked very hard to do this, but consider the fact that you are five, you have not studied modern styles, and as for your daddy over there; he thinks you are beautiful in absolutely whatever you wear so he isn't a very good judge. Come, let me get you ready. I will make you look so beautiful that even purple girls look like toads."

She was smiling as she was thinking. She obviously liked my compliments, and was trying to decide what to think of me.

"Fine" she said "Come to my room and you can try to make me look better, but I doubt that is possible."

I tried to keep my smile away, as I thought about how fast and sneaky my words had been. Ed looked at me in amazement, but I could also feel a warning to his gaze 'Make my baby pretty or else'. I smiled politely at him then followed Olive to her room.

Olive's 'room' was the entire second story of the building. Rooms were even still divided, the only difference were that the doors were no longer in place. It was way bigger than the crappy apartment I was living in. The walls were a clean white color, it made the 'room' look even bigger. Though there were several large frames headshots of Olive wearing horrible outfits. I followed Olive to where I would pick out her outfit. The floors were dark hard wood, with a red hue to them, it was polished and waxed giving it a shine that reminded me if a ballroom floor. The 'room' was lit by several crystal chandeliers. In one room was a Victorian style queen size bed with posts and a golden veil. All of the bedroom's furniture matched the bed, in it's Victorian style. The floor was littered with toys that cheapened the look though. In one room the walls were entirely made of mirror, and took up a good portion of the room. the walls had a bar in front of them. I immediately remembered, that this was the type of room that people practiced their dancing in. In another room was filled with child sized exercise equipment. I had never seen a weight set that was so small, and I stifled a laugh as I passed by.

Olive stopped in front of me. "Having a nice time snooping around my room?"

She scrunched up her face again, I could tell she was annoyed. She continued, "Hurry up you have a job to do, and taking a tour around my room is not one of them."

I continued following Olive into the final room, which looked to be a professional salon.

"Okay new nanny, do your best, though I doubt you can do better than me." she said to me. "Alright Squirt, but where do you keep your clothes?" I asked. She smiled, grabbed a remote and clicked a button. a portion of the wall opened up to a closet completely filled with clothes of every variety, and more shoes than I could count. "Okay" I said, "Let's get to work."

I went through. her clothes looking for something that was warm and fashionable. I knew she would want something flashy, but as the person who would take responsibility if she failed, I wasn't willing to compromise my outfit choice. I grabbed a beige overcoat with large brown buttons, and a grey long sleeved tunic to go underneath. Next was to pick out bottoms, I wouldn't pick out any skirts, because I was not going to let her catch a cold; as I knew I would have to take care of this golden brat if she got sick. I grabbed a pair of what looked to be worn jeans, but were obviously new with the tag still attached. Shoes were next I looked through countless rows of tiny gaudy high heels and sandals. Obviously this child didn't know that you get sick from dressing for summer in the cold. I managed to find some tall brown army boots, that matched the buttons on her coat, then I went for a hat, there was a dark hipster beanie that matched. With the outfit chosen, I walked back to Olive. I had her put on the outfit.

"hmm, it's not very fancy." she said.

"Just trust me on this, I raised and clothed dozens of children before you." I said. I wasn't about to tell her that the children were orphans, and the clothes were all hand me downs or donations. "Okay squirt, it's time for makeup." I said.

I had studied cosmetics, but I had never actually practiced the skill. Though I trusted my knowledge, because I was doing makeup for a child, which didn't require much expertise. I had her clean off her horrible job of makeup, then I started my own makeup job. I lightly powdered her face, to take some of the glare off of her oily golden skin. Next I gave her a very light shade of eyeliner, hardly noticeable, and a light bronze shade of eyeshadow. I used an eyelash curler and mascara on her eyelashes. Then applied lip gloss, which added a little bit of a darker hue.

If it were up to me, this child wouldn't be wearing any makeup, but I knew if I didn't use any Olive would question my professionalism. Then I began on her hair. I took out a wide barreled hair curler, and gave her some curls. I then sprayed with hairspray to keep them in place, once the hairspray was set, I put on her beanie. I looked at my watch, only then noticing how late we were.

"Okay all done." I said.

I grabbed her wrist and ran down the stairs. As I was putting on my shoes, Olive was showing off her new look to her dad. I grabbed my purse and Olive, then ran out the door. I picked up Olive and whistled for a taxi as fast as I could. I sat down in the cab and gave the driver the address.

"Why were you so rough? I could have ran on my own, I am gold you know."

I looked at Olive, "Little miss, I don't doubt you are fast, but you didn't know where to go, and we don't have any time to spare." I explained.

Olive gave a look of understanding.

"Hey new nanny, how are you so strong. You are a freak of nature, not gold. So how could you carry me, run at full force, get a taxi, and not break a sweat?" Olive asked.

"I train." I explained.

Before Olive could ask more questions the cab driver stopped in front of the address I had given him. I tried to pay him with the money that Ed had given me, but he didn't want to touch the money that I had touched. I guess there are some perks to being a freak of nature. We got out of the cab, and walked into the large shiny building, to Olive's photoshoot.