Chapter 9: Rush Hour

Sofia burst into the garage in a hurry, her hair still frazzled from waking up. She threw herself into the driver's seat of her car, slamming the door shut behind her and shoving the keys in the ignition. Its engine clunked to life as she threw it in reverse and stepped on the gas.

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!

Her car squeezed beneath the still-opening garage door and onto the street, speeding off toward the daycare. Somehow, she'd managed to sleep right through her alarm—twice. Evidently, she'd stayed up just a little bit later than intended last night. And now she was paying the price.

She gripped the steering wheel harder. It was only her third day on the job. If she was already coming in late…

…I can't let them think I'm a total flake.

Sofia's eyes darted about, checking for other cars, dangers, or anything else that could delay her further. All the while, she poured on as much speed as she dared, toeing the line between safety and making up as much time as she could.

The little town of Mistlewood fell away behind her, replaced with the dense forestry that housed the daycare. Now that she was out of the high-traffic areas, she felt herself relax a little.

Ok. I managed to make up a lot of time. I should only be five minutes late… I'll just apologize to Ginger and Ashley and—

Movement at the treeline caught her eye. Sofia slammed on the brakes and swerved as a deer burst onto the road in front of her. The squeal of tires filled her ears as the car screeched to a halt, narrowly managing to avoid the animal.

Sofia stared at the deer. It stood right in the middle of the road, staring back at her. It struck a rather regal pose, its head held high and proud… and completely unrepentant. Honestly, if she didn't know better, she might've said it looked disappointed.

The deer turned and bounded off into the trees. She glared after it. The dumb thing didn't even know how close it had come to dying.

After a long moment, the rush of adrenaline began to subside. Sofia felt her heart rate slow back to something resembling normal. Thankfully, there weren't any other cars on this road at the moment, meaning she could afford a moment to calm down. But then she remembered the time.

She let out a long breath. Ok. Gotta get going. Just… maybe I'll take it a bit slower this time. I'd rather be a couple minutes late than have a totaled car. I'm almost there, anyway.

Nodding to herself, she straightened and began moving once again—this time, paying much more attention to the trees around her.

***

"It's time for free play! Let's all pick a station to play at, ok? Remember to bring your nametags! Walking feet!"

Ashley called out to the kids as they scattered around the room, Sofia standing beside her. Despite her fears, her slight tardiness had gone over quite well. While Ginger had given her a gentle reminder not to make it a habit, Ashley showed no sign whatsoever of minding or even noticing. She should have expected as much, but still. It was a relief.

Sofia turned toward the music-playing mushroom. "Alexis, play…" she thought for a moment. "...The Itsy Bitsy Spider."

The butterfly-topped mushroom didn't so much as flicker. Sofia frowned, speaking slower this time. "Alexis? Play the Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Her brow furrowed as the mushroom remained unresponsive. Ashley chuckled. "You have to use the magic word, silly." Turning to the mushroom, she spoke in a clear voice. "Alexis? Would you please play the Itsy Bitsy Spider for us?"

At her words, the mushroom finally glowed, its blue cap and butterfly blinking to life before it began to emit a piano rendition of the requested song. Ashley smiled brightly. "See?"

Sofia just shook her head. Evidently, the daycare was pretty serious about everyone using "please" and "thank you"—even the teachers.

What an odd thing to program into it…

Turning to survey the room, she found that the kids had already found their places at the various play stations. Building, dress-up, writing, books… Each one had its own theme and corresponding collection of toys to go with it.

As the kids busied themselves with their activities and each other, Ashley went about preparing the something at the back counter. Sofia stepped toward her. "Need any help?"

"Oh, certainly!" The woman offered her a pair of scissors and a stack of construction paper. "I'm just cutting out a few of these to make paper popsicles this afternoon. Here!"

The pair worked together to cut the shapes out, scanning the room the entire while. Occasionally, Ashley would call out to gently correct one of the kids, reminding them to walk or clean up once they were done. But for the most part, things seemed peaceful.

"How are you feeling so far?"

Sofia waggled her hand from side to side. "Ok? I feel like I'm learning a lot. Though even with that, I still don't know how you get them to listen to you… I mean, you just have this way with them."

"Aww, thank you!" Ashley beamed. "Though to be fair, I do have lots of experience. Plus, these kids know me. That's more important than you think."

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"It is?"

"Of course! She nodded sagely, her wooden earrings clattering with the movement. "You have to build a relationship with them. Only then will they trust you."

"Then… I just need to wait, then? Give it time?" She sighed. It sounded all too familiar. Still, she didn't want to just wait. She wanted to improve, to feel like she was doing something.

"Oh, I don't mean that! I mean, it's certainly an option, but there's better ways to go about it." Ashley corrected her. "Here, let me show you."

The teacher set down her stack of neatly cut-out popsicles and stepped forward, her long skirt swishing around her legs. A few long strides brought her to the kitchen station, where a trio of children were hard at work putting little plastic food items into various bowls and pots. A small wooden table and its chairs were already cluttered with cups and other assorted toys.

Ashley bent at the waist to address them. "What are you all doing over here?"

She received a variety of responses. One boy was too engrossed in what he was doing to answer. Another stared blankly, while the third—a little blonde-haired boy she recognized as Todd—grinned and answered for the group. "We're making cakes!"

"Cakes? How tasty! Is it someone's birthday?"

"Yeah! It's yours!"

Ashley put her hands on her hips and straightened. "It's not my birthday!"

"Yes it is!" Todd insisted, still grinning.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

The woman gave a chuckle of amusement. "Can I sit with you?"

"Yup! But you have to use that chair, this one's Snip-Snap's."

Sofia watched her take a seat in the child-sized wooden chair, across from a bulbous crab plushie, as Todd rushed toward the little kitchen set. He pulled the oven's door open and slid a pot inside. "It has to bake!"

"Ok! I'll wait here. Naomi, what are you making?"

The woman sat there, asking questions of the kids and accepting whatever make-believe food they brought to her. They swarmed about her excitedly, eager to show off their latest creations and have her try them.

"Whew! I'm stuffed." After a few minutes, Ashley patted her belly in mock contentment. "I can't eat another bite. But maybe Miss Sofia would like to try some of your food?"

That was as clear a cue as she could ever ask for. Sofia stepped forward. "Sure! I'd love to."

She traded places with Ashley. The woman gave her a thumbs-up, then drifted off to another station, Leaving Sofia to fend for herself. She waited in the tiny, child-sized chair, looking around at the kids.

Ok… how did she start, again? Right, she asked them what they were making. Showed interest in what they were doing.

Before she could open her mouth, the quieter boy ran up and handed her an empty cup. "Here's some milk!"

"Oh… thank you." Sofia took a fake sip, playing along. "Mmm! That's very refreshing!"

She felt a little silly, but her efforts were rewarded as a smile spread across the kid's face. He scurried off. "I'll get you some tea!"

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. That wasn't hard. See, Sofia? You're overthinking things again, just like usual.

"No!"

The word was loud and whiny, shouted in a tone usually reserved for utterly heart-wrenching catastrophes. Looking over, she saw Todd and the little girl—Naomi, that was her name—fighting over a plastic plate.

…Of course. Guess I was kind of asking for it, wasn't I?

Sofia inhaled, bracing herself. "What's going on, here?"

Todd pointed an accusing finger at Naomi. "She took my plate!"

"It's my plate!" Naomi pouted.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Now, now," Sofia tried to untangle the situation. "Who had the plate first?"

"Me!" Both shouted simultaneously.

…Right. Should have seen that coming.

She sighed, surveying the situation. She honestly had no idea who was telling the truth. But what she could tell was that Naomi had a pile of about three more plates that she was protecting. It seemed that the little girl was hoarding them.

"Ok. Well…" She began, considering how to handle this. "Naomi, you already have a lot of plates. Can you let Todd have that one?"

"But it's mine," the little girl insisted.

"Well, then, why don't you pick another one to give him instead?"

Naomi seemed to weigh the suggestion, then spun toward her pile. She retrieved another plastic plate from it, offering it to Todd. The boy didn't take it, staring up at Sofia. "But I want that one!"

Oh come on, kid…

Naomi shook her head vigorously as Sofia sighed. She could just tell Todd to deal with it, that he could have that plate or none at all. But considering she didn't know the initial situation, that definitely felt like it could be unfair. It also felt a bit more harsh than she really wanted. Maybe they could reach some other sort of compromise?

An idea struck her. "Here, Todd. How about you play with that plate for now. Then, when Naomi's done, she'll give you the other one. Does that sound fair?"

She honestly didn't know what to expect. Really, this suggestion wasn't that much different than the last one. There was no way he'd go for it. Was there?

Yet to her utter shock, the blonde boy nodded. "Ok."

She let out an involuntary sigh of relief as Naomi also nodded. "Great! Then, Naomi, what are you going to do with that once you're done?"

"Give it to Todd." She answered seriously.

The third little boy ran up to Sofia, completely heedless of the conflict that had been brewing right beside him. He thrust a plastic pot toward her. Inside was a pear, a taco, and a piece of pizza. "Here's your cake!"

"Ah, thank you!" She suppressed a laugh, accepting the pot. Looking across from her, she noted that the crab plushie had also acquired a "cake" of its own at some point. The kids had somehow managed to wedge a bowl of food between its large pincers and make it stay.

"A cake!" Ashley appeared suddenly over her shoulder. "What flavor is it?"

"Um… strawberry!"

"Mmm! Can I try some?"

After talking an exaggerated bite of the dessert and praising its taste, she leaned back to whisper in Sofia's ear. "Good work! You handled that really well."

Ashley winked at her, before straightening and gliding toward another group of kids. Sofia felt herself sit a little straighter.

See? You really do got this. Even Ashley says so. And… She looked at the kids eagerly vying for her attention…You're making bonds with them, too.

To her utter shock, Naomi actually did give Todd the coveted plastic plate just a minute later. Less surprising was how quickly he abandoned it in favor of other toys, rendering the whole conflict essentially moot. But that was ok. It was a learning experience for everyone.

Returning her attention to the present, she continued playing make-believe with the kids.