Naomi's World

SUMMARY: Sixteen-year-old Arthur is experiencing an interesting life change. After getting into a bicycle accident and breaking his arm, he's thrown onto the Hottie List of Elwood City High. Girls are finally noticing him, but Arthur thinks it's for the worst reason in the world. To make matters worse, a hot young babysitter named Naomi is hired by the Read's to help care for Arthur, DW, Kate, and their four-year-old younger siblings, Ricky and Vicky, while Arthur is out of commission. Will Naomi fulfill her duties and make life for the Read's better, or will she only make things worse as she too joins the pursuit of the handsome Arthur Read? Find out in Naomi's World, and be prepared for plenty of twists and turns.

Important notes:

* This piece is Rated K+, so there won't be any cursing, naughty bits, etc.

**This piece has nothing to do with my other piece, Sophomore Sorrows.

***Each chapter is divided into named sections for easy division.

Chapter One

|Introductions|

Arthur felt stupid for the bicycle accident that broke his arm. He was sixteen; he'd been riding for years. But after one major bump, BOOM!, he was over the handlebars. The crack and the pain was unmistakable: He'd broken his arm badly, and he was lucky to not need surgery to fix it.

His recovery would be slow, and the Read family couldn't afford to have their oldest child out of commission. Three years after having Kate, Jane gave birth to twins, Vicky and Ricky. They were four years old now and a major handful compared to seven-year-old Kate and sixteen-year-old Arthur (DW was still a handful at eleven years old). Because Arthur was the only one old enough to care for so many children at once, the Read's would be in a crunch on busy nights when both parents had to be out of the home.

Jane was unsure what to do about this conundrum. She removed her reading glasses and looked to her husband, who was lying next to her in bed. They both sighed together, sinking into the comfortable pillows and blankets. After only two days without Arthur, they were coming up to their first crisis: Both had after-dinner obligations that would keep them from home until as late as midnight.

"What should we do?" Jane asked. David sighed again, looking down to his laptop, "Well, I found a childcare site online. We could hire a babysitter from there right now, if you're interested," David offered. Jane looked troubled, and David closed his laptop, feeling as if her troubled look was a bad sign for his plan.

Jane reopened the laptop, "You're much better at this sort of thing than I am. Pick someone everyone will love," she smiled, kissing his forehead before turning over to sleep. David smiled and began his search.

|Introductions Continued|

Naomi was seventeen, blonde, and talented. She was CPR certified and had three years of babysitting experience. Because she was musical, she was the perfect match for Kate and Vicky, who both enjoyed singing. She also loved cartoons, perfect for Ricky. And her fashion sense was sure to make DW proud.

But Arthur wasn't happy. Naomi looked like one of the mean girls from school. She even had the same purse as Muffy, the meanest girl in all of Elwood City. Arthur wished his parents had chosen someone else, but he also wished he hadn't gotten into such a dumb accident in the first place.

"And Naomi, this is our oldest son, Arthur," David introduced. Arthur nodded, smiling weakly before turning back to the television. "You'll have to excuse him. He broke his arm a few days ago and needs more time to recover. His bedtime is ten o'clock, but you shouldn't have to worry about him at all."

Naomi nodded, looking Arthur over again before following David upstairs to the twin's bedroom-slash-playroom, where they were banging toys loudly. Soon, not only had the banging stopped, but Arthur's parents were gone. The kids were now home alone…with a babysitter.

|Home Alone…Sort Of|

Arthur listened as Naomi played with the twins, stopping periodically to check on the other children, including Arthur. She would lean on the archway leading into the den, looking intently at whatever Arthur was watching. She never spoke, but Arthur knew she wanted to ask questions, to engage with the stony teen.

But Naomi didn't bother Arthur. She lured the twins into the bath with water games before tucking them in a few minutes before their normal bedtime. Then she moved on to Kate, whose independence was strong. She was already washed and sleeping when Naomi checked on the girls' shared room. That left Arthur and DW, and Naomi chose to see Arthur next, this time sitting on the couch and turning off the television to force conversation.

"Your siblings are good at taking care of themselves. Did you help teach them that?" Naomi asked. Arthur shrugged; he was a caretaker, not a parent. "Well, they're the best four-year-old's I've had since I started taking care of children. Well…ever actually," Naomi admitted, laughing casually, "My own siblings are nightmares."

"Mine can be too. Have you met DW?" Arthur asked coldly, eying the remote. Naomi grinned, "She's even doing fine in the office. So far, you're the only one I don't understand. You don't want me here; I know that much. But I also know you're better than a couch potato. You need to move more, unless you want a bum's body to go with that bum arm of yours," she winked, flipping on the television again as she stood up. "When I'm done getting your sister to bed, I'd like to get to know you better," she whispered before leaving the room.

Arthur didn't give her that chance. He went to bed, locking his bedroom door behind him. Naomi never tried to come in, but somehow Arthur knew he'd have to face her one day, and he wasn't looking forward to getting to know the preppy blonde.