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Mensah had an important planetary leader meeting, Farai had a different meeting at the same time and Tano was sick. Amena was their last option but they didn't trust her after “last time” (they did not elaborate on what happened)
“I could watch them.” I said from where I stood in the corner.
“Are you sure you're alright with that?” Dr Mensah asked. Her bag was packed, her hair done nicely, she was supposed to be leaving right now.
“Yes, you're going to be late,” I removed myself from my corner and turned to face just to the left of her head. “I watch suicidal humans all the time, it's literally my job.”
“Alright then, thank you.” she pulled Amena down to kiss her cheeks and pressed a quick kiss to the foreheads of each younger one. Just before she closed the door she pressed a kiss to her finger tips then pointed them at me. “Love you, good bye!”
The children shouted variations of ‘love you, good luck'. The people of preservation were very affectionate in almost every meaning of the word. Hello hugs, good bye kisses and ending almost every interaction with affirmations.
I turned the view screen in the living room on and set it to play the superhero show that the 'tweens' liked. With a family this big, they have many subcategories: the teens (Amena, Sasha), the tweens (Emilia, Amar, Jamie), and the kids (Lizzy and Sophie). I gestured to the couch and they sat.
Amena and Sasha weren't actually watching, they were on their feeds. Amena talking to her friends, Sasha watching a ghost themed animated media. The younger ones were peaceful for about 3 seconds.
It started with Emilia sprawling, laying with her head in Amena's lap and her feet in Jamie's. “Get those nasty things off me.” He grumbled, quietly.
Emilia faked a stretch so badly even I could tell. “What?” She asked, feet posed directly in his face.
He made a very angry, extremely high pitched sound and shoved her as hard as he could off the couch. “Jamie!” Sasha shouted, not because he sent his sister sprawling onto the floor, but because her flailing knocked over Sasha's glass of sweet liquid.
“What?” He asked all innocent, “she started it.”
“Clean that up.” I said, leaving my corner. Jamie made a loud groan like i asked him to build a habitat by himself and not to clean up some fizzing sugar water.
“Are you injured?” I asked Emilia who was still sprawled on the floor like a dead bug.
“He should get in trouble,” she said, grasping at her leg. She did not hit her leg on the way down– I checked the footage. Twice. “that was assault. I need justice.”
“Actually it was battery.” I said, helping her up.
“Still!” She said, huffing and pouting, “he should be grounded,” she was whining now, ”ground him, SecUnit!”
“No!” Jamie said, rushing now with a rag. “Im doing it, look,” he wiped at the mess, spreading around the brightly pigmented liquid. “Look!”
I turned my physical eyes toward the boy, “yes, I see.” Was I supposed to praise him for cleaning up his own messes? “Very good.”
“I'm bored!” Lizzy said, wiggling slightly in her chair “I wanna go play!”
“Then go play.” Sasha said, stealing Amena's drink. She took one sip then made a face and put it back down. Amena smirked slightly, the only reaction to the noise she's given since she sat down.
“No,” Lizzy said like she thought Sasha was stupid. “I wanna play outside.”
Children weren't supposed to play by themselves. “What do you want to play?” I asked, maybe she could be convinced to stay here.
“You'll play with me, SecUnit?” She asked, hands clasped under her chin and eyes wide. The other adolescents were watching me as well.
“Yes.” I said, the caregivers often played with the children. “What do you want to play?”
“I wanna play hide and hunt!” Amar said, standing.
Sophie stood as well, “that's boring, let's play sardines!”
“Those are practically the same game.” Emilia said, rolled her eyes. “Let's play ghosts and guards.”
“Uhm!” Lizzy interjected, “it said it would play with me. It asked me what I wanted to play.”
“Who all wants to play outside?” I asked, all eyes turned to me. “First person fully ready to be outside picks.” The children began to scramble for their belongings, I had to raise my voice so they could hear me. “That means socks, shoes, and jackets.”
I was not about to deal with the children not bringing a jacket only to complain that it was cold. I traded my house shoes, a gift from Mensah, for my outdoors boots. “I'm ready!” Lizzy said, breathless from running.
“Let's play security and thieves!” She said, bouncing a little. Oddly the teens both got off the couch and made their way to the shoe rack. “I'll be the security guard,” she said, hands on her hips.
Unfortunately all my searches for ‘security and thieves’ lead to actual crimes, adding ‘game' changed the results to be mostly crime centric media. “How do you play?”
“So, basically,” Lizzy started, “I'm the security guard and you are all thieves and–”
Jamie interrupted, “And there's a jail!”
“The big tree with the swings is the jail,” Sasha added.
“And since I'm the guard I'm going to get you!” she lunged at Sophie, grabbing her hand. She screamed dramatically, because children love to scream, I guess.
Lizzy held her hand, swinging it as she continued, “once I get you, you go to jail.”
“The tree with the swings,” Amar clarified, unnecessarily.
“If you see someone by the tree you gotta go save them.” Emilia said, fixing her jacket.
Amena sent me an actually helpful info packet with the basic rules and less children shouting over each other. “Alright.”
“I'm going to count to ten!” Lizzy said excitedly, all the adolescents ran out the door. I closed it behind me as I left.
Amena was already halfway up the tree. Sasha was hiding behind some play equipment. Jamie held Sophie's hand as they ran towards the garden. Emilia and Amar were fighting over a spot under a bench.
Hide somewhere. Amena sent me over the feed. It's not a rule, but it's more fun!
I looked around, the brick of the house should provide enough grip, as long as I am going fast enough. I took a few steps back and made a running start, I made it up a few meters before my momentum slowed, I jumped and my fingers wrapped around the roof's water railing and I hulled myself up.
Across the yard Amena was gaping at me. I waved awkwardly and lay down to open my media. Lizzy shouted “ten!! Ready or not, here I come!” and came barreling out of the house.
“Close the door, please.” I sent. She groaned but did as told.
She made a beeline for Emilia and Amar who had given up on fighting and were now sharing the spot with their feet sticking out. “Gotcha!” She said, wrapping a hand around each of their ankles.
“Man!” Amar whined, wiping the dirt off their clothes, “why'd you have to follow me?” They complained loudly.
“Why couldn't you just pick a different spot?” Emilia huffed.
Lizzy grabbed their hands and started walking them to the tree. She then stood there, watching them. “Puppy guarding!” Amar yelled.
“Puppy guarding!” Emilia joined.
“Lizzy Is a Puppy Guarder!” They said together, “Lizzy is a cheater!”
“Nuh-uh!” Lizzy said, crossing her arms.
Sasha popped up from her spot “cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!”
“No! I'm not!”
Sasha stood, arms wide, “come get me then!” Lizzy ran towards her.
“Save us!” Emilia shouted, hands waving as she looked around.
I jumped from the roof, landing in a roll. Lizzy turned, stumbling slightly she ran towards me. I swooped the two caught children up, one under each arm and ran across the yard.
Lizzy stopped chasing us at some point, finding better luck with Sophie. I disposited the two in my arms onto the porch and turned back to the jail tree. Jamie had sacrificed himself to save Sophie.
“Save me, SecUnit!” he said, giggling. Humans didn't tend to laugh when asking for help; they didn't giggle and twist during extraction, and they most certainly didn't throw themselves straight back into the situation I had just extracted them from. Okay, yeah, actually they absolutely did do that second one.
I charged, Lizzy positioned herself between me and her prisoner, not expecting me to jump over her. She fell– not my fault, i didn't touch her– and watched me scoop Jamie up into my arms.
By the time I had deposited Jamie on the porch, Sasha was captured trying to save Emilia. I was beginning to regret agreeing to this. I ran back towards the tree.
“Thats not fair,” Lizzy said as I lifted both Sasha and Jamie, "I want SecUnit on my team!”
“I could be it.” Amena offered. And so they took turns one or two being ‘it’ at a time while I swooped in saving the trapped ones. By the time Mensah returned I was beginning to be actually tired and in need of a reset.