Elizabeth must have been desperate: she waited for me to change out of my apron, then drove me to my brother's, where she sat in the car while he dumped all my boxes in the back. "You dykes," he said to me, obviously as high as a kite, "moving in together after one decent fuck." I decided to act like I hadn't heard him, knowing he wouldn't be reasonable in this state anyway.

In a surprisingly short time, all of my things were packed, and he drew me in for a hug. No matter how touched I was, he smelled like a teenage boy in a locker room, and I was relieved when he let go. "Love you, sis."

"Love you, Darryl. Although I would love you more if you learned how to take a shower."

He sniggered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, yeah, Jessie, could you maybe cover my rent next month? Seeing as how I helped you out, and you said you got a job now."

I looked at him, in his old blue bomber jack, and hoped to god he'd never harassed some poor girl on the street after smoking a bit too much. He'd probably spent all his money on weed again, and I knew that a proper nanny would refuse. Only, could he help it that he'd turned out like this? "Sure," I said, "just this once."

He smiled at me, both of us knowing full well this wasn't the first time I'd paid up, and that it wouldn't be the last either.

When I got into the passenger's seat, Elizabeth was eying him with one eyebrow raised. "Is that one of the brothers you said you used to look after?"

Even though miss Perfect's tone annoyed me, I couldn't blame her for thinking like that. Darryl wasn't exactly someone who seemed to be going places — in fact, the only places he was going were his dealer's meeting point and his buddies' couches, to play on their PlayStations. "Yes," I said. "He just has some problems he needs to work through. It's not his fault."

Elizabeth huffed as she pulled away from the apartment block, clearly not convinced. After informing me of a few house rules, she didn't say anything for the rest of the way, leaving a tense silence between the two of us. Didn't she know what to talk to me about, or was this just who she was? I said something about traffic or about the state of the road a couple of times — she only gave short, noncommittal answers. I could've just as well attempted to have a conversation with her BMW.

When we pulled up at her mansion, I exited the car as fast as possible, relieved to see Ari and Camille running out to greet me. Ari was jumping up and down, kicking gravel everywhere in the process, and Camille was practically screeching. Ari helped me carry my stuff up the stairs, following miss Schneider all the way to the back of the house, and only then did I realize what I'd agreed to — and, more importantly, what Elizabeth had agreed to. No matter how enthusiastic her kids were, I couldn't believe she was okay with a stranger moving in, much less if that stranger were me.

"Let me know if you need anything," miss Schneider said, while Ari ripped a box open. "I'm here every afternoon, except for Saturdays and Sundays, that is."

"Thanks," I said, and she left. In the meantime, Ari was yanking at the flap of a second box, almost tearing that one too. I dragged it out of her reach, giving her a warning look, then sat on the queen-sized bed.

As someone who had grown up in what was practically a double-wide, this was a lot to take in. The wallpaper depicted flowers in a royal blue background, matching perfectly with the carpet. Thick curtains flanked a high window, giving a view of the backyard, currently blazing in the summer sun. On the right, a door led to my very own bathroom, complete with a toilet and a shower, and on the left stood a tall closet next to a dresser. Even though I'd been here before, I just hadn't expected the nanny to get such luxury as well.

"Is this all you have?" Ari asked, her voice muffled as she buried her head into one of the boxes. Stumbling, she fell even deeper into it, half her body disappearing into my belongings.

I smiled at Camille, who had clambered onto the bed next to me and was watching me like I was her favorite cartoon. "Yes," I said. "You know, when I was your age, I only had the one box."

Ari emerged from between my shirts. "That's silly."

"Jessie," Camille said, "can we play with the Barbies now?"

"We can play after I've unpacked. You wanna help me? Here, you put my socks in the closet." Camille squealed "yes!" and slid back down to the floor. I handed her the right box and opened the bottom drawer, and one by one, she began to place my socks in it. "By the way, where is Manon?"

Ari sat on her knees, examining a pair of fake Dr. Martens. "She says she hates you," she said, like she was telling me what's for dinner. Without further ado, she chucked the shoes in the corner.

"Hey! Don't throw my stuff, alright?"

"Why?" She had her hands on her hips again, looking up at me with a glint in her blue eyes. "These boots are ugly anyway."

"Doesn't matter. How'd you like it if I threw your stuff around?"

She shrugged and unearthed my old sneakers, for some reason holding them close to her face so she could smell them. Her nose wrinkled.

"Why do you say Manon hates me?"

"She told me," she said, again flinging my sneakers aside and sending me a cheeky grin.

It was probably best to ignore her for now. She seemed to enjoy me talking back to her a little too much, and it probably wasn't a good idea to encourage that. So, instead, I focused on Camille. She was still the sweet girl she'd been a month ago, helping me out wherever she could, even though her assistance meant I'd have to refold some of my jeans and shirts later.

Of course, Ari had to find my bras. Picking out the only nice one I owned, in deep red, she paraded through the room, holding it in front of her chest, saying "boobs" repeatedly, to the delight of her younger sister. Before long, though, she became bored with me not paying any attention to her and asked me where I wanted my sweaters.

Just as I was stuffing the empty boxes to the back of the closet, my third little responsibility decided to join us. Manon was looking at me haughtily, her chin held high, a piece of lined paper in her hands, like she was some government official preparing to give a speech. Seeing as how she apparently hated me, that wasn't good news at all.

"Hi, Manon," I said. "Nice to see you again. How are you?"

"I'm only here to tell you about the house rules," she said, which confirmed her opinion of me.

Ari, who had jumped on top of my dresser, asked: "What house rules?"

Manon sent her an angry look, then unfolded her piece of paper. "I wrote them down for you," she continued. "Listen carefully, because they are very important and mom won't like it if you break them."

Oh, this was going to be good. "I'm listening."

She cleared her throat, checked if I was still watching her, and then read aloud: "One: you're not allowed to sit on the couch. Two: you can't do a number two after eight in the morning, and you can't leave your room after nine in the evening. Three: you have to dress for dinner, you need to use the right cutlery for each meal — no elbows on the table either, and the nanny isn't allowed to talk during dinner too."

Wasn't that something? Fighting hard to hold in my laughter, I saw Ari and Manon doing the same. Girls, girls, girls. I wasn't some flighty young teenager fresh from nanny school: I was Jessie Kawecki, and I had grown up with five siblings. This was nothing I hadn't seen — or done — before.

"Why, thank you," I said, placing my hand on my heart. "How nice of you to bring me up to speed. I feel so very welcome." Manon's eyes widened, and Ari almost fell from the dresser in surprise. Three could play this game, eh? "Can I have your notes? In case I forget one of them."

Manon nodded and gave me the piece of paper, then rushed out of the room, looking over her shoulder with her mouth half-open.

"Sorry I'm late."

Elizabeth, who had been in the middle of shoveling rice onto the plates in front of her, paused to stare at me, her eyebrows once more showing her discontent. Next to her, Manon had her mouth wide open, laughter in her eyes, while Ari was doubled over, shrieking with joy, and Camille giggled loudly. Pretending everything was normal, I approached them and curtseyed, nearly falling over in the process.

"Good evening, ladies," I said, "may I sit down?"

Elizabeth laid down the spoon. She looked like she was already regretting ever hiring me. "I'm sorry, what is this? Why on earth are you dressed like that?"

I twirled, showing off the glittery purple tutu I had pulled over my jeans, complete with the flapping fairy wings strapped to my back. My hair was bundled up in a tight classic bun, which was also the reason I hadn't been on time: whatever I did, my hair simply loved to behave like cotton candy, and it was far from easy to get it this smooth and flat.

Manon glanced at her mother, fidgeting with her fork, then said: "We were joking, Jessie. Those weren't actual rules. I thought you knew."

"No, you were joking? I had no idea!" Dragging out the words, I made it very clear I did know that, and Manon, catching on, averted her gaze to her plate.

Her mother glared at her. "What did you do now? I thought you both liked Jessie!"

Ari conveniently slid down her chair, hiding her face under the table, but Manon stayed, her cheeks steadily growing redder than the hot sauce in front of her. "It was just a joke," she mumbled, almost unintelligible.

Elizabeth had opened her mouth, definitely about to sour the mood, but I wouldn't let her. My first day had to be a success; I wasn't going to start off on a bad note. "And I played my own little joke, didn't I?" I said, before she could do anything. Holding the tutu up, I sat down next to Ari, her nose just popping up from underneath the table. "This is the thing, kids..." I looked around, stopping at each of the three small faces. "Your mom has to go to work a lot. And that's no fun, I know. But somebody's got to pay the bills. And somebody's got to keep an eye on you. Myself, I'd really like that person to be me. How about you?"

Something changed in Elizabeth's expression: though she was still frowning, she seemed to be deep in thought, like she'd only now noticed me for the first time. Ari dragged herself back up while Manon stuck her chin in the air again. "I don't need a nanny, or a mom," she said. "I'm nine years old, not a baby."

"Me too!" called Ari. "I'm six. I'm not a baby!"

Even Camille copied her older sisters, although she probably didn't have a clue what she was saying.

Elizabeth sighed, massaging her temple, all at once looking like she hadn't slept in months. "We've had this discussion before, Manon. It's not up for debate."

I lifted my plate, deciding I'd better break this up. "Let's eat, hey. This looks delicious. Did you make this?"

The question was aimed at Elizabeth, but it was Ari who answered: "No, mom can't cook. She is a baby." She grinned at her mother, elbows on the table, chin resting on her hands.

Elizabeth shook her head, starting to divide the rice and fried vegetables, though I could've sworn a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Miss Schneider cooks," she explained to me, handing me my plate back.

"And we usually order in on the weekends," Manon added in a rather sulky tone.

"When is Jessie's turn?" Ari asked, her face dropping as she prodded a piece of cauliflower. They spent the next few minutes debating when I'd be allowed to pick a restaurant, squabbling about what was fair or unfair, like it was a matter of great importance. Finally, they settled on me choosing after their mom, and, regarding this as a good sign, I decided to throw myself in front of the lions again.

"So, Manon," I said, "how come you don't need a nanny?"

Elizabeth stopped chewing to glare at me, and I figured if Manon wasn't going to drive me away, her mom would take care of it for me.

Manon seemed suspicious. She didn't answer immediately, taking her time to think, then said: "I don't need help with anything. I'm very capable." It sounded like she'd read that word somewhere and had no idea how to actually say it, and I almost laughed.

"Alright," I said, raising my glass of water as if toasting to her, "that settles it. I'll only be here for your sisters." Turning to the other two, I continued: "So, what should we do tomorrow, Ari, Camille? It's supposed to be hot. I thought we could drive out to Target and pick up some water balloons."

Ari jumped up so fast I startled, starting to hop around the room shouting, "yes, yes, yes, yes, Jessie yessie!", and Camille clapped her hands together in awe.

"Good, seems like my plan has been approved." I smiled, then turned to Manon, who was very quiet all of a sudden. "Don't worry," I told her, "we won't bother you. You can do whatever very serious stuff you want to do, you don't have to play with us. I'm sure you're much too old for silly water balloons."

As Manon dropped her chin to her chest, pouting slightly, Elizabeth caught my eye. I hope you know what you're doing, said her expression.

I flashed her a wide smile in response.