Chapter Text
Taking a deep breath you click your 42nd refresh, waiting for someone to post an ad for something you could actually do.
“This is hopeless !” You whined, spotting your door note your land lady left outside when you came home from work a week ago. Your land lady, a sweet older graying woman in her 70’s, was empathetic when you had come to her about losing your previous life sustaining job, after a spat with a coworker. You didn’t even mention your declining mental state from losing your mother, and still she came to you with welcoming arms and an open heart... you really needed to schedule another visit with her soon.
Though, despite all of that you just really need this job.. This little two bedroom, one and a half bathroom flat had been you and your mothers place for the longest time. Even when you were old enough to move out, your mother was old. Your father was gone, and she really needed someone just to be around. You loved your mother. She cared for you your whole life, and you felt the need to return the favor until she passed. When she eventually did, you spiraled; she had been your rock, your strongest support system since you only had a few friends. It was not only losing your mom to you, but also your closest friend. So it was only a matter of time for the depression to leak into work. You don’t even remember what happened the day you were fired. You just remember John or someone there saying something insensitive, you lashing out, and the next day having to search for jobs that were suited to your associate's degree in marketing.
A manager at Wee Burger Emporium was not what you were expecting, and you couldn’t do it anymore. The long hours and minimal pay was abysmally draining. You had taken a pay cut almost 2 times less than what your previous job gave. Rent dues were piling up and banking on the landlady's kindness was making you feel bad. The note gave you one more month; and then you were going to have to explore other options. So here you were desperately searching through job listings. You hoped to find something that could at least offer to pay two months rent. You wanted to repay the kind woman; after all her generosity had given you a place to stay during all this mess. Resting your hands back on the keyboard, you sighed, enough of the remembering and onto the searching; and another tedious hour of scrolling and refreshing later, your eyes widened in surprise at the listing that your mouse found itself onto.
Babysitting..?
When was the last time you willingly watched someone's kids?
That one time in 8th grade maybe?
You scroll, smiling at the memory of the Gaston twins terrorizing their bedroom in search of ‘lost treasure’, then angrily conking out on the living room couch after not finding anything for 2 hours. Internally thanking the two twins for being the reason you stopped sitting, you scroll past a key part of the ad listing.
You paused, you didn’t just see what you thought you just saw.
Your brain was just playing tricks on you.
Surely.
You quickly scroll back up.
“How much!?” You cry, almost throwing your computer off of your lap. You decided to re-run the listing, this time thoroughly looking for any red flags that might deter you from submitting an application this very minute.
“Requirements…….Job Requirements… Here!” You cheered. “Human.. Monster Friendly… College educated..?” You jumped.
You fit those! Well, two at least…! You had a college education! An albeit meaningless one that did little in helping you pick a career; but an education nonetheless! Once your brain flashes back to the other bright red words in the listing, you groan, sit back down, and slump.
“I’ve never interacted with a monster in my life..” You ran your hands down your face. You lived just outside of Ebott; the city where most monsters ended up residing after they were released from the mountain. You, like other people, didn’t know what to think when you heard the news; Also like many people, you were excited and nervous to meet the new guys. You found it really unfair that after being trapped like that, they came up again, and they were right back where they started; stuck to Ebott and a few towns around it. That unfortunately left your little town monster-less. They didn’t need to know that though.. You sent the application. A little white lie never hurt anyone!
…Right?
You decided to shut the laptop but didn’t sign out. Thinking this might be a dud but still wanting to have an inkling of hope. Though normally, commercial job requests didn’t respond until a week or so later, and since this was an independent listing you expected an entirely longer wait…
Ping!
Or not..
A quick second before you shut down the computer you received a message almost immediately after the one you sent. No way that notification was from the employer right..? That was way too fast. For anyone! Human or monster. You look at the notification on your phone that was linked to your email. Oh my stars, it was them. That’s not concerning at all! Nope! That definitely doesn’t scream desperation to you! You pushed off the feeling and opened the laptop, clicking through all of your other emails. You swear you spent hours looking for the stupid email before you saw the name.
This can’t be real.
evening. my name is sans serif. just saw your application for our babysitting ad. appologies for the fast reply, we’re just a tad bit desperate. If you're interested, what time would be best for you to meet up for an interview? for us, it would be as soon as possible but we’re available whenever.
best wishes. -Serif.
Well..despite the lack of capitalization, and the address, the email was formal and to the point!
As much as it could be.
Grabbing your laptop, you typed up your own reply and returned to your couch. Since the original email address wasn't too formal you think your non-business email should be fine, plus you wouldn’t need to sift through job replies on your business one to find the thread. Win win!
Hi! Yes, nice to meet you. I didn’t expect such a quick reply, but I’m ready as soon as noon tomorrow if that works for you guys? I would like to discuss some things beforehand, just so I’m sure I’m not walking into my own grave! Haha. I didn’t really see specifics but how many kids would I be babysitting? What hours, and why is college education required?
You read over the message again and cringed over how informal it was, but mama didn’t raise no quitter and the message before wasn’t really it hit out of the ball park either.
You just hope they weren’t looking for an English major.
The reply came quickly and you weren’t really expecting what came next.
yeah sorry, i didn’t write the listing. you’re sitting with 5 kids ranging from 16-12. their names are: Frisk, Chara, Koala, Scout, and Aliza.
Frisk is the oldest, Aliza and Ko are the youngest, Chara is 14 and Scout is 15. they’re all human. you’ll be working kind of 24/7? a lot of the kids’ caretakers are gone for the day/night, and some of the kids are more night owlish than others so it really depends? i’m not sure if you saw it in the ad but we’re also offering a room. If you’re uncomfortable we made sure to include enough money to supply a hotel or even a rental apartment nearby. it’s easier to have you stay in the house, but, we offered 'cause we figured that it would be kinda awkward just kickin’ it with strangers. i’m sure it’s uh.. a little weird sounding, but i promise none of us will touch that room. it’s only offered so that you’re easily accessible to the kids. lastly, about college education. the government isn’t really all that trusting to monsters yet, so they’re saying that we need to either enroll the kids in regular school, or have them homeschooled by a human teacher. but uh… not many human teachers we asked have been so kind as to help us out, plus enrolling in human school just wouldn’t be possible with our schedules. so the next best bet would be to have a regular human homeschool them. which is kind of the route we’ve chosen. i know it sounds like a lot but the kids are great and i really hope you consider the position.
-serif.
What the hell!? No where on the application did it say you needed to be willing to move, You checked! Twice!
You don’t even know this guy. Or these guys? He said “strangers” right? Meaning plural?? They could be a serial killer! Or worse..
Bad roommates. Your body gives a harsh shiver at the thought.
No matter how bad the prediction, your mind drifts back to the pay per hour and you sigh. That could pay rent and help with some other important expenses. It really could… It was way more than two months rent these guys were offering. You could pay off your student loans in a couple of years with that money! There’s no way this listing was real.
You clicked the Email thread.
I need the night to think about it, but I'm still up for the interview. I think spending the day with the kids and seeing how we get along would be beneficial. Along with meeting the rest of the residents of the house, and just scoping the situation out. If that’s alright with you? Sorry it just sounds a bit too good to be true with how my luck has been these past few months.
You sent the email sighing, you were really doing this.. you were really meeting with some weird guy from a job asking, you could die. These people could kidnap you and this could literally be the end of your life due to you being desperate for money. You begin to wonder how bad life could be on the streets when you get a reply from the thread.
that’s perfect actually, and yeah I could round up the guys to meet before you start, not a problem. the kids as well.
-Serif
The last collection of emails you send are confirming the address and the time, and after the long hour and a half that all took, you’re more than ready for bed. Looking over at your TV, the time reads 12:25am.
So much to adhering to a normal sleep schedule.
You roll your eyes, grabbing a throw blanket off the couch. It was no use trying to head up to your room tonight. You’ve been trying to listen to the advice of your therapist to try and get over the loss of your mom, trying to spend time in the room where it all happened and..
You shook your head.
You don’t want to think about that before bed. You curl in on yourself and eventually allow sleep to find you. You anticipate a long day tomorrow.
Beep beep beep!
You groaned. Attempting to shield away the blinding light from the big window directly behind you. You cursed. Why was there such a huge window in a two bedroom anyways!?
“Whoever designed this place should look for another job, and why is my alarm going off..?” You angrily rolled back into your comfortable spot on the couch still cursing the designer angrily as you hoped that eventually the noise would shut off by itself.
Apparently despite your wishing, your heart didn’t harbor enough hope.
“Oh come on!” You huffed. “Why did I even set this stupid thing for this early am I-” You paused.
You got up looking for your phone, finding it you shut off the alarm, and gave a quick glance to the time. 11:25… What's happening at 11:00?
Oh shit. OH SHIT!
“The interview!” You all but practically screamed.
Running into the laundry basket you basically lived out of, you conducted a smell test on basically everything in there and you almost twirled in joy when you found something. A cute blouse and a small tan skirt with strawberries. This was perfect for fall weather! You checked your phone first, making sure that it actually was the perfect outfit for the weather; It was! So, you quickly scurried into the outfit.
“Damn! how could I forget!?” You frustratedly yelled. “This would’ve never happened if I could just be more organized!” buttoning the blouse you haphazardly threw on,
you run straight for the bathroom connected to your room. You did not want for a second to get sidetracked by the memories threatening to capsize your already racing mind. Just before you go in, ignoring all the things around you, you grab the beauty supplies from your vanity. Goodness not a thing changed in this room since you last were here. Just goes to show how long it's been. You really haven’t been listening to your therapist. She was gonna bite you in the ass on your next visit for it too.
After styling your hair simply and professionally, you apply your makeup just the way you like. However, taking a moment to look up in the mirror has you tearing up..
You look just like your mom.
Her splitting image when you’re not looking and feeling all junky. Down to your eyes, your smile, and your nose. It all reminds you of herself. You can see the point where your dad’s DNA mixed with hers in some parts, but it’s still all mainly her. You pause running your fingers through your hair. You smile gently. This was the first time in months that you’ve gotten dressed nice. You like it. You really like it. You do a little spin for good measure and grab your things. You put the supplies just the way they were before you came in, and walk out. Feeling good and striding to your living room, you grab your phone and check the time: 11:45. Not bad. You still had time to calm your nerves.
Eventually it was time to leave, and your hands sweat and tremble slightly as you grab your keys.
Well..Time to meet everyone!