Ivy and Bean_ Books 4,5,6 - Annie Barrows [3]
Bean looked from her mom to her dad. They looked back at her. They had already decided, and they weren’t going to change their minds. They were really going to leave her with Nancy. Bean had no choice. “Can I go back to Sophie’s, at least?” she asked.
“No,” said her mom. “That’s the other thing, honey. We want you to stay at home this afternoon. Inside the house, where Nancy can keep an eye on you. Just to be on the safe side.”
This was getting worse and worse. Bean pressed her hands against her cheeks and rolled her eyes back in her head. She opened her mouth as wide as it would go.
“Bean! Stop that!” said her mother.
Bean stopped it. “Mom,” she said, trying to sound calm and nice. “Do you realize that we built a volcano in Sophie W.’s yard? Do you realize that everybody in the whole entire world is down there except me? And it’s erupting? And it was my idea?”
“You can call Ivy and ask her to come over if you want,” said her mother.
“No, I can’t, because she’s playing at Sophie’s,” said Bean grumpily. “Along with everybody else in the whole entire world.”
“I’m sorry, honey. It’s just for one afternoon.” Her mother felt bad; Bean could tell.
Her dad didn’t. “You’ll live,” he said.
Bean collapsed onto the rug. “I’m doomed,” she moaned. “I’m double-doomed!”
“Hey, Beanie!” said Nancy, bouncing into the living room. “Did you hear the news? We’re going to have a great time! I’ll even play crazy eights if you want.”
Bean looked up at Nancy with narrow eyes. She was faking. The minute their parents left, Nancy was going to start being the meanest babysitter in the world.
“Okay!” said her dad, slapping his hands together. “Great! Crazy eights! Let’s get going, Char! Can’t be late!”
Her mom bent down and patted Bean’s cheek. “We’ll be back in no time, sweetie.”
Bean closed her eyes. She hoped she looked like a poor little thing.
“Take good care of your little sister, Nancy,” said her mom.
“No worries,” Nancy sang. “Have a great time!”
There was the sound of her mother putting on a sweater.
There was the sound of the door closing.
They were gone.
Triple-doomed, thought Bean.
Bean opened her eyes. Nancy was standing in the doorway. She had her hair up in a bouncy ponytail. She was smiling with lots of teeth, like a camp counselor. “Do you want to play cards?” she said in a peppy voice.
“No,” said Bean. “Why are you so happy?”
Nancy’s smile got even bigger. “Because I’m getting twenty dollars for this.”
WHO’S IN CHARGE?
“I’m the one who should get twenty dollars,” Bean said. It was about the fifth time she had said it. “Putting up with you. Teaching you how to be a babysitter. God!”
“Don’t say God,” Nancy said. She was reading a magazine.
“You’re not in charge of me!” Bean huffed.
“Actually, I am,” Nancy said. But she didn’t say it in a mean way. Bean had been trying to make Nancy mad ever since their parents left, but she hadn’t been able to. Nancy was being mature. It was driving Bean bonkers.
Bean rolled over and breathed into the rug. She might smother. If she smothered, her parents would feel really bad. Bean picked some rug fuzz out of her mouth. She knew she wasn’t going to smother. She also knew that Nancy wasn’t going to tie her up and stuff her in the attic. Neither of those things was the problem. The problem was Nancy being her babysitter. That meant that Nancy was the grown-up, the one who got to decide everything. And it meant that Bean was the little, boring, poopy baby who didn’t get to decide anything.
Bean couldn’t stand it anymore. She got up.
“Where are you going?” asked Nancy, looking over her magazine. “You’re not supposed to go out.”
“What is this—jail?!” huffed Bean. “I’m not a criminal, you know. I can go in the front yard!”
“If you do, I’ll tell, and you’ll get grounded for a week,” said Nancy calmly.
Bean pressed her hands against her cheeks, rolled her eyes back in her head, and opened her mouth as wide as it would go. But Nancy wasn’t even looking.
Bean stomped