Helena relished in the luxurious comfort of last night's sleep. Nestled in the expansive, soft bed, her head sank into the massive pillow... As the early hours of the morning dawned, she could tell the day was cloudy and somewhat chilly.
Still in bed, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was not yet six in the morning.
She promptly got up and headed to the bathroom where, after a quick shower, she dressed and made her way to the kitchen seeking Gloria, who was already finishing up with the coffee.
"Good morning, Helena..."
"Aunt Gloria, good morning..."
"Shh... you forgot, huh?" Gloria admonished.
"Ah, forgive me. You always get up so early?"
"Yes, Mr. Blake is very punctual with his breakfast..."
Helena, her back to the kitchen door, assisted Gloria in setting up the table for breakfast.
"And what time does that annoying, self-centered jerk come down for breakfast?"
Suddenly, Helena noticed that Gloria was staring wide-eyed.
"Ah, Gloria, come on. You know I wasn't telling any lies and that..."
"So, this is what you think of me, Miss Helena?" he said, brief in speech.
"Uh... um... good morning, Mr. Blake..."
"Good to catch you awake, young lady...finish your breakfast and go to the living room. I have something to give Miss. Good morning, Gloria..."
"Good morning, Mr. Blake. Shall I serve you now?"
"Please..."
Helena, seated at the kitchen island, swiftly finished her coffee and was about to leave the kitchen when he intervened.
"Wait... sit here. I need to talk to you."
"Yes, sir?"
"I want to say that after everything that happened yesterday, I realized something unprecedented that I had never seen before in my life and I just wanted to understand how you managed..."
Helena beamed with one of her best smiles...
"Mr. Blake, if you're referring to Nicolas obeying me yesterday, there's just one phrase that sums it all up..."
"That boy has never listened to anyone but his mother..."
There, she realized that the words uttered by that man carried a certain emotion... The wound was open.
"Mr. Blake, if I may say, I truly believe that one day the situation between you and Nicolas will finally be resolved. I know Nicolas is a good boy, now it's just up to you to want to know as well..."
In silence, Blake took out a bound booklet from his briefcase and handed it to her.
"Take this, Miss Helena. Study it, read it, memorize it, and comply with all the steps of this booklet and we won't have any problems... otherwise..."
Taking possession of the booklet, she opened the first page and her eyes widened at the sight before Blake, who just watched her.
"My goodness... what does this mean?"
"This is the manual on how to behave, deal with, and care for Nicolas. Here are all his routines, his schedules, what he can and cannot do, as well as what he can and cannot eat. Including weekends and holidays. I must emphasize that the last six pages pertain to Elisa."
Helena looked up at Blake, seemingly in shock.
"Mr. Blake, I must admit you have a great sense of humor. For a moment I even thought you were serious..." she said.
He stood up, posing with his best alpha male stance, and said...
"And who said I'm joking here, Miss Helena? Follow my rules if you want the job. Any clause in this manual that you fail to comply with, or any rule that you break, I will send you away on the spot... am I clear?"
Helena stared at him, her urge to respond was:
"Yes, sir, annoying, rude, handsome, conceited, arrogant, and attractive..."
But what came out of her mouth was...
"Yes, sir, I understand..."
"Good then... Gloria, I'll be out all day and have a dinner tonight, so don't wait up for me."
"Alright, Mr. Blake. Have a good day..."
As brusque as before, he left the kitchen, passed through the living room where he donned his impeccable suit, and exited... The last image Helena saw was that domineering savage leaving and slamming the door. She quickly ran to the window and peered out through a curtain as he got into the car.
"Ahhhhh, what a cruel, insensitive, and unpleasant man..." Helena exhaled in frustration.
"Helena, I did warn you..."
"Gloria, you could have told me I'd be dealing with a grown child, I would have thought twice about accepting the job..."
"Ah, leave him be... we have the whole day to ourselves... now come on, tell me, how was your conversation with Nicolas yesterday?"
They chatted for a while in the kitchen until later, Helena took the booklet he had left and went to her room to read the nonsense that despicable being had compiled.
Helena entered her room, kicked off her shoes, and now sitting on her bed with her legs crossed, she opened the booklet and began to read.
Right away, she saw a notice:
"Herein are all necessary details on caring for Nicolas Shelton."
"It is strictly forbidden to skip or disregard any of the sequential steps in this manual, subject to severe punishment..."
MONDAY TO FRIDAY:
07:30 - Nicolas' time to wake up and by precisely 07:40 be properly uniformed to go to school.
07:35 - have breakfast before leaving for the lesson.
08:00 - be outside waiting for Jonh.
08:00 to 15:00 - school hours
15:30 - be outside the school gates waiting for Jonh.
16:00 - take a bath and get ready for English class.
16:30 - home English lesson until 17:30.
18:00 - take Elisa to the yard.
18:30 - help Gloria set the dinner table.
19:00 to 19:40 - do school homework.
20:00 - take a bath and wait downstairs for dinner.
21:00 - dinner and afterwards help Gloria with the dishes.
21:30 - personal hygiene and bed.
22:00 - lights out and sleep.
"My god, this guy must be joking... this is ridiculous... what kind of life does this child have??" Helena mumbled to herself...
PAGE 2 - WHAT IS PERMITTED AND WHAT IS NOT:
PERMITTED
- Study
- Watch one hour of television with monitored channels featuring cultural and educational content.
- Read literary books.
- Assist with daily tasks.
- Help with Elisa's routine.
NOT PERMITTED DURING THE WEEK
- Play video games
- Go to the leisure room
- Go to the video room
- Watch television at night
- Play football
- Use the cellphone
IT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN TO ENTER MY ROOM WITHOUT MY PRIOR AUTHORIZATION
NOT PERMITTED DURING THE WEEK
- Miss class
- Miss English lesson
- Skip bathing
- Neglect personal hygiene
- Fail to organize and clean the room.
- Neglect to tidy up the wardrobe.
Helena was fuming at this pile of nonsense...
"Ugh, enough of this foolishness... what an unbearable man... he'll see..."
Helena closed the booklet and threw it in the trash bin in her room. She then slipped on her shoes and went to Nicolas's room.
The door was closed, doch she entered without permission.
The boy was still sleeping peacefully when she, bold and resolute, approached him and stroked his hair, causing him to wake up.
"Hey, buddy... wake up... it's time..."
"Hmm, leave me alone..."
"No, no, no... get up and get dressed; I'll be in the kitchen preparing your breakfast."
"Ah, get out of here, you annoyance..."
Helena, in an attempt to wake him more quickly, pulled off all his blankets in one motion, causing him to grumble.
"Ah, nanny, get out... I hate when people do this..."
"Nicolas, good morning, you have 10 minutes to come down and be in the kitchen for breakfast."
Without another word, Helena left the room and peered through the gap in the door. There, she saw that Nicolas got up and did as she requested.
A smile spread across her face, and with a sense of victory, she descended the stairs to the kitchen, thinking that the real challenge for her was not Nicolas and his childlike rebellions, but a man haunted by the past and yet still unwilling to accept outside help... his name? Blake "attractive" Shelton, a.k.a. Nicolas's father.
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