Amelia and the Babysitter

Chapter Eleven: Spark the Babysitter

It was a rare evening at the Stratton household: Mom and Dad had plans for a date night, leaving the kids at home.

“You’ll be fine,” Mom said, double-checking her earrings in the hallway mirror. “Amelia’s in charge.”

“Why does Amelia get to be in charge?” Elias grumbled from the couch.

“Because she’s responsible,” Mom said, giving him a pointed look.

Elias frowned. “Define ‘responsible.’”

“It means I’m better at it than you,” Amelia said, smirking as she adjusted the strap of her smartwatch.

“You’re not better at it,” Elias shot back.

“She’s taller,” Dad added, sliding on his jacket.

Elias groaned. “Why does everyone keep bringing that up?”

“Because it’s true,” Spark chimed in, lounging on the arm of the couch in her hamster-sized form.

“Not helping, Spark,” Elias muttered.

The Ground Rules

Mom and Dad stood in the entryway, giving their final instructions.

“No glitter,” Mom said, looking directly at Spark.

“No trampoline portals,” Dad added, raising an eyebrow at Elias.

“No summoning squirrels,” Mom finished, her eyes narrowing at Spark again.

Spark waved a hoof dismissively. “That was one time.”

“And we’re still cleaning up the mess,” Mom replied.

Amelia saluted. “Got it. No glitter, no portals, no squirrels. Anything else?”

“Don’t burn down the house,” Dad said.

“Low bar,” Elias muttered.

“Don’t test me,” Mom said, giving him her patented Mom Look.

With that, the door closed, leaving Amelia, Elias, Iris, and Spark to their own devices.

The Babysitting Begins

Amelia sat at the kitchen table, reviewing her plan for the evening.

“Okay,” she said, tapping her pen on her notepad. “First, we’ll eat dinner. Then, we’ll watch a movie. And finally, we’ll get Iris to bed.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Spark asked, growing to her pony-sized form and pacing the kitchen like a general preparing for battle.

“The fun is in keeping things calm,” Amelia replied.

“Calm is boring,” Spark said dramatically. “We need excitement! Adventure!”

“No, we don’t,” Amelia said firmly.

“Agreed,” Elias added. “Let’s just survive the night without breaking anything.”

Spark sighed. “You mortals have no sense of drama.”

Dinner Drama

Dinner was supposed to be simple: macaroni and cheese with a side of carrots. But Spark had other ideas.

“Amelia Jean,” Spark said as Amelia stirred the pot of noodles, “have you considered spicing this up a bit?”

“It’s mac and cheese, Spark,” Amelia replied. “It doesn’t need spicing up.”

“Everything needs spicing up,” Spark said, her horn glowing faintly.

Before Amelia could stop her, Spark zapped the macaroni, turning it into a shimmering rainbow-colored dish that sparkled like gemstones.

“Spark!” Amelia groaned.

“Relax,” Spark said. “It’s still mac and cheese. Just… fabulous mac and cheese.”

Elias peered into the pot. “Is it even edible?”

Spark huffed. “Of course it is! I enhanced it, not cursed it.”

Iris, meanwhile, was thrilled. “Rainbow mac and cheese!”

Amelia sighed, ladling the glittery concoction onto plates. “If we all get food poisoning, I’m blaming you.”

Movie Mayhem

After dinner, Amelia set up a movie for everyone to watch.

“What are we watching?” Elias asked, settling onto the couch.

“Something safe,” Amelia replied.

“Safe is boring,” Spark muttered, zapping the remote with her horn.

The screen flickered, and suddenly the characters on the TV came to life—literally. A cartoon princess stepped out of the screen, waving cheerfully.

“Hi there!” she said, twirling her dress.

Amelia froze. “Spark, what did you do?”

“Improved the viewing experience,” Spark said proudly.

“Send her back!” Elias shouted, backing away from the princess, who was now examining the living room like she was shopping for furniture.

“Fine,” Spark said with a sigh, zapping the princess back into the TV. “You humans have no appreciation for interactive storytelling.”

“Mom’s going to kill us,” Amelia muttered, flopping onto the couch.

The Bedtime Battle

Getting Iris to bed was the final challenge.

“I don’t wanna go to bed!” Iris protested, clutching Spark like a stuffed animal.

“You have to,” Amelia said, trying to wrangle her sister into pajamas. “It’s bedtime.”

“Not if Spark says no!” Iris declared.

All eyes turned to Spark, who was lounging on the bed, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

“Spark,” Amelia said through gritted teeth, “back me up here.”

“Hmm,” Spark said, tapping her hoof on her chin. “Iris does make a compelling argument.”

“Spark!”

“Fine,” Spark said, hopping off the bed. “Iris, you must sleep now to recharge your energy for tomorrow’s adventures.”

Iris pouted but eventually complied, crawling under her blanket.

Mom and Dad Return

By the time Mom and Dad got home, the house was surprisingly intact.

“How’d it go?” Mom asked, looking suspicious.

“No major disasters,” Amelia said proudly.

“Define ‘major,’” Elias muttered.

Mom narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing!” Amelia said quickly.

Dad grinned. “Sounds like book material to me.”

Mom sighed. “Of course it does.”

As Spark curled up on the couch, she smiled at Amelia. “Admit it, Amelia Jean. Babysitting is more fun with me around.”

Amelia rolled her eyes. “It’s definitely… something.”

Spark grinned. “You’re welcome.”

The End (or the start of Spark’s babysitting career…)

Disclosure: These prose were written with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4o.