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Description
I pretty happy with how this illustration turned out. (despite the background being a bit off heh heh)

Anyway, in this chapter Miss Nae-nae hands out more presents after a little mishap with the door.

I hope you enjoy~

You can read the written portion here:

Working at the Superstar Daycare CH 15Chapter 15: Taking Care “Sorry, excuse me,” I repeated that over and over. If it went on any longer I would have to accept those words as my catchphrase. I weaved back and forth in the main entrance like a needle through bunched-up fabric. Slow and frustrating. Even painful at times. My fall point from yesterday was feeling better this morning, thankfully. But there was no way to avoid it getting bumped or set off while in this crowd. Why were there this many people here on a Tuesday? I would never know. But I had to keep going. I was almost late... Again... Drawing all of those presents took longer than I thought. Every time I had to wait for people to move, I would check my bag to make sure those papers were still in there. A glance in the large pocket. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. All there... Okay. Move forward. After a few more iterations of my catchphrase, I made it to those big wooden doors. I swung the knocker against the fibers. It was now that I noticed the indent in the wood beneath the large metal ring. Driven by curiosity I lifted the knocker and felt the spot. It was much rougher than the wood around it. The lacquer had worn off from the constant friction. I would have to be careful not to get a splint- “HELLO! Welcome back, Miss Nae-nae!” Sun swung open the door with his usual enthusiasm. My hand was still holding its previous position and went along for the ride. My body followed suit. My inspecting hand wasn't lucky enough to move out of the way in time. It got smashed under the knocker. “Ow! That hurt...” I sucked in a breath through my teeth. An inspection of my fingers didn't reveal much yet. But it was sure to show soon. Why didn't I move? I knew the door was gonna open when I knocked... How dumb of me. “Oh my goodness!” Sun's voice was much closer than I expected. I glanced up to find Sun right next to my face. “I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you okay?” The projectors in his face were filling up my entire field of vision. So close that I couldn't tell what they were displaying. It all looked like a blur of pixels. , The animatronic's long arms reached around me to inspect my hand. A short scan of lights began to move down my fingers. They gave off a slight heat much like UV lights. I heard a whirring come from Sun akin to a desktop starting up. I imagined that was the sound of him 'thinking'. “Ah! Just some light swelling!” Sun concluded his investigation, “Nothing an ice pack can't fix!” He led me away to the large desk. He reached into the cabinet under the nearest computer. The robot's fingers slipped in and out quickly and efficiently. All without technically entering behind the desk. Sun unwrapped the ice pack and cracked it to activate the cooling chemicals inside. And finally, he placed it in my hand. This all happened so fast that I hadn't thought about how to respond. Sun had his finger resting against his chin. “I'll have to report this,” he said. “You'll have to report that I hurt myself?” I asked, confused. “Yes, I must report the use of any first aid materials,” Sun explained. Made sense. That way it would always be stocked. “Ah okay-” I was about to say 'thank you' when Sun interrupted me. “And I must report when patrons or staff are injured,” he continued. “Then report that I hurt myself. It was my fault...” I rubbed my fingers along the ice pack. Which was now thoroughly cold. The chill was too powerful for this minor injury. It was already well on its way to being forgotten about. “I... don't want you to get in trouble because I'm clumsy...” My mind played back the memory of Sun on the ground crying. Sounding so sad and scared of being in trouble. Honestly, I felt bad about having a report about injuries for two days in a row. My first two days, even. And such minor and unimportant ones at that. What would my employer think when they saw? I doubted it would look good... “Okay, Miss Nae-nae. I can add that addendum for you,” Sun's eyes went blank for a few seconds, “Report sent.” That was fast. Well, it was fast yesterday, too. Must be quicker when you don't have to type. Or worry about typos. At this point, I could hear the children's pitter-patter on the floor. They were making their way over to us. “Thank you,” with my free hand I rustled in my bag. Took out a few of the papers and set them on the desk before putting my bag away. I took the one on top to give to Sun, “Here is that new gift I promised you. I tried to make it look nicer this time.” “Oh~ It's wonderful! Absolutely fantastic!” Sun happily received my gift in his large palms. “And it is even more beautiful than the first one. Thank you!” Joy emanated from his voice box. I still wasn't sure if this was just an automated response or genuine. But it still made me happy. His eyes smiled, “I'll be sure to put it somewhere safe right away. Oh, and-” Sun leaned down to mimic whispering to me, “Don't worry, I have to send reports all the time. No one gets in trouble for an accident~” With that, he jumped away. My eyes struggled to find where he jumped off to. “Woah...” My jaw hung low once I found him. He was flying. Literally flying through the air. He weaved through the large, colorful climbing structures and higher still. He flourished each turn with a flip or a twirl. A surprised, happy giggle burst out of my mouth before I could stop it. That was just too cool looking. He continued his assent with the grace of a trapeze artist. Up to a balcony that adorned the wall above the ball pit. Sun landed and slunk away inside the castle-themed archway on the other side. How did he do that? I knew that he could jump higher than most and appear to be floating. I had no idea that a robot made of metal could fly. So effortlessly. Those engineers are miracle workers, I swear... “HEY~~! Nae-nae! Good to see you!” Miss Mia's familiar voice echoed across the room to me. I looked in that direction to find her waving at me. I smiled and waved back. Not as energetically as her, but it was as close I as could get. After kicking my shoes off into their places I picked out the next paper and readied it. Mia was soon followed by a group of children. She was leading them in a follow-the-leader song. The way to move changed with each verse. First marching, then hopping, then galloping, and so on. The children danced and moved their way to me. The ice pack subtly slipped into one of my apron pockets before anyone could notice it. I wasn't going to let anyone worry about it. I smiled and attempted to mimic the children. Although, my nerves made it harder than I thought. “Good morning-- no wait...” I paused longer than I wanted to, “Yeah, it's still morning.” I chuckled nervously. “Good morning to you!” Mia echoed, “Say good morning, superstars~” “GOOD MORNING!!!!!” The children screamed. I flinched back at the volume but smiled anyway. They were all so cute. A lot of the same faces as yesterday. Only a couple of new ones. But there were only a handful of them. Not nearly as many as Monday. There had to be more playing in another part of the room, I thought. “Oh, um--” I fumbled with the paper in my hands, “I made this for you, Miss Mia.” The paper fluttered its way into Mia's hands. “It's a thank you gift for helping me yesterday. I made one for Mr. Sun and Mr. Moon. But then I-- I thought it would be weird if they were the only ones to get gifts so I--” My rambling was cut short by Mia wrapping her arms around me. Her arms latched to my neck and her feet barely touched the ground. The force of it made me lean over to accommodate. I could hear the clanging of her bracelets behind me. Her hair was on my face. The smell of cream and fruit filled my nostrils. “This is so sweet of you~” Mia's voice was muffled by my shirt, “You didn't have to make me anything. You are so nice!” She jumped away from me to look at her present. Her eyes glittered with delight. The gifts I had made were very simple. To give me enough time to finish them all. Little good that did, but even so. They were similar to the ones I made yesterday. Cartoony versions of the person it was meant for. Mia scooped her phone out of her apron pocket and took a picture of it, “This is gonna be my wallpaper! It's so CUTE~!” “I wanna see!” “Lemme see! Lemme see!” The children began to crowd together. Mia was more than happy to present the paper to them. She held it up above them so all of them could see. “Isn't Miss Nae-nae the best?” Mia exclaimed proudly. I looked away. I chopped one hand on the palm of the other to sign 'stop'. I was too flustered to say it out loud. Also it would be rude. I could already feel my face getting hot. “I want one!” “Make me one!” “Me, too! Me, too!” The gaggle of kids all spoke over each other. Faces filled with excitement and wonder. “I-I'll have to see if we have time, uh,” I should have known this would happen. The same scenario always happens when I make crafts with children. I could not even begin to count how many origami birds I've made in my time working in childcare. But hey, it passed the time and the kids liked the fact that they could flap the wings. On especially quiet days I would make them origami cubes. Those took six times the amount of paper but I usually used scrap paper anyway. Might as well turn it into something fun. “Oh yeah!” Mia interjected, “We could TOTALLY draw each other pictures after Training with Chica!” The children all echoed in agreement. A couple of them jumped around in excitement. “You kids are so full of energy today. Come on! Let's go one more round!” Mia showed off her infectious smile and resumed the game of follow-the-leader. “Training?” I asked while carefully placing the remaining paper in the second pocket of my apron. Thankfully it fit in without needing to be folded. Just took a bit of persuading. Mia turned around and pointed to a boy at the front of the line, “Luke is now the leader! Show them what to do, Luke~” The boy was over the moon when given this opportunity. He showed them increasingly silly motions that his peers found hilarious. Flapping their arms like chickens, walking like a T-Rex and waving their tiny arms. Whatever silliness came to the boy's mind. Mia used this chance to join me at the end of the line. Miss Mia began her explanation, “It's Training Tuesday! That means we'll go to Mazercise and Chica will do a fun little exercise routine with us~” She showed off a few poses to demonstrate. “Oh, that'll be fun,” I responded, “Hopefully it'll make them nice and tired.” I didn't know what 'Mazercise' was. I had a vague memory of that name, but I knew for sure that I had never been to it. I wondered what kind of things the animatronic would have them do. Couldn't be anything too complex. Some of them were so little. Struggled to even walk on the bumpy padded flooring without falling over. If it was like Monty Monday then it should be age appropriate. I followed the train of children around the play structures. Less following the motions and more just observing. It would take me a bit longer to get to 'I will be silly with you' status. Maybe later in the day... Once I've warmed up a little bit. When we approached the dramatic play area I found out where the other children were. They were with Miss Cassandra. Most of them wore fluffy pig masks with a few wolves sprinkled in. Cassandra was reading the story of the Three Little Pigs dramatically. Leaving pauses and emphasizing words and phrases she wanted the children to act out. “I'll HUFF and I'll PUFF and I'll BLOOOOW you're house in!” Miss Cassandra declared. The wolves puffed up their chests and blew as hard as they could. A little spittle came out with their effort. The pigs all squealed and pretended to be blown away. Tumbling and rolling over toward the wall. I cringed a bit at one child who rolled right over a spit spot. Welp, at least it was on their back and not on their hand... I quietly got off the dance train to wait for the story to finish. “And off the wolf RAN. Never to be seen again,” Cassandra continued. The wolves giggled and ran off behind the castle walls surrounding the ball pit. The pigs waved them goodbye with a couple of teasing gestures thrown in. “The End... That was fantastic, children. Wonderful acting all of you. Take a bow!” She concluded. The kids returned to their places on the stage, which was just the space in front of Cassandra, and bowed. Some went so low that they somersaulted instead. “Now put your costumes away. It is almost time to go.” “Okay!” “It's almost time for Chica?” “Yeah!” The children continued conversing with each other while working on their task. I took this opportunity to approach Miss Cassandra. Who had busied herself with organizing the books. There were neat little labels on the shelves each with a different subject or genre. More for the teacher's benefit. The children would just put a book in the nearest spot. Whether or not there was already five other books crammed in there with no room for more. They would find a way to make it fit there anyway. The children just needed to show that they had the intention of cleaning up. That's is what mattered. “Good morning,” I waved to confirm she had my attention. “Good morning, Nae. How are you?” She replied with a gentle smile. “Doing okay,” I rummaged in the large pocket of my apron, “I made you something.” “You did? And the occasion?” She put one last book in place and approached me. “Well, I uh-- made thank you gifts for everyone,” I finally convinced the gift to leave my apron pocket. Thankfully it wasn't folded or wrinkled in transit. “Thank you for making my first day a good one.” “It was no trouble at all, dear,” Cassandra took hold of the paper with both hands. She adjusted her glasses to look at it properly. Her smile was just a little bit wider. “Oh, this is lovely. Is this supposed to be me?” “Y-yeah,” a few chuckles escaped me. I had hoped this wouldn't be so awkward. I reached up to where my bag strap would usually be hanging off me. But I only grasped air. My usual soothing method was unavailable to me at that moment. Shame. “Would you like me to put it on the fridge?” Cassandra swished her hips to the side and gave me a smirk. Her voice had a snark to it I hadn't heard from her yet. It made me pause for a moment before I answered. “Well... You can... if you want uh-” Was she... mocking it? I guess it wasn't the kind of gift a mom like her would want. She probably gets enough pictures and crafts from her children already. And who really keeps every little piece of art their child makes? I doubted it was very many people if at all. And where was she supposed to put it? Next to her other children's' art? Then she would have to explain that my drawing wasn't one of her kid's. Just some weirdo's idea of a gift... My heart sank and I stared at the floor. “I'm joking, Nae,” Cassandra elaborated, “Just a mom joke. No worries.” Her hand patted my shoulder. Firmly and gently. Her smile made the wrinkles on her face just a bit more noticeable. Her eyebrows were upturned apologetically. “Oh... heh heh,” My face managed to feel even hotter than before. I totally misread that... “You did a good job on this,” She removed her hand from my shoulder to point to the picture, “Do you mind if I frame it?” “Sure,” I didn't think my little cartoon deserved it. But it was her gift. She was free to do what she pleased with it. I was too flustered to say anything more at that point. So much for 'new job, new me'... I'm still just a nervous mess.

Description
I pretty happy with how this illustration turned out. (despite the background being a bit off heh heh)

Anyway, in this chapter Miss Nae-nae hands out more presents after a little mishap with the door.

I hope you enjoy~

You can read the written portion here:

Working at the Superstar Daycare CH 15Chapter 15: Taking Care “Sorry, excuse me,” I repeated that over and over. If it went on any longer I would have to accept those words as my catchphrase. I weaved back and forth in the main entrance like a needle through bunched-up fabric. Slow and frustrating. Even painful at times. My fall point from yesterday was feeling better this morning, thankfully. But there was no way to avoid it getting bumped or set off while in this crowd. Why were there this many people here on a Tuesday? I would never know. But I had to keep going. I was almost late... Again... Drawing all of those presents took longer than I thought. Every time I had to wait for people to move, I would check my bag to make sure those papers were still in there. A glance in the large pocket. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. All there... Okay. Move forward. After a few more iterations of my catchphrase, I made it to those big wooden doors. I swung the knocker against the fibers. It was now that I noticed the indent in the wood beneath the large metal ring. Driven by curiosity I lifted the knocker and felt the spot. It was much rougher than the wood around it. The lacquer had worn off from the constant friction. I would have to be careful not to get a splint- “HELLO! Welcome back, Miss Nae-nae!” Sun swung open the door with his usual enthusiasm. My hand was still holding its previous position and went along for the ride. My body followed suit. My inspecting hand wasn't lucky enough to move out of the way in time. It got smashed under the knocker. “Ow! That hurt...” I sucked in a breath through my teeth. An inspection of my fingers didn't reveal much yet. But it was sure to show soon. Why didn't I move? I knew the door was gonna open when I knocked... How dumb of me. “Oh my goodness!” Sun's voice was much closer than I expected. I glanced up to find Sun right next to my face. “I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you okay?” The projectors in his face were filling up my entire field of vision. So close that I couldn't tell what they were displaying. It all looked like a blur of pixels. , The animatronic's long arms reached around me to inspect my hand. A short scan of lights began to move down my fingers. They gave off a slight heat much like UV lights. I heard a whirring come from Sun akin to a desktop starting up. I imagined that was the sound of him 'thinking'. “Ah! Just some light swelling!” Sun concluded his investigation, “Nothing an ice pack can't fix!” He led me away to the large desk. He reached into the cabinet under the nearest computer. The robot's fingers slipped in and out quickly and efficiently. All without technically entering behind the desk. Sun unwrapped the ice pack and cracked it to activate the cooling chemicals inside. And finally, he placed it in my hand. This all happened so fast that I hadn't thought about how to respond. Sun had his finger resting against his chin. “I'll have to report this,” he said. “You'll have to report that I hurt myself?” I asked, confused. “Yes, I must report the use of any first aid materials,” Sun explained. Made sense. That way it would always be stocked. “Ah okay-” I was about to say 'thank you' when Sun interrupted me. “And I must report when patrons or staff are injured,” he continued. “Then report that I hurt myself. It was my fault...” I rubbed my fingers along the ice pack. Which was now thoroughly cold. The chill was too powerful for this minor injury. It was already well on its way to being forgotten about. “I... don't want you to get in trouble because I'm clumsy...” My mind played back the memory of Sun on the ground crying. Sounding so sad and scared of being in trouble. Honestly, I felt bad about having a report about injuries for two days in a row. My first two days, even. And such minor and unimportant ones at that. What would my employer think when they saw? I doubted it would look good... “Okay, Miss Nae-nae. I can add that addendum for you,” Sun's eyes went blank for a few seconds, “Report sent.” That was fast. Well, it was fast yesterday, too. Must be quicker when you don't have to type. Or worry about typos. At this point, I could hear the children's pitter-patter on the floor. They were making their way over to us. “Thank you,” with my free hand I rustled in my bag. Took out a few of the papers and set them on the desk before putting my bag away. I took the one on top to give to Sun, “Here is that new gift I promised you. I tried to make it look nicer this time.” “Oh~ It's wonderful! Absolutely fantastic!” Sun happily received my gift in his large palms. “And it is even more beautiful than the first one. Thank you!” Joy emanated from his voice box. I still wasn't sure if this was just an automated response or genuine. But it still made me happy. His eyes smiled, “I'll be sure to put it somewhere safe right away. Oh, and-” Sun leaned down to mimic whispering to me, “Don't worry, I have to send reports all the time. No one gets in trouble for an accident~” With that, he jumped away. My eyes struggled to find where he jumped off to. “Woah...” My jaw hung low once I found him. He was flying. Literally flying through the air. He weaved through the large, colorful climbing structures and higher still. He flourished each turn with a flip or a twirl. A surprised, happy giggle burst out of my mouth before I could stop it. That was just too cool looking. He continued his assent with the grace of a trapeze artist. Up to a balcony that adorned the wall above the ball pit. Sun landed and slunk away inside the castle-themed archway on the other side. How did he do that? I knew that he could jump higher than most and appear to be floating. I had no idea that a robot made of metal could fly. So effortlessly. Those engineers are miracle workers, I swear... “HEY~~! Nae-nae! Good to see you!” Miss Mia's familiar voice echoed across the room to me. I looked in that direction to find her waving at me. I smiled and waved back. Not as energetically as her, but it was as close I as could get. After kicking my shoes off into their places I picked out the next paper and readied it. Mia was soon followed by a group of children. She was leading them in a follow-the-leader song. The way to move changed with each verse. First marching, then hopping, then galloping, and so on. The children danced and moved their way to me. The ice pack subtly slipped into one of my apron pockets before anyone could notice it. I wasn't going to let anyone worry about it. I smiled and attempted to mimic the children. Although, my nerves made it harder than I thought. “Good morning-- no wait...” I paused longer than I wanted to, “Yeah, it's still morning.” I chuckled nervously. “Good morning to you!” Mia echoed, “Say good morning, superstars~” “GOOD MORNING!!!!!” The children screamed. I flinched back at the volume but smiled anyway. They were all so cute. A lot of the same faces as yesterday. Only a couple of new ones. But there were only a handful of them. Not nearly as many as Monday. There had to be more playing in another part of the room, I thought. “Oh, um--” I fumbled with the paper in my hands, “I made this for you, Miss Mia.” The paper fluttered its way into Mia's hands. “It's a thank you gift for helping me yesterday. I made one for Mr. Sun and Mr. Moon. But then I-- I thought it would be weird if they were the only ones to get gifts so I--” My rambling was cut short by Mia wrapping her arms around me. Her arms latched to my neck and her feet barely touched the ground. The force of it made me lean over to accommodate. I could hear the clanging of her bracelets behind me. Her hair was on my face. The smell of cream and fruit filled my nostrils. “This is so sweet of you~” Mia's voice was muffled by my shirt, “You didn't have to make me anything. You are so nice!” She jumped away from me to look at her present. Her eyes glittered with delight. The gifts I had made were very simple. To give me enough time to finish them all. Little good that did, but even so. They were similar to the ones I made yesterday. Cartoony versions of the person it was meant for. Mia scooped her phone out of her apron pocket and took a picture of it, “This is gonna be my wallpaper! It's so CUTE~!” “I wanna see!” “Lemme see! Lemme see!” The children began to crowd together. Mia was more than happy to present the paper to them. She held it up above them so all of them could see. “Isn't Miss Nae-nae the best?” Mia exclaimed proudly. I looked away. I chopped one hand on the palm of the other to sign 'stop'. I was too flustered to say it out loud. Also it would be rude. I could already feel my face getting hot. “I want one!” “Make me one!” “Me, too! Me, too!” The gaggle of kids all spoke over each other. Faces filled with excitement and wonder. “I-I'll have to see if we have time, uh,” I should have known this would happen. The same scenario always happens when I make crafts with children. I could not even begin to count how many origami birds I've made in my time working in childcare. But hey, it passed the time and the kids liked the fact that they could flap the wings. On especially quiet days I would make them origami cubes. Those took six times the amount of paper but I usually used scrap paper anyway. Might as well turn it into something fun. “Oh yeah!” Mia interjected, “We could TOTALLY draw each other pictures after Training with Chica!” The children all echoed in agreement. A couple of them jumped around in excitement. “You kids are so full of energy today. Come on! Let's go one more round!” Mia showed off her infectious smile and resumed the game of follow-the-leader. “Training?” I asked while carefully placing the remaining paper in the second pocket of my apron. Thankfully it fit in without needing to be folded. Just took a bit of persuading. Mia turned around and pointed to a boy at the front of the line, “Luke is now the leader! Show them what to do, Luke~” The boy was over the moon when given this opportunity. He showed them increasingly silly motions that his peers found hilarious. Flapping their arms like chickens, walking like a T-Rex and waving their tiny arms. Whatever silliness came to the boy's mind. Mia used this chance to join me at the end of the line. Miss Mia began her explanation, “It's Training Tuesday! That means we'll go to Mazercise and Chica will do a fun little exercise routine with us~” She showed off a few poses to demonstrate. “Oh, that'll be fun,” I responded, “Hopefully it'll make them nice and tired.” I didn't know what 'Mazercise' was. I had a vague memory of that name, but I knew for sure that I had never been to it. I wondered what kind of things the animatronic would have them do. Couldn't be anything too complex. Some of them were so little. Struggled to even walk on the bumpy padded flooring without falling over. If it was like Monty Monday then it should be age appropriate. I followed the train of children around the play structures. Less following the motions and more just observing. It would take me a bit longer to get to 'I will be silly with you' status. Maybe later in the day... Once I've warmed up a little bit. When we approached the dramatic play area I found out where the other children were. They were with Miss Cassandra. Most of them wore fluffy pig masks with a few wolves sprinkled in. Cassandra was reading the story of the Three Little Pigs dramatically. Leaving pauses and emphasizing words and phrases she wanted the children to act out. “I'll HUFF and I'll PUFF and I'll BLOOOOW you're house in!” Miss Cassandra declared. The wolves puffed up their chests and blew as hard as they could. A little spittle came out with their effort. The pigs all squealed and pretended to be blown away. Tumbling and rolling over toward the wall. I cringed a bit at one child who rolled right over a spit spot. Welp, at least it was on their back and not on their hand... I quietly got off the dance train to wait for the story to finish. “And off the wolf RAN. Never to be seen again,” Cassandra continued. The wolves giggled and ran off behind the castle walls surrounding the ball pit. The pigs waved them goodbye with a couple of teasing gestures thrown in. “The End... That was fantastic, children. Wonderful acting all of you. Take a bow!” She concluded. The kids returned to their places on the stage, which was just the space in front of Cassandra, and bowed. Some went so low that they somersaulted instead. “Now put your costumes away. It is almost time to go.” “Okay!” “It's almost time for Chica?” “Yeah!” The children continued conversing with each other while working on their task. I took this opportunity to approach Miss Cassandra. Who had busied herself with organizing the books. There were neat little labels on the shelves each with a different subject or genre. More for the teacher's benefit. The children would just put a book in the nearest spot. Whether or not there was already five other books crammed in there with no room for more. They would find a way to make it fit there anyway. The children just needed to show that they had the intention of cleaning up. That's is what mattered. “Good morning,” I waved to confirm she had my attention. “Good morning, Nae. How are you?” She replied with a gentle smile. “Doing okay,” I rummaged in the large pocket of my apron, “I made you something.” “You did? And the occasion?” She put one last book in place and approached me. “Well, I uh-- made thank you gifts for everyone,” I finally convinced the gift to leave my apron pocket. Thankfully it wasn't folded or wrinkled in transit. “Thank you for making my first day a good one.” “It was no trouble at all, dear,” Cassandra took hold of the paper with both hands. She adjusted her glasses to look at it properly. Her smile was just a little bit wider. “Oh, this is lovely. Is this supposed to be me?” “Y-yeah,” a few chuckles escaped me. I had hoped this wouldn't be so awkward. I reached up to where my bag strap would usually be hanging off me. But I only grasped air. My usual soothing method was unavailable to me at that moment. Shame. “Would you like me to put it on the fridge?” Cassandra swished her hips to the side and gave me a smirk. Her voice had a snark to it I hadn't heard from her yet. It made me pause for a moment before I answered. “Well... You can... if you want uh-” Was she... mocking it? I guess it wasn't the kind of gift a mom like her would want. She probably gets enough pictures and crafts from her children already. And who really keeps every little piece of art their child makes? I doubted it was very many people if at all. And where was she supposed to put it? Next to her other children's' art? Then she would have to explain that my drawing wasn't one of her kid's. Just some weirdo's idea of a gift... My heart sank and I stared at the floor. “I'm joking, Nae,” Cassandra elaborated, “Just a mom joke. No worries.” Her hand patted my shoulder. Firmly and gently. Her smile made the wrinkles on her face just a bit more noticeable. Her eyebrows were upturned apologetically. “Oh... heh heh,” My face managed to feel even hotter than before. I totally misread that... “You did a good job on this,” She removed her hand from my shoulder to point to the picture, “Do you mind if I frame it?” “Sure,” I didn't think my little cartoon deserved it. But it was her gift. She was free to do what she pleased with it. I was too flustered to say anything more at that point. So much for 'new job, new me'... I'm still just a nervous mess.