THE MAFIA'S NANNY

Chapter 1. Saving Aria The bus pooled to a lazy halt with a dinging sound in front of Playtopia, the children's playground. A young lady, in her mid-twenties stood from her seat as she walked through the aisle of the bus. She pressed her ATM card against the payment machine. Her actions were followed by the female robotic voice which said, "Successful payment. Thanks for riding with Boman motors!" Isla rolled her eyes at the voice of the robot which was sounding too-goody. She watched as the bus sped away making her wonder if she was the reason it was moving so slow the whole time. With a soft sigh, she wheeled around, facing the playground— a colorful chaos for kids which clashed against the stone cold walls of Moretti estate. She glanced at the name on the paper that was given to her. And nodded. "I'm at the right place" she muttered under her breath. She took in a slow, calming breath, allowing the warm air rejuvenate her lungs. She had to land this job! "Let's do this right Isla!" she said and took a step forward. Just when she was about to cross over to the route leading to her destination, she heard some laughters and from her few years of life, she knew that wasn't a friendly laugh. But that wasn't her business. It wasn't supposed to be until she heard a light sob which was trying so hard not to burst into a plethora of cries. Isla didn't have to follow it, but she did. And when she reached the destination of the sob, her heart felt like it tore from her chest. 'Gosh! Who trained kids these days?!' she yelled from within. In front of her, were a gang of kids around the same age bracket, ranging from four to six, a mixture of girls and boys, surrounding a girl who was sobbing while biting down hard on her lips to avoid wailing. Her cute little hands were clenched so hard it was beet red and her little lips were almost bleeding too. Isla could feel anger bubbling in her chest. If these people were adults, she would have dealt with them. But still, these kids came from adults and are probably behaving like their evil of a parent! "You won't even talk back to us, sure enough your voice died with your mom!" one of the kids jeered. "Of course, that's why she's so weird. Let's leave her before we become dumb too!" another added. They shared a laugh. Isla walked up to them, her hand folded in front of her chest, a dry smile on her face. "Hey kids... what's going on here? Why are you making your friend cry?" Her brows raised at the end of her question and her smile grew scarily wider. Warily, one of them who seemed to be the eldest pushed the others behind him, except the little girl who was being bullied. Isla smiled at his bias. The little girl looked around, afraid too, but couldn't step back. It looked like she was in a chokehold between this strange woman and her age mates. "Who are you lady? And by the way, Aria isn't our friend!" the little boy bit back, venom laced on every word. "Oh, is that so?" Isla asked, her voice goading. "Yes! And leave us alone before I call my dad and he will punish you!" Isla seemed to have had enough of it. Angered, she grabbed the boy by the ear. A sharp gasp shot through his small throat. She brought his face closer to hers. "Hey!" she half-yelled before leaving him. The boy's face changed to a twisted shade of red. He was about to cry. "Oh, does it hurt? I didn't even grab you hard and yet you want to cry!" "I will tell my daddy!" the boy sobbed. "And do you think Aria doesn't also have a daddy? She will tell her daddy too! Don't bully others, or did your almighty daddy not teach you that too?!" Isla didn't mind stooping low to their level as long as it calmed Aria's raging heart and hers too. These kids are too mean! She looked at Aria who had already stopped crying and was now staring back at her. She spared her a sweet smile before turning to the rest of the kids. "Hey! If I ever hear that you bullied Aria again, I will punish you all. I don't care who your daddies are but, if you can bully Aria, I will bully you too! Now leave here! Now!" And that was it. They scurried away, hearts pained and scared but lessons learnt, though kids know how to bear a grudge. Isla turned to the little girl who was now standing alone. She had stopped crying but she hadn't taken her gaze away from Isla's face. Isla was careful not to get close for fear she might upset her. She smiled sweetly. "They're all gone now Aria. Don't cry anymore" Isla cooed. Aria nodded. "Where are your people? You shouldn't be left alone here" But Aria said nothing. She just looked around and turned her gaze back to Isla. Isla nodded within. Those kids from earlier were making fun of her for being dumb. But was she really...she heaved a deep sigh. She considered walking up to the kid but was a little hesitant. She should walk away. The bullies were gone now, so she should be safe. This was Isla's thought. She turned on her heels to leave. But then, a soft pull made her halt. Isla looked down only to see little Aria pulling on her pants. The little girl shook her head as if telling her not to go. Isla understood. She lowered herself to Aria's height. "You don't want me to go?" Isla asked in a sweet tone. Aria nodded. Isla smiled. "Okay. I won't go. Should we go to that slide over there?" Isla pointed to one of the playthings that was some distance away. Aria nodded. Isla stood, pulling the little girl gently towards the place when all of a sudden, a man in suit rushed to where they were. "Miss Aria! Oh my gosh!" He knelt beside the little girl. "You got me so worried, you know that?" Aria clutched Isla's hands tightly. Isla noticed this and quickly pulled the girl closer to herself. "Who are you?" she asked the man. "And who are you?!" he snapped back. Isla looked at him. Dressed in suits. Called Aria "Miss". He's not her father. Probably the driver or some keeper. "I'm..." Isla was about to say but she didn't know the word to use. She was her what? She looked at the man. And then at Aria. She quickly lowered herself to meet Aria's height. "Aria, do you know him?" The little girl nodded. "I'm her driver" the man said. Isla eyed him. "Aria, is he your driver?" Isla asked again. Aria nodded. "Then, you should go with him. Your family might be worried" Aria gave a small pout. She didn't want to go. She liked this kind lady that saved her from the hands of her evil friends. She's the brightest thing she has seen after her mom left. Now, she has to go over to that house that always has darkness looming around it. She didn't want to go. She clung tightly to Isla. Isla smiled. What a cutie. But she had to go home to her people or they might get too worried. "Hey Aria, my name is Isla. I will come and visit you soon okay? Just go home and don't make your people worried" "Yes Aria. I will make sure she does!" the driver swore. He needed to bring her home or else, he would have himself to blame for the consequences. Tears gathered in her small eyes. Isla quickly pulled her into a hug, cuddling her. "Don't cry. I will see you soon. But for now, you don't want your family to cry, do you?" She shook her head. "Then, you should go, okay. Don't let them be sad" Isla cooed handing her over to the driver who took her quickly but gently. He gave a slight bow to Isla before leaving. Isla kept on waving till Aria was put into the car. After two minutes or so, the car left. "Oh s**t!" Isla cursed when she looked at her wrist watch only to see that it was half past the time she was supposed to go for her interview. She sped off towards the Moretti estate in search of her job!