AU Eric/Ariel: Melody's nanny-REVISED

[faya27]

EDIT: Nothing much is changed, but I omitted a few things that I thought sounded awkward in the story and fixed sentence structure.

Chapter 1

"Melody, wake up," said Eric as he patted his five-year-old daughter on the arm.

"Five more minutes, Daddy," Melody yawned.

"But Melody today is your first day at your new school. If you don't get up, you'll be late," Eric responded.

"I don't want to go to school today!" said Melody.

"Melody, get out of bed right now or I'll spank you," Eric firmly stated.

Melody's eyes went wide and quickly got out of bed. Eric left while she got dressed. She took her pink pajamas off and tossed them on her bed. Then, Melody slowly put her on her outfit on. She dressed slowly since she did not want to go to school. Her outfit contained a cream-colored t-shirt with a flower that had orange petals and a yellow bud. She was also wearing blue jeans and read and white tennis shoes.

"Melody, come down! We're going to be late!" Eric hollered from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" Melody answered loudly. She went downstairs. For breakfast, they ate leftover burgers from Burger King. Melody liked burgers but eating them for breakfast? Well, she couldn't blame her father for not knowing how to cook. She couldn't cook, either. After breakfast, Eric and Melody both ran to their black jeep and drove off to school. Eric dropped Melody off and waved bye to her.

Melody really did not want to go inside the school building. But she went inside, knowing that the school bell was going to ring in ten minutes and it was too late to run back home. She walked through the hallway and entered Room 13, which was located near the school entrance. She put her backpack and her lunch bag inside the green locker with her name on it and sat down on her desk.

"Good Morning, Melody," said her teacher Mrs. Murphy. She was a middle-aged woman with white hair, small glasses, and a polka-dot dress. Melody had met her when her dad had signed her up to start school here.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Murphy," Melody replied back.

Lunchtime came. Melody went inside the cafeteria with her lunch bag and sat down with the girls from her class.

"So, what are you getting your mom for mother's day, Anna?"

"I'm going to give Mom a pwetty necklace. Hey, Joey, what are you going to give your mom for mother's day?

"I'm going to give her flowers."

"I'm going to give my mom a mother's day card," Harry said proudly.

"Hey, Melody what are you going to give your mom for mother's day?" Anna asked.

Melody blushed. "I don't have a mommy,"

Anna, Joey, Harry and the other kids began to laugh. Melody's face turned red and she looked down at her shoes as the kids threw cruel comments at her.

"You don't have a mommy?"

"Loser!"

"You're weird!"

School ended at three o' clock. Everybody went home except Melody. She stood in front of the school entrance, hoping her dad would pick her up soon. An hour passed and still no sign of her dad. Melody still waited. Finally, Eric's black jeep arrived at a little after four. Melody's blue eyes looked very cloudy.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Why were you late? You're always late!" Melody asked, angrily.

"My boss kept me back at work, honey, I'm sorry." Eric apologized. During the home ride, Melody looked out the window, and stared blankly at the trees they were passing by. Eric noticed that Melody looked crest-fallen.

"Melody?"

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied.

"Now Mel-"

"I said nothing!" said Melody. Eric turned away from Melody and focused on the road ahead of him.

When they got home, Melody went to watch TV, while Eric sat down on the couch and went to take care of some paperwork. He was busy at work and it was very hard for him to take care of Melody while trying to succeed at his career. Part of him thought that he should find a new wife, for Melody's sake. However, that would never happen. His first experience with romance did not go very well and he didn't want to go through the emotional wreck again.

No, instead Eric was going to hire a nanny; someone who could care for Melody when he is out at work. He took out his cell phone and called the paper.

"Hello? Windy Times Inc.? This is Eric Banes. I like to put in an advertisement in hiring a nanny…"

[Coral]

Very interesting setup here. I'm intrigued as to how you're going to pull this off.

[faya27]

Don't worry, I'll make sure this fan fic will be fun and interesting.

Chapter 2

Melody's Nanny Chapter 2

Normally, Eric would be in his office, working on countless papers for his boss. But last night, after he put the nanny advertisement on the newspaper, he had requested a day off on Saturday from his boss thus he could find a nanny for Melody. His boss agreed and hoped to have him back at work soon.
Now Saturday came and everybody read Eric's advertisement. Many nanny candidates showed up at Eric's house. The Interviews took place in the living room. While Eric was sure to hire a nanny, Melody was not thrilled.

I don't know why Daddy is doing this! I don't want a nanny! Nannies are not fun! She thought angrily.

"So, what is your name?" Eric asked the first candidate. The first candidate was a high school teenager.

"I'm Beth Murphy," answered the first candidate, dully.

"Tell me, why do you want to apply for this job?"

"I don't. My mom told me to get this job! I don't even like kids!" she said rudely.

"Well, there's the door!" Eric said, rudely back. The next interviews went on, what felt like, for hours.
As the last candidate left, Eric pounded his hand on the big wooden table.

"I CAN"T BELIEVE THIS!" he yelled.
I WENT THROUGH 35 WOMEN AND YOUNG PUNKS AND NONE OF THEM ARE WORTH HIRING!"

He panted heavily, trying to calm down.
Melody put her hand on his arm.

"Father, don't worry. I don't need a nanny." Eric took his hand off the table and turned
toward his daughter.

"Honey, you do. I need someone to watch over you while I'm at work," he explained. He sighed. "But what is the use? This "Nanny Hunt" is becoming tougher than I thought!"
Melody frowned. She knew he was right. He has been needed at work a lot lately, and has no time for her anymore. Eric sighed sadly. If he could, he could call his family to babysit Melody but they have kept their distance from him ever since-

"Daddy," Melody interrupted his thoughts. "Can we go to the pawk?"

"Sure," said Eric. "Let's go.

At the park, Melody began playing with her soccer ball while Eric sat on a bench. He tried to relax and forget about the terrible interviews that he went through today. He looked at the ground and covered his face.

Oh man, what I'm going to do!

"Well, it has been a long time," a female voice said. Eric saw two feet in black high heels. He slowly looked up to see a tall, large woman, smiling seductively at him. She was an obese woman with purple skin, and white hair. She was also wearing a black dress and had a lot of makeup on, despite her age of being 50.

"Ursula?" Eric asked, dumbfounded. "T-This is a suprise."

"What? No 'Hello Ursula deary?' Not happy to see me?"

"No, I'm just surprised you are here. I thought you were at work," Eric said, politely. He allowed her a seat.

"Oh no, I have a day-off," Ursula explained, as she sat down next to him.

"Oh, okay," said Eric.

As they were talking, Melody was trying to practice kicking her ball at a long distance.

Hmm, Let's see if I can kick the ball from here to the tree.

She swung her leg and booted the ball. However, she kicked the ball so far that it went past the tree! Melody ran after it.

"You know," said Ursula, as she moved closer to Eric. "We should go out for dinner. Just you and me." She trailed her fingers down his shirt. Eric smiled nervously and looked at his watch. "Um, gee! look at the time! I must get going, for my um, meeting!" Ursula growled but hid her anger. "Oh, well, see you later." She walked away. Eric sighed in relief! Man, that woman was creeping him out! He turned around to look for Melody and was shocked to see Melody running toward the street! "MELODY!" Eric took off after her, like a rabbit.

Melody retrieved the ball. Suddenly she heard a woman's voice calling to her, "Honey, watch out!" She looked up and gasped. A car was coming toward her! Melody was so horrified that her legs have lost their will to move. She didn't know what to do! The car was going to crash into her any second!

[faya27]

Chapter 3

Melody shut her eyes tight as she held her ball in her face, preparing for the car to crash into her. But the car's aim never came. Melody felt herself being swept off her feet by a pair of slender and soft arms. Somebody saved her! When she was gently dropped onto the sidewalk on her feet, her eyes opened. Melody found herself face to face with a young woman who bended her knees to meet Melody's level. She is a petite woman with long red hair and baby blue eyes. The young woman was also, wearing a purple tank top and a green skirt with matching shoes.

"Are you okay, honey?" the young woman asked, gently. She hoped the kid is all right. It must have been a shock for her to get almost run over by a car!

Melody is a little surprised. No one has ever called her 'honey' before.

"I think so," said Melody, still a little bit shaken. "W-who are you?"

"I'm Ariel Benson," Ariel smiled. "What is your name?"

Melody felt a little bit nervous answering, but this lady seemed really friendly. Why else would she save Melody then, if she was not a nice person?

"Melody Sylvia Banes," Melody answered.

"What were you doing in the streets, Melody?" Ariel asked.

"I was getting my ball," said Melody as she showed her ball to Ariel. "I..was..practicing it when I kicked too..far," Melody suddenly felt a fear in her heart. Her dad had warned her not to go into the streets! She felt completely embarrassed in front of Ariel!

"I didn't know the street light was green! I didn't know what I was thinking! Really! Please don't think I'm stupid!" She cried. Ariel put her arms around Melody to calm her. She felt bad for the girl and could see that she was crying.

"Don't worry, it's alright," she said, soothingly. "Everybody makes mistakes." Melody softened a little, but it still didn't stop her tears from falling.

"What will my Daddy say? He'll spank me!" She cried.

"It's okay. I am sure your father will understand," Ariel said, kindly. She rubbed Melody's back to calm down her sobs. Tears stopped falling, as Melody began to calm down. Just then, they heard a young masculine voice calling.

"Melody, Melody!" Eric came running from the park and onto the sidewalk, looking pale. He was frantically looking for Melody. He hoped that his eyes were tricking him when he saw her running toward the street. His fears ceased when he saw Melody running to him.

"Daddy!" Eric embraced her.

"Melody, why were you running in the streets?" Eric asked, angrily, as he shook Melody by her shoulders. "Do you have any idea how scared I was? What were you thinking?"

Melody cowed in shame. "I'm sorry!" she said.

"You should know better than to-"

"Wait, Sir!"

Eric turned to see Ariel who just came over to them.

"Your daughter did not mean to run in the streets. Her ball ran away and she was trying to retrieve it," She explained. Eric studied her from toe to head and took in her figure.

Wow! She looks beauti-d'oh! Snap out of it, Eric! While he was thinking that, Ariel had also been studying Eric from toe to head.

Oh, he looks very handsome, she thought to herself, dreamily.

"Um, who are you, miss?" he asked, after getting himself out of his thoughts.

"Hmm what?" Ariel was snapped back into reality also.

"Daddy, this is Ariel Benson! She saved my life!" said Melody, cheerfully.

"Did she?" Eric asked.

"Yes, sir, I did," said Ariel.

"Thank you for saving my daughter, Miss Benson," said Eric, politely.

"It is no problem at all, sir," said Ariel, gratefully.

"My name is Eric. Eric Daniel Banes, so don't call me, 'sir." Eric growled.

"Sorry, I will remember that, Mr. Banes," said Ariel, politely, ignoring Eric's annoyed tone.

Eric was about to say something to her when they heard a young boy's voice calling Ariel from outside the deli. "Ariel, let's go! Daddy's waiting for us!"

"I have to go," said Ariel, with an apologetically smile. She almost forgot that her brother, Flounder, was waiting for her.

"Wait, Miss Benson!" said Eric, before Ariel turned to leave. "Do you want to have dinner with us tomorrow evening; just to thank you for saving my daughter's life?"

"Sure, Mr. Banes," smiled Ariel. "Where will I meet you and Melody?"

"At our house; here is my address," said Eric, as he gave her his business card. Ariel took the card. "Thank you," said Ariel. Then she bade them goodbye and left with Flounder.

Melody lit up like a Christmas tree. "Hurray! She's coming over tomorrow!" she shouted as she jumped up and down. "We are going to play together!"

Then an idea hit Eric. Ariel could be the nanny he's looking for! But will she accept his job offer? What if she already has a job?

[faya27]

Chapter 4

After Ariel waved goodbye to Eric and Melody, she carefully crossed the street to meet up with her brother. Her sandy-colored haired brothers was holding a carton of milk that he bought from the Deli.

"Ariel, what was going on? Who was that man you were talking to?" Flounder asked.

"I was trying to save his daughter," Ariel explained.

"Really?" Flounder asked.

"It's a long story," said Ariel. As they walk away from the Deli, Ariel told Flounder the details of the story such as saving Melody, standing up to Eric, and a dinner with them. When she finished, Flounder was amazed. That was a brave thing his big sister did!

Ariel and Flounder finally came upon their apartment. They went inside and took the elevator which led them to the 22nd floor.

"Daddy, we're home!" Ariel and Flounder walked inside their room M28. The apartment room was small but still contained enough room to fit her, Flounder, her dad, and their sisters, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, and Alana. The apartment room had a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen.

Triton was sitting in his chair reading the Daily News. Attina, Andrina, and Adella, both came home early from their jobs.

"Daddy, we're home," said Ariel.

"Oh, good! I was beginning to worry about you two," said Triton. He was a little bit concerned of why his two kids were spending longer time than usual at the deli when he only sent them just to buy milk.

"What took you so long!" Adella said impatiently, who just came out of the kitchen along with Andrina and Attina.

"Adella, calm down!" Attina scolded. "There's no need to be dramatic!"

"But I'm soooooo thirsty and hungry!" Adella whined.

"Gee, poor Adella. She didn't eat breakfast," Andrina said, sarcastically.

"I was almost late this morning! And I didn't have time to go the cafe!"

"Whatever!"

"Calm down. I have the milk," said Ariel.

"Yeah, Ariel was trying to save a girl's life!" Flounder defended. Triton turned around from his newspaper with interest and all the sisters except Ariel had their eyes widened. Flounder began to tell the story in an excited way.

"Yeah! There was a little girl who was running in the street and-then-she couldn't-the car was like 'Vroooom!'and the girl was like 'AAAAAAAAAH!' Whew! Then Ariel ran and saved her!" And then, there was this man, who was like 'blah blah blah!' at the kid and "hubba hubba hubba!' at Ariel," Flounder finished, imitating Eric's hypnotized trance.

Triton's expression changed from an interest to a frown.

"WHAT!"

"OOoooooooo! Ariel's got a boyfriend!" Adella teased, as Attina, Arista, and Andrina giggled.

"He's not my boyfriend!" said Ariel, blushing. "The man was the father of the girl I rescued from. He invited me for dinner tomorrow just to repay me," Ariel explained, hopefully her dad didn't get the wrong idea and hopefully that her sisters would stop teasing.

"Whew! That is a relief!" Triton sighed.

"So, what's the man's name?" Attina asked.

"Eric Daniel Barnes," Ariel answered, showing everybody Eric's buisness card.

"Eric Daniel Barnes? No way!" the sisters exclaimed.

"You know him?" Ariel was confused.

"Yeah! He's our co-worker!" said Andrina in a "duh!" tone.

"Ariel, where are you and Eric going to eat dinner?" Triton asked. Even though, he is already aware that Eric Daniel Barnes, he still feels uneasy about letting his youngest daughter having a date with him. Especially after hearing from Flounder that Eric had expressed interest in Ariel.

"Yes, daddy, I want to. We're having dinner at his house," said Ariel.

"His house!" Tirton exclaimed.

"Father, Eric is a decent man so, he won't touch her," said Andrina, calmly.

"You're sure," Triton asked, cautiously.

"Yeah, don't worry. Eric has no interest in marriage," Andrina answered.

"Daddy, I want to go. It is not a date. It is just for one night. Please?" Ariel pleaded. Triton hesitated. Despite Andrina's assurance, he still doesn't feel comfortable about this. How would he know that Eric would not make moves on her? On the other hand, he knows that it would be a great insult if Ariel doesn't show up at his house for dinner. He sighed.

"All right, Ariel. You can have dinner with him tomorrow. But be careful," Triton said, still worrying.

"Daddy, I'll be fine," said Ariel. Gee, her dad could be so overprotective sometimes.

Meanwhile, back at the Barnes' home, Eric and Melody had gotten ready for bed.

"Good night, Melody," said Eric as tucked Melody in and kissed her on the forehead.

"Good night, Daddy," said Melody. He was about to leave when Melody called him.

"Daddy, please keep the lights on!"

"Why?" Eric raised an eyebrow.

"I hate the dark!"

"All right," said Eric. He left without turning the lights off. He hoped that this would be the last time she requested him to do that.

Eric changed into his pajamas and climbed into his king-size bed. As he laid his head on his pillow, he looked to his left to another pillow next to him. He fell asleep dreaming about a certain lovely red-haired woman that still left his heart burning for her.

[faya27]

Chapter 5

Like Eric, everybody else went to sleep. However, there is one person that did not go to bed.

"AAAAAAAARRRRRRGH! I can't believe this!" A deep female voice screeched. Ursula came home late at midnight, stomping inside her house.

"What is, Ursula?" A young whispery male voice asked. His name is Flotsam. He was a lanky man around 29 with dark blonde hair, and dressed up in all green. Another guy, standing next to him, is his brother, Jetsam, who is also tall and lanky and dressed up in green clothing, only with dark brown hair.

“My attempt of seducing Eric for his money, has once again, failed,” said Ursula, who unsuccessfully, tried to be calm. Flotsam and Jetsam both looked at her with sympathy. They knew that this wasn’t the first time that Ursula tried to seduce Eric for his money and it won’t be the last. Ursula did not have a day off from work. Actually, two months ago, she lost her job due the economic recession. She, immediately, went out looking for a new job, back then, but couldn’t find one that was in need of employment. When she gave up searching for a job, she had gone to ask Eric to lend her some money. Eric had refused and despite Ursula’s pleas, he still said no. Eric is completely clueless about Ursula being jobless. Ursula couldn’t tell Eric that she lost her job because it would be embarrassing. It also would not persuade Eric further to lend her cash. A two weeks ago, she had decided to take drastic measures by seducing Eric for his money.

Flashback

Ursula came home one afternoon feeling very upset, Eric won’t lend her money, again.

“How could Eric do this to me!? I’m his mother-in-law for crying out loud!”

‘Give me money,’ I said.

‘No, why do you need it for?’ he said. ‘You have a job,’

‘I just need some more,’ I said.

‘Well, I’m not giving any dough to you,’ he said.

“OH Bah! In my day, youngsters would never hesitate to lend their elders a buck or two. Nobody seems to respect their elders anymore. What has this country come to?” Ursula ranted. She walked around in her dark gray living room pondering what to do.

“I’m very stressed out. I will take a nap,”

Flotsam and Jetsam had come home later that day and comforted her by feeding her a bowl of chicken soup.

For the next three days, Ursula relaxed herself by watching her favorite romantic comedies. Then on the fourth day of the week, Ursula watched a movie that told about how a man’s old girlfriend seduced him for his money.

‘She took his money by seducing him, eh?’ She thought to herself. The next day, she dressed up in a very tight and revealing red dress, put some red lipstick on, and strolled down to Eric’s mansion. She knocked on the door.

Eric opened it and was very surprised to see her there. Studying Ursula, saying that she is very ugly would be an understatement.

“Uh…hi…Ursula,” said Eric, trying to be polite.

“What? Aren’t you going to invite me, in?” said Ursula, battling her eyelashes at him. Eric looked taken back but allowed her in.

“You can’t stay here for too long because I have to pick up Melody in thirty minutes,” said Eric, as he closed the door.

“From school?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m picking her up early, because I’m transferring her to another school,” Eric explained. Recently, Melody had been constantly bullied by her peers for some strange reason. He didn’t know but he thinks it has something to do with about Melody being motherless.

“Oh, not to..worry,” said Ursula. She stepped closer to him and fiddled with his collar. Eric’s eyes went wide. What in the world is going on here? What is she doing? What does she want? Ursula rubbed his shoulders and moved to his lower back.

“We can just talk, for a while,” she said as she moved her hands down to his jean pocket. Eric looked as if he had seen a ghost and quickly moved away from her.

“Um, I got to go!” He said very fast and grabbed his jacket.

“WHAT!?” Ursula yelled, very nastily.

“Sorry, Ursula, but I have no time. Maybe some other time, okay?” Eric explained. He was trying to be polite, but you could tell there was fear and disgust in his eyes. He dashed out of the door.

“But you said-“

Ursula was interrupted by a door slam. Ursula clenched her fists, narrowed her eyes, and growled like a lion. There goes his money. She left the mansion via the backdoor.

END Flashback

That same episode happened again, at the park, only to have Eric run off, saying something about being late for his so-called meeting. She stomped over to her couch and plopped down on it. Flotsam and Jetsam went over to massage her shoulders for comfort.

“There has got to be another way to take his money. It has become too hard to seduce him for it. If you two can brainstorm, that would be a big help,” she explained sourly.

“Poison?” Flotsam suggested.

“Sure…,” said Jetsam.

“Blackmail?”

“Or…,”

“Marriage?”

“Maybe-“Jetsam added.

“Wait!” Ursula Interrupted as she snapped her fingers. “Why didn’t we think of it before?”

“You think it will work?” Flotsam asked.

“Of course, you fool! This is too easy!” Ursula clasped her hands, together and smiled very evilly. “I will get him drunk and marry him! Once I do, then we will kill him in his sleep, and take his money for good! Ahahaha! Spectacular! Spectacular!” She cackled.

“But how rich is he? Eric is not as rich as Bill Gates,” said Flotsam.

“However he is richer than us,” said Ursula. “Besides, he has a trust fund,” she added in a sing-song voice.

“Really?” the two men asked.

“Yes, it used to be Vanessa’s, but now that she has “kicked the bucket,” we can have it after the wedding!” Ursula answered.

“But that trust fund belongs to Melody once she comes of an age!” said Flotsam, protested. He received a bonk on the head from Ursula.

“Not if the kid also stays alive!” said Ursula. She and two men both let out an evil laughter throughout the house.

[faya27]

Melody's nanny chapter 6

The sun rays flew in the windowsill as Eric groggily rose from his bed. He groaned, stretched, and rubbed his eyes.
Today was Sunday which was another good day for Eric because he had off.
He wouldn't have to worry about driving Melody to school, being late to work, and being late to pick her up . The only thing he wanted to focus on right now was cleaning his house a bit since Ariel was coming over.
Eric got dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. He combed his hair, brushed his teeth and went downstairs.
Melody was already up. She was eating Lucky Charms cereal in the living room while watching television.
He rolled his eyes as he noticed that Melody was watching some baby show, called "Rainbow Monkeys."
He walked over to the kitchen and pulled out the almost empty Lucky Charms cereal. He ate the rest of it knowing he and Melody were going to go grocery shopping later.

"Melody, when you are finished eating, I want you to clean your room," said Eric.

"No, I don't want to clean my room!" said Melody.

Eric sighed.
'Why won't this kid give me a break?'

"Melody, you have to clean your room today. Do you remember Miss Ariel Benson from yesterday? She is coming over to dinner tonight remember?"
Hearing the name "Ariel" Melody's face brightened and she immediately went to tidy up her room.
Eric took care of his dish, and Melody's dish. Then, he cleaned up the living room and vacuumed it.
When Melody finished cleaning her room, the two went grocery shopping hoping to find food that was suitable for dinner.

"My, that was such a wonderful service. Don't you think?" Aquata asked as she and the family walked outside of the church.

"Yes, it was great," Andrina agreed.

The family walked home and rested for a bit in their apartment in their living room.
The only exception was Ariel who was in the bedroom looking in the closet for a dress.
After searching, Ariel gritted her teeth and groaned as she slapped her forehead. She had forgotten that she did not own any nice dresses because she sold them for money to save her mother on her first day in America!
She ran to the living room hoping that her sisters could help.

"Guys, do you have a dress that I could borrow?" Ariel asked. 'Please let them have something!' She thought desperately.

"Why? Where are you going?" Aquata asked.

"She has a dinner date with her boyfriend!" Flounder smirked. The girls began to giggle.

"He is not my boyfriend!" Ariel cried, blushing.

"Children calm down," said Triton. "Ariel is too young to have a boyfriend."

"You've been saying that since she was fourteen," said Arista.

"What do you need help with, Ariel?" Alana asked. Ariel repeated her question and the girls went searching through the closet trying to find the perfect dress for her.

Meanwhile over at the Barnes' house, Eric warmed up the frozen food in the microwave.
After that, he put the food on nice dishes, making it as if the food were homemade. Then, he and Melody put the dishes on the table which was already covered with a nice tablecloth.
Eric looked at the grandfather clock that was standing between the two paintings of sailing ships. It was a quarter till seven.

"Is she here yet?" Melody asked as she looked outside of her window. She was wearing a cute yellow dress with an orange sash around it.

"She'll be here," said Eric.
Eric was dressed up in his fine black suit. He fidgeted a little and had trouble fighting the butterflies that were flying around in his stomach. Questions swarmed in his head: When will Ariel come? Will Ariel accept his job offer? Does she like him? Will she kiss him-what?
Eric shook his head wondering where the heck he got the idea of anything romantic between him and Ariel.
Whenever an image of Ariel came to his mind, his heart would skip a beat. His train of thoughts was interrupted when Melody screamed, "SHE'S HERE!" very excitedly.
Eric jumped a little by Melody's scream and opened the door.
When he did, he saw the most beautiful vision ever.
Ariel was standing in the doorway wearing a long dark green dress with long sleeves and pearl earrings.
She smiled and blushed like a schoolgirl since Eric was staring at her in a dreamy way.

"Hey! What are you waiting for? Let her in!" Melody impatiently, stomped her foot hoping to get their attention.
Eric snapped out of his dreamy gaze.

"Uh? Oh! Right!" He let her in and took Ariel's coat.
Eric and Melody showed Ariel around their house starting with the living room which contained the big plasma.
Then they went to Melody's bedroom.
It was pink full of toys and stuffed animals. Melody showed Ariel every single of her toy from her Barbie doll to her spongebob plushie. Then, Eric showed Ariel his bedroom which contained a king-size bed, a gray dresser with a big mirror, and a clothes closet.
Ariel noticed a picture on Eric's dresser. The picture showed two people; Eric and a woman with black hair and brown eyes. Eric looked happy whereas Vanessa's smile was upside down.
That must be his wife, Ariel thought. She thought of asking Eric about the presence of his wife but decided not to bring up such a personal topic.
After the tour around the house, the two adults and child went down for dinner.
After dinner, Ariel offered to help Eric with the dishes.

"So, now that you are out of college, what you doing now?" Eric asked, as he rinsed his dish.

"Well, nothing interesting, really. Except looking for a summer job," Ariel answered, hesitantly. She could feel her face turning red with embarrassment.

"Well, do you know what job you are looking for?" He inquired.

"Something to do with babysitting or helping out a day care center," said Ariel. "I love children very much and I want to be a teacher."

Melody, upon hearing this, grabbed the newspaper from the couch and gave it to Ariel.

"Maybe this newspaper will help you," she said.
Luckily, Ariel was done with putting the last dirty dish in the washing machine and took the newspaper from Melody.

"Thank you, honey," she said, sweetly.
She flipped to the page that had job advertisements. She skimmed over a few job advertisements until she found the right one.

"Ah, this looks like a fun job," She replied. She read the entire Advertisement:

WANTED
Nanny for a five-year-old girl
Must: love children, be kind, sweet, and responsible
Age: must be 17 and above
Information: I need a nanny who can take care of my daughter on Mondays-Saturdays
At 7am-9pm. Feed her, take her to school daily, play with her, read stories to her, and tuck her in bed at nine PM sharp. Please call Mr. Banes: (847)777-999.

"Wait a minute!" Ariel said, surprised. She turned to Eric and Melody. "You are hiring a nanny?" she asked.

"Yeah..," said Eric, with a lopsided grin and hand behind his back.

Melody giggled.
Ariel still looked confused, so Eric had to explain.

"You see, I've been working a lot at the Red Rabbit Inc. lately, which makes it hard for me to watch over Melody. So, I decided to hire a nanny to watch over her whenever I'm not here. I put the ad in the newspaper, held interviews, but couldn't find one. Of course, I was about to give up hope until I found you. Do you understand?" he finished.

"Yes, but why me?" Ariel responded.

"Well, when Melody told me about the rescue and how kind and caring you were to her, I figured that you were a better candidate," Eric explained.

Ariel went into deep thought. This job offer sounds awesome! Why not take it? It's something better to do over the summer other than lay around the house all day.

"I'll be glad to be your nanny, " Ariel decided, happily.

"Great!" said Eric, as he grabbed her hand to shake it.
The moment their hands touched, electricity went through their veins. Butterflies flew inside their stomachs as they stared at each other.
"Um..You are hired," said Eric, his face reddening. He quickly released her hand, although he wanted to hold it longer.

"T-thank you," said Ariel, whose face was also blushing.

Melody looked at Eric, then at Ariel.

'What's going on? Why are Daddy and Ariel being so weird? She wanted to know why.
But she decided to bring up the subject matter tomorrow since Ariel was about to leave for the day.

"So, what time do you want me to be here tomorrow?" Ariel asked, as she was about to head out.

"I'd say at five thirty in the afternoon. That way, we'll have a lot of free time to help you move in," said Eric.

"Five thirty sounds good," Ariel agreed.

"Aww, do you have to go?" Melody pouted. Eric chuckled; it was so rare to see Melody whine and pout.

"Don't worry, Melody. I'll be back here before you know it," Ariel smiled. "Thank you so much for the dinner, I had a great time. And the food was so yummy, too!"

"Aw, it's nothing," said Eric.
Ariel hugged Melody who hugged her back tight. Then Ariel hugged Eric who blushed deeply red.
When Ariel left waving goodbye from Andrina's jeep, Eric and Melody waved back and did not go back inside the house until she and Andrina drove away.
Melody went to bed with a smile on her face.
Eric on the other hand was having another train of thought.
'What's going on? Why is it that every time Ariel hugs me or shakes my hand, I get all nervous around her? Well, let's hope I act more civilized around her by tomorrow. With that, he did a final check of the house to make sure all the doors were locked before checking on Melody one last time and climbing into bed for the night.

[faya27]

Chapter seven

When Ariel and Andrina came home, the family tuned up their ears on Ariel's story. Ariel glowed as she told them her tale. She made sure to skip a few events that mentioned anything happening between her and Eric such as how warm and soft his hand felt when they shook hands. When she came to the part about the job offer, her sisters felt happy for her,but her father raised an eyebrow, and Flounder frowned.

"Wow! That's great, Ariel!" said Arista. The other sisters nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Ariel smiled. Nobody noticed Flounder looking down at the ground with his arms crossed.

Triton does not seem to be happy about the news, either. She cannot be serious!

"A live-in nanny!" He exclaimed. "This is what the dinner party was about? Ariel, I thought you want to be a teacher; not a nanny!"

"I do-"Ariel began, but Triton interrupted her.

"I don't mind that you are babysitting his kid, but living in his house?"

"Daddy, I want to do this job! It is something that I can do while applying for an interviews," Ariel protested.

"I'm not sending you away to live with a man that I do not know!"

Before Ariel could say anything, Attina spoke up.

"Now father, Eric is a good man; he is a very respectable gentleman and he will not lay a finger on Ariel."

"Yes, we can assure you that he is harmless," Andrina added.

"Well, why does he need Ariel to live in his home, even after he comes home from work?" Triton questioned.

"Eric said he will be working at the office longer," said Ariel.

Adella spoke, "That is because he just got promoted-"

Andrina quickly placed her hands on Adella's mouth. "Shush! Adella!"

Adella mumbled 'sorry' although you can't hear it because of Andrina's hand. Ariel raised an eyebrow. Eric got promoted to what? She needs to ask Eric why his boss needed him more at his office.

"How many days are you going to be working?" Triton asked.

"Six days a week. I'll be free on every Sunday," Ariel answered.

"Are you sure you want to be his nanny?" Triton asked, cautiously. Ariel nodded without hesitation. This is really something she could do over the summer while apply for a teaching position. And if she doesn't receive a teaching position, she would always have the nanny job to fall back on.

"Yes," she said, as she smiled fondly of Eric and Melody. Melody was such a cutie pie; when she showed Ariel her toys in an enthusiastic manner. Eric was…wonderful; with his beautiful blue eyes and his strong jaw...

Triton sighed. He knew that his other daughters were right about Eric but he still doesn't know him. Trusting that they were right, he decided to give in.

"All right," he said, breaking Ariel out of her thoughts about the Barnes family. "You can live in his house as his live-in nanny," He concluded.

Ariel smiled as if Christmas just came. She jumped and embraced her father tightly.

"Oh thank you, Daddy!" She cried. Triton smiled at her enthusiasm.

"But I have one condition," he added, firmly. "You are not to let him touch you and don't sleep with him!"

"I won't," said Ariel. Geesh! Why couldn't her dad accept that she is a grown-up? And why would she sleep with Eric? The thought of doing it with him, made her blush. She quickly shook the thought out of her head. Later, the family retreated to their bedrooms. Ariel noticed Flounder staring at the carpet floor.

"Flounder what's wrong?" Ariel wondered.

"Nothing," Flounder mumbled.

"Are you sure?" Ariel tried again. She could tell that he didn't look happy.

"I'm fine, Ariel!" Flounder said really meanly. Ariel sighed. She wanted to know what Flounder was mad about. Before she could say anything, Triton called them to go to bed and no more talking. The two younger siblings end up retreating to their bedrooms.

Flounder climbed into bed with his father. He tried closing his eyes but they kept popping open. Something heavy was inside his heart and it was keeping him awake. Flounder knew he should be happy for her but he couldn't. Ariel is abandoning the family? How could she do this to him? Flounder never knew his mother because she died when he was an infant. Ariel and his sisters took care of him but Ariel was the one that took care of him of the most. He and Ariel would do everything together like playing soccer or flying kites. Ariel was also a good teacher to him because she helped him a lot with math. Now, this man and his daughter are taking Ariel away from him. He wished he said something he didn't because he wanted Ariel to be happy serving that Mr. pretty face and his dumb daughter. He didn't fall asleep until 4:00am.

The next morning, Eric woke up groggily from his sleep. It is time to start another day. He thought. He went to wake up Melody.

"Melody, Melody, wake up," said Eric softly, as he patted her shoulder. "It is time to go to school,"

"No!" said Melody as she turned her head away. "I don't want to go to school!" she mumbled into her pillow.

"Melody, come on! Quit fussing!" he said. He pulled the reluctant Melody out of her bed.

"Now get dressed, you're going to be late," Eric added. Melody grumbled and began to dress.

After dropping Melody off at school, Eric drove to work. Too bad luck was not on his side. The cars were moving very slowly and the streetlights were not switching their colors so soon.

"Oh, come on, stupid streetlight!" Eric scoffed. "Come on! Change to green already!"

Finally, after what it felt like for five minutes, the streetlight changed its color.

"It's about time!" said Eric, impatiently. Normally, Eric is very patient but he needed to be at work on time!

At 4:30pm, Eric stopped his Jeep in front of Melody's school. Today was such a hard day for him! First, his boss scolded him for being late. It was not his fault that the traffic was very heavy! Second, the new employee, Kuzco Lopez, blew spitballs at Eric's best friends, Adam Klueck and Aladdin Sadiq, when they were supposed to be working on their project. The boss came over to see the commotion and scolded Kuzco for messing around, although Kuzco doesn't seem to care.

"Hi, Daddy!" said Melody, as she jumped into his car.

"Hi, Melody," Eric replied, tiredly. He forced himself to stay awake as he drove to their house.

"How was school?"

It was all right," said Melody. Nothing interesting happened but at least, she managed to avoid the bullies this time. She was a little disappointed. Her dad was late, again. Ugh! Why can't he ever pick her up on time? Melody softened a little when she noticed her dad looking sour.

"Daddy?" Melody asked.

"Hmm?" Eric grunted, tiredly.

"Are you okay? You look sad,"

"I'm fine, kiddo. I just had a bad day at work," He answered, softly. And that was all Eric said. He didn't feel like talking anymore for the next fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, Ariel was almost finishing packing her things in her boxes. Andrina and Flounder told her what she needed to bring. It is not that Ariel couldn't decide what to bring. It is just that since she doesn't own many stuff, it is hard to know what she should bring. The packing went fast because she didn't have much stuff to bring with her. All she packed in her two big cardboard boxes were her small amount of clothes and shoes, her socks and underwear, her toothbrush and toothpaste, and her hairbrush, along with her blankets and pillows. She needed a few hair ribbons thus she went to Alanas' beauty parlor shop called, "Hair and Cosmetics".

"Hey Alana," said Ariel, as she entered into the shop.

"Hey Ariel," said Alana. She just finished showing a customer where the lipstick aisle is.

"How is packing going? Do you need anything?" Alana asked.

"Packing is going well. I'm almost done; I just needed a few hair ribbons and some chap stick," Ariel answered. She is not crazy about makeup like Alana is but she needed a few things just to look nice for her first day of job. Alana directed her to the aisle that had ribbons and another one that shelved chapsticks.

"Thanks," said Ariel. She went to the ribbon aisle, first. As Ariel walked to the aisle, a girl came up next to Alana.

"Your sister is going to be a servant girl?" she mocked. She was a very tall girl with her hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans that fit her so tightly that it looked like her legs were painted blue. She is Alana's best friend. Alana is best friends with Pearl, because Pearl was the first person that Alana befriended on her first day in America. Pearl's parents own the "Hair and Cosmetics." If it were not for Pearl, Alana would not have been working at the shop.

"She's not going to be servant girl, Pearl!" Alana glared. "Ariel is going to work as a nanny."

Ariel came back with a vanilla chapstick and a blue ribbon when she saw Pearl talking to Alana. Ariel shuddered. Pearl was a mean girl who always makes Ariel feel bad. Whenever, Ariel was eating a candy bar, Pearl would always say, "Watch your weight, darling, no man wants a fat girl!" A few times, whenever Ariel mentioned that she loves playing soccer with Flounder, Pearl would say, "soccer is for boys!" Ariel wondered if Pearl had ever heard of Mia Hamm. Before Ariel could sneak away and pay for the chapstick and ribbon, Pearl spotted her.

"Aww, Ariel!" said Pearl. Alana motioned Ariel to come over. Airel didn't want to but reluctantly did for the sake of being polite.

"Oh, hi Pearl," said Ariel, feeling uncomfortable.

"Alana was just telling me that you are going to be a servant girl at the Barnes,' " Pearl said in her sick syrupy-sweet voice. "What happened? Flunked your Basic Skills Test?"

Ariel glared. Why does Pearl enjoy putting her down?

"I got a job as a nanny; not a servant girl! No, I didn't fail the Basic Skills Test. I passed it!" Ariel retorted.

"Ah, pardon me," said Pearl, sticking her nose up in the air. "Well, whether a servant girl or a teacher, you are still low-class. Teachers and servant girls don't get paid very much," she added.

"Hey, teaching is not a low-class job!" Ariel barked. "I love teaching! It is something I dreamed of dreaming! For the last time, I'm Eric's nanny; not servant girl!"

"Oh, please-" Pearl said, throwing her hand in the mid-air at Ariel.

"Pearl!" a girl's voice called. "Come on, we are going to the mall!"

"Coming Jenny!" said Pearl. "Bye Alana, by loser!" Pearl left and Ariel sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry Ariel," Alana apologized.

"It's fine," mumbled Ariel. "Why does she keep putting me down for? She has no right keep me from teaching!"

"Don't worry, Ariel," said Alana. "She's just jealous."

After Ariel paid for her supplies, she gave Alana her a sisterly goodbye hug.

"I still can't believe you're leaving today!" Alana cried. "You are not supposed to leave the apartment at all!" Ariel put her hand on Alana's shoulder.

"Alana, relax! It's not like I'm getting married or anything!" Ariel enlightened.

"But it won't be the same," said Alana, sadly.

"Hey, I'll come and visit on Sunday, okay?" said Ariel.

"All right," said Alana. They gave each other a sisterly hug. Before Ariel left the store, Alana said one more thing to her.

"Come and visit my shop if you get lonely!" she called.

"I will!" Ariel answered back.

Finally, after finished packing, Ariel was all set. Triton offered to drive Ariel to Eric's house. The reason is because Triton wanted to see Eric for himself. He wanted to make sure that Eric is a safe guy to be around with.

They arrived at five-thirty. Ariel went up to knock on the door while Triton opened the trunk and took her two boxes out. Ariel knocked on the door. She waited until the door opened and saw a familiar face.

"Ariel!" a young, cute voice shouted.

Melody jumped on Ariel and hugged her around her waist, tightly. Ariel was surprised but giggled and hugged her back.

"Nice to see you again, Melody," said Ariel.

Eric quickly came downstairs when he heard the door opened. He was just brushing his teeth when he and Melody heard the door knocking. After brushing his teeth, he went downstairs to see if it was Ariel. His heart leaped when he saw Ariel. Okay, Eric. Remember, be civilized with her. Ariel noticed Eric approaching her outside of the doorway.

"Mr. Barnes! Good Afternoon!" said Ariel, showing her award-winning smile.

"Good afternoon Miss Benson," said Eric, smiling. His heart melted and his knees went weak at her smile.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Barnes," a new voice said. Eric turned from Ariel and next to her and his daughter was a large man with a long white beard. He was wearing a ponytail and dressed in dark blue jeans with a white t-shirt. Eric gulped. He looked like an angry Santa Claus!

"H-Hello, Mr. Benson," Eric stuttered. Ariel gave her father, a stop-scaring-him-look.

"Are you here to play, too?" Melody asked.

"No," Triton laughed. He bent down on his knees to the little girl's level. "I'm just helping her move her stuff in," He added.

Three adults and one kid carried two boxes into a guest room where Ariel will be sleeping. The guest room is between Melody's room and the bathroom. It is also across from Eric's bedroom. While Melody helped Ariel unpacked her stuff, Triton took Eric out in the hallway.

"Now that my daughter is living with you, we are going to set down a few rules," Triton said, sternly.

Eric looked scared at Triton's intimidating expression, but tried to stay cool. "Okay," he said. Triton began listing the rules.

"Rule number one: You are to treat her the way you want her to treat you. Rule number two: You will not strike her or push her. If she does something wrong, just send her to her room. Rule number three: The most important one of all. You will not sleep with her or I will murder you in your sleep. Is that clear?"

Eric nodded. "Yes sir. All due with respect, I assure you that I am not that kind of a guy."

"Good," said Triton.

After helping Ariel pack, Triton stood at the door, giving Ariel a hug.

"I'll miss you, honey," said Triton.

"I'll miss you too, Daddy," said Ariel. "Tell Flounder and the girls that I said goodbye and that I will miss them."

"I will," Triton answered as he hugged Ariel. "If you miss us, drop by on Sunday anytime,"

"I will," said Ariel. Triton hopped into his jeep. He and Ariel waved to each other as he drove away.

Later, Eric, Ariel, and Melody had Chinese ordered pizza since it was too late to cook dinner. While eating pizza, Melody took the pepperonis out because she only likes cheese pizza. After dinner, Melody wanted to play with Ariel.

"Come on, Ariel!" said Melody, grabbing Ariel's hand. "I want to show you my PS3!"

"Wait a minute, Melody," said Eric, stopping Melody. "I want to borrow Miss Benson for a second."

"Awwww, I want her to play with me!" Melody whined.

"Melody, you can show Miss Benson the PS3 tomorrow. Besides, it is time for your bedtime," Eric chuckled.

"Fine," Melody pouted. She handed Ariel to Eric and went upstairs to change for bed. Ariel and Eric went inside the kitchen and stood next to the refrigerator.

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Ariel asked.

"I just want to tell you tomorrow's schedule," said Eric. "Are you listening?"

"Yes, Mr. Barnes," said Ariel.

"Take her to school at 8pm. After that, go grocery shopping and pick Melody up at 3pm. Come home and prepare dinner for seven. She can watch television or play PS3 but only after she finished her homework. Do you understand?" Eric asked.

"Yes Mr. Barnes, I understand," Ariel answered.

"Good. And if there is any trouble, just use my business card to call my office number or my cell phone number," Eric finished. "Do you still have my business card?"

Ariel dug through her purse, and pulled out Eric's business card to show that she still has it. Eric smiled. Good. She's right on target. I hope she turns out to be a good nanny.

Ariel climbed into her queen-size bed. She spread her arms and legs around on the mattress, feeling the comfortable soft fur. The bed was so comfortable that she didn't want to sit up. This is fantastic! She thought. I think I'm going to like it here! She closed her eyes and fell asleep dreaming of a certain man with black hair and blue eyes.

[faya27]

Chapter eight


Ariel lifted her eyelids open as the sun rays via the window curtains kissed her face. She rose up from her bed and looked at the clock on the wall in front of her. it said six-thirty two. She walked out of her room and went inside Melody's room.

"Melody? Wake up," Ariel softly patted her on the shoulder. Melody rose from her bed very groggily.

"Good morning, sweetie!" Ariel said, cheerfully.

"Good morning," said Melody. She stretched her arms. Meanwhile, Eric was walking in toward Melody's room to wake her up. He was surprised to see that Ariel had already woken Melody up. He smiled, relieved that Ariel had already taken care of the task.

After dressing, Ariel served scrambled eggs and toast to Eric and Melody. She also gave Melody orange juice and Eric coffee. Eric and Melody loved the food. The eggs were warm and the toast was crunchy. After breakfast, Eric grabbed Ariel's hand. Eric was hoping that Ariel didn't notice his face turning red again.

"Um, come on, I am going to give you my car," he said.

He led her to his garage. Eric opened the garage door and what Ariel saw was a silver Saturn Concord. It was a good size for Ariel due to her being shorter than Eric.
Later at seven twenty A.M., after bidding goodbye to each other, Eric was off in his jeep. Ariel and Melody hopped in the silver Saturn concord and were off to school. Melody helped Ariel drive to her school by giving out directions. They arrived at school. Melody got out of the car and waved bye to Ariel who waved back.
Eric stepped into his office, happy that he finally made it to work on time.

"Hey Eric!" Eric turned to see two men smiling at him. One was an Arab man with black hairy and brown eyes in a black suit. The other one had orange hair and blue eyes.

"Hey Al and Adam! What's up?" Eric walked over to them and gave them the buddy fist. The three buddies went inside the floor of their office building.

While setting his stuff down in his office, Eric was greeted by Andrina, Attina, Adella, and Arista.

"Hey, girls," he said.

"Hi, Eric," they chimed. They work as assistants to Eric's nice boss, Mr. Walt Disney and his brother, Mr. Roy Disney.

"How is our sister doing? I hope she wasn't giving you trouble," Adella teased.

"No, she was great," Eric smiled, sincerely. "She woke up Melody before I did. She also made us breakfast and drove Melody to school."

"Is that all she is going to do? Sounds boring," Arista frowned.

"No! I'm having her shop for some groceries for a while. She will spend more time with Melody in the afternoon," Eric enlightened.

"Okay, " said Attina. "But just make sure you give her stuff to keep her busy since your daughter spends half of the day at school."

"Hey, I will," Eric assured.

Melody stood at the front steps of school building at 3:00pm, waiting for Ariel to come. Her hands were covering her face. One drop of tear shed from another eye and another tear followed. She was shaking and quacking. Melody noticed Ariel waving to her. Melody walked to her car and hopped in the front seat.

"What's wrong, Melody?" Ariel asked as they drove off.

"Some kids made fun of me!" Melody sniffed.

"They did? Whatever for?"

"All because I don't have a mommy!" Melody still sniffed. Ariel put her arm around Melody's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Melody," she said. She knows what it feels like to lose a mother. Hearing Melody's cries reminded her of her own mother.

"I have an idea!" said Ariel. "How about I take you out for ice cream?"

"I could use some ice cream," Melody answered.

At a small ice cream parlor, two men were working along with Flounder. One man, Scuttle, was tall with white hair. The other was Sebastian who was dark-skinned with balding hair and a little bit chubby. Sebastian was working behind the cashier while Scuttle was scooping up ice cream for customers. Flounder was sweeping the floor with his mop.

"All right, little lady, here is your double-chocoalate ice cream! Here you go sir, cookies n' cream in a small cup! Ah, here you go ma'am:strawberry smoothie!" As soon as the customers left, Scuttle wiped his forehead.

"Wooo-wee! That was a lot of people!" he said.

"You telling mon!" sighed Sebastian through his Jamaican accent. "This is tiring me out! I don't think I can handle another-

"Uncles Sebastian and Scuttle! Flounder!" a familiar voice rang. The two men (and Flounder) both turned their attention toward a familiar red-head with a black-haired girl hiding a little behind her.

"Hey! Look it's here!" Scuttle exclaimed. "Ariel! How ya doin' kid!"

"I see you bought a friend," said Sebastian, noticing Melody.

"Yes," said Ariel. "This is Melody Barnes, the girl I'm watching over."

"Hello, Mr. Sebastian," said Melody, shyly.

"Hello, child," Sebastian greeted. "Hey, Flounder! Aren't ya goin' da greet ya sister?"

Flounder looked at them. He said nothing. Sebastian gave him where-are-your-manners-look.

"Hello Ariel," he said, trying to be nice. He looked at Melody. "Hello, Ariel's kid,"

"So, what kind of ice cream flavor do ya want?" Scuttle asked.

"I want strawberry, please!" said Melody.

"I'll have strawberry, also," Ariel smiled.

"Great!" Scuttle shouted. He moved to the ice cream boxes. "Two strawberry ice creams comin' right up!"

Ariel looked at Flounder. She could tell that he sounded really sad. Why is that? She was about to say something when Scuttle interrupted her when he placed her ice cream in front of her. Ariel took money out of her wallet and hand it to Scuttle.

"Ah, don't bother, sweetie," said Scuttle pushing the money away.

"Oh, but uncle Scuttle-"

"It's all in the house!"

"All right," said Ariel. She and melody grabbed spoons and enjoyed their strawberry ice cream. Flounder felt a little bit bad for being rude to Ariel. It has been a few days since she left, and already, he missed her. Not wanting to be rude in front of her or his two uncles, he went to introduce himself to Melody.

"Hi, I'm Flounder, what's your name?" he said.

"Hi, I'm Melody," she said.

"How old are you?" Flounder asked.

"I'm five years old going on six!"

"Really? I'm eight years old!"

"What school did you go to?"

"I don't go to school."

"You don't!" Melody's eyes went big. She never met a kid who didn't go to school.

"Well, you see, Melody. Flounder here, is home-schooled," said Scuttle. "Every day, he stays at home and gets lessons from his pa or one of his sisters."

"Wow! It must be fun being home-schooled," Melody told Flounder.

"Yeah, but sometimes I get lonely because I don't hang out with the other kids very much," Flounder responded.

"I'll be your friend!" said Melody.

Ariel smiled while watching Flounder and Scuttle talking with Melody. Looks like she's not sad anymore She thought.

Meanwhile, Eric was at his office, reading his papers part of the project that he, Adam, and Aladdin were working on. His thoughts were wandering off instead of on the papers. He was hoping that everything was going well with Ariel on her first day. What if Ariel didn't get Melody to school on time? What if she yelled at Melody? What if she hurts Melody? If Ariel every lays on finger on Melody then he would have no problem firing her. He put his mind back on the papers, trying to forget about his worries.

Back at the parlor, Ariel was chatting with Sebastian and Scuttle. Melody was finishing up her homework that she had brought along with. Flounder had just finished mopping the floors and was working on his math workbook.

"Say, what time is it?" Scuttle asked. "Is it time for the shop to close?"

"Nah, we still got time until eight," said Sebastian.

Ariel dropped her spoon.

"Eight! Oh no! Mr. Barnes is going to kill me!" she panicked.

"It's seven-thirty already!" Melody exclaimed as she looked at the clock on the wall. She quickly packed her homework in her backpack.

Ariel quickly gathered her purse.

I'm sorry, everyone!" said Ariel. She grabbed Melody's hand. "I got to go! Bye Uncles Sebastian and Scuttle! Bye Flounder!"

"Bye everyone!" Melody waved. They ran out of the door.

"Bye!" the boy and the two men called back. "Hurry before he gets home!" Sebastian shouted. "So what do ya think of Melody, Flounder?"

"She's not so bad," said Flounder. "She's really nice."

Meanwhile, Ursula, Flotsam, and Jetsam were in front of Eric's office building, waiting for him.
"Okay boys," Ursula instructed. "Here is the plan. It is 7:00. In an hour, Eric will walk out of the door. Once he does, we ask him to have a drink with us at the Poison Apple Bar-"
"What if he says no?" Flotsam interrupted.
"We'll knock him out!" Ursula snapped.
"As I was saying, we ourselves drinks-But we let him drink more than four shots of alcohol. We take him to a court where I will marry him. Later, we take him home. Then, while he and his brat sleep, you boys pull out your knives and stab them in the back. We bury the bodies and the money is ours." She finished, smiling.
"Oooooo!" Flotsam rubbed his hands together. "I can hardly wait! I can smell the money already!"

The crazy old lady and the two foolish men wait. Just then, Ursula felt something tapping on her shoulder. She turned around to see a black police officer standing and looking stern.

"Excuse me, ma'm but you just parked your car in front of the NO PARKING SIGN," said the officer. "It's illegal to park after 6pm so I'm afraid I have to charge you."

"A parking ticket!" Ursula yelled. "Noooooooooo! This cannot be happening to me!" Ursula grew angry; really angry. This was not going according to her plan.

"Officer, you can't do this!" Ursula protested.

"I'm afraid I can, ma'm," said the officer. "You must pay or else I'll charge you another fee for refusing to do so,"

Ursula growled. So much for her plan.

Luckily, Ariel and Melody made it back home by 7:00. Ariel looked over and checked Melody's homework while the girls ate turkey sandwiches for dinner. After dinner, they went to upstairs to get ready for bed. As Ariel entered Melody's bedroom for a bedtime story, she noticed a few more soccer trophies on Melody's drawer. When she asked Melody about them, she discovered that those were the trophies that Melody had received from preschool and kindergarten.

"Two of them are from the soccer games. The third one was from when I sang at the talent show," Melody explained.

"Wow! Melody that is a lot of stuff you won," said Ariel. melody nodded. "Your father must be proud!"

"Yeah..," Melody's eyes went a bit cloudy. She looked down at the carpet floor staring at her toes.

"I'm sorry, did I something wrong?" Ariel panicked, not meaning to hurt the girl's feelings.

"It's not that," said Melody. "It's just that...I wish Daddy would show up at my games and performances more often. He only showed up at one soccer game and he never came to see me at the talent show because he was too busy working."

Ariel was shocked. Eric never almost never attended at Melody's games or her talent show? That must have been awful! It must have been awful to be stuck at work and not be able to show up at your child's school events.

"There is going to be a talent show toward of the end of the school year. I don't know whether to join or not because I know Daddy is not going to show up," Melody added.

Ariel put her arms around Melody.

"Hey, I think you should do it," she said, sincerely.

"Really?" said Melody.

"Yes! Go and join the show! I will come and see you!"

"Really?" Melody asked. Ariel nodded, smiling.

"All right! That will be great!" Melody jumped. "woo-hoo!" Then she stopped jumping. "But do you think you can Daddy to come?"

Ariel thought for a moment. Could she really do it?

"I'll try to get him to come," she said. Just then they heard the door opening and closing.

"Melody! Miss Benson! I'm home!" Eric just walked through the door. He headed upstairs and went to Melody's room.

"DADDY!" Melody squealed. She shot off like a rocket and hug Eric.

"Hey kiddo!" Eric laughed, hugging her back. They let go a little bit but Eric still held her. "How was your day today?"

"It was great! Ariel took me out for ice cream and I played with Flounder!"

"Who's Flounder?"

"My little brother, Mr. Barnes," Ariel replied.

"It was so much fun, Daddy! You should come with us sometime!" Melody enlightened.

"Yeah, I should," said Eric, thinking how nice it would be to have ice cream if he didn't have such a busy schedule. "Well time for sleepy-time!" Melody kissed Eric and Ariel good night.

After Eric and Ariel left the room, Eric asked Ariel how she is enjoying her job.

"It was wonderful, Mr. Barnes. Melody was such a sweet girl. She was fun to talk to and she gave me no trouble at all!"

"Yeah," Eric chuckled. "I can see that she likes you. Well, I'll see you in the morning, sleep tight."

"You too," said Ariel. But before she turned to leave, she remembered Melody's request.

"Mr. Benson?"

"Yes?"

"...Never mind," Ariel said. She quickly retreated to her room. Eric raised an eyebrow. What was Ariel trying to ask him?

"CURSED THAT COP!"a deep female voice screamed."OUR PLAN HAS BEEN RUINED!" Ursula, Flotsam and Jetsam were forced to go back to their place after the whole ticket fiasco.

"We don't have enough money to pay for the fine!" Jetsam wailed.

"Yeah!" Flotsam cried.

"Well, screw this!" Ursula threw her fine ticket in the garbage. "I don't have enough money to pay a fine! We need another a plan to get Eric's money fast!"

"Yeah!...but what?" Flotsam and Jetsam answered.

"I don't know," Ursula said sourly. "But tomorrow, we will think of something! Right now, it is late so let's get to bed!"

"Night mistress!"

"Good night my darlings."

[faya27]

Chapter 9


TALENT SHOW ON MAY 31st AT 7:30PM.

THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PERFORMING IT, SIGN UP ON THE LIST BELOW THE PAPER.

REHEARSALS START NEXT MONDAY AT 3:30PM IN THE GYM.

After reading the advertisement, on the bulletin board, Melody took the pen and wrote down her name, along with her homeroom number (RM 13) and home phone number. As she was finishing writing down her phone number, a small boy about her age came up next to her.

"Is there still time for me to sign up?" he asked Melody. She turned to the boy. He had mousy black hair, with chocolate eyes, tanned skin, and dressed up in jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Yeah, it is not too late," Melody smiled. She stepped aside to let him write down his name.

"O..m..a.r...S..a..d..i..q," Melody read. "That is a pretty name,"

"Thanks," Omar blushed. "What is your name?"

"I'm Melody. Melody Sylvia Barnes,"

Just then another girl appeared, panting. She had been running. The girl had brown slightly curly hair in a half-ponytail. She was also wearing a blue skirt with a yellow t-shirt.

"It's… not..too… late… is..it?" she panted.

"No Rose, you can still sign up," Omar answered. After giving Rose the pen, she scribbled her name down.

"Rose, this is my new friend, Melody," said Omar, remembering the black-haired girl. "Melody, this is Rose,"

"Hi, Melody," smiled Rose.

"Hi, Rose," said Melody.

As the three kids walked down together to Recess, Melody felt a warm glow inside her heart.

Meanwhile, Ariel was at the grocery store, shopping with Flounder. While picking out apples, she couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty from last night.

Ugh! Why did I chicken out? I was going to ask Eric to come to Melody's show. I don't know why I panicked! Oh well. Maybe when he comes home, I'll try again.

"Ariel?"

Ariel snapped out of her thoughts. Flounder just came back with some whole grain bread and put them in the cart.

"Thanks, Flounder," said Ariel.

"Ariel, now that you are babysitting Melody, does that mean you don't want to be a teacher anymore?" Flounder inquired.

"No, Flounder," said Ariel. "I'll still apply. I only took the nanny job for to get better at caring for kids."

"Oh, that is good then! So how are you doing in the 'nanny business' anyway?"

"Well, so far, so good. Melody is a fun kid to be with. When we got home, she showed me her soccer trophies," Ariel explained.

"She likes playing soccer? I remember her telling me about her soccer games."

"Yes, Melody told me she loves playing soccer so much that she can do soccer tricks while sleeping!" Ariel and Flounder giggled.

"Flounder, what happened yesterday?" Ariel asked. Flounder was caught off-guard. Uh oh! She probably noticed his odd behavior from yesterday.

"What do you mean?" he said.

"You seemed tense, what is wrong?" Ariel asked.

"Nothing!" said Flounder. "I-I just-when you left…" he trailed off.

"Are you upset that I left?" Ariel asked, wondering if that is what was troubling him. Flounder nodded sheepishly.

"I know it has been a day, but I really miss you," Flounder confessed.

"Hey," said Ariel, as she hugged Flounder. "I miss you too, I know it is hard because of my busy schedule, I have a day off-every Sunday, so maybe we could do something together,"

"I guess," said Flounder. He'll be happy to spend time with Ariel, even for only a day.

"Somewhere next week on Friday or Saturday, I'll take Melody to the park, maybe we could hang out then,"

"Yeah, that sounds better!" said Flounder. "As long as it just the kid and not Mr. Barnes,"

"What makes you say that?" Ariel said.

" I don't know, the way he stared at you made it seem like he's crushing on you,"

"Flounder, don't be ridiculous," Ariel blushed. "He can't have a crush on me,"

"Well, do you have a crush on him?" Flounder asked.

"What! No!" Ariel denied, her face turning redder.

"You're lying," Flounder replied. "You can tell me."

Ariel try to deny it again, but couldn't. Normally, she is good liar and can fool her father and sisters just to save Flounder or herself from trouble but with Flounder, it's different.

"Oh, okay," Ariel sighed. "I..find Eric to be very handsome-but you can't tell anyone! Especially Father, do you promise?"

"I won't tell anyone," said Flounder. Ariel smiled, knowing that she can trust Flounder to keep her secret.

In the past, Melody never liked recess. Why would anyone want to play with a motherless kid? Whenever she saw a group of kids playing, and asked if she could join, one phrase, 'no motherless kids allowed,' broke her heart. Today is different, however.

"Do you guys want to play 'TV tag'"? Rose suggested.

"Sure!" said Omar.

"What's "tv tag"? Melody wondered.

"It is like tag, only except you have to squat down and say any name of a tv show before the person who is 'it' tags you," Rose explained.

"Yeah, and you can only say each title once. You can't say "Futurama," twice otherwise, you'll get tagged," Omar added. Melody nodded in understanding. The three friends began playing the game, starting with Omar being 'it'. ("Why am I always 'it'?" he grumbled). Rose and Melody laughed, having fun tricking Omar into not tagging them.

"You gotta catch me, faster!" Melody teased in a sing-song voice.

"Aw, man!" Omar whined. "I can't run fast!"

"Omar, you got to tag one of us, it's the rules of the game," said Rose in a matter-of-fact voice.

"How about I be 'it'?" Melody asked. "Would that make you feel better?"

"Okay," Omar beamed. Just then, a mean voice disrupted their fun.

"Why are you two playing with that loser?" Omar and the girls turned to see Anna, Joey, and Harry. The same kids that Melody met on her first day! Melody felt very small all the sudden.

"Back off, guys!" Rose barked. Omar didn't know who Anna, Joey, and Harry are but from their snickering looks, he could tell that they were mean. Besides, nobody calls his friend, a 'loser!'

"What do you guys got against her for?" He demanded. Anna, Joey, and Harry turned to Omar.

"None of your beeswax, brownie!" Joey sneered. Anna and Harry laughed. Omar, felt crushed, knowing that they were referring to his tone of skin. Hearing that remark, he was as mad as ever! Just before he could give them a 'knuckle-sandwhich,' Rose stepped in.

"Look guys! Stop picking on Omar and Melody! Go home if all y'all going to do is laugh like a bunch of hyenas! Go home and eat your undies! GO HOME!" The bell rang, before Anna and the boys could throw another insult.

As they walked away, they shouted, "Fine, but don't blame us if you got tired of hanging out with a motherless twit!"

School ended and all the kids went home except for one sad little girl and two concerned little kids. Melody tried not to blink but tears still swell up in her eyes. She curled up into a fetal position on the steps and cried.

"Melody, don't let those dorks get to you," said Rose. She was sitting next to Melody and tried to comfort her by patting her shoulder.

"What was that about?" Omar asked, referring to the bullies' interference. He, too, was sitting next to Melody.

"...Kids make fun of her because she doesn't have a mommy," Rose sighed. No mother! Omar felt sorry for Melody. Nobody deserves to be treated like that!

Just then, he heard an angelic voice calling Melody.

"Then, who is that red-haired lady coming toward us?" Omar raised an eyebrow. The girls turned to see who Omar was looking at. It was Ariel! She didn't know why Melody looked so gloomy but she ran very quickly to her.

"What happened?" she asked. Melody tried to answer but her sobs fumbled up her words.

"Anna, Joey, and Harry mocked her for not having a mommy," Rose answered for Melody.

"If Melody doesn't have a mommy, then who are you?" Omar asked Ariel.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm Ariel, Melody's nanny," Ariel responded.

"Ah, I see," said Omar. Ariel, meanwhile, felt sad and mad. Sad, that Melody is hurt. Oh! How she hated to see her cry! Mad, that someone would have the nerve to treat Melody like this!

"We should talk to the principal about this!," said Ariel, firmly, as she took Melody and went inside the school building. Rose and Omar followed her.

"Good idea!" said Omar.

Why didn't I think of that? Rose pouted.

"But Ariel! What if he doesn't listen?" Melody worried. None of her school principals listened to her about her bully problems so why should this one care?

"Don't worry if he doesn't listen, we'll still fix it," Ariel answered.

Meanwhile, Eric, was eating lunch during lunch break with Aladdin and Adam.

"Hey Eric," said Aladdin. "That cute blonde is checking you out!" Eric turned to see a pretty woman throwing him a flirty wink. He just said ignored her and turned back.

"Not interested." He replied. He knew that once he goes on a date with the blonde woman, she'd be proposing marriage, and he'd freak out.

"Man, you need to get out," Aladdin sighed. "You've been working too hard!"

"I don't need to get out," Eric retorted.

"Why not?" Adam asked, who just finished swallowing his food.

"I don't have time; I got a kid to feed!"

"Yes, but you need a break! You can't just sit in your office 24 hours a day, letting your life pass you by! You need someone someone special!" said Aladdin, waving his arms wildly. Eric just simply ignored him and took a sip from his water. Like he cared what Aladdin said.

"You need a wife," Adam added.

Eric spit water out all over the table. ("Eww," said Aladdin.)

"A WIFE! Oh no! Nooo way! Not going to happen!" He shook his head and waved his arms, wildly.

"But Eric-"

"No guys, you don't understand. Women are nothing but trouble! They trick you into thinking they are princesses when in reality, they are witches-scratch that! Witches with a 'b'"!

"You think all women are like that?" Adam confronted.

"C'mon, Eric, name one woman that is anything NOT like Vanessa,"

Before Eric could say 'forget about it,' he remembered Ariel. He remembered the way she smiled, the way she comforted Melody from the almost-car crash, the way she said hello.

"...Ariel," he said.

"Oo, la la! Who's Ariel?" Aladdin smiled.

"She's my nanny!" Eric said, feeling annoyed.

"So why are you blushing?" Adam smirked.

"I'm not blushing!" Eric claimed.

"Riiiight," said Aladdin. Eric, stood up and began to gather his half-eaten sandwich.

"Let's go, lunch is over!"

As he walked out, Adam turned to Aladdin.

"Looks like he probably found someone!" Aladdin agreed.

[faya27]

Chapter 10

The school Principal, who was about to pack his papers for the day, was surprised to see Ariel and three children walking up to his desk. Seeing that they have to tell him something important, he kindly allowed them seats (and lollipops for the children). When Ariel and the kids detailed him about many episodes of bullies mocking Melody, his face was filled with compassion and sympathy. The kids gave him the names of the bullies he requested so he can call their parents.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that you won't shed another tear," he said to Melody.

"Thanks, sir," said Melody, softly and solemnly. Everybody else thanked the principal too and wished him good day.

On the way out, Ariel thought of something that she almost forgot to ask.

"Principal, sir?"

"Yes?" said the principal, who was now finishing packing his papers.

"I..I'm an aspiring teacher and I'm just wondering if you are hiring any teachers this year," answered Ariel.

The Principal scratched his head. 'Well,..there are no open teaching positions at my school. We're not hiring anybody at this time for next year."

Ariel's cheeriness was replaced with disappointment.

"Oh," she said, her eyes downcast.

"However," the Principal said. "I know a friend who is also a principal at a different school and he is looking for new teachers,"

Ariel's head perked up when he mentioned 'However.'

"Really?" she said. The principal nodded and wrote down the name of his friend, along with his friend's phone number, email address, and name of school.

"Just call or email to him and say that you are interested in applying for a teaching job. Tell him that it was I who recommended him.

"Thank you very much, sir!" Ariel waved, as she walked out his office.

Meanwhile, at the office, Eric plopped down on his desk. Stupid Al and Adam for making me think about Ariel! Why in the world did I say her name out loud? he grumbled. He started work on the computer, trying to forget about Ariel. He didn't realize a certain Arabic friend sneaking behind him.

"Come on, tell me!"

Eric jumped a little at Aladdin's sudden voice. He turned around and glared at Aladdin.

"No, Al. I won't!" Gee, Aladdin can be annoying sometimes.

"Pleeeeasse?" Aladdin begged. Adam joined in.

"We won't go unless you tell us more about this 'Ariel' person," he said.

Eric did an annoyed sigh.

"Fine!" He said. "I'll you how she and I met. But let me say one thing: there is nothing between us,"

"Okay," said Al and Adam. Inside their heads, they knew there is. Eric told them the story starting from how he hired brainless nanny candidates, how Ariel saved Melody, how he invited her to dinner and hired her. Aladdin and Adam listened with interest by nodding their heads. At the mention of Melody running in the streets, they tensed up. Then, they sighed with relief at the fact that Melody was fine and had no injuries.

"Wow, it is a good thing Melody was saved," said Adam. Al nodded.

"Yeah," said Eric. He couldn't help but feel guilty for not keeping a better eye on her. What would have happen if Ariel never showed up? He would never forgive himself if Melody had died that day.

"Okay, Eric we believe you," said Adam.

"But why have her live in your house? You want to get know her?" Adam joked.

Aladdin started singing, "Eric and Ariel, sitting in the tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Al, shut up! Adam, I'm not that kind of a guy!" Eric retorted.

"Just kidding!" they laughed.

A few offices down, Adella, Attina, and Andrina heard them talking.

"Oh. my. gosh. Eric is in love with Ariel!" Adella exclaimed.

"Quiet, Adella! Do you want the world to hear you?" Attina reprimanded her.

"A boss in love with his nanny?" said Andrina. Attina and Adella nodded. They hope that Eric meant it when he said he wasn't romantically interested in their sister. Then something hit Adella.

"I know! Let's set Ariel up with someone else!"

"What? No, Adella, father will kill us!" Andrina and Attina protested.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Adella whined.

"You know Ariel is not into guys yet. Especially when she's trying to apply for a teaching position," Attina explained.

"Do we know any guys that would like Ariel?" Andrina asked.

Adella thought for a minute. "Hmmm, I'll try Thor...,"

"Hello, Sebastian here! May I take ye order?" Sebastian spoke into the mouth receiver. It is another busy day at his ice cream shop. With summer approaching soon, he hoped the customers would come more often.

"I'll take a banana split, please," said a blonde man in a buisness suit.

"All right then!" said Sebastian. While the customer was waiting for his order, another man in a long coat, with sunglasses and a hat, stood behind him. He fished his hand into the customer's coat pocket. He took the wallet and slowly pulled out three dollar bills. Last, he closed the wallet and slowly put it back in the customer's coat pocket. With the money in his hands, the long coated-man turned to the right to signal his partner, also wearing the same uniform that it is time to go. The two men left the ice cream shop and walked into a dark alley.

"Well boys, did you get the money?" said a familiar old woman voice.

"We sure did, boss!" the two men took of their hats and and sunglasses to be none other but Flotsam and Jetsam!

"I got two-hundred and fifty dollars!" said Flotsam.

"I got six-hundred dollars!" said Jetsam.

"And I took seven-hundred dollars from a dope who was looking at some hot stud!" Ursula grinned deliciously as she showed them the money.

"Perfect boys! Now we'll pay our stupid fine and get back to our real plan: Kill Eric and Melody, and take their trust fund and money!" She chuckled darkly.

"But why did we have to pickpocket other people instead of Eric?" said Flotsam.

"Because then Eric would get suspicious and would call the police on us. And you don't want that, do you?" said Ursula.

"I guess not," Flotsam and Jetsam gulped. They are very frightened of the police!

"The plan will be simple since Eric and Melody have nobody watching over them! Oh, that'll be just fun!" She cackled.

When Ariel and Melody came home, Melody felt better about everything that Ariel did for her but she was still feeling a little sad.

"Ariel?"

"Yes, Melody?"

Melody put her arms around her legs.

"Thanks for everything," she said referring to the bullies at school.

"It is no problem," said Ariel, as she gently rubbed Melody's back, smoothly.

"If only I have a mother none of this would have happen. I'm the only kid who doesn't have one," Melody said solemnly. Ariel's heart sank at the little girl's words. She tightened the hug.

"Oh sweetie, you're not the only one," she whispered softly. "I don't have a mother, either,"

Melody looked at Ariel with questioning eyes.

"She..went to heaven when I was fourteen years old. My mother was...suffering from a..terrible..sickness that none of my doctors at Denmark could cure. We had to go to America so she'd be saved. But...i-it..w-was too late!" tears formed in Ariel's eyes. Although she had gotten over her mother's death, sometimes it was still a little bit hard to talk about it. Melody hugged Ariel back. The two girls didn't let go of each other for a very long time.

[faya27]

Chapter 11

Despite Ariel's assurance, Melody still hated the idea of not having a mother. Why doesn't she have a mother? How come other kids have two parents while she has one? Mind you, not that she doesn't like her dad-no she loves him! Melody still yearns for someone who will read stories to her and kiss daddy when he comes home.

"You don't know what happened to your mother?" Ariel asked.

Melody shook her head. "No, I don't know what happened to her."

Ariel didn't press anymore to the subject. Melody must have a been a baby when a tragedy struck her mother. Silence filled the whole room, only to be broken by the sound of Eric coming in through the door. He was surprised to see Ariel and Melody still up and looking down-hearted. Before Eric could say anything, Melody jumped and hugged him around his legs.

Later, after Ariel tucked Melody in bed and read her a story, she went downstairs. She headed to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of a water. She sat down on a chair and raised the cup to her lips. She sat tensed when she heard footsteps. Was there an intruder? Oh, she hoped not! Who could be up at this hour? She mentally sighed a relief when it only turned out to be Eric coming in.

"What are you doing up this late?" She asked.

"I was going to ask you the same question," said Eric. He thought Ariel would be sleeping after tucking Melody in.

"I couldn't sleep so I decided to get water," Ariel answered. She turned to Eric. "Now you answer my question," she smirked.

Eric playfully rolled his eyes. "I was taking a break from my paperwork or 'grown-up homework' as Melody would call it." Ariel giggled at the 'grown-up homework' word. How funny and cute!

Eric sat down and Ariel poured him a glass of water. He took a sip of it and looked at Ariel.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Ariel looked up from her cup.

"Um, yeah," she said trying to hid her sadness. She stroked her hair with her hand nervously. "Why do you ask?"

"You look sad today. So did Melody. While you were in the kitchen making dinner, I asked Melody how was school today but she wouldn't say anything," Eric responded. Ariel's shoulder drooped, wondering how to tell Eric about this. She sighed sadly. How should I tell him? Well, better now than later.

Melody got bullied at school today," she said softly.

"WHAT! Eric yelped. Ariel shushed him to remind him a certain sleeping kindergartner.

"Sorry," Eric said sheepishly. "Tell me about it."

"Well, when I came to pick Melody up from school, she came to me crying with tears all over her face. Her friends were with her and they told me about the bullies. We went inside and talked to the school principal. We gave him the names of the bullies so the principal would call their parents," Ariel explained. Eric's heart sank at this.

"Not again!" He bemoaned. He ran a frustrated hand over his hair. "Why won't this stop?"

"Things will turn out right, Mr. Barnes," Ariel assured him.

"No, Miss Benson, they won't," said Eric. "At Melody's old school, many kids picked on her for the same reasons. I transferred he to this school just we could get away from the bullies!" He sighed, angirly.

"But what is the use? No matter where we go, bullies are everywhere!"

"I'm sure running away is not the answer," said Ariel, as she touched Eric's shoulder in a gentle manner. Eric looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Ariel cleared her throat.

"What I mean is, you have to face your problems. Before transferring Melody to a new school, talk to the parents of the bullies first," she clarified.

"I suppose you're right," said Eric, shrugging. Although he agreed, he still feels too scared to do it. "What if they don't care? Must I explain to them why I don't have a wife? Or what happened to her?" His voice was bitter at the last two questions.

"No! You don't have to tell them whatever happened to your wife. You just tell them that they have no right to mistreat Melody for having one parent instead of two," said Ariel as she rubbed his arm, smoothly. Eric hoped that Ariel is not seeing his cheeks flushing. Not that he disliked Ariel's arm-rubbing but it is making him feel so good. He tried to suppress any intimate thoughts about Ariel.

"O-ok, I guess I will have nothing to worry about then," said Eric. He looked at the clock, remembering that he should get back to his office papers. Ariel reluctantly removed her hand from his arm. His arm was so strong and smooth, she thought, blushing. She is thankful that the room is dark so Eric wouldn't see her blush. Before Ariel go back to bed, she suddenly remembered something important.

"Wait! Mr. Barnes!" she said. Eric turned around to see what Ariel wanted.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Um, well...Melody is going to be performing in the school's upcoming talent show and she is wondering if you would like to come," She finished.

Eric's eyes brightened. A talent show? That is awesome! "When is the talent show?" Eric asked.

"On May 31st, the day after Memorial day," Ariel answered. "At either 7 or 8pm,"

Eric want to go, he really want to, but something is always standing in his way: working overtime.

"I don't think it is possible," he said sadly.

"Why not?" Ariel asked.

"I work overtime, Miss Benson. I can't do it, even if I wanted to. Melody should know that I rarely get out before 7 or 8pm," Eric responded, frustratingly.

"Eric, I know that you work overtime but-"

"What, are you telling me to go?" he asked, harshly.

"No! I-I'm not forcing you to go-"

"It won't matter, I can't just get a day-off like I wanted to!" Eric blurted. "There is always stuff to be done and I promise my bosses, I wouldn't take anymore vacations!" He knew he was almost yelling but he had run-ins with people who had been accusing him for choosing work over Melody. It is not that he didn't want to spend time with Melody. He has a lot stuff to make his boss proud of him and it is not enough.

"Well, how busy are you? It must be too much for employee to do a lot of things," said Ariel. She may not know very much about the company Eric works at, but she knows he must have at least free time for Melody.

"It is not like you are the CEO or anything," she joked, trying to cheer him up.

"Vice-president," Eric corrected her. Close but no cigar. Ariel almost tripped. Vice president? Ah, no wonder he has to work all of the time!

"I'm sorry; I did not know," she blushed, looking at the floor. She felt a finger slip under her chin, forcing her to look up into his handsome playful face.

"You don't have to apologize," Eric smirked. Ariel's heart was throbbing madly, as she felt his warm touch. She stared into his blue eyes. Such beautiful blue eyes. she thought, She felt like drowning in them. Ariel also felt tempted to lean forward and place her lips on his. Embarrassed at what he was doing, he drew his finger away, much to Ariel's dismay. Eric cleared his throat.

"I was only saying that I have a very tight schedule and have no time for breaks, " Eric clarified. Still it would be nice for a vacation.

"Er-Mr. Barnes, I'm not forcing you to go," said Ariel. "But I will tell you that Melody would really appreciate it if you come. You don't have to decide now; but please, just think about it,"

"Ari-Miss Benson-"

"Please?" Ariel begged. Eric stared into her eyes, feeling the same feelings she was having earlier. Her eyes shone brighter than the stars. He knew he should stand on guard, but how could he not be enchanted by her big eyes that are as deep as the ocean? He finally surrendered.

"I'll think about," said Eric. Ariel smiled at his response. Well, his answer is a lot better than stuffy 'no, I'm busy' answer.

"I'm glad!" she said. The two looked at each other a little bit longingly, each really wanting to kiss each other. The clock chime only snapped out of their trance.

"Well...Good night Miss Benson," said Eric, feeling red in the face.

"Good night, Mr. Barnes," said Ariel, also blushing. They both walked away in different directions. She went upstairs to her bedroom while he walked to his office. Ariel had wanted to kiss Eric good night but had stopped herself, knowing that it would get her fired. He probably doesn't feel the same. Ariel thought sadly.

If he wasn't her boss, Eric would have kiss Ariel passionately-just like in those chick flicks that Jasmine and Belle made him and the other guys watch. But what difference does it make? She probably doesn't feel the same. He sighed. And besides, what if I got hurt again-just like how I got hurt by Vanessa?

[faya27]

Chapter 12

A few days later, Eric and Melody had a brief meeting with the bullies, their parents, and the principal in the hallway. The parents of Harry, Anna, and Joey were shocked that they would display such despicable behavior. The principal gave them a speech of how rude it is to make fun of someone's family members and family history. Harry, Anna, and Joey begrudgingly said sorry and they won't bother Melody anymore. After the meeting, everybody left feeling satisfied. Even though Melody feels safe, she is still afraid that they might bother her again. Rose and Omar told her that they'd be there if Harry, Anna, and Joey ever come near Melody.

"Melody, do you know what you are going to do on the talent show?" Ariel asked, on one Friday afternoon in the living room.

"Well, I want to sing 'Best of Both Worlds' from Hannah Montana ," Melody answered. "I know all the words to it. I just need help in singing it on key."

"I'll help you," said Ariel. The two made a quick trip to the library and returned home with the song sheet of "Best of Both Worlds."

"Do you have a piano?" Ariel asked.

"Yes, it is downstairs in the basement," said Melody. They went downstairs in the basement and found a piano that looked like it hadn't been used in years. It was covered with dust a few cobwebs. Ariel wondered when was the last time Eric had used the piano. She and Melody dusted and cleaned the piano.

"Before we are going to sing a song, we are going to do warm-ups," said Ariel.

"What are warm-ups?" Melody requested.

"It is when people try to get their voices a head start in singing for comfort," Ariel explained.

"I still don't get it," said Melody, softly.

"Let me show you," held Ariel gently. She sat down and put Melody next to her. Ariel began to play the notes.

"La la la la laaa…," She sang. "You see? 'Warming up your voice,'"

"Oh! I get it!" Melody smiled.

"Repeat after me," replied Ariel. She tapped her fingers on the keys again. "La la la la laaa…,"

"La la la la laa!" Melody sang a little bit off-key. She frowned.

"Let's try again," Ariel encouraged. "La la la la laaa."

"La la la la laaa...,"

"Much better, Melody," whispered Ariel.

"La la la la laaa..

Meanwhile, Eric is having a good day at the office.

"Eric, so glad you could make it to on time this morning!" said Mr. Disney.

"Mr. Disney, I have always been on time-well recently," Eric responded.

"Oh yes! I remember, Al and Adam said you found a nanny?"

"Yes, I finally found someone who I can trust to watch over my daughter,"

"How is the nanny been doing her job so far, mind if I may ask?"

"Well, she has been doing well so far. She is always on time and she does everything I tell her to do. But still, I can't be too sure. I don't know what else goes on between the nanny and Melody and I don't know if she is treating Melody right or not."

"Well, if you are not so sure-"

"WALT!"

"Oh excuse me as I must help my 'damsel in distress brother,' Walt joked.

"I heard that!" shouted Roy. Eric and Walt laughed.

Later during lunch, Eric was chatting with Adam, Aladdin, and a few other co-workers such as John Smith, Li Shang, Hercules Klomparens, and Tarzan Porter.

"So anybody got plans for Memorial Day weekend?" John Smith asked the group.

"Well, I'm going to see the town's parade-of course! Then the day after that, I'll see my son, Omar in his school's talent show," said Aladdin.

Talent show! Eric almost forgot about it! It is Melody's important day. But should he go? He and his buddies don't get a day off on the day after Memorial day but they can request to leave early. I want to go! Eric thought. But then, he remembered how last year, he missed all of Melody's soccer games. He had tried to come to Melody's final soccer game but failed. Eric got held up in office and by the time he got to the game, everybody was leaving. He had never seen Melody so upset before. He recalled how the conversation went between them.

Flashback

"Why were you late?"

"Melody, I'm sorry,"

"No, you're not! You didn't even try to make it!"

End Flashback

There had been a few times where during her first soccer games, he told her he wouldn't come but still Melody would be mad at Eric for not coming or for not even trying to.

"But I did try," He mumbled.

"Something wrong Eric?" Eric's thoughts were interrupted as he noticed his friends looking at him strangely.

"Uh, it's nothing guys," Eric half-smiled. But his brain disagreed with him.

Later after lunch, Eric decided to see if he could get permission to leave early on May 31st. He knocked on Walt's door.
"Mr. Walt Disney?"

He opened it only to find Mr. Roy Disney instead.

"Ah, hello Eric," said Roy.

"Hello, Mr. Roy Disney," responded Eric. He entered in the office. "Where is Mr. Walt Disney? I need to speak with him,"

"Mr. Walt left for a meeting with the executives. You can talk to me,"

"Well," said Eric. "My daughter has a school function on May 31st and I would like request to leave work early for that."

Roy sighed. "Eric, you are aware of the commitments you made to this company?"

"Yes..," said Eric, with a tint of nervousness in his voice.

"And you remember that you won't take anymore day offs?"

"Yes..,"

"Then the answer is no,"

"But Mr. Roy Disney, I have to go. It's my dau-"

"Eric, your time to the company is very important. You are the vice president of this company and we need you. You promised to dedicate more of your time to it and you can't go back on your promise!"

"But Melody-"

"Oh! I'm sure your daughter will understand. Now if you excuse me, I have to go and make a call to John Lasseter." Thus Roy left Eric standing hopelessly thinking one thing: Oh! What am I going to do?

[faya27]

Chapter 13

Later at 8pm, when Eric walked out the office, he only wondered one thing. How am I going to tell Melody? I don't want to disappoint her. But I don't want to disappoint my boss, either! Despite Roy's answer, he thought of asking Walt anyway. No, it would not make much a difference. Eric know how loyal Walt is to the Red Rabbit Company-after all, he was the one who built it. Walt would say the same answer. He sighed dejectedly, got inside his jeep, and drove away. Little did he know, two pairs of yellow eyes were watching him, behind from a silver Saturn.

"He just left the building, mistress," said Flotsam, through his cell phone.

"Okay," said Ursula, still in her apartment. "Now follow him! I want you to keep on eye on him and that little daughter of his. Find out everything about them and report it to me!"

"Roger that!" said Flotsam. He and Jetsam drove off. They followed his direction and made sure that he didn't notice him.

Eric got home and parked the jeep. He got his suitcase out and walked to the house, in a tired way. Flotsam and Jetsam parked their car a bit far from Eric's jeep. They slithered out of their car and hid behind a few bushes.

"Melody, Ari-Miss Benson, I'm home!" Eric called. Ariel and Melody came from the living room to greet him. They had just finished their singing lesson.

"Hello, Mr. Barnes," said Ariel.

"Dadddyyyy!," squealed Melody. She rushed to Eric and hug his legs tight. Eric became startled at Melody's outburst but smiled as he ruffled Melody's hair.

"Did you bring me a pwesent?"

"I sure did," Eric chuckled. He pulled out a small mouse toy that Walt was handing out to the employers before he left. The mouse was based on a software program,"Mic Mousie Animations," that the company had designed.

"Mousie!" Melody exclaimed. Her grubby hands grabbed the toy and hugged it to her face. Almost forgetting her manners, she thanked her father.

"Now, don't lose it," Eric gently, warned.

"I won't!" said Melody, as she skipped to the living room. She sat down on a red carpet and began playing with it. Eric walked to his sofa and plopped on it. His frown did not go unnoticed by Ariel.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, sitting down next to him. Eric, who was in thought, almost didn't hear her.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Everything is fine," he said tiredly. He didn't want to tell her what happened at the office. Eric is too scared of her (and Melody's) reaction as to why he couldn't come to the talent show. Maybe I'll tell her, but not right now. He thought. Ariel didn't look convinced but decided not to push the subject more.

"All right," she said, as she got up. "Well, I'm making dinner so what would you like to eat?"

"Anything," Eric smiled. "I'll eat whatever you cook."

"Can I have ice cream?" Melody asked. "I want strawberry ice cream with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry on top for dinner, pleeasse!" she said so sweetly.

"No, Melody. You are not having ice cream for dinner," Eric said, sternly.

"Ahhhhh," Melody groaned. "But you said Ariel can cook you anything!" She whined.

"Would you like some chicken nuggets, instead?" Ariel suggested. Melody jumped in delight.

"Chicken Nuggets? Oh boy!"

Ariel giggled while Eric playfully rolled at Melody's childishness.

At the same time, Flotsam and Jetsam had been watching the whole scene from the window. They were hidden in the bushes, with only their eyes peeking out.

"Who is that chick with the red hair?" Flostam growled.

"I don't know but she looks pretty," Jetsam drooled.

Flostam knocked him from the back of his head.

"You idiot! This girl is an obstacle to Ursula's goal!" he snarled through his teeth.

"Ah, you're right!" Jestsam, whispered, panicky. He dialed Ursula's cell phone number.

"Mistress, we have a problem," Flotsam whispered in the phone. Ursula who had been anxiously, waiting for juicy news, almost flipped.

"A problem? Tell me you boys got another parking ticket, did you?" she cackled.

"No boss, it is a woman," answered Flotsam.

"And she is in Eric's house," Jestam added. Ursula flipped.

"A woman! Outrageous!" How could that be possible? Ever since Vanessa died, Eric had sworn off marriage forever. Great. Now, how will she get his money along with his brat's trust fund? Ursula cooled down for a bit and resumed talking.

"Well, what do you know about this woman?" she asked.

"We don't know," said Flotsam. "We never seen her before. She has long red hair, blue eyes, and wears a pink dress."

"I see," said Ursula. Whoever this red haired woman is, she must be a new friend of Eric's. A secret lover? Oh, she hoped not! That would ruin her plans!

"Well, see if the red-haired woman is really much of a problem," said Ursula. "If she is not, great. If she is...then, we'll think of some way to drive her away from the family. Understand?"

"Yes, mistress," said Flotsam and Jetsam.

[faya27]

Chapter 14

A few days went by as the same routine. Ariel takes Melody to school, runs errands for Eric, picks up Melody from school, feeds Melody dinner, and tucks her in bed, while Eric comes home from work. On her first day-off on Sunday before leaving with Andrina for church, Eric had given Ariel her first salary. Ariel had thanked him very generously for her reward. She blushed as she remembered hugging him tenderly that day. Was she allowed to hug her boss? Maybe a handshake would have been proper? Gee, she hoped her boss wasn't mad? Was he?

Today's Thursday and Ariel was trying to find the neighboring school that Melody's principal told her to apply.

''Where is that school?'' She wondered impatiently. ''Ah! There it is!'' She drove Eric's car up to the parking lot of a dull-orange brick building. Ariel thought the place looked bigger than Melody's school.

"Gee, I hope I can find my way to the Interview," she gulped. Luckily, she found the principal's office. Ariel walked inside and was told by the secretary to sit in the waiting room. She hoped that she will get the job.

50 minutes later...

"Thank you sir, for taking your time to meet with me," Ariel said very formal as she shook hands with the school principal.

"Your welcome, Miss Benson. I will let you know about the results. Have a nice day," said the school principal.

"You too, sir," said Ariel. As she walked out of the school building, she let out her breath that she had been holding during the whole interview.

"That wasn't so bad," she thought. As she was getting into her car, her cell phone's Ducktales Theme ring tone rang. She looked at it and it said, "Adella Benson." I wonder what Adella wants. She wondered.

"Hello, Adella. What's up?...Meet you at the office?...Okay,..how do I get there?..,"

Ariel walked inside the building. She took the elevator since her sisters work on level 22. Ariel opened the door and then in a flash, her sisters smashed into her.

"Ariel!" Adella, Andrina, and Attina exclaimed. "It's so good to see you!" Ariel was startled by her sisters' sudden appearance but smiled.

"It's great to see you all, too!" she replied. Ariel encircled her arms around them. After a group hug, they let go.

"So, what is it like?" asked Attina.

"Was the kid giving you any trouble?" Andrina asked wryly.

"Oh, yes!" Ariel joked. The other girls laughed.

"Really?"

"No! She's really sweet! So, what do you guys invite me over for, anyway?"

Ariel's sisters smiled really mysteriously.

"Weeeelll, Ariel. We know that you had been working hard every. single. day!" Adella exclaimed, so dramatically.

"With no rest! No breaks!" added Arista.

"Hey! I get a day offs on Sundays!" Ariel protested.

"Which is why this Sunday, you get to spend a day with someone special," Adella said in a sing-song voice.

"And who is this "special" someone that I should meet?" Ariel asked, rolling her eyes. As on que, a young man walked in through the open door, facing Ariel and her sisters. He was tall, blonde curly hair, with very muscular arms. He dressed up in a black suit which looked very sophisticated. He also had a top hat and a cane.

"Ariel, meet Harry Rothschild," Attina said proudly.

"Good day, Miss Ariel," smiled Harry, tipping his hat to her. "My, you look lovely today!" He winked at her.

Ariel giggled. This man sure is cute!

"Good day, Mr. Harry," she answered. "Where are you from?"

"I am from Willmet, which is not too far from here," Harry answered.

"Save the questions for the date, later," said Adella.

"What? But Adella, I think it is important I get to know someone before dating-"

"Well, dating is the time to get to know someone!" Adella retorted. Ariel looked taken back by Adella's comment. What's gotten into her?

"Yes, Ariel," Harry agreed. "How about we arrange a dinner at "La Ratatouille?"

"Why there?" Ariel asked. Although La Ratatouille is an exquisite French cuisine restaurant, it's awfully expensive!

"His father, Richmond Rothschild, owns La Ratatouille restaurant chain," Attina whispered in Ariel's ear.

"What do you say, Miss Ariel?" Harry inquired, flashing a smile. His smile was so bright that Ariel was sure, that it almost blinded her! Ariel's sisters chimed in eagerly to tell Ariel say yes. But should she? The guy seemed nice but she barely knew him! On the flip side, Adella says dating is the time to get to know someone. But wasn't dating only for people who are looking for a marriage spouse?

Ariel sighed mentally.

"All right. Sunday it is," she answered.

"Excellent!" Harry said. "Good day to you. I'm sorry but I must get to an important meeting. Tada!" he added as he walked away. While Ariel's sisters were cheering, Ariel sneaked out the business floor and ran to her car. She made a date with a man. Whom she barely knew! What had she done! She sat in Eric's car for a bit to recover from shock.

Meanwhile back in the office building, Eric was coming out of the bathroom when he saw Ariel's sisters giggling.

"What's with them?" he asked his co-workers.

[faya27]

Chapter 15

"I'm not sure, Eric," Kuzco shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't paying attention."

The girls giggled and squeaked. "I can't believe we got Ariel a date!" Arista squealed. "We won't tell Daddy, right?"

"Of course not! He's not going to know!" Adella scoffed.

"What are you girls doing?" The girls abruptly stopped talking and tensed up. They slowly turned around only to see Eric with an amused smirk.

"Gee, Mr. Barnes! You scared us!" Adella exclaimed, putting her hands to her face. The other girls also glared at Eric.

"Calm down!" Eric chuckled. "You are not in trouble." The girls relaxed a bit. They are glad that they are not in trouble. If it was Mr. Disney or his brother, that caught them, well-let's say they'd be shown to the door.

"But seriously, what are you girls laughing about, instead of getting coffee for Mr. Disney?"said Eric. The girls looked at each other whether or not to tell Eric about Ariel and who should tell him. Attina, who seemed the bravest out of the group, decided to answer.

"Well, we set up A-"her speech was cut off by Adella who flung her hand on Attina's mouth.

"A friend!" said Adella, a little bit too excited and loud enough, for a few bypassing employees to stare. Eric raised an eyebrow. Adella quickly, lowered her voice a bit. "With Harry Rothschild!"

"Harry Rothschild?" Eric was shocked.

"You know him?" Arista asked. Know him? Oh, Eric knew who Harry Rothschild is, all right. He and his friends had met him at a business party held by Walt. He used to work for Walt before receiving his late father's inheritance for "La Ratatouille" restaurant. Eric was relieved when Harry had left. All Harry ever talked about was-well, himself! He also kept re-checking his face in his pocket mirror.

"Girls," He sighed. "Out of all the great eligible bachelors and lonely single men, why him?"

"Why!" Adella yelled a little bit too meanly. "He is the hottest guy ever!" She glared at him again, and turned to her sisters. "Isn't that right, girls?"

"Yes," Arista sighed. "He's soooo dreamy!"

"He's also very cute and well-mannered!" Andrina giggled.

"Not to mention that he is financially well off," Attina added.

"So is everybody else," Eric argued. "I mean, I know our country's economy is not doing well but-"

"But nothing!" Attina interrupted. "It is very rare to find and marry someone who could provide you financial security!"

Eric looked as if she sprouted a mermaid tail. "Are you serious?"

"Of course, we are!" said Adella. "Why shouldn't we be?"

Eric looked at them hard and saw that they were serious. He scoffed and walked away from them to his office. Whatever. He had important things to do instead of listening to girls gossiping about shallow men.

"God help whoever got stuck with Harry Rothschild," he grumbled.

When Ariel got home, she called Adella. Her face was red. When Adella mentioned that she was going on a date with Harry, the meeting with him became awkward. Great. What was she supposed to do now? Sing to him? Woo him? She didn't know if she liked him, yet. Ariel had never given much thought how she wanted her first date to be, but she'd rather start off as friends with a guy first and see how it goes instead of going straight to romance. It's so awkward! When her sister answered, Ariel began to ler her jar of emotions spill.

"Geesh, Adella!" Ariel yelled, feeling very flustered. "What were you and the girls thinking? I don't want to go out with this guy! I barely know him!"

"Oh come on, Ariel! Don't be such a baby!" said Adella.

"I'm not being a baby! Please cancel this date!" Ariel pleaded.

"Ariel, this is Attina. Look, how about we have you meet him tomorrow before Sunday's date?" said her older sister.

"How will that make me feel better?" Ariel grumbled.

"This will allow you to get to know him better and see where it goes before the big date," Attina replied.

"I don't know, Attina..," said Ariel, feeling unsure. She knew she should give it a try but she didn't like Harry romantically.

"Pleeeeasse?" Attina nearly begged. That was a surprise. Attina rarely begged. Not wanting to make her sisters feel bad, she knew what to do.

"All right," Ariel sighed. "I'll give it a try." She heard her sisters cheer in the background. Ariel hung up the phone a little bit too aggressive. I wonder if I made the right choice. Ariel wondered. Why do my sisters want me to date so badly? I've got enough on my plate with Melody, Mr. Barnes, and looking for teaching jobs! She was snapped out of her worries when Melody asked if her she is all right.

"I am fine, sweetie," Ariel slightly smiled.

"But I heard you yelling in the phone," Melody pointed out.

"Oh, I was having a fight with my sisters," Ariel said, feeling a little bit sad.

"Do you and your sisters fight?" Melody asked.

"Heh. Sometimes," Ariel smiled half embarrassed. Attina, Adella, and Arista, are the ones she gets in fights with the most out of her eight siblings. Attina could be bossy, sometimes. Aquata was more of the worrywart while Andrina just chills out even if she had her worrywart moments. Arista and Adella were always just teasing her. Alana is fun to be with-when she isn't doing make-up or working for dumb Pearl and her parents. Regardless of thier annoying traits, she still loves her sisters.

"How about you and Flounder? Do you two fight, too?" Melody asked, again. Ariel giggled. This kid was so cute; asking these cute questions!

"Not so much. We had a few fights but we're good pals most of the time," Ariel chuckled. Flounder was the only sibling that didn't boss her around or play pranks on her but that was because he is the youngest. He was more of playmate to Ariel and not a boss like her sisters were. The only fight they had was the time when Flounder wanted to go and see a R-rated movie with his friends, Urchin, Gabriella, and Otto, but Ariel said no because he was fair too young. And so were Gabriella and the boys. She had won the fight to Flounder's dismay, but they were still best friends.

Ariel slipped some of Melody's lock behind her earlobe, which caused the five-year-old to giggle.

"Are you ticklish?" Ariel teased.

"Um..No!" Melody quickly lied.

"Oh, okay..," said Ariel. She thought for a moment, when a wicked idea hit her. "Would it tickle you if I do this?" Ariel started to tickle Melody's armpit. Melody shrieked and laughed. Melody kept laughing and laughing as Ariel continued to tickle her like crazy! During the rumble, Melody managed to reach Ariel's armpits and slide her fingers there.

"Aah! Melody no!" Ariel yelped. Soon, they were tickling each other and laughing.

Eric closed the front door and walked inside. He was feeling a bit groggy until his ears perked up at the sound of laughter from the living room.

"I'm going to get you, little miss!" Ariel teased.

"Not if I get you first, big miss!" Melody laughed.

A smile spread on Eric's face. Back when Melody was being bullied by other children, she rarely smiled or laughed. Now, with Ariel around, Melody's not only smiling, but laughing! It was so nice to see that Melody has something that she could be happy about. Also the way Ariel played with Melody was so sweet! It looked like they were having fun. This wasn't the only time that Eric saw Ariel being playful with Melody. He remembered how he had found Ariel playing Dance Dance Revolution with Melody. How about the other time when Ariel read the Wizard of Oz to Melody last night? Melody was so interested in the story that she insisted Ariel to turn the page every five minutes! Maybe, Ariel genuinely cares for Melody as much he cares for her? It seemed like it.

"Daddy!" Melody saw her father during the tickle fight. She ran to her father and hugged his knees.

"Mr. Barnes!" Ariel exclaimed when she too, noticed Eric. She stood up and ran up to him. "How was your day?"

"Busy as usual," said Eric.

"Daddy, are you going to come to my talent show?" Melody innocently, asked. Eric's face froze. Wait. What? Talent show? Oooh, he remembered. When he asked Mr. Roy Disney for permission, he said no and when he tried to ask Mr. Walt Disney today, he suddenly hopped on a plane for a business trip!Darn Walt! Couldn't he stick around for a few more hours so Eric could ask and be allowed to see his daughter's show? Eric didn't know what to do. He didn't want to disappoint her but he didn't want to lie to her, either. He could lie-no! That would not be right. Thus he decided to do something.

"Melody?"