“Hey, little princess! How're you doing?” Achilles smiled as he gently held her in his arms.
“Who’s the good girl? Awww…you’re so cute!”
Mrs. Jones chuckled as she watched the two playing in the living room.
”Thank you for answering my call. Sorry that I have urgent business to attend.”
”Could you help me look after Susan for a few days? I will be back on Sunday morning.”
“No problem, ma'am! Your little princess will be taken good care of!”
“How about your basketball training? I don’t want you to skip it just because of me…”
“No worries! My teammates will be just fine!”
“Well…without me…”
Knowing that she could always count on her neighbor, she thanked him and took her leave.
Achilles gently put Susan on the couch, ”Awww…you look bigger than the last time I saw you!”
He massaged the girl's feet, making her giggle.
Achilles was glad that he could take a fake sick leave from his practice. Despite being an avid fan of basketball, this didn't mean he didn't need rest.
“I wonder if they would be happy without me...”
He took a deep sigh while watching the TV - it was playing some action films that weren't suitable for Susan so he decided to switch it to some playful cartoons.
Being the captain of the school's basketball team, Achilles took his practice very seriously and he would like his teammates to exert their best effort in the upcoming competition.
He had always been a too-responsible captain, pressuring his teammates unintentionally. The headmaster had ordered them to improve their skills unless they would like to get their team disbanded.
He had good intentions but no one understood him.
Achilles took another sigh and lay cozily on the couch. His mind was filled with negative thoughts, making him feel powerless.
“Neh...Neh!” Susan let out a cry, making Achilles immediately check on her.
“What's wrong?” worried he, “Are you sick? Or are you hungry?”
He rushed to the kitchen and tried to find some baby meals.
“No way! Did Mrs. Jones forget to prepare her meals?”
He swiftly opened all the drawers and cabinet, finding a recipe book in the second layer of the blue cabinet.
“Luckily she left me with some recipes...” he took out the bowls and plates while skimming through the pages.
“Frittata Muffins sounds nice...but desserts shouldn't be dinner for babies...maybe Roasted Tomato, Carrot, and Cheese Shell Paste will do...”
However, the moment Achilles tried to preheat the oven, he paused. To be honest, if there was an award for the worst chef, the winner must be Achilles. Seriously, this man could burn water.
The last thing he wanted to do was cook in the kitchen, as with the terrible memory of burning the kitchen when he was young and barely passing his cooking classes, he would never step into the kitchen anymore.
“Mrs. Jones is gonna flip if she saw me burning her house down...”
He glanced at Susan, who was sobbing on the baby chair, and sighed, “Here goes nothing...”
Despite being the worst chef in the world, he did do a great job in preparing Susan's meal.
“Say ahh...” he smiled as he fed her with a spoon of pasta. Susan ingested every piece of them and giggled.
He was relieved that his cooking had improved for the slightest. However, his thought was proven to be wrong when he glanced at his Mac and Cheese.
"Ugh...well...at least my little princess is enjoying her food...” he was disgusted by his food.
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After dinner, Achille continued to play with Susan. He first played Peek-a-boo with her.
“Peek-a-boo!” he first hid his face with his palms and after saying the phrase, he showed his smiley face, making her laugh.
“Alright...now...”
He then took her favorite teddy bear from her tiny hands and hid it under a small blanket.
“Wah...Wah...”
“Shh! Don't cry! Look!” he pointed at the blanket, “Peek-a-boo!”
He revealed the teddy bear beneath. Seeing her teddy bear undamaged, Susan smiled and happily swung her limbs.
Seeing her innocent smile, Achilles felt much more relaxed. He spent some quality time with Susan, from reading fairy tales to drawing pictures. Achilles truly enjoyed all of them without worrying about schoolwork and basketball.
“This is you, Susan!” he pointed at the pink figure in the paper, then pointed at the adjacent brown figure, “and this is me!”
“Wah...”
“Oh? You don't like it?”
He held her up and realized the diaper was wet.
“Oh! Well, it's time to change diapers!” he quickly took her to the bedroom.
After changing her diapers, it was time for Susan to sleep so Achilles decided to read her to sleep.
“And the prince and princess lived happily ever after...” he closed the storybook and checked on Susan who was sleeping soundly.
Achilles gently covered her with her favorite blanket, “Goodnight, princess.”
After putting her to sleep, Achilles returned to the living room to finish his assignment.
Being a sports team leader wasn't easy. He gave out a soft sigh and buried his head into his math textbook.
Ring...ring...
“This is Achilles.”
“Captain...will you be back for Monday's practice?”
“What's wrong? Kenton?”
“Actually...without your help...we are useless...all the practices, skills we learn...all come from you...”
“We are sorry that we took them for granted! Please...we need your help, Captain!"
Achilles froze on the spot, not knowing what to say for a moment.
“It's ok that you don't forgive us...but-"
"No, I'm not angry." smiled he, "We will win the competition!"
"Thanks, Captain!"
"Just call me Achilles."
He then hung up and took a deep breath.
A genuine smile appeared on Achilles' face. Enjoying the quiet late-night atmosphere, Achilles finally acquired his inner peace.
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