Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. Don't sue me!

"Need Babysitter. Will pay five dollars per hour," the sign said. I viewed it with slight interest. I could use another job, now that Mom was gone and I was taking care of Jessi, my stepsister. A single tear escaped my eye as I thought of my stepmother, Miyamoto. She had died one year ago, in an accident in the Andes. "Okay. I'll check this place out. Maybe I can fit babysitting this James kid in around my night job." I thought, attempting to compose myself. I walked toward the street and address shown on the sign.

"My name is Annie Masterson. I saw your sign saying that you needed a babysitter for your son. James, isn't it?" I said. Ms. Morgan nodded. The mansion was huge. My entire house could have fit into the room we were in now. The property could have held two three-ring circuses.

"Okay darlin'. You've got the job. Hopkins! Take our new employee to James's room." Ms. Morgan said.

"Yes miss. Right this way," said the butler. I followed him down a long marble hall. "This is young Master James's room." Hopkins said, stopping at a large oak door. He knocked loudly. "Master James? You have a visitor. Come out, there's a good lad," he said, then strode away. The door opened and a boy stepped out into the hall. He was about ten, Jessi's age, with lavender-blue hair and bright green eyes. He smiled nervously, looking down at the floor.

"Hello," was all he said. I held out my hand for him to shake. To my surprise, he kissed it. I smiled.

"Hi James. I'm Annie, your new babysitter," I said. He lifted his eyes to mine.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Annie," he said softly.

"You can call me Annie. No need to be formal," I said, grinning. "May I have a tour of your estate? It's so big, I'm afraid I'll get lost!" he nodded.

"Growly, come on, we're going outside," he said. A large Growlithe bounded out of James's bedroom. "This way, Annie," James said, beckoning me down the hall. The Growlithe followed us down the spiral staircase (which, I noted, would be excellent for sliding on when his parents were out) and out the door. The gardens were beautiful; with huge rose bushes and Magikarp fountains carved in the finest detail. Then I saw the pool. It must have been at least Olympic sized, maybe larger.

"Let's go swimming!" I said. "Give me half an hour to go get my swimming suit, okay?" I said. James blushed and looked at the ground.

"I…Don't know how," he mumbled. I shrugged.

"I'll teach you. Is it okay with your parents if my stepsister comes?" I said. James nodded and I took off down the driveway, waving.

"See you in a bit!" I called as I ran down the driveway. When I got to my small house down the road from the Morgans, I called out to my sister.

"Jessi! Grab your swimming suit, we're going swimming!" I yelled through the door.

"Where?" Jessi called back.

"It's a surprise. Now come ON!" I shouted. Jessi came running out the door, her bathing suit in her hand. We ran all the way back to James's house. Jessi stopped at the gate.

"Isn't this trespassing?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No, not this time. I'm babysitting at this place," I explained. We walked slowly up the driveway. James wasn't waiting for us when we got to the pool. Maybe he's still changing I thought. We waited. And waited. I finally decided to go into the mansion to look for him. When I got in I could here faint yells from downstairs. I recognized James's voice. And another kid, a girl, I think.

"Come on Jessi, he sounds like he's being tortured!" I cried, grabbing her by the hand. We ran down the stairs as fast as we could. There was a huge wooden door at the end of the staircase. I bumped into it and stumbled as it opened. The scene before me was the strangest I'd ever seen. A young girl was chasing James with a whip. The girl bore an amazing resemblance to Jessi.

"Stop! Stop it!" I heard Jessi scream. The girl turned around. I rushed forward to help James.

"Who are you? And why are you whipping James?" I demanded. The girl replied in a thick southern accent.

"My name's Jessibelle. And I'm James's fiancé. The question is, who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Annie. Annie Masterson. I will be seeing Ms. Morgan about this, make no mistake," I said. I helped James to his feet and he limped out of the dungeon.

"Why of course Jessibelle was whipping James. You see, she is helping to make him into a fine gentleman. We only want what's best for us- I mean him. What's best for him," Mr. Morgan told me. I sat; stunned that any parents would treat a boy as nice as James that way. I thought for a moment. Hmm. These people obviously don't care about their son. Maybe…

"Tell you what. Why don't I take James off your hands full time? You don't even have to pay me. He's such a wonderful child, my stepsister and I won't mind having him live with us for a while," I said.

"Oh, that would be wonderful. But James is going off to Pokemon Tech in a month…we would have to take him back for two or three days to pack. Is that okay?" Ms. Morgan replied. I nodded then went to tell Jessi and James the good news. I arrived at the room and decided to play a little trick. I walked in, dragging my feet and sulking.

"What happened Annie?" James cried. I could barely look into his eyes without laughing.

"Y-your Mom s-said that…You can come stay with us!" I shouted. Jessi giggled, used to my acting, and James jumped up and down, celebrating. I smiled.

"C'mon James, we have to start packing your stuff!" squealed Jessi. She began throwing clothes into a large duffel bag.

"What about Growly?"  James said, suddenly worried. I thought for a moment.

"Well, he has to stay here…But you can come and see him whenever you want, okay?" I said. James nodded and went to help Jessi pack. I helped too, and soon the bag was full. Then we walked home. Well, I walked anyway. Jessi and James ran down the road a bit ahead of me. I smiled to myself. James would be much happier with us, I was sure of it. We arrived at the house shortly and took James inside to see his room. It was a small spare room, next to mine. James looked a bit disappointed when we got to the room.

"This is it?" he asked incredulously. Jessi's face fell.

"Yeah, don't you like it?" she asked sadly. James nodded.

"Of course. I never did especially like having a huge room," James replied. Jessi smiled again.

"Okay, let's help James get unpacked, okay? Then we can go to the park and have a picnic," I said. Jessi and James cheered. We quickly emptied his duffel bag into the dresser and closet of the room. Then we packed a picnic and strode to the park. It was a beautiful day; the hot scent of Summer was in the air. We finished our tuna sandwiches and juice boxes quickly enough, then headed home.

The next morning I was awoken by a terrible noise.

"I won! I won I won I WON!!!!" Jessi shrieked. I was out of bed and down the stairs in five seconds flat. James was standing, tousle haired, beside her chair.

"Won what?" he asked sleepily. Jessi held up the box of cereal she had opened.

"I won a scholarship to Pokemon Tech!" She shouted. James was suddenly wide awake.

"Excellent! When are you leaving?" he asked. Jessi tore the box apart to find the form.

"August tenth. Is that when you're leaving?" she said. James nodded. Jessi pumped her fist in the air.

"Yes! Oh, I hope we get the same teachers!" she cried. I smiled at her antics as I picked up the box.

"You will be given all information needed upon arrival," I read. "I guess we'll have to wait and see." Jessi wriggled with happiness.

"I can't wait! I have to know now! Now, now!" She shouted. I covered my ears.

"Well there's nothing we can do. You'll just have to wait!" I yelled over the clamor. Jessi sighed.

"Fine, I'll wait," she said. I smiled.

"Good. Now, let's see. Your train leaves at two o'clock sharp on August tenth, so that gives us about a month to get all your stuff together and tell your school that you won't be going there any more. Okay?" I said. Jessi and James nodded.

"I'll help Jessi start to pack while you go to the school to tell them about Jessi and I leaving," James said. I nodded.

"Okay. Will you two be alright while I'm gone?" I asked. They nodded. "Okay. I'll be back in about an hour. Behave yourselves," I said, then was out the door.

"So Jessi and James won't be coming here anymore because…?" Mr. Smith, Jessi and James's principal asked.

"Because Jessi won a scholarship to Pokemon Tech and James was supposed to go there all along," I replied. Mr. Smith nodded and handed me a few official looking forms.

"Okay Annie. Just sign these forms and that will be fine." he said curtly. I skimmed over the forms and quickly scribbled a signature at the bottoms.

"Okay. Anything else?" I asked. He shook his head and I left the building, whistling. When I got back into the house I got one of those instant headaches. The floor was littered with dolls and LEGO, and Jessi and James were bouncing on the couch.

"What exactly do you think you are DOING?" I yelled. They bounced off of the couch and into a perfect pose. They must have been practicing while I was gone. I rolled my eyes, but it was hard to keep from smiling.
"We were playing Barbie. Look at the house I made for them!" Jessi said, pointing out a large LEGO dollhouse. I smiled.

"That's very good, but now we have to clean up, okay?" I said, massaging my forehead.

"Okay. But can we just put the dollhouse up in my room?" Jessi asked. I nodded and we carefully carried the small house upstairs. Then we started packing for Jessi.

"Ooh, I need to take this, and this, and that. Oh, and I can't leave my red dress behind!" she exclaimed, throwing clothes into a huge duffel bag. I laughed.

"Take it easy, Jessi. You still need to pack things to do! And I think they have uniforms at that school anyway," I said. Jessi nodded and took out some of her less important belongings.

"Okay, but I need a dress in case they have a dance!" she said. I nodded, tossing her afore-mentioned dress back into the bag.

"Okay, now what do you want to take for amusement? You could take books, or your game boy, or both," I said. Jessi grabbed both and threw them into a separate pocket from the rest.

"Okay, that should be enough," James said. "They have a game room, and the library's huge," he added.

"Oh, good. I love to read!" Jessi exclaimed happily. I smiled, glad that Jessi would have someone to talk to if she got homesick.

The following month passed in a blur of sunny days and light summer showers. Soon we were waiting for the train at the Sunnytown Train Station. It arrived in a small tornado of paper food wrappers and shrill whistles. I covered my ears to attempt to block out the horrific noise.

"Okay, you two behave yourselves, and mind the teachers," I said, giving Jessi and James each a tight hug. They nodded and took their trunks.

"All aboard!" cried the conductor. Jessi and James ran to get onto the train, just barely catching it. I turned away with tears in my eyes, and began the long trek to the Team Rocket headquarters in Viridian City.

The End