{"id":3756,"date":"2023-03-21T23:39:40","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T23:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/?page_id=3756"},"modified":"2023-11-20T20:30:50","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T20:30:50","slug":"babysitter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-4-winter-2023-2024\/babysitter\/","title":{"rendered":"Babysitter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Serena King<\/em><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Channel 0.4c<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I watched from my living room<\/span><\/p>\n

The character\u2019s dead feet, tired and limp\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Millions of millipedes scutter\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From the debris piled in the corner\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tickling the tips of their fingers<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t look away from the screen<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

48 stuffed animals\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Round plastic balls gaze through the static<\/span><\/p>\n

Princess ponies and possessed porcupines<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadistic snakes and sanctimonious sharks<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The oak wooden couch cracked<\/span><\/p>\n

As the bitter cold started to run in\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The sound of a frozen cube in hot tea<\/span><\/p>\n

The brisk snap of the lights<\/span><\/p>\n

One second ago,<\/span> light,<\/span><\/i> now black<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I worry, they can\u2019t cuddle them all\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To keep them safe and sound\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They walk away to open the door\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I stand and yell, <\/span>don\u2019t turn your back!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

They\u2019re coming for you fast!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hearing the shudder of the antennas\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

48 stuffed animals, parched and crushed\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The pitter patter of their paws\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A stampede of hopelessness\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rushing towards freedom, their demise<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I clicked the button<\/span><\/p>\n

The character lies limp on the brittle couch<\/span><\/p>\n

The stuffed animals are nowhere to be found<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s quiet as I stare at the screen<\/span><\/p>\n

Channel 0.5d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Serena King<\/strong> is a senior from West Orange, NJ, majoring in psychology with a minor in creative writing. She writes, “It has been my passion to write since middle school and one of my goals for the future is to publish a fantasy fiction novel. During my free time, I like to write, play video games and cosplay for fun.”<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Serena King   Channel 0.4c I watched from my living room The character\u2019s dead feet, tired and limp\u00a0 Millions of millipedes scutter\u00a0 From the debris piled in the corner\u00a0 Tickling … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2513,"featured_media":0,"parent":3525,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3756","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBabysitter - Writers House Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-4-winter-2023-2024\/babysitter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Babysitter - Writers House Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Serena King   Channel 0.4c I watched from my living room The character\u2019s dead feet, tired and limp\u00a0 Millions of millipedes scutter\u00a0 From the debris piled in the corner\u00a0 Tickling … Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-4-winter-2023-2024\/babysitter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writers House Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-20T20:30:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-4-winter-2023-2024\/babysitter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-4-winter-2023-2024\/babysitter\/\",\"name\":\"Babysitter - 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