A/N: I’ve been told never to apologize for your work, but I have a nasty habit of doing so anyway. I’ll try not to apologize for the whole fic; just the first chapter. This is the prologue, and yes, it is supposed to be this short. Not every chapter will be this short, I promise!

This is suspense and I suppose somewhat horror; if you have any better ideas, please tell me. This is loosely based off of the movie When A Stranger Calls. Basically, Amber is babysitting one night (yes, babysitting) when she receives some mysterious phone calls. Corny makes an appearance, but I don’t want to say too much more for fear of spoiling it!

I do hope that you will read this and leave a comment; I’ve never done anything quite like this before, and feedback would be most helpful!

Disclaimer: I own nothing Hairspray-related. The plot is based off of When A Stranger Calls.

Amber von Tussle hated children. She hated how they smelled, how they walked, how they talked, even how they breathed. They weren’t even real people, in her opinion. They were disgusting little brats that she despised with every fiber of her being.

She couldn’t believe that she had ever been one of them. Then again, Amber hadn’t had much of a childhood; she had been so involved in dance recitals and miniature beauty pageants that being a child had simply not been able to fit on the agenda.

But ever since she had lost Miss Teenage Hairspray, Amber had been babysitting. Velma was fired, and even if Amber hadn’t injured her ankle, she would have been socially ostracized from the show, meaning that she might as well quit. Mr. Spritzer had made sure that Velma didn’t get a good job anywhere else in Baltimore, and after the pageant, no television station would hire Velma. Finally, she had gotten a job in a beauty parlor; it was perfect for her.

However, the aesthetic industry didn’t pay as well as the television industry. This, added with the fact that they didn’t have Amber’s council money, meant a shortage of money. The only position a teenager could find was as a waitress, and to put it plainly: it didn’t work for Amber.

“Then what else am I supposed to do?” she had snapped at her mother as they discussed their financial situation.

Velma sighed. “Well, Jean Wintry next door asked if you would be interested in babysitting.”

Amber laughed humorlessly. “No thanks, Mother.”

But when it became apparent that she needed the pocket change, Amber had squared her shoulders and ventured where she had sworn never to venture.

She still hated kids by the time that Norma Wilcox had asked her to babysit over Spring Break. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox would be out late into the night; they were going with some friends to a new nightclub on the outskirts of town. Their little girl and boy, Maggie and Andy, were supposed to be very well-behaved children who wouldn’t give Amber a problem. That was what they all said, especially the parents who were unwittingly raising the Spawn of Satan.

Mrs. Wilcox was a jovial woman, slender from chasing after her children and with laugh lines already making their way into her face. She chattered gaily as if Amber were one of her girlfriends.

Mr. Wilcox was a solemn-faced looking man who hardly spoke a word to Amber on the drive from her house to his. He sat right down at the table once they arrived, picking up his newspaper and reading it as if there were no better activity in the world.

Maggie and Andy stayed upstairs at the beginning, peering down at Amber through the spindles of the banister. At a call from their mother, they practically tumbled down the stairs and stood by the counter, watching Amber as if she were a new TV program in color.

“When Maggie and Andy go to sleep, feel free to telephone some friends, Amber,” Mrs. Wilcox said genially, scooping a myriad of things in and out of her handbag. “Just be sure to check on the children once in awhile!”

“We’ll be good, Mommy,” Andy assured his mother, his eyes never leaving Amber. She was beginning to grow uncomfortable under their impish gazes.

“Don’t forget to tell her about the neighbors, dear,” Mr. Wilcox said dully.

“Oh, yes! Our neighbors to the right, the Greens, are visiting Mrs. Green’s mother in New Hampshire. In fact, most of our neighbors are visiting family while they have the time. There are a few families across the street, all with children. Maggie and Andy know them; they’re all playmates. The closest neighbor is Mr. Collins next door to the left. He’s a very nice man, and he adores the children. Well, I think that’s everything,” Mrs. Wilcox said, kissing her children and following her husband to the car.

Amber turned to the kids once Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox had left. Both of them were grinning at her, looking almost malicious.

“Let’s play Hide an’ Go Seek!”

A/N: So, for anyone who knows me, this is the part where I apologize for how bad the chapter was and promise it’ll get better but ask you to review and keep reading anyway. For those of you who don’t already know this, now you do ;)

Cheers,

LazyChestnut