Susan's POV

21 was the worst year of my life….and it still is. I gazed out the plane window to see the miles of white fluffy clouds. I wondered if they always looked this way, even 70 years back. No. I couldn't think about that. It would probably ruin my stroke of good luck somehow.

"We are now flying over New York. We hope you enjoyed your flight, and thank you for flying Jet Blue," the flight attendant said far too happily. I took another sip of water to calm my nerves. The woman who hired me probably won't like me very much if I vomit on her after stepping off the plane. I glanced around, thankful for the empty seat next to me. The turbulence of the plane along with my apprehension made for a very, very bad combination. The advances in technology are so mind blowing, so amazing, and so confusing. When my employer told me I was to be 'flying' to New York, I half expected her to either give me a pair of wings or to be on a fighter plane. Not this…I don't know what to call it. I'm just hoping that technical skills aren't expected of me.

Then again, would an au pair need to know that? Certainly times have changed, but would it really be to that extent? A picture of the seat belt illuminated above me.

"Please put on your seat belts. We are about to land." Swallowing hard and taking deep slow breaths, I prayed for all I was worth.

Rachel's POV

Today was the day I was getting a new 'au pair'….oh, joy. Like I needed one! My parents are just getting me one because they're afraid I'm getting 'rebellious' and that I need 'encouraging supervision'. I could practically hear my mom say, "Rachel! Stop being so melodramatic! I'm sure you'll get along with Ms. Pevensie just fine." Oh, please! I've handled demons and demigods but I seriously don't think I could handle someone ruining my summer. For the past hour, I've been stuck with my chauffer in traffic because my parents wanted me meet her as soon as possible (a first impression thing or whatever), but they weren't even here themselves! Not like that was new or anything. After half an excruciating hour more, the limo came to a stop.

"Ms. Dare," Jed said, tipping his hat as he held the door open. I smiled. Jed was probably one of those closer to me on the staff. We stepped through the automatic door and entered a crowd filled with teary good byes, joyous reunions, and savvy business people. Needless to say, I felt totally out of place. I didn't even know who I was looking for! Luckily, Jed did; so all I had to do was follow him through the dense, buzzing crowd. In ten minutes or so, Jed led me face to face with my new au pair. And, to say the least, she was the last thing I expected.

"Hello, I'm Susan Pevensie. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a British accent, holding out her hand to Jed and me. Jed shook it promptly, but I was a bit more hesitant. The protective old lady who smiled a lot and smelled like Lysol that I had imagined was far from the person who stood in front of me. I even glanced around to make sure we had the right person. Susan definitely wasn't that old lady; in fact, she wasn't an old lady at all. She was a gorgeous black- haired, blue-eyed 21-year-old. Only she seemed sort of depressed and could only manage a week smile. And even though she was only wearing a plain white t-shirt, gladiator sandals, and those dressy pants my mom sometimes wore she attracted a fair amount of attention from most of the guys.

"So, shall we go?" she asked Jed, who nodded in response. While we were heading out of the airport, my head swarmed with questions. Did my parents personally choose her like they said they did? Was she one of those wild, party animal types who could act really well? No, probably not I thought glancing at her again. In the limo I sat with Susan, who really said nothing at all, which was okay with me since I didn't feel like talking much either. This was going to be a long summer….