Merlin walks up to the daycare and like the guys before him, is shocked to see all the toddlers. Jalisa comes out to greet him with a hug…
Voidcritter: *after the hug* This is us for the next 6 hours. Can you help me get them back inside? The heat is going to be unbearable today.
Jalisa begins leading some of the toddlers inside. Merlin looks around, feeling completely bombarded with the task. He’s helped herd sheep and cows before, but how do you herd toddlers? Luckily the toddlers are a bit smarter than cows, and they begin to walk back inside on their own after Jalisa calls them.
Merlin follows the last one in and finds himself surrounded by little people…
Silvia: You knight, I pwincess!
Ava: No…I’m the princess! See, I wear pretty dress! I princess!
Silvia: No, you go way!
Merlin runs an entire tech company, but he’s not sure how to stop a mini toddler argument. Jalisa walks over and begins mopping some spilled water up from the ground. She offers a suggestion…
Voidcritter: Maybe you can read them a story or something?
Knight: Um…yeah, okay.
It’s the first thing he’s said since he got there. He leads Silvia over to the reading area.
Silvia: Pwincess story! Pwincess story!
Knight: Let’s see…which book is about a princess? Do you know?
Silvia: I don know.
Merlin picks up the first book he sees and begins reading, hoping it’s good enough…
Knight: *reading* “It’s a clear, dark night and stars line the sky as far as the eyes can see…”
It’s not a princess story, but the word “night” is mentioned, albeit it’s the wrong type of night, but Silvia seems satisfied with it anyway. Ava walks over to listen too.
He finishes the story, and the toddlers are no longer arguing, so Merlin feels his job is done. He steps away…
This is the first time Merlin has felt less than confident in this blind date challenge. He doesn’t mind kids, but he’s not sure what to do with himself among a bunch of toddlers. Jalisa seems to be a natural. She kneels down and begins talking to one of the more fussy toddlers. Merlin grabs a mop just to appear busy. After all, he runs a company…he’s a master at appearing busy.
It doesn’t work for long. The toddlers are beginning to get restless. He has to step in and help as they start to surround Jalisa. He grabs the calmest one. He remembers his dad playing airplane with his younger brother when they were kids. Merlin decides to try that. He begins to swing Jaxen around in the air and places him on his back. This brings instant smiles to both of them…
Merlin’s time is almost up. He tries to hide in a corner for a while, but Cannon finds him and walks over.
Cannon: I wan a nack!
Knight: You want to take a nap? The beds are right over there.
Cannon: No! No! I wan a nack…a nack!
Knight: I’m sorry…I’m not sure what a nack is. Is it a toy?
Cannon becomes frustrated and fussy. Jalisa walks over to put Merlin out of his misery.
Voidcritter: He’s saying that he wants a snack.
Merlin is amazed that Jalisa can translate toddler-ese.
Knight: Oh…I had no idea. I failed this thing…didn’t I?
Voidcritter: *gives Merlin a hug* You did just fine. Six toddlers are a lot. But you are free to go!
Merlin is happy to. Jalisa finishes some last-minute cleanup.
(The Voidcritter) I had the impression that Merlin didn’t want to do this challenge at all. He was a bit standoffish with the babies, but eventually warmed up to Jaxen a bit when he played airplane with him. That was a sweet moment. He also helped out a lot by reading to some of the babies. None of it seemed to come naturally to Merlin, but I could see him maybe loosening up a bit around kids with time and practice.
28 Blind Date Summaries | read from the beginning
[…] Merlin: Yeah, this reminds me of that daycare challenge. […]