The Babysitter, Part 67

My second race was more or less as bad as the first one. I don’t know why I thought I’d miraculously improve to the point where I could beat Miley, when she easily trounced me the first time. It was just that my underwear collection was on the line, unless Paige was bluffing, so I had to at least try. Like the first time around, sprints in diapers were awkward and chugging cold water was an obvious weakness of mine. Miley was painfully far ahead by the end, leaving me to push for the consolation prize of getting a better time.

“Great job, Miley!” Annika exclaimed, “You beat your first time by seven seconds.”

I guess that made sense, considering how I stopped trying for a moment during the first race when the real Miley won. Honestly, I was mostly surprised that Annika was being truthful about my success, when she could have fudged the numbers to screw me over. Perhaps this was just her way of putting on a show while Noelle was watching from the back porch, so my babysitter would continue believing that Paige and her friends weren’t perpetually having fun at my expense when Noelle wasn’t looking.

Of course, a new record didn’t get me anything. It just avoided whatever penalty the other two girls were whispering about, and losing still meant Paige could follow through on her original threat. On top of that, Miley was going to get something out of beating me twice.

“So?” the younger girl asked, “What’s my prize?” While she sounded smug about the back to back victories, she was flushed and clearly a little winded from the effort. It was good to know she didn’t win without breaking a sweat, not that it changed anything. I was out of breath as well.

“Winning isn’t enough of a prize for you, Alyssa?” Annika teased, with the false name, “Although I guess I did promise you a prize. How about this?” She walked over to Miley and whispered something in her ear.

The redhead’s eyes widened, and then she grinned. “That’s perfect,” she said, “You’re sure Miley won’t mind?”

“She’ll be fine,” Annika replied, “Speaking of Miley, the two of you can take a break. I think it’s time to see whether Paige or Violet is faster.”

“Is it really a question?” Violet said, “We all know it’s me.”

“She’s not wrong,” Paige dramatically sighed, “But I could be better at chugging. You never know.”

Violet smirked, biting her tongue in regards to whatever she was about to say. As usual, there was only so much she could get away with when a more mature girl was supervising from nearby. That, and Miley was younger than the rest of us, even if she was a bit of a deviant and mature in enough ways that Paige and company didn’t mind her being around this afternoon.

After a little more banter, the two girls took their places at the starting line. As they did, Miley walked over to me and offered me a cup of water from the nearby stash they had filled for the race. “Want to know what my prize is?” she asked under her breath.

Despite how I had knocked back two full glasses during our races, my throat was still somewhat dry from running that much. I reluctantly accepted one of the two plastic cups she had brought over, muttering, “Sure.” Obviously, it had to do with me. Her reaction to Annika’s whispering was pretty telling.

Miley took a sip of her own glass, letting out a satisfied exhale before sharing, “Annika says I get your bedroom.”

Umm, what? I really had no clue what Annika might have offered the girl, but I definitely didn't expect something like that. It made no sense. “That’s not hers to offer,” I said. And why would Miley of all people need my room? Oh, right. She was supposed to be ‘Alyssa.’ This was probably what Paige and Violet had been scheming about. Just another way to make our switch more official, nonsensical as it was. Noelle wasn’t going to let anyone take my room from me.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Miley shrugged, “Guess you’ll have to wait and see, Miley.”

I didn’t dignify that with a response. It wasn’t long before Paige and Violet were chugging their glasses, with Violet in the lead like both girls predicted. The laps around the house further secured her victory, though Paige’s second place was much closer than mine. “Told you!” Violet said, wiping the sweat from her brow, “Ugh, it’s hot. Whose idea was this?”

“Don’t look at me,” Paige smiled, “Hey, Noelle! You want a turn? I bet you could beat Annika.”

“No, thanks,” Noelle politely rejected the offer to be included, “But let me know if you need anything. As long as you can keep an eye on Miley, I can grab some refreshments for you.”

“No way!” Paige replied, “You’re a guest. I can take care of drinks and snacks.”

Suck-up. I shot Paige an annoyed look, which did nothing when she turned towards Annika instead.

Unlike how Miley and I got right into a rematch, thanks to my insistence, Paige and Violet didn’t feel the need to go again. Instead, they suggested we all relax for a few minutes while Paige ducked inside to raid the pantry for all of us. Miley offered to help her carry things, setting herself apart from me in the same way my step-sister did.

There wasn’t much to do while we waited for them to return. Annika and Violet started chatting about one of their games, and I just twiddled my thumbs and took the occasional sip to hydrate after the cardio in the late afternoon sun. I considered telling Noelle I was ready to get back to my homework, but our work station was the kitchen and the kitchen was where the other girls had just gone. I’d have to wait it out, and hope that Paige and/or the others didn’t have other activities planned beyond the race.

Each of the two girls came out with a plate, both of which looked more involved than the usual unhealthy options I often ended up cleaning up. Miley brought out a collection of fruits; Paige had prepared what looked like mini nachos, where every individual chip had cheese coating what I assumed was a pepper.

“Try this, Miley!” Paige encouraged me, “I bet you’ll like it.” Without much warning beyond that, she stepped over and popped the appetizer into my mouth.

I only parted my lips for the incoming snack because I didn’t want to get melted cheese all over my mouth. My eyes were briefly narrowed, before widening as I bit down on the unexpected ingredients. It was a jalapeño, not a pepper! “Mm-mmm!!” I shook my head in belated protest. The only thing keeping me from spitting it out was that I was actually a ladylike young adult, contrary to my appearance. Instead, I took a huge swig of water to make swallowing the loaded chip more tolerable, then continued to drink to chase it down.

Paige tilted her head, feigning concern. “Too spicy? I can make some plain nachos for you, if you’d like.”

Of course it was too spicy! She already knew that I could only handle the mildest of seasonings. Jalapeños were absolutely out of the question. As badly as I wanted to snap that at her, I’d look more like a brat if I responded in such a way while she was playing dumb. I didn’t want basic cheese and chips, either; that was both unhealthy and immature, especially when compared to what Paige had put together.

After mumbling that fruit was fine, I went to grab a bite of the apple slices that would help mitigate the lingering taste in my mouth. I was too frustrated by Paige tricking me into eating something she knew I wouldn’t like to consider that there might have been an extra layer to the act.

As in, how I was nearly done with my third tall cup of water in a rather short time frame, thanks to how much I just drank as a hasty counter to the spicy bite.

And how she and Miley might have been scheming inside while they were working on snacks for everyone. “Hey, Miley?” the young redhead said, “Let’s do one more race! Can she do one more, Noelle?”

Noelle didn’t have a problem with it. “Sure,” she said, “Then she should get back to her assignments.”

“Perfect,” Paige said, subtly shooting me a wink, “Maybe you’ll win this time, sis!”