The Babysitter, Part 66

Annika stepped up and described the race, injecting some peppy energy along the way as if she was the MC of an event with no actual audience. Well, there was Noelle, though I doubted the brunette watching from the porch was actually watching beyond keeping eyes on me.

We’d start with line sprints in the backyard, chug a cup of ice water, take two laps around the house, then round it out by circling the swing set once before returning to the starting point. First girl to give Annika a high five wins. It felt needlessly complicated, like an obstacle course without any obstacles. Taking three laps around the house or whatever would have been far simpler.

“Starting over here,” Paige clarified. She walked me over to the edge of the yard, positioning me next to the real Miley while placing her hands on my shoulders and murmuring in my ear from behind me, “You better win, sis. If you don’t, say goodbye to the rest of your underwear!” Despite the threat, her voice had nothing but a teasing lilt to it.

How much of my lingerie was even left? All my good bras were already cut up, along with the matching panties. Still, it would be such a chore to replace everything. And while Paige didn’t necessarily imply it, I still ended up thinking about how losing every single pair of underwear would leave me with nothing but diapers. My sister also had my phone and wallet at the moment, meaning it wasn’t as simple as going to the store and buying a pack of panties to tide me over until I had a chance to more seriously replace my collection.

I really didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of racing like I meant it, nor did I want to be outside in the first place. But I was, and it would probably look more immature to not try now that I was lined up with Miley at the starting line. Noelle was watching, and she would definitely judge me if I half assed the race, or refused to participate at all. While nothing I did or said seemed to make her believe that I was older and more mature than she perceived me as, that didn’t mean I wanted her thinking even less of me.

Annika remained in charge of the activity, briefly reminding us of the route before telling us to get ready. Just before Annika started us, Miley muttered under her breath, “Good luck, bitch.”

I barely had time to process it before Annika exclaimed, “GO!!”

As I had anticipated, running in diapers was more awkward than walking around in them. Line drills were also something I had only done in a gym at school, in workout clothes. As I sprinted back and forth from the three markers the girls had set up, each one being farther away from the starting line, I had to assume that everyone saw the thick padding Noelle had recently put me in. The hem of the skirt barely covered the babyish underwear to begin with and, if running didn’t partially flash the group of onlookers, bending over to touch the ground at each ‘line’ throughout the opening exercise would almost certainly reveal that I was now in something more humiliating than pull-ups.

Miley was faster than I expected, or maybe I was just slow due to the awkward bulk between my thighs. Regardless, she was already drinking from one of the solo cups Annika had retrieved for us after starting the race. The other one was still in the blonde’s hand, which I took after returning from the longest of the three line sprints. I hadn’t anticipated it being full to the brim, and I had also somewhat forgotten the detail about it being ice water. While a sip or two of water would be nice after a burst of cardio in the summer heat, I didn’t need this much hydration. Of course, this was supposed to be for the challenge of it, rather than something refreshing for us that would make more sense to have at the end of the race.

I only made a few swallows before needing a break, mostly from how cold the water was. Pushing through was the only way I could catch up, since I really doubted I’d be able to outrace Miley if she got a headstart on the laps around the house. Chugging as quickly as I could without spilling on myself, watching the young redhead out of the corner of my eye to keep tabs on her own progress, I eventually closed my eyes and steeled myself to power through the second half of the deceptively big cup.

Despite how hard I tried, I was no match for Miley, since she started before me. I still had two swallows left when she tossed her empty glass aside and bolted towards the edge of the house. I did the same thing three seconds later, severely doubting my ability to outrun her. Sure enough, all I did was make myself sweat with the two laps, as Miley ended up running the last step of the race before I even started towards the swing set.

I slowed down when I saw her and Annika high five out of the corner of my eye, until Paige told me to keep going. “You can do it, Miley! You’re almost there!”

No, it wasn’t- Yeah, I was a little out of breath, but I had mostly stopped because the other girl had already won. Trying to explain that would be pointless, however, so I just pressed on and jogged the last bit. Annika was waiting to high five me as well. It didn’t matter that the gesture was part of the race; it still felt like patronizing encouragement.

“Nice try, sis,” Paige said, smirking slightly while she was facing away from Noelle. Reminding me what had been on the line with a single look.

Whether she was trying to bait me or not, I fell right for it. “Wait!” I exclaimed, “Rematch. Can Mi- Can Alyssa and I race again?”

Paige considered my impulsive request for a moment, then gestured towards Annika. “Ask her. Violet and I were going to go next, but it’s Annika’s game!”

Annika was easily within earshot, and could have weighed in right away. Instead, I had to actually repeat my question.

“Hmm, I guess so,” she shrugged, “But I want to see some improvement on your time, Miley. Alyssa, you cool to go again?”

The reverse names were still tripping me up. Miley, on the other hand, didn’t flinch in the slightest this time around. “Sure! Do I get a prize if I win twice?”

“Sounds fun,” Paige said, “Annika?”

Clearly stalling, Annika said, “Let’s make it a surprise. A prize if Alyssa wins, a penalty if Miley has a worse time. Cool?”

“Cool,” our bratty neighbor smiled, “Should we take our places? Or do you need to catch your breath, Miley?”

A breather would have been nice. At the same time, that would make the real Miley look better than she already did. I decided to suck it up, and deal with recovering while the other girls raced. Besides, Miley’s question was more of a taunt than an actual offer.

When I reluctant affirmed that I was ready, Annika told us to step up to the starting line. “Ready, girls?” she said.

Meanwhile, Paige and Violet began exchanging whispers in the background.