The Babysitter, Part 65

The next hour was not as peaceful as it should have been.

Objectively, sure. The kitchen was quiet, and the ritual of working on homework–even homework that wasn’t mine–was more familiar than most of what I had gone through this weekend. However, I really couldn’t focus. I was wearing diapers, rather than pull-ups; the padding between my thighs was thicker than before, and I kept flashing back to the mortifying experience of being changed by Noelle.

Then there was the task at hand. If I was too efficient, I would be ‘rewarded’ with a break that involved Paige. But if I dragged my feet too much with any given assignment, Miley’s babysitter wouldn’t be happy. I did my best to split the difference, which was difficult when math was pretty straightforward after reminding myself how the formulas worked for the younger redhead’s academic level.

It didn’t help that I was sitting directly in view of the clock on the stove. Every time I glanced up from the page I was working on, it was closer to 4 PM, which would be about an hour from when Paige left us. Knowing my sister, she’d give it at least a few minutes so she wouldn’t be perceived as impatient and/or disruptive.

By the time I heard footsteps around 4:10, I had finished more math worksheets than anything else I had worked on since Noelle’s arrival. It actually wasn’t one of my better subjects; I just settled into the middle school assignment more easily than the ones that required me to constantly flip through the textbook for answers.

I expected Paige. However, it was the real Miley who stepped into the kitchen thirty seconds later. “Ms. Noelle?” she said, with a friendly smile that was reminiscent of the one my sister used on the brunette, “Has Miley earned a break yet?” While I didn’t know the brat beyond her reputation, I had to assume she was only this respectful when it benefited her.

“Just ‘Noelle’ is fine,” she said, “And what exactly did you girls have in mind?”

“Something outside,” Miley shrugged, “Video games are fun, but it’s summer! We could all use some fresh air. Anyway, we were thinking about setting up some relay race with a few obstacles or something in the backyard. Paige said we can figure it out once we’re out there.”

“Sure,” Noelle replied, “Miley could use a little exercise. How about you girls head out there and get things set up? Once she’s done with this assignment, Miley will join you.” She clearly didn’t notice how the real Miley reacted ever so slightly to her real name each time.

“I’m fine just doing this,” I said, attempting to avoid yet another activity that was no doubt designed to mess with me while Noelle wasn’t close enough to overhear/oversee/etc. “The more homework I get done now, the less I’ll have to work on later.”

Rather than responding to me, Noelle spoke to Miley. “You can tell the others she’s in, Alyssa.”

“Great!” Miley exclaimed, “And it’ll be fun, Miley. Besides, since when do you care about homework?” With an amused chuckle that Noelle wouldn’t understand, she left the kitchen.

Ever the mature babysitter, Noelle had waited until my ‘peer’ was gone before talking to me in a more direct manner. “Like I said, you could use the exercise. And the sunshine. As long as I’m in charge, you’re not just going to hole up in your room. Understand?”

I knew better than to complain, or sigh in frustration. There was no winning as long as I was caught up in this mortifying case of mistaken identity; even saying that I wanted to keep working on Miley’s assignments came across as antisocial instead of academic. Noelle was never going to see me as anything but the difficult teenager she had probably been thoroughly briefed about before accepting the job.

“Yes,” I muttered. It sounded just as bad as one or two of the immature ‘whatevers’ that had slipped out along the way. Of course, it was too late to take the response back. All I could do was stare down at the homework in front of me and try not to blush as I once again came across as if I really was the brat she was hired to watch.

A couple minutes later, all four girls came downstairs. They had to pass through the kitchen to get to the backyard, through the sliding glass doors, though they made a point not to say a word as they did so. Each and every one of them was following Paige’s lead in terms of appearing respectful and responsible whenever Noelle was around.

I could drag my feet forever. If I took too long finishing up the worksheet, Noelle would either offer her help or potentially get on my case about stalling if she figured out that’s what I was doing. So I did the last few problems, hoping that the brunette across from me would at least come outside with me. While I didn’t care for her supervision, it would be a lot more difficult for Paige or the others to do whatever if Noelle was around.

After Noelle checked my work, she told me to go put my shoes on. As usual, walking and bending and everything was so awkward now that I was wearing much thicker padding than earlier. That was part of the reason I was hesitant to do anything that involved running or whatever else the girls had planned. The other part was the fact that I wasn’t a particularly athletic girl outside of ballet.

Once my shoes were tied, I gave my skirt a tug or two. The hem just barely covered the padding, and I was really worried about how moving about would potentially flash the babyish underwear to everyone. Aside from a longer skirt, however, I couldn’t think of a better alternative. And I doubted Noelle was going to let me change now that I was ready to go outside.

At least the late afternoon sun wasn’t as bad as the summer heat at the park. Hardly a silver lining. As I stepped out onto the porch, accompanied by Noelle, Paige called me over right away. “Let’s go, Miley! You and Alyssa are up first.”

Great. I guess it made sense; the girl who had swapped names with me was ‘my age,’ so of course they were going to pair us together. I was also closest in size to the real Miley, which was embarrassing in its own right.

Noelle remained on the porch after nudging me towards the yard. I tentatively descended the couple steps and approached the others. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. Not that it mattered. The simplest of cardio activities was going to be more rough for me than it would be for Miley, even if she was the type of girl who did lock herself in her room most of the time.

“Hey, sis,” Paige said. Her tone implied a smirk that hadn’t quite made it to her face, as Noelle’s proximity kept her from acting too smug. “Are you ready for a super fun race?”

Uh huh. Something like that. “Sure,” I flatly replied.

“Always with the attitude, Miley,” she rolled her eyes, “You don’t need another spanking, do you?”

“Diapers and spankings?” Miley giggled, “What a brat. Now, come on. Let’s race!”