The Babysitter

Chapter 42
The Babysitter, Part 42

Part 42

It was about 11:20 AM.

I would have been out of pull-ups in less than 45 minutes if I hadn’t reacted to the latest piece of false information Paige gave to Noelle right in front of me. That was my main hesitation about following through on my latest idea. Leaving the house in padded underwear wasn’t ideal. Then again, none of this was. And since Paige mentioned leaving around noon, and I doubted that Noelle would let me change before 2 PM, I had a decision to make. 

Paige hadn’t said a word since joining us in the kitchen, nor had she spared me a glance. She just pulled out all the ingredients she needed to make a variety of sandwiches for her and her friends and got to work. I wasn’t sure if she actually wanted us to accompany them to the park or not; she hadn’t asked Noelle about additional sandwiches yet, and her ‘invitation’ earlier could have just been out of politeness. 

Or she was merely being patient, to further throw my babysitter off the scent. I normally didn’t attempt to analyze Paige and her motives, though it was obviously different when those motives potentially involved me. 

It was only when Paige started packing up a cooler with drinks and the completed sandwiches that Noelle spoke up. “How long do you think this outing will be?”

“Oh. Umm, good question,” Paige replied, “Dakota and Shannon have to head out, so it’ll just be three of us. We were talking about maybe getting ice cream afterwards; otherwise there’s no official plan. Thinking about joining us? Or just curious how long you’ll have the place to yourself in case Miley needs another spanking or something?”

“Thinking about it,” Noelle said, “Study breaks are healthy, as is some outdoor time. But I would take Miley in my car, so we can return to her assignments in a timely manner. That way, your plans can remain flexible without an extra trip complicating things.”

“Makes sense. What do you say, Miley? Fresh air and sunshine, or a homework marathon?”

We both knew which one I’d normally choose. My study breaks were much shorter than the one Noelle was offering. “Sure,” I replied, “I guess I could take a break.” Feigning indifference to the best of my ability, in an attempt to throw both Paige and Noelle off the scent. 

“Fun!” Paige smiled, “Okay, I obviously know what you want to eat. Noelle, any sandwich preferences?”

“I’m not picky,” she shrugged, “Turkey if you have it, but I’m really good with anything.”

And that was that. Well, almost. We still had some time before noon, and Noelle put me right back to work until then. She wanted me to finish up the remaining handouts she had given me before we left for the extended break. It had been more difficult to focus ever since Paige stepped into the kitchen, which continued to be a problem. After making our sandwiches and packing them up, she pulled out a variety of chips and packaged desserts. It wasn’t just the fact that Paige was around to take satisfaction in me being supervised as I worked on Miley’s homework; I also worked better in a quiet environment. 

I just barely completed the last page in time. Rather than skimming my work to make sure I was actually trying like she had done yesterday with my Science assignments, Noelle ushered me back upstairs. Once again, I was tentatively hopeful that she was going to ease up about the pull-ups and allow me to change back into regular underwear before we left the house. And once again, I had to face the harsh reality that Noelle was hired to specifically not go easy on Miley. 

It wasn’t always easy to remember that obvious detail, because she really did act like a normal college-aged girl until she needed to flip that switch. 

She led me back to my bedroom, which I realized was only our destination since that’s where she had left her bag earlier. The fact that she closed the door behind us was another hint that maybe I was getting what I wanted, until she simply grabbed something from the side of her bag and told me to hold out my hand and close my eyes. 

“Umm, why?” I asked.

“To show me that you can do a simple task without arguing,” she countered. 

There was no winning against a response like that, not when whatever I said would come across like I was arguing. So I did as I was told, subjecting myself to the temporary darkness of my eyelids as I extended my arm. My palm was up, as my assumption was that she was going to hand me something that would somehow be more impactful if I held it before seeing it. 

My logic was somewhat accurate, save for it wasn’t my hand that Noelle was aiming for. Instead, she clasped something around my wrist. “There,” she said, “You can open your eyes now.”

They were already fluttering a little bit from the brief physical contact as well as the curiosity. When I looked at what she had put on, I was confused for a moment. At first glance, it appeared to be a simple stainless steel bracelet. It was connected with some kind of long, thin lock clasp that, upon further inspection, I saw had a small hole on the side. 

“Do you like it?” Noelle asked, “I special ordered a few of these a while ago, specifically for outings like this. You won’t be able to take that off without the key, and there’s a GPS tracker built in. Prettier than an ankle monitor, and way more subtle, too.”

I was speechless. Truly speechless. Miley was undeniably a difficult teenager who couldn’t be trusted, but it’s not like she was a criminal. Yet Noelle just locked a tracker on me?! I didn’t try to yank it off or anything, but I did fidget with the bracelet as I examined it in disbelief. The length of the clasp did suggest that it held more than just a lock; if a smartwatch could fit the kind of technology Noelle was suggesting, I could believe that an accessory like this could do the same. There was always the chance that she was bluffing in order to use the bracelet as a placebo to keep me from running off, though I couldn’t recall a single instance where Noelle had lied to me since she arrived. In fact, she easily could have kept the GPS thing to herself, but instead was immediately straight with me about it. 

Realizing my lips had been parted in shock for a few seconds, I flushed and glanced up to meet her eyes. At the same time, I couldn’t help but give a curious tug to the steel. Like she said, it felt plenty sturdy and secure. “You . . . ”

“It’s just a precaution, Miley,” she simply said, “As long as you plan on behaving at the park and don’t try something stupid like running off at the first opportunity you see, you shouldn’t even notice it’s there. In fact, I have a couple of matching jewelry pieces if you’re worried about it standing out.”

Would Paige or one of the other girls notice? My step-sister and I didn’t spend enough time together for her to have a good sense of my jewelry collection. Still, this definitely wasn’t my usual look. I didn’t really wear bracelets that often; when I did, I preferred thin chains and simple designs. Technically the latter held true for the steel cuff, though it was subtly bulky on my petite wrist. “Umm, what else do you have?” I asked. There would be no talking Noelle out of this, not when wanting to take it off would imply my desire to escape. Yet ‘behaving’ also wouldn’t prove much if she just thought I was doing so because I had no other choice. Once again, I was in a position where there was no good way to come across as the mature girl that I actually was. 

Almost like Noelle was hired for her expertise in setting up no-win scenarios where Miley would need to stay in line. 

I settled on a bracelet for my opposite wrist that complemented the ‘style’ of the tracking one, but wasn’t a fan of the rest of the options Noelle showed me. Thankfully, my jewelry box was fully intact. With how many other things Paige stole from my room yesterday, I was briefly worried while opening the lid. Apparently she either hadn’t had time or hadn’t thought to pilfer through my collection. I selected a simple set of silver earrings to round out the accessories on my wrists. There wasn’t much more I could do; I just had to hope that no one would pay too much attention to the bracelet that was locked on. 

And, of course, there was still the additional concern and embarrassment of leaving the house in pull-ups. 

All that, and I still couldn’t back out. Staying would mean no bracelet and not having to deal with Paige, Violet, and Annika while I was still in the underwear that they all would constantly be giving me knowing looks about. However, staying would also mean that I was no closer to convincing Noelle of who I really was. As of right now, the only idea I had was getting someone outside Paige’s circle to greet me in public. Higher risk, potentially higher reward. 

So I didn’t change my mind. Noelle took me back downstairs where my sister and her remaining two friends were putting on their shoes and collecting their things. “Oh, hey!” Paige exclaimed, “Ready to go?”

“Ready,” Noelle affirmed. 

I wasn’t really ready. No purse, no phone, no regular underwear or bra. But I had to try. Giving a nod when Paige looked at me expectantly, I said, “Ready.”