The Babysitter, Part Twelve
Part Twelve
No one else interrupted the homework session that Noelle had seated me down to do, but I counted two more of Paige’s friends arriving by the sounds at the front of the house. Pretty standard for my sister. Not just because it was her core friend group, but also because that was the size of their team for whatever game they played all the time. I didn’t really know anything about it, save for the fact that it was better for them to all be in the same room together when possible. Made sense, considering that was ideal for most things in life when it came to communication.
I had already been outnumbered when it was just Paige and Noelle. The last thing I needed was four other girls leaning into the lie that I was Paige’s troublesome little sister. What I did need was my bedroom. The more I worked on Miley’s summer work, the more I settled on making that my primary goal post. Running off had too many variables, especially the later it got. No one answered the door right away, and it was also Friday. Any number of our neighbors could be away on vacation or out to dinner, and every second counted if Noelle was actively chasing me as if I was a bratty teenager trying to get away from her babysitter. The risk wasn’t worth it.
The kitchen clock was behind me, so I had no idea how long we had been sitting there by the time I finished the last problem on the back side of the worksheet. Noelle set aside whatever she had been working on herself and checked my answers against the answer key she had. My thoughts immediately jumped to how the real Miley would be tempted to steal the answers and breeze through the rest of the assignments. Cleverly cheating, and intentionally going for a passable grade. That’s what girls like her and Paige would do. My sister was smart enough to get away with all kinds of things, but not willing to pair that intelligence with the hard work required to excel in her academic endeavors.
“Looks good, Miley,” Noelle said. She passed the sheet back to me, then asked, “Do you want to keep going? Or take a break?”
Why did such a simple question feel like a test, or a trap? While the brunette wasn’t malicious like my sister was, she was certainly dead set on handling Miley beyond just keeping her in the house. Attitude adjustment, homework before anything else, and probably a number of other layers I hadn’t pinned down yet. Would it be a mark against me if I obsessed over my room like an immature teenager would? She had already laid out the rules, so maybe it was foolish to hope that I could bend them. Noelle hadn’t shown much of a reaction to my 100% correct assignment, so my fleeting plan to leverage that success no longer felt like the best play.
“A break would be nice,” I said. One way or another, leaving the table was a good first step. Paige’s friend Violet had already seen me toiling over Miley’s work, and I’d rather avoid any of the other girls getting that visual of me. And, as always, I tried to maintain my proper way of speaking to continue hinting to Noelle that I was older than thirteen. More mature, too. “Paige also forgot to get me a bra.” I had to try. But I wouldn’t outright ask. ‘Take the bait. Please take the bait.’ My sister had company over. Pulling her away from her friends for something so simple? No way.
Noelle nodded. “Alright, let’s go find you something.”
‘Got you, bitch.’ I didn’t care if she escorted me up there. All I needed was ten seconds in my bedroom to prove that I was actually Alyssa. Trying to contain my excitement, I remained seated until she got up herself. Couldn’t seem too eager. “Thank you,” I replied. Aside from wanting to show her that I wasn’t Miley, I was also serious about needing a bra.
She had me lead the way, in that same way where it ensured she could keep an eye on me. Since she couldn’t see my face for the moment, I found myself smirking a little as I ascended the stairs. Paige was fucking dead. Obviously Noelle couldn’t spank her or anything like she did with me, but the tall brunette was fierce enough that she could give my step-sister a good tongue lashing in front of all of her friends. But honestly, I was mostly just ready to have my weekend back.
As we approached my door, Noelle reminded me that this was going to be quick. I was just here to grab a bra, nothing else. Whatever. There was no way she was going to get on my case for slightly straying from my path and, if she did, I’d turn around and show her what I needed to. My graduation robe. My ID. Any number of things with the name ‘Alyssa’ on them. Not even Miley would go so far as to deck her room out with stuff like that in the name of tricking a babysitter. Noelle would have to believe me.
The moment I stepped inside, however, I could sense that something was wrong. It took me a moment to place it. Then I realized what was off–my photo wall was entirely empty. It was literally just a wall. My jaw actually dropped as I processed the fucking audacity of what was clearly Paige’s handiwork. It would take forever to recreate how it looked before, and . . . “Oh, my God,” I murmured. Because it was more than that. As I started looking around the room, I noticed other things that were missing.
My backpack. Pretty much everything from my desk. All the framed photos that had been strewn around the room in addition to the ones pinned on the wall. Paige hadn’t just taken the things that would easily identify me as the girl I really was; she had also removed all the images that would point towards my recent high school career. What the actual fuck?! This was too far! This was MY room.
“Something wrong, Miley?” Noelle asked. Since she had never been in here, obviously there was no reason she would think anything had shifted from the way it was before.
No longer thinking as clearly or as patiently as before, I snapped, “I’m not Miley! And Paige took my fucking stuff.” Storming over to my desk, I yanked open one of the drawers. Empty. All I needed was one document or assignment with my name on it. Unfortunately, my organization was suddenly my enemy. Since I kept pretty much everything in my desk, it had clearly been easy enough for Paige to just grab everything at once. “Ugh!!” Groaning, I crossed the room and opened my closet.
Not only was my graduation robe gone, but a number of my prettier dresses had been pilfered. Adding insult to injury, there were a few outfit pieces I didn’t even recognize. I wouldn’t be caught dead in such bright colors, and the style/cut of the few tops I noticed right away were the type that a girl Miley’s age would wear to church or a family brunch or something. Did Paige have her friends bring these over? They weren’t mine, and I couldn’t imagine her younger self wearing stuff like this.
Noelle cleared her throat. “Miley. Come here, please.”