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Babysitters: Gamer Girl, Part 3
🕑 Added 2022-09-05 06:17:58 +0000 UTCMadison could feel Joshua under her toes as she locked her bike up outside the building, although she did her best to lift them up so that he wouldnât feel like he was being walked on. It was a kind gesture, in theory, although shoes werenât made to be roomy so it only made a minor difference. From the boyâs perspective, he couldnât even tell that she was trying to make things easier for him at all, since he was still stuck beneath the tip of the giant girlâs socked foot, trying to decide whether it was worse to be smushed against the shoeâs musty insole or Madisonâs slightly damp toes.
He could tell theyâd made it back to her apartment, and he eagerly awaited the moment when her foot would suddenly pull away, letting a barrage of light blind him to let him know that it was finally time to come out. But that moment never came. He heard the door to the building open (confirming that she really was home, if the feeling of Madison semi-walking over him hadnât been evidence enough), and he realized that he should probably just give her a few more minutes. Maybe she has to wait til sheâs actually back in her bedroom to take me out, he wondered, hearing the sounds of people talking outside the shoe and knowing that she couldnât just retrieve him with other people around to see. Just a few more minutes, he told himself, trusting his babysitter not to abandon him in the foul-smelling darkness.
As Madison made her way into the building, up a flight of stairs, and headed down a hallway, she grew increasingly nervous by the ever-presence of people surrounding her. Not that the building was packed, but there were people leaning against walls in the halls, sitting on the stairs, chatting on the balcony (not to mention the array of people outside). She could tell before she even entered her familyâs unit that it was the kind of party where the attendance was larger than the available space, resulting in people overflowing outside where it was cooler, or less packed, or they could smoke. When Madison finally made it homeâthe front door was wedged openâshe was greeted with several dozen people milling about her familyâs apartment, chatting and drinking and mingling with each other. Her parents were super social, and this definitely wasnât the first party of such size that theyâd thrown, but the presence of having so many people around was going to make the rest of the day a lot more tense unless she wanted anyone finding out sheâd be harboring a shrunken boy in her room. Feeling Joshua squirm beneath her foot zapped her out of her momentary freeze, and she side-stepped all her parentsâ friends to make a quick beeline towards her bedroom, where at least she knew nobody else would be.
Madison breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door to her room, hearing the hum of the party suddenly dull now that sheâd shut it out. âSorry about that,â she began to say, and lifted her leg, about to take her shoe off, when she noticed movement in the corner of her eye and she turned to see her brother suddenly crawl out from under her desk and stand up.
âOh, hey,â he said, clearly surprised that she was home. âI thought you were babysitting someone today.â He noticed she wasnât on her phone, and was confused who sheâd apologized to. âWho are you talking to?â
Madisonâs eyes widened, and she groaned in exasperation at how close sheâd come to having her secret with Joshua discovered. âCasper, what are you doing in here!â she exclaimed, her toes unconsciously clenching in frustration. Joshua had been lucky enough not to be caught between them, but he still saw the end of her massive foot squeeze together above his head, causing him to shudder at the thought of being caught between.
âJack has a bunch of his friends over in our room, so Mom and Dad said I could use yours to play my Switch.â Madisonâs two younger siblings happened to be twins, and since the family lived in a 3 bedroom apartment, Casper and Jack shared a bedroom since they were boys, while Madison got her own since she was a girl (and the eldest child).
âWell, Iâm not babysitting after all,â she responded, âand Iâm home now, so Iâd kinda like some alone time.â
âItâs not like I ever get alone time,â her brother grumbled. âI just wanna play Pokemon somewhere that itâs quiet; I promise Iâll be quiet!â he pleaded. An immediate tinge of guilt plagued Madison, since she knew Casper was pretty introverted. Sheâd let him hang out in her room in the past when Jack had had friends over, and normally she wouldnât have had a problem this time. But even though she loved her brother, she wasnât sure that she trusted him to not tell anyone about Joshuaâand Casper would definitely find out about the boy she was supposed to be babysitting if she let him stay in her room.
She took a deep breath, feeling bad for kicking her brother out, but she told herself that it had to be done. âAny other day, Iâd let you hang out in here for as long as you want, but I have a tournament in literally a few minutes. With actual money on the line. So I need my space to focus.â It was a lie, since sheâd be wearing headphones anyways, but she still opened her door and ushered her brother to unplug his charger from under her desk and take his game out into the hall. âWhy donât you see if Mom or Dad will let you hang out in their room instead?â she offered.
âThereâs people in there too,â he said quietly, and she shrugged, grimacing and feeling bad but slowly closing the door anyways.
âWell, Iâll get you when Iâm done, or somethingâŚâ she told him half-heartedly, and closed the door so she could finally be by herself.
Just donât think about it, she internalized, figuring that that was what selfish people did who didnât care about others. She collapsed backwards on her bed, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths to try and reassure herself that she wasnât a bad person for kicking her little brother out, and was about to finally rescue Joshua when she heard a knock at the door. âOh my God,â she muttered, and sat up to watch it swing open before she could even ask who it was.
âDid you kick your brother out of your room?â Madisonâs mom was standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips as she glared at the teenage girl. Casper had tattletaled on Madison, and was standing behind their mom while she reprimanded his sister for him. âDad and I said he could hang out in here so he could have some time by himself since Jack and his friends are in their room. Also, what happened to babysitting the Hendersonsâ kid?â
âThey had to cancel,â Madison told her mom, squeezing her eyes shut and hating everything about how this afternoon was going. âAnd I told Casper that I wouldnât care normally, but I just, like, needed some alone time today.â
âTo play your video game? Just put your headphones on. What you want isnât any more important than what he wants.â Madison rarely ever won an argument with her parents, and she definitely wasnât about to today since she barely had a good excuse. She watched as her mom stepped aside, nodding her head to direct Madisonâs brother in. âYou know, some families only have a single room that they all have to share together. You should be grateful that you get this one all to yourself most of the time.â After a beat of silence, their mom glanced down at Madisonâs feet. âAnd take your shoes off, youâre gonna get the carpets dirty.â With that, she closed the door, leaving Casper standing awkwardly with his gaming device while his eyes averted from his older sister.
At this point, Madison wondered if she should just head back to Joshuaâs house, since it seemed like there was no way sheâd be able to retrieve his body and allow him to hang out in safety. But the gaming tournament was too important. There has to be a way, she thought, eyeing her brother as he meekly waddled to the corner of the room. His attention will be focused on his Switch, at least. That might make things a bit easier. âSorry for being kinda rude earlier,â she told her brother. âMom was right, I guess it wonât really make a difference once I put my headphones in.â
Casper perked up a bit at hearing Madison apologize, and was glad to not feel so guilty anymore. âThatâs okay. I get it.â
âUm, I do kinda need to change though since I just got home, so can you give me a minute for that? Iâll knock when you can come back in.â
Having warmed up to Madison after her apology, Casper nodded and agreed to her request, setting his game down before heading back out into the hall to give Madison the room. As soon as the door had closed, she immediately slipped her shoes off, and lifted up the one with Joshua in it so she could tip the shoe over and let the tiny boy tumble into her palm. âI am so so so so sorry for how long that took,â she whispered down at him, feeling genuinely bad for how long heâd had to spend cozied up to her sock. Once again, he tried responding, but it wouldâve been nearly impossible to hear him even if there wasnât a faint murmur of voices and music outside. âIn case you couldnât hear what was going on, basically, I have to let my brother hang out in here since thereâs a party going on and heâs kinda antisocial. So that means I canât let you just hang out on my desk in the open like I was planning on.â She looked around her room, trying to quickly think of other hiding spots. âBut I also donât think itâd be a good idea to hide you somewhere else, since Iâm gonna have my headphones in and wonât be able to leave the game. You have to be somewhere close-by.â God, I wish I could just leave him in my shoe. Iâd always know where he was. But itâd probably smell pretty shitty to stay inside them.
Turning her attention to her desk and the options it presented, her eye was caught by her slippers sitting down by her computer. If Madison hadnât been distracted by her one-track mind, she couldâve thought of putting on a hoodie and keeping Joshua in the pocket, or bunching up a blanket with the boy somewhere beneath the folds. But instead, her pair of fuzzy blue slippers caught her eye, and the first thing she thought was how theyâd probably look like a cave from Joshuaâs point of view, a cave that Madison could turn away from where her brother would be sitting. So instead of taking just a few more moments to think of something better, her stress and anxiety gave the poor girl tunnel vision, and she picked one of the slippers up to peer inside and give it a quick sniff. It didnât smell great, cuz it was still a piece of footwear, but it couldâve been worse. At least itâs not as bad as my shoes⌠I think.
Joshua had remembered that Madison couldnât hear him at his size and had given up trying to talk to her about his predicament, but he was at least glad to be back in the open air. Although it was a short-lived relief when he saw her lifting up the slipper and setting it on her lap. âHere, thisâll be big enough for you to stand up in, give you a bit more room to move around. But I have to let my brother back in, so unless you wanna be discovered and get us both in trouble, you have to stay hidden inside. Alright?â She turned the slipper around so that its opening was facing away from the rest of her room, and carefully lowered it back to the floor. âRemember: Iâm still gonna take you out for ice cream when this is all over, and Iâll let you watch Deadpool and whatever else you want for the rest of the weekend once weâre back at your house. But for now, youâre just gonna need to hang in there for, um⌠a few more hours.â
