✅2️⃣ Testing the Babysitter

Seventeenth Test: Assessing the Facts

Adam sat back and smiled as the episode ended. It didn't enter his mind for a moment that he should have been expecting further embarrassment without warning. For a brief instant he even forgot that he was wearing a diaper, the most humiliating thing he could imagine. He was just content to have watched something fun that didn't require too much thought.

"Did you kids enjoy that?" Claudia asked, and something in her tone made him look down, bringing his contentment crashing down.

"Yeah!" Lorelei answered first. "More. Put a robot one on." She seemed more excitable than ever, and Adam had started to dread that tone now. But this time she was excited over something that wouldn't be a problem for any of them, and he tried to force all of the worries out of his mind. As long as they stayed like this she couldn't say anything problematic without alerting Claudia to her shenanigans, which meant that Adam should be safe. He reached for the remote and started searching for an episode with the robot dog in. He didn't know the show as well as Lorelei probably did, but he was sure that there would be some hint in the thumbnail images, or he might see an episode title that he recognised.

"Wait," Claudia stopped him. "We need to talk first, okay?" Adam's fingers froze, and then he realised that he'd been following Lorelei's instructions without even realising. That was just a little more terrifying, although some errant corner of his hindbrain started wondering if he would at some point find himself obeying Claudia like that. The prospect was more than a little appealing.

"What?" Lorelei asked, putting on her most exaggerated fake-sulking expression.

"Adam has volunteered to play with you today so you won't be the youngest. Isn't that nice of him?"

"Yeah. He gotta do what I say," Lorelei beamed with pride. "Good girl Adam!"

"You said that before. Did you work it out for yourself, or did he tell you? I'm a little surprised if he did."

"I told him to tell me. See I worked it out." Adam bit his lip as he thought about that. She was so cheerful, admitting what she had done. Now Claudia would know, and she was sure to help him get back to normal. Maybe he'd even get some kind of treat to apologise for treating him like a baby, although he couldn't think of any reward that was really better than the start of this evening. But at the very least, he would be free now Lorelei had confessed.

"I see, that is very clever. Now, have you told him to do anything yet? I don't want you to be bad, understand? You're only allowed to give Adam orders if I say it's okay. If you're too mean I won't let you play with him again."

"I know. I'm good." Lorelei nodded and then turned back to look at the screen again. "Can we watch now?"

"First I want a little proof. What have you told him to do so far?"

"I didn't. I jus' told him tell me if he had a special cake."

"Good girl," Claudia answered, and got up from her chair to give her sister a pat on the head before she turned back to Adam. He knew she was smart; they both were. So surely she knew better than to take the demon child's word for it. And his trust was rewarded, because she spoke to him seriously: "Now, Adam, I want to be sure you're comfortable with this. That means I really need to know everything you're obeying, so that I can keep this game from getting out of control. Okay? So I'm giving you a clear command. You must answer this question truthfully, and don't miss any out: What orders has Lori given you since you got downstairs?"

"She told me to watch television with her," Adam answered immediately. He knew that wasn't what Claudia meant, but she had ordered him not to miss any so he still had to mention it. "I don't know if she meant that as an order. And she just told me to choose another episode, but then you told me to wait."

"Is that all?"

"Yes," he nodded, wishing he had the self control to at least curse. That was everything Lorelei had told him since he came down, sure. But she'd started telling him to be a baby earlier in the evening when they were both upstairs.

"So everything else you've done is your own choice?" she was careful; that was clear. It made Adam want to be with her more than ever. Claudia was smart enough to see any problem, and she would do whatever it took to resolve them. Or to make sure that a friend she cared about wasn't in real discomfort.

"Yes," he found himself answering. He wanted to tell her about the commands she had given earlier, but he specifically wasn't allowed to speak to Claudia about that. In fact he had to hide the truth from her, which meant lying when Claudia asked a more open question. He could probably have told her exactly what was wrong if he'd been compelled to give the truth; but Claudia had only told him to be honest in answering one single question. He had been so close to safety that his fingertips might have brushed against some ledge, but now he was tumbling down the metaphorical cliff again.

"Good girl. Now, I know Lori always wanted a little sister, so you're going to refer to yourself as her little sister as long as she's here. Understand? And you refer to yourself as a girl as well. Is that something you're comfortable with?" This time Adam couldn't even bring himself to answer. He wanted to say no, but he wondered if he was somehow being assessed here. He could say no, ask for the humiliation to be lessened by the tiniest fraction. But it didn't really make that much difference to him, and he was sure that if he did, Lorelei would find some opportunity to give the order again anyway. If she could get him alone even for a moment he would have to act like a baby girl and if Claudia didn't see she would think he was doing it voluntarily. Whereas she clearly thought it was a reasonable thing to do, to help the little girl enjoy the evening more. And if Lorelei was happy, she was less likely to think of some worse punishment for him.

"Yeah," he eventually squeaked out the words. "I can do that. So my big sis is happy."

"Good girl. Oh, and Lori? Don't tease Adam about being back in diapers. She just had a little accident, and you know how embarrassing that can be. So don't be mean. And I think that's all I need to say. So, Adam, if you'd like to do the honours, I think the episode 'Queen of Spuds' is the most recent one with the dog.

Adam nodded, and didn't argue any more. He couldn't stop blushing, so the best he could do was find the episode quickly so that both of the girls would be looking away from him. With nobody else paying attention, he could imagine that everything was just a little bit more normal.