✅2️⃣ Testing the Babysitter

Eighteenth Test: Comparing Alignments

When Claudia had invited him round, spending hours watching Professor Apocrypha's Magnificent Gumball Machine had been the last thing on his mind. But somehow it seemed like a perfect way to unwind. While she was watching something she enjoyed so much, Lorelei was practically overflowing with joy. And her excitement seemed to be contagious. Adam could smile and laugh and join in with making silly guesses about what was going to happen next, and after a couple more episodes he really felt like he was starting to bond with the little girl. Maybe he was better than he'd realised at babysitting.

It was a surprise when one episode ended and Lorelei jumped up from the couch, doing an unsteady twirl in the middle of the room.

"Let's play!" she said, and ran off in the direction of the hall.

"That was sudden," Adam said with a shrug, and turned to see Claudia's response. "Do we need to go with her?"

"She'll probably bring some of her toys down. But you can go see if she wants help carrying things."

"Yeah, I'd better..." he started, and then thought again. Even if she was on her best behaviour, Lorelei could tell him to do anything once Claudia was out of the room. And she could tell him not to tell her sister about it as well, landing him in even more trouble. She'd already shown how crafty she could be when it came to keeping secrets, and he didn't want to risk spoiling an otherwise enjoyable day. "I think if she needs help she'd call, wouldn't she? That's a good thing to learn as well, that you can't expect people to always guess what you want."

"She's not really old enough to understand that. She's still a child, you know? But I don't think she'll be particularly bothered if she can't carry everything she wants."

"I think she might be more mature than you realise. And letting her do stuff herself shows that we're treating her like a big girl, doesn't it? She was very sure about not wanting to be babied last time we were here."

He started having second thoughts now. Was Claudia going to be disappointed in him, or think that he was just being lazy? He couldn't tell her about his real worries because Lorelei had told him to keep her earlier instructions a secret. What must she be thinking now? He turned to the door and started to head after Lorelei, but before he could take a step he heard the energetic thunder of little feet on the stairs.

Lorelei was back only a second later, with her arms full of dolls. They were a mismatched assortment, with Barbie mixed in with action figures from whatever was popular on television right now. He recognised four characters from the cartoon they'd just been watching, as well as half of a transforming dog figure, as well as noting that there were a few dolls in the set that seemed to have their heads swapped around.

"Babies don't walk," Lorelei snapped, looking up at Adam. "You're too little. You gotta crawl like a baby."

He didn't know where the sudden burst of assertiveness had come from, but he couldn't argue. He dropped to his knees, bringing him closer to her level, and waited to see how Claudia would react to that.

"Lori?"

"Mmm?"

"What did I say about telling Adam what to do?"

"Ask first?" Lorelei's voice was a lot lower now, and she looked down at her hands as if she wanted the floor to swallow her up. She'd been caught out, being mean in the open after all her previous attempts to torment him secretly. But then her head popped back up and she was smiling again, as perky as ever. "So can I? Babies gotta crawl."

"Mmm," Claudia tutted for a moment, raising one finger as a subtle request for silence. She was looking at Adam, he realised, trying to gauge how he was feeling now. He gave a half smile and a shrug. He wasn't particularly happy about having his freedom to walk taken away, but once he thought about it he quickly realised that he would have to spend some time on the floor anyway if he wanted to play with the child and her dolls. It really didn't make that much difference, and if it made her happy it was a worthwhile sacrifice.

"I think that's fine," Claudia concluded. "Adam, you're not allowed to stand up or walk until I say so. Do you understand? And Lori, don't do that again. You ask me first next time. Do you understand? I've given you a chance to show that you can be a good girl, and you don't seem to be listening. Adam is trying really hard to help you have fun, and I want you to treat him like you care. If you want to keep borrowing my toys, you need to be careful with them."

Adam bit his lip at the last line. He knew it was just a silly metaphor, but when Claudia called him a toy he felt something he couldn't quite put a name on. He felt like being objectified by a friend was supposed to be a bad thing, but at the same time thinking of himself as belonging to her gave the impression that there was more than just friendship there. Like there could be some real, strong connection holding them together, and that was a chance he would jump at.

"Okay," Lorelei nodded. "Be good." then she held up a figure, a young version of Alonzus Apocrypha, and added: "Can Adam play with me now?"