“Yeah!” Chris said, nodding. “They’re out on a date! Hi, Nino!”
“Uh, hi, bro,” Nino responded, tugging on his hat.
“Who was watching you?” Ladybug asked, bringing their attention back to her.
“Lila!” Etta shouted, then she pouted. “But I wish it was Marinette. She was always more fun.”
“Yeah!” Ella agreed. “Marinette at least protected us during Akuma attacks!”
Chat Noir looked away from the Akuma victim, eyes narrowing as he sent a quick glance to Alya and Nino. “What did Lila do?”
“She ran,” Ella huffed, and Alya froze.
Ladybug froze, too, and then stood up. “Kids, give me and Chat Noir just a minute, and we’ll be right back.” The heroine grabbed Chat Noir by his tail, and then they were off.
“Guys, let’s go home!” Alya said, shutting off her livestream (she’d worry about the contents later). Right then, she had to worry about getting her siblings home, before her parents did. Later, much later, she’d question why Lila left.
But Ladybug and Chat Noir returned before the group was even half a block away.
“Ella, Etta, right?” Ladybug checked, and the girls nodded. “It’s rather cold out, I’ll swing you home.” She glared at Alya. “I’m sure you can make it on your own, considering you were already out and about?”
“I, uh,” Alya nodded. “Sure.”
“Little guy, I’ll get you home before you can count to thirty!” Chat Noir said, picking up Chris. “I’m sure your bro can get there before I reach fifty.”
“I can only count to seventeen!” Chris whined, but he smiled and cheered as Chat extended his staff and vaulted away, leaving Nino to chase after them.
Alya couldn’t help but worry as she raced home. The way Ladybug looked at her, the fact that Lila left her siblings to fend for themselves against an Akuma…
She felt sick.
The feeling only got worse when she opened the door, and her parents were waiting there, drinking hot cocoa with Ladybug and all three of her sisters.
Alya shut the door, and tried to smile at her parents. “Hey, mom-”
“Why weren’t you watching your sisters?” Her mom cut her off immediately, and Alya winced. “I go to work, and I come home to Ladybug telling me that you left Ella and Etta, and someone else’s kid, under the care of some girl we don’t even know?” She shook her head, disappointment clear. “I thought I raised you better.”
“Mom, I-”
“You what?” Her father interrupted. “You left them with someone incompetent! You left them with someone we don’t trust, and that’s not the only problem! You were supposed to watch them yourself, not pawn them off to a classmate so you could go on a date!”
“How was I supposed to know she’d leave them?” Alya retorted. “She’s Ladybug’s best friend, I thought she was better than that!”
“She isn’t my best friend,” Ladybug responded calmly, and Alya felt her jaw drop. “She and I have only interacted when she’s been Akumatized. Which, by the way, has been multiple times. She is a delusional liar, and I’d advise that you never trust her with your siblings.”
“We liked Marinette better, anyways,” Etta said again, then drank more of her hot cocoa.
“Wait, Marinette? Was she watching them, too?” Her mother asked, looking even angrier.
“Not anymore! She hasn’t watched them in over a month!”
“And when did she watch them?”
“Only a few times!”
“Ella? Etta?” Her mother asked, turning to the girls.
“Over a year!” Ella said sweetly, and her mother slammed her hands on the table.
“A year?! Alya, I’ve paid you for watching your siblings! I know your friend Marinette is busy, isn’t she the class president? A designer? A student, just like you? You took up so much of her time, and you never even gave her the money she deserved for her time?!”
“It’s- it’s what a friend would do!” Alya protested, face burning as she avoided Ladybug’s disappointed gaze.
“A friend should expect someone to do work for them, work they’re being paid to do?” Ladybug was the one to ask this, tone full of disapproval. “That’s called using them. I’d be surprised if Marinette is still your friend, it sounds very one-sided.”
“It does,” her father agreed. “But we’ll fix that. Alya, tomorrow you’re going to go to Marinette and give her all of the money you owe her.”
“What?” Alya shouted. “But that- that’s hundreds of euros! That’s nearly all of my money! I saved that up, I shouldn’t have to give it to her!”
“It’s saved up because you unfairly kept it from her,” her mother pointed out. “And I expect you to apologize to her.”
Alya huffed. As if they’ll know whether she actually gives Marinette the money… “Fine.”
“And to make sure you do, I’ll drop you off tomorrow and come in with you!” Her father decided. “I’m due a day off, anyways.”
“What?! No, you can’t do that!” Alya scrambled for excuses, then perked up. “Marinette is always late to school anyways, she won’t get there before you’ll have to go!”
“I’ll stay the whole day if I have to,” her father states, and Alya growled.
“Ugh! This is so unfair!”
“What’s unfair is what you did to Marinette and your siblings. Now, go to your room, I’m done with this conversation,” Her mother said at last, and Alya stormed off, slamming her door shut behind her.
Leaning against the door, she could hear her parents thanking Ladybug, and Ladybug’s cheerful response.
She thought everything would be fine… she thought wrong.
~~~~~
I hope you enjoyed this! And, as a little bonus, the aftermath:
Alya goes to school, a stuffed envelope in hand. Nino is the same, carrying an envelope and ducking his head in shame. It looks like he had a similar talk with his parents.
Marinette arrives twenty-five minutes before the bell, looking… oddly happy, compared to usual. (Although Alya hasn’t paid her much attention in the past month, being too interested in Lila’s tales…which she’s still realising are fake.)
The apology is awkward, and so is Nino’s, but they get through it as the whole class watches on. With shame, the couple gives Marinette the money she’s owed. Marinette accepts their apology with grace, albeit somewhat cold as she points out how they deceived her. She then excuses herself from the class, racing the money home before it can be stolen.
Later, Marinette buys some new fabric. She’ll have fun designing, something she’s been able to do much more since Alya stopped asking for babysitting help.
And life goes on.
15: Babysitting
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