The Last Minute Costume

The Brat in the Hat - Part 10

Part 10 - Oh, She Will Not Like It, To Find Us This Way!


"I guess it's time for me to go," Melody said quickly, eyeing the car sitting in the driveway for just a second before picking up the now empty box the outfit had been in and heading toward the kitchen.

"What? No!" Sarah toddled frantically after her. She'd been trying to get rid of the girl for most of the afternoon, but now she wasn't about to let her get away so easily, not with the house in the shape it was in. "You can't go!"

"We've had enough fun for one day," Melody countered, grabbing her box from the kitchen with the leftover s'more ingredients, setting it inside the other box. "Maybe we'll play some other games another day."

"No!" Sarah grabbed for Melody's arm, trying to hold her there, but missed. She decided to try another tactic. "You can't go yet! You haven't shown me the game with the marshmallows yet!" She scurried as fast as someone in a loaded double diaper could go to the freezer, but when she pulled it open, the bowl was gone. "Where are they?"

Melody wasn't able to resist walking over to her to answer, patting the girl's lower stomach as she said, "They're right here. Or, rather, they were for a little bit. Now they're here." She moved her hand to the back of Sarah's diaper.

Sarah looked up at her in shock. "That was you?! I didn't really have an accident?!" Her face flushed as she remembered Melody teasing her about it, how humiliated she'd felt. Of course, it wouldn't have helped much to know someone else was responsible as it was happening, but it might have made her feel a little better. Suddenly another thought hit her. "Marshmallows can do that?!"

"Well, you still pooped your diaper, and did quite a good job of it. That wasn't me. Now, ta-ta, baby girl!" She started to take her boxes and leave, then paused a final time to put Sarah's phone on the counter and flip her hoodie back over her head.

Sarah waddled over toward her, cursing herself for being too shocked to get ahold of Melody when she'd been right in front of her a moment later. She was sure Melody could overpower her, but if she could just keep her there for long enough for her mom to see her, that might help with the explanation of what had gone on that day. She was too slow, however, reaching the door just as the girl, boxes, cat ears, and all, exited.

There was no way she'd catch up with her outside, she knew, not barefoot and in diapers, so she spun back around, taking in the disaster area the kitchen now was. Her mother would be at the door any moment now - she was probably just gathering up all her stuff from the car so she wouldn't have to make another trip out in the rain. Maybe Sarah would have enough time to fix something. But what should she do? Should she work on the kitchen, the dining room, the living room? Should she go start cleaning her mother's room? Should she change her diaper and hope that somehow her mom didn't notice the smell? She should do something, to show she was trying to help, but what?

Then she heard the front door open. Her heart thudded to a stop as she heard a thump from her mother setting her things down on the floor, knowing any second she'd look around and start noticing the devastation. Sure enough, the next thing she heard was, "What happened in here, Sarah?!"

Sarah considered calling out to her mom, letting her know right away that this wasn't as bad as it looked, nor was it her fault, but her voice froze in her throat. She didn't want her mother to see her like this! So she stood helplessly in place, listening to her mother's footsteps retreat down the hall. "Where are you, Sarah? Did you have a problem getting your diaper on?" her mother asked. Sarah opened her mouth again, hoping to at least stop her before she saw her own room, but again, nothing came out.

And, sure enough, a few seconds later, her mother's voice came again, sounding much angrier this time. "Sarah, what did you do to my make-up?!" Sarah started to cower away from the kitchen door, already imagining the look on her mother's face when she came storming in. But it was even more frightening than Sarah had imagined, and as soon as her mother saw what shape the kitchen was in, it got even worse. "What in the name of God have you been up to, young lady?!" she demanded, advancing on her shaking daughter.

"N-No... It wasn't me..." Sarah shook her head, backing away. "I was just minding my business, and... And that girl from next door, Melody, you know, the one I used to babysit? She came over to wish me happy birthday, and then she made this whole big mess because she was mad at me and..."

Her voice vanished again as she saw her mother sniff the air. "Young lady, did you mess your diaper?!"

"No!" Sarah squeaked automatically, not expecting her mother to march straight over to her faster than she could move away, one pat of Sarah's drooping diaper telling her all she needed to know. "It's not my fault!" Sarah tried to explain. "It was Melody! She did something with marshmallows, and I couldn't help it, and..." She noticed her mother smelling something again as she spoke, before marching over to a cupboard and pulling it open, taking out a half-empty bottle.

"Did you get into my alcohol, too?" Sarah shook her head, confused for a moment before remembering how tipsy she'd felt earlier, how strange that cider had tasted. She'd never had alcohol before, but she had a sudden sinking feeling that was no longer true. "I suppose Melody did that, too?"

"She did!" Sarah exclaimed. "You have to believe me!"

"Are you sure you were just mad at me for making you put on a diaper - one you clearly needed, by the way - and decided to get back at me? This is all incredibly immature, young lady. I thought I could trust you on your own for an afternoon, but clearly I'm not dealing with a young adult here, am I?"

"No!" Sarah stomped her foot in frustration. "This isn't my fault! I tried to make her leave so I could clean up, but.."

"Did you at least get some other laundry done when you washed your wet training pants?" her mother asked, ignoring her outburst. Sarah bit her bottom lip, having forgotten all about that, which was enough of an answer to send her mother heading off to the clothes hamper. Sarah followed at her own pace; by the time she arrived, her mother had found not only the cupcake-dotted undergarments, but the rest of Sarah's outfit from earlier that day, still soaked, thrown on top of the rest of the clothes waiting to be washed.

Sarah really knew she was in trouble when her mother finally spoke up again, voice quiet, but strained. "Did I not tell you to put on a diaper if you had an accident?"

"I-I did," Sarah stammered.

"No, you decided you were too old to wear diapers during the day, so you put on your regular panties, then had an accident in them, too. You finally decided to do what I told you to begin with, and you go and poop yourself! I don't know if you were trying to teach me a lesson for rightfully 'making' you wear your diapers, or if you genuinely had an accident, but either way, I think you'd better get used to wearing them during the day, too, because you're going to be spending the summer in them."

Sarah gasped, stunned. "No..."

"Don't even start, little missy. I don't want to hear a word out of you. You are in big trouble right now. And don't think the diapers are your punishment - that's a necessity for someone who can't control themselves any better than this. No, your punishment is going to start now." Sarah's mother grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her to the bathroom, stopping there just long enough to grab her wooden hairbrush before pulling the now frantic girl into the living room.

"No, no, no!" Sarah pouted. "This isn't fair! It's not my fault!"

"If you'd just take responsibility, I would take it a little easier on you. You'd still be getting a spanking, but I might consider letting you spend some time alone this summer. But since you're continuing to act like a naughty child, I just don't think I can trust you on your own anymore."

"What does that..?" Sarah started to ask, only to be pulled over her mother's lap, the too-short skirt of the jumper pushed up to reveal the lumpy backside of her diaper. "Mom, no, you can't do this!" She squirmed, trying to escape from her mother's lap, only to be held firmly in place. "I'm too old for this!"

"Are you really going to try to tell me that right now?" She gave the diaper a quick, sharp spank with her hand, making Sarah squirm in discomfort. "Is someone wearing THIS too old for anything?" With that, she raised the hairbrush and began raining it down over Sarah's padded bottom. Through the pair of diapers, it didn't hurt too badly, but she found herself crying quickly anyway as the mess in her pants became even messier, until she felt like every inch of her hairless crotch was covered in it. After a few minutes, her mother stopped, letting her get back to her feet, rubbing her bottom and sniffling.

"Now, you're going to go wash yourself up. You can put on a nightshirt if you want so you can take the bathroom's garbage out so it doesn't stink up the place too much. Then you are going to come right back in here, and I am going to spank you silly right on your bare bottom. Then I'm going to diaper you so you can get right to bed."

"Bed?!" Sarah squeaked, looking over at the clock. It was barely 4:30 now. She didn't know how long her punishment would take, but it seemed unlikely it would last until even 6 pm.

"That's right," her mother said sternly. "And you'll be going to be that early for at least the rest of the week. You'll get to have supper those nights, but you'll still be in bed nice and early. And if you're a naughty girl, that will be your regular bedtime for the rest of the summer."

"This isn't fair! None of this is my fault! It was all Melody!" Sarah stomped her foot, on the verge of a tantrum at the injustice of the whole situation.

"Get moving, young lady." Her mother gave her one more smack across the diaper with the hairbrush. "I don't want to hear any more of your silly stories."

"It's true!" Sarah stomped again.

"Then prove it! Why should I think that sweet little girl would do any of this?" Sarah's mother stood, crossing her arms.

"She's not sweet! And she's not a little kid anymore, she's a teenager, and she's a monster! Where do you think I got these clothes?! They're hers!"

"What possible reason would she have for making you wear her clothes?" Sarah, of course, couldn't answer that. "I can't say I remember that outfit right off the bat, but I don't know every piece of clothing you own, especially not after you've been away at college. Now I'm going to count to three, and if you aren't on the way to the bathroom by the time I get there, you're getting another spanking on your diaper to go with the one on your bum. One."

"Not fair!" Sarah screamed, stamping her feet. "Not fair!"

Her mother didn't bother to count any higher, just sat back down, pulling her daughter back over her lap and getting to work until she stopped throwing her tantrum. When Sarah was let go that time, she sulkingly, but quickly, toddled to the bathroom. It was a relief to get out of her diaper, though it took what felt like hours in the shower to get cleaned up. While she was in there, however, she had a good idea, one she was so excited about she almost didn't throw on a nightshirt before going through with it.

"Look!" she exclaimed, lugging the bathroom's garbage can into the living room. "That mess wasn't all me, Melody put oatmeal in my diaper first! Why would I do that?"

"Don't be disgusting, Sarah, I'm not looking at your dirty diaper. Stop stalling and go empty it in the outside can."

"But..." Sarah pouted.

"Sarah, you are really making me question whether you're really mature enough to be off at college. You are going to have to really impress me over the next few weeks, or I'm pulling you out. Do you understand? If I have to, I'll find a preschool somewhere around here that will take you instead - I think that fits your maturity level much better than college, don't you?" Sarah shook her head frantically. "Then do as your told! That will be a start."

Reluctantly, but promptly, Sarah did as she was told, dragging the garbage can out the kitchen door. She was still damp from her shower, so she didn't bother with an umbrella. She hadn't taken the trash out herself since getting home from college - she wondered if offering to do it from then on would help prove she was mature, or if her mother would see through her. Or if she'd be assigned that as a chore, anyway, being forced to cart all her used diapers out back, then dragging the can full of them down to the curb every week, hoping nobody was nearby to smell it, or see them if, heaven forbid, the lid should happen to fall off.

As she pulled the bathroom trash can back inside, she noticed her phone sitting on the counter, light flashing. Deciding she at least had time to check her messages before going to get her spanking, she picked it up, saw that she had a voicemail from an unfamiliar number.

The first thing she heard was a strangely familiar voice, yet one she couldn't quite place at first, asking, "Will you please diaper me? Please tape my diaper up nice and tight!" She gasped and blushed as the realization washed over her just who the voice belonged to, right before the voicemail continued.

"Don't you just sound adorable?" Melody gushed. "Your mommy just called me. It sounds like she's awfully mad. I think the next time I see you, your little bottom is going to be bright red, isn't it? And I will be seeing you again, sweetie. She told me she'd forgotten just how old I must be getting now until you reminded, and asked if I would be interested in taking a babysitting job for the summer. She's paying me real well, since I'm going to have to deal with diapers, and a big, bratty baby. Apparently you threw a tantrum and wrecked the whole house, you naughty thing! Just so you know, if I think you're going to do anything like that, I have full authority to spank you. Won't that be fun?

"You know, the only reason I went over there today was to cuss you out, to tell you just how terrible a babysitter you were, and how bad you made me feel about myself. My sister told me that would make me feel better, and I wanted to - I couldn't help thinking about how fun it would be to tell you off to your face - but I was scared. Of you! Can you believe that? It took me ages to get the courage to come see you - my sister almost went over and did it for me - but it was all worth it. As soon as I saw you, I realized just how ridiculous it was to ever be afraid of you, or let you push me around. And now, I don't just have to tell you what a bully you were - you get to experience it first hand. I think you'd better get used to saying..." There was a brief pause, then Sarah's voice started to play again. "'Ohhhh no! No, no, no! I'm filling my diaper!'"

The phone beeped, signaling the end of the message, as Sarah stood there, cheeks beet red as she realized Melody had been recording her again while she'd been having her "accident". She hated the thought of that little brat having a record of that, something she could play back any time she wanted, for anyone. And then it dawned on her that, despite all that, Melody had just given her the best gift she could have asked for.

"Mom, you have to listen to this!" she yelled, running across the kitchen. "I told you it was all Melody's fault, just listen..."

Sarah yelped as she tripped over a stray pan. It hurt her toes, but that wasn't what caused the cry. As she fell, she saw her phone slide out of her flailing hand, flying upward as she headed for the ground, as if in slow motion. She watched the phone tumble up, up, up, and then back down, plummeting toward the hard, linoleum floor. She didn't have time to screech out a desperate, "No!" before it smashed against the floor, screen shattering, blinking into darkness. She scrambled to her feet, rushing over to it and picking it up, praying it would still work, somehow, just enough to replay the message.

When she looked up, her mother was standing over her, hairbrush in hand. "No!" Sarah shook her head, fumbling with the buttons, trying to bring the screen back to life. "I know what you're thinking, but I didn't break it on purpose! She really did leave me a message! This is all her fault!" She let the phone drop, giving up. "I just need another phone, and I can put my SIM card in there, and I think I'll be able to get the message again, and you can hear!"

"Living room. Now." She didn't have to say that Sarah would not be getting another phone, at least not anytime soon, nor that this latest attempt at trying to avoid the blame did not impress her one bit. Sarah could just tell, like she could tell that if she said one more word, her mother was prone to flip her over her knee right there and start spanking, and not stop until the sun went down. And, much as she disliked the idea of her new, early bedtime, she didn't want to extend it that way.

So, defeated, she put her head down and trudged back to the living room. Her mother stayed for a moment longer, staring down at the broken phone and shaking her head before following her daughter. A moment or two later, the house was filled with the sounds of wood smacking bare flesh and crying. And as it went on, and Sarah felt her bottom getting redder, and warmer, and more swollen, she could only hope her mother didn't find her grades from last semester. With Melody as her babysitter, reporting in on whether or not she was naughty, she had little enough of a shot of getting to go back to college at the end of the summer.

If either her mother or Melody found those grades, she had no doubt she'd be spending the next year in diapers, learning her ABCs all over again, no matter how well she behaved. Instead of spending the next school year on her own, debating philosophy with her peers, lugging around huge textbooks nearly as big as her, she'd be sitting around, playing with finger paint, waiting for story time, not expected to read anything that didn't have more pictures than words.

'Well,' she thought to herself, already resigning herself to the fact that, given her luck that day, it was almost inevitable that this would happen, 'it might not be all bad after all, going back to Play-Doh and Dr. Seuss. He's more interesting than calculus anyway.'


The End

The Brat in the Hat - Part 9

Part 9 - This Mess Is So Big And So Deep And So Tall


Sarah groaned as she woke up, head and stomach both aching slightly. It took her a moment to realize her encounter with Melody hadn't been a dream, helped along by to smell of baby powder still permeating her room, and that caused another groan as she wondered how long she'd been asleep, and how much time she'd have now to clean the house up. Had Melody gotten bored of waiting for her to wake up and left? That would be nice, and convenient, but she doubted she'd be rid of the girl so easily.

She'd rolled over onto her back in her sleep, it seemed, which seemed a little strange, since she was usually a very peaceful, and deep, sleeper, but she supposed it was because of all she'd been through. There was still a bit of an aftertaste of soap lingering in her mouth. She wondered how long that would be there. Probably at least until supper, when, no doubt, everything would taste vaguely bubbly, reminding her anew of that little humiliation.

Her stomach gave a low, somewhat ominous rumble. She was going to need to go to the bathroom somewhat soon. She figured she could hold it until Melody left - surely so, since she hadn't felt that much a need to go before going to sleep - so she didn't give it much of a thought until she sat up.

Then it was all she could think about. Her eyes went wide as she gasped loudly, tears springing to her eyes as she looked down at herself in shock, fumbling for the light switch again, this time finally hitting it. What she saw there only made her feel worse, as the lumpy seat of her diaper seemed to confirm what she'd already decided had to be, as hard as it was to wrap her head around the idea. She poked at the mass in her diaper in disbelief, squirming on her bed, trying to prove to herself somehow that it wasn't true, but no matter what she did, there was still a warm, thick mess in the seat of her diaper, making her assume that her rumbly tummy was an after-effect, rather than a warning. That or, even worse, there was more to come.

"No..." she whimpered. "No, no, no!" This couldn't be happening! She had managed to avoid full-out crying that whole day, though she'd come close several times, managing to stop herself before a few tears turned into a torrent. But now, there she was, in just a diaper that her former babysitting charge had put her in, after being put down for a nap in a room that now smelled a lot like a nursery, and she'd actually messed herself in her sleep! She started crying harder as she imagined Melody coming in and finding her, taking joy in pointing out that was something she'd never done, not even while awake, much less in her sleep. Sarah supposed she could say she'd done it before or after her nap, but was that really any better? There was really no backing out of this whole baby thing now. Unless she got out of Melody's clutches in time to take the garbage out, which would probably seem suspicious, not to mention she had nowhere to take it, she had a feeling her mother would notice the smell, and then Sarah would have a lot of explaining to do, with no answers other than the obvious.

And God only knew what Melody would do. At the very least, there would be another round of Sarah being called a baby, more evidence she couldn't refute to support that. There was bound to be a reminder that Melody had never pooped her pants, as a justification for her to make Sarah do anything babyish she wanted. There might even be a reminder of one of Sarah's last attempts to break Melody's bedwetting.

Sarah had marched into her room, holding a pan. Melody, of course, had been confused, since she'd been in the middle of doing her homework. "Get up," Sarah had ordered.

"Sarah, I'm trying to..." she'd started to whine.

"Melody, stand up right now!" Sarah had told her sternly. With a sigh, the girl got up, diaper crinkling. Sarah made sure to check her, to make sure she hadn't wet herself without coming to her to beg to use the bathroom, but, as usual, she was dry. "Melody, this is starting to get ridiculous. I have tried and tried to make you stop wetting your bed, but you just won't listen. So I'm going to show you what being a baby is really like. Now turn around." Melody hesitated, until Sarah barked a repeated, "Turn around!"

She'd pulled out the back of Melody's diaper and began spooning the contents of the pan inside, piling the gloppy mess of oatmeal into the seat of her diaper as the girl protested and squirmed, but Sarah kept going until she'd emptied the pan. She let the waistband of the diaper snap back into place, then pulled it up tightly around the girl's bottom, before giving the seat a nice, hard pat, the girl sniffling and fidgeting the whole time. "Babies don't just wet themselves," Sarah reminded her, spinning her back around. "Is this what you want?"

Melody had wrinkled her nose, shaking her head. Sarah grabbed her shoulders, forcing her back down onto her desk chair with a squelch. "I'll change you when I get you ready for bed."

"No, you can't leave me like this! This is gross!" Melody had protested as Sarah took the pan and left, ignoring the girl's every word, feeling quite proud of herself for thinking of this punishment.

"Son of a bitch," Sarah whispered, sniffing the air. She poked again at her diaper, then, with just a little reluctance, tugged at the leg-band, glimpsing inside and finding just what she'd expected. That little bitch had tricked her! Made her think she'd committed the ultimate babyish act, when she was just repeating what Sarah had done to her. Mostly, she felt mad at herself for not realizing it earlier, before getting so upset, but she had to admit it was rather clever doing it while she was asleep, so her mind would be less clear for figuring out what happened.

As if on cue, Melody bustled in, heading straight toward Sarah. "What's wrong, sweetie? I heard you crying, and I thought you might have fallen out of bed. I'm not sure why else you'd be crying! I mean, babies cry when they need changed, but you keep telling me you aren't one of those, so I'm sure that's not it!"

"Very funny." Sarah got to her feet smugly, but the drooping diaper between her legs made it hard to sound too confident, so she sat back down, only to find the contents squishing around to make things worse. Not wanting to look like a jack in the box, she stayed seated. "Do you really think I was going to fall for that?"

"Then what were you crying about? Upset you wet the bed in front of me?"

"I didn't!" Sarah's heart pounded as she realized that, in her worry over her supposed 'accident', she'd forgotten all about that. She looked back down at her diaper, seeing that, sure enough, the wetness indicator was blurred. "It's just from the oatmeal!" she said, flustered, putting her hand over it.

"Then how come you were wet before I put the oatmeal in there?" Melody smiled, like the cat who caught the canary. "Admit it, 'widdle Sawah', you're a bedwetter, just like I used to be! And if you want to act like a baby and pee your bed, well, you deserve to spend some time in a full diaper! Isn't that what you would prescribe?" Melody reached out, patting Sarah's diaper.

Sarah blushed, unable to bring herself to admit the truth. "You're lying!" she said instead. "I wasn't wet, and you know it! I'm sorry about what I did, but you can't..." Sarah stopped, gasping as a cramp hit her, bending her over slightly. Her cheeks turned red - if it was just oatmeal in her diaper, then her upset stomach from before could only have been from something about to happen. "Melody, you've had your fun, now I'm going to the bathroom, and you aren't going to stop me!"

Sarah stood up defiantly, only to discover how unfortunate her phrasing was. As soon as her bottom left the bed, she could feel it starting. It was hard to believe it at first, keeping her from even thinking about trying to stop it, though she doubted that would have made a difference, considering how little they helped once she did start. For the first few moments, however, she was fully occupied with her thoughts, not realizing, in her shock and desperation, that she was saying them out loud. "What's going on? Something's happening... Oh, no! No, I can't be! I must be imagining things... Oh, God, I can feel it, it's still coming, it's really happening... Ohhhh no! No, no, no! I'm filling my diaper!"

She whimpered, trying to clamp her hands over the back of her diaper, but not only did it not help, it was worse, feeling the sensation of her diaper ballooning out not just from inside, but out. No matter what she did, the mushy mess just kept coming, pushing out into her already full and sagging diaper. But this was far worse than what had been there before, because this time, she knew it was real, that she was helpless before it, and that she was doing it right in front of Melody, who looked positively ecstatic to be watching the scene play out.

"You were saying?" Melody giggled. "Jeez, Sarah, I was just joking with the oatmeal! I didn't think you'd do the real thing! I never imagined you were this much of a baby! I bet that diaper's getting pretty full, huh? Man, if you could see your face! Oh, wait..." Melody grabbed the shaking, sniffling girl and turned her around so she could see herself in her mirror.

There had been several times that day that Sarah had been sure were the most powerless she'd ever felt, but this one took the cake. She'd never have guessed the person in the mirror was her, and certainly not that she was 19 years old, with her red face, her eyes filled with tears, her diaper still expanding as it bulged outward. "Nooo," she whimpered, squirming uncomfortably as, finally, after several long moments of watching the spectacle she was making of herself, it ended. How could this have happened? How could she have done this to herself?

"Wow! What a stinky baby you are!" Melody shook her head, giving Sarah's bloated diaper a hard pat. Sarah saw her reflection wrinkle its nose and pout, still crying. "What's that? Aren't you going to tell me you aren't a baby? No, I didn't think so. Not anymore, huh? Only a baby would do this." She gave another pat, then walked off, leaving Sarah alone with her thoughts while she bent down and grabbed another diaper from the floor. "All right, let's get you fixed up."

Sarah happily turned away from the mirror. "Thank you," she sniffed, a little surprised that Melody would change her so quick - though she did have to admit, she didn't particularly want to be around that smell much longer than she had to, so she doubted Melody would, either.

"Hey, it's all right," Melody smiled at her. "I am the babysitter, after all. That's my job!" Sarah nodded, defeated. "Now, do you think I did a good enough job last time, or should I listen to your instructions again?" Melody took out her phone, flipping past an unnamed recording to one titled, 'Please Diaper Me!'

"You did fine," Sarah blushed, not wanting to have to listen to her own voice begging to be diapered. She knew it had been coerced out of her, but she still didn't need to hear it.

"Fine? I don't know if that's good enough, especially with a big mess like this..."

"You were great!" Sarah exclaimed as Melody's thumb moved toward the play button. "You know what you're doing!"

"Well, if you say so," Melody shrugged, putting her phone away.

Sarah sighed in relief as Melody bent down, starting to do something with her diaper. She assumed the girl was untaping it, but she didn't feel the heavy thing loosen any and after a minute, she looked down, seeing that, instead, Melody had been ripping holes in the plastic for some reason.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Don't worry your little head about it," Melody replied patronizingly and she unfolded the second diaper, then brought it up between Sarah's legs.

"No!" Sarah shook her head, figuring it out on her own. "Don't do that!"

"You said I knew what I was doing," Melody reminded her, pulling the fresh diaper up tight around the first. Sarah squeaked and squirmed as the warm, soft mess was pressed up against her skin while the diaper was taped snugly in place. It still sagged slightly, but for the most part, the second layer made sure it stayed right where it was, while holding Sarah's thighs ever further apart, giving her a much more pronounced waddle as she followed Melody out of her room. She had no doubt it would have felt gross no matter what, but the sugaring had made sure the gooey mass in her pants was right against her soft, sensitive skin, making her all the more aware of it.

"Please, don't make me wear this!" she begged, toddling after her babysitter as she made her way into the living room.

Melody ignored her. "I think it's time I show you everything from the first box I brought for you," she said, walking over to where it sat on the coffee table, dragging Sarah with her. She forced Sarah to sit on the table, on the opposite side from the box, the other girl whimpering and wrinkling her nose as her bottom sank into the contents of her diaper. Melody extracted the bow from the box first, putting it back in Sarah's hair. "You remember this, don't you?" Sarah nodded, suddenly feeling very apprehensive about what else might be in the box. "It's still just as cute, but since you're already in your diapers, I think we'll add something else for the second round of dress-up. What do you think?"

Before Sarah could answer, Melody took something else out of the box. It was white, and looked ever so slightly familiar, though it wasn't until Melody turned it around for her to see that Sarah recognized it as the shirt she'd put Melody in for the walk to the playground, or one that looked very similar. "No!" she shook her head. "I can't wear that! It's not going to fit!"

"We'll see," Melody countered, grabbing Sarah's arm and forcing it through one of the sleeves, then wrapping it around the weakly protesting girl's back and shoving her other arms through the second sleeve. She tugged the two side together, buttoning it with only the slightest difficulty. Sarah had to admit it was nice to have something on other than her diaper at last, especially something that covered her chest, but this was so tight it compressed what little breasts she had.

After that, Sarah had no doubt she knew what else was in the box, but it was still a little shocking to see it taken out and held up, knowing it was about to go on her, just as she'd put it on Melody way back when. "Lift your arms," Melody ordered, and, seeing little other alternative, Sarah did so. The jumper was put over her head, tugged down over her body, then she was pulled to her feet. She found a hand automatically straying to the skirt, yanking at it, trying to make it longer, to no avail. She was only a little taller than Melody had been when she'd worn it, but the difference - along with how much bulkier her diaper was - was enough. No matter what she did, the diaper stuck out. There was no hope of moving around delicately and keeping it hidden, it was just there, bulging out from beneath the dark blue fabric.

"You look so cute!" Melody grinned. "Now, I think we're going to have to start wrapping things up. I have one more thing planned. I know it's raining, so we can't go to the playground - or at least, it wouldn't be very fun - but I want you to go fetch us an umbrella, and then we're going to go for a nice, long walk around the neighborhood."

"No, you can't do that!" Sarah declared, though she hardly felt confident about the proclamation, even before Melody started to glare at her.

"Are you really still telling me no?" she asked, taking a step towards the girl, then reaching down, shoving the seat of her diaper up harder against her crotch. "You just don't learn, do you? No wonder you still wet the bed, and your pants, at your age. Were you ever potty trained? Were you still peeing yourself while you were so obsessed with trying to make me stop wetting the bed?"

"No!" Sarah whimpered.

"I bet you were," Melody continued. "I bet you were so hard on me because you were so upset that you just couldn't keep your own bed dry, and you thought if you could figure out how to make me stop, maybe you'd know what to do to fix yourself, too. But you never did, did you? And you know why? Because I was just a kid, and I could grow out of it. But you've never been anything but a baby, and you never will be. Now come on, baby, get your babysitter an umbrella! I'm sure you don't mind getting wet, but I do."

Sarah wanted to refuse, but she just wasn't sure she had it in her. Melody had worn her down - she knew by now the girl was going to get what she wanted, and the less trouble she made, the easier it would be for her, ultimately. Even so, going outside like this was much different than anything else she'd done that day. Nobody but she and Melody had to know about anything else - though if anyone happened to be out in the rain, they might see her now, standing there, blushing - but as soon as she started getting paraded through the neighborhood, anyone could see her. Anyone just sitting at home, bored, with nothing to because of the rain except stare out their windows and wonder if anything interesting would happen. She couldn't manage another no, but she could sputter a, "But..." or two, stalling, hoping for a miracle.

She wasn't expecting one, given the way the day had been going, but sure enough, one came. Before Melody could order her one more time to fetch an umbrella, and Sarah could break down and do it, the two were interrupted by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Sarah looked out the window to see that, sure enough, her mother was home.

The Brat in the Hat - Part 8

Part 8 - I Do Not Like It, Not One Little Bit


"Excuse me?" Melody put her hands on her hips, glaring down at the increasingly nervous Sarah. "You're really going that stand there in your diaper, which I put you in - that you begged me to put you in, as my little recording verifies - after you wet yourself in front of me, and tell me you aren't a baby?"

"No, I'm not!" Sarah did her best to match Melody's tone of authority, digging back into her history of babysitting, but it was that very past, not to mention her attire, that made it difficult. "I'm older than you, Melody, as you well know, and this is my house. You have no right to be here if I don't want you here, and if you're going to act like this, then I want you to leave! You've been nothing but a monster since you walked in that door!"

Frustratingly, Melody ignored most of that speech, despite how difficult it had been for Sarah to find the courage to make it. "You really want me to think you aren't a baby? Would you care to explain WHY you had those diapers, then? And don't tell me they aren't yours. They were in your closet, along with Goodnites. There were used ones in the bathroom by your bedroom. Your mother sent you a text that seemed to think it was very likely that you'd had an accident. You called me, and treated me like, a baby on a daily basis just for wetting my bed, and it sure seems like you do a lot more than that. And you expect me to treat you like an adult? Or even like you're anywhere close to my age? You, little missy, are a baby, and you don't deserve to be treated like anything other than a baby."

Sarah stared icily at Melody, wishing she could legitimately refute any of the teenager's arguments, and feeling even more annoyed that she couldn't. "Well... Well, fuck you! Who asked you to get involved? I..." Sarah cut herself off with a yelp as Melody grabbed her by the ear, dragging her out of the kitchen. "Stop it!" she whined. "Let me go, you little bitch! This is my house, you can't..!" She stopped again, this time by Melody letting go of her, and grabbing a bar of soap instead. "Don't you dare!"

Melody shoved her against the wall, holding her in place with one hand as the other shoved the bar of soap into her protesting mouth. Sarah managed an unhappy, shocked, "Mmph!" before Melody started pushing the bar in and out of her mouth, working it around, filling her pouting mouth with suds.

"You were going to get this anyway for being such a brat and telling me no," Melody told her. "But after that little outburst, you're going into time-out, too, young lady!" Sarah mumbled, her tongue already starting to burn slightly, bubbly saliva starting to drip from the corners of her mouth onto her bare chest. "Your mouth is going to be squeaky clean after this, isn't it? Nothing even resembling a curse word. And no more saying no to your babysitter, right? Right?!"

Sarah nodded, sniffling. "Pwease, stop!" she managed to blurt out around the still thrusting soap. Even after everything else that day, it was almost impossible for her to accept the fact that she was being given such a childish punishment. "I be good giwl!"

Melody gave the soap a couple more good twists, then stopped, leaving the bar between Sarah's teeth. She pulled Sarah away from the wall and pushed her toward the door with a firm smack on the back of her diaper, leading her that way to her mother's room, and the corner there. "You keep your nose there," Melody ordered, "and that soap in your mouth. Since you're being a naughty girl, you don't get to play makeover. But I'm going to do it myself, and watching you in the mirror, so if you move one inch, you'll be sorry. Understand?"

Sarah nodded forlornly. Melody gave her one final thwack across her padded backside, then walked away, leaving her alone with her thoughts. This was ridiculous, but what could Sarah do? She wasn't sure if Melody was bluffing about further punishment or not, but she was starting to doubt it. She seemed all too happy to continue treating Sarah like some errant child.

As Sarah stood there, squirming, mouth sore and tingling, she could hear Melody rummaging through the make-up on her mother's vanity, not sounding like she was concerned with being careful at all. She could hear things bumping and falling over as the girl worked, appraising each with, "Not bad," or, "This is awful! Why would she have this?" It certainly didn't sound like she was paying attention to anything other than wreaking more havoc.

Sarah started to turn her head to verify that, but stopped, afraid she'd find Melody staring straight at her. Instead, she started moving her hand up slowly, inching its way toward the bar of soap sticking out from it. She paused every few seconds, waiting for the inevitable clearing of the throat that would tell her to stop it, but it never came. She had to fight a sigh of relief as she took the soap out, though she quickly realized that didn't solve her problems. Her mouth was still full of suds that she didn't want to swallow, but had nothing else she could do with, and she had nowhere to put the soap, meaning she'd have to keep holding it in front of herself, unless she wanted to risk Melody taking a quick peek at her and seeing her hand at her side, still clutching it. But, holding it like that would probably make her suspicious, and she'd come to check things out.

She wrinkled her nose, wanting to whine and stomp her feet at the injustice of it, but forcing herself to keep still. The moment of relief had been nice, but the risk of extending it too long was too great, so she had to open her mouth back up and slide the soap back in, gingerly biting down just enough to ensure it wouldn't slide out. Her mouth was really starting to sting now, and she couldn't help wondering if Melody had used the wrong kind of soap, if she was getting poisoned, or killing off her taste buds, by doing this. She knew it sounded silly, but she had no idea what ingesting soap - or keeping it in her mouth for extended periods of time - could do!

"Mewody, pwease, can I take dis out now? I'ww stay in cownew!"

"No. Be quiet, you're being punished."

Sarah whimpered. "But it huwts!"

"Then you should stop talking so I don't extend your punishment." Melody then ignored her muffled whining and went back to whatever she was doing.

Sarah fidgeted, tears starting to come to her eyes yet again. This wasn't fair! She'd never done this to Melody! Of course, Melody had been a relatively well-behaved kid, and had certainly never swore, at least in Sarah's earshot, but even if she had, Sarah was pretty sure she'd never have made her go through this. Sure, she'd had some other things she'd done, but not this. In fact, Sarah was sure Melody was blowing the whole thing way out of proportion, that she'd already gotten more than enough revenge for Sarah's transgressions. Of course, she couldn't tell her so right then, nor did she think that the girl would be open to hearing that once this punishment was over.

But still, what had Sarah really done that was this bad? Making her go outside was probably the worst, and she hadn't even made her go all the way to the playground. After that, it was mostly just diapering her, and making her pee in them. That was mostly it. Was that really worth all of this?

She was still sulking over that when Melody came over and turned her around, extracting the soap. "Oh, you look grumpy!" she observed. "It's a good thing you're going down for your nap now!" Sarah started to open her mouth, to tell Melody that she just needed to get over what Sarah, in her misguided youth, had done to her. "Sarah, I still have the soap right here. I can tell you're not in a good mood, but if you say one thing to me I don't like, I will put it right back into your mouth and march you to the living room, and you can stay there until your mommy gets home. Is that how you want to greet her?" Sarah shook her head with a pout, unhappy at being so easily seen through, and dismissed. "Now, let's see if you need a change now."

Sarah stood by, not having the strength to object to another embarrassing check, knowing it would happen either way. "Look at you!" Melody exclaimed at finding her still dry and clean. "You'll be into Pull-Ups in no time at all!"

She led Sarah back out of her mother's room, past the vanity, which was in even worse shape than Sarah had feared. All the bottle and tubes were strewn around, like she'd heard, some of them open and spilling out their contents, but the mirror was a mess, too, covered in streaks of various colored lipsticks and eyeliners. It sent a bolt of anger through her, only to be quickly quenched by Melody calmly mentioning, "By the way, I saw you take the soap out. Your punishment for that is coming later." That was enough to remind her of her new status, and she quietly toddled her way to the bathroom, where Melody helped her rinse out her mouth, then dried her torso off with her towel. "What a messy baby you are!" she observed, moving the towel up to Sarah's chin. "Does your mommy put you in a bib when she feeds you?"

Sarah didn't rise to the bait, suddenly worn out by the whole thing. She was outmatched, overpowered. She trudged to her bedroom, still smelling strongly of baby powder, diapers still covering the floor, and let herself get tucked in. Melody took the bow out of her hair and put it back in the box before picking the whole box up and heading out of the room, shutting the door behind her, leaving Sarah alone in the darkness.

Sarah hadn't planned on sleeping - she hadn't taken a nap in years - but rather to stay up and use her privacy to think of a way out of this mess, to get the upper hand on Melody and at least make her leave. If she could do a little more, she couldn't say that she would mind. She'd love to have the girl clean up the house, since she was the one who'd wrecked it, and she had to admit that she'd feel a certain sense of satisfaction, watching her do it while in a diaper. But that was a long shot, she knew.

But as she laid there, room mostly black around her, the cloudy day keeping all but the smallest bit of light from sneaking in around her heavy curtains, she felt herself yawn, her eyelids growing heavy. It was probably just because it was dark, she thought, though it had been a long day so far. If she just closed her eyes for a minute, maybe that would help her concentrate, and maybe get rid of the fogginess that had plagued her mind most of the day. She would just take a quick little nap, and then it would be time to get to work...

Her eyes snapped open. She couldn't let herself fall asleep! What if she wet herself? She couldn't imagine what Melody would say when she checked her after the nap - like she had no doubt the girl would do - and found that. She might try to claim she'd had to, that she'd been awake and fully conscious when it happened, but that was only barely a better option, and she wasn't sure Melody wouldn't see through it. She had a feeling Melody suspected she was a bedwetter, but she didn't want to confirm it for her.

No, she was going to have to stay awake. She reached upward, towards her light switch, trying to flip it on, even though she knew she couldn't reach it lying like she was. With a groan, she rolled over onto her stomach, inching toward the edge of her mattress, fingers brushing up and down on the wall, searching. She could have stood up, but she was feeling too tired for that now. If she could just get the light on, it would help wake her up, and then she'd be all right. That's all she had to do. Her fingertip tapped against the edge of the wall plate, then slowly slid down the wall, flopping down to the side of the bed as she collapsed, fast asleep.

The Brat in the Hat - Part 7

Part 7 - I Call This Game Fun-In-A-Box


Of course, since it was raining outside, Sarah knew there was very little chance that anyone would just stroll past the house to see her as she was led through the living room and into the kitchen. Yet, the idea of being led through there, past the big window in the living room, in just a diaper, was quite humiliating. Walking past and through the mess Melody had made only made her feel worse, as she knew she still had to find time to clean all of that up once Melody finally left her alone, or her mother would be furious. And she was now in no position to demand Melody help her.

There was little relief from her fear of being exposed when they stopped in the kitchen, since the curtain on the window over the sink was wide open. There was even less chance of anyone seeing her through that than through the one in the living room - it was much smaller, and higher up on the wall, not to mention facing the back yard - but there was little room in her paranoia for logic.

She was so busy staring at the window, then around at the mess in the kitchen, even worse than the one in the living room, that she didn't notice the box sitting on the counter until Melody began to rummage through it. "And here's your second surprise!" Melody announced, pulling a few things out. "A special treat, even though you're being a rude little baby today."

Sarah looked at the items Melody had taken out of the box, figuring out what they were for at once, and realizing why Melody was doing it just a moment later. "S'mores?" she said quietly, staring up at Melody.

Melody nodded. "That's right! Do you remember when you showed me how to make them in the microwave?"

Sarah was a little reluctant to answer, "Yeah," unsure if Melody was setting her up for something.

Of course she remembered. It had been one of the last times Sarah had sat for Melody. Despite her best efforts - she'd come up with a few things that she thought were quite clever, yet hadn't done the trick - the girl was still wetting the bed, and her mother kept sounding more bewildered and exhausted by it every time she spoke to Sarah. So Sarah decided she was going to have to take things to the next level. She'd considered what she was going to do for a while, but couldn't quite bring herself to do it before then.

Once she'd gotten Melody all diapered up, she'd not only denied her any pants, she'd taken the girl's shirt off, much to her surprise, then went over to her closet and started rummaging through. After a minute, Melody walked over, arms clasped firmly over her training-bra clad chest. "What are you doing?"

"I think we spend too much time inside," Sarah had told her. "You need some fresh air. So we're going to the park."

Melody had stared up at her in shock, then down at her diaper, freshly taped into place. "Like this?!" she squeaked.

"No, of course not!" Sarah had giggled, ruffling her hair. "I'm looking for a nice outfit for you. Nothing too fancy, since you'll be running around and playing, but... Oh, here we go!" They had been together at the back of the closet, as if they were meant as a set - and they may well have been, since, as Sarah noted, they went together well. One piece was a simple, dark blue denim jumper, and the other was a white shirt, with a Peter Pan collar and puff sleeves. "These look like nice play clothes!"

"I haven't worn those for years!" Melody had complained, sulking as Sarah pried her arms away from her chest and forced them into the sleeves of the shirt.

"Then aren't you glad to see they still fit?" The shirt had been a little tight, but it buttoned shut without too much fuss. The jumper went on as well, falling a little higher than it was likely intended to be, though that had, of course, been Sarah's plan. It wouldn't show off the girl's diaper constantly, but with her running around and playing, it was bound to flash it enough to make Melody afraid someone would notice. She might not mind acting like a baby at home, but surely the threat of being discovered would shock her into growing up and keeping her bed dry.

Melody had begged Sarah not to make her do it, had tried to dig in her heels and stop herself from being dragged through the house - and she'd almost succeeded, as she had been getting fairly close to matching Sarah's size by then - and they'd barely made it to the sidewalk before she started bawling. Sarah finally relented at that, taking her back inside and trying to calm her down, finally achieving it by showing her how to make s'mores, letting her munch on one as she finished sniffling.

Sarah wasn't sure now if Melody saw those s'mores as a symbol of mercy, or if it reminded her more of what had come before. She had a bad feeling it was the latter, but surely not even Melody would take her outside in the rain, certainly not mostly naked.

Melody got a small plate down from an already open cupboard, setting it on the counter, then handing Sarah a graham cracker. "There you go. Just break it in half. Good girl!" She took the bag of marshmallows off the counter and ripped it open, holding it down so Sarah could reach it. "Choose your marshmallow and put it on half your cracker... Good job! Now we'll just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. Can you put in ten seconds and hit start! Oh, look at you!"

Sarah blushed. She supposed it was good Melody was being nice to her, instead of continuing her revenge, but it was hard not to feel like a little kid when she was being spoken to like that. "If I give you this chocolate, can I trust you to just break off enough for your s'more, or are you going to try to eat it all?" Melody teased, holding a chocolate bar over Sarah's head.

"I can do it," Sarah mumbled.

"Hmm.. No, I think I'd better do it myself. You're being a bad girl today, aren't you?" Melody broke off a few square of chocolate, setting them on the other half of the graham cracker as the microwave bell dinged. Sarah started to reach for it, but Melody smacked her hand away. "No, no! That's hot! You'd better let your babysitter get that for you!" She took the plate and set it on the counter, putting the two halves of the cracker with their contents together, then sliding the plate further away from Sarah. "It's still too hot, silly! You have to wait!"

With that, Melody started making her own s'more, not hesitating to take a bite of it as soon as it was assembled, though she did blow on it, of course. Sarah started to reach for her plate, and got her hand slapped away again. "No! It's still too hot for babies like you!"

Sarah hadn't been overly excited about the treat - though she had to admit it did sound good - but the act of being denied it, while having to watch Melody eat hers, made her feel like she was. Watching Melody take bite after bite, gooey marshmallow stretching out between her mouth and the confection... Sarah started to squirm, anxious to have her own, even before Melody started to say, "Oh, wow, this is so good!"

Sarah started to reach for hers again, but Melody stopped her with only a look this time. "You grab for that one more time, and you're going in the corner!" she threatened. "I'll give it to you when it's ready for you." Sarah glared at her, crossing her arms until Melody giggled and said, "You look so cute all sulky like that!" Sarah tried to stop it after that, but found it harder than she expected.

Melody finished her s'more and washed her hands carefully, then watched Sarah for a minute or two. Sarah tried not to look too anxious, or to fidget, or stare up at her waiting treat, but, of course, trying not to do something only made it that much harder. Finally Melody smiled and handed the plate down to her. Eagerly, Sarah began to eat, but by then, it was lukewarm. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't nearly as good as it would have been a few minutes earlier, fresh out of the microwave. Like Melody's had been.

Melody took Sarah's plate when she was finished, then started to wash her face and hands with a washcloth, despite Sarah's protests that she didn't need it. "Aww, why are you still being pouty?" Melody asked as she knelt down, scrubbing at her face. "Wasn't it yummy?"

"It was okay," Sarah mumbled.

"Then why aren't you smiling? Are you still mad at yourself for peeing your pants?" Sarah blushed slightly. "Well, there's another little game we'll be able to play with some of the things from this box, but not until later. Do you want to be a big girl and help me get ready for it, though?"

Sarah had no idea what she was talking about, or what else you could do with graham crackers, chocolate, or marshmallows, other than eat it. Was there some other dessert you could make with them? Or was she just going to be allowed to eat the rest of the chocolate? She didn't see how they could prepare for that, though, so it didn't make sense.

Melody took her lack of answer and look of puzzlement for a yes. "All right, just sit down." Sarah started to head for the kitchen table, but Melody grabbed her arm and held her in place. "No, panty-wetters like you can't sit on furniture, even in their diapers! They might leak and make a mess of it! Just sit on the floor, sweetie."

Sarah pouted as she sank down to the hard, linoleum floor, legs splayed out by the bulk of her diaper. Melody set a bowl in front of her, then the bag of marshmallows. "What you need to do," she instructed, "is roll the marshmallows between your hands, like Play-Doh. You know how to do that, right? Like you're making a snake. Do you get it? Let's see!"

Still confused, Sarah took a marshmallow between her hands and did as she'd been told, pressing down on it and rolling it back and forth between her palms until it was longer, and thinner. She looked up at Melody, unsure if it was what she'd been looking for or not. "Good job!" Melody praised her. "Now, put it in the bowl and make another!"

"How many should I make?" Sarah asked.

"Just as many as you want!"

Sarah gave Melody a sideways look, but started back in on the project. It was easy enough, but as Melody kept smiling wider and wider while watching her do it, she began to suspect there was no grand project connected to it, that the girl's only goal was to make her look like a silly little girl, playing on the kitchen floor. It was maybe a little odd that she'd chosen marshmallows as her 'toy', such as it was, but perhaps she hadn't been able to find any actual Play-Doh at her house. After her fifth, Sarah decided to stop. "Is that enough?"

"Oh, it should be plenty!" Melody nodded, picking up the bowl and taking it to the freezer. "You did a good job, honey! You're such a big girl, helping your babysitter out like that!" Once she'd shut the freezer door, she swooped over to Sarah, stumbling to her feet, and gave her a hug. "Are you my little helper? Yes, you are! Now, it looked like you were concentrating pretty hard there, so I think I'd better make sure you didn't have an accident."

"I didn't!" Sarah squawked, face red.

"We'll see... I'm not sure if I can trust you that much."

"I didn't!" Sarah repeated, voice getting a little higher. She clamped her hands over the crotch of her diaper as she saw Melody's fingers headed that way.

"Oh, are you going now?" Melody asked with mock concern. "And you didn't even ask me to take you to the potty! I guess you really do need those diapers!"

"No!" Sarah's face turned an even deeper shade of red, something she hadn't thought possible. "I'm not! I don't!" As she stood there, flustered, Melody reached out and gave her tummy a quick tickle. Sarah's hand moved upward towards her stomach as she gave an involuntary giggle and squirm, giving Melody enough time to reach down and slip a pair of fingers into the leg band of her diaper, wiggling them around, pressing them against the padding for a few uncomfortable seconds before finally pulling back out, letting the diaper snap back into place.

"Good girl!" Melody praised her, patting her on the head.

"I told you I didn't," Sarah grumped, glad at least that it was over.

Or so she'd thought. Melody gave her another moment, then spun her around, reaching down to pull the back of her diaper out. "I definitely didn't do that!" Sarah sqeaked, the very idea that Melody would insinuate there would be something in the seat of Sarah's diaper for her to find taking her down to an even deeper depth of humiliation. To make it even worse, Melody took her time, as if she were absolutely sure there could be something there.

"No, you didn't," she agreed at last. "Are you feeling bad about how you acted before? Is that why you're being such a good girl now? Well, it doesn't matter. Since you are being good, I think there's time for one more game before you go down for your nap."

"Melody, come on," Sarah rolled her eyes. "I don't want to play another game, and I don't need a nap. I need to clean this place up. Haven't you had enough fun?"

"I think you'll change your mind about not wanting to play when you hear what it is. We're going to play make-over! All little girls love playing with make-up, don't they? And I'm sure your mommy has lots to choose from!"

"No!" Sarah had to put her foot down there, although it did take her a moment or two to build up the resolve to do so. After seeing what Melody had done to the rest of the house, there was no way she was letting the girl into her mother's room. "Melody, you've had your fun. Now, please, just go home and leave me alone!"

"What was that?" Melody turned to face Sarah, looking unimpressed with her display of resistance. "Did you just tell me no, little girl? I am your babysitter, and if I say you need a nap, you are taking a nap. It's up to you if you do so after playing a game, or having a punishment, but either way, that little diapered bottom of yours is ending up in bed. Do you understand me?"

Sarah knew what she was expected to answer, and that, given how far she'd fallen in status that day already, she might regret not giving it, but she wasn't going to back down now. "No," she said defiantly. "You are NOT my babysitter, and I am not a baby, and it is time for you to leave!"