Piece of Cake?

by AppleJTZ

Two's better than one?

Dear Dean Cadence,

Today, I’ve learnt a very important lesson: When you have trouble with a task or face a problem you can’t overcome on your own…

A loud crash sounded through the apartment. Sitting on the couch with her smartphone in her hands, Sugarcoat heard how Indigo dashed after the two hyperactive twins. “COME BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE TWERPS!!”

…don’t ask someone just as incompetent for help. Zero plus Zero doesn’t equal one.

With a sigh Sugarcoat put her smartphone away. Behind her, Indigo threw herself over the couch, panting in exhaustion. “You’re no better babysitter than I am” Sugarcoat remarked, sternly looking at her.

The blue-haired girl angrily glared at her. “Hey, you didn’t tell me they were on a sugar rush!” she snapped back. “Besides, you’re the one getting paid for this – so get off your butt and help me!”

Though a little reluctant, Sugarcoat stood up. “Alright, what shall we do?” she asked.

Raising herself Indigo held up a finger. “First, we lock all the doors so they can’t get out of the living room” she said, hold up a second finger. “Then, we catch them.”

Sugarcoat scoffed. “That’s a terrible plan. Also, I don’t have any keys for this apartment, so we can’t lock the doors.”

Stemming her hands against her sides Indigo looked around. “I’m sure there are keys lying around some-” Suddenly, she froze as something lunged out at her from behind. Indigo turned her head, seeing two small bodies flying at her from a dark spot of the room. Time seemed to be slowing down for the athlete, giggles resonating in her ears while little hands were reaching out for her. Just as slowly as things seemed to unfold at first everything suddenly happened in an instant: One pair of hands grabbed her around the neck, the other around the waist. The tiny arms were barely able to reach around her, yet were holding her with surprising strength. Despite their light weight the impact was strong enough to make Indigo tumble backwards, fall right over the back of the couch and land upside-down on it, her head smashing into the seat cushion.

Sugarcoat simply stared at Indigo and the two toddlers clinging to her. The little kids weren’t just calmly hugging her however – in their current state, this seemed to be impossible anyway. Hanging upside down around her waist Pound tightly clenched her arms around her, while frantically banging his head against her belly. Though still holding her arms around her neck Pumpkin had stepped onto the couch, jumping up and down on it while violently shaking Indigo’s head. Although they were laughing and giggling the whole time their expressions were more over-ecstatic than cheerful, as if they were unable to stop smiling even if they wanted to. Their little eyes were flickering with excess energy, their whole bodies quivering the whole time while they constantly turned their heads from one direction to the other.

Sugarcoat watched the hyperactive toddlers for a moment, before casting a glance at Indigo’s face. Though being tortured she gave her a determined look, as if she was saying: “What are you waiting for? Grab them!” Getting into position she watched the twins “play” with Indigo a little longer, waiting for the right moment. Then, when she though the time was right, she moved her arms forward as fast as possible, trying to grab Pound and Pumpkin. Her fingers could almost feel their skin when they suddenly slipped away, abruptly letting go off Indigo and instead jumping at Sugarcoat. Pound grabbed her head while Pumpkin lunged out at her shoulders, both toddlers giggling as they pulled her down. Taken by surprise Sugarcoat couldn’t regain her balance, and fell with her face first on top of Indigo. Both girls yelped as Sugarcoat pushed her off the couch. The two teenagers fell on the ground, the twins laughing as they jumped away.

Lying in front of the couch the babysitters couldn’t move, their bodies being slightly caught up in each other. They exchanged an annoyed glance, before setting their gaze on the toddlers. Their movements were rather hectic, their bodies twitching from the overdose of sugar as they leapt over the couch. From their position, the teenagers watched them spurt through the living room. Despite their small size they moved surprisingly fast, making it a little hard to follow them. Eventually they stopped in front of a door. Sugarcoat and Indigo then watched quite perplexed as Pound pressed his arms against the door, while Pumpkin climbed on his shoulders. Despite their bodies’ constant trembling Pumpkin stood secure on top of her brother. Stretching herself as far as possible her tiny fingers reached the door handle, and as she pushed it down the door opened by a notch. Immediately Pound grabbed the open edge of the door, pulling it further open while Pumpkin jumped from his shoulders. Laughing like tiny maniacs they then rushed through the door, vanishing in a blur.

The teenagers stared after them, blinking. Sugarcoat was the first to regain her composure. “So that’s how they open doors” she remarked flatly.

Indigo nodded. “Good to know.”

With some effort, the two separated themselves from each other and got back up on their feet. Indigo stretched herself slightly, keeping her eyes on where the twins had left. “Where does that door lead to?” she asked.

Sugarcoat shrugged. “I don’t know” she said, walking over to it. “I guess it’s the bedroom.”

Indigo turned up her mouth. “That’s bad. Parents hate it when the sitters get in those. We have to be careful not to leave a trace.”

“The way I see it” Sugarcoat said as she stepped through the door “We must make sure THEY don’t leave a trace.”

She looked into the room, Indigo walking up behind her. It was rather dark aside from the light streaming in from the living room, but they could see a large double-bed standing at the wall. Aside from it, the furniture seemed to consist mainly of a few shelves and bed tables on each side of the bed. Sugarcoat fumbled around the wall next to the door, until she found the light switch. Flicking it on she saw there was also a desk in the back of the room, hosting a computer. Additionally two laptops were lying on it, the sight of which making Sugarcoat a little melancholic. She couldn’t space out for long though as Indigo pushed her aside, walking into the bedroom.

“Okay, let’s search those little brats and get out of here” the sporty girl declared.

Sugarcoat harrumphed, but began searching. Both she and Indigo scanned the room, looking for the babies. “Babies are really good at suddenly vanishing into thin air” Sugarcoat remarked.

“Probably because they are so small” Indigo guessed. She walked towards the bed, lifting one of the pillows. Seeing no baby beneath it she put it back down. “But seriously, these toddlers are like nin-”

Suddenly, the athlete froze. Her gaze was locked onto the ceiling, her jaw hanging wide open. “Um, Sugar?”

Sugarcoat turned towards her. “What?”

Indigo silently pointed at the ceiling lamp. As Sugarcoat looked up her eyes widened, almost popping out of her head. Pound and Pumpkin were standing on the shade of the ceiling lamp, holding on to the cable with their tiny hands.

“They’re not ninjas” Sugarcoat said, adjusting her glasses as if to check if they were broken. “They’re circus acrobats!”

Both girls looked clueless at the toddlers hanging at the lamp above the bed. Pound and Pumpkin swung forth and back, rocking the lamp from one side to the other and using it like a see-saw. “You think they are gonna hurt themselves?” Indigo asked a little worried.

Sugarcoat shook her head. “They are too annoying to be seriously injured by something like that” she deadpanned. “But they could damage the lamp.”

Crossing her arms Indigo rolled up her eyes. “Well, good to know where your priorities lie.” She looked back at the kids, who were swinging steadily faster and wider. “Anyway, we gotta get them down there.”

Watching the hyperactive kids swing from side to side, Sugarcoat asked: “And how are we supposed to do that?”

“Easy” Indigo replied. “One of us grabs the lamp, the other one gets the-”

“I call lamp.”

Indigo glared at Sugarcoat. “Fine. You stop the lamp and I’ll grab the kids.”

After slipping out of their shoes the two stepped onto the bed. Standing on the mattress, careful not to mess up the blanket, they held up their arms. Above them they watched the lamp swing back and forth, the two toddlers giggling more excitedly the faster it moved. Sugarcoat kept her eyes on the lamp, memorizing the pattern of its movements. When she thought she had it she tried to snatch the shade. She only grabbed into empty air though, the twins chuckling even louder as if to mock her. Frowning Sugarcoat repeatedly tried to grab the lamp, but missed it again and again, growing more frustrated with each failed attempt. Furious, she leapt up at it, basically throwing her whole body against it. She wrapped her arms around the shade, right between the babies’ bodies, and stemmed her feet against the mattress. But instead of stopping the lamp Sugarcoat yelped as she was suddenly swinging along with it, her feet sliding over the bed. Watching her swing around Indigo quickly grabbed her friend around the waist. At first it looked like both girls were swinging with the lamp, but it didn’t take long before they stopped. With Sugarcoat hanging on the lamp and Indigo hanging around her the two stood on the bed for a moment, the toddlers laughing above them.

“Nicely done, Pigtails” Indigo commented sarcastically.

A slight hue of red crept onto Sugarcoat’s cheeks. “Just grab the kids” she muttered.

Indigo let go of Sugarcoat, looking up at the twins. Though the lamp was not moving they still tried to swing it, moving their bodies back and forth while laughing out loud. Seemingly distracted Indigo carefully brought her hands close to them, before suddenly moving her arms forward. “Got’cha!... Huh?” Quite surprised Indigo felt nothing between her fingers. Just before she could grab them they had let themselves fall backwards, dropping through the air right onto the bed. They bounced off the mattress, both landing on their feet and immediately jumping down the bed. Running away from their babysitters they dashed towards the living room, so fast it was barely possible to follow their movements.

Still standing at the lamp Sugarcoat looked flatly at Indigo. “You’re really a babysitting expert, aren’t you?”

This time the blue-haired athlete blushed. “Shut it, Sugar.”

The two teenagers jumped off the bed and ran after the toddlers. Back inside the living room they saw them dashing around the piles of stuff they had thrown over earlier. Indigo and Sugarcoat exchanged a glance, both looking determined. Nodding at each other they turned back to the twins, and began chasing after them. The chase went through the entire living room, across the TV area and around the dining table, continuing into the kitchen, back to the living room and then into children’s room. As the toddlers ran back into the living room again Indigo yelled and jumped forward, stretching her arms out for them. Just before she reaching them however they suddenly made a turn to the side. The airborne teenager landed on the couch, burying her face in a pillow. The impact caused the couch to slide a few feet over the carpet, luckily without damaging it.

Rushing behind the couch Sugarcoat helped her lean up. “Are you alright?” she asked.

Indigo stared dizzily into the air for a moment, then shook her head. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine” she mumbled. As she climbed over the back of the couch to Sugarcoat’s side, she and Sugarcoat stared after the twins. They were still running around, their bodies blurring through the room and turning it into an even greater mess. “But if this keeps up, we’ll never get the apartment cleaned up before their parents are back.”

Sugarcoat crossed her arms. “So, what do we do now, Miss expert babysitter?”

With a ponderous look on her face, Indigo scratched her head. “Running after them won’t do any good…We need some sort of bait, something to lure them towards us.” She turned towards Sugarcoat. “You spent the whole evening with them. Was there anything they were especially interested in?”

Though she didn’t reply, Sugarcoat turned up her mouth upon Indigo’s question. She looked like she was fighting with herself for a moment, before eventually, she slumped her shoulders. Under the curious look of her friend she kneeled on the ground, leaning forward and placing her hands on the carpet. Grumpily she let her pigtails fall down, their tips just touching the floor.

Once they saw the white strands gently swaying near the ground the twins immediately stopped. Their tiny eyes sparkled as they stared at Sugarcoat’s hair, their lips quivering in excitement. Faster than light they were at Sugarcoat’s side, one toddler hanging at each of her pigtails. Clenching their arms around them they wildly pulled on them, with so much strength it felt for Sugarcoat like they really wanted to tear them off this time. She cringed, even more when she felt them taking the tips of her hair into their mouths. In the middle of her struggle, she glanced up at Indigo. Looking down on her the cheeks of the blue-haired girl were quite inflated, and although she pressed her lips together, small laughs constantly slipped through them. “Not one word, Zap” Sugarcoat sternly demanded.

Turning her head away Indigo chuckled into her hand. Sugarcoat grunted, when she suddenly noticed the twins were not pulling on her hair anymore. Fearing they had run away again she immediately turned her eyes back to them. What she saw however surprised her made her stare with wide eyes and an open mouth at them. “Hey, Indigo…” The athlete turned back to her, and upon seeing what Sugarcoat saw, made the same baffled expression as her.

The twins had fallen asleep.

They watched the toddlers for a moment. They had both let go of Sugarcoat’s hair, lying peacefully on the carpet. Then, the teenagers relaxed, as they let out a loud sigh of relief. Sugarcoat leaned back while Indigo dropped to the ground, both girls resting their bodies against the couch. They felt the exhaustion settling into them, panting and sweating from the stress of the evening.

”See?” Indigo said between breathes, the smile on her face radiating both exhaustion and pride. “All went just as I planned!”

Sugarcoat glared suspiciously at her. “As you planned?” she repeated.

Indigo nodded. “Yeah! When kids are on a sugar rush, you gotta let ‘em run around until they get tired and fall asleep. Playing with your hair seems to have pushed them to that point.”

Still looking skeptical Sugarcoat cocked her head. “And that is actually a certified and recommended method to babysit?”

Pulling one leg towards her Indigo shrugged. “You don’t tell anyone, I don’t tell anyone, okay?”

Closing her eyes Sugarcoat nodded. “Deal.”

Both girls fell quiet. Sugarcoat breathed deeply, hearing nothing but Indigo’s pants and the snores of the toddlers. With one eye, she glanced towards them. Pound was lying on his belly, sticking his in diapers covered butt to the ceiling and rubbing his cheek against the carpet. Meanwhile Pumpkin rested on her back, bringing her hand to her head in her sleep. Softly she slapped her face a few times before her thumb made its way into her mouth, and she began to suck on it as she slept. Sugarcoat watched them for a while as they were peacefully slumbering, the little devils suddenly having turned into angels. “Indigo?”

Turning her head to the side Indigo looked at her friend. “Yeah?”

Leaning back Sugarcoat closed her eyes again. “Remind me to never have kids.”

Comments

[Regreme]

Another adorable chapter.:D And hilarious. XD

[BenRG]

POUND: "Sugar..."

PUMPKIN: "... Coat..."

[Godslittleprincess]

7802872

Leaning back Sugarcoat closed her eyes again. “Remind me to never have kids.”

As horrifying as Sugarcoat's experience sounds, I'd still want to have kids even if I went through that trainwreck of a babysitting job. That's normal, right? Maybe some people *cough* like me *cough* have a natural affinity for children and nurturing and caring. Unfortunately, Sugarcoat isn't one of those people.

[ShadowLDrago]

Leaning back Sugarcoat closed her eyes again. “Remind me to never have kids.”

A wise decision.