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“Where on Earth is she?” Sue complained as the clock edged towards 5:45.

Laura had already left, and Sue didn’t want to be late. 6:00 passed and then 6:15.

“I’ll have to call and cancel” Sue decided, annoyed and disappointed.

“You could just leave me here alone” Ally offered. Before Sue could reply she heard a car coming up the driveway.

“That’ll be her now”. Sue stated the obvious.

“I’m so sorry I’m late” Lorraine apologized. “I couldn’t get the car to start, and didn’t even have any charge in my phone to call”

“Well, I had wanted to go through the details before I left” Sue chuffed.

“Don’t worry about a thing” Lorraine said. “You go, we’ll be fine”

“All right” Sue agreed, leaving.

She wasn’t keen on leaving Ally with this woman without having had a chance to speak to her first, but Merideth had vouched for her and after all, Ally was thirteen now and not a helpless infant.

“I’m Ally” Ally offered after Sue had left.

“I’m Mrs Haines” her babysitter replied.

“Um, pleased to meet you.” Ally was a little taken aback, having expected her to use her first name.

“Well, if you need me, I’ll be watching TV”

“Oh, I don’t think so” Mrs Haines replied.

“I don’t approve of too much screen time for kids.

Why don’t you help me in the kitchen instead?

We can bake a cake for after dinner”

Ally smarted. Did this woman think she was five years old?

“I’d really rather” she started, before being cut off.

“This isn’t up for negotiation young lady” Mrs Haines replied.

Not wanting to get off to a bad start, Ally reluctantly agreed.

Despite her reluctance, Ally actually ended up quite enjoying herself, and Mrs Haines even let her lick off the beaters.

By the time she had finished, though, she’d gotten a sizeable amount of the cake mix over her arms and face.

“I think I might have a shower now” Ally decided after the cake had been placed in the oven to bake. “I’m covered!”

“That sounds like a good idea” Mrs Haines agreed.

Ally stripped off for her shower, noticing that some of the cake mixes had found its way onto her dress, despite the fact she’d worn an apron.

Her mother would be very displeased, Ally realized, but then again she rarely wore that dress anyway.

She finished showering and covered herself with a towel, but had barely stepped foot outside the bathroom when she noticed Mrs Haines waiting for her.

“There you are, you forgot these” Mrs Haines held up her pajamas, still rolled up into a ball as they had been when Ally discarded them earlier.

“Uh, I think I’ll change into them later” Ally decided.

“Well, you can’t wear that dress again, it’s covered.” Mrs Haines admonished.

“And there’s no point in getting another set of clothes dirty, it’s after 7:00!”

She was right, of course, and Ally couldn’t think of a reasonable objection.

“Now, your mother said on the phone that you’d need help with your pajamas, but I’m not sure what she would have meant by that” Mrs Haines said, unrolling the pajamas.

“Oh, I see now,” she said, holding them up and struggling to suppress a smile.

“Well, I guess that’s what your mum meant by unusual. Still, better get them on”

“It’s not what you think” Ally tried to explain.

“You see, the airline lost my luggage and it had all my pajamas in it”

“And you just happened to have these ones lying around?” Mrs Haines asked.

It was a rhetorical question, as the older woman clearly didn’t believe her.

“They belonged to my cousin” Ally explained.

“Then why do they have your name on the tag?”

This wasn’t going the way Ally had hoped.

“It was from a few years ago” Ally admitted, turning red.

“Back then mum wanted to make sure I didn’t take off my diaper at night”

“And she kept them all these years?”

The tone of disbelief in Mrs Haines voice was obvious.

“Look, I’m telling you the truth!” Ally insisted.

“Call my mum if you don’t believe me, she’ll tell you!”

“OK, calm down” Mrs Haines tried to defuse the situation.

“Can we both agree that you need to wear them tonight?”

“Yes” Ally replied. “But”

“Then it really doesn’t matter why does it?” Mrs Haines cut her off.

“Now, is there any reason why you shouldn’t change into them now?”

“I guess not” Ally replied. What must Mrs Haines think of her?

“Good, then hop to it” Mrs Haines insisted.

Stepping back into the bathroom, Ally pulled the pajamas on and did up the zipper as far as she could.

“Now let me get that” Mrs Haines pulled the zipper up to its full height and carefully secured the tab behind Ally’s back.

“There, all done. Now, let’s eat dinner”

By now it was very late for dinner, and Ally was starving.

She wolfed down the chicken and vegetables Mrs Haines laid out for her, before devouring a slice of the cake.

Just as she was finishing, she heard the doorbell ring.

“Who could it be at this time?” Mrs Haines asked, walking over to the door.

Ally hung back, not wanting to be seen in her pajamas.

“Yes?” Mrs Haines prompted, opening the door.

“Pardon me, I just brought over a set of my pajamas for Ally to use.

I thought she prefer to borrow these.” Laura’s voice came from the door.

“That’s great!” I said, walking towards the door, but Mrs Haines’s large frame blocked my path.

“Well thank you for the kind offer, but Ally already has a perfectly good set of pajamas” Mrs Haines replied, talking over me.

“Oh, well, good night then” Laura replied. Mrs Haines practically closed the door in her face.

“What did you say that for?” Ally was outraged.

“Because it’s the truth” Mrs Haines replied, calmly.

“I don’t know if you arranged that with her beforehand, but I’m not going to borrow clothes for you without your mother’s permission”

“Listen here you bitch! I’ve played along so far but that’s completely unfair.

I want you to take these off right now!” Ally screamed, furiously.

“Don’t you dare use that language with me” Mrs Haines bellowed back.

“Your mother will be hearing about this!”

“I’m sorry” Ally replied, realizing she had gone too far and a little afraid of the much larger woman.

“If that’s the attitude you’re going to take, I think you should get ready for bed right now.

I don’t want to have this sort of argument trying to get your diaper on when it’s bedtime” Mrs Haines insisted.

Not for the first time, this evening Ally’s face turned a bright shade of red.

“But it’s not even eight o clock” she complained.

“What if I need to use the bathroom afterward?”

“Then all you need to do is ask politely,” Mrs Haines told her.

“Now, are you going to cooperate, or will I have to put it on you myself?”

Ally couldn’t tell if Mrs Haines was bluffing or not.

“All right” she agreed, not wanting to risk it.

Mrs Haines led her by the hand into her room, undid the tab, and pulled down the zipper.

“Now, I’m warning you, no funny business!” she said, threateningly.

Ally pulled off her pajamas and underwear and fastened on one of her diapers as Mrs Haines waited outside.

“OK,” she said to Mrs Haines, pulling her pajamas back on. Mrs Haines stepped around her.

She placed her hand inside Ally’s pajamas, feeling for her diaper.

“Hey!” Ally complained loudly, turning around.

“Just had to check,” Mrs Haines told her. “Now turn back around.”

Ally did as she was told and Mrs Haines pulled up the zipper and secured the tab once again.

Ally was frustrated. 

She hadn’t worn a diaper, except to bed, for as long as she could remember.

She considered simply going to bed now, but having gotten up so late she would never be able to sleep.

Anyway, she felt that going to bed now would mark her as a naughty child, and she already felt enough like that.

“Can I just watch TV now?” Ally asked, wanting to be away from Mrs Haines.

“I’ve already told you I don’t support too much screen time.” Mrs Haines told her firmly.

“But since you’ve been a good girl about getting your diaper on early, I’ll make you a deal.

If you clean up this mess of a room, I’ll let you watch TV until bed”

Ally looked around.

Her mother rarely insisted that she keep her room clean, preferring instead to simply shut the door and let Ally have her space.

It seemed a monumental task that lay before her.

Still, it was something, she decided and set about clearing the most obvious mess.

It took her almost 45 minutes, but eventually, the room met with Mrs Haines’ satisfaction, and Ally rushed to use her allotted TV time.

Finding nothing good on TV she flicked to Netflix, where the final Star Wars movie she had started with Laura was still waiting.

Sure that Laura wouldn’t mind missing the end, she hit play.

Mrs Haines stepped into the room in time to see the Ewok army dismantling what remained of the Imperial Stormtroopers.

“What is that?” she asked.

“Star Wars” Ally said, pausing the film.

“And what’s it rated?” Mrs Haines insisted.

“PG” Ally answered, wondering why.

“And what does it say under PG?” Mrs Haines asked.

“Parental guidance recommended for persons under 15 years” Ally readout, flicking expertly to the required screen.

“And are you a person under 15 years?” Mrs Haines asked.

“Yes, but” Ally was interrupted.

“And am I your parent?”

“No, but” Ally was interrupted again.

“Then clearly I cannot provide parental guidance.”

“That’s ridiculous” Ally exclaimed. “I’ve seen it heaps of times before”

“When your mum’s here, that’s fine. But while I’m in charge, we’ll follow the ratings” Mrs Haines declared, taking the remote off Ally. 

She jumped back to the main menu and loaded up the first cartoon she could find in the Kids section.

“There, try that instead” Mrs Haines passed the remote back to Ally.

Ally fumed. First the pajamas, then the diapers, now this.

Did this woman think she was three instead of thirteen?

The moment Mrs Haines left the room she flicked back to Star Wars, watching with satisfaction as the rebel fleet began to advance.

Hearing the explosions and sounds of blaster fire, Mrs. Haines returned to the room.

Ally wasn’t quick enough to switch off the display.

“What did I say about that movie?” Mrs Haines asked.

“But it’s fine!” Ally insisted.

“I don’t care whether you think it’s fine or not, you disobeyed my explicit instruction.” Ally had no clear response.

“How would your mother punish you?”

“She wouldn’t.” Ally insisted.

Aside from the fact that Sue would have no problem with her watching Star Wars, her mother rarely if ever had to punish her at all.

“Well, I don’t believe that” Mrs Haines insisted. “Come here.”

She pulled Ally up by the hand and half dragged her to the corner of the room.

“Now, I want you to stand in the corner until I tell you that you can stop.

One minute per year of age usually does it, so I guess that’s 12 minutes for you”

“13” Ally spat back without thinking, annoyed that Mrs Haines would think her younger than she was.

She regretted it immediately.

“13 minutes” Mrs Haines clarified. “Now, legs together, hands on your head, facing the wall”. Ally fumed.

This was the sort of punishment you’d give a toddler.

She stood for a few minutes, her frustration building. “This is ridiculous” she spat back, turning around.

“Honestly, Ally, the way you’re acting you’d think I was telling you to stand for 13 hours rather than 13 minutes.” Mrs Haines was exasperated. “Now, face the wall – you’ve only got 13 minutes”

“That must have been at least five already!” Ally objected.

“It’s 13 consecutive minutes, Ally” Mrs Haines told her.

“Well, I’m not doing it.” Ally spun around and went into her room.

She slammed her door and picked up a book.

She started reading to take her mind off Mrs Haines, certain that her mother would support her when she returned.

Before she had finished a single page, the power went out.

Ally looked around, confused.

Her room was pitch black, but looking out the window none of the other houses seemed to have any problem.

She opened the door to find the rest of the house perfectly normal.

“Did you turn off my power?” She demanded of Mrs Haines.

She hadn’t even realized that it was possible to turn off just one room.

“Yes, and I won’t be turning it back on until you’ve done your 13 minutes” Mrs Haines informed her, calmly.

“Urgh!” Ally screamed, incensed that Mrs. Haines wouldn’t just let it go. “All right, but I need to use the bathroom first.

Undo the pajamas”

“You can use the bathroom after your 13 minutes” Mrs Haines wasn’t going to compromise.

“I have no doubt you can hold it that long”

Not finding any other option, Ally returned to the corner and stood in position.

The time passed slowly, she felt she had been standing there forever.

Surely 13 minutes must have gone by now?

“Hasn’t it been 13 minutes yet?” she demanded, turning around.

“That was 11 minutes” Mrs Haines informed her.

“Now you’ll have to start again”

“Urgh!” Ally felt like giving up and returning to her room, with or without power, but she was becoming more and more desperate to use the toilet.

Resigned, she turned back to face the wall, placing her hands back on her head.

Having nothing else to think about, the pressure in her bladder seemed to grow and grow.

Her hands tired from holding them on her head for so long, she shifted, moving them over her crotch in an attempt to make it easier to hold on.

“Start over” Mrs Haines insisted, herself incredibly frustrated.

“What, I didn’t say anything!” Ally complained, indignantly.

“You need to hold that position for 13 minutes.” Mrs Haines restated.

“Honestly, Ally, I look after toddlers who make this easier than you”

“But I really need to go to the toilet” Ally insisted.

“Well, that’s your own fault.

You would have been done by now if you’d just stood still”

Ally turned back to the wall, placing her hands on her head.

Holding them there seemed to increase the pressure on her bladder, but she had no alternative.

She just hoped she could hold out long enough for this to be over.

Her efforts proved futile.

Barely five minutes later, she felt the warm stream enter her diaper.

She pulled her hands back down on her crotch to try to stop the stream, but it continued unabated.

“Oh, Ally” Mrs Haines sighed in frustration, not realizing what had happened.

“This is all your fault” Ally cried, running back to her room, tears in her eyes.

Realizing now, Mrs Haines followed.

“I take it you couldn’t hold on” Mrs Haines clarified, unnecessarily.

“It’s all your fault!” Ally reiterated.

“If you’d just let me use the toilet first, this would never have happened!”

“Ally, I only asked you to stand in the corner for 13 minutes.

That was over an hour ago, and you still haven’t managed it. You can’t blame everyone else for your mistakes.”

Mrs Haines was not at all apologetic.

“Anyway, you wear diapers to bed every night.

You must be used to wet ones” Mrs Haines added, unkindly.

“Undo these pajamas right now, I need to change!” Ally spat back.

“I’d be glad to, as soon as you’ve done your 13 minutes”.

While Mrs Haines felt sympathy for Ally’s situation, she saw it as being entirely preventable.

It would never have happened had the girl not made such a fuss about a simple punishment.

Giving in now would send entirely the wrong message.

Not wanting to discuss the matter any further, and keen to change as soon as possible, Ally marched back to the corner of the living room and placed her hands on her head.

She felt enormously uncomfortable as the diaper squished between her legs, cooling around her, but managed to hold her position for the 13 minutes she’d been allocated.

“There, that wasn’t really so hard at all” Mrs Haines commented, as if to rub it in.

She undid Ally’s pajamas, and the girl ran to change into a dry diaper.

Always thorough, Mrs Haines made sure to zip Ally’s pajamas back up and secure the tab.

“Now, it’s past time for you to go to bed” Mrs Haines told Ally.

“You can rest assured I will be telling your mother all about your behavior tonight.

I have no doubt she’ll punish you herself, but as part of it I’ll be asking her to set you 100 lines of ‘I must respect my elders and obey my caregivers’. I hope that will reinforce the message.”

Ally didn’t respond.

She would find out her mother’s reaction in the morning.