An Unexpectedly Pleasant Babysitting Experience
Family's New Shrink Ray
chapter 18
by
copier
· original author:
smashedunder
Once the mom left, the kids simply stood there awkwardly. The shrink ray was still in her purse when she put it down while the children seemed to weigh whether they wanted to speak or not. Without much fanfare, Lisa decided to open her mouth.
"So! I bet you kids are excited for your mom to be gone, huh?" She was probing them to figure out their personalities.
John looked at his feet. "I mean... not really. I kind of just sit inside and play games most of the time."
"And I like to read!" Dani offered.
Lisa raised a brow. Reading? That was quite rare to see in a girl her age. "Oh? What do you like to read?"
Rather than answer the question, Dani simply sprinted. Once the two were alone, John offered a furtive whisper with a smirk, "She's really into the old Harry Potter books."
"'Old?'" Lisa scoffed. "They're not that old. They're--"
"Thirty years old," John finished, and Lisa balked. Seriously? Lisa hadn't been around when the first one came out, but she read them as a child and they didn't seem super old then. She was considering her mortality when Dani returned, shoving a copy of Goblet of Fire into Lisa's arms. "This is the one I'm on, see?"
Lisa's heart leapt--that was her favorite one! And this was a special cover too! She held the book and treasured it. "Whoa, nice! How far are you?"
Lisa and Dani began to chat, while John remained silent on his phone. "And I hate Rita Skeeter," Dani said, her face curling in disgust. "She's such a meanie."
This brought up memories for Lisa--of the vapid wizard journalist who found the best scoops through an unconventional means: she shrank into a ladybug, secretly listening to the private conversations of our heroes. It was invasive, and Lisa felt satisfaction remembering how that storyline ended with the journalist trapped in a jar.
Occasionally, a sound came from his direction, and when Lisa looked up, he had just achieved a new point total on his phone screen. It was a bizarre 2D game with what looked like a bunch of multi-colored balls moving around a white void. Dani was in the middle of explaining why she thought Cedric Diggory was soooo hot when Lisa politely left the conversation and went to engage John. Dani saw no problem with this, and she got to silently reading her book at the table.
Lisa settled in next to John on the couch. He cringed a bit but didn't try to move. "So this is the game you play?" Lisa asked.
John nodded. "Mm hmm," he said curtly, trying to focus on his icon. His ball ran into another, smaller ball, and the two seemed to combine into a bigger one. He let out a coo of contentment.
"So the goal is to eat those wafers?"
"Mm.... sorta," John said. "It's got a lot more stuff to it."
It didn't look all that complicated to her, but Lisa could imagine why it would be engaging for a child.
Then, John said something sorta odd. "Sometimes," he began, lips curling into a thin smile, "I like to imagine I'm a big goo monster eating the other players."
At that moment, Lisa remembered the shrink ray. She'd been there for about thirty minutes with the kids, and aside from Dani retrieving the book, the two hadn't moved from their spots at all. Lisa had thought the shrink ray could be useful to keep them in line, though there was another option. Perhaps she could use it to play games with them. They seemed well-behaved enough after all, and it might endear them to her.
Without drawing too much attention, Lisa went back to her purse and pulled out the shrink ray, and she thought. What to do... should she:
1) Tell them about the shrink ray and get their opinions on it?
2) Just use it right now? It'll be fine, don't worry!
"So! I bet you kids are excited for your mom to be gone, huh?" She was probing them to figure out their personalities.
John looked at his feet. "I mean... not really. I kind of just sit inside and play games most of the time."
"And I like to read!" Dani offered.
Lisa raised a brow. Reading? That was quite rare to see in a girl her age. "Oh? What do you like to read?"
Rather than answer the question, Dani simply sprinted. Once the two were alone, John offered a furtive whisper with a smirk, "She's really into the old Harry Potter books."
"'Old?'" Lisa scoffed. "They're not that old. They're--"
"Thirty years old," John finished, and Lisa balked. Seriously? Lisa hadn't been around when the first one came out, but she read them as a child and they didn't seem super old then. She was considering her mortality when Dani returned, shoving a copy of Goblet of Fire into Lisa's arms. "This is the one I'm on, see?"
Lisa's heart leapt--that was her favorite one! And this was a special cover too! She held the book and treasured it. "Whoa, nice! How far are you?"
Lisa and Dani began to chat, while John remained silent on his phone. "And I hate Rita Skeeter," Dani said, her face curling in disgust. "She's such a meanie."
This brought up memories for Lisa--of the vapid wizard journalist who found the best scoops through an unconventional means: she shrank into a ladybug, secretly listening to the private conversations of our heroes. It was invasive, and Lisa felt satisfaction remembering how that storyline ended with the journalist trapped in a jar.
Occasionally, a sound came from his direction, and when Lisa looked up, he had just achieved a new point total on his phone screen. It was a bizarre 2D game with what looked like a bunch of multi-colored balls moving around a white void. Dani was in the middle of explaining why she thought Cedric Diggory was soooo hot when Lisa politely left the conversation and went to engage John. Dani saw no problem with this, and she got to silently reading her book at the table.
Lisa settled in next to John on the couch. He cringed a bit but didn't try to move. "So this is the game you play?" Lisa asked.
John nodded. "Mm hmm," he said curtly, trying to focus on his icon. His ball ran into another, smaller ball, and the two seemed to combine into a bigger one. He let out a coo of contentment.
"So the goal is to eat those wafers?"
"Mm.... sorta," John said. "It's got a lot more stuff to it."
It didn't look all that complicated to her, but Lisa could imagine why it would be engaging for a child.
Then, John said something sorta odd. "Sometimes," he began, lips curling into a thin smile, "I like to imagine I'm a big goo monster eating the other players."
At that moment, Lisa remembered the shrink ray. She'd been there for about thirty minutes with the kids, and aside from Dani retrieving the book, the two hadn't moved from their spots at all. Lisa had thought the shrink ray could be useful to keep them in line, though there was another option. Perhaps she could use it to play games with them. They seemed well-behaved enough after all, and it might endear them to her.
Without drawing too much attention, Lisa went back to her purse and pulled out the shrink ray, and she thought. What to do... should she:
1) Tell them about the shrink ray and get their opinions on it?
2) Just use it right now? It'll be fine, don't worry!
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November 12
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