Alex was not used to thinking on the fly - or on the run - but right now he didn't have a choice. Then again, anyone in his position (being chased by a tickle-obsessed babysitter) would not have many options either. Nor was he used to thinking while panicking about the almost certain outcome of this chase. All of his smartest decisions, ideally, were made when everything was quiet or he was eating animal crackers or both. So it came as no surprise that the only idea that popped into his head was to escape through the living room window and run like hell. Not the smartest strategy, especially if it would make Amy angrier (and make her call his parents), but he really didn't feel like dealing with her antics.
"Get back here, Alex!" called Amy behind him. "You're just making this worse for yourself, you know!"
Of course, Alex did not stop but made a mad dash for the wide window in the living room, breaking the vicious cyclical chase around the ground floor. He stopped just shy of smacking his head against the glass. As he scrambled up the windowsill to hide under the heavy curtains, he made a quick glance backwards to see if Amy was close behind. Relieved that she had not yet caught up with him, Alex pulled the curtains back quickly yet carefully, trying his hardest not to make any noises. Against his better judgment, he chose to face the window instead of the curtains out of fear Amy would see him moving. He had even held his breath for good measure. All he had to do was wait until Amy to give up the chase and start looking upstairs and he would sneak out the window.
No sooner did Alex close the curtains behind him did Amy return to the living room, but upon revisiting the place her preteen charge was nowhere to be seen. She did not see him bolt out the door or hear him go upstairs, so he had to still be on the same level somewhere.
"Where the hell is he?" Amy asked herself, looking around the room impatiently. "Why couldn't he have just listened to me in the first place like a good boy and let me tickle him?"
Alex kept his lip tight. He was not sure how long he could stay still, but at least he was hidden. All he had to do was wait and keep quiet until Amy lost interest and checked upstairs.
Amy decided to go for the sweeter approach. "Oh, Alex~" she said in a singsong voice. "You can come out now. I promise I'm not angry with you. Just show yourself and I'll let you off easy. In fact, I'll even let you stay up late. What do you say to that?"
But Alex knew better. As tempting as the offer to stay up sounded, he knew - at the age of eleven - that if something sounded too good to be true, then it probably was. So he kept still and his mouth shut, and he even smiled in satisfaction that his babysitter underestimated his intelligence.
'Sorry Amy', he thought, 'but you'll have to do better than that'.
Amy was met only with silence and the sound of her dry lips smacking, the latter everyone who knew her identified as a sign of annoyance. With her patience wearing thin, she continued scanning the room for any signs of her charge but to no avail. Perhaps he managed to give her slip after all, but nobody could hide from her forever.
After grumbling something under her breath, Amy began to walk away slowly. "I guess he really isn't... here."
Alex gave a gentle sigh of relief upon hearing those words. He could not believe he had given Amy the slip. All he had to do was wait until she went upstairs before opening the window. What he heard from behind the curtain, however, put paid to those thoughts.
"What could be behind Curtain #1?" asked a familiar voice, just as its owner seized Alex's right ankle in a firm grip.
Alex froze. He could not believe Amy had found him, but how? That curtain was thick enough to conceal a person's shape if they remained still, and he was certain she did not see him hide. And she did not even pull the curtain back when he was discovered. All she did was grab onto his ankle as it was poking out the ho-
Suddenly, it all made sense. In his attempts to hide himself, Alex had overlooked one crucial detail: the hole in the curtain. It was not a great big hole - roughly the size of a honeydew melon - but it was still a noticeable one. In Alex's case, from where he was sitting, his slightly outstretched right foot could easily be seen from the outside, including a certain babysitter. The red-black sneaker and dark blue jean cuff sticking out of a hole in a beige curtain made it all the more conspicuous. There was little doubt in Alex's mind that Amy had caught a glimpse of his shoe as she was walking away and, facing away from the curtain, he could not see her silhouette when she sneaked up on his hiding space.
In his efforts to change his fate of being tickled senselessly by Amy, even if it was for a little while, his actions had only sealed it.
"So many kids I've babysat tried to hide from me and a few of them have tried to give me the slip, but none of them succeed," said Amy with a smug grin on her face. Alex struggled to pull his foot out of her grip, but she only tightened her grip further. Her toned arms may be one of the reasons she had earned so many admirers from boys and girls alike, but they clearly weren't for show. Once a kid was trapped in those arms or even a hand, it was almost impossible to break her strong grip. Alex was quickly learning that now, and soon Layla and even Erin will discover those rumours about her unbreakable grip were based on experience.
But Alex knew what would follow if Amy wouldn't release his ankle. "Yep, that's me alright. One more win in the book of Amy the Awesome," he said in an obvious attempt to mitigate his impending doom. "Now could you please let me go? I'll do whatever you want, just don't tickle me. Please?"
Amy was no bimbo; she immediately saw through his sweet-talk. "Sorry Alex, but flattery won't get you out of here. Not only did you break two of the very clear rules I set for you and your sisters, but you made me chase all over the place while evading your punishment. I'm afraid I can't let that slide, especially after you made my poor tootsies ache." Amy illustrated her point by slipping her right foot partially out of its braided leather sandal, wiggling her toes to gain some relief. The babysitter's feet were not used to a lot of running; their soft and plush texture were a clear indication of that fact.
"W-Well..." began Alex nervously, "if you let me go, then I guess I could rub them for you. It's the least I could do to help... Just as long as you don't tickle the snot out of me." It was another attempt on his part to mitigate his punishment, but a small part of him did want to lessen his sitter's discomfort. Despite her obvious shortcomings, he knew Amy was not a bad person. At least that was what he thought.
Amy scoffed. He was obviously trying to sweet-talk her again, but she couldn't help but ponder what her charge had said. It had been a long time since she had received a good foot massage and she could always force Alex to give her one. She could always tickle him later, of course. On the other hand, she needed to set an example. As she pointed out, Alex had broken not one but two of her rules and she felt it was her duty to enforce them. Perhaps she could tie him up and tickle him on that kitchen bar as she had initially planned. Or she could just tickle the captive foot in her hand until its owner was too tired to put up any form of resistance. Decisions, decisions.
Ultimately, Amy the 'Awesome' decided to...
retreat to his bedroom, where he always felt safe. Not the smartest strategy, but for him it would have to do. But first he had to lose the girl on his tail.
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