Alicia's and Chase's hair was still slightly damp as they left the locker room, and the evening air had a distinctly wintry chill to it that made them both shiver. Cheerleading practice had been energizing, but also quite a workout, and Chase was secretly glad there were no trips to the mall or going out for pizza or anything like that planned. She looking forward to getting home and just relaxing with Alicia.

“Want go home and watch show?” she asked, having become addicted to a series on Netflix. “Want see what next.”

Alicia adjusted her grip on the duffel bag slung over her shoulder, which contained her cheer uniform. “Sorry, Chase! I can't tonight, it's Tuesday,” said Alicia.

“Oh, that right,” Chase answered. The past few weeks, Alicia had been going to her new regular babysitting gig. A single dad who had a work-related meeting every Tuesday night had taken her on.

The boys' football practice was just wrapping up, and the boisterous crowd was heading to their own locker room. Alicia waved to Kirk. “Kiirrrrk!” she sang.

Kirk spotted her and trotted over. It looked like he'd had quite a workout; he was sweating despite the cold. “Hey, Alicia!” he said brightly. He wrapped her up in his arms. “Chase, how's it going?”

“Hi, Kirk! It go good!” Chase answered.

Kirk asked Alicia, “Wanna hang out tonight?”

“Sorry, I can't,” Alicia answered. “Babysitting.”

“Ah,” said Kirk. “Then wanna call me later?”

“Maybe,” smirked Alicia. “As long as you don't do any more gross breathing.”

Kirk looked confused. He looked kind of cute when he was confused, which was good since it happened often. “Gross breathing?” he asked.

“C'mon, don't play dumb. You know exactly what I mean.”

“Actually, I don't,” he replied. “What gross breathing?”

Alicia sighed and rolled her eyes. “Very funny.”

They exchanged a quick kiss and separated, Kirk heading for the showers and Alicia heading home with Chase.

Just as they left school grounds, Alicia's phone rang. She answered it, just as a gust of wind blew her red hair back from her face and shoulders. “Hello?”

“Hi Alicia, it's Mr. Denton.”

“Oh! Hi!” said Alicia. “What time do you want me to show up tonight?”

“Well...” extended the man, “That's the reason I'm calling. It seems I won't be needing you to babysit tonight after all.”

“Really?” asked Alicia, concerned. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything's fine. I've just made other arrangements.”

“Other...arrangements?” asked Alicia. He found another babysitter? Or maybe he got a friend or relative to help out instead, somebody who'd do it for free? That was probably it. “Oh, well, that's okay! I understand. Well, if you ever need somebody to babysit Louis again, you've got my number!”

“I sure do! Thanks Alicia,” said Mr. Denton. He hung up.

Alicia looked at her phone for a second, thinking about the conversation she'd just had, then put it back in her bag.

…...........

The next couple weeks held similar surprises. Alicia wasn't getting any new babysitting work, and the work she had scheduled was getting abruptly cancelled on very short notice. At first, she didn't think much of it, but as the days went on with more and more nights to herself, she had to admit it was strange.

Alicia scanned the numbers on the houses as she drove down the darkened street. It was a bit hard to see them at night, and with how big and luxurious these front yards were her headlights didn't do much to help. But wow, what a nice neighborhood! Even if she wasn't getting any other jobs, at least she'd landed this one. If she could get in good with these folks, there would be many bright and illustrious shopping sprees in her future.

“We interrupt this broadcast for an urgent news bulletin,” intruded a voice on Alicia's radio. “David Harvey Fitzsimmons, who made national headlines in 1981 for the gruesome slaying of his babysitter, has been reported missing after failing to check in with his parole officer earlier this morning. Fitzsimmons was released from the Cox County Detention Facility for the Murderously Insane earlier this week. His doctors advocated for his release, claiming that he has been cured of his violent urges, however the family of the victim were very critical of the decision. It is believed that Fitzsimmons may attempt to return to his hometown of Sunnycrest. All Sunnycrest residents are advised-”

“Alright, alright, I get it. Play some more music,” complained Alicia, finding another station.

Eventually, the faint glint of her headlights on brass revealed the number she was looking for. She turned her car into the driveway.

Alicia checked her reflection in the rearview mirror, then got out and walked over to the front door. As she got close, the motion detecting porch light switched on. She could hear voices on the other side of the door, indicating the parents must have been about to leave.

She knocked, and the door opened. Maxine was standing there.

“Maxine?!” gasped Alicia.

“Cheer nazi?” replied Maxine, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

A dressed-up man was standing in the entryway, likely the father. “Can we help you, miss?”

“Er, I think so,” said Alicia. “I'm the babysitter? Alicia? Mrs. Stafford and I talked on the phone.”

The entryway had a two story high ceiling, with stairs leading up to the second floor. The upstairs hallway was exposed by a railing, and Alicia could see doors there. A woman appeared from one and came down the stairs, putting in her earrings in a hurried way. “Hi. I left the poison control number by the phone, just in case she gets into the stuff under the sink. She's too old for that anyway, but just in case-”

She stopped at the bottom, and looked from Alicia to Maxine, then at her husband. “I said I was hiring the babysitter.”

“I thought you said you wanted ME to, so I hired this one.” the man replied, indicating Maxine.

“God, you never listen,” replied Mrs. Stafford.

Mr. Stafford looked between Alicia and Maxine. “So which do we pick?”

“Does it matter?” asked Mrs. Stafford busily, checking her purse to make sure she had everything. She looked at her watch. “Look, we have to leave now or we're going to be late for our reservation! You know, or at least SHOULD know after last time, that they will NOT hold it for us!”

“The goth had good reviews,” said Mr. Stafford.

“Works for me,” replied Mrs. Stafford. She patted Alicia on the shoulder as she hurried past her out the door. “Sorry, Lateesha. Maybe next time.”

“It's...Alicia,” said Alicia sadly.

Mr. Stafford followed his wife. The garage door opened and their car drove away, leaving Alicia and Maxine alone. Alicia was still standing on the front porch.

“Well? You heard them. Maybe next time,” said Maxine. She started closing the door. “I wouldn't get your hopes up, though. Turns out I'm pretty good with kids.”

“H-hold on, Maxine! How did-” began Alicia.

Maxine gave her a smug grin. “Drive safe, hon.” She shut the door in Alicia's face.

Alicia stood there for a moment in shock, just staring at the door. The porch light went off, leaving her standing in the cold darkness. Was Maxine the reason Alicia wasn't getting any work recently? She must have been! She was taking it all! But she said she was still new to babysitting. How had she gotten so big so fast? She really did have some serious secrets.

The teen lingered on the doorstep for a while, not sure what was keeping her there. She should have just gotten in her car and driven home. But somehow...that wasn't enough. She needed to know what Maxine was doing to become a babysitter of such repute. Something fishy was definitely going on.

Alicia stepped down off the doorstep and crept around the side of the house. She peeked in every window she passed, stumbling over darkness-obscured objects like a garden hose and an empty kiddy pool as she did. Eventually, she found Maxine and the kid in the living room.

“Man, you have a nice house,” said Maxine, looking around. Alicia was surprised she could hear them; it turned out the window was cracked. The house looked very open inside. Adjacent to the living room was a large dining room, and beyond that was a sliding glass door: two tall rectangles of black which looked out at the backyard.

“Thanks!” said the little girl cheerfully. “I'm Charity! What's your name?”

“Maxine,” said Maxine. “Nice to meet you, kid.”

“You're really pretty, but also kind of spooky! You look like a Monster High girl!”

“Thanks, I guess?” replied Maxine. She made herself comfortable, flopping down on the couch. “So what do you wanna do?” she asked with a yawn.

Charity picked up the remote. “Let's watch TV!”

“Alright.”

As Charity handed the remote to Maxine, she asked, “Can we watch Adult Swim? Pleeeaaase? My parents never let me watch it!”

“Sure,” said Maxine. Alicia felt she should have put up a bit more of a fight than that.

Maxine propped herself up on her elbow and started browsing the channels. “Let's see, Adult Swim, Adult Swim...” Her eyeshadowed eyes widened excitedly. “Whoa, no way, you guys have Body Bag TV...the 24/7 premium horror channel, no commericals, always uncensored!”

“Oh...right, that...” said Charity. “My parents don't let me watch that...” This was different from the Adult Swim that her parents wouldn't let her watch; there was a marked reluctance in her tone.

“Well, you're in for a treat tonight!” declared Maxine, sitting up and looking at what was on next. “Looks like they're doing a full marathon of the Babysitter Barbecue franchise!”

Alicia gasped. What?! What the hell was she doing?!

Charity looked at the TV screen uncertainly. “B-but...it says it's rated R.”

“Yeah, that's how you know it's good,” Maxine answered.

Charity gulped, clasped her hands together, and slowly eased her way up onto the couch with Maxine, as if she was testing the temperature in a pond before she dove in. “Is it...really okay?” she asked, beginning to sound excited.

“Of course it's okay, and by that I mean I won't tell if you won't,” said Maxine. She pressed a button and the sound of screaming immediately ripped out of the Stafford's sound system. “Oh, sweet. We're almost at the best part.”

“We won't be able to watch the whole thing though...my bedtime is in half an hour.”

“As long as I'm your babysitter, your bedtime is whenever you want it to be.”

“Wow Maxine, you're so cool!”

Alicia had seen enough. She couldn't just stand back and watch this, so she ran to Charity's rescue. The sliding door was closer. As she passed the dining room window she ran smack into somebody. “Oof!” Alicia wheezed, falling backwards onto the lawn.

She looked up and saw a tall man dressed in a long black cloak which hid his face. He was looking in at Maxine and Charity through the window, the same way Alicia had been.

“Hehhh... hehhh...” he breathed. Clenched in one hand was the shaft of a large, heavy-looking shovel.

“Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there! You must be the gardener!” panicked Alicia, standing up and dusting herself off. How long had this guy been there? Had he noticed her creeping around? “I'm the babysitter! Me and Charity are playing a game...like hide and seek or something, you know? I'm not spying on her like some kind of sicko or something, haha! No need to tell the Staffords on me, okay?! Haha, alright, bye!” She ran.

Alicia threw open the sliding door, closed it behind her, and ran through the dining room to the living room. Maxine and Charity were watching the movie. Chainsaw sounds were coming from the TV and Maxine was laughing.

“Pfff, that's way too much blood, haha. That wouldn't happen,” she said. She looked over at Charity, who was covering her eyes. “Hey, don't cover your eyes. You're missing all the gore and nudity.”

“M-Maxine!” ordered Alicia, running over and standing in front of the TV, arms outstretched to block as much of the forbidden imagery as possible. “What on Earth do you think you're doing?”

“Alicia? I thought you left,” said Maxine, annoyed. “Me and Charity were just watching a movie.”

“Yeah, a scary movie!” Alicia accused. “You really think Charity's parents would want her seeing this?”

Maxine looked at Charity, then back at Alicia. “But Charity DID want to see it,” she explained, failing to see the connection.

“So what? You can't just throw out the rules because she wants you to!”

Maxine scoffed. “Are you gonna stand there and tell me you NEVER let a kid watch something they weren't supposed to? Be honest.”

Alicia hesitated. She lowered her hands. “Well...well...I guess I have.” She stepped aside and gestured wildly at the TV. “But never anything like THIS! When I let kids watch something they aren't supposed to, it's things that are pretty much harmless, like King of the Hill!”

Maxine gasped and shook her head disapprovingly. “Harmless? Alicia, King of the Hill has numerous adult themes that children simply aren't ready for. For shame, for shame.”

“But...but...”

“Aw, that's okay, Maxine. I don't want to watch a scary movie anymore anyway,” said Charity, jumping down off the couch. “Now that there's three of us, I feel a tea party coming on!”