✅ My Sister's Problem

79. Day Three

I woke up early, and I already knew that something was different. We were still at the beach house, where we'd been having so much fun on this holiday. But this time I wasn't wearing any babyish clothes in punishment for an 'accident' the day before; I wasn't wet from being put to sleep with Mister Tunes; and I knew there was no way that Mum would be waiting to help me eat breakfast like a little kid before I had to change for the day ahead.

Last night had turned out in the worst possible way; and this time it wasn't the fallout from me trying to get revenge, or even Lindy's attempts to humiliate me. This time it had been sheer bad luck that Mum had been in the bathroom when I woke up. She'd seen me coming to tip away a bowl of warm water, and wanted to know what it was for. I had tried to brush it off, making some lame excuse, because I had some kind of drowsy hope that I might be able to brush this one off without getting Lindy in trouble. But Mum had looked at the doors to our rooms, and seen that Lindy's handle was at an angle. A clear indication that I'd locked it from the outside, trying to make Lindy feel secure even though I'd been in her room. That much was true, but after years of prank wars I knew it would be hard for Mum to accept that I hadn't had some nefarious purpose. Those suspicions had been confirmed when Lindy came to the door, asking what the commotion was. She was wearing a soaked diaper, and there was a damp handprint faintly visible on her pyjamas.

I tried to tell Mum that the handprint was mine, but she wanted to know more. I'd been torn between telling the truth, and getting my little sister in trouble. Knowing that the punishment for misbehaving included elements that Mum was sure would be too much for me, I hadn't wanted either of us to suffer that fate. But apparently Lindy had less reservations. She quickly called for me to be punished, saying that she wouldn't have wet the bed without me doing something to cause it. She feigned ignorance of the handprint, and acted all surprised when Mum told her that I';d clearly put her hand in a bowl of water. When Mum explained that classic prank, Lindy pretended that she had never heard of it before, an act which I was sure would be too suspicious to be believable. But Mum just nodded, and told me how disappointed she was that I would consider something like that, after all the warnings she had given. I knew her opinions on retribution, and I should have known better.

I had tried telling the truth, but I knew that it would sound absurd. So I'd gone to sleep trying to think when Lindy could have wet herself. Like Mum said, after all the problems there could have been no way she would do it deliberately. Not even to prank me. Did the sound of the ocean sound more like running water in my room than it did in hers? Had she wet herself while waiting for me to do the same, and I hadn't even noticed as I carried her back? It was hard to believe, but it was the only option I could think of.

And now it was morning. Time for a big lecture, and time for me to find out what my punishment would be. When I left my room, I saw that Lindy was up at the same time. And I begged her to tell Mum the truth, or just to ask her to show mercy. If she said it wasn't a big deal, Mum would tone down the punishment a little. But Lindy said she couldn't believe that I'd done that to her after all the problems she'd had. She said she had really hoped that I was going to be nicer than I had been last time; and she hated that sisters couldn't trust each other. Like she really believed it; or like she thought I was trying to trap her for a recording. I didn't want to believe either option; I wanted her to trust me more than anything. I told her that I hadn't done anything, but there was no way she would believe me. And then she pointed out that I would be getting the full baby treatment now, complete with the things that Mum had kept secret from me so far. The mittens didn't seem so bad for a couple of hours, but I was sure I wouldn't enjoy having my hands taken away for a longer time. And the other surprise; I didn't even have a clue.

"Good morning, girls," Mum said at breakfast. She'd already gotten started in the kitchen while we were talking upstairs, and set a plate of waffles down in front of Lindy as soon as we reached the table. The stack was decorated with a mound of Nutella, slices of mixed fruit, and little pieces of crispy waffles. The kind of breakfast that would take a little extra effort, like she was trying to cheer Lindy up.