CYOA: The Twins - Chapter 10 (Story) (Patreon)

"Emily!" Natalie snapped. "Are you going to just leave it up to me? I need an answer, young lady."

"I-I know," Emily squirmed in her car seat, blushing, wishing she could put her sister in this position and see how snappy she was at making decisions. If only she'd been a little quicker to grab that syringe, back in the restaurant... Or, she supposed, if she hadn't tried to take it at all, that would have worked, too. But how could she have resisted it? It was a golden opportunity, right within her grasp, and stupid Natalie wasn't cooperating... She hadn't had a choice, really.

And now, she was still suffering the consequences of it, and would be for a long time. There was nothing she could do about that, not unless she could convince Natalie - who appeared to be happy with this arrangement - to start concentrating on the cure, instead of refining this drug. Whatever she decided now was probably going to be her life for the forseeable future.

"Emily, do you want me to decide for you?" Natalie asked. "It doesn't make any difference to me... They're both on my way."

"No, I can do it," Emily pouted, wanting to feel like she still had some measure of control over her life. 

"Then do it," Natalie replied. "We'll be at the first one before long, and if I drive by it without hearing anything, I'm not turning back."

It was difficult to see out the window from her car seat, though, with some squirming, she was able to catch a glimpse of the road, and saw that it did, indeed, look familiar. She'd driven down it herself a thousand times, probably, to go take care of littles, or to check in and see how the workers were doing... She was used to it, knew the ins and outs... She knew she'd designed it to prevent any escapes, since littles tended to be slippery, and restless, and loved to try to run away.

The new one was up to those standards as well, of course. Whether it had maintained them after opening, she was less certain, but she wouldn't have approved the plans if that hadn't been the case. And, as she'd thought before, she was more likely to find a worker who recognized her, and would consider helping her, at the old location.

"We're almost there," Natalie warned. "Just another stoplight, and..."

"Fine!" Emily exclaimed, immediately second-guessing herself as soon as it was out. 

"Fine, that's what you want?" Natalie asked, looking into the rear-view mirror at her sister's face. Emily nodded, starting to suck unconsciously, noticing only when she saw herself in the reflection that her thumb was in her mouth. How long had it been there?! She pulled it out disgustedly, though, as she felt Natalie's car roll over the familiar speedbumps in the parking lot, it drifted back into place.

"I'm not going to hear any whining about how you changed your mind," Natalie said, in what sounded, at first, like a threat; a moment later, Emily realized it was a promise, that she didn't intend on hearing anything at all from her sister as she tugged her thumb out of her mouth and replaced it with a pacifier, twisting the ring and inflating it, silencing the shrunken woman. "You chose this," Natalie reminded her, helping her out of the seat, carrying her on her hip, hand on Emily's padded bottom. "And you made this place... Everything that happens here is your fault."

That was an ominous way to start things off, Emily thought, fidgeting as she was hauled inside, getting a bounce every few steps, while she looked around at the other littles being led to the front door to be signed in. In her mind, they all looked familiar... Of course all littles looked pretty similar to an Amazon, just tiny bundles of cuteness who needed to be looked after in every way possible.

There was no doubt in Emily's mind she knew the receptionist, however. Amber had been there since the beginning; Emily had hired her because she was scared by the woman, so she knew the littles would be, too, and wouldn't dare try to escape past her watchful eye. If they did, they didn't make the same mistake twice...

Emily gulped, getting a glimpse at the woman's face, then turning, burying her own in Natalie's side. She'd wanted to come here for the familiar faces, and the chance they might be on her side... But she didn't want to find out if Amber was a potential ally or not. If she wasn't, she likely wasn't going anywhere... And she really didn't want her, of all people, to see her like this.

"Boss-lady?" Emily froze, hearing her nickname, positive her cover was blown already. "Did you change your hair again?"

"Hmm?" Natalie tilted her head, confused. "No, I phoned earlier and said I might be dropping someone off here. I'm Nata..."

"Yes, I have you," Amber cut her off. "I'm sorry, I know you said you were her sister, but I didn't expect... You look so much like her!" 

"Well, we are twins," Natalie chuckled, bouncing Emily on her hip. 

"I had no idea," Amber said. "Are you sure you don't want me to call her and see if she wants to give you a family discount, or..?"

"No, no," Natalie shook her head. "I'm happy to support her business, now that I have a little one of my own."

"That's sweet of you," Amber smiled. "I just need you to sign a few forms first. They're standard daycare disclaimbers, saying you're allowing us to look after your little one however we see fit. There's a space for any dietary restrictions, or any punishments you'd prefer to keep off the table."

Emily's eyes widened, her hand flying to her mouth, fumbling with her pacifier, then batting at Natalie's side, while her sister bent over to sign the papers. Blushing, knowing she might be showing her face to the receptionist, she twisted, trying to push Nat's pen away from the signature box, back up to the punishment exclusions, wanting to tell her what to write.

"Oh, looks like someone's awake!" Amber grinned, reaching out and tickling Emily's tummy. "Keep your hands away, cutie, your Mommy is busy."

Emily turned her face away, pointing at the big, empty box. Originally, she'd had a list of punishments there instead, and parents could cross out the ones they disapproved of... It was a huge mess, trying to keep track of what they could do to which little, and the really soft caretakers would rule out everything, allowing their brats to run free with no real consequences.

Emily had come up with the idea to turn it into a blank slate. If there was something the parents didn't like being done to their little, they would write that down... Otherwise, without knowing the options, they typically didn't know what to put, and didn't bother, and it was so much easier for the workers... Emily, however, knew everything that could go in that box, remembered the whole list she'd taken out of it by heart, and wanted nothing more than to tell Natalie to put them all down.

Tears began to trickle down her cheeks in frustration. "Emily, sweetie, you have to stay still," Natalie scolded. "I'm writing."

"Here," Amber offered, reaching up and picking up her former employer, setting her on her lap and bouncing her there in her diaper. "I'll hold her while you finish up."

Holding would have been bad enough... Emily's cheeks burned as she felt the receptionist tug at the back of her diaper, then poke in through the legholes, checking her like a real baby. "Why are you so fussy?" she asked, when, of course, she found nothing. "Are you hungry?"

Emily shook her head, but Natalie said, "I'm sure that's it. We went right out the door this morning, so she hasn't had breakfast."

"Don't worry," Amber gave Emily another bounce. "That tummy of yours will be full in no time." Emily whimpered, the words making her worry more, knowing what that meant.

"Here you go, I think that's everything," Natalie slid the form back across the desk. "I'm sorry, I'm new to all this."

"That's perfectly all right," Amber assured her, picking up the paper, where Emily could see the punishment block was still empty. She tried to read the rest, but Amber was far more used to scanning over the form, setting it down before she could read much of what her sister had written. "How funny," Amber commented. "This one's name is Emily, too? Does that get confusing?"

"Not as much as you might think," Natalie smirked.

"One thing, though... You wrote that she's being potty trained, but she's wearing diapers... Are these just for when she's sleeping? We appreciate you're using our diapers," she gave them a pat on Emily's backside, "I just want to make sure you didn't check the wrong box."

"Oh," Natalie caught Emily's eye, the smaller woman blushing and squirming. "Those are your diapers? I only picked them because they looked like the biggest and thickest."

"They are!" Amber nodded. "Emily... Our Emily, of course, not this one," she bounced Emily again, while she sucked harder and harder on her pacifier, wishing she was anywhere else but here, "designed them herself, for use in our facilities, and our families loved them so much, we've started to make them available for purchase in other stores. I'm surprised your sister didn't tell you! We can get them for you cheaper if you buy them straight from us, though, even without any kind of family discount. We have some subscription plans... Here, I'll just give you the brochure."

"That is so useful," Natalie grinned, reaching over, forcing Emily to look at her. "Isn't it, sweetie?" Emily nodded sheepishly. "To answer your question, though, I am trying to potty train her. I had her in trainers yesterday, but we had a little... incident."

"Ah," Amber nodded, and, from the amusement in her voice, Emily knew another box her sister had checked on the form, tattling on her for what she'd done in the theater. "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on her... It won't happen here. It's usually the boys who have a problem with that, but we've had out share of naughty girls, too."

Emily whined behind her pacifier; that was on her record now. Any of the workers who looked her up for any reason - to see her food preferences, or check for which punishments they were allowed to use - would see that, think she was one of those littles who loved her padding a bit too much. She shook her head, trying to silently deny it.

"Aww, it's all right," Amber gave her a cuddle. "It just means you know your place, sweetie... Better that than you trying to get your diapers off, but we don't allow either here. Maybe if you're really good, your Mommy will let you do it again sometime." Emily shook her head, harder, wanting to make it known she didn't want that. "I'm sorry," Amber apologized, though not to Emily. "I may have overstepped my bounds there... A lot of parents do like to make that an award. I know it can be hard to think of your little being mature enough to do that... It does motivate some of them to behave themselves, however, knowing it's the only way they'll be allowed to do it."

"We'll see," Natalie shrugged. "I don't see it being an issue for a while... I know it looks like she's acclimated pretty well, but once she stops being shy, she's a little terror."

"Oh, don't you worry," Amber assured her. "Give her some time here, and we'll cure that."

Emily gulped, hoping that didn't wind up being the case, that she was able to maintain some of her adulthood... And worried, being so familiar with the procedures here, she wouldn't. 

"Looks like that's it," Amber said. "I'll let you say goodbye.... I've hogged her long enough." 

She handed Emily back to Natalie, who gave her a big hug, and a cheerful, "I'll see you this afternoon, sweetie!" before setting her down on the other side of the gate that led into the main daycare, the latch far above Emily's head, and too strong for her tiny hands to open on their own anyway.

"Now, then," Amber started to turn towards her, "let me get a good look at you, cutie. I'm curious what the boss-lady's niece looks like." Before she could, someone else walked in the door, leading her to tell Emily to, "Stay right there for a minute."

Emily didn't obey. After Amber and Natalie's little talk, she didn't want to be recognized, not by her, and she knew the real reason Amber wanted her to stay, so she turned and toddled away as fast as her tiny legs, and the massive padding between them, would allow, waddling into the main room, and almost straight into the legs of someone else.

"Whoa, there!" the woman chuckled, catching Emily as she nearly lost her balance and fell after her sudden stop, scooping the girl up into her arms. "You're new here, aren't you? Hi, there! My name is Miss Kiera! What's yours?"

With a hiss, she did what Emily had fought so hard to accomplish herself, removing the pacifier in a split second, like it was no big deal. "E-Emily," she gulped, barely daring to look up at the woman's face. The name wasn't familiar, nor was the voice, but she was still anxious Kiera would somehow know her on sight.

"Nice to meet you, Emily," Kiera told her, catching her eye, giving no sign Emily was anything more than one of her normal charges. Once the initial panic wore off, and Emily decided she truly hadn't met her before, she realized Kiera was a 'tweener; in the moment, she'd seemed as big and strong as any Amazon, certainly enough so to do whatever she liked with Emily. 

That was probably why Emily hadn't run into her, though... Betweeners rarely lasted long here. Emily hadn't made a rule against hiring them, but it felt like so many of the ones who applied belonged in diapers themselves, so it usually wasn't worth the trouble of hiring them and training them, only to discover they weren't anywhere near mature enough to take care of their own needs, much less their charges'. 

"Where's your bracelet, Emmy?" Kiera asked, phone already in her hand. "You're really new, aren't you?"

"I-I don't need it," Emily told her. 

"Of course you do," Kiera chuckled, carrying her back out to the reception area. "Don't worry, you can choose your color! I bet you want pink, don't you?"

"There she is!" Amber shook her head. "Thanks, Ki."

"No problem!" Kiera smiled. "Now, what color do you want, sweetie?"

"I don't want any," Emily pouted.

"Someone's grumpy," Kiera jostled her a bit. "I think pink will be good."

"She hasn't had breakfast yet," Amber said. "And she's new. Hold your wrist out, Emily."

"No!" Emily shook her head.

"Emily!" Amber snapped, the sweet demeanor she used for the parents melting away, revealing the harshness she reserved for any kids who dared come near her area when she was trying to work. "You give me your wrist right now, or you'll be starting your time out here with a punishment!"

Reluctantly, Emily held out her hand, wincing as she heard the snap as the soft, plastic bracelet was fastened in place. Like so many things, it was designed so an Amazon could remove it with no problem, but she couldn't. Her name was written on it, in a font that was designed to look like it had been written with crayon, as if she'd done it herself, along with a barcode the workers could scan to instantly pull up her records, which Emily could see Amber was in the middle of enterring into the computer, officially making her a client here, rather than the owner. 

"Is that hers?" Kiera asked, and Amber nodded. "Anything I should know before I take her in, then?"

"I'm not hungry," Emily squeaked.

"She's the big boss's niece," Amber told Kiera. "I have a feeling this is some kind of test."

"That seems like something she would do," Kiera shrugged, as if she'd even been around long enough to know. Emily grumbled, but didn't dare say anything. "So, should we take it easy on her?"

"No, no," Amber shook her head. "I think it's the opposite... I think she wants to see how good we are at taming a brat like this."

"Oh," Kiera chuckled. "Well, that'll be easy. Come on, Emmy, let's get some breakfast in you."

"No, I'm not hungry!" Emily whined as she was carried away, her protests totally ignored as she was taken to the dining room. There were a few low tables, where some of the 'bigger' kids were munching away, but Kiera didn't even bother with those; she took Emily right to a high chair, strapping her in and sliding the tray into place.

"Mmm," Kiera pretended to sniff the huge bowl before setting it down, tying a bib around Emily's neck. "Smells yummy!"

"No, it doesn't," Emily shook her head, wrinkling her nose, glancing down at the gray slop, flecked with purple, inside. She knew just what it was - oatmeal with prunes - and exactly what it was meant to do. "I told you, I'm not hungry!"

"You have to eat breakfast, sweetie," Kiera told her. "Don't you want to grow up big and strong?"

Emily blushed, knowing she'd already done that, only wind up back here anyway. "I don't want it," she complained. "C-Can't I have an apple instead?"

"Let me see," Kiera pulled her phone out again, scanning Emily's wristband. "Sorry, Emmy, apples are only for kids who can't have our oatmeal. I don't see anything that says you can't eat this, so..."

"I don't wanna eat it!" Emily squirmed in her seat. "I..."

"Emily, you have to eat your breakfast," Kiera told her, gently yet firmly. "I can check with Mrs. Amber to double-check, but she didn't mention you couldn't have it, either. So, you can either be a good girl and start eating, or, if I come back and find out there's no reason you can't have it, and you haven't started... Well, I'll have to handle it myself."

Emily swallowed, watching the girl go, before she could try to say anything. She looked up and down the row of high chairs, stomach twisting at the sight of all those babies, eating, or being fed, oatmeal, the same she had in the bowl in front of her. How many times had she stood in front of these chairs, helped with feeding the kids? Just one day earlier, she'd been at another location, watching the kids try her baby food brand, many in high chairs, just like this one... And now, she was on the other side, securely strapped in place, no different than the rest of the babies...

She really didn't want the oatmeal, but it was pretty obvious she was going to have to eat it, one way or the other. She'd seen the form, after all... Natalie hadn't written anything down in the food section. Kiera seemed nice enough... Maybe she could convicne her to take it easy on her, to give her something, anything, else, when she came back... Or, more likely, once she returned, she'd feed Emily every scrap of the stuff in the bowl.

At least if Emily did it herself, she could get away with eating a little less than that... She didn't want to look like a messy baby, though the more she dropped onto her bib, or onto the tray of her chair, the less she'd have to gag down... Unless Kiera suspected she was faking, and gave her a whole second bowl. To add insult to injury, Kiera had 'forgotten' to leave her a spoon, so she'd have to do it all with her hands, too, which would make it easier to sell the idea it wasn't her fault she'd gotten it everywhere, but more humiliating to do at all at the same time.

She tugged at the tray, trying to yank it off, like she could have with ease a day ago... Now, it clearly wasn't an option. No, all she could do now was...

Feed herself with her hands, and try to get away with eating as little as possible,

Or wait it out and try to reason with Kiera, knowing she might end up getting force-fed the whole bowl.