Having an ex-boy scout as my neighbour definitely had its advantages.
I had a lot of fun playing cops and robbers with him during my preteen years.
But as we got older, our tie-up games became fewer and further apart.
My friend eventually left the neighbourhood and went off the college.
But in the months preceding his departure, I'd taken the chance of calling upon his services one last time.
I still remember that day as if it were yesterday.
I was fifteen at the time, and since I was generally considered smart and responsible for my age, my parents and relatives decided to leave me in charge of babysitting my younger cousins Max and Alex for an entire afternoon and evening.
Max and Alex weren't just ordinary ten-year-old boys though.
Quite the opposite. They were twins, and they were crafty.
My parents, aunt and uncle left the house at three o'clock in the afternoon that day and told us they'd be home at around eleven.
Since I was older and this was summer vacation, I was allowed to stay up and watch TV until they got back.
The blond twins, however, had to be in bed by 9 pm.
Everything was okay at first.
I mean, after a few days of having them around the house, I was getting used to all the chaos and mischief they left in their wake.
Always getting into trouble, they were.
Always causing mischief and getting into fights and squabbles.
Max wanted to go to the public pool a few blocks away and Alex wanted me to take them to the ice cream shop even though they BOTH knew we were all supposed to stay home.
Things eventually got out of hand and it got to the point where I was physically blocking the exits to stop them from running away and leaving the house.
That's when I had the marvellous idea of dialling up Donovan's number and asking him to come over.
"Don. I could really use your help here. I'm supposed to babysit my two cousins, but they're f*ckin' INSANE!" I told him over the phone.
The ex-boy scout teen agreed to drop by my place to lend me a helping hand, and he held his promise by showing up a few minutes later.
I let him in and quickly explained to him what I was up against.
Max and Alex only reinforced my argument by kicking a soccer ball around the living room and eventually knocking one of my mom's porcelain vases off a cabinet, sending it crashing to the floor.
"Alright, boys....let's play a new game!" Donovan exclaimed, stepping in before I could yell at my cousins for playing soccer in the living room.
"And who are you?" Alex bluntly asked, turning around to face the towering newcomer.
Ugh! The nerve of that kid.
Donovan was two years older than I was and almost a full head taller.
Alex and Max were half the seventeen-year-old's size, and yet the little buggers didn't appear the least bit intimated by him.
"I'm a friend of your cousin's, but more importantly, I'm the game-master." Donovan replied, no doubt hoping to spark the twins' interest.
"What game?" Max asked, sounding almost as intrigued as I was.
"I'll show you. But first, you guys have to put your PJs on." Don instructed, causing the frantic ten-year-olds to run up to the guest bedroom and change to their sleepwear.
As soon as the runts were out of sight, Donovan turned to me and told me to go get all the rope we used to play with when we were growing up.
I happily complied and ran down to the garage to get my father's ample supply of densely-braided cotton rope.
By the time I made it back upstairs and into the guest bedroom, my two cousins were dressed in their PJs and listening attentively while the ex-boy scout explained the rules of the game.
"Alright. I'm gonna show you a game your cousin and I used to play. It's really hard though, and I don't think you boys are smart enough to win against me." Don teased, provoking the much-expected response.
"Hey! We're plenty smart!" Alex interjected.
"I bet we can beat that stupid game of yours!" Max added, he and his brother giggling like the devious brats they were.
God! What a nightmare those two must be in class!
"If you DO win, I'll owe you guys five bucks each. Deal?" Donovan asked.
"Deal!" the twins shot in unison.
"Alright. The game is really simple. I get to tie you up, and you have to try and escape."
"Pfftt...that'll be easy!" Max bragged, rolling his eyes and looking to his twin brother for support.
"Alright then. You boys get in bed and lie on your stomachs." Don instructed, causing both boys to spring into action and comply with the game-master's instructions.
I dumped all the rope on the bed and watched my friend do what he did best.
The twins were instructed to lie still and not attempt to escape until they were told to do so.
I was amazed by how compliant they were.
Max and Alex just lied there, giggling while the older teen went about trussing them up real good and securing them into very strict hogties.
I watched as he performed his art and watched as he placed all the knots at places where our crafty little prisoners couldn't possibly reach.
"No struggling yet. Alright? If you struggle before the game begins, then you don't get the five dollars." he warned, causing the twins to scoff and roll their eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up, big guy." one of them shot.
"Hang on, we're almost done." came Donovan's response before he walked out of the room and ordered me to follow.
"Once they realise they can't get out, they won't be too happy." he whispered. "I'm thinking we should gag them."
"Great! I'll get the duct tape!" I exclaimed.
"Alright, you do that. I'll find something to stuff inside their mouths." he told me.
I nodded and ran down to my father's workshop to grab the big roll of silver duct tape that was kept in one of the shelves.
When I ran back upstairs, I found my friend in the washroom, going through my family's dirty laundry hamper.
"Here. These should do nicely." he said, lifting up a pair of my father's heavily worn Go Sports socks.
The socks were crew-length, but particularly large and thick.
A formidable set of gags for a very mouthy set of twins, I thought to myself.
Looking a little disgruntled by the state of the socks he was holding, Don lifted the cheesy bundles up to his nose and gave the crusty stinkers a whiff.
*Sniff Sniff*
"Oh MAN! These socks freakin' REEK!" he commented, immediately pulling the socks away and waving a hand in front of his face.
"Yeah...they're my dad's." I admitted, suddenly feeling ashamed at the fact that my dad's socks smelled so strong.
I was standing by the doorway, and I could smell the cheesiness of them from over two meters away!
They were bad. Like REAL bad!
Donovan and I argued for a bit.
He wanted to find something else to use on the twins, but I objected and told him they didn't deserve any more mercy than I'd been shown in the past.
Don had gagged me with his older brother's sock once.
And I thought it was only fitting for the troublesome twins to experience something similar...especially considering how much attitude they were giving us.
My boy scout friend was reluctant at first, but after much convincing, he finally agreed to my demands.
And so, Don led the way and walked into the guest bedroom with his new bounty in tow.
Duct tape in one hand and socks in the other.
"Alright, boys. Now for the finishing touch." he spoke, sitting himself on the bed. "I'm gonna raise the stakes a little. If you boys get out, you're getting twenty bucks each. How does that sound?"
"Yeah! We're so gonna win this!" the boys exclaimed, completely oblivious to what was about to happen.
"The last thing I need to do is make sure you guys can't call for help. Prisoners aren't allowed to speak. Alright?" Don explained.
The twins nodded and licked their lips in apprehension.
As soon as the gags came into view though, the boys began mouthing off a series of protests.
"Wait! What are those socks for!?" came Alex's frightened question.
"These are your gags. They're your uncle's socks." Donovan calmly explained.
"Ewww! Gross!" the boys cried out.
"Shhhhh. No complaining. Now I want you boys to open wide. I'm gonna put these inside your mouths, that way you won't be able to call for help. These gags are gonna keep you quiet."
Alex and Max eyed their uncle's big putrid stinkers and crinkled their noses up in disgust.
"Ughh. No! They stink!" little Max yelled, right before he and his brother broke out into a struggling fit against the tight ropework.
"I know they do. It'll be a good incentive for you boys to try and escape!" Don laughed, balling up the first sock in one hand and using his other hand to tickle poor Alex's defenseless soles.
The struggling boy burst out into laugher, allowing the much bigger and more experienced teen to plop the gag right in.
Alex's frantic laughter was cut short when my father's big, super stinky sock filled up his mouth and caused his cheeks to puff out.
The highly-skilled, ex-boy scout used his fingers to press the sock deeper and packed it in real good before ripping off the end of the duct tape and wrapping it around the kid's head five times.
Our victim's little mouth was no match for his uncle's huge sock.
Max was even LESS cooperative than Alex.
He cried out and protested, but in the end, he too got a mouthful of my dad's big, putrid stinker.
The massive wad of rotten cloth was stuffed all the way in, and the little brat's mouth was taped shut in the same fashion as his brother's.
With our two prisoners now amply gagged and hopelessly trussed up, Donovan told me to stay in the room with them at all times and warned me not to leave them like that for too long.
We tickled their feet for a bit, but my friend eventually left, leaving me once again in charge of the troublesome duo.
Artist: Guthram2361
The rest of the day proved to be much, MUCH quieter.
Even though I tickled my prisoners rather relentlessly, my dad's giant bundles worked wonders at keeping their mouths in check, and the brats failed to free themselves from even a SINGLE one of Donovan's knots!
By the time I let them go and freed them of their restraints, the two munchkins were so exhausted from all the moaning and struggling that they fell right to sleep.
A few weeks later, I actually made the mistake of playing this game with the two runts again; only this time, they were the captors and I was the prisoner.
BIG mistake.
But that's a story for another time.
THE END