Birthday Wishes - Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Kaylee looked back at her mother with big eyes, hoping, yet again, that she'd take pity on her, that she wouldn't leave her here, that she'd be able to go home... And yet, as always, the woman just gave her a jaunty wave and left, abandoning her to this room full of toddlers. Kaylee pouted, tugging on her dress, which felt far too short, despite her knowing that everyone there was well aware of what she had on underneath. After all, that's why she was stuck in this room... 

"Good morning," one of the workers chirped, trotting over to her. 

"I'm fine, Ms. Crystal," Kaylee told her automatically, although, of course, she still grabbed for Kaylee's skirt, easily wrenching it out of her hands and lifting it up to expose the diaper underneath. Kaylee squirmed, cheeks red, as a hand was run along the crotch of her diaper.

"A little wet, but not too bad for now. Go on and play!" Ms. Crystal let Kaylee's skirt fall, patting her on the crinkling bottom and encouraging her to go over towards the dollhouse.

Kaylee hadn't asked Ms. Crystal, or any of the other workers who cycled through the room, how old she was - she was pretty sure she didn't want to know. If they were any older than her, it wasn't by much, which made their treatment of her all the more humiliating. 

She couldn't really blame them, though... Quite literally. She'd gone off on one her first day, telling them that they ought to know she didn't belong here, and instead of going along with her awful parents, they should help her. All that had done was get her a spot in time-out for what felt like a few hours, then a note sent home with her that had earned her a spanking. She'd slowly, over the past few days, learned to accept that this was just their job... She was pretty sure some of them enjoyed seeing her there, though, as if they somehow knew the truth of how she'd ended up in this position.

When her parents had first told her she was going to preschool, she'd been upset, yet, at the same time, a bit relieved; it was pretty clear to her, after waking up from naps and night a few more times still here - in a crib, now - that her situation wasn't going to magically end itself. And, from staring at some picture books for hours on end, she knew that her ability to read wasn't going to just snap back into place, either. She was actually going to have to relearn everything... Sure, next year, at her birthday, she could just wish herself back, and, hopefully, she'd regain all that knowledge, but, until then, it would keep her busy, and give her a skill that would keep her entertained at home as well.

When she got to preschool, however, despite being the oldest student there, by far, she was ferried to the class with the youngest kids, and made to sit and learn colors and shapes instead, because she wasn't even trying to potty train yet, which was a requirement for the next class up. She'd gone home that night and begged her parents to let her have her training pants back, wanting to spend her time learning something a little less mind-numbingly dull.

"You've proven time and again that you aren't ready for that," her father had told her sternly. "When you can show us you've changed, then you can try to potty train again."

So, she was stuck here, bored out of her mind as she sat down in front of the blocks, ignoring the dollhouse, since that was what Ms. Crystal seemed to want her to do. She stacked them up, hoping that, somehow, she'd learn to decipher the shapes on them on her own if she could just rearrange them into an order that she recognized... In all honesty, however, she wasn't even certain if the shapes on them were really letters, or just fancy designs.

As she was called to the low tables for lesson time, things didn't get any more interesting. She sat, staring at her plate of fingerpaints, waiting for Ms. Crystal to tell them which color they were supposed to dab across their paper next. She had to wait after every color for the teacher to go around and make sure all of the toddlers had gone with the right color, complimenting them when they did, and telling them that the line of paint they'd dragged across the page was beautiful, before wiping their fingers off for the next round.

At the end, Kaylee already knew, they'd have a chance to go all out and try to make a picture incorporating all the lines of color they'd already drawn... It was embarrassing to think just how much she was looking forward to that, although, not nearly as embarrassing as fidgeting in place was, and feeling a fresh, warm squishiness in her diaper. She hadn't noticed herself using her diaper, or even the need to go... Yet, the evidence that she had was undeniable. She certainly hadn't been wrapped up in what she was doing... 

Much as she hated to admit it, that had been happening more and more lately. She hated to think that her potty training had been so weak that a few days back in diapers would erode it so much, but she was getting fewer and fewer chances to toddle up to her mother at home - the only person she thought might say yes - and beg for the potty. The teachers here might pat her head and put a star on her chart for recognizing she needed to go, yet they had no bathroom attached to the room, or even a potty chair, since those were reserved for higher learning levels. Emily would just laugh at her; her father would lecture her about how the bathroom was a privilege she had lost the right to. She still thought she might be able to crack her mom, despite it not having happened yet.... And, at this rate, it might not. The past couple times, while her mother had been deciding whether to allow it or not, Kaylee had lost control, right in front of her, once even before she could get the whole question out.

"This seems like a lovely place," she heard a faint voice. It sounded familiar, although she couldn't quite place it, like she'd last heard it a lifetime ago - or, at least, what felt like a lifetime, now - in a place that felt almost like a dream.

"Here's our first class," Ms. Cynthia, the owner, said, "With your experience, I think we'd start you out here, Susie." She pushed open the door, revealing herself and a young lady, one who looked very familiar. At first, Kaylee's stomach dropped at the sight of her roommate standing there, looking in at her; then, she leapt to her feet, scurrying over to her.

"Susie!" she squealed, giving the girl a hug. "Please, you have to help me! Tell them I'm not a baby!"

Kaylee felt the girl squirm beneath her grip. "I-I'm sure you aren't, sweetie..."

"This is Kaylee, a rather... special student..." Ms. Cynthia told Susie. "Kaylee, let go... Kaylee!" She pried Kaylee away, then scolded her, "Kaylee! Look what you did!" 

Kaylee blushed, seeing the streaks of paint across Susie's top; she was capable of cleaning her own hands, obviously, but since Ms. Crystal always re-wiped her hands anyway, somehow always finding some bit of paint that Kaylee had missed, she had stopped bothering. "B-But I know her!" Kaylee whined. "Susie, tell them! We lived together!"

"Kaylee!" Ms. Cynthia snapped sternly. "I'm very sorry about this... We use washable paint, of course, but still..."

"No, it's all right," Susie nodded, despite still looking somewhat confused. "I don't mind getting a little messy," she smiled at Kaylee. "Hopefully, I'll be able to come help you learn once I'm done with my own school for the year. Then we can play pretend all you want!"

"No, it's not pretend!" Kaylee stomped her foot. "We were roomies, Susie!"

"Kaylee, we've been over this," Ms. Cynthia told her. "She's an adult... You are to refer to her as Ms. Susie."

"No!" Kaylee balled her fists up, stomping her foot again. "I'm just as much an adult as her! We're in the same grade!"

"That's right!" Susie said, making Kaylee perk up for a moment before recognizing just how patronizing her tone was. "You're in the first grade here, and I'm in the first grade at college! Such a clever girl!"

"No! No, no no!" Kaylee stamped her feet again and again, until, finally, she felt a hand on her arm, and Ms. Crystal lifted her skirt, right there in front of Susie and Ms. Cynthia.

"Ah, there's why she's so cranky," Ms. Crystal declared. "Why didn't you tell me you were so wet? Come on, let's get you changed, and then you're going to the corner for a little while to calm down."

Kaylee's face crumpled. "B-But..." 

"Bye-bye, sweetie!" Susie waved. "I hope I see you again soon!"

Kaylee sulked as she was taken to the changing pad, knowing full well that her former roommate and the owner were still there, possibly watching as her wet diaper was untaped and Ms. Crystal began cleaning her up, because she could still hear them talking. "It's all right, Susie, you handled that very well... I'm quite impressed."

"Oh, thank you... I'm sure she's a very nice girl, it's just.... It was kind of weird she knew my name, right?" Kaylee didn't dare look at her now, but she could hear the shiver in the girl's voice.

"I said your name while I was opening the door," Ms. Cynthia reminded her. "I'm sure she just got it from there. She's a very resourceful one, and quite imaginative..."

Kaylee whimpered as her old diaper was tugged out from beneath her, only to be replaced by a new one. She shouldn't have been surprised that Susie didn't remember her - her parents hadn't remembered the truth by now, either, or else she wouldn't be here - but the sudden sight of her had been such a shock...  She'd had to try, and hope that the magic hadn't extended any further than her neighborhood, that somebody could confirm that she'd been to college.

Instead, unless the girl bombed the rest of her interview, it seemed Kaylee could look forward to having her as a teacher in a few months... She was already having trouble separating out what bits of her old life she was really remembering, and which she'd just dreamed... Having one of the key figures there, at preschool, every day, was only going to make things more difficult...

Only eleven and a half more months to go, she told herself as she was led to the time-out stool. Surely, she'd still know that her big girl life had been real by then... Surely...

-------------------------------------------------------

"It isn't my fault!" Kaylee huffed. "It was a long ride!"

"It was just as long as it usually is," Emily rolled her eyes. "Come on..." She grabbed her older sister's arm, trying to drag her into the mall's bathroom.

"You're just gonna put me in another diaper!" Kaylee pouted, eyeing the bag slung around Emily's shoulder. "I wanna wear my trainers!"

Emily snorted. "Like I even brought those..."

Kaylee scowled angrily. "I asked you to! We're trying on clothes!"

"All the more reason for you to stay in your diapers, silly... I'm not paying for pants just because you leaked all over them when your Pull-Ups were too thin; besides, you have to make sure whatever you get is going to fit over them."

"No, I don't!" Kaylee insisted loudly. "I'm a big girl, I'm not gonna be wearing these forever!"

"So says the girl with the poopy Pampers," Emily teased.

"Shut up!" Kaylee shoved her sulkily. It shouldn't even have counted as an accident... She hadn't even had a chance to hold it, because she'd never noticed she had to go, not until after one of the bumps, when her bottom had landed on something soft and squishy. She'd blushed and squirmed, for a moment hoping that little dirty spot was all she had to worry about, only to feel it already starting to grow, expanding out to cover her whole diaper...

"Do you want a spanking right here, young lady?!" Emily snapped back, reaching into the purse and pulling out a hairbrush. 

Emily's spankings were the least painful, yet, at the same time, the most embarrassing... And getting one in the mall would be far worse, of course. They didn't come here often, but that didn't make Kaylee any less certain that, any time they came, she was going to see somebody she knew...

"There's someone who knows how to take care of a little brat," Chloe smirked, looking over at the girl who looked awfully close to her age, despite the drooping diaper peeking out from beneath her skirt, instantly stopping her shouting and growing meek, letting herself be led away into the bathroom.

"Is it just me, or did she look a little familiar?" Alice tilted her head, watching the door swing shut.

"You always think that!" Ashley chimed in helpfully. "Maybe in another life..."

"Yeah, maybe," Alice shrugged. "Maybe I dreamed it..."

"Sounds like a nightmare to me," Chloe shook her head. 

A few minutes later, a pouty Kaylee stepped out of the bathroom, holding Emily's hand, as she'd been instructed quite firmly, unless she wanted to be put on the child reins. She should have known better than to think her stupid sister would be nice to her and let her get away with anything... 

She paused for a moment, staring at the teenaged girls talking and giggling to themselves, telling herself, at first, that they definitely weren't talking about her, even if it felt like they were glancing in her direction every time they looked up, then that there was no way she'd know anyone like that, even if something about them seemed to ring a bell in her mind. 

One day, she told herself, she'd be as cool and grown-up as they were... She looked down at her short skirt, and her diaper, then glared at Emily. If only her stupid family would let her, she probably could be now! She was a big girl, after all, and she knew it! All she had to do was get through preschool, and she'd be set... 

"Hi, there!" one of the teenagers waved at her. Kaylee blushed, biting her bottom lip and looking around.

"Don't be rude," Emily urged her. Kaylee waved back, then immediately popped her thumb in her mouth.

"We were just talking about how good you are with her," another of the girls said to Emily. "Is she..?"

"Oh, no, she's just lazy," Emily shrugged. "My parents just caved in to her every wish, and... well... This is what happened," she gestured to her older sister, diapered and sucking her thumb in the middle of the mall. "I still love her, though, of course."

"Well, you seem very mature," one of the girls told Emily. "Are you in college yet?"

"No, not yet," Emily replied. 

"Are you looking at Liberty?" a girl asked.

"I am!" Emily nodded. 

"Here, let me add you on Facebook," the girl offered, all of them taking out their phones and exchanging info. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask... I'm sure you'd fit in great there, and it's always nice to start off knowing you have some friends there already."

They all exchanged smiles, until Kaylee tugged at Emily's sleeve. "Come ooon," she whined. "This is boring..."

"Sorry," Emily shrugged. "I guess I should get going... It was nice meeting you, though! I'll message you later!"

Kaylee tugged on Emily's hand, leading her away for a few steps before letting the girl take the lead, since she could read the signs that said which store was which. It had been a little dull, watching the girls talk to her sister; more than that, seeing them had made her feel strange, somehow, in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't quite place it, and quickly decided it wasn't worth the effort... After all, she had much more important things to worry about, like proving to Emily that she could keep her diaper dry and clean for the rest of the trip, so that next time she could maybe try wearing training pants... A few successful trips, and maybe Mommy would let her try potty training again, so she could move on to the next class at preschool, and start learning her alphabet.

After that, she thought, daring one last look back at the trio, she wouldn't be far off from being like them. She smiled to herself, so used to being wet that she didn't even notice her bladder dribbling into her diaper, destroying her plan even before she'd fully made it. She was just so sure that it would work... It had to, after all. She was a big girl, so she knew silly things like magic and wishes weren't real, so she had to handle this herself. And, as she marched away, oblivious to her increasingly damp diaper, she was positive she'd have no problem doing just that.

The End