Date Published: June 20, 2012, 2:03am
Written By: LIttleMatt
As stated by LittleMatt in the request section:
LittleMatt link=topic=4685.msg51569#msg51569 date=1340120066:
Whoops I never saw this thread and only just noticed I had messages. Anybody who has a copy of this I’d be thrilled if you posted it. I lost it long ago.
I will post the 6 chapters I have below… perhaps if we playfully beg, plead, and cajole Lil’ Matty enough, he’d finish it off!
The Error
By LittleMatt
Chapter 1
This was not the way Thomas Welton wanted to begin his first day at his new school. This was not the way any 13 year-old should begin any day. Tom took every insult to his maturity seriously and this one was particularly grievous. He had grown tired of everyone assuming he was a little kid, a mere elementary schooler. He was officially a teenager and even if he was a little shorter than average adults should know better than to simply presume he wanted a kid’s menu or whatever it was they did to overlook his status as a teen.
These are, at any rate, the things he told himself. Though he was barely aware of it he envied younger kids, the way they didn’t have to struggle to prove that they were big and mature and completely independent. Some where in the back of his mind the thought lingered that he had wasted his opportunity to simply be a carefree kid on his constant quest to prove himself grown-up.
But no matter how aware he was of those feelings he wasn’t about to let on as his mother drove him to his first day of morning daycare. Her new job required her to arrive early, too early to take Tom to school. So she had found a nearby daycare that offered a bus service to the local schools. Tom thought he could ride his bike to school but was over ruled by his mother who insisted it was much too far for that. So he sat staring glumly out the window taking some solace in the promise that this particular center had an area for Jr High students in his position so he wouldn’t have to spend all morning hanging out with little kids and being treated like a little kid.
He was momentarily pulled out of his brooding funk as he felt the car come to stop. This was all quite worse than than he thought. Crude art projects decorated the windows cheerfully colored playground equipment sat waiting to be used. To Tom every detail screamed that this was a place for immature little brats, something that he was not, something he never was. He stepped out of the car and glared at this rugrat jail only to be interrupted by his mother giving him a quick pat on the head before starting her way to the door. Tom gave gave a resigned sigh and followed her in.
Inside the daycare center was a desk marked by a single name plate decorated with teddy bear stickers and bearing the name “Sarah.” And behind the desk the Sarah identified by the name tag sat beaming at the new mother and student who had just walked through her door. Her slightly plump round face and easy smile made her a natural for the part of a daycare teacher, To most of the parents here she was the face of the daycare and her obvious pride and experience in her work reassured them all that this was a safe and comfortable place for their little ones.
“This must be my new student,” she said cheerfully “Tommy isn’t it?”
“Tom” he corrected her tersely.
Her eyes twinkled at his attempted protest “I’m sorry Tom, I didn’t know I was getting such a grown up boy.” She turned to his mother and gave her a knowing smile before asking “And what school will we be sending Tom to this morning?”
“Stone Ridge Junior High” Tom answered with a a touch of pride before his mother could even speak.
“Well” Sarah chuckled “I guess we really do have quite the grown up here. Before you know it he’ll be working here.”
Tom glowered silently as the adults went about their final arrangements
“I’m sorry” Karen Welton said “he thinks he’s too old for daycare so he’s a little grumpy this morning.”
“Well I’m sure we’ll find a way to make him fit right in.” As Sarah smiled her reassurances at him Tom couldn’t help but notice the odd twinkle in her eye. It took him aback momentarily and he couldn’t help but think that however sweet this woman might be she meant everything she said, perhaps in ways he could never quite understand.
With her business concluded Karen turned to her son and kissed him on the forehead “Have a good day at school sweety. I’ll pick you up right at three, maybe we can rent a movie or something.”
Tom mumbled a good-bye and watched her walk through the door and leave in the care of Kiddie Town Daycare. Sarah called over one of the teachers and introduced her to Tom.
“Linda” she said calling over a younger blond haired woman and handing her a packet of papers “this is our new boy, would you mind showing him around.”
“Tom this is Linda she’ll show you where to put your things and get you settled in.”
“Come on Tommy” Linda smiled “I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun here.”
Tom crossed his arms and issued his correction for the second time today “I only like to be called Tom.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that” Linda said paying little attention to her new charge’s indignation “These are the cubbies we part all our things in, well make sure to get your name on yours.” She explained using the voice she obviously reserved for small children as took his backpack and coat and tucked them neatly into his cubby.
“And over here is the play area we’ve got toys and games on that shelf over there…”
“I really just need to see the area for kids who are going to the junior high. I’m just here so I can get on the bus, I don’t want to play with toys or be babysat.”
“I’m sorry hon but we don’t have any other kids going to your school today so we’re just putting everybody in this room for now. But I’m sure you’ll be able to have lots of fun in here too.” Linda said not breaking her condescending manner at all. She gave the papers Sarah had handed her a second look and shrugged before leaving Tom with some more reassurances.
Tom stomped off and found a chair where we could sit and wait. “What is wrong with everybody in this town?” He thought to himself as he tried to ignore the throng of kids playing around him.
It wasn’t long before one of them came up to him with a big red ball in his hand “Hi, I’m Johnny and I’m in third grade, do you wanna play something.”
Tom didn’t even look before spitting out “Look, I’m not a little kid like you guys and I don’t want to play, just leave me alone.”
“Well sorry,” Johnny rolled his eyes “I was trying to be nice.”
Tom returned to glaring into space as Johnny went off to play. He sat and stewed until it was finally time to board the bus. Outside he found several different buses. He stopped and look around for a second until on the the drivers leaned out the window with a clip board and called “Uh Tommy Welton, this is your bus.” Tom gritted his teeth at being called that name again but boarded the bus relieved to be done with daycare for the day.
Tom looked out the window and thought about how great it would be to finally establish his new teenage life in his new town. At least he’d have something to balance out his dreadful mornings. He was bought back to reality by the driver calling out “Alright Tommy, this is where you’ll be getting off.”
“Tom.” he corrected as he walked hurriedly off the bus. He stepped of the bus and looked around, something obviously wasn’t right. Behind him he heard the bus drive off as he tried to figure out what had happened. Finally he spotted the sign on the lawn in front of the office “Sunny Brook Elementary School.”
“Shit these idiots brought me to the wrong school.” Tom muttered to himself. He cursed his luck and walked towards the office determined to clear up this grievous mistake. Little did he know the forces he was up against.
Chapter 2
Tom walked into the office of Sunny Brook Elementary confident that he’d clear everything up and be on his way to Stone Ridge Junior High where he belonged. He went right up to the front desk and wasted no time getting to business “The bus dropped me off at the wrong place, I need to call somebody so I can get to the right school.”
The secretary barely took her attention away from the parent she was speaking with “I’m talking with a grown-up dear, maybe you can review the rules while you wait for us to finish.” She directed his attention to a colorful poster on the back wall and went back to her business.
Tom looked at the poster and gave a disgusted eye roll. It was a list of simple rules aimed at elementary school aged kids. “We let everybody have their turn” it read “We do not interrupt. We always speak politely and say ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’.” Tom crossed his arms and waited impatiently this was not a place he wanted to stay any longer than necessary.
Finally the interminable conversation ended and Tom strided up to the desk and launched straight into his story.
The secretary put her hand to her chin and pondered the situation for a moment. “There’s never been a mistake like this before, this is a very well run district. What’s your name hon?”
“Tom Welton.” he replied finally feeling like he was getting somewhere.
“Oh yes, I have a Tommy Welton listed as starting in Mrs. Sanborn’s fifth grade class.” She said as though the answer to everything.
“I’m not in the fifth grade and I like to be called Tom. Somebody made some sort of mistake.”
“Is you mom’s name Karen?”
“Yes.” Tom replied impatiently.
“And are you going to Kiddie Town Daycare?”
“Yes,” Tom groaned “But only because I’ve got to take the bus.”
“Well that matches what this form says, I even have your mom’s signature with fifth grade checked off.” She said as though she was actually trying to talk him into this.
“She probably just didn’t notice.” Tom said exasperated.
"Well I’ve never seen a error on one of these forms before. Like I said things are very well run here, we don’t make mistakes like this. She caught attention of a tall kindly looking man walking through the office and pointed out Tom to him. “This child says he’s supposed to go to Stone Ridge but the bus dropped him off here and he’s listed as a student here.”
The man pondered the situation for a second “Let’s go look this up on the computer,” he turned to Tom and said “We’ll be back in a minute son.” And the two went behind a door labeled “Mr. Lessen, Principal.”
From behind the door Tom could bits of their conversation “He doesn’t look that old to me either, but do you think a kid would really tell a lie like that.”
The scowl on his face deepened. Adults were always saying things like that. It was stupid, it was perfectly obvious he was a teenager. Maybe if his mother would let him buy the clothes he wanted things like this wouldn’t happen. As he sat there he made up his mind that after today he’d insist on being treated as grown-up as he really was.
After a few minutes Tom was called into the office. He breathed a sigh of relief fully expecting that his true status had been verified and he would be back on his way to the school where he belonged.
Mr. Lessen invited Tom to sit and explained the situation to him in a well practiced ‘talking to a child’ tone, “Well Tommy it looks like everything checks out you’re officially a fifth grader. Are you sure you weren’t just trying to get out of school today?”
“Yes I’m sure,” Tom said too exasperated to correct the principal on his name “I was done with the fifth grade two years ago. Call my mom and ask.”
“I do intend to speak to your mother, but for now I want to report to your classroom.”
Tom shuffled along behind the secretary angrily wondering what sort of grown-up activities the teenagers at Stone Ridge were up to and not paying the slightest attention to her tour of the playground. Finally they arrived at the door of Mrs. Sanborn’s class. “This is your classroom, now remember that you can always come to the office if you get sick or skin your knee or have an accident or if you just need to call your mom.”
Tom groaned inwardly “Accident? Did this lady seriously think there was a chance he’d wet his pants?”
“Oh, and I’ll make sure we get your uniform ready. You can stay dressed like that today but you’ll have to wear from tomorrow on. Have fun”
“Thank God, I’ll be out of here after they talk to mom.” Tom thought
Tom walked inside the classroom and thought he’d gag on the cutesy decorations on the wall. The entire classroom was adorned with cartoon animals an various posters bore reminders of the class rules. Tom just reminded himself that this be for today only and walked up to the desk to introduce himself.
“My name is Tom and I…”
“Oh Tommy, you must be the new boy. I hear you think you’re supposed to be going to Stone Ridge.”
“I am. And I only like to be called Tom.”
“Well I’m sure everything well get straightened out. We’ve already got a desk ready for you right over there.” Mrs. Sanborn pointed a desk with a name plate that read “Tommy” in the front row. “I guess we’ll have to change the name tag, but that should be good enough for now. All your books are already under your desk.”
Tom sat down bitterly in his desk as Mrs. Sanborn called the class to order. “Class he have a new student today can you all say ‘hi’ to Tom.”
Tom rolled his eyes as the assembled brats said “Hi Tom” in a juvenile sing-song unison.
“Tom why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?” Mrs. Sanborn invited.
“First of all no matter what this thing on my desk says my name is Tom not Tommy. And I’m only here for today because somebody messed up, I’m supposed to be in junior high.” Tom explained in a loud defiant voice with his arms crossed tight. Tom did his best to ignore the doubting giggles and snickers as Mrs. Sanborn began class for the day.
“Now everybody get out your science books and turn to page 75. Tom, since this is your first day I’ll give you first try at this question. What are the three basic types of wave function?”
Tom blinked. “Wave function?”
“Now come on try to remember” Mrs. Sanborn coaxed as all the other students shot their hands into there air eager to answer.
Tom sat and tried to remember ever hearing of such a thing all around him the class grew more and more eager to answer, each straining to lift their hand higher than the others. “I don’t know” Tom finally admitted.
Tom’s admission elicited one last round of excited hand waving and calls of “Pick me, pick me.”
Mrs. Sanborn looked over the class for a moment "Alright Jessica, can you tell us what the basic types of wave function are.
“A complex vector with finitely many components, a complex vector with infinitely many components, and a complex vector with one or more real variables.” Jessica said smiling proudly.
“Very good Jessica. Now if you remember yesterday we were discussing one dimensional momentum space…”
Tom stared slack jawed at all around him. Everybody in this room, he was convinced, was completely insane. He’d never heard any of this before. Something was very wrong with this town. He hoped that they wouldn’t be like this over at the junior high. He sat for the rest of time in complete incomprehension until his teacher announced that it was time for recess.
He wondered out to the playground still in shock from the bizarre scene he’d just witnessed. He looked around and realized that everything in this place was for little kids. With nothing else to do he sat on a swing and stared despondently at the ground.
As he sat a group of boys walked past him.One of them looked at him sand asked 'What’s the matter Tommy."
“My name’s Tom” he said with a little less conviction than before “and I’m fine, I just want to go the right school.”
“You don’t even know basic quantum mechanics” scoffed the largest boy of the group “you should probably be in preschool or something.”
With that Tom stood up to face him before noticing he was actually quite a bit bigger. “Come on Todd, leave him alone it’s just his first day at school” said one of the group.
“Fine” said Todd “I guess we’ll just let the pouty baby pout on the swings.” and with that they left. Tom sat back down trying to look as dignified as he possibly could after a fifth grader had just stood up for him. All he wanted at this point was to get through this day with as little notice as possible.
The rest of the day in class went much the same as the first. Tom had no idea what was going on, he just knew he wanted out of this place. Finally the last bell rang and he made a bee line for the office where he hoped he’d find that everything had been cleared up.
Inside he found his mother speaking with the principal. “Hi sweety,” she greeted him "I have good news, Stone Ridge is going to let you transfer and all you have to do is pass one little test. Inside Tom told himself that what happened today was a fluke, he could pass any test they gave him with flying colors.
Mr. Lessen gave him his test packet and a pencil and let Tom take the test in the privacy of his office. Tom opened the booklet and his heart sank. If anything this test was crazier than the stuff he’d heard in class today. All of it was completely alien to him. He did his best to struggle through, but all he could do was guess.
Once again Tom found himself staring glumly out the the window of his mother’s car. Only this time he was officially a fifth grader again. In the back seat sat his brand new school uniform, a simple light blue collared shirt with the school logo emblazoned on the front, a figure of child holding a teddy bear in one hand an adult’s hand in the other. Along with the shirt was a pair of slacks and pair of shorts. Tom took some solace in the fact that he didn’t have to wear the even more babyish uniform of the lower grades. Still he knew everywhere he went he would be unmistakably identified as the grade school student he now was. And he was beginning to wonder if this really wasn’t the place he belonged after all.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Chapter 3
Tom strode though the entrance of Stone Ridge Junior High. “Hey Tom” called out one of his friends. Tom joined up with his friends who were already hanging out in the hall discussing the usual teenage stuff. There was some talk of how great it would be once they got their learner’s permits which none of them were too far away from getting. Somewhere in the distance there was gentle music. It played so softly Tom didn’t so much hear it as sense it. Slowly it grew louder and more distinct, it was now clearly a nursery rhyme. Tom glanced around but nobody else seemed to notice. Eventually it grew to drown out the conversation. Tom stood up and covered his ears, nobody else reacted at all.
Tom woke to the electronic screeching of his alarm clock. He reached over and smacked it back into silence, in the quite gray light of morning reality flooded back to him. His new school uniform freshly laundered and folded was already sitting on the chair next to him. He reluctantly went about the business of getting ready for his 2nd day of the fifth grade.
He sloped down the stairs and into the kitchen trying his best to ignore his mother’s “isn’t he cute” looks as he sat down to breakfast
“Aww honey, it’s not that bad is it?” she finally spoke up.
“I just want to go where I’m supposed to go instead of spending all day with a bunch of little kids.” Tom groused.
Karen ran her fingers gently through her son’s hair “I know you won’t like this but you might not be quite as grown-up as you think.”
Tom scowled, feeling angry at his mother for making such a comment, but mostly because he was afraid she was right. Somewhere inside him he felt a glimmer of hope that somebody might really know the young adult he was always trying to look like, but he quickly pushed it back down and continued eating his breakfast.
Karen rubbed his back “I know it’s no fun right now honey, but I think this might be for the best” she said before leaving the room to make a phone call.
At Kiddie Town Karen explained the situation to Sarah who had been sure to inform Tom of how adorable he looked in his new uniform. Karen gave her son a good-bye kiss on his forehead and left him again care of Sarah and her staff. A she drove away she wondered if she would ever reach the little boy she knew was under her son’s defiant exterior.
Tom found his seat from the day before still unhappy to be stuck in daycare but feeling somewhat less conspicuously mature now that he dressed like most of the other children. After a few minutes he heard a familiar voice behind him.
“Hey, I thought you said you a big kid.”
Tom turned around and saw Johnny from the day before.
“I am” John explained “In fact I’m a teenager.”
“But you’re wearing a Sunny Brook uniform just like me, even though mine is sort of different cause I’m in the third grade.”
“Somebody made a mistake I’m supposed to go to a different school.” Tom shot back defensively.
“It’s OK if you’re not a big kid, you can still play with us over there” Johnny said pointing out some of his friends on the other side of the room."
“I don’t want to play. Why don’t you get wet you diapers with your friends?” Tom snorted derisively.
“Fine” Johnny said rolling his eyes.
Tom turned back around and blinked. He realized how immature he looked in contrast to the third grader who wanted nothing more to play with him. He shook his head and dismissed it all as a reaction to the stress he was under.
At school Tom shuffled back into his classroom and found his desk still labeled “Tommy.” Mrs. Sanborn noticed him staring at it.
“I’m sorry I forgot to change that, do you really mind being called ‘Tommy’ so much?” She asked him.
Tom to his surprise found himself answering “no.” It was a battle he was weary of fighting.
Mrs. Sanborn smiled warmly “Well Tommy, we’re certainly glad to have you stay with us.”
As kids filtered into the classroom nobody seemed very surprised to see Tom back in class again. It seemed that the entire world had quite easily accepted him as fifth grader. Class began and Tom could see that this day was going to be like the last. He struggled to gain even the faintest grasp of the material. How could these mere children be so far beyond him?
Finally recess gave him a brief reprieve from his classroom struggles. Today the playground seemed like entirely different place. Yesterday he had assumed he just a visitor. But today this was his playground, he was truly under the watchful eye of the adults who kept the students safe and behaved. He sat down again in a swing and watched the goings on. After a few minutes he found himself absentmindedly swinging back and forth a bit. He caught himself and composed himself back into the teenager he felt himself to be making a mental note to only do what little kid stuff was necessary to make it through this situation.
The bell signaling the end of recess rang and Tom lined up obediently joined the rest of his class in a neat line as they waited for their teacher to bring them back into class. Mrs. Sanborn took a quick head count of her charges and led them back into class. On the way in Tom became a aware of an urge from his bladder. Not wishing to make the fuss of asking his fifth grade teacher for permission to go he decided to hold it until lunch.
But as class progressed the need to empty his bladder became increasingly dire. Finally he was forced to raise his hand.
“Yes Tommy?” Mrs. Sanborn acknowledged.
“I need to use the restroom.”
“Now Tommy you should know by now that your expected to take of that during recess. We only have 15 minutes until lunch and I think you need that time to catch up on your bounded harmonics.”
For the next 15 minutes Tom fought his bladder’s desperate need for release. When his class finally let out for lunch he made a mad dash for the restroom. There he discovered something very odd. He hadn’t noticed before but the button on his pants had a weird sort of latch that had to be worked to open the fly. He sat and stared at it for a moment unable to quite figure out how to undo it. Around him his fellow students ran in and out of the bathroom seeming to have no difficulty at all with this complication. As he struggled he felt his bladder release. A warm wet feeling spread through his pants as he soaked himself helplessly. Along with a sense of utter embarrassment also came a wave of relief and a sense of dread as he realized what he’d have to do.
He came out of the bathroom trying to pull his shirt down in a futile attempt to hide his accident. He found his teacher and fighting back tears tried to explain himself.
She noticed his wet pants before he could even begin his explanation. “Oh Tommy, couldn’t quite hold it dear?”
Tom could only shake his head as he followed his teacher to the office. Once there he just looked at the ground while he was led in to see the school nurse. The nurse saw what he was there for immediately “Aww It’s OK honey, we’ll get you into some dry clothes” she said.
“You can come back class when your done here Tommy” Mrs. Sanborn said as she left him in the nurses office.
Tom turned to the nurse desperate to explain himself “It’s just because of these pants, they’ve got some weird thing on the button and I couldn’t get them off.” he pleaded.
He was slightly shocked when she didn’t waste a moment reaching over and undoing his button. “You’re clothes are just fine. You don’t need to make silly excuses hon, little boys have accidents it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I’m not a little boy” Tom almost whimpered.
“Uh huh” she replied as she helped him out of his wet clothes. Tom blushed deeply as he tried to cover himself. She dumped the soaked things into a plastic bag and grabbed a few things from the closet. “Here you go hon, you can wear these.”
Tom sighed slightly as he saw the cartoon print underwear he’d just been handed. He knew he had no choice in the matter so he pulled them on along with a pair of dry pants, this time he noticed these had the same sort of fly. “Thank you” he muttered feeling embarrassed at having been so dependent on her.
“Anytime hon.” She said patting his head. “Now go get back to class, I’ll call your mom so she’ll know to pick up your wet things.” Tom nodded and headed back to class suddenly feeling much more like a real elementary schooler.
Chapter 4
After returning from the school nurse Tom spent the rest of the day half eager and half dreading the the end of school. On one hand he’d be able to get away from this bizarre place, but on the other he’d have to explain to his mom why he’d wet his pants.
Class ended promptly at 3 and he trudged his way to the parking lot and saw his mother was already there. Drawing a deep breath he climbed into the passenger prepared to defend himself.
“Hey hon, have a rough day at school?” His mother inquired sympathetically.
“Yeah sort of. But it’s not my fault…”
“I know it’s not your fault, lots of kids have accidents. You just didn’t know they don’t give bathroom passes here.”
Tom was amazed at the way his mother was taking this. It was as though he really was a child who couldn’t be fully expected to handle his toileting. He wasn’t sure whether he should accept the sympathy or insist on being treated like someone his own age.
“I guess you’re kind of right.” Tom shrugged feeling relieved to get the issue behind him. All he had to do was figure out how to work that odd little latch. For now he could live with the little kid treatment, and in a strange town where he had learn so many new things he was finding it to be something of a saving grace.
Karen smiled at her son and ruffled his hair “That’s my boy.”
At home Tom flopped down in front of the TV happy to have another day behind him. He knew the cable had been installed that day and was eager to watch MTV and forget about how he spent the day at elementary school. He cycled through the channels a few times but couldn’t find anything that looked anything like MTV.
“Mom?” he called “Do you know what channel MTV is on?”
“The cable company here doesn’t have it. Why don’t find something else to watch.”
Tom sighed and figured he could easily find something else. But he found nothing at all that interested him. As far as he could tell almost all of them were for old people or least people who understood that boring financial talk, a few had weird movies he just didn’t understand. Finally he settled on the one thing he could understand, cartoons.
He hadn’t seen this one before, and he had to admit it he was enjoying it. He’d known kids back
at home who still watched cartoons, some were even popular. But he always thought it was all to babyish for him. But here he was and after a long day it was relaxing to just sit and enjoy something.
Before he long he once again felt his bladder begin to call for emptying. He waited for a commercial and went into the bathroom determined to figure out that latch that had defeated him earlier. He’d seen the nurse open it so he thought he knew what to do but he still struggled with it. From Tom’s perspective it was rather complicated and required quite a bit of finesse. He fought for several minutes as the urge grew. Finally he decided he’d need help.
“Uh… mom. I sort of need some help. Please.” He called from the door of the bathroom.
“Yes hon?” She said walking up to the door and looking at him curiously.
“It’s just this button, it’s weird. I don’t really know how to open it.” Tom blushed as asked like a toddler for help going to the bathroom.
Without another word she reached down and effortlessly undid the button. “There you go, is this why you had that accident today?”
Tom just nodded blushing a bit more.
“Well that’s OK, you’ll get the hang of it, all the other children do.”
Tom finished his business and went back to watching cartoons. He’d already been watching for some time and was becoming hooked. The evening wore on and eventually his mother came in to announce that it was time to get ready for bed.
“Mom, it’s only 9 O’clock. I never go to bed this early.” He protested.
“You’ve been staying up far too late, and your teacher say you have a lot of catching up to do so you’ll need your rest.”
Tom sulked but decided not to argue that he was too old for this with the woman who had laundered his wet pants. He went up stairs to his room and began to undress. His mother wasn’t too far behind. “Still need help with those pants.”
Tom again acquiesced to his mother helping him with his clothes. He unbuttoned his pants and helped him out of them thinking to herself about how cute he looked in the cartoon print underwear.
“You need any more help hon?” she asked.
“No I can do the rest.” Tom said feeling a bit embarrassed.
“Alright, I put some pjs on your dresser if you want to wear them, it’s going to get pretty chilly tonight. Good night sweety.”
“Good night, mom.” Tom said as she left the room. He’d given up wearing pajamas some time ago and preferred to sleep in his underwear. Not the underwear like he was currently wearing, he changed out of that, but pajamas were one of the many things he’d felt he’d outgrown.
He turned out the light and climbed into bed. After a a few minutes of tossing and turning he realized that it wasn’t just chilly it was freezing. No matter how he piled the covers he was still cold. He got out of bid and slipped on the pajamas his mother had left for him. Luckily they didn’t have any cartoon characters on them or anything like that. But they were warm and cozy. Tom climbed back into bed as comfy as he could be and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Chapter 5
Tom made his way through another morning at Kiddie Town and sat though another bewildering day of class. He couldn’t understand how these little kids could know so much more than him, how they could be so much more capable than him in so many ways. Unable to follow the day’s lessons his mind kept wandering back to the day before and how he’d wet his pants just because he wasn’t able to do something everybody else found so simple.
These thoughts became more intense when he once again began to feel the need to go the restroom. The last thing he wanted to do was have an accident for the second day in a row so he sat and thought about how he’d finally undo that stupid latch. At last it was time for recess and he bolted for the boy’s room.
He examined it for a minute. He’d seen it worked several times now and had a pretty good idea of how to do it. He made several attempts making some progress, but the mechanism was ultimately too delicate for him. He sighed deeply and walked out to the playground.
He found his teacher and looking at his shoes stammered “I think I sort of need some help.”
“What do you need Tommy?” Mrs. Sanborn asked.
“I just need some help undoing this fly.” Tommy said barely above a whisper.
She bent down close so she could hear him “What was that dear?”
Tommy again whispered into her ear and she briefly gave him a surprised look. “OK, let’s get that taken of.”
She followed his into the restroom and easily helped him with his predicament. All the while she was careful not to hurt his feeling but Tom could tell from the way she looked at him that she was beginning to think he didn’t even belong in her class. He finished up hoping that nobody had witnessed anything.
At the end of class that day Tom started for the door when he heard Mrs. Sanborn call his name. He turned back around and went up to her desk.
“Tommy, I have a note here for your mother. Could you get her to sign it and bring it back tomorrow?” Tom took the envelope and nodded. He had some idea of what was in it, but he knew he had little choice but to give it to his mom. Not wanting to deal with it right after school he shoved it deep into his backpack and went out to her car.
“Hey sweety, did you have a better day today?” She greeted him.
“Yeah” Tom said shrugging his shoulders.
“I’m have to head by the mall for a bit, wanna come with me?”
“Sure” Tom said.
Tom listened to the radio and watched the scenery go by and began to forget about having to ask his teacher for help going to the bathroom. The car pulled into the mall parking lot and Tom gawked at how huge it was. He was sure there’d be plenty of things for him to do that would let him forget about being an elementary schooler for a while.
Inside the mall was incredibly crowded. Tom was surprised that such a small town could produce so many people but was to interested in finding an arcade to care very much.
“Hey mom can I go look around, I’ll meet you back here in an hour.”
His mom gave him a skeptical look and for a moment he thought she’d say no “Alright, but be back in half an hour instead” she said before handing him some money to play around with.
Tom was thrilled, finally he was getting a taste of teenage freedom. He got a large soda at the food court and began to look around. He spotted an arcade and walked confidently over to it. But when he got inside he paused. He got out a dollar bill and got some tokens from the machine and began to look around for something to play. But as he explored he noticed that the other teenagers were looking at him like he was an invader. He realized that because of his uniform everybody there assumed he was just a little kid who’d probably throw a damper on the fun they were having. It probably didn’t help that he was so much smaller than any of them. He was always a bit shorter then average, but these kids simply towered over him.
He did his best to ignore them and just enjoy his time away from adult supervision. He found one of his favorite games from back home and popped in a token. For the first few seconds it was the same game he was used to. But this version was harder somehow. He’d always been able to play for what seemed forever on one quarter, but this time he was dead in under a minute. He stared at the death screen in shock. From somewhere off to the side a kid not much older than himself chuckled “Don’t worry kid I wasn’t very good at that when I was your age either, you’ll get better.”
Tom was about to inform him that he was not some little brat when he heard the voice of the attendant behind him “Excuse me son, is your mom here?”
Tom turned around to face him bewildered that he’d be asking such a question “No, she’s out shopping. I don’t need her to be with me every second.” He answered.
“Well you need her here, we don’t allow anyone under 12 without a parent.”
“But I…” Tom thought for a second and decided that admitting to being a teenager in elementary school wasn’t what he wanted to do and that nobody would believe him anyway. He sulked out of the arcade and went to wait for his mom. As he waited he began to feel the effects of the large soda. He decided to wait until he got home where he could at least try to work that cursed latch in private, or worse yet ask for help again.
He was about to give in and go search for a restroom when his mom appeared. “Hi hon, have fun?”
“Yeah I guess” Tom said before hesitating for a moment “I really need to go to the bathroom and I think…”
“Still need some help with that?”
Tom nodded as his face turned red.
“Well come on.” His mother said before leading him off in the direction of the bathroom.
The crowd had grown quite thick and Tom struggled to keep up with his mother. He felt more like a little kid than ever before trying so desperately to stay with his mom but he didn’t know what else to do. Eventually the task became so difficult that she reached out her hand for Tom to take. Knowing he had little choice Tom took her hand. He took some small solace in the fact that none of his friends from back home were here to see him being led by the hand so his mom could help him go to the bathroom.
They turned a corner onto the main concourse of the mall where things were even more crowded. Tom couldn’t even see where he was going, he was now simply being dragged through the throng. He felt a bolt of panic as his mother’s hand slipped out of his. He tried to go around to get back to where he thought she was but he just got pushed back further and further. His need to go to the bathroom was now beyond desperate and there was little he could do to even find his way let alone undo his pants by himself. Unable to hold it any longer Tom felt his bladder release uncontrollably and the warm wetness spread through his crotch and down his leg. Looking down at his soaked pants Tom began to feel like nothing more than a lost little boy.
Tears flooded into his eyes and finally some people in the crowd took notice. “Hey are you lost” a voice from behind him asked. Tom turned around to find a girl who was maybe somewhere toward the end of her high school years leaning down at looking at him sympathetically.
Tom could only sniffle and nod.
“Well let’s get you somewhere where your mom kind find you and get you into some dry pants” his new caretaker said as she took his hand. Still lightly sobbing Tom didn’t know what else to do but comply. He was led over to a nearby information booth where the girl explained she’d found a lost child.
After getting his name and description the attendant at the booth made an announcement and within a few minutes Tom’s mother appeared.
“Oh baby, I’m sorry I let go of your hand. I’ll make sure that never happens again” she exclaimed as she bent down to give him a hug. Forgetting himself for a moment Tom returned the hug and rested his head on her shoulder taking comfort in his mother’s arms. “And don’t worry about hose pants. It’s not your fault. Well get you into something dry at home.”
She thanked Tom’s teenage rescuer for finding her boy and taking his hand in a firm grip led him back out to the car. At home she took him upstairs and helped him out of his wet things. “I want you to know that I’m not angry at you in any way. But you are going have to figure out how to undo your pants on your own. I just bought you a new bunch of pants and everything they sell here has the same thing.” Tom nodded as he got himself into the dry clothes his mother had laid out. “Now go ahead and watch your cartoons. I’ll get all this in the wash for you.”
Tom couldn’t believe how understanding his mother was. He couldn’t believe how much he was beginning to fit the role of little boy that had been thrust on him. But he didn’t want to think about any of that now, he just wanted to watch some cartoons and forget about the day.
Upstairs his mother couldn’t help but notice an envelope sticking out of his backpack.
Chapter 6
As Tom sat down to dinner with his mother he could easily see she wanted to talk about something. “I saw that note from your teacher” she said casually.
Tom’s stomach turned. He’d completely forgotten about it. “What did it say” he stammered trying to act as unconcerned as possible.
“Well she said your well behaved and that you try hard” she said sparing Tom the comments about how adorable he was “But she thinks you might not be ready for her class.”
That was exactly what what Tom had feared. “But I’m not even supposed to be in her class” Tom said exasperated.
"Now honey, we both know the test they gave you showed you had some catching up to do. Mrs. Sanborn says your really struggling with what the other children are learning. And maybe if you had a little less pressure you could learn how to undo your pants. "
Tom sank into his chair. “Can’t I at least have a little more time to try?” he pleaded.
“She wants to have a parent teacher conference tomorrow. We’ll talk about it then. And you know I won’t let anything happen that’s not in your best interest right?”
“Yeah, I suppose” Tom acknowledged as he glumly went about finishing his dinner. But as he sat he felt a new sense of determination. Like never before he was committed to figuring out that hated latch and proving to everybody he really was grownup. Suddenly feeling buoyed he sat his plate in the sink and ran up to the room to begin.
He sat and struggled for several hours. Several time he almost gave up but he knew this was his last chance to prove that he didn’t need to be sent to an even lower grade. Finally he did it. He knew it was odd for a 13 year-old to feel proud about being able to undress himself but he couldn’t help it. Quickly he buttoned back up and tried again releasing the latch with little trouble. Like a proud toddler he called his mom in to witness his new found skill.
“I knew you’d get it. Maybe that will help convince the school to keep you in the fifth grade.” His mom said patting his head.
Tom would have ordinarily resented being patted on the head in such a manner but he was far too happy to care. And when his mom reminded him that it was nearly his new 9 O’clock bedtime he didn’t feel any need to protest. His simply got into his PJs by himself and went to bed finally feeling at least a little grownup.
At school the next day Tom was still confused by the lessons but he was beginning to think that if he could figure out the latch he could figure out this stuff too. Even when class ended and his mother and the principal came in to discuss his future he felt very confident.
Tom took a seat next to his mother and waited as the adults exchanged greeting. “Now down to business” Mrs Sanborn began “One of my biggest concerns is that Tommy doesn’t seem to be able to handle undressing himself to use the restroom.”
“But I figured it out” Tommy interrupted. He stood up and began to demonstrate his new found skill. He felt a little ridiculous doing this in front of three people but he know it was necessary. But something was wrong, he did exactly what he did the night before but the latch didn’t come undone.
“I did it last night, I don’t know why it isn’t working. Maybe it’s broken or something” He said feeling a bit of panic.
“Tommy hon” Mrs. Sanborn said “They all work differently. Every pair has it’s own combination if you want to call it that. And most of them have a little computer chip in them that rearranges the way it works every day.”
Tommy looked at her like she was insane. “But why? Why do they even put these on here?”
Tommy could only keep looking at her in shock as she went into an explanation he could barely understand. All he could manage to figure out was that it had something to do with promoting neurological development.
Tommy fell back into his chair wondering how he’d ever figure out all the different latches, especially when some of them even changed. He barely paid attention as the three adults went about discussing his readiness for the fifth grade.
“Well” the principal said “What I’m going to do for now is put Tommy in the third grade and we’ll see if we need to something more drastic.”
“Third grade?” Tom said in disbelief “Can’t you just send me back one grade?”
“Don’t worry you’ll have a chance to work your way back” the principal reassured him “But as part of that we’re going to expect you to take care of your own clothing. We think in a setting were your won’t struggle so much with school you’ll be able to learn to handle that on your own.”
On the ride back Tom barely spoke a word. In the back seat sat his new uniform, a similar shirt with a pair of short pants and suspenders. The shirt had the name “Tommy” sewn neatly into it. His mother was clearly thinking hard about something and that suited him just fine, he didn’t want to talk about this anymore.
Suddenly he noticed she was turning into the parking lot of the local supermarket. “Mom” he finally spoke up “Can’t we just go straight home today?”
“I’m just going to get one thing, now come along with me.”
“I’m just going to stay in the car and listen to the radio.”
“Don’t you remember how you got lost in the mall? I just want to keep a close eye on you.”
Tom sighed and got out of the car. As he began to step out into the traffic lane he felt her grab his arm. Looking up at her and noticing the seriousness in her face he quickly acquiesced and took her hand.
Inside the store he paid little attention to where his mother was going as he followed her and nursed his wounded pride. Finally she stopped and he looked up at the bright packages lining the store’s diaper aisle. He watched in silent horror as his mother placed a package boy’s Pull-Ups into the cart.
“Mom please” he began to plead not thinking how he was clearly identifying himself as the intended wearer “I promise I’ll try really hard, I don’t need to wear diapers.”
“These aren’t diapers honey, I don’t think you need those yet. But I can’t have you coming home in wet pants every day.”
He opened his mouth again to protest but was cut short. “I’ve already made my decision. As soon as you show that you can use the potty you can wear underwear again.”
He began to speak again but quickly thought better of it.
“Do you understand?” She asked.
“Yes.” Tom replied meekly.
“Good boy” She said stroking his head. “I have a feeling this will work out in the end.”
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
i certainly want to know the ending
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Yay! I wanted to get back to this story but I’d written it on laptop that died and that was too careless to backup. I intend to at least take a stab at completing it. It’s gonna have to wait a bit though.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
After reading these first six chapters, I must say that I am very eagerly awaiting any continuation to this story! I just want LittleMatt to know that there is a readership of his creative work. I do not wish to rush the creative process, but I nonetheless must present my active desire to see this story completed. I do not want this post to necro-tize and to have this story fall into the annuls of the internet, forgotten and unfinished. I am willing to “wait a bit” yet know that my patience wanes when it comes to waiting for a fantastic tale to be completed. All the best and congratulations on this amazing tale of a loss of control, in more ways than one!!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
I second Quaere’s post!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
It’s coming, I’m working on it.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
LittleMatt link=topic=5161.msg52859#msg52859 date=1351439737:
It’s coming, I’m working on it.
Wow! I just read the story this morning and was getting ready to ask when more would be posted. Question answered!
I’m really enjoying this story and like the others I anxiously await more!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Alright here’s the first new chapter. It’s a short one and it might be a little while before I start posting them regularly. But enough with trying people’s patience.
Chapter 7
When they returned home they both went straight to Tom’s room to get him into his training pants. After being helped out of his pants Tom quickly grabbed a Pull-Up from the open bag. He was in no hurry to start wearing them but he at least wanted the dignity of putting them on himself. He looked at the brightly colored thing he held in his hands and a bevy of cartoon characters smiled eagerly back at him. He didn’t recognize any of them but they were clearly meant to appeal to preschoolers.
“The little stripe goes in back.” His mother helpfully pointed out.
Seeing no reason to delay further Tom pulled his brand new pants into place. They weren’t like real underwear the way the ads said. They were obviously thicker. Tom try to reassure himself that this wasn’t a diaper, but he knew it was close.
His mother held out his pants for him to step into. “Now I’m not going to help you with this anymore except for getting you dressed. You’ll learn how to do it yourself, you just need to try. And if you have an accident just let me or the school nurse know and we’ll help you get into a new Pull-Up. OK?”
Tom couldn’t believe the words he was hearing. It was his Pull-Up and he was going to need help from grown ups changing into a new one. He could only nod his acquiescence.
“Good boy. Now go watch TV and I’ll get dinner ready” giving him a pat on the bottom.
As dinner approached his bladder began to strain. He’d made a few attempts at the button but quit in frustration. Now the need was getting dire. He walked the the bathroom, every step felt like it could shake loose the flood gates. He struggled again, twisting and pulling at the strange device. But control slipped away from him. This time there were no wet pants, just the damp heaviness of his training pants.
“Tommy, dinner’s ready!” He no longer took note of the name. How could he tell his mother he’d wet his Pull-Up after just a few hours of having it on?
He crept into the kitchen still unsure what to say.
“Hey honey. How’s your Pull-Up doing?” she asked with an unnerving amount of casual directness.
“Oh… It’s still fine.” Tom said looking down.
“Are you sure” she said trying to catch his gaze.
“Yea…Yeah”
She crossed her arms and looked him directly in the eyes “Do I have to check?”
“Alright, I sort of had an accident.”
“I thought so. Let’s go get you into a dry one.” She began to lead him back to his room. “You need to tell me if you have an accident. You could get a rash if you don’t changed soon enough.”
Once in his room he was relieved of his shoes and pants. “Dry as a bone” his mother commented as she quickly inspected his pants. “Looks like we won’t have to worry about leaks.” Tom started to remove his Pull-Up. “Oh honey let me get that, you don’t know where to put it” she lowered the sodden thing and helped him step out of it before tossing it in a pail that had taken up residence near his bed. "I’m sorry sweety, I forgot to buy wipes hold on a sec’. She left for the bathroom and returned with a wet cloth in hand.
“Mom, please let me do this” he pleaded.
She thought for a moment and handed him the cloth. “OK, but if I notice you aren’t cleaning up well enough I’m going to do it myself.”
Tom breathed a sigh of relief and washed himself as thoroughly as he could manage before stepping into a new Pull-Up and getting dressed again. He went downstairs again for dinner and tried to content himself with this one measure of maturity he was still allowed.
Eventually his bedtime came and all he could think about was getting out of his new juvenile underpants. He rushed to remove the Pull-Up on his own as his mother dropped his clothes in the hamper. “Is that dry” she asked as he walked over to the pail.
“Yes, it’s totally dry” he said.
She leaned over and took it from his hand. “Just let me see” she said gently but with a pronounced sense of maternal authority as she took it from his hand. “Yep, dry as can be. Good job” she said as she deposited in the pail. “Why don’t you try to go use the potty before bed OK?”
“But mom, I don’t need to. And would you stop saying potty. Just cause I’ve had a few accidents cause of these stupid buttons…”
She raised an eyebrow and Tom relented. Without any impediments he was able handle his business on his own for once. When he came back he found his mom holding another Pull-Up.
“Mom, I don’t need one of those. I don’t wet the bed. I just have accidents sometimes.”
“I want you to wear one at night for a while just in case. Especially if you’re going to be so unwilling to use the potty before bed.”
Tom moaned again and slid himself into his nighttime Pull-Up and got into his PJs… He was tucked into bed with a good night kiss and drifted off to sleep.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Dude, right on !!
Looks great. I love this story; it has tons of little details that make it work, not least of which is the setting. Without resorting to heavily sci/fi size-reduction, you have created a situation where this could happen; a place where kids learn way, way faster than anywhere else due to proper education is the perfect backdrop for a quite small for his age tween to be effectively fully regressed to a happy 1st-grader who is accepted as what he appears by everybody around him.
Perfect. Thanks so much for continuing this!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
OH, MY GOD! dreams do come true, they really, really do!.Thanks LittleMatt for continuing this story. Keep it real Son.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Chapter 8
Tom could hear his mother already up getting things ready for the day as he slowly came awake. He felt the still unfamiliar snug padding beneath his pajamas and recalled the previous day. As he reached down to feel the front of them he found himself dry and wondered how he’d come to even doubt it.
The door slowly opened and his mother peeked in. “Good morning sweety, did you sleep OK?”
“Yeah I guess.”
“Good” she sat down as his bed “Still dry?”
“Of course” Tom said almost managing to sound like nothing else could have even crossed his mind.
“Good boy” she said softly ruffling his hair “I just wanted to explain a few things about today since there’s a lot of new things happening. I’m going to put some of your Pull-Ups in your backpack. When you get to school I want you to go to the office and give them to the nurse, she’ll keep them in a cabinet for you. After that one of the office ladies will show you where your new classroom is. Do you think you can handle that by yourself or do you want me to go with you?”
“Mom, that stuff is really simple. I’m not really some little kid. I can handle it.”
“Of course your a big boy” she said chucking him under the chin “I just want to make sure your comfortable with all these changes.”
“Thanks mom, but I’m sure I can do it on my own.”
“Just remember you can have the office call me if you need anything. Now get a shower and I’ll get your clothes out.” Tom grumbled to himself as he got out of bed. “And remember to put your Pull-Up in the pail.”
Seeing that she wasn’t going anywhere he got out of his PJs and dumped his training pants in the pail. He saw her watching closely to make sure it really was dry.
The shower gave him a rare few moments of privacy and independence. He had a small shower radio that hung from the nozzle. He turned the knob until he zeroed in on a faint and distant station playing something that sounded like what a teenager ought to be listening to. He closed his eyes and tried to take it all in. But somehow it seemed wrong, like something from a place he didn’t belong.
He turned off the shower, grabbed his towel, and returned to his room. He found his mother waiting for him with his new school clothes in her lap.
“I almost forgot” she said “The latches on these need to be done when you put them on too. It’s supposed to help more with neurological development. It’s not supposed to help as much in the later grades so they use a different kind.”
Tom stood in shock as she held out his Pull-Ups for him to step into. “You mean you’re going to get me dressed too?”
“It’s not a big deal honey, it’s just until you learn how to do it yourself.”
He sighed and put one foot and then another into his training pants and his mother soon had him in his brand new school uniform.
“You look nice” she smiled as she made a few adjustments.
Tom looked down at the hopelessly juvenile clothes he’d just been helped into and wondered what his friends back home would think. Even as a real third grader he’d never had been caught dead in short pants and suspenders. “I look like a baby” he complained.
“No you don’t. Those are perfectly fine clothes for a lit…” she cleared her throat “I mean big boy. You just have to get used to them is all.”
Later that morning he was again dropped off at Kiddie Town Daycare. He slumped into his usual seat and glared at the floor. “Hey Tommy” shouted an excited voice.
He looked up and saw Johnny smiling at him once again. “How come you’re wearing one of the younger kid’s uniforms?” Johnny asked “And how come you never told me your name before?” He asked pointing at the name stitched in his shirt.
“I’m wearing this because… well because the teachers are all stupid. And I didn’t tell you my name because I don’t want to be friends with a big dumb baby.”
Johnny rolled his eyes “I was just asking some questions, jeez.”
Tom looked down again feeling a bit embarrassed by his outburst. He looked up again and saw Johnny walking back to rejoin his friends. He thought almost spoke up again to apologize but held back. In time his bus came and took him to back Sunny Brook.
He walked into the office and up to the desk. “I’m supposed to give some stuff to the nurse and then I have to go to a… uh… different class room.” He explained.
“Oh you must be the boy whose going into the third grade. Tommy Welton right?”
Tom just nodded “Yes, could I just see the nurse and get this over with please?”
“I’m sure you’re excited to get to your new class dear, but there’s just a few things we need to do first” She took out a form from beneath her desk. “Now what is your P.A.T. Number?”
Tom look at her dumbfounded “I don’t even know what that is.”
“Oh a big boy like you must remember that.” She said expectantly.
Tom just shook his head.
“See if he has one of those big yellow cards” suggested one of the other secretaries “They usually give them to the Kindergarteners but he may have one too.”
“I don’t have one of those. Can’t we just do this later?” Tom pleaded.
“We can just skip that part for now” She looked further down the form “OK, are you a N.E.C.P student?”
Tom blinked “I don’t know what that is either.”
The secretary just shook her head a bit “That’s OK hon, we’ll just call your mother. She’ll know all this. Just go have a seat over there.” She said motioning to a row of seats behind him.
Tom sighed and sat down. His legs dangled from the enormous chair as his mom was called to take care of the process for him. He didn’t understand much of what they talked about except for the part about how cute he was in his uniform. After a few minutes she hung up the phone and walked over to him.
“There we go hon, all taken care of. Your mother asked me to make sure you didn’t forget about your pullups.”
Tom gasped a bit “She told you about that?”
She smiled bemusedly “It’s no big deal. Just hand them to me and I’ll take them over to Nurse Carlson.”
Tom sighed and tried as discreetly as he could to retrieve them from his backpack and hand them over. He watched as she went a short way down the hall and sat them down on a table just outside a door. “Debra” she called into the room “these diapers are for Tommy Welton. I’ll just leave them right here.”
She walked back over to him “Now let’s get you over to Mrs. Taylor’s class.”
Tom trotted along behind her wondering if he’d even be able to make it as a third grader. Mrs. Taylor’s class was just getting underway when they came through the door. “Sorry we’re late, we had a few details to go over with his mom.” she explained.
“Oh you must be Tommy” the tall and slightly graying woman at the front of the class beamed “We were waiting for you. You can have your seat right next to Johnny and we’ll begin.”
Tom looked over at the empty seat right next to the kid he only knew as some persistent runt from the daycare. He took a breath and sat down. Johnny smiled and whispered “Hey, maybe we can be friends after all.” Tom just ignored him.
“Class this is Tommy Welton. He’s new here and I want you all to give him a good welcome. You’re in luck today Tommy. We’re going to be going over gravitational lensing which should be review from the second grade so you won’t have much catching up to for today.”
Tom could only stare as an elementary school teacher once again patiently explained concepts that he couldn’t even grasp, every now and then she’d jot some alien word on the blackboard. “Now” she said with one firm clap of her hands “I think we’re ready for a little pop quiz.”
As the children around him groaned in disappointment Tom began to panic. He didn’t want to be sent back any further but he was sure to be found out as having no idea what was going on now. As the quiz sheets were passed around the room he could only hope that it would at least be a true-false quiz. But when they pale blue sheet landed on the desk in front of him he didn’t even know where to begin. He sat, pencil in hand, frozen. While the teacher turned her back to help another student he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Johnny discreetly tilting his already completed quiz toward him. He quickly jotted down the answers and sat down his pencil just before Mrs. Taylor turned back around.
The quizzes were collected and Mrs. Taylor went to her desk to grade them, instructing the class to begin reading chapter 9. Tom leaned over and whispered to Johnny “Thanks. You really saved my life. I’m sorry about being mean to you, I’m just sort having trouble with teachers and stuff.”
“No problem” Johnny whispered back “Wanna play at recess.”
Tom hesitated but he decided it might be for the best to just try and fit in. "Alright, I guess I can see what you guys do around here.
Johnny beamed “Cool.”
Once recess came Johnny led the way out a series of squares and circles painted on the blacktop. They soon joined by two other boys Tom recognized from his new class. “Tommy, this is Scott and Kyle. We usually play Boxes and Circles at recess.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that” Tom said.
“Oh it’s really easy” Johnny said before launching into a long and intricate explanation.
“Oh OK” Tom said scratching his head. “I guess I can try to learn.”
“Great, just ask if you get confused we all play this a lot so we can help.”
Tom stepped into one of the squares as he was instructed and watched some of the initial play before the ball came bouncing his way. Thinking he’d gotten the hang of it he jumped to catch it.
“No catchies” explained Kyle “That’s minus five points for Tommy.”
The rest of recess went on in much the same way with Tom losing points and the other boys displaying obvious patience for their new playmate. By the time the bell rang he was far behind, despite his wounded pride he felt relieved to have finally had a little bit of fun and make friends. Even if he was being treated like an interloping little brother he felt like he was beginning to find a place here.
As he sat down at his desk he realized he’d been so focused on his game he hadn’t noticed his growing need to use the bathroom. It was nearly an hour and a half to lunch and he already very much needed to go. He hesitated at first but as the strain in his bladder grew and the clock slowed he raised his hand.
“Yes Tommy, do you have a question?” Mrs. Taylor said pausing her lecture.
"I really have to go to the bathroom."Tom nearly begged.
She thought for a moment “We usually expect our students to tend to themselves during recess but I’ll let you go just this once.”
Tom thanked her and quickly walked to the door. Outside he began to run as fast as his overflowing bladder would allow but this time he didn’t even make it to the end of the hallway. He’d nearly forgotten abut his Pull-Up, now it was sodden and heavy, there was only enough dampness to remind him of his accident.
He paused and thought. If he went to the nurse right away everyone would surely know something was wrong, Mrs. Taylor might even ask what took him so long in front of everybody. He waited a reasonable amount of time and walked back to class.
When the lunch finally came he nearly sprang from his seat in his eagerness to get out of his clammy training pants. “Hey Tommy” called Johnny “Don’t you want to eat lunch with us?”
Tom turned back around “Oh yeah! I just have to do some… stuff first. I’ll see you guys in a few minutes.” Johnny just shrugged as Tom sped off to the office.
He paused at the nurses door. She was busy refreshing her supplies. She was obviously younger than
most of the staff, though still very much an adult to Tom’s eyes. Tom stood and watched her. He struggled to find the words he needed to say. Before he could say a word she caught him at the edge of her vision and gave him a energetic smile “Hey there Tommy” She said bending down to face him at eye level.
“Did you have another accident hon?” she said sympathetically.
“Yeah, kind of.”
She put a hand on his shoulder “Well let’s get you into something dry then.” She walked over to a drawer on the other side of the room, retrieved one of his Pull-Ups, and sat it down on the examination table.
“Do you need some help with those pants?” She asked.
Tom just nodded and she effortlessly undid them and pulled them down to his ankles. She began to help him out of his wet Pull-Ups. “Do you like the Cartoonimals?” She said noting the design.
“Huh?”
“You know The Cartonimals. Cartoon animals. Lots of kids around here watch them every day.”
“Oh uh, my mom just sort of picked them out for me. I didn’t even know what they were.”
“Well they’re very cute” she said as she pulled out a fresh wipe.
“I do that myself” Tom interjected.
“I was just thinking I should talk to your mother about that” she said as she cleaned her new patient with expert care “You’re already getting a little red. She might be a little more thorough.” she tossed the wipe into a nearby waste basket. “Don’t you feel better already.”
Tom nodded bashfully.
“I thought so” she said holding out the fresh pair of training pants.
She helped him back into his clothes. “There you go, all nice and dry.” She adjusted his suspenders and stood back up “Now don’t forget to come here as soon as you have accident. I don’t want to have come checking up on you.”
“Thanks. I will” Tom stammered.
“Now go play with you friends.” She shooed him out the door.
He rushed to join his friends at lunch. “Hey Tommy. Your just in time” Johnny said “We were just talking about Hegelian dialectics. Scott says that negations come from outside the matter being discussed. I say that they’re inherent and internal. What do you think?”
Tom looked back and forth between them blankly. “I uh… agree with what you said” he nodded and said to Johnny.
He picked over his lunch while the others continued their discussion. He felt like a little kid at a grown-up dinner party.
As the afternoon wore on Tom couldn’t believe how much he had to catch up on just to be in the third grade. Hardly anything made sense to him. When class was finally dismissed he quickly began to gather his things so he could escape and at least have a chance at enjoying the weekend. But Mrs. Taylor called him over to her desk.
“Tommy, I can’t help but notice you looked a little confused today. Are you having trouble keeping up with the class?”
“No, it’s just that there’s some new stuff here I didn’t learn before.”
She nodded “I thought that might be the case” she reached into a drawer beneath her desk “We usually use these in the lower grades but it might help.” She sat a brown teddy bear down on the desk. “This is an Interactive Learning Teddy” she explained “It comes loaded with some games to help you learn some of the more basic material. And it even plays lessons while you sleep. It’s very effective. I’ve already talked to your mother and told her all about it. She sounded very excited about trying it.”
Tom stared at the toy for a while. “Well I guess I can try” he said said resignedly. He picked it up and tried to put in his backpack but it wouldn’t fit. So he thanked his teacher and made is way to meet his mother, teddy bear clutched firmly in his hand.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
another excellent chapter!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Absolutely excellent writing. I like where this is heading. I especially like the humiliation and would like to see more of that. Is it time for little Tommy to have a poopie accident? or maybe just such a heavy wetting that he graduates from pull-ups to diapers. Morning daycare should be a blast seeing that it’s where he had such a negative attitude. Maybe another trip to the store or an administrator’s office located at the high school so Tommy can get a reminder of what he’s missing.
Thanks! Keep going!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Thanks everybody for all your very kind comments. This update is going to be the last for probably a month or more. I’m not going to abandon this story but I’m not really going to able to work on it for a while.
Chapter 9
Tom climbed into the passenger seat and started to toss his things in the back while his mother greeted him enthusiastically. “Hi honey! Where did you get the teddy bear.”
Tom sighed “Mrs. Taylor gave it to me” he said flatly “It’s supposed to help with learning or something.”
His mom retrieved it from the back seat and admired it for a moment “Well that was very nice of her. You’ll have to think of a name for him.” She handed the bear back to her son. “One of our new neighbors invited us over for dinner so we’ll just go home real quick before we head over there.”
“Do I really have to go too? Couldn’t you just order a pizza for me or something?”
She began to pull out of the parking lot “There’s no way I could find a babysitter in time. You’ll be fine.”
“But I don’t need a babysitter.” He said as defiantly as he could.
The car came to a stop at a red light and she looked him right in his eyes “Honey, even if I thought you were big enough you’d still need somebody help you if you have an accident.”
Tom tried to stammer a response.
“If your a good boy tonight we’ll go see a movie. You can even pick”
“Alright” He acquiesced.
Karen smiled and mussed his hair. “I knew you’d come around. They have a teenage daughter, maybe you two could play video games or something.”
Tom arrived at the Lyndens’ front door with his face freshly scrubbed and hair neatly combed courtesy of his mother’s tending. She rang the doorbell and reached down to adjust his bangs once more. “You look very nice.”
Mrs. Lynden greeted them both at the door and ushered them inside As they entered the dining room room Tom wondered why his mother had mentioned the daughter but not the younger child for whom a a bright red plastic booster seat had been set up at the far end of the table.
“I’ve set up two places for you and Tommy over there” Mrs. Lyndon said pointing towards the childish thing.
Knowing he was expected to be on his best behavior Tom stifled his complaint and tried to settle himself into his designated seat. Without a word he felt his mother’s hands at his sides lift him up the last little bit and place him in the booster before sliding the chair back into place.
The floor was now well out the reach of his dangling feet and he realized he’d need help again to get down. As this helpless situation dawned on him he looked at the place setting in front of him. Among the neat white plates and shiny silverware sat his plastic plate decorated with some now familiar cartoon characters.
Mrs. Lynden saw his surprise and smiled. “Nurse Carlson at your school is a very good friend of mine. We just happened to be talking today and she said how much you like the Cartonimals.”
He wanted to protest that he hadn’t even known what they were until she pointed them out on his pull-ups. But that wasn’t a topic he wanted to bring up. “Thank you.” he managed.
“That was very thoughtful of you Susan.” His mother said as she sat down.
The doorbell rang again and Mrs. Lynden excused herself to answer the door.
“You being very good, just keep it up and we’ll go see that movie tomorrow.” Karen said.
Mrs. Lynden brought two more guests into the living room.
“Karen, Tommy this is Bill and Theresa Burnette from down the street.” She turned to the new arrivals “And this is Karen Welton and her little boy Tommy.”
The adults exchanged hellos and Bill, a heavy-set broad-shouldered man with thin graying hair gave Tom a soft playful punch on the shoulder “How you doing there slugger? Enjoying your new school?”
“It’s fine I guess” Tom replied trying to avoid the subject.
“Haley” Mrs. Lynden called up the stairs. “Everybody’s here. Would you mind helping me set the table.”
A poised confident looking girl came in and graciously introduced herself. She was probably only a few years older than Tom but, but in contrast to his early grade-school uniform, had dressed for the get together in appropriately formal but still fashionable for a teenager clothes. After another round of introductions she went into the kitchen to help her mother bring out the food.
With everybody settled in dinner was served. Almost everything was well out of Tom’s reach so his mother prepared his plate for him and sat it down. Conversation around the table mostly drifted around adult topics that had little understanding of or interest in though Haley kept up with them quite nicely.
Once dessert was out of the way Mrs. Lynden announced that coffee was avalable. “Tommy, we have some video games you might like. Do you want to go with Haley while you chat some more?” Eager to escape the boring adult chit-chat and hangout with somebody around his won age he nodded enthusiastically. As his mother pulled his chair away from the table he avoided anymore assistance by jumping down out of his chair. “Looks like somebody’s excited to get some playtime” Mrs Burnette observed “Sorry about boring you with our grown-up stuff honey.”
Tom followed Haley down the hallway and into a spacious room with a couch and some beanbag chairs arranged around a TV. A small chest brightly labeled “toys” sat in one corner.
“I thought you guys didn’t have any other kids here.” Tom said looking puzzled.
“We don’t. This is just where my mom and I watch the kids we babysit.” Haley replied as she sat down on the couch and picked up a magazine. “All the video games are in the basket next the TV, you can play whatever you want.”
“But I thought…” Tom looked back at her engrossed in her fashion magazine. He realized she wasn’t here to hang out with him, he knew his place in this arrangement. With a sigh he sat on the brightly colored carpet and turned on the video game system.
He didn’t really care what was in it. Just that it would distract him from his predicament. As it turned out he’d started something called Floppy Bunny’s Big Adventure. He’d never heard of it before and the cutesy graphics didn’t seem appealing. This was obviously just a game for little kids but he tried it anyway and became engrossed. He struggled at first but slowly adapted to the challenge. The urgent prodding of his bladder went almost unnoticed.
Tom suddenly become aware of the direness of his situation and shot to his feet. “Where’s your restroom?” He asked, straining to keep himself dry.
“Oh just down the hall” Haley answered “You don’t need any help, do you?”
Tom barely gave it a thought, he couldn’t bare asking for help from somebody who should have been his peer. He took off quickly down the hall and began the familiar struggle with his buttons. It was to no avail though, and his training pants were once again the only thing keeping his pants dry.
He sulked out to the dining room and whispered in his mother’s ear. She stood up and retrieved her purse from beneath the table. “Excuse us for a second, we just have a little something to attend to” she said as she began leading Tom back to the bathroom.
Once again he was stripped down to his pull-up. She kept a calm demeanor but Tom could tell that constantly getting him undressed was beginning to be a chore. He wondered if a new solution might be in store. She pulled a baby wipe from her purse. “The school nurse said you might need some help with this sweety, so stand still.”
Tom hung his head slightly while he was cleaned up. Next she retrieved a fresh pull-up. “Now I only brought one spare. So we should probably go home soon.”
The lingered at their neighbor’s house only a little while longer. Karen thanked her hosts their hospitality and thanked Haley for her help as well. She and Tom headed back home.
When bedtime came around Tom was helped out of his clothes. His mother started to get a night time pull-up ready for him but he couldn’t help but protest. “Mom, I was dry all last night. Please. Just let me try one night without a pull-up.”
She paused an looked at him. “Well you did wake up dry. And you were a very good boy tonight at the Lynden’s.” She thought for a moment “OK, we’ll try going without a pull-up tonight.”
Tom breathed a sigh of relief “Thank you, thank you.” He gave his mother a big hug.
She smiled and patted him on the back “But you have to sleep with you bear tonight, that’s going to help you at school. And if you’re wet in the morning I don’t want any more complaining about wearing a pull-up at night. Understand?”
Tom nodded “I promise” and pulled his PJs up. He was finally feeling like a big kid again. He took his bear and placed it next to his pillow before climbing into bed.
“Good night honey, sweet dreams.” She said as she turned out the light.
“Good night mom.”
As he lay in the darkness he could hear a strange soft humming coming his teddy bear. It was like nothing he’d heard before but soft and soothing. Before long he had drifted into a very, very deep sleep.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
as awesome as ever
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Another good chapter. Not good news knowing it will be the last for some time but we understand other things in life have priority.
Up to this point in the story it seemed reasonable that Tom was accepting is downward status in school and even the need for the pull-ups. I did find it a little harder to see him so easily accept the treatment at dinner with the neighbors. I would have expected at least a bit more fight on his part. Still I will be waiting for more of the story.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
This story is just too much fun! Thanks for every chapter!
About the plot/storyline/whatever…
I can’t decidequitewhat’s going on here. Congratulations, Matt; you have me stumped, and good!
I figure one of the following is happening:
This is a town very far from where Mom and son came from, a place far advanced from the norm. Could be a small, highly advanced University town; could be a giant CIA / secret “town” on an island, where they are seeing how smart they can make kids; it could be explained several ways, but this idea is likely, I think. Special place made to bring out the very best in kids, even if they have to slide one backwards to get him on track. I can think of a few ways to explain that aspect….
It’s a huge set-up. Bunch of kids trained by memorization to “know” a bunch of advanced bogus stuff; families who want their cute, small-sized kids somehow brainwashed to the point the kid himself is convinced he’s younger; Mom gets her ‘little boy’ back, kid is happy, and mom and son move back where they came from after the boy is fully ‘cooked’.
Subsets of the two above ideas. Say, the set-up idea, but more benevolent, if misguided; a society of people who believe significant regression is the answer for small undeveloped kids… or more evil; some super-villain owns a chain of group care homes for handicapped kids, and he’s recruiting!
Aliens! Aliens, having decided us humans are just NOT developing logically at all, have landed and are setting up these 'New Towns" where they are re-educating kids from the ground up to be far more intelligent and less aggressive.
Whatever the real answer turns out to be, the trip getting there is a blast.
Thanks for a great story, and looking forward to more!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
You know, I didn’t forget about this story but its been awhile since I took the time to read the new stuff. I’m still enjoying immensely. Mission accomplished LittleMatt!
I have a theory of my own though: Parallel/Alternate Universe. The idea isn’t too far fetched and I’ve read some stories like this involving that particular theme.
Whatever the case may be, just know that I’m now one of the many waiting for the next chapter.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Chapter 10
In his dreams Tom walked through a forest beside a babbling brook. He came a a clearing and found a large wooden table stacked with candy. At the head of the table was his teddy bear. “Come Tommy. Sit with me.” He felt almost like he was floating right into a chair besides his teddy.
Everything was vivid and real. He could even feel damp grass beneath his bare feet. He looked down and saw he was wearing his pajamas. “Where am I?” he asked.
“You’re in Teddy Bear Forrest of course” said the bear.
Tom glanced up and saw clouds forming in the sky. He started to get up.
“No you need to stay here” said the bear. “The more time you spend here the better you’ll do in school. Here have some tea.” The bear reached over and poured some tea into a cup that has suddenly appeared. He poured it to the very top of the brim and small trickle ran down the side.
Before Tom could say another thing the clouds above him opened up and he was drenched by the falling rain.
His room was bright and sunny. He could hear his mother coming from down the hall. For a moment he couldn’t understand how the rain had gotten inside, how it had soaked him in his bed. But then he remembered.
The door opened and his mother stepped in. “Good morning hon, how are you doing?”
Tom just looked down at the wetness between his legs. “I’m sorry mom. I really tried.”
“Oh no.” She said as she sat down on the side of his bed and embraced him. “It’s OK baby, it’s not your fault. Just go get showered and we’ll talk about what movie you want to go see.”
"Tom’s mood brightened slightly “You mean we’re still going to do that?”
“I don’t see why not. Now go get cleaned up and I’ll take care of your sheets.”
Later as she pulled into the movie theater parking lot Karen asked one last time “Are you sure you want to see this movie? It’s supposed to be really scary.”
“Mom, I can totally handle it. I’m not really some little kid.”
“We can still go to the Floppy Bunny movie, Haley said you really liked that video game.”
“You said I could pick the movie and I want to see Ghost Invaders.”
“OK, but if you start getting too scared I’m marching you right out of that theater.”
They bought their tickets and Tom strode confidently to his seat. All he had to, he thought, was sit through one dumb movie and he’d convince his mother that he wasn’t a total baby. This lights dimmed, the film rolled, and the screen came alive with images more vivid than he’d imagined.
Theaters back home weren’t like this. The movie wasn’t 3D but he could almost swear the pictures were coming off the screen. Every rustle of leaves, every footstep, every sinister growl sounded like it was right behind him. He could almost feel the breath on the back of his neck.
Without thinking about it he sought out his mother’s hand to hold his own. In his horror he inched closer to her, instinctively seeking her protection. Finally he couldn’t bare to look at the screen any longer and buried his face in her shoulder.
Suddenly he felt himself lifted from his seat. Gentle hands cradled his back and bottom before his feet finally found the ground again in the brightly lit lobby.
“It’s OK baby it’s just a movie” she said stroking his chin.
“I know. It was just really… scary I guess.”
She wiped the fearful tears from his cheek. “Do you see why I thought Floppy Bunny might be better?”
He nodded.
“How’s your pull-up doing? Did you have an accident?”
Tom became aware of a familiar dampness. “Maybe”
Karen took her son’s hand and led him to the baby changing room. Tom was still too shaken to do anymore than go along. She lowered his pants and checked his pull-up. She began untying his shoes.
“I’m sorry Mom” He said “I just wanted to show you I wasn’t a baby”
“I know you want to be a big boy” She replied while she helped him out of his pants.“But just remember that it’s OK to be little too.”
She cleaned him up and got him back into dry pants. “I have few errands I need to do. Do you feel OK enough to come along? We could get stop at the ice-cream place at the mall if you’d like.”
Tom nodded “That sounds OK.”
“Come on then.” She took his hand and they walked back the car.
The mall parking lot was packed. Tom remembered their last visit and looked around nervously.
“Don’t worry” his mother said while she searched for a place to park “I’ll make sure you don’t lost again.”
She found a spot at edge of the lot and opened the trunk. Tom watched as she retrieved something from the trunk, unfolded it, and sat it on the ground in front of him. He couldn’t believe what he was looking at. She rolled a stroller back and forth a few times to get the wheels straight. “Hop in sweety. I’d like to start shopping before the lines get any longer.”
“But that’s for babies.” Tom said incredulously.
His mother adopted a patient but slightly sterner tone. “It’s for children who have trouble keeping up with their mothers. You remember what happened last time right?”
“Yeah, but…” Tom stopped himself. It was just getting harder and harder to argue that he could by in this strange place without being treated the way he was.
“I’m know how this must look to you but I also know this is better for you. If we have to turn around and go back home there will be consequences.”
Without further protest he settled himself into the stroller. It wasn’t awkward and uncomfortable like he’d expected, instead he was nicely accommodated among the babyish designs of the stroller.
“I knew you’d be a good boy. Let’s go get you some ice-cream.”
Securely within his mother’s charge Tom was pushed into the thronging mall and to a small ice-cream stand near the entrance. He really just wanted to make as few stops as possible, but he couldn’t pass up the scoop Triple Chocolate Fudge he was offered. He ate greedily, enjoying the treat so much he nearly forgot his situation. And with the rich desert settled satisfyingly in his stomach and the steady pace of his mother’s pushing he began to feel drowsy.
His stroller came to a stop outside a clothing store. His mother knelt down beside him with a baby wipe in her hand and cleaned a stray bit of chocolate from the edge of his mouth. She saw the heaviness in his eyes, she smiled and smoothed his hair. “You can have a little nap if you want honey, I’m just going to be shopping for a while.” She resumed navigating her son through the crowd as he slowly felt himself drift off to sleep.
He heard his mother’s voice somewhere nearby as he came back to reality.
“I’ve thought about it. I’m just not sure yet. It would be a lot easier than taking off his pants every time though.”
“I’m sure you’ll make the best decision for him.” An unfamiliar woman’s voice answered “Either way he’s simply adorable in his little stroller.”
He opened his eyes and glanced around. He was parked next to his mother in a small cafe. The unfamiliar voice belonged to an happy looking round faced woman.
“Look who’s waking up.” she said “Hi there Tommy, your mother and I have just been chatting.”
His mother looked over at him. “Hon, this is Mrs. Kerner, she lives in our neighborhood.”
Tom squirmed a bit, realizing the women had been talking about him. “Oh, uh… hi.”
“Are you still dry?” his mom inquired.
“I think so.”
“Are you sure? You were out like a light?”
“Mom I only wet the be… I mean I’m sure.”
“OK then, I won’t check as long as your sure. I think it’s time to start heading home now anyway.”
Karen paid for her coffee and said goodbye Mrs. Kerner before taking Tom back out to the car and driving back home.
Tom went straight to his room and flopped onto the bed. He’d hoped a weekend away from school would be a chance to be his own age for two days. But he just kept getting treated like a little kid everywhere he went. Worse than that it all seemed necessary.
Absentmindedly he began fiddling with a button on the front of his teddy bear. It’s eyes lit up and a speaker hidden within emitted a soft happy song. “Would you like to play the Algebra game with me?” chirped the bear.
Tom turned the bear over, looking for someway to start the game. After a minute he looked around to make sure nobody was watching. “Yes” he almost whispered into the bear.
“Oh good” said the bear “I’ve been waiting a long time to play with you.”
Tom found the answer and response style of the game immediately intuitive and, for once, the subject matter was something he was at least a little bit familiar. He became engrossed that he didn’t notice his mother at the doorway.
“Good to see you enjoying your teddy.”
Tom tried to compose himself “It’s OK. I was just sort of bored I guess.”
“I was just going to remind you to try using the potty. You haven’t had an accident yet have you?”
Tom’s eye’s widened and he sprinted past his mother and to the bathroom. Even without the disadvantage of his button being to difficult for him it would have been nearly too late. Fatefully he had another accident.
He returned to his mother to get cleaned up and changed.
“You can stay up a little while longer” she said tossing his pants into the hamper and starting to help him with his shirt. “But it’s getting close to your bedtime so I want to get you into your jammies now.”
With the sun barely down Tom was dressed in his night clothes. He spent the rest of the evening watching TV until he was tucked into bed after having his Pull-Up checked and found dry. His mother turned out the light on her way out and darkness fell across his room.
Memories of the movie flooded back. Every shadow seemed to be a ghost and the world beyond his darkened window was cold and foreboding. He took his teddy from it’s place near his pillow and held it against his chest. As though sensing his fear it began to play a soft soothing lullaby. He hugged it tighter.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Another really good chapter. Not all that much new in this. Same slow slide back to babyhood. I still enjoyed it very much and will be looking forward to reading more.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Yeah I’ve always been bad at catching my own mistakes. I know what I meant to write so I read it that way. Maybe I’ll find somebody to run it by. Sorry about that.
And I fall very much on the AB side of things so my stories run that way as well. Hope there’s something there for everybody though.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
I’d say there was. I enjoy the AB side as well as the potential science fiction aspect. It helps keep my mind busy long after I’ve finished reading. Because even if what I think is going on isn’t what’s actually going on I can keep musing and coming up with different scenarios. At least until the truth is revealed.
Great job! I’m personally having no issues with the grammar and spelling; yes I see the errors but the story is intoxicating so I just gloss over them.
So please, continue.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
I prefer to keep things a surprise. But messy accidents really aren’t my forte. I’m not that into it so I don’t write it well and I end up just leaving it out. It’s not impossible though
Chapter 11
After a second night of teddy inspired dreams Tom woke up wet again, this time protected by his training pants. It became a familiar pattern over the next few days. Tom felt himself slipping further and further towards babyhood and it seemed like he could do nothing about it. One evening he noticed his mother searching the Internet for diaper sizes.
On Wednesday morning Tom walked into his third grade class to find Johnny and some of his classmates discussing a new arcade that had opened not too far from school. Everybody, it seemed, had gotten permission from their parents to go after school.
“Hey Tommy are you coming too?” Johnny asked.
“I don’t know” Tom said hesitantly thinking of being stuck alone in his Pull-Ups.
“Come on, at least ask if you can come.”
A light came on in his head. This was a way to demonstrate maturity. He could just make his way without any grown-ups around and then they’d all know he was really big. No more holding hands, and certainly no more strollers.
He nodded “OK I’ll call her at recess.”
The day’s baffling lessons hardly seemed to matter anymore. His plan was in place. He Johnny, and some other kids would walk a few blocks to the city bus stop, ride just a few stops and visit the arcade. He could almost hear his mom telling him how wrong she’d been.
At recess he went to the office with Johnny and Kyle in tow and asked to call his mother at work.
“Hey mom” he began “Me and some friends want to go to a new arcade after school. Can I go?”
“That sounds like it would take an awful lot of responsibility Tommy. I don’t know if…”
“Please” he begged “I won’t be alone or anything.”
He heard her inhale deeply “OK. But only for half an hour, I’ll pick you up there. And you have to stay with you’re friends the entire time. And you absolutely have to go to the nurse before you leave, even if you don’t feel wet I want her to make sure.”
They were restrictive terms but they were more freedom than he’d had in ages. “Thank you mom.” Tom gushed “I promise I’ll do everything you said.”
The rest of the day seemed to glide right by as Tom imagined what other new privileges he’d soon be winning for himself. After the bell rang his group began to make their way to the bus stop. Tom tried to think of an excuse to run to the nurses office but nothing came to mind. He resolved to keep up with his group. He’d only had a small accident, and it was only going to be a half hour.
At the stop Tom peered at the vast array of signs, tables, and maps. “Are you guys sure you know where you’re going?” He asked.
“Of course” Kyle replied “We don’t even have to change buses.”
“Yeah, I guess it is pretty simple” Tom said nervously as he resolved to follow his friends as closely as possible.
The bus rolled up and his friends quickly squeezed themselves into the crowded vehicle. Tom searched for a spot but couldn’t even find a place to stand.
“Just get on the next one” Johnny suggested “It’s just a minute. We’ll wait for you.”
Tom gulped and stepped back down to the empty bus stop. He watched his friends wave as the bus thundered off. He looked around and briefly contemplated walking back to school to call his mom again but he wasn’t even sure of the way back. As his panic rose another bus lumbered to a stop. Still feeling lost and confused he climbed on and a took a seat. The bus shuddered away from the stop and immediately took an unexpected turn.
After a trip of what seemed like miles Tom got off at the next stop and scrambled to find the bus back. The signs offered nothing but a tangle of arrows, dots, and numbers so he just got on the next bus that seemed to be going the other way. But soon he was riding through completely unfamiliar streets.
His half-hour of freedom came and went and he was still desperately lost, his bladder bulged again. He no longer cared at all about the arcade he just wanted to be home with his mom. He decided to abandon his attempts at navigation while he searched for a restroom. He found one near the entrance of a park and darted in. He fumbled with his button briefly but soon the familiar sensation of wetness came gushing. His already wet Pull-Up could hold no more and soaked the front of his short pants. He stepped back outside, tears already in his eyes. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he sat down on a lonely bench, put his head in his hands, and cried.
He heard a car come to a screeching halt and looked up.
“Tommy! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” He heard his mother exclaim as she ran from her car.
“Mommy!” The word simply burst out of him.
They embraced each other tightly.
“My baby, I was so worried. Nurse Carlson called to say you hadn’t come by. So I went to the arcade and couldn’t find you. I’m just happy you’re OK.”
“I’m sorry mommy” the word came out again through heaving sobs “Please don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad baby, I shouldn’t have let you have so much responsibility. You should have gone to see Nurse Carlson before you left but” she looked at the wet spot running down his school uniform “That really doesn’t matter now.” She sat down on the bench and patted the spot next to her “There’s a few things I want to explain to you.”
Tom sat warily down next to her as she put an arm around him. “Tommy, I know you’ve been trying very hard but I don’t think you’re ready for your school yet.” anticipating a protest she put a finger to is mouth “Now just listen. Mrs. Taylor says you’re still having trouble with your lessons and she thinks your friends are helping you with your quizzes.”
Tom looked down. She’d seen right through it all along.
“From now on” She continued “You can just stay at Kiddie Town until I come pick you up. They have lots of toys like your bear and the teachers there can you learn some of the same things.”
“You mean you’re sending me to preschool?” Tom gasped.
“Tommy, be honest. Do you really think you can keep up with everything your third grade friends are doing?”
Tom thought about the days events and about how he always seemed to be just tagging along. “I guess not” he admitted.
“And there’s one more thing” she said broaching a long unspoken subject “You haven’t been having a lot of luck making it to the potty and I’ve noticed that you’re getting up to go later and later.”
“But I can keep trying” He stammered
She shook her head. “Honey. Training pants are for children who just have accidents sometimes. They’re really hard to change and they’re expensive. Now before I went to look for you at the arcade I went out to the store and when we get home I’m going to put you in a diaper.”
"A diaper?"He looked back down at his pants and his protest softened “Do you really think I need them?”
She hugged him “I’m afraid so honey. Are you going to be a good boy and come with me so we can get you out of those wet things?”
Tom looked down at his wet pants and thought of the trouble his disobedience had caused him. He sniffed and nodded “OK mommy, I’ll be good.”
She smiled at him warmly and gave him a big hug. “Let’s go home.”
After a short drive home Karen walked through the front door with a paper bag full of diapering supplies in her hand and her son following closely behind. “Come on” she said as she led him upstairs. She sat the bag down on his bed and went straight to his dresser to retrieve some dry clothes. “Now just sit down and I’ll take care of everything.”
Tom sat on his bed and felt his sodden Pull-Up squish wetly beneath him. He just wanted out of it. His mother sat the clothes down next to him and got a pale green package of diapers from the bag. She opened it and light babyish aroma wafted though the air. She pulled out a single diaper and sat in on top of his dry things. Tom studied the baby animals designs playing across its front, he never thought his Pull-Ups would seem so grown up. A bottle of baby powder was placed next to it.
She undid his suspenders, lifted his shirt over his head, and instructed him lie back. She slid off his shorts and tossed everything in the hamper. Finally she removed his Pull-Up and disposed of it with a thud in the bin.
She took a few wipes and made very sure he was all clean before cracking open the bottle of baby powder. Tom just watched, he was amazed at how much quicker and efficient the process seemed now that his mom was handling it all. She spread a thin layer of baby powder all over him and at last picked up and unfolded the diaper. “Just lift up a bit baby.” She slid it under his bottom, made a few quick adjustments, and taped it snugly into place.
She started grabbing his new clothes. “Now I don’t expect you to try to get to the potty anymore, but if you know you’re wet you should let me know right away.”
He nodded. At least in resigning himself to this he’d be relieved of a cumbersome and frustrating responsibility.
They both went down stairs and had dinner. Afterward they sat together on the couch and watched TV. He was home, he was safe, and he things he could no longer look after himself were being tended to. It was hard to understand why he’d fallen into this role so easily. He could only wonder what lay ahead. As he pondered these thoughts the weariness of the day began to creep in and he fell asleep on the couch beside his loving mother.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Hot happy on a bun, another chapter… YAY !!
You have been pretty careful to make the advancements (well… retreats, I suppose) quite believable, and more importantly, young Tommy’s reactions in line with a good-hearted, normally well behaved kid.
I’ve actually been able to accept Tom’s acceptance of his own descent.
Until this last chapter. You didn’t do anything ‘unfixable’, if you will (I do NOT mean to imply you broke the story, dude, I’m just babbling), but Tom’s latest demotion in life, i.e. being told he should stay at the day care, seemed to need more resistance from him.
That, or something more done to him to cause him to quietly accept this. I know we now have the teddy bear, but I thought they could blindside/trick/obfuscate the truth for Tommy to soften the blow… perhaps say nothing, just wait for him to appear sad or nervous about school while at daycare waiting for the bus, and just offer him to stay for the day.
Of course, I’m just talking out loud
. I’m loving the story, and can’t wait to see a peek behind the scenes at what is perhaps REALLY going on in this very different town you have dropped our hero into, for I can’t help but still think that shenanigans are being pulledOr not ;D
It’s fun to read and guess, though, and none of this is suggestion; I will enjoy whatever direction your playful mind is taking us, LittleMatt!
Write on!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Good chapter. I tend to agree with JustMe in that I thought that the step from 3rd grade to preschool was a bit much and thought that Tommy would be putting up much more of a fight. Then, he did find himself in a situation where he was totally helpless and lost. That could have been brought out a little more as an explanation as to his acceptance of both the reversal in status as well as being placed in diapers. I will be looking forward to more.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Depends on what you mean by soon.
I’m still working on it, but I’m sort of busy so it’s coming slow. But it is coming I promise.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Apologies for the delay. I’m really hoping to pick up the pace of new chapters, but we’ll have to see.
Chapter 12
In the morning Tom was changed out of his soaked night-time diaper and helped him into his third grade uniform again. He’d be getting a new preschool one today his mother promised. His mother got him to Kiddie Town early and began the process of officially enrolling him in preschool, specifically the class they referred to as The Little Ducklings. The Little Bunnies class was reserved for children who’d been successfully potty trained. “You’re both very lucky today” explained the secretary “We just had a new spot open up in Ducklings.”
While Tom waited for the adults to wrap up their business Johnny spotted him. “Hi Tommy” he chirped “Sorry about you getting lost like that. We just thought you’d be able to use the bus since you’re kind of a big kid an all.”
“That’s OK.” Tommy said “It was really my fault I guess. I should have just gone home.”
“Do you still wanna play with us? We’ve got some really fun ideas for recess today.” Johnny offered.
“I can’t.” Tom looked down and heaved a sigh as he made an admission “I have to stay here instead of going to school with you guys.”
A look of realization crossed Johnny’s face “Oh, so you’re going to be in preschool now.” He paused “You might be a little less confused than you are in our class. They teach really simple stuff like algebra. And the teachers are really nice. And you won’t have to keep going to the school nurse to get changed.”
Tom looked back up in shock “You know about that?”
Johnny shrugged “Sure, why else would you keep going to the nurse’s office like that. Especially since you always did it after you asked to go to the bathroom.”
Tom stammered.
“It’s OK” Johnny replied casually “Maybe we can play after school. That’s when they let you preschoolers out to play with us big kids.”
“Uh sure. I guess.” Tom said still stunned.
“OK then, see you later” Johnny said as he bounced off to the big kid’s room.
Tom turned back around just as the adults finished with their business. “This is Mrs. Hansley” his mother said motioning towards a young blonde woman “She’ll show you around and help you get your new clothes on.”
“Hi” Tom offered as he tried to assess the new situation.
Mrs. Hansley knelt down “Hi Tommy, we have lots of fun things for you to do here. Just say bye to your mommy and I’ll show you your new classroom.”
He exchanged a good-bye hug with his mother “Be a good boy” she patted his bottom “And don’t worry about getting to the potty. Just let the ladies know when you need a change and we’ll see about getting you back into big boy pants later. OK?” Inside Tom winced, he wondered if it was too late to protest this change in status. He’d felt so scared and vulnerable on that park bench that he would have agreed to nearly anything. He wanted to ask her to reconsider, but before the words came he was watching her walk out the door.
“Don’t worry hon” Mrs. Hansley as she took his hand and led him through door that separated the preschool section from the the regular daycare “She’ll be back to pick you up at the end of the day.”
Two doors where on opposite sides of the hallway. On the right was one decorated with a cartoon rabbit, and the left was a happy cartoon duckling. One small boy was being led from the duckling room to the other. “Good job getting potty trained Andy” Mrs. Hansley addressed him as they passed. Andy smiled back and followed his new teacher through the open door. On the other side of the Little Bunnies room Tom could see into a small bathroom. The door shut behind Andy and he turned to look into his new classroom, several changing tables lined the wall.
Tom’s preschool teacher retrieved a pair of shortalls and a striped shirt from a nearby counter. On the bib of the shortalls was a picture of the same duckling that was on the classroom door, a comically large pin held its diaper in place as it smiled eagerly.
“Now let’s get you ready for school and I’ll show you all the fun things we have here and the other teachers.” She began untying his shoes and Tom took a moment to look around. He was surprised by how calm everything seemed to be. All the children were happily absorbed in toys or painting or being tended to by one of the other teachers. Something about it seemed welcoming. Once he was down to his diaper Mrs. Hansley casually slipped a finger just under the leg gather before moving to getting him into his shortalls. Tom looked around again, one group of children was watching a cartoon that seemed familiar. Once he was securely in his new preschool outfit Mrs. Hansley quickly took out a small pen-sized device and twisted it into the buttons on his shoulder straps and two other snaps on the front of his pants.
“What was that?” He inquired.
“Just a tool for grown-ups, don’t worry about it.” She answered patting his head.
She showed him around the various parts of the classroom. There was an area with a toy box, one with a TV, some tables setup for painting, and a playground outback where the preschoolers could play as long one of the teachers was supervising. “You can do whatever you want for now” she explained “But everybody has to be quiet for storytime, and then lay down for a nap.” Two other teachers Ms. Kelly and Mrs. Peterson moved about the room observing things and occasionally shuffling one of their charges off to the changing tables.
With a pat on the bottom Tom was dismissed to find something to do until storytime. He looked back to the TV, something about the cartoon was familiar. He walked over to the group of children gathered around and watched for a moment. Then it dawned on him, these were the Cartonimals everybody had kept bringing up. They were currently involved in comical explanation of simplifying an algebraic expression. Tom recalled the subject from his old school. But this was different, somehow he was interested. Without giving it a second thought he sat down cross legged on brightly colored carpet Soon he was laughing along with his preschool classmates and swaying to the the simple songs.
He never noticed the dire urgency of his bladder until it was already giving way. In a moment he realized he was sitting in a wet diaper in the middle of a preschool watching a kid’s show, but he couldn’t pull himself away. Mrs. Peterson, an experienced preschool teacher, somehow suspected. As she walked by she quickly reached beneath Tom’s shortalls. “Jessica” She said to Ms. Kelly “We have a wet little guy here. Would you mind?”
“Of course not” she replied.
Tom looked between them in shock.
Ms. Kelly knelt down beside him a put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll just put you in a dry diaper and you can go right back to watching your cartoon.” She took his hand and led him to a changing table.
“Do we really have to do this out here?” Tom said.
“Where else would I change your diaper sill?” She replied as as she set a disposable mat onto the table.
“It’s just that the school nurse before changed… I mean helped me out of my pull-ups in her office.”
Ms Kelly smiled “Don’t worry sweety, we have everything we need to change your diapers here too” She said motioning to a neatly stacked box of powder, wipes, and other supplies “Just let us grown-ups worry about stuff like that”
“No I mean” Tom stammered as she hoisted him up onto the table. He could see his protests would go nowhere. Nobody would see him as and different than an everyday preschooler.
She gently pushed him back onto the padded surface. Then she unfastened his shortalls and quickly went to work. “So you really must like the Cartoonimals, you’ve been watching them all day.”
“Yeah they’re kind of interesting I guess” Tom replied.
“Do you want to try something else after we’re done. Maybe try some of the toys?”
Tom shrugged “Sure.”
With a fresh layer of baby powder applied and a new diaper in place his pants were snapped back up and he was taken to the opposite corner of the room were toys of every description filled shelves and boxes. Ms. Kelly gave him a pat on the bottom and left him to play among the other preschoolers.
Tom settled down next to a small toy train set. He looked around for the engine and found a pile gears, wheels, and parts. He scooped them up in his hand, he could almost see how they were supposed to go together. He began playing with the pieces, trying different arrangements. Finally he worked out a configuration that seemed to work. He flipped a switch and all four wheels began to turn. A smile grew across his face. He sat his new train down on the track and he watched with open delight as it ran around the track. Soon another boy sat down next to him and picked the train up. “This makes it faster” he said before taking out a few gears and rearranging them. He put the train back and it took off faster than before. Tom realized that there must be many more combinations. He couldn’t wait to try more. But before he could pick the train up again Mrs. Peterson was calling everybody for story time.
Tom reluctantly left his train behind and sat down on the edge of the group gathered around Mrs. Peterson’s chair. Today’s story, she announced, was Spaceman Simon and the Three Laws of Motion. The title reminded him of something and as he listened to Mrs. Peterson’s slow sing-song reading he remembered hearing about this once, something about the scientist who’d gotten hit by an apple. It never interested him, and he never understood it. But in the story of Spaceman Simon it was something he could understand. He leaned in closer to see the pictures and Mrs. Peterson turned the book around to show everyone. Mrs. Hansley began passing out sippy cups to all the children. Tom almost balked but decided to try it, it was warm and sweet. He drank some more while he sat and listened.
He finished his cup just as the story came to an end. The teachers began moving everybody into the nap room. Tom paused in the doorway and looked at the rows of cribs crisscrossing the room.
“Can’t I sleep on a mat or something” Tom asked Mrs. Hansley as she walked by.
“Oh these are lot more comfy than some old mat” she said before getting an idea. She grabbed a stuffed rabbit from a nearby shelf “Here you can have this stuffed bunny if you’re scared. And one of us teachers will always be in the room.” She smiled and handed him his stuffed rabbit before giving his diaper a quick check and hoisting him into a nearby crib.
“But I’m not scared, I just…”
“That’s good” she said giving his head a quick pat “Just lie down and try to sleep.”
Tom sank down to the mattress, rabbit still in hand. Mrs. Hansley pulled his blanket over him. “Good boy” she said softly “after all that playing and starting a new school you need some rest.” She slid the crib’s railing into place and moved on to other children. In a few moments the lights were dimmed and lullaby began to play over unseen speakers. Tom laid there and realized he was tired, very tired. The crib’s mattress seemed perfect. His blanket was soft and warm. And the music, the lulaby was simple but so deeply soothing. He wondered why he’d wanted to take a nap anywhere else. He closed his eyes and fell alseep.
He awoke again to Mrs. Hansley standing over his crib. “Did you have a good nap?” She said not even waiting for an answer before she checked his diaper. “Let’s get you over to the changing tables.”
She helped him out of his crib and took him back to the main room where the other two teachers were busy changing the last of their student’s naptime diapers. Tom could only wait before Mrs. Peterson finally came to tend to him.
Once he was in a dry diaper and back on his feet he scanned the room for something to do. His new favorite toy was already being played with. He sat down next to it anyway, just to observe. To his surprise his new new classmates, Mike and Sammy, welcomed him and he quickly joined them in building and playing with new trains. His new friends introduced him to other toys. There were toy robots, cars, and puzzles. Tom could hardly tear himself away from any of them. He barely noticed the hours slip by until he heard his mother’s voice from across the room.
He looked up from his toy car and she waved him over to where she was talking with Mrs. Hansley. Still enthralled with all the new toys he’d found he rushed over to her “Hi mom, I was just playing with this cool car thing.” he quickly began enthusing “You can build the engine for it and everything. It’s really cool.”
She looked at him with bemused surprise “Well I’m glad you had such a good time. Mrs. Hansley was just telling me what a great addition you are to the class.”
Tom looked down in embarrassment at his display of enthusiasm and tried to shift into a more mature bearing. “Yeah I guess it was alright.” But a peek back at his mother and teacher sharing a knowing look told him it was already too late.
Karen turned back to Mrs. Hansley “How did he do about letting you know when he needs a change?” The experienced preschool teacher dismissed the whole idea with a wave of her hand “We can work on that when starts getting ready to train. Until then we’re happy to just let him play.”
“Oh, well I guess I won’t worry then either.” Karen said as she gave her son’s head a gentle stroke. “You said you had something for us to take home.”
“Yes” she retrieved a brightly colored book from her desk “This is a coloring book we give all our students. We don’t really have lessons here but we do try to instill some of the basics. Tommy can go through this at his own pace, it has some puzzles and games that teach basic algebra, geometry, that sort of thing.”
“Thank you, seeing how he liked his day here I’m sure he’ll have fun with this too.”
She looked back at Tom “Say ‘thank you’ to your teacher sweety.”
Tom accepted the book and took a moment to examine the picture of young children among giant algebraic equations. “Thank you, Mrs. Hansley” with more than a trace of genuineness. With that his mother took his hand bid his teacher good-bye and led him out the door. He looked back as the door shut and couldn’t believe he wanted to go back.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Another fantastic chapter. There were probably a few more typos is this chapter but that could be expected if you were rushing to get the chapter out. They didn’t really effect the read. Even though Tom took another step back again, I got the feeling that this step might be the last for him. He seems to fit in pretty good here. I will be looking forward to reading more.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
this storie is going real well I enjoy it alot now,I was woulding if you going have himself start pooping in his diaper soon?
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Chapter 13
Tom sat cross-legged on the living room floor with his new coloring book sprawled out in front of him and a fresh red crayon in his hand. He puzzled over one of the first pages. “Help Farmer Jim put his Periodic Sheep in order of atomic weight” the text at the top cheerfully suggested.
The TV sat silent, he’d shut it off after seeing another ad for Ghost Invaders, his coloring book suddenly seemed more inviting. In the kitchen his mother was having a tense phone conversation. He began absentmindedly coloring the barn while he contemplated what he was to do with this puzzle.
Across the hall his mother’s conversation came to a halt. She walked into the living room and sat down with a sigh. She looked over at her son and Tom froze assuming he was in some sort of trouble. But her wearied face turned to a smile. “Already starting your coloring book huh?”
“Yeah, I was just bored is all. I’m trying to figure this one out.”
“Well come over here, maybe I can help.”
Tom gathered up his coloring book and took a seat on the couch. His mother smiled again. “Not there silly” she said as she lifted him onto her lap. She chuckled at his evident surprise. “It’ll be easier to help you here” she said brushing his hair lightly before putting her arms around him and taking the book in her hands.
Tom settled into his new seat, relieved he wasn’t the cause of his mother’s distress and pleased he seemed able to relieve it somehow. She examined the troublesome page for a moment. “I bet there’s a periodic table somewhere in here.”
“Isn’t that the chemical thing?” Tom asked “I haven’t learned that yet.”
“Well that’s what this is for” she said thumbing quickly through the book “to help you learn new things.” She came found what she looking for and pointed out one of the numbers. “This chart shows all the elements and their atomic weights” she explained patiently “Each one of the sheep has letters on it that tell you what element it is. Like this H means that one’s hydrogen. You just have to look them all up and see which one has the largest atomic weight and put a one next to it, and then do the others in order.”
Tom nodded partly understanding “I get it. But what does all that mean”
“I’ll explain while you work on the sheep” she said and reached over to retrieve a box of crayons from the coffee table.
They worked their way through a few more pages. Tom hung on his mother’s words and when she praised him exuberantly for every right answer he felt like he’d won a Nobel prize.
“Thanks mom, that really helped a lot” Tom said as he shut the book and began to get up.
“Thank you for making me feel better” she said pulling him back into a hug.
“What was that phone call about?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.” She noticed a sogginess as his weight shifted “We should go out to eat tonight. But first I think you need a change.”
She let him down and he began to leave. “Just stay right here” she said as she retrieved a diaper-pin patterned mat from nearby. “I don’t see any reason to go upstairs every time you need a change.”
She laid it out and began gathering all the necessary diapering supplies into a neat row while Tom resignedly laid himself down in front of her. He wondered how much his own behavior was contributing to this casual attitude about his diapers. Did he really seem like that much of a baby?
She worked swiftly and his shortalls were being fastened over a fresh dry diaper before he could complete these thoughts. Together they walked out to the car and started their way to a nearby restaurant.
Venturing out into the world beyond home and the colorful walls of Kiddie Town made him more acutely aware of his uniform. The night-time air was cool on his legs, he grateful his diaper was warm and dry. He knew by now that to everybody else his age was defined by the clothes he wore so he was prepared for the hostess’s broad smile and careful tone as she welcomed he and his mother. Her question surprised him though “Will he need a highchair tonight?” she asked.
“No” Tom answered emphatically for himself.
Still she looked to his mother for confirmation.
“No thank you.” She said lightly.
They were shown to their table and Tom was left with a children’s menu a complimentary sippy cup of juice.
Karen smiled at the special treatment her adorably shortall-clad son was getting. “I hope things like that don’t bother you too much.”
“It’s OK. I’m sort of getting used to it.”
“That’s good to hear. I think I’m getting used to it too. Getting to hold you in my lap again really helped after a long day.”
Tom’s cheeks burned slightly “I had fun too I guess”
“Good, I really hope you enjoy this time as much as I do.”
Tom looked at her with a bit of surprise “You mean you don’t mind having to… do all that extra stuff.”
She shook her head emphatically “My biggest job is take care of you when you’re too little to do it yourself and I enjoy doing it.”
“But I’m not really…”
“Honey, some day you’ll be ready to go back to school, but for now I really hope you can accept this and enjoy being my little guy.”
Tom blushed redder but he felt good knowing his mother saw things that way.
Karen noticed a small smile growing on her son’s face “After all you had fun at preschool today didn’t you?”
Tom squirmed a bit “Yeah, it was fun I suppose.”
“Well keep having fun and maybe it will all get easier.”
They continued chatting over dinner. As Karen left her money on the table on got up to leave she quickly checked Tom’s diaper.
“You’re fine for the ride home” she said and then she thought for a moment “You know I saw a toy store just across the street. If it’s still open we could go in and get you something. Maybe that car you were playing with today.”
Tom was deeply tempted but he couldn’t quite go that far “No thanks mom.”
But his mother could see the way his eyes had lit up “OK, but let me know if you want a new toy and we can go and pick something up.”
The next morning Tom was laying on a rug at preschool absorbed in a Speak-n-Say. He pulled the cord “Apoapsis is the highest point in an orbit” a happy voice chirped from within. He looked through rain washing over the classroom’s windows to elementary school school kids trudging to their bus.
Inside the teachers were distributing a morning snack along with sippy cups of milk. Tom took his and surveyed the classroom while he enjoyed his treat. He noticed that Cartoonimals had already started playing so he wandered over to take a seat. Olly Otter was elaborating on square numbers to Gavin Giraffe, who though he was the tallest and implied to be the oldest of the group was most often the recipient of these lessons. Tom settled in and finished his snack.
As the show drew to a close he found himself in the mood to try something new. He walked over to the art section and took a seat. Where he expected to find simple ordinary finger paints or maybe some crayons or brushes there was instead a thumb sized pen with several buttons and dials on its surface. He picked it up and examined it. Around him the other children where using them with unconscious ease. Tom shrugged and decided to figure it out on his own. He pressed the largest button, nothing seemed to happen. He turned a dial, still nothing. Finally he tried the next largest button, the pen vibrated for a moment before firing a giant stream of green ink across the front of his shortalls.
Ms. Kelly was soon by his side. She took the pen from his hand and surveyed the damage.
“Oh sweety, you should have asked one of us for an apron before you started. We’re going to have to clean you up.”
Tom could only look at himself in horror. We wondered if there was something even lower down the chain than preschool in store for him.
Ms. Kelly saw his reaction and patted his head “Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble it’s just a little mistake.”
She led him over to the changing tables and undid his shoulder straps and lowered his shortalls to the floor. She then removed shirt leaving him standing in nothing but a diaper. “Oh dear” she said “It looks like it soaked through.”
Tom looked down at himself. If his cartoon-animal print diaper didn’t make him look like a toddler then the messy smear of paint across his chest certainly completed a certain picture.
Ms. Kelly sighed and turned to consult with Mrs Peterson for a moment. “I think I’ll have to give this guy a bath. Can you cover for me for a few minutes.”
Mrs. Peterson nodded and Ms Kelly thanked her while she gathered Tom’s clothes and took his hand. She led him to the other side of the classroom and through a door to a small tiled room. Here a bathroom for the teachers was apportioned with a tub, apparently for situations such as these. For a moment Tom was relieved to be in relative privacy but as Ms. Kelly began to draw a bath he realized what she had in mind.
“I can do this myself” he protested “I always do it at home.”
“I’m sure you can do lots of big boy things” Ms. Kelly said patiently as she reached for his diaper “But this is hard to get off, just let me do it and you can go back to playing.”
Tom dodged her hand with a step back “Just let me try.”
Ms. Kelly adopted a sterner tone “Does somebody need corner time? I’m sure your mommy wouldn’t be happy to hear about how cranky you’re being.”
Tom froze. He thought about how happy his mother had seemed with him the previous night. Somehow the threat of punishment didn’t seem as bad as disappointing her. “OK” he said reluctantly.
He was quickly relinquished of his diaper and helped into the warm soapy water. He was immediately struck by strong pleasant aroma of the bath soap. Something about it was so soothing, so disarming. She began to scrub his thoroughly. Though he could barely discern it there really did seem to be a technique involved in removing this paint, he could only sit while her expert hands did the work.
“Boy you really splashed yourself. Hasn’t your mommy taught you to use an ArtPen?”
Tom shook his head “No, I never even heard of it before.”
“I could show you how after you’re all cleaned up, does that sound good?”
Tom nodded “Yeah, that sounds OK”
As he got out of the tub she wrapped him in a giant fluffy towel and began to dry him off. “There we go” she said as she inspected her work closely “all cleaned up.”
She hoisted him onto the a nearby changing table and got her newly clean charge into a fresh diaper. From somewhere beneath the table she produced a simple baby blue onesie “You can wear this while we wait for your clothes to get out of the washer.” She said as she pulled it over his head and snapped him into it.
“Oh, thanks” Tom said. At least he wouldn’t be wandering around in nothing but a diaper.
They emerged back into the classroom just as everybody else was assembling for story time. Tom was surprised to find himself glad he hadn’t missed it. The day’s selection was Bubsy Beaver Meets the Colorful Chloroplasts. Tom couldn’t help but be aware of being much more thinly dressed then everybody else. His onesie was snapped snuggly between his legs and made him more aware than ever of his diaper. But as Mrs. Hansley began reading he hung on every word.
After story time the children where again ushered into the nap room. While Tom was considering renewing his protests of the day before Ms. Kelly swept him into a crib and raised the side rail. “Don’t worry your clothes will be ready when nap-time is over” she tried to reassure him.
Mrs. Hansley came by with familiar toy in her hand “Tommy here just gets a little anxious without his bunny. Don’t you sweetheart?” she handed him the same stuffed bunny he’d slept with before. Tom again resigned himself to settle into his crib as the lights dimmed and a soothing lullaby played over unseen speakers. As he drifted into sleep he noticed a faint glowing from the corners of his crib. He barely had time to wonder what it might be before he was asleep.
Tom sat in his living room surrounded by a bevy of toys. He had his teddy bear and his stuffed bunny both close at hand as he fiddled with his toy car. His mother came in and stroked his hair while she sat down next to him. She joined in with him, helping him assemble a new engine for his car. It all seemed so normal and easy, he was happy to have his mother by his side. Then he was standing beside a crib in his own room while she helped him into his PJs. She kissed him on the forehead and offered him his stuffed animals before lowering the rail.
We awoke to Ms. Kelly standing over his crib with his freshly washed uniform in hand. “Come on sleepy head” she said “I’ll get you back into your clothes and you can go play.”
Back at the changing table Tom was changed out of his soaked diaper and dressed in his uniform once again, cleaner and well powdered for the journey. “Do you still want to learn how to use an ArtPen” Ms. Kelly offered.
Tom shrugged “Sure.”
Ms. Kelly led Tom over to the art area and got him into an apron emblazoned with the same duckling logo that was on his shortalls. She handed him one of the strange devices and took one for herself before kneeling down beside him. She began to go over each button and dial in slow and patient detail. Soon he was drawing crude lines of his own, only getting a small amount on his apron.
Before long a picture was taking shape. The only thing he could really think of at the time and the only thing he could manage to draw with this unfamiliar technology. Two stick figures, representing his mother and himself, stood happily in front of a red house with smoke rising from the chimney. He knew it was childish but he was proud to have learned something new.
Ms. Kelly took a moment to praise her student. “Good job, I bet you’re mommy will put this right on the refrigerator.” She carefully curled the paper into a tube and put it in a small cubby labeled “Tommy.”
Tom busied himself with the toy train for the remainder of the afternoon. Soon he heard his mother calling to him from across the room. She greeted him with a hug and pat on the rear “Mrs. Hansley says you have something you want to show me.”
“Yeah, I guess I sort of do” Tom said blushing slightly but excited to share his new talent with his mother. Mrs. Hansley handed him the sheet of paper and he opened it.
“Awww that’s very sweet” She exclaimed causing Tom to blush brighter. She put a hand on his shoulder “It’s very good Tommy, I’m really proud of you for learning new things.”
Tom thanked her and they hugged again. “You smell really nice too, that was good of Ms. Kelly to help clean you up” She commented. Tom blushed again and couldn’t help but wonder if baths would be a part of his future as well.
They both said their farewells to Tom’s teachers and left hand in hand. “I’m going to put this up on the refrigerator” She promised. Tom smiled bashfully. Not so long ago the idea would have been unbearably embarrassing. But he knew he’d made his mother happy, and for now that felt better than anything else.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
I’m actually almost ridiculously happy to see the return of our little hero Tommy
Very glad to see Tommybecoming a bit more relaxed with his situation. Mom definitely seemed a bit sad to get that phone call, but… hmm… one wonders if the slowly regressing Tom’s very own mother has also been listening to any quietly pervasive, subconcious-influencing devices to help make her families transitions more acceptable to her….
The sub-text here, the information that’s NOT been given, seems as specifically placed as that which we HAVE been told.
Oh, of course I’m reading too much into this (something I love to do with stories I truly enjoy), but darn it, it makes it more fun to read !!
And one thing is for sure; this is the most fun story on the site right now.
Thanks SO MUCH for returning to this story!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
this story needs to continue! very well done. exciting read. original.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
I’ve been following this story for a while and I just wanted to add to what the others here have said: I’m really enjoying this story and I can’t wait for the next few chapters to see where this goes.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
I’m still working on it. I’ve been going through a patch of not quite feeling the whole AB thing all the time, it happens every now and then. I’m still pecking away at it when inspiration strikes though.
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
Sweet! Good to hear. We eagerly anticipate your next chapter!
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
I like the story overall the setting really reminds me of that old UK Science Fiction show the Prisoner for some reason. The only “negative” thing and it really is just an observation does anyone else notice that with large multichapter stories however good they are by the time the main character gets to the crib/pacifier/changing table stage the only characters left are the main, mom and maybe a nurse? Its a hell of a hurtle to jump and I don’t think anyone has ever managed it
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
I’m anxiously awaiting the continuation of this story. well done. I also wish you involved more characters and interactions with other people. it also seems strange he isn’t pooping in his diaper…nothing to do with AB just a fact that seems to be missing…something that should be happening…
Re: LittleMatt’s The Error (incomplete)
I can’t wait for the next part of this story.