Learning to Play Nice - Part 3

Allison yawned. The school was nearly empty, but she had to be at the school early because her mommy was the principal. Both she and Mrs. Mars waited in the principal's office, and Mrs. Mars was filling out some of the paperwork that she had left over from the day before. Allison wandered around, trying to think of something to do. She crept behind the desk and sidled up to Mrs. Mars chair, then tried to climb up on her lap.

"Not now, Allison. I have work to do."

Disappointed, but not content to sit around, Allison wandered around and reached for some of the pens and paperweights that were on the desk. One by one she picked everything up, and one by one Mrs. Mars pulled them out of her hands and set them somewhere where Allison couldn't reach.

"Allison, I've told you not to do that. Sit quietly in the chair and please don't touch anything."

Mrs. Mars didn't seem to be having fun like she did last night.

Allison sat in the chair, being bored, until finally Mrs. Jacobs came in to work. Outside the office she stopped to say hello.

Allison lit up. "Good morning!" Mrs. Jacobs seemed a little surprised actually, to see Allison so cheerful. She looked at Mrs. Mars, who greeted her with characteristic impatience. "Would you mind taking my daughter down to the classroom now? I need to get this work done."

"No, I wouldn't mind. Come on, Allison, let's go to class now."

"So Allison, how was last night?"

"It was good." Allison replied sheepishly.

"Did you do fun things with Mrs. Mars last night, hm?" Allison didn't answer: only smiling and looking at the floor.

"See? I told you it wouldn't be so bad. Now, let's go to the classroom. We can go color there, okay?"

"Okay!"

Allison was soon sitting at the low children's table, her adult knees sticking out sideways exposing her diaper for all to see. She didn't care at this moment, however, because she was thinking hard about what to draw. Mrs. Mars seemed to be all grumpy now, so maybe a nice picture would make her feel better. The trouble was thinking of what to draw. Allison continued to think as the other students gradually arrived for morning classes. They too started coloring, but Allison kept thinking.

Suddenly, she had it. She would draw a picture of herself and Mommy eating dinner last night, when she had gotten spaghetti all over her face and Mommy started tickling her. Mommy was happy then, maybe she would cheer up a little. Allison reached for the red crayon so she could start drawing the spaghetti, but Allison's little plans soon hit a snag.

The basket of crayons in the middle of every table had only one of each color in it, and the red crayon was missing. A quick look around and Allison realized that the boy across from her was using it to color a house. Without even thinking she reached over and plucked it out of his hand. Allison then happily colored, and did not stop until suddenly she felt Mrs. Jacob's hand on her shoulder.

"Allison, did you take William's crayon?"

"Yeah, I needed tuh color s'getty!"

"Allison," Mrs. Jacobs calmly knelt down to Allison's eye level. "William was using that crayon and you took it from him without asking for it."

Allison pouted, looking Mrs. Jacobs straight in the eye. "I needed it."

"I know, but it's not nice to take things without asking, especially when other people are using them. You need to apologize and give William the red crayon back."

"No." Mrs. Jacobs raised her eyebrow, but Allison wasn't going to give up easily. She needed to make her drawing to cheer up Mommy, and she needed the red crayon to draw spaghetti. It was hers now, and Mrs. Jacobs couldn't make her give it back. "I want it fowr my pich-uh."

Mrs. Jacobs put out her hand. "Allison, give it back."

"No!" Allison shouted, causing Mrs. Jacobs to jump back in surprise. Mrs. Jacobs said everything she could to make Allison give back the crayon, but Allison was adamant. Finally, Mrs. Jacobs pulled out a new weapon that Allison had never heard of before, but struck fear into her heart all the same.

"That's it: you're getting a time-out!"

Allison dropped the crayon and a tiny gasp escaped her lips. Whimpering, she turned her head downwards and never wanted to look up again. She was being bad again, and Mommy got sad when she was bad. Now Allison had made Mrs. Mars's day worse instead of better. Looking at the floor she continued to whimper, heeding none of Mrs. Jacobs's orders to get up and come with her to the corner.

Mrs. Jacobs finally lost her patience and picked Allison up herself. Now Allison started crying as Mrs. Jacobs carried her to the corner of the classroom. It was a lonely-looking, desolate place where the colored alphabet rug did not reach. It was the opposite corner from where Mrs. Jacobs read her books, and far from any students. There were no toys there: nothing but a tiny chair facing the corner. Mrs. Jacobs put Allison down, pushing the chair aside, and told her to stop crying.

"I can't believe I have to do this to you Allison. You've been very bad for both of the days you've been here."

"Buh," Allison sniffed. "Buh I was makin' a pich-uh fowr Mommy…"

Mrs. Jacobs sighed in frustration. "You haven't learned anything, have you? You're still a whiny, spoiled little brat, just like you were when you first came in here."

"I'm not spoiwled! I'm jus' a widdle giwl."

"Enough." Mrs. Jacobs pulled out the red crystal she wore underneath her blouse. "It seems that I haven't gone far enough with you."

Allison drew back. "Wha…What yoo gonna do to me?"

"Let's just say…" Mrs. Jacobs smiled, "…that I'm going to be your new mommy from now on."

"No! Yoo not my mommy. Missus…misses Mars is mommy now." Allison stumbled backwards as another wave of dizziness washed through her mind. "I'm huh widdle giwl. Mommy…change me when…I poopie and pee-pee. She my mama. My ma ma…ma ma ma…" Mrs. Jacobs simply smiled as Allison babbled on, unaware of what was happening to her

Then Allison's legs started to wobble, and Allison realized that something was wrong. She leaned against the chair, thinking that she was just losing her balance again. This was something different. Her legs just kept getting weaker, unable to hold her up anymore. Gradually, Allison sunk to her knees, and unable to keep her body straight she had to put her hands on the floor. Allison looked around, feeling confused and disoriented. She tried to reach out towards Mrs. Jacobs, begging for help, but she then lost her balance and fell face-first onto the floor. Allison tried to get up again, but her limbs felt like rubber. Allison begged to be helped up, but all that she could muster was a high-pitched whine.

Mrs. Jacobs saw that this might happen, though. Instantly Allison was plucked off of the ground and carried over to Mrs. Jacobs's rocking chair. She felt so high, it looked so scary to see the ground so far away. Allison let out a worried moan and turned towards Mrs. Jacobs, who let her wrap her arms tightly around her neck. Allison held on for dear life, and Mrs. Jacobs held her securely, patting her padded bottom through the fuzzy, yellow onesie that now enveloped Allison's torso.

"See? You're not so bratty when you're a widdle baby, are you?"

Allison, feeling a little safer in Mrs. Jacob's grip, sat back and gave Mrs. Jacobs a vacant, bewildered look. Mrs. Jacobs simply tucked Allison into the crook of her arm and started rocking her to sleep. Allison squirmed, but the rocking reminded her of when Mrs. Mars had rocked her last night and she soon calmed down.

"It's alright widdle precious. Mommy's gonna make sure that she raises you right, okay? You just need to sit back and be a baby. Just forget everything you learned. Forget being an adult; forget what you learned in school, forget all of the rude habits you picked up along the way and made you into such a sour-puss. Mommy Madeline is gonna make you into the cutest little girl, and all you need to do is sit back and let me take care of you."

'No! Mrs. Mars is my mama! Or wait, I have another mama, but Mrs. Jacobs says that she's my mama. I'm so confused! Everything is just so mixed up.' Allison moaned and squirmed in Mrs. Jacobs's arms, but her strength was so diminished by her baby-state that she had no chance of even loosening Mrs. Jacob's grip.

"It's okay, widdle baby. Just go to sleep and everything will be fine."

Allison, tired from always struggling, thought about giving up and just closing her eyes. She started relaxing when she heard a noise coming from the far end of the hallway. She recognized it instantly, the steady click-clack of high heeled shoes headed in he direction. Mrs. Mars was coming back! 'She's gonna save me!' Allison was filled with new energy, and she started calling for her real mommy.

Mrs Jacobs was not pleased as she too heard the sound of her boss approaching. "Allison, shush! You're not helping either of us." Unfortunately the footsteps came even closer, and their pace seemed to be quickening. Quickly Mrs. Jacobs stood, up, put Allison on the floor, and rushed for the door in order to head off the problem.

Mrs. Mars walked in, her face serious and sour as usual. Mrs. Jacobs smiled and stood between her and Allison, kindly inquiring as to the reason of Mrs. Mars's visit. Allison could barely contain herself. Mrs. Mars was there! She wriggled and kicked on the floor, then cried as loud as she could to get her attention. 'Mommy! Mommy! Please see me! I need your help. This bad lady is trying to take me away. She made me into a baby. Please help me! Please don't go away and leave me here again!'

"Uwaah! Wahh, wahh…waaaaaahhhhn!" Allison cried until her lungs ached, hoping she could be heard over the sound of their conversation. The students were clearly annoyed, covering their ears to shut it out. Allison saw Mrs. Mars and Mrs. Jacobs getting annoyed by her crying. 'Soon she'll come over here and see what the trouble is, and then she'll recognize me and take me away. She'll nestle me in her arms and stroke my hair like she did before, and then I'll be happy. Then she can feed me and burp me, and Mommy will be happy again. Please don't be angry, Mommy! See me and be happy!'

Finally Mrs. Mars could take it no longer. "Will you please pick Allison up and get her to settle down! Don't worry about me right now, just get her to quiet down, please!"

Mrs. Jacobs quickly walked over to Allison and picked her up, looking noticeably irritated. 'No! I don't wanna be held by you. You're evil!' So Allison cried harder. Mrs. Mars came over to finish their conversation, something about office supplies or something boring like that. Allison was excited. Mrs. Mars was so close, but she had to see that it was her. "M-ma ma! Ma ma mam ma…" She babbled on and on, hoping that she would get Mrs. Mars's attention.

Suddenly Mrs. Jacobs turned around to grab the pacifier on the table, and Allison and Mrs. Mars could see each other face to face. Allison's eyes widened with excitement as she saw her mommy again: the woman who had diapered her and tickled her so much, and shared her cookies. 'Please take me back with you! I don't wanna stay here anymore!'

Mrs. Mars, frown still on her face, gave Allison nothing but a hardened, irritated look. "I hope for your sake that your child isn't bothering any of the students." she told Mrs. Jacobs coldly. "She should be in the day care facility, not the classroom."

"Ma ma! Mama!" Allison reached as far as she could, but Mrs. Mars always stayed just out of her reach, showing nothing but disdain.

"This had better be necessary."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but it is. Little Ali here doesn't like being away from me for too long, so I need her to be near me at all times."

"Fine, but if this becomes a problem you and I are going to have to have a talk."

"Mama!"

"Allison, now you be quiet! I'm your mommy, right here." Mrs. Jacobs tried to calm Allison by bouncing her up and down, and Mrs. Mars turned to leave.

'Don't go Mommy! Please don't go! I love you: don't you love me anymore?" Don't go!' Allison started to cry more loudly than ever now, and grew louder and more desperate as Mrs. Mars got further and further away. She couldn't break free from Mrs. Jacob's tyrannical grip, but at least she could still wail. Soon Mrs. Mars was gone, and no amount of crying would bring her back. That didn't stop Allison, though. She continued crying, lonely for the mother who had forgotten her, and scared at what her new mommy had done to her. Mrs. Jacobs, realizing that Allison would not stop anytime soon, took her back to the changing table behind the bookself. Her plan was to let her cry out all of her frustration there. It worked; within half-an-hour Allison had cried herself to sleep.

The next thing Allison knew, Mrs. Jacobs was standing over her, undoing her onesie. Allison felt wet down below, and once she realized it she started crying again. She wanted Mrs. Mars to change her, but she was nowhere in sight. She had to content herself with Mrs. Jacobs, who was now busily wiped Allison's bottom.

"We'll change your diapee now, Allison, and when you're nice and dry we're all going to have snack time. You stay calm now and soon you'll get something to eat."

Allison wasn't about to stay quiet just because Mrs. Jacobs said so, but as Mrs. Jacobs was bending over her Allison noticed that the crystal that she kept under her shirt was dangling from her neck. Allison laid back, mesmerized, wondering whether she should reach out and grab it. She thought it looked really pretty, but it was also what mean Mrs. Jacobs used to change her into a little kid. Maybe touching it wasn't such a good idea.

Suddenly, the little adult part of Allison's mind realized something: if this stone could make Allison into a baby, it could probably turn her back. She had seen Mrs. Jacobs simply look at the stone, and Allison got younger. Maybe if Allison did the same, she would change back. She could be an adult again, with no mommies to worry about and no diapers to change, and then she could go back to tutoring. Quickly Allison focused her eyes on the stone and wished with all of her might: 'I wish I was back to normal! I wish I was back to normal!'

"There, all set!" Mrs. Jacobs stepped back and tossed Allison's dirty diaper in the trash. "Let's go back over to the play area and we'll eat, okay?"

Mrs. Jacobs put Allison down on the floor, and the infantized woman sat on her thickly padded bottom and wondered what she had to do to get the crystal to work. 'Maybe I gotta touch it to make it work. I think that's what Mrs. Jacobs was doing, but how am I going to get a hold of it?' Allison thought and thought as Mrs. Jacobs helped the students open their bags of chips or juice boxes when it was too hard for them. Soon she returned to Allison, holding in her hands a nice bottle of formula. She put it in Allison's hand. "Drink up, Allison. You get your snack today too! I want to see how much you can drink on your own, okay?"

Allison looked at the bottle and its strange, milky fluid. Awkwardly she lifted it up to her mouth, wondering why she wasn't being fed by Mrs. Jacobs. Then another brainstorm hit her, if she didn't drink her formula on her own, then maybe Mrs. Jacobs would feed it to her, and if she could get close to Mrs. Jacobs again, then maybe she had a chance at grabbing that crystal. Summoning up all of her disgust and impatience, save from a morning full of frustration, Allison swiftly flung down her bottle and started crying again.

Surprised, Mrs. Jacobs walked back and put the bottle back into Allison's hand. "I know you're a baby, Ali, but I know that you can feed yourself. I know you're hungry, so be a big girl and drink, okay?"

Allison was hungry, but she was also stubborn. She took her time. Mrs. Jacobs handed her the bottle, but Allison refused to drink from it. Every time Mrs. Jacobs put it in her hands, Allison just fussed and flung it away, stubbornly refusing to hold it. She reached out to Mrs. Jacobs, begging her to lift her up and feed her personally. Whenever Mrs. Jacobs turned and started to walk away, Allison started to cry, knowing that Mrs. Jacobs would have no choice but to come back.

Finally she relented "I get it now, baby. You want to be babied a little more, right? I'll be back in a minute. Let me just take care of some students, okay?" Allison let up a little on the crying, but always made little whimpers to make sure that Mrs. Jacobs wouldn't waste any time.

Allison laid back in Mrs. Jacobs's arms, and very calmly took the nipple into her mouth. Sucking came just as naturally to her as breathing, and within minutes she was gulping down tiny mouthfuls of baby formula. This was much better than all of the mushy peas and carrots she had eaten before: all warm and creamy, going down easily with every tiny gulp. Allison nearly got carried away and forgot what she was doing.

"Don't drink too fast, baby!" Mrs. Jacobs warned. "If you do you'll get a tummy ache."

Allison slowed down, remembering to control herself and give herself as much time as possible. She drank little bits of milk and looked at Mrs. Jacobs with big, sweet baby eyes. All the while her hands were slowly moving up to Mrs. Jacobs neck. It was hard for her weak, baby-strength arms, but slowly and surely she got closer, drawing herself closer to Mrs. Jacobs all while sucking down more milk. She made sure not to lay eyes on the crystal itself, lest she attract Mrs. Jacobs attention towards it. She was so close; just a few more inches, and she would have…

"You're done already? Good girl!" Mrs. Jacobs put down the empty bottle and  hoisted Allison up on her shoulder. A little confused, Allison suddenly felt Mrs. Jacobs gently patting her back. 'She's gonna burp me! This is my chance.' She pulled the necklace up and fumbled for the crystal in her hands, and held it up, wishing that she could be back to normal.

Nothing happened again. Allison wished harder and harder, trying to get something to happen but nothing was changing. Time running out, Allison tried to think of what she could do before Mrs. Jacobs realized what was going on. Just as it seemed she would be put down again, one though stuck out in Allison's mind. "What do you say when you ask for something?" Mrs. Jacobs had asked the class the day before during their lesson.

'Crystal,' Allison thought. 'Could you change me back into and adult, please?'

Suddenly everything started to feel weird and dizzy. Allison held onto the crystal tightly, resolved never to let it go. She wished she could be back to normal and have her normal life back, but her thoughts were getting mixed up. She tried to envision her normal life yesterday, tutoring and eating peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, Mrs. Mars, feeding her and changing her, tickling her and making her laugh. She thought of sitting in the kindergarten class and listening to story time, and of clay and blocks, and her slacker students and the books she read, and her parents urging her to get a real job. Everything just seemed to flood in as Allison became dizzier and dizzier.

"Hey, what's going on?"  and Mrs. Jacobs was struggling now to hold Allison up, and Allison felt herself getting heavier. She was changing back, and reality was starting to change back as well. Mrs. Jacobs reached for her crystal pendant and realized that it was no longer underneath her shirt.

"You idiot! Stop it; you don't know how to organize your thoughts!" Mrs. Jacobs grabbed the pendant, and the entire world around them started swirling. The students at the tables were drawn to the shouting, but others seemed not to hear, as if caught up in some other world. Shadows flickered over the walls, the floor seemed to tilt under the both of them.

"Wet…go!" Allison breathed her first worlds out in relief, though the world was turning chaotic around them. "I…nawt…uh…baby!"

Mrs. Jacobs wouldn't let go, and Allison was getting stronger and stronger as her age returned to her.

"Wet me go back to normal! I can't stay like this any longer. Just…change me… back!"

"Never!"

Suddenly the crystal slipped out of both of their hands into the swirling, mixed-up world. Allison didn't see what happened next as they both tumbled to the ground, but she thought that amid the tumult she heard a faint sound of shattered glass. The noise quickly died down, and everything seemed to disappear into white light. Allison no longer felt Mrs. Jacobs's confining grip around her body, nor did she feel the fuzzy onesie binding her body. Her clothes felt loose, soft, and grown up as she laid down on a firm mattress.

Allison sat up at break-neck speed, her eyes snapping open in panic. However she was quickly blinded by the sunlight that came in through the window across from her bed.

"Gaahhhh! I've got to get this bed moved some day. I've gotta ask Dad to do it when I'm at work." Allison rubbed her eyes and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. When she opened her eyes again she was in her room. All of her favorite books were piled on the floor, and her work clothes for the day were hung haphazardly on the doorknob.

"Allison! Are you up yet!" If she hadn't been up before she certainly was up now. Mom had a voice that could wake the dead. "You're gonna be late for work!"

"I'm up! Sheesh…" Allison stood up and stretched.

"And don't forget to check your sheets again! I can't change them if you don't tell me to!"

"Wha…?" Unsure of what she was checking for Allison turned around and ran her hand along the place she had been sleeping. It felt normal. Allison called down to Mom that everything was fine, and a little bewildered she walked into the bathroom to take a shower. It was there, in front of the mirror, that Allison realized what was wrong.

Everything that had happened before, the kindergarten class, the transformation, the evening spent in Mrs. Mars apartment, and her entire ordeal as a child, seemed like it would fade away into the ether like a bad dream. That was what Allison hoped for, once she found herself back in her room. It had all been a dream, she told herself, and she was ready to get back to her crummy old job. However, her ordeal was not over, it seemed for Allison was still wearing a diaper. It was jus the right size for her adult frame, too. It was also big, bulky, and covered in little pink and blue bunnies.

Now Allison perceived a dirty, itchy feeling in her crotch, along with a cold wetness that seemed to have been there for a long time. Allison started to get upset. She had wet herself again, and now she would have to take care of herself.

"Mom!" Allison bounded down the stairs to the dining room, causing her mother to nearly choke on her toast. "Why am I wearing this…this…"

"This what? What are you getting so upset about?"

"I'm wearing a diaper! Not only that, but I wet myself last night! Whose idea was this?"

Mom and Dad acted like everything was completely normal. Mom even patted her on the bottom as Allison left to make sure that she was still dry.

"So you need me to change you or what?"

"Mom! I can…" Allison broke into tears. "I can take care of myself." She ran back up stairs and slammed her bedroom door.

"What was that all about?" Dad wondered aloud, keeping his head buried in the paper.

"Beats me. She gets it from your side of the family."

Allison walked into the school cautiously, careful as to how she walked so that no one would notice her diaper. If Mrs. Mars ever found out that she was wearing something like that, she would be in serious trouble. Nothing ever slipped by Mrs. Mars gaze, but as long as Allison kept quiet and did her work, hopefully she wouldn't be seen. She had to stay quiet long enough to see Mrs. Jacobs. Surely she would know what to do about this, The question was, would she want to help?

Allison checked in and left the office before Mrs. Mars could notice her. Quickly she retreated to her tutoring room, and began to unpack he stuff. A few moments later, another teacher else stepped into the room carrying an armful of papers. She stared at Allison, wondering what she was doing in the classroom, and Allison did the same. She certainly didn't recognize the teacher. Was she part of the staff that she simply hadn't met yet?

"Miss Bradley, what are you doing here today? Not that I really mind, you can come by any time, but I was just wondering what you're doing. I have to set up soon."

"For what?"

"For tutoring. I have classes here for the kids who fell behind."

Allison gave this unknown person a strange look. "That's what I do. I have class in here all the time."

Now the other teacher gave Allison a strange look. "Mrs. Bradley, no disrespect, but this is my classroom. Your classroom is upstairs."

Allison lost her patience at this point. "Listen, whoever you are, this is my classroom. I've been teaching here for the last five months tutoring these kids. I think you're a little confused."

The other teacher backed away, still clutching her papers, but did not give up. "I don't know what's going on, but if you want we can check with Mrs. Mars to see who has the room today. I could be wrong, so if you want to check…

"Never mind." Allison quickly packed up her stuff and surrendered the room. As she walked out, the other teacher watched her leave, wondering what had gotten into her. She shrugged and got to work, organizing her papers and planning her lesson.

Suddenly Allison came back. "Where's my room again?"

The teacher wondered if this was a trick question, but seeing the angry look on Mrs. Bradley's face she decided to answer truthfully. "Room 29."

"Thanks." With that Miss Bradley was gone once more, leaving the teacher scratching her head and wondering what was going on.

Allison reached Room 29 where a large class of 5^th graders was waiting for her. The moment she stepped inside they all turned towards her.

"Good morning, Miss Bradley!" Allison was so surprised that she froze in her tracks, not knowing what to do next. The students all stared at her, wondering why she was just standing there like a statue with that puzzled look on her face. Some of the students started to giggle as the standoff continued. Finally, Allison, her teaching instincts finally kicking in, mumbled to the class, "Are you guys all waiting for your teacher?"

The students just giggled and looked at each other uncomfortably. Allison was now ever more confused. She wanted to go to the office and straighten everything out, but she was more afraid of seeing Mrs. Mars and having her discover her diaper than of being confused. Maybe she was supposed to be covering a class today, or something. Maybe something on the desk would give her a clue as to what was going on.

When Allison walked over to the desk she found something that shocked her. Every teacher had on his or her desk a small nameplate, something given to them by the school so that visitors could know whose classroom they were in. Also it helped the students if they weren't sure as to how to spell their teacher's name. Allison stood before the plate, therefore, wondering how the name "Miss Bradley" had gotten on it. Was this her classroom? Was she a real teacher now?

"Boys and girls, please take out your workbooks and do the work on page 29."

"Which workbook?"

"Any workbook; I…I need to rest."

Allison sat down at the desk and buried her face in her hands. The students, confused, asked if she was alright, to which she replied that she didn't know. How much had changed now? Was this all because she had grabbed the crystal?

Suddenly Allison heard running through the hall, along with a strange, tiny voice screaming in fear.

"Thtop chathing me! I'm not a thtudent; I'm uh teachuh!"

Allison got up and ran to the hallway, where she saw one of the hall monitors, an older lady, out of breath, running after a young woman in a short, blue dress with white polka dots. Her pigtails made her look very young, but Allison recognized Mrs. Jacobs in a heartbeat.

Mrs. Jacobs in turn recognized Allison, and running at her at full speed. She threw her arms around Allison and nearly knocked her over, not realizing how big she still was. She squeezed Allison tightly and begged her for help. "Pleathe don't let them take me back to thuh clath-woom, Mith Bradley! Help me, plethe!"

The hall monitor, catching her breath, walked up to Allison and thanked her for her help. "She ran away from kindergarten and we've been looking for her all over the place." She turned to Mrs. Jacobs. "Come on, Madeline, there's nothing to be afraid of. We're just going to go back downstairs and color a little bit. Won't that be fun?"

The hall monitor tried to take her by the hand, but Mrs. Jacobs wrenched herself away and continued to cling to Allison. Allison, tired of being squeezed so much, helped the hall monitor pry little Mrs. Jacobs's arms away from her so she could be carried away.

"No! I don't wanna be a kindergart'ner again! Let go of me!" She carried on and on as she was dragged, slowly, but surely, back down the hall. Allison couldn't help but smile a little as she watched the whole scene play, remembering every moment of unpleasantness she had gone through during her stay in Mrs. Jacobs's class. Maybe Mrs. Jacobs should see what it's like on the other side of the classroom. Smiling, she watched as Mrs. Jacobs and the hall monitor disappeared around the corner, then Allison headed back towards her classroom.

Suddenly she heard a piercing wail ricochet between the walls of the hallway, followed by heavy, frantic sobbing. "Mommy! Mommy! I don't wanna go! I don't wanna go down there…" Her heart being bogged down in the muck of guilt, Allison felt unable to pull herself away and escape to the classroom. She stopped, trying to justify to her brain why she shouldn't worry about Mrs. Jacobs, but all reasons were suddenly blasted away by another chorus of sobs. Sighing, Allison turned around and chased after the hall monitor.

"Excuse me, Miss? Hold on for a minute."

The hall monitor looked at Allison strangely as she made her strange request. "I know this little girl, her family is friends with mine. Why don't you let her stay with me for a while until she calms down?"

The hall monitor looked unsure. "I'm not sure I can do that, Miss Bradley. She should be in her classroom right now."

"No!" Mrs. Jacobs, in one great burst of strength quickly pulled away and got loose, running back to Allison's side and hugging her tightly. "I wanna thtay!"

Allison joined in. "Look, if you want to drag her all the way down the stairs, that's fine, but I think it'll be better for all of us if she stays with me. Just tell…uh…"

"Mith Alan!"

"…tell Miss Alan that she's with me. It's okay, really! I'm a teacher too, you know."

The hall monitor was still unsure if this was allowed, but seeing Allison's point about dragging the little girl away she shrugged her shoulders and decided to leave her there. "I'll have to report this to the office, just so they know where Madeline is."

"Oh…okay." Allison cringed at the thought that Mrs. Mars might hear about this, but she would have to worry about it later. She pried Mrs. Jacobs off of her again and took her hand, calming her down a little bit. "Come on. Let's go to my classroom. It'll be nice in there, okay?"

Mrs. Jacobs sniffed and nodded her head. The two walked silently until they rounded the corner.

"I'm glad you're here, Mrs. Jacobs. Everything's just so-" Allison cringed as Mrs. Jacobs quickly turned and kicked her hard in the knee.

"Ahhggh, god! What did you do that for!?"

Mrs. Jacobs looked defiantly into Allison's eyes. "That's for yeth-terday, and for turning me into a little girl!"

"I didn't do this to you, it was your damned crystal."

"You were the one who touched it and th…ths…thhhh-crewed up weality.

"This is so not my fault! I couldn't even get the crystal to do what I wanted, let alone turn you into a little girl!"

"Wait, tho yoor not back tuh normal?"

Allison sighed, and leading Mrs. Jacobs into the girls' bathroom she pulled down her pants just enough to show her the waistband of her diapers. Mrs. Jacobs began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Allison growled.

"Yoo look funny."

Allison pulled her pants back up. "Well speak for yourself, little miss polka-dot."

"Therves yoo wight. If yoo hadn'uh touched my cryth-tal we wouldn' be doing thith."

"Well maybe if you weren't such a jerk to me none of this would have happened!"

Mrs. Jacobs jumped back as Allison yelled her down. Her little-girl legs started shaking and tears welled up in her eyes again. Allison sighed and calmed herself down.

"I'm sorry; I really am. Come on. Let's go to my room and we'll figure things out there, okay?" Mrs. Jacobs nodded and cautiously took Allison's hand.

The students were still confused about the work that Miss Bradley wanted them to do, but when she returned and told them to talk freely amongst themselves, they were satisfied with doing just that. Allison was glad too, since it gave her and Mrs. Jacobs plenty of time to discuss their problem without anyone listening in. Allison listened carefully as Mrs. Jacobs showed her the fragments of crystal that she had hidden away in her diaper.

"So what you're saying is that when you use the crystal you have to be really focused on one thing, otherwise things get screwed up like this?

"Yeah. When you twied to change your-thelf you didn't clear yor bwain, tho a whole buncha thtuff got miktht in. Then things got weally miktht up when I touched it, I gueth."

"So when can we change back?"

Mrs. Jacobs seemed hesitant to answer, either that or she was getting distracted by all of the cool stuff the big kids had on their desks.

"Mrs. Jacobs: when can we change back?"

"We gotta fikth tha cryth-tal firtht."

"How do we do that?"

Mrs. Jacobs looked down at the ground. "I don' know." she mumbled

"What?! I can't stay like this, Mrs. Jacobs!"

"I don' wanna thtay like this either, but…"

"Miss Bradley?" Allison looked up to see that the hall monitor had returned, standing in the doorway as if at attention. Allison asked what the matter was, hoping that she wouldn't take away Mrs. Jacobs before they had figured out what to do. However, she might have preferred that bad news compared to the hall monitor's actual request.

"Mrs. Mars would like to see you in the office immediately." Allison's heart skipped a beat. She looked down at Mrs. Jacobs, who herself was concerned at what this might mean.

"Is…does she need me right now?" Allison asked, quivering.

"Yes, she say's it's urgent."

"What about my class, and Mrs.- I mean Madeline?"

"I'll cover your class until you get back. You should get going."

Allison turned to Mrs. Jacobs, sitting in her chair, and for some reason kneeled down to hug her. Perhaps she felt that she needed it to weather the scathing lecture she was about to receive, but no matter what the reason Mrs. Jacobs returned her hug warmly and wished her luck in her tiny, lisping voice.

On her way to the office Allison wondered what Mrs. Mars wanted this time. Was it because she had gone to the wrong room? Was it because she had felt some sympathy and taken care of a little girl instead of letting her get dragged away? Did she know Allison was wearing a diaper? It didn't matter now; Allison just hoped that she would get through it and go back to work. If she could just let he nice side shine through for one second, then she wouldn't need to be a bitch all of the time.

As Allison neared the office she felt a little pressure on her bladder. She wasn't sure how long she could hold it in, but she couldn't turn back now. Standing outside the door, Allison took a deep breath and knocked.

"Enter."

Allison opened the door and timidly looked through the crack. Mrs. Mars was sitting at her desk, filling out paper work.

"Sit down."

Slowly, cautiously, Allison crept over to the chair, afraid to get much closer. Eventually she sat down quickly when Mrs. Mars gave her an impatient look. She didn't like the feeling of sitting so close to her. Allison shifted in her seat as the feeling in her bladder got even worse. 'Please let this be quick!'

"You weren't in your room when I called for you earlier. That concerns me."

"You called? I-I mean, I'm sorry."

"I check up on you because I'm afraid of accidents in the classroom. When you aren't there to answer, I start to get nervous. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand, but Mrs. Mars-"

"Young lady, when I say I want to be in touch with you at all times I mean that I want to be in touch with you at all times. What if something had happened to you? What if you had another accident in the classroom?"

"Uh, I…uh…"

"Exactly. You may be a teacher now, but in my school you still follow my rules. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Good." Mrs. Mars walked over to the window and closed the blinds. Then she closed the office door and locked it. Allison was on high alert, but she was still unprepared for what Mrs. Mars said next.

"Come on, young lady: up on the desk."

Allison blinked disbelievingly. "What?"

"You heard me; get up on the desk."

Allison stood up slowly as Mrs. Mars cleared all of the stationery off of her desk, then spread a blanket over it. She motioned for Allison to get up on top of it, and not willing to refuse Allison climbed up on her hands and knees.

"No, not like that! How am I supposed to change you if you aren't lying down?"

"Change me? Oh no, no, no, no, no."

"Don't you start, young lady. You know you can't change yourself and I can sense when my little girl's wet herself again.

"No, Mrs. Mars, you are not changing me again. I would rather-"

"Allison! Lay down!"

Allison laid down on her back. Mrs. Mars pulled down her dress slacks and felt her diaper.

"Just as I thought. You always wet your diaper around this time. I was beginning to worry."

"Mrs. Mars, I don't think."

"What did I tell you about calling me that in here. When we're in my office alone you can call me Mommy."

"But, Mrs.-"

"I insist." Mrs. Mars peeled back the dirty diaper. Allison had been so worried about talking that she didn't notice when she wet herself. Now she noticed the wetness and icky smell that was all too familiar to her."

"M…Mrs.-"

"Mommy, Allison: call me Mommy." Mrs. Mars brought her hand up to Allison's worried face and caressed it, pushing a few stray hairs aside with her soft fingertips. In a moment, Allison looked up into Mrs. Mars's eyes, and all of her cares slowly subsided.

"M-Mommy, thank you for changing me."

"You're welcome, honey. You'll always be my little baby, won't you?"

"Yes." Mrs. Mars was smiling: a sight Allison would never have thought she would see again.

Back in the classroom the hall monitor was having a bit of trouble making sure that the students were doing their work. Mrs. Jacobs, getting bored quickly, realized that the hall monitor couldn't always keep an eye on her, so she started wandering around the room and playing with the cool stuff that was lying on the classroom.

"Madeline! Please sit down! You too, Marcus. Everybody stay seated!"

Allison returned to a scene of near chaos. She had heard about situations like this in college, but her teaching instincts kicked in once more. She took a deep breath, and in a clear, calm, forceful voice, she informed the students of her wishes.

"Boys and girls: be seated!" In seconds the room fell silent. "Madeline Jacobs, please take your seat." Mrs. Jacobs, worried by Allison's tone, also quickly obeyed. Everybody returned to their proper seat to wait for instructions. Allison said nothing for a while, letting the class sit in silence and wonder what she was going to say next.

She smiled. "Thank you, everyone. I hope next time that you'll behave a little better while I'm gone." Allison thanked the hall monitor for her help, and told the class to get ready for her next lesson.

The trouble was that Allison had no idea what their next lesson was. Sure, teaching her own class was normal now that reality had been bent, but this was new to Allison. Allison had improvised lessons before, but what could she do with so little time? Suddenly Allison had an idea.

"Boys and girls, you won't need your books today because I will be reading aloud for you." Allison walked to the bookshelf in the back. "I just need you to listen carefully and if you have any questions, please ask me."

Allison remained cool as the students whispered to one another, wondering what was going on, but in her mind she wondered frantically, 'What am I going to read? Please let there be something good back here! Come on, come on!' Then she spotted it, a worn-out copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

"Perfect." Allison walked back up to the head of the classroom and commanded the students to gather around her. She explained the premise of the story, talking about the author and setting up the environment that they would soon enter. Even Mrs. Jacobs wandered closer to listen in as Allison began to read.

Allison read on without a care in the world. Things were going to be different from now on.