Farsight
By: Slang of Euphoric Rush
Note: If there's one thing I've learned over the past few months, its
that nothing ever turns out just the way you expect it to. For example, there
wasn't going to be any more Farsight, but now, here you, Michael Berg, sit
reading the introduction to the latest chapter in the epic. A large reason for
the proposed discontinuation of the story is that I could not write this
chapter, and I didn't. The third chapter, which you are currently reading, was
generously penned by Austin (The Dance, The Hooligan), who took time out of his
tremendously busy schedule to bring this tale back to the computer screen of
you, Michael Berg. Everyone be sure to send their gratitude to
Chapter 3:
Jake couldn’t sleep. It was turning out to be
one of those nights where the more Jake wanted to sleep, the less tired he was
getting and his mind would not stop. The conversation between Josh and AJ was
running a continuous loop in Jake’s head, holding him on the edge of sleep,
still too conscious to not think. Groaning, Jake finally pulled back the covers
and sat on the edge of his bed. It was not a dark night. The moon was shining
in through his half-closed blinds and a soft breeze was blowing in through the
window. Fall in
He
gingerly put on a hoody and shorts over his boxers and t-shirt. Jake grimaced
as his bruised and battered body made its way into the clothing. Throwing on
sandals, Jake made his way out into the warm, moonlit fall night.
All
was quiet in suburbia, it was peaceful. Jake walked down the middle of the
street, looking at each house as he walked passed. He found himself listing off
his neighbor’s names absentmindedly. Jake had lived here so long, every wrinkle
of
He
looked up and found that he’d made his way to the ridge on the edge of the
subdivision. It was known by the local kids as the cliff. From that vantage
point, you could see for miles. The city lights and beyond that, the ocean. The
moon was so bright, the light reflecting off the water could be seen. Jake took
a deep breath of the
Jake
began thinking about his friends again. Even though he didn’t want it to be,
Jake knew he wasn’t going to be as close to Josh as he was before. Josh and AJ
had always been closer, being the same age and all, but Jake had always felt
part of them. But now, Jake wasn’t so sure. They had a connection he could not
replicate. Well, he always had Robbie. Robbie was a good kid. A bit timid, but
fun loving and willing to do crazy stuff, which was important.
Jake
and Robbie had always gone to school together, but hadn’t always been great
friends. That started a couple of years ago in fourth grade. Robbie had asked
Jake, out of the blue one day, if he’d like to go fishing with his family. Jake
hadn’t really known Robbie before that, but liked the idea. Not having a father
around and Nicole not having the time, Jake had never really had the chance to
go camping. So one summer, when the boys were just about to start fourth grade
and nine years old, they went out into the woods. Just the boys, Robbie’s older
brother Tyson, and their dad.
It
had been a great trip and Jake had become really close with Robbie’s family. At
one point, Jake had fallen down while he and Robbie were playing on some rocks.
Robbie’s dad had fixed him all up, being the doctor that he was. Jake remembered
thinking how nice it must be to have a father around. Robbie had been gone for
a couple of weeks after that, Jake remembered. But once school started, they
had become fast friends.
Jake
stared out across the city lights from the cliff and suddenly felt like crying
again. What was it with crying tonight? Must be the moon. He felt like he
wanted to think about his parents, but put up the mental block. A sort of
impenetrable prison he put around the memories he would not touch, at least not
right now. Jake threw a rock and watched it crash and bounce its way to the
bottom of the hill where the road he and his friends had almost ran into Tyson
the other day. The road wound its way into the city. He grimaced as his
tattered body protested the sudden movement.
Despite
the pain, Jake threw rocks until the sky turned gray and watched as the sun
raised itself above the eastern rises and bathed the coastal valley in the soft
warm glow of morning. Still wide awake, Jake made his way back home, wondering
how long he was going to stay awake in class with no sleep.
Safe under his bed, Robbie held his hands tightly to his ears to
block out the sound. He closed his eyes tight and hummed his favorite song. It
was a hymn. Robbie wasn’t sure where he had learned the tune, but it was
beautiful, so beautiful. And when he was scared, as he was now, he sang it
softly with his eyes closed and everything seemed ok.
Robbie hummed it now, louder and louder his humming grew, and
tighter and tighter he clinched his eyes. But still the noise, the yelling, the
crashing, the hostility seemed to permeate his surroundings and find its way
inside his defenses.
Nine years old, Robbie still easily fit under his bed. The floor
was dirty. Old hardwood, the joints separating as the glue disintegrated over
time, leaving spaces in between each piece of sanded, shiny cedar. Crayons fit
easily in each space. So did coins and the wheels from his toy cars. Plenty of
toy detritus littered the spaces and suddenly Robbie gave up humming, gave up closing
his eyes, and instead picked out a blue crayon. He was bored. He was tired of
the fighting, of the humming, and the crying. What happened to his happy
family? It seemed something had gone terribly wrong.
Now his parents were never around, and when they were, they were
fighting. Robbie’s older brother was never around either. He had his own
friends and Tyson did not like his younger brother, Robbie was sure it, at
least when his friends were around. He was pretty nice when he was alone. But
that wasn’t often, so Robbie was learning to live by himself. At nine years
old, he could make a sandwich, fry an egg, and record his favorite TV shows on
his dad’s treasured VHS tapes. But his dad didn’t seem to notice.
Robbie took the crayon and found a scrap of paper which was also
under the bed. He drew a lake. Finding a green crayon, he drew a tree and a
mountain. Robbie smiled. He was going camping the next day with his dad, Tyson,
and his new friend Jake. He spotted a yellow crayon and after carefully extracting
it from the floor, he drew a fish with a smiley face. “Catch me,” he made the
fish say.
Hearing a creaking that sounded very near, Robbie peaked out from
his bed and saw his door slowly opening. A pair of Converse basketball shoes
walked slowly into the room. They were red and white, dirty and untied. Tyson’s
shoes.
“Robbie, you in here, bud?”
Robbie tried to quickly crawl out from under the bed. “Yeah,” he
said as he struggled to get out. He felt a strong pair of hands grab his
shoulders and pull him easily out. Tyson stood up Robbie and started brushing
the dust from his clothes.
“You piss your pants again, Robbie?”
Robbie looked down and sure enough, a large wet spot had appeared
on his pants. Robbie shrugged.
“How come you always do that when mom and dad fight?” Tyson asked
softly. Robbie avoided his eyes. “Shoot, buddy, who’s going to take care of you
when I leave.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Soon.”
“I can take care of myself,” Robbie said softly.
“Sure you can,” Tyson said with a smile as he ruffled Robbie’s
stringy brown hair. “But for now, I’m around. Let’s get you into some dry
clothes.”
“How come you’re nice when your friends are gone, but when they’re
here, you’re such an ass hole?” Robbie asked quietly, standing in the middle of
the room while Tyson gathered pajamas and fresh underwear from the
chest-of-drawers.
“Am I?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, it’s cause you need to toughen up. The world is harsh and
mean and if I don’t make you a man, no one will.”
A loud crash came from downstairs and the yelling rose to a
shivering crescendo. Robbie jumped slightly. Tyson put a reassuring hand on his
younger brother’s shoulders, then bent down and unbuttoned the red plaid shirt
Robbie had tucked deep into his dark blue jeans.
“Look’s like you’re all dressed for the woods. Getting ready for
camping?” Tyson asked gently as he changed Robbie into dry clothes.
“Yeah,” Robbie said with a smile. “It’s gonna be fun, huh?”
“Yeah, buddy, gonna be great.”
It
came as no surprise that Jake had a terrible time trying to pay attention at
school. Exhaustion, confusion, and learning do not mix. Jake made a point of
avoiding any direct contact with Josh and succeeded for the most part. During
lunch he’d avoided the cafeteria all together, opting instead for the grassy
hill that led down to the track where all the drama and goth kids congregated.
It felt nice to be unknown and ignored for a while.
On
the way to sixth period, though, Jake ran into Josh. It was one of those
unavoidable hall exchanges. You look up and see the person who you want to talk
to least walking directly toward you. They see you and it’s too late to duck
off into the bathroom. The conversation was strained. Jake, after way too many
hours without sleep, was irritable and for some reason even just seeing Josh made
him angry. After a couple of one word answers, Josh got the hint that Jake had
no intention of being amiable.
After
Josh left confused and slightly put off, Jake kind of felt bad, but pushed the
feelings aside and fell asleep in biology instead. As soon as Jake made it home
after classes concluded, he went right to bed and didn’t wake up until the sun
rose the next day.
And what a camping trip it was. Glorious in every way every boy
dreams. The woods, rocks, trees, water; add nature to a boy’s imagination and
fun is inescapable. It was an exhilarating few days, and Robbie was sad when
his dad dropped off Jake at his house. Robbie dreaded going home, knowing all
that was waiting was more fighting and fear. Why couldn’t life always just be
like camping?
But things were weirder than usual at home when the men of the
house returned. There was a note on the kitchen table. Robbie had seen his dad
read it, Robbie had seen his dad turn an ashen white, then a deep crimson.
Robbie didn’t wait around to watch as his dad start screaming and smashing his
mom’s fine china. No, Robbie just went up and crawled under his bed. It was
much safer there, and there were still some crayons that needed to be saved.
Robbie must have fallen asleep under the bed because the next
thing he remembered, his dad was pulling him out from under the bed and telling
him he was staying at his aunt’s for a while. His dad grabbed the bag that had
Robbie’s camping clothes in it, put both the boy and the bag in the car and
drove straight for two hours. Leaving Robbie standing bewildered on the porch
of his Aunt Margie without even saying a word, he disappeared. Luckily his aunt
found him a short while later, crying, scared, and lost.
“Oh dear. Robbie, is that you?”
Robbie sat up on the porch and looked toward the voice. He saw his
aunt peaking out of the doorway, staring surprised down at him. Robbie nodded.
“Why didn’t you knock?”
Robbie processed the question and realized he didn’t know why. He
was old enough to knock. He’d seen his parents do it many times. Realizing he
had no idea, he shrugged and continued crying.
“Well, come on in, honey.” Aunt Margie took the boy by the hand
and led him into the house, pulling in his bag after him. She quizzed him about
why he was on her porch, crying and scared. Robbie explained the best he could
why one moment he was happily camping, and the next he was here. After five
minutes of stuttering and tears, Aunt Margie finally stopped him and told
Robbie she’d just call his dad.
“Either you’ve cried so hard you’ve gotten your pants wet, or
you’ve had an accident, Robbie,” Aunt Margie said after she’d gotten the boy
calmed down. Robbie looked at his pants and sure enough, a wet spot graced his
pants which were still dirty from camping. “And you, being nine years old?”
Aunt Margie said in a voice that was meant for a baby. “I don’t think
nine-year-old boys are supposed to wet their pants.” Robbie had no idea when
he’d wet his pants. Probably while he was under his bed as usual. The spot was
almost dry, so it wasn’t fresh.
“Tell you what, what you need is a warm bath to get all this grime
off of you,” Aunt Margie said softly, using her thumb to wipe away the tears
from Robbie’s face. She took his hand and led him into the bathroom. After
turning on the water, she turned her attention to the boy. “And while you’re
soaking, I’ll unpack your things and call your dad, ok? I’ll find out what is
going on, don’t worry.”
Robbie didn’t know his Aunt very well. She was his dad’s older
sister. Divorced years before, she now lived with her only son, Cody, who was
six. Robbie only saw Cody and Aunt Margie a couple times a year, like at
Christmas, then once during the summer. She was nice enough and Cody, despite
being younger than Robbie, was a pretty cool cousin.
“Why don’t you get undressed and get in when the water’s ready,
ok?” Aunt Margie said. “You going to be all right if I leave you alone?”
Robbie rolled his eyes. “I am nine,” he said sternly.
“Well, ok,” Aunt Margie. “Call if you need anything. I’ll be back
to check on you in a bit.”
Robbie gingerly crawled into tub which was now filled with
steaming bath water. He realized that he hadn’t had a bath in quite some time.
Years, actually. With both his parents being doctors and working all the time,
Robbie had moved on to showers far too soon, he now realized. This was nice! He
laid back in the soothing water and closed his eyes. He felt younger than his
nine years, and it felt nice. When his head was under the water, he couldn’t
hear anything. No yelling, no crashing. Just nice peaceful…water noises. It
sounded cool.
After fifteen or so minutes, Aunt Margie reappeared, a large green
towel in her hand. Robbie took a second to look at her from the vantage point
of the bathtub. She was a good looking woman, he realized. He could see traces
of his dad in her face, the sharp nose and well defined jaw bones. Definitely
his dad’s sister. Her hair was down, it looked soft and brown. Probably smelled
nice too.
“All done?”
Robbie nodded.
“Was it nice?”
“Yeah. Haven’t had a bath in a while.”
“Oh, well, you didn’t smell that bad.”
Robbie laughed, “No, not like that. I mean that I always take
showers now. This makes me feel like I did when I was younger.”
Aunt Margie eyed him carefully. “Do you like it?”
Robbie shrugged, suddenly a little self-conscious that his aunt
was seeing him naked.
“Well, all your clothes were dirty and they smell like campfire.
Does your mom wash your clothes?”
Robbie nodded, “Yeah, but we just got back from camping, and dad
didn’t pack me any new clothes.”
“Oh dear, well, I’ll wash them. For now, looks like you’ll have to
wear some of Cody’s clothes. You look small for your age, so you should fit
them. They might be a bit small. Here, get out.”
Robbie didn’t want to argue, so he stood up and stepped out of the
tub, now standing completely naked in front of his aunt. She wrapped the towel
around him and led him out of the bathroom.
Cody’s room looked fun. Robbie had to admit, even though he was
older, all the toys crowding the walls of his cousin’s room looked inviting. It
looked like he had everything. Aunt Margie must have noticed his interest.
“Don’t worry, you can play with all of them. Cody will let you.”
Robbie nodded. “Cool, thanks. Where is he?”
“Oh, at camp. He’ll be home later,” Aunt Margie said as she
rummaged around in the closet. First she handed Robbie a pair of briefs, which
he slipped on. Then Aunt Margie came out of the closet holding what looked like
full-bodied pajamas. “Here, you can wear some of Cody’s pajamas while I wash
your clothes.”
Robbie felt his eyebrows rise. “Aren’t those baby pajamas?” He
heard himself ask, and immediately felt bad. He knew that was disrespectful. If
his mom were here, she would’ve slapped him. He looked at the ground. “Sorry,”
he mumbled.
“Oh, don’t worry, honey. And no, they aren’t for babies. Boys of
all ages wear footed sleepers.” She held out a foot for Robbie to step into.
Robbie was about to say something about being able to dress himself when he
realized the pajamas were backwards. The zipper was on the back. He allowed
Aunt Margie to get him into the sleeper and as she was zipping him up, he
asked, “How come the zipper is in back?”
“Oh, I had them special made so that Cody wouldn’t get into his
diapers at night.”
Robbie almost choked, not sure if he’d heard his Aunt properly.
Diapers? He looked up at her and she rolled her eyes. “Oops, probably shouldn’t
have said that. But, you were bound to find out eventually if you were going to
stay the night.”
Robbie was too shocked to say anything, so he just nodded. He
stood there and looked down at his now sleeper clad body. They were red with
white on the feet. A patch of a teddy bear was sewn on the right chest. They
were very childish, Robbie decided. He ran his hand along the front. The lack
of any seam on the front made it seem like some sort of Halloween costume.
“How am I supposed to get out of ‘em?” Robbie asked.
“Oh, just come and get me if you have to. Now, I’ll bet you’re
hungry.”
After eating lunch, Robbie found himself getting quite tired. Aunt
Margie seemed to have an uncanny ability to sense what Robbie was feeling.
“Are you sleepy, honey?” She asked. “Yeah,” Robbie replied. Aunt
Margie took Robbie into the living room. “Why don’t you just sleep on the
couch, ok?” She set Robbie up with a pillow and covered him with a pillow. In
no time at all, he was fast asleep.
Robbie wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep. Maybe an hour or
two. He awoke with a start, confused about where he was. It took a moment, but
he soon remembered the day’s events. Aunt Margie’s, right. He looked around the
room. The TV was on, some ridiculous cartoon character dancing in spasmodic
circles singing a crazed song. Robbie looked down at himself and remembered his
outfit. They sure were comfortable, these footed sleepers. Robbie stretched and
was feeling pretty comfortable when he realized he had to pee, really bad.
He stood up quickly made his way to the bathroom. Robbie reached
the toilet and was thinking how he was glad he found it so soon because he really
had to pee now when he saw there was a very big problem. Staring down at his
pajamas, he realized there was no way to pee with them on. Frantically, he
reached his arm as far as it would go behind him trying to reach the zipper.
Robbie could just touch it, but couldn’t get a grip to pull it down. He tried
bending every which way and stretching his arm until it hurt, but it was of no
use. Robbie could not unzip his pajamas. He was hopping about when he finally
gave up and went to search for Aunt Margie.
This was very bad. Robbie felt like each step, he was going to
pee. He felt tears well up in his eyes. His first day at his Aunt’s house, and
here he was, about to pee in his little cousin’s pajamas.
“Aunt Margie!” He yelled. Robbie couldn’t hear very well as he was
running about. So he stopped and listened as hard as he could. “Aunt Margie!”
He tried again. He heard a reply, his Aunt yelling that she was downstairs.
Desperately, Robbie scampered his way down the stairs, finding his
Aunt in the laundry room. She was bent over, pulling clothes out of the
laundry. Robbie sprinted in. “Aunt Margie!” He stood there hopping from foot to
foot.
“Yes, what is it?” Aunt Margie asked, not looking up.
“Can you unzip me?” Robbie nearly shouted. “I’ve gotta go!”
His aunt stood up with a huge load of dry clothes in her hands.
She looked down at Robbie over the clothes. “Oh dear, yes, here, let me put
these down on the couch. Show me that you’re a big boy who can hold it when he
needs to.” She pushed her way past Robbie, who hands had clasped his crotch
through the sleeper in a last ditch effort to keep his pajamas dry. “Please
hurry,” Robbie pleaded. Aunt Margie set the clothes down on the couch and
turned her attention to Robbie, but Robbie suddenly was still.
To his horror, Robbie felt his bladder release just as his Aunt
turned his direction. He felt the warm urine drip down his leg and soak the
front of the sleeper. Aunt Margie just stood in front of him and shook her
head. “Oh dear, looks like you and Cody are a lot alike. You should get along
while you stay with us.”
Robbie just stared at the ground, crying and scared. His aunt took
his hand and led him up the stairs and into Cody’s room. Robbie had no idea
what she was going to do to him.
“You see,” Aunt Margie said when she had Robbie up in Cody’s room
once again, “Cody can’t keep his pants dry either and I’ve gotten fed up with
doing all his wash.”Robbie nodded, not able to think of anything else
appropriate to do or say. “And it seems like you’re the same, so I’ll treat you
like your little cousin.”
“How’s that?” Robbie asked softly.
“Well, let’s start with getting you out of these wet pajamas. I
promise you, this is the last time you’ll get your clothes wet at this house.”
Aunt Margie undressed Robbie out of the pajamas she had just put,
then had him lay down on the bed. Robbie heard it before he saw it, and when he
looked up, his suspicions were confirmed. Aunt Margie was now leaning over him
holding a disposable diaper in her hand.
Jake
woke up feeling refreshed. The sun aroused him from his slumber and the clock
read just after six. With all the time in the world, Jake took a long, steaming
hot shower. After fixing himself some breakfast, he sat at the table and did
the homework he should’ve done last night while he was sleeping. Nicole woke up
soon after, and soon after that, left for work. Jake finished his homework just
as it was time to head to school. As he was about to head out the door, he
heard a knock. Peaking through the curtains, he saw Josh standing on the front
porch.
Jake
temporarily considered not opening and pretending like he’d already left for
school, but knew that was far too cold a move. He opened the door and tried his
best to smile at his cousin and best friend, for all intents and purposes.
“What’s
up dude?” Josh said cheerily.
Jake
nodded. “I was just about to leave, hold on a second.” Jake finished closing up
the house, and soon he was skating down the road along with Josh, who was on
his bike.
“Ok,
so let’s skip,” Josh said as they rounded the corner at the end of the block.
“Huh?
Why?”
“Since
when have you needed a reason to miss school?” Josh asked harshly.
Jake
didn’t answer. Josh was right, it was unlike him to question anything
rebellious. What was holding him back?
“I
dunno, with just breaking my wrist and all,” Jake started. “Nicole really wants
me to do good in school this year, you know?”
“You
going square on me, Jake?” Josh asked, glaring down at his younger cousin.
“Don’t
say that, dude,” Jake replied. Really, Jake just didn’t want to be around Josh.
It was too uncomfortable. All Jake really wanted to do was ask Josh about his
curious desires, but he didn’t feel like he could. “Well, what are you going to
do instead of go to class?”
“AJ
and I were going to go to the beach. Get some last rays of summer, you know?”
“Cops
are patrolling that this year, I heard.”
“Oh,
they do every year. We won’t get caught, c’mon.”
“What
am I going to tell Nicole?”
“We’ll
worry about that later.”
Jake
didn’t like the idea one bit, but he felt his resistance sliding away. Finally,
he told Josh he’d go. Josh excitedly whooped and took off pedaling towards
AJ’s. Jake apprehensively followed.
Once
they had picked up AJ, the boys made the trek to the beach. It was a bit of
trot, and it took a little longer since Jake was on a skateboard. By the time
they arrived, the sun was high in the deep blue sky, and they all stripped down
to their shorts to cool off in the ocean. The beach was pretty crowded for a
weekday. A bunch of twenty-somethings lying in the sand not sure what to do
with their life. The boys looked out of place, much younger than their
beach-bum compatriots, and they were sticking out, especially Jake. Luckily, no
one really cared. Once of the benefits of
After
they were satisfying cooled off, the boys set out across the beach in search of
entertainment. However, the weather-perfect day began to change as a strong
wind unexpectedly hit the beach.
“It’s
not supposed to rain today, is it?” AJ asked.
“Nah,”
Josh replied. “The only way we’re getting wet today is in the ocean.”
A
gust of wind blew off the waves and hit the beach. With terrible timing, Jake
also lost his footing temporarily in the sand. Clumsily, he fell over, eliciting
a volley of laughter from AJ and Josh.
“Don’t
blow away, Jake!” AJ crooned. Jake glared up at him as he brushed off the sand
and slowly stood up.
“Yeah,
you’ve got to grow, Jake, put on some meat. You’re scaring all the girls away,”
Josh said, laughing.
This
was nothing new; Jake was used to getting picked on because of his size. But
today, it was rubbing him wrong. He wasn’t finding anything even remotely funny
about his two older friends’ antics.
“Although,
you do look cute all babyish like ya are,” Josh said, roughly pinching Jake’s
cheek. There were so many things Jake wanted to say back. Mostly about who was
the real baby. Who wore diapers and liked them? But Jake held his tongue, and
instead stomped away, leaving Josh and AJ’s yelling behind.
“Aw,
come back man.” Josh tried, yelling after Jake. “I’m sorry, you know I don’t
mean it.” But Jake ignored him and continued walking away. Suddenly feeling
self-conscious, Jake went back to where their clothes were piled up and threw
back on his shirt and shoes. Comfortably covered, Jake made his way to the
asphalt and jumped on his skateboard.
Soon
Jake was cruising comfortably along the beachside road. He slowly relaxed and
was even considering rejoining Josh and AJ when he heard a sound that made his
heart jump. The quick flash of a siren nearly made him crash to the ground. He
quickly dismounted from his skateboard and turned around. Pulling up next to
him were two cops, smugly staring at Jake from a patrol car.
“How
old are ya, boy?”
Before Robbie could fully comprehend what was going on, his aunt
had him diapered and standing befuddled in the middle of his cousin’s toy
filled room. He didn’t know what to do. He stared down at his diapered body and
felt like it wasn’t his own.
“Now, you’re clothes aren’t quite done yet.”
Robbie felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. A sneaking suspicion
that his situation was about to get a whole lot worse. “So, you’ll have to wear
Cody’s clothes again.” Robbie didn’t even want to know what it was going to be
this time, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. Aunt Margie reached into the
closet and came out holding a pair of overalls. Not bad, Robbie thought. Aunt
Margie helped the now diaper clad boy into the overalls. She didn’t give him a
shirt, so all he had on was the diaper and the denim. He felt childish, but
knew it could’ve been a whole lot worse.
“Now,” Aunt Margie said, “I think it’ll be easiest if I just treat
you and Cody the same while you are staying with us.”
“How’s that?” Robbie asked.
“You’ll stay in diapers. That way we have no danger of an
accident.”
“And what if I have to use the bathroom?”
“It all depends. If it’s convenient, you can use the toilet, if
not, you can use the diapers like they’re meant to be used.”
Robbie felt weird. That was the best word to describe it. Just
weird. The diaper was encasing his middle and exerting a pressure that wasn’t
bad, just noticeable. He followed Aunt Margie back into the living room, where
he plopped back down on the couch to watch some more cartoons. His aunt brought
him out a snack and some juice, which he promptly ate. As soon as he had
finished the food, Aunt Margie announced that it was time to go pick up Cody
from camp.
In the car, Robbie saw a huge baby car seat and a booster.
Temporarily he was scared that his Aunt was going to have him sit in the baby
seat, and was slightly relieved when she told him to hop into the booster seat.
“I’m big enough to just use a seat belt,” Robbie protested,
knowing that it was of no use.
Aunt Margie just shook her head and patted the seat, like she was
beckoning a dog to come. Robbie obeyed and was soon strapped in with a seatbelt
to the booster seat. Everything he did felt weird with the diaper on. Sitting,
standing, walking. And now in a booster seat (which his parents never made him
use, even though they were doctors), in addition to the overalls, he felt extra
childish.
It didn’t take long to get to the soccer complex, but it felt like
forever for Robbie because half-way there, he felt a cramp in his stomach. It went
a way for a second, then came back, and next thing he knew, he really had to
poop. It made for an uncomfortable ride. This seemed unusually. Robbie never
had trouble holding his bodily functions, except for the occasional wet pants
when he was scared under his bed, but he felt like he was having serious
trouble holding his bowels shut. He shifted around uncomfortably and hoped they
would quickly make it home.
They arrived and Aunt Margie parked and got out
of the car, telling Robbie she would be back quickly. Robbie watched her walk
over to a group of moms and children. He could see his little cousin, dressed
in a blue soccer jersey, black soccer pants, blue socks covering his shin
guards, and black soccer cleats. Very color coordinated. Robbie was jealous. He
wished his mom signed him up for soccer camps instead of leaving him home alone
all the time. Aunt Margie seemed to be in no hurry, just chatting away, and
Robbie started to silently curse her, using words he’d heard his brother and
parents use. But it didn’t make the growing nagging in his bowels go away. He
shifted around again in the booster seat, hearing the diaper crinkle beneath
his childish overalls.
Finally, to Robbie’s relief, Aunt Margie finally took Cody by the
hand and started walking towards the car. Then, much to Robbie’s chagrin, he
noticed that another mom and another boy were following. The pressure in his
stomach grew and Robbie did not like the way this situation was shaping up. He
watched the group approach. He observed Cody carefully, wondering if he was
diapered. Cody wasn’t walking funny, like Robbie had with the extra padding
between his legs, but then again, he was probably used to it.
The sliding door of the van opened and Robbie looked shyly at the
four faces staring in at him. “Hey Robbie,” Cody said, waving, “This is my
friend Joey, he’s going to come play with us.”
“Hi,” Robbie said, then groaned and leaned forward, straining
against the seatbelt as he squeezed his bottom muscles as hard as he could.
What must have been Joey’s mom asked if he was ok. Robbie looked up and wanted
to let her know everything that was wrong, a whole litany of complaints against
the way his life was going right now, but instead just forced a smile and said
he had a stomach ache.
“Oh, I’m sorry honey,” the mom said. She seemed nice.
“Cody,” Aunt Margie said, “Since you are the biggest, I’m going to
have you move to the very back so Joey can have the booster seat.”
“Oh, here, let me go get Joey’s from the car,” Joey’s mom said,
trying to be helpful. Robbie groaned. Terrible idea, he thought, just hurry!
Robbie realized he was fighting a losing battle. There was
something serious wrong with his intestines, his stomach, or something, because
he had to go. Joey’s mom returned a minute later carrying another booster seat
which the two women secured in the back. Joey and Cody were soon fastened. Cody
was indeed using the baby car seat, which he apparently fit in, but Robbie
wasn’t really interested at the moment. The pressure was growing to a painful
crescendo and just as Joey’s mom patted him on the arm and said she hoped he’d
feel better, he squeezed his eyes shut tight and let loose.
A warm, solid mass immediately filled his diaper and spread to his
front, enveloping his boyhood. The sound was undeniable, and what had happened
obvious. Joey’s mom pulled back, unable to hide the look of surprise and
disgust that flashed on her face. Robbie didn’t notice, his eyes were still
shut tight and he had no intention of opening them any time soon.
Jake
considered running. He looked around, thinking if he just sprinted to the
beach, he could lose himself amongst the crowd. Bad idea. “Twelve,” he replied
softly.
“What?
Can’t hear you,” the officer who was driving said roughly. The cops had on
aviator glasses, and the one in the passenger seat was chewing obnoxiously on a
tooth pick.
“Twelve,”
Jake said louder.
“You
got a home school permit?”
“Nah,”
Jake replied.
“Well,
get in,” the officer said, motioning to the back of the car.
Jake
raised his eyebrows. Weren’t they supposed to arrest him or something? Oh well.
Jake hopped in the back seat, trying to sit comfortably on the unpleasant
plastic seats. “What school?”
Jake
told them and off they drove. Along the way, the officer with the toothpick
gave him a lecture about not missing class. He took down Jake’s name and home
number and after dropping him off at the front of the school, gave him a
warning. Get caught again and he’d be in big trouble. Jake thanked them for the
ride, deciding that, on the whole, they were pretty cool cops. He considered
telling them to go look for Josh and AJ, it’d be a nice way to get back at his
cousin, but decided against it. Instead, he made it inside just in time for
third period.