“Ok boys, we are going to have twenty minutes of playtime. Now go over to the playpen and help yourself to the lovely toys.” Plum said, her voice maintaining its motherly tone.
Like before, the boys gave a collective groan in response. They were almost adults, but here they were reduced to the role of infants. John still felt uneasy about the red-haired boy stealing glances at him, but he’d find out what that was about.
“Hey, can I talk to you.” His voice low, his eyes narrowed. The passivity that defined John so far had vanished in favor of his typical rebelliousness. He didn’t know what his pitiful classmate wanted, but something told him it was important.
“Uhh..umm..sure.” Nervousness spoke in Jimmy’s stead, but he complied anyway. John wasn’t completely surprised by how easy it was considering how the guy was acting earlier.
“Let’s talk over by the cribs.” John motioned to the beds furthest away from everyone. He wanted to ensure they had as much privacy as possible.
“So what was that about earlier?” John asked flatly. He didn’t want the guy to feel threatened, but he wanted an answer.
“Well…you see…it’s nothing. I am just nervous about being here is all.” He said in a low whisper. John was in disbelief at his explanation, but it did make sense. It was scary to have your whole life upended overnight. Part of him knew the guy was hiding something, but he didn’t know what. The rebellious youth figured overtime he could get some answers out of Jimmy if he were patient. Patience wasn’t exactly a virtue of his, but John didn’t have a choice if he wanted answers.
“Yo.” The Runner, named David and his friend Tony gave a friendly greeting to the duo of John and Jimmy. Despite being a little thrown off by the twosome’s intrusion, John threw a “Yo” back. Truthfully, he was glad to see them. He didn’t know either guy, but they seemed pleasant enough. Besides, it was nice to complain about the madness that surrounded them with others.
“You guys excited about playtime? Anyway, what are you guys up to?” John said with a chuckle.
“Oh yeah, you know those baby blocks are fire. Nothing, we are just tired and bored. What are you guys up to?” The dark-skinned esports player answered in his friend’s place.
John laughed and returned with some friendly banter of his own. Despite the onesie and diaper that consumed his body, things started to feel normal again. That was until he felt cramps in his gut. Hunger pains wracked his body and apparently, he wasn’t the only one. As other young men inquired about food as well including his new friends.
“Oh look, boys it’s time for snacks.” Announced Miss Plum in a cheery tone, the sudden knock at her door indicating it was snack time.
The youngsters turned away from each other with interest in Plum’s words. After she showed them the bottles of milk and animal crackers, they were to eat the young men groaned once more. John was already cautious of the mystery formula, but the fact that he was expected to eat like a baby disappointed him to no end.
“John..uh..Never mind.” The red-haired man cut his sentence short unable to continue any further. John wanted to press him on it, but the youth was hungry, so he’d save it for later. For some reason John was having an issue focusing ever since his “teacher’s speech.”
“These animal crackers are kinda good.” Said a young man with a dark chocolate complexion, his enthusiasm inspiring his classmates to also partake. A consensus that the cookies were delicious spread amongst the class. Most were still hesitant to drink from the baby bottles and avoided them. Eventually that caution eroded as their thirst grew, and they downed the milk.
Feeling thirsty John’s resolve collapsed beneath the weight of dehydration, and he reluctantly drank from the bottle. He was still embarrassed about drinking from a baby bottle, but he pushed those feelings aside.
“Now boys, you can play for a little longer and then it’s naptime.” Full from food and drink the boys gave a halfhearted acknowledgement before reforming their various cliques.
“Bruh, I ate too much. I am about to pass out.” Hand over his stomach Tony could only curse his overindulgence.
A few minutes later, the overfed boys were told that they would be taking a nap. Tired from their feast of animal crackers, the young men agreed.
Miss Plum led them out of the classroom down a large hallway. Oppressively tall, the walls were plastered in predictably childish trappings such as pictures of animals frolicking about. Despite his engorged state, John groaned at the imagery around him. He just wanted to see his boyfriend and go home.
At the end of the student's brief journey, they were greeted by another class. Dressed in similar outfits the other classroom consisted of mostly eighteen year olds with a few seventeen-year-olds mixed in.
In front of both classes stood double doors, freshly painted light blue. Not long after a large woman dressed as a nurse opened the door.
“Hello, boys my name is nurse Emma. This is where you will take your naps and, where you can change your diapers.” She said opening the door further to reveal the room behind her. The "room ” in question, was the size of a gymnasium, and decorated like a nursery. Adult-sized cribs sat side by side, ten in a row, from front to back while changing tables lined either end of the room. Lastly, soft music played throughout the large space.
Upon seeing the infantile sight, John wanted to leave, but he was far too tired to muster any resistance.
“Now boys, I am going to assign each of you to a crib. If you go poo poo in your diaper or tinkle you can just ask to be changed. But remember it's perfectly ok to go potty in your diaper that is what they are for.” After finishing her statement she hastily began assigning her sleepy charges to a crib.
Stop unsteady legs, John waddled over to the crib. He was fortunate in that the new friends he made were all assigned to neighboring beds. He was too tired to appreciate that fact, however, or anything really because he passed out as soon as he was in the crib.
