The Error, by LittleMatt

Chapter 6
Chapter 6

Chapter Description: By LittleMatt

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 you’re 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 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 you’re 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 a 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 for a while 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 knew 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 where you 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 of 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.”