Intentional Accidents

Chapter 3
Middle

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Chapter Description: She was a kid again, free from the hassle of periods, bras and brainless boys. Tommy was a grade ahead of her now, and more than a whole year older. She probably couldn�t get away with calling him Tommy anymore, but it seemed her family would be calling her Vicky a lot. Curiously, she felt that she would warm up to the name very quickly. It seemed to suit her now: Vicky, the baby of the family, the one who refuses to grow up and face the harshness of the world.

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The pale sunlight of dawn peeked in through the dreamer’s window, brushing against eyelids unwilling to pry themselves open. A hand grasped the silvery knob and eased the bedroom door open. In walked the gentle man who had been lost to Victoria only two short realities ago, now in perfect health and high spirits. He approached the slumbering girl and gave her a few soft nudges.

“Vicky? Vicky, wake up. It’s a Monday, and you don’t want to miss your bus.”

After a bit of prodding his daughter stirred and looked up at him, rubbing her eyes. “Monday? Bus?”

The girl’s kindhearted father chuckled. “Yes, silly. I know it’s only been a week, but now that you’re in Junior High, you take the same bus as Thomas in the morning. I know you’re used to waking up a little later, but classes start earlier at Meadowbrook Middle School than they do in elementary schools.” She stared at him a bit before nodding in affirmation. “That’s my girl. Now hurry and get dressed so you’ll have time for breakfast. Academic stars like you need their nutrition.” With a wink, her father left the room.

Vicky sat up in bed and spent a minute processing things. She first noticed the cold, damp sensation between her legs...the pair of Hopes, obviously...and decided to get dressed before sorting out anything else. Hopping out of bed, she gathered her Meadowbrook Middle uniform from her closet, her shoes from her bedside, and her everyday underwear from her dresser’s top drawer. Once she was safe inside the bathroom, Vicky slid off her nickname-emblazoned pajamas along with the wet Hopes. With practiced efficiency she tossed the Hopes into the trash, wiped the affected area clean, and changed into her outfit. After washing her face, brushing her teeth and hair, and returning to her room, Vicky examined her whole body in the wall mirror. No taller than five feet, no older than twelve and a quarter, and no longer the big sister in the family, the young girl sighed...contentedly.

She was a kid again, free from the hassle of periods, bras and brainless boys. Tommy was a grade ahead of her now, and more than a whole year older. She probably couldn’t get away with calling him Tommy anymore, but it seemed her family would be calling her Vicky a lot. Curiously, she felt that she would warm up to the name very quickly. It seemed to suit her now: Vicky, the baby of the family, the one who refuses to grow up and face the harshness of the world. Taking a close look at herself, Victoria realized with amazement that she had been a late bloomer. With her flounder-flat chest, cute freckled face and tender frame, she looked more like a ten-year-old than a girl two months past her twelfth birthday. She made a few adorable poses in the mirror, and giggled when she realized how very childishly she was behaving. At this point, though, she didn’t care. Even though she was a legal adult in mind, Vicky would have to act like a child as long as she still was one. Of course, there was no reason she couldn’t enjoy it...and she intended to. No perverts hounding me for a while, just carefree fun and relaxation.

Vicky scurried downstairs and joined her now older brother for a pancake breakfast. “How was last week for you, Vicky?” inquired big brother Thomas. “Make any friends?”

This set young Vicky to thinking again. When she had been a Freshman, none of her Senior friends remembered her. And now, as a sixth-grader, she would have to adapt to a new group of friends. Unfortunately, she didn’t know if she’d met any new friends since her Junior High career started last week; remembering nothing about this new reality would make it hard to answer Thomas’ question accurately.

“I’m not sure,” Vicky responded after a thoughtful, syrupy mouthful. “I mean, it’s hard to tell if people are really your friends when you first meet them, isn’t it? Takes time to figure out,” said the wise preteen before taking a swig of milk.

Her mother chuckled as she served herself a stack of flapjacks as well. “Your sister’s right, Thomas. Better watch what you ask her, or you might end up learning something.”

“Wouldn’t that be embarrassing,” the kids’ father remarked jokingly. Thomas shrugged and kept eating, but Vicky had to laugh, glad that her parents acknowledged her brightness. It was alright for her to impress them with what she knew, Vicky decided, as long as she didn’t speak with wisdom beyond her years on a regular basis. Still smiling, she finished off her hotcakes and grabbed her backpack. Today was a new opportunity at happiness, and young Vicky had a feeling it would work this time.

***

“Okay squirt,” instructed Thomas as he and his now-little sister stepped off the bus, “let’s get a couple ‘a things straight.” She nodded, fighting the urge to smile at being called “squirt” by the guy who was, just yesterday in Vicky’s mind, her kid brother. “First off: week one of Junior High is over. Last week I showed you around, introduced you to your teachers, and explained which school lunches do or don’t taste like barf.” Vicky giggled a bit, but stopped when he shot a glare at her.

“What I’m gettin’ at is, from now on I don’t want you following me around. Don’t sit at my table during lunch; don’t talk to me during recess; and don’t sit next to me on the bus anymore. I have my own friends I wanna hang out with.” He turned to face her imposingly. “So you better stick with the sixth-grade crowd, whether they’re ‘really your friends’ yet or not. I have to play Mr. Nice Big Brother all the time at home...and if you force me to play that game here, on MY territory, there WILL be hell to pay.” Little Victoria swallowed hard, somehow finding herself actually intimidated by Tommy.

“One last thing...” Thomas divulged, placing his arm around his junior’s shoulder. “You were really smart in baby school, but things are gonna be a little different now. See, I never make grades higher than B’s; so you’re gonna be a C student from now on, understand? I’m sick of you gettin’ all this attention for being brainy...I can see through the act, so drop it. You’re just as dumb as any other sixth grader, ain’t ya?”

Vicky frowned. “But you were a sixth grader just last year, so what gives you the right--“

“Don’t gimme that crap. Just do what I say, shrimp. Because if you start gettin’ better grades than me, I’m gonna tell EVERYONE at school your little secret.” The little girl gasped, fearful eyes fixed on Thomas. “Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. Mom and Dad may have convinced you that bedwetting is nothing to be ashamed of, but I bet you’ll change your tune about that when the whole world knows.” He snickered. “I’ve been saving this leverage for years, waiting for the day you arrived at MY school. I’m surprised you never saw it coming, knowing me. Anyway, you’re gonna do everything I just told ya...” warned Thomas, lowering his voice to a whisper, “...if you value your social life, that is.” With a smirk, he gave Vicky a rough slap on the back and headed into the main building for his first class. For nearly a minute she stood dumbfounded on the steps of Meadowbrook Middle School.

Wow, mused the bewildered Vicky, since when is my adorable baby brother such an insufferable douchebag? She began to wonder why, if the Hopes’ magic were trying to create an ideal world for her younger self, there would be such disheartening anomalies: dear friends who didn’t remember her at all; kid brothers exchanged for big bullies…

What exactly have I gotten myself into? she worried, an ominous fear rising in her heart.

At that moment the warning bell rang; only two minutes until class started. This brought Vicky back into focus, and she quickly realized that she didn’t know where any of her classes were. Oh great, thought young Victoria with a sigh, looks like another crummy day is in store. She felt an oncoming wave of disappointment, and wondered if there would ever be any lasting relief.

Then she felt a tap on her shoulder. “Um, Vicky? Why’re you just standin’ there?”

Turning her head, Vicky was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar--and younger--face: “...Maddy?”

“Well yeah, of course I’m Maddy!” She noticed the look of confusion on Vicky’s face. “Is something wrong, V?”

Vicky’s expression, much like her spirits, lifted at that very moment. “N-no, everything’s fine, Maddy,” she responded with a friendly chuckle.

“Alrighty,” chimed the smiling Maddy, “then let’s get to class! There’s a quiz in Math today, y’know.” So hand-in-hand the two girls scrambled off to what would surely be a wonderful day of sixth grade.

***

“I’m having such a great time!” Vicky exclaimed to Maddy as they seated themselves by an old oak tree during recess. It was astonishing for Vicky: after several failed attempts to reinvent her life, this morning was a breath of fresh air. Aside from Tommy’s threats, this had so far been a perfect day...exactly what Vicky had hoped for in a second childhood.

Maddy’s enthusiasm was no less apparent than Vicky’s. “I’m having a great time too,” she said with a giggle. Suddenly she was struck with an idea. “Here,” she said to Vicky as she dug a hand-mirror out of her book bag, “hold this.” Vicky nodded and steadily held the mirror in place, grinning when she saw Maddy take out some bands and start bunching her hair into pigtails.

“How’d you do on the Math quiz this morning?” asked Maddy as she fastened one of the bands around her hair.

“I got a hundred,” replied Vicky excitedly. “You?”

“Ninety-five,” Maddy said with a smirk. “I got one wrong on purpose.”

“We’re pretty smart, aren’t we Maddy?”

“Smarter than Tommy, that’s for sure.”

Vicky laughed softly at the understatement as Maddy finished putting her hair into bunches. When she saw how cute Maddy looked, Vicky’s eyes lit up. “C-can you do my hair too?”

Madison beamed. “Of course!” She sat behind Vicky and began working the smaller girl’s smooth red hair into two braids. “Y’know,” Maddy observed as she twisted Vicky’s hair around, “I’m really glad we’re friends.”

Young Victoria chuckled lightly. “Me too. You understand me more than anyone, it’s like...”

“Like we’ve known each other for longer than somebody would think?”

Vicky stalled. “Y-yes, you took the words right out of my mouth,” she responded with apparent confusion.

“Hehe, yeah,” Maddy said with enthusiasm, “I know you.” After finishing off the first braid with a sky blue bow, she put a warm hand on Vicky’s shoulder. “You’re my best friend, Vicky. Really.”

Victoria sighed, and turned to face Madison with a weak smile. “You’re my only friend, Maddy.”

“...Really?”

“Really.”

Madison put the hair on hold and moved to sit facing Victoria. “Just like Freshman year, right?”

“...oh my god, you remember that? How is that even po...” She stopped. It only took a moment for Vicky to realize what was going on. “D-do you mean you, um...you’ve been...”

“Using Hopes? Guilty as charged, babe.”

All at once, Victoria threw her arms around Madison, nearly in tears with joy. “Madison! I’m, I’m so glad I still...“

“That’s Maddy from now on, V,” said the pigtailed preteen warmly.

“R-right, Maddy.” For a few brief seconds, they looked at each other with a sense of true understanding. “So, I mean,” continued Vicky as she fought off a sniffle, “I’m so glad I still have someone I can relate to on a mature level, someone who knows me like you do.”

“Weeeell...” said Maddy to the ecstatic Vicky, “I’m glad for that too, but right now I think we should get to know each other on a more...immature level, if you know what I mean?”

Vicky giggled youthfully. “Yeah, you’re right. Hey, can you finish my hair?”

Maddy nodded with glee and handed Vicky the hand mirror, so she could watch the hair progress going on behind her. For the first minute they could only grin and chuckle, basking in the freedom of the moment. Finally Maddy broke the ice. “So how did you get into this whole Hope thing, Vicky?”

“Well, without going into too much detail, my life was getting harder and harder and I was just looking for a way out. Saw an advert online about this great, life-changing product...” Vicky sighed lightly. “I missed my dad so much, like you wouldn’t believe...and with everything else the way it was, I just wanted to start fresh. But the Freshman thing didn’t work out as well as I thought it would, so...”

“So you went a little younger,” finished Maddy with a smile. Vicky nodded, returning the smile, as Maddy completed the hairstyling with the second sky blue bow. “There we go. You look really pretty with your red hair like this...just like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, I’d say.”

Vicky admired Maddy’s handiwork in the mirror before turning and giving her another big hug. “Thanks so much, Maddy, it’s awesome!” She let out a comfortable sigh as she reclined against the towering oak tree. A few seconds were spent watching the clouds roll by; then, after thinking a bit, she then turned to face Maddy with a question of her own. “What about you, Maddy? What made you get into Hopes?”

With a light chuckle, Maddy scooted closer to her friend. “Well, it’s kind of a secret. Promise you won’t tell?”

“Not a soul,” replied Vicky, her interest piqued.

“Okay, well...” Maddy’s eyes shone with a light of naughtiness. “I bought Hopes for two reasons. The first is that I actually kinda like wearing...” She looked around nervously.

“...Diapers?”

“Shh!...well, yeah. Ever since I got out of them, I wanted to get back in. So one day I did, and it became my secret hobby.” Vicky responded with slow nodding; Maddy blushed furiously. “Hey, you can’t make fun of me for it. Tell me this, when you put on the Hopes for the first time didn’t they feel wonderful?”

Vicky didn’t even have to think about it; she couldn’t deny it. “Well yes, they did. The second time too.”

“There ya go. And the other reason was that I thought it’d be cool to be little again.”

Vicky giggled. “You thought right, this is pretty cool!”

“I know!” Maddy’s eyes were full of excitement. “ And something else I’ve noticed is that the Hopes are regressing with us; they look and feel more babyish on me right now than they did on the first night! Did you realize that?”

At this Vicky cocked her head. “W-wait, right now?”

Maddy gave a cute smile as she lifted her skirt, displaying her comfy-looking Hope to Vicky. “Yep, right now.”

“B-but, the manual! It said not to use them during the day...“

“So I don’t use them. I just wear them. No harm in that, right?”

“...aaahh!” Vicky shook her head, chuckling. “Nope, guess not.” Suddenly her expression grew more somber. “Aw, that reminds me—speaking of harm. Tommy said I have to be a C student now, or else he’ll tell the whole school that I wear Hopes to bed. And I got an A on that quiz...”

At this Maddy took one of Vicky’s hands in both of her own. “Hey, calm down. It’ll be alright.” A few seconds later her face lit up. “Saaayyy...I have a great idea!”

“Huh? What?” questioned curious young Vicky.

“Why don’t you just wear Hopes to school like I do? If you publicize them yourself, Tommy has no ammunition to use against you. And besides, you know how good they feel. You have no idea how nice it is having them on all day long, ya feel so…perky...and juvenile…and liberated…” She eyed Vicky with an expression that asked, Whaddya think?

Vicky pondered this for a second. I’m not sure...Do I want to feel babyish all day? I mean yeah, it’s a very comfortable sensation... She smiled, her face indicating eagerness. Maybe I would like it. When I looked at myself in the mirror this morning, seeing how young I looked, it was really exciting...I have no idea why, though.

“Well?” Maddy looked a little anxious.

“It actually sounds like a good idea, and I think I would enjoy it. But I don’t know what the reason is. I’d never even considered wearing...diapers again, before I opened that package of Hopes. Yet something about them was alluring, I just had to try them on, the feeling was so...”

“Hey, say no more,” interrupted Maddy. Why don’t you just try it? Instead of wearing one to bed tonight, save a pair for tomorrow. Put it on in the morning, come to school with it, maybe even flash it at Tommy to let him know he can’t manipulate you.”

Victoria stood up confidently. “Y’know what? I’ll do it!”

“That’s what I wanted to hear!” exclaimed Madison with a smile. “And don’t worry, I’ll be wearing them too. So if anything happens, like someone sees ‘em and starts teasing, I’ll be right there to back you up.”

Vicky snickered. “As if the insults of actual sixth-graders could get to me.” Maddy chuckled along with her. Just then the clamor of the school bell pervaded the air; recess was over.

Maddy grinned. “Back to class. Glad we have a plan for tomorrow. Let’s make the rest of today memorable; it marks a new chapter in our lives, and in our friendship.”

Once more Vicky took Maddy’s hand, returning her best friend’s grin, and together they skipped merrily back to class, seeming younger schoolgirls than they were...on the outside, anyway.

***

That night Victoria finished her homework early, and after an enjoyable dinner she took to her room. Curious about the intricacies of the Hopes, she searched her room for the manual; however, in this reality it was nowhere to be found. The day she read the instructions seemed so distant, but the important thing she remembered was not to wet them during the day. As long as I manage that, I’ll be fine. She was really looking forward to the following day; for some reason, the idea of living life as a twelve-year-old, who looks ten, and wears undies appropriate for three, was...undeniably appealing. And the reason was still uncertain: perhaps the magic of the Hopes themselves, perhaps the persuasion of Maddy, perhaps some factor she hadn’t even considered.

Whatever the logic or illogic of the circumstances, Vicky couldn’t wait for school the next morning. It would be a day of relaxation with her best friend, a continuation of the simple life where love is pure and honest...the very thing she had wished for. She would have to be careful to preserve the peacefulness she felt, but in her heart Vicky felt a strange new sense of resolve. Somehow she knew that things would work out in her favor, she just knew it.

So, feeling the exhaustion which typically follows a great day setting in, she slipped on her glittery nickname jammies—atop panties emblazoned with the face of Princess Jasmine—and snuggled up under the covers. Vicky truly was loving being young, more than she could have imagined. She didn’t realize it at the time, but it would not be long until her newfound desire for childishness would take her much, much farther than she expected.

 

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