Riley

15

Riley and Sally re-entered the classroom twenty minutes after the start of class. Mr. Johnson did not shoot them for being late; his priority was to question Theo and Nella, who sat on either side of the desk doing the exercises in strict silence. Ten minutes later, they returned to their seats satisfied and happy with their A's.

"What happened to you?" whispered Theo to his deskmate Riley. (Sally sat in the last row, not the first like them.)

Riley could not tell whether she wanted to answer him or be silent. Her thoughts converged only on Sally. She longed to be her seatmate. To make her feel less lonely and misunderstood. To help her out of that daily torture.

"Riley? Did you hear me?" Theo was worried.

"Today meeting at my house at four o'clock," she told him thoughtfully, resting her gaze on Sally. "I suggest you do your homework before you come, maybe my parents will want to have you as dinner guests."

The friend imitated her movement. Something must have happened while they were gone, he told himself. The tone of his voice did not bode well.

"What happened?"

His seatmate did not look away from her; at that moment she was writing in her notebook.

"Katrine," she replied involuntarily aloud.

"Quiet, Miss Bishop!" Mr. Johnson called her back.

She did not let him repeat it twice.

*

The first thing her mother did upon her return was to check her underwear. After removing her backpack from her shoulders and her jacket, her mother led her to her room and laid her on the changing table.

"I did very little," Riley said as her mother studied them.

"I noticed that," commented her mother. "Diaper or pull-ups?"

"Pull-ups," she replied. "As long as I keep them dry, I don't want you to diaper me."

"If that's what you want, honey, " she slipped them off, then wiped her with a washcloth. "Diaper Trio meeting today? "

"Yes," she replied with a smile. "Can you believe Sally is as interested in diapers as I am?"

"I believe you," she said, then slathered the cream on her. "I expect you to respect her as she respects you."

"Cross my heart!" and she did.

Her mother put her down from the changing table and put the pull-up on him. She concluded by saying, "I knew you would. Now let's go eat."

*

As was arranged at school, Theo and Sally arrived at four o'clock. They were greeted by her mother, with whom they exchanged some small talk. It turned into a discussion about Mrs. Heller, and Sally had to abruptly stop that conversation. Upon reaching Riley's room, the meeting of the Diaper Trio could finally begin.

"Today's session will be dense, so please go to the bathroom before you end up with wet underwear or diapers," Sally announced, jumping on Riley's bed as if she were in her room.

Riley and Theo left, went to the bathroom - first she went, then he went - and returned to Sally.

"Sally, don't you have to go?" asked Theo curiously.

Sally giggled nervously. "I'm fine, Theo. I made it before I left the house."

Riley closed the door and took a seat next to Theo; the two of them were the "audience" and Sally the presenter, as well as moderator, of this meeting. In fact, she was the one who started that session: "Let's start with the hottest issue: we were seen that day. Someone saw Riley with wet pants."