✅1️⃣ | Hypnosis Doesn't Work Like That!

64: Everything is so Easy for Me

"Is it half past yet?" Adi asked again, pacing nervously. There was barely any space to move, because hopeful high school students were filling the whole of Glaceon Square, but she could still bounce from one foot to the other, conjuring up mental images of the worst thing that could happen.

She told herself she didn't need to be so nervous now. Britney had looked at her hypnotic suggestions and found a solution. Something Adi should have thought about herself, but hadn't been able to find that shift of perspective. She'd tried so hard to fight the suggestions, but never considered going with the flow a little to mitigate her problems. Now she knew that when an interviewer said her name, she wouldn't be panicking or flustered. She would be able to keep any irrelevant worries out of her mind for up to an hour, if the trigger worked like she hoped, so she could focus on the things she could do to make a good impression. Whether it would be strong enough to let her get over the embarrassment of wetting herself in public, she had no idea. But it would be a step in the right direction.

But none of that made a difference now. She wouldn't be able to worry when the worst happened, but she was still dreading that moment. If she'd been watching a speech by one of the staff who might be teaching her next year, then she might have been able to focus on the words. But just waiting was more terrifying than anything else she could imagine, and she didn't know a way to get over it.

She could at least use the bathroom again before the speech started. The smallest action that could make things a little easier, making sure she wouldn't be peeing too much the first time she heard her name. Ever since the fiasco on Saturday, she'd found herself trying to keep her bladder as empty as possible, to prevent any more emergencies. But this time Britney grabbed her wrist as she turned and started back towards the nearest public conveniences.

"Is something wrong?" Britney asked. She sounded more like an overprotective mother than a best friend. But before she could say that, Adi realised that Britney had been acting like her mother since they got out of the car. Helping her to calm down, finding directions for her when she was too flustered to think, and making sure that she'd done everything she needed to do.

"I just need the bathroom," Adi explained. "I'll be right back." She started to move again. Buyt Britney's hands didn't move.

"No you don't. You only went ten minutes ago, and they're probably about to start. You're nervous, you're panicking."

"I need to–"

"You need to not run away. You need to stay here and wait for the presentation to start, so you know what your schedule is for today. You've got your phone, right? And the calendar so you can note down where you have to be at what time?"

"Yeah, but what if–"

"You need to calm down. Please, trust me and everything will be fine. Look at me, and listen."

Adi was still twitching nervously, but she turned around. Brit put one hand on each of her shoulders, and looked her right in the eyes. For a second Adi wondered if she might be going to tell her another stress-relief baby behaviour, but that wouldn't even have been helpful because it would be at least half an hour before any of the college staff would be reading out a list of names.

Adi met her gaze, and did her best to calm down.

"It's easy to relax if you know the right tricks," Britney said. Adi just nodded, and wondered what those tricks would be. "Calm down, Adelaide. Just relax."

Adelaide kept on nodding as she felt a tiny spurt of pee soak into her diaper. She'd been so worried, but she hardly needed to go at all. And now she didn't even know why it had bothered her so much. Nobody could tell if she was wetting her diaper, they wouldn't be offended. There wasn't time to get changed now, but that didn't matter. She didn't need to think about that, because Britney would find a break in their schedules for her before she risked leaking and revealing her secret.

She turned back towards the stage on the West side of the square, where a group of grown-ups were already bustling around like something was about to start. Adi knew that all she could do now was wait, and wonder about what they were going to tell her. She didn't need to worry about anything else yet, she didn't need to worry at all, because she had someone to take care of the hard questions for her.

She leaned back just a little, and felt strong hands on her shoulders move to hold her in a half hug, soothing away any worries that she didn't need to feel. As there was a squeal of feedback from a microphone being connected, she knew that it was so much easier to just wait, and she couldn't be more grateful to the person who'd made this all possible.

"Thank you," she whispered as a tall woman with red hair strode to the centre of the stage. "Thank you, Mommy."