✅1️⃣ | Hypnosis Doesn't Work Like That!

66: A Whole New World to Understand

The tour was interesting. Adi was with a group of students who were going to be studying different subjects organised by the Media Sciences faculty. So they started out by walking along a wide street which was entirely filled by pedestrians, and the two girls who seemed to be leading the group pointed out some of the main student residences, but before long they were pointing out the Custer Building, which housed theatres and editing suites, and the Zahl Building, where a majority of their classes might be held.

Adi tried to make note of all the building names as they passed, but she didn't know which ones would really be important to find. She was sure that the college could have just given her a big list of place names to find, but after ten minutes of this tour she was starting to realise it wasn't as simple as that. A lot of the architecture here seemed to be a little uncertain, like the difference between an alley and an open plaza wasn't quite clear cut, and what looked like a courtyard within a building from one side might open onto the street at the other. A lot of the paths they followed were gently sloping, and it was easy to come out onto a bridge that stretched over roads two or three floors below without realising you'd even changed levels.

"This is a weird path," the group leader, Cherri, was explaining. "It looks like you can just go down that stairwell to get across to the Maverick Centre, but it doesn't work like that. You can get into a few levels, but not the main ground level. So if you need to be on the other side of Arceus Road you actually have to go up first and take the bridge over to Maverick, and then go out on the ground floor. All the storefronts below us, you can only get into the shops."

Someone else muttered that the place was like a three-dimensional maze, and there was a general murmur of agreement. Adi found herself wondering if it would be fun to get lost here; to just wander around and see how many different places she could work out how to get to, if she had time when there wasn't any rush. With all the sweeping curves, and trees, sculptures, and fountains that doubled as signposts, and railings and balconies overlooking the most picturesque parts of the city, she could imagine that exploring would be a whole lot of fun.

"It can be confusing. I was actually lost up here when I first asked Annabelle for directions," Cherri gestured to the other guide standing beside her, who waved nervously. "That was the first time we spoke, and I'm so glad we did."

"Me too. But I think it's not that easy to get lost now. There are signs wherever two major routes meet, and they point to all the main department buildings even from the far side of campus. If you're in a smaller building then you'll know which of the major ones it's next to, so you can follow the signs until you're in the right area. And, of course, the signposts are colour coded to match the different department colours on the main map. So most of the media buildings are clustered around Zahl, and they're all buttercup yellow. So you need to get to a name you don't recognise, you can just look to a signpost that's the right colour."

"I'm glad I didn't know that in my first year," Cherri grinned. "Life might have been a whole lot different. But you guys, you'll have a bit of a head start, I guess."

Then they were going to another building, that their guides didn't mention the name of, so they could see what the residences were like on the inside. It was a big part of what drew so many students to Moistville, knowing that there was a good chance of living in a state-of-the-art apartment Adi hadn't thought about it that much, she'd mostly chosen Moistville because it was close enough to easily get to, while still being far enough that it would seem inconvenient for Mom to make her travel every day. Adi wanted a place of her own.

Before they walked around to the pink sector of the city, though, someone said they needed the bathroom. A couple of others giggled, but they weren't in the majority. So Cherri guided them all down to street level via a rather convoluted path, and held open the door to a big chain coffee shop. There they could use the facilities, and those who didn't need to pee yet could get themselves another drink to sip on as they carried on walking. It was quite a sunny day, and the heat would probably have felt oppressive if it wasn't moderated by dappled shade from trees, and various glass sculptures that cast multi-coloured shadows across the path. So everyone had either just finished a drink or was thinking about getting another one.

Adi waited patiently until one of the stalls was free, and then hung her new bag on the back of the door while she could change her diaper. It wasn't quite so convenient in the tiny space available, but she was starting to get used to the process now. She rolled up her skirt so it was tight around her midriff, and then held out a diaper so she could press it against the wall with her butt. Then she pulled it up between her legs, fastened the tapes at the front, and she was ready to spend a minute or two adjusting her clothes to make sure nobody could see that she was wearing one.

She couldn't believe how it had got to be second nature now. It was hard to believe that she'd only been wearing diapers for a week. And in that time, she hadn't wet herself more than two or three times in a day. Actually using her diapers was the exception more than the rule, but she'd got used to wearing them so quickly. It didn't feel strange anymore to have the bulk between her legs, and she wondered if she might feel like she was partly naked in another few days when she didn't need them any longer.

With that thought on her mind as she tweaked her skirt back into position, she gritted her teeth a little and tried to think mean things about Britney. Her friend, who was supposed to be helping her to avoid getting triggered, had said her name twice today without prompting. Without Brit's interference, Adi knew that she wouldn't have needed to change her diaper at all. She didn't even know if she could forgive that, because in her mind there was no way it could have been an accident.

But then, she thought, what would she have done without that trigger? Would she have spent the whole day feeling as nervous as she'd been first thing in the morning? Would she have been so jittery that she couldn't be sure she was with the right group? Would she have been looking at anyone and everyone, trying to work out who the leaders were, until she made someone feel uncomfortable? There was no doubt that just having confidence that everyone else would know where to go had turned out to be a productive strategy.

"That's it, then," she whispered to herself. "As soon as this trigger wears off, I'll find one to help me be calm when I want to be. Like Britney uses. Why couldn't she have given me one of those?"

The answer was obvious, anyway. There hadn't been time to actually hypnotise her, and Adi knew she would have reacted with disbelief if Brit had even suggested listening to a new file. So the only way to get those suggestions working at short notice was to incorporate it into the baby behaviours she already had. She couldn't blame Britney for that. But she'd have to insist in future that her friends knew to let her use the bathroom before saying her name. She didn't want to be walking around in a wet diaper all day, just so that she could make decisions with a little less worry.

Author's Note: This chapter came out way too long, so I cut it into 3 pieces. If it seems like there's not much happening, that's probably why. Hope it's not too obvious which characters are going to be a big part of Adi's life later on and who won't.