✅1️⃣ | Hypnosis Doesn't Work Like That!

139: It Can't Hurt if it's Only a Game

Adi felt like she was bubbling over with excitement, and every time she showed someone her new socks it only got more intense. She couldn't just show them off and do a twirl, she had to dance around the room introducing the bear and the bunny to each person individually. By the time she was halfway around the room, she was asking people to stroke the lovely stripy fleece of her socks, and giggling like an idiot when someone petted the animals' stubby ears. By the time everyone had seen how cute she could be, she felt like she was drunk or something, or just giddy and hyperactive like a real child.

She was only just aware of the changes in her own mood. And when she could see it, she didn't think about it for long enough in between bursts of pride and excitement.

"Come on, Adelaide," Toni grabbed her as she passed again, "You've still got presents to open, haven't you?"

"Oh, yeah," Adi giggled and sat back in Toni's lap. A voice in the back of her mind told her that she wanted to get away from this, and hide her childlike self from her Mom and her friends. This wasn't the behaviour of a girl who'd listened to some hypnosis file for a dare, or who was dealing with those suggestions as best she could. She was acting like this was actually something she wanted to do, and she didn't want anyone to get that impression. Even if, as Toni was helping her to see, it was actually a lot of fun.

That little voice could safely be ignored for a while, because there were only her friends here and they were all expecting to see her act up llike this. They were getting what she wanted, so she knew that once she was back to acting normally she could pretend it had all been playing along for their amusement. Or a weird way to celebrate, not something she'd ever do in her normal life with her girlfriend. All of her worries were adult problems, and she could trust the grown-ups to look after those for her. She could play for now, and she certainly wanted to open her presents.

She grabbed the first one, and struggled with the tape. She couldn't find the right place to start opening, and ended up clawing at different parts of the package until she managed to tear the outer layer of wrapping. She was sure her coordination wasn't usually this bad. Was it an effect of so many people saying her name every few minutes? She'd already lost count of the number of times she'd wet her diaper this afternoon. Or maybe Toni had told her that if she was a baby she'd have less coordination, and struggle to hold things right. She couldn't remember half the things that had been said since she came down from being changed, so it was entirely possible that this was something her girlfriend expected her to enjoy.

And of course, she reminded herself with a gleeful laugh as the gift wrap finally split and disgorged a collection of rubber blocks onto the carpet, Toni was the smartest of all grown-ups. If Toni thought Adi might enjoy this, then it only made sense to give it a try before she said the special word.

The blocks were large and brightly coloured. They were printed with a texture that almost made them look like painted wood, but they clearly felt like rubber. Hard, but bouncy enough that they wouldn't hurt if she accidentally dropped one on her head or something.

"If you were a baby..." she heard Mom say, but she didn't pay attention to the rest of the words. The new present had already caught her attention, and she knew she had to build something to show everyone that she was still a big girl. She could spell a word using the letters on the side of the blocks, that would show how grown up she was.

She picked up the first block, stared at the letter on the side, and after a second or two identified it as a 'B'. She could do something with that, she was sure. She gripped it carefully and put it down in the middle of the coffee table, before turning her attention to the rest of the blocks and trying to think what letters she might need. Everyone else was just watching, but that was fine. Adi knew she would be able to impress them, she always did. She put the second block on top of the first, but it wasn't quite in the right place and tumbled off again. Still, she knew she'd done well, and started looking around for another letter to finish her word.

With her friends and family watching, Adi was determined to prove that she could be a big girl. And from the smiles on their faces, she was sure she was already doing well.