I woke up and had to pee. I pulled the covers off of me and got out of my bed. I went down the hall and opened the bathroom door. Closing it behind me I turned on the light. I went to the toilet and took down my pajama bottoms and underwear. I sat on the toilet and started to do my business. I started to look around when I noticed something was off. The colors of the bathroom were off. The floor was completely different. Even the walls were different. My house didn't look like this. This looked like when I was on the moon. This was the bathroom on the moon.
I finished doing my business and got cleaned up. I walked back out to the bedroom. I went to the bed to see someone was there. Someone had gotten into my bed while I was gone, but that didn't make sense. I was only gone for a minute or two. I pulled the covers off of the person in my bed. It was me.
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I woke up screaming. I didn't know where I was. I sat up and the covers fell down to my waist. I was hot. I couldn't breathe. I grabbed the bear that was next to me. I held it tight trying to calm down. I knew it had to just be a nightmare.
The door banged open, and a giant person blocked almost all the light from the other room. I screamed again cowering behind my bear. The light turned on and I could see that it was Bear in the door.
"Max, are you ok? I heard you scream." He came over to me and knelt down beside me and the bed. He made a weird face but kept looking at me.
"I had a nightmare." I said, "But it was weird too. I was at home and when I came back from the bathroom there was someone in my bed, but it was me in my bed and... and..."
That's when Bear gave me a hug and was telling me "It's going to be ok."
I pulled away a little bit and said, "Bear, how did I get into bed? It was just a minute ago that I laid down. You said that you would be here in five minutes. And what's that smell?" I wrinkled my nose but still wanted answers to my questions.
"Well Max, I did come in about 3 minutes after we talked. You were passed out. So, I put you in bed. You didn't ask, but you have been napping for about 2 hours. And luckily for us both, I put you in a diaper. I think that smell is when you were dreaming you went to the bathroom. So..."
I pulled up the blanket and saw that yes, I had a diaper on. And yes, I needed another shower. I growled. Then looked at Bear. "I need another shower really quick, but do I have clothes?" I put the blanket back down to hide my shame.
"Yes, you have clean clothes, both Little ones and big ones. So, it's your choice what you wear." Bear looked at my situation and asked, "Would you like me to help you to the bathroom? That way you don't accidentally make a mess on your way." I hung my head in shame. But I agreed to his help.
15 minutes later I was out of the shower, again. I was in a towel walking to the bedroom, again. I looked around and Bear was nowhere to be seen. However, on my bed was 2 sets of clothes. Like Bear said, one was for a Little and the other was not. I walked to the living room door and peeked out. The only one I saw there was Bear. I had to make a decision on what to wear and I wasn't sure which would be best.
"Um Bear, could you help me with something please?" I asked. He got up and came into my room. "I don't know which one I should wear. I mean, I'm not Little right now, but what if I slip in front of everyone out there? But I don't want to be treated like a little kid if I'm not one. What do I do?" I was so worried about this. Well not worried worried, more like concerned.
"Well, if you're worried about slipping then definitely wear protection. You wouldn't want to have an accident, right?" We looked at each other and I nodded. "So that's step one." Bear put the diaper to one side and the underwear to the other. "Now remember that we've got your back in all of this. Also remember that you got up on a table and announced your secret to everyone. Nobody but you had the guts to do that. I don't think that anyone will be treating you any way you don't want to be treated. So, with that being said, why don't we pick out something that would be comfortable for you?"
I thought about what he just said. It only took a moment, then I said. "Fine, I'll wear that outfit then." I pointed to the Little outfit. Then I remembered I had help last time. "Bear, could you help me get it on? I'm not small right now, but it is still hard for me to, well, you know, put some things on by myself." I wasn't sure how to feel about this but I knew I could trust him. And it wouldn't be the first time he put a diaper on me or got me dressed for that matter.
"Not a problem, Max, happy to help, but would you mind answering a question for me?" He patted the bed and I got on.
I laid down and he started to get me dressed for the day. I grabbed the bear and put it over my face holding it tight. With a muffled "Ask" he continued.
"Can you make yourself slip? I mean this would be the perfect time to be small. You wouldn't care that I was getting you dressed. It would feel normal for a 2-year-old to get help getting dressed, even just for 5 to 10 minutes."
I took the bear off my face and rested it, and my arms on my chest. "You know what, you ask the most complicated questions. The answer to that one is, yes and no. It's not like a light switch, but more like a dimmer switch if anything. I mean, think about it. Sometimes it goes from nothing to full blast in an instant, but most of the time it builds up. Something starts it or triggers it. Then over time it just gets harder and harder to hold it back, then, full blown Little. As for turning it off... now there's the kicker. Most of the time, a good long sleep, sometimes a nap will do. And then sometimes, I just snap out of it, but forcing myself into being small... I just don't know. Not really. I guess I never really thought about it." I shrugged.
"And you're dressed." Bear said.
I looked at myself. "Wait, what? How'd you do that?" I was very confused. Just a moment ago I was in just a towel. Now, I was filly dressed socks and shoes included. I didn't even notice getting my shirt on. And I would have had to put my teddy bear down for that, but no, my bear was in my arms.
"I'm a Jedi. I used a Jedi mind trick on you. No big deal." He said with a smile and a wave, like it was no big deal, which it was. "Now come on. Let's go have some fun. You walking or am I carrying you?" He put his hand out to help me get off the bed.
I took it and hopped down. "I'm not a little kid. At least right now, I can walk." I took 2 steps and almost fell on my face.
Bear caught me before I could hurt myself. I looked up at him smiling sheepishly. "But it would be nice to hold on to something until I get used to these shoes."
He smiled down at me. "Would my hand do?"
I took his hand and said, "Thank you."
"O yeah, I almost forgot. Hold still and let me get this on you." He pulled out a backpack that looked like a black bear, all soft and fluffy, but with a zipper and 3 straps: two for the shoulders and one across the chest. He put it on me and tightened the straps. Now I had three bears with me. "Remember, Max, this bear has eyes and ears, but it can't talk to you. However, it will watch your back, just like I do." I just smiled and nodded at him in conformation.
He took my hand and we walked out of my bedroom. As we went through the living room, he grabbed my diaper bag saying, "Just in case". We walked out the door and down the hall to the cafeteria. I only tripped on my own feet about 3 times. I was glad that he was beside me, making sure that I wouldn't fall and hurt myself. I felt like a little kid every time I tripped, but not in a bad way. Just knowing someone was there to catch if I fell was a comfort to me.
We got to the doors to the cafeteria and saw Panther there. "Hi guys, before you go in, I have something for Max here."
I looked up at him and said "Hi."
He knelt down to my level and asked, "Are you small or big right now?"
I huffed and said "Big." Then I looked at Bear and said, "See what I mean?" He just shook his head and smiled.
"Good." Panther continued. "That's what I wanted to hear. I know it's going to be a problem for you, so I came up with an idea and everyone's on board with it. I just need your approval first..." He attached something to my backpack strap that went across my chest but didn't let me see it. "Now, when you're big, then don't worry about this. But, when you're small and don't want to talk to people, put this in your mouth. That way people know you're small and they will leave you alone." He opened his hand to show me a pacifier. "Now I know this is not perfect, but it's the best that I could come up with on short notice. I figured that you wouldn't want a sign hanging over your head or around your neck saying how old you feel, so I was hoping that this would be ok."
I slowly and gently took the pacifier out of Panther's hand. It was a little bigger than a normal child's one and the picture on the back of it was a little black kitten that was lying down. On the top it said, 'Back off' and on the bottom it said, 'I'm relaxing'. I couldn't help but smile at it. My vision started to get blurry as I looked up at him and said, "Thanks. I love it."
Bear let go of my hand as I was moving forward to give Panther a hug. I tripped over my feet again and ended up diving at Panther. He caught me and I squeezed him tight. My eyes overflowed with happy tears as we hugged. I couldn't control them; I couldn't stop them. So, I let them flow. I could feel Panther rubbing my back trying to calm me down, but I didn't need to be calmed down. I just needed to let them out, to let go of all the extra emotions that were holding me back.
This is one of those switches I told Bear about, the start or end of being Little. Only this time I knew it was the beginning and at some point in time today I would slip and be a little kid, but maybe, just maybe I could have fun this time.
I pulled away from Panther but kept a hold of him. "Thank you." I said again. This time wasn't for the pacifier, it was for the gift of him caring about me. I think he got it.
"Any time, my Big, Little kitten." He said, then he bopped me on the nose.
I stared at him, crossed my arms, and loudly said "I not wittle!" I covered my mouth as quickly as I could, but it was too late. Both of these guys started to snicker at me. I cleared my throat and said, "I'm not Little right now, however, today, when I do become Little, I'm going to try to enjoy myself. And I will use this pacifier. I might even want a bottle or two. And I'm not going to be ashamed or embarrassed about it. Today is a relaxing day for everyone."
I got an evil grin on my face. "Except for the grownups that have to take care of wittle kids like me. I hope I not too much fo' ou to handle." I put the pacifier in my mouth. I got past Panther and ran into the cafeteria.
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Samantha's POV
The doors to the cafeteria banged open so loudly that everyone heard them. The whole place went silent trying to figure out why. My brother came running in holding his bear and sucking on a pacifier. Everyone was told that if he had that in his mouth then he was a little kid and should be treated as such, but nobody expected him to have it in right now. We were all told that he had a nap and he should be big when he got here.
He ran across the room and spotted our table. He went between two people that were having a conversation and made a beeline straight for us. When he was halfway to the table, I could see that both Panther and Bear were starting to run after him. Max made it to the table before the two were halfway across the cafeteria. He spit out the pacifier and said, "It's time to play." He pointed to the other guys and said, "Hoods and gloves on." Then he grabbed the kitten and handed it to me. I took it not knowing what was going on. The guys where scrambling to get their costumes on as he said, "Big Sis, you ready to play?" He pointed at dad and said, "No cheating." He grabbed my hand pulled me up and said as loudly as he could "The wild animals are loose! Everybody run!!" He shoved the pacifier back in his mouth and we ran.
We passed a lot of people. As we did, we would tell them we were all playing tag. After about 2 minutes of running dad piped up on the PA system. "A giant game of tag has started in the cafeteria. If you get tagged by the giant animals, please take a seat at one of the tables. If you do not want to play, take a seat at one of the tables. Let's have some fun by order of Max." Then he cut off with a laugh.
Everyone was either staring at us or at dad. Dad set down his tablet, got up from the table, and ran from the remaining 3 animals that were still getting their costumes on. Bear and Panther finally got to the table just as dad ran away in our direction.
The whole place was so silent, you could have heard a pin drop back on earth. 3 second later, everyone in the place got up and ran. Not one wanted to miss out on the fun. I could hear from the kitty in my hand, "I'm going to get you, Sam."
Max's bear said, "I'm coming for you my little cub."
When dad got to us, he was holding the wolf and it said, "Here I come, boss man." We all laughed even though we knew they were serious.
After 30 minutes over 3 quarters of the people were sitting down, dad included. Max and I were still up and running along with 10 other people. The odd thing was, every time they got close to Max, someone would help him out. They would take the hit so he could get away. One woman went as far as to step right out in front of Bear. That one turned out to be a bad idea. Bear couldn't stop in time, so he just grabbed her up and sat her down at a table. That is, as soon as he slowed down enough.
10 minutes later it was down to just Max and I. Everyone had been cheering the whole time. There was nothing else going on except the game of tag for the last 40 minutes. And we were tired. "Max, you still good?" We were both panting.
"I tired but good." Max gasped out.
The guys were not looking good at all. They were slow and they started dragging their feet. Who could blame them for being tired? They were still in those costumes. They had to be really hot in there. I think Max saw it too, because the next thing I heard from him was him yelling. "Hoods and paws off. No dying on my watch, unless you big bad animal friends of mine want to surrender?"
They took off their heads and their paws. When they did, I could see them drenched in sweat. They walked over to our table and put them down. Bear had a quick conversation with my dad, then he turned to us. All five of the guys lined up in a row side by side. They got down on their knees and we could hear the PA system click on.
"Samantha and Max, on behalf of me and my me, we surrender. Boot camp wasn't this hard." The crowd went wild. Screaming and yelling came from all over the place. I started to walk over to our table and to the guys that made this day really fun. As I was walking, I noticed that Max wasn't following, so I stopped and turned around to see what he was doing. He had hopped up on a table and was talking in to his bear's ear.
A moment later the PA system came back on again. Only this time I heard Max's voice. "Um... hello" Everyone quieted down to hear Max. I could see him turn red as all eyes were on him. "Hi, um... I don't accept your surrender. Um... But I will accept a tie. I mean, you 5 guys got all these people, and you should have been able to get us too. So, um...If you surrender, um...so do I." Then he jumped off the table and ran to the guys. At the last second, he tripped over his own feet. That sent him flying right into Bear. I don't think that Bear was faking when he fell backwards from the impact. The next thing I hear from the PA system is Max laughing and saying "My big sis wins."
And that is how I won a game of tag on the moon.