BabySofia

Thanks for the comments! 🙂 We'll see what happens! 🙂

That's not being a psychic, that's just being observant of this massive internet trail you've left asking for the loss of adulthood... And a blistered bottom...

Amanda is no fool! She can see the winds are blowing the wrong way right now. She's seen many a student get busted for things over the years too I'm sure! Thanks for the comments! 🙂

Hmmm... Hmm... magic spell'ish? She gets her baby maybe with the way she's rubbing her belly? Is that going to be a future Matthew inside there, or is he going to get to become the reckless child he never was...? Can't wait to see some insights into the place actually operating, it really does sound like an amazing place! The comments about the interactions of the new employees makes me wonder if the stones not at work on that too!

If she's not, someone else would have to be like even cooler! She's been awarded the closest thing to a Nobel in computer programming in that dimension. Has a building named in honor of her, and has whole branches of software that are due to her. I definitely think Emerson is hesitant to go toe-to-toe with her. There's a reason she can call President Barnes 'Ryan' and get away with it. To be fair, they once tried, but she and her family knocked them down to at least a draw. I wouldn't be surprised if she does... Edgar did go with Cameron to Benson and Stein, he just stayed behind for a good chunk of the mess in Ames. It's been long enough since then that Cameron is sitting on the Supreme Court. I'm pretty sure he's actually got his own partnership/firm going at this point. He appeared in Playing Doctor too, so he's doing some regular work in Ames. At the time of Cameron's mess with Addisons mom they all had to rush through getting credentials and joining the bar there. Thanks for the comments everyone! 🙂

Thanks for the comments! 🙂

No comment, but I'm about 104k past this point in my writing, and we're still not getting to the main point of things for a long while. I don't want to say I'm going to catch up with Personalias's 900k+ of Unfair... but I may be on that way. Good luck!!!!!! 🙂 Lol 🤣

RA is Residential Assistant (they were the 'adults' in the dorm room floor for us, kind of like a glorified camp counselor in my opinion). TAs are general Teacher Assistants in professors classes who get the pleasure of being their professors grunts for grading and things. We also had one Learning Assistant per dorm that was usually a grad student or something that was suppose to help with tutoring... Beth has certainly had some run-ins with the RA in her dorm before. That was who was in Reila's room.

Happy 4th of July! Chapter 146: Counsel and Tests BETH LOOKED UP at the woman, “I was going to go change her diaper? She asked me to?” “Is this true?” the woman asked. “Yes, ma’am. She’s my friend,” Carly replied. “Why not use one of the HoloChangers?” “They scare me,” Carly answered honestly. “Hmm… I don’t think this…” The woman was about to argue further when Amanda came from the hallway behind her. “Hi, my name is Doctor Westerfield, Carly is my granddaughter, and Beth is a close family friend. Is there something wrong?” Beth looked at the woman as she seemed to calculate her response. “It’s nice to see you, Doctor Westerfield; we met once; I’m Doctor Shapiro,” she told Amanda. Amanda just stared at her for a moment, “That wasn’t the question I asked. I asked if there was something wrong?” “Umm… I believed this girl was possibly abusing or forcing…” “She’s not,” Amanda said. “I…” “Girls, go ahead and go change Carly, please, and get to class. Doctor Shapiro and I are going to take a walk to my office.” Beth felt her veins freeze with the temperature of Amanda’s voice, “Okay, thanks.” Beth followed the advice and quickly left the building with Nikki close by her side. “That’s the new Dean?” Nikki asked. “Yes,” Carly told her. “Pleasant woman, isn’t she?” “I was curious if I was going to have to take care of her as a problem,” Nikki responded. “Somehow, I don’t think that conversation is going to be too pleasant?” “Honestly, I hope not,” Beth said. “I wish her well if she’s going to try and take on Amanda…” “I just hope I don’t end up a hostage,” Carly told her nervously. Beth cringed at that but nodded, “Don’t worry, with your grandma, along with my mom and dad, and Charlotte in your court…? I would put my money on Shapiro losing every time.” As they made it to the building, she could tell Carly was genuinely afraid – and that was strange to her. Carly had stood up to a whole gang of thugs more than twice her size, armed with knives and guns. Not a single moment had she seemed afraid then. Here? Carly was actually almost trembling as they reached Marconi Hall, and she carried her into the nearest bathroom to Carly’s class. Beth squeezed her tight and rubbed her back like an upset child, feeling a little guilty at that. Opening the bathroom door, she prepared to place her down on the changing table but stopped in just the nick of time! It looked like a warzone had exploded on the table. Bits of poop, smears, and more were all over the table, the walls next to it, and as Beth looked more closely, she saw it was also on the floor. She’d just missed stepping in it! ‘This is normally the cleanest changing table!’ she griped. “Carly, maybe we should try another bathroom?” “Beth, she only has three more minutes to get to class,” Nikki said. “Crap,” Beth said. She looked at the counter beside the sink and decided that Carly was small enough for her to change her there. Beth wasted no time in changing Carly and hugging her. “It’ll be okay, Carly. Just focus on your test; we’ll meet you in the lobby afterward.” Carly leaned into Beth’s hug, nodded, and said, “Thanks, Beth.” Beth placed her down on the ground and watched her walk in with less confidence than she’d ever seen the girl. Clearly, something was bothering her with everything – and Beth didn’t necessarily think that was unwarranted. She was a couple of minutes late to her Fields class, but the professor was running late as well, so no one noticed. Beth had a difficult time focusing in class, but as the professor was giving them a test on Friday, it seemed stupid to ignore him. She forced herself to take notes, adding some last hints he had given, and avoided looking at her phone. I WASN’T SURE why, but after seeing Dr. Shapiro essentially ready to attack Beth and myself, I was badly shaken. I was sitting down in my usual seat, and Carter, who was also in my Intelligence class, asked, “Is everything okay? Who was that other woman?” “She’s the new interim Dean of Littles,” I told him. “She didn’t seem like a very nice person…?” “Definitely didn’t give a good first impression to my grandmother,” I told him. “What was the deal this morning? I heard all the Littles were rounded up…?” “I’m still not sure,” I told him. On a whim, I showed him the email of edicts. “What the fuck?” He said in response. “Definitely looks like trouble coming our way,” I told him. “Keep your head down,” he told me, “but remember, people stood up for you all not that long ago. I’m surprised they’re stupid enough to try again so soon.” “I’m not,” I sighed. Right then, Professor Davis started passing out test pads. “Good morning! This test should run most of you about ninety minutes, but you have the full two hours during the class time. I’ll even extend that another hour until the next class needs this room if anyone really needs it.” ‘Rather generous,’ I thought to myself, appreciating at least one faculty member not choosing to be a jerk that day! When he got to my desk, he shuffled through the tablets and handed me one that was significantly smaller. “I thought you might appreciate one that is better sized,” he said to me. “Thank you,” I told him, even as I worried that someone would use that as a way to ensure I failed a test. He’d been fair to me the whole semester, though, so I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Shortly thereafter, I logged into the test and clicked through the multiple-choice questions. There were a couple questions that asked for you to type a response, but it was one of the more straightforward tests I could have hoped for! I was finished and triple-checking my answers just an hour into the test. It made me terrified I was making stupid mistakes. It was either that or I really did know what I was doing… After reviewing it again and making one or two additions to some of the open-response questions, I pressed submit. Gathering my stuff, I was sure I was the first person finishing the test, and Professor Davis raised his eyebrow as I handed in my tablet. “Did you complete the test?” “I believe so?” I told him. “Problems?” “No? It was pretty straightforward?” “I hope it went well; I’ll post scores tonight,” he told me. “That’s quick, thanks,” I told him. I made my way out the door and found the lobby area was pretty quiet. I was just about to walk towards Beth’s class when I saw Grandma sitting in a chair. “Grandma?” I said. “Done already?” She said. I nodded, “It was mostly multiple-choice, and all just regurgitation of facts?” “Hopefully, it went well,” she told me. “We need to talk… I already let Nikki know to tell Beth you’ll have to catch her after lunch today.” “Where are we going?” “Lunch with some friends,” she told me cryptically. “Okay…?” I said, even as she picked me up. “It seems that there’s some information being spread that needs to be stopped,” Grandma told me. “Wasn’t I supposed to keep my head down?” “That was before Melanie Shapiro decided to declare war!” BETH WORRIED AS her class concluded that a shoe was ready to land on their head with everything. She’d already been worried about Reila, but now it seemed there was another problem for Littles, too. Those dorms had lost many people before the protests but seemed to be mostly stable since then. Carly and her friends had definitely seemed happier, at least! As class ended, she saw a message from Nikki saying that Amanda was taking Carly for lunch. ‘I hope she’s safe,’ Beth nervously thought. Amanda had looked like she was prepared to go full-on ‘mama bear’ with that woman. “Where do you want to eat lunch?” Nikki asked. “I’d already mentioned to Livy we could do some last-minute studying for our Calc final if we met up at Westerfield?” “Let’s head that way, then?” Nikki told her. Beth and Nikki walked silently down the sidewalks, even as she noticed some small things going on with the Littles that she hadn’t paid attention to earlier that day. Every girl Little had either braided pigtails with bows tied to the ends that morning or loose pigtails. Usually, she would see some variation beyond that. It was clear that it had been coordinated that day to only have two options. The one or two girls she saw with hair too short for pigtails had been given elastic headbands, like the ones she’d seen for infants before, complete with a bow on top. The boys looked like extra care had been taken with their hair that day, with gel and hairspray, as if it were picture day for elementary kids. Beth found Livy in the Union in line for chicken and decided to join behind her. “Hi, Livy,” she told her. “Hey,” she said. “Where’s Carly?” “Her Grandma took her for lunch somewhere?” “Is she okay?” Beth fought to keep from worrying, “I think so.” When they had their lunch, she couldn’t help but watch one Little at the checkout line getting upset, “What do you mean I can’t have a drink?” “I’m sorry, sweetie, but we don’t have any sippy cups at this location yet, and we’re not allowed to serve Littles in anything that’s not spillproof. We can let you fill one if you have it?” “Why would I have a sippy cup?!?” The boy looked like he was close to blowing when a tall girl behind him said something to him. Beth watched his shoulders roll over, and something was said to the cashier as the girl took two drinks. Several other Littles seemed to be behind them in line, trying to figure out what to do about it all. “What the hell is going on today?” Livy asked quietly. “At breakfast this morning, they insisted on all of the Littles wearing bibs? I saw half of them being shoved baby bottles, and the rest had sippy cups?” Livy was a little taller than Beth, but both knew when push came to shove, they were not Bigs. “Here,” Beth said, showing her a picture of the message that Carly had shown her. “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me?!?” Livy hissed. “I wish I was,” Beth said. “So they’re just going to… what?” Livy asked. “I don’t have a clue. From what I can tell, there’s some new Little’s Dean that came in this past week? She seems to have hired a new nest mother as an interim, too?” “Aren’t interim people usually just there to keep the ship afloat?” Livy asked. “You would think so?” “Something else is clearly going on,” Nikki spoke up. “I’d recommend not talking in the open like this.” “You think…?” Livy asked. “I wouldn’t trust anything right now, Livy,” Nikki told her honestly. “Hey, umm… is Reila okay?” Livy asked Beth instead. Beth felt her stomach clench, “Why do you ask?” “She wouldn’t talk much last night?” Beth debated about what she should say if Reila hadn’t told her. “Her test didn’t go so good,” she told her. “She may be in some trouble.” “Why exactly did we come to Emerson?” Livy asked. “I am actually wondering that more every day,” Beth told her. I FOUND MYSELF experiencing something for lunch that didn’t happen all that often back home, even with our family being exceptionally wealthy. Grandma had driven me in her car to a nearby restaurant; they’d led her to a private back room without even asking who she was, and there we found Aunt Megan. “Hi, Aunt Megan!” I told her. “Carly,” she smiled and gave me a hug. “Hi, Mandy,” she told her sister. “Thanks for coming, Megan. Edgar should be here soon, I think,” Grandma told her. “Of course!” she told her. There was a booster seat attached to a chair where Grandma sat me down. A waitress came by right then and took an order for food and drinks for the three of us, even as a tall man, a bit taller than Grandma, arrived. His hair was graying, and he looked to be probably about my mom’s age. “Hi Edgar, I haven’t seen you in a while?” Aunt Megan said to him as she greeted him with a hug. “Too long,” he said. “Good to see you again, Amanda. We don’t normally run into each other this often?” He said. “No, I’d rather not need lawyers,” Grandma told him. “Carly, this is Edgar Freeman. He’s a former classmate of Beth’s father.” “Nice to meet you,” I told him. “Same, I’ve heard lots of stories about your mom!” I blushed a bit at that; it seemed everyone had stories about her! After the waitress took his order, she disappeared and closed the door behind her. Grandma pulled out one of her jammers and activated it. “Okay, thank you both for coming. Something is going on at the university all of a sudden, and I’m worried something will happen to Carly here.” “What’s happening?” Edgar asked. “Well, apparently, last week the Board of Regents decided to appoint a different interim-Dean for Littles while they’re performing their final search after they fired Emma Greene.” “Who did they bring in?” He asked. “Melanie Shapiro?” Grandma said. “The name sounds familiar?” Megan said. “She ran the daycare at the university for thirty years before retiring?” “Now I remember her,” Megan replied, “she was a piece of work in some litigation before she retired.” “That’s her,” Grandma said. “Fortunately, she didn’t do anything to Stacy back then, but I watched her be utterly ruthless with a nanny who didn’t follow procedures back then. I guess my question is, why would you hire someone who’s essentially an overqualified babysitter to run the Little Dorms?” I nodded. “Pretty obvious answer, if you’re cynical enough,” Edgar said. “What else?” “She brought in this woman, Wendy Chester. Cameron and Addison knew her. She ran the daycare Addison first put Cameron in during his adoption. I guess Addison fired her, and she bounced around some other places? We’re trying to get a handle on exactly what happened there.” “So she’s a piece of work, too?” Edgar asked. “Definitely,” Grandma agreed as food suddenly arrived. My cup was plastic, with a straw and a lid, but other than that, there were no obvious signs that I was a baby for once at a meal out. The food was by far too large in proportion. Still, it was a fantastic pasta and chicken dish that I ate as the conversation continued. “So anyway, Carly, tell us about what’s been going on yesterday and today?” I swallowed my bit of food and said, “Well, it started yesterday…” I told them about my conversation with Lilly, then how I had ended up going to bed, having breakfast that morning with the other Littles, who were being bibbed and babied with sippy cups and baby bottles, and then the message from the Dean. I showed that message to them, and they both shook their heads, “What’s gotten into them?” Megan said. “Seriously, they just had a national protest and fired the old people for less?” “I don’t understand it either,” Grandma replied. Edgar looked thoughtful, “I’m going to need to look into some things. It’s interesting that they’ve appointed a new person like this from the Board of Regents. I’m wondering if someone complained about the Littles getting away with too much, talked to the right people, and then brought in Shapiro?” “I think it may be more widespread than that?” I told them, thinking of what I knew about Reila. “Someone hacked one of my friend’s tests, we think, and gave her a completely different test that she then failed.” “That may be unrelated, Carly. I think that has more to do with you and Beth?” She sighed, “I’m not convinced that they didn’t accidentally give that to Reila instead of Beth?” I nodded, “I’ve thought about that, too…” “So, where do we go from here?” Grandma asked. “Well, how far do we want to push this, Mandy?” Megan asked her. “This would have to be a suit from Carly to have standing?” “And she’s signed away those rights,” Edgar told me. I sighed, knowing that was likely the case from the pages and pages of digital forms I’d signed before I came. “So, obviously, we need to figure out another angle?” Grandma said. “The political pressure with the student protests seems to have been successful before?” “Surprising, really,” Edgar said. “If Charlotte Perez was involved again, it might quickly contain itself?” “I could ask?” I mentioned. “You know her?” Edgar asked. “She’s in my filmmaking class; we’re become pretty good friends.” He looked thoughtful, “I wouldn’t ask just yet…” He shook his head, “There are two more days after today before Spring Break. Don’t rock the boat. Wait to take action until afterward, and be absolutely certain that no one can blame it on you. Are you following the tech rules?” he asked. “I handed in my EdgeSphere set and my phone last night. They gave me my phone back today until I go back.” “We’ll try and figure out a way to get some surveillance in the nests. That request made me instantly wonder what’s coming next that they’re trying to hide,” Edgar said. We finished eating and left without a clear plan in place. I could tell that Grandma, Edgar, and Megan thought it was smarter to wait things out. I hoped they were right! Grandma stopped by the changing table near my Math classroom to change me before class, and Molly came in. “Hi, Carly,” she cooed while my butt was up in the air. I sighed, “Hi, Molly.” “Who was that?” Grandma asked me as she carried me to the room a couple minutes later. “Classmate,” I told her. “She seems friendly enough, but watch out for her… She seems to have a mothering fixation there…” “Believe me, we’ve had that conversation!” “Now, I wish you’d had some time to cram. Are you going to be okay for this test?” She asked me. “I’ll be fine,” I told her, smiling. She whispered in my ears, “Tell no one about the contacts. They won’t show up on any scan and should stay on your eye in the same spot until we release them. Don’t give them up no matter what unless someone takes them out of your eyes somehow. No one makes them that size, so they shouldn’t believe you can have them. I’m going to look into something with them later to make them even more functional. They may be your only resource if this gets any worse.” Grandma left me at the door, and I walked into what I hoped would be an easy exam for me! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press that all-important Like button!!!!! (Pretty please with ice cream and cherries and sprinkles and strawberries and cookies and chocolate syrup on top???) I really appreciate all of you who keep commenting, please continue to do so! My muse for another project is being a bit of a pain right now, so I may swing back by and write some more on this over the next week. Just as a reminder, I started a Discord server if you're interested in the AI Music post I did on YouTube, or just want to chat about my work. For now, that's all it is... it may expand in the future. It's kind of an experiment at this point! You can join here: https://discord.gg/6xVnzUnM

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." 🤣 You have made a pretty good start at the grudges they left behind. Might have left out one or two? 🤔 Definitely a list of enemies! 🙂

Projecting here? 🤣 I do enjoy reading what you all are guessing. Makes my night Guilend to see you all continuing several days after the last post! We shall have to see what's coming. I don't think anyone has caught on yet, but to be fair my muse was being a bit tricksy at times!

There's a bit more 'oomph' I think seeing it in writing. Plus being told you have to drink out of sippy cups or babas in public, having to be escorted to dinner and breakfast like daycare kids, etc. Hope you get some sleep! Falling asleep on the keyboard isn't the best plan! 🙂

Depends on how you are using it. If you're just using it for proofreading (checking grammar rules, making sure things make sense, spelling, etc) I don't consider it AI. They DO have AI tools that can write for you now. Those I would consider AI personally. The first is really no different than having a human go through and check through your work as an editor to me.

So the marble... We'll have to see what it's going to do here! Your world building is beautiful, and the vision for the community center sounds amazing! I like the way you took us through the development without it taking two years of chapters here too! Can't wait to read more! 🙂

As always, your writing is phenomenal! Looking forward to seeing where you take this! 🙂