Baby Talk

Chapter 4- Isolation    By the time Eli made it out to the staff parking lot, she was trying very hard not to think about two things: Her jeans. And the concert on Saturday. Unfortunately, both seemed determined to follow her home. Only a handful of cars remained scattered across the lot, their windows glowing gold in the late afternoon sun. Somewhere near the front office, a custodian was loading supplies into the back of a van. Elsewhere, two teachers stood beside their cars laughing about something Eli couldn't quite hear. She found herself walking a little faster. Not because she was in a hurry. But because the last thing she needed right now was a cheerful “How’s it going, Eliana!” Normally she liked talking to people. Most days she'd happily stop and chat for a few minutes before heading home. Today was different. The fabric of her jeans still felt unpleasantly damp against her skin, and despite knowing they probably looked perfectly normal, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that someone would notice. Probably. She adjusted her tote bag against her hip and kept walking with her head down. Her car sat near the far edge of the lot, beneath a sprawling jacaranda tree. It was small, grey, and old enough that every new noise felt less like a mechanical issue and more like a personality trait. The back hatch and bumper had slowly disappeared beneath years of stickers. Possums, ghosts, band logos, witty bumper stickers, a raccoon holding a knife, a worm in a cowboy hat. One of them simply read: ART CRIMES. A tiny plastic bat, spray painted neon pink, hung from the rearview mirror and swung gently whenever the car moved,  The outside was dusty and the inside a little cluttered. The passenger seat had mostly disappeared beneath a canvas tote full of art supplies, a sketchbook, three library books she kept meaning to return, a portfolio folder stuffed with loose papers, and a jacket she'd forgotten to take inside sometime last winter. There was also an emergency change of clothes folded inside a grocery bag in the back seat. Because apparently this was her life now. Eli unlocked the door and climbed inside. She tossed her tote onto the passenger side floor, moved a sketchbook off her seat, and sat down. The cold damp denim pressed against her legs, making her automatically grimace.  She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. For a moment she just sat there. The parking lot was quiet around her. Through the windshield, the top of the jacaranda tree shifted lazily in the breeze.  Somewhere beyond the school, traffic had begun to thicken, the distant hum of cars growing steadily louder as people made their way home. Saturday. She opened her eyes. There was simply no way She couldn’t spend an entire night worrying about where the bathroom was, or how long she’d be away from one, Or whether she’d even make it in time. The Breakwater wasn’t exactly know for its nice bathrooms and to be fair even before all of this, Eli had never particularly liked that about the venue. The place had exactly one men’s and one women’s bathroom, both tucked somewhere towards the back. Each with just a single toilet.  She was pretty sure this was the same place where, during busy shows, the bathroom line sometimes stretched halfway across the room, and by the time you finally got inside, somebody was already pounding on the door. Back then, it had just been annoying.  Now? Now it felt like a nightmare. She could already imagine herself standing in the crowded venue, pretending to listen to the music while secretly calculating how far away the bathroom was, how long the line was, and whether she'd make it there in time.  No  Absolutely not! She’d just have to figure out how to tell her friends.  Something believable. Something that wouldn’t make everyone think she was being difficult or avoidant.  She could try blaming work. That was believable. Teachers are always busy. Maybe she had a huge school project to finish. lesson plans. Grading! Did elementary art teachers even have enough things to grade this early in the year to keep them busy on a Saturday night? Maybe? She could lie and say she had a school event coming up. A curriculum meeting to prepare, or a deadline.  Something Anything. Maybe she could blame the kids. There were plenty of things she could blame on the kids. One of them had sneezed directly into her face earlier that week. She could try to convince her friends she was suddenly feeling sick. Not that she was a good lier. Or, even better, she could tell them that going to a crowded concert could potentially be putting her immunocompromised students at risk. It was technically possible. It was also a terrible excuse. She started the car. The speaker came to life with the familiar sound of an indie guitar riff. Traffic crawled lazily towards downtown. She knew the route home by heart. Every light. Every turn. And every public restroom. The last one made her sigh. She turned the music up, to try to drown out her thoughts. It didn’t help. Saturday kept sitting there in the back of her mind, refusing to be ignored. By the time she reached the first major intersection, her phone rang through the speaker. Jen Koo. She considered letting the call go to voicemail. Then it rang again. She sighed and pressed the little green button on the screen.  “Hey” “you’re coming!” Eli smiled despite herself. “Hello to you too.” “you’re absolutely coming.” "That's a very confident statement.” "I've decided you’re coming!” "Without consulting me?" "Correct." Eli turned onto the next street, falling into the familiar rhythm of her drive home. Traffic was beginning to thicken as she headed toward downtown, but she barely noticed. "That's generally not how decisions work." "Okay. Fine. I'm calling to consult you." "Thank you." "Are you coming?" “No." “What, why?! Do you have a Boyfriend?” "No." "Secret girlfriend?" "Jen." “Cooler friends?" “Wow." Eli pulled up to a red light and rested her hand against the steering wheel, trying not to smile. She could already picture Jen sitting somewhere with that particular look on her face, rapidly cycling through increasingly ridiculous explanations until Eli finally gave in.   "Book club?" "No." "Underground poker ring?" "No." "International jewel thief?" "I wish." Jen laughed. The sound crackled warmly through the car speakers. It was familiar. Comfortable. Dangerously good at making Eli miss her. "Then where have you been?" The question landed harder than it should have. The light changed, and Eli eased through the intersection. Storefronts and apartment buildings passed in familiar little blurs, their windows glowing softly in the warm light. A bus rumbled past in the opposite direction, while somewhere overhead a seagull called from the roof of a building she couldn't see. She knew the answer, but couldn't bring herself to say it. Home. Mostly. Home and work. Work and home. The grocery store occasionally, if she was feeling particularly adventurous. A craft store three months ago. Target twice. A thrilling social calendar. “I’ve just been busy” “You’re the worst liar I’ve ever met.” “im not lying.” “Eli!” “okay. Maybe im exaggerating a little." “a little.” Jen was quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. “I miss you.” Eli looked through the windshield. The familiar streets rolled past around her. The road opened up ahead, and for a moment she caught a glimpse of the harbor between two buildings, sunlight shimmering across the moving water. She swallowed. “we all miss you,” Jen corrected quickly. “that sounded way sadder then I meant it too.” Eli smiled. “I miss you all too, but you guys are ridiculous” “Yes, and..” “we’re in our thirties.” “technically.” “We shouldn’t be this excited about a reunion show happening at a dive bar.” “incorrect!” “Jen.” “this is Important.” Eli laughed, surprised by how easily it came. “you know what I mean.” “i do.” The smile faded slowly. The familiar anxiety slipped back into place, waiting patiently for an opening. “you really should come.” There it was. The actual reason for the call. Eli turned into her street. “I dont know” “Why!?” Because. Because the breakwater’s bathrooms were terrible. Because there might be a line. Because she might have an accident. Because she couldn't remember the last time she'd gone somewhere without planning the entire evening around it, like a military operation designed entirely around the location of the nearest toilet.  Because it was easier say no Easier to not go.  Instead, she reached for the half baked excuse she’d been workshopping since she left the school. “I teach at an elementary school” “Okay…and?” “some of my students might be immunocompromised.” There was a pause. “the same students that got you sick like four times this year?” “well.” “i dont think a concert is going to be the problem.” “ A kid literally sneezed directly into my face the other day.” “Thats sooooo Gross! But see you’re probably immune to everything now!” “yeah I guess.” She pulled into the little parking area beside her apartment building and parked beneath its shadow. The building was two stories of faded stucco, probably built sometime in the thirties, with dark green trim around the windows.  A few porch lights had already begun to glow. Someone on the second floor had music playing softly through an open window, and the smell of somebody's cooking drifted across the courtyard. Eli turned off the engine. For a moment neither of them said anything. Then Jen spoke. "Seriously, though." Eli looked at the little pink bat hanging from her rearview mirror. "What?" "Come with us." She closed her eyes. "I don't know." "You don't have to decide right now." Eli opened her eyes again. "Maybe." “Look, come for an hour.” “Jen…” “Seriously. Come for an hour. If you hate it, leave.” “That's your big pitch?” “Yes.” “i dont know.” “No guilt. No questions. If you get there and decide you want to go home. You go home.” Eli was quiet. “You don't have to prove anything to us,” Jen added. “We just want you there.” “You’re making this very difficult.” “I try.” Eli smiled.  She still couldn’t bring herself to say yes. But she couldn’t easily say no anymore, either. “i’ll think about it.” “okay, but actually think about it.” “i am! I will” “I’m holding you to that.” “Bye, Jen” Jen laughed. “Bye, Eli.” The call ended, but Eli stayed in the car for another minute. The silence returned almost immediately. She looked at the dashboard, then at the building, then at the phone resting on the cup holder. She could still hear Jens voice in her head “we miss you.” She didn't know what to do with that. Gratitude, guilt, sadness, relief, everything seemed to arrive at once, tangled together until she couldn't quite separate one feeling from the other. So she picked up her bag , got out of the car, and headed for her apartment. The apartment felt quiet when she stepped inside. It was a small, old place, but Eli had made it feel completely like hers. The living room was warm and a little eclectic, with framed paintings and prints covering the walls. Her shelves were lined with books, records, knickknacks, and things she'd collected over the years. Her little dining table doubled as a desk and had mostly disappeared beneath paint tubes, brushes, scraps of colored paper, and a couple of half finished projects she'd promised herself she'd organize later.  The coffee table wasn't much better. Paintbrushes stood in jars beside books and pencils, and a half finished illustration sat beside her laptop where she'd abandoned it the night before. The apartment wasn't messy, exactly. Just... lived in. It looked less like an apartment and more like someone had started five creative projects simultaneously and wandered away halfway through all of them. Which, to be fair, wasn't entirely inaccurate. Eli kicked off her boots and dropped her bag beside the couch. She walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, stared inside, and closed it again. Nothing looked good. Her phone buzzed. She ignored it. It buzzed again. Then again. Then three more times in quick succession. Eli sighed, already suspecting who was texting her.  With some quiet hesitation she picked it up. THE GUMMIBEARS 🐻⭐💥✨💥5 unread messages Of course, no surprise there. She opened the group chat. The messages were still flying in. CHRIS: Alright so technically nobody said no Eli stared at the screen. Another message appeared. CHRIS: So i got us Tickets before they sold out! no need to repay me right away Almost immediately, the chat exploded. EMILY: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA CASEY: 💥💥💥💥💥💥 JEN: 👍 👍 👍thanks Eli shook her head, unable to help a small smile. Then another message appeared. CHRIS: you're welcome A pause. Then: CHRIS: Oh and Eli Her smile disappeared. Another message. CHRIS: they're nonrefundable CHRIS: see you saturday 😉 Eli stared at the screen and for a long moment, she didn't move. There it was. The escape route she'd been quietly building all afternoon had vanished completely. Not because she couldn't still say no. She could. Nobody was actually forcing her to go. The problem was that every excuse she'd come up with suddenly sounded exactly like what it was. An excuse. She could tell them she was busy. She could say she'd forgotten about something at school. She could even claim she wasn't feeling well. But now she'd have to lie She'd have to say it out loud. She'd have to tell them no. And that felt different somehow. Because the truth was, she didn't want to stay home. She didn't want to say no. She wanted to go. She wanted to go so badly it almost hurt. Eli lowered herself onto the couch and let herself sink into it. For a few seconds, she just sat there, staring at nothing, feeling the exhaustion of the entire day finally catch up with her. Outside the living room window, the last sunlight of the day stretched across Westbridge. The rooftops and apartment windows caught the warm golden light before it disappeared behind the buildings. One by one, lights began to come on along the street below. Saturday. Three days. She looked back down at her phone. For a moment, she just stared at the screen, her thumb hovering over the keyboard. Then, before she could change her mind, she typed, “see you guys Saturday!!!” She hit send. And just like that, it was happening. The group chat immediately exploded again. Chris sent another message involving six exclamation points and a poorly cropped photograph of the event’s flyer. Eli smiled. Just a little. She was still scared. She still had absolutely no idea how she was going to get through an entire concert without something going wrong. There were too many variables, too many things she couldn't control, too many ways the whole night could turn into a disaster. And yet, somehow, she was still going. The realization sat heavily in her chest. She'd spent so long avoiding situations she couldn't control that actually committing to one felt almost reckless. Like standing at the top of a roller coaster, watching the tracks disappear before the first drop and wondering why, exactly, she'd thought getting on was a good idea. Except there was no getting off now. She let her phone fall on the couch. Saturday was coming. Whether she was ready for it or not.

LOL thats funny

my parents are firm believers that abdl is a group of people who need serious medical help   so despite being a ab most of my life they are heavily against this let alone the whole diaper thing, i'd like to order l4b new cheerleader brand but im 99% sure my parents would light them on fire =/

no problem! And I think they only one i've seen is dumb and dumber, but I don't remember that.   What was the best take? I remember that one!  Honestly it would work. Confirm the characters are adults, and get rid of the weird look of the 'babies' and 'mommy," and it would work. College girls dress as babies to trick or treat while over age for it, and get 'punished' by being forced to act like babies forever definitly sounds like an abdl story what was the scene?

I am somewhat familiar with Little Troubles and its game mechanics. I was thinking that Big Trouble in Little Niteglo would have both Hit Points and Maturity Points. When a player character falls below half total Maturity Points, that player character would age regress, giving them stat penalties and decreasing continence, but give them more experience points and currency from combat and quests as well as chances to reroll dice. If a player characters Maturity Points drop to zero or below, that player character would fully regress and the player would have to make a new character.