Chels in Ribbons

Ah, yes, it's true! The US has no laws against hate speech. And it's certainly not like our Attorney General hasn't recently come under fire for threatening to prosecute people for hate speech for not properly mourning Charlie Kirk. And if she had, it would certainly be an isolated incident and not a part of a larger pattern of federal bodies threatening retaliation against anyone not suitably upset about Kirk's assassination, right? While we are on the topic of things that have been protected under free speech, we might also consider flag burning. You see, in the case of Texas v Johnson in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that burning the flag in political protest was protected under the First Amendment. Awesome, right? And it's just really great that our federal government continues to protect that. I mean, sure, Trump was quoted as saying "We took the freedom of speech away, because that’s been through the courts, and the courts said you have freedom of speech but what has happened is when they burn the flag it agitates and irritates crowds," but that's unrelated, right? But if he had, it would just be bluster, right? It's certainly not like a veteran was recently arrested for burning a flag in protest or anything. Of course, there are other measures of free speech we could look at. Free press, for example, is an important part of free speech. But luckily, no one is asking members of the press to sign agreements to only release information regarding the Pentagon and the Department of Defense that has been pre-approved by the powers that be in those organizations. I mean, it would just be inconceivable that a government organization would try to control what the free press said about the government, right? And it's not like there are any recent incidents in which people in the federal government used their political power to pressure a private company into firing someone for a joke. You know what's another great thing about free speech in the US? Teachers are free to teach to the best of their expertise. There are no government bodies with no qualifications in the world of education telling them that they can't teach about certain subjects. It's not like entire bodies of established academic work and theory are being banned in schools. Look, it's past my bedtime and I'm tired of trying to be clever. https://www.thefire.org/news/blogs/ronald-kl-collins-first-amendment-news/seven-free-speech-groups-issue-call-oppose-trumps https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/judge-william-young-trump-rebuke-free-speech-violation-pro-palestine-students/ https://knightcolumbia.org/content/in-landmark-ruling-federal-court-says-trump-administration-violated-first-amendment-by-deporting-foreign-citizens-for-pro-palestinian-advocacy https://theconversation.com/trumps-aggressive-actions-against-free-speech-speak-a-lot-louder-than-his-words-defending-it-252706 https://www.ibanet.org/Trumps-assault-on-the-First-Amendment Now, sit down.

You seem to be confused on what constitutes proof of your claim. Your claim, to recap, was that the United States has "the best free speech protection in the world." This article is about an incident that happened in Germany and says nothing about free speech protections in the US, especially in relation to other countries. Try again please.

I appreciate this though! Honestly, writing dreams is one of my favorite things to do because you can just be fucking weird with it 😅 That really means so much to me! I'm really glad this story was able to help in that way! This poll is about how the population feels about freedom of speech. It has nothing to do with any actual laws being passed. Idk man, all else aside, there have been multiple people in these comments talking about how this story has resonated with their experiences of oppression and I've explicitly said it is in many ways a metaphor for the experience of being a marginalized individual in modern US society. If all you want to do is brush away those feelings and say that oppression doesn't exist, maybe this isn't the story for you.

Okay. Please provide evidence for your claim then.

Oh, I know exactly why I did that XD That was how they did it in my high school (and then there was a 7th, shorter period that we had every day, which I was originally going to replicate entirely but decided to leave out 7th period) and I just copied that pattern without even thinking about it. You're absolutely right, it would make more sense, but as I was writing it made perfect sense to me because that's just how my high school did it XD The fact that that aspect of high school class scheduling was still ingrained in my head is especially hilarious when you know I haven't been in high school in over 20 years XD

I have mixed feelings about this kind of scheduling irl. On one hand, it can be confusing. On the other hand, it's more consistent with the kind of scheduling most colleges do. But from the perspective of an educator, the longer class periods are much more helpful, imho. Of course, none of that really matters to the story XD I mostly chose to go with a block schedule for story pacing purposes XD

Good catch! Thanks! I'll make sure to fix that in revisions

Ain't that the truth! Disappointing you all is one of my greatest fears, and I greatly appreciate your patience. I have an update for you all, and it's a big one, but, first, an update/explanation/look at what's to come. D503 is very right, it's been very hard to find my flow state on this story. As much as I've really wanted to be working on this for the past couple of months, I've been finding it really hard to get my head into the game, so to speak. I finally figured out why, however, and now that I know why, hopefully I can do something about it. My problem, essentially, has been that I started this story with the idea that it would be a very tight, keep-you-on-the-edge-of-you-seat type of thriller, and I think, based on the reactions of you all, I've done a pretty good job of that so far. But then I kind of fell in love with the pairing of Rei and Riley. There was always supposed to be a romance between Rei and Riley, but it was supposed to be quick and hot, a flash in the pan, a brightly-burning candle. But the more I fell in love with them and their pairing, the more I wanted to write a slow-burn romance. And for a while, I considered making this story into that, but the truth is that I've set the stakes so high and made the tight-rope these people are walking so razor-thin to suit the purpose of a tight thriller that there just isn't time or space to develop a slow-burn romance realistically. Not to mention that I know what many people love about this story is that it is a thriller, and I'd hate to pull the rug out from y'all by switching genres part way through! So, what's the solution? Well, that's a bit of a good news, bad news, explanatory news, potentially good news, reiterated bad news, hopefully exciting news, imminently exciting news situation. Good News: This story will continue as the thriller you know and love (or at least like) Bad News: It might be a bit before you see new updates to this story Explanatory News: Part of the reason it will take a while to get updates on this story is because I really want to go back through all the previous chapters to edit and revise them, so Potentially Good News: What I hope to give you all is a revised version of this story that's improved throughout: what I plan to call the Ribbon Cut (get it? cause I'm Chels in Ribbons?) Reiterated Bad News: So, yeah, that might take a bit Hopefully Exciting News: In order to make this happen but still satisfy my desire to write a slow burn Rei and Riley romance, I will be working on The Only Hope for Me is You: A Brighter Days AU Self-Fanfic (title pending), which will be exactly what it sounds like. Imminently Exciting News: Typically, I keep a pretty big buffer between what I'm posting and what I have written, meaning that at any time I have roughly 15-25k words more written than I have posted. I do this in case I need to go back and change something. But, since I'm committing to going back through everything and revising it, there's no reason to hold back anymore. So, I'm dropping a 17k word update today. Enjoy. Chapter Thirty-Nine Asked to describe Mrs. Bekkers in one word, the vast majority of people who know her would choose the same word: grandmotherly. Her wavy greyish-silver hair framed a face with deep smile lines from which bright eyes peered out from behind bifocal lenses. Her glasses were attached to a beaded chain that looked homemade and, if the basket of yarn on her bookshelf with knitting needles sticking out of it was any indication, the shawl draped over her shoulders was hand-knit. Her office, of course, held the same vibe: Plush, hand-embroidered throw pillows in the chairs, lush potted plants in the window, and ceramic cat figurines along the bookshelves full of books on child and adolescent development. The desk was cluttered with binders and manila folders with names written in a neat handwriting on the tabs and various tchotchkes—a series of matryoshka dolls that looked hand-painted and seemed to depict the same girl at various ages caught Rei’s eye in particular. A cat-shaped coffee mug sat atop a brightly colored crocheted doily and right next to a picture of three smiling children in a macaroni frame. “Well!” Mrs. Bekkers exclaimed as she settled into her office chair, adjusted her glasses, and jiggled her mouse to wake up the computer on her desk. “Welcome to Hillridge,” she said warmly as she focused on her eyes on Rei and smiled. “We’re so happy to have you here,” she continued earnestly, “and I really think you’re going to like it here.” “Thanks,” Rei replied softly, almost murmuring. “So, let’s get you all signed up!” She turned her attention to her computer and began clicking away on her mouse. “Now, Ms. Akiyama, you filled out all the paperwork?” “Yes,” Rei’s mother responded and passed the packet of papers across the desk, “it’s all right here.” Mrs. Bekkers picked up the papers, adjusted her glasses again, and flipped through the pages, nodding as she did. “Great,” she smiled and set the papers on her desk, “every looks in order, so let’s just…” she trailed off and began to type rapidly on her keyboard, glancing back and forth between the screen and the papers on her desk. “Ah, I see we were attending Greenham Community College,” she spoke without missing a beat in her typing. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re so happy your transferring, but may I ask the reason for the transfer?” Rei sunk down in her chair and said nothing. To be honest, she wasn’t even sure who, exactly, Mrs. Bekkers was addressing the question to. But instead of the awkward silence Rei anticipated, her mother began speaking without hesitation. “Well,” Ms. Akiyama said with the cadence of someone trying to think carefully about how they want to answer a question, “we felt that, given some recent circumstances, Rei could benefit from a more…structured education.” Mrs. Bekkers nodded, “yes, I hear that from many parents who make this transfer. And make no mistake! We see a lot of transfers from the school.” There was a distinct note of disdain in the way she said ‘school.’ “Let me guess,” she went on, “there were also concerns about the curriculum Rei was being exposed to?” Ms. Akiyama nodded emphatically, “yes, definitely, that too.” Mrs. Bekkers gave a warm, knowing smile, “mhm, like I said, we see a lot of transfers from there. Let me assure you, Ms. Akiyama, that at Hillridge, Rei will receive an quality education that focuses on wholesome, traditional values proper for a girl her age.” “That is good to hear,” Ms. Akiyama replied, but there was a note of hesitation in her voice. For a moment, her resolve wavered, and she wondered if this was what was truly right for Rei. It was the way Mrs. Bekkers had emphasized “wholesome” and “traditional” that gave her pause. As much as she didn’t want Rei exposed to the kinds of dangerous ideas she seemed to be running into at that college, she wasn’t quite sure wasn’t going a bit too far. Maybe she had acted too hastily in taking Rei out of college; maybe she should have given her therapy more of a chance to settle in before acting so drastically. Then she remembered those girls from Rei’s school who had been arrested for the City Hall bombing. She looked at Rei and pictured her daughter’s face on the news just as she had seen the faces of those girls this morning. She refused to let that happen to her daughter. “Now,” Mrs. Bekkers spoke, breaking Ms. Akiyama out of her own head, “I have just a few questions that aren’t covered by the paperwork, and then we can get Rei all registered for her classes!” “Yes, of course,” Ms. Akiyama said. “First,” Mrs. Bekkers began, “I assume Rei is not emancipated, correct?” “That’s correct.” Mrs. Bekkers nodded, “mhm, very good…now, is Rei fully potty trained?” “Yes,” Rei blurted out at the same time as Ms. Akiyama asked, “Define fully?” Rei’s cheeks were hot with anger and shame. Mrs. Bekkers smiled at the two, “it’s okay, Rei, no need to be embarrassed! Many girls here at Hillridge have potty training issues, so you aren’t alone. And I guess what we’re really asking,” she continued, shifting her attention to Ms. Akiyama, “is how frequently does she have daytime accidents and does she wear any sort of training pants or diapers?” Rei closed her eyes and sunk even further down in her chair. “Oh! Rei is dry during the day,” Ms. Akiyama replied. Mrs. Bekkers smiled at Rei and earnestly said, “good for you, sweetheart,” before turning back to the computer. “You said Rei is dry during the day, but does she need any support in staying dry? Such as potty reminders or assistance in the bathroom?” “No,” Ms. Akiyama replied simply. “Does Rei have any comfort items, such as a stuffed animal or pacifier, that she’ll need access to during the school day?” “No.” “Will Rei need any help or assistance in getting dressed for gym class?” “Nope.” “Does Rei know how to tie her own shoes?” “Yes.” “Will Rei need a naptime worked into her schedule?” “No.” As the litany of questions continued, Rei continued to sink in her chair, deeper and deeper and deeper. Her face was burning. Sadly, it was not the most embarrassing thing to happen to Rei in recent memory, but it was sure up there. It wasn’t just the questions being asked, although that was a great contributor, it was the way it was increasingly clear that Rei was incidental to the whole conversation. She was the subject, but not an active contributor. She was a child being spoken about by two adults. “Okay, just one last question,” Mrs. Bekkers finally said, “any other behavior problems we should be aware of?” Ms. Akiyama paused, then said “no.” “Are you sure?” Mrs. Bekkers coaxed, sensing the pause. “Well,” Ms. Akiyama glanced at Rei, whose face looked red, and said, “she’s been skipping school lately, and I caught her lying about taking a women’s studies class.” “Mmm, I see,” Mrs. Bekkers clearly did not approve of either of these things, but she said no more and simply clicked away on her keyboard for a moment more. “That’s all done then! Rei is now officially a student at Hillridge! All we have left to do is register her for classes! Now, here at Hillridge, we offer a very flexible, very customizable education. Unlike a regular high school, we have no required courses, so Rei can take whatever classes you would like her to take.” Rei couldn’t help but grimace—any classes her mother wanted her take, not any classes she wanted to take. She took to trying to look disinterested so she could pretend she wasn’t involved in the decisions because she didn’t care. It worked…a little. “But,” Mrs. Bekkers continued, “we do have what we consider our core classes that we do recommend every student at Hillridge takes. Would you like to start with that and then choose a couple electives, or just start from scratch?” “What, exactly, are the core classes?” Ms. Akiyama inquired. “They are what we at Hillridge consider to be the foundation of good education for girls Rei’s age. If you pick the core classes, let’s see, Rei will take,” she began to count on her fingers as she ran down a mental list: “English, where she will read a variety of books (all appropriate for her age and development, of course) and learn proper grammar, Home Economics, where she will learn basic skills like cooking and cleaning, History and Civics, where she will learn an unbiased historical narrative and how to be a good citizen, and Gym, where she will partake in structured exercise activities to promote a healthy body.” “So, that’s English, Home Economics, History and Civics, and Gym?” Ms. Akiyama repeated the list while counting them off on her fingers, “so that’s four classes? How many classes do Hillridge students take?” “Six,” Mrs. Bekkers replied, “but they don’t have every class each day.” She explained, “days at Hillridge are separated into A days and B days. On A days, they attend their first, second, and third class for an hour and half each, and on B days, they’ll have their fourth, fifth, and sixth class for an hour and a half. And, of course, each student also has forty-five minutes for lunch and another forty-five for recess every day.” “I…see,” Ms. Akiyama said while nodding slowly, taking in all that information. She glanced over at Rei, considering asking her opinion, but she seemed to be pointedly disengaged from the conversation. “Yes,” Ms. Akiyama said firmly, taking charge, “I think we will start with the core classes.” “Excellent,” Mrs. Bekkers replied, “then all we have to do is select the electives. Did you have any idea what you’d like Rei to take? Or would you like to see our course offerings?” “I’d love to see the course offerings, thank you.” Mrs. Bekkers reached into a desk of her drawer and produced two pieces of paper. She handed one to Ms. Akiyama and placed the other on the desk in front of Rei. Rei, despite feigning disinterest, couldn’t help but reach but reach for the paper. She almost regretted it immediately as she saw the first class on the list: “Advanced Finger Painting.” Still, she continued down the list, noting a few that actually had academic merit, such as foreign language classes, some math and science classes, advanced literature classes, and even some computer science classes. There also were, of course, also the standard classes you’d expect to see in a high school elective list, such a band, debate, choir, theater, creative writing, advanced art classes that didn’t involve finger painting, and even a cosmetology course. Rei was almost surprised by how few seemed dreadfully juvenile. “Oh!” Ms. Akiyama exclaimed, “well, I’m sure Rei would love to be in band again, isn’t that right, Rei?” Rei was shocked enough to be spoken to directly that she shot up to attention in her chair. “Uh, yeah,” she nodded, “that…sounds okay.” And it did. She hadn’t played her flute in almost a year, but how hard could it be to pick it back up? “Very well,” Mrs. Bekkers said, “so we’ve got band and…?” Rei opened her mouth to begin speaking, to suggest the debate elective, but her mother began speaking before she could make a sound. “Drama sounds fun, don’t you think, Rei? You could get involved with the theater department here!” “Absolutely!” Mrs. Bekkers exclaimed. “We have a robust theater department here! Casting for the fall play has already passed, but Rei could help with the behind the scenes stuff and maybe audition for the spring play!” “Or,” Ms. Akiyama continued, “what about…oh! How about Intermediate Cooking? Rei could use to learn her way around a kitchen. “We do recommend at least one year of basic Home Economics before Intermediate Cooking,” Mrs. Bekkers said as Rei rolled her eyes—one housewife class was more than enough for her. “Hmm, I see, well…” Rei opened her mouth again, but this time Mrs. Bekkers spoke first. “Arts and Crafts is a very popular course that is good to take your first year as it is the perquisite for many of our other art related courses,” she offered helpfully. “And it’s just a really excellent way for students to express their creativity!” “That sounds like fun!” Ms. Akiyama said cheerfully. “How about it, Rei? Band and Arts and Crafts for your electives?” “I want to take debate,” Rei said assertively now that all eyes were on her. Her mother frowned. “I don’t know,” she said, “the last thing we need is for you to get more argumentative.” She turned to Mrs. Bekkers, “what kinds of things do they debate in the, well, debate class?” “Debate is one of our more…advanced courses,” she replied, a hint of disapproval clear in her voice. “Coming from Greenham Community College, I’m sure Rei could keep up with the course work, but it’s…” she gestured in the air for a moment, searching for the correct phrasing, “well, the coursework is exactly the kind of stuff many parents transfer their students away from GCC specifically to avoid.” Ms. Akiyama clicked her tongue and shook her head, “I think we will go with Arts and Crafts then.” “Okay, great!” Mrs. Bekkers typed for a moment, “that’s everything then. Rei is all ready to start her education at Hillridge!” Chapter Forty The Greenham suburbs passed by outside the car window, but Rei’s eyes were on the printed sheet of paper in her hands. Big block letters at the top of the page read “Hillridge High School for Young Adult Girls.” Next to these words was a picture of the rabbit that, at this point, Rei had to assume was the school’s mascot. The rabbit was running while looking at her watch and clutching a backpack that was threatening to fly away. Below that, a second header read “Class Schedule for Rei Akiyama.” Warning Bell—9:25am First Bell—9:30am - 11:10am First Period (A Days): Home Economics – Mrs. Juliet Greer – Room 106 Third Period (B Days): History and Civics – Ms. Laura Belmonte – Room 203 Second Bell—11:20am - 1:00pm Second Period (A Days): Arts & Crafts – Ms. Kimberly Pinder – Room 121 Fourth Period (B Days): Band – Mrs. Abra Bush – Room 85 Lunch Bell—1:10pm - 2:10pm Cafeteria – Changing Station 1 Third Bell—2:20pm - 4:00pm Third Period (A Days): English – Ms. Catherine Ingrassia – Room 125 Sixth Period (B Days): Gym – Mrs. Eliza Mosher – Changing Station 1 Final Bell—4:00pm Bus #2 Rei wonder, for just a moment, why she would need to be assigned a “Changing Station” for lunch. It wasn’t hard to figure out. Her last conversation with Megan had left her feeling like maybe this whole second time around in high school might not be so bad, but today had really pushed the believability of that idea. “Well?” Ms. Akiyama spoke up suddenly, “are you excited to start on Monday?” “Yeah,” Rei said plainly, leaning her head against the window. Ms. Akiyama couldn’t help but frown at the response. Rei had always liked school; her academics had always been very important to her. Ms. Akiyama had always been so proud of her daughter for these qualities, so it was hard to see her daughter so listless and, frankly, apathetic about them now. And then the doubt was creeping in. It was creeping in a lot lately. She would have done anything to know with certainty that she was doing the right thing, but was there any such thing as certainty when it came to raising children? Even traditional parenting wisdom no longer felt so wise. But what was she supposed to do? Leave Rei to figure things out on her own? She was only 19! She wasn’t ready to make these kinds of decisions. As proud as she was of her daughter’s academic penchant, she also had to admit that it did her very little good in this world they now found themselves living in. In fact, it might do her more harm than good. Rei was bright, inquisitive, and persistent. Those weren’t qualities prized in nineteen-year-old girls anymore. And they weren’t qualities that mixed with the kind of education she had been getting at college, with the kind of ideas she was exposed to. But maybe Ms. Akiyama was leaping to conclusions. Sure, Rei had lied about that women’s studies class, and she had skipped school, and apparently been hanging out with an emancipated girl, but she was still a good kid…right? She would never do anything like those girls they arrested…right? A chime went off in the passenger seat and Ms. Akiyama watched from the corner of her eye as Rei fished her phone out of her pocket and tapped in her code—03-something-something? Ms. Akiyama immediately felt guilty for even trying to guess, but, still, she couldn’t help but wonder who her daughter was texting with as Rei began to tap away at the screen. “Hey! My mom said your mom said you registered for classes at hillridge today?” It was from Megan. Rei didn’t know that hers and Megan’s moms talked that much. Not for the first time, she wondered if their meeting at Babies R Us truly was a coincidence. “Yeah” Rei sent back. She was still holding the schedule in her other hand, so she swapped to the camera on her phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to Megan. The reply came a moment later: “omg! We have so many of the same classes!” “Oh yeah?” Rei replied, because it felt like an appropriate and polite way to respond. “Yeah! We have all our B day classes together 😊 but no A day classes together ☹” “Which is Monday?” “B day! So I can show you around!” “That’s awesome” Rei replied and while there was certainly nothing even remotely awesome about this situation, she was actually relieved to know she’d know someone on her first day of school. The three dancing dots appeared, indicating that Megan was typing a reply, but before it came through, another notification diverted Rei’s attention. “hey wanna hang out? i can pick you up at your house, miss you girl” it was from Riley. Rei felt her face go a little warm. She’d been dodging Riley lately, mostly because she was ashamed of being removed from college and sent to an extended high school program and feared Riley wouldn’t want to be her friend anymore. She was at least vaguely aware that avoidance was not the best solution to a feared abandonment, but, then again, Riley couldn’t stop being friends with her if she stopped being friends with Riley first. And yet here was proof that she was being ridiculous all along. Riley wanted to hang out. Riley missed her, if she was to be believed, and Rei very much wanted to believe her. “Cant” she typed reluctantly, “I don’t think mom would let me out of the house” followed by a crying face. “oh? what’s going on?” Riley replied. Almost simultaneously, Megan messaged “What bus are you on? We’re in the same neighborhood, so we might even be on the same bus! If we’re not, I can meet you in front of the school and help you find your locker!” Rei dismissed the notification from Megan and began typing her reply to Rei, “She’s just…kind of on high alert I guess since she took me out of college” “oh right how’s high school btw?” This time Rei’s cheeks warmed for a different reason: embarrassment. The question felt…mocking. Was Riley laughing at her? Surely, she wouldn’t do that, right? “IDK signed up for classes today, I start on Monday” “i really am sorry, i hope its not too bad, its gonna suck not having you around here anymore, ill miss our lunch dates” Rei’s face split into a giant, almost goofy grin. No, she hadn’t been making fun, she’d been genuinely asking. “Then I can take you to all your classes and introduce you to some of my friends! If you want, during lunch we can probably get a pass to leave the cafeteria and I can show you where you’re A day classes are!” Megan interjected. “Yeah I’ll miss them too, I hope we can hang out soon” Rei ventured, hoping she wasn’t being too…clingy? “maybe ill pick you up from school lol” Wait, was she making fun after all? A second message came through before Rei could get too paranoid, “we can go back to my house and i can show you some of my art?” The text was followed by a little pleading face, and Rei felt her heart skip a beat. She was inviting Rei back to her house? Rei felt a surge of anxiety over the intimacy of such a scenario. “Are you going to do any after school activities?” Goddammit Megan. Rei once again dismissed the notification from Megan and replied to Riley, “I’d love to, but I’m not sure my mom is going to love the idea, she’s going to be expecting me to come home on the bus and the way she’s been lately she’ll probably be waiting at the bus stop” Megan chimed in with “If you didn’t know, there’s a late bus for after school activities! It leaves the school at 6pm.” Wait, that gave Rei an idea. “I didn’t know that! What kind of after school activities are there?” Rei responded to Megan. Maybe, just maybe, there was an opportunity here. “Oh, there’s a bunch! Here, there’s actually a list online, here’s the link.” Rei clicked the link and, sure enough, found herself looking at a list of the after-school activities offered at Hillridge. “shit that sucks, maybe we can figure something out” Riley messaged. “Actually, I have an idea, how far do you live from hillridge high school?” “about 10 or 15 minutes i think, why?” Yes, Rei thought, this could work. Part Two The Sharpest Lives Chapter Forty-One “Good morning, Greenham! It’s a sunny but chilly Monday morning and with Halloween just a little over a week away and the presidential election two weeks away, we’ve got quite the show for you this morning! In the first half of the show, we’ll be doing a fashion show of some great Halloween costume ideas for kids from zero to twenty-eight as well as some spooktacular craft ideas for you moms out there to do with those kiddos. We’ve also got celebrity chef Gretchen Meyers on the show today baking up some scary good treats. In the second half, we have a panel of speakers from conservative group Moms of America to discuss why every good mother should be voting for National Unity Party candidate and incumbent president, President Charles Sherman Richardson. Then news correspondent Robyn Botsky will be sitting down with National Freedom Party presidential candidate Julius Thorndyke to discuss his views on the recently passed HaRPR Act. It’s going to be a great day, so thank you for joining us on Good Morning, Greenham.” From the kitchen, Ms. Akiyama could only just make out the sounds of the TV over the noise she was making as she bustled around the room pulling out all the ingredients she would need for breakfast. Normally, she’d never be making chocolate chip pancakes on a random Monday morning, but today was not just any Monday, it was Rei’s first day at her new high school. Ms. Akiyama was already worried about how sullen and moody Rei had been the past few days since they had signed her up for classes, she wanted to make sure Rei had the best possible start to her first day. She was even already dressed and ready to drive Rei to school rather than making her navigate the bus. She’d also allowed Rei to sleep in as much as possible, but, looking at the clock, she saw that could be put off no longer. Setting aside her breakfast preparations for a moment, Ms. Akiyama untied her apron and hung it on the hook by the kitchen door as she made her way towards the stairs to the second floor. At the top of the stairs, she strode over to Rei’s bedroom door and cracked it open. “Good morning,” she said in a singsong voice, but Rei didn’t even stir. Ms. Akiyama pushed the door open all the way, made her way to the windows, and pushed open the curtains, letting in the morning light. Rei made a small protesting sound as the morning sun beamed right through her window. “Morning sleepyhead,” Ms. Akiyama sang again. “Mornin’,” Rei mumbled, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes. She threw back her covers and swung her feet out of bed. She had been waking up in wet diapers for almost a week now—long enough that she didn’t even think about the garment until she rose to her feet and the diaper sagged heavily between her legs, causing it to strain against her hips. Ms. Akiyama suppressed a giggle at how much her daughter looked the very image of a toddler in that moment. Her hair was in a disarray, her eyes were bleary, and there was dry drool caked on one side of her face. Not to mention, her sagging diaper strained against the crotch of her pajama pants—there was also a distinct smell of pee emanating from the girl. “Looks like you slept well,” she chuckled. “Go on and get the shower,” Ms. Akiyama said, guiding her partially-awake daughter out of the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom. “Breakfast will be done by the time you’re out and dressed, okay?” Rei nodded and closed the door behind her. She’s slept poorly, tossing and turning all night wondering what horrors this day held for her, and she wasn’t in the mood for…well, any of this. She leaned on the sink and looked at herself in the mirror—she looked like a mess. The water roared out of the shower head as Rei turned the shower knob to the spot she knew would give her the optimal shower temperature. She’d lived in this house long enough to know it by heart. As the water warmed, she pulled the t-shirt she had worn to bed over her head and shimmied out of her pajama pants. The tapes of her diaper—shudder at the thought—ripped open, and Rei let the sodden padding drop to the floor. Her mood immediately improved. Every woman knows the absolute relief of taking your bra off at the end of a long day; only girls who wet the bed know the relief of taking off your nighttime diaper. Wrinkling her nose at the smell of pee, Rei balled the diaper up and threw it in the metal trash can her mother had put in the bathroom over the weekend to act as Rei’s new diaper pail—another shudder inducing thought. As steam began to waft out of the shower, Rei stepped in and plunged her body under the water. The warm water cascaded down on her, washing away the sleep and pee alike, and by the time she stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel off the rack, she was feeling almost like an adult again. Her mood took another turn to sour, however, when she got back to her room and found her mother had neatly laid out an outfit for her. It wasn’t like Rei had much choice—Hillridge, after all, had a uniform—but it was the principle of the matter. Rei could pick her own clothes; she did not need her mother doing it for her. Her mother had picked out a pleated, gold and blue plaid skirt, a white, button-down blouse with a lacy Peter Pan collar, and a black knit sweater vest with gold embroidery around the bottom and sleeves. There was also a pair of white, cable-knit thigh highs, a pair of cotton, floral-print panties, and a simple white bra with just a touch of lace trim and little pink bow in the center. And then, of course, there was the black leather mary jane shoes. Rei could have picked different clothes. To a degree anyway. She could have picked a different colored skirt, though they were all pleated plaid a-line skirts that came to her knees. Likewise, she could have picked a different color sweater vest, but the blouse was non-negotiable. The tights could be traded out for any other pair of opaque tights, pantyhose, or thigh-high socks, but the shoes, like the shirt, had no alternatives. Rei was pretty sure there were no uniform regulations for panties and bras, but maybe that was wishful thinking. The thought of utilizing this autonomy was tempting, but Rei ultimately decided to just go with what her mother picked. This was definitely a choose your battles kind of day. “Oh my gosh,” Ms. Akiyama practically cooed as Rei entered the kitchen in her school uniform, “you look absolutely adorable.” True to her word, Ms. Akiyama was just beginning to plate the chocolate chip pancakes. She set a plate of them down at Rei’s place at the table where two different bottles of syrup—one strawberry, one chocolate—and a can of whipped cream already sat. “Eat up, honey!” Rei’s stomach grumbled over the smell of the pancakes, and her embarrassment over her mother cooing over her outfit quickly fled. She sat down, drenched her pancakes in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, and dove in with enthusiasm. “Ready for your first day?” Ms. Akiyama asked, seemingly trying to spoil such a wonderful breakfast. “Yeah, sure,” Rei responded blandly between bites. “It’ll be great.” Ms. Akiyama frowned, “don’t be sarcastic, Rei, it’s unbecoming.” Rei just wordlessly shoveled more pancakes into her mouth. So much for a good start to the day. Chapter Forty-Two “Rei!” She heard her name being yelled even before the car door slammed shut behind her. As her mother drove off, Megan came barreling against the tide of girls slowly moving towards the front doors of Hillridge High School. “Rei!” She yelled again as all but tackled Rei with a ferocious hug. “Oh my god, I’m so excited! Are you excited?” “Yeah,” Rei said uncertainly, put off by Megan’s enthusiasm. “Rei, this is my friend Jackie,” Megan said as she let go of Rei and gestured to a girl who had just picked way through the crowd much more carefully. The girl had a mess of curly, bright red hair, a forest of freckles on her cheeks, and glasses with thick black frames. She smiled and gave an awkward wave. “Jackie, this is my friend Rei!” “Nice to meet you,” Jackie said cheerfully. Rei meant to respond, but before she could quite get the words out of her mouth, Megan had grabbed her by the wrist and was dragging her towards the front door, Jackie following close behind. “Jackie has first period with us, so she’s going to come with us, okay? Let’s go to your locker first! Which locker do you have?” “Uh,” Rei fished her schedule out of her backpack, a simple task made complex by being dragged by the wrist, “locker 134.” “Great! I know exactly where that is!” Rei had to walk faster than was strictly comfortable to keep up with the overexcited Megan. Her old friend rambled on as she dragged Rei through the crowds, pointing out various things and giving little tidbits about the school. It all went in one ear and out the other though, as Rei was a little too overwhelmed by how quickly things were happening to truly keep up. Before she knew it, Rei was being watched by Megan and Jackie as she fumbled her way through opening her locker. Through a combination of user error and a finnicky combination lock, it took her a few attempts, but finally the door swung open. “Oh!” Megan exclaimed upon seeing the empty locker beyond, “I forgot, you don’t even have any books yet! We didn’t need to come here at all!” Rei grimaced. At least, she supposed, she would have had to come here eventually, but knowing she’d struggled with the lock for nothing annoyed her. “Okay!” Megan looked at her watch, “we have ten minutes until the first class starts, but we should probably get there early so you can introduce yourself to Ms. Belmonte.” “You guys go ahead,” Jackie chimed in, “I’ll meet you there, I need to run by a nurse’s station.” “Oh my god, already?” Megan replied in a tone that was half-exasperated and half-teasing. Jackie’s cheeks turned a shade pinker, “shut up,” she said defensively, “I had a lot of juice for breakfast.” Megan giggled, “okay, see you in class.” As Jackie walked away, Rei finally realized what they were talking about, and her cheeks burned crimson over how openly they were talking about it here in the locker commons where anyone could overhear. Wait, was Jackie wearing diapers? She felt a little creepy, but she stole a glance at Jackie’s butt as she walked away. The pleated skirt made it nearly impossible to tell. She looked to Megan and, sure enough, she realized she’d have no idea Megan was wearing a diaper under there if she wasn’t already aware of that. As Megan began to once again lead her through the school by the wrist, Rei’s attention had something new to focus on. How many of these girls were wearing diapers? Sure, there had been girls who wore diapers at college, some even openly wore them, but that wasn’t quite the same as having casual conversations about getting changed where anyone could hear. A few moments later, as she was being dragged through the halls, she caught sight of Jackie again. She was standing in a line that led out the door of a room labeled “Nurse’s Station #2.” There had to be at least twelve girls standing in line, and that was just those she could see outside the room. It began to occur to Rei that high school this time around was definitely not going to be anything like her first go around. Chapter Forty-Three “Oh! You must be Rei! Welcome!” Ms. Laura Belmonte was a young woman with a bright smile. Her brown hair was wavy and thick. She wore big, round glasses and an oversized, light grey cardigan over black slacks and a white, boat-neck top. An American flag broach decorated the breast of her cardigan. “They told me to expect a new student today!” “Rei is an old friend of mine, Ms. Belmonte!” Megan said proudly, “I’m showing her around today!” “Oh, are you?” Ms. Belmonte spoke to Megan with the kind of exaggerated enthusiasm adults typically reserve for small children. “Well, I’m sure she’s very grateful, aren’t you Rei?” Rei nodded. “A quiet one, huh?” Ms. Belmonte said with a wink and quipped, “I guess opposites attract after all. Well, thank you for showing Rei to class, Megan; why don’t you go sit down and claim a seat next to you for Rei while I talk to her at my desk for a moment, okay?” “Okay, Ms. Belmonte!” Megan practically skipped off. “It must be so nice to have such an enthusiastic friend to show you around on your first day, huh Rei?” Her tone towards Rei was more neutral, but not quite what one would use to talk to a fellow adult. Ms. Belmonte gestured for Rei to follow her as she began walking towards her desk. “Now, you’re actually in luck, we’re starting a whole new unit today, so you actually don’t need to catch up on anything! You can just start right along with the rest of us, isn’t that nice?” “Yes, that is nice,” Rei said when Ms. Belmonte paused in speaking long enough for Rei to realize she expected a response. “This will be your textbook,” Ms. Belmonte explained as she handed Rei a hardcover book titled Modern American History and Civics. Smaller letters directly under the title read, “A Primer for Young Adult Girls.” Rei immediately had doubts regarding the scholarly credibility of the textbook. Ms. Belmonte then handed Rei a small packet of papers stapled together, “and here’s the syllabus with all the course policies! Now, I want you to read through the course policies carefully! Not knowing the rules is not an excuse for not properly following them!” Dismissed to rejoin Megan, Rei looked through the rules as she made her way back to her friend. Most of it made sense. No phones in class—sure. No food in class and only covered drinks—not allowed food was, in Rei’s opinion, a little dumb, but that was a rule she’d see in any high school. Late-work policy, make-up test policy, absences and tardies policy, all normal. Hall passes: “Students must ask for permission to take a hall pass to leave the room during class. There will be no hall passes given out the first or last 15 minutes of class or during quizzes or tests. Only one hall pass will be given per period. Ms. Belmonte may refuse to allow a student to take a hall pass for any reason.” Okay, that was pretty normal up until the end. Rei supposed that seemed reasonable, but, on the other hand, it felt ominous. “Ms. Belmonte is super nice,” Megan told Rei as she slid into the desk next to Megan, “I really like this class; it’s one of my favorites.” Rei made an ambiguous sound in response and, sliding the syllabus into the notebook she had brought with her today, started to look around the room as it slowly filled with students. She could have sworn she caught a few quickly averting their gaze away from her as she surveyed the room. She wasn’t surprised; everyone was always curious about the new girl. Rei couldn’t help but wonder if they were wondering the same thing about her that she was of them; namely, who amongst them was wearing diapers? A moment later, Jackie rejoined them, taking the desk next to Rei on the other side from Megan. “So,” she said as she took her seat and started pulling out her own notebook and writing utensils, “are you going to be join Megan and me after school?” “Oh, for what?” Rei asked as Megan was saying, “I hadn’t talked to her about it yet!” “Band club,” Jackie responded simply. Megan picked up right where Jackie left off, “it’s a bunch of the band kids and we get together to play music that’s, you know, a little more fun than what we play in band class!” “Like pop music or music from movies and stuff,” Jackie supplemented. “Right now, we’re working on a MAGICkGIRLs song!” Megan gushed. “Megan said you’d probably be joining us,” Jackie informed her. “Oh,” Rei felt dizzy from looking back and forth between the two, “uhm, maybe! That sounds like it could be fun.” Rei hadn’t played her flute since her first time in high school, but she remembered always enjoying it. And, funnily enough, she had considered band club as a cover for other after school activities, such as seeing Riley. Rei had even thought that maybe she’d even go for real sometimes to really sell the lie. But if Megan was going to be able to snitch on her to her mom when she didn’t show up for band club practice, it was a no-go. “I was looking at a few different after school clubs,” she added, preparing them for disappointment. “You could always do more than one!” Megan said, “most only meet one or two days a week, so you can participate in multiple!” “Oh,” Rei said. She did not know that. “Well, maybe.” And she found she meant it. The two girls began to tell Rei all about what songs their band club had been practicing since the school year began while Rei continued to look back and forth between the two girls. Suddenly, a bell sounded throughout the school, and Megan and Jackie went silent as Ms. Belmonte walked from her desk to the front of the room. It was time for Rei’s first high school class. Chapter Forty-Four “Good morning, class!” A murmur of good mornings followed. “I hope you all had a good weekend! It’s always so nice to see you all nice and refreshed after a restful weekend. Well, today, we’re starting a brand-new unit! But let me ask you a question first. What happens in just a little over two weeks on November 7th?” A few hands went up, and Ms. Belmonte pointed at a girl with dirty blonde hair in a pink sweater vest, “yes, Lindsey?” “The presidential election,” Lindsey responded confidently. “Yes! Very good! And that’s very important! So, today, we’re going to learn all about how the president gets picked as the first part of our unit on the ‘executive branch.’” She enunciated “executive branch” very deliberately and carefully, as if some students might have trouble pronouncing it. “Now, who can tell me what the executive branch even is? Anyone?” A few hands went up, but Rei felt as much as she saw Ms. Belmonte’s eyes settle on her. “Oh, dear, class! I almost forgot to introduce our new student! Everyone, this is Rei…oh, I believe it’s Akiyama? Is that correct?” “Yes, Rei Akiyama” Rei said softly. “Everyone please welcome Rei,” Ms. Belmonte said, and a murmur of welcomes followed. “Rei, why don’t you stand up and tell us a little bit about yourself!” Rei felt her face blanch. That was the last thing she wanted to do, but she could tell by the eager look on Ms. Belmonte’s face that this was not something she could get out of. “Um, I’m Rei,” she said, giving a small wave as she stood up, “I’m new here at Hillridge, and…uh…” “Where are you from?” Ms. Belmonte prompted. “Oh, uh, from Greenham,” Rei explained, “I was going to Greenham Community College before this.” “Ohh, very good!” Ms. Belmonte gave a big smile. “Well, since you’re standing up, Rei, would you like to tell us what the executive branch is?” “It’s, uhm,” Rei stuttered a little bit. It wasn’t a hard question—it was, in fact, an incredibly easy question—but Rei’s brain felt like a lawn mower that wouldn’t start. “It’s, uh…” “It’s okay if you don’t know, sweetie,” Ms. Belmonte said, “you can go ahead and sit down.” “No!” Rei blurted out, slightly offended by both the insinuation that she didn’t know the answer to such a simple question and the tone that Ms. Belmonte had begun to take with her. She immediately began blushing over her outburst, “uh, sorry,” she said, “what I meant is I know it, it’s, uh…the president!” She finally blurted out. “It’s the president and like all the people who work in the White House like the cabinet and stuff.” It wasn’t the most elegant response, but she had at least gotten it out. “Very good!” Ms. Belmonte said and motioned for Rei to sit back down, which she did gratefully. “And does anyone know how we pick the president?” “We vote!” A girl shouted out. “Courtney,” Ms. Belmonte admonished, “raise your hand next time! But, yes, or…that’s part of the story! Has anyone ever heard of the ‘electoral college’?” Like “executive branch,” she enunciated the phrase very carefully and slowly. As Ms. Belmonte launched into her explanation of the electoral college and the voting process, Rei, who had known all of this stuff since middle school, began to half-listen while flipping through her textbook. It quickly became apparent that the modern in the title referred to both the era of history it covered and the perspective from which it covered it. The textbook had all of one very revisionist chapter dedicated to the history of the United States prior to 1980. The book was current, at least; the last chapter, titled “The Hayes Act: A Bold New Future,” was all about the passing of the titular act. The chapter, and thus the textbook as a whole, ended with, “Who knows what the future of the United States of America holds? The last fifty years of our country’s history has been a time of great change—technologically, politically, and culturally—and the only thing that’s certain about the future is that we’re in for more change. Many, however, believe that the passage of The Hayes Act and its subsequent social reordering will usher in an unparalleled time of American greatness as we return to our core values and rededicate ourselves to taking care of the most vulnerable populations amongst us. God bless America.” And they said college was full of propaganda. Rei could already tell this was not going to be her favorite class. But, the thing was, how did Megan buy into all of this? Hadn’t she been against the Hayes Act when it was still being debated in congress? How had Megan become this girl who now said this propaganda filled so-called history and civics class was one of her favorites? In so many ways, Megan was the same girl Rei had known what felt like a lifetime ago, but in others… Sighing, Rei closed the textbook. She glanced over at Megan, who was dutifully taking notes on things Rei knew Megan had learned in middle school too. She’d gone bottoms up on the kool-aid, that was for certain, but Rei couldn’t deny that she seemed happy. And maybe there was something to be said for that. What was it Megan had said that night at her house? You can’t spend your life mad? Maybe. But Rei wasn’t done being mad yet. Chapter Forty-Five The day before her first day at her new school, Rei had spent nearly an hour searching through her closet and under her bed to find her flute, which hadn’t been played since the last time she was in high school. Now, there was about fifty sets of eyes staring at her as she raised the flute to her lips for the first time in recent memory. The funny thing was that Rei was actually looking forward to band. At least, as much as she was looking forward to any of the classes on her schedule. She’d always enjoyed playing the flute; it was just a hobby that kind of got discarded between high school and college. But now, her hands were sweating and her mouth was dry, which was roughly the opposite of how you want things to be when you’re playing an instrument. The class had started well enough. Just as Ms. Belmonte had, Mrs. Abra Bush greeted Rei nearly the moment she walked through the door. The band room was a large, trapezoidal room with a tiered floor, high ceilings, and walls lined with acoustic panels. From the lowest point of the room, a woman Rei judged to be in her 60’s beckoned as she called, “Rei Akiyama, right? Well, come on young lady, come introduce yourself!” Singled out as she was, Rei felt the weight of not only Mrs. Bush’s eyes as she made her way down the tiers but all of her classmates as well. “Well?” the woman asked as Rei approached. Confused by the question, Rei stared at the woman blankly for a moment before uttering a meek, “sorry?” “Aren’t you going to introduced yourself, girl?” Mrs. Bush stern tone matched her sterner face. She had short, white hair, and deep lines on her face, made all the deeper at the moment by her fierce frown. “Oh, yes, sorry,” Rei extended her hand, “I’m Rei Akiyama.” Mrs. Bush sniffed, “don’t you know to address adults by sir and ma’am?” “Oh, yes, sorry.” “Sorry, what?” “I mean, sorry, ma’am.” By the end of the short exchange, Rei’s eyes were fixed to the bluish-green carpet, her cheeks aflame. Mrs. Bush tapped her conductor’s wand on the podium in front of her as she scrutinized Rei. “Very well, Rei Akiyama,” Mrs. Bush said at last, “what instrument do your play?” “Flute,” adding a noticeable moment later, “ma’am.” “We look at people when we speak to them,” Mrs. Bush informed. Rei looked up. “I’ll ask again, what instrument do you play?” “Flute, ma’am.” Rei’s entire face was hot, and she could feel tears building up behind her eyes. At least, she thought, no one could hear this exchange over the sound of instruments playing scales as the students began to warm up. “And, Ms. Akiyama, do you have your own flute or will you be borrowing one from the school?” “I have my own, ma’am,” Rei leaped at the opportunity to look anywhere other than Mrs. Bush’s frowning face as she practically dove into her backpack to retrieve the slim, black flute case. “Very good,” Mrs. Bush nodded, “and how many years have you been playing the flute?” “Since fourth grade, bu—” Rei tried to inform her that she hadn’t played since she had graduated from high school the first time, which was over a year ago at this point, but Mrs. Bush cut her off. “Very good, then you know where the flutes sit, go ahead and take a seat and start to warm up, we’ll give you your chair test when class begins.” “But, I—” “That will be all, Ms. Akiyama,” Mrs. Bush stepped back on her podium and began to shuffle through the papers there, a clear indication that she was done talking to Rei. So, in fairness, Rei did have some warning. She had enough time to shakily sit down (she was not, in fact, sure she did know where the flutes sat, but it was easy enough to find the other girls with flutes and sit by them) and unpack her flute. Her hands were trembling as she fit the pieces of her flute together and raised it to her lips. Some of her anxiety eased as her fingers automatically found their way to a good neutral position—hopefully her muscle memory went a bit further than just that. She was even more relieved when she produced one solid, clear note on the first try. Okay, she thought, maybe I’m not so rusty after all. But after a few moments of unsteady scales and half-forgotten warm-up drills, the bell rung—Rei began to sweat. “Good morning, class,” Mrs. Bush spoke over the last dwindling remains of conversation and was greeted in turn with a wall of murmured “good mornings.” “Today,” she continued, “we have a new addition to our little band! Joining the flute section, we have Ms. Rei Akiyama, say hello class.” More murmured call and response. “So, we’ll have to spend the beginning of class doing a quick chair test for the flute section. Please be patient and more importantly quiet.” She didn’t speak particularly loudly or angrily, but she spoke in a commanding tone that carried to the back of the room easily. “Now, Julia,” the girl in the outermost chair of the flute section jumped to attention, “as first chair flute, you’ll get us started. Please play from the top of Arabesque Number 1 to the rest in line 6.” Julia nodded, shuffled some papers around on the music stand in front of her, sat up straight, raised the flute to her lips, and began to play. It was immediately clear why Julia was first chair flute as the room filled with her melody. It was lilting and sweet and gentle and even Rei momentarily forgot her anxieties, and then rapidly remembered them as Julia’s chair test came to a close and Rei realized that she had just set the standard to follow. One by one, Mrs. Bush worked through the flute section. With a couple exceptions, each flutist performed a little less well than the one before them. Incidentally, Rei had inadvertently taken the seat at the end of the flute section, and so, naturally, she had to sit through all 7 students in front of her. As the seventh and final played, Rei’s heart was pounding in her chest and her hands were sweating. She was certain if she tried to stand, her rubbery legs would give out beneath her. And then the girl in front of her was lowering her flute. “Thank you, Samantha,” Mrs. Bush said, made a few notes, and then looked up at Rei. “And, finally, are newest student. If you would please…?” Panic rose in Rei’s throat as she realized she didn’t have the sheet music in front of her, but as Samantha, realizing the same, placed her copy on the music stand in front of Rei, she realized having the sheet music didn’t make anything better. It was still a piece she had never played before on an instrument she hadn’t played in a year until her warm-ups a few minutes ago. “Whenever you’re ready,” Mrs. Bush prompted after a few moments of awkward silence had passed. Slowly and shakily, Rei raised the flute to her lips and positioned her fingers in what she believed to be the proper positioning for the first note. She pursed her lips and blew. Nothing. She laughed nervously as Mrs. Bush frowned. Rei adjusted her grip on her flute just a little, softened her lips, and blew again, this time harder. A loud, sharp, discordant note bleated out into the room, and everyone winced. “Uhm, sorry,” Rei muttered, and tried again. This time, the note came out as intended. Almost surprised, Rei held the note too long before moving onto the next. Rei wasn’t sure how long it took, but she played her way through all six lines of the piece. It was a jerking, halting sort of rendition, off-key and off-tempo. She watched as Mrs. Bush screwed up her face in annoyance and displeasure multiple times throughout her performance, if it could be called that. Rei prayed she would stop her and put an end of this, but Mrs. Bush made no sign of cutting her off. As Rei lowered her flute, she was sure everyone was about to burst out laughing, and she equally sure she would burst into tears if they did. Instead, there was an awkward silence, then Mrs. Bush broke it, “well,” she said, “that was…something…” she scratched a few notes. “Okay, so, first chair will remain Julia,” she began to go down the list. For the most part, positions stayed the same, but a few girls swapped places. “And finally, last chair will be Rei Akiyama. Okay,” she quickly moved on, “please get out your sheet music, we’ve wasted enough of our practice time.” The look she gave Rei as she shifted gears made it clear exactly who she thought had been the waste of time. Chapter Forty-Six “So, what do you think of Hillridge so far?” Megan asked brightly, seemingly oblivious to the humiliation Rei had just suffered. “It’s lunch time now, right?” Rei asked hopefully, completely dodging Megan’s question. She was pretty sure it was lunch—she was praying it was lunch. Rei wasn’t sure she could deal with another class just yet. “Yeah! But come on, we gotta go to the changing room first! You’re in changing room one with me,” Megan informed her before, once again, grabbing Rei’s wrist and dragging her through the hallways. Before long, the pair came to a door marked “Changing Room #1.” Megan pushed the swinging door open and pulled Rei into what her first high school had called a locker room. Looking down the length of the long room, there were multiple locker bays on the right side of the room jutting out perpendicularly to the wall with wooden benches separating each. Immediately to the left of where they now stood were four toilet stalls, and then a whole bank of shower stalls with the white plastic curtains drawn. There seemed to be a line for the shower, which certainly confused Rei, especially since none of the girls in line seemed to be in gym clothing. But as Rei puzzled over this, one of the white curtains slid open, and a girl fully dressed in her uniform shuffled out. Between that and the woman who stepped out after the girl and beckoned the next girl in line forward, it finally dawned on Rei what was happening. “Come on,” Megan tugged her friend towards the back of the line. “Oh, uh, I don’t…I mean…” Rei spluttered. “I know, silly,” Megan replied with a giggle, “but I do, and you have to wait for me!” Rei grumbled internally over this but stopped protesting and got in line with Megan. She couldn’t help but feel like everyone was looking at her, especially the occasional girl that walked past the line to the toilet stalls. Was everyone assuming she was wearing a diaper? Megan rambled on about what classes she liked and which she didn’t as Rei watched the line move slowly but steadily forward. She noticed that at the end of the line was a woman wearing dark slacks and blue polo shirt who seemed to be checking students off on a tablet. As each student came out of a stall, a woman inside (who Rei assumed were all school nurses) would beckon the next forth. Sometimes, the student would simply slip into the stall without a word, but other times the student would lift their skirt to allow the nurse to inspect…whatever they were wearing under their skirt. In most of the latter cases, the nurse would, after their inspection, wave the student on. The student would drop her skirt and leave the room by the door on the far side of the changing room. Occasionally, a nurse would usher a student into the room after an inspection, closing the curtain behind them. By the time Megan was next in line, Rei was positive she had heard absolutely nothing the girl had said. “Hey, Megan,” the woman with the tablet said in a familiar tone as she tapped a few times on the screen of her tablet. “How are you today, sweetie?” “I’m doing really good! How are you?” “Doing great and ready for another week! Who’s your friend?” “Oh, this is Rei! She’s an old friend of mine, but she just started at Hillridge.” “Rei? Last name?” The woman prompted as she began scrolling through something on her tablet. “Oh, I, uh, don’t think I’m on that list,” Rei said hopefully, then explained, “I’m just waiting in line with Megan.” “Ohhh, I see,” the woman smiled, “that’s okay! What a good friend you are!” As she spoke, a girl came out of one of the stalls ahead of them and Megan was beckoned forward. “Well, Rei, you can grab a seat on one of those benches while you wait for Megan, okay?” Rei nodded and meandered over to the indicated bench as she watched Megan disappear behind the curtain. This close to the stalls, she could hear the by now all-too-familiar sound of softly rustling plastic and loudly ripping tapes. Rei remembered when she thought this was going to be just like her old high school. Chapter Forty-Seven Rei felt a bit like a nervous puppy cautiously following its new owner as Megan led her on a weaving path through the cafeteria. The cavernous room was full of long tables with backless stools attached to them. By the time Rei and Megan had made their way through the lunch line, the tables were beginning to fill up quickly. But by the way Megan was making a beeline for a specific location, Rei had a feeling there was assigned seating, either by design or by human nature. Megan led Rei to the end of a table in the far corner from the kitchen, close to the main doors of the cafeteria. They were enthusiastically greeted by Jackie and two other girls Rei hadn’t met yet. “Rei, this is Emily,” Megan said as she set her lunch tray on the table and took a seat while gesturing to a freckled pale girl with braces and a tight, dirty blonde ponytail. “And this,” she gestured to a brown-skinned girl with curly hair, “is Aya.” “It’s nice to meet you,” Rei said as she took the empty seat next to Megan. “So, you said you used to go to Greenham Community College?” Emily asked bluntly. She must have been in History and Civics, Rei realized. “Uhm, yeah,” Rei nodded. “That’s so cool!” Aya said, “what was it like?” “You know,” Rei said, picking up the little plastic-wrapped bundle of utensils on her tray, “I guess it was pretty good.” “I heard,” Emily spoke matter-of-factly, “that they teach a bunch of really wild and radical stuff and try to brainwash you there.” Jackie nodded sagely, “that’s what my mom said.” “They do not,” Aya rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I mean, not really,” Rei shrugged and pulled her plastic utensils out, surveying the lunch in front of her. “Well, is it true that the girls dress really sluttily and none of them wear even pull-ups?” Emily asked. “Emily, stop pestering her,” Megan chided. “No, it’s okay,” Rei really didn’t care, and, besides, thought that maybe it would do these girls some good to dispel some of these rumors. “I mean, some of the girls dress…I don’t really want to say sluttily…” Rei trailed off as she picked up the roll on her plate and took a bite. A little dry, but not bad. “You know, I mean like, skimpily, right?” Jackie helped. Rei just shrugged, “there’s no dress code there, so, yeah, some of the girls do dress a little…skimpily,” she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the amount of judgement that seemed to be surrounding this conversation. “But there are definitely girls who wear pull-ups. Even diapers.” Aya and Jackie chuckled, leaned their heads together, and whispered. Emily and Megan, meanwhile, blushed and looked down at their own food. “What?” Rei said, unsure what had just happened. “Nothing,” Jackie said quickly, laughter still touching her voice. “I mean, you don’t wear diapers, do you?” “Rei wears big girl panties,” Megan interjected before Rei could even process the question. Rei wasn’t sure, but Megan’s tone of voice seemed almost…proud? Like she was bragging about Rei’s toileting prowess. Rei picked up one of her chicken tenders and took a bite rather than engage with the current topic. “Did you know either of those girls that got arrested?” Aya blurted out excitedly, “I heard they went there.” “Of course she didn’t!” Megan insisted as Rei was still chewing. Despite Megan’s seeming certainty, however, Rei quickly noticed a silence come over the small group as everyone looked at her, eagerly awaiting an answer. “Uh, no, I didn’t,” Rei lied, deciding it was best to deny any relationship she had with them. There was a palpable release of tension at the table as the girls laughed quietly and just a little nervously. Yes, of course she didn’t know them, that would be silly, their laughter seemed to say. “Why did you come to Hillridge anyway?” Emily asked. “Emily!” Megan hissed. “What?” “That’s a rude question!” “Is it?” Aya chimed in, “seems like a normal, polite question to me.” “Well, maybe it’s private and Rei doesn’t want to share,” Megan explained. “It’s okay,” Rei said, tired of being talked about and having Megan speak for her, “I just, you know, got in trouble with my mom a little. Skipping classes, hanging out with people she didn’t approve of, that kind of stuff.” There were eyebrows raised over the idea of Rei hanging out with people her mom didn’t approve of. There was an obvious but unspoken question despite it having already been answered: people like the girls who got arrested? “It’s not a big deal,” Rei tried to dismiss the whole topic as she crunched into an apple slice. “Hillridge seems nice.” “So, what do you like to do?” Aya asked, seemingly picking up on Rei’s desire to change the topic. For the next few minutes, Rei entertained a litany of questions about herself and her interests between bites of her lunch, which was honestly not as bad as she had learned to expect from school cafeterias. Then again, chicken tenders were hard to mess up too badly. Eventually, the conversation drifted away from Rei and on to other topics. As the girls launched into a conversation about a new movie they had all seen but Rei had never heard of, Rei let her attention wonder as she surveyed the lunch room. Back in regular high school, it had been pretty easy to distinguish and identify the various cliques in the school by shared styles and fashion. Now, all the girls wore variously colored variation of the same outfit and all seemed to blend together. As she looked around, Rei remembered what Megan had said that night in her room about how popularity at this school was at least in part tied to whether you wore diapers, pull-ups, or panties. But as she took in the student body, she began wondering how such a ranking system was even possible. Rei had yet to figure out a way to distinguish what any given girl was wearing under her skirt. Loath as she was to admit it, it had been a topic of no small ponderance over the course of the school day so far. But, she wondered, did that mean Aya and Emily wore diapers? Jackie seemed to, based on her words that morning, but did these other two girls? It would seem to make sense; if people who wore pull-ups thought they were cooler than those who wore diapers, why would Emily and Aya hang out with Jackie and Megan? It must, Rei thought, be more complicated than just what underwear someone was wearing. The bell rang, interrupting Rei’s train of thought, and all the students around her rose and began to migrate towards the doors of the cafeteria. As Rei followed Megan and the other girls, depositing her lunch tray on a pile of other trays on the way, she felt a brief moment of relief at the realization that there was only one more class to get through that day. Then she remembered what it was. Gym. Chapter Forty-Eight Rei followed Megan, Aya, Jackie, and Emily (who apparently all had gym the same period) back to the changing room she had visited with just Megan before lunch. This time, however, the room had a very different energy. There was still a line, albeit a quite shorter one, for what Rei now knew were diaper changing stations, but there didn’t seem to be quite as many nurses on duty. Rei watched, filled with a mixture of horror and second-hand embarrassment, as a girl walked out of one of the stalls with her skirt in her hand and a thick diaper adorned with Sesame Street character on full display. No one else seemed to give the girl so much as a second glance as she made her way to one of the lockers and began changing into her gym uniform. As Rei continued to look around, she quickly saw this girl was far from the only one openly wearing a diaper. Everywhere Rei looked, she saw girls in various states of dress wearing diapers or pull-ups. Suddenly, Rei understood how everyone was aware of what kind of underwear everyone else wore. Rei was vaguely aware of following Megan, Aya, and Emily deeper into the locker room, but Rei was moving mostly on autopilot, her head on a swivel as she took in what she was seeing. It quickly became apparent to Rei that she was, in fact, in the minority for still being in panties. Most girls seemed to be wearing pull-ups, the designs of which really ran the gamut. She saw some that were close enough to panties to fool a casual glance, while others were adorned with cartoon princesses. And, Rei noted, it wasn’t just most girls; it was most girls by a very large margin. Of the girls not in pull-ups, Rei was, yet again, shocked to see that most of those were in diapers. Most of those who wore diapers wore ones with very juvenile patterns—children’s show characters, stuffed animals, bright pastels, even one girl whose diaper featured alphabet blocks that spelled out “BABY” across the butt—but a small handful wore designs that made a very vain attempt at resembling panties (unlike the pull-ups of similar design, these would fool no one) or were otherwise adorned with pop star icons and other designs that made a dubious attempt to make the diapers seem more mature than they were. And then, of course, there were the girls in panties. There were few and far between, from what Rei was seeing. She further noted that even amongst those wearing panties, juvenile ones, both in cut and pattern, seemed to be the rule without exception. Certainly, Rei saw no thongs, nothing lacy or risque. Rather, most of the girls wore low cut briefs or boyshorts with pastel patterns, days of the week, or cartoon characters. What Rei had noted to be missing from the cafeteria—an aesthetic based division of social cliques—was on full display here in the locker room. And, sure enough, as the girls went about the business of changing from their regular school uniforms to the gym uniforms, they seemed to be by and large separated into groups that corresponded with both the aesthetic and absorbency rating of their underwear. There were, of course, exceptions here and there, but the groupings were common enough to be obvious with a casual inspection. Suddenly, Megan, Aya, Jackie, and Emily stopped walking, and Rei, who was, embarrassingly enough, almost too preoccupied looking at everyone’s underwear to notice, nearly walked right into them. Rei’s head snapped to the front to see what had impeded their progress. The woman standing in front of the group of four girls was short, barely taller than Rei. For that matter, she looked barely older than Rei. She had apple cheeks, a rosy button nose, and big blue eyes that dominated her face. With her auburn hair in a loose ponytail, the girl looked young enough to blend in with the girls around her. Everything else about her, however, clearly set her apart. She wore neither the school uniform nor the gym uniform. Instead, she wore a cropped t-shirt that left her stomach bare and form-fitting yoga pants that made it very clear she was not wearing anything remotely absorbent under them. A strikingly mature look compared to the loose black athletic shorts and t-shirt, both emblazoned with the school’s name and mascot, that most of the girls were changing into. Even outside of her clothing, the woman stood with a confidence and certainty that marked her apart from the young women around her. “Hi, girls!” The womaned practically cooed, her voice filled to the very brim with the enthusiasm and exaggerated cheer of the adult host of a children’s show. “How are we today?” Jackie, Megan, Aya, and Emily simultaneously blushed as they gave a chorus of responses—“pretty good!” “good, ma’am!” “great!” “good, thanks!”—while Rei just gave a stunned stare in response. “Aww,” the woman’s eyes locked on to Rei, “and who is this shy little girl behind you, girls? Will you introduce me to your new friend?” “This is Rei!” Megan announced, “I’ve known her for years!” Her and the other two girls stepped to the side so the woman could approach Rei. “Rei, huh?” She said playfully, “well, I’m Mrs. Mosher, Rei! It’s such a pleasure to meet you!” “Um, thanks,” Rei said awkwardly, “um, you too,” she added as an afterthought. Mrs. Mosher smiled at Rei, equal parts condescending and warm, “well, sweet thing, why don’t we get you set up with a locker and a gym uniform, huh?” “Sure,” Rei nodded, “yeah.” “Now, let’s see, what locker numbers are you girls? We’ll try to find Rei here something near you!” “341.” Aya said. “342!” Jackie blurted out. “346!” Megan chirped. “347,” Emily said a little uncertainly. “Perfect! 343 is free! Girls, why don’t you show Rei here to her locker while I get her a uniform and the combination for the locker?” The four girls eagerly agreed, and Rei suddenly found herself being pulled through the rest of the locker room as Megan, Emily, Jackie, and Aya all excitedly discussed how great it would be for the five of them to have gym together. They turned a corner into their locker bay and, for the second time that day, Rei nearly collided into the group of girls in front of her as they once again came to a sudden stop as they came face to face with two girls. “Oh,” Megan, who had been leading the way, said, “hey Olivia, hey Sabrina.” “Sabrina, look,” one of the girls—Olivia, Rei assumed—snarked, “the babies have a new friend.” She was tall and slim with flawless, darkly tanned skinned. Raven black hair cascaded down her face and over her shoulders in deep waves. Sharp-winged eyeliner outlined dark eyes that made her cherry red lips pop. Olivia was standing in front of an open locker (the number 344 printed across it’s door) wearing her school uniform blouse unbuttoned to expose a light pink bra with lace accents and a pair of matching panties. “Aww,” Sabrina cooed as she looked at Rei, “what’s your name sweetie?” The pale blonde that stood slightly behind Olivia was short—the shortest of the assembled girls, in fact, but she carried herself with enough confidence to make up for it—and curvier than a pin-up girl. She was wearing the loose red gym shirt everyone else wore, but she had tied a knot in it to create a crop top. The top of her black athletic shorts was rolled down to show the hem of her panties. Emily, Megan, and Jackie stepped back, shrinking into themselves, but Aya stood her ground. “We’re not babies!” Aya insisted, though her voice lacked any real edge. “Don’t get your diapers twisted, baby,” Olivia shot back with a smirk, “besides, we’re talking to your new friend.” “Yeah,” Sabrina chimed in with backup, “so why don’t you just toddle off and get your diaper changed?” She shoved Aya hard enough to push the girl off balance. She teetered backwards and landed with a thump on the wooden bench behind her. Heads started to swivel in their direction as the other girls in the locker room sensed blood in the water. Rei stood frozen as the two girls turned their attention to her. “I asked,” Sabrina said, “what your name was?” “Or have you not learned to talk yet?” Olivia asked with a pout. Rei looked to Aya, but she just looked back uncertainly. Rei looked to Megan, but the other girl blushed a deep crimson and turned her face away. “Rei,” she said finally, licking her lips. “Rei,” Olivia repeated as though tasting the word, “you must be new at Hillridge.” “That’s right,” Rei replied with a nod. “So, what’s your deal?” She asked, stepping closer. “What do you mean?” Rei asked, stepping backwards. “Well,” Olivia gestured at Megan and the other girls, “you’re hanging out with these babies, so are you a baby too? Or are you just trying to commit social suicide?” Behind her, Sabrina giggled. Rei’s eyes darted around the room. By now a hush had fallen over the locker room, and all of the girls were looking at them. Some of them were whispering or even giggling, but no one was stepping forward to help. “Just…just leave us alone,” Rei stammered weakly, “okay?” Sabrina’s giggling elevated, and Olivia crossed her arms as her smirk widened. “Yeah? Or what? Gonna cry?” The worst part was, Rei felt very close to doing so. The situation had escalated quickly, and Rei felt like she was still trying to catch up. She could feel the weight of all the eyes on her. “Maybe you should check her diaper,” Sabrina suggested, “maybe she’s just grumpy ’cause she needs a change,” she twisted her face into an exaggerated pout. An evil glint shone in Olivia’s eye, and Rei’s stomach flipped. The girl opened her mouth, but another voice cut through the air. “Girls!” Mrs. Mosher was suddenly at their side, and the tension in the air burst like a bubble; the spectators all hurried to look busy doing anything but watching. Rei’s relief was so heavy she nearly collapsed under the weight of it. “Are we making good choices?” Mrs. Mosher’s voice was firm, but not angry. “Yes, Mrs. Mosher,” Olivia and Sabrina said in concert. “Then why don’t you finish getting dressed and get out to the gym?” Mrs. Mosher said seriously. “And whatever was just going on,” she continued as Olivia and Sabrina gave Rei one last withering look before turning back to their lockers, “stops now, understand?” “Yes, Mrs. Mosher,” the girls repeated. “Good,” and with that, she turned to Rei, gave a reassuring smile, and placed a comforting hand on Rei’s shoulder as she spoke with a matronly tone, “are you okay, sweetie?” Rei just nodded. “Still being shy, huh? That’s okay!” She smiled broadly and handed Rei and bundle of clothing, “I think these are the right size for you, but I brought two other sets, just in case!” She held up the other pairs as proof. “Go ahead and try them on!” Rei looked down at the clothes in her hand—the same red Hillridge t-shirt and black Hillridge shorts everyone else had. Around her, Megan, Aya, Jackie, and Emily all started opening their lockers and getting changed. Olivia and Sabrina had finished changing into their gym uniforms, but they found reasons to linger. Rei immediately understood why: they wanted to see what kind of underwear she was wearing. “Go on, sweetie!” Mrs. Mosher encouraged, mistaking Rei’s hesitance for shyness. Rei set the clothes down on the bench and reached behind her back to undo the clasp on the skirt. For some reason, she felt strangely nervous. She was wearing panties; she had nothing to be embarrassed about. And yet, her hands were shaking. “Do you need help, sweetie?” Mrs. Mosher asked, mistaking Rei’s nervousness for incompetence. “No, I…got it,” and she did. Rei lowered her skirt, exposing her floral print panties. Olivia’s face fell from delightedly expectant to grimly disappointed. Mrs. Mosher’s face went from smiling to still smiling but with a hint of surprise and even confusion. Rei’s face went red. She quickly grabbed the shorts from the bench and stepped into them. With the main event over, so to speak, Olivia and Sabrina gave one last sneer and walked away, whispering to each other. “Great!” Mrs. Mosher said, her tone suddenly much less patronizing, “looks like those fit. Here’s the combination to your locker,” she handed Rei a slip of paper with three numbers written on it, “if you have any problems, let me know, but I’m sure you can get it from here!” She gave Rei one last smile and walked away. “Sorry,” Megan said as Mrs. Mosher disappeared. “I was hoping you could avoid them on your first day.” She was visibly shaken and upset by the encounter. “That was Olivia and Sabrina,” Aya explained. “Absolute b-words.” “They think they own the school,” Jackie added. “And most people agree.” “Are you okay, Rei?” Emily asked. “You were really brave!” “I’m okay,” Rei responded, trying not to let on to how shaky she felt. “Are they always…like that?” All the girls nodded. “Like I said,” Jackie said, “they think they are the coolest girls in school so they can do whatever they want. They bully pretty much everyone, but especially us.” Rei glanced at Megan, whose thumb had slipped into her mouth in her current distress. She remembered Megan telling her she got picked on a lot because of her babyish tendencies. Though, to be frank, Rei wasn’t quite sure what made Megan any more babyish than any of the other girls in diapers. Then she remembered her friend was currently sucking her thumb. Sighing, Rei walked over to her locker and turned the dial to the three numbers. Rei had been right to dread gym after all, and class hadn’t even started yet. Chapter Forty-Nine As gym started, Mrs. Mosher had them spread out through the gym, instructing them to put their arms out and spin to make sure they had enough room. Then, dropping to the floor, Mrs. Mosher began to lead them through stretches. As Rei sat on the gym floor, legs splayed out before her as she stretched her arms as far forward as they would go, she began to hear whispering and a familiar giggling behind her. She didn’t dare look over her shoulder to confirm—that would give them the satisfaction of knowing they were getting to her—but she didn’t have to in order to know Olivia and Sabrina were sitting right behind her. They, however, were not content keeping to themselves—they were out to get under her skin. “Hey,” one of them—Olivia, Rei thought—whispered sharply, “I think it’s really cool that your mommy is letting you try panties.” “Yeah,” the other—this one, Rei was sure, was Sabrina—chimed in with a snicker, “I hope you don’t have an accident.” Following along with Mrs. Mosher, Rei pulled one of her legs in and leaned her body towards her still extended foot. She kept her cool and ignored the girls behind her even as their giggles prickled at her. “I bet she still wets the bed,” Olivia quipped. Rei’s cheeks seared at that and before she could stop herself she shot an angry glance over her shoulder and hissed, “shut up!” “Is there a problem back there, Rei?” Mrs. Mosher asked from the front of the room. “No, ma’am,” Rei replied, angry with herself for letting that get to her. “Then let’s switch legs!” Mrs. Mosher directed. Rei followed along, tripling her efforts to ignore the swell of quiet giggling behind her. “Geez, Liv, I think you hit a nerve there,” Sabrina chuckled. “I think I did, Brie,” Olivia responded, “but it makes sense why she hangs out with the babies now.” “Now I really am worried she’s going to tinkle in those panties,” Sabrina continued, her tone exaggeratedly condescending. “Ladies,” Mrs. Mosher called out, a note of warning clear in her voice, “we should be stretching our muscles, not our lips!” “Yes, Mrs. Mosher,” Sabrina and Olivia’s timing seemed practiced. “All right, girls!” Mrs. Mosher exclaimed as she stood up. “Enough stretching! Let’s get the wiggles out!” And thus began a directed cardio session that was clearly meant for toddlers. They jumped up and down, they spun until they were dizzy before spinning the other way (Rei was, admittedly, pleasantly shocked to find the latter canceled out the former), they hopped like bunnies, wiggled like worms, and flapped their wings like birds, they jumped forwards, they jumped backwards, they hopscotched, they did the hokey pokey, and the entire time Mrs. Mosher kept up her tirade of cheerful, enthusiastic encouragement. Even though everyone else around her looked just as ridiculous, Rei couldn’t help but feel silly and embarrassed the whole time. This was only magnified by the knowledge that Sabrina and Olivia were right behind her, watching the whole time. It did not help that they were going through the same motions, especially as the movements occasionally involved turning about giving Rei a chance to observe the two as they half-heartedly went through the movements. Rei tried to follow their example, but it brought a quick reprimand from Mrs. Mosher, who seemed horribly inconsistent with her classroom management. Finally, it was over, and Rei stood panting with her hands on her thighs (this was, in her defense, the most exercise she’d had in quite a while) wondering what fresh horrors were to come next. Mrs. Mosher told them all to take a water break, and Rei followed everyone else to a bank of water fountains on one wall. When it was her turn, she pulled a paper cup from the dispenser on the wall, filled it up and immediately drained it, the bracingly cold water a balm to her aching body. She filled it once again before turning to relinquish the water fountain to the next person in line. But as she turned, she found herself face-to-face with Olivia and Sabrina. “Need a sippy cup for that?” Olivia asked sweetly. “Don’t drink too much and have an accident,” warned Sabrina. “Leave me alone,” Rei shot back as she tried to step around the girls. Olivia moved with her, remaining and obstacle, as Sabrina stepped up to back Rei against the wall. “We’re just trying to be friendly,” Sabrina’s voice dripped with saccharine. “Yeah, we just want to welcome you to Hillridge,” Olivia added. Rei had never been the most popular girl in school, but being bullied? This was a first for her, and she found herself shaking. Cold water splashed over her fingers as it sloshed around in the cup. Her eyes darted around, searching for help from someone. Mrs. Mosher was no where to be seen—presumably off getting equipment for their next activity. She made brief eye contact with a white-faced Megan, who, upon seeing her friend’s predicament, instinctively took a step forward, hesitated, then began looking around frantically, presumably also looking for someone to help. Rei watched as Megan took off running, and prayed she’d find Mrs. Mosher. “Here,” Olivia grinned, “let me help you with that,” she grabbed the paper cup of water out of Rei’s hand. “We wouldn’t want you to spill, would we?” Both girls giggled as they exchanged a look. Olivia looked back to Rei, grinned wickedly, and moved to splash the water on Rei’s shorts. Rei’s hand moved outside of her conscious control, moving out of pure instinct and adrenaline, and intercepted the movement, and pushed the water back at Olivia. It splashed the front of the girl’s shorts and splattered to the floor just as a voice boomed out, “Girls! Is there a problem?” Olivia and Sabrina quickly stepped away from Rei, both chirping “No, Mrs. Mosher” with perfect angelic innocence. Rei found herself avoiding Mrs. Mosher’s gaze as the teacher surveyed the scene. She was embarrassed—embarrassed to have allowed herself to get into that situation and more so for failing to meaningfully stand up for herself. She may have deflected the attempt to splash water on her shorts, but Rei was under no delusions that that had been anything but sheer luck. And by the way Olivia was glowering at her from the corner of her eye, Rei was sure there would have been a quick reprisal if Mrs. Mosher hadn’t intervened. “Olivia,” Mrs. Mosher, who seemed to have been able to piece together what had happened, said with annoyance clear in her voice, “clean up this water, and both of you,” she pointed to Oliva and Sabrina, “need to start acting your age. These kinds of antics are below you, got it?” What a weird turn of phrase, Rei thought as she drifted away from a chastened Olivia and Sabrina. Act your age. What did it even mean in a school like Hillridge, where women who would have once been considered adults wore diapers. A social ecosystem where one nineteen-year-old might be exactly what was expected of a nineteen-year-old—or, Rei corrected herself, what once would have been expected of a nineteen-year-old, while another nineteen-year-old might suck her thumb and wear diapers. Age, perhaps, was in the eye of the beholder. “Okay, girls!” Mrs. Mosher shouted over the chattering girls as they all gathered in the center of the gym. She held one arm akimbo, holding the cinched top of a blue mesh bag full of large, brick red balls. “Today, we’re playing dodgeball!” Chapter Fifty “Any volunteers for team captains?” Mrs. Mosher asked. “Oh, me!” Rei’s stomach flipped as she watched Sabrina step up and raise her hand. Call it intuition, call it paranoia, but Rei was sure Sabrina was enacting some plot to further bully her. But dread turned to confusion as before anyone else could speak up, Olivia stepped forward as well. “Okay, great! Olivia and Sabrina, come on up here,” Mrs. Mosher’s reply seemed tinged with surprise, but pleasantly so. She gestured for the girls to come forward. “Go ahead and pick your teams. Sabrina, you can go first since you volunteered first.” Sabrina barely swept her gaze over the gathered crowd before pronouncing, “Megan.” Whispers rippled through the students as Megan tentatively stepped forward, flashing a confused looked over her shoulder at Rei and her friends. Megan, everyone knew, was not first pick material by any metric. Sabrina was violating an unspoken rule of gym classes and playgrounds everywhere. “Great! Olivia, your turn,” Mrs. Mosher said. If she was aware of the social tumult she was witness to, she showed no sign of it. Olivia grinned that wicked grin, and Rei’s stomach turned sour as Olivia locked eyes with her. “Rei.” There was a pit in Rei’s stomach as she stepped forward and crossed over to where Olivia stood. What was her game? What was she doing? Rei eyed Olivia warily, the taller girl smirked back. As she took her place next to Olivia, keeping a reasonable distance of course, she heard Sabrina say, “Jackie.” “Susan,” Olivia said quickly, even before Jackie had made her way over to Sabrina and Megan. A tall, athletic looking girl stepped forward and joined Rei. While Olivia fell continued to pick according to the unspoked rules, Sabrina proceeded to pick Aya and Emily, respectively, on her next two picks before following into the norm. By the end, there were twelve girls on each side. Mrs. Mosher explained the rules as the teams moved to opposite sides of the gym. If you got hit, you were out and had to sit on the sidelines. There could only be four people out on a given side at any time, so when a fifth came in, the first one out came back into play. Thus completing an infinite loop to fill the class time—though that part was unspoken. So explained, she shouted, “On my whistle,” then upended the mesh bag, sending rubber balls bouncing and skittering along the floor. She moved to the sidelines, and a sharp whistle pierced the air sending the girls rushing to grab balls. Not everyone dashed forward, of course. Rei, her friends, and a scattered other few hesitated, hanging back, and watched as chaos ensued in the middle of the gym. Realizing she had lost sight of Olivia, Rei felt a moment of panic swell—then peak as she found the girl standing right beside her. “Don’t worry,” Olivia said with a smirk, “I’ll protect you.” But even as she said, she seized Rei by the shoulders, holding her in place. Rei struggled instinctively, but before she could muster much resistance the world exploded in light and pain and the smell of rubber and dirt filled her nose as one of the balls collided with her face. Her world spun, her ears rung, and her vision blurred. As things came back into focus, she saw a laughing Sabrina holding a second ball and knew exactly what had just happened. A sharp whistle cut through the air, “No head shots!” Mrs. Mosher yelled, but her intervention seemed to end there. “Oops, you’re out,” cooed Olivia, then hissed “see you soon.” Chapter Fifty-One Rei sat on the sidelines grinding her teeth in frustration and humiliation. She had been pelted with so many dodgeballs that she was sure she would bruise. Mrs. Mosher had eventually stopped paying attention, and head shots had come back on the menu. Once some of the other girls caught on to the game, they joined in. Only a few, of course, but it wasn’t exactly like anyone was standing up to them. Riley would stand up to them, Rei thought as she glared at Olivia, deeply wishing her friend was there to defend her. Riley wouldn’t let them treat her like this; she was sure. Riley certainly would never accept being treated like this. Why couldn’t she be more like Riley? Worst of all, what would Riley think if she knew Rei had let them bully her like this. But suddenly one of the girls on her team was making her way to the sidelines, and it was Rei’s turn to go back in. As she stood up, knees shaky, a painful thought took a new intonation. Why couldn’t she be more like Riley? Rei’s legs felt like rubber as she propelled herself forward, gaze focused on Olivia, who grinned her wicked grin as she saw Rei coming. A ball skittered along the ground in front of Rei. Before she could really think through the consequences of the course of action she was choosing, she reached down, scooped the ball up, and hurled it right in Olivia’s face. Gasps rippled through the room as Olivia, who had watched it come at her like a deer in headlights, went sprawling along the gym floor. “You bitch!” Olivia screeched as she scrambled to her feet, even as Mrs. Mosher, who had apparently decided to tune back into the game, blew her whistle. Rei heard Mrs. Mosher yelling something, but she couldn’t quite make out what it was over the sound the Olivia colliding into her, dragging both girls to the ground. Olivia landed on top, scrabbled to her knees, straddled Rei, and cocked a fist in the air. For some reason, Rei thought it would come in slow motion, that the moment would stretch on as she helplessly watched Olivia’s fist descend inexorably toward her face. Instead, there was a moment where Olivia’s fist hung in the air, poised to strike, and then suddenly the world lit up and Rei felt hot blood rush out of her nose. She waited for another blow to come, but it never did. Instead, she felt Olivia struggle on top of her as someone, Rei wasn’t sure who, tried to pull her away. “Rei!” Someone’s voice cut through the feedback. “Rei, oh my god!” Something soft was being pressed to her face, and someone was helping her to her feet, though she was loath to get up. The world lurched as she did, and for a moment she thought she was going to throw up. “Hey, Rei?” She forced her eyes open to see who was talking to her and found Mrs. Mosher’s face floating in front of her. “Oh, geez,” the teacher said, “okay, Megan, get her to the nurse, okay?” Rei closed her eyes again and let Megan lead her along. “What the hell were you thinking?” Mrs. Mosher yelled behind them, and Rei couldn’t help but take some pleasure in knowing this would completely overshadow her cheap shot. Chapter Fifty-Two The changing table Rei sat on was utilitarian, almost medical, but the stacks of diapers on its shelves and the nearby cart of changing supplies still made it unmistakably a changing table. She was bent over, leaning so far forward that her head was between her knees, and held a wad of bloody gauze to her face. “I’m sorry…” Megan said weakly after the silence had stretched on too long. “It’s okay,” Rei said quietly, not entirely sure what Megan was apologizing for. It didn’t really matter anyway, and it hurt to talk. The world had stopped spinning, and her vision had unblurred, but her face still throbbed. She was pretty sure her nose had stopped bleeding by now—surely it must have—but she didn’t have the will to check. The funny thing was, Rei wasn’t even that upset about the whole affair. Sure, her face hurt like hell, but hopefully Olivia—not to mention any other would-be bullies—would think twice before messing with her again. Not to mention, she felt an odd sense of pride for having stood up for herself. For a brief moment, Rei had felt in control of her life in a way she hadn’t for a long time. She couldn’t wait to tell Riley. But that, of course, was the downside to the whole situation. Once the nurse had examined her nose, proclaimed it still in one piece even if quite fantastically bruised, she had left Olivia and Megan to call Rei’s mom to have her picked up early from school. This, sadly, meant her plans to see Riley after school were dead in the water. “It…it was pretty funny when you hit Olivia in the face with that ball,” Megan piped up, as if she was reading Rei’s mind. Rei laughed, then groaned as the pain flared up from the movement. “Oh, sorry!” Megan quickly apologized, “does it hurt really bad?” Rei nodded and choked out a thick, “yuh.” Her mouth tasted coppery and she imagined she could still feel the blood that had run down her throat coating her esophagus. “Can you get me some water?” “Oh! Sure!” Megan jumped up from the chair, looked around, then dashed out the door. Now alone, Rei slowly sat up straight. The world wobbled a bit as she did, but she remained steady. Tentatively, she pulled the gauze away from her face—the bleeding had indeed seemed to have stopped. She hopped off the changing table and slowly approached the nearby handwashing station, afraid of what she would see in the mirror about it. As she moved into the mirror frame, what she was…not great. Her nose was swollen and bruised—even her eyes looked a little bruised and puffy. It was not a flattering look. What was more ghastly was the dried blood caked to her lips and chin. She twisted the knob of the sink, and water began splashing down into the basin. Gingerly as could be, Rei bent down over the sink and gently scrubbed her face with the warm water and some of the nearby hand soap. When she stood back up, her face still looked like a giant bruise, but at least the blood was gone. Just then, the door to the nurse’s office swung open, and Rei turned to see her mother, Megan, Mrs. Mosher, and the rusty-haired nurse she had met on the day of her registration but whose name Rei couldn’t remember. “Oh, Rei! Look at you!” Her mother gushed with concern as she rushed over and gently cupped Rei’s face in her hands. “You poor thing! What happened?” Ms. Akiyama demanded as she released Rei’s face to turn to Mrs. Mosher. “They said on the phone there was some kind of fight?” “Well, it seems your daughter and another girl had a bit of a,” she hesitated, searching for the right word and coming up with, “tiff. The other girl involved hit Rei in the face and, while of course we all agree it was a completely outsized and inappropriate reaction, she was retaliating for Rei purposefully hitting her in the face with a dodgeball.” Ms. Akiyama turned her attention back to Rei and asked, “why on earth would you do that, Rei?” Her tone was a mix of disbelief and disappointment. “Olivia was bullying her!” Megan butted in before Rei could even begin to formulate a response. Megan, who suddenly had all eyes on her, shrunk in a little on herself and continued a little more demurely, “Olivia is always bullying people. Rei was just standing up for herself.” To Rei, the silence that followed seemed endless. Her mother looked from Megan to Rei to Mrs. Mosher. “Is this true?” Mrs. Mosher swallowed. “Well, I didn’t see exactly what preceded the incident, so I’m not sure about that.” “Yes, you did!” Megan, who seemed to be making up for not standing up for Rei earlier, blurted out. “You saw her and Sabrina bullying Rei by the water fountains!” This time, she seemed unbothered by the way focus turned to her. For the second time, Ms. Akiyama asked, “is this true?” Mrs. Mosher’s face went a little stiff as she side-eyed Megan. “Again, I didn’t see exactly what happened, but it did appear that the two girls were…possibly harassing your daughter.” “And you didn’t do anything about it then?” Ms. Akiyama asked incredulously. “Well, I didn’t—” “Where is this girl that hit my daughter now?” Ms. Akiyama demanded. “She’s in with the principal and her parents at the moment, I believe,” Mrs. Mosher said, finally being allowed to finish a sentence. “Fantastic,” Ms. Akiyama declared ominously, “I think we should join them, don’t you?” Mrs. Mosher seemed to sigh with her whole body in resignation before saying, “yes, Ms. Akiyama.” Ms. Akiyama’s voice softened as she turned back to Rei, “you poor thing,” she repeated, “I’m going to go take care of this, okay? Then we’ll get you home.” As her mom and Mrs. Mosher left the room, Rei reached out to Megan for the sweating bottle of water in the girl’s hand. Taking it from her, Rei cracked the bottle cap and downed half the bottle in several gulps. “Thanks,” she said to Megan as she resealed the bottle and lifted it to her bruised face, the cold of the plastic a fantastic balm to the pain. “Here,” the nurse, Ms. Blythe Rei now remembered, said, taking the bottle from Rei, “let me get you a real ice pack, okay?” For a second time, Rei reached out to Megan, but this time she took the girl’s hand in her own and gently squeezed. “And, um, thanks for standing up for me just now.” Megan squeezed Rei’s hand back, her face cracking into a beaming smile. Chapter Fifty-Three “I can’t believe your teacher,” Ms. Akiyama ranted as she turned out of the school’s parking lot. “She wouldn’t have even mentioned those girls were bullying you if it weren’t for Megan.” Rei didn’t respond. She was slumped down in her seat, still holding the ice pack to her face. “Sit up, dear,” Ms. Akiyama said, gently patting her daughter’s thigh, “the nurse said it’s best to stay upright to reduce swelling.” Rei obliged begrudgingly. She knew her mother was just trying to be helpful, but upright was the last thing she wanted to be at the moment. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” Ms. Akiyama said with a sigh, “I guess it wasn’t a great first day of school, huh?” Rei shook her head. “We’ll get you home, get you some Tylenol, and I’ll make whatever you want for dinner, okay?” Rei shrugged. She could tell her mom genuinely felt bad about what happened and was trying to be helpful, but Rei just felt…exhausted. The adrenaline had worn off, and she just didn’t have any energy left. “Sweetie?” “Yeah, okay,” Rei responded finally as she pulled the ice pack away from her face, then weakly added, “that sounds great.” She pulled out her phone and opened her messaging app. “How was your day before all that business?” Ms. Akiyama asked tentatively. What a question, Rei thought. It certainly hadn’t been boring. “It was…” she rifled through her brain for an adequate word to describe the experience and could only come up with “okay.” As she responded, she typed, “can’t see you today, sorry, can we do tomorrow instead?” and sent it to Riley. “Well, I hope your other teachers are better than that Mrs. Mosher,” Ms. Akiyama said with annoyance, “she doesn’t even look old enough to be a teacher.” Meanwhile, Riley responded, “Yeah, sure! Everything okay?” For the second time, Rei found herself thinking that this was quite the question. “Hard to explain,” she typed back, “I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.” By then, she would have the energy to formulate an explanation. She hoped. Rei put her phone back in her pocket and put the ice pack back on her face. The rest of the car ride home was blessedly silent.

I was bragging to my therapist about how well received this story has been and used this comment as an example XD I've been thinking lately about trying to get some art done of some of the major characters--Rei, Ms. Akiyama, and Riley for certain--and I'd love to commission a fan of the story if I can! So, if you are an artist who takes commissions and are interested in potentially taking on this job, send me some art samples! That said! Here ya go: Chapter Thirty-Eight Hillridge High School for Young Adult Girls was a small, one-story brick building tucked in the middle of a little suburban neighborhood in Greenham. Just a few streets from Rei Akiyama’s house, it was close enough for the girl to walk there from her home. And, indeed, she would be doing so every day starting next week. Today, however, she arrived at the school in the passenger seat of Ms. Akiyama’s black sedan. In front of the building was a large parking bay for the buses that ushered students who lived farther away between their homes and school. It was, however, the middle of the school day as the pair pulled into the lot; there was but one lonely bus parked as far away from the building as possible. As her mother parked in the space closet to the front of the building, Rei noticed a second parking lot off to the side of the building. This one was filled almost to the brim. Rei quickly realized these must be faculty cars—it wasn’t like many of the students were old enough to have their driver’s license. “Come on,” Ms. Akiyama prompted as the shut the car’s engine off and began climbing out of the car. Rei silently followed her lead. As they approached the front doors of the school, the one-story building may as well have been a massive, foreboding castle looming up into the clouds. Rei imagined dark clouds gathering behind it with forked bolts of lightning shooting towards the ground. Her mother held the door open for her and gestured for her to go first. At first glance, at least, the school looked relatively normal. That is, like any other high school meant for actual teenagers. The walls were all white-washed brick, and a banner hung in the foyer welcoming people entering the building to Hillridge High. Immediately to Rei’s right, she could see a cafeteria through multiple sets of double doors. It was empty at the moment save for a janitor diligently mopping the floor and the cafeteria workers she could glimpse through the open doors to the kitchen. On one stretch of white-washed brick between two sets of doors was a colorful mural of a humanoid white rabbit wearing a cupcake print apron with pastel pink trim. The rabbit was standing in front of an open oven holding a holding a tray of cupcakes she had, presumably, just taken out of the oven. It seemed to have escape the artist that cupcakes do not come out of the oven already frosted. Some text below the painting identified the rabbit as “Hazel Hare.” To her left was a door with a clear glass window set in the upper half. Black block letters were printed across the glass: “Office.” A large window to the right of the door showed a room with various desks with more doors leading deeper into the office. Directly in front of Rei, beyond the opening foyer, was a bay of lockers, but there wasn’t a single student in sight. Ms. Akiyama followed Rei through the door and, taking her daughter’s hand, headed directly towards the office door. “Hi!” A middle-aged woman with half-moon glasses greeted them brightly as they entered. Her desk was cluttered with little tchotchkes, and she wore a loose-knit cardigan over her white blouse. A name plate at the front of her desk read “Mrs. White.” “Can I help you?” She asked. “I hope so!” Ms. Akiyama replied, just as bright and cheery. “I’m here to register my daughter to attend school here.” “Wonderful!” Mrs. White replied, her face genuinely lighting up. She pulled one of the side drawers of her desk out and began rummaging through it. “Was she attending a different school previously?” “Yes, Greenham Community College.” “Oh, I see,” Mrs. White said seriously and nodded a little too knowingly for Rei’s ease of mind. “Well, I’m sure you’ll be much happier with the education you daughter receives here at Hillridge,” she smiled, again a little too knowingly, as she pulled out a bundle of papers all stapled together. “Here you go,” she handed them to Ms. Akiyama, “you’ll need to fill these out first and foremost. Once you do that,” she reached into another drawer and pulled out a clipboard with a pen attached by a small chain and handed it off to Ms. Akiyama as well, “we can get the whole process started. You may take a seat just over there while you complete the forms.” “Thank you so much,” Ms. Akiyama said, slipping the paperwork under the clip and leading Rei towards the row of chair against one wall. As her mother settled into start working on the paperwork, Rei did her best to look around the office from the vantage point of her chair. From this angle, however, she couldn’t really make anything out through the various doors and hallways off the big main room. “You can get up and look around, sweetheart,” Mrs. White said, noticing Rei trying to look around, “as long as it’s okay with your mom, anyway.” Ms. Akiyama looked up from the paperwork, smiled, and nodded at Rei, giving silent permission. “You might as well start to get to know your new school,” Mrs. White said as Rei stood up, “just don’t go too far, okay?” And then she turned her attention back to her computer screen. Hesitantly, Rei began walking deeper into the office. There were a total of four desks in the room, each occupied by a different middle-aged woman. Rei did not approach any of them, and they only looked up and silently smiled at her as she passed by. To the left, just pass the row of chairs, a hallway led off the main room before turning to the right further down. By the looks of it, it seemed to be filled with the offices of various administrators in the school. To the right, directly across from the hallway, was a door that led into what looked like a mailroom. A man with salt and pepper hair was standing in front of the copier machine, which whirred and buzzed with its work. Further down, the next door to the right led to what was clearly a nurse’s office. Towards the back of the office was a small alcove with a tall table with a padded top. There was a curtain in the entrance way, but the alcove was currently unoccupied and the curtain stood open. A small cart on wheels stood just outside the alcove, brimming with spare diapers, packages of wipes, and bottles of powder. If there was any doubt what the cart or the alcove were for, a laminated sign hung on the cart that read “Changing Supplies.” Rei felt her whole body blush. “Well, you’re a new face,” a soft voice said as a figure appeared in the doorway of the nurse’s office. The owner of the voice was a young woman—maybe too young. Rei found herself wondering if she was an emancipated minor, but that seemed unlikely if not impossible. She had wavy, dull red, almost rusty hair and wore a white coat over a pair of black slacks and a purple blouse. “You must be new here.” “Yes, or no, not quite anyway,” Rei stumbled over her reply, “I’m, uh, starting next week.” “Ah, I see!” The woman replied excitedly. “Well, welcome to Hillridge, I suppose! I’m Ms. Blythe—I’m the head nurse here at Hillridge, and this is the main nurse’s office!” “Main?” Rei asked, cocking her head quizzically, “is there more than one nurse’s office?” She was quite certain she only ever remembered there being one nurse’s office at any school she had attended before. Ms. Blythe smiled, and Rei could have sworn she saw a hit of condescension in the smile. “Of course, sweetheart!” Ms. Blythe explained, “Hillridge has too many students for me to accommodate all of their needs on my own!” Rei processed this for a second, then provided her own dreadful translation. There were too many diaper changes for her to handle on her own. “What’s your name, sweetheart?” “Rei.” “Well, Rei, will we be seeing a lot of you at the nurse’s stations?” Rei might have imagined it, but she was quite sure Ms. Blythe made a quick, appraising glance downward towards Rei’s waist. “Oh, uhm, no,” Rei could feel herself blushing. She had never been so directly asked if she wore diapers, and the fact that she could technically no longer say no honestly was more than her ego could handle at the moment. “Good for you,” Ms. Blythe responded, which just made Rei blush even harder. “Well, it was lovely meeting you, Rei! I hope you enjoy your time here at Hillridge!” Rei mumbled a thank you and turned to return back to her seat next to her mother—her desire for further exploration had been sufficiently snuffed out.

I grew up listening to Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, etc. But I'm going to make a controversial statement: While some songs have stood the test of time, music has gotten better since then! And, of course, as we all know, My Chemical Romance perfected music.

I'm actually just now realizing I haven't updated my age since I like first filled out my profile! I like 80's rock too, it's just not the vibe I feel for this story!

I feel like y'all are being so judgy about my music tastes 😅

By the by, I don't know if anyone will be interested in this, but here's the playlist to the soundtrack of this book (note: this is in no particular order and is a living document): "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison" -- My Chemical Romance (of course, right?) "All We Ever Wanted" -- Hey Violet "All-American Bitch" -- Olivia Rodrigo "Rebel Girl" -- Bikini Kill "Teenagers" -- My Chemical Romance "The Only Hope for Me is You" -- My Chemical Romance "Americana" -- Offspring "Just a Girl" -- No Doubt "Style" -- Taylor Swift "Bad Reputation" -- Joan Jett & the Blackhearts "if we lived on the moon" -- vivi rincon "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville" -- My Chemical Romance "The Sharpest Lives" -- My Chemical Romance "More Than a Friend" -- girli "Kids in America" -- The Muffs "The Kids Aren't Alright" -- The Offspring "brutal" -- Olivia Rodrigo "Heathens" -- Twenty One Pilots "The Kids from Yesterday" -- My Chemical Romance "My Way Home is Through You" -- My Chemical Romance "teenage dream" -- Olivia Rodrigo "Vigilante Shit" -- Taylor Swift "I Did Something Bad" -- Taylor Swift "Mama" -- My Chemical Romance "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" -- My Chemical Romance "Famous Last Words" -- My Chemical Romance "American Idiot" -- Green Day "Life During Wartime" -- Moon Walker "Regular People" -- Moon Walker "Bulletproof Heart" -- My Chemical Romance "Demolition Lovers" -- My Chemical Romance "AMBULANCE" -- My Chemical Romance "The Light Behind Your Eyes" -- My Chemical Romance It's pretty MCR heavy but like...what did you expect?

Oh, faithful and patient readers. We're back. Without further ado: Chapter Thirty-Five The Greenham Post Wednesday, October 18th Special Session of Congress Closes as HaRPR Act Passes Nearly Unanimously. Congress called their special session to a close late Tuesday after passing the Hayes Reassessment, Protection, and Rehabilitation (HaRPR) Act. The bill passed with an 81-19 majority in the Senate and a 398-37 majority in the House. In the opening remarks of the special session, Senator Kyles, one of the authors of the HaRPR Act, impressed upon his colleagues the idea that “no sweeping social reform can be complete with the passage of one bill,” stressing that it was congress’ “duty to continue to revisit the laws we have passed to ensure that they are functioning as we intended and creating the greatest amount of good for our citizens.” In the spirit of this sentiment, the authors of the HaRPR Act set out to correct what they saw as oversights of the original Hayes Act while also strengthening the power of the law and providing improved guidelines for the rehabilitation and re-assimilation of criminal offenders. While the HaRPR Act successfully provides many improvements to the popular Hayes Act, it has not been without controversy. Under the Protection clauses of the bill, The HaRPR Act criminalizes many forms of protest specifically aimed at criticizing the Hayes Act and expands the definition of domestic terrorism as it applies to acts committed in protest of the Hayes Act. It also provides updated, and in most cases harsher, legal penalties for such crimes. Under the HaRPR Act, male defendants found guilty of such acts of criminal protest or domestic terrorism face penalties of up to and including life in prison while female defendants found guilty of similar crimes may face permanent revocation of majority status and mandatory rehabilitation at state-sponsored rehabilitation centers. “Today, we have enacted the will of the people of the United States,” Senator Williams, a longtime supporter of the Hayes Act, said in a press conference late last night, “this new bill will work to preserve the societal values we codified in the original Hayes Act by ensuring that those determined to undermine our morals and principles will be harshly punished.” In a separate press conference, long-time Hayes Act opponent Senator Saunders criticized the new amendment, claiming that it seeks to “disenfranchise and silence the voice of American citizens who dissent to the increasingly fascist practices of the party currently in power while enshrining a controversial act as an untouchable law of the land.” Experts on both sides have pointed out that under the new amendment, Senator Saunders scathing criticism of the new amendment may be considered a criminal act of protest. President Charles Sherman Richardson is expected to sign the HaRPR Act into law in a press event Wednesday afternoon. …Con’t on Pg23 Chapter Thirty-Six Dr. Emma Welles found it took a surprisingly large amount of effort not to clutch the few sheets of paper in her hand with the kind of white-knuckled grip that would tear the paper and give away her nervousness. She stood in the wings of the small stage, a young man with a headset and a clipboard next to her. On the stage, drowned in bright white stage lights, stood President Richardson; he was carelessly and causally waving around the ornate quill in his hand as he talked to the people assembled in the press room through his charming smile. Dr. Welles couldn’t focus on a word he was saying. How did she end up here? As part of a presidential press conference? There was, of course, a simple and obvious reason: it was her research, her work in the field of regressive behavioral therapy, that had elevated Brighter Days to the top of the industry and won them the government contract to run the state-sponsored rehabilitation centers created by this new bill. But she was a therapist and psychologist, not a public speaker; why hadn’t they tapped one of the upper executives or board members to do this? She rubbed the hand not holding her prepared remarks on her black pencil skirt, switched the papers to that hand, then rubbed the other. “Get ready,” the young man with the headset said, “he’s almost done.” Dr. Welles nodded and took a deep breath. On the stage, President Richardson, in his deep blue suit with an American flag pinned to the lapel, made one final flourish with the quill before setting it to the paper in front of him. The small room was filled with cheers as he held up the papers to show off his signature. “And now,” he said as he handed the papers off to an aide, “I’d like to introduce a very special woman who will be integral to the implementation and ultimate success of the HaRPR Act. Dr. Emma Welles comes to us today from Brighter Days Academy. The work of Dr. Welles and others like her in behavioral therapy and psychological research has ensured that Brighter Days Academy lives up to its name as the premier Institute of Behavioral Therapy for Young Adult Girls. Today, as we put into law the historic HaRPR Act, it is my pleasure to announce that the United States government has chosen Brighter Days Academy to run the state-sponsored minimum-security rehabilitation centers that will be key to the continued success of the social reforms we committed ourselves to as a nation when we passed the Hayes Act. I would love to tell you more about the role Brighter Days Academy will play in these efforts, but I believe Dr. Emma Welles is infinitely more qualified to speak to the work her institution does. So, without further ado, please welcome Dr. Emma Welles.” “Now,” cued the young man with the headset, as if Emma couldn’t have figured that out herself. The click of her high heels on the stage floor was nearly drowned out by the rustling in the crowd as the press members all went for their cameras. Emma had to force herself not to shield her eyes from the searing stage lights as she forced her face to maintain its beaming smile. “Thank you for coming today,” President Richardson said away from the mic as Emma approached. He reached his hand out, and she took it. His hand was shockingly soft but his grip firm. “Thank you,” Emma repeated, a little overwhelmed. Here she was meeting the president in front of a room full of press about to give a speech following up on the President’s own. She knew she was overwhelmed, but she couldn’t decide what part of this was the most overwhelming. President Richardson flashed one last smile to the crowd, gestured for Emma to take the podium, then waved as he made his way off stage. “Thank you,” Emma said nervously as she approached the mic and the crowd settled down, “and thank you, President Richardson, for your wonderful welcome and introduction.” Her eyes flicked up from her paper. The room looked much bigger from here than it had from the wings. She wondered if they could tell she was sweating slightly. “As one of the head therapists and researchers at Brighter Days Academy, I’ve helped many families and their daughters adjust to the rapidly changing social conditions we find ourselves living in. I take pride in my work, and I can’t express how happy it makes me to see my patients happy and thriving. I have made it my life’s work to help misguided and wayward young girls find their place in society, and it is for this reason that I can’t express how proud I was to be tapped to spearhead the development and implementation of the first Brighter Days Academy Minimal-Security Rehabilitation Center, or, as we at Brighter Days have taken to calling it, our Reformatory for Wayward Young Girls. There was a short round of polite applause at that. Emma smiled awkwardly until it died down enough for her to continue. “Brighter Days Academy has already begun working with another government contractor to transform a wing of our central facility, located in the nearby town of Greenham, into our first Reformatory facility that will be ready for us to begin our work of guiding these lost youths and molding them into exemplary members of society in just a matter of weeks.” More polite applause. Emma smiled; this seemed to be going pretty well. “We at Brighter Days Academy have always prided ourselves on implementing therapy techniques guided by the most recent science and rigorous research, and we plan to bring these same qualities to our Reformatory work. It is with this in mind that I am proud to announce that our researchers have recently made great strides in improving our existing subaudible suggestion induction technology. This technology, developed specifically with the most wayward of young girl in mind, is much more potent that the proven technology that has made Brighter Days Academy the number one provider of behavioral therapy in the United States. It is capable of producing not only much more drastic results, but also of delivering them much more quickly and with greater longevity. In other words, we feel confident that our newest technology combined with our tried and tested therapy techniques will be more than well-suited to transform even the most wayward of young girl into the kind of respectable, well-mannered girl that any family would be proud to have as a daughter.” More applause. This time, Emma didn’t even have to try to smile. “We at Brighter Days Academy believe, as I personally believe, both as a professional behavioral therapist and as mother to two daughters myself, that we, as a society, have done a great disservice to the young girls of this country over the past few decades. Be we also believe that the sweeping social reform we began with the passage of the Hayes Act is a huge step in correcting that damage, and we are proud to be a part of this positive social change. I am proud to be a part of it. Today, as we come together to celebrate the passage of the HaRPR Act, Brighter Days Academy is excited to reaffirm its commitment to being a part of that positive social change, and we are greatly looking forward to the amazing things we will achieve as a company and as a nation. Thank you.” Chapter Thirty-Seven Meanwhile, life was going on pretty much as usual on the campus of Greenham Community College. After a few days of cold rain, the weather had taken a turn for unseasonably warm, and the patio tables outside of the cafeteria were full of students enjoying what they knew might very well be the last warm day before the chill of late Fall turned to the biting cold of Winter. Inside of the relatively sparsely populated cafeteria, in one of the booths tucked into the corner of the room, Riley sat with her fishnet-clad legs folded up to her chest and her Doc Martens on the vinyl seat of the booth bench. She held her phone resting on her knees, watching the press conference being held only a dozen or so miles away play out on the screen. She had known the HaRPR Act would pass, but she still couldn’t help but feel a little horrified. And more than a little helpless. Was the work of Rebel doing any good? Was she risking her neck for nothing to fight against an unrelenting tide? As Dr. Emma Welles began to take questions from the crowd, a notification popped up on her phone. An email with the subject like “May We Speak?” from none other than Professor Natalie Lewis. Riley groaned silently. “Hi, Riley,” the email read, “I’d like to talk to you about your latest assignment. Can you make time to meet with me today in my office? I’ll be here until 4pm.” It was shortly before 1pm as Riley read the email, so there was no way she could say she didn’t have time. At least, no reasonable way. Riley hit the reply button, “Sure,” she wrote, “I’ll be there soon.” Short and to the point. With a significantly less silent groan than her last, Riley leaned her head back against the wall. She was pretty sure she knew what Professor Lewis wanted to talk about, and it definitely wasn’t an assignment. Not one for class anyway. Picking her head up from the wall, Riley woke her sleeping phone up and navigated to her text messages, then tapped on Rei’s name. “Hey everything okay?” Read the last text message, sent by Riley, “Haven’t heard from you since monday getting kinda worried” There were three very similar messages above that one. Riley’s thumbs hovered over the keyboard. She was really starting to get worried about Rei, but also didn’t want to seem…clingy? Overbearing? Something. Sighing, and praying Rei was okay, Riley hit the home button on her phone without typing anything and began to gather up her stuff. Before she knew it, the sound of her boots was echoing down an empty hallway, carrying her inexorably towards room 278. The sign on the wall next to the door read “Professor Natalie Lewis” with a little “she/her” sticker stuck below the official text. The door was standing open, but Riley still knocked as she lingered in the doorway. Professor Lewis swiveled in her chair to face the door, smiled, and beckoned Riley in. “Riley,” she said, “close the door behind you, please, and have a seat.” She gestured to a plush but worn seat that sat on the other side of the large L-shaped desk that dominated the small room. The door clicked behind Riley. With the heavy curtains drawn and the door cutting off the glare of the fluorescent lights in the hallway, the office was dimly light; the only light came from a weak desk lamp situated in the corner of the L-shaped desk. The lamp shade was heavy and a scarf draped over it gave the light a cool, blue shade. To any other student entering the room, it probably seemed calming, but, for Riley, it felt ominous and conspiratorial. The silence hung heavy as Riley situated herself in the chair. “So,” Professor Lewis said at last, “I’m sure you saw that…spectacle?” Riley nodded, she knew exactly what her professor was talking about. The press conference. “I’ve heard from Vantez,” Natalie continued. Riley’s heart beat a hard, sustained note. “They want to do a raid on Brighter Days,” at least, that was what Riley thought she said, but it was hard to hear her over the high-pitch whining in her ears. “They want to get their hands on this new technology. They think there’s a way to reverse engineer it, maybe help decondition people.” How in the fuck was she going to raid Brighter Days? She remembered that woman saying it was a minimum-security prison, but that was still more security that Riley was willing or prepared to deal with. Panic was beginning to well up in her chest. It must have been written all over Riley’s face as Professor Lewis’ face suddenly softened. She reached across the desk, gesturing for Riley to take her hand. She did, less because she wanted to and more because she felt she had to. “Hey, relax,” Professor Lewis said soothingly, “I told them we couldn’t handle something like that. They still want it done, but they are sending in their own specialist team to take care of it. They want you and your girls to take care of something else.” And there it was. Just as the whining was beginning to fade, just as the panic was beginning ebb, it all started trickling back. She felt like every molecule of her body was holding its breath. Professor Lewis let Riley’s hand go as she leaned back in her chair and swiveled towards her computer. Her mouse clicked a few times, then she grasped the corner of the monitor and turned it towards Riley. The Greenham Post home page showed on the screen, the current top story was titled “In Wake of HaRPR, New Trial Date Set for Wright and Stone.” “Vantez wants you to disrupt the trial,” Professor Lewis said plainly, matter-of-factly. “How do you mean?” Riley managed to croak. “They didn’t specify,” Professor Lewis responded, “so I guess it’s up to us.” “We could…” Riley tried to make her panicking mind work well enough to come up with an idea that wasn’t as extreme as she knew Professor Lewis would want. “We could vandalize the court house, or-or organize a protest, I could make flyers to raise awareness.” Professor Lewis shook her head. It was clear she knew Riley was low-balling her. She sat behind her desk, looking at Riley expectantly. Riley knew what Professor Lewis wanted—and she wanted Riley to say it. That was the important part for her. It had to be Riley’s idea. Riley wasn’t sure why she was playing this game, and she could only guess at the stakes, but she understood the rules. Riley licked her lips. “We could…um…” Riley remembered promising her mom she would cool it on the domestic terrorism and stick to vandalism and propaganda. Sorry mom. “Plant another bomb.” Professor Lewis nodded solemnly. “The night of December 3rd. You should have plenty of time. Will being down Melanie and Josie be a problem?” “No,” Riley shook her head. “We can make do.” “Good.” She nodded pointedly. “Well, I suppose I should let you get to planning, shouldn’t I?” Her tone of voice was too bright, too cheery for the situation. Riley nodded, picked up her bag off the floor, and stood up. She hesitated, and Professor Lewis cocked and eyebrow asking an unsaid question. Memories of their last conversation came back to Riley, and she decided against voicing her concerns and protests over this plan. She knew there wasn’t nothing to be gained from it. Without a word, she stepped over to the door and slipped out, Professor Lewis’ voice calling out a ‘have a nice day’ behind her. Back in the harsh fluorescent, the gravity of her situation really made itself known. Riley felt it like a physical force pressing down on her body. There had to be a way out of all this, said a sliver of hope somewhere deep in her brain. There had to be, even if she couldn’t see it now. Riley began walking away from Professor Lewis’ office at a quick pace. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, pressed the button to wake the screen, and stopped dead in her swift tracks. She had two texts from Rei. With a trembling hand, she tapped out her pin code and pressed the notification to bring up the text. “Hey, sorry, its been a bad week and i havent felt like talking, mom pulled me out of college so i wont see you there anymore, sorry” the first one read. The second, “i hope we can still be friends” Riley’s heart cracked for her friend. She know how much Rei loved college, and she could tell how heartbroken Rei was from the tone of the texts. “Of course we can you butt” Riley typed back. She felt a pang in her chest as she the fact that she would no longer see Rei around campus really settled in. Her fingers moved across the screen of her phone, typing “hey wanna hang out? i can pick you up at your house, miss you girl” The three dancing dots appeared as Rei began typing on her end. Riley resumed walking down the hallway, at a much slower pace this time, as she watched the screen eagerly for a reply. She was outside and walking through the campus commons when it came. “Can’t, I don’t think mom would let me out of the house” the text was accompanied by a crying face. Riley frowned. She typed, “oh? what’s going on?” At least she knew Rei was okay, and it made sense that she hadn’t wanted to talk for a few days. Riley could only imagine how upset Rei was over being pulled out of college and shoved into housewife classes. But as Riley passed two girls kneeling in the grass and playing patty-cake, one with a pacifier in her mouth and a diaper sticking out from her too-short skirt and the other with pigtails and a pull-up sticking out of her low-rise jeans, she realized things could be much worse for Rei.