BabySofia

😈 Wouldn't you like to know? Thanks for the comments and the kind words! Unfortunately normal, is busy! The good thing is even with giving you all bonus chapters occasionally we're set with enough of a stockpile I hope you all will not see many breaks in weekly chapters. (only way you will is if I have to reschedule a posting day because work gets in the way or something) I'll be posting earlier on Friday's again beginning this week though before I go to work. (Helps out the European readers I think) Thanks again! 🙂

Hopefully her mom spots her and gets her inside... That nightmare the night before was not a good day for her to learn the truth about her 'almond milk.' Excited to see a new chapter from you, hope we get to see another one soon! Hopefully they can reconcile and we can see her awake and bonding with mommy!

🤣 Not too far off on the timing of things. It's Wednesday in the story, festival is Thursday, then Spring Break begins on Friday. You have about 9 chapters until Spring Break begins here. Thanks for the comments! 🙂 Thanks for the comments! 🙂

Thanks! I appreciate the kind words and you continuing to comment! 🙂

Always dangerous Guilend! 🤣 Answers for that will come in time.

Thanks Billy!

Thanks for the comments, we'll see what happens in the future! 🙂 Thank you! 💜 And that's about what I figured. You're a bit under 450k words to get to there! I should hopefully cross 600k written today or tomorrow. (It's got a long way to go after that)

Thanks for the comments! I really want to comment on a few things, but I can't think of ways without spoilers, so I'm going to leave it as thanks! 🙂 That's an impressive thing at this point! Thanks for joining the party and for leaving a comment! 🙂

Maybe...? 🤫 Thanks Kat! 🙂 (Sorry, this reply is after the next post, didn't want to accidentally merge them. 😈 💜 Thanks Moon3ye!

Chapter 148: Expect the Unexpected THE REST OF the afternoon quickly flew by for Beth and Carly as they sat beside Charlotte, watching a total of six films. It was a mix of shorts, ranging from ten to twenty minutes, a couple of forty-minute films, and even a dozen thirty-second to two-minute-long commercials and pieces that students had created for their courses or independently. It meant they’d actually met our requirement for Narratives already. Still, they planned to go watch as much as they could the next day before their salon appointment. Finally, she’d looked at the time and said, “Carly, we’d better get you back to your nest for dinner…?” “Huh?” Carly said, “Oh,” she added, looking at the time. “Hopefully, they haven’t left yet?” she said. “No one gave a time in that stupid new rule.” “We’ll walk by the cafeteria on the way there,” she told Carly. “See you later, Charlotte,” she said while scooping up her tiny girlfriend. She felt her diaper and noted it wasn’t yet soaked, so it didn’t quite need to be changed. “I’ll walk with you,” Charlotte said with a stretch. “I’m going to get a bite to eat before I come sit down for the rest of the night. You’d be welcome to join me?” She added to Beth. Beth smiled; it was still crazy to think of a childhood star she’d watched growing up thinking of her as a friend! “Actually, I need to work on packing tonight for the break tonight,” she told her. “Oh, where are you going?” Charlotte asked as they passed by the theater’s doors. “My family is going down to the Havana Sea together with a few people for the break?” “Sounds awesome!” Charlotte said, “I’ve only been once myself.” “I’m surprised to hear that?” Carly told her. “Well, the shooting schedule for Life with Charlee was nuts. We did like thirty-six episodes a season, and from the time I was eleven, I’ve had movie projects in the breaks until the show ended.” “And that wasn’t long before you came to college, was it?” Beth asked. “Nope,” Charlotte said, “Just about a year…?” They finished walking to Sander’s quickly, and Beth noted a few lines of Littles were starting to come out. “Hopefully, we got you back here in time, Carly; let me know if you need anything?” Beth told her. “Will do,” Carly said with a sigh and walked in through the doors. “You up for dinner?” Beth asked Charlotte. “I don’t want to intrude?” Charlotte told her. “I doubt Carly’s going to be allowed to sit with us today…” She said sadly. “And you know Livy and Reila won’t mind?” “Okay, then,” Charlotte said with a smile. “Thank you. It’s nice to have friends.” Beth looked up at her, “I can’t imagine you ever not having them, but I’m definitely glad to call you one myself!” Charlotte gave her a sideways hug as they walked. It was embarrassing in a way, the height difference between the friends, but it felt no different than being with her mom. They took a quick walk to the nearby dining hall and, after swiping in, had a seat in one of the mixed-sized booths. There were only a few nests worth of Littles in there at that time, but Beth grimaced at seeing them all wearing bibs. She could just make out the words’ Messy Griffin!’ from where she sat. She also noted that all of the tables now had pictures and designs with names on them. Without getting too close, she suspected those were the mascots for the nests. “That’s so stupid!” Charlotte complained. She nodded, “Not that Carly doesn’t make a mess every now and then, but we all do?!?” Charlotte nodded, “I’m going to do something about this, but just not sure what yet…?” Right then, Beth noted several other rope-lined groups of Littles entering. She noted Carly’s red face and hoped her short girlfriend could survive this stupidity! I HAD WALKED into the doors of Sanders and just about got trampled trying to get onto the elevator. There were two nests of students getting off, and they did their best to avoid having to grab back onto the stupid ropes. With a sigh, I got onto the elevator and rode up to my nest. Lilly was in the process of changing Everly right then, “Need a change, Carly?” She asked me. I blushed and nodded, “Probably?” “Just set your stuff down and come stand over here. I’ll be done with Everly real soon.” Just when I was setting my bag down, I turned to see her blowing a raspberry into Everly’s tummy and tickling her. “All done!” she told her. I was soon picked up and strapped onto the table. ‘Lilly hasn’t used the straps… ever?’ I thought. She cooed at me during the change and treated me like I was probably under a year old as she changed me. “There! Baby Carly is all nice and dry now!” She said to me, placing me on the ground. I gave her a ‘what the…?’ look, and she shook her head. I noted the tilt of her head towards one of the cameras and took the meaning. ‘No choice…’ She gave me a hug and sat me down on the ground. “Anyone else need changies?” She asked with the voice of a nursery worker. “Last call?” I made eye contact with Everly, whose face was still red, then from her own extra embarrassing change. I blushed too at the voice. “Okay, my little Sparkles!!! Come grab onto the magical rope so we can ride to dinner!” I cringed more but found myself grabbing onto a green plastic circle and soon felt myself pulled along to the elevator. “Stand on your magic circle!” Lilly said. There were some ‘Yes, Mommy’s’ said to that, but I kept my mouth shut. ‘This is getting ridiculous…’ I sighed as I stepped to the green circle that matched my ring. I’d never realized before, but they must have put the circles down in such a way that you could still grab onto the rope if you were on the right circle. ‘I bet the rest know from the beginning of the year?’ I wondered. Mom had said that the beginning of the year was especially degrading when she came and had to be assigned a nest for orientation activities. She’d never spent much time with them, but it was clear it had been horrible to be there back then. ‘Right now, it seems like it might be worse,’ I worried. The elevator door soon opened, and we were led past gawking Bigs and Tweeners, several of which I heard comment things like, “What the hell? I thought we just ended this bullshit for them?” A Tweener squeaked, “Thank God I’m tall enough not to be in their dorms…” I heard their friend say, “Are you sure? That Nevaeh girl was taller than you?” Then, of course, there were a few, “Oh my god! They’re sooooo cute! I can’t wait to be a mommy!” I was behind Willow and couldn’t help but note with each comment, she turned redder. She was practically trembling as we reached the cashier scan, and they scanned our IDs. The times before, we had been allowed to let go of the rope here, but apparently, that wasn’t allowed now. Instead, we were led to a short table that I saw had a sticker or wrap covering it. The design was as garish and juvenile as they could possibly have created. It said, ‘Sparkles Shine the Way!’ in sparkly pink and purple alternating letters. All across the table, pictures of baby sparkles covered the surface, just like in our nest. “Mommy, may we get our food now?” Grace asked her. “Oh… umm… we’re doing this differently now,” she told her. Her voice stayed high, like the tone you would use when talking to a baby, but you could hear the discomfort. “You’re going to sit down, and Mommy is going to bring you your food.” “But how will you know what we want to eat?” Sophia asked. “Mommies just know these things,” she said with a sigh. “Please sit down, Sparkles, and I’ll be right back. I groaned, and we sat down, even as other nests were being given the same directive. Right then, I caught motion out of the corner of my eye and realized one of the substitute mommies was setting down a stack of pink cloth. It didn’t take any deduction to guess they were bibs, and sure enough, we were soon covered in bibs that said, ‘Griffins Sparkle!’ on them too. On Willow and Grace, they just landed right below their ribcages. For Amy and me, they came down to the middle of our thighs! “Aren’t you just tinies and the most adorable little girl?” The mommy said to me. I blushed and nodded. She ran her hand down my back, and I just did everything I could to stay still and not respond! A few moments later, Lilly showed up, along with a few other nest mothers pushing carts out with plates on them. The first thing I noticed was that these were not the typical cafeteria plates! Instead, for us, they were pink and purple depending on the plate and sectioned like a toddler plate. That, sadly, wasn’t where the similarities stopped! On them, in each section, were mutilated pieces of food that must have been chopped ‘for our safety.’ I could sort of recognize some chicken; it looked like maybe some carrots and then rice. Everyone made faces at the food. As bad as the cafeteria food could be, this was infinitely worse! The oddly shaped plastic toddler sporks given to us to eat with did not help! When baby bottles were placed in front of each of us... well, it just seemed excessive! “I don’t like this,” I heard a boy nearby say. “Why can’t we just get regular food like we always do?” “Because you’re too little for that,” I heard his nest mommy say to him. Right then, I noticed Dean Shapiro coming towards the tables. “I wasn’t yesterday?” he replied. “Or the day before? Last I knew, I was a college student, not an adopted Little?” The boy stood, and I had to admire both his bravery and his stupidity at that moment, with Dean Shapiro standing there behind him. I watched as she approached, but I also noticed that fifteen other Bigs stood up on one side of the room and began walking toward the nests... BETH AND CHARLOTTE had sat down with their food and been joined by Livy and a nervous-looking Reila before Carly’s nest entered. Beth noted that Charlotte scowled at the sight of them being led to their seats, and she couldn’t help but feel her own stomach twist and turn as she watched Carly get bibbed by the girl and then given a baby bottle. “What the hell?” Charlotte said at that. “We just fought this stupid battle! And this is worse than that bullshit!” she hissed. Beth couldn’t help but appreciate the amazing person Charlotte was for actually caring about the Littles’s predicament. As the Little made his stand, they watched fifteen Bigs standing up and moving towards the witch. Right before they could do whatever they were planning, she heard, “Dean Shapiro, what in the hell is going on in here?” Beth felt her eyes turn to where a new voice and person entered, and she realized it was the university president, Dr. Barnes. “Taking care of the task the Board of Regents gave me?” She said fervently. “Bullshit!” he told her. “We just got done with a massive series of protests on our campus over less than this?!? These are college students who are ADULTS and NOT adopted Littles in the daycare!” She shrugged, “What’s the difference, Ryan? Babies pee and poo themselves all day long. Who else pees and poos themselves all day long? These Littles!” “Only because they were poisoned, you stupid old hag,” one of the taller girls that had been advancing said. “Where’s the proof?” The dean asked. “Regardless of the reason, though, they all do it! Someone else has to clean up their messes in their diapees each time!” “When you’ve got your continence ripped away from you like them, it kind of leaves you no choice,” a guy said. “This is despicable! I came to Emerson because I heard things were better than back home in Selegnasol. This is worse than it would have been there!” “This is bad?” the tall woman scoffed. “Yes, bad,” Dr. Barnes said. “And this will cease immediately!” “On whose authority?” The woman questioned. “I’m the president of the university!” He said coldly. “Let’s go discuss this in my office.” “No, I’m going to take care of my job here.” “Let’s please take care of this in private?” He said. Beth felt a memory of her siblings being told something similar by their dad in an attempt not to embarrass them in front of each other. “No,” she said. “Well, you are hereby placed on administrative leave.” “You won’t be backed up! I’ll be back here in a week, and you’ll be out of a job,” the woman sneered. “Perhaps, but I have received emergency petitions from the university student government council, the faculty council, and a barrage of student complaints about this decidedly stupid action of yours.” He looked beside him, where Beth just noted some university police officers were present. “Please escort this woman off campus. She is not allowed on campus again until her disciplinary hearing.” Right then, Beth was in a state of shock, amazed that people might actually care about Littles! A loud round of applause started on one end of the dining room and made its way around the room. Doctor Barnes looked decidedly uncomfortable and held up his hands for quiet. “Please go about your normal days. Good luck with your midterms. Nest mothers, please plan to meet tonight at 12:00 in Sanders’ theater room. For now, please take those bibs and throw them in the trash. And for crying out loud, let these students go get some real food and drinks.” “Yes, sir!” Lilly said with a smile she tried to hide. “I need to go meet with someone else now…” he said. Beth watched all of the Littles try to rip the bibs off but discovered they were ‘Little Proof.’ Charlotte stood up and started with Carly and their table, helping to take bibs off the Littles. Beth watched in astonishment as dozens of other Bigs pitched in, too! “What just happened?!?” Livy asked. “Why don’t we go check on Carly,” Nikki said. “Can you girls move everything over to that other table, and we’ll get her seated over here, too?” Beth was shaken out of a stupor she didn’t even realize she’d entered. She followed Nikki over to where Carly was standing, a bright smile on her face. “You okay?” Beth knelt down by her. “Did that really just happen?” Carly asked. “Apparently?” Beth said. “Come on, let’s go get you some other food instead of… that…?” Beth looked at the chopped-up mess on the plate that had been set in front of Carly. She could tell she’d had a couple of bites before the excitement began. “That sounds like a plan…” she said, looking at the plate and then at Lilly, who came over. “Umm… Mommy?” She blushed. “It’s Miss Lilly, Carly, I think Doctor Barnes just helped out with that stupid thing, don’t you think?” Carly shrugged, “I didn’t want to get into trouble? What do we do with… that?” She smiled at Carly, “Don’t worry about it; I’ll take care of getting that in a trash can where it belongs…” As Beth walked Carly over to the lines, she noted that most of the nest mothers were smiling and looking relieved, but there were a few that were decidedly not happy. She noticed that those were the ones fishing out plates and bibs from the trash cans for whatever future purpose they had in mind. ‘I’m guessing this isn’t over yet,’ Beth thought nervously. For the moment, though, it seemed to be a pause in stupidity. Bringing the short girl back to their table made everyone smile, and soon, everyone was recounting their favorite part of what had just happened! A message went out on a university system just then, ‘All students: Recently additional rules were placed on residents of Wenig and Sanders Halls. As of this moment, those rules are rescinded because they were not properly voted on and approved. Students with questions regarding these rules should contact the appropriate university personnel in their dorms or may contact their dean.’ “Well, that’s helpful,” Carly said. “I wonder if Grandma already picked up my EdgeSphere glasses,” she sighed. “At least you get your phone back in the dorm?” Beth told her. “True… We’ll have to see what else has happened back there.” Beth looked up at Reila then and noticed that she was growing increasingly nervous. “Are you okay, Reila?” she asked. She shook her head, “Not really, Beth… Umm… could you, Livy, …and Nikki come by my room after this?” “Sure!” Beth told her with a friendly smile. She had a bad feeling that it was all based on the ‘changes’ in her room. Beth guessed that, at the least, a mattress protector was involved… she feared it was more than that, though. ‘I have to tell her to just drop out… don’t try and gut it out. It’s NOT worth it!’ Eventually, they decided it was time to head to their rooms, where Beth needed to pack, and Carly wanted to get some work done. ‘And I need to check on Reila,’ she thought somberly as the small group first dropped Carly off, giving her a hug goodnight. I WALKED INTO the elevator and looked at the circles that had been required standing spots just a couple hours before! ‘I wonder how long this will last?’ I thought with a sigh as I exited the elevator and headed into my nest room. The difference in the room’s mood was so different than when I’d left! Most of the girls were sprawled out studying in various spots. It was a relief to see that none of them had pacifiers in their mouths, and regular bottles of water and coke seemed to have been acquired from somewhere. Lilly wasn’t in the room, so I decided to check her apartment. She was sitting on her couch, “Hi, Miss Lilly,” I said to her. “Well, hi there, Miss Carly!” She said with a smile. “Come on in! We need to talk about this date we’re going on tomorrow night?” I laughed, “what do you want to know?” “First, this is that potty training dunce film you were filming?” I blushed but nodded, “Yes, that’s the one.” “It was good enough to get the main spot of the festival?” She asked in surprise. “It may just be that Charlotte Perez is in it?” I shrugged. “I hate the script, but I think the group came up with a rendition of something that’s not horrible?” “That seems like a ringing endorsement?” she kidded me. “You’ll have to tell me what you think,” I told her. “Anyway, Beth and I have salon appointments at two in the afternoon tomorrow. My grandmother, or Nikki, will take us to get our hair and nails done. I think we may get dressed there at the salon too. After that, I think we’ll come back by and pick you up and head to a restaurant we have reserved for the studio. After dinner, we’ll all travel to the film?” “What time do I need to be ready for the restaurant?” “We’ll come get you at six-thirty if that works?” “Sure!” She said, “I have a substitute mommy filling in for me tomorrow night, so that’s fine.” “Thanks for going?” “I wouldn’t miss it!” With that, she picked me up for a diaper change and then returned my EdgeSphere glasses, which Grandma hadn’t yet picked up. I got to work on finishing the last touches on my Intelligence project. I submitted it from my favorite bean bag chair. It wasn’t due until Friday, but I’d rather have had it done. At that point, I checked to see if my grade was in for Analysis and was pleased to see a hundred in the gradebook. I checked my email then and saw a message from Dr. Turing. Ms. Slane, The work you turned in on your exam was spectacularly impressive to me and fully merits the hundred I have assessed it. I do want to be transparent, though: you were somehow given the final exam from last year instead of the actual midterm... You were the only one with this glitch for some reason. The test you took was longer and more difficult than the rest of the class, and you somehow completed it in half the time it was designed to take! It’s highly irregular that something like that should occur. I’m going to contact someone in our IT department to see if they can determine the cause of this mishap. We haven’t covered all the material involved, yet you instinctively solved it all correctly anyway. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve passed the class for the year with a hundred, but I do hope you’ll continue coming to class and learning at least a few tricks I can still teach you! Dr. Zoe Nash I stared at the screen for a long moment. My blood felt ice-cold at the realization that I was correct when I worried that something was wrong. I sent Grandma a message, ‘I need to speak with you in my Sphere urgently!’ BETH AND NIKKI followed Reila to her room and watched her wipe her ID against the reader. As soon as the door opened, Beth felt her blood turn to ice! “Wha…?” Reila asked. “Is this the right room?” Nikki asked. Reila’s bed was no longer just a lofted bed like Beth’s - and Reila’s had been at least until that morning. Instead, on the ground now rested what looked like a cheap pink plastic toddler bed. It was complete with a rail and childish bedding that would have looked perfectly at home in the nests or a baby’s nursery. A quick touch of the bedding confirmed it had a waterproof mattress now. It wasn’t the only change! Above the desk was now a potty training chart with Reila’s name in cutesy handwriting. Each letter had a different color marker, and the ‘i’ had a little heart for the dot. Almost all of the last two weeks were covered in yellow pee stickers for nighttime. A smattering of daytime pee stickers were also placed on it. She blushed for her friend when she realized there was even a poop-colored one from last Thursday, too. The worst was that the dresser on the side now had a soft, curved topper on it, which anyone who had been in a nursery could instantly identify as being for changing diapers. Any doubt about that was removed when you saw the colorful toddler diapers sitting beside it, hanging from a diaper stacker. “What the hell?” Nikki said for them. “How many times have you wet?” Beth asked her gently. “More than they know,” she said quietly. “Reila, you have to drop out and go home!” Beth said, “My family will pay for you to go to a school in New Haven…” Reila shook her head, “Beth… I can’t?” “Sure you can, Reila, just don’t come back after spring break. I’ll help you move your stuff out?” Reila started crying but said, “No, I can’t. I signed one of those stupid agreements last week.” “Agreements?” Nikki asked. “They call them a CGSP plan,” Reila said softly, her voice trembling. “A... After the first accident… they told me I could either drop out or go on a CGSP plan…” She paused, “They told me that as long as my grades stayed high enough, and I didn’t have too many accidents that would move me to Tier Three protocols, I’d be cleared at the end of the year. It didn’t seem that hard to do?” “But…?” Beth asked. “It got worse!” she said, “Every night got worse… And now I’m having daytime issues too,” she sniffled. Beth was about to say something but noticed something in the corner. “Reila?” Her friend wiped her face, “Yes?” “How long has that been there?!?” +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thank you for reading!!! Please press that Like Button!!! Not only that, I LOVE to see comments! Please do both if you can! This chapter is the longest I think I've posted for this book, but I just couldn't bring myself to put an artificial break in this one. Hope you enjoyed the Bonus chapter being a true bonus in that way! I'm currently working on Chapter 192... today and tomorrow will probably be the last time I can write for real again until late November, but at least it's not like last year where I had a season break - I hate doing that! You'll be rewarded with some bonus chapters every now and then because of how far I've gotten. I may or may not give you a heads up, but if I see 30 or more likes on a chapter...? Well, that week might get you one! Anyway, let me know know what you think about where things are going! Hopefully there were a couple surprises in this for you, although I know some of you picked up on where some of it was leading. Couple other quick notes, I completed the AI AudioBook for Emerald Princess yesterday. It's showing on Audible for the full Audio Book alone price of 9.99. The better deal is to purchase the Kindle ebook for $5.99, and do a combo for $7.99. If you have previously purchased any of my books on Amazon it should be $1.99 to add that audiobook to your prior purchase. I did my best to fix oddball pronunciations for names and things like diapees. If you purchase that one or any of the Exchanged Trilogy that are now available, let me know of any weird things you find! It's pretty impressive to me how good the voices actually are now (Still not a human, but decent enough for self-publishing budgets) http://www.amazon.com/author/babysofia Lastly I've seen a few people show up onto my Discord Server, I posted the AI audio tracks there, as well as in the Lights, Camera, ...What?!? discussion I posted a thread with the full script for 'Diaper Diaries' that was their first film last night. It is in full script form, so it's a bit different than a novelization. I'll put Crumbled Friendships in there too once you all have seen the ending in that actual story here. The link for the discord server is: https://discord.gg/PyxABa83

Thanks for the comments! 🙂

I really love the concept of this, and the world building. If I may make a suggestion, right now, these are less chapters and more vignettes, if you make each post longer it'll help keep the readers inside the story. It's standard for publishing that chapters should be 2k to 5k on average, and I personally find 3k to be the sweet spot on average. I don't know if you've ever seen the Futurama cartoon, but there's one where Fry has to recreate a TV show for aliens (When Aliens Attack is the episode name I believe.) He wrote so many pages thinking it was long enough, but he really needed about ten times the material. Please understand this is just a suggestion though. I really want to see where you go with this, because it's got some of those romantasy vibes of some of the recent mainstream authors that I really like! I'm really intrigued by it! What's here is compelling!

And completely met at this point! I'll post the next chapter tomorrow morning. 🙂

Valid and interesting criticism that could probably easily explained as it would happen on its own when they hit a slightly older age, but it's safer to have an activator shot or something? There's actually a lot more of this style of work out there, especially on WattPad. I too agree it's an interesting concept. If I ever get out of the Diaper Dimension I've thought a little about playing in this one. This has potential to be one of the better works in this setting, might be an easy thing to address this early still?

Thanks for getting the comment here in spite of comment monsters running loose! Hopefully they catch them before start going to likes... I agree, real hero! Appreciate the comments as always! Looks like there might be a bonus chapter on Sunday... only five more likes last I checked! 🙂

I'll have you know I just changed! I'm dry right now! 🤣

Thanks for the comments! 🙂 <nods> Listen to CDfm! 💜

Thanks for the comments! (If you all get 14 more likes on here, you'll get an update on Sunday) Up to you all though! 🙂

Thanks Billy, I appreciate the comments! We'll see on your guesses!

Chapter 147: Perils AS BETH WALKED to her Calculus final, she wished she'd been able to have some last-minute study time with Carly. Livy at least made her feel less lonely, though, as they sat down in the lecture hall for the test. This was one of the few classes she had with a dozen or so Littles in it. Beth noticed that they were all far more tense than they'd been the previous week, and she didn't think it was just a test! She noticed one girl had a pacifier in her mouth and grimaced when she realized it was one of those horrible locking ones! 'Why?!?' Beth wondered, even as she felt like something was going on that no one could quite put their finger on. Their professor came in and, to his credit, looked at the locking pacifier with a scowl and pulled it out. "I can't…" the girl said in panic. "I'll take the blame! President Barnes and that dean will hear from me. It's bullshit that anyone would do that to you!" Their professor said even as he chunked the stupid thing into a trash can beside the lectern up front. The heat of his voice was such that Beth was taken aback. "If anyone asks, you all witnessed this, correct?" A loud cheer actually rose from the class, and Beth found herself wondering why they chose to push such draconian measures on Littles again. 'It might backfire again?' Beth sighed. 'One can only hope!' Beth didn't have much time to think about it, though, as test tablets began being passed out via the two TAs and the professor. She received hers, signed into the test, and started as instructed. Her professor wanted work shown, so she used her stylus to scratch out the work to answer each of the six questions. Each question involved multiple parts, and she hated that if she messed up any one step, it would most likely ruin her result for the others! It was tedious, to say the least, but thanks to her amazing tutor, she understood it all! She only hoped Carly was safe and doing as well on her own test. I WAS SITTING in the classroom for our test, having been dropped off by Grandma directly to the room. I was the only one in the room who was a Little, so I had no way of talking to anyone else about things going on. Molly sat beside me, "Hi, Carly," she said quietly with five minutes still to go before class was to start. "Hi, Molly," I told her. She had some serious mothering instincts, but I'd been pleased to see how much she tried to hold back on them. "I like your hair?" She said. I absentmindedly found the end of a pigtail with my hand and said, "Umm… thanks." "Umm…" She asked, "Is there some sort of trend within the nests to want to wear your hair in pigtails? I think every girl… and even some long-haired boys all had them today?" I looked up at her, genuinely curious if this was the turning point for someone like her. After a moment of debating, I said, "No, I think all of the nest mothers were ordered to put their Little girls in them? I mean, mine would do it for fun once or twice a week, but you could ask for your hair to be in a ponytail or loose, and she didn't care?" "I heard they were…" She squirmed. "Strict at breakfast today?" "You didn't see?" I asked her. She shrugged, "I'm a junior and live off-campus?" "Lucky," I sighed. "So I heard…?" "What?" "That they were forcing everyone to wear bibs and drink out of baby bottles?" She asked. "Pretty much everyone," I agreed. "Why?" "That's a very good question," I told her. "I mean… don't get me wrong, I'm sure you would look adorable nursing on a bottle… but you're a college student? I mean, hell, you're smarter than I am?" I smiled at that admission but shrugged, "If I had to guess, it's about power or money, but most likely both?" "What can I do…?" She started to ask when Professor Nash decided to start the class. "Good afternoon, everyone! I want to give everyone a chance to get through this test to the best of their knowledge and ability. You'll only have three questions on this test. Still, please read the questions carefully, as each has multiple steps involved in solving the problems, as well as a requirement that you prove or state why the steps work. You have two hours, and I would expect most of you to need that full-time." She passed out the test tablets and said, "You may begin!" I'd had some professors who simply gave you some of the same questions that you'd solved before on a test, but to my odd enjoyment, the three questions were new and unique! To solve them, you had to have an understanding not just of the formulas but a genuine connection with the fundamental principles that governed the math. Based on our class discussions over the past couple of weeks, I suspected most in this class were doomed! For my part, I started on the first one, thoroughly working through it to find the answer. I made sure to also show the work Dr. Nash wanted alongside it. I glanced at the system clock up top and was pleasantly surprised to see only fifteen minutes had elapsed so far! The next question was far more involved, and I felt stumped for a moment at one point before remembering something she had really just said in passing the previous week about a different assertion that worked. It was like a key to opening the puzzle, and the rest of it unraveled quite easily from there! I looked up and saw that one question had eaten up forty-five minutes! 'Hope it's not a trend,' I had to think as I looked at the following question and grimaced. 'I think this is the first time I've had to think this hard since I learned the terms in HoloFields!' I kept my cool and began working through the question, comparing it in my mind to other problems I'd encountered in the past. Mentally, I ran through it and finally figured out a first step. The second step was simple, as was the third step… I was chugging along through it and almost done when I hit a roadblock! Every assumption I'd made so far led to this only possible solution, but it didn't work! I looked up at the system clock again and felt my insides twist that there were only thirty minutes left. 'Shit! I hope I finish this!!!' I worried. BETH HAD FIVE minutes left when she had triple-checked her work and decided to submit and leave. Many students had left before her, but there was still a lot of scrambling to get through the test, and she had a feeling many wouldn't make it! Her professor gave her a smile as she left, "have a good afternoon," he said. "Thanks," Beth responded. She shouldered her backpack a little tighter and was relieved to see Nikki sitting outside when she left. "Where's Carly?" Beth asked, surprised not to find her. "I don't know? She had a test, too?" "She usually flies through them?" "Shall we go check on her?" Nikki asked. "Yes," Beth thought, feeling her worries growing given all of the stupid shit going on that day! She and Nikki waited for the elevator to go upstairs and finally were able to ride up to her floor. Beth led Nikki down the hallway to where she knew Carly's class was and was surprised to see, through the window, that the short girl was just barely turning in her tablet! Her bow had come out of one side of her hair, and her pigtails were a mess on the other side, too! 'She didn't fail, did she?' Beth worried. Beth waited outside the door and noted with surprise that the others in the room seemed to be still frantically writing as well. Carly's professor said something to her before she came out to the hallway. "How did it go?" Beth asked her. She sighed, "That was the hardest test I think I've ever even had nightmares about!!!!" "Didn't go well then?" Beth asked gently. "Oh, I finished it, and I'm sure I was right. But a three-question test taking two hours?!?" She shook her head. "And I was the first one to finish…?" She looked behind her as she held her hands up for Beth to pick her up. Once Carly was in her arms, she gave the tiny girl a hug, and Carly continued, "At least I was the first one to really finish, I think? My guess is the three others that left after an hour just gave up. It was insane!" She paused, "Umm… how did yours go?" "Thanks to my awesome tutor, I think it went well!" Beth squeezed her, "Thank you for that." "Happy to help!" Carly replied with a smile. "Now, why don't we change this wet diaper, then get over to the Matisse auditorium for the film fest? Your animated film should be in an hour?" Carly nodded, "Yes, it should. Hopefully, they do a better job with it than Studio Two did with my other one…" "You haven't seen your animated film at all? I would have thought they might have asked you to look in on it?" Beth asked. Carly shrugged, "I am only a lowly sophomore? Not to mention a Little -not even from this dimension? I can kind of see them not thinking I would have much more to offer them?" "Their loss," Beth said, kissing her forehead as they entered the bathroom. She wasted no time in placing her tiny girlfriend on the portable changing mat she carried in her bag on top of the changing table. Carly's bag was then raided for a fresh diaper and wipes. She pushed the skirt of her uniform up and out of the way, taking a moment to tickle her cute tummy. "Beth!" Carly whined. "Sorry, I couldn't help it," Beth giggled. She pulled the soaked diaper off, wiped her, and replaced it with a dry one. She picked her up off the table and set her on the ground, cleaned up from the change, and then they both washed their hands. Carly was about to walk away when Beth said, "Hold up a sec!" "Why?" "Your hair is a mess!" "Huh?" Carly asked before looking in the mirror. She looked like the poster child for 'mom dresses kid for school picture day all nicely, comes home a total wreck!' "How did you mess up your hair so badly?" Beth asked her. "I think I was playing with it during the test," Carly responded. "It was really hard!" Something about that tickled at her brain, and she wondered, 'Wait! Did someone switch her test like Reila's?!?' Beth quickly brushed and retied her one pigtail, which was a total wreck, and then gently replaced the bow on the other. It was an adorable look for her, although she preferred it when Carly wore a big gigantic bow on the top of her hair with a half-ponytail. Beth sighed, "That's better!" "Thanks," Carly said. "I've never really learned to do my own braids." "We'll teach you sometime; for now, let's go see some films!" Beth held Carly on her side and rubbed her back every now and then. She could tell the girl had been stretched on the exam because she'd never seen her be anything but hyper after one before! I WAS QUIET as Beth carried me down the sidewalks to the Matisse building. I was a little shocked that our professor had given such a difficult test, as she'd seemed to back off a bit in class the last couple of weeks. One thing I was grateful for was that the tablets offered the ability to send a 'receipt' of our answers to us. It was time-limited for delivery by professors as a way of sharing test information with others. Although it didn't list questions, it did provide a backup of your responses. We were reasonably confident Reila had been given the wrong test, and a part of me was curious if that had just happened to me. 'If that was their goal, my work would show it as proof,' I thought. 'Honestly, though, it was solvable with all of the ideas we'd discussed – it might have been the real test. If that's the case, I bet I'm the only one who actually solved everything?' Professor Nash had been a little eccentric at times, but she was clearly brilliant! And that sometimes caused its own problems with professors, I'd noted. Beth reached Matisse and sat me down on the floor in a short line that said, "Film Festival Tickets." "Do we have to pay to get in?" Beth asked me curiously. "If we do, it's my turn to cover things," I told her with a smile. We slowly advanced through the line, and we found Professor Wyler sitting at the table with a couple of senior students. "Well, good afternoon, you two!" he said to us. "Have you met Jill and Larry?" He said, nodding to the two students. "No?" Beth said for us. I could just see the girl above the table. She was a little larger-framed for her height, it seemed, with short brown hair styled in a bob. She wore very little makeup. The guy was on the taller side, even for a Big, and had brown hair and a thick beard. He was probably only in his early twenties, but he could have been thirty with the beard. "Well then, Jill, Larry, this is Beth and Carly. They're in my narratives class, and both are absolutely outstanding! You'll see both of them in the main film tomorrow," he said. I felt myself blush. "Very cool!" Larry said, "I've heard that film was a cut above the rest from Professor Hitchcock! He was telling my three-eighty-three class that we couldn't miss it." "I don't know that it's that great," I hedged, "Nice to meet you, though." "So, three tickets?" Jill asked. "I assume the full festival passes?" "Yes, how much?" I asked. "It's free if you take the nosebleed seats for anyone in the class, but if you want a close view, they're twenty per person for the week." "Sixty total if you're paying together," Jill replied. "Do you take…?" I asked and was relieved to find out they did have a reader so I could pay for all three of us. "You don't have to…?" Beth said. "I called dibs on it first," I told her. "It's a tax expense for mine?" Nikki said, interjecting. "Don't worry about it!" I told them. We were given some disposable armbands made of plastic, designed to withstand the water during a shower. "They'll get you into everything today and tomorrow," Larry said. "The money goes to help fund the film society through the year. Don't forget we have our big anime festival coming up in a few weeks!" "Not sure how much I can check out," I told him, "but I'll try!" "Awesome! Anyway, you can scan this with your phone for a full schedule of the films. It also shows the cast, crew, and full credits for each." "Great," Beth said. It was well above me, so she picked me up, and I used my phone to scan it, as well as activate my contacts with a thought to them. Both displayed the link, and we made our way inside. A large digital sign reminded us to use an app to scan our entry for verification for our assignment. Beth and I did it quickly and kept moving into the theater. The room was huge, with a balcony above the main floor area of seats. I hadn't been in the room before and had just expected folding seats like a concert hall, but instead, I discovered rows of comfy couch-like seats! Beth, Nikki, and I were shown a section of seats in the prime area that our tickets covered. We waved at a few friends from Narratives who had also come to get their credits in but sat in the free seats. We both activated our assignments on our tablets in time to watch the next film, which turned out to be Studio One's film from our class. As the room darkened, I was glad we'd made it inside right between films, as the next one began to tell the story of a detective trying to stop a serial killer. In the middle of the film, the villain attacked their home and, killed his wife. They showed him also tying up his young daughter. It was pretty gruesome, and I could see the special effects lessons learned in class being put into practice. I almost laughed when I realized they'd all but directly copied our group's projects from the special effects competition day! The cinematography of the film wasn't horrible; the effects were okay, but the acting was awkward at best most of the time. The member who they cast as the villain was really the only good actor, and I wished that he had a talented actor as a lead to act against. When the credits rolled, everyone clapped, and the cast stood and took a bit of a bow. "Hey, Carly, Beth," I heard beside me and saw Charlotte joining us. "May I join you all?" "Hi, Charlotte," I said at the same time as Beth, and I nodded. Nikki sat on the other side of Beth, so Charlotte sat beside me, sandwiching me between them. "Jinx!" Beth kidded me. "How long have you been here?" She asked. "That was the first film we've seen," I told her, even as I quickly completed the quick log of questions. "Cool," she said, "I figured I'd come watch a couple hours now, have dinner, then come back." "I wish I could come back after dinner," I said. "Sorry," Charlotte said. She then leaned over and whispered, "What's going on with all of you Littles today?" "No clue," I told her with a shrug, "It's like every bit of gains from the protests last month were erased, and things are worse." She scowled, "Give me some time…" Right then, the Perils of Panburty appeared on the screen, and I realized it was my film, albeit with a different title when my old name was shown in the opening credits. "You wrote this one?" Charlotte asked, realizing my old name showed. "Yes, that's a bit weird seeing Connor listed," I told them. Beth squeezed me tighter to her then, even as I thoroughly enjoyed watching the twenty-minute cartoon! The animators did a phenomenal job bringing my story to life, and the voice actors did a fantastic job as well. I watched as my story of a red panda girl entering puberty had one silly thing happen after another to 'ruin her life' during a day of school. It was a comedy, yet it was also heartwarming, as her friends supported her, and she received a big hug at the end of the day from her parents. I had been inspired by an ancient movie that Mama had loved as a girl, but the story was different enough that I considered it mine. At the end of the film, a rousing round of applause broke out as the animators stood up. "You should stand up, too!" Charlotte told me, pushing me to stand on the couch. When the applause died down, I made my entry for the Narratives assignment, even as I said aloud, "I wonder if I can get a copy of that?" "I know a couple of people in the group," Charlotte told me, "I'll get it for you." She paused, looking down at me, "Carly, you realize you are probably one of the more talented writers here?" I blushed. "No?" She laughed, "Maybe that's why you are! Too many writers are totally stuck on themselves!" I shrugged, "I just like telling stories? I always have." "I hope you keep doing that," she told me as we settled in to watch the next film, another animated film about a superhero that reminded me of a Marvel character from back home. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading! Please press that like button underneath this post!!!! (REALLY!) I also LOVE comments!!! So I was supposed to move onto another project this week... and I started, but my muse has been not behaving and being a brat. She's like 'you're almost to this spot you've been planning since you started...' and I'm like 'but next spring...' Anyway, long story short, she's been a brat, but she's been a productive brat! A couple weeks ago I was just hoping to get to about chapter 172 by the time I start my crazy time of year next week, but I actually just finished Chapter 187!!! Well, needless to say, her misbehavior can be your gain. Feed the tip jar 30 likes by Sunday and I'll give you an extra chapter this week. I won't be doing it every week, but you'll probably have some bonuses up for grabs over the next couple months. (It may coincide with great cliffhangers! 😈) Anyway, once again thank you to all of you for reading! If you missed my post yesterday, I added some more of my 'AI Diaper Dimension' music to my YouTube channel. There's a post about them here: https://www.dailydiapers.com/board/index.php?/topic/95041-emerson-university-soundtrack-and-songs-from-the-nest/#findComment-2189397 You can also get to them if you join my Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PyxABa83 (Free to join at this point, someday I might something different, but those things get complicated in my real life) Finally, just a reminder - nearly all of my completed works are available on Amazon if you wish to support me! http://www.amazon.com/author/babysofia Playing Doctor will be coming sometime next month most likely, and I may start publishing a volume or two of this story as separate novels soon too. (No way this will be published as a single work just due to its massive size)

I'm glad you did! Always nice to see new authors! 🙂

This is a really great start! Hope to see more! (I, too, like Sammy's Little Problem - I keep hoping they'll continue that at some point!)

New AI Album - "Circle Time in the Dimension" I feel that it belongs in the AI section, so please see this link, but this has been a fun diversion for me, and some of these songs will appear in future chapters. (Also available on my discord - https://discord.gg/6xVnzUnM )

Circle Time in the Dimension There is another album now available on YouTube "Circle Time in the Dimension" https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3LuGmXtwo0GGAYqwmkc-LZsLUMmHeqIO Straight from the Early Childhood faculty at the fictional Emerson University in the Diaper Dimension, these tracks are a great way for Nest Mommies to learn the songs they should sing with their nests! Circle Time is made up of songs that inspire Nest Mothers and Daycare Workers to entertain, teach, and get their Little charges up and moving about during their special Circle Times! These are some of their favorite songs, as voted on by the nest mothers at Emerson. This music and the ‘album’ are inspired by Sofia Hammerstein's 'Lights, Camera, ...What?!?' novels. Created by AI with ChatGPT and Human input for Lyrics, and Suno Pro v4.5 for Music generation Tracks included: Welcome To Your Day This song is a great opening welcome song for Circle Time! It helps Littles understand what their day is going to be like, and even helps teach them how to use the graphic schedules to know where they’re going next! From Drop-Off, through Lunch, Nap Time, and Pick-Up Time, this song is sure to help them understand their new role! Ten Toes, Two Socks A song that’s sure to remind Littles about what to call socks! It even reminds them of how many toes they have, and is a silly movement song you can even incorporate sock puppets with on some days. Binky Check Song to help your Littles know how important their Pacifiers are! It helps normalize their usage, and learn that they should always have one ready to go! Naomi's Counting Fun From Naomi's special show! This is a favorite of Littles and mommies everywhere, as it helps your Little count from 1 to 10! (Think Mickey Mouse Clubhouse meets the Diaper Dimension) Little's ABCs A special song taken from Naomi and Oliver. It's meant to help your Littles continue to work on their special alphabet skills and reinforce their new roles in life. Love Your Dolly Littles often struggle to learn how to play again. This song is great for them to learn how to play with their new baby dollies and accept their new roles in life. Peek-A-Boo! This is one of the favorites of the nest mothers! Such a cute way to interact with your Littles in the nest, pretending to hide behind their stuffies, use a blankie you throw up over your head, as well as helping normalize their new roles in life. No Grown-Ups Here! Every Little probably thought they were big boys and girls at one point, but this song helps reinforce to them that there are No Grown-Ups here! Littles Stay Little The perfect song for use in Little only environments, or mixed care settings. This song helps Littles learn and accept that they're exactly the way they're supposed to be, and allows others to see it's normal for Littles to Stay Little and cute! Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Sit Right Down! This is a great song for moving around with your Little class! Lots of movement possible, and leads to sitting down after standing up for a moment. Sure to get the little wiggles out! Passies! Pacifiers are the most useful care item besides diapers for Littles! This song helps reinforce to Littles that it’s normal to use them, and they should be happy to use them all the time! Babas for You, Spoons for Me meant especially for mixed classrooms to teach how it’s okay the Littles need their babas and bibs. It helps teach their ‘older’ class mates that it’s normal that they eat by themselves with spoons, while Littles might eat differently. Gentle Hands Meant for teaching how to be kind to others and make friends. Littles Waddle Great song to get your Littles up and waddling around! It works great to add motions and actions to help tire your Little one out before story time or nap time. You'll love seeing all of your charges enacting their favorite left to right waddle! Snuggle Time This song is one of the best little lullabies or soft songs to calm down your Littles before nap time or a transition. Having a bottle in each of theri hands filled with warm milkies will really help them go night-night! Mommy's Here A poignant lullaby for Littles helping them to accept their place in life. It's sure to make mommies cry, and help Littles accept they're loved. (Also available on my discord - https://discord.gg/6xVnzUnM )

If you've got it nearly done, I'd alternate posting it with this. Give it either weekly or bi-weekly posts. Then you can do this one weekly or bi-weekly too and have a pretty good constant stream of things for us to read! (And apparently distract me from writing since I should be doing that... Down to my final days of a long vacation I took) I think Kerry is definitely right that he's changing in each of the rooms. Definitely makes the most sense. I do hope he goes to visit the daycare! Might be just temporary but starts to have lasting effects? That mysterious donor definitely knows more of what that stone will do! Seems like he approves that it's being used for good rather than evil maybe? It's a great tale, looking forward to more! 🙂