Piddly

Chapter 15 Despite barely knowing this girl, McKenzie was rooting for her to make it. She knew all too well how embarrassing things like this could be, and even though she was a couple of years older now she could remember being Charlottes age, and could well imagine the absolute mortification she was feeling right now, never mind if…well, not even going to think about that. It was only as she saw Charlotte hobble around the corner at the top of the stairs and onto the landing that a horrible, gut wrenching thought struck Kenz. Her bedroom! Oh no, the door was wide open and her bed had been stripped down to its plastic sheet, what if she saw? She was half tempted to creep up the stairs behind her and close the bedroom door whilst Charlotte was in the bathroom, but quickly realised that at best it would be incredibly creepy to seemingly follow a virtual stranger to the toilet like that, and at worst she may not have even closed the bathroom door, given how desperate she was, and that would be a whole world of uncomfortable that neither of them needed to be dealing with right now. No, she’d have to brazen it out and just hope that on the way up her new friend would have been too distracted by her bladder, and on the way down too overcome with relief to think about being nosy. Waiting anxiously at the foot of the stairs, Kenzie was relieved to hear the sound of the toilet flushing, and glanced up to the top of the stairs in expectant anticipation, smiling warmly. As Charlotte appeared she did indeed look incredibly relieved, and so much more at ease than she had a few moments earlier, although she still seemed flustered and, McKenzie noticed, she was blushing profusely, perhaps even more so than she had at the bus stop or on their walk back here and presumed it just to be embarrassment, given the spectacle that had just taken place “Feel better?” “Yeah, much, thanks! I…I really should get going home I guess, let you get on with your revision and whatnot, and figure out what I’m expected to do myself. Thank…thanks so much, McKenzie.” With that, Charlotte picked up her bag which she’d abandoned in the small hallway in her rush to the bathroom, swung it over her shoulder and hastily made her way back out of the door and down the garden path. McKenzie didn’t quite know what to make of that! “No worries at all Charlotte, guess I’ll see you tomorrow then. Byeeeee” How odd, Kenzie thought to herself. Poor girl must be really embarrassed, not that I blame her. Something seemed a little odd then though, she seemed different somehow, although she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. At least she was able to make it here and get to the loo though, there’s clearly no way she’d have made it all the way to her own home on the other side of the estate! At least her hasty departure had avoided the need for any awkward questions about her bedroom situation anyway, every cloud and all that. Realising she really should call her Mum back and explain, she fished her phone back out of her pocket to see 3 unread messages. “Are you ok Kenz?” “What’s going on love? If you can’t ring, message me.” “McKenzie you’re worrying me, please let me know you’re OK” Feeling bad for worrying her over something that was really silly in the grand scheme of things, although clearly not to Charlotte, she tapped out a quick reply in case her Mum wasn’t able to talk on the phone as she knew she’d be busy at work. “Sorry for worrying you Mum, I’m fine, found the key, everything’s fine. My friend had a bit of an emergency but all sorted now. Ring me when you can. K x” Prickling conscience assuaged, Kenzie threw her own college bag back into the hall cupboard, stripped off her winter clothes and made her way into the kitchen, clicking both the central heating and the kettle on so that she could fully warm herself back up. She knew she’d have to log in and do some college work, and she actually didn’t mind working from home, but for now she was going to have a few minutes for herself after all of that drama.

Chapter 14 McKenzie only lived a couple of hundred yards away from the bus stop, but Charlotte found every step excruciating, trying to maintain a modicum of composure and dignity whilst at the same time almost certain she was going to humiliate herself at any moment, and in front of this older girl she’d barely met no less. She was already worried that she may have sprung a leak, and knew that there’d be no way of hiding it if she did have an accident, her uniform would show it for the world to see. If that happened, she’d never be able to face school again. Kenzie tried to keep up a cheerful conversation as they walked, it was pretty one-sided as Charlotte was only really able to contribute the occasional grunt of confirmation, but nevertheless she hoped it was serving as a distraction. She did her best to ignore the younger girl’s obvious struggle, knowing inside just how embarrassed she must be to have found herself in this position, and that the last thing she’d want was any more attention drawing to it. Silently she willed her new friend to make it, to find the strength from within to hand on just a few minutes and steps longer. Her home was now in sight, and she excitedly pointed it out to Charlotte as she began rummaging in her coat pocket for the front door key. “Oh no….oh no no no…oh SHIT!” “Wh…what is it McKenzie? What’s wrong?” Charlotte stuttered. Kenzie was panicking wracking her brains to try and remember when she’d last had her key. Yesterday afternoon, surely, as she’d let herself in after college. And she’d put it back in her pocket as she always did. The pocket of her denim jacket, not the thick winter coat she’d selected this morning. “Damnit! Oh you’re not going to believe this Charl, I’ve not got my bloody front door key. I’m so, so sorry. I changed coats this morning, and I must’ve forgotten to pick it up.” Poor Charlotte gave an anguished moan of despair, and looked very much as though she was about to both burst into tears and wet her pants right where she stood, such was the impossibility of the situation, and she felt like her last hope had just been extinguished. She was done for, and her life as a teenager would be over. They’d reached the front door now to the home which McKenzie shared with her mum, but it stayed resolutely closed whilst she dug out her mobile and urgently called Lesley, hoping she’d have some idea that could save them. Charlotte stood beside her, all attempts at civilised behaviour now long since forgotten, she was clutching at herself through her grey skirt with both hands, jumping on the spot and crying openly, willing the unknown parent to answer and prevent her from total humiliation. “Kenzie, love, what’s the matter? Why aren’t you in class?” “Hi Mum, long story….I’ll tell you properly later, ok? But there’s no buses, so I’m back home, but I’ve forgotten my key. Is there any way I can get in, like quickly? It’s really, really urgent!” “Woah, slow down and stop panicking. What on earth’s the matter? Yes, there’s a spare key under the hedgehog ornament in the flowerpot next to the door, use that but make sure you put it straight back please. Now, what’s going on?” Following her Mum’s instructions, McKenzie found the key and held it aloft for Charlotte to see, causing the girl to squeak “Thank fuck! Quickly…” as she writhed in pain, already feeling her knickers were wet but really hoping to avoid a total disaster. “McKenzie, who was that?” Lesley was really concerned now, who on earth was with her daughter? She didn’t recognise that voice, and didn’t at all like the sound of distress she’d picked up on. “No time Mum, sorry, I’ll phone you back in like 5 minutes and explain everything, I promise. Thanks!” and with that, she ended the call and thrust the key into the lock, throwing the door open and hurriedly directing Charlotte to the bathroom upstairs. Charlotte made haste, something between a hop, a shuffle and a run as she clambered up the stairs, holding herself yet tighter and really hoping the dampness she could feel on her fingers through her skirt was just sweat caused by her tight grip. She was nearly there, she was going to (mostly) make it. She could do this…

Chapter 13 It was now getting on for three quarters of an hour since Kenzie had arrived at the bus stop, she was absolutely frozen to the core and quite fed up, not least because had she known the bus wasn’t going to be on time she could have stayed inside in the warm a while longer, or perhaps even convinced her Mum to drop her off again on the way to work. The school kids were still all waiting for their buses, too, and were becoming quite rowdy - the younger ones messing around and pushing each other about, as they do, whilst the older year groups looked just as miffed as she herself was. One girl, probably in year 10 or 11 judging by her appearance, came over to where McKenzie, blonde haired Emma? and the other older student who’s hair and in fact entire appearance was something quite unique (in a good way!) were stood staring at their phones, and nervously asked whether any of them had any idea what was going on. It proved to be the catalyst to striking up a conversation, as both Kenzie and the unnamed girl chimed in that they hadn’t a clue. “How about you, Emily, have you heard anything? There came no reply, and it became apparent that Emily (ahh, so I’d been nearly right, Kenzie mused to herself) had earphones in no doubt trying to block out the monotony of standing around motionless for so long. McKenzie had never really picked up on it, but it seemed that the other two students knew each other, for the younger of the two proceeded to yank one of Emily’s earbuds out before repeating her enquiry a little louder. “Oh shit, sorry Chlo, I was in a world of my own there! No, nothing, and it starting to take the piss a bit now isn’t it?” They all murmured their agreement, with Emily giving an exaggerated stretch and jiggle on the spot which Kenzie assumed was an attempt to warm herself up. “Truth told, I’m actually starting to need a wee, and this bloody cold isn’t helping me at all. If the bus doesn’t get here soon I think I’m going to have to nip back home, and then what’s the betting I’ll miss it.” The younger teen gasped in surprise and relief, before interjecting “Oh thank God, I thought I was the only one! I’ve been busting for the past half hour, but I live over the other side of the estate so there’s no way I’ll get back in time for the bus if I go home, and I’m not sure I can even wait that long anyway. Ooh I really hope this damned bus gets here soon.” Their admissions seemed to break the ice (pardon the pun!) and the 4 girls were soon chatting easily between themselves, passing the time and trying to distract Emily, and the schoolgirl who turned out to be called Charlotte, from their growing need. Chloe’s phone rang after a few minutes, and from what they could gather from the side of the conversation they could all hear it was somebody updating her on what had caused they delays. Thanking the caller, she turned back to address the other girls. “That was my Mum, I text her ages ago to say we were all still waiting for the bus and to see if she knew what was going on, but she’s only just got my message as she’s been stuck in the car in traffic. Apparently there’s been a massive smash in the town centre, right outside the bus station, so no buses have been able to get out. She said it’s a real mess, and it may be another hour or more before they can get a bus over to pick us up - apparently she’s phoned college and they know about it, so it’s fine for us to go back home if we don’t want to wait in the cold, we can do remote learning for today.” Chloe and McKenzie looked delighted with this news, a day of studying on their laptops in bed infinitely preferable to a day stuck in college, especially with the weather being as bad as it was - the wind was starting to really howl now, and they could already feel the first spots of rain or maybe even sleet starting to fall. Emily, too, struggled to suppress a wide grin, she knew she had a bit of a walk to get home, but then she’d be able to use the loo without worrying about missing the bus, and the heating would still be on which would be very welcome indeed! Only Charlotte looked a little uncomfortable at the revelation, nervously biting her lip s she listened. “Are you ok Charlotte?” One of the older girls asked. “Erm…yeah, just wondering what about my school. I mean, I can’t wait here another hour just to see if a bus does turn up, and it’s too far to walk to school, or even to walk back home.” She gave her legs a tight squeeze together, emphasising her point. “I’ll try to ring them now and see what they say, but ooh I don’t know what I’m going to do…” They all sympathised with what seemed to be an impossible situation, Emily perhaps a little more so for she was in much the same predicament, although at least she had some certainty now and whilst it wouldn’t be a comfortable walk home, she knew she’d be fine. They waited where they were for a few moments whilst Charlotte made a call to her school, watching her facial expressions and trying to listen to what was being said, hoping the poor girl received some good news. “Well, that was weird, I’ve never actually phoned the school office before! But yeah, they were pretty cool about it all, apparently there’s hardly anybody made it in to classes so far today because of the buses and the roads all being screwed up, so they said I can either go home and use it as a revision day for my GCSE’s if my Mum agrees, or try to get in to school when I can. Mum’s working, so I’ll text her and I guess I’ll have to head home - a day off is great, but ooooh I’m really not sure I can make it all that way without a wee, I feel like I’m about to wet myself as it is. OMG this is soooo embarrassing.” She looked mortified, blushing profusely as she did what could best be described as a potty dance on the spot, the other girls all doing their best to look away and give her a moment to compose herself, whilst some of her own peers and the younger kids seemed to pick up on what was going on, and started to make jokes and laugh, bringing much unwanted attention to poor Charlotte. Taking Pity, Emily offered to let her use the loo at her house, although it was a 10 minute or so walk, and she asked whether that would help. Charlotte was grateful, but at the same time grimaced at the prospect of walking for so long, and the worry about what would happen if she couldn’t wait. It was then that Kenzie spoke up, pointing out that her house was much closer, and she wasn’t in the same predicament as Emily and Charlotte, so the loo would be free. She even extended the offer to Emily, is she’d have the opportunity to relieve herself before walking home. Whilst Emily declined the kind offer, as it was taking her in the wrong direction and, whilst she definitely needed to go she was nothing like as desperate as the younger girl and really just wanted to get home and warm more than anything. Charlotte, on the other hand was absolutely elated, and couldn’t thank McKenzie enough for coming to her rescue, blushing as she muttered that she felt sure she’d have had an accident if she’d tried to make it home, and at 16 how embarrassing would that have been? Plans settled, and resolving to chat tomorrow at the bus stop, they were just about to set off on their respective walks home when Chloe gestured towards the gaggle of school kids who were variously playing on their phones, kicking a football about and standing shivering, much like they themselves had been. “What about them? We can’t very well just leave them standing here all day can we?” Kenzie shrugged indifferently, her own struggles making her particularly sensitive to the childish way some of them had spoken about poor Charlotte just a few minutes earlier, but Charlotte being the better person agreed and stepped forward tensely to address them all in as close to a confident voice as she could muster. “Listen up, you lot. There’s been a crash or something, so the buses aren’t running. These girls have spoken to their college and they’ve going home, I called St Aelred’s and they’ve told me I can either go home and use today for revision, or try to get into school - so you should probably try to get hold of your schools, or your parents, and see what they want you to do. Apparently it will be at least another hour before any buses can get here.” The response was a little mixed, with lots of fluster and panic from the younger ones and those less sure of themselves, quickly drowned out by whoops and cheers from everybody looking forward to an unexpected day off from school. They were all in high school so far as the older girls could make out, so very much able to take care of their own arrangements and make their own judgement calls about what to do for the best now the knew the situation, so with that they parted ways and began on their walks home, Kenzie leading the way for Charlotte.

Chapter 12 Laundry and work bag in the car, Lesley poured herself one last coffee into her travel mug, stopped off to use the bathroom knowing that’d she’d have a slightly longer commute than usual this morning, and then locked up and hopped into her car, turning the heating up full blast against the wintery morning chill and sped off in the direction of the launderette. She knew they wouldn’t be open this early, but had become friendly with the woman who owned it some years back and was sure she’d be in early getting on top of things before the public descended on her. Passing the bus stop at the end of their street where many of the local neighbourhood children were stood waiting for their school busses dressed in an assortment of woolly hats, thick winter coats and, causing Lesley to shudder a little, one youngster in just shirt sleeves - it really wasn’t warm enough for that! - she noticed McKenzie and a couple of other older students were stood off to one side, meaning the public bus they caught to college hadn’t arrived yet. Not recognising the other girls, Lesley gave a quick pap of the horn and a wave to her daughter as she passed, causing much embarrassment in the process. McKenzie had made it to the bus stop with just a couple of minutes to spare, but typically given how cold it was, the bus was running late! Why did that never happen when the sun was shining and she could enjoy the extra few minutes basking? But it always seemed to be the case when she was shivering. A couple of other girls about her age were at the stop when she’d arrived, and they’d exchanged awkward nods of acknowledgement - they caught the same bus most days, but didn’t share any classes and hadn’t known each other from school, so in truth she wasn’t even really sure of their names! One of them may have been called Emma, she recalled from an overheard conversation the previous year, but the other had only appeared in September so was presumably in her first year, and must have attended a different high school. She’d blushed and given a rather embarrassed little wave as her Mum passed and beeped at her, glancing sideways at her two silent companions with a roll of the eyes and a look that said ‘mums, eh?!’ before looking straight back down again, teenage awkwardness taking over. It was funny, she’d learned to be quite outgoing and confident when talking to older adults, perhaps because of all of the specialists and experts she’d had to meet over the years whilst growing up, and she’d always had a way with younger kids, likely for the same reason - the older she got, the more she found herself spending time amusing children often several years younger than her at the various clinics and surgeries she’d attended - yet she found it really quite difficult to strike up a conversation with people of her own age. The minutes ticked by, and still there was no sign of their bus, nor the special services scheduled to collect the school kids and drop them off at her old high school, and the other catholic high on the other side of town. Meanwhile, Lesley had made it to the little out of town shopping strip where the laundry service was located, and was just in the process of manhandling her bulky load out of the car boot when her friend caught sight of her from inside the shop, and hurried out to lend a hand. “I thought it was you I could see out here! Morning Lesley, long time no see, how’s things with you and…McKenzie, isn’t it?” Welcoming the assistance, Lesley handed over one of the heavy bags, before heaving the second out and slamming the boot lid back into place. “Hiya Maureen, yeah we’re good thanks. Sorry I’ve not been over, with one thing and another we’ve not needed anything dry cleaning for a while now, but this bedding needs a freshening up and it’s far too bulky for my machine at home, so I thought I’d swing by on my way into the office and see if you were about.” “Ah you know me Les, I live and breathe this place! Its hard work, but doing so much of it myself keeps costs low and helps the business to remain viable, so I’m always here at the crack of dawn - it’s either that, or stay late at night, but when there’s a bottle of wine calling me from home that’s never a very appealing proposition! Haha” Lesley chuckled, knowing all too well what Maureen meant. Whilst she didn’t work for herself, she’d freelanced in the past and knew how important it was to keep a lid on costs if you were to earn a decent crust, and all too well how the allure of that glass (or 3!) of wine could distract you. “This lot can probably all go in together, it’s just sheets and a duvet. Any chance I can pop by on my way home from work to grab it, if you’ll have chance to get it done by then? Kenz only has the one winter duvet, and I don’t much fancy another disturbed night if I can avoid it!” Maureen cast a quick eye over the bags, agreeing that it was just one large load and nodding the affirmative, it’d probably be ready within a couple of hours, so collecting at the end of the day would be fine. “Absolutely, I’ll be here until 5 but no later, there’s a bottle chilling that’s got my name on it.” The two women exchanged a little more small talk whilst Lesley paid the bill and added a generous tip for the fact that her friend would have to handle such an unpleasant task, but feeling too embarrassed on her daughter’s behalf to bring up the issue, before bidding her good day and setting off back on her way to start her working day, the stop-off and chat having eaten quite heavily into her morning schedule and leaving her probably just enough time to get parked up and to her desk for the start of her shift. Poor McKenzie, now 10 minutes late for college and with no sign of any buses, was still waiting rather impatiently at the bus stop, frustrations mounting both in her and those around her.

Chapter 11 McKenzie had only really been snoozing, the noise of her mum going about the morning routine preventing her from dropping into a deeper sleep, however she nevertheless awoke feeling much more refreshed than she had earlier. The bright morning light felt less harsh to her eyes now, and she felt a sense of relief when she realised that she still very much needed to use the toilet, meaning she hadn’t further disgraced herself by wetting her mum’s bed at least. Rolling out of bed and wrapping herself in one of Lesley’s dressing gowns, for her own were all of course in her bedroom, she hurried across to the landing to use the bathroom, pondering as she did just why it was that things had happened as they had - why was it that she could go to sleep with a completely empty bladder last night and wake up barely a couple of short hours later wetting herself, yet this morning she had dropped back off to sleep despite a fairly desperate urge to wee, and hadn’t done so. It just didn’t make any sense to her, no matter how hard she tried to understand it. Perhaps it was something for her to ask the consultant when she went to see him after Christmas; she’d been far too embarrassed to talk much at her last appointment with him , mortified at the thought of a strange older man knowing about her wetting her bed, a shame she’d kept hidden from even her closest friends and family, but she was older now and much more determined to put the awkwardness aside if it meant she could get some answers and hopefully get on with living her life. Having decided that a long soak in the bath before bed, and an impromptu early morning shower was quite enough, particularly as she’d not awoken wet (well, not the second time at any rate), Kenzie instead stripped off her robe and pj’s whilst she was in the bathroom and washed herself down quickly before heading to her own bedroom to pick out some clothes for the day. Opening the bedroom door, she was hit by a jet of icy cold air from the window which had been left ajar, scurrying across to close it and pull her curtains across in order that she may have some privacy to dress. The breeze having chilled her, she eventually discarded the skater style dress she’d been considering in favour of a pair of jeans and a hoodie, although she decided to keep the tights that she’d paired with the dress, reasoning that if it was that cold outside another layer would be sensible. Dressed, and appearance taken care of, McKenzie ventured downstairs in search of more coffee and, if she still had time before the bus, hopefully breakfast. “Hi Sweetie, there’s a fresh coffee and some toast on the table for you.” Lesley gestured to the opposite side of the dining table, where her daughters breakfast awaited her. “Ahhh, thanks Mum, you’re amazing! Just what I need. Sorry for dozing off again then, I actually woke up a couple of hours ago but must have drifted back off again.” The pair chatted as they ate, nothing exciting really just the usual pleasantries about what each had planned for the day and how cold it felt out, both kind of skirting around the issues of the previous night. It was only when Lesley rose to place her dirty dishes in the sink, and then stopped to pick up the bags of bedding that needed going out to the car for the trip to the launderette that Kenzie blushed, recalling at once the horrors of what had happened. Her Mum caught the distraught luck on the girls face, and merely raised a finger to her lips, “We’ll say no more about it, accidents happen and it’s taken care of. Now come on, time for you to be making a move too otherwise you’ll have to walk if you miss your bus, and it’s really not warm enough for that!” Smiling a little, Lesley’s words having made her feel better, McKenzie added her own dishes to the sink and then went in search of her warmest hat, scarf and gloves in the hallway cupboard before flying out of the door with a hastily shouted “See ya later Mum, have a good day” as she ran down the path with just minutes to spare. Lesley chuckled, Kenzie had never been a morning person, nor great at time management, so it really was a miracle that she’d ever managed to get to school or college on time. Not wanting to risk being late herself, she bundled the bags of laundry into the boot of her car and then, locking the door behind her she set off on a little detour to drop them off, hoping they’d be ready to collect when she finished work as, much as she’d enjoyed the closeness as a one off, she really did enjoy having a bed to herself - it was one of the few perks of being single, after all!

Chapter 10 It was a little before 6am when McKenzie stirred, roused from her slumber by the early morning sunlight pouring through the voile drapes and a little startled for she had always slept with heavy blackout curtains, helping to make the most of what little undisturbed sleep she was able to enjoy each night. Unaccustomed to the bright light, she was a little disorientated as she blinked and adjusted her eyes, still more shocked to find herself in a strange bed beside somebody else, It took a few moments for her to awaken fully, and when she did the painful, shameful memories of the previous night came flooding back. Glancing to make sure her Mum was still asleep, and catching sight of the alarm clock on her bedside table which declared there were still 10 minutes before it would sound, Kenzie hurriedly checked her pyjamas and the bed all around her, letting out an audible sigh of relief when she found everything to be dry. It wasn’t a surprise really, for she never usually had more than one accident in a night, but then again what had happened last night didn’t normally happen to her, either, so she wasn’t taking anything for granted. The shame would have been unbearable had she made a mess of her Mum’s bed! Now that she thought about it, she did kind of need to use the toilet, and suspected that had played a part in her early morning wakeup call as much as the sunshine had, although it certainly wasn’t an urgent need and she was determined to make the most of these last 10 minutes of warmth and comfort before having to get up and start her day with preparations for college. Pulling the duvet back up to her chin, careful not to disturb her Mum as she did so, Kenzie rolled onto her side and closed her eyes once more. As the clock struck 6 the alarm bell tolled, shaking Lesley from her own dreams and causing her well trained hand to shoot out from under the covers to silence it before it woke the rest of the household. She, too, took a moment to recall the events of the early hours, sensing Kenzie’s presence alongside her and at first wondering when and why her daughter had crept into her bed, before remembering the drama and upset. “Morning Sweetheart” she said gently, brushing some stray hairs off the girls face, but receiving no reply to her greeting. Lesley decided to give McKenzie a little longer to catch up on some much needed sleep, whilst she got herself ready for the day ahead. Slipping silently from the bed, she quickly gathered some fresh clothes for the day and made her way across the landing to the bathroom, noting with relief that the carpet she’d shampooed had dried without any trace of a stain being left. Once showered and dressed, she nipped downstairs to put the kettle on for a morning coffee, taking the opportunity as she did so to set the washing machine going with both Kenzie’s and her own night things, plus the sheets from her daughters bed - and resolving to drop the duvet in for a professional clean on her way in to the office. Having made two steaming mugs of Nescafe, and feeling chilled from the trickle of cold water running down her neck from the towel which held her still wet, long hair piled high upon her head, Lesley returned to her bedroom in order to wake McKenzie and to set to work with the hairdryer before she caught her death of cold. “Kenz, sweetie, it’s time to wake up now. It’s gone 7, you’ve only got an hour until you need to leave for your bus if you’re not going to be late.”

Chapter 9 Despite the cold winter night, Lesley cracked McKenzie’s bedroom window open just a touch before retreating and pulling the door closed behind her, hoping that the brisk breeze would help prevent an unsavoury, stale urine odour from developing and lingering in the air too long. It’s crazy sometimes the daft things you worry about when overly tired, and as the loud rumble of the hairdryer erupted from across the landing, Lesley found herself concerned about the noise and hoping that it wouldn’t disturb the neighbours! Fortunately it was short lived, for as she entered her own bedroom she heard the dryer click off, and found Kenzie brushing her hair out, looking absolutely exhausted. “How’re you feeling now sweetie?” Turning to face her Mum, Kenzie gave a warm smile of gratitude as she struggled to stifle a yawn. “I’m good, thanks Mum. Just shattered. Did you, y’know…” and she gestured out towards the landing, blushing as she did so. “Don’t worry love, it’s all been taken care of. I was thinking though, perhaps you should hop in with me for the rest of the night? Give your bed a chance to air, and your duvet really needs a proper wash too.” McKenzie was torn, on the one hand the thought of having to sleep in with her Mum, something she’d not done for years, and because she’d wet the bed of all things was absolutely mortifying to her and was completely at odds with her quest to appear grown up and mature. Conversely, however, she really had been shaken by such a horrific accident, and deep down she craved the closeness and affection that she remembered sharing her Mum’s bed had always brought her when she’d been younger and upset, or sick. Lesley could see the conflict in her young daughter’s expression, and without words she just took a step towards the bed and drew back the covers, rearranging the pillows to create space for them both to lie side by side, and then climbed in on ‘her’ side, patting the vacant area to the side of her and motioning for Kenzie to join her. Hesitating for just a brief moment, the idea of comfort eventually overrode her pride and McKenzie climbed in alongside her Mum, snuggling down under the thick warm winter duvet and feeling so much of her worry and stress melt away as she did so, her mind swimming with the memories of when her Mum had taken her into her bed and cuddled with her all those years ago when her problems had first started. “Kenz, there’s just one thing…” “What’s that, Mum?” She murmured, already half asleep. “Please don’t wet my bed, I haven’t got a mattress protector like you!” McKenzie gave a little snort of laughter, barely awake, and both drifted back off into a fitful sleep.

Chapter 8 Having confirmed that McKenzie didn’t need anything other than a change of clothes, Lesley left the bathroom to give her some privacy whilst she undressed and showered, pulling the door too behind her and calling back to make sure her daughter left it unlocked if she wanted some fresh PJ’s dropping in. Closing the bathroom door had the effect of once more dulling the light on the landing, with only the feint glow from Kenzie’s TV illuminating her path, but that being plenty to find her way. Reaching the bedroom, she flicked on the light to better take stock of the situation, and to allow her to dig through the chest of drawers in search of something for the girl to wear. It was a shame it was her favourite fleecy onesie which had gotten wet, as that would have been the ideal way for her to warm herself back up and snuggle down for a few more hours, but Lesley knew she’d bought a pair of warm hooded PJ’s the previous Christmas which she was sure would still fit just fine and would do the trick nicely. At the bottom of the draw she found what she’d been looking for, pulling out the pyjamas and shaking them loose. Thinking that Kenzie may appreciate the added warmth, she then reached into the draw above and extracted a pair of bed socks, and it was then she realised that, having had nothing to do with laundering her daughter’s night things for some years - at Kenzie’s bequest, no doubt to spare her blushes - she actually didn’t know whether or not she wore underwear to bed or not anymore. Sure, she knew she always had growing up as it’s just what they’d done, and Lesley typically did herself too, but was it the done thing for a teen? Who knows? Deciding it was better to be over prepared than under, she added a pair to the pile and figured that if they weren’t needed they’d just be popped back in the drawer again afterwards. Turning to leave the room, Lesley couldn’t quite suppress an audible gasp at the sight that met her, McKenzie hadn’t been wrong when she said she’d made quite a mess! “Oh my…the poor girl” Aside from the trail of urine which had soaked into the carpet leading from the bed to the door (and, as she’d discover later, right across the landing carpet too), the sheets on the bed were absolutely saturated and it appeared the duvet had taken the brunt of the damage too, this wasn’t going to be a quick cleanup operation and Lesley was once more immensely glad that Kenzie was sensible and mature enough about her problems to keep a waterproof mattress protector on the bed at all times. Sadly, however, that didn’t extend to the duvet which she was sure was going to need a trip to the industrial washing machine and the launderette. Making her way back to the bathroom, she was careful to avoid stepping in the wet trail, resolving to deal with that first lest it cause a stain. She gave a gentle tap on the door and called out “Kenz” although knowing it to be in vain, for the shower was running and nothing could be heard over the sound of water spraying. Averting her gaze so as to avoid invading her daughters privacy, she stepped in briskly and left the pile of fresh clothing on top of the laundry basked and quickly swept up the soiled onesie which had been cast aside on the floor, noting as she did the damp underwear hanging out and feeling pleased she’d thought to bring some clean ones through. After closing the door and heading downstairs to the kitchen, Lesley tossed the wet laundry into the machine and almost set it going, before remembering the bedding would need taking care of too. Instead she rummaged in the cupboard under her sink to find a cloth, the disinfectant spray and some carpet cleaner, determined to salvage her new carpets if nothing more and feeling glad this was anything but a regular occurrence. The ‘Vanish’ foam made light work of the wet patches, before she turned her attention back to the bed itself and begun stripping the soaked linen, deciding at once that her initial assessment had been right and a trip to the laundrette was indeed in order the following day. Rather than messing around separating it all, she bundled the lot into a plastic bin liner to deal with in the morning, and gave the mattress cover a quick wiping over with the spray to take the residue off. Just as she was finishing up the task, she heard the bathroom door creak open and McKenzie padding out onto the landing. Making a quick decision, she called out to the young girl “Nip into my room to get your hair dried love, I’m nearly done in here now and then I’ll be through.” “Thanks Mum, I feel better for that. And thanks for the Christmas jammies and socks, they’re just what I need tonight.”

Chapter 7 The pair shared a few moments, again wrapped together in a warm embrace, before McKenzie gave an involuntary shudder, alerting her Mum to the fact that she was of course cold and uncomfortable. Maternal instincts kicked in, and she found herself addressing her adult daughter almost like a much younger child, in much the same way as she used to when she’d helped her to deal with her earliest accidents. “Kenz, sweetheart, accidents happen. I know you can’t help it, but it’s really nothing to be getting so upset about. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, you must be freezing sitting there like that.” McKenzie found herself blushing more than she already had been, the embarrassment at being spoken to like a school kid combining with the shame of wetting her pants at 19 years old, leaving her feeling absolutely mortified. She knew that her Mum was only trying to help, and in truth deep down she really craved that comfort and even wanted to just let her take over and make everything better, but her pride wouldn’t let her do that. Fiercely independent, particularly where her personal problems came into play, Kenzie found herself recoiling slightly at her Mum’s delicate touch as she had attempted to help her to stand. “I’m sorry sweetie, I was just trying to help. Would you like me to leave you alone?” Lesley’s face fell slightly as her daughter had jerked away, worrying about overstepping boundaries and invading her personal space, but at the same time feeling quite helpless to do anything to make this all go away. Aghast at the thought of offending the one person she knew to be there for her no matter what, McKenzie accepted that now Lesley knew what had happened there was no harm in accepting help with the practicalities at least - that was the mature thing to do, after all, although she still intended to try and preserve as much dignity as she could. “Mum, I’m so so sorry about this, I’ve made such a mess and I feel like a real baby. Wetting my bed is one thing, I hate it but I know there’s not much I can do to stop it that we haven’t already tried, but this is disgusting. I really am sorry, so very sorry.” Lesley moved to speak, but McKenzie quickly carried on. “Honestly, I can sort myself out, it’s my fault for jumping out of bed like that and trying to get here, but I just acted on instinct. I don’t think I could have lay in bed wetting myself whilst I was awake if I tried, that’s just grim, but then I guess so is this…” she gestured to her soaked pyjamas, and the mess around the bathroom floor “I just didn’t think, I was half asleep when I woke up and found myself weeing, and that’s NEVER happened before! Look, Mum, I know I’m supposed to take care of it all myself now I’m older, but if I jump in the shower and sort myself out, do you think you could help with my bed, please?” McKenzie’s short monologue quickly filled in some of the blanks for Lesley about what had happened, and now the pieces were put together it did make a lot more sense. In a way she was relieved, she’d of course meant what she said about accidents happening and, having given birth, she wasn’t so smug as to blame she didn’t understand how it could happen to anybody, but the prospect of Kenzie having wet herself whilst awake had been quite a worrying one given her other problems, to to understand that this was actually a bedwetting accident gone wrong (a strange turn of phrase if ever there was one!) was at least something she knew how to deal with. “Of course Kenz, you know you don’t even need to ask me that. You hop in the shower, I’ll go and grab you some dry things and pop them just inside the door for you and then I’ll take care of it whilst you’re getting freshened up. Do you need anything else?” Relief washed over Kenzie. Of course she knew her Mum would help, but it seemed really strange asking her after all this time, she’d been dealing with everything to do with her bedwetting on her own for so long now, not because Lesley wouldn’t help but because she was too ashamed to let her. Tonight though, she just couldn’t face the thought of stripping and remaking her bed, all she wanted to do was get clean, dry and warm again, and then curl up and get back to sleep. Oh how she really hoped this new doctors appointment would bring some much needed and long awaited answers!

Chapter 6 It was different to what she was used to, but no less unpleasant. Typically McKenzie awoke early, lying in a puddle of her own making and in a foul mood as a result, with no knowledge of what happened to cause it, no recollection of any dream and not even sure when it had happened other than she was inevitably cold, wet, sticky and smelly, and disgusted with herself. This time, whether it was because of the alcohol, the unusually early bedtime or perhaps the stress and work about the hospital appointment she wasn’t sure, but poor Kenzie had awoken with a jolt and in a panic. She couldn’t recall what she’d been dreaming about, but she knew that all of her senses were heightened and her heart was racing, sweat was tricking down her brow and, worst of all, she was in the middle of wetting the bed and there was nothing whatsoever she could do to stop it happening. With an anguished sob, the horrified girl threw back her now sodden duvet and leapt out of bed, managing a cumbersome and uncoordinated run out of her bedroom and across the landing to the bathroom, her drowsy brain not quite engaging and taking in the fact that she was making an unholy mess as she continued to empty her bladder, leaving a trail across the floors right up to the toilet. Reaching her destination, she briefly fumbled with the zip of her onesie before realising it was a lost cause and plonking herself down unceremoniously on the toilet seat, finishing her wee through the drenched fabric and holding her head in her hands as her crying became uncontrollable. She was mortified, this was so much worse than just waking up to wet sheets, and as she came too a little and realised the extent of the mess she’d made, the question which bubbled up in her mind was how on earth would she hide this from her mum! It was there, sat a wet and weeping mess on the toilet, where Lesley found her daughter. Having been awoken by the running and the clatter of the door, she’d turned off the lights and long abandoned TV, making her way up the stairs and intending to bid McKenzie good night before retiring herself, knowing she had to be up again in less than 4 hours and not relishing that thought at all. The bathroom door was closed as she reached the top of the stairs, although Kenzie’s bedroom door was wide open, casting a dim blue light from the TV across the landing. Intending to use the bathroom herself before settling down for a couple of hours sleep, Lesley padded across the landing and tapped gently on the panelled wooden door, trying not to startle the girl who she expected to still be half asleep. “Kenz love, are you ok? I must have dropped off downstairs, just heading to bed myself now.” She listened intently for a reply, but all she heard was a gentle sob. “Sweetie, what’s the matter? Can I come in” Again there was no response from the crying girl, just more sniffling, which had Lesley really worried. What on earth had happened to upset her so? With one final knock, she turned the door handle and was relieved to find it wasn’t locked. Pushing the door open, her eyes fell upon her young daughter, fully dressed, sat atop the toilet with her head in her hands, her body convulsing with wracking sobs. “Oh Kenzie, whatever’s the matter darling?” Pausing for just a moment to flick on the bathroom light, startling herself a little with the brightness as she did so and feeling glad that McKenzie had her eyes shielded, Lesley knelt down in front of her young daughter and wrapped her up in a tight huge unsure of what had caused such upset but feeling that her comfort was needed and wanted, and not knowing what else the could do. Eventually pulled away slightly, causing Lesley to draw back and properly take in the scene for the first time, noting the trail of urine across the bathroom floor and the fact that McKenzie’s onesie was saturated down to the knees. “Oh Kenzie” was all she could say, her heart melting at the unfairness of this whole sorry mess.

Chapter 5 The pair continued to chat as they finished their drinks, before Lesley retreated back downstairs to take care of the washing up, giving her daughter the space and privacy to do whatever it was that teenage girls did in their bedrooms these days. McKenzie had enjoyed the rare, intimate heart to heart with her Mum, something they didn’t do nearly often enough. When she’d been growing up, they always made time to chat about the things that were bothering her, and it had made her feel grown up when her Mum had made a point of sharing a few of her own worries too, and thanking Kenz for helping her through them. Of course, now she was older she realised that much of what her Mum had disclosed hadn’t really been much of a worry to her at all, but all the same she really appreciated the sentiment and the effort to help her feel that she was as much of a support as her Mum was to her. In truth, the letter from the hospital had shaken her a little, as she knew this was likely the start of another seemingly never ending round of appointments, consultations, prodding and probing, maybe more vile medication which did all kinds of horrible things to her, and as she’d become resigned to long ago, no actual solution at the end of it all. Perhaps worse though, given how much older she was now than when all of this had started a decade or more ago, was the embarrassment of so many people knowing her deepest, darkest secret and having to put a brave face on and actually sit and talk to people about it. Mortifying! Kenzie was a little miffed that it had arrived today of all days, too. Not that it was actually a special day of any kind really, not a birthday nor a holiday, but it had been a really good day from the very beginning, something which she just wasn’t accustomed to, and the last thing she’d needed when was a reminder of ‘that’ when she’d nearly managed to avoid thinking about it the whole day, for the first time in forever. Ah well, she shrugged off the feeling of irritation, it is what it is, and perhaps this time it may be different. Maybe. Hopefully. Deciding that she’d now had enough of today, even if it was incredibly early in the evening, she shook out her hair and set about drying it and taking care of her nightly routine of moisturisers and the like, before flicking Netflix on her TV, choosing the next episode in the corny American comedy she’d been losing herself in recently, and snuggled down under her thick duvet. No doubt she’d wake up in the morning to the TV still lit up, something which bugged her Mum no end, and having slept through half a dozen episodes, but she just needed a bit of escapism and a good night’s sleep. Besides, she knew that she’d inevitably have far more pressing things to worry about when morning came around. As it happens, her eyes were closed before the opening credits had even finished rolling, the perpetual lack of sleep catching up with her once more. Lesley too had enjoyed spending some quality time with her daughter, and realised that as the girl had grown older and more independent it was something they hadn’t made nearly enough time for, a thought which saddened her. Perhaps the one vague positive to come from all of the years of upset had been the opportunity to become so close and to spend as much time together as they had. Yes granted it hadn’t always been in great circumstances, but as a Mum she liked to think that she’d been a source of comfort when McKenzie had been at her lowest ebb, and she knew how fortunate they were to share such a close relationship when many teens and parents clashed horribly. She’d been sorely tempted to help herself to the last glass left in the wine bottle when she’d returned downstairs, but reasoned with herself that she’d regret it when the alarm sounded early the next morning for work, instead popping it back in the fridge for another time. Settling down on the sofa, she quickly found herself dozing as the documentary she’d selected wasn’t half as interesting as she’d expected, slumber overtaking her desire to learn more about byzantine history, and before she knew it she was awakening with a start at a little after 2am when she heard footsteps thundering along the landing and the bathroom door banging closed. Who knows, maybe just maybe McKenzie would get to enjoy another good start to the day after all. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

Chapter 4 As she sat and nursed her wine, Lesley could hear McKenzie begin to draw herself a bath, followed by the low rumble of heavy rock music being played. She’d leave her daughter alone with her thoughts a while, and then perhaps take her a hot drink up and try to have a chat when she was feeling in a better place. All these years of struggles really had taken their toll, it was such a heavy burden to bear for a teenager and she just hoped this was perhaps a feint glimmer of light at the end of the interminably long tunnel although, being a realist, she wondered just what exactly they were going to try this time that hadn’t already been attempted and failed over the past decade. As a Mum, Lesley could remember every milestone as if it was yesterday - Kenzie’s first words, her first steps, her first day at school, her exam results…everything, but the one memory she really wished she could forget was that fateful day just over 10 years ago when she’d been awoken in the early to the sound of sobbing, and had found her little girl sat on her bed completely distraught. Of course she’d comforted her, she’d reassured her, she’d helped to take care of things and they’d both hoped it was something they’d never have to mention, heck never even have to think about again. Alas it wasn’t to be, instead proving to be the catalyst for a decade of struggles, for a decade of new milestones of the kind nobody ever wanted to remember, it was that night which had led them to where they were right now, with no end in sight no matter how much she tried to kid herself and no matter how much she’d assure Kenzie that this time it would be different. Hearing doors banging and noticing the music was more muffled now, Lesley took that as her cue to step in, making a move to the kitchen where she put on the kettle and set about organising a plate of biscuits and two very large hot chocolates, complete with cream and marshmallows, just as she had that night way back when. A treat more befitting an upset 9 year old girl, perhaps, but one equally comforting to a 19 year old young adult - and, yes, to a 40 something mum too! “Kenz, love, can I come in?” She called through the closed door, balancing the laden tray precariously on one hand as she gave a gentle tap, hoping her daughter didn’t have her headphones on. “Uh-huh” came the subdued reply, and Lesley heard shuffling from across the room. Opening the door, careful not to tip the tray she was still juggling in her left hand, she made her way into the room where she found McKenzie perched on the side of her bed, cosily dressed in her pink fleecy onesie and with her damp hair wrapped up in a towel atop her head. “I thought this may help a little sweetie” Lesley proffered the tray of goodies, before setting it down on the dresser, and she was pleased to see a smile creep across her daughters face once more. “Ahh, Mum, you know that hot choccy ALWAYS helps! I’m sorry for storming off like that, but it just feels like we’re going around in circles constantly. I’m nineteen years old now for fuck sake, I just want to be a normal teenager!” Tempted to reprimand the girl for her language, Lesley gave her a sharp look and raised an eyebrow but held her tongue, satisfied with the trite look she received in return. “I know love, I understand. It’s been such a slog, and you’ve been so strong right the way through, but I know how tough it must be. Let’s just see what Mr Mohammed has to say this time, eh, maybe in the time since he last saw you he’s come up with some new ideas, or there’s been some new research which may help?” McKenzie knew her Mum was right, they had to put their trust in the experts, even if it hadn’t yielded any results so far. Why couldn’t it just be a broken arm or something she was suffering from, something they could operate on and fix without all of the guesswork and the years or trying this and that, inevitably disappointed when it didn’t work out, only for their hopes to be raised and dash time and time again. She half nodded, half shrugged as she took great pleasure in dunking her biscuit until it was soggy and then, setting her mug down she slid over on the bed and wrapped her arms around Lesley. “Thank you, Mum, for everything. For always being there through all of this.”

I’ve absolutely no idea how this will pan out, just a totally random idea that came into my head…and that’s how my last story started out, so I figured I’d run with it and see whether it gets into my head in the same way.  __________________ Chapter 1 To the brash sounds of the latest guitar riff blaring from her phone, McKenzie Sumner awoke with something of a jolt, fumbling through still tired eyes as she tried in vain to silence the alarm for the third time that morning, before tossing it back onto her nightstand in frustration. “Hey Siri” she mumbled gruffly “Snooze”, before laying back down and snuggling under the thick duvet that held the warmth in and shielded her from the start of her day, savouring a rare opportunity to lie in far longer than she should. “Kenz, that’s the third time I’ve heard that damned song now! That means it’s now half an hour after you should have been up and getting ready for college.” With a very melodramatic groan, McKenzie flipped back the covers and swung her legs around out of the bed, rubbing her eyes and running her hands through her bedhead as she did so…had anybody been watching, they’d have sworn they were watching the actions of a toddler, not a 19 year old. “I’m up Mum, I’m up! Honestly, I NEVER get a chance to lie in, and the one time I do it’s just nag, nag, nag. Pffffft!” The girl was frustrated at her disturbed slumber, but even that couldn’t cloud the otherwise perfect start to her day and, despite the teenage attitude showing through her return was still jovial. She knew all she needed was a hot shower and a strong coffee, and then she’d be smiling. Turning towards her desk with a stretch, grabbing once more at her flyaway frizz, she caught a glimpse in the mirror and couldn’t help chuckling. She’d always been the same since she was little, never a morning person, and the reflection which looked back at her made that very clear. “Oi, less of the lip young lady.” The older woman replied from the landing, but with an unexpected twinkle to her own voice. Kenzie was right, it WAS very rare that she got to enjoy a lie in, and that in itself already meant the morning was off to a better start than 99% of their days. “Bathroom’s all yours, I’ll go and put the kettle on shall I? Coffee, I take it?” Stretching again and struggling to stifle a yawn, Mckenzie was pleased her mum hadn’t taken the hump at her drowsy snipe. “hraaaaaaaaarrhh….Ooh yeah, please Mum, thanks! Sorry, I’ll go and wake myself up properly and then I’ll be down. That extra snooze was lovely, I wish I could do that every morning”. Having made two mugs of steaming coffee, sugar in Kenzie’s, Leslie Sumner popped a couple of rounds of toast in for each of them, and then took her place at the kitchen table, rolling her eyes a little as she heard the heavy rock music blasting out from the bathroom above and her daughter’s enthusiastic, if tuneless, attempts to harmonise with the band. At least she was finally out of her pit, and it really was good to hear her in a good mood at the start of the day for a change. “Morning Mum!” “Hey sweetie, you sound a bit more jolly now, haha” “Yeah, sorry, you know I hate waking up. Well, usually at any rate. And when I can, I want to enjoy every moment of sleep. I was having an awesome dream…well, at least I think I was, I can never remember them! Pfft!” The pair smiled at each other, nothing more needing to be said, as they sipped at their coffee, fortifying themselves for the day ahead. Breakfast finished, and pots washed, Leslie busied herself gathering the papers she needed for her day at work whilst McKenzie took a few minutes to apply her makeup, and get her hair ‘just right’, pleased to see that the reflection looking back at her was now much more glamorous student than drowsy pre-teen as it had appeared earlier. “Phew, what a difference a shower, a coffee and a bit of lippy makes!” She giggled. “You ready to go Kenz? I’ll drop you off on the ring road if you like, save you the bus ride to college, I’m heading that way anyway - but I’m leaving now.” “Thanks Mum, Comiiiiiiinnnnnngggggggg”. Chapter 2 McKenzie’s buoyant mood stayed with her throughout the day, something her friends and even tutors picked up on. Like any teen, she’d always had a tendency to be a bit moody and sullen at times, and often over-tired was something the staff had picked up on, but they attributed this to late nights playing video games or chatting with friends of social media - she wasn’t the first, and certainly wouldn’t be the last, to try and burn the candle at both ends through college. She’d text her Mum at lunchtime, hoping for a lift home too but realising she was probably pushing her luck, and wasn’t in the least bit surprised to be told to make her own arrangements as it would be a late finish for Leslie, they had a lot of work on at the moment which wasn’t a bad thing, but put significant pressure on her work/life balance. Kenzie was secretly hoping that it may lead to a couple of weekend shifts for her as it had done over the summer, as she could use the extra cash, but she’d talk to her Mum about that over dinner and see if she could make herself useful in some way. “See you tomorrow Chyna” she called to her friend as she made a dash for the bus, determined not to land herself with an hour-long wait for the next one, or even worse an hour-long walk home. “Don’t forget to send me that video over”. “Ah yeah, catch ya in the morning Kenz, and will do, you’ll love it!” McKenzie often arrived home before her mum these days, and quite enjoyed having the house to herself for a while. She could crank up her music, and usually took the opportunity to lounge around doing very little, typically exhausted by that point after an early morning and a long day studying. Academia didn’t come easy to her, but she had her mum’s work ethic and always threw everything she had at every task she was set. Today was different though, a rare day where she arrived home still full of beans, she didn’t just blast her tunes enough to annoy the neighbours, she also busted a few moves and even set to preparing a tasty dinner for when her Mum got home. As the pasta sauce bubbled away merrily on the hob, a ting from her pocket alerted Kenzie to an incoming message, the video she’d been waiting for from Chyna. Deciding she’d been productive enough, and revelling in the fact she didn’t have the normal, rather gloomy post-college chores to take care of today, she grabbed herself a tall glass of ice cold juice and then flopped on the sofa, pausing just a moment to stop the music…well, a couple of moments, as it was one of her favourite songs…before firing up the video and giggling away for a solid 10 minutes. Chyna was right, it was right up her street, and she immediately shared it in her socials and in her group chats, looking forward to the reaction. After a short time, the young girl found herself fidgeting distractedly, realising that without her usual trip upstairs upon arriving home, she’d not paid the bathroom a visit either, and she really should, especially after all that juice! Hurrying off to relieve herself, she was sat on the loo flicking absentmindedly through Instagram on her phone when she heard a key in the door swiftly followed by the call of Lesley’s voice from the hallway. “Oooh, something smells delicious! Hey Kenz, good day?” “Oh, Hi Mum!” McKenzie hollered back “Yeah, great thanks. Dinner’s nearly done, I’ll be right down.” With a flush, and a quick adjustment of her clothes, she bounced back down the stairs and wrapped her surprised Mum up in a big bear hug, nearly knocking her flying as she tried to hang up her coat. “Blimey, you really are full of the joys of spring today aren’t you?! Thanks for sorting dinner, love, it’s been a long day and I can’t wait to put my feet up for a bit.” Grabbing the pile of mail from the hall table, Lesley made her way through to the kitchen to sort through the bills and circulars, whilst her daughter plated up their feast, even adding a couple of small glasses of white wine on the side, a real mid-week treat indeed! Chapter 3 “Thanks sweetie, this looks amazing! And you made it all yourself? I’m impressed” Lesley crowed, licking her lips at the feast which was set down before her, before casting a knowing eye sidelong at the drinks “Are you sure that’s a great idea though? I mean, boy do I need it, but…well, you know…” “Muuuuuuuum! Honestly, I’m 19 years old! And anyway, last night…” Kenzie rolled her eyes at her Mum’s comments, but deep down she knew that she was right, it probably *wasn’t* the best idea, but she just wanted to finish her great day on a high, feel like a grownup for a change, and it was nice to be able to share a glass with her Mum. Besides, maybe it’d help soften her up a bit for a chat about work, she hated not having a lot of money for herself when so many of her friends had jobs now. “McKenzie Sumner, less of your lip please young lady. If you’re old enough to have a drink with your old Mum, then you’re old enough to speak to her like an adult, too, thank you very much. And yes, I guess that does mean you’re old enough to deal with the consequences of your own actions and choices too, so enjoy it but don’t you be all mardy tomorrow morning.” Suitably chided, McKenzie turned her focus to the pasta dish she’d prepared, pleasantly surprised by her own culinary skills and thinking to herself that if a career in law doesn’t work out then maybe she could become a chef instead. It really was delicious! The wine, too, although her reprimand had taken the shine off that just slightly, but she was determined not to let anything spoil her perfect day. Lesley was enjoying dinner just as much as her daughter, the pasta delicious and the fact she’d not had to lift a finger made it taste even more so, washed down with a glass of wine which she’d been fancying all day, and which quickly took the edge off her niggly temper and made her wish she’d not had a dig at Kenzie - she knew the girl struggled so much at times with everything, and if she decided to make the most of a rare ‘good’ day then good for her. Pushing her clean plate away with a contented sigh, she caught the girls eye and made a point of apologising, as she’d always taught her to do. “Sorry for snapping love, and thanks for taking care of things today. As you’ve cooked, don’t worry about loading the dishwasher, I’ll sort it once I’ve finished going through the post” As expected, the vast majority of the mail was wither junk, or bills. When was it ever anything else? Lesley sorted them out, checking over the bills to make sure nothing was amiss and putting them to one side to be filed, before tearing up the junk mail to toss in the recycling bag. The last envelope, she noticed, was addressed not to her or “The Occupier”, but to Miss M L Sumner, and was official looking manilla with a franked postmark and the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust logo emblazoned alongside. “Kenz, love, did you not look at the post? There’s a doctors one here for you” McKenzie was once more distracted by her phone, catching up with a group chat argument that had been taking place as she ate, and just gave a dismissive shrug “You open it, Mum, it’ll only be a reminder about the flu jab or something.” Before returning to her friends disagreement, deciding which side she should join. Lesley slit the envelope open and pulled out the letter, carefully unfurling and noting the NHS trust letter head along with the “Urology” department details. “Dear Miss Sumner, Your General Practitioner, Dr Sandeep Ghara has made a referral to the department, and an appointment has been made for you to attend the Enuresis clinic at Liverpool Royal Hospital, Prescot Street, Liverpool on Tuesday 14th November at 3pm. Please bring a urine sample, your CCBBS charts and details of any medication you are currently taking when you attend. Your appointment is with the consultant urologist, Mr Jason Mohammed, and should take no longer than 1 hour. Kind Regards, “ Having read through the letter, she passed it across the table to her daughter, waving it slightly to catch her attention and motioning for the girl to take her earphones out. “Have a read, Kenz, it’s from the hospital. It looks like they’ve referred you back to the Urology department now you’ve moved on from CCBBS, but who knows why - I’m sure it was Mr Mohammed you saw last time, wasn’t it?” McKenzie’s face clouded at the mention of the hospital, and the consultant who she’d last seen when she was 16, evidently she was wrong about nothing spoiling her mood. She took the paper with a little trepidation, and quickly scanned over it taking in the detail with frustration at having to go back, again when they’d not been able to do anything to help her previously, but at the same time with a slight relief that whilst it would be mortifying to sit there and go over everything for what felt like the millionth time, at least there was no mention of having to attend with a full bladder this time, something which had ended badly and really, really embarrassingly back when she was still in school. “Yeah, that’s him. I wonder what he wants? They did so many tests last time, and the time before, and…well, for the past 10 bloody years, and they’ve never been able to get to the bottom of it! Argh! I mean, if he can do something to help then that’s great, but if it’s just another waste of everybody’s time then I’m going to discharge myself and I won’t be going back!” With that, and before her Mum could say a word, Kenzie snatched up her phone and stomped out of the room, needing time and space to process things. Lesley didn’t follow, instead topping up her glass with a deep sigh, and wishing once again that she could do something to take her little girl’s troubles away.

Ah, thanks @kerry and @Sarah Penguin, so glad to hear there are still people here who are enjoying reading this. Apologies for the extended hiatus, I'll be honest I totally lost all motivation for it for a while, but the spark is back now. The good news is that there are still dozens of chapters written which haven't yet been shared here, so I'll crack on with that - and I'm also finally working on new chapters too. I'd never picked up on the Dan/Danielle/Daniels thing, oops! ? Although to be honest I don't see Danielle as being a recurring character really anyway - well, at least I don't think I do. This thing has pretty much written itself, so who knows what this lot will do if I let them run with it again. ? The "Jack Daniels" one snuck in without me realising too, haha. Anyway...Chapter 24 The girls spun around to face the person speaking to them, and just as they did so they heard Emily walking down the driveway calling out “I’ve not got my key, and my Mum’s not…” She topped dead in her tracks as she turned the corner and came face to face with not only her two friends, but also her Mum! “…answering the door?” Lisa finished the sentence for her. It was difficult to tell who was the most taken aback by this meeting, clearly neither party had expected to bump into the other. Surveying the scene, Lisa was trying to understand just why the 3 girls were looking to shifty, and why she’d found 2 of them lurking on the corner outside her house. Then she noticed Lucy’s jeans, which Dan’s jacket hadn’t quite managed to cover fully. “Oh my dear, whatever has happened? Come on inside all of you, quickly.” Lucy blushed at having been caught out, but realised that it was probably far better than being seen by her friends in this state. Em’s mum knowing was going to be bad enough, but if the other girls had seen she’d have been teased mercilessly. The three of them followed her into the house, Em explaining that Lucy hadn’t actually had an accident and wet herself, even though that’s exactly what it looked like, but had in fact been having a wee at the park and completely missed her aim, soaking her clothes in the process! Lisa shook her head and laughed, but understood. “Oh dear Lucy, what a mess eh! Well, don’t worry about it, these things happen. You nip upstairs and get yourself changed – bring your things down and I’ll pop them in the wash for you, so you don’t have to explain to your Mum too, as I’m sure that would be pretty embarrassing.” Lucy smiled gratefully, thanked Lisa and slunk off upstairs to change into the shorts she’d brought with her, along with a fresh pair of undies, suddenly grateful that she’d had the foresight to bring spares. “What happened to Daniel?” Lisa asked her daughter, suddenly noticing that the boy wasn’t with them. “Oh, yeah, we left him at the park. You see, Mum, when Lucy had her little mishap, we were trying to come up with a way of hiding it, and then Dan told us that some of the other girls had arrived, so we had to let him in on the secret so that he could distract the rest whilst we sneaked Lucy out of the park and back here to get changed. If they’d seen, she’d have been so embarrassed.” Lisa nodded “Ah yes, a couple more of your friends did turn up here not long after you’d gone out, so they dropped their bags off and then set out in search of you. I guess they tracked you…well, Daniel at any rate…down. I have to say, well done girls, you’ve been so very mature by helping Lucy with this, and I’m sure she really appreciates it. I hope Daniel wasn’t teasing her?” Lisa knew all too well what tween boys could be like, and whilst her nephew was usually well behaved she didn’t want the poor girl to be given a hard time, as she must be feeling lousy enough as it was. Both Becky and Em giggled. “Oh, don’t worry, I don’t think there’s much chance of Dan teasing Lucy. They’re quite ‘close’ y’know, and I reckon he’s got a bit of a crush on her.” Upstairs, realising that she really didn’t have time to shower and also that somebody was bound to notice if she turned up at the park with wet hair, Lucy had found a packet of wet wipes in Emily’s bedroom and quickly gave herself a wipe down to freshen up, before pulling on her black cut-off jean shorts and bundling her wet clothes up. She was glad none of the others had seen her earlier, so at least she wouldn’t have to explain why she’d changed her clothes. As she was making her way back downstairs, her phone tinged in her pocket. Fishing it out, she saw a new friend request on one of the social media sites she used – a girl called Ellie Peters. Hmm, odd, she didn’t recognise the name. She found Lisa in the kitchen, bust preparing snacks for the sleepover guests, and shamefacedly handed the bundle of jeans and pants over to her with a husky “Thanks, and I’m sorry for making work for you.” “Don’t be silly Lucy, it’s no problem at all. Sometimes accidents happen, but it sounds like you’ve mostly got away with it. Go on, off you go back to the park and enjoy your afternoon. The girls are waiting out front for you.” “That’s much better” Lucy announced, as she made her way down the driveway to meet her two friends. “And thanks for helping, and not laughing. Honestly, I’ll be glad when this week is over with! Say, do either of you know an Ellie Peters?” She pulled her phone back out of her pocket as she asked the question, finding Ellie’s profile and showing them both the friend request.

Part 2 - Chapter 21 Hearing the odd sound, feeling their compartment shudder to a halt and noticing the worried expression on the older girls face, Tom quickly asked “What’s the matter Ellie, why have we stopped?” “I’m not sure mate, but I don’t think we’re supposed to have. I think something’s wrong.” She craned her neck again to look over the side, noticing lots of movement around the base of the ride, quite a crowd was forming and there were people in high viz jackets running around. Whatever was going on, it didn’t look good at all. And she began to worry about her own predicament. “It looks like something’s gone wrong with the ride. Oh I hope they get it going again soon.” Ellie nervously bit her lip and shifted around in her seat, glancing around at the two boys and realising that they were starting to worry because she was. “Are you ok Ellie?” Jack was concerned, if this girl who was almost an adult was frightened, then maybe things really were bad? “What? Oh, yeah, yeah, it’s nothing. Don’t worry, I’m sure it will be sorted soon and we’ll be zooming back down to the ground again. They’re probably just trying to make it more exciting for us, that’s all.” The boys weren’t convinced, her smile was a bit too forced and she really did seem agitated, but they didn’t want to make a fuss. 10 minutes or so had passed, the ride still wasn’t moving and Ellie was looking more and more unhappy with each passing second. Then, from nowhere, a loud voice boomed around them. “This is a safety announcement for passengers riding the T-Rex ride. A mechanical breakdown has resulted in a number of carriages remaining suspended on the ride. Our engineers are working to resolve this situation as quickly and safely as possible. If you are currently on-board, please remain seated and listen out for further announcements. Dinoland would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.” Ellie groaned loudly and again shifted in her seat, looking even more worried now. This really wasn’t supposed to happen, and she knew that if they didn’t get back down to the ground soon she was going to have a MAJOR problem. “What is it Ellie?” This time Tom was looking at her in concern. “It sounded like they’re trying to fix it real soon, so why’re you sad?” Blushing a little as she spoke, Ellie explained her predicament. “Oh boys, I’ve got a problem, and it’s getting really bad. You know when we set off I said I hoped it was a really fast ride? Yeah, well I didn’t just mean that I wanted it to go fast – I really meant that I wanted it to be over fast, because I kinda needed the toilet. Only, now, I don’t just kinda need to go, I really REALLY need to go. I needed to when we were in the line, but didn’t want to lose out place. Now I wish I’d just gone…if I had, I wouldn’t be stuck up here worrying about peeing in my pants. Ooh, I hope they hurry up, this is really really bad.” Both boys were amazed by what they’d just heard, surely 13 year olds didn’t have to worry about having an accident? They’d just wait until they got to the toilet, surely? “Hey, I know Ellie, how about we try to distract you? I know when I really need to go, it helps me to forget about it for a while if I talk about or do something else.” “Hmm, anything’s worth a try I guess. Right now it’s all I can think about. Go on then Jack, tell me about you and your family, and then you Tom. Then I’ll tell you all about mine. Hopefully by the time we’ve finished, the ride will be fixed and we will be back down on the ground.” For over half an hour they chatted easily about their families, with Ellie telling them all about her ‘annoying’ little brothers who they’d seen in the queue, Jack musing about Lucy and his Mum, and Tom talking about his life at home and the cousins he played with who lived down the street from them. The distraction seemed to work, as Ellie didn’t once mention her need to use the toilet, although both boys noticed her subconsciously shifting in her seat and even occasionally brushing a hand against her legs. Jack didn’t say anything, but he was also beginning to regret skipping the earlier bathroom break now – the water his Mum had made him drink had quickly made it’s way through him, and whilst he wasn’t yet desperate to go he knew it wouldn’t be long before he found himself as uncomfortable as Ellie appeared to be. Oh well, he thought, at least she had some company now, even if she didn’t realise it. Having ran out of family anecdotes, the three sat in silence for a short time, until the air was again punctured by the harsh sound of the loudhailer from below. “This is a safety announcement. A resolution to the malfunction on the T-Rex ride has been identified and a repair is currently being carried out. We anticipate the ride will be fully operational again within 30 minutes, and will begin evacuating passengers to the ground as soon as it is safe to do so. Thank you for your patience.” Ellie practically sobbed when she heard this, she doubted whether she could last another 10 minuted, never mind 30! Oh how she regretted the large Coke she’d ordered with lunch. She couldn’t wet herself, she was 13 for God’s sake, she just couldn’t! “AAARRRGGGHHHHH! Hurry up damnit, I need to peeeeeee!” The boys looked worried again, and Jack was secretly worrying about his own ability to ‘hold it’ until they were rescued. Trying desperately to distract both himself and Ellie, he began telling jokes, most of which were pretty lame but did make everybody smile, and more importantly kept their minds of more pressing matters. Then he had a burst of inspiration, and remembering the joke which Tom had found so hilarious in the car, he quickly recited it out loud. Tom was soon giggling again, but Ellie’s reaction was just like Tom’s had been in the car – it was the first time she’d heard the joke, and she roared with laughter, holding her sides as tears of mirth rolled down her cheeks. Jack was delighted to have made her laugh so much, it wasn’t often that you could impress somebody so much older than you, after all. And then, suddenly, Ellie stopped laughing. Her face set in a look of abject horror, and she burst into tears. Chapter 22 Jack was concerned, what on earth had he said that had upset Ellie so much? “Ellie, are you ok? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry. What’s the matter?” The girl shook her head in an effort to reassure Jack that he’d not upset her, but it took a few moments before she was able to answer. When she did, she wore an expression of utter humiliation and spoke in barely a whisper. “Oh Jack, it’s not you. B..but I shouldn’t have laughed like that. What’m I going to do?” They boys both looked puzzled, not quite sure what Ellie meant – why shouldn’t she have laughed? It was a funny joke after all, if rather silly (and a little bit rude!). She noticed their confused faces and managed a giggle. “Oh boys, have you forgotten why you were trying to distract me? It’s because I really needed a wee! And when I laughed, I…oh my God I can’t believe I’m saying this. No, I can’t believe I did this! When I laughed like that, I…I wet my pants!” And with that Ellie broke down into sobs again and hid her face in her hands. A look of dawning realisation passed over both Jack and Tom’s faces, and instinctively they both glanced down at the top of Ellie’s legs, where there was no mistaking the tell-tale wet stain between her legs which spread across her light grey skinny jeans, she really had wet herself, and whilst it didn’t look like it was very bad, there was no denying that it was quite obvious and they weren’t sure how she’d be able to hide it. “Don’t worry Ellie, sometimes accidents happen. You couldn’t help it, you were stuck up here. Nobody’s going to make fun of you for it.” Tom tried to reassure the older girl, but he knew from bitter personal experience how embarrassing it could be to have an accident in public, and he was 6 years younger than she was. “I’m such a baby! Nobody wets themselves like this when they’re 13, I just can’t believe it. Who ever heard of anybody peeing in their pants when they were my age? Oh no, when we get off everybody’s going to see, everybody’s going to laugh. Any my brothers, they’ll never let me forget this. Nooooooo” Jack was worried by just how upset Ellie was getting, and tried to think of a way to make her feel better. Then a brainwave struck him. “You know Ellie, you’re not the only person your age to have an accident. Well, almost your age anyway. Look, she’d absolutely kill me for telling anybody, but my big sister…she’s going to high school in September, and she wet herself in school last week. So you’re not the only once.” “What? Your sister you were telling me about earlier, she’s what…11 isn’t she? And she really had an accident? Blimey, what happened?” Jack quickly recounted the tale as best as he could. He’d not been there in the classroom after all, but had witnessed the aftermath. And even Tom was able to chip in about seeing her clutching the bag of wet clothes and wearing the summer dress she’d been given to change into. It was only when Jack explained about the photo’s being shared online and the bullying that had followed that Ellie gasped loudly and clasped a hand to her mouth. “Oh my! Jack, is your sister that blonde haired girl from Moore St Primary School? Lucy I think her name was, is that her?” Jack nodded, amazed. “You know her? Please don’t tell her that I told you about what happened, she’d go mad!” “Don’t worry Jack, I don’t actually know her, and I wouldn’t say anything even if I did. But yeah I saw those photos you’re talking about, lots of the girls from my school were sharing them, it was pretty awful. Oh I’m so sorry that poor Lucy had to go through that, they were all being so very cruel.” “Well then, you know you’re not the only one. And if she can survive that and the whole town knowing, I’m sure you can get through this. Besides, you’ve got an excuse at least – she just didn’t want to use the school loos, haha.” “Y’know, you’re probably right, thanks Jack. I can’t believe I’m sitting here in pee soaked jeans even talking about it, but I guess it could’ve been so much worse. If they don’t hurry up and get this damned ride fixed though they it may be, because now I’ve started I REALLY need to finish my wee!” Tom laughed at that. “You’ve already wet yourself now Ellie, why not just finish off? Besides, it’ll look more convincing that you just couldn’t hold on if you’re soaked, rather than just peeing a bit from laughing too hard.” Ellie looked pensive for a moment, but then snapped back out of her thoughts. “No, no, I can’t possibly wet myself – well, wet myself more – on purpose. That’s just disgusting. I’m not a baby, I can hang on until we get down I’m sure. And who knows, maybe nobody will notice…this.” she gestured to the wet patch on her jeans and blushed again. The three carried on chatting, making a point of changing the subject, with both boys questioning Ellie about high school life. They knew they had a few years left yet before they’d be going, but it was good to know what kind of things went on. As they talked, Ellie continued to wriggle around as her need to pee got steadily worse, although she resisted the urge to grab herself again as every time she did the feeling of wet denim reminded her what she’d done. After more than half an hour had passed, with no end in sight and worried that she was going to have a real accident at any moment, she looked over at both boys and blushed furiously. “Maybe you were right. I’m not sure I can hang on until we get down to the ground, and it’s really hurting me trying to hold on. I’m going to have to wet myself. Please, please don’t tell anybody I did it on purpose, but it somehow seems better than to lose control and have an accident.” Ellie really hadn’t been kidding when she said how badly she needed to go, and as she wee’d both Jack and Tom could hear the distinct hissing sound. To spare her blushes, they made a point of looking away until she’d finished, but then both couldn’t resist stealing a glance and were astounded by just how soaked her pants were, the wet stain covering all of the front right the way down past her knees. “Wow, you really did have to go, didn’t you” Ellie couldn’t answer, she just sniffed and tried her hardest not to cry again. There really was no hiding it now, she’d well and truly wet herself and the whole world would be able to see it. She could even feel her warm, wet shame pooling on the seat beneath her and dripping from the sides. Oh what had she done? Suddenly, without any warning, they felt a jolt and the ride capsule began its descent back to safety. The engineers must have fixed the fault, and within seconds they had touched back down onto the platform. Ellie was in shock, why hadn’t she waited just a few more seconds. She’d have made it. But now…now she had to deal with the shame of what she had done. How would she explain this? Chapter 23 The carriage arrived at the landing platform, and the safety gate was opened by a staff member, who was quick to make sure that all of the kids were safe and that nobody had been injured. Satisfied that the three of them were all in once piece, although doing a bit of a double-take at the sight of a teenage girl who had very clearly wet her pants, she stood aside to let them exit, assuming they were one family group. Waiting on the platform, having just exited their own carriage, were Ellie’s Dad and her two younger brothers – the two boy looking like they’d enjoyed their little unexpected adventure, and the older man looking more than a little stressed by it all. He was relieved to see Ellie, and smiled at her, but was astounded by her reaction. “DADDDDDDDDDDYYYYYY! Oh Daddy, I had an accident!” She bawled, running towards him with her arms outstretched. The sight of him had caused her tough exterior to crack, and the shame of realising just what had happened on the ride had hit her hard. Graham, her dad, didn’t quite know what to make of this. She’d not called him Daddy for at least half of her lifetime, and being a typical teen would usually be mortified by such a public spectacle. He was hard pressed to get a hug goodnight, never mind right in the middle of hundreds of people. In his shock, he hadn’t actually taken in what she had shouted, only that she was clearly distressed and needed his comfort. Wrapping his arms around her, he drew her into a tight embrace and held her whilst she calmed down. As her sobs subsided, Ellie seemed to realise just what a scene she had just made, and blushed furiously. Well, even if the whole world couldn’t see her jeans, they’d not be in any doubt now as to what had happened to her. She was mortified, and buried her face into her Dad’s jacket as he held her close and whispered gently into her ear. “Oh Dad, I’m such a baby. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t hold it.” Her embarrassment was clear, and now Graham understood what had happened. “Shhhh, sweetheart, it’s really not your fault. It doesn’t matter, honestly. Come on now, calm yourself down and dry those tears. Please don’t cry, you couldn’t help it. Accidents happen, especially in emergencies like that.” Her Dad’s soothing words helped to calm Ellie down, and she was soon untangling herself from him, blushing again as she did so. “I’m sorry Dad. I’m just so ashamed of myself, I’m 13 not 3, I shouldn’t be wetting my pants. Even the boys managed not to do that, why couldn’t I?” At first Graham thought she was talking about her little brothers, who were stood beside him in a shocked silence at what they’d just seen, but then he noticed the other two boys who had followed Ellie off the ride. “Who are your friends El?” “Ah, sorry, this is Jack and Tom. They weren’t allowed to ride on their own, so got in with me. Although it looks like I’m the little kid here, doesn’t it! These guys have been great company when we got stuck, and even helped me when I…well, when I had a problem.” The boys beamed, delighted that the older girl had spoken so highly of them. “Well, very well done young men, thank you for helping to look after our Ellie here.” And he shook each of their hands as they smiled broadly. “Come on El, let’s go and get you cleaned up shall we. I’m afraid I don’t have a change of clothes for you, didn’t think you’d still be needing one at 13 really, but I’m sure we can sort something.” The family began to walk away, when suddenly Ellie turned back, smiled at Jack and Tom, and called over to them. “Thanks lads, you’re amazing! And Jack, tell Lucy to look out for me when she starts at my school. I’ll make sure she’s ok.” “JAAAAACK! TOM! Oh thank goodness you’re both ok!” Lesley had spotted the boys now that Ellie and her family had moved to the side, and ran towards them, clearly worried out of her mind. ______________________ Daniel strode confidently from behind the bush, leaving the 3 girls hidden from view. Danielle and the other girls who had arrived with her were waiting over near the playground, looking expectantly and wondering why the boy was returning alone. When they’d found him, he’d gone to fetch Em and the other girls who were with them. “LOOK OUT, BEHIND YOU” he bellowed as loudly as he could, making sure that not only the group in front of him could hear, but also the 3 girls he’d left in hiding. Danielle, Laura and Katy all spun around at once, wondering what on earth Daniel was shouting about, but not taking any chances. Of course, they saw nothing, and spent a few moments gazing into the distance trying to see what had him so spooked. “That’s our cue” Emily whispered to Becky and Lucy, and without a backward glance the three girls ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction, hoping that even if the others did spot them they wouldn’t be able to tell who it was from behind, and even more so that they wouldn’t notice pore Lucy’s jeans! Hearing the scurrying behind him, Dan was confident their plan had worked. Now he just had to explain why he was shouting, and where the others had disappeared too. “Daniel, what on earth are you shouting about? There’s nothing behind us at all!” Jogging to reach them, Dan panted “Sorry Danielle, that boy over there was kicking his football – hard – and I thought he was going to hit you with it. From over there it looked like he was closer than he is, sorry for startling you!” And he blushed a little for effect. Katy glanced back over her shoulder and picked out the lad he was talking about. “Blimey, if he can kick a ball that far, maybe he should be playing for a professional team! Honestly Daniel, you should get your eyes tested, haha.” Dan just chuckled “Yeah, probably, sorry about that. Anyway, Em and the girls have nipped back to the shop for some more snacks for us all to share, they shouldn’t be too long.” “How rude! They could have at least come and said hello. Ah well, as long as they bring something tasty, I’m starving.” The 4 of them wandered back over to the same space that Dan had sat with the other 3 girls a short while earlier, and sat and chatted amongst themselves for a while. Well, the girls chatted, Dan mostly watched and listened. He didn’t really know any of them that well, and whilst he’d managed to be a bit more outgoing around Lucy and Becky, and obviously knew Em, he always struggled a bit with people he didn’t know. Lucy, Becky and Emily had made it safely out of the park without being spotted, so far as they could tell, and were now running through the housing estate that separated Em’s home from the park, hoping against hope that they wouldn’t bump into anybody that they knew, with Lucy doing her best to hide behind the other two girls so that nobody could see what had happened to her. Finally, the house came into view, and they agreed that Em would run ahead to check that the coast was clear whilst Lucy and Becky waited hidden just around the corner. Then, suddenly, a voice from behind them called out “Becky, Lucy, what are you doing hanging around out here?” causing both girls to freeze, they recognised that voice!

Ok guys, apologies for the slight delay, I was toying with trying something a little bit different. Here goes… “J…jet. Oh Jet, how long have you b..been there?” Katie tripped over her words as she stumbled to make sense of everything, praying inwardly that he’d just turned the corner and hadn’t heard her confession out loud, her face beet red and an expression of abject mortification threatening to undermine her steely demeanour. Fixing Katie’s eyes in his own line of sight, and without uttering a sound, the powerful young man strode purposefully forward and took her in his arms firmly but without any trace of malice in his actions. Completely nonplussed, Katie did not resist his advances and allowed herself to be swept up in the most sensual hug, his roving hands moving up and down her body, caressing her slender, well toned figure and stimulating her every sense in a way she had never experienced before. “Oh Jet!” She moaned softly, losing herself in the moment and entirely forgetting her predicament. Had she been thinking straight, she’d have been doing everything she could to keep Jet away from her, despite his closeness being the thing she craved above all else, but her judgement was clouded by a mixture of lust and expectation. She felt out of control, but nothing about this was forced or welcome, it felt right, it felt perfect. Without warning, whilst running his powerful hands once more around her waist and massaging her soft stomach, Jet thrust both hands down, beyond the waistband of her jodhpurs and into…”Noooooo, Jet no, no!” She cried, horrified as she felt his fingers finding the warm moisture concealed within her pants for the first time and instinctively pulling back away from him, tears of shame once more spilling uncontrollably from her eyes, falling gracelessly down her blotched face. “I’ve…I didn’t…I’m….oh Jet, I’m not clean.” Breaking his silence for the first time since he’d appeared outside the stall, Jet muttered into Katie’s ear “How did you know?” His voice heavy with longing, with desire, with raw unbridled passion. And then, without waiting for an answer, he pushed her through the stable door and the pair fell lightly atop the hay and straw, Katie’s eyes wide with shock and wonder as her clothes were torn eagerly but gently from her body, Jet showering her body with kisses and nips of affection as he did so, leaving her clad only in her soaked underwear which he teased gently with his bared teeth, caressing her unkempt womanhood first with his hands and then his tongue, seeking and finding it’s mark as she cried out in ecstasy, having never experienced anything quite like this in her life. She’d never felt attraction, let alone passion, but right now she was Jet’s and his every move filled her with a burning joy and a depth of love she’d never appreciated was possible. “OH MY GOD JET. Yes. YEEEEEEESSSSSS!” Losing control of her emotions and her voice, Katie was unable to keep herself in check, unable to stop the shill screams and moans from ringing out around the stable block. She had no idea where this had come from, but she knew she never wanted it to end. Never. As their passion grew, both feeling the excitable giddiness of two lovestruck school kids experimenting for the first time despite their advancing years intermingled with a depth of love they’d never imagined could exist, they made the most passionate, caring love to each other, their natural instincts taking over and guiding them through what was, in truth, and entirely new experience for both of them, one that neither had ever expected, least of all tonight. As their energy waned, they held one another close, savouring every last moment and almost falling asleep as they shared a delicate embrace, the emotional explosion they’d both experienced haven drained them physically as well as mentally, As they lay together, gazing longingly into each others eyes, neither wanted this moment of perfection to end. “Katie…Katie my sweet, previous, beautiful girl. How on earth did you know?” __________________________________________________________________________________ I’ve absolutely no idea whether that will come across as intended, or like something out of a pantomime, but I’ve given it my best shot. It’s kinda tricky writing smut when you’ve never experienced any of the feelings or sensations you’re trying to portray, but I figured it’s probably what most of the audience here are looking for. Rest assured, if it works, this style or writing won’t stray into my other story as it would be entirely inappropriate there. I will stress that, being set in the UK, the age of consent here is 16 therefore whilst I’m sure Katie’s parents would have a fit (or would they? It seems they’re more bothered about cheap supermarket beer and trashy TV than their daughter…) this liaison and anything that may follow on from it is perfectly proper and legal. ? Honest criticism greatly appreciated. It's difficult writing smut as an asexual who has never experienced such feelings...

We're probably about 1/2 way through what's written of the story so far at this point - would absolutely love any feedback you guys may have. I'll continue serialising it a few chapters at a time until it's caught up with the "Official" copy, but any feedback will help to shape new chapters which haven't been written yet. Hope you're all enjoying!

Chapter 16 Satisfied that nobody was watching, and wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible, Lucy lowered her jeans and undies and the pulled herself down into what she thought was the same position she’d seen Becky use. Paranoid that somebody would walk around the corner at any moment and catch her in the ultimate embarrassing situation, her eyes continued to dart around as she emptied her bladder, not even glancing down towards the floor. Considering she’d thought about putting it off until they headed home, Lucy continued to wee for some time, the soft drink clearly having gone straight through her as it always did, and she actually found herself feeling glad that she’d not taken the risk and waited it out, as it would probably not have ended well at all. Finally finished, and realising she had nothing to wipe herself with, Lucy did her best to emulate what Becky had done, and then reached down to grab her jeans and cover herself up, relived that nobody had spotted her ‘in the act’. It was then, as she slid her jeans back up, that she realised something was wrong, horribly wrong. Glancing down, she blanched and felt immediately sick, screaming loudly “NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” Startled by the sudden scream, and wondering what on earth had happened to their friend, both Emily and Becky spun around on the spot. “Luce, what’s wrong?” “Are you OK Lucy?” Lucy stood before them, wide eyed and in shock, quite the sight to behold as she was still half-crouching down, with her underwear pulled up but her jeans only halfway up her thighs. And they could see the problem at once – her jeans and pants appeared to be soaking wet! Lucy had known as soon as she felt the wet fabric on her legs that everything had gone horribly wrong, but it was only upon seeing the state of her jeans when she glanced down that the true horror of the situation had hit her, causing her to cry out. Em hadn’t been able to resist a giggle at what she’d seen. It hadn’t been meant cruelly, but she’d seen a few of her friends at Guides have exactly the same problem, and if she was honest she’d even done it once herself many years ago. Friendly ribbing was always the order of the day when it happened at camp, and Em’s reaction was exactly as it would have been there, although she soon stopped laughing when she caught sight of Lucy’s face. Becky was much more restrained. Even if she did think it quite funny, she somehow managed not to show this at all, realising that Lucy was moments from tears, and also that had she found herself in this same situation anywhere other than at Guide camp, she’d have been just as mortified. “Oh Luce, how on earth did you manage to do that? Where you not watching to make sure your clothes didn’t get in the way?” Lucy spluttered, trying to answer. “W…what? You didn’t…why ddindn’t you say to do that? I w..was looking to make sure nobody s..saw me!” Tears were now falling silently down her face and she looked absolutely broken, unable to take in what had happened to her. And then a thought hit her, one that made everything else pale into insignificance – Daniel! Oh no, he couldn’t see her like this, how could she ever look him in the eye again? First he saw her accident in school, and now this. If the events of the past week hadn’t ruined her life already, this was sure to. She’d never be able to hide it, and she’d never, EVER live it down. Before she could try to think, before she could ask the girls what to do, they all turned as on as they heard a voice from just the other side of the tree. “Girls, are you finished?” Chapter 17 Lucy froze in horror. “Erm, actually Daniel, could you give us a few minutes please? We’re just dealing with something. Meet you back over by the swings?” Emily was frantically trying to buy them some time. She didn’t know what she’d they’d do with the time, but anything was better than Dan walking around that corner at that very moment. “Oh, right, yeah, Ok then.” Dan sounded a bit confused, but figured it must be ‘girls stuff’, and he certainly didn’t want to get drawn into that. “Well, Danielle and a couple of the other girls have just got here. They’ve been to yours to drop their bags off Em, and your Mum told them where to find us.” All three girls looked at each other, terror in their eyes. There was no way they could get poor Lucy out of here unnoticed if their friends were around. It was going to be bad enough trying to sneak her past Dan, they’d not figured out how that was meant to work yet, but not the others too. What a horrible mess. Lucy’s ‘fight or flight’ instinct kicked in, and thinking on her feet she realised that they were going to need help if she wasn’t to be completely and utterly humiliated in front of everybody. Burning with shame as she did so, Lucy called out. “Actually, Dan, could you come round here for a moment please? I’ve got a big problem, and I kinda need your help. Just promise me you won’t laugh, ok?” Both Becky and Emily looked over at Lucy in disbelief. “But, he’s going to see Luce! Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” “After what he told us earlier, I think we can trust him. Besides, I’m going to need a pretty big distraction to stand any chance of getting away with…this, aren’t I?” Lucy motioned to her wet jeans, which she’d pulled up in a hurry after hearing Dan’s voice, cringing as the wet denim had rubbed against her skin. “Well, yeah, you’ve got a point. Ok, come on the Daniel, but I swear if you make fun of Luce or tell ANYBODY about this, ever, then the whole world will know YOUR little secret, got it?” Becky was immediately on the defensive, always looking out for her best friend, and knowing full well that Lucy would do the same for her. Although she really really hoped it would never be needed. Especially not in these circumstances at any rate! Dan popped his head nervously around the side of the bush, first taking in the grave looks on both Emily and Becky’s faces, and then his gaze making it’s way across to where Lucy stood, teary eyed. At first he didn’t notice her predicament, and was just worried by why she was so visibly upset. “Lucy, what’s the matter? What’s happened? And how can I help?” She met his eyes with her own, and sadly looked down towards her legs, taking in her shame once more and unable to prevent a sob from escaping as she did so. At once Dan understood and without any prompting he just walked forward and put his arms around Lucy, pulling her into a hug. No words were needed, he was there for her. After a moment, conscious that their friends would be coming looking for them at any moment, Em reached out and tapped Lucy on the shoulder. “I’m sorry to interrupt, as this is far too cute and all, but shouldn’t we erm, I don’t know, do something before everybody else gets here?” Breaking away from Dan, Lucy gave him the most appreciative smile and mouthed ‘thank you’, before turning to speak. “Yeah, you’re right. Ok, so I need to get away from here without the others seeing. And I’m going to need you pair to help me get back to Em’s to get cleaned up and changed too. Dan, can you go out there and keep them distracted? Don’t let on that we are here – maybe tell them we’ve nipped up to the shop for more snacks? I’ve got some money in my bag, so we can pick something up on the way back as a cover.” Dan nodded, and then quickly took off his hoodie and handed it to Lucy. “Tie this around you, it won’t cover it completely, but at a distance nobody will be able to see. And Luce, don’t worry, accident happen.” Lucy gratefully accepted the jacket and tied it around her waist. With the sleeves positioned well, you really couldn’t see very much at all, and she thought that she may actually be able to get away with this after all. “Thanks Dan. I’ll try not to get wee on it! And, believe it or not, I didn’t actually have an accident this time…but it’s a very long story, haha. I’ll tell you about it later if nobody’s around.” “Listen out for me shouting something in a moment. I’m not sure what yet, but when I do it means they’re looking the other way and the coast is clear for you to make a run. Good Luck Luce. Love you.” Chapter 18 Lesley caught up withe the two overexcited boys near the entrance to the park, there they were both sat panting, out of breath from the exertion of running the length of the car park. “I won mum!” Jack squealed, bouncing on the spot. “Come on, can we go in now?” Lesley smiled at his obvious glee. “Yes, come on guys, let’s get in the queue and get your wristbands sorted. Then I think a quick toilet stop for us all, we can fill our water bottles and then it’s over to you, we can do whatever you both want today.” Both boys whooped with joy and followed her over to the back of the long queue which snaked it’s way around the reception area, packed full of hyperactive children, moody looking teenagers who’d clearly been dragged along on a family day out they really didn’t want to be part of, and weary looking parents who looked like they were already counting down the seconds until they could go home…or until the bar opened! “Erm, Mrs Daniels, do you know how much longer we will have to wait?” Tom had tugged at her arm has he asked the question, and she noticed he looked quite uncomfortable, presuming this was from standing still for so long. “It shouldn’t be long now Tom, the queue is moving steadily and I think most people are in quite large groups. Don’t worry, I know it’s boring having to stand here. Tell you what, why don’t you and Jack go and have a look at the big park map over there and plan where you’d like to go first?” Jack had heard this, and immediately grabbed his friends hand and pulled him across the room to the map giddily bouncing around and pointing out all of the fun rides he wanted to go on. Tom, meanwhile, looked distracted, and whilst he really was looking forward to the rides, he was struggling to get excited. The real reason he’d asked how long they’d have to wait wasn’t because he was bored, but because he really needed to go for a wee! He hadn’t been joking in the car when he said that it had nearly come out when laughing, and now he was worried that it was going to come out all over the floor before he could get to the toilet. He glanced furtively around, but couldn’t see any toilets, nor any signs. There was nothing else for it, he’d have to hang on until they’d paid and gone inside. He really, really hoped he could, that would be far too embarrassing if he didn’t make it. As the queue inched forwards, Lesley kept a close eye on the two boys, making sure they didn’t wander off. Once they were inside she wouldn’t worry as they’d not be able to leave without an adult, but she didn’t want to lose them before they’d even got their wristbands. Noting Jack’s over-excitement, she smiled. He really was like a toddler still at times, but she was pleased to see him so happy. Tom on the other hand still didn’t look happy, and she noticed that whilst he wasn’t bouncing like Jack he didn’t quite seem able to keep still, and was ‘playing with himself’ a bit more than was normal. A toilet stop once they got through was definitely number 1 on the to-do list she mused, as he writhed some more and crossed his legs. “Tom” She called, catching his eye and beckoning him back over to her. Jack was still distracted by the interactive map, pushing buttons to make the different rides and attractions light up, so he didnt hear his Mum calling, nor notice his friend slipping away. Tom practically danced back through the throng of people to where Lesley was stood, and now had both hands firmly planted between his legs. “Are you ok lovey? We should be able to go through in 5 minutes or so, do you think you can wait that long?” She was conscious of embarrassing him, so didn’t actually mention that he clearly needed the toilet quite badly, but tried to let him know that she knew. “Mmmmm, I think so? I hope so! I really need a wee Mrs Daniels.” Tom replied in a loud, high pitched voice whilst blushing, and Lesley chuckled. So much for not embarrassing him by letting other people hear his predicament! “I know you do sweetie. Don’t worry, it won’t be long. As soon as we go through the barrier, you run straight to the loo eh? They’re just to the left on the other side of the desk.” Tom nodded, and squeezed himself even tighter, holding on with all of his might and even starting to shake a little with the effort. Lesley noticed this, and despite the boys being 7 years old she was suddenly grateful that she’d had the foresight to bring a change of clothes for them. Although she hoped they wouldn’t be needed, as that wouldn’t be a great start to their afternoon out at all. “Who’s next please?” Called a tired, bored sounding voice from up ahead. “Ooh, that’s us. Come on Tom, you can make it.” “JACK! Come on love, we’re going through now. Quick!” The three moved forward to the cash desk where Lesley asked for 2 children wristbands for the rides, and an observer pass for her as she wasn’t so keen on the rides. She handed over her credit card, and gave Tom an encouraging squeeze on the arm as she heard him whimper next to her. “Oh, I’m sorry, that payment hasn’t gone through for some reason I’m afraid. Could you bear with me a moment please, I just need to ask my supervisor to take a look, won’t keep you a second.” Lesley of course agreed, embarrassed that her credit card had been rejected but fairly sure it was a technical issue rather than a problem with the card. Jack carried on impatiently bouncing around, completely oblivious to his friends struggle and just wanting to get on with the important business of playing, and poor Tom was now crying into her side, sure he was going to find himself stood in a puddle at any moment, and mortified by the very thought. “Just hang on a couple of seconds longer love. It won’t be long, I promise.” Chapter 19 The clerk returned with his supervisor, who tapped a few keys on the machine and then ran Lesley’s credit card through again, this time with no problems. “So sorry about that, theses things are really temperamental when we get busy! But all sorted now. And here, by way of apology…” The man handed Lesley a couple of vouchers “Take your boys for an ice cream each, on us.”  “Oh, thank you. There really was no need, but I’m sure they’ll enjoy that, won’t you lads?” Jack, still excitable, bounced on the spot shouting “Yay, ice cream! Can I have sprinkles Mum?” Tom managed a smile, but was rooted to the spot and tense. At least the wait was over now,, but he still had to make it to the loo. “Tom, off you go mate, you know where it is. Quickly, before it’s too late!” The poor boy didn’t need telling twice, making a stiff legged dash for the toilet door which as Lesley had said was just to the left as they walked through the turnstile. “You too please Jack. No arguments, you may not feel like you need to go now, but if you don’t then you never know when we will pass another toilet. Won’t take a moment, go on you follow Tom whilst I nip into the ladies.” Jack rolled his eyes, but did as his Mum had asked, making his way into the mens toilets as she popped into the ladies. Once through the door, he was met by a large, noisy crowd of men and boys. It looked like a group of some kind, the boys were all a year or two younger than him and Tom, and had matching t-shirts on. They were queuing for the urinals, queuing for the cubicles and even forming a line to wash their hands. Then he spotted Tom probably about halfway along the queue, and doing an unmistakable potty dance whilst grabbing at himself every few seconds. When they’d been waiting to get in, Jack hadn’t noticed his friends need as he was too excited and distracted, but now he could see just how bad it was. Tom was going to wet his pants any second! In fact, Jack thought, if that had been him he would already have been soaked, and he marvelled at the other boys strength. As he joined the back of the queue himself, he was so glad that he didn’t really need to go, or he’d have been in the same boat. Fortunately, one of the adults with the large group of young boys had noticed Tom’s predicament, and made his way over to him. “Are you ok young man? Here, come with me.” He stepped forward to the front of the queue, and motioned for Tom to follow him. “Lucas, do you mind if this chap goes in front of you please? If you can hang on for a second? Before he has a terrible accident.” The young boy agreed, and Tom was propelled forward towards the urinal by a hand on his back. Once there, realising he hadn’t got a second to spare to mess about with the fly on his shorts, he grabbed both sides and pulled them down, giving the crowd behind him quite a view of his Spiderman undies, but he didn’t care…he’d made it! Such relief washed over him, and an incredible feeling of gratitude both towards the man who had stepped in to help and also young Lucas. If it wasn’t for them, he just knew there was no way he would have made it, and he’d have had to go back to Jack’s mum and admit he’d wet himself like a little baby. He could hear the giggles from some of the kids waiting in line behind him, but none of them knew him so it really didn’t matter. Finishing up, he turned to Lucas who was now standing at the urinal next to him and said a shy “Thanks, you saved me then.” And then, spinning around to wash his hands, he picked out the older man who had come to his rescue and smiled broadly. “Good job mate, glad you made it ok.” He called over, returning the smile. Jack was still waiting in the queue, and it had barely moved in the time he’d been in the bathroom. Seeing that Tom had now finished and was busy washing his hands, he gave up and made his way over to the sinks too. He didn’t need a wee, so it wasn’t a problem, he could go later. Taking the time to wash his hands, so that they were wet when he came out of the bathroom – a trick he’d learned years ago when his mum had always insisted he ‘try’ whenever they passed a toilet, he followed Tom out of the door and back to where Lesley was waiting. Noticing Tom’s shorts were miraculously dry, she hastily shoved the spare pair which she’d fished out of her bag back in again, amazed but relieved that he had made it ok. Deciding not to say anything, as she was sure he was embarrassed enough, she simply hooked her bag back over her shoulder. “All set? Then let’s go! Ice cream or rides first?” Chapter 20 They settled on ice cream first, both choosing a large cone with brightly coloured toppings which Lesley reluctantly agreed to. She knew they’d be even more hyperactive than ever with all of that sugar inside them, and there’s no way she’d ever pay those prices, but as the treat was on the house she went along with it. Both boys, typically, ended up wearing most of their ice cream all over their faces, but they didn’t care! And once they’d eaten all they could, Lesley passed them baby wipes to clean themselves up a bit before they ventured out into the park. She also insisted they both fill their water bottles up and keep drinking, as the sun was hot and baking down on them, with little in the way of shelter. “Ok lads, which ride first? You choose.” They didn’t even need to think about their decision for a second…it had to be the biggest, fastest ride in the whole park, and they both shouted together gleefully “T-Rex! Please, please can we go on the T-Rex?” “Of course you can, let’s go and find it. There’s probably going to be a bit of a queue, as that’s the newest and most popular ride.” Lesley glanced at the pocket guide the teller had given to her with their wristband, and the began steering the two boys in the right direction, heading for the middle of the park. Once they got there, she began having a few doubts – it really was enormous! And from what she could see, the capsules were moving at terrific speeds through the air. It was too late to change her mind now, she knew she’d have two tantrums on her hands if she tried, but she really hoped them young boys would be ok on such a frightening ride. Both Tom and Jack were in awe, standing at the foot of the ride and looking directly up to where they could see other visitors being thrown around in the air, so fast that it just looked like a blur. “Wow” was all Tom could manage. “Awesome! Come on, lets line up” squeaked Jack. “Are you both sure you’ll be ok?” Lesley was as nervous as the boys were excited. “Yes Mum, honestly, we’re not babies you know!” Jack rolled his eyes in exasperation at his Mum, and then he and Tom joined the pack of the long queue, which Lesley took up her position at the side of the safety barrier, where she could keep an eye on them. In the queue, Jack and Tom were stood directly behind a family group – it looked like a dad, two young boys who must have been only just tall enough to ride, and a teenage girl, who was probably a year or two older than Lucy Jack thought. They were chatting amongst themselves, and the boys didn’t take much notice of them, although the girl was whining a bit at how long they’d been waiting and that she wasn’t bothered about the stupid ride anyway, typical teenager. As they reached the front of the queue, an assistant asked the two young boys from the group in front to stand next to a height chart, so she could be sure they were tall enough to ride safely. Much to their relief, and as Jack had suspected, they just about scraped in. Satisfied, she led them over to the first empty compartment. “Ok boys, you climb in here first and I’ll get you strapped in, then – dad? – can join you.” It was then she noticed the older girl standing with them. “Oh, are you all together? I’m sorry, but we can only fit three in each pod.” The Dad looked around at the girl “Up to you Ellie, do you want to ride with one of the boys and I’ll sit with the other, or would you prefer to go on your own?” Ellie thought for a moment, and then sulkily replied “I’ll wait, they’ll only mess about otherwise. You go with them Dad, I’ll get in the next one.” “Ok love, if you’re sure? See you at the other end…don’t get too scared now!” He chuckled, causing his teenage daughter to roll her eyes at him. Once the pod had been secured and sent on it’s way, the attendant turned her attention back to the queue, and this time to Ellie and then Jack and Tom who were bouncing around behind her in eager anticipation. “Are you two boys not with anybody? I know you’re tall enough to ride, but it really would be better if you had an adult with you, just in case.” The boys looked crestfallen, sure they were about to be sent back out of the queue to Lesley, and they knew she hadn’t bought herself a wristband so wouldn’t be allowed to ride with them anyway. Jack nodded. “We’re with my Mum, but she’s just watching. Please let us go on, we’ve waited aaaaaaages!” And he sounded like he was about to cry as he said it. This had tugged at the heartstrings of Ellie, who was waiting patiently at the side ready to be seated herself. She hadn’t wanted to ride with her brothers as she knew how annoying they could be, but didn’t want these two boys to miss out either. They both looked a bit older, and hopefully less silly she thought. “Erm, ‘xcuse me. You said each pod takes three yeah? Well I don’t mind these boys sitting in with me, if that’s ok? Means I’m not on my own, and they get to have a go too.” The boys were both absolutely delighted, and whilst Jack managed to resist the urge to kiss this strange girl who had come to their rescue, Tom couldn’t resist giving her a quick hug…and then looking away embarrassed. “Thank you” they both said huskily, and seeing that the attendant had agreed and was happy with the arrangement, they clambered into the compartment and allowed her to strap them in, before Ellie climbed in afterwards. “You lads aren’t going to be sick on me or anything, are you?” She teased, and both looked horrified a the thought. They’d just eaten ice cream, after all, so they really hoped not! Seeing their faces, she giggled. “Don’t worry, I’m only winding you up. Hang on tight though, this is supposed to be a really fast ride! I hope so anyway…” With a sudden jolt, they were off, catapulted along the track at an alarming speed, causing all three of them to scream out in delight. They were buffeted from side to side, thrown in all different directions and even spun around until the boys looked green, although fortunately neither was actually sick. 
And then, with a metallic clunk, the carriage shuddered to a halt and the music stopped. Bravely peering over the side, Ellie realised they were at the very top of the highest peak on the ride. She’d been watching it the whole time they’d been queuing, and none of the other pods had stopped there. Uh-oh, she had a really bad feeling about this.

Chapter 11 “Tom, your Mum’s going now. Come down and say goodbye. And you too please Jack, then I’ve got a little surprise for you both.” The two young boys thundered down the stairs, excited to hear what Lesley had planned. Tom ran straight across to his Mum, and threw his arms around her. He didn’t stay away from home very often, and always missed his mum whenever he did. Jack watched on, but didn’t say anything, he always felt the same whenever he was separated from his Mum, and knew it wasn’t a nice feeling. That last hug was always needed. “You be good for Lesley now Tom, don’t be getting into any mischief ok love.” Both women laughed, there’d be plenty of mischief over the weekend no doubt, although they were both good boys really so there was no need to worry. Rather two 7 year old boys than a house full of pre-teen girls Lesley thought to herself. Poor old Lisa! Rather her than me. As Debbie set off in her car, waving through the window as she backed out of the driveway and turned into the street, Tom made an exaggerated point of chasing after her and waving madly. One she’d disappeared from view, he sidled back up forlornly to the front door where Lesley and Jack were still waiting, head bowed to the floor and fighting to stop himself from crying. He really wanted to spend the weekend with Jack, of course, but always hated the saying goodbye bit that came first. “Come on then you pair, back inside, I’ve got something to tell you, and then we’re going to be really busy getting ourselves ready to go.” Both boys eyes lit up, and without further prompting they dashed indoors and sat expectantly on the sofa, bouncing around in excitement. Lesley followed them through, took a seat facing them and then smiled. “Well, I thought that it was too nice a day to spend cooped up here in the house, when we could be out having fun. What do you say, how does a trip to the new Dinosaur theme park sound?” Poor Lesley was too slow to cover her ears, the whoops and cheers causing her eardrums to pulsate painfully, and the clatter from two hyperactive boys physically bouncing up and down as if on pogo sticks didn’t help either. Ouch, if they were like this now, what would they be like by the time they got there? “Wow, ok, calm it down a little please chaps, before you break something. I take it that’s a yes then? Haha. Come on, settle down and we can start to make some plans.” Nodding eagerly and thanking Lesley, still at the tops of their voices but at least without the added bouncing, the pair took their seats again on the sofa and looked on expectantly and impatiently. Why did they need to make plans? They just wanted to get there. “Can we go now mum? We can plan on the way! Please, please, please?” “Steady on Jack, we will be going soon. But there are a couple of things we need to get ready first. Ok, I want you two to go upstairs and find a change of clothes each please and bring them down. I’ve heard there are some big water rides, and whilst it’s warm I don’t want you ending up sick if you’re stuck in soaking clothes all day. Just another t-shirt and shorts will do. Whilst you’re doing that, I’m going to make us a quick packed lunch to take. Go on, 5 minutes and then we should be ready.” As the boys raced each other out of the room, Lesley called Tom back quietly. “Tom, love, pop back over here a second please.” She hadn’t wanted to shout and embarrass him in front of Jack. As Tom stood there, her suspicions were confirmed, the bouncing had clearly been more than excitement, and he could barely keep still. “When you get upstairs, pop to the loo please love, before you leave a puddle on the floor.” It wasn’t said unkindly, more matter-of-fact, partly because she really didn’t want to have to scrub the carpet, and also because she knew the poor lad would have been humiliated if he left it too long and didn’t make it.it. Tom nodded a little sheepishly, and then realising that he didn’t need to hide it anymore, he grabbed between his legs with both hands and hobbled out of the room and up the stairs to relieve himself. Within 10 minutes, Lesley had prepared a light sandwich lunch and filled a bag with crisps and snacks, and Jack and Tom had reappeared armed with not only the requested change of clothes. But also a joke book each to keep them entertained in the car. Lesley groaned when she saw this, and made a mental note to turn the radio up! With that, they were on their way. Chapter 12 The three girls plus Daniel were hungrily tucking into the BBQ which Emily’s mum had prepared, sat around in a circle on the lawn chatting as they did, whilst the two adults were on the patio keeping an eye on the grill and enjoying a naughty, early afternoon glass of wine in the sun. By some strange coincidence, Dan and Lucy had ended up sat next to each other again, and as the conversation flowed they kept stealing quick, furtive glances at each other, both trying to get their heads around how they were feeling and the little exchange that had taken place in Em’s bedroom earlier. Their sidelong, puppy dog looks didn’t go unnoticed, with both Emily and Becky rolling their eyes and exchanging their own private smirks. They had to admit, it was really quite cute to watch.  Once lunch had been eaten, and keen to keep in Lisa’s good books, hoping to be allowed to stay up extra late that night and, maybe, even to set up and play in her inflatable hot tub, they immediately offered to deal with the dishes, leaving the two ladies to finish their drinks. “Thanks for inviting me over Lise, it’s been lovely to have a couple of hours of proper, adult company – and the food and wine are much appreciated too!” “Oh don’t mention it, as you say it’s been great, you soon go mad when your only daily conversation outside of work is with an 11 year old, don’t you, haha.” Lisa chuckled, picking up the wine bottle and waving it invitingly at Val. “Fancy a top-up?” “Oh, don’t tempt me! I’d love nothing more, but I’ve got to drive home, and really should think about getting a shift on if I’m going to achieve anything with my child-free day. I shouldn’t have had the one, knowing I’ve got work to do, but who knows it may even help the creative cogs to start turning. I wonder whether Daniel has told them what has been playing on his mind? They all seemed to laid back and carefree when they came down that I find it hard to believe that he has. Not that I think the girls will be anything other than supportive, of course, but I was expecting him to be in bits.” Lisa looked pensive as she glanced towards the open kitchen door. “I’m not sure either. Em looked quite distracted, and did keep looking at Daniel, but not only at him, at young Lucy too. And then them pair spent practically the whole time they were out here gazing into each others eyes. So who knows, maybe he has told them and it’s just become the non-issue that it should be, or perhaps he’s been too busy flirting to get around to it yet. Both women burst out laughing at that, oh what it must be to be young and carefree, they thought. Val filled her sister in on the steps her and Daniel had taken to hopefully help keep his bedwetting a secret, if he was unfortunate enough to have an accident, although they both agreed that very little sleeping would probably take place, so the chances are he wouldn’t have anything to worry about. And Lisa also suggested that, in the unlikely event that they did all end up asleep, she’d try to wake him up early just in case he needed to shower and change before the others surfaced. The 4 kids soon rejoined them in the garden, and both women noticed that Daniel and Lucy had come back out holding hands. How sweet! Emily came over and asked whether they were allowed in the hot tub, but Lisa quickly pointed out that she needed to fill it up first, so it would be better if they waited until later on when the other girls had all arrived. Instead, why didn’t she show Daniel, Becky and Lucy the new play park which had been built at the end of their estate only a couple of months previously. The park was only a 10 minute walk away, so she trusted her daughter to visit on her own, without supervision. Emily’s eyes lit up at this suggestion, and even more so when her Mum pulled out a £5 note and suggested that she treat her friends to a big bottle of pop to share whilst they played. “Thanks Mum, you’re the best! Come on, let’s go, TO THE PARK!” Whilst the girls went inside to put on shoes, Val called Daniel over. “I’m going to have to go now love, is that ok? I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, have a good night.” And she hugged him close, taking the opportunity as she did so to whisper into his ear, aware that he’d probably be very self-conscious if she asked him out loud in front of his aunt “Did you manage to tell them, did it go ok?” Daniel nodded I answer to the whispered question, and then made point of giving his mum a kiss on the cheek. “You go Mum, I’ll be fine.” And with that he turned and ran off inside shouting as he did so “Wait for me. Oi, Lucy, Becky, Em, don’t go without me!” Chapter 13 The 3 girls and Dan made their way first to the local shop, which was en-route to the park, where they picked up not only the biggest bottle of Coke available, but also a bag of sweets each, to share. They may have only just eaten, but being growing kids there was n doubt they’d much their way through this lot too, and probably still be starving by the time they got back home. Dan and Lucy walked hand in hand the whole way, with Becky on one side and Lucy on the other, and they chatted excitedly about anything and everything. Plans for the summer holidays was a big topic of conversation, with Dan particularly excited that he was heading to Spain with his Mum for a week in the sun. Lucy’s Mum had told her that they had a surprise holiday booked, but wouldn’t tell her where, and had even forbidden her from telling Jack that they were going anywhere at all. She had wanted to surprise them both, but typical Lucy was all ears and had heard her making some arrangements over the phone. The destination itself though was kept under close wraps. Becky and Em were both in the Girl Guides, and they’d be going away for a weeks summer camp once the holidays started. They’d tried countless times to get Lucy to join, but she was adamant that it wasn’t for her. Getting muddy in the great outdoors didn’t go with her attempts to be glamorous and look like an older, mature teenager, she thought. It didn’t stop the other two girls trying again though. “Come on Luce, if you come along for the next couple of weeks then I’m sure the leaders will let you come to camp! It’s the best thing EVER. This year we are going to be climbing up a mountain, which we’ve never done before. And we play so many fun games, manhunt in the sand dunes is amazing. Please, at least say you’ll think about it.” Becky looked imploringly at her friend, knowing it was probably in vain, but determined to try all the same. “You know it’s not for me Becks. It’s all so…muddy and grubby, haha. And the idea of using a bucket in a tent for a toilet, no thanks! Hopefully Mum has booked somewhere nice for us, I hope it’s got a spa! What do you say Dan, hotels are better than tents any day, aren’t they?” Dan was a bit conflicted. On the one hand, Lucy could do no wrong in his eyes at that very moment, but on the flip side he’d always really wanted to be able to join the scouts and camp out with them on adventures but it had never been possible. “Oh I dunno Luce, posh hotels are nice, but I do like the great outdoors too. I’d have loved to join the scouts and go camping, but with my, y’know, problem it’s never been an option for me.” Screwing his face up a little at the mention of his nighttime issues, Dan coloured immediately and looked away. “You should give it a go Dan! Honestly, if you can sleepover with us then you can definitely go to camp. If the scout leaders are anything like ours at guides, they’re amazing and will do anything they can to help you. And, do you know what, even if you did have an accident, you probably wouldn’t be the only one. It happens, we’ve all seen the odd sleeping bag getting washed during the week, but nobody says anything, we’re all too busy having fun!” Em had been involved with guiding/scouting since she was 5 when she joined the Rainbows, and had tried to get all of her friends to join at one time or another, and she never passed up the opportunity to try and pull in new recruits. Becky had finally given it a go a couple of years ago as a Brownie, and now she was almost as hooked as her friend. “Hmm, well, it’s something to think about I guess.” Dan had no intention of ever camping with friends until he knew there was zero chance of waking up to a wet sleeping bag, but by saying he’d think about it he knew he’d get Em off his back again for a while, until the next time at least. By now the 4 friends had reached the park, and were sat in a huddle under the slide, passing the bottle of Coke around and sharing each others sweets. Considering it was such a beautiful day, there were only a handful of younger kids there with parents, playing in the toddler area. The main park was empty, meaning they had the run of it, and having had their fill of pop and sugar, Becky and Em decided to try to reach the top of the climbing frame, leaving Dan and Lucy to swing together. Chapter 14 Having scaled the climbing frame, Becky and Em sat astride the top and looked out over the park. Down below them, Lucy and Dan were swinging side by side, clearly deep in conversation and both with wide smiles on their faces. And over at the far side a couple of young boys had now appeared, kicking a football around. Other than that, beside the occasional dog walker, the place was still just as deserted as when they’d arrived – presumably most people had gone out for the day to enjoy the weather. “Those pair seem to have really hit it off, don’t they? I’m glad, Dan’s always been so quiet and withdrawn, it’s great to see him chatting and having fun.” Becky watched them for a moment before replying “Yeah, he’s always seemed really quiet at school, kept himself to himself a lot. I agree though, it’s great that Lucy’s brought him out of his shell a bit, and after her rotten week she seems to be relaxing now too.” They sat and observed the world from their vantage point for quite some time, enjoying the opportunity to chill out before the chaos that was sure to follow once the sleepover was in full swing. Eventually however Em became a little uncomfortable, and mentioned to Becky that they really should head back down. “You coming back down Becks? I kinda need to pee now after drinking all of that coke, and straddling this bar isn’t helping. Come on, let’s go and check in with the others and see if anybody else needs a quick pit stop.” Becky agreed, she’d drank just as much of the pop as her friend, and wouldn’t mind a quick trip to the loo herself. They swung themselves down to the ground just as quickly as they’d climbed up, outdoor pursuits being something they both enjoyed and excelled at, and were soon sneaking up behind Lucy and Dan who were still deep in earnest conversation. “BOO!” Becky yelled, startling them both and causing Dan to slip from his swing and land in a crumpled heap on the ground below. “Oops, sorry Dan, didn’t mean to frighten you that much, haha. Are you ok?” She reached out a hand to help him back up to his feet, and was pleased to see that he grinned as he dusted himself down. “No worries Becks, no harm done. But watch your back later, I’ll get my revenge!” And he gave an exaggerated evil laugh, causing them all to chuckle. “What’re you guys up to?” Lucy turned in her swing to face them, looking the most content they had ever seen her, with a ruddy glow to her cheeks and a smiled which sparkled in her eyes. Being outdoors was clearly good for her, and being with Dan even more so. “Oh, nothing much, we were just getting a bit uncomfortable up there, so decided to pop down for a quick pee break – all of that Coke is making itself known, haha. Either of you coming?” Dan spoke first, nodding in agreement. “You know, that’s not a bad idea at all. We drank that whole 3 litre sharer bottle between us in just a few minutes. I probably shouldn’t have had so much, you know, but I guess it’s still only early. But no more now, I now you guys are cool with it, but I’d really much rather not have to try out any of the ideas Mum came up with.” Lucy was still swinging, and at first was going to say that she was fine and could wait until later to go, but then she recalled the events of earlier in the week, and her own pledge not to take any unnecessary chances. A last minute dash to the loo was never a good look, and, if for whatever reason she couldn’t get there. Well, that didn’t even bear thinking about! “Yeah, count me in too, may as well if we’re all going. I didn’t notice the toilets when we arrived, which way are they?” ___________________________ They’d travelled less than 5 miles down the road, and already Lesley was seriously questioning her own sanity. A short road trip had seemed like a great idea, but with the two youngsters in the back working through their repertoire of increasingly disgusting, silly and even vaguely rude jokes which they clearly found absolutely hilarious to the point that both were struggling to breath through the laughter, her resolve was already cracking. At least once they got to the theme park she could set them loose to burn off some of the hyperactivity that seemed to have set in. “Boys, I know you’re both hoping to become the next big stand up comedian, but try to make time to take a breath between laughing and joking will you? And, if you can, turn the volume down just a notch please…I can barely hear myself think.” “Sorry Mum” Jack managed between gasps for breath “But these jokes are just so funny, listen to this”. And he launched into a particularly disgusting little rhyme which would cause most adults to pull a face in horror, but instead had the two boys shrieking so loudly that passengers in a passing car actually turned to look. “Oh, Jack, don’t make me laugh lie that again, I almost did a wee!” Tom was still giggling, but his face had suddenly taken on a more serious look and he grasped at his shorts. This of course caused Jack to crack up completely. “Hahaha, don’t wee on the seat Tom.” And again he couldn’t catch his breath he was laughing so hard, his face turning bright red and the expression he wore causing Tom to burst out laughing despite his protestations. “Come on lads, calm it down a bit pleas, if you’re laughing so hard that you can’t breathe, and that you think you’re going to pee, it’s time to wind it down a little. Are you ok Tom, do you need me to stop at a toilet?” Calming himself down a little, Tom considered before answering. “No thanks Mrs Daniels, I’m ok. I don’t need to go, it’s just when Jack made me laugh so hard, I thought it was going to come out anyway.” “Ok, well it’s definitely time to settle down a bit. We should be there in 10 minutes or so anyway, but if you change your mind just let me know. And you too Jack, it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Which of course caused her Son to blush and retort “Muuuuuum, we’re not babies you know!” But nevertheless, they did put their joke books to one side, instead talking about the rides and activities at the theme park which they’d heard about from friends, and planning which ones they wanted to go on first, as well as which ones they’d avoid – because they are too ‘babyish’, or the ones they said they just didn’t fancy (which, in truth, were the ones which sounded a bit too scary!). Not long afterwards, the car swept into the large car park, and Lesley jumped out of the car, opening the child-locked doors from outside and helping the two boys to jump down. “Race you to the entrance Tom” Jack yelled. And with that they were off. Chapter 15 Becky and Emily looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and then giggled. “Erm, sorry Luce, there are no toilets here! If you want a wee at the park, you’ll have to do it the girl guide way, behind a bush!” Em flashed a cheeky grin at her friend, knowing her distaste for ‘roughing it’. Come on, we can show you. Dan’ll be ok finding his own tree, won’t you?” “WHAAAAAAT? I don’t wee outside! Come on Em, that’s disgusting. Who even does that?” Lucy wore a horrified look on her face, and couldn’t believe her friend ha even suggested something like that. If the girl guides were that minging, she’d definitely NOT be joining them. “Ewwww!” Even Dan was chuckling to himself at the indignation in Lucy’s voice. “Haha, it’s not that bad Lucy, honest. Surely you must have had a sneaky tree wee before?” “Erm, no actually, well at least not since I’ve been toilet trained at any rate! Im not a baby or a dog, so I’ll just hold on until we get back to our house thanks Em. But you three go ahead” Becky cast a knowing glance over at Lucy, shaking her head slightly and then, as Dan and Em stood up and made their way towards bushes in opposite directions, she gently asked “Are you sure it’s a good idea to wait Luce? After this week, I thought you weren’t taking any chances? Come on, follow me and see how easy it is. Nothing disgusting about it at all, and it only takes a second.” Lucy’s eyes rolled again, but she had to admit that her friend made a good point about not taking any chances. Especially around Dan. Grudgingly she stood and followed her pal in the direction Emily had gone, the birthday girl having already disappeared behind a large flowering bush at the edge of the playground. As they rounded the side of the bush, they saw Emily with her back to them, just about to squat down to relieve herself, but the sound of people approaching from behind startled her, and she quickly stood back up and pretended to be examining the flowers. “Don’t panic Em, it’s only us.” Becky reassured her “I’ve brought Luce over, so she can see how easy it is. Maybe she’ll change her mind, save us all trekking back to your house for her to go.” Visibly relaxing, Em smiled at both girls and then, seemingly without any embarrassment, squatted back down on her haunches and in one deft motion she reached under her long, striped summer dress and pulled her underwear down to her ankles. Sighing as she emptied her bladder, the dress she wore preserved her modesty and neither of her friends could see anything, or even tell what she was doing. With the same smooth motion, she hiked her pants back up and then stood with a wide grin. “See, Luce. How easy was that?” Both Becky and Emily laughed at the incredulous look of amazement on their friends face. “Wow, ok, that wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Blimey, you made that look so easy, and if I hadn’t have known what you were doing I’d have had no idea. Hands up, I’m quite impressed! Although you’ve obviously had years of practise, and wearing a dress must help too. I couldn’t do that, I’d have to pull my jeans down.” “See, told you Luce, it’s not difficult at all. So much quicker and easier than having to mess around running back home every 5 minutes. Yeah wearing a skirt or a dress does help, but we’re hidden from vie here, so even in jeans it’s not a problem. Here, watch me, then you can have a go.” Lucy still looked unsure, but admitted she was quite curious now. As a kid, she’s always been brought up not to wee outdoors, because it wasn’t very lady like. It was ok for Jack, he could just nip behind a tree like Dan was going over the other side of the park, but apart from in real, dire emergencies she’d never been allowed to. Thinking about it, the last time must have been when Jack was only a baby, as she remembered her Dad was still around then, and he’d held her up so she could go. Becky was completely unabashed as she dropped her jeans and pink pants to the floor and lowered herself down until her bottom was just above the ground. Lucy’s jaw almost hit the ground, she couldn’t believe her friend had basically just stripped off in front of her, whilst in the middle of the park, and was now squatting and weeing without a care in the world. Unbelievable! “There you go, easy as that” she said as she stood up, shook herself dry and pulled her clothing back into place. “Nothing too it, and now we can stay out longer. Well, unless you need to go back that is?” Poor Lucy was torn. She really didn’t want to be the reason they had to cut short their fun, and she was really enjoying the afternoon with her friends and getting to know her new…boyfriend? Is that wha he was? She really didn’t know – there was no denying he was super cute and she was loving spending time with him, but definitely didn’t think she was ready for any of that mushy stuff! On the flip side, she was super nervous about peeing outdoors. Ok so her friends had both done it in front of her, and she knew that was exactly what Dan was doing too, but it just seemed odd. Then again, it was better than the alternative – if they didn’t head back, and she didn’t have a wee – well, no, she wasn’t even going to think about that! Her resolved strengthened by that horrible thought, Lucy grimaced, and then self-consciously asked Em and Becks to turn away, hardly able to believe what she was about to do.

Chapter 6 It was barely after 10am when the doorbell sounded loudly, but it’s tone was soon drowned out by the sound of a particularly overexcited 11 year old girl literally bounding down the stairs to answer the door, almost falling headlong as she did so. Reaching the door and throwing it wide open with an enormous smile on her face, Lucy squealed “BEEEEEEEEEEECKY!” And gave her best friend a massive hug, with both of their mums watching on bemused. Anybody would think they hadn’t seen each other for a month, rather than less than a day. Jen and Lesley chuckled to themselves, and despite Jen’s protestations that they really should get going straight away as she had a ton of housework to get through once she’d dropped the girls off, she nevertheless agreed to a quick coffee and a catch-up, giving the girls chance to run off and gossip for a while, eager to show each other what they were taking to the sleepover. Over steaming mugs of coffee, the two ladies chatted easily about nothing in particular, both just thinking it was nice to have some adult company without being in work, as neither had a husband or partner at home. Lesley’s late husband had lost his battle with cancer when Jack was only small, so she’d pretty much brought her to kids up on her own, something she was incredibly proud of, even though she missed Keith every single day. And Jen’s last fella, well , the less said about him the better was her motto! Lucy and Becky had ran upstairs, hand in hand, talking at nineteen-to-the-dozen and giggling merrily. Upon reaching Lucy’s bedroom, they’d leapt together onto her bed, and then Lucy froze in horror. With her duvet pulled back, there was no mistaking that drinking sound, she clearly had a plastic sheet on her bed. Horrified, she looked over at Becky to see whether she had noticed or not. Clearly she had, there was an odd expression on her face and she noticed her friend deliberately moving around subtly to confirm her suspicions, but thankfully she had the decency not to say anything. Lucy’s face burned crimson, why hadn’t she thought about the sheet. The awkwardness passed quickly, and soon Lucy was unpacking her case and giving Becks a quick fashion parade, keen to show off all of the outfits she’d chosen to take with her. “Looking fab Luce, who’re you trying to impress?” And with that Becky winked. “Oi! It’s nothing like that, I just like to look good, y’know.” Becky wasn’t convinced, and she soon knew that she was right, in fact, as soon as Lucy opened her mouth again. “Dan’s definitely coming by the way, I was messaging him earlier. He’s meeting us at Em’s before dinner, said he wants to talk to us alone.” “Ooh, well at least now I know who you’re trying to impress! Honestly Luce, you really have got the hots for him, haven’t you. Fast mover too!” Becky ducked, and just in time as Lucy had grabbed her pillow and launched it across at her friend, barely missing her, and then launched herself across the bed, grappling with Becks and eventually causing the pair of them to roll onto the floor with a bang, taking the bedsheet with them. They rolled around together for a while, play fighting but more giggling away to themselves, before surfacing for breath and again busting into laughter at the dishevelled sight of each other. “You deserved that!” Lucy gasped. “I DO NOT fancy Daniel! He’s just a nice lad. And yeah, maybe a little cute but…oh stop it!”. Becky had dissolved into giggles again, and was singing some childish rhyme about kissing in a tree. Their moment of silliness over, both tired and a little embarrassed by how they’d been rolling around together like little kids, they eventually pulled themselves together and back up onto Lucy’s bed. And as they did so, both realised that the sheet was now in a ball on the floor, and they were sitting directly on a crinkly, waterproof mattress protector. Lucy wanted the ground to swallow her up, and Becky was wide eyed for a moment, but then noticing her friends obvious discomfort she just patted the bed and said ‘Don’t worry, I get it. ‘Just in case’” Chapter 7 Soon both girls were safely strapped into the back of Jenny’s car, and making their way across town to where Emily and her family lived. The slight awkwardness from the bedroom hadn’t lasted, and they were again talking non-stop about their plans for the weekend. The subject of Dan had also crept up again, although Lucy was relieved that Becks managed not to tease her anymore, probably because her Mum was so close by and listening to every word. They were curious about why he’d been so reluctant to come to the sleepover whilst at the same time seeming so keen. They all got on well, and Em was his cousin after all, so it was a bit of a mystery to them. Ah well, hopefully all would be revealed soon, assuming that’s what he wanted to talk to him about. Maybe he just wants to declare his undying love for Lucy, Becky thought to herself, giggling out loud and causing the other girl to give her an odd look. As they drove along, Lucy’s phone tinged, and pulling it from her pocket she saw a new message, and Dan’s name came into view. Quickly opening the message, but tilting the screen from view in case it said anything too private, she was dismayed to read what he had to say. ‘Not sure I can do this Luce. I really want to, but I just can’t. I’m sorry. X’ Lucy groaned quietly, really feeling for the boy. She didn’t know what demons he was battling, but clearly he was in a pretty bad place, and she wished she knew how to help him. ‘Dan I don’t know what’s the matter, but whatever it is I’m sure we can get through it. Me and Becks are on our way to Em’s now. Come as son as you can, and we will help. X’ After sending her reply, Lucy turned to Becky again, and spoke in a low voice so that her Mum wouldn’t catch the whole conversation. “Dan’s having cold feet again. I dunno what it is, but something is really bugging him.” “Oh no, I hope he’s ok. I’m sure we can talk him around, after all, we can’t have you heartbroken all weekend now can we” Becky grinned, but she did feel for Dan, and hoped that everything was ok. “Oi, less of that! I’ll let you torment me about him once we’ve sorted whatever this is out, but not until then, ok? Don’t want to make him feel any more uncomfortable than he clearly already is.” Becky nodded, but didn’t respond. She could see her friend clearly cared a great deal for this boy. *Ting* ‘I’m still coming to see you three. But you’ll understand why I can’t stay after we’ve talked. You’ll probably not want me to then anyway.’ This time Lucy turned her phone to show Becks what Dan had said, and they both frowned. Either he had something REALLY bad to tell them, which they doubted, or he was getting himself all worked up over nothing. Neither of them could think of anything that he could tell them which would make them not want him to stay for the sleepover. They were shaken from their thoughts by Jen calling from the front of the car “If you pair have finished fighting over boyfriends, we’re here. Come on, out you get and let’s get your bags sorted. I’m sure Emily will be excited to see you.” Putting aside their worries about Dan for a moment, they both unbuckled their seatbelts and jumped out of the car, eagerly helping to unload their bags and running up the front steps to the house. They rang the bell, but Emily had clearly been waiting for them, as the for opened almost immediately and they were greeted by their friend wearing a striped summer dress with a large ’11’ badge pinned to it, smiling widely. “Happy Birthday Em!” The two visitors chorused, and quickly handed over gift bags and cards to the delighted girl, before picking up their cases and following her into the hallway. Jen was invited in too, but after meeting Emily’s mum to confirm that everything was fine with the arrangements, she made her excuses and left, keen to get her housework down whilst she had a little peace and quiet. Being a single mum, it wasn’t often that she had the house to herself, so she was looking forward to a relaxing weekend once the chores were out of the way. The three young girls were soon bounding up the stairs to Emily’s bedroom, where they deposited their overnight things and spent a pleasant hour chatting and looking at all of the lovely cards and gifts she’d been lucky enough to receive so far. They were sat looking at some jewellery kits she’d been given when there was a knock on the bedroom door, and Lisa came in carrying a tray within 4 glasses of coke and a plate of chocolate biscuits. “Thanks Mum, but 4 drinks? There are only 3 of us here so far, and nobody else will be coming for ages yet.” She had a horrible feeling that her mum may be thinking of joining them…and that was NOT happening.” “Your aunty Val has just phoned, she’s on her way over with Daniel shortly, and I’ve asked them to stay for lunch. Thought we may put a few things on the barbecue whilst it’s nice, what do you girls reckon?” All three nodded their agreement, and decided to leave the drinks and snacks until Dan joined them. As her Mum left the room, Em turned to Lucy and asked “So, how on earth did you convince my cousin to come? I’ve been trying for…well, probably 11 years to get him to sleepover at mine, but he’s always had an excuse. I bet he fancies you!” And with that Lucy blushed bright red, and all three girls burst out laughing. Becks couldn’t resist adding “Well I think Lucy fancies him.” Chapter 8 Lucy blushed, stumbling over her words as she tried to defend herself, which the other two girls found absolutely hilarious. “I..I do…I do..not! I mean, I won’t deny he is pretty cute, and he seems a really nice lad. But, c’mon, I’m not into all of that yucky stuff, give me some credit!” In unison her two friends almost sang “Oooh, he’s cute is he?” Which caused the red hue rapidly creeping up Lucy’s face to deepen. “Come on guys, knock it off will ya? Anyway, he’s coming early because he wants to talk to us before the others get here. I’m not sure what it is, but something’s eating away at him, and he seems to think that we’re going to hate him and not want him to stay once he’s told us. I’m a bit worried about him actually…and no, before you start again, not because I fancy him or anything like that! But he looked out for me the other day, when I…well, yeah when I needed him. Now I feel like he needs us to help him through whatever this is.” Both of the other girls looked pensive for a moment, and then Em replied “Blimey Luce, he’s my cousin, but you already seem to know him so much better than I do. I hope he’s ok, and yeah whatever it is I’m sure it won’t be a problem, we’ll sort it.” After a few moments, there came a tentative, hesitant knock on the bedroom door, which slowly opened to reveal a very nervous looking 11 year old boy standing there, hands thrust deep into his pockets and his complexion deathly pale. “Hi girls” he managed in barely a whisper, his voice shaky and he sounded absolutely petrified. “Hey Dan! Come on in” Lucy smiled warmly at him, and patted the space on Emily’s bed which was nearest to her, causing the other two to exchange glances and grin mischievously. “We’re just exchanging gossip before the old folks call us down for lunch.” Perching himself nervously on the edge of the bed, Dan looked sheepishly from one girl to the next, and appeared to be on the verge of tears. He’d genuinely never been so petrified in all of his 11 years, and he had absolutely no idea whether he was doing the right thing or not. Soon he would either have the support of his friends to get through the challenges that lay ahead, or he’d be the laughing stock of the school, probably even the whole town. Oh how he hoped he’d judged the girls right. Looking at Em, and then returning his gaze to the floor, Dan tried a couple of times to speak, but no words would come out. He almost felt that he was going to throw up, that’s how scared he was. Emily sensed his terror, and scooted across the bed to him, giving his shoulder a friendly squeeze. “Dan, mate, whatever’s the matter? Luce said you needed to talk to us about something that was bothering you. Well, spit it out. We’re all friends here, and nothing you say will go out of this room, so there’s no need to panic.” Lucy too gave him an encouraging smile, and ignoring the looks from her friends, she took his hand and held it in hers. “Honestly Dan, whatever it is can’t be all that bad. Let us help you.” With tears welling up, and the odd stray one beginning to roll down his cheek, Daniel turned from grey to beet red, in a garbled deluge of words sprang from him almost as if he had to say them all at once before he clammed up again. “Well you’re probably all going to think I’m a big baby. Please don’t hate me, and please please please don’t tell anybody else. But…but, I….well, I still sometimes wet the bed. That’s why I can’t stay. I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry. I’m stupid, you don’t want me here, why would you want to be friends with a stupid little baby like me.” Once he’d said it, Daniel sobbed loudly and left from the bed, running across the room and making a grab for the door handle. He was absolutely mortified, and just wanted to get as far away as he possibly could. He didn’t care where, just not here. The three girls looked at each other in disbelief, none of them had expected what they’d just heard. Instinctively, however, Lucy was the first to her feet, and she launched herself across the room in front of Dan, standing in front of the door and blocking his path, with her arms outstretched. “Get out of my way!” The young boy shrieked. “Let me go!” Lucy’s heart absolutely melted for him. After all she had experienced over the past week, she really felt his pain and anguish, more than he could possibly know. The need to run away, the humiliation, she absolutely got it. But she knew she couldn’t let him go, not in this state. And she didn’t want to let him go either, she just wanted to comfort him. She didn’t know what made her do it, but her outstretched arms reached around him almost automatically, pulling her new friend into a warm embrace, and she felt the fight leaving him as she did so. His crying intensified, but he no longer struggled against her, instead his body felt limp and weak. “Dan, listen to me. It really doesn’t matter, honestly. Come on, sit back down and let’s talk, but please try to calm down. You’re not a baby, and you’re not going anywhere. We love you no matter what, and we want you to stay.” This heartfelt message was delivered just loud enough for the other girls to hear, and Lucy glanced over Dan’s shoulder as she was speaking, catching their eyes and making sure they all felt the same way. Then, moving her mouth closer to his ear she whispered so that only he could hear “I love you Dan, and I want you to stay.” Chapter 9 It was difficult to tell who was the most shocked. Lucy herself had no idea that she was going to say that and Dan just looked overwhelmed. Both Emily and Becky knew that Lucy had spoken again, but hadn’t been able to catch what she had said. The look in her eyes though, and the shock on Daniels face gave them a pretty good idea.  As Dan took in what he had just heard, he tried to reply but the words caught in his throat, and he didn’t trust himself to speak without breaking down again. Instead, he signified his feelings with the gentlest of kisses which just barely brushed Lucy’s lips, Now the onlooking pair really were agog, stating mouths agape at the scene they were witnessing. It was Becky who managed to speak first, breaking the pregnant silence which had engulfed them. “Well then, would you two lovebirds like to get a room, or shall we sit and chat? It looks like we maybe have a little more to discuss than we first thought, eh?” That broke the ice, and they all chuckled. Dan found his voice, and without letting go of Lucy’s hand which he had grasped firmly as they embraced, he spoke slowly and meaningfully. “I completely understand if any of you want me to go. But, if you’ll let me stay, and if we can find a way of making it work, I really think I’d like to.” Recovering a little from the shock, not of Daniel’s very private revelation but of what she’d just seen take place between her friend and cousin, Emily eventually managed to speak. And when she did, she began by berating Dan gently. “Honestly Daniel, are you really telling me that you’ve avoided sleeping over all of these years over something as daft as that? You think any of us are going to care if you wet the bed? Jeez, mountain out of a molehill or what, don’t you agree girls?” Becky and Lucy both nodded their agreement, and Lucy squeezed Dan’s hand reassuringly, smiling over at him. “She’s right you know. It really doesn’t matter. Come on now, tell us about it, and we’ll work out a plan to help you so the others don’t have to know.” And with that, Daniel found he had the confidence to explain to the 3 girls about his little nighttime problem. In truth, it was becoming much less of a problem as time went by, and the chances are he wouldn’t have an accident and there would be nothing to worry about. The last time he’d been to a sleepover though, when he was 7, he’d completely drenched his friends bed, and had been so very embarrassed. Since then, he’d always avoided sleeping away from home wherever possible, fearful that it would happen again. Explaining about the sleeping bag and air bed, Dan also blushed as he told them about his identical PJ’s, and asked for their help in hiding it should anything happen. He knew that he could just pack his sleeping bag away if it was wet, and it could be washed later. And the spare nightwear meant he could easily swap if needed, but he may need one or more of the girls to cover with him if the others were awake. They all of course agreed, unquestioningly, and reassured Dan that they would be there for him no matter what. To help set his mind at ease, Becky even recounted the tale of her accident at Zoe’s sleepover a couple of years previously, and how she’d had to leave early to stop the rest of the girls from finding out. Whilst she was telling her story, Lucy had zoned out a little, and was gazing across at Dan, trying to understand her feelings and to get her head around what they had shared a few moments earlier. They were, after all, only 11 years old and neither had thought about love or boyfriends and girlfriends, but she knew in her heart that she’d meant what she’d said, and the gentleness of his kiss told her that he felt the same. She’d have happily sat there going over these same thoughts for the remainder of the day, but was soon jolted from them by something she thought she’d heard Becks say. But no, she couldn’t have… Chapter 10 Lucy shot her friend a withering look, and was pleased that Becky at least had the good grace to look ashamed. This of course confirmed to Lucy that she had heard the comment she thought she had…Becky had just announced to everybody that Lucy still had a plastic, waterproof sheet on her bed! Now Lucy had a vague idea of how poor Daniel must have felt a few moment earlier when his embarrassing little problem had been the centre of attention, and she tried to splutter out an explanation, but tripped over her words and just ended up all of a fluster. “I..But…It’s not…oh, Becks, why?!” Looking crestfallen, Becky lowered her head. “I’m sorry Luce, I didn’t mean to embarrass you, I was only trying to help Dan feel better – I thought, well no, I didn’t think did I. I’m sorry.”j Lucy steeled herself, looking again at Daniel who smiled at her, offering all the encouragement she needed. “Ok, Dan here has been big enough to ‘come clean’, so I guess I can do the same. Yes, Becky’s right, I do have a plastic sheet on my bed. It’s actually my brothers, but he doesn’t need it anymore. And I’ve never been a bedwetter so I’ve never had one before, but…I can’t believe I’m actually saying this out loud…I had a one off, freak accident after a nightmare and Mum insisted on moving the protector to my bed ‘just in case’.” “Well done Lucy.” Dan was the one squeezing her hand this time. Noticing an awkward atmosphere beginning to descend, Em decided it was time to move the conversation on. “Ok, I think that’s enough embarrassing talk for now, unless you want to admit to secretly wearing nappies or something Becks? Hahahaha.” It worked, the frostiness was broken again, and all 4 were soon laughing and chatting about other things. It wasn’t long before they were interrupted again, but this time it was by a call from downstairs. “Kids, come out and join us, lunch is nearly ready.” —— Back at home, Jack was counting down the minutes until his friend arrived, disappointed that Lucy was already off having fun whilst he was stuck at home, bored. His Mum had told him that she was planning on taking them somewhere for the afternoon, but wouldn’t tell him where, just saying it was a ‘surprise’. The clock ticked agonisingly slowly, and Jack couldn’t settle to anything. He tried reading a book, but couldn’t concentrate. Then he flicked on the TV, but it was all boring. And even his games console didn’t hold it’s usual appeal, and after a few minutes he set it aside in frustration. Then he heard it. A rat-a-tat-tat on the front door. Not the doorbell he’d been expected, but nevertheless in signalled the arrival of guests, and, he hoped, the end of his boredom! Mum wouldn’t let him answer the door on his own, which was probably fair enough given he was only 7, but it didn’t stop him from springing the length of the landing, zooming down the stairs, and, after tripping over his own shoes which had been discarded at the bottom in the hallway, landing in a spectacular knot of bent body parts right beside the door, just as Lesley was opening it and welcoming Tom and his Mum in. “Oh my dear, are you ok?” Tom’s Mum Debbie looked concerned, and bent down to help Jack untangle himself. Tom couldn’t do anything for laughing, the sight of his friend stayed across the floor had really tickled him. And even Lesley had to stifle a giggle, pointing out just how many times she’d told him not to run down the stairs. Satisfied that nothing was badly damaged, other than a bruised ego, Jack and Tom quickly disappeared upstairs, not wanting to get caught up in a boring ‘mum’ conversation, whilst Lesley invited Debbie through to the kitchen for a cuppa whilst they exchanged details, in case of emergency. “Thanks so much for offering to take Tom overnight, Lesley, I really do appreciate it. This weekend would have been an absolute nightmare otherwise, having to travel across the country at such short notice. Honestly, I love my job but it can be a real pain sometimes!” “Oh don’t be silly Debbie, it’s no problem at all. My Lucy is away at a friends sleepover anyway, so it’s only me and Jack here, and he’d be bored stupid on his own. For all him and Lucy wind each other up, they’re great company for each other…but I think she’d have drawn the line at taking him long to a girlie sleepover, haha.” “Oh I’m sure! And if Jack’s anything like Tom, he’d have had a fit at the mere suggestion anyway.” Both ladies chuckled and nodded in agreement. “So, Debbie, tell me what I need to know. Any dietary requirements or medical conditions I need to be aware of?” “Nope, well, other than being a bit of a fussy bugger when it comes to vegetables that is. He eats most things, in fact he eats me out of house and home, haha. And fortunately he’s in good health, touch wood, so no worries there either.” Lesley smiled on hearing all of this, it certainly made her weekend easier if she wasn’t worrying about medication or anything like that. “Perfect! I was thinking of taking the boys out for the afternoon, perhaps to the theme park a couple of towns over, is that ok with you? I figured that if I wear them out I may have a chance of getting a couple of hours sleep tonight.” “Ooh, good thinking! I remember the last time Tom had a friend stay over, they were still clamouring about at gone 3am, wish I’d thought of tiring them out. Yes of course that’s fine with me, here let me give you some money towards the cost.” “No, put your purse away Debbie. This is my treat for the kids. I’m sure they’ll have an absolute ball.”

Part 2 - Chapter 1 Across the other side of town, there was a very different conversation going on, and this one was far less excited. Daniel Yates was sat morosely at the kitchen table, opposite his mum Val. He had a face like thunder, and much as he’d never admit it as a nearly 12 year old boy, the glint of tears in his eyes, as he listened to his mum’s admonishments. “Honestly, Daniel, you can’t live your life shut away on your own you know! I think it’s lovely that Emily has asked you to join her friends for her birthday sleepover, and if you’d just stop worrying and working yourself up into such a state about it, I know you’d have an amazing time.” Daniel rolled his eyes, and the spat his sarcastic response back “Yeah, right, until ‘IT’ happens, and they all make fun of me. Then I’d be a laughing stock, and I’d never be able to show my face in school. I can’t believe you actually want to subject me to that.” ‘Oh come on now Daniel, please calm yourself down. Firstly, nothing may happen at all, you’ve been so much better lately and to be honest, how much sleep are you actually going to get at a sleepover anyway? Besides, if you’d actually listen to me for a moment, instead of flying off the handle, there may be some things we can do to help make sure that nothing happens, or that if it does then nobody finds out.” Val was getting desperate, not because she wanted to get rid of her son, but because she was so worried about how reclusive he was starting to become. All he ever did was sit in his bedroom on his computer, or run run and run some more. He didn’t seem to have many friends, and very rarely socialised with the ones he did have. Over the past couple of days she’d seen a few hopeful signs, he’d seemed so much brighter in himself, and had started to mention a few more kids from school in his conversations. There were a couple of girls, Lucy and Becky, in particular who he’d talked quite a lot about, and she was sure she’d seen a glint in his eye when he spoke of Lucy. From what he’d said, they were friends of her niece Emily, and also in the same class together at school. He’d vaguely mentioned Emily’s birthday and that she was hosting a sleepover which these two girls were going to, but only in passing, and she’s not thought much of it as he’d never been one for sleepovers. Not since, well, not since he was much younger anyway. Today though he’d been in a right state since he came home from school, despite winning what looked like it must have been every medal on offer at the school sports day, and it had taken a long conversation over a hot chocolate to get him to confide his worries in her. You see, it turned out that Emily had actually invited him to the sleepover a little while ago, but he had understandably declined and made up some excuses. Emily hadn’t been too put out by this, she was used to it by now as she’d been trying to get Dan to stay over for years now, but he wasn’t having any of it. She’d have loved him to be there, of course, but she’d have all her girlfriends around her so was bound to have a great time anyway. It seemed that Daniel’s new friends, however, hadn’t been so easy to put off, and had pretty much talked him into agreeing to go to the sleepover, and now he was panicking, and trying to find a way out of it, even asking her to make excuses for him. She’d do anything to protect her son, what mother wouldn’t, but this time she really did think it would do him the world of good to go and have normal night away with his friends. “Look, Mum, I’m not going ok, and that’s that! Tell them what you like, I really don’t care anymore. Tell them the bloody truth if you want, it’s better that than them finding out I’m a stupid little baby when I’m there with them all around me!” And with that pretty spectacular outburst, Daniel rose from the table and stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind him as he did so. “DANIEL! Don’t you DARE speak to me like that EVER AGAIN. Do you hear me?” With his Mum’s angry words rising in his ears, Daniel threw himself onto his bed and cried. What was most frustrating was that he really, really did want to go. He’d already kinda wanted to, as he did feel like he always missed out, but then when Lucy had said she was going to be there and had talked about all of their plans, that had sealed it for him. He didn’t know what it was about her, but he knew he wanted to get to know her better, and he really enjoyed being around her. Why did it have to be a stupid sleepover, and why did he have to be a stupid little baby? He hated himself for ruining everything. Chapter 2 On Saturday morning, Lucy was awake bright and early, with no alarm or call from her mum needed. She was so excited, and couldn’t wait to be on her way with Becky. This sleepover was going to be so much fun, and give how much it had cost her at school, she was determined to have the best time ever. Sliding out of bed, she heard the rustle of her (well, Jack’s) waterproof sheet, and cringed. Glancing down and not all all surprised to find her bedding and pyjamas to be dry, she made a mental note to ask her Mum to take it off, clearly she’d just had a freak accident after not using the loo before bed, it wasn’t as if she was a bedwetter or anything, so it could come off. Even those thoughts couldn’t spoil her mood that morning, so she pushed them to the back of her mind and walked over to the bathroom to take care of her morning ablutions, singing at the top of her voice as she did so. Lesley was trying to enjoy a bit of a lie-in, having been up at the crack of dawn every day that week (and every week) to make sure herself and the kids were ready for the new school day. She was, however, unceremoniously roused from her slumber by the sound of Lucy being out the latest teen pop number from the bathroom, and much as she groaned at her disturbed sleep she still managed a smile at how happy her little girl sounded. Teenage moodiness was starting to set in, so genuine moments of joy like she could hear needed to be cherished. In his bedroom, Jack too had heard the musical delights coming from the bathroom, but he was far less enamoured. Yes he was excited about spending the weekend with his friend, but he knew from a bleary eyed glance at the clock on his wall that he wouldn’t be there for hours yet. And whilst he was waiting, he was very happy to stay comfy and snuggled up in his bed. He didn’t need to hear whoever Lucy’s latest boyband crush was being broadcast at that kind of volume from the bathroom, thank you very much. “Shurrrup Lucy!” He called, his voice muffled by the duvet he was doing his best to hide under, and without ht he turned over and returned to the land of nod. In the bathroom, Lucy hadn’t heard any movement from her mum or brother, and carried on quite merrily with brushing her teeth and styling her hair, having already taken care of her toilet and washing need. She couldn’t quite decide what to do with her hair, keen to look as grown up as she could, because she knew the other girls would be making an effort, and also, just in case Dan did turn up after all. In the end, having tried pigtails and decided they made her look too babyish, she went with a single plait, pulled over to one side of her head, and tucked behind her head. Perfect, she thought as she glanced in the mirror. With the right dress on, I’d probably even pass for 13. It didn’t matter to her that Dan and the girls where in the same class and therefore knew exactly how old she really was, Lucy always tried her best to look older. That’s why that bloody awful school dress they’d made her wear had been so unbearable. But no, she wasn’t thinking about that. Time to make sure her Mum was up! Chapter 3 All around the town, mobile phones were tinging and vibrating on nightstands as Lucy’s messages arrived, although very few of her friends were yet awake to read and reply. Even with the prospect of a sleepover to look forward to, most 11 year olds try to stay in bed as long as they can on a Saturday morning, and her girls were no exception to this. Lucy was a little surprised to receive a reply straight away, but even more so when she saw it was from Daniel. ‘Hi Lucy, I really want to come to the sleepover, but don’t think I can. ? Great idea to meet at Em’s early, I’ll be there, really need to talk to you guys. D x’ Lucy didn’t know what to make of this, she knew Dan had been cagey about the sleepover from the start, but he’d said he was going to sort it with his mum. And now he was going to be there earlier on, but not stay? Very odd. ‘What’s up Dan? Hope you’re ok…We’ll be at Em’s by lunch, come over anytime and let’s chat. Bring your stuff, I’m sure you’ll be able to stay. X’ Daniel had been awake for hours, in fact it felt like he’d barely slept all night. He just kept playing over everything in his mind, and had worried himself to the point of almost being physically sick. He hated himself for being so awful to his Mum, knowing she was just looking out for him, and knowing that deep down she was right. But he also couldn’t bare the thought of everybody knowing his secret, or even worse, something happening and everybody finding out. He’d avoided this for years, why couldn’t he just carry on avoiding it? Lucy. That’s why. He just couldn’t get that damned girl out of his mind, and it was driving him crazy. If it hadn’t been for her, he’d have just stuck to his like that he couldn’t go, and that would have been that. Em and the girls would have had a great time, he’d have been bored at home, but that’s just how it had to be for boys like him, and he’d always accepted his lot. But her words kept niggling at him, making him realise just how much he wanted to be there. In fact, lying there awake in his bed, he decided once and for all that he was going to go for it, and to hell with the consequences. ‘Sod it, I’m coming! Don’t care now, whatever anybody thinks. But I REALLY need to talk to you 3 before the others get there. Just please don’t hate me, ok? X’ And with that, trembling at what he had just done, Dan leapt from his bed and made a frantic run for the bathroom, just making it in time to vomit into the toilet, muttering to himself under his breath. “What have I done? I’m ruined!” The sound of the bathroom door being slammed and Daniel being sick roused Val from her slumber, and quickly throwing a dressing gown around her shoulders she padded over to the bathroom, knocking gently before letting herself in. Dan was slumped against the bath, seemingly finished, but with tears rolling down his cheeks. “Oh Daniel, are you ok? Whatever’s the matter sweetie?” Through tears, and continuing to shake, Dan whispered “I’ve done it Mum, I’m going to the sleepover. What am I going to do now?” Putting her arms around her distressed son and pulling him into a warm embrace, Val smiled at him. “What you’re going to do, young man, is pick yourself up, get in that shower and then get to work packing your overnight things. Grab the bull by the horns, and then get out there and have the best damned sleepover you’ve ever had.” Dan managed a small watery chuckle at his Mum’s words “Well, it can hardly go any worse than the last one, can it. Ok, I’m going to get showered and dressed, but then, can we have a chat before I start packing? Maybe over a hot chocolate?” “Of course love, you get yourself sorted and I’ll go and pop the kettle on. Remember, you can talk to me about anything, anytime. That’s what I’m here for.” As he stood under the shower, it began to dawn on Dan just what a massive step he was taking. There was no backing out now, he knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it from Lucy if he didn’t stay, and she’d end up weedling the reason out of him too he was sure. Thinking about it practically, it was best that he talked to them about it first, so they knew the truth, rather than risking it coming out. Plus, should the worst happen, he’d need them to help him, he knew that. But he was placing so much trust in them, he hoped he’d got this right, he really did. Once he was dressed, Daniel made his way down to the kitchen, where his Mum who had heard the shower stop had two large mugs of steaming hot chocolate ready and waiting, along with a stack of freshly toasted crumpets. Good old Mum, he thought, as he grinned and grabbed one, butter dripping down his chin has he bit into it. “Ok love, how are you going to manage this? I know you’re so worried, but honestly, it’s really not the end of the world.” “Well, Lucy text me earlier, and to begin with I tried to get out of it again. But then I realised I really do want to be there, I want to spend some time with her, and I don’t want to live my life hiding away any more. So in the end, in frustration, I said I was going to go and that I didn’t care what anybody thought.” Dan paused, taking a sip of his drink and glancing up at his Mum, who nodded encouragingly. She’d picked up on his comment about wanting to spend time with Lucy, but wasn’t going to embarrass him by mentioning it. “That’s not true though, not really. I do so want to go, and I am going to. But I really don’t want everybody to find out, and I do care about what people think. Even though I know I probably shouldn’t, it’s just so difficult. When Lucy text, she said that her and Becky are going to Em’s early, and they’ve asked me to join them. If it’s ok with you, Mum, I’m going to go and talk to the three of them. I’m going to tell them everything, and hope that they’ll be there to help me should I need them to. If they know, they may be able to help make sure that nobody else finds out, and if anything goes wrong, I won’t be on my own either.” Val felt a lump rising in her throat, and she wasn’t sure she could trust herself to say very much without breaking down in tears herself. Instead, she simply said “I’m so proud of you Daniel. Well done you!” And reached over to take her sons hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. “Thanks Mum. But I’m going to need your help too, with the practical stuff. Let’s finish these delicious crumpets, and then will you come upstairs with me whilst I get everything sorted please?” “Of course I will. In fact, like I said last night, I’ve already got a couple of ideas to run by you, which may help.” Chapter 4 Lucy could barely contain her glee that Dan would be joining them, although his texts did have her a little worried about just what it was that was bothering him so much. She was glad he’d decided to talk to them about it though, and felt sure that whatever it was could be sorted out. As she poured herself a second large glass of juice, Lucy glanced at the clock and saw that it was now after 8am, and that meant it was nearly time to go! Having finished their breakfast of crumpets and hot chocolate, Daniel led his mum up to his bedroom, ready to start packing his things. He felt incredibly apprehensive, it had been probably 4 years since he’d last slept over at a friends house, and that had ended in absolute disaster, something he was keen to avoid at all costs. Plus, because he’d been so much younger last time, Val had taken care of his packing for him, so in truth he didn’t really know where to begin. “What do I start with Mum?” “Well, let’s see, you’re going to need some clean clothes for tomorrow, so that’s probably a good place to start. Find yourself some jeans and a top.” Dan began rummaging through his wardrobe, holding up various combinations before settling on one. Casting an eye over his choice, Val nodded her approval, noting that he’d chosen a particularly smart outfit. My, it seemed he really did want to make a good impression on the young ladies. Folding his clothes carefully, something he never usually did, Dan placed them gently into the bottom of a holdall, and then looked enquiringly over at his mum. “Good lad. Ok, now something to sleep in.” This caused Dan to pull a face, his worried look returning and creasing his boyish features. “Don’t look so worried, it’s only pyjamas mate! That’s one of the ideas I had though…I know you like your football ones, but if I remember rightly you’ve got two pairs the same that you were bought for Christmas, haven’t you? I don’t think you’ve even worn one of them yet.” Daniel nodded, and delved into his chest of drawers, retrieving two identical pairs of black PJ’s with silly slogans emblazoned across them. “Perfect, love. There you go, pop both of those in. They’re black, so if you do have a little accident in the night, it should be a lot less obvious than your grey ones. And, because both pairs are the same, if you have to change, nobody will know.” At this, Daniel blushed a bright red, and lowered his head in embarrassment. He really hated it when his Mum said things like that, she just had such a babyish way of phrasing everything. But, he had to admit, it was a pretty good idea. Not that he’d need the change of PJ’s of course, but ‘just in case’. “That’s great, Mum.” He managed to whisper “B…but, if it does happen, the bed will get all wet. I can’t take a second bed can I”. This was what had worried him the most, he was used to dealing with wet clothes, but knew that there was no way he could hide a wet bed, and if he made a mess of Emily’s he’d be absolutely horrified. At least his bed at home was protected, but he knew that no other 11 year olds still wet themselves sometimes like he did, so of course she wouldn’t have a plastic sheet. “Well, love, that’s something else I’d thought of. Look, it’s mostly going to be girls at this sleepover, isn’t it? From what I can gather, you’re going to be the only boy there?” Dan nodded his confirmation, although this thought didn’t help him to feel any better. Yeah, the only boy there, and the only one to wake up in a puddle too! “I’d imagine the girls will end up sharing beds, top and tail and the like, but it’s probably not a great idea for you to do that, even without your…ahem…little problem. If it was just you and Emily then fair enough, but you can’t really go sharing beds with strange girls at your age. So, how about you take a sleeping bag and blow-up bed? Then you can still be with the rest, but have your own space too.” Dan’s eyes lit up, the thought of having an accident in Em’s bed had genuinely mortified him, but that was the answer, he was sure of it. “Thanks Mum, why didn’t I think of that?” And with that he couldn’t help but grab her in a tight hug. Nearly knocked over by Dan’s enthusiastic embrace, Val steadied herself and chuckled. “Steady now. Go on, you go and pick one of the sleeping bags from the airing cupboard and I’ll dig out the airbed, I’m sure it’s in the spare room somewhere.” Once both had been found and inspected, they were added to the holdall, which was already nearly full. “Okay Daniel, socks and pants now. Throw in a couple of each ’just in case’,“ and Daniel absentmindedly grabbed a handful from his underwear draw and threw them into the bag. Finally, Dan had a brainwave of his own, and returned to the wardrobe to pick up a pair of shorts and a running top. “If I do have to get up early and have a shower, it’s the perfect cover. I can go for a run first thing, can’t I?” Even Val hadn’t thought of that, and she clapped her Son on the back proudly. “Great thinking, see, you’ve got this! Whatever happens, you’re going to have a great night. Ok, I’ll leave you to get any more bits and pieces you want to pack together, but I think that’s probably the main things taken care of.” “Thanks Mum, you’re the best!” Chapter 5 Once she was back downstairs and out of Daniel’s earshot, Val reached for her mobile phone, and, having reassured herself that it was now approaching 9am and therefore no longer too-early to disturb people on a Sunday morning she dialled her sister Lisa’s number, and waited for her to answer. “Good Morning Val, what a lovely surprise this sunny Saturday morning.” “Hiya Lise, yeah beautiful isn’t it. How’s things with you, all ready for the onslaught this evening? Haha” “Ah, you’ve heard then? Yeah, all good apart from that! I must be mental, allowing 8 eleven year old girls to run riot in my house for the weekend. Absolutely crackers.” Val laughed, but couldn’t resist adding her own little twist. “Don’t you mean 8 girls and one 11 year old boy?” Spluttering on the coffee she was trying to drink, Lisa nearly dropped the phone. “WHAT?!? When did that happen? Emily hasn’t mentioned anything about BOYFRIENDS coming!” The word boyfriends was deliberately amplified, in case her daughter was listening. “Haha, sorry Lise, didn’t mean to give you a heart attack. No, that’s why I’m ringing about actually. Somehow your Emily and a couple of her friends have managed to convince Daniel to join them. Well, actually, I think it’s more one of the friends, a girl called Lucy. And you may not be too far off the mark I reckon.” “Oh, wow. Now that’s a turn-up for the books. I didn’t think Dan would stay away from home, because of, well, you know…” ‘Yeah, I was more than a little surprised too. From wha I can gather, your Emily did ask him but he declined as usual. This Lucy’s turned up on the scene though, and I don’t know what it is about her, but she seems to have really brought him out of his shell. Next thing I know, he’s agreed to go, and asking me to help him just in case anything should happen. Look, I’ve not got long as he’s just finishing packing, but I wanted to give you a quick heads up, and to make sure you were ok with him staying too?” “Of course he can stay Val, you know that’s no problem at all. He’d have been welcome any time, Emily’s always asking as she loves having somebody around. How’s he going to get around it thought?” Val quickly listened to make sure Daniel was still upstairs, before quickly recounting his plan to his aunt. She explained about the spare PJ’s, the airbed and sleeping bag and, the biggest part of the plan, that Daniel was intending to confide his secret in Emily, Lucy and Becky that afternoon, before the others arrived. “Such a brave and mature young man, you’ve done well there Val. Give yourself a pat on the back. And thanks for the heads up, I’m sure everything will be absolutely fine, but I’ll keep an ear out for any trouble. And, please tell Daniel that if he needs anything at all then just to come to me.” “Thanks Lisa. You’re not wrong, I’m so proud of him. This is a massive step, but I really think that getting over this hurdle will be the making of him. He’s been getting so much better lately that I’m sure he won’t even have a problem, but I think having his closest friends onside will be a big help. He must really like this Lucy to be thinking of telling her his big secret, I actually can’t wait to meet her myself.” “That’s why I was so taken by surprise! Emily is his cousin, and they’ve known each other all their lives, yet he’s always been so private about it that so far as I know she hasn’t got a clue. Tell you what, Lucy and Becky are due here sometime before lunch, so why don’t you bring Daniel over about midday and stay for a spot of lunch? It’ll give you a chance to meet the new lady in his life, and may give him a bit of reassurance having you close to hand whilst he ‘does the deed’ so to speak.” Val smiled “That’s actually a great idea, thanks Lise. I’ve nothing planned this afternoon, so I’d love to. Although I’m afraid I’ll be leaving you too it before the chaos kicks in later, hahah.” “Thanks for that, sister dearest! Haha. But no problem at all, you’re very welcome. Catch you later.”

Well spotted! Thanks @diddldum. Hope you're enjoying the story so far? Next few chapters will be up shortly. Probably up to the end of Part 1. Chapter 41 As they sat there, cross legged on the tarmac, Lucy realised that her extra half an hour of sleep that morning meant that she’d had to choose between eating breakfast and paying a visit to the bathroom before they had left. Her stomach had of course won, as it always did, and she’d satisfied her hunger with juice and toast, but that meant she’d not brushed her teeth…or gone for a wee. It wasn’t a problem, she was sure, as she didn’t even really need to go even now, but she’d promised herself that she’d not take any more chances, and now she’d blown it. The first few events were for the infants, things like egg and spoon races and three legged races, which were good fun but the older kids soon got bored. Lucy watched Jack win the two he took part in, and made a point of clapping and cheering extra loudly, remembering how nice he had been to her the night before, but once his class had finished she quickly grew bored and started chatting distractedly to Becky and Lauren who were sat with her. Her mind wasn’t really on the conversation though, she kept zoning out and the other two would have to prod her for a reply after they’d asked her a question. “What’s the matter with you Luce?” Lauren asked grinning as she cuffed her friend once more “Day-dreaming about boys or something?” Lucy and Becky both giggled at that. “N..no, don’t be silly, who wants to think about smelly boys? Nah..it’s just…no, it’s nothing.” Clearly there was something bugging her, but Becky and Lauren didn’t probe any further, instead carrying on chatting about the sleepover at the weekend, until Lauren’s younger sister’s class started to race and she made her way to the front of the crowd to watch. “You OK Luce? You barely seem to be here today, and looked a bit miffed when Lauren asked about it earlier. What’s troubling you?” She was genuinely concerned, knowing her best friend was having a pretty tough week of it, and hoping that it was nothing to do with that. “Oh it’s nothing, sorry Becks, I’ll try to snap out of it. Just tired I think, that’s all. How long’s left until Lunch, do you know?” “Erm, about an hour or so I reckon. Dunno about you, but I’m starving Must be all this fresh air, haha. Doesn’t look like we will be doing any of our races until after lunch either.” Lucy inwardly groaned and shuffled a little in her place. An hour was quite a long time, and she was starting to regret choosing toast over a trip to the toilet that morning Ah well, how many times had she held it all day to avoid using the school loos? It was only an hour after all, she’d be fine. Becky noticed her friend squirming, but just thought it was from sitting on the hard tarmac floor for so long. She was starting to get a bit of a numb bum herself, and would be glad to have a sit down on a proper chair whilst they ate their lunch. Being somewhat more sporty, Becky also couldn’t wait to get on with their own events, hoping to win the long distance races as she had done every year before. The girls fidgeted their way through the remainder of the infant races, Becky because she was getting more uncomfortable as the pins and needles started to set in, and Lucy because much as she didn’t want to admit it even to herself, there was no denying that she really did need a wee now. It was only as she sat trying not to think about it that she realised her water bottle was empty, meaning she’d drank a litre of water on top of all of that juice at breakfast, and she hadn’t ‘been’ since going to bed the night before, oops! Finally the teachers blew their whistles and once the hubbub had subsided, announced that it was time for lunch. Because they would be heading back outside straight afterwards, there was no need to get changed, so they could all stay in their PE clothes. When the bell rang at the end of the break, they should come back to their places outside and the register would be taken from there. And, with that, they were dismissed to make their way to the hall for lunch…or, in Lucy’s case, to make a mad sprint to the girls toilets! Honestly, if she was being timed, she felt sure that she’d be faster than anybody racing on the track that day. Reaching the girls bathrooms, Lucy was dismayed to see that a substantial line had already formed. Obviously, in the heat of the day, lots of the other girls had emptied their water bottles too. Lucy waited for a few minutes, squirming around and doing a pretty distinct ‘potty dance’, much to her shame and embarrassment, but there were still dozens of girls waiting in front of her, many of them from the younger years – there was no way she could try to push in front, but she had to do something, and quick. With a sudden brainwave, and swallowing her pride, Lucy quickly dashed from the bathroom along the corridor and without even knocking burst through the school office door. Standing in the door way, legs tightly crossed and both hands shoved deeply into her crotch, all thoughts of modesty long overtaken by horrible flashbacks of her humiliating accident only 2 days previously, Lucy cried out, “Mrs Johnson, please please please can I use your bathroom. I REEEEEEEAAAAAAAAALY need a wee.” Dorothy looked up in alarm, and catching on to the seriousness of the situation she just pointed to the toilet door and shouted “Quickly!” Chapter 42 Lucy didn’t need telling twice! She knew she was mere seconds from disaster, and if she didn’t get to a toilet right now she’d be left standing in a puddle. Waddling to the bathroom, she pulled the door closed behind her, bent almost double now as she tried to keep in control. As she turned, the sight of the toilet almost caused her to lose control right where she stood, she’d never been so desperate in all of her life, not even all the times she’d dashed to the loo after school. But this time she knew she had to hold on, she had to make it. She just couldn’t have another accident in school, she would die from the shame. By sheer willpower alone she managed not to let go, instead focussing getting herself sat on that toilet so she could enjoy the relief that she knew would come at any second. Stood with her back to the toilet, in one swift movement she let go of her hold on her crotch, grabbed hold of the sides of her shorts and pulled them down in a smooth motion whilst simultaneously sitting down and beginning the most satisfying wee of her life. She moaned audibly at the relief, and sighed to herself “Yes! I made it!” But then, something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong indeed. Looking down, she saw her black shiny football shorts pooled around her ankles, exactly where they should be. But amongst them was no flash of bright pink as she was expecting. As she continued to empty her bladder, Lucy’s gaze slowly travelled upwards, where it fell upon the pair of pink undies she was looking for…and they were still exactly where they had started, around her waist, but now complete with a very wet crotch and a waterfall of her wee cascading through them and into the toilet. “Noooooooooo!” Lucy cried out loud in anguish. She couldn’t believe it, after all that she’d made it to the toilet and then wet herself whilst sitting on it. No, this couldn’t be happening, she couldn’t have done this. But the warm wet feeing she could now sense between her legs confirmed what her eyes had seen, she had indeed done exactly that. Now what was she going to do? In shock, Lucy remained sat on the toilet and cried gently to herself. Maybe she was just a little baby who wet her pants after all. Everybody would know, everybody would laugh at her, how could she go and run her races with wet underwear, it would get her shorts all wet in front of the whole school. After a few minutes, there came a gentle knock on the bathroom door, and Dorothy’s voice called through “Is everything ok in there Lucy?” Doing her best not to sound like she was crying, and still trying to think of a way out of this, Lucy called back “Yes Miss, I’ll be out in a moment.”. Thinking on her feet, and realising that she was just drawing more attention to herself by staying locked in the toilet, Lucy quickly pulled off her shorts and then slid the soggy undies down her legs and let them fall with a plop onto the tiled floor. Then, drying herself off with some toilet paper she pulled the shorts back on with nothing underneath. Maybe she could just not wear undies for the rest of the day? No, the wouldn’t work, she had to get changed back out of her PE kit once the sportsday was over, and all of the other girls would see. Then it came to her, the spare clothes! It took every ounce of her courage, she was so deeply ashamed, but Lucy slowly made her way to the bathroom door and opened it just slightly before calling. “Miss, can you come over here for a moment, please?” Kindly Dorothy looked up, saw Lucy’s tear streaked face and immediately hurried over to comfort her. “Whatever’s the matter Lucy? Didn’t you make it?” Poor Lucy had to stop herself from sobbing out loud, but somehow managed to keep her composure as she answered shakily “No…well, yes. Erm, I made it, but I…I didn’t quite get my undies down in time. I’m sorry Miss, I’m not a baby, honest. C…could you pass me the bag of clothes I left here please? Everything else is ok, but I need a change of underpants.” As she finished, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling. Dorothy could feel her pain and shame, putting her warm arms around the young girl and embracing her tightly. “Of course sweetie, I’ll get them for you now. Don’t worry, nobody else needs to know, this can be our little secret.” The secretary found Lucy’s change of clothes in the store room, and retrieved the spare pants, passing them to her along with a plastic bag for the wet ones. Lucy changed quickly, numbly, and then came out of the bathroom clutching the plastic bag, realising she had no school bag or even pockets in which to hide her shame. “What shall I do with…” “Give them here love, and come and get them later before you go home. Try not to worry, you run along now before your friends wonder where you’ve got to. And make sure you win those races this afternoon! Maybe go a little easier on the water though eh, sweetheart, just in case.” Lucy blushed, but gave Dorothy a grateful smile as she opened the office door to leave. Doing so, she almost walked into Miss Worth, one of the infant teachers, who was holding the hand of a year 1 girl and leading her into the office. Glancing down at the little girl and smiling reassuringly at her, Lucy did a double take as she noticed that her pink leggings were soaked down to the knees. Looking back up at the teacher questioningly, Miss Worth read her mind “Hi Lucy, poor Lottie here got caught up in the massive toilet queue, didn’t you lovely. So we’re making a quick pitstop before lunch.” Lucy nodded in understanding, and then smiled down at the young girl who looked incredibly nervous. “Don’t worry Lottie, sometimes little accidents happen, but it’s not the end of the world. Is it Miss?” Chapter 43 As Lucy made her way to the canteen to grab some lunch with the girls, she secretly thought how lucky she had just been. It could so easily have been her in poor Lottie’s situation, and for the second time in a week too! She’d not quite got away with it unscathed, but a pair of soggy pants was far better than having to change her shorts and everybody knowing what had happened…again! Having collected her lunch, she found Becky and some of the other girls sat around a large table, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Joining them, she announced her arrival and quickly got stuck in to her meal. Back in the office, Miss Worth had quickly explained the unfortunate predicament Lottie found herself in, and Dorothy had set to work finding her some clean, dry clothes to wear, comforting the poor young girl as she did so. She rummaged through the spare clothes box, finding first some Frozen themed undies which Lottie was particularly taken with. Try she might, they didn’t seem to have a pair of pink leggings though, so had to settle for some shorts instead, telling Lottie that if anybody asked why she’d got changed she could them them it had been too warm with her long pants on, to hopefully help save her any embarrassment or teasing from her friends. Clothes sorted, Lottie was directed to the bathroom to freshen herself up, and also provided with the ubiquitous yellow bag to put her wet things into. Whilst the two ladies waited for her to take care of herself, Miss Worth remarked to Dorothy “Isn’t that Lucy Daniels a lovely young girl? She was just leaving as we got here, and took her time to reassure Lottie that her accident didn’t matter. Lots of the other girls would probably have made fun of her, but Lucy was lovely and very genuine too.” Dorothy agreed and gave a knowing smile, but Keeping Lucy’s confidence she didn’t elaborate. “Tell you what Dorothy, with the length of that queue in the girls toilets, I’m surprised we’ve not had a few more puddles to deal with. Honestly, it’s the same every sports day – they insist on the kids drinking gallons of water, but then lock up the school so there’s a mad surge to the loo’s at lunchtime. Even a lot of the older ones were squirming and dancing about out there.” A that moment, Lottie opened the toilet door and came out wearing the new pink shorts, which actually fit her pretty well, and clutching the yellow plastic bag containing her leggings and undies. “Feeling a little better now Lottie?” Dorothy asked, giving the bewildered young girl a friendly, reassuring hug as she padded over to them. Lottie managed a shy nod and a “Yes thanks” as she handed the bag to Miss Worth, and quickly took hold of her hand again. “Come on then, little miss, let’s go and hang this up on your peg with your book bag ready to take home later, and then you can go back outside to your friends for the last 10 minutes of lunch. Just remember sweetie, if you ever need to go, come and find any of us teachers before it’s too late.” Lucy and her friends had finished eating their lunch by this time, but having spent all morning sat out on the yard they didn’t rush straight outside as they usually would, instead choosing to sit and chat some more in the canteen. As Becky took a long drink from her bottle of juice, their friend Danielle remarked “Take it easy with that Becks, you should see the queue in the girls loos! Honestly, that’s what took me so long to get here, I couldn’t have waited much longer, and one of the little babies even did it all over the floor whilst she was waiting.” Danielle pulled a face, looking disgusted at the very thought and causing a listening Lucy to clench her teeth as she bit back the retort which would have outed her in front of everybody. The bell sounded shortly afterwards, signalling the end of their lunch break and time for them to join their class groups again outside for the register to be taken before the next set of races began. Joining their class, Lucy and Becky resumed their earlier places, although with the juniors races coming up Becky took the opportunity to begin her warm up routine, stretching and bending in ways that Lucy just looked at least uncomfortable, and at worst downright painful. Whilst her friend was distracted, she scanned the crowd to see whether she could pick out little Lottie who she’d seen outside the office earlier. As luck would have it, the young girls class walked right past her to take up their places at the front next to the track, and Lucy smiled warmly as Lottie caught her eye and gave a shy wave and smile in return. “Awwww, that’s so sweet. Did you see that littl’un waving at us then Luce?” Becky had evidently finished her routine, and had noticed at least part of the exchange between her and Lottie. “Yeah, that’s Lottie. She’s a good kid. I saw her earlier at the….office.” Becky looked enquiringly at her friend “What were you doing in the office?” “Oh, erm, nothing much. Just popped in.” Fortunately she was saved from further explanation as a call came over the megaphone “Year 6 500m runners to the track please, you’re racing first this afternoon” Both girls made their way over to the start line, with Becky giving Lucy a very strange look, wondering exactly what she had missed when they’d gone their separate ways at the start of lunch. Chapter 44 As expected, Becky won the race by a clear margin, and Lucy…well, Lucy finished, which she considered to be some achievement in itself. Sports really didn’t interest her, and whilst she wasn’t bad at playing games like netball and tennis, she couldn’t see the point in just running around in a circle. As she’d jogged past though, she couldn’t help nothing little Lottie again – this time, because she was standing right at the front of her class, on the very edge of the track, and cheering wildly for Lucy. Bless her, she really was cute. Her single race complete, Lucy gladly took a seat on the floor at the back again, and spent a happy hour daydreaming to herself about nothing in particular, whilst Becky took part in just about every event going, and seemed to collect a medal from most of them too. Her reverie was eventually broken, however, by a small nervous voice “Er, hi Lucy, on your own?” Opening her eyes, and blinking in the bright sunlight, it took a few moments for Lucy to recognise the stranger, dressed in a very athletic looking tracksuit. It was Daniel, the lad who really had been a stranger up until a couple of days ago, but now seemed to be there every day. “Ah, hiya Daniel. Yep, Becks is doing something far too energetic over there somewhere.” She chuckled, with a wave of the hand in the direction of the running track. “Here, pull up a…well, a bit of floor, haha.” And this time she patted the tarmac beside her. Folding his tall, ungainly frame Daniel dropped to the ground next to her and grinned. “You not fancy running in any races then?” “Nah, too much effort! Miss made me do one, but that’s more than enough. I’m quite happy just chilling and not being stuck in a boring class. How about you?” Unzipping his tracksuit top a little, Daniel fished out quite a collection of medals which were hanging around his neck, and held them out proudly for Lucy to inspect. “Wow! Looks like you’ve won just about everything! See, we’ve been in the same class all these years, and I never even realised you were such a fast runner. Amazing, isn’t it. Well done Daniel, that’s very impressive.” Daniel blushed, but looked very pleased with the praise all the same. “’t’s nothing, I just love to run, it’s a great way to ‘lose yourself’ if you know what I mean? Gives me something to focus on, but that I don’t need to really think about. Sorry, I’m not doing a very good job of explaining what I mean am I?” Lucy smiled and nodded. “Yes, don’t worry, I get you completely. Running doesn’t do that for me, but reading does. I can really lose myself in a book for hours. And it takes a lot less effort than running too, hehe.” The pair sat and made idle smalltalk for most of the remainder of the afternoon, chatting easily, and soon they knew an awful lot more about each other. Funny, Lucy thought, he was alright to talk to, y’know, for a boy and all. Eventually the conversation again made its way around to Emily and her birthday, and then of course naturally to the sleepover that was taking place the following night. Lucy took the opportunity to again probe Daniel about whether he was going, and when he shook his head, began badgering him about how much fun they were going to have, determined to convince him. She may have only really known him for a couple of days, and she had no ‘interest’ in boys at only 11 years old, but she found that they got on really well and she just knew that he’d fit right in with the group who would be at the sleepover. Unlike the previous day, when he’d got quite worked up about it, with just Lucy pushing gently he did seem to at least give the possibility some consideration, and she knew that if she carried on she’d be able to wear him down. Daniel was in real turmoil, he’d become friends with this amazing girl who just seemed to connect perfectly with him, and everything she was saying to him made him wasn’t to agree to go to Emily’s sleepover. But he just couldn’t, it wasn’t even an option, and he knew that. There was no way it could happen. And then, he heard it. “Yeah, yeah, ok. You’ve made your point Luce. Lemme talk to my Mum tonight, and I’ll see. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try to be there. Sounds like it’s going to be a great night.” It took a few seconds, but he realised what he’d heard. And he realised that he’d heard himself saying it. WHAT ON EARTH WAS HE DOING??? How could he get himself back out of this hole he’d now dug? And did he really want to? No, of course he didn’t, but he had to. Somehow, anyhow. He needed an idea, and he needed one fast. Lucy, meanwhile, was oblivious to the battle playing out inside her new friends head. All she’d heard was what he’d said, and she knew that no matter what Daniel would be there for the sleepover. She couldn’t wait to tell everybody, and she really couldn’t wait for tomorrow night, they were all going to have so much fun. It was only as she played back in her mind what she’d actually heard that she realised Daniel had called her ‘Luce’ for the first time too, and she felt that same little flutter that she had the first time he’d stood up for her. Chapter 45 “Im not interrupting anything am I?” Becky had reappeared, and plopped herself down on the ground between the pair of them, a couple more medals now swinging from her neck, and panting with exhaustion. “Hey Becks! No, not at all, me and Dan here we’re just having a chat. Guess what? He’s hopefully coming to Emily’s sleepover tomorrow night now.” “Oh, really? That’s great news…although you didn’t seem too keen yesterday Dan, what changed your mind? Or need I ask, I bet Luce here hasn’t stopped badgering you about it, has she?” Becky giggled and rolled her eyes, particularly when Dan met hers and nodded emphatically.  “Yup, that’s pretty much it, she’s pretty persuasive our Lucy, isn’t she, haha. Anyway, I said I’d talk to my Mum, I didn’t say I’d definitely be able to go.” Daniels inner turmoil continued, the more he thought about it the more he realised just how much he DID want to go to the sleepover. He hadn’t been to one for years now, and felt that was a big part of the reason he’d always been so isolated from the rest of his classmates who were always sleeping over at each others houses. He really wanted to be able to do the same, but he knew it wasn’t going to be possible. He didn’t even stay over at Emily’s or any of his other cousins houses when it was just family, never mind with what sounded like half of the school going to be there. No, he’d just have to make up and excuse and let them down gently, much as it would hurt him to miss out. Unless…well, he’d said he’d talk to his mum, and he would do exactly that, but he wasn’t going to get up his hopes. It wasn’t long until the teachers blew their whistles again, announcing that the sports day events had come to and end, and that it was time for everybody to go back inside and get changed before home time. Daniel and the two girls went their separate ways as they headed in, and soon they were pulling off their sweaty sports clothes and re-dressing into their school uniforms. It seemed a bit daft, why not just go home as they were, but school always seemed to like making up crazy rules. As she stood in the classroom, Lucy had a horrible thought – the spare undies she was wearing were a completely different colour to the ones she’d had on that morning! She really hoped that none of the girls would notice she’d changed them, as she had no idea how she would explain that. Nah, she thought, they wouldn’t exactly be looking at each others pants, would they? And with that she quickly pulled off her shorts and stepped into her skirt. “Luce?” Becky tapped her friend on the shoulder. “What’s up Becks?” She turned to face Becky, finishing pulling her skirt into place and straightening everything up as she did so. “Erm, probably a very odd question, please don’t think I’m a freak for even noticing…but why has your underwear changed colour? I noticed earlier you had exactly the same pair on as me, but now they’re not pink anymore, they’re yellow.” Lucy’s blood ran cold…what were the chances that Becky would notice! She glanced around, trying to gauge whether anybody else had heard, and if so if they were still listening for her explanation, but fortunately the rest of the class seemed to have no interest in her undies, and how she wished her best friend didn’t have either! “Shhh, keep it down Becks. Honestly, trust you to notice that! Look, walk with me when the bell goes, I need to nip down to the office, and I’ll fill you in on the way.” Becky gave Lucy the same strange look she’d noticed earlier when the subject of Lottie had come up, but Lucy just smiled sheepishly and then looked away to take care of her shoes and socks. Once everybody was dressed and PE kits were packed away again, the girls filed back into their own classrooms, where they sat chatting amongst themselves as they waited to be dismissed, many of them worn out from the days events, and the remainder excited to get on with their weekends. As the bell rang and Miss Jenkins bid them all goodbye and wished them a good weekend, Lucy and Becky made their way out of the classroom door, and instead of joining the crowd turning right towards the exit they instead headed left towards the school office. Once out of earshot of their classmates, Becky turned to Lucy and asked “Go on then Luce, what’s so secret that you couldn’t tell me in there? What on earth’s going on?” Chapter 46 Lucy blushed furiously, and quickly pulled her friend into an empty classroom, closing the door behind them to ensure they could not be overheard. “Ok Becks, if I tell you this the you’ve got to promise me it stays between us, it doesn’t go any further, ever.” Remembering what had happened between her and Jack the other night, Lucy then held out her arm and extended her little finger “Pinky swear?”. Becky was bemused, whatever this was it had to be something massive, something really seriously important. And she had to stop herself laughing at the idea of a ‘pinky swear’, something that she thought only the little kids did. But, if it pleased Lucy, she’d go along with it, so she hooked her finger around her friends “Pinky Swear Luce. Now, what’s the matter?” Satisfied that her friend would now keep her secret, no matter what, Lucy began recounting her tale. She was quite flustered, so it all came out in a bit of a rush, but it was either that or not being able to say it at all “Well, Becks, you know before lunch when we were sat outside and you noticed me wriggling around? It wasn’t because I was uncomfortable, I actually really needed to go to the loo. This morning I was so tired that I went back to sleep after my alarm, and slept through breakfast. I was hungry, so I skipped the bathroom to grab something to eat, and by lunchtime I was really desperate as I’d not had a wee since before I went to bed last night. When the bell went, I ran off to the toilets, but there was this massive queue out of the door. I waited ages, but it didn’t move, and I thought I was going to have an accident right there! Panicking, I ran to the office and asked Miss Johnson if I could use her toilet before I wet myself. And I did, I made it, but….but it went a bit wrong. When I was sat on the loo having a wee, I realised I’d not managed to pull my undies down, and they were soaked. I was sooo embarrassed Becks, this time it was a real accident. And I nearly, very nearly, soaked my shorts too. In the end I had to ask Miss for my spare pair of pants, which is what I’m wearing now. And I’ve got to go and pick up the wet ones now, I didn’t have my bag with me so left them in the office.” Becky stood open mouthed, gaping at Lucy, struggling to take in everything she’d just heard. “Wait…what? You wet your undies, sitting on the toilet, in the office?? Really?” Lucy just nodded, looking sheepish. “Ok, that’s a bit odd, but fair enough I guess. Hang on though, you asked miss for your spare pants…since when did you have spare pants in school, are you in reception or something? And where did the little girl come into all of this? What was her name…Poppy or something wasn’t it?” Lucy blushed furiously now, and covered her face, feeling tears prickling at her eyes. She knew Becky’s teasing wasn’t malicious, and it was understandable that she was confused by all of this, it wasn’t exactly a normal situation for a year 6 girl. Why, why, why had she been stupid enough to mention her spare clothes! Now she’d have to explain about all of that too, as if Becks didn’t already think she was turning into a little baby. “It’s a bit of a long story Becks, to bear with me ok? The spare pants…well, it’s kinda embarrassing, but after my ‘accident’ the other day, Mum washed that awful dress I had to wear and the kiddie undies and I brought them back in the next day, and if you remember she also sent in a change of clothes for me, so if anything ever did happen then I wouldn’t have to wear a summer dress again. Obviously nothing was ever going to happen like that EVER again, but, well, I hate to admit I was so glad today that Mum had put spare undies in with that change of clothes. If I’d not worn any, everybody would have seen when we got changed. And if I’d left the wet ones on, my shorts would have got all wet too. I’d never been so embarrassed having to ask Miss Johnson for the spare ones…and then trust you to notice them too!” Now it was Becky’s turn to look a bit awkward. “I’m sorry Luce, I shouldn’t have said anything, but I just remembered that we’d been wearing matching pants, and then we weren’t. I was just curious, didn’t mean to make you feel bad. Go on then, what was that all about with the little’un outside?” “Don’t be silly Becks, I’d have probably asked too. Not many reasons for changing your undies half way through they day after all, especially without changing any other clothes. Just typical that I picked today to wear the same ones as you, if I had’t, I bet you wouldn’t have even noticed. Anyway, her name’s Lottie, and isn’t she just super cute? Look, it’s probably not my place to tell you, so keep this to yourself too yeah? But she got caught I that ridiculous toilet queue too, and unfortunately she didn’t quite make it. I met her just as I was leaving the office, and she was really quite upset that she’d wet herself, so I just told her not to worry and that accidents happen sometimes. She seems to have taken quite a liking to me now, doesn’t she, haha.” “Aww bless, poor little thing. The school really needs to think about toilets on sports day, I’m surprised there haven’t been a few more accidents today, even I was dancing around a bit in the queue earlier. Yeah, she’s definitely got a crush on you, I saw her cheering and waving earlier! Well done you for making her feel better though, especially when you probably weren’t feeling all that hot yourself.” Lucy beamed, relieved that her friend didn’t seem to think badly of her after what had happened, and glowing under her praise. She knew that it had felt like to be bullied over an accident, so she hoped that by comforting Lottie it had gone some way to help her feel better. “Come on then Becks, I need to go and grab my…y’know…from the office, and then find Jack before he runs off home on his own.” Chapter 47 Reaching the office door, and not quite in the state she had been when she’d burst in earlier, Lucy knocked courteously and waited to be called. “Come in” rang Dorothy’s voice through the door. Both girls entered the office with a friendly “Hi Miss” in unison. “Could I get my…I mean, I’ve come to collect my…” Lucy stumbled over her words. It was embarrassing enough having to come and collect her wet pants, without having to actually say it out loud too. Dorothy of course knew what she meant, and assumed that she was shy because Becky was with her. Trying to spare the poor girls blushes, she instead turned to Becky “Would you mind giving me and Lucy a minute please, Becky?” Becky of course moved to leave, not wanting to embarrass her friend any further. But Lucy quickly spoke up “No Becks, stay. Miss, it’s fine, Becky knows.” Looking a little surprised that Lucy had divulged this most embarrassing of secrets, Dorothy nevertheless smiled at both girls and then rose from her chair and popped into the bathroom, returning a moment later with a small plastic bag that was tied at the top. It was a lot more nondescript that the bright yellow bag from the other day which Lucy was immensely grateful for, but there was no disguising the fact it clearly contained a pair of wet pink pants! Grabbing the offensive item, Luck hastily stuffed it into her PE bag and drew the strings to close top. Satisfied that her shame was now hidden from view, she turned back to the secretary, keen to change the subject. “Thanks, Miss. Was little Lottie OK earlier?” Dorothy’s face now broke into a wide smile “Yes, love, she was absolutely fine. Miss Worth told me what you’d said to her, that was a really lovely gesture love, and I’m sure it meant a lot to her. Well done you!” Buoyed by the praise and pleased that her new little friend seemed to be doing ok, Lucy thanked Dorothy again for her help, and promising to drop a clean pair of pants in after the weekend (not that she would EVER need them again, but ‘just in case’) the two girls bade their goodbyes and headed for the playground, Lucy really hoping that Jack would still be there waiting for her, as she didn’t fancy a game of hide and seek on the way home. “Jack, come on mate, time to go home.” Lucy called across the yard as they came out of the side door and spotted him kicking a football around with a couple of the older boys. “I’ll catch you tomorrow Luce, still want my Mum to pick you up on the way to Emily’s?” Becky gave her pal a quick hug goodbye, knowing full well they’d be chatting by text in probably less than an hour. “Oh, yes please! Jack’s got a mate coming over whilst I’m out, so Mum’ll probably have her hands full all day. Let me know what time later.” “Will do, cya later.” “Byeeeeeeeeeee.” Jack and Lucy followed their usual route home, stopping for a quick 5 minute go on the swings as they passed through the local park (with Lucy reminding Jack, as she always did, not to mention this to mum! They were under strict instructions to head straight home, not stopping anywhere, and Lucy was in charge so she’d be the one who got into trouble). After the unfortunate events of earlier, Lucy once again didn’t need to make her mad dash to the bathroom as soon as they walked through the door, instead kicking off her shoes and fixing herself a snack and a juice, calling through to ask whether Jack wanted one too. “Yeah please sis, apple juice please. Can I watch telly for a bit?” Carrying their drinks, and a couple of bags of snacks, through into the lounge, Lucy also tossed him the TV remote. “Sure, why not. Just nothing too babyish, ok?” She said this with a cheeky grin, and then ducked. Her guess had been right, Jack had immediately throw his cushion across at her, and it hit the back of the sofa where her head had been only seconds before “I’m not a baby!” he screeched, snatching up the remote and flicking to his favourite cartoon channel. Lucy rolled her eyes, but soon found herself just as engrossed in the silly programme as he was, laughing along and even joining in with the daft songs, causing Jack to giggle. Their drinks and snacks were soon finished, but both kids were transfixed by the show, neither moving even as a car pulled up onto the driveway, nor when their Mum let herself into the house and walked smartly up the hallway. They only finally jolted back to reality as the lounge door opened and Lesley called “Helllloooo, anybody home? I’ve been shouting you guys!” Chapter 48 “Wow, there’s a sight I’ve not seen for a long time, you pair cuddled up together on the sofa and watching cartoons.” Lesley smiled at her two children, they may be growing up, but it was lovely to see they could still be kids. Lucy realised that she was curled up around Jack, with his head resting against her, and blushed a little as she realised that they were watching a preschool show. Not only that, but she’d actually been quite into it, and had a horribly embarrassing feeling that she may have actually been singing along to a song about colours when their mum had walked in! “Oh, hiya mum, how was your day at work? Yeah Jack wanted to watch some tv before we got our homework done. As it was sports day, we’ve both only got reading. I hope that’s ok? I thought I’d keep him company whilst I had my juice.” Lesley chuckled to herself as she answered “Don’t worry love, that’s absolutely fine! You both look like you were enjoying watching that anyway, how did that song go again?” “Muuuuuuuummmmm!, Please tell me your joking, you didn’t hear that, did you?” Lucy was crimson now, so much for being ‘grown up’ she thought to herself ruefully. “Hey, hey, I’m only messing with you. Don’t worry, it’s no worse than me singing along to the adverts, is it? My day’s been pretty good, thanks for asking. Just like you, we’re near the end of term, so it’s a lot less pressure than usual. Lots of watching TV and crafty type activities. So, how did sports day go, have we got a new Usain Bolt in the family?” Now Jack tore his eyes away from the screen for the first time, and giddily started regaling his mum with tales of all of his races. He proudly held up each of the medals he’d won, and recounted in exceptional detail exactly what had happened in each race, so it was almost as if Lesley and Lucy were watching an action-replay. If they’d taken Jack at his word, it sounded like he’d been at least twice as fast as every boy, and was on course for the Olympic Games! “Woah, calm down mister, you’re going to break the sofa if you carry on bouncing like that! I take it you’ve had a good time today then, haha. Glad it went well, and those medals are amazing, well done.” “I’m just going to grab myself a quick coffee, and then I want to hear all about your day too Lucy, although if you can manage it without us needed to buy new furniture, that would be great.” And with that, Lesley swept off into the kitchen. Jack stopped bouncing, but nestled in next to Lucy she noticed that he still seemed very excitable and hadn’t stopped wriggling. “Jack, settle down will you? Every time you wriggle about like that, you poke me in the ribs.” Looking over, she noticed the scissoring action of his legs and the distracted look that had come across his face, rolling her eyes at him as she admonished. “Ah, now it all makes sense! Quick, off to the loo before you leave a mess and mum gets mad. Honestly, don’t you know when you need to go for a wee? You should have gone when we came in from school.” Realising he’d almost left it too late, Jack didn’t need telling twice, and sprung up from the sofa, making a mad dash across the lounge and up the stairs to the bathroom, waddling and with a hand pressed firmly between his legs. Lucy repositioned herself on the sofa after Jack had left, shuffling over to make space for their Mum to join them, and also surreptitiously grabbed the TV remote and changed the channel over to something aimed at teenage girls. If she was honest, it looked pretty boring to her and she’d probably have rather kept the cartoons on, but she wanted her mum to think she was grown up, not a little kid. Lucy heard her Mum pottering about in the kitchen, it sounded like she was making a start on something for dinner, and before long Jack was leaping back onto the sofa with a wide smile. “Made it!” He grinned. “Phew, that was close.” “You need to be more careful mate, honestly it’s one thing if you’re desperate when we get in from school and have to made a dash for it, but not when we’ve been hone an hour. What would Mum have said if you’d weed all over the sofa, eh?” Her tone was caring, but firm. Jack looked suitably berated, and then realising Lucy had turned the TV over and was now watching something naff involving teenage girls at an American school, he bellowed “Muuuuum, Lucy’s turned my cartoon off, and I was still watching it! It’s not fair!” Chapter 49 Walking back into the room, Lesley shook her head at the sight which greeted her, Jack trying to snatch the TV remote back off Lucy, and her with a hand clasped over his mouth trying to stop him shouting out. “Will the pair of you stop it, please! Honestly, I left you alone for 5 minutes, when I went into the kitchen you were cuddled up together like butter wouldn’t melt, and now you’re at each others throats. It’s like having a pair of toddlers in the house. I think that’s enough TV for both of you, actually, so pass me that remote please and I’ll decide what I’d like to watch.” Lucy sheepishly passed the controller to her mum, looking sheepish as she did so. It’s not that she particularly wanted to watch the show, but she really didn’t like to be thought of as a toddler. She cast Jack a dark, dirty look as she flopped back down onto the sofa with a huff. Jack whined as the channel was changed again, this time to a very boring looking adult gameshow, and he stomped off out of the room and up the stairs, muttering about doing his reading as he did so. This caused Lesley and Lucy to exchange a look, and despite them both being a bit miffed, neither could resist the urge to burst out laughing. It was like having a 7 year old teenager in the house when he got a strop on. “So, Luce, how did you get on with your race today? I know you weren’t keen, but well done for giving it a go anyway.” “It was ok Mum, think I came about 7th or something, so didn’t humiliate myself. So boring though, haha, why do people enjoy running around in circles?” More chucked from Lesley “Honestly, lovey, I’ve no idea. Never was a fan of running myself even when I was your age. I didn’t mind badminton, that was quite fun, and when we did dance at high school I enjoyed that as well, but not really the running.” Lucy’s eyes widened in excitement “We get to do dance in PE at high school? Wow, that sounds so much better than running! I wish I was there now, not in stupid junior school with all the babies.” “Oh love, you’ve only got a couple of weeks left to go now, and then 6 whole weeks off to relax before you have to worry about lessons again. Yes the dance was fun, and I think you’ll really enjoy the music and drama lessons too, but don’t forget there’s plenty of hard work to be done as well, it’s not all fun and games.” “I know Mum, don’t worry. And I’m going to work as hard as I can, I promise. Want to go to college and to university just like you did, and then to get a really good job when I’m older. It’s just that our lessons now are boring, it’s stuff I already know.” Lesley understood completely, by the time the kids reached the end of year 6, they usually had a very good understand of the primary school curriculum, and it was perfectly natural to get bored and frustrated when you kept going over the same old things that you already knew. She felt for the teachers, as she knew herself how difficult it could be to find that balance between stopping the fastest learners getting bored and preventing the one who took a little longer to pick things up from being left behind. “You’ll be fine once you get to big school sweetie, there’s so much more to learn that you’ll never get bored, I can promise you that. And good for you having a plan for when you’re older, I didn’t decide that I wanted to go to Uni and become a teacher until after I’d finished my O-Level exams, and even then I wasn’t sure it was the right path for me, although I do love my job now and I’m so glad I went for it.” Lucy smiled and nodded. In truth, she had no idea what she wanted to be either, but she knew she wanted to be the very best at whatever she did. “Listen, love, whilst Jack’s upstairs having his tantrum, there’s something I wanted to have a little chat with you about quickly. Nothing to worry about, but when you were both watching TV and I went to get my drink, I put your PE kits in the wash, and there was something in your PE bag. Do you want to tell me about it sweetheart?” Chapter 50 At first Lucy was a little perplexed, and looked questioningly at her mum. So far as she knew, only her PE kit was in the bag, nothing else. “I’m not angry with you lovey, so please don’t worry about getting into any kind of trouble, because you’re not. It really would help if you told me the truth though, then I’ll know what’s happened and will be able to try to help.” Lesley spoke in a soothing, gentle voice. She really wanted to be able to talk to her daughter properly about this, but needed Lucy to open up to her if that was going to be possible. In a moment of horror, Lucy had almost a flashback, recalling the scene earlier in the day when her and Becky had been stood in the office with Mrs Johnson. The secretary had passed her a bag…and she’d secreted it in her PE bag, with every intention of taking care of it when she’d gotten home. But then she’d been sidetracked with Jack’s stupid TV show. With dawning realisation, Lucy cried out “Mum, I can explain, honest!”, feeling the heat of shame and embarrassment once more rising in her face, and hearing her voice break as she spoke. “I…erm…well, as you know, I felt asleep again this morning, I was just so very tired. And then when you woke me up, it was all a big rush, and I was starting so I didn’t want to skip breakfast. I had to choose, and in the end I skipped going to the bathroom instead. I’m sorry Mum, I know that was silly, especially after everything that’s happened this week. Anyway, because it was sports day and we were all outside, I still didn’t get a chance to go to the loo, but I was drinking loads of water because of the heat. And then at lunchtime there was a massive queue in the toilets, and I thought I was going to have an accident, so I ran to the office and asked Mrs Johnson if I could go there before I wee’d myself again . She let me, of course, and I made it to the toilet, but I was in such a rush I forgot to pull my undies down with my shorts, and…and, oh I know I’m such a baby mummy, but I did a wee in them and they got all wet.” And with that Lucy broke down in floods of tears, utterly mortified that she’d had to admit her shame to her mum. “Oh sweetheart, please don’t cry. Like I said, you’re not in any trouble, none at all. Thank you for telling me, I’m sorry that happened to you. Is that what’s happened before, with the undies I’ve found under your bed, you’ve got there in time but just not managed to get them down?” Poor Lucy looked up at her Mum, eyes red and puffy and tears streaking her cheeks, and nodded sadly. “I know sometimes I wait too long, but today it really wasn’t my fault, the queue wasn’t moving. And I wasn’t even the only one, at least I only got my pants wet, not my PE shorts. That would have been super embarrassing!” “Oh dear, the doesn’t sound good at all. Maybe the school should have thought about that and kept some toilets open for you all? Hopefully they’ll learn from this…just like you’ll be able to learn not to skip going to the bathroom in the morning before school. I hope that doesn’t mean you didn’t brush your teeth either, young lady?” Lucy smiled sheepishly. “Sorry Mum, I was just so comfy in bed! Don’t worry though, I’ll never do that again, it nearly went very, very wrong and would have been a disaster if I’d ended up like poor Lottie.” “Lottie?” Lesley asked, interested. It wasn’t a name she recognised as being one of Lucy’s friends “Oh, that’s the little girl who had a proper accident in the line for the toilet. Poor thing, her leggings were soaked and everything. I saw her at the office when I was…ahem, getting changed. But she’s only in the infants, so she got away with it really. And she’s super cute too, she was cheering for me in my race afterwards.” Lesley nodded and smiled. “You’ve always had a way with the young ones, you have. Right little pied piper, I wouldn’t be surprised if you went on to become a teacher like your old Mum. Now, thank you for being honest with me and not trying to cover it up. I’m sure you’ve learned a valuable lesson out of what happened, so I’ll say no more about it. Just please, please be careful. I’d hate for you to end up in an embarrassing situation again, as I saw how much all of that teasing upset you the other day.” Sliding across the sofa to give Lesley a quick hug, Lucy whispered “Thanks Mum, you’re amazing, I love you so much. And…I know I was silly about it, but thank you for making me take in those clothes. I’m so very glad I had them today.” And with that she planted the gentlest of kisses on her mum’s cheek. “That’s what us Mum’s are here for love, always thinking ahead and planning for things that’ll never happen. I’ll pop a fresh pair in your bag for you for Monday, you can either leave them there if you like, or drop them at the office again, whichever you’re most comfortable with. Don’t worry, I know they’ll never, ever be needed. But ‘just in case’.” And she returned the affectionate kiss, this time on the tip of Lucy’s nose. Chapter 51 It didn’t take long for Jack to come back down stairs, ashamed of the way he had behaved, and apologising to both Lucy and his Mum. He was always bit tired and cranky after school, but sports day had made him worse! “It’s ok squirt, just don’t do it again yeah.” Lucy cuffed him gently, but smiled as she did so, reassuring him that it was forgotten about. “C’mon, jump back on here next to me whilst Mum’s fixing dinner, and I’ll even let you pick what we’re going to watch.” Grinning, Jack curled back up next to Lucy and willingly took the TV remote, flicking through loads of kids channels before finally settling on a cute animal cartoon. It wasn’t a new one, in fact it was something Lucy remembered watching years ago when she was tiny, and she still secretly loved it just as much now as she had back then. Within moments they were both transfixed, completely engrossed in the story, and even jumping at the ‘scary’ bits and shouting out too. Lesley heard this excitement from the kitchen where she was busy cooking, and popped a head around the door, laughing to herself as she saw her two young children clearly enjoying themselves, the previous rift all but forgotten. By the time there dinner of sausages and mash was ready, the cartoon was almost finished, and not wanting to interrupt Lesley didn’t call them through to the kitchen to eat, but instead stood again in the doorway and watched the last couple of minutes along with them. It was a bit of a sad ending, and she was amazed to see that Lucy had her face buried in Jack’s top by the end, not wanting to watch what was happening. Jack, being a typical boy, didn’t show much emotion but she could see he had taken it all in. “Wow, that was a bit of a tough ending, wasn’t it guys.” Lesley called from behind them. “Are you both ok?” Jack nodded, but didn’t smile, deep in thought. And Lucy had clearly been quite moved by what she’d just seen unfolding on the screen. “That was sad, mummy” she answered in a small voice “I don’t like unhappy endings.” A they stood to walk into the kitchen to eat, Jack surreptitiously slipped an arm around Lucy’s waist, and Lesley felt a lump rising in her throat as she witnessed this. They really were good, kind hearted kids, and she was proud of them both. The prospect of sausages and mash, followed by a secret pudding, soon lightened the mood, and by the time they were seated at the table everybody was laughing and smiling again, excited for the weekend and their big plans. Well, both children were excited at any rate, Lesley was admittedly a little apprehensive about the prospect of 2 hugely overexcitable 7 year olds bouncing around her house all weekend, but then the weather forecast was looking good, so with a bit of luck they’d be outside a lot of the time. She’d even thought about trying to plan a trip somewhere too, although it was a bit last minute. She’d have a look later when things calmed down a bit. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow then Lucy, do you need dropping off over at Emily’s?” “No Mum, don’t worry, Becky’s mum is going to pick me up on the way, they’ve got to drive past here anyway, and it means you haven’t got to worry about getting Jack and Tom into the car too.” Lesley nodded, seeing that even with practicalities like this Lucy was always thinking of others, and it warmed her heart. “Thanks love, that’s really thoughtful of you. Do you know what time they’re coming?” “Not a clue, but I’ll text Becks now and find out. Then I really need to go and get my stuff packed, I haven’t even thought about what I’m going to take!” “Okie doke, let me know what she says, just so I can make plans. And before you start packing, can you do your reading homework please? You don’t want to be rushing it on Sunday night when you get home, tired and cranky.” Rolling her eyes, Lucy quickly retorted “I’m not Jack, Mum! I don’t get ‘tired and cranky’. But yeah I’ll do my reading, don’t want to have to worry about it at the end of the weekend.” “That sounded pretty cranky to me young lady, for somebody who doesn’t do ‘tired and cranky’ anyway.” This was delivered deadpan, but with a twinkle in the eye, reassuring Lucy that her Mum was just winding her up. Trudging off upstairs, Lucy first dropped her bestie a quick message to confirm the plans for the following day, and then settled down on her bed with the school reading book she was currently working through. Homework bored her, but she had always loved to read, so it wasn’t really a chore as far as she was concerned. She knew that there were only a few chapters left, and she was hoping to finish the story before the end of the school year. Within minutes she was lost in the fantasy world, flicking pages completely oblivious to the ‘real world’ around her, until a loud ting from her bedside table pulled her back to reality, Becky had replied. ‘Hey Luce, Mum said can we come get you early? She’s spoke to Em’s mum and we can be dropped off before lunch x’ Lucy could resist breaking into a wide smile, her sleepover had just turned into a full day adventure. Plus there would probably only be the 3 of them there until later on in the afternoon, so they could have load of fun before the others arrived. ‘Yay! That’s great, thanks Becks. I’ll tell mum now. Can’t wait x x’ Setting her reading book aside on her bed, Lucy jumped from her bed and ran out onto the landing, nearly tripping over a toy that Jack had left spread out everywhere, and stubbing her toe painfully in the process. “Oooooow! Jack, can’t you ever put anything away, that really hurt!” Before realising the irony of her comments, as she turned to close her bedroom door behind her and saw all of her possessions spread across every inch of the floor. “Mum, mum! Mummmmmmy! Becky’s picking me up after breakfast in the morning, so we can spend all day with Emily before the sleepover. Yaaaaaaay! I can’t wait.” Lesley was relaxing in the lounge with her feet up and a glass of wine on the table next to her. Knowing that she had Tom to look after the following night, she wouldn’t drink then, so thought she’d treat herself tonight before the chaos of the weekend. She’d just been starting to nod off when she heard her daughters excited squeals from upstairs, followed by elephant like thundering down the stairs. “Woah, woah, calm it down. That’s great, thanks love, I’ll be able to plan something to keep Jack and Tom out of mischief now. Have you done your reading?” “Yes Mum, I’ve read 4 more chapters, and there are only 6 left in the book. I’ll easily finish it next week. Maybe even later, t’s a really good story and I can’t wait to find out how it ends.” Lesley was so glad that her kids both had a love of books, she felt this was so very important, and as a teacher knew just how much it would help their future learning. “Well done. Go on then, go and get your things together and packed into a bag to take with you, before it gets too late. You need to have a bath or a shower too before bed, as there probably won’t be time in the morning. Back in her bedroom Lucy found a pink wheelie case which she thought would be perfect for the weekend. Then came an hour long fashion parade, as she tried on just about every item of clothing in her wardrobe. Eventually she settled on a summer dress, shorts and a sparkly top, a pair of really cool skinny jeans and her favourite t-shirt, her swimming costume, and both a nightie and a pair of purple unicorn pyjamas, just because she didn’t know which the others would be wearing, and the last thing she wanted was to be uncool with the wrong thing. She also threw in some fancy hair clips and her makeup, as there was sure to be a makeover session involved. And, embarrassed though she’d be if any of her friends saw, she snuck her teddy bear inside the sleeping bag which she was packing on top. She’d be able to cuddle him under the covers without anybody seeing. As an afterthought, she picked up some sandals which would go with her shorts and her dress, a couple of pairs of socks and a pair of undies for the Sunday. Then, blushing slightly at the memories of the past week, she hastily shoved two more pairs of undies into her bag. She knew there was no way they’d be needed. She’d die of shame if anything like that happened, but ‘just in case’. END OF PART 1

Chapter 31 Both girls turned apprehensively to look behind them, surprised to see Daniel standing there clutching his rucksack and looking rather sheepish. Apart from his comments yesterday, and the message she’d received from him this morning, Lucy couldn’t remember the last time she’s spoken to him, just because they tended to mix in different circles. And as for Becky, in truth she didn’t think she’d ever chatted with him, again for no reason other than their paths hadn’t really crossed. “Oh, hi Daniel” Lucy answered coyly. “Sure, what do you say Becks?” Noticing her friends smile and the sudden chance in tone, Becky smirked before confirming that she was indeed fine with him joining them too. After the horrible day and night Lucy had, anything to make her happy was fine by her! The lesson was soon underway, and as the teacher was talking from the board there was little opportunity for the three to talk and get to know each other better, other than a few whispered snippets. Eventually, however, they were set a task to work on, and as luck would have it the teacher had chosen a group work task. “I..I hope you don’t think I’m odd, suddenly wanting to sit with you. It’s just, we’ve never really chatted much and you both seem like really nice girls.” Now it was Daniel’s turn to blush. “I’m really sorry about what happened to you yesterday, and I guess I wanted to show you that we’re not all idiots who’d make fun of you for something out of your control.” “Thanks Daniel. Yesterday was tough, but I just want to forget about it now. Thanks for your kind words, and your message too.” Lucy smiled as she said this, but hoped he got the message that she really didn’t want yet another discussion about yesterdays events, even if it was obviously well meant. As they worked on the exercise they’d been set, plenty of smalltalk flowed easily between the three of them, and they soon discovered that they had plenty in common, well, for two girls and a boy anyway. Similar tastes in music, they all watched the same rubbish TV shows, and, surprisingly, they also had a friend in common which none of them had actually realised. Well, Lucy and Becky’s friend, but Daniel’s cousin…Emily! “Wow, I didn’t realise you were Emily’s Cousin, Dan!” Becky was shocked, as she’d been close friends with Emily for a while, although they’d never really talked about their extended families now that she thought about it. They knew each other’s annoying brothers and sisters of course, but that was about it.” “Yeah, we’ve been cousins for, like, 11 years now. Hahahahah.” “Very funny!” Lucy retorted, giving him a friendly dig in the side. “Well, we know where to come for the dirt on her now, before the big sleepover, eh.” “Oh, are you guys going to her birthday sleepover? Cool.” “Yeah, well we are if Lucy here doesn’t get herself grounded before then, anyway. How about you Dan, you going to be there?” Daniel suddenly looked and felt very uncomfortable, as he squirmed a little and tried to come up with a convincing answer. In truth, no, he definitely wouldn’t be there, and nothing on earth could convince him otherwise. But he couldn’t very well say that, they’d only tell Emily and then it would cause a big row. “Em did ask me, but nah probably not, I mean it’s going to be full of girls isn’t it. No offence of course, but hair and makeup, and my little pony stuff really isn’t for me!” Now it was Becky’s turn to give him a firm smack. “Excuse me! We’re not 5 you know. Hmph!” “Sorry, sorry! I know, only winding you up. Although Em does still have a…no, she’d kill me. Forget I said anything. But it’s definitely not me scene I’m afraid, sure you wouldn’t want a dumb boy there cramping your style anyway.” Lucy and Becky looked at each other, then at Daniel in astonishment, before saying together in perfect unison “What does Emily still have?” Dan was resolute, however, that he couldn’t say, and that they’d have to to ask her, although to keep his name out of it or she’d never talk to him again. Realising they were getting nowhere, the girls changed tack and instead focussed on getting him to join them at the sleepover. He may be a boy, but he seemed good fun so far. By the end of the class, Dan was sick of hearing about the sleepover! He wished he’d never brought the subject up now, as he realised that he was never going to hear the end of it. Being an only child, he wasn’t used to having young girls nagging at him all time time, and he could see why some of his mates were so easily worn down by their siblings. He almost found himself agreeing to go, but no, he couldn’t do that. There was just no way. It wasn’t possible. He didn’t do sleepovers, period. In the end, to get them off his back, he agreed to think about it. At least, he thought, that gave him a bit of time to come up with an excuse, and to get his Mum on side to back him up – maybe they’d have to go out of town, or he’d have an appointment or something. He wasn’t sure yet, but he had to come up with something. Chapter 32 At lunchtime, Lucy joined her group of friends out on the yard, and as expected was on the receiving end of plenty of good humoured ribbing about her accident the day before. She was pleased, however, that it didn’t go beyond friendly teasing, and after a few minutes she was no longer the centre of attention, as the conversation moved on to more important matters, such as birthday sleepovers! Both Lucy and Becky raised the subject of Daniel attending, but Emily was quick to dismiss it, and quite defensive too they thought, which was a little odd. The other girls, not really knowing Daniel, were perplexed both by them wanting him there, and also by their friends defensive answers. Something about it all just seemed a bit odd, but nobody could put their finger on what it was. As it was clearly going nowhere, that was another topic which didn’t last long, and the group soon found themselves chatting about what mischief they’d get up to. Make up and hair did of course feature heavily, although fortunately My Little Pony didn’t crop up in conversation…both Becky and Lucy would no doubt have dissolved into giggles had it been discussed. Their lunch break, as ever, seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye, with Lucy glancing at her watch and remarking “Nearly time to go and face Mrs Moss. What a rotten way to end the day!”. Becky laughed, and then turned to her friend with a serious look on her face. “You have done the homework assignment this time, haven’t you? Please say you have, I don’t think I could take a re-run of yesterday.” “Of course I’ve done it! I’m not that daft, she’d eat me alive if I turned up without it after having an extra night. And there will NEVER, EVER, EVER be a re-run of yesterday. That’s not happening, no matter what.” Smirking, Becky simply replied “Well, if you’d done it in the first place, yesterday wouldn’t have happened at all.” Which caused her friend to roll her eyes and groan in exasperation. Grabbing her backpack, Lucy stood and whispered to Becky that she was nipping to the loo before the next lesson. This caused Becky to state, wide-eyed, until Lucy muttered under her breath “Like I said, I’m not taking ANY chances!” and beckoned her friend to join her. The rest of the afternoon passed relatively uneventfully, with the only highlight for Lucy being the smug satisfaction she took in being the first in the class to hand Mrs Moss’ homework in, and seeing the look of shock on the teachers face, clearly disappointed that she’d been deprived of the opportunity to dish out punishment. It almost made up for the humiliation she’d suffered the day before, but not quite. As the school bell rang to signal the end of the day, Lucy packed up her things and, bidding goodbye to her friends, made yet another pitstop at the girls toilets. It was getting more than a little irritating now, but she was determined not to take any more chances after what had happened. Plus, she had to admit, it would be nice to walk home without feeling uncomfortable, and even nicer not to have to make a mad dash to the loo when she got through the door and pray that she’d make it. Business taken care of, she met her brother Jack out on the playground, and they began the walk home together as usual. Once out of earshot of everybody else, Jack made an exaggerated point of looking her up and down before remarking in a surprised tone “Didn’t wet yourself today then Luce? See, you’re a big girl now!” Before bursting into laughter and running away Even Lucy herself couldn’t hold back a giggle, although it came complete with a blush, and she chased her brother until she caught him and attacked him with tickles. She was glad he’d waited until they were on their own to say it, but had to admit it was quite funny. All in all, a much happier and more carefree end to the school day than yesterday, and Lucy was in a much better mood as a result. As they walked along, as usual her phone was in front of her eyes, and mischievously she couldn’t resist sending a message to Dan saying ‘Go on, you know you want to come!’ Arriving home, Lucy proudly took her front door key out and let them in. Usually at this point she’d throw her bag on the floor and sprint up the stairs like her life depended on it, usually with Jack following not far behind. Today, however, she took her time removing her shoes as their Mum always told them to (not that they ever usually listened) and then headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of juice. Jack couldn’t quite believe his luck as he ran to the empty bathroom, sure Lucy would be right behind him and banging on the door any second. Having taken care of him business, he pulled out a reading book and made himself comfortable behind the bathroom door, determined to get one over on his sister for failing to hide his clothes the day before like she’d promised. But he was in for a very long wait, as Lucy had sat herself down in front of the TV with her drink. Chapter 33 Soon engrossed in her TV show, Lucy didn’t notice that Jack had disappeared. It’s not like they usually sat together anyway, normally she’d have dashed upstairs when they got home, and he’d have been the one hogging the TV, so it made a nice change to sit and chill for a bit before worrying about homework and the like. Half an hour or so passed, with the TV show ending and another which didn’t really interest her taking its place. Realising she’d finished her juice, she was just thinking about getting up to refill her glass when her phone tinged. It was a text from her Mum, reminding her that she’d be home late that evening as she had a late meeting to attend. Lucy had forgotten, but thinking about it that explained why she’d not been dressed for work when she’d dropped them off that morning, she must have been going in late. Yeah, that made sense, she knew that the high school where her Mum worked had an inset day, so she’d probably gone in for the afternoon if she was working late. A few seconds later, another text popped up, again from her Mum, this time reminding her to get changed out of her school uniform, and to get her brother to do the same. Rolling her eyes, she heaved herself from the comfort of the sofa and began making her way upstairs, calling into the kitchen for a refill as she passed. “Oi, Jack, Mum said get changed!” Lucy bellowed as she walked along the hallway. As she shouted, she realised she hadn’t seen him since they got home. “Where are you anyway? You’d best not be getting into anything, or Mum will blame me!” Worn out from his long day at school, and bored waiting for Lucy, Jack had dozed off behind the bathroom door, with his reading book open in his lap. Hearing his sister shouting so loudly, he jolted awake with a start, wondering for a moment why he was slumped on the bathroom floor, before remembering his cunning plan as he came around. Damn, he thought to himself, it hadn’t worked, and he knew he couldn’t hide in the bathroom all night. Resigned to defeat, he jumped to his feet and opened the door, making his way to his bedroom to get changed before Mum got home and he got told off, again. Entering his bedroom, Jack was surprised to see that the curtains were open, letting bright sunlight steam in. He knew he’d not opened them that morning, even though he’d been told too. More surprising, however, was the fact his bed had been changed and he now had his favourite Turtles bedding on it. He knew that Mum usually changed it every couple of weeks (unless he’d had an accident, but he didn’t do that anymore, so there was never any need any other time), but not realising ask Lucy had that she’d had the morning off work, he was perplexed as to when she’d had time to come home and do all of this. As he took the scene in, he also noticed a pile of clean laundry at the foot of the bed, waiting to be put away. And on top of the pile? His school trousers and undies from yesterday! How had they gotten there? Next door, Lucy had a similar shock to find her curtains open. She’d deliberately left them closed, because it helped to hide some of the mess…and also because she didn’t want the sunlight highlighting her bed, which had been stripped bare when she’d left for school that morning. But she now realised that it was no longer stripped, but had been made back up in some of her favourite purple teddy bedding. She must have been right about Mum coming home again that morning after all, and she wasn’t sorry that her shame had been so quickly covered up. A quick glance around also told her that most of her laundry had been taken, and with a little skip of her heart she also realised that Jack’s clothes that had been found and left near the door were gone too. In a way it was a relief, as she hoped it would now be forgotten about without any need for awkward explanations, but at the same time she really hoped their Mum hadn’t noticed anything amiss. At almost the same moment, both Lucy and Jack sat down on their beds with a bounce, ready get changed as their Mum had asked. And at that precise moment there came a shout from each of their bedrooms…a shout of joy from Jack, and a cry of despair from Lucy. Chapter 34 Jack couldn’t contain his excitement, and bounced up and down on his bed whilst whooping with joy. He’d nagged his Mum for months, but she’d never taken him seriously. Now, all of a sudden, it seemed she’d given in, and he had no idea why. Not that he was going to complain of course, in fact he couldn’t wait to share the news of his good fortune. Lucy meanwhile sat and sobbed, hardly believing this was happening. She was devastated. The spare clothes for school were bad enough, but how could her Mum do this to her? Didn’t she realise that last night was a one off, it was NEVER EVER going to happen again. It had never happened before, and she still couldn’t quite believe it had happened even once, but there was no way it could possibly happen again. Never. As she sat and cried, she could hear Jack practically wetting himself with excitement in the next room, and was wondering what on earth had gotten into him. The last thing she needed was to hear him laughing and whooping, didn’t he realise her world was ending? Actually, no, he didn’t, and she fully intended to keep it that way! “Jack, keep it down will you? And hurry up and get changed, Mum will be home soon.” There was no answer, but the bouncing did stop, so she presumed he’d heard her and was getting himself sorted. Taking the opportunity, she slid off her bed and pulled back the corner of the sheets, just to make sure she was right. She immediately wished she hadn’t, as she was right, and seeing it for herself just made her feel even worse. Without warning, there was a shout from behind her “Did’ya call me sis?” Jumping almost out of her skin, and in a panic trying to cover up her bed but only succeeding in drawing more attention to it, Lucy bellowed “Out! Get out!” As she spun around to face the bedroom door, but it was too late. “Hahahahahaha!! Why have you got a plastic sheet on your bed Lucy, are you a baby now? Hahahaha! Guess what, Mum has taken mine off because I don’t wet the bed anymore. Why’ve you got one, you don’t…” Lucy blushed furiously, her entire face turning scarlet, and the tears which seemed to be ever-present over the past couple of days began to fall once more. She just knew she was never, ever going to hear the end of this. And if what Jack had said was true, and his had been taken off, then that really did make her the baby in the house, didn’t it? She just couldn’t bare to think about it, everything had gone wrong, and it all just kept getting worse. “Wait a minute.” Jack was grinning mischievously now. “It’s all starting to make sense. The screaming, the bath running in the middle of the night, your bed being stripped and you sleeping in with Mum. You did, you wet the bed didn’t you Luce? Wow! Even I’m not a little baby that does that any more…and you’re 11!” He may only be 7, but Jack knew exactly which buttons to press and exactly what to say. Lucy was crushed. She was such a proud girl, and being seen as ‘grown up’ was everything to her. Now even her own baby brother was more grown up than she was, and both of them knew it. “I said GET OUT NOW!” This time the bellow was tinged with a menacing scream, and even fearless Jack didn’t dare stick around to find out what she’d do to him if he didn’t comply. Turning tail and running for the safety of his bedroom, he left behind an inconsolable Lucy, who could no nothing more than lie on her bed and cry, tears of anger, tears of frustration, tears of absolute mortification. When she eventually calmed down and her sobs subsided, Lucy realised that she was still lying in her school uniform. Pulling herself up to her feet, she quickly undressed and, heading for her wardrobe, made a point of selecting the most ‘grown up’ outfit she owned, determined to make a point that she wasn’t a baby, whatever Jack and even her Mum thought. Tightening her belt, she glanced in the mirror. Perfect, she easily looked a year or two older than her real age, exactly what she was after. Not that she was going anywhere, but she had a point to prove. The next couple of hours passed without further incident, with Jack playing in his bedroom, beaming from ear to ear and genuinely feeling that all of his Christmas’s had come at one, and Lucy moping about in her room, totally downcast and struggling even to engage with her friends as they gossiped by text. Her heart just wasn’t in it. Before long she heard her Mum’s car sweeping into the driveway outside their house, and steeled herself for a particularly awkward conversation. “Hi Lucy, Hi Jack. I’m home, sorry I’m so late.” Chapter 35 Hearing his Mum arrive home, and excited to thank her, Jack leapt to his feet and sprinted down the stairs to greet her in the hallway, throwing his arms around her and almost knocking her off balance as he did so. “Wow, somebody’s excited to see me! Did you have a good day in school today buddy?” Lesley laughed as she hugged her excited son. “Yes Mummy it was great, we did painting and music, and miss said my painting was the best in the whole class and has put it up on the wall next to her desk.” “That’s great, well done Jack!” “Better than that though, I got home and found somebody had changed my bed, and taken the horrible crinkly plastic sheet away! Was it you Mummy? Is it because I’m a big boy now and I don’t need it because I don’t wee in my bed anymore?” Lesley chuckled again at this. She knew Jack would be pleased, he’d been nagging her about it for weeks now, but she’d always thought it best to keep it there ‘just in case’. As last night proved, anything could happen. “Yes sweetie, I had the morning off work so caught up with a few chores around the house. I thought you’d be pleased, but don’t you let me down now, I can’t afford to buy any new mattresses, so don’t be drinking too much before you go to bed and let’s not have any more accidents ok?” “Muuuuum, you know I don’t wet the bed anymore, I’m not a baby! But are you going to have to buy Lucy a new mattress now? Is that why she’s got my plastic sheet?” Lesley groaned to herself, she was really hoping that Jack wouldn’t find out about his sister’s little mishap, but it sounded like it was too late for that, and if Jack knew then that meant Lucy probably knew about the sheet. “Come on now love, let’s not talk about that. I’m sure Lucy’s feeling bad enough about what happened. Accidents happen, you know that, and Lucy’s never made fun of you any time you’ve had one, so let’s leave that conversation right there, ok?” “Sorry Mum.” Jack felt suitably chastened, and realised he shouldn’t push his luck any further. His Mum had at least confirmed what he’d suspected though, blimey that meant Lucy had wet herself in school yesterday AND wet her bed last night too. No wonder she was so upset. Upstairs, Lucy had heard her Mum arriving home, but really didn’t want to speak to her right now. She was so upset, and so angry both about the clothes and also the bed, and she knew she’d get herself into trouble if she started shouting at her Mum about it. After all, although she really didn’t want to admit it even to herself, she had wet herself twice yesterday, so her Mum was probably only taking reasonable precautions. But she wasn’t a baby, and she didn’t like being treated like one either! Sitting on her bed, every time she moved she heard the crinkle of the plastic sheet, and it upset her even more. It just wasn’t fair, and she wasn’t going to stand for it. Eventually she worked herself up so much that she jumped up, threw her duvet and sheet on the floor, and scrunched offending protector up into a ball, throwing it out of her door and onto the landing. There, she thought to herself, that was that! She wasn’t a baby, she wasn’t a bedwetter she wasn’t sleeping on a stupid plastic bedwetter sheet, and she didn’t care what her Mum thought or said about it. Having settled Jack at the kitchen table with a snack to keep him going until dinner was ready, Lesley steeled herself to talk to Lucy. She knew it was going to be a difficult chat, and no doubt a pre-teen tantrum was in the offing, but it had to be dealt with, and she knew that she was being fair and reasonable given the circumstances, she just needed to convince her young daughter of that. Not an easy task, she was sure, but she meant what she’d said to Jack, she really couldn’t afford to replace any mattresses that got ruined. Trudging up the stairs, she turned onto the landing and the first thing she saw was the waterproof plastic sheet, screwed up onto a ball and sat right outside Lucy’s door. “Lucy Melissa Daniels! What on earth do you think you are playing at? Come out here right now and explain yourself, young lady.” Lesley had seen red, and she bellowed through to the bedroom. A bit of pre-teen attitude was one thing, but this. No, this she wouldn’t stand for. Chapter 36 Downstairs, Jack had heard his mum’s shouts, and scampered to the foot of the stairs to find out what the commotion was all about. He knew mum never shouted, so Lucy must have done something really bad. Lucy too had heard, and cringed as she did. She knew she was for it, and she couldn’t remember a time when her Mum had sounded more angry than she did right now. But she was still angry too, so instead of going out to see her on the landing, Lucy just bellowed back. “LEAVE ME ALONE! I don’t want to talk to YOU!” At the foot of the stairs, Jack gasped in shock and horror. He couldn’t believe Lucy had dared to speak to their mum like that, and he was dreading what was going to happen next. Lesley too was in shock, neither of her kids had ever spoken to her like that. It took her a few moments to compose herself so that she didn’t fly off the handle and do something she would probably regret later, but eventually she walked calmly into Lucy’s bedroom, picking up the mattress protector as she passed, and closed the door to behind her. Approaching the bed where Lucy lay, she very calmly but firmly placed the plastic sheet down next to her daughter. “Lucy, I will not allow you to speak to me like that, do you understand? Whether you like it or not, I am our mother and deserve to be treated with respect. For all you are growing up, you are a child and whilst you are living in my house you will follow my rules.” This was delivered in a low, slow whisper, leaving absolutely no doubt whatsoever that she meant every word. She didn’t need to raise her voice, it was clear that she was furious. “Now, I suggest you get up, remove your bedding and put this protector back where you found it. Then, when you’ve remade your bed, perhaps we can have a sensible talk about why you are behaving in this way?” Lucy began to tremble, she’d never known her Mum to be so angry, and it frightened her. She’d almost rather have her shouting at her than this, at least she knew where she stood with that. As she turned to face Lesley, her resolve crumbled and pent up tears of frustration fell. “Oh Mum, I’m so so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I didn’t…” And with that, she threw her arms around her Mum and sobbed into her shoulder, all of the anger, upset, humiliation and worry she’d felt over the past couple of days pouring out of her. Lesley’s heart melted, how could she be angry with her young daughter when she was clearly so upset and going through so much turmoil? It must be bad enough to be 11, nearly a teenager, without everything that had happened the past couple of days on top. The poor love, now she felt bad about shouting and making her so upset. She knew she’d had every right to be annoyed, but now she just felt like she’d made everything worse. “Why has all this happened mummy? I’m not a baby, why did I have to wet myself? Now everybody makes fun of me. And then I wet the bed too, an even Jack thinks I’m a baby.” All of this was choked out between sobs which showed no signs of abating. “Sssshhh B…” Lesley had to stop herself, her natural reaction to say baby just didn’t seem appropriate. “Come on sweetheart, try to calm down, you’re going to make yourself sick if you carry on crying like that. “M..mm..um, why did you send that bag of clothes into school with me? Do you not trust me not to have another accident? Even Jack doesn’t have to have a change of clothes. And then when I came home and you’d put Jack’s bedwetting sheet on my bed, I couldn’t believe it. It’s never happened before Mum, it was just an accident, I promise. I don’t need to be treated like a baby, I’m a big girl, I’m going to high school soon!” “Oh love, dry your eyes and let’s sit and have a proper talk, shall we?” Lesley grabbed the box of tissues from Lucy’s bedside table and passed them over to her. “Look ,sweetie, I didn’t want to embarrass you, but I know it’s not happened just that once. Well, in bed maybe. But, and please don’t get upset again, I know you’ve had a few more accidents. Sometimes when I’ve come into your room to collect your laundry I’ve found some clothes under your bed which were wet. Please don’t worry about it lovely, accidents happen and I understand that, which is why I hadn’t said anything to you. I’d be lying if I said it had never happened to me. But with it happening in school too, I thought it was best that you had some clothes there ‘just in case’, as I know you were ashamed of having to wear that dress yesterday.” Lucy felt her whole world collapse around her. Her mum KNEW! Oh, if she thought she’d felt mortified before, that was nothing to this. She just sat in abject shock, wide eyed and unable to look at her Mum. She couldn’t believe this, it just couldn’t be real. How could she talk her way out of this, how could she explain this away? “Now then Lucy, do you want to talk to me about what’s been happening? If you’re not ready yet, that’s fine, I can go and sort dinner and we can have a chat again later. But it may help to talk to me, and I may be able to help you if you do. Lucy still couldn’t take all of this in, and the very last thing she wanted to do was to talk about any of it. What 11 year old girl would want to talk to her mum about wetting herself like a little baby? Even if it was her own fault, she knew that, she didn’t have a ‘problem’ that made her wet herself, she just seemed to end up doing it because she hadn’t gone to the toilet when she’d had the chance at school. But there was no way she could ever talk to her mum about that. She’d die of embarrassment, even more than she already was doing now. Slowly she just shook her head and then turned back away from her Mum, lying back down facing the bedroom wall, hoping this made it clear she didn’t want to talk. Lesley realised that she needed to give her daughter some space, so she gave her a gentle kiss on the top of the head before making her way slowly out of the room. “I’ll be downstairs if you want me, love, come and find me when you’re ready to talk. Try not to worry, it will all be ok, I promise.” Chapter 37 Hearing his mum leaving Lucy’s room and beginning to descend the stairs, Jack made a quick dash back to the kitchen. As it happens, he’d not heard much after the shouts they’d exchanged, so he was still left wondering, but no way would he be brave enough to ask mum what had happened. Lesley was shaken, she knew she’d needed to broach the subject with Lucy, but had hoped it would go much better than it had. She’d meant what she’d said, accidents really didn’t matter, and they could be dealt with. Chances are it was just a combination of her recent growth spurt and the stress of her SATs at school, and would soon pass. She’d thought the spare clothes and the plastic sheet had been reasonable precautions, and had hoped Lucy would have seen that and dealt with it like a grown up, but at the end of the day she was still an 11 year old girl, maybe the practicalities were all just a bit too much for her. In something of a daze, she headed back into the kitchen and began to prepare pasta for dinner, knowing that both Jack and Lucy would enjoy this without any fuss. It was only as she turned to the fridge to grab some ingredients that she noticed the open washing machine, and realised she’d forgotten to gather the school uniforms to wash. “Jack, love, if you’ve finished your drink could you do me a big favour please?” Jack smiled at his mum, happy to help. “What is it mummy, what do you need?” “Could you run upstairs and grab yours and Lucy’s school clothes for me to wash please? And try not to disturb Lucy, she’s a bit upset and just needs some time on her own. Thanks love.” Jack took his mum literally, sprinting from the table and sliding the length of the hallway in his socked feet. “Jack! Slow down before you break something…probably yourself! Honestly, I didn’t mean literally run you know.” Lesley chuckled, she should have expected that really. Climbing the stairs at a slightly more sedate pace, Jack reached his own bedroom first, and bundled together the shirt, trousers and sweater he’d scattered across his floor earlier. As he did, he was pleased that there hadn’t been a repeat of yesterday’s incident, as that could have been difficult to hide, and he was quite enjoying being the ‘grown up’ sibling at the moment, the one who could keep his pants and bed dry. Satisfied that he had everything, and unable to resist temptation any longer, Jack then made his way next door to Lucy’s bedroom and knocked smartly on the door. There was no reply, but Jack knew better than to walk in without being invited, he’d made that mistake in the past and it inevitably resulted either in him being chased by a furious Lucy, or even worse him seeing far more than he wanted to if she was in the middle of getting changed. “Lucy, mum wants me to take your stuff down to wash.” He listened intently with his ear at the door, but again there was no answering call. Instead, he thought he could hear the sound of gentle sobbing, and against his better judgement he tentatively turned the door handle and slowly opened the door just slightly, calling through in a more gentle voice “Luce, are you ok? What’s the matter?” “Please leave me alone! You’ll only make fun of me again. It’s just not fair!” came Lucy’s watery, muffled response, her face buried in her pillow. Now it was Jack’s turn to feel sorry, he realised Lucy was having a really bad time and he probably hadn’t helped with his silliness earlier. Lucy had always been there for him, even if she was an annoying big sister most of the time, she’d been there when he was sad and he needed her. She’d never laughed at him when he was hurt or even, in the past, when he’d had little accidents of his own. Dropping his bundle of clothes, he snuck in through the partially open door and crept over to her bed, kneeling down next to it. “I’m sorry Luce, I didn’t mean to be mean to you. Please don’t be mad at me, I won’t tell anybody what’s happened, promise.” Lucy listened to this little speech. She wasn’t used to her little brother showing a sensitive side, not because he was horrible, but because after all he’s only 7 and doesn’t usually think about other people’s feelings before he speaks, but his words really touched her. She lifted her face out of the pillow and turned to look at him, all link and puffy from crying. “You won’t tell anybody? Pinky swear?” She knew it was childish, but somehow she thought it would help, so she help out her little finger and Jack wrapped his around it. “Pinky swear sis. Come on, don’t cry anymore, it’s really not that bad. Guess what? Mum’s making meatballs and pasta for dinner! Come on, race you downstairs.” Lucy’s eyes welled up again, but it was a different type of tears this time. Tears of gratitude to her younger brother who, despite being so annoying sometimes, had just proven what a lovely young man he really was. Taking his outstretched hand, Lucy uncurled herself from her bed and allowed him to lead her out of the bedroom, stopping to collect their respective bundles of laundry as they did so. She wasn’t quite up to racing and Jack realised that, but they walked down to the kitchen together, causing Lesley to do quite a double take as they walked in, hand in hand. Honestly, kids, she’d worked with them all her life and had her own for nearly 12 years, but she still didn’t understand them! Chapter 38 Well, this is a surprise, you two being nice to each other for once! First time for everything though I suppose” Lesley chuckled, but she was glad to see Lucy had joined them, and that she was looking far happier than earlier. “Thanks for bringing your washing down kids, can you throw it into the washer for me please whilst I finish putting dinner out?”  Both of the children nodded, and padded over to the machine, throwing their dirty clothes in before taking their places a the table, hungry for their dinner. Lesley served them all generous portions, passing the plates over and then pouring some glasses of juice before taking her own seat. For a while, there was no sound but the clinking of cutlery as they devoured their feast. It was a firm favourite in their household, and always guaranteed a good appetite! “Mum, I’m sorry I was so horrible to you earlier, I really didn’t mean it. I just felt so awful about everything, and so so embarrassed. But I don’t like falling out, and I know you were only trying to help me.” Jack looked warmly at his sister as she said this, and completely unprompted took her hand which was resting on the table and gave it a small squeeze of encouragement. Lesley picked up on this, and whilst she clearly had no idea what had gone on between the two when they were upstairs, it was obvious that Jack was standing by his sister, and she’d never felt more proud. “I’m sorry I hid my accidents from you. I just didn’t want everybody to think I was a baby, because I’m not. If I’m honest, it’s been my own fault that I’ve been having accidents, I’ve nobody to blame but myself. I’ve thought about it, and having the sheet on my bed isn’t the end of the world. Yes it’s embarrassing, but I don’t want you to have to worry about me ruining the mattress. I don’t know why I wet the bed last night, that’s never happened before, and I really hope it never does again. But I don’t mind putting the sheet back on for a while, just in case.” Jack was a little taken aback by this very revealing speech from Lucy, as whilst he knew about her accident in school yesterday and obviously the wet bed, he’d no idea about her other leaks. And he thought she was really brave admitting all of that. Once again he gave her hand a squeeze, and whispered “Well done”. “That’s a very grown up way of looking at it Lucy, thank you for being so mature about everything. I know it’s difficult, and I’m not mad at you for being angry and upset, but I’m very proud of you for the way you’re now dealing with it. Jack’s right, well done you. And, Jack, a special well done and thank you to you too. Supporting your sister like this means a lot.” “Yeah, thanks Jack, love you little bro.” It may have been an hour or so since she’d chopped the onions for dinner, but Lesley could suddenly feel them prickling at her eyes and making them water. Well, that was her excuse anyway, as she dug a tissue out of her pocket to dab away the wetness. Honestly, she really did never know where she was with these pair, but right now it felt like a victory on all fronts, and she was happy to take that. Once dinner was finished and the kids had helped their mum to clear the table, Lucy took the opportunity to slip back upstairs and tidy up the mess she’d made earlier, quickly pulling the plastic sheet back onto her mattress and then covering it with her bedding. She may have accepted that it needed to be on there, but she didn’t want it on display for any longer than strictly necessary! The rest of the evening passed in a blur of baths and rubbish TV, until it was time for Lucy to go to bed. Jack had already gone up an hour or so earlier, and was soon fast asleep, exhausted from his busy day. As Lucy was getting herself undressed and ready, Lesley popped her head into the bedroom, mostly to bid her good night but also to quickly make sure she had put the protector back on her bed as promised. Satisfied, she gave the young girl a quick hug and whispered in her ear “Don’t forget to go for a wee before you get into bed, love.” This of course caused Lucy to blush a little, but she knew her Mum was only trying to help, so rather than snapping back as she usually would do she just smiled, nodded and took herself off to the loo. The very last thing she wanted was to wake up to wet PJ’s again, and the sooner she could prove it had only been a one off, the sooner she could take the crinkly plastic cover back off her bed. Having ‘been’, Lucy called “Goodnight” down to her Mum, and then settled herself down for the night, really hoping that she wouldn’t have a reoccurrence of last nights nightmare which she was sure had caused her accident. Under the covers, she snuggled her teddy again, grateful for the comfort he gave to her. Chapter 39 The following morning, Lucy woke with a start as her radio alarm blared out the latest annoying pop song, and she sat upright rubbing her eyes. It took her a few moments, but as the events of the past few days swam back into her mind she grabbed her duvet and threw it off, relieved to see her bed was dry. See, she knew it had just been a freak accident! She wasn’t a bedwetter, and now hopefully her Mum would agree to take the horrible, sweaty, crinkly plastic sheet off so that she could get a proper nights sleep again. Hearing the loud music stop, Lesley realised tat Lucy was awake, and popped her head into her young daughters bedroom. “Good Morning sweetie, did you sleep well?” Lucy smiled, her day had already started off so much better than yesterday, and she nodded to her mum. Lesley had noticed the dry bed, and she was both pleased and relieved, “Ok love, get yourself ready for school now please, and then come down for breakfast when you’re ready. I’m off to wake up Jack, so if you want to use the bathroom I’d go now, or you could be waiting a while.” Still tired, particularly after her disturbed sleep the night before, Lucy really didn’t want to get out of bed just yet, so she thought she’d try to lay there a little longer whilst Jack was getting himself ready and their Mum was making breakfast. It would only take her 2 minutes to pull her uniform on before heading downstairs. Lesley had pulled the bedroom door closed behind her, and after waking Jack she’d left both children to dress whilst she savoured a morning coffee and got the toast and cereal ready. On hearing this, Lucy threw the duvet back over her and snuggled back down. Within a minute, she was fast asleep again. As usual, as soon as he was awake Jack was bouncing around, full of energy. He’d ran to the bathroom before his Mum had even made it to the bottom of the stairs, and having used the loo and brushed his teeth he was soon pulling on his school clothes. Once dressed, he tooth stairs two at a time, skidded down the hallway and was shovelling coco pops into his mouth in seemingly less than 5 minutes. “Thanks again Jack, love, for helping Lucy to feel better last night, what was very grown up of you.” Lesley smiled at Jack, feeling already that today was going to be a much more positive day. “Are you excited for your sports day this afternoon, and then the weekend?” “Yes Mummy, I can’t wait! I’m in 3 different races! And I’m going to win them all. And then at the weekend you said I can have Tom over to play whilst Lucy is at her sleepover. Yay!” “I’m sure you’ll do very well honey, but just remember it’s not all about the winning. I’m sorry I can’t be there to watch you this year, but I’ve asked Becky’s mum to video all of your races so I can cheer you on later. Oh, that reminds me too, Tom’s mum called me yesterday – she’s got to go out of town on Saturday.” Jack’s face fell “But…” “Let me finish please mister! As I was about to day, she’s got to go away for the night with work, but she didn’t want you guys to miss out, so I’ve agreed Tom can stay here for the night, if that’s ok with you? “Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! You’re amazing! Thanks Mummy, I love you!” And with that Jack had thrown his arms around his mum and planted a massive kiss on her cheek. After much chatting about the weekends plans, Lesley realised that Lucy hadn’t joined them, and called loudly upstairs. “Lucy, you’re breakfast is ready, hurry up or we will be late leaving for school!” Soundly sleeping, Lucy didn’t hear her mum’s shouting. Nor did she hear her climbing up the stairs and opening the bedroom door. “LUCY! Come on now, time to get up! Honestly!” This time she heard, and jumped up again with a start. “S..sorry Mum, I’m just so tired, I’m coming now, promise.” Shaking her head and chuckling, Lesley left Lucy to get dressed, but rather than heading back downstairs she busied herself in her own bedroom, just in case her daughter tried to grab another 40 winks. Once dressed, Lucy dashed down the stairs, hoping she still had enough time to grab some breakfast. Hopefully Mum hadn’t noticed she’d bypassed the bathroom, she was sure her teeth would survive this once, but she didn’t fancy going until break time without anything to eat. Her extra 20 minutes in bed had cost them valuable time, but she was able to quickly drink a large glass of orange juice and grab a couple of slices of toast to take with them in the car. Just as they were heading out of the door, she remembered about it being sports day and hurried back in to pick up her PE kit. After her experience with the summer dress the other day, she dreaded to think what would have been unearthed from lost property if she’d forgotten to take it in with her. Finally they were on their way, with not a minute to spare. Chapter 40 In the car, the conversation mostly revolved around their weekend plans. Lucy was excited about Emily’s big birthday sleepover, Jack about having Tom to stay over, and Lesley wanted to tidy up the garden whilst the weather was nice (which both kids thought sounded really boring compared to what they would be getting up to!). As they pulled into the school car park, Lesley wish them both good luck in their sports day events, and then saw them safely into the playground before speeding off to her own school, with no late start to look forward to today she knew that she was already running late thanks to Lucy’s little lie in, and needed to make up some time. In the playground, as usual Jack quickly found his group of friends to run around playing crazy games with, whilst Lucy and her girls sat and chatted, mostly about the big sleepover, giggling as they plotted and planned the following nights excitement. They were going to have so much fun, and none of them could wait. Snacks, drinks, hair and makeup, special outfits, and, of course, there would have to be a game of truth or dare, wouldn’t there? It wasn’t long before the school bell sounded, and they all formed lines ready to make their way inside. At least today they only had a shot lesson before the sports day events would start. In truth, Lucy wasn’t particularly athletic and felt that running around on the playground all day was more for the little kids, but if it got her out of boring classes she’d take it. “See you all later.” She called to the girls who weren’t in the same class as her as her and Becky walked inside, taking their usual seats in the classroom and waiting for their teacher to arrive, no doubt to give the usual, annual lecture about sportsday safety rules. Boring! “Good Morning boys and girls.” Miss Jenkins called jovially as she swept into the room, to many giggles as the class took in the sight of their usually smartly dressed teacher who was today wearing lime green leggings and a bright pink t-shirt. “Yes, yes, I’m sure I do look hilarious! But I want to make sure you can all see me at all times when we are outside. Do you think it’s bright enough?” She joined in the giggles herself this time, and the class agreed that she couldn’t have worn anything brighter if she’d tried. “I know you’ve all been here for 6 years already, and will have heard this talk countless times, but you know I’ve got to quickly run through it all with you this one last time before we get ourselves ready to head outside. Ill try to keep it brief, and if you could all pay attention for just 10 minutes it would be much appreciated.” Miss Jenkins then proceeded to run through all fo the do’s and don’t for each race and event, the importance of removing any jewellery, making sure trainers are tied properly (or pumps are fastened…cue more giggled, only the infants wore pumps!), how they had to take their water bottles outside to help stay hydrated, the the school buildings would be locked for security and 1001 other things, none of which the children actually took in, but they did do their bit and sit patiently for the 10 minute lecture, knowing that it would be the last boring bit of their day. “And…that’s about everything! Thanks for listening. Or, should I say, thanks for doing an incredible job of pretending you were listening!” At this, the whole class burst out laughing, and even the teacher wore a wide smile. “Ok, boys stay in here and get changed, girls come next door with me. I’ll be back in 5 minutes gentlemen, so no messing around, and I expect all of you to be dressed and ready to go when I am. Please make sure you’re decent, the sights that usually meet me when you’re supposed to be getting ready for PE lessons do NOT need to be repeated.” With their teacher watching on, the girls had little opportunity to mess around, and as a result they were all changed and sat wearing their various PE kits within the allotted 5 minutes, There was no set kit at their primary school, so everybody was dressed differently. Lucy had on a pair of black football shorts and a pink athletic top, she may not fancy a day of sports but at least she looked the part. Once everybody was ready, they trooped back to their own classroom to collect the boys, who as Miss had expected were still half naked, with only the keenest runners ready to go. “Come on now lads, there really is no need to compare underpants! Quick, sports kit on and let’s get out there. We always seem to be the last class ready. Anybody who’s not out in this corridor ready to go in 30 seconds can take part in sports day wearing whatever they’ve got on…or, should I say, not got on, now!” With a flurry of activity, the 15 boys soon joined the girls, and most of them had even managed to get their shorts and t-shirts on the right way round too. Quite some achievement! Finally ready, and with much chatter and laughter, Miss Jenkins led them out onto the playground, and having confirmed her suspicions that they were indeed the last class, once again, she pulled the door closed behind them. It was only as they sat down in their allocated space at the side of the running track which had been marked out with cones that Lucy had a dawning realisation, one which made her heart sink.

@BabyLock You're spot on! The story started out life on another forum (before a rule change meant it had to be relocated - for a time I feared it was lost, and it accounts for about 2 whole months of my life, haha!), and it was only ever intended to be a single part short story, but rather took over my life and grew into this massive beast that it is today, hence being divided not just into chapters, but also parts (books if you like), and hands up I was being lazy and copying and pasting from my archive copy which was taken from the original forum hence the less than idea formatting. Moving forward though we no longer have those headers, so hopefully it will be a bit easier to follow. Hope you're enjoying it so far?

Chapter 16 Pulling onto their driveway, Mrs Daniels turned to her two children in the back seat, and asked them to help her carry the shopping in before they disappeared. Jack pulled a face but realised he didn’t have a choice in the matter, and Lucy was for once only too happy to help. Between the three of them, they managed to grab all of the shopping bags in one go and made their way into the kitchen with them. As he climbed the steps to the kitchen door, Jack managed to drop a couple of items out of the top of his bag, causing their Mum to shout “Careful Jack!” Once he’d put his bags down on the table, Jack made to disappear through the door into the hallway, when his Mum called him back “Can you go and pick up the shopping you dropped outside, please, young man. They you can go off to play.” He groaned audibly, and furtively squeezed his crotch as he went back to the steps to find what he’d dropped. This was Lucy’s chance, and she grabbed with with both hands. “I’m going to go and jump in the shower quick Mum, really need a good wash after…you know” The young girl blushed again at the mention of her earlier accident. “Ok Lucy, no problem. Don’t forget to bring that dress and those pants down so I can wash them ready for you to take back to school. We can have a little chat later once you’ve freshened up. Sighing and rolling her eyes at the thought of chatting to her Mum about the cost embarrassing day of her life, Lucy quickly scampered up the stairs before her brother came back in, closing and locking the bathroom door behind her. It was true, she really couldn’t wait to get into the shower and wash away her shame, but she was also looking forward to making her brother squirm a bit too. It was no less than he deserved, after how he’d picked on her. Downstairs Jack had collected the missing groceries and returned them to the kitchen. His Mum smiled “Thanks Love, off you pop then.” And Jack turned on his heel and bounded up the stairs. Reaching the bathroom door, he began to unzip his grey school trousers, before hearing the most awful sound. The shower, he could hear the shower! How had Lucy got in there already, had she done it deliberately? He really, really needed a wee! In frustration, he banged on the door with his fists. “Lucy, can I come in, I really need a wee.” Lucy heard him of course, she was still undressing and hadn’t yet stepped into the shower. But no, it was time he got a taste of his own medicine she thought, so there was no way she was going to let him in. Besides, now she’d taken the awful dress off she was standing in just her pants, well no not even her pants, but the cartoon pants she’d borrowed. And he certainly wasn’t going to see her in them! Mrs Daniels had heard the commotion, and shouted up the stairs to Jack. “What’s all that banging about? Can you keep it down please?” “But Muuuuuuum, Lucy’s in the shower and she’s locked the door. I really, really, really need to do a wee Mum. Please tell her to let me in.” He shouted all of this at the top of his voice, whilst bouncing up and down the landing and squeezing himself. “Why didn’t you go when we were at the dentist, Jack, if you needed to so badly?” Mrs Daniels admonished, climbing the stairs herself and seeing her son writhing about. “Honestly, it’s bad enough that I’ve got all of Lucy’s things to wash. You’d better not wet those pants mister.” Lucy was sat behind the bathroom door, listening with glee. But then a pang struck her, she’d felt absolutely awful earlier when she’d wet herself in class. The worst she’d ever felt in her life, the shame and humiliation were unbearable. Did she really want to do that to her brother? On one hand, he had been a brat since he’d found out what she’d done, and he did deserve punishing. She also thought that, if Jack had an accident, it may take the pressure off her a bit, and she really was dreading that talk with her Mum later, it was going to be sooooo embarrassing. But no, the more she thought about it, she did love her little brother despite his faults, and she didn’t want to put him through that. Not quite believing what she was doing herself, Lucy quickly slipped the red summer dress back over her head and unlocked the door. “Calm down Jack! I couldn’t very well run out here naked, now could I? Quick, run in and go now, before it’s too late.” Jack was amazed, and the gratitude shone through his eyes. But he didn’t have time to stop, not even for a second, or there’d be one big puddle. He dashed to the toilet, not even pausing to close the door behind him, and in one deft motion he pulled his school trousers down and began his wee into the bowl, sighing deeply in relief. Out on the landing, Mrs Daniels smiled warmly at Lucy and mouthed “Thank you”. She realised that her daughter would have felt every right to make her little brother wait, after everything he’d said to her that day, but she was so glad her eldest had done the adult thing and let him go, no doubt sparing them all lots of tears and tantrums, to say nothing of a big cleanup job on the landing carpet! As he finished reliving himself, Jack pulled his undies and trousers back up and turned back out to the landing, keeping both hands covering his crotch area. Lucy could see that he obviously hadn’t quite made it, there was quite a damp patch around his hands, and she felt bad for him. It was only a few hours earlier that she’d been the one sitting, sobbing in her classroom in a soaked skirt. She knew how it felt. The vindictive feelings of revenge had gone now, and so she didn’t say anything, instead just stepping back into the bathroom and closing the door behind her, anxious to get the dress off once and for all. Their Mum, on seeing Jack reach the toilet, had turned back down the stairs to carry on unpacking her shopping, so she hadn’t seen what Lucy had. Jack disappeared into his bedroom, hoping the dampness on his trousers would dry before he was called down for tea. That was close! If he’d wet himself, after the grief he’d given to Lucy, he’d never have heard the end of it. He was so glad that neither her nor his Mum had seen that he’d started to go before he got to the toilet. Being 4 years younger than Lucy, Jack had always been the baby of the family, so he loved it when he beat her at anything. Seeing that she’d had an accident in school today made him feel so grown up, because that hadn’t happened to him in….well, forever it seemed. Certainly not since last year anyway. Heck, he didn’t even wet the bed anymore. It had been months since his last accident, and he was hoping that his Mum would finally agree to take the plastic sheet of his bed so he didn’t have to be embarrassed whenever his friends came over. He knew they all still had them too, but he wanted to be the grown up one. And even with his little leak, which was Lucy’s fault anyway, today he really did feel grown up - she was the baby, she’d wet herself in school! Chapter 17 Lucy had never enjoyed a shower more in her short life, washing away the shame and humiliation of her day felt amazing, and she was soon smiling again, with only the lingering worry of talking to her Mum about what had happened gnawing at her. Once showered, and knowing she wasn’t going out anywhere that evening (she had a lot of maths homework to do, after all!) she slipped into her favourite comfortable pyjamas, bundled the dress and pants together and took them downstairs to be washed. Reaching the kitchen, she opened the door to the washing machine and noticed with a grimace that her wet skirt was already in there. She quickly covered the offensive article with the barely-less-embarrassing summer dress, and then hurriedly closed the door and spun around to face her Mum. “Feel a bit better now sweetie?” Her Mum asked, holding her arms open and inviting her daughter over for a hug. Lucy slipped her arms around her Mum and enjoyed the moment of closeness, simply nodding in agreement that she was feeling much better than she had done earlier. It really was amazing what a nice shower and your own clothes could do! “Thank you for not making a scene with Jack then, love, that was really grown up of you. I know he can be a nuisance sometimes, that’s what little brothers are all about, but he really looks up to you so it’s nice that you set such a good example.” “He was being really mean about my accident, Mum. Especially when he shouted about it in front of everybody at school! But I know how awful I felt when it happened to me, and I didn’t want him to feel bad like that.” Mrs Daniels felt a lump rising in her throat, and she gave Lucy another squeeze as she added “You really are a lovely girl Lucy, and a great big sister. Things like that make me so proud of you” Which of course caused Lucy to blush furiously, but feel all tingly inside at the same time. “So, sweetheart, what happened today then?” Lucy cringed again, and barely stopped herself from groaning. She knew this was coming, but was hoping to enjoy a bit of her evening first! Ah well, maybe it was best to get it over with, she thought. Then this whole nightmare really would be behind her for good. “I don’t really know Mum,” she began with a sniffle “I needed to go to the loo, so I asked Miss Johnson if I could be excused, and she said that the head had stopped her letting anybody leave during lessons. It wasn’t too bad, and I always wait until lunchtime, sometimes even until I get home, so I wasn’t worried. But then, it just started…and I couldn’t stop it! I tried Mum, I really did.” Lucy had started to cry again now, and she was getting more worked up as she recounted her shameful experience. “I think I just made it worse though, I held myself to try to stop it coming out, but it just went everywhere, and then all of my skirt was soaked and everybody could see. It was awful Mum.” Lucy had, of course, left out the bit about starting to do it deliberately before she had lost control. She thought this may have been a little difficult to explain, and she much preferred this sympathetic version of her Mum to the angry one she’d have been confronted with had she told the whole truth. Seeing just how upset her young daughter was, Mrs Daniels decided not to push the matter. It was clear to her that Lucy had just overestimated her own abilities, and had mistimed things in the most embarrassing way. No, shouting at her or punishing her wouldn’t help, she was sure the shame and humiliation would be enough to make sure it never happened again. “There there Lucy, don’t be upsetting yourself again. What’s happened has happened, and we can’t change that. But it’s over with now, and I’m sure you’re going to make sure it doesn’t ever happen again, aren’t you sweetie?” Lucy nodded, her eyes trained on the floor in embarrassment. She’d never imagined having to have this sort of talk with her Mum at 11! “Then we’ll say no more about it. And I’m sure after his little dance up on the landing earlier, neither will Jack. Go on, off you pop to get your homework done whilst I sort some dinner for us all.” Feeling that she’d got off very lightly indeed, Lucy wasn’t going to argue! She grabbed her school bag and made her way up to her bedroom. No homework had been set that day because of the timetable changes, but she knew that she had to get Mrs Moss’ assignment completed, because there was no way on earth she was going to put herself through the torture of another day like today. Reaching her messy room, she quickly plugged her phone in to charge so that she could catch up with the girls later, and then began sifting through piles of rubbish to find the worksheet. A short while later, her Mum’s voice rang up through the stairs “Jack, can you get changed out of your uniform for me please and bring it down to be washed.” Chapter 18 In his own bedroom, Jack was engrossed in the game he was playing, and was jolted back to earth by the sound of his Mum’s voice. This was her usual after school request and he’d been half expecting it. Pausing his game, he jumped up and began undressing. It was only as he started to undo his trousers that his fingers felt the dampness, and he remembered what had happened on the landing earlier. In a sudden panic, he didn’t know what to do! If he handed his mum wet pants, he knew he’d be in trouble as it had been his own fault for not going to the toilet at the dentist or at school. But if he tried to stall, she’d only come up looking for him, and then he’d in trouble for messing about. Argh, why hadn’t Lucy just let him in straight away, then he wouldn’t have had this to worry about. “Hurry up Jack, I haven’t got all day. I need to get the wash on so these clothes will be dry in time for Lucy to take them back to school tomorrow.” Jack grinned momentarily at the reminder of Lucy’s accident, but then his own predicament quickly resurfaced. “Won’t be a sec Mum.” He called, stalling for time. Next door, Lucy was concentrating intently on her homework, but heard the exchange between her Mum and brother. She really wished her Mum hadn’t shouted through the house about needing to wash the dress so she could take it back! Honestly, don’t Mums realise how embarrassing they can be. When she stopped and thought for a second though, she realised that Jack had a little problem of his own, and her Mum’s words about being a good sister echoing in her head, she quietly scampered through to his room. “What’re you doing in here…get out!” Jack cried, noticing his sister in the doorway, and frantically pulling his dampened trousers back up, but not before she caught a glimpse of the wet underpants concealed beneath. Jack blushed furiously now, and tears began to spring from his eyes. He felt sure Lucy would tell their Mum, and then he’d be in trouble. And any hope of her thinking him big enough to get rid of the plastic sheet would be long gone. “Shhh Jack, Mum’ll hear, and you don’t want her coming up do you?” Lucy ventured further into the room, pulled the door closed behind her and tried to calm her brother down. “Look, I saw what had happened when you came out of the bathroom earlier. Look, you nearly made it in time, and you would have done completely if I hadn’t been getting changed, so it’s not really your fault. Let me help, and I’m sure we can sort this.” Jack’s eyes widened in disbelief, surely Lucy wasn’t really going to help him, not after he’d been teasing her all afternoon? Wow, he couldn’t quite believe it. “Right, quick, get those damp things off and find yourself some pj’s. I’m going to dig out your spare school trousers from the wardrobe, they must be in here somewhere.” As Jack rummaged through his chest of drawers, settling on a pair with dinosaurs on, Lucy flicked through the hangers until she found the grey school trousers she’d been looking for. Perfect. She unhooked them, and then promptly screwed them up into a ball and threw them in Jacks direction. He looked nonplussed, what on earth was Lucy playing at? Pulling his pyjamas on, he looked questioningly at Lucy as he asked “Why did you do that?” “If you take the ones you were wearing down to Mum, you know she’ll make a fuss. Give me the damp ones, I’ll hide them in my room for you until tomorrow when they’ll be dry. And the undies too. Now, take the ones I gave you downstairs, and if you can throw them straight into the washer yourself, there’s less chance of Mum noticing then.” Jack really could not believe his good fortune, and he realised he owed his sister big time! Grabbing the trousers, and another pair of undies which had been cast aside on his floor days ago, he made for the door, stopping only briefly to hug his sister on the way past and whisper a husky “Thank you, love you Luce.” Not for the first time that day, Lucy felt a misty dampness in her eyes, and she realised just how good it felt to help him out. She slipped back into her own room, throwing the trousers and pants under her bed. Nobody ever looked under there, they weren’t that brave, so she knew Jack’s little secret would be safe. If nothing else, she hoped that her act of kindness would be enough to ensure the teasing about her own accident would stop for good. And, who knows, Jack may even be able to help her in school, telling a few of his friends that he’d got it wrong. Ok, so everybody in her class who had seen would know the truth, but the rest of the school were just guessing and gossiping. Maybe, just maybe, she could get away with a shred of her reputation intact after all. Chapter 19 Jack ran down the stairs at top speed, prompting his mum to bellow “Jack, slow down, you’ll fall and break your neck! Or my floor!” On reaching the kitchen, following Lucy’s advice he hurried straight to the washer and opened the door, noticing the dress Lucy had been wearing along with some very babyish girls underwear, and he very nearly sniggered before remembering what she had jut done for him. He was immensely grateful for Lucy’s foresight at that moment, as his Mum noticed what he was doing and called over “Leave those on the floor in front of the machine please Jack, I’ll need to separate the washing just in case that dress runs. Thanks for bringing them down, tea will be another 20 mins or so, can you tell Lucy please?” Nodding his agreement, Jack scooted back up the stairs, stopping off at Lucy’s room on the way back to his own. He gave a quick knock and when she grunted in response he popped his head around the door, giving her a cheesy grin and a big thumbs up. “Mission accomplished! And Mum said tea will be 20 minutes.” Lucy returned his smile, nodded that she’d heard, and then returned her attention to her homework. Well, briefly anyway. Her own thoughts soon distracted her. In truth, her idea to help Jack hadn’t been totally original, and the damp school trousers and undies currently laid out under her bed weren’t the first items of clothing to be hidden there. She hadn’t been totally honest with herself earlier when she’d been thinking how long it had been since she’d had an accident. Ok, so not really a full accident like the disaster that had happened today, but she had sailed a bit too close to the wind a few times, and nearly come unstuck. The whole ‘being cool’ thing by not using the school toilets and holding on until she got home almost always worked out absolutely fine for her. But, not quite always. There had been a few times where…she blushed even thinking about it…she’d made that same mad dash to the toilet when they got home from school that Jack had made earlier, with the same result. She’d never thought of it as ‘having an accident’, as her skirt had almost never once gotten wet, and nobody had ever known. But, truthfully, at least a handful of times her undies had ended up somewhere between damp and wet. And on one occasion, memorable for all the wrong reasons, she just hadn’t been able to get them down in time at all and had ended up sat on the toilet weeing through them, hoping and praying that nobody would walk into the bathroom and catch her! That had been a nightmare, and was probably the closest she’d been to a real accident since she was about 6. There had even been a little damp patch on her skirt, like Jacks trousers tonight, but she tried not to think about that as if it was just her undies, she rationalised, it wasn’t an accident. But if her other clothes got wet… So, yeah, her own record was far from unblemished. Not that she would ever, EVER admit that to anybody. So far as anybody else knew, today’s incident was the first time anything like that had ever, EVER happened to her. And she knew she was going to have to be very careful to make sure that it was the last time too. The first time she’d been caught a bit short, she’d panicked just like Jack had earlier, and she was terrified that her Mum would find out and scold her. So that’s where the idea came from, she’d swapped her undies for fresh ones from the drawer, and had hidden the soggy ones under her bed to dry out. When her Mum had called for the laundry, she’d naturally taken the clean ones she’d put on down along with her skirt and blouse, and nobody had been any the wiser. Her Mum had told her off about running to the loo when she got home a couple of times, that it wasn’t good for her and what would happen if she didn’t make it. Soooo embarrassing. Anyway, so far as her Mum knew, she always did. And it was going to stay that way. Today was definitely a one off. She was going to have to be much more careful though. She knew that if she ever had another accident, she really would never hear the end of it, and her life would basically be over. It was going to take a long time for people to forget as it was. Even now she couldn’t quite believe what she’d done, and to make it even worse that it had all been for nothing too! She was going to up her game, and if she had to she’d even start using the school toilets. Becky had done today, after all. It had to be better to use the loo at lunch than to run even the remotest risk of a disaster happening. “Lucy, Jack, tea’s ready.” Lucy snapped out of her daydream. That was quite enough of those sort of thoughts, and after only picking at her sandwich lunch, she was ravenous. Chapter 20 After tea, Lucy settled down for some intense gossiping with ‘the girls’, now that her phone had charged back up and the dreaded homework was out of the way. She hated to admit it, but it actually was better to just get it done, as now she could relax and chat with her mates. She couldn’t wait to catch up with them all, it had been at least 2 hours now since she’d seen any of them, almost a lifetime! She smiled as the phone powered up, all of the notification sounds telling her that there was lots to catch up on, and also reassuring her that she was still popular with her friends despite what had happened earlier at school. She had been so worried. As she began working through them all, however, her heart sank and the tears that seemed to have been ever-present that day returned for an encore. Message after message, post after post, they all seemed to be mocking her. She was absolutely heartbroken, how could her friends do this to her? What really did it though was when she came across a photo, posted by one of the girls in her class. Not just any photo though, this was a photo of her wet and dripping, walking to the classroom door with Mrs Jenkins arm around her and the biggest, most obvious wee stain right across the back of her school skirt. Lucy felt crushed, absolutely devastated. She cried out in anguish, and sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow. Any hope of keeping this quiet had gone, the photo had been shared dozens of times already. She doubted there was anybody in the town, never mind the school, who hadn’t seen it. She was finished, and she knew it. Hearing her young daughter crying out as if in pain, Mrs Daniels immediately called up the stairs “Lucy, are you ok? What’s the matter?” “LEAVE ME ALONE!” Lucy screamed in reply. “I WISH I WAS DEAD!” Panicking now, her Mother abandoned the washing up and ran up the stairs, bursting through Lucy’s door to find the girl curled up on her bed and absolutely distraught. She realised there was no point trying to get any sense out of Lucy whilst she was in this state, so sat down on the edge on the bed and tried to soothe her daughter whilst she calmed down. Eventually, some time later, Lucy was able to stutter out “E..e…very bbbody knowsss Mummy.” Between her sobs, and gestured to her phone which was lying abandoned on the bed. Picking up the phone and glancing at the photo which was open on the screen, Mrs Daniels blood ran cold. Who had done this, and why? What a cruel thing to do, now she could see why Lucy was so upset. It took an awful lot of reassurance from her Mum, but eventually Lucy did calm down, and together they looked through the posts and messages. By doing this, she could see that whilst the wider class and school had all been sharing her shame, her own circle of friends were notably absent, and the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach did ease a little at this realisation. At least her girls were sticking by her, and boy was she going to need them if everybody else was making fun. The most devastating thing for Lucy though, by far, was when she realised just how many older kids had commented or shared the posts and the photos. This meant that everybody in her new high school was going to know. She’d forever be the little girl who weed herself at school in year 6. As somebody for whom image was everything, Lucy felt like her whole world was crashing down around her ears. How would she ever be able to show her face in public again? In school? She couldn’t bear to even this about it. Lucy had lost her appetite for gossip now, knowing that half of the kids in the town would be talking and laughing about her kind of took the shine off it for her. Besides, she was worried about talking to her friends just in case they were going to make fun other too. They’d not shared the photos, but that didn’t mean they didn’t think she was a baby. No, right now she just wanted to be alone. It was only early, still before 8pm, but after her Mum went back downstairs to carry on her chores Lucy decided she’d had enough of today, and wanted to call it a night. She popped to the bathroom to clean her teeth, washed her tear streaked face and then drank two large glasses of ice cold water. All of that crying had made her so very thirsty. Crawling under the duvet and cuddling up to her childhood soft toy, which she hadn’t slept with for at least a couple of years, poor Lucy cried herself to sleep, wishing she didn't have to wake up the next day and face the world. Downstairs, Mrs Daniels was seething. She couldn't abide bullying, and seeing her little girl so heartbroken made her shake with rage. She toyed with the idea of writing an email to the school, but quickly realised that she wasn't in the right frame of mind and would no doubt make everything worse. Besides, from what Lucy had said, many of the kids involved were older and had already moved up to the high school. Instead, anxious to vent and also hoping for some reassurance that Lucy's friends were still on side and would help her through this, she picked up her phone and called her friend Jenny, who was Becky's Mum. The call was quickly answered with "Hi Lesley, how are you?" "Hello Jen. Don't ask!" "Oh dear, that doesn't sound good. Becky told me Lucy had a really rough day today, how's she doing now?" "Oh she's absolutely in bits love, genuinely heartbroken. She's mortified by what happened, of course, but I'd just managed to calm her down and then she found out people had taken photos and where sharing them around on the internet. I just don't know how to help her, she's cried herself to sleep upstairs." "Oh the poor love, that's awful. Why are some kids so bloody cruel? I really hope Becky hasn't been involved in any of this? I'm sure she can't have been, she's been so upset for her little friend since she got home, bless her." "No, no, nothing like that. At least not as far as I know anyway. Lucy showed me the posts, and it looks like they were started by some other girls in the class, but now it's mostly the older kids from the high school that are sharing it everywhere. That's why she's so devastated, because they all know now. You know how much the girls like to feel grown up, and something like this could destroy the rest of her time at school. So sorry for disturbing your evening Jen, I just really needed to vent." "Don't be daft Les, you know I'm always here to listen. Rant away!" The two mums chatted away for most of the evening, eventually moving on to different topics and putting the world to rights. It had been far too long since they'd made time for a proper catchup, and whilst both wished the circumstances were different they were grateful for the opportunity. "When Lucy wakes up, please tell her that Becky has been asking after her." Jenny said, as the call drew to a close. "I will, thanks Les. And thank you for letting me bend your ear. Now I really must get off to bed, or we'll be running late in the morning when don't want to wake up!" The pair chuckled a goodbye, and then each made their way to bed, looking in on their respective children as they did so. Chapter 21 Throughout the night, Lucy slept fitfully and dreamt vividly, replaying the previous days horror over and over again, the shame of her accident and the absolute mortification of discovering the photos and comments about her clearly playing on her mind. As if going through all of that once hadn’t been bad enough, she relived that disastrous day countless times, crying in her sleep each time at the humiliation in the classroom and then the devastation that followed. Her dreams gradually took a more sinister turn, with the comments merging into the re-run of her classroom accident, and finally in the early hours Lucy jolted awake with a blood curdling scream as she wet herself in class one last time, with all of her friends standing around laughing at her and many more kids wearing the high school uniform pointing, laughing and chanting that she was a baby. The image of her wearing her soaked skirt loomed into her mind, quickly replaced by the awful summer dress and then finally she was stood there just wearing the cartoon pants, soaked and dripping, burning with shame. The scream that woke her had, of course, rang out through the house and roused bother her Mum and her younger brother from their own slumber. Jack was scared, in his half-asleep state he didn’t realise where the scream had come from, and he whimpered to himself as he lay there. Had he dreamt it? No, he remembered his dream quite clearly, and nobody had screamed. Lesley was on autopilot, that scream caused her stomach to churn and she leapt from her bed knowing, in the way that only a Mum can, that she was needed. Throwing a dressing gown over her night dress and slipping her feet into a pair of slippers, she deftly padded down the landing to Lucy’s bedroom, knocking softly before letting herself in and finding her poor daughter sat upright in bed, her face a deathly white and eyes wide with fear. The scene before her broke her heart, and she’d have done anything to be able to take Lucy’s pain and suffering away. The poor girl had done nothing to deserve this torment. Kneeling on the floor beside the bed, Lesley drew Lucy into a warm hug, whispering in her ear that she was safe and that nobody could hurt her now. Lucy just continued to sob, her anguish was relentless, everything in her nightmare had been so realistic, she still didn’t really comprehend that it had all been in her mind, she felt that she had really experienced it. The pair sat together and held each other for a long time, with Lesley continuing her one sided conversation and doing all she could to reassure Lucy, thought she could sense that the searing pain was not subsiding. After more than an hour in this position, Lucy’s heart rate slowly began to return to normal, her complexion whilst still pasty and wan regained a slight hint of colour and her racking sobs subsided, although the tears continued to fall. She felt broken, helpless and she just needed her mum. Right at that moment, any sense of being grown up couldn’t have been further from her mind, she was a little girl whose life was crumbling before her eyes, and only Mum could help. Suddenly, something dawned on Lucy, a horrible realisation that caused her stomach to plummet once more. No, surely not, it couldn’t be. Could it? The look of shock and pain etched across her features was replaced suddenly with abject horror, worry and a rising blush that soon engulfed her face. Lesley noticed this, along with a sudden quickening of her shallow breaths. “What’s is it Lucy, sweetheart?” With a depth of shame and humiliation she had never, ever felt before in her eleven years Lucy turned her face to her mum and uttered in a barely audible whisper “I’m so sorry Mummy, I…I….I’ve had an accident”, and with that she was again paralysed with sobs from deep within, feeling sick to her stomach and barely stopping herself from being physically sick across her bed. Chapter 22 Poor Lucy didn’t think it was possible to feel any more mortified than she already had, but this…this had taken away the last remaining vestiges of her self worth. She burned with the most intense feelings of shame and embarrassment, not able to look her Mum in the eye and feeling utterly disgusted with herself. “Oh Lucy, baby, it really doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about a silly little thing like that. All that matters to me right now is that you’re ok, honestly. These things happen, it’s nothing that can’t be sorted out later. Right now, let’s worry about you, eh. Whatever has frightened you so much?” Lesley pulled herself onto the edge of the bed and leant over to pull her daughter into a hug. Lucy was torn, however. She so wanted, so needed the warmth of her Mum’s embrace, but she knew she didn’t deserve it. She was dirty, disgusting, not worthy of being loved. That’s how she felt, and she recoiled from the touch she so craved, pulling away and curling herself up into a ball under the bedcovers. She wanted her Mum, but she just wanted to be alone too. Alone forever. This scared Lesley. She knew her daughter, and no matter what was the matter, even when she had been in lots of trouble, even when she was terrified of something, she always wanted the closeness of a hug. What had happened to her poor little girl to make her so scared, to make her want to hide herself away? Surely something as insignificant as wet bedsheets couldn’t be the reason? What was going on in her poor, tortured little mind? All the while, Lucy continued to sob to herself. She felt broken. Eventually she wore herself out, and succumbed to Lesley’s hug, immediately feeling the warmth of a mothers love wash over her and understanding the, no matter what, she WAS loved. She murmured into the bedclothes “I love you Mummy, I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” Before pulling herself back upright and returning the hug, squeezing harder than she ever had before. Worried that Lucy would be getting uncomfortable in the wet bed, Lesley gently prompted her “That must have been some really horrible dream sweetie, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. Do you feel up to getting out of bed, so we can try to make things a bit more comfortable for you?” Lucy shrugged, but then slowly nodded. “I feel all icky, Mummy. Why did this have to happen?” Lesley noted again the name ‘mummy’ which Lucy hadn’t used for many years, but didn’t say anything let she embarrass the young girl further. “I really don’t know sweetheart, sometimes it can happen when you’re scared I guess, and wherever was going on in that dream of yours must have really frightened you. Please try not to worry though, it’s easily fixed.” “Can I go and get cleaned up?” Lucy’s voice was barely audible, husky and raw from the screaming and crying. “Of course you can darling. Tell you what, you go and jump in the shower if you like? Or would you prefer a quick bath to freshen you up? And whilst you’re doing that, I’ll take care of things in here and then pop downstairs and make us a nice hot chocolate. If you feel like talking, we can. If not though, that’s fine too.” Nodding again, Lucy nearly managed a weak smile a the thought of hot chocolate. Not quite, but nearly. She moved as if to throw back her duvet, as she always did when getting out of bed, but then hesitated as she remembered the horror that hid beneath. Instead she crawled out, blushing a deep crimson again at the sight of her saturated pyjama bottoms. Now this really was something that she honestly couldn’t remember happening to her before, and it’s something she deeply wished hadn’t happened right now. Without looking at her Mum, she hurried out of the room and across to the bathroom, pulling the door closed behind her. A short time later, Lesley heard the sound of running water, a bath being drawn. She was glad, as she knew that a nice bath always helped her to relax when she was upset and worked up. Plus it would give her a little time to take care of the bed, and to conjure up the promised hot chocolate. Maybe even with a biscuit or two on the side. In the room next door, Jack had started to drift back off to sleep as the commotion had settled down. Whatever it was, he certainly wasn’t brave enough to venture out of bed to find out, and it sounded like his Mum had things in hand. As his eyelids began to close, he heard an odd sound. Who was running a bath at this time of night? The only time he’d ever known that was when he was younger and he’d woken up to a wet bed. His mum had always insisted that he got cleaned up before going back to sleep, usually in her bed, He knew that hadn’t happened tonight, unless…no, surely not. And with that bizarre thought floating through his mind, he was asleep again. Chapter 23 As Lucy relaxed in her bath, tears continuing to roll down her cheeks at the shame of what had just happened, Lesley set to work tackling the bed. Stretching across, she unhooked the bedsheets and bundled them together ready for the washing machine, casting a rueful look at the large wet patch on the nearly new, and particularly expensive, mattress! Lucy was of course long past the stage of bedwetting accidents, so she’d not had a plastic sheet on her bed for probably at least 5 years, but right at that moment her Mum really wished she’d left one on there. Truthfully, even Jack seemed to have finally passed that phase, she’d not had to change his bed in the middle of the night since before Christmas, so she’d really been hoping that the days of wet sheets were long behind her. Ah well, she knew Lucy hadn’t been able to help it, and it was just a one-off after all, she was sure. Setting aside the bundle of sheets, she next turned her attention to the pink duvet cover, noticing a damp area which meant it had obviously taken some collateral damage. Off that came too, and together with the sheets she took it out onto the landing. Before heading downstairs to load up the washer, she bobbed a head briefly into Jack’s bedroom, and was relieved to see that he was still fast asleep. Apart from knowing how cranky he always ended up whenever his sleep was disturbed, she was glad that Lucy would be spared the embarrassment of her little brother knowing she’d had another accident. Yesterday may have been her own fault, and boy had she suffered for it, but this really did seem a freak incident, and the last thing the poor girl needed was more teasing from Jack! Passing the bathroom, she heard splashing bathwater intermingled with occasional whimpers. Knocking gently, she called out in a low voice. “Are you ok in there Luce? Need anything?” “I’m fine, thanks Mum.” Lucy returned, sounding downcast. The switch back from mummy to mum again did not go unnoticed, but was not remarked upon. “Ok sweetie, I’m just popping down to put the washing in. Can I grab your pj’s quickly?” “Ok, and yeah sure.” As Lesley opened the bathroom door, she noticed her daughter had turned away to preserve her modesty, and smiled. Sometimes she’d think nothing of dashing through the house in her birthday suit, particularly if she’d left the call of nature a bit late, and then other times she could be so coy and shy. And that’s before she becomes a teenager! Grabbing the sopping cotton trousers from the floor, the gently close the door again behind her and crept down the stairs so as not to disturb Jack. Washing on, and the kettle filled ready to make two steaming mugs of creamy hot chocolate when Lucy was ready, Lesley made her way back upstairs to see what could be done, armed with cleaning supplies. She’d have to try to sort the mattress before it was ruined, but how? Inspecting the extent of the wetness, she was pleased to note that it didn’t seem to have soaked in too badly, and there was no strong smell of wee. Lucy lust have drank a lot before heading to bed, she mused. You’d think she’d know better! Eventually she settled on sponging the stained area, and then flipping the mattress over. She’d still ask Lucy to jump into bed with her when it was time to settle back down, to give it a chance to air properly, but that should mean it will be dry enough to sleep on the following day, and she’d keep her fingers tightly crossed that it didn’t leave a stain. Once she’d soaked up as much of the wetness as she could, and grateful that despite her daughters protestations she still slept on a single bed rather than a double, Lesley grabbed the mattress with both hands and lifted it clean off the bed frame. Turning it with some considerable effort, she lay it back across the slats, something odd catching her eye as she did so. Reaching underneath the bed, Lesley’s hands fell upon a pile of material, clothing. No doubt Lucy had kicked some laundry underneath as she fought her way through the mess that was her bedroom floor, she thought, grabbing hold and pulling the garments out into the open. How bizarre, these weren’t Lucy’s at all, it was a pair of Jack’s grey school trousers, and his underwear too! Now, what on earth were they doing underneath Lucy’s bed? She never let her baby brother into her room, calling it her ‘sanctuary’ from him, and there was no obvious reason for Lucy to have put them there herself. Curious, very curious. Shaking her head in confusion, she set aside the mysterious bundle of clothes, and gave the room a quick blast with her air freshener, just in case any odour lingered. Then, satisfied, she made her way back down the stairs to dig out some chocolate biscuits and set to work with the hot drinks, sure that Lucy would soon be down and in need of come comfort. Chapter 24 Lucy had heard her Mum pottering about, and then finally descending the stairs once more. Realising that her bathwater was cooling down, she decided it was time to get out. The lure of hot chocolate may have had a little to do with it too! Grabbing a fluffy towel from the rail, she dried herself off and then realised she didn’t have any new clothes to put on! Wrapping herself tightly in the towel, to keep her warm and in case she should bump into anybody on the landing, she hurried across to her bedroom. As she walked in and pulled the door shut behind her, she left the towel drop to join the rest of the rubbish and laundry which littered her bedroom floor. Turning, her eyes fell on the sight of her bed, stripped of its sheets and duvet cover. Seeing this, she felt the heat rising in her cheeks once more, the embarrassment threatening to overcome her again. What she didn’t understand was, why? She never, ever, EVER wet her bed! Why did it have to happen, and why only a few hours after having such a catastrophic accident in school too? One thing puzzled her as she took in the sight of her bed, and that was the lack of wetness on the exposed mattress. She knew how wet she’d felt, her pj’s and the bedsheets had been soaked, so the mattress must have taken quite a hit too. So why did it look dry? She knew her mum was a genius when it came to cleaning up, but even she wasn’t that good! It took a while, but her tired mind eventually came to the realisation that the mattress must have been flipped over. Yes, that made sense. Although she was confused about why there were no new sheets, maybe it was time to get up? She hoped not, as she was still exhausted and really looking forward to a few more hours sleep. And then, a thought stuck her. Oh. My. God! She dropped to her knees and thrust her hands under the bed, but it was no good, Jacks clothes had gone! Where had they gone? Had Mum found them? How would she explain that? Panic rose within her once more, and she quickly cast her eyes around the rest of her bedroom. There, right in front of her laundry basket, was a bundle of cloth. Grabbing it, she confirmed it was in fact the missing trousers and undies No, no, no, this was just a nightmare. Why was everything going wrong for her! She ran her hands through the material, and gasped in relief as she realised that everything felt dry. Talk about a lucky escape! Ok, so she’d still probably have her mum asking why Jacks clothes were under her bed, but that would be a lot easier to explain away than why jacks wee soaked clothes were there. What a day…first the panic over her homework, and missing the sleepover. Then her mortifying accident. Followed quickly by the torment and teasing, and then capped off by wetting her bed for the first time ever. Lucy’s entire life seemed to have crumbled in less than 24 hours. And yet, here she was at who knows what time in the morning, worrying herself silly about helping to hide her little brothers own little mishap! Bonkers, and she even allowed herself the tiniest chuckle at that thought. Lucy spotted her phone, abandoned where she had thrown it next to her bed during her meltdown the previous evening, and whilst she had absolutely zero interest in reading any more mocking messages she did grab it to check the time. It was barely after 2am, so at least she would have the chance of a few more hours sleep. Although quite where she’d be able to catch those 40 winks she wasn’t sure, as her own be seemed to be out of action. Ah well, she’d ask Mum when she went down for her treat. Now that she knew it was still so early, the vague thought of getting dressed ready for school left her, and instead she headed for her pyjama drawer once more. Eschewing her usual preference for ‘grown up’ clothes, Lucy just wanted to be comfortable, so she grabbed a fluffy white nightie and pulled it over her head. Perfect, nice and snuggly, she thought to herself. And nobody but her Mum would see, so she really didn’t mind what she looked like at that moment. Creeping along the landing, and even tiptoeing past Jacks door, dreading the thought of him waking and having to explain what had gone on, she descended the stairs and made her way into the warmly lit kitchen, where her Mum was waiting with 2 steaming mugs of hot chocolate, complete with cream and sprinkles, and a plate of their favourite shortbread biscuits. “Hi Sweetie, how’re you feeling now?” Chapter 25 Lucy took the empty chair next to her mum, and wrapped her hands around one of the mugs. She looked into Lesley’s eyes, and her Mum could seem the depth of her sadness. “Why did this happen Mum? I’m not a baby, why did I wet my bed like one? Even Jack doesn’t do that anymore!” “Oh sweetheart, it’s just one of those things. Just a silly accident, not worth getting so upset over. Maybe you just had a little too much to drink before bed, or forgot to go for a wee? The horrible dream you were having probably didn’t help either. Do you think talking about that will help? It’s up to you.” “It was horrible, mummy. I was so scared and upset in my dream, and I screamed but that was for real and it woke me up. It was like I kept reliving what happened yesterday, there I was in the classroom having an accident and everybody laughing. Then the older kids from the internet, they were all there too. They wouldn’t stop laughing, making fun of me, calling me names and pretending I was a baby.” Lesley melted as she listened to this, her poor poor daughter. How she wished she could wipe it all away from her memory, jus pretend that the past 24hrs hadn’t happened so that she would have her confident, care free little girl back again. She also felt her anger rising once more as she thought about how the bullies had made Lucy so very miserable, didn’t thy stop to think about the impact their words would have? How anybody could be like that she had no idea, and she was immensely proud that her own two children were growing up to be kind, compassionate people just as she had herself been raised. Taking Lesley completely by surprise, Lucy climbed over into her mothers lap, and they sat and cuddled like this for the best part of an hour as they drank their drinks and munched on the biscuits, all without saying another word. Just the closeness was enough, and Lucy slowly unwound and relaxed again. It was an intimate moment of love between mother and daughter which meant so very much to both of them. Noticing the time, Lesley straightened up and announced to Lucy “Come on darling, let’s try to get a few more hours sleep before it’s time to get up for school, eh? Otherwise we’re both going to be exhausted in the morning!” The pair slowly climbed the stairs together, pausing on the landing briefly. “Do you want to try to go to the toilet love, just in case?” This caused Lucy to blush furiously, but not prepared to take any chances she gave a tiny nod and then disappeared into the bathroom. Lesley took this time to check on Jack again, finding he hadn’t moved an inch since she’d last looked in on him, and again thinking how lucky it was that he hadn’t been roused, so that Lucy’s dignity had been preserved. Hearing the toilet flush and Lucy running water to wash her hands, Lesley held a hand out to the young girl, who took it gladly. They continued along the landing, with Lucy automatically stopping outside her bedroom door. She looked up questioningly at her Mum “Where Am I going to sleep Mum?” This was all new to her, and she hadn’t a clue! “We really need to give your mattress a little time to dry out properly, so why don’t you come and snuggle up with me in my bed? Just this once, mind, so don’t be getting too used to it! And don’t even think about doing this agin, just so you can sleep in the big bed.” she added with a chuckle. “Muuuuuuuuum! How can you even say that? This…this will NEVER, EVER happen again. It just can’t!” And with that, Lucy let go of Lesley’s hand and snuck into her own bedroom, reappearing only moments later with her teddy bear in her arms, looking rather sheepish. But she didn’t really care, right at that moment she needed the warmth and comfort he brought to her. Lesley just smiled and guided them both into her bedroom. As they settled back against the plump, soft pillows and with the velvety duvet pulled up to their chins, they bade each other goodnight, with Lelsley leaning over to kiss her daughter gently on the forehead, and then extinguishing the lights so that the room was plunged into total darkness. It felt like hours that they lay aware there, side by side and each turning over in their own heads the events of the past day, but both must have fallen into a deep sleep for they were not disturbed again until a feint sound caused Lesley to open just half an ear, followed by a slit of an eye, enough to see young Jack peeking around her doorframe. Slowly pulling herself upright and slotting her glasses onto her head, all the while trying to avoid disturbing Lucy who continued to sleep peacefully beside her, Lesley eventually managed to focus properly on Jack and whispered a hoarse “Good Morning” across to him, patting the small space next to her in the bed and gesturing for him to come over. “Morning Mummy! Is t time to get up now? Why’s Lucy in bed with you?” Chapter 26 Lesley glanced blurry-eyed at the clock beside her bed, which read barely 5am. With a groan, she turned back to Jack and answered him in a hushed tone “It’s very early sweetie, we don’t have to get up for at least 2 more hours yet. Here, come and snuggle with Mummy and Lucy for a while.” She carefully skirted around the question, not wanting to explain exactly why Lucy was curled up in her bed, and thinking that the promise of morning cuddles which they’d not all shared as a family since the kids were really young may just do the trick. Jack beamed a wide smile, leaping onto the bed on the opposite side to his sister and crawling under his mums thick duvet. “Sssss Jack, you’ll wake Lucy!” The young girl wriggled a little, but fortunately wasn’t roused from her slumber. It wasn’t long until both Mum and Jack were dozing again, and all three awoke with a start to the sound of the loud alarm buzzing on the bedside table as the clock stuck 7am. As they all stretch and blinked in the morning light, Lucy glanced past her Mum and noticed Jack, with a pang of horror! What was he doing there? Not that she had a problem with him sharing a morning cuddle, of course, but if he was in the bed that must mean that he knew she was. Did he know why? “Good morning loves.” Lesley smiled at both of her children, it had been a very long time since they’d woken cuddled together as a family like that, and whilst she would rather not have had the early morning crisis to deal with, she wasn’t sorry to share a cuddle with them both, not one bit. Jack murmured a “Morning Mummy, morning Lucy.” Before snuggling back down undertone duvet, the top of his hair barely visible on the pillow. And Lucy just looked questioningly over at her Mum, blushing as she recalled the nights events and the reason she was here, and frantically shoved her cuddly toy down under the duvet before Jack could see. “Come on, sleepy heads, time to get up and ready for school! Who’s ready for some breakfast? Tell you what, if you’re both dressed in 10 minutes then I’ll make pancakes, how does that sound?” In typically dramatic fashion, Jack sprung to his feet and ran across the top of the bed nearly falling over in his excitement. He leapt from the end, landing on his bum with a bump before shouting “Yay, pancakes!” And running out of the room at what seemed like 100 miles per hour. Lesley burst out laughing, and even Lucy struggled to stifle a giggle. She had to admit, pancakes for breakfast did sound good. Such a rare treat. Now that Jack was out of earshot, she turned to Lesley and said in a small voice “I’m so sorry about last night, Mum. Jack doesn’t know about it, does he?” “You’ve nothing to be sorry about sweetheart, accidents happen. And no, don’t worry, it’s our little secret. He woke up rather early, so I just told him it was time for family snuggles.” Lucy gave a small sigh and visibly relaxed, the thought of Jack knowing she’d wet her bed had horrified her. The smiled across at her Mum, giving her a big hug and whispering “Thanks, Mum. I love you.” Jack, being a typical 7 year old boy, had thrown his school uniform on, without any regard to what he looked like. His sweatshirt was crumpled, and back to front, shoes on the wrong feet and he’d not even bothered to change his underwear. But, like Mum had asked, he was dressed in less than 10 minutes. In fact, it was more like a minute and a half. He was so excited as he ran along the landing chanting “Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!”, causing Lesley and Lucy to look at each other and roll their eyes. Boys! Passing Lucy’s bedroom, out of the corner of his eye Jack caught a glimpse of his school trousers and undies from yesterday, and remembered what had happened. He felt embarrassed for a spit second, but then a new strange feeling crept up on him. What were they doing there, in a pile by Lucy’s door? Hadn’t she hidden them under her bed as she’d promised? And did his Mum know? Worrying about all of this, he plucked up the courage to poke his head into the bedroom, somewhere he never normally ventured. Keeping his eyes to the ground, in case they should fall on anything too ‘girly’ which he REALLY didn’t want to see, his gaze swept to under Lucy’s bed, but there was nothing there! Is heart leapt up into his mouth, his mum must have found them! That means she probably knows, oh no, oh no. Jack turned away, much of his earlier enthusiasm now sapping away from him, as he knew a telling off would be coming soon. But as his vision swept past the bed, something caught his eye, and he did a double take as he took the sight in. Lucy’s bed was stripped, there were no sheets on the mattress and no sign of the duvet either. It was only as he stood taking in the scene that the vaguely remembered waking up early in the night to a scream, and then a bath being run? He thought he had dreamt it, but perhaps not. Surely Lucy, the big girl who was going to high school soon, she couldn’t have wet the bed? Could she? He never ever remembered her doing that before, not even when she was younger. He’d had a few embarrassing mishaps himself over the years, but never Lucy. His head was spinning as he made his way down the stairs, the thought of pancakes suddenly seeming quite exciting to him again, but not nearly as much as finding out the truth! Chapter 27 Lucy and Lesley clambered out of opposite sides of the bed, in a much more dignified manner than Jack had managed. Pulling her dressing gown around her, Lesley popped to the bathroom before descending the stairs to make a start on breakfast. She’d be able to wash and dress whilst the children were eating, and after her disturbed night she really did need a very strong coffee before attempting anything! Whilst her Mum was in the bathroom, Lucy stepped into her own bedroom and began taking a fresh school uniform from her wardrobe. Changing quickly, she blushed a little as she took off the rather childish, fluffy nightie she’d been wearing and realised that Jack had seen it. Normally she would have considered it far too babyish, but last night it seemed comforting when she needed it. Turning to sit on her bed whilst she pulled on her socks, the blush glowed brighter at the sight of her mattress, stripped of its bedding, and knowing with shame what was hidden on the other side. She really hoped she hadn’t ruined the mattress. As soon as she was fully dressed, Lucy dashed from the room and pulled the door too behind her, waiting to shut away what had happened, hoping she’d be able to forget about it. As the door swung shut, however, something caught her eye. It was the same flash of red which had piqued Jack’s attention when he’d passed as she’d enjoyed the last few moments snuggled next to her Mum, and she felt almost the same horror he had as she pushed the door ajar again and realised that it was the underpants she’d hidden last night, Jack’s wet underpants, on top of his School trousers. Why were they there? They should be under….her bed! Oh no, her Mum had stripped her bed in the night, and had turned the mattress over. She must have found the clothes stashed underneath. Oh my, how was she going to explain this? And poor Jack, if Mum knew then he’d be in trouble too. Disgusted though she was, she quickly ran her hands through the fabric, and to her relief found it to be dry. At least that was something, hopefully they’d been dry when Mum had found them too. If only her bed had been as well, she thought ruefully, as she closed the door again and made her way first to the bathroom, as she wasn’t taking even the slightest chance today, and then down to the kitchen to join her Mum and Brother for a pancake breakfast. “Mmmm, they smell delicious!” Lucy declared as she entered the kitchen, and then giggled loudly at the sight of Jack, whose face was liberally smeared with Nutella from the pancakes he’s decided to wear rather than eat. “Thanks love, I think Jack agrees.” Lesley responded with a chuckle. “Honestly, Mister, you’re supposed to be 7 not 3!”. Jack didn’t even look abashed, licking his lips grinning broadly. “Can I have banana on mine please Mum?” “Of course you can sweetie, they’re nearly ready now. Would you like a glass of juice to go with them?” “Oh, yes please, Orange please mum.” Lucy then caught herself, and quickly added “Just a small glass though, please.” She really wasn’t going to take any chances today, even if that meant she’d be thirsty all day. As Lesley poured the juice, she thought it odd that Lucy had insisted on just a small glass, as usually she had to tell her to go easy with it. Then it clicked, she was probably worrying about what had happened yesterday, and then last nights accident on top of that too. Oh the poor girl, her heart really did go out to her. “Muuuuuuuuummmmm” Came Jack’s voice, barely understandable through a mouthful of food, having finished stuffing himself with pancakes and wiped the remnants of the chocolate spread from his face using his school sweatshirt sleeve, much to the disgust of both Lesley and Lucy who looking on and exchanged a look. “Jack Daniels, you finish eating what’s in your mouth please young man, and then go and wash your face properly. That’s disgusting! When you’ve done that, then you can come and talk to me.” Now jt was Jack’s turn to roll his eyes, fortunately Lesley didn’t see this, but Lucy did and barely managed to stifle a giggle, earning a disapproving luck from her Mum. Whilst Jack was out of the room, to spare Lucy’s blushes, Lesley took the opportunity to have a quick chat with her. “Lucy love, I’ve washed the dress and pants from yesterday, and they’re folded up in that carrier bag on the side. Make sure you take them back to the office today, just in case anybody else needs to borrow them.” She gestured to a shopping bag on the counter, which Lucy was relieved to see was far less conspicuous than the one she’d had to carry her wet things home in yesterday. “And, I know I don’t have to say this to you, you’re a big girl and I don’t want to embarrass you, but don’t feel that you can’t use the toilet at school if you need to. I don’t know where this idea of it not being ‘cool’ to go for a wee came from, but I think you now know that wetting yourself is definitely a whole lot less cool!” Lucy couldn’t have been any more mortified! “Mum! Don’t talk like that, please. Honestly, could you be any more embarrassing?” Despite the attitude, which Lesley decided to let go this once, she was pleased to see her daughters confidence and fieriness was slowly starting to return. “Ok, ok, I’ll say no more on the subject. But please think about what I’ve said.“ Jack was soon back, looking a lot less chocolatey, but the trip to get cleaned up had distracted him, and try as he might he couldn’t remember what it was he wanted to ask his Mum about. Oh well, it can’t have been important, he thought to himself. And if it was I’m sure I can ask later. As ever on a school morning, time seemed to have run away with them, and before anybody realised it was 8am and there was the usual last minute rush to sort shoes, coats, books and bags, and to bundle everybody into the car. Lucy’s trepidation began to build as they drove the short distance to their school, nerves setting in about seeing everybody after what had happened yesterday. It was then that she realised she hadn’t even looked at her phone since the early hours of the morning, and she quickly grabbed it from her pocket and began checking the notifications, so that she knew what she was facing. Chapter 28 As her Mum and Jack chatted about nothing very much, Lucy was soon lost in the virtual world, engrossed in the various posts, messages and statuses which she’d missed. She determinedly avoided those she knew to be malicious, not wanting to get herself worked up into a state again before she arrived at school, instead focussing on those from her closest friends. Firstly there was a string of messages from Becky, starting not long after they went their separate ways the evening before, and with the most recent popping up in front of her as she was reading the previous ones. They started out just asking if she was ok and saying that her friends didn’t think any less of her, then some had obviously been sent when all of the bullying was going on as they were more frantic in their reassurances. By the morning, Becky was obviously starting to panic that her best friend hadn’t replied, that was so unlike her. Now there were missed calls, messages and even posts on social media from her, all begging her to get in contact. Lucy felt bad, she should have checked her phone sooner. Not wanting to try to explain everything in a text, she just sent back a simple ‘I’m ok, sorry Becks been a rough day and nite. Nearly at school, talk to you soon x’ Most of the rest of her group of girls had messaged her too, although none quite so persistently as Becky. They were all mostly the same, asking if she was ok and what had happened. Plus their group chats were full of the same, with everybody confirming that they’d not been able to get hold of her. She was beginning to reply to them all, when she realised that it would take her longer to type all of the messages out than the journey to school, and she’d be seeing them all when she got there so she could tell them she was fine in person. “You ok back there Luce?” Lesley enquired, realising that her daughter had been quiet for a long time, and not sure whether she may have fallen asleep after her disturbed rest overnight. “Mhm, yeah, sorry. Yeah I’m fine thanks Mum, just catching up with everybody, didn’t really feel like it last night.” “Honestly, you’ll be seeing them all in 5 minutes, I’m sure whatever gossip you’re all sharing can wait until then!” Lucy rolled her eyes, her mum just didn’t get it! Turning her attention back to her phone, she glossed past various other derogatory messages, deciding not to waste her time on people like that. But message did catch her eye, and she clicked though to have a read. It was short and simple, saying nothing more than she was worth 100 of any of the ‘idiots’ giving her a hard time, and to keep smiling and rise above them, it could have happened to anybody, and hopefully it would happen to one of them next time! The sender? It was Daniel, the boy who had defended her at school. Blimey, she felt a strange flutter again as she realised this, and suddenly she felt as if she could take on the world. Wasn’t it funny how just one message, from a relative stranger, could change her whole outlook. Before she could think about it any further, or delve into any of the other messages that still awaited her, Lucy felt the car slowing down and looked up to see her mum just pulling into the school car park. Her resolve did start to slip just a little, but she knew she could handle this. She had to, if she went to pieces again then she’d never hear the end of it. No, the only way was to brazen it out, keep her head down but laugh along with it if the others bought it up. And, of course, much as she hated to admit her Mum had been right, to use the school toilets and not take any risks. Clambering out of the car, Jack gave his mum the quickest of pecks on the cheek and then ran across the playground to join in a game with his friends. Lesley then slipped her arms around Lucy and gave her a reassuring hug. “You’ll be fine, and once today is out of the way it will be easier. Remember what I said earlier though, ok?” “Yes Mum.” Was Lucy’s exasperated reply. Ok, so she knew her Mum was right, but she wasn’t going to tell her that! “Don’t forget to grab the bags out of the back of the car to sweetie, and pop straight up to the office with them.” Without really thinking or paying too much attention, Lucy opened the car boot and grabbed the two plastic carrier bags which were in there. Waving goodbye, she quickly walked across the yard to the school entrance and made her way in, heading for Mrs Johnson so she could get rid of this dress once and for all, and then head back out to catch up with her friends. When she arrived at the office, she announced her arrival as she opened the door, but nobody was there. Then, she heard a muffled voice from the back of the room “Just a second, I’ll be out in a moment.” And she realised that the secretary must be in the bathroom. Waiting, not altogether patiently as she wanted to be outside gossiping, Lucy glanced down at the bags in her hands, and then a thought struck her. Bags? Why were there 2? She quickly looked inside the first, and saw it contained as expected the gingham summer dress and the horribly embarrassing undies that she’d had to wear the day before, both washed and dried ready to be returned. With some trepidation, she reached into the second bag, wondering what on earth would be in there. Had she picked up her Mum’s lunch or something by mistake? Perplexed, she pulled out a grey school skirt which looked remarkably familiar. In fact, looking more closely she realised that it was the one she used to wear to school. Odd, she thought Mum had donated that to the charity shop when she’d bought the new ones. And, even odder, what was it doing here? Holding the skirt up and turning it around in her hands, she saw a handwritten note pinned to it, and recognised the loopy handwriting as her mums. ‘Thank you for helping yesterday. I thought it may be a good idea for Lucy to have a change of clothes at School “Just in case”, so have sent a skirt and change of underwear. Please keep these in school in case of an accident. If any other girl needs to borrow them, that’s absolutely fine. Thanks, L. Daniels” Despite all the blushing she’d done over the past 24hrs, Lucy couldn’t have glowed any redder if she had tried! All of the shame and mortification she’d felt so far didn’t even come close, she’d never ever felt so embarrassed in her entire life. She knew that the reception children had to have spare clothes, but even the other infants didn’t. Did her mum really think she was such a baby? She moved to throw the skirt back into the bag, intent on hiding it in her rucksack and then throwing it away, but whilst she was still standing there holding the skirt up Dorothy emerged from the bathroom with a cheery “Good Morning Lucy.” “H…Hi, Miss” Lucy stuttered, hurriedly screwing up the skirt and thrusting it back into the carrier bag. “I’ve brought the clothes back” she said meekly, trying to hide her embarrassment as she handed over the carrier bag, only realising a fraction of a second too late that in her panic she’d shoved the skirt into the wrong bag, and that the secretary now had it along with the offensive note. Oh no, she just wanted the ground to swallow her up. Why did EVERYTHING to do with school have to be so embarrassing? “Thanks Love. How’re you feeling today? A little better than last night, I hope?” Lucy just shrugged in response, wondering whether she could grab the bag back without appearing rude, but it was too late for that. Ever efficient, Dorothy was already emptying the contents out so that they could be returned to the lost property drawer, just in case they were needed again or their rightful owner claimed them. She looked a little confused when a grey skirt fell out of the bag along with he dress, and after hurriedly folding the dress she picked up the skirt and examined it. She knew Lucy had only borrowed the dress and pants, so what was this all about? The pinned note fell off onto her desk, and Dorothy picked it up to read. As she stood watching this unfold, Lucy was on the verge of tears once more, the one thing she had promised herself she would not do in school that day! Finishing reading, and folding the note away, she looked up kindly at Lucy “It’s nothing to be ashamed of you know, Lucy. Your Mum is just thinking of you, and whilst I’m sure you’ll never need these, wouldn’t it be better to know you had something of your own to put on in case of an emergency? You didn’t look very comfortable yesterday wearing that dress.” Try as she might, Lucy just couldn’t bring herself to reply, o she just nodded sadly, and fought to blink back the tears that threatened to fall. This wasn’t how she’d hoped her new day would go, not at all. Just wanting to get away, Lucy hastily threw the second carrier bag which now just contained her own spare underwear onto the secretary desk, then turned around and ran out of the office door as quickly as she could, burning with shame. Chapter 29 Poor Lucy just kept running. She didn’t know where she was heading, she didn’t want to be anywhere, but she knew that above all she didn’t want to see anybody. Only yesterday, 24 hours ago, everything had seemed perfect in her life. She was popular, confident, school was going well, she had no cares or worries in the world, and she would soon be starting high school. Basically the perfect life for an 11 year old. But now, in less than a day, she’d wet her pants spectacularly in front of her class, been humiliated in front of the whole school, had photos of her shame shared around the internet, wet her bed like a baby and now it seemed even her own Mum just wanted to humiliate her! How could she have done that, after all of her kind words and reassurances, how could she? “Argh!” Having reached the very end of the school building, Lucy tucked herself away in the corner under the staircase, hoping she would go unnoticed and could hide hear for the rest of the day. Here she sat and sobbed quietly to herself, grieving for all that she felt she had lost in just one short day. Her solitude was short lived, however, when she heard her name being called. “Lucy, where are you?” She tried to stifle her sniffs, but somebody obviously knew she was here somewhere, and they weren’t giving up looking. Eventually, as the voice became closer and clearer, she realised it was her friend Becky. For all she had wanted to be alone, the sound of a friendly, caring voice was too much for her, and she sobbed loudly again as she replied “I’m here, Becks, under the stairs.” Becky ran down the stairs, sliding to a halt at the bottom and dropping down to her knees right next to Lucy and throwing her arms around her best friend. “Oh Luce, you poor thing, whatever has happened to upset you so much?” “I’m such a baby Becky. I’ve ruined everything. H…How did you f..f…find me here?” “Now let’s just get one thing straight Lucy, you’re no baby! You’re the bravest girl I know, coming back into school today after what happened yesterday. Nobody would have blamed you for hiding away. I saw you getting out of the car and dashing into school. When you didn’t come back out, I wondered whether you’d gone to the office to, well, sort anything out. And Mrs Johnson said you had been there, but had been rather upset and had ran away, so I’ve been searching for you ever since!” Lucy was both amazed and impressed, the meant Becky must have been searching for her for about 20 minutes. She managed a very small watery smile for her friend, who in return grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I was feeling ok Becks, a bit nervous but thought I could do it. Then when I got to the office, I found out as well as sending back the dress, Mum had also sent in a change of clothes for me, in case I had another accident. Even my own Mum doesn’t trust me. Even she thinks I’m a baby.” And with that she teared up again, hiding her face in her hands. Becky was shocked by what she’d just heard, but tried not to show it. “But didn’t you do it on purpose Luce, so there’s no chance of it happening again, is there? It’s not like you keep on wetting yourself or anything like that! Why would your Mum think you’d need a chance of clothes in year 6?” Lucy and Becky had been best friends for years, first meeting when they started reception at this same school, so they’d been through all kinds together. As a result of their strong bond, they also knew they could talk to each other about anything, no matter what. And, of course, as in any true friendship, they were always totally honest with each other. Although this current situation was testing Lucy’s resolve and she very nearly fibbed to her friend. “I know Becky, I’m mean obviously she doesn’t know that I started off doing it on purpose yesterday, she’d kill me. There’s only you that knows that. But still, a one off accident in what probably 6 years or so, why would she even think that?” As soon as she said it, Lucy was wracked with guilt, and before her friend could respond, she had to say something. “No, I can’t do it Becks. Actually, in truth, there’s something more. But you must, MUST promise me that you’ll never tell another soul, not even once, not ever. I can’t lie to you, but this can’t, CAN’T go any further.” Looking shocked, Becky squeezed Lucy’s hand tightly again. “You know that Luce, I’d never tell anybody anything that you said to me in confidence, just as I know I could trust you with my deepest secrets, even with my life. But whatever on earth is it that’s got you into this state?” “I…well…it” Lucy stammered as she began, she really couldn’t believe she was about to have this conversation. “It wasn’t just that one-off accident yesterday. I don’t know why, or how, b…b…but after all of the comments online last night, I had this awful nightmare and after I woke up screaming I..I…I, oh Becks, I’d wet my bed.” The relief of telling her friend and getting this off her chest was immense, but the shame was so great, she broke down once more and cried harder than she’d ever cried before. Before either girl could say anything further, the school bell rang loudly throughout the building, and they both realised that hundreds of kids would be filing through the door and up the stairs above their heads at any second. Chapter 30 Like a pair of rabbits caught in the headlights, they looked at each other in horror, neither speaking as the bell continued to ring in their ears. They knew that, right at that moment, the classes would be lining up outside ready to come in. Not only would they probably be missed, they were about to get caught hiding inside the school when everybody was supposed to be outside. Unless you were seeing a teacher or going to the office, no children were allowed to be inside until after the bell had gone. Thinking quickly, Becky grabbed Lucy by the hand and roughly pulled her to her feet, running ahead up the stairs and pulling her friend behind. Once they reached the top corridor, they ducked into the toilets and paused to catch their breath. “If we hang out in here for a few minutes, we can sneak out and into our class when they come upstairs. And if anybody sees us, we’ve just been to the loo.” “Genius, Becks!” Lucy glanced at herself in the mirror as she was answering, and was horrified by the sight the greeted her. Puffy red eyes, tear streaked cheeks and, worst of all, a trail of snot that looked like something you’d see on a 4 year old. Oh my, how she’d let her standards slip! Splashing her face with cold water, she turned to Becky nervously and asked “So, do you think I’m a baby now you know what happened?” “Oh Luce, of course I don’t. Not at all! Come on, accidents can happen, even to the best of us. Look, I’d be lying if I said that I’d never had to have a change of bedsheets in the middle of the night.” Now it was Becky who turned a shade of red. “It’s not happened for a while now…but do you remember me leaving Charlotte’s sleepover early when we were in year 4?” Lucy was open-mouthed as she gasped “You didn’t?? You don’t need to say stuff just to make me feel better you know.” “I’m not babe, if I was don’t you think I’d have picked something a little less, well, embarrassing? Like my Brother had done it or something? Nope, it’s happened to me too. At least you had an excuse, you were having a bad dream an after everything that happened yesterday I think it’s perfectly understandable. Me? I just forgot to go for a wee before we went to bed.” Lucy managed a small giggle at that, and Becky was right, he did feel a little better knowing that she wasn’t the only one. Ok, so she was the only one to do it in class in year 6, and undoubtedly the only one her age to have spare clothes sent into school, but all in all she was starting to feel a bit brighter. Now she just had to get through the rest of the day, and face the rest of her class and her tormentors. Outside the bathroom, they heard the sound of feet shuffling past, and realised it was time to make their break, before the class had sat down and the teacher noticed they were missing. For once, luck was on their side, and they stepped out of the doorway right into their own group of classmates who were filing past. Perfect! Lucy was reassured by the warm smiles so many of her friends gave her, and even more so when a few made a point of saying hi and asking how she was, but in a subtle and discreet way so as not to draw attention to her. When they reached the classroom, Lucy very nearly went to sit in their ‘usual’ seats, but recalling the horror the had taken place there only a few short hours ago, she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it, instead guiding Becky to the desk t the very back, thinking that today of all days they may need to chat a little more than usual, so being further away from Miss Jenkins could only be a good thing. The desk across the back of the room had three chairs rather than the usual two, and it didn’t escape either of the girls notice that none of the others had chosen to come and sit with them. Not that it really mattered, but usually there was never an empty seat next to Lucy, so it certainly stood out a bit. Lucy however shrugged this off, if the worst she had to put up with today was her mates choosing to sit a bit further away, after everything else that had happened, she could live with that. Besides, she thought charitably, perhaps they just wanted to give her and Becks some space. Yeah, that was probably it. As they began taking out their books and pencils, along with their water bottles (not that Lucy intended to touch hers…definitely taking no chances!), a deep but nervous voice came from behind. “D’ya mind if I join you? I mean…if nobody else is sitting here, that is.”