Piddly

@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.”

Wow, thanks guys! It's great to know that people are reading and enjoying it. Here you go then, the next 5 chapters to be going on with. Part 1 - Chapter 11 “Thank you girls” she said, with a smile as she sat back down at her desk. “How’re you feeling now Lucy?” “A little better, thanks Miss. Talking to Becky has helped a bit.” In truth Lucy still felt pretty awful, but her friends reassurance had helped her to regain her composure, and she felt that she may be able to tackle the afternoon of challenges which lay ahead of her, if reluctantly. Becky squeezed her friends hand in a gesture of solidarity, causing Dorothy to blink back her emotions once more. Here was true friendship playing out before her eyes, and she was proud of the two girls she had seen growing up since the started at the school. “Come on Luce, let’s go and get some lunch, before it’s too late. The girls will be wondering where we are. And I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!” Now she thought about it, Lucy was starting to feel a little hungry herself. She still felt sick, but knew that was just the upset and her nerves, and a sandwich would probably help everything to settle down. She wasn’t so sure about seeing anybody else just yet though. “I could maybe go for a sandwich or something, but can we just stay inside for a bit rather than going out with everybody else? I’m not sure I’m quite up to that yet…and this will take some explaining.” She gestured to her dress, reddening again as she did so. “Ah don’t worry about it Luce, as I said there will be plenty of friendly ribbing I’m sure, but it’s really not the end of the world you know. Come on, let’s go.” As both girls stood, Lucy again making exaggerated efforts to stretch the hem of her dress downwards, she had a sudden thought and turned to Mrs Johnson “What about my…you know, things, miss?” “Pop back down to see me at the end of the day Lucy, and you can pick everything up then. Saves you having to carry it around with you.” She gave another of her warm, reassuring smiles and was pleasantly surprised to receive one back, understanding that Lucy must have been worried about carrying the bag of wet clothes around all day and having to explain it away. “Have a good afternoon girls.” “Thanks Miss.” they chorused as they made their way out into the corridor and headed towards the school canteen. Walking down the corridor, Lucy became obsessed with pulling at her dress, as well as trying to hide what she was wearing with her backpack, to the point that Becky had to intervene. “You do realise you’re just drawing more attention to yourself, don’t you? Just walk normally, you are still wearing school uniform after all, lots of the younger girls have dresses just like that on, so you’re not going to stand out unless you make it obvious.” Ever image conscious, she realised that her friend was right and hooked her bag back up onto her shoulders. Drawing even more attention to herself was the last thing she wanted to do. When they reached the canteen, both girls grabbed sandwiches and drinks, before finding a quiet table tucked away in the corner where they could carry on chatting without too may prying ears. “So, what’s the plan with Moss then? Are you just going to tell her you’ve not done the work, and let her call your Mum?” “Think I’m going to have to.” Replied a crestfallen Lucy “I’m certainly not going to try and pull any more daft stunts, as that’s not exactly worked out well for me so far! And I don’t have many other options. I really can’t believe that I’ve put myself through all of this for nothing! Hopefully Mum will be a bit more sympathetic after what happened earlier, although I doubt it. ” Lucy was sat with her back to the room, facing out of a window onto the gardens at the front of the school, with Becky opposite her looking towards the serving area. After a few minutes, Becky began to notice that other kids were looking and pointing in their direction, whispering and giggling amongst themselves. She even caught one or two comments about ‘babies’ and ‘bet she wets the bed too’, causing her heart to sink. She was so glad Lucy hadn’t picked up on all of this, but it certainly sounded like the story of her friends unfortunate accident had spread through the school. Oh dear, she really hoped it blew over soon. Part 1 - Chapter 12 The two girls spent most of what was left of their lunch break sat chatting at that canteen table, usual tween stuff, with Becky making a special effort to keep her friend distracted. When they noticed the dinner ladies starting to pack everything away, they realised it was time to move on. “Not long until the bell now, I’m just going to nip to the loo before the next lesson, you coming?” “Funnily enough Becks, I don’t need to go today for some reason!” Lucy retorted, giving her friend a cheeky jab. “I wonder why that could be?” “Are you sure you don’t want to try? We don’t want any more little accidents now, do we Luce?” Becky couldn’t move out of the way in time before the playful punches started to rain down on her, both girls ending up in fits of laughter as they made their way through the canteen towards the toilets. Walking into the loos, they passed a group of girls from the year below, and there was no mistaking the snide remark of “Isn’t it a bit late for that.” Both girls heard, but fortunately Lucy kept her head held high and Becky decided to let it pass, if her friend was rising above it then she wasn’t going to start something. Ablutions taken care of, the pair slowly made their way across to Mrs Moss’ classroom, with Lucy in particular dreading what as to come. Time to face the music, she thought. Ah well, if nothing else the dressing down her Mum was bound to give her later may at least make her forget about the mornings accident. Probably better to be in trouble for being a bit rebellious at 11, than for wetting your pants! The bell went just as they reached the door, perfect timing. Lucy stopped outside and looked apprehensively at her friend. “What if they all laugh at me?” “Stop worrying! I’m sure that’s not going to happen, but even if it is there’s really not very much you can do about it now. Let’s get in and sat down before everybody comes in from outside, you’ll be a lot less obvious then. And for once we should be grateful for old Moss being as strict as she is, you know there will be no chance for people to chat and make any comments during the lesson.” They took their seats and began getting their books and equipment out of their bags, somewhat surprised not to see Mrs Moss glowering at them from the front of the classroom as usual. She was always there before any of the pupils arrived, where was she? A clattering from behind them announced the arrival of their classmates, causing Lucy to cringe and withdraw within herself once more. They’d all been in that history lesson, they’d all been witness to her shame. Whether anybody said anything or not, she was utterly mortified. A couple of their friends, Zoe and Emily (who’s sleepover had led to all of this in the first place!) made a point of coming over to say hello before taking their own seats. Neither of them said anything about what had happened, for which Lucy was eternally grateful, although a niggle inside her did make her wonder whether they had just come to look at what she was wearing properly. Astonishingly, one of the boys called Daniel also came over. He wasn’t a close friend, in fact both Lucy and Becky had probably only spoken to him maybe a dozen times all term. Not because they didn’t get on, but boys and girls tended not to ‘play’ together at that age, he was busy playing footie with is mates whilst they tended to sit and chat. “Hope you’re ok Lucy” came his slightly deeper boys voice from behind them. “It could have been anybody that happened to, take no notice if anybody say anything.” “See.” Becky muttered under her breath, “Told you, nothing to worry about.” Lucy was just shocked, her little heart fluttering just a little. Maybe she could get through this after all, and maybe Daniel was nicer then ‘just another boy’ – she’d never noticed him before, but his simple kind gesture made her feel so much better. Before she could dwell on this any further, the classroom door opened once again and a hush fell across the children, who had all turned expecting to see Mrs Moss and preparing to spring to their feet as she expected of them. But it wasn’t her… Part 1 - Chapter 13 As Miss Jenkins entered the room, all eyes were on her. What on earth was going on? Where was Mrs Moss? “Good Afternoon Children.” She greeted them all warmly, with a broad smile. “Mrs Moss has been called away unexpectedly to an important meeting, so I’m afraid you will have to make do with me for the rest of the afternoon.” Lucy and Becky looked at other in disbelief, their delight barely contained. The rest of the class broke out into a melee of chatter, happiness abound and a distinct relief across the room as the tension lifted almost at once. “You’ve done it Luce, you’ve got away with it! So long as you get that homework done tonight, Moss will never know. You won’t get into trouble, you won’t have to miss the sleepover. It’s a miracle!” Lucy slowly took all of this in. Becky was of course right, no Moss meant the homework wouldn’t be collected today. She could find and complete it that night, her Mum and Dad wouldn’t need to now. She breathed a massive sigh of relief, and then was hit with a dawning realisation. “Oh my GOD Becks, it was all for NOTHING! I wet myself for absolutely no reason, I humiliated myself in front of the whole class when I didn’t even need to. I can’t believe this. I’m so glad she’s not here, but I think I hate Moss even more now! Argh, I can’t believe this has happened.” Becky quietly giggled to herself. She could see the irony of the situation, but honesty there really was no pleasing her friend sometimes. Barely 10 minutes ago she knew that Lucy would have given anything in the world for their teacher to miss this lesson, and now she was bemoaning that very fact. She raised her eyes to the ceiling, making sure Lucy saw what she was doing, and then ducked out of the way of yet another playful punch. “Ok boys and girls, time to settle down now please.” The teacher called from the front of the class with a tone of authority. “Just because Mrs Moss isn’t here, doesn’t mean there’s not work to be done. Now, on the subject, I understand you all had a homework assignment to complete?” Lucy’s stomach lurched again, as she thought to herself ‘No, surely not!’ “Well don’t panic, I don’t know anything about the task you were set, so there’s little point in me collecting it in from you today. Just PLEASE make sure you ALL have it ready for your next lesson, otherwise I’m sure I don’t need to repeat the warning you were given earlier.” “And, breathe.” Becky whispered to Lucy, aware of just how pale her friend had gone at the mention of homework. “Whew, that was close!” The maths lesson passed unexpectedly pleasantly, for once almost all of the class enjoyed what they were being taught, and most actually learned something too. As they had their next lesson with Miss Jenkins too, there was no need to pack away at the end – instead when the bell rang she gave them al 5 minutes to relax, chat, nip to the loo or whatever else they needed to do before settling down for the final lesson of the day. Lucy and Becky used this time to turn around and chat to Emily and Zoe, mostly about the lucky escape they’d just had, and still clearly skirting around the subject of Lucy’s accident and what had happened since. It would have to be talked about at some point, but not just now. Becky was listening intently to the hubbub around them, trying to sense the mood and topics of the others. Mostly it was the same as theirs, but she did clearly hear the group of bully’s who had been so cruel as Lucy left the classroom earlier carrying on their nastiness, with comments about how Lucy should go to the toilet so she doesn’t piss everywhere again. She glared in their direction, there really was no need! And she was so glad that her poor friend hadn’t heard. The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly enough, and before long it was time to pack away before the final bell. Lucy’s nerves began to set in again, she knew that this meant being exposed to all of the school again whilst wearing the dress. She knew she had to go back to the office to collect the dreaded bag of wet clothes, and worst of all she knew that her Mum would soon be there, and she’d have lots of explaining to do. What would her Mum say, she had no idea. And her little brother…oh no, she’d forgotten about him! Did he know? If not, he would do soon. Burning shame crept back up inside her as she blushed a crimson red once more, this was probably going to be the most embarrassing part of it all. Part 1 - Chapter 14 After saying goodbye to her friend, Lucy slowly made her way back to Mrs Johnsons office to collect her bag of clothes. She was dreading this, walking out into the yard holding it in front of everybody else, knowing just how many of them would no doubt be talking about her. There was one faint glimmer of positivity though, and that was the sooner she had her bag, the sooner she could be home and changed, back into some of her own clothes at long last. Then she’d only have the embarrassment of her accident to worry about, not being dressed like a baby too. Knocking on the door, Lucy let herself in with a friendly but subdued “Hello Miss, I’ve come for my bag please.” “Hi Lucy, how’s your afternoon been? I heard a little rumour that your maths lesson may have been a little better than you were expecting?” Dorothy smiled broadly at the young girl as she said this, winking slightly as she did so. “No problem, I popped your things in the cupboard out of the way. One second and I’ll grab them for you.” “Yeah not too bad thanks, Miss. Well, considering…” Lucy gestured to her dress, and the barely disguised yellow bag that the secretary was now carrying over to her. “I’m sure you’ve had better days! But try not to worry, it’s all over with now. You’ll soon be home, in a nice bath and then tucked up in bed ready forget all about it, I’m sure. Don’t forget, your Mum is picking you and Jack up, so wait out on the playground for her. And if she wants to talk to me, show her where I am please.” Lucy gathered all of her things together, doing her best to hold the plastic bag so that as little of the yellow was showing as possible, although not very successfully. Satisfied the she’d done as much as she could, she thanked Mrs Johnson again and then made her way outside to face the music. It seemed strange, hanging around in the playground at the end of the day. She’d been making her own way home for a couple of years now, and usually collected her little brother and then set straight off. But Mum was coming today, so she knew she had to wait. Very conscious of how she was dressed, and even more so of the plastic bag she was clutching tightly, Lucy stood off to the side away from most people and tried to keep herself to herself, not wanting to be drawn into any conversations or to have more people looking at her than she was sure already where. Standing there, her mind began to wander and she was soon thinking about the fun they’d all have at Emily’s birthday sleepover. Anytime they slept at each others houses it was always a laugh, but this time at least a dozen of them would be there, and she couldn’t wait! She even began to put the events of the day to one side in her mind, forgetting momentarily about the discussion which awaited her once her Mum arrived. And then she was jolted from her daydreams by a shout from behind her which chilled her to her core. “Look Tommy, it’s true, what Davie said is true. Lucy DID wee herself, look, look. She’s got a yellow bag, and she’s wearing somebody else’s dress and everything. I can’t believe she wee’d herself like a baby. Hahahah.” There was no mistaking that voice, it was her little brother. Lucy was devastated, how could he have shouted something like that across the playground in front of EVERYBODY? She just wanted the ground to swallow her up. All at once, the shame she’d felt earlier washed back over her, but 10x worse. She blushed furiously and tears began falling down her cheeks once again. And then, as if on cue, she hears another voice bellow across the yard, this time filled with authority. Her Mum, coming to her rescue. “JACK DANIELS* you stop that RIGHT NOW.” Well, almost to her rescue. If only she hadn’t followed up with “It’s not like you’ve never had an accident. Now leave your sister alone, I’m sure she’s embarrassed enough without you shouting everywhere about it.” Thanks, Mum, Lucy thought to herself. Just what I needed, you confirming to everybody that what he’d said was true. Just marvellous! Angry though she was, however, it was nothing to how upset she was with Jack. She couldn’t help it, great sobs racked though her and she ran forward to throw her arms around her Mum, hugging and crying like she hadn’t since she was much younger, not even realising that she was still in the playground, surrounded by all of her friends. What a spectacle she had become. After a few minutes, Lucy managed to compose herself a little, and extracted herself from the tangle she had become around her Mum. Now she was just embarrassed by having such a meltdown so publicly. She was pleased to see Jack looking suitably chastened after his dressing down, and felt sure that their Mum mentioning his own past mishaps whilst his friend Tommy was around had probably played a big part in this. She meekly handed the plastic bag to her Mum, who took it without saying anything, and the three of them began walking to the car. As they approached the vehicle, her Mum unlocked the doors so that they could all climb in. Seatbelts buckled, they pulled away, and it was only as they turned out of the school carpark that Lucy reapplied something. “Erm, Mum, why are we going the wrong way? Our house is in the opposite direction.” *Totally unintentional, oops! ? Part 1 - Chapter 15 “You’ve not forgotten, have you Lucy? We’ve got our dentist appointments today. Just a quick checkup, then as we’re going to be in town anyway I need to nip into the supermarket for a few things.” “But Muuuuuuuuuuuum, I REALLY need to go home and get changed! Can’t we do that first, it will only take a few minutes?” Lucy pleaded with her Mother. The very last thing she wanted was to go out into town dressed like this. If any of her friends saw, she’d never live it down. Quick as a flash, before her Mum could answer, Jack chipped in “If you’d gone to the toilet when you had too, you wouldn’t have to wear that dress, would you. Big Baby” Lucy’s face contorted in a mixture of rage and humiliation. She bit back her retort, knowing it would only get her in trouble, and was glad she’d taken the moral high ground for once when her Mum stepped in to defend her. “Stop teasing your Sister right now Jack, or you’ll be grounded for the weekend.” The stern voice and withering look she gave him in the mirror being enough to make him take the threat seriously. “And I’m sorry Lucy, but the first appointment is 3:30, and it’s already nearly that time now. If we stopped at home first, we’d be late. I’m sure you can wait until we get home to change, besides it’s a lovely sunny day, perfect for a summer dress.” She knew there was no point in arguing, and it was satisfying hearing Jack being told off after he’d been so mean to her. No way was she going to agree that any time was perfect for a summer dress though! She just wanted it off and to never, ever see it again. The rest of the journey was made in silence, with Mrs Daniels enjoying the peace and the two children lost in their own thoughts. Only 10 minutes later, they were pulling into the dentist carpark, Lucy really hoping that none of her friends would be in the waiting room. As they made their way up the stairs to the first floor reception, passing the patient toilets, Jack couldn’t resist a whispered snipe “Shouldn’t you go for a wee Lucy, you don’t want to have an accident in the dentist’s chair!” She blushed once more, but didn’t even bother to come up with a retort. The sooner he got bored with this, the better, she thought to herself, although at the same time she was starting to think how she could get her revenge. Lucy was the first to be called in to the the examination room, and she self-consciously took a seat on the large leather chair as the dentist confirmed her details with her Mum, before turning his attention to her. “Well Lucy, how are you doing today? Looking very summery I must say.” The poor girl inwardly groaned. Why did EVERYBODY have to notice and comment on how she was dressed. Usually she was pleased by the attention, but not today. “I’m fine, thanks.” she mumbled, tugging at the hem of her dress again, realising with horror that the reclining action of the chair probably meant that she was giving the dentist and his assistant quite a view of the childish undies she was now wearing, and also hoping the wet wipes and deodorant had done a good enough job of removing the smell of wee, as the dentist was leaning very close to her. “Ah that’s good. No problems with your teeth I hope? And I’m sure you’re being a big girl and brushing them twice every day, yes?” Lucy just nodded, blushing again and feeling convinced that the dentist was talking to her like she was much younger. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she didn’t like it at all. “Ok, all done. You can pop down from the chair now.” Turning to his computer, the dentist updated her records and was shocked when he noticed that she was 11. Yes she was quite tall, but apart from that he’d have said she was maybe 9 at the most. Perhaps she just liked to dress younger, he thought. “You can go back out and play in the waiting room now if you like, and can you send your brother through please?” ‘Play in the waiting room’? Yep, Lucy definitely wasn’t imagining it, he must think she’s a lot younger than she is! Does how she’s dressed really make such a difference? She cringed as she hurried out of the room. “Jack, your turn!” She called, adding a mischievous “Don’t cry like a baby this time.” As she knew Jack really hated visiting the dentist, but immediately regretting her jibe as she heard Jack’s response. “I’m not a Baby like you Lucy, at least I don’t wee myself and cry about it.” Jack didn’t really have an indoor voice, so this was of course broadcast loudly across the waiting room, filled as it was with a mixture of parents and children from about 5 right up to late teens. Cue more abject mortification, with Lucy shrinking into a huddle on the chair. She’d probably asked for that, she realised, but it still hurt. Lucy took some quiet satisfaction in seeing her brothers eyes were red and his face tearstained as he finally came back to the waiting room nearly 20 minutes later, although she knew better than to say anything. He had far more on her than she had on him at that moment, and she wasn’t a fan of that at all. “Come on kids, let’s get the shopping done, and then we can get going. Anybody need a wee before we go? It may be a while before we are back home, and one little accident is more than enough for today I’d say.” There goes Mum, typically embarrassing, Lucy thought, as both her and Jack shook their heads. Baiting each other had gotten boring, so for now at least they were just choosing to ignore each other instead. The trip to the supermarket passed without incident, and they were soon speeding down the main road towards home. Lucy couldn’t wait to get in and jump in the shower, to wash away the remainder of her shame and then get some proper clothes on so she didn’t look like a baby anymore. As they drove, she noticed Jack had gone much quieter, and as she watched him she thought she knew the reason why. Normally, like her, he dashed to the loo as soon as they got home from school, and she usually even let him go first. Whilst for her it was about being ‘cool and grown up’ by not using the school toilets, Jack simply preferred to spend playtime playing and so usually had to go by the end of the day. Today, of course, their journey home had included the dentist visit along with a shopping trip, so it had taken at least an hour longer than usual, and she knew he’d not gone at the dentist as he hated that place and had just wanted to get away as quickly as possible. He wasn’t saying anything, but his legs were squeezed together and she felt sure he’d make a run for the bathroom just as soon as they arrived home. Remembering just how mean Jack had been to her about her accident, Lucy’s eyes twinkled as she started to think about how to get her own back.

Just gauging whether there's any interest in this here, before I continue to share? The story itself is up to 126 chapters, well over 150,000 words split into 3 parts now over at www.theforgottenhomework.co.uk - I don't want to draw people away from here though, and have always thought forums are an excellent means of serialising stories and gaining valuable feedback, so if there's any interest I'll keep sharing a handful of chapters at a time.

Thanks @kerry - honest answer, I'm not quite sure why yet myself ?. Nothing I write has a plan to it, I just let my fingers do the typing and see where we end up. I'm part way through writing a massive novel length (well, several novels by the time I've finished) coming of age type wetting story which is far more typical/predictable than this, and the characters in that have gotten so far under my skin that I swear they're writing the damned thing themselves! That's actually where this one was born - I was publishing the other story on another forum and due to the characters being underage (although it's strictly non-sexual in any way, shape, form etc.) a rule change meant I had to take a break from it and ultimately relocate it. I needed a new writing project to keep my mind busy, so challenged my regular readers to give me an usual subject to work to, and this is what they came up with. I'm sure Katie will have a good reason...will be sure to let you know when she finally tells me!

As she walked away across the yard toward the stable block, Katie’s mind was in turmoil, with so many conflicting emotions trying to fight their way to the surface and vying for her attention. Everything that had just happened with Jet was clouding her thoughts, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was crossing the yard almost bow-legged as a result of her accident, starting to shiver as the wetness took a hold and absolutely mortified that she’d disgraced herself so completely for the firs time in at least a decade. Right now, as much as she wanted to be with Jet, to explore the emotions she was feeling and to get to know him so much better, intimately perhaps, at the same time she wanted to be as far away from him as humanely possible. She just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry herself to sleep, to forget the horror of what had just happened, she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Despite her tough exterior, as she hobbled across the yard, poor Katie couldn’t stop the steady stream of silent tears from cascading down her cheeks,. Jet was besotted, absolutely smitten by this young beauty who had unexpected ridden into his life and he practically danced around the tack room as he finished tidying up, hanging Lucy’s saddle and reins in their place and mopping the tiled floor with a spring in his step which he’d never felt before. When he’d first approached the livery manager that afternoon asking for a few shifts to help support himself whilst they were in town, never in a million years did he expect anything like this to happen. He’d never believed in love at first sight, hell he wasn’t really sure he believed in love at all, perhaps because they were so nomadic that he’d never been settled anywhere long enough to build strong bonds with anybody before. He just ambled through life, more at one with the animals and nature than other people who often seemed so self-absorbed and destructive, so unlike Katie. Something troubled him, however, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, try as he might. Katie was clearly so headstrong, so independent, and that’s perhaps why he felt such kinship with her. He could tell that, like him, she made her own way in life, followed her own rules and had an ingrained determination to succeed, perhaps similarly to him because their circumstances had forced them to develop such a resilience if they were ever going to get anywhere in life. All of this was at odds, however, with the vulnerability he had sensed after she’d come out of the bathroom. It was as though her resolve had crumbled, she’d almost regressed into a much younger, less fiercely independent version of herself, and he couldn’t quite understand what had caused it. Clearly when she’d ridden back into the yard she was in quite some distress, that was evident from her voice and the way she had bolted as soon as he’d taken Spirit’s reins from her, and he’d been fearful that she’d perhaps taken a bad fall or otherwise hurt herself, although having seen her afterwards that didn’t seem to fit, she’d looked very uncomfortable but not badly injured. Perhaps it was just that she’d desperately needed to use the toilet? He wasn’t sure though - surely being a rider, and outdoors type like him, she could have taken care of that whilst out on the moors? Yes it would be a little more tricky for a girl, but plenty of the traveller women managed it without issue. Besides, even if she wasn’t comfortable being quite so ‘at one’ with nature, it’s not that she was a young child, a need to pee couldn’t possibly have caused her such distress, could it? Hurrying to lock up the tack room, he quickly followed the path Katie had so recently trodden, seeking out the faint glow of the stable block lights, hoping to continue their moment of intimacy and perhaps find answers to his many questions, and at the very least to firm up their plans to meet again tomorrow. Besides, he couldn’t leave without saying goodbye, he had the yard keys in his pocket! Taking sanctuary in Spirit’s stable stall, Katie patted and comforted him before crumpling into a heap against the wooden divider, broken and distraught. “Oh Spirit, how on earth do I get out of this God awful mess? Why did I have to wet my pants like a preschooler in front of the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met? How can I go home and face my folks like this? Why doesn’t anything ever go right for me? Why, why why?” Wild, wintery winds were now howling across the livery yard, channelled through the valley, it sounded like a storm was brewing and Katie knew she had a long, soggy, uncomfortable walk home ahead of her. Beginning to regain some composure, and realising that the longer she stayed the worst her journey home would likely be, the girl pulled herself up and dusted herself down, cringing as the cold wet fabric of her jodhpurs was pushed up against her skin, reminding her once more of her humiliating situation. As she reached across to turn out the stable light before bolting the door closed, she spotted Jet leaning against the outside of the stall, a nervous, worried expression etched across his rugged feature. How long had he been there? Had he heard what she’d said? Please no! Please…

After a long and tiring day at college, Katie Swanson could not wait to let her hair down - quite literally - and let go of the stress of her week. She didn’t have plans to go wild and party though, oh no, what she was looking forward to most was riding off into the sunset astride her faithful and trusty stead, Spirit. Katie had not long turned 17, and was currently working her way through the first year of sixth form college, studying hard to earn decent grades in her A-Level exams so that she could have her pick of the best universities and really make a successful career for herself. She knew she had to, she had little choice, her family had very little, and what they did manage to scrape together usually got pissed up the wall. None of them worked, at least not legitimately, so she had no idea where her own commitment and dedication came from, but right from the age of 12 she’s done all she could to earn some money and pay her own way in life. Perhaps the stigma of being labelled a ‘scrounger’ and a ‘benefit kid’ through school had stuck with her and really left it’s mark - she wanted better than that, she knew she was worth more than that, and she was determined to prove it not only to those who looked down their noses at her and her family, but also to herself. Spirit really was her pride and joy, it had taken her working all through her school holidays since she’d started at high school a little over half a decade ago, but finally towards the end of her last summer term she’d managed to scrape together enough money to buy him, and how her heart had swelled as she’d met him at the livery yard for the first time. She’d melted, her tough exterior crumbling away around her and she’d dissolved into tears of unbridled joy. He was just perfect, everything she wanted in life, and he was hers - nobody else’s, all hers. Katie’s passion for horses had all started back in her first term at her new school, she was only 11 then, and had been invited to a friends ‘pony party’ at the local riding stables. All of the other girls had arrived with their own helmets, matching jodhpurs and one or two had even arranged for their own ponies to be transported from home - that was when she’d realised just how different her own background was to that of all of there friends, and it had really hurt. She’d been the one in tatty jeans and t-shirt, with no idea how to handle a horse, but she’d fallen in love with everything about riding and quickly proved to have a certain way with the ponies, a confidence which belied her lack of experience and which took both her friends and the stables staff completely by surprise. At the end of the party, the yard manager had approached her slovenly dad to ask whether he’d consider sending her for riding lessons, because they were so impressed by her natural talent and thought that with a little nurturing she could develop into a truly skilful handle and rider. Of course, he’d done nothing but laugh in the kiddy gentleman’s face, and that’s before he’d heard what the cost would be! Katie was heartbroken, but this reaction only steeled her resolve, making her more determined than ever to achieve her goal and make her dreams come true. Unbeknownst to her dad, Katie had visited the stables again after school later on that week, and had pleaded with the manager to be allowed to help out. She had no means of payment, and she made that quite clear, but she could do anything that they’d let her if it meant that she got to spend some time with the horses. Over the years, Katie had spent every spare waking moment at the yard - working in the stables when the manager would let her, and riding and spending time with the horses the rest of the time. Her natural horsemanship skill continued to shine through, and as she became more confident her ability grew and grew, until she could handle even the biggest and most stubborn stallions liveried there with ease, putting even the full time staff to shame at times with how easily the animals obeyed her. She’s saved every penny that she earned, not treating herself to so much as a packet of sweets or a magazine through the entire five years until eventually she’d accumulated enough to buy a handsome black colt of her very own, a 4 year old standing at a little over 14 hands, and her one true love in life, her Spirit. Even now the intensity of her studies had increased considerably, Katie made sure to find time to visit the yard every single day, without fail. Often she’d be there at the crack of dawn, mucking out and helping in the tack room, conscious that whilst she’d reached her target, horses cost a lot of money in stabling, food and vet bills, so she had to keep earning if she was going to be able to support Spirit. Then, like today, as soon as she finished at college she’d shoot home, change her clothes and then walk the 2 miles back to the stables to exercise him, and often one or more of the other horses if their owners weren’t able to get there that day - that’s the way the livery worked, everybody looked out for each other, and it’s the main reason Katie felt so happy and comfortable there. Having dropped her college bag on the hallway floor, she called a hurried “Hello” through to her family, who she knew would be sat in the lounge working their way through the days supply of cheap and cheerless supermarket beer, barely even noticing whether she was home or not, before heading up the stairs for a quick shower and to change into her riding gear, only finally feeling free and at ease once she’d walked back out of the door and set off on her cross-country route to meet her best friend in the whole world. Singing contentedly to herself, she’d skipped across fields and clambered over styles, pleased to see that she’d achieved a record time as she walked through the gate to the yard, making sure of course to close it firmly behind her, and smiling widely at the thought of an extra half hour of freedom. Letting herself into the stable block, Katie rounded the corner into Spirit’s stall, and her eyes fell upon the most stunning boy she’d ever seen, a shock of hair as black as the horse he was grooming and a rugged, weathered look lit up by a ruddy complexion and a dancing smile which took her breath away. Wow. “Hey, I’m Jethro, but everybody calls me Jet.” “M..Em…Oh, Hhhhhiya, I’m K..k…Katie.” She stammered, tripping over her words in the rush to greet him, butterflies fluttering in her stomach, which seemed to be doing summersaults. Was this what love at first sight felt like, she wondered? The only time she'd ever felt anything like this was when she'd first set eyes on Spirit, and she knew that had been true love, but this was different, more intense. Wow. Regaining her composure a little, and realising that he must look like a gibbering imbecile to this handsome young stranger, Katie looked him straight in the eye confidently and managed to utter the first coherent sentence since she’d arrived at the yard. “Sorry, couldn’t quite get my words out then! I’ve not seen you around here before, Jet, do you have a horse stabled here?” “Haha, yeah I often have that effect.” Jet tipped her a cheeky wink, and then burst out laughing. In truth, he wasn’t half as cocky and confident as he tried to come across, but it was a great way of hiding his own apprehension and nerves when speaking to a, frankly, startlingly beautiful girl. “No, I’m just lending a hand to earn myself a few quid whilst we’re in town, that’s all. Is this handsome chap yours then?” Jet’s forthright approach had broken the ice, and both immediately felt more at ease in each other’s company, finding it far easier to chat openly and get to know each other a little better. Katie quickly explained about Spirit, how very important he was to her and also how he’d come to be in her life. She swelled with pride as she recounted the struggles she’d been through to get him, and also the joy he’s brought to her. In return, Jet talked a little about his own background in the traveller community, how they never stayed in one place for very long - either being moved along by the authorities, or needing to find a new ‘patch’ to earn a living. Most of the older men in his group worked in the manual trades, things like building, carpentry and landscaping, but he’d always been one for the animals and as well as taking care of their own pets and livestock he’d tried to find work helping at stables or on farms whenever he was able to. As was typical amongst his people, despite only being a year older than Katie was he’d been out of education probably since she’d started high school, and had worked throughout most of his adolescence, meaning he’d built quite a respectable skillset, something that was evident from his handling of Spirit. “Usually he won’t let anybody but me groom him, you know. You really have got a way with them, haven’t you?” Gazing at the colt affectionately as he worked his rough mane, Jet nodded slowly and then turned to look at Katie. “I’ve always found a stronger connection with the horses than the people, I guess that makes me sound pretty crazy to you, doesn’t it? No doubt you’ve got lots of friends, but to me I prefer to spend time with the beasts, they ‘get’ me in a way that no person ever has, and I think I ‘get’ them too” She had no idea what made her do it - she’d never craved the affection of another person herself either, nor had she felt affection beyond the platonic, familial love that she almost felt obliged to feel, but something inside Katie made her reach out her hand and place it gently atop Jet’s, following his motion as he combed through the horses long, coarse hair. She murmured softly, gently “Oh Jet, I get it, believe me I do. You could have been describing me then, those could have been my words.” Taking his hand in hers, she pulled it towards her, causing him to drop the brush he was using and look straight into her piercing blue eyes, startled b this sudden physical intimacy which was so alien to him. So alien to both of them. “Katie, are you in there?” A shrill, piercing voice called out through the stable block from behind them. “I thought I saw you crossing the yard earlier, have you got a moment?” The moment shattered, the spell broken, and both Katie and Jet jolted from their reverie, startled by the unexpected interruption. It was Nancy, the tack room supervisor, who bustled her way through to the stall where she found a pair of slightly shell-shocked young people, both seemingly unsure where they where or what had just happened. “Ah, I see you’ve met Jet then? As he may have told you, he’s going to be helping out around the yard for a few weeks, mostly things like the mucking out and hosing down, which will free you up a bit, won’t it?” Katie nodded, still struggling to bring herself back down to earth and to give Nancy her full attention. “Excellent! Well, I remember you mentioning that you’ve got a week off from college next week, yes? How do you fancy looking after the tack for a few days whilst I travel over to Ireland to meet a new breeder who’s hoping to stable some of his stock here whilst they’re in training?” Katie’s eyes widened with shock. She’d been helping out at the yard for over 5 years now, and had spent plenty of time in the tack room cleaning and repairing equipment, but never had she been trusted to take care of things on her own. This was a dream come true for her, a real step up the pecking order, and she realised just how much faith and trust Nancy and the rest of the team must have in her if they were prepared to give her this opportunity. For a moment, she just stood opened mouthed as she took in what she’d just heard. “Oh Nancy, I’d absolutely love to! But, do you really think I’m up to running things on my own? I mean, I know what I’m doing and everything, but it’s such a big responsibility. I’d hate to make a mess of things.” The older lady nodded reassuringly, and then quite uncharacteristically she gave Katie a small smile. This probably shocked Katie even more than meeting Jet, even more than being asked to take charge, she had NEVER known Nancy to smile before. Not that she wasn’t a pleasant lady, but she was quite old fashioned and tended to show her appreciation in other ways, open affection just didn’t sit right with her, but the smile was warm and welcoming. “I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t think you were capable young lady, but if you don’t feel up to the task I can bring somebody else in.” “N…no, no, honestly Nancy, I’ll be absolutely fine. And if Jet here is going to be around, I’m sure he won’t mind lending a hand. Thank you, thank you so very much. Wow, what an incredibly opportunity, I really don’t know what to say.” Her normal demeanour returning, although feeling an intense pride that her young prodigy was so keen to step up to the plate, Nancy nodded curtly before turning to leave, asking Katie to pop in and see her in the office after her ride so that she could take her through what needed to be done, and also provide her with keys to the yard. Then, with a jerk of the hand, she indicated that Jet should follow her as there was work to be done, and she wasn’t paying him to stand around chatting up the ladies all day. He blushed, but nothing like as deeply as Katie did, both agreeing that as tomorrow was Saturday they’d have more time to chat then, and arranging to meet early in the morning. “Over a coffee?” Katie suggested. “Over a pile of manure, more likely!” Jet giggled. As Katie led Spirit out across the yard and saddled him up, she’d honestly never felt happier, her mind spinning with thoughts of her responsibility next week, and the mysterious Jet she she’d only known for less than an hour, but who had made her feel like she had never felt before. It was an odd feeling, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew that she liked it. Leading her trusty steed through the yard gate out onto the open fields beyond, Katie swung herself upwards and mounted his saddle gracefully, a well practised manoeuvre which was often admired by her peers. She was, after all, quite petite and lacked the height of many of the other riders, yet she was often able to mount and dismount far more smoothly than many of them managed. This, again, was an example of her commitment and determination to always do her very best, and to become the best she can at anything she turned her hand too, a trait of which she was proud, given her challenging background. Spirit walked confidently under her direction, picking out a steady path through the bracken laden countryside, enjoying the opportunity to stretch his legs but also keen to pick up the pace, and often attempting to break into a slow jog, something approaching a trot. Katie, too, wanted to let him run free, relishing the wind in her hair and the exhilaration that she knew a good run would bring, but she was cautious of the ground where they were and wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks, reining in his excitement and enthusiasm until they were clear of the shrubbery. It wasn’t far, perhaps a couple of miles at the most, and as they climbed the brew of the hill ahead Katie’s gaze travelled wide across the open landscape, breathing in deeply and rising from the saddle as she finally let Spirit run freely, whooping with joy has he cantered and built into a gallop, snuffing and snorting his own delight. Satisfied that they had ‘blown away the cobwebs’, and anxious not to overexert Spirit, Katie again slowed his gait until they were travelling a a steady-but-safe pace, allowing her to take in the beautiful scenery which was rushing past them, and which seemed even more enchanting than ever today. Lost in her own thoughts, the young girl barely noticed the passage of time nor the distance travelled, until she sensed her ride beginning to pull up slowly, immediately snapping her eyes ahead fearing danger or obstruction, perhaps other rider as she knew Spirit was always nervous when approaching strangers. Instead, her eyes met with the rapidly approaching weir of the river, causing her to pull sharply on the reins and turn to the side in order to avoid entering the water - not because both her and Spirit weren’t capable of traversing it safely, of course, but because she did not relish the job of hosing him down back at the yard! As they drew to a halt, Katie slid deftly from the saddle and led Spirit to the edge of the water, allowing him to drink deeply and quench his thirst. She reached for her own water bottle, but was surprised to find it empty - she always drank as she rode to keep hydrated, but it was rare for her to drink more than half of the bottle. Glancing at her watch, she cried out in disbelief - having reached the riverbank she’s just assumed they’d been travelling faster than she’d realised, but now she could see that the’d been riding for over an hour! “Oh my, Spirit, we’ve been away ever such a long time already! And we’ve still got, what another hour at best to get back to the yard, probably longer as I don’t doubt your poor legs will be tired. Come on then, we’d best head back or Nancy will be worrying, and , Oh Hell! I’ve got to go and see her before I go home too.”

 Mentally kicking herself for not keeping better track of time and allowing herself to get so lost in the moment, Katie guided Spirit back around and clambered aboard, a little less gracefully on this occasion for despite his smooth ride and sturdy saddle her own legs were weary from the long ride, and she had to admit she wasn’t looking forward to the return journey nearly so much. Besides, now she was starting to understand where all of that water from her bottle had gone. It was only as she sat astride his back once more that she felt the first, niggling sense that she could do with finding a bathroom before too long. The pair made rapid, steady progress to begin with, although after no more than a couple of miles Katie could feel Spirit beginning to labour beneath her, slowing the pace right down and clearly struggling through exhaustion. It had taken them over an hour to read the river, and that was when Spirit was fully fit and raring to go. Now he was tiring, Katie was worried that if she pushed him to hard then he may injure himself, which wasn’t fair to the animal, nor could she afford any more costly vets bills just now, a recent infection having necessitated two separate call-outs, and all but eradicating what had been left of her savings. No, the only answer was to take things slowly, give him a chance to regain his energy, even if that meant it took them twice as long to get back. Oh, how she wished she’d picked up her mobile phone - the signal was patchy out here at best, but it may have helped her get a message back to the yard to explain where she was, and if necessary to make arrangements to meet Nancy the following day instead, rather than keeping her hanging around all night. Not only that, Katie thought ruefully, but how she also wished she’d nipped to the loo before heading out for this little jaunt. Usually she did exactly that, but meeting Jet had distracted her today, and then the curveball that Nancy had thrown at her had taken her mind of the normal routine completely! If she was completely honest with herself, the rhythmic motion of Sprit’s gentle trot really wasn’t doing a great deal to help Katie’s growing, pressing need to relieve herself, so she pulled him up again and slid from the saddle once more, reasoning that the walk would be easier for him without her added weight to carry. Leading him along also meant that she could take a moment to adjust herself, and - thankful that nobody was out here to bear witness - even give a little bit of a jig, what you may call a ‘potty dance’ in a young child. Oh how she blushed as she did this…she was 17 years old for heaven’s sake, clearly capable of using a toilet when she needed to, and supposedly well past the stage of having to dance around in public because she needed a wee! They trudged on, dusk descending over the open countryside, and a cool chill blowing in on the wind, which didn’t help Katie’s predicament, although it did serve to help cool Spirit down from his earlier exertion, to the point that she could feel him beginning to pull at the reins as they walked, clearly feeling able to pick up the pace again. Her own legs aching from the long walk, and not entirely trusting herself to jog with such throbbingly full bladder, Katie gave in and mounted the horse once more, feeling a jolt and a twinge inside her as she swung her leg over his saddle, and clamping her legs tightly against his sides instinctively. Still a little agitated, Spirit’s temperament wasn’t quite what it usually was, and the shock and discomfort from his riders squeeze caused him to start, surging forward unexpectedly and nearly dismounting poor Katie, who was fighting hard both to stay astride the saddle and also to prevent herself losing control of her bladder, which hadn’t liked the unexpected movement at all. With one hand now thrust into the crotch of her dusky pink jodhpurs, and the other looped through the rein and patting the side of Spirit’s neck as she attempted to comfort and soothe him, Katie almost chucked at the comical sight they must make. But no, she stifled herself, aware that chuckling probably wasn’t a very good idea right now either. Oh what a pickle she’d got herself into, and she was starting to become very concerned that she wasn’t going to make it back to the yard in time, both before Nancy left for the evening and, more worryingly, before she had a spectacularly humiliating accident. No, no, that couldn’t possibly happen, she hadn’t wet her pants since she was about 7. Now she’s an adult, a college student, and big girls like her didn’t have to worry about wetting themselves, it just wasn’t something they did. Then a truly horrendous thought struck her…Jet!! Oh no, what if…well, what if it all did go horribly wrong and she didn’t get back to the stables before it was too late. And, what if Jet was still there? That, well that didn’t even bear thinking about. How would he ever live it down? She’d barely even met him, never mind gotten to know him, what if that was his first real impression of her? She’d so wanted to get to know him better, and hoped that maybe he’d want to spend some time with her too, but she doubted that very much if all he saw was a stupid little kid who pissed her pants. Fuck, no, she couldn’t let this happen. Realising too that failure really wasn’t an option, because apart from the potentially devastating effects on her reputation at the yard, and what her..cr…well, what Jet may think and say, she also had to make her own way home, and traipsing through the streets in wet pants didn’t appeal to her in the slighted, to say nothing of what her family would say if they found out. No, her determination steeled and her hand pushed ever tighter between her legs, she ploughed on, hoping against hope that she could do enough. Please, please. Rounding a familiar corner, Katie was filled with immense relief as she caught sight of the livery yard in the distance. It as still a good 15 minute ride away, but having her goal within her grasp helped to lift her spirits, and without really thinking about what she was doing, she leant forward and pushed Spirit into a rapid canter. Needing both hands to steady her ride, she released the vice like grip on the crotch of her jodhpurs and took the rein firmly - falling off now would spell disaster, not just an embarrassing kick to her riding confident, but near certain wet pants too! Certain that she was home and dry - quite literally - young Katie began to relax and enjoy what was left of her little jaunt, the evening had cooled but was still light and pleasant, a gentle breeze throwing her loose hair out behind her like a mane and the sound of the birds and wildlife around her was comforting and tranquil. Despite the dull ache in her stomach which occasionally reminded her of its presence with an uncomfortably sharp pain, this was what Katie loved most about riding, the freedom it gave her from the stresses of everyday life. Poor Katie lost herself in the moment a little too deeply, however, and was shaken from her reverie with a jolt by a loud, shrill and piercing siren which rang out across the open fields and which, in turn, spooked Spirit and caused him to rear up on his hind legs, almost throwing Katie to the ground in his fright. The crow sounder! How had she forgotten about that? Of course, she was usually back at the yard long before this hour, with Spirit safely stabled and settled down for the evening, so it wasn’t something she had to give much thought to, but now she remembered that it wounded every 15 minutes during dusk and twilight hours, keeping the swarms of crows, starlings and pigeons from roosting in the farmers fields and eating the crop. In a fleeting moment, Katie thought how glad she was that she was atop Spirit when it happened, as it was so much easier to comfort and control him from there, and had he bolted whilst she was leading him on foot the chances are he’s have made off from her, with little chance of catching him before he caused himself a serious injury. It was also then that she realised, had it happened barely 5 minutes earlier, she’d been holding on only loosely with one hand, which wouldn’t have been nearly enough to steady her and keep her seated. What a stroke of luck, she’d survived unscathed, and Spirit had soon settled back into a steady trot. She knew that they had at least 10 minutes now to get back to safety before having to worry again, and the yard gate couldn’t be more than 5 minutes distant, so they were in the clear. Suddenly sickening pain passed through her body, and she remembered exactly why it was that she’d not been paying attention - she needed to pee, and badly! So very, very badly. The pain this time was so intense that she thought she was going to lose control and have an accident right there and then, she was the closest she’d been to soaking her pants in at least 10 years and she cried out in despair, clamping her legs as tightly together as she could manage and thrusting both hands between them, desperate not to wet herself. Her body shuck with the effort, but somehow, by some miracle, she managed to stay in control. Breathing deeply, almost panting through the exertion, she returned her hands to the bridle. She noticed a dampness, no perhaps even a wetness to them, but didn’t dare to look down - hoping against any real hope that it was sweat and moisture from the saddle rather than a sign that she had lost control of herself in the most humiliating way possible. Riding through the gate to the yard, tears streaming down her cheeks in a combination of distress and relief, she spotted a lone figure ahead of her, silhouetted against the wall of the tack room. Nancy, it must be Nancy, thank God! Leaping from the horses back whilst he continue to walk, and knowing she didn’t have even a second to spare if she was going to get out of this with even a shred of dignity intact, Katie shouted loudly, her voice echoing across the deserted yard. “Nancy! Please, please take Spirit. I need to go, RIGHT NOW!” Running forward, with the rein held out in front of her and her other hand once more squeezing at her crotch for all she was worth, the only thing standing between her and abject mortification, Katie realised in a moment of horror that the shadowy figure wasn’t Nancy at all, it was Jet! Oh no, no, this couldn’t be happened. He couldn’t see her like this, he just couldn’t. But he had, there was nothing she could do to change that now, and, she reasoned internally, it was far better than him seeing her standing there having wet herself like a little baby, which was exactly what was about to happen if she didn’t get to a toilet. Blushing profusely, she thrust the rein into his hand, turned and fled in the direction of the tack room door, praying that it would still be unlocked and that the bathroom would be vacant. It was her only hope. By the time she reached the door to the tack room, Katie was barely able to waddle never mind run, and despite all of her best efforts there could be no denying the fairly constant trickle between her legs by this stage. She knew it was basically game over, she was wetting her pants and there was very little she could do about it, but that stubborn streak in her wouldn’t let her give in no matter what. Pushing on, writhing in pain and wincing at the feel of wet fabric against her legs as she twisted them around each other as she desperately tried to maintain some semblance of control, Katie managed to free one hand from within the knot of trembling limbs and soggy cotton, just long enough to hook it around the door handle, yanking down hard and fast as she felt the trickle turn into a very pronounced spurt for just a fraction of a second. “No, no, no!” She called out, to nobody in particular, and in truth hoping that nobody could hear her anguished pleas. “This can’t be happening! I’m 17 years old, I’m not a baby, I just can’t have an accident!” Her words blurred into loud, racking sobs as she realised that’s exactly what she was doing, 17 years old or not, she was standing barely 20 feet away from the nearest toilet and emptying her bladder, slowly, into her pink jodhpurs. It had been a decade since the last time, and it wasn’t something she thought would ever happen to her again, but there was no denying now that she’d had an accident - all she could do was try to minimise the damage, both to her clothes and her reputation, which she feared would be left in soggy tatters. With one last-gasp, almost superhuman effort, Katie clamped down again, managing to stem the flow as threw herself forward. She ran across the tack room, through the yard office which she was received to see was in complete darkness, and into the single toilet which led directly off it, a sight which the girl had taken in probably hundreds of times over the years, but which had never appeared more welcoming nor beautiful than it did to her today. It was all too much, however, for her poor aching bladder. The sight of the toilet and the prospect of relief caused it to release it’s tentative hold, and before she knew what was happening Katie was not leaking, nor spurting, she was weeing full force into her pants whilst frantically trying to rip them down and seat herself upon the cold plastic seat atop the porcelain throne. Any concept that this was just a leak had long gone, any hope that she could get away with or hide it seemed laughable at best by this stage, for there really was no denying the fact that by the time she was seated her head to go had subsided, her bladder was all but empty, and barely a trickle made it into the intended destination. Broken, defeated and absolutely humiliated, poor Katie sat with her face buried in her hands and cried like she hadn’t for many years. How had she let this happen, how could a 17 year old college student wet herself like a toddler? And how on earth would she ever be able to explain what had happened to her family? To Nancy? Oh no, no, no, to Jet?!? She was ruined. Glancing down to inspect the damage, Katie first caught a glimpse of her saturated underwear. She’d never been one to dress ‘sexily’ when it came to undies, partly because she preferred comfort and had never felt the need to flaunt her pants to anybody else, but also designer lingerie always seemed like such a waste of money to her. She’d worked so hard to scrape together the money for Spirit, and throwing away her hard earned savings on frilly, lacy knickers just seemed like such a waste, when the cash could be put to much better use. No, good old cotton pants in pastel shades were good enough for her, just as they always had been. She definitely much preferred them dry though, she mused to herself, not at all a fan of the dark purple stain which had bloomed across the lilac fabric of the pair pooled round her ankles, a sight which she’d fortunately not seen for a good many years. Something was odd though about the sight which met her eyes, something very wrong yet at the same time which filled her heart with an unmistakable feeling of hope mingled with shock and disbelief. It couldn’t be, could it? Surely not?! But...how? Overwhelming relief flooded through Katie, complete unbridled joy; emotions which she simply couldn’t reconcile herself with given she’d just completely wet her pants, in public, at 17 years old! But there it was, and it took her mind a few moments to focus enough and truly take in what her eyes were seeing. Somehow, and she really didn’t care how right at that moment, she could see that her jodhpurs appeared, from the outside at least, to be completely dry! Was it a miracle? Magic? No, no, she didn’t believe in either of those things. Had she imagined having an accident after all, her mind playing some kind of sick and twisted joke on her? It couldn’t be that, for she could quite clearly see her soaked underpants, displaying her shame for all to see. So, wha? And how? Running a hand tentatively through the pink fabric, she was astounded to find that despite appearing to be completely dry and unblemished from the outside, the inner layer was completely saturated! Well, ok, perhaps not astounded as she of course knew that she’d practically emptied her entire bulging bladder in these very pants not 5 minutes earlier, but certainly bemused…how could the outside be dry and give away no indication of her embarrassing predicament, whilst the inside was quite literally dripping? Deciding that now really wasn’t the time to investigate further, and happy to grab this stroke of good fortune with both hands and run with it, Katie hastily dried herself off as best she could, and then, armed with a mountain of paper towels from the dispenser, she began frantically blotting at the inside of her jodhpurs, fearful that her privacy could be interrupted at any moment and unable to think of any remotely plausible explanation for being found in this position. Despite her relief at the miracle which had befallen her, Katie couldn’t help worrying that it would only be a matter of time before the moisture wicked through the fabric and showed itself as a horribly embarrassing stain for all to see, so she had to dry as much of the wetness as she could before venturing out of the bathroom to face Jet, and probably Nancy too. It was as she vigorously ran the paper along the seam which ran up the back of the trousers that Katie’s eye fell upon the care label, and beside that a small tag bearing the word ‘Teflon’. With a dawning realisation, all suddenly became much clearer in her mind, -she’d deliberately chosen to pay the extra for these jodhpurs precisely because they were coated with Teflon, a protective layer designed to prevent rain and dirt from penetrating the fabric and reaching her skin, a kind of advanced waterproofing which didn’t add any weight or bulk to the material, but helped to repel at least most of any wetness. The protective coating had served her well during many rain-soaked rides across the moors, when ordinary cotton would have quickly become saturated, leading her to become cold and suffer from the most uncomfortable chaffing, something she’d experienced far too many times growing up and learning her craft. But never for a moment had she considered the potential benefit that such fabric could have when it came to preventing wetness from the inside making it’s presence known. Of course she hadn’t, why would she? It’s not like she had ever wet herself before, not since she was a little kid at any rate, and it’s just not something that your average teenage girl would even contemplate when choosing new clothes. Casting her mind back, Katie remembered vaguely the last time she’d suffered such an accident herself, she’d been probably 7 or 8 at the time and it had happened at school. No Teflon had come to her rescue then, however, and she’d been left wet and weeping in her place in class - the wet stain obvious for all to see. Oh what she wouldn’t have given for her skirt to have been protected the same way that it seemed her jodhpurs were now, how much shame and humiliation that would have helped her to avoid. These wistful thoughts also triggered another memory, more recent but even less distinct than the first, but something whilst made the whole Teflon thing click into place and confirmed her growing understanding of what had happened. She’d been in her early teens, so probably only 3 or 4 years ago, and was travelling on a coach back to her school after a day trip to see some boring historical monument or other, in honesty she’d paid so little attention that she probably wouldn’t have remembered the next day, never mind 4 years later! She vaguely recalled one of the boys making quite a song and dance about the fact that he really needed to use the toilet, even blaming the teacher for the fact he was about to have an accident. He had soon lost his teenage attitude, however, sitting in silence for the last half hour of the journey with stray tears rolling down his cheeks, much to the amusement of his friends who were certain he’d wet himself and couldn’t wait to laugh when he stood up to get off the bus. Amazingly, however, when the bus pulled up outside their school and the boy disembarked, there had been no sign of wetness anywhere on his grey school trousers, disappointing those who had hoped to poke fun at him for being the boy who wet his pants in high school. He hadn’t bolted for the toilet when disembarking, either, which had made little sense given how vocally desperate he’d been, but at the time Katie had paid little more attention, after all boys bathroom habits didn’t interest her in the slightest! Now, now it all made sense. Their school uniforms had all been coated with Teflon, she remembered the same tags that she could now see in her jodhpurs had always featured on her skirts and pinafores, so no doubt the same was true of the boys trousers too. It all made sense, and it made her wonder just how many such accidents this wonder fabric had helped to hide over the years, for kids and adults alike. But then, before she could dwell on this thought any further, a loud rasping knock at the bathroom door jolted Katie back to the present day with a start. “J…jus…just a minute. I’ll be out in a sec.” Katie called, hurriedly pulling her soggy undies and jodhpurs back up, wincing as the saturated fabric found its place and quickly glancing down to triple check that the outside of her pants didn’t show any trace of her shame. Satisfied as she could be given the horrible circumstances she found herself in, the young girl splashed her face to wash away the tears - never mind seeing her have an accident, nobody at the yard had ever seen her cry before as far as she could remember, and her strong and unshakable image was something she was keen to keep hold of for it had served her well. “Katie is everything ok?” Jet’s deep, rasping voice came through the door, tinged with genuine concern for her wellbeing. She’d seemed genuinely distressed out on the yard, and he was worried that she’d had a fall or some other terrible accident whilst out for her ride. Turning to flush the barely used toilet, and setting her face with an expression she hoped hid her upset and conveyed the independence she was so known for, Katie stepped forward and grabbed hold of the door handle, throwing it open purposefully and striding out to greet Jet and thank him for taking care of Spirit. She hoped she could brazen this out, but it would mean thinking on her feet for she had no plan or idea how the young man would react, what he had noticed or even really what he was like. “Jet, hey, thanks for grabbing Spirit for me back there, I just needed to…y’know…well, um…” She started out well, headstrong as ever, but Katie found herself faltering as her eyes met Jet’s and saw the deep concern and compassion within them. She wasn’t used to people giving a shit about her, nobody ever did, she’d always been one to look out for herself and take care of whatever she came up against. Now the look Jet was giving her swept her legs out from under her, left her completely disarmed, stuttering and stumbling over her words, her resolve broken and she found herself blinking back yet more tears. Who was this man who could do this to her? Seeing that she was struggling and wanting her to know that everything was going to be ok, Jet stepped forward and reached an arm around the young girls shoulders, drawing her into a warm and friendly embrace. He was conscious of not overstepping the mark, respecting her space and the fact that he was a relative stranger, but at the same time feeling compelled to comfort her in her time of need. Initially he was met with resistance, a tenseness and strength which belied her slight frame, but almost as soon as he took hold of her he felt the tension ebb away and she melted lightly into him, sighing deeply, as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. “Katie, whatever it is that’s gotten you so worked up really isn’t worth all of that upset. It really doesn’t matter. There’s no need to say anything, just calm yourself down. We can talk later, or never at all, that’s up to you. So long as you’re not hurt?” Jet’s words soothed over Katie, and she soon felt the last of her fight leaving her. “Well, thanks Jet.” She murmured, Blushing at their closeness and sure that he will feel and likely smell her accident even if by her great fortune he couldn’t see the evidence of it. She may have been wrong footed by his caring nature, may have let her guard down a little more than she ever had before, but she was still feeling utterly humiliated by what had happened to her tonight, mortified beyond belief that it had happened in front of this handsome young stranger and distraught at the idea of him or anybody else finding out. “I…well, is Spirit Ok? Is Nancy still here? I, kinda, lost track of time out there, but I really needed to see her before she went.” Smiling at the independence shining through Katie, Jet hurriedly reassured her that Spirit was absolutely fine, bedded down in his stable with his tack hanging up ready for her and that Nancy had to shoot off, but would call her the next day to talk through everything . She’d left a set of keys with Jet for her, which he fished out of his pocket and held out for her to take, and hadn’t seemed annoyed, more amused at how often Katie lost herself in the ride completely, as although this could be inconvenient and frustrating at times it showed just how committed to Spirit and to her craft the girl had become. Thanking Jet again, Katie hurriedly made her excuses that she needed to hurry through her jobs and get home before shuffling self-consciously from the room, leaving a bewildered Jet in her wake who was trying to get his head around the whirlwind of emotions he’d just witnesses in Katie and experienced himself. “I’ll tidy up down here and then bring the keys over to you.” He called after her, spotting the bunch she’d just taken from him on the bench where she’d been stood, secretly glad for a chance to say a proper goodbye. “Give me 5 minutes, ok?”. As she walked away, Jet looked the retreating figure up and down, his eyes playing tricks on him or so he thought. More to follow

Part 1 - Chapter 7 After leaving the clothes for Lucy, Dorothy headed back over to her desk, knowing that she needed to call her Mum and let her know what had happened. Going home had been ruled out, but parents still needed to be notified, and given just how upset Lucy was she thought this may be best done quickly now, so as to save her the further embarrassment of hearing the call. She quickly found the number on her computer, and just as she began to dial the shrill sound of the school bell rang out. Perfect, she thought, Mrs Daniels who she knew worked as a teacher, should be able to take a quick call now. “Hello, Jeannette Daniels speaking” “Good afternoon Mrs Daniels, it’s Dorothy Johnson here, calling from Victoria Primary School. Are you ok to speak briefly?” “Hi there Dorothy, yes I’m fine to talk. Is everything ok?” Jeannette sounded worried, he didn’t usually receive calls from her children’s school, so something must be the matter, she thought. “There’s nothing to worry about, but Lucy has had a little accident in school this morning, and I just wanted to let you know myself, straight away. Don’t worry, we’re taking care of it all here in school.” Dorothy had sensed the worry in Mrs Daniels’ voice, and wanted to put her at ease. “Oh my! Is she badly hurt?” The worry in her voice intensifying rapidly, and in her mind she’s already making plans to arrange cover for her own classes so that she can be there. “Ah, no, it’s nothing like that. Please don’t worry.” Dorothy then lowered her voice, aware that Lucy may be able to hear and also conscious that other pupils were now moving past her office on their way to lunch. “She didn’t quite make it to the toilet in time, I’m afraid, and got quite upset about it. We’ve found her some clothes to change into though, so she’s just getting herself sorted out now before heading out with her friends for the lunch break.” Jeannette Daniels was stunned at the other end of the phone. Lucy had wet herself? She was 11 years old! She’d have been shocked if they’d called to say that Jack had an accident, and he was still in the infants, but Lucy? Relief washed over her at the realisation nobody was hurt (except no doubt her daughter’s pride!), but at the same time a perhaps unreasonable sense of frustration that her daughter had done this, no doubt through laziness or this bizarre notion she seemed to have that it wasn’t ‘cool’ to use the school toilets. Nothing had been said, but she had noticed how she always made a mad dash for the loo when arriving home, and it looked like this had finally caught her out. “Thank you for helping her to get sorted Dorothy, and for letting me know. I won’t keep you now as I’m sure you’re busy, but could you please let Lucy know that I’ll come to pick her and Jack up this afternoon – if you need me for anything then, just let me know. “Not a problem at all, Mrs Daniels, I’ll pass on the message. Hope you enjoy the rest of your afternoon. Please try not to worry about Lucy, we will look after her.” In the bathroom, Lucy had finally gathered herself together a little. A little of her headstrong attitude returning, she realised that sitting blubbing on the floor wearing just her wet undies really wasn’t a good look! Finding some baby wipes amongst the bathroom supplies, she gave herself a good cleaning all over, and even sneaked a couple of sprays from a can of deodorant she had found on top of the cistern, no doubt belonging to Miss Johnson. There, at least she didn’t smell like a toilet any more. She tentatively unfolded the new underpants that had been left for her, pulling a face as she saw the childish cartoon patterns. She hadn’t worn pants like these for years, and all she could think was how glad she was that nobody else would see them – if it had been a PE day, she’d have been mortified. Although, on the other hand, she thought, at least she’d have had her PE shorts to put on instead of the dreaded dress! Pulling on the pants and cringing at just how childish they made her look and feel, Lucy turned her attention to the checked red dress. Her resolve started to crack, and she had to blink back tears again, but even this had to be better than walking around in just the baby pants, or her wet skirt showing her shame to everybody. She slipped it on and fastened the zip. Turning to look in the mirror, it was like she’d gone back 4 or 5 years, a much younger version of herself staring back with a puffy, blotchy and tear stained face and wearing exactly the same uniform she’d have been wearing at the end of the summer term back then. One thing she did pick up on was just how short the dress was! She’d had a bit of a growth spurt recently, so was one of the tallest in her class – the dress seemed to ‘fit’ around her, but ended half way between her waist and her knee. What she wouldn’t have given for a pair of tights to help her cover up a bit! She knew she’d have to be careful walking so that the dress didn’t move too much and give anybody a glimpse of the childish undies she had on underneath. Suddenly a thought flashed through her mind, and before she could stop herself, she laughed out loud! It was a pained, almost ironic laugh, as she processed the fact that she had just totally wet herself in front of all of her peers, the most humiliating thing that had ever happened in her short life, and here she was worrying about people making fun of how she was dressed. What a crazy situation. Hopefully Miss would have managed to speak to her Mum whilst she was getting changed, and she’d soon be on her way home. Part 1 - Chapter 8 Lucy sheepishly made her way back out into the office, feeling more self conscious than she ever had in her life, and hoping that nobody was around to see her. Hearing the bathroom door open, Mrs Johnson looked up and gave the girl a reassuring smile, noticing as she did just how short the summer dress was on her. “Miss, what should I do with my…I mean, where shall I put my…” She spluttered, all flustered again, not quite finding it within herself to ask the older lady how to deal with her wet clothes. Fortunately Dorothy realised what she meant, and jumped up to sort out the mess. She grabbed a yellow plastic bag from the medical supplies area in the bathroom entrance, the type marked up for ‘bodily fluids’ and handed it to Lucy, who flushed furiously. “Here love, pop your things in this. Don’t worry, we’ll put it inside a normal carrier bag so nobody will know what it is.” Lucy, however, wasn’t reassured. She’d seen lots of the infants leaving clutching such carrier bags, with the bright yellow wrapping showing clearly through them, and as this usually coincided with them leaving school at home time wearing their PE kit or ill-fitting spare clothes, it was always obvious what had happened. She even vaguely remembered her little brother having such a mishap, although he was in probably year one at the time, so it was understandable. This time it would be her clutching the bag of wee soaked clothes, whilst wearing a dress that nobody could ever mistake for hers, and she was in year 6! Oh the shame. Bundling her wet skirt and pants together, she hurriedly shoved them into the bag and then held it, arms outstretched, to Dorothy as if it was infectious, whilst asking “Did you speak to Mr Davies, Miss? Is my Mum coming to get me?” “Mr Davies is out for the afternoon I’m afraid sweetheart” Dorothy responded, in a soothing voice, dreading breaking the news and half expecting Lucy to break down again when she did. “I’m spoken to Mrs Moss though, and also to your Mum. They both think it’s best that you stay in school for the rest of the afternoon, although your Mum is going to come and collect both you and Jack at the end of the day.” This hammer blow hit Lucy hard, and she immediately felt sick. Upon hearing these words she cried out “Nooooo” as the tears began splashing down her face once more. This really, really couldn’t be happening, she thought. All of this humiliation and shame, for nothing. She’d still have to go to her lesson, she’d still get into trouble for not doing her homework, she’d still miss the sleepover (although whether she was still invited she had no idea) and she’d wet herself in front of her entire class for no reason whatsoever. Right at that very moment, she just wanted it all to end. “It’s just not fair”. The secretary put her arms around Lucy once more, drawing her into a warm embrace and soothing her sobs. She felt the devastation, it was almost palpable, and she was sure that in the same shoes she’d just want to be as far away from school and anybody who’d seen her embarrass herself as she could be. It did all seemed so unfair, she agreed. “I know you’re upset sweetie, try not to cry. The afternoon will soon be over and you’ll be able to go home and put all of this behind you.” Lucy just shrugged, the sobs had subsided again but she was far from feeling positive about anything and much as she appreciated Mrs Johnson helping her, she felt betrayed that she was making her stay in school. Making her go back to her lessons after everything that had happened, and dressed like a baby. As if she wasn’t humiliated enough. “Why don’t you go and get some lunch, love. You’ll be hungry by the end of the day if you don’t eat anything. And I’m sure your friends will want to see you to make sure that you’re alright.” Lucy again shrugged dismissively, food was the last thing on her mind! And she really didn’t want to see anybody right now, they’d only laugh at her. Just as she was resigning herself to the fact that Miss Johnson probably wanted her own lunch, and that she’d have to leave and find somewhere to hide, there was a knock on the office door. Pushing the yellow waste bag out of view under her desk in order to spare Lucy’s blushes, and handing her a tissue so that she could dry her eyes, Dorothy called “Come in.” Part 1 - Chapter 9 As the door slowly opened, Lucy grasped the hem of the dress she was now wearing and self-consciously tugged it downwards, not that it made any difference, but it made her feel a little better. In through the open door walked Becky, clutching a rucksack in front of her, and Lucy quickly realised that it was her schoolbag, which she’d left behind in her hurry to get away from the classroom. Becky’s eyes widened in shock as they fell on her friend, struggling to take in just what she looked like. If she hadn’t been so very worried about Lucy after what had happened at the end of their lesson, she may have laughed at the sight which befell her, but instead she understood from the pained expression across the girls face the deep shame that she was feeling at that moment, and she was not about to make her feel any worse. Sensing that Lucy needed her, Becky dropped the bag and rushed across the office, putting her arms around her friend and pulling her into a tight hug. “Oh Lucy, are you ok? We were all so worried about you.” Feeling this warmth and hearing the non-judgemental words, Lucy again crumpled and allowed her tears to fall once more, but this time in relief more than devastation. Her friend hadn’t abandoned her, wasn’t repulsed by her, wasn’t even laughing at her. She returned the hug, burying her head in Becky’s hair and whispered “Thank you” so that only her friend could hear her. As Dorothy looked on at this scene of friendship, she felt a lump rising in her own throat, and even had to blink back a couple of stray tears herself. No, it wouldn’t do to cry in front of the children, but she was incredibly moved by this simple act of kindness, and could see immediately the uplifting effect it was having on Lucy. Truly heartwarming. Not wanting to break the spell, but feeling that the girls could maybe do with a few minutes to chat openly, and selfishly realising that her all too short lunch-cum-toilet-cum-cigarette break was ebbing away, she decided to go out on a bt of a limb. “Girls, I know it’s been an incredibly difficult morning, and I’m sure you could do with being able to talk without me sitting here listening in. Can I trust you both to keep an eye on things here for a few minutes, whilst I nip down to the staffroom?” Lucy and Becky looked at one another, and then to Mrs Johnson, amazement sparking behind their eyes. They weren’t even supposed to be in the classrooms or corridors on their own, never mind the school office! Wow, was this what it felt like to be grown up, trusted? They answered in unison “Yes Miss, of course you can trust us”, smiling warmly at her and scarcely able to believe their good fortune. “I know I can. Don’t worry girls, I won’t be more than a few minutes. If anybody comes in looking for me, please tell them I’ll be right back. And please, please don’t touch the telephone or computer, or we will all be in lots of trouble!” Winking at the dumbstruck girls, Dorothy grabbed her handbag and coffee mug before sweeping deftly out of the door, pulling it closed behind her. Looking at each other again, almost a little sheepishly, the girls let out a quick giggle, before Becky broke the ice by asking her friend “So, Luce, what the heck happened?! And what on earth are you wearing?” Part 1 - Chapter 10 “Don’t ask!” was Lucy’s retort, again pulling at the hem of her dress, and blushing a deep crimson. “It’s all gone horribly wrong, and it just keeps getting worse.” The girls took seat in the waiting area near the door, and Lucy began recounting her tale of woe. “I don’t know what I was thinking, I just wanted to find a way of getting out of Mrs Moss’s lesson so I didn’t get into trouble about the homework. I’d have done anything to make sure I didn’t miss the sleepover. In fact, as you saw, I DID do anything, and it still didn’t work.” Becky’s jaw dropped, if possible she was even more shocked. “You mean to say you wet yourself on purpose?? It wasn’t an accident, you did THAT deliberately?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Surely she must have misunderstood. “I couldn’t think of anything else, I don’t know why I did it now, but yeah it wasn’t an accident. Well, not really anyway.” She blushed again, looking crestfallen as she admitted to her friend “I started doing it on purpose, the plan was just to do a little bit and then stop. Just enough so that Miss would believe what had happened and so I could go home. But when I started, I just couldn’t stop. That’s when you heard me cry out, I was doing everything I could just it just kept happening. Everything was soaked, it was all over my skirt and my chair. Even the floor had a massive puddle, and I knew then there was no way I could hide it. Then the shame took over, and I just couldn’t stop crying. I knew everybody would see, everybody would laugh, I thought nobody would want to be my friend anymore.” The pain and humiliation etched across her face as she explained all of this to Becky was plain for all to see, and her friend just shook her head slowly in disbelief as she once again hugged Lucy. “Wow! That really is dedication, nobody else would ever go that far to get out of doing some homework. I hope Emily realises just how committed you are to her sleepover.” “Y..yo..you think she’ll still want me to go, even after all of this?” Lucy didn’t want to get her hopes up, but that did sound positive. Ok, so she still had the homework issue to get around, but right now after what she had just been through that seemed like nothing at all. “Won’t she think I’m a silly little baby who wets herself and cries?” “I’m sure you’ll give everybody a good laugh, so brace yourself for that, after all wouldn’t you find it hilarious if if was one of us? But of course everybody would still want you to be there! You’re still our Luce, and you’ve more than proven yourself with that little stunt. Even if we will have to make sure you go to the toilet before it’s too late in the future.” This last quip was added with a hearty laugh and a good natured punch to her friends shoulder, leaving no illusion that it was meant in jest. Lucy wasn’t quite up to joking about her situation yet, but she appreciated her friends attempts to lighten the mood, and did manage a small grin. Knowing that her gang weren’t going to turn their backs on her made everything seem so much better and she felt that she could even deal with Moss and her parents if she had her pals behind her. “So, is your Mum on her way to get you then? Lucky you, getting out of maths and getting an afternoon off school too.” “Nope, believe it or not that old battle-axe Moss won’t let me, she’s told Miss Johnson that I have to stay here and then go back to lessons. I hate her! So all of this has been for nothing.” “Oh no, that’s terrible.” Becky once again eyed the juvenile dress which Lucy was wearing, before adding “So does that mean you’re going to have to wear that for the rest of the day? Oh man, maybe I was wrong about people not laughing too much then!” She gave a giggle herself as she said this, which did nothing to help Lucy’s confidence. “Not helping Becks, not helping at all! Yeah this was all Miss could find to fit me. I’ve not worn one of these since I was about 7, and never thought I’d have to again. And you don’t even want to know about the undies.” she added, whilst pulling a horrified face. “I don’t want to go out there dressed like this, even without my accident this would be horrible, but put the two together and I’m going to be a laughing stock, I just know it.” Before Becky could respond, a sound from the door caused them both to turn their attention in that direction, just in time to see Mrs Johnson returning clutching a steaming cup of coffee and looking very much refreshed after her short break.

Part 1 - Chapter 6 Back in the classroom, Lucy’s classmates were in shock. None of them could quite believe what they’d just witnessed, and they were all quite glad that they had their lunch break next to talk about it. Not maliciously of course, well apart from a couple who were known to be bullies, but because it was just so unusual, so out of character. Her closest friends were worried, something must be really wrong for that to have happened, but they didn’t know what. Becky was beside herself, upset that she’d not been able to do anything to help her friend when she needed her the most. Even Miss Jenkins was left feeling rather out of sorts, she’d never known anything quite like that to happen in all of her years of teaching. Ok, so Lucy had asked to be excused, but only the once and only a couple of minutes before having her accident. The rules were the rules, but it didn’t stop her feeling guilty that she’d been the one to say no, and she was sure Lucy would blame her for her humiliation. What a horrible mess it all was. As Lucy forlornly made her way to the bathroom, head bowed and more tears now silently pouring down her cheeks, Dorothy listened to the constant ringing on the other end of the phone, with nobody picking up. Eventually the call diverted, and her heart sank – she may have had a distant chance of convincing the head to let Lucy go home for the afternoon, but she knew Mrs Moss as well as the children did, and there was absolutely no way she would authorise this! The phone was answered with a curt “Yes, Dorothy, what can I do for you?” leaving no doubt that she was busy and did not appreciate being disturbed. She was annoyed that the head had disappeared off to some LEA meeting, leaving her picking up all of his calls as well as her own. “Afternoon Hilary, I’ve got one of the Year 6 girls here in the office with me, she’s had a bit of an accident and has asked about being allowed to go home. I have explained the usual process to her, but she’s really quite upset so I thought I’d run it by you.” “Is she badly injured? Does she need to be seen by a doctor?” the deputy snapped back, dreading the paperwork that would no doubt be left for her to deal with if this was the case. “Erm, no, actually she didn’t make it to the toilet in time, that’s all. She’s just cleaning herself up now.” “In Year 6, really! Oh, in that case there’s no reason at all she can’t go back to her lessons once she’s changed, is there?” There was that condescending tone again, Dorothy thought, as she heard the phone click on the other end of the line, and she worried how Lucy was going to take this news. Standing from her desk and making her way to the store cupboard in the far corner of the office, Dorothy began searching for some clothes that would fit Lucy. They were well prepared for toilet accidents and messy play in the infants, and even had a stock of spares for the younger junior pupils which was called upon every few weeks, but accidents in the oldest class were so rare that, thinking hard, she honestly couldn’t remember the last time a change of clothes had been needed. Hilary had been quite clear though, going home wasn’t an option, so a change of clothes would have to be found. Having emptied out the spares box to no avail, finding they did at least have some underwear that would do (what Lucy would make of the rather juvenile style she didn’t like to think!) but nothing to cover her modesty, her next port of call was the lost property drawer. Hopefully there would be something in there that would do, anything really. After rummaging through the various discarded hats, gloves, odd shoes (??) and bits of PE kit, her hands fell on a piece of red gingham cloth, a school summer dress. Pulling it out from amongst the detritus, she quickly shook it and looked carefully at the size. Lucy was only a slight girl, although quite tall for her age, the dress should fit although it may be a bit shorter than the school usually encouraged. Ah well, beggars can’t be choosers she thought, and she was certain Lucy would prefer that to her wet skirt. After hurriedly stuffing the remaining lost items back into their filling cabinet home, Dorothy took the dress and underpants over to the bathroom, opening the first door which led to a sort of ante-space containing a sink and some medical supplies, and popping them down onto a chair in there. Knocking softly on the door to the toilet area beyond, she called out “Lucy, I’ve managed to find you a change of clean, dry clothes to pop on, I’ll leave them here on the chair for you. Don’t worry, the undies are brand new!” She added this last comment, thinking that nobody would want to put on somebody else’s old pants, and hoping it may help to reassure the poor girl. Lucy managed a sniffled “Thank You” through the door, and then waited a few moments to be sure the secretary had left before retrieving the clothes that had been left for her. As she opened the door, her eyes fell on the bundle of clothes. What. Was. That?? Her head spun again, and her stomach lurched and churned. The school officially has a separate winter and summer uniform, but after the end of Year 2 when the children moved up to the juniors this was basically forgotten about, with all of the girls wearing the winter uniform, consisting of a grey skirt and white shirt, exclusively. Similarly the boys cast aside their grey school shorts at this point, opting instead for long trousers all year round. As a consequence of this, nobody Lucy’s age EVER wore a summer dress to school, they all considered them to be babyish and something only the little kids would wear. Heck it was bad enough having to wear a skirt to school, but a summer dress. No, no, no. Could her day get any worse than this? She was already going to be a laughing stock, this wearing this would cost her any remaining crumbs of her reputation and she knew it. She started welling up again, and all she could think was that she hoped nobody saw what she was wearing before her Mum got there to pick her up and take her home.

Apologies for the delay guys, we're back on track now. The Forgotten Homework now has a new, official home over at http://www.theforgottenhomework.co.uk But please don't panic, I'll still keep the updates coming here and on the couple of other forums it's featured on too. Part 1 - Chapter 5 Lucy literally ran all of the way to the school office, so great was her fear of the lunch bell sounding whilst she was still in the corridor, so exposed and open to further humiliation. Arriving at the office, she hesitated for a moment. What did she do now? Was Mrs Johnson, the secretary, really used to year 6 girls bursting in dripping with their own wee? She very much doubted that! But if she stayed where she was stood, more than a hundred other children would be coming past very shortly, and they’d all see her shame. That steeled her resolve, she grabbed the office door handle and let herself in, meekly announcing her arrival to the kind, older lady who was sat trying to make some sense of a small mountain of paperwork. “Erm, excuse me, Mrs Johnson.” “Ah, hello Lucy. What are you doing down here during class time, shouldn’t you be in a lesson?” the lady responded, a little distractedly, and without taking her eyes off the ledger she was working on. Lucy tried to answer with some composure “Mrs Jenkins s-s-sent me Miss. I’ve hadda aaaa” but the rest was lost in a further barrage of sobs as Lucy once again broke down, unable to speak. This most unexpected reaction to her question jolted the secretary from her work, causing her to spring to her feet and rush over to Lucy, dropping down so they were on a level, and putting her arms around her in a comforting embrace. It wasn’t unknown for one of the younger, infant children to burst in unexpectedly and break into tears, but very rarely did she see something like this from one of the oldest class, so she knew that something must be very wrong indeed. “There there, Lucy, whatever’s happened? Calm yourself down and tell me all about it, so that I can see what I can do to help.” As she said this, she took a half step back from the young girl and regarded her, noticing at once the wet stains on her grey skirt and even the smears on her legs and white sock. “Oh my darling, have you had an accident? Don’t cry, I’m sure we can sort it. Shh, dry those tears and let’s have a chat and see what we can do.” Even to an outsider, it would have been clear that Dorothy was herself a Mum and a Nanna, and she was very much used to calming down distressed children. She just had a way. Lucy snuffled and snorted, most undignified, but dignity didn’t really seem to matter right at that moment, she’d already lost all of that. Ok, so the hug from Mrs Johnson really had helped a bit, it’s amazing just how good a hug feels when you’re feeling so upset and at your very lowest ebb, but that wasn’t going to solve her immediate predicament – she was still standing there, at 11 years old, wearing a soaked school uniform and dripping all over the floor, having wet herself spectacularly in front of all of her class. She felt like her world was ending. “Can I just call my Mum to come and pick me up please, miss” she sniffled, “I just want to go home.” Unfortunately the secretary knew the rules normally meant that unless there was a real medical emergency, no pupils were allowed to leave early and they must all remain in school until 3pm – this had been set down by the head and deputy after they’d been given a grilling by the LEA over their attendance performance, and it wasn’t in her power to bend the rules, sorry though she did feel for Lucy. She didn’t want to deflate the young girl any further though, so did her best to cushion this news as she delivered it. “It’s not up to me I’m afraid sweetie, I can help you get sorted out and make a call to your Mum for you, but either Mr Davies or Mrs Moss will have to authorise you leaving early, if that’s what they think is best. Tell you what, why don’t you pop into my bathroom at the back of the office here and freshen yourself up a bit whilst I have a chat with them. I’ll see if I can’t find you some clean, dry clothes to put on too. How does that sound?” Lucy’s heart sank once more, what did Mrs Johnson mean, that after all this she still may not be able to go home? She didn’t know how to respond that, instead standing fixed in stunned silence. She couldn’t have put herself through all of this shame and embarrassment for nothing, could she? Realising that there was little she could do right now, and definitely wanting to get these cold, wet clothes off, she nodded slowly and made her way to the toilet door at the back of the office, closing it softly behind her before falling to her knees as silent sobs racked through her. Dorothy realised she probably needed a bit of space, so picked up the phone on her desk and dialled the extension for the head, Mr Davies, intending to plead Lucy’s case as well as she possibly could.

Another member over on Omo.org had kept a backup of probably the first 120 or so chapters of this, so I've got most of it back. Whilst I'm still awaiting the outcome of the review there, and hopeful that I'll be able to pick up where I left off, is there interest here in seeing this story continue? I'm happy to keep sharing it, but don't want to bore everybody if there's no interest.

Ah, thanks @Apache Raccoon! I stopped posting over there as there didn't seem to be a lot of interest, but it's good to know that somebody was reading and enjoying it. We got up to 3 parts and well over 100 chapters over on Omo.org, but then it raised a few eyebrows so the team took it down pending review. Alas I only have a handful of chapters offline, nothing beyond what I shared on ABDL I don't think, but even if the outcome of the review is that it won't be made public again I'm hopeful that the mods will let me have a copy, as literally months of my life went into writing it haha. Here's the next couple of instalments. Part 1 - Chapter 3 Lucy's head was at odds with her heart, but in truth she didn't quite know which was fighting in which corner. She was so confused, so conflicted. Something had to be done, but could she really go that far? Miss Jenkins had set them a short piece of written work to focus on until the end of the lesson, but Lucy had barely made a start on it, instead her thoughts whirring into a blur as she tried to come up with an alternative whilst at the same time seeking to justify to herself the frankly ludicrous steps she was about to take. "Just 10 minutes left now children, please make sure you've covered all of the main points we've talked about today. I'm expecting at least 2 pages in your exercise books from each of you." came the teachers voice from the front of the class, jolting Lucy who glanced down at the meagre couple of sentences she'd managed. 10 minutes, that's all she had left to play with. After that, it would be too late. It really was now or never and she knew deep down that it was now. She was going to have to go for it, what she hoped was the lesser of two evils. She felt a strange sense of nervous excitement, coupled with real fear that she'd never experienced before in her life. This. Was. It. Mustering everything within her, Lucy began to release her bladder muscles. Oh how she hoped this worked out as she had planned. If not, she'd ruin everything. She couldn't believe it, was actually doing it, the warm trickle in her underwear confirmed that she was actually sitting in class and wetting herself. Instinctively her hands both shot to her crotch, pushing her grey school skirt between her legs. This was probably the worst thing she could have done, as it meant that there would be no hiding now, her skirt was immediately wet and stained. But it was too late, there was nothing she could do to change it. Instead she now needed to focus all of her effort on stopping weeing - she'd done what she needed to, there was no sense in making it worse and humiliating herself completely. Only, there was a problem, a really really big problem...she couldn't stop! Why hadn't she thought of this? She'd only ever intended to let a bit out, just enough to be convincing when she had to tell her teacher what had happened, and hopefully enough to get her sent home for the rest of the day. The plan had been to talk to Miss Kenkins discreetly at the end of the lesson, with nobody else needing to know anything. But no, she couldn't control it, she should have known that. She'd never been able to stop once she'd started, something that had never been a problem before but now threatened to ruin what was left of her life. There was nothing she could do, her bladder was intent on emptying itself completely, and she was going to be left to deal with the consequences. She chanced a brief glance at her skirt and her worst fears were confirmed, everything was absolutely soaked and she had wee running down her legs, puddling on her chair and on the floor beneath her. At this she let out a barely stifled, audible sob and dropped her head down into her hands. She was ruined, and she knew it. Why had she done this to herself, how could this ever be better than missing a sleepover? Hearing her friend's sob, Becky turned quickly to look at her. "What on earth's the matter Luce?" She prompted, leaning in close so that they could talk without getting the teacher's attention. Lucy looked up, her eyes red and tears now streaming down her face. Ok, so she'd planned to use a few crocodile tears to help convince her teacher, but now she'd lost all control and was nothing but a blubbering wreck. This scared Becky, who hadn't seen her friend cry like this for years - after all, who's heard of a year 6 girl crying like a baby? It's just not something they did, ever, no matter what. Lucy couldn't speak through her tears, instead she just shuffled her chair backwards slightly and looked pointedly down into her lap. Becky's eyes followed her gaze, and widened immediately as they caught sight of what had happened. She couldn't help it, she gasped out loud "Oh Lucy!" She was in shock, what had her friend done? Never mind year 6 girls not crying, they certainly didn't wet themselves. She didn't know what to say or do, this was just unbelievable. And Lucy too, of all people. No, this couldn't be happening, she just couldn't believe it. "Shhhhh" Lucy managed between sobs. "Be quiet. Pleeeeeease" But it was too late for that, the rest of the class had heard Becky's exclamation of surprise across the near silent classroom, and had turned around to try and find the source of the commotion. Now Lucy was the centre of attention, all eyes on her, as she sat crying with her face red and puffy. "No, no no" she thought inwardly, "this wasn't how it was supposed to pan out at all". Seeing everybody staring at her open-mouthed, she dropped her head back to her desk to hide her shame. Right now all the class knew was that one of the oldest, most mature and most popular girls in their year was sat bawling her eyes out in the middle of history. That was enough for them, far more interesting than anything Miss Jenkins had them writing about, but little did they know it was just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, 30 pupils all turning in their place to face one spot in the room, combined with Becky's gasp and the silence being punctuated by Lucy's sobs which were increasing in volume as the seconds passed could hardly have escaped their teacher's notice, and Miss Jenkins was soon beside them, crouching next to Lucy and asking in her most caring and compassionate voice "What's the matter Lucy? Is everything ok sweetheart?" Part 1 - Chapter 4 Lucy hesitantly raised her head a little, but avoided making eye contact with her teacher or any of her classmates as she stuttered "M-m-m-iss, I've h-had an a-a-accident", before breaking down completely. Her sobs, no longer stifled, rang out loudly around the room, she was inconsolable. Every trace of maturity and 'coolness' gone, here was a wet and weeping little girl who just wanted the ground to swallow her up. Upon hearing her words, the class broke out into mutterings and chatter, with more than an occasional giggle thrown in. Nobody could quite believe what they'd just heard, in fact none of them could believe it at all, not of Lucy, not the 'cool' kid. The last time somebody had an accident in class...well, it just didn't happen. They couldn't remember, it must have been years and years ago. 11 year old, mature girls who were starting secondary school in a few weeks just didn't do that. Miss Jenkins placed an arm around Lucy and talked softly to her, reassuring her that everything was going to be ok and calming her down so that she was able to breathe properly again, eventually offering her a tissue to dry her eyes. Now the young girl was a little more composed, she again spoke gently "How about you come with me Lucy, let's get you out of here where it's a bit more private and you can get sorted out.", before addressing the class quite firmly "Everybody back to your places and tidy away please, the bell will be going soon and you don't want to be late for your lunch I'm sure! Don't worry, I'll make sure Lucy is ok." Lucy allowed herself to be guided out of her chair and across the classroom to the door, frantically trying to cover her shame with her hands, but achieving very little as her skirt was soaked both front and back. She cringed as she caught sight of the telltale wet patches, wishing at that moment that her school uniform wasn't a grey skirt. As they reached the door, she glanced at the clock and began to panic again, Miss was right the bell would be sounding very soon, she couldn't be seen out in the corridor like this, all of the little kids would see. Her own little brother would see! Oh the shame, the mortification. As the stepped out of the door, Lucy spoke in a tiny, little girl's voice which belied her usual bravado "Please, Miss, can I go home. I just want my mum, I don't want anybody else to see me." Miss Jenkins heart melted as she heard this, her heart was breaking for her pupil who was usually so confident and headstrong. She didn't quite know what had happened to cause this, but her own maternal instincts kicked in and she just wanted to protect the young girl. She knew the rules, Lucy shouldn't be out of class without a teacher, but she also knew she couldn't leave the rest of the class without getting herself into trouble. And if the bell went and other classes came out whilst they were stood here, she didn't know how the poor girl would cope. "Ok Lucy, I'm trusting you to go by yourself, straight to the school office. Please don't go anywhere else, run straight there. If any other teachers ask, tell them I've said it's ok" She knew that Dorothy, the secretary-cum-nurse would take care of things, and she only hoped that Lucy got her wish, that she was allowed to go home to spare her blushes and to have that much needed hug from her Mum. She knew what the head was like about rules though, and attendance in particular, so deep down she was worried that he wouldn't allow it. She'd never heard of a child being allowed to go home early before after something like this - ok, she'd never known something like this to happen to a year 6 pupil, but the younger ones always had to change and then go back to class. Uh-oh, she really hoped for Lucy's sake that he made an exception. Lucy mustered a small, watery smile and a faint "Thanks, Miss." Before taking off down the corridor. She didn't need telling twice, she needed to get to the office right now, before anybody else saw her. She needed them to phone her Mum so she could go home and hide for the rest of her life. There's no way she could come back to school now, not after this, not ever. She almost managed a wry smile as she realised that she'd be able to skip Mrs Moss's class after all, although she'd never intended to ruin her reputation in the process. Only an hour ago she was one of the oldest, most mature, most respected and 'coolest' kids in her school, now all of that was gone. Now she was a wet, weeping little baby, and it really hurt. It can't get any worse, or can it...

Hi Everybody, A few of you may recognise me and this story from another forum - it proved to be incredibly popular there, reaching in excess of 150,000 and receiving the most positive feedback of any work of fiction shared there, which made me incredibly proud although I won't lie I'm not a lover of the limelight and it did make me blush quite a bit too, haha! Unfortunately some concerns were raised about the story as it features underage fictional characters, and as such the moderators of the forum took the decision to hide it whilst it is reviewed, and given it's considerable length this is a process which will take some time. Whilst we are waiting, and having reviewed the rules here and satisfied myself that it will be allowed, I thought why not begin posting a few chapters for some new readers to enjoy. :) Unfortunately I don't have the bulk of the story saved offline, so only the initial chapters are available until the review process has been completed, but it's a start. I recognise a few usernames here from elsewhere, including a few who I know followed and enjoyed the story, so hopefully you'll all find it here if for any reason it's not re-published elsewhere. Disclaimer - As mentioned above, the characters featured in this story are clearly underage. Nothing about this story is written in a sexual, graphic, explicit or otherwise inappropriate manner, and it is not intended for this story to provide any such gratification either to the author or readers. This is a genuinely innocent "slice of life" story , which just so happens to include an element of wetting. Anyway, without further ado - Part 1 - Chapter 1 Lucy was sat daydreaming at her place in class. Nothing new there, it's how she spent many lessons - letting her teachers words wash over her, going in one ear and out of the other without actually taking anything in. She was bored with junior school now, and wanted to get on with the more exciting parts of growing up. Lucy Daniels is 11 years old, a typical pre-teen with just a hint of stroppy teenagerhood starting to creep in around the edges. She's popular, very mature and "grown up" for her age, but so easily distracted. Image is fast becoming everything for her, and she simply has to be 'cool' at all times. She goes to great lengths to make sure she always dresses, looks and acts at least as old as she is, if not much older. The thought of being considered babyish is here deepest fear, and sometimes she expresses this through being a bit too cocky in an effort to hide her own insecurities. Typical teenager in the making. The tone of the hubbub around her changed, and this jolted her from her stupor. Maybe she should pay attention for a while, see what was going on in class and familiarise herself at least with the subject her teacher was boring on about, just in case she was unfairly picked on to answer a question! She turned to her best friend Becky, who as ever was sat next to her and responded to her glazed look with a giggle. "Have you listened to anything Miss Jenkins has been taking about Lucy? Hehe" "Erm no, not really, I was counting on you filling me in. It's not like we need to know any of this stuff anyway, we've already done our SATs and we'll be moving to high school soon" Lucy replied with a whispered giggle of her own. Just then, both girls attention was drawn back to the front of the class by the shrill tones of Mrs Moss, the strict deputy head who had popped in to have a quick word with Miss Jenkins. Moss always meant trouble, and they knew it! Bad enough that they had to put up with her for an English lesson after lunch, without her interrupting their gossip time with their favourite teacher too. "Don't forget, boys and girls, the comprehension homework I set you all two weeks ago, and have already given you an extra week to work on because of your SATs revision, MUST be handed in at the start of our next lesson! No excuses, those of you who haven't completed it will be spending your lunchtimes with me for a week until it's done, and for any of you who have dared to miss a second piece of homework, I'll be calling your parents in for a little chat". This last sentence was said in a particularly sinister tone, and Lucy was sure that Mrs Moss had trained her eyes on her as she said it. Her stomach sank, and she turned again to Becky, all sense of silly giggliness now cone and a forlorn, worried expression across her features. "Oh no! I completely forgot, I've not even started it, and the worksheet is still at home somewhere in my room." She cried to Becky in horror. "Didn't you 'forget' the last one too Luce? You're going to be in so much trouble. If she rings your Mum, you'll probably be grounded and miss Emily's big birthday sleepover at the weekend too." This did nothing to quell Lucy's fears, she knew that Becky was right. Her Mum and dad were quite strict, both being teachers themselves they really valued education, and she hadn't even told them that she'd already been in trouble with the deputy head for not ding homework. If they got called in, she would be busted. "What am I going to do? They'll kill me, and I can't miss the sleepover, it's probably the last one before we break up and I've been planning stuff for ages. It's going to be the best, I've got to think of something to get me out of this." Lucy's head spun, filled with all kinds of bonkers schemes and plans, each one less likely than the previous to succeed. No excuse was going to wash, and she knew that. They'd all tried them over the past couple of years, and old Moss wasn't going to be taken in by anything she said. No, it would take something a bit more drastic than that. But what?... She toyed with the idea of feigning illness, but she knew she was a rubbish actor and it would be seen right through straight away. Or what about making herself sick, so she could go to the nurse and then hopefully go home? Nope, she couldn't stand being sick, there was no way on earth she was going to make herself do that on purpose! Besides, if she was off school sick then her Mum would make sure she couldn't do anything fun outside of school, like sleepovers. The old 'if you're well enough to play, you're well enough for school' line would no doubt be trotted out. Her mind flashed full of crazy ideas she'd seen on TV, what about setting off the fire alarm? Flooding the school? Somehow making Mrs Moss sick or injured so that she couldn't take their lesson? No, no, this was ridiculous! There had to be something, a way. If only she could get herself out of that lesson, sent home but without being in trouble or missing out on her friends birthday sleepover. Hmm... Part 1 - Chapter 2 Lucy was aghast, she just couldn't see a way out of this mess, and despite all of her maturity her sense of what was reasonable in the circumstances was beginning to desert her. "I don't think there's much you can do Luce." Replied Becky "Unless you can find a way of getting out of Moss's lesson, and that's only going to happen if you can go home. You know she NEVER lets anybody skip her class, and I saw the way she looked at you then." Lucy shuddered, yep she'd seen the look too. She was hoping she'd imagined it, but it seemed not. Becky was right, she HAD to find a way of getting to go home. What she needed was some time, some space to think. There was only about 20 minutes left of this class, then 40 minutes of lunch break, that wasn't nearly enough time to come up with a masterplan, and besides she needed to eat and 'hang out' with the girls at lunch. Surprising even herself, Lucy put her hand up to attract Miss Jenkins attention. "Ah Lucy, I see you've decided to join us in the lesson again!" Remarked the teacher, with a hint of sternness which was countered by a friendly smile. "I'm sure whatever you've been daydreaming about all morning is far more important than my history discussion, perhaps I should give you a quick test just to make sure you really don't need to listen?" Again, this was delivered with a twinkle in the eye, and Lucy relaxed a little. "I have been listening, honest miss" remarked Lucy, charming as ever. "I was just wondering, could I please be excused to go to the toilet?" There was almost an audible gasp around the classroom. Nobody ever asked to go to the toilet in class, they knew it wasn't allowed and anyway, they were all in year 6 now and didn't need to go during lessons, they were all old enough to wait until break and lunchtimes. They'd certainly never expect Lucy to ask! Becky turned to look at Lucy in shock, what on earth? In return, Lucy just smiled meekly but with a mischievous glint in her eye a she did so. What was she playing at? "I'm sorry Lucy, but you know the rules. It's not me who decided them, the head and deputy told everybody at the beginning of the year that nobody was allowed to be outside of their classrooms during lesson time. I think we should be able to trust you to nip to the loo and back without causing any trouble, and I'm sure we can, but I'd get told off myself if you were seen. Anyway, there's less than 20 minutes to go until lunchtime now, I'm sure you can wait until then, can't you?" Lucy's heart sank with those words. Whilst it's the that she hadn't been to the toilet since before school that morning, preferring to spend her break time gossiping with her friends on the playground, that wasn't really the issue - she often didn't use the school toilets at all, waiting until she got home. More of the being 'cool and grownup'. No, this request had been more about getting out of the classroom for a few minutes whilst she tried to come up with a plan to go home. "I'll try" Lucy answered, trying to find a balance between sounding sad that her request had been turned down and making out that she wasn't sure she could 'hold it' whilst at the same time conscious that she really didn't want to look like a baby in front of her classmates. Who knows, maybe miss would change her mind, it was a long shot but worth a try. Becky looked even more shocked as she nudged Lucy and asked in a low voice "What's up Luce?", with a worried undertone. "Shh, it's nothing, just trying to get out of here for a bit to see whether I can come up with something to make sure I miss the next lesson. There's got to be a way of getting sent home without being in trouble for it, and definitely without being ill". She pulled a face, making it clear to Becky that she'd even considered making herself sick, but had quickly ruled that out. "Oh, right. I guess that makes sense. I thought you actually wanted to go and use the smelly toilets then, haha. But be careful, maybe its better just to get in trouble for the homework and miss this one sleepover if you have to? Don't risk getting into even more bother, it's not worth it." Lucy considered this, but to her it really WAS worth it. Becky had no idea what kind of trouble she'd be in at home if her parents got called because she'd failed to do her homework twice. And this sleepover was going to be the social event of the year, everybody was going to be there, she just couldn't miss it. Deep in thought, some strange ideas started to surface in her head. No, she couldn't resort to that, could she? Was it really worth THAT??