Sonya and Michaela Starting Over

[Ishigreensa]

Brenda nodded and helped the child out of her chair.

Her chair seat was wet because of her pants.

"Okay honey.  I understand, and I'm sorry I said you wet your pants, sweetie."

She knew that the girl must have wet at some time though because she smelled, but she decided not to upset her anymore than she already was.  "Even though your mommy tried to wash out your panties for you and stuff, these clothes are still too small, so I'm going to change you anyway, okay?  We don't want the other kids to make fun of you because your pants are unfastened, do we, honey?"

She smiled at her.

She helped her out of her chair and onto the floor.

"Can you sit here and hold this stuffie for me for a minute?  I'm going to get you some clothes to wear, honey."

Brenda then went off to hunt down something clean that would fit her better than what she had on.  She wasn't completely convinced that the girl had not wet her pants because she smelled but she understood from the tight clothes that it was possible that her mother had just washed out her panties, but even if that were the case, why run them in the sink at all?  Just wearing her panties from one day before wouldn't be so bad as making them wet on her, and Brenda didn't think that Sonja was the type of person to make her daughter suffer, or else she wouldn't have told her about the reasons for the chair being needed.  There was definitely a reason she had washed out... and then it hit Brenda.  The poor kid probably had wet the bed and without any clean panties, the mother just washed out her panties for her, but didn't get them as clean as she thought she had.

 

[Shy-Diapers]

“I can dress myself.” Michaela mumbled when Brenda mentioned changing her. 

Michaela sighed. She didn’t understand why she was being put on the floor. Did Brenda not want her on her chairs because she was wet? This was so embarrassing. Did Brenda maybe think that Michaela couldn’t sit in a chair unassisted? She had no idea. 

Michaela sighed and stayed still. She hoped that Sonja wouldn’t be mad at her if she came home wearing different clothes. She also hoped that Brenda would let her get dressed as much as she could. Hopefully Brenda would find some clothes that fit her. Maybe the nurse would have some. At her old school the nurse always had clothes for reasons like this, especially since it was elementary school. 

“I’m sorry I’m so much trouble.” She said quietly when Brenda came back. 

[Ishigreensa]

Brenda had gotten a clean pair of panties from the nurse and some sweat pants and a tshirt.  She also got a mat for the chair to keep her pants dry once she was put back in the chair.

"This will help, honey," she said.  "And you are no trouble at all.  The reason there are nurses, counselors, and pyshologists at school are so we are prepared to help students who are having a rough time, honey.  And whether you pee your pants or not, don't be scared to tell me or to let me help you.  I won't be mad if you have an accident at school, okay?"

She smiled at her.

"I know you didn't wet your pants this morning.  You explained what happened, but honey?  You did wet yesterday, didn't you?  I'm sorry to bring it up, but I think if you know that I already know it might be an issue, then it might be a little easier for you to let me know if you are wet.  We don't want you to suffer all day again in wet pants.  Okay?"

She didn't know how much help the girl needed, but didn't want to take too long because she was missing classes, so she just started to undress her and dress her herself.  She saw that the panties were stained yellow, but as she had worked out a bit ago, that might have been from wetting the bed and then the mother tried to wash them out.  Apparently, the mother was in a hurry because she didn't even get the yellow of them completely.

Brenda put the wet pants in a bag to be sent home later with her.

"There we are.  Now, let's take you to class, honey."

 

While they were getting her sorted, the teacher had made the students stand up, and he rearranged the room so that her chair would actually fit into the room.  He put her desk in the far back on purpose so that she could put her chair next to her if she wanted to sit in a reguar chair, and he made sure she had a place against the wall so she could lean her crutches without them being too far away for her to get them.  He also put Imelda just in front of her so that Imelda could help her if she needed it.

So, when they came back to the room, and Brenda was helping her out of her chair outside the room, one of the kids pointed at the window.

"She's back!"

The teacher came out and smiled.

"We moved the classroom around a little bit for you so you can fit your chair in," he told her.  "We wanted to make it as convenient for you as possible."

Brenda smiled.

"No one is to help her get in and out of the chair today except me, though.  Her mother wanted me to promise her before she left.  Apparently, the kid has touch issues, and doesn't like people touching her unless she is somewhat comfortable with them.  She's sort of okay with me, but that's because she doesn't have anyone else that she trusts more at the moment.  She and I sort of made a connection yesterday."

The teacher smiled and nodded.  "I understand."

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela started to cry again when Brenda was undressing her. She felt like such a baby. She was starting to feel like no matter what she said or did she’d never be able to have the normalcy she used to love. Everyone treated her differently and she couldn’t stand it. Michaela wanted to be just like everyone else as much as possible. 

“I didn’t know anything yesterday. Everything is confusing and different. I didn’t know what to do. I got the to bathroom but had already started going in my pants. I got most of it in the potty though!” She said defensively. She was trying to maintain the little pride and dignity she had left. 

Before she got the classroom, she insisted that Brenda help her get her braces and crutches. “I don’t wanna be in my chair. Momma said I could use my crutches in class.” She persisted until Brenda helped her. 

Michaela felt even more embarrassed when she saw that the class had been rearranged just for her. Her face was burning. She felt different from everyone else. On top of that, her desk was in the back. She felt like the class wanted her away from everyone else. No matter how good the intentions were, the results made Michaela feel ostracized. 

[Ishigreensa]

Brenda nodded and it really didn't take much to convince her to help her get her braces and crutches.  Sonja had been adamate about making sure that Brenda knew that her daughter was to be given the crutches inside the classroom because that was the main reason they needed her to help, otherwise, Michaela could just go see the nurse if she had to pee and otherwise just use her chair.

Once Brenda made sure she made it to her space at the back of the class, and her chair was put behind her desk, Brenda left instructions for the teacher to call her before they left the room for any reason, or if he had to giv her permission to use the bathroom so she could help her into the chair.

Then she went back to her office for one of her appointments.

The teacher got the class started on reading something, and then he went back to talk to Imelda and Michaela.

"Michaela is going to be counting on you to help her when she's too sore to move, to come and get me," he told Imelda.  "She is going to walk as much as she can, but it seems that she's not to be walking all around the school.  I'd like you to stay with her most of the time to make sure she's got someone her age with her."

Imelda nodded.

"Don't worry.  You won't miss anything because all the teachers know that Michaela needs help, and they will wait two or three minutes before starting class to make sure that she has a chance to be in the class with everyone else.  So, that should help you, too."

He turned to Michaela.

"Everyone wants you to feel welcome in class," he told her.  "I'm asking Imelda to stay with you because I trust her to do what is right if you need help.  You can count on her."

He smiled.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela frowned and stayed quiet at her seat. She felt embarrassed. The teacher while meaning well, was making her feel even shyer and more awkward than before. So much attention was being drawn to the shy girl that it made her uncomfortable. 

Michaela hung her head and stayed quiet. Nothing was being handled discreetly or in a way that seemed to consider her feelings and emotions. She wanted to cry. Her cheeks didn’t fade from the red embarrassment that gave them color. 

She nodded and kept her head down, trying not to cry. She didn’t like attention being focused on her so this was all hard for her. It was almost painful in a way. 

Michaela read her book and kept quiet, avoiding talking to anybody as much as possible. 

[Ishigreensa]

After a while, of reading, Imelda looked back at her classmate and wondered if she was okay.  She wasn't sure if she should ask or not, though, because she saw how much the girl was looking down when the teacher left, and she saw her cheeks burning red.  She wondered if maybe she shouldn't just ignore for a while, but then, maybe she needed a friend.

She took forever to decide to talk to her, but finally, as the teacher started to ask the kids to put their books away and to pull out their math, Imelda decided to ask her.

"So, my mom said that you can come over tomorrow after noon, if you want.  She's going to buy some snacks for us and everything.  I told her all about having a new friend at school, and my mom thinks it's a good idea to welcome you properly."

She smiled.

"What do you think?  Can you come?"

[Shy-Diapers]

“Oh.” Michaela said when Imelda mentioned coming over. She had gotten over some of the embarrassment for the time being, but not completely. 

She tried to think of a reason not to go. She felt guilty going to someone else’s house if she couldn’t invite the girl back to her own house, which she really didn’t even have. 

“Um. I don’t think my mom will let me. We have a lot to do at home. Cuz we just moved here.” She lied. She felt bad about lying, but didn’t want to hurt Imelda’s feelings. 

“Maybe another time?”

[Ishigreensa]

Imelda looked down and sad.

"I know you just moved here.  One of my neighbors welcomed us to the neighborhood with a small party because of the work it takes to unpack, and they said that it helps if you don't have to cook a meal sometimes.  Anyway, I guess if you're that busy....  I understand.  I was just trying to welcome you.  You don't have to be friends with me if you don't want to."

She sniffled thinking she had done something wrong and the girl didn't want to be her friend.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela frowned. She didn’t want to ruin the relationship with the one person who tried to be her friend. 

“I wanna be your friend. But I dunno if my mom will let me come over. She’s super busy so she might not have time to meet your mom. She doesn’t like me going anywhere if she doesn’t know people. I can ask though.” She said hoping not to upset Imelda. 

“I’ll ask her and see if she says yes.”

[Ishigreensa]

Imelda smiled at her.

"So... you're not mad at me for some reason?" she asked.  "I thought you were mad and I didn't know what I did.  I understand if you are honestly busy.  I just thought I made you mad."

She looked down.  She realized she was repeating herself now, but she didn't know how else to explain why she suddenly felt upset for a moment.

"Maybe we can come to your place and help you unpack or something?"

[Shy-Diapers]

“No I’m not mad.” Michaela said honestly. She hoped she didn’t upset Imelda too much. 

“I dunno. I don’t think she wants people over before everything looks good. I’ll ask her. Maybe she’ll say yes.” She lied. She felt bad that she was lying, but she didn’t want to admit to her current situation. 

[Ishigreensa]

"Okay," Imelda said.  "I think my mom was the same way two years ago."

She looked over at the clock.

"We have math and then recess after that.  Do you want to play together?"

The teacher started to write a demonstration problem on the board.

They were going to do long division, but the newer recently approved way of doing it.  It was really just one of the new teaching steps to make sure students understood what they were doing.  it wasn't going to replace long division in the long haul.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Maybe.” Michaela said with a small frown. “I can’t get around the playground that well. I can’t use my chair and it’s hard to move around.” She sighed and looked down. She felt like she was so much slower. 

The playground’s floor was very uneven due to the woodchips and the jungle gym was too narrow for Michaela’s crutches. She felt bad that she’d slow Imelda down. 

Michaela tried to understand the problem on the board, but being so far back in the class it was hard for her to see. She didn’t have any eye trouble, but because she was so far back, she couldn’t quite see everything well enough to write it all down in time. 

[Ishigreensa]

Imelda smiled.

"I wasn't thinking about running around anyway.  I brought some marbles with me, if you don't tell on me.  We can just draw a circle on the ground in the dirt area and play there.  You can sit on the ground, can't you?  Or maybe we can ...." but she was cut off as the lesson started so she didn't get to finish her planning.

The teacher actually tried to go at a normal speed, and none of the others had any trouble keeping up, so he didn't think to ask Michaela if she got it all down or not.

When the period was just about half over, he let the kids work on exercises in their workbooks.

Imelda turned to work on her work on Michaela's desk so they could talk and do their work together.  The teacher didn't tell them that they couldn't, and he was normally okay with it as long as both people were actually doing the work, and one wasn't just giving the answers to the other.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela smiled a little. “I can sit on the ground.” She said, omitting the part about not being able to stand up from the floor very easily. She just wanted to be normal. 

When the demonstration part was done, Michaela was finally able to catch up. She tried to get everything down as fast as possible, worried the teacher would start to erase the board. 

Michaela quietly focused on her work. She wasn’t very good at talking and working at the same time. She had to focus on one thing at a time or else she’d mess up. 

[Ishigreensa]

Imelda just worked because she could see that Michaela was concentrating really hard on her work.  She wondered if the other girl was kind of slow or something, but decided not to comment on that.  It was probably none of her business if she was.  

At the end of the period, the teacher finally erased the board and started to call the students up to the front to line up.  As he did so, Brenda came in.

He smiled at Brenda as Brenda went back to the chair to start getting Michaela ready to go to the playground.

"I'll push your chair for you to wherever you want to play," she told her.  "Then I'll go talk to another teacher until you are ready for me to take you back inside, okay?"

Imelda hung back with them.

[Shy-Diapers]

“I just wanna sit on the ground with Imelda.” Michaela said quietly. She was embarrassed that she had to be moved around, but knew this was part of the compromise. 

Once outside, Michaela manually adjusted her legs and sat down comfortably with Imelda. She smiled and started to play marbles. 

[Ishigreensa]

Brenda knew that bringing toys to school was not really allowed, but she decided not make it a big deal when she saw the marbles.  The truth was that a lot of kids brought their own playground things because the school really didn't have enough stuff for all the students to share.  

Imelda sat down next to her new friend and she put the marbles in a circle she drew on the ground and then she showed Michaela how to hold her thumb and fingers to shoot the big marble at the little ones just in case she had never played it before.

"You know, it is hard to move and be the new kid at school," she said.  "I was new two years ago, and I remember what it was like not knowing anyone, and everyone staring at you because you feel weird...."

She smiled.

"But the truth is, we are all weird.  We don't know know it until we move somewhere, and then everyone stares at us."

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela smiled and played along with Imelda. She was enjoying herself for once. 

“Yeah but everyone always stares at me.” She said sighing. “Cuz I use crutches and a wheelchair. I’m always weird and stared at. I hate it. I just wanna be normal like everyone else. That’s why I hate my chair.”

[Ishigreensa]

Imelda shrugged.

"People stared at me because of my accent for a long time, and they were surprised that I spoke Spanish before I spoke English.  They also thought the clothes I wore two years ago was strange, but they don't care about it so much now.  I bet in time, no one will care about your crutches or your chair.  Those things only say you can't walk well.  I don't think that makes you weird."

She smiled.

"I can tell you some really weird things about some of the members of class, but it wouldn't be very nice of me.  My point is, we are all weird."

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela sighed. She nodded at Imelda, not really being able to express her thoughts all that well. She smiled and continued to play marbles. 

Michaela wanted to say that people stared at her everywhere, even after they got used to her. She also wanted to point out that Imelda’s differences didn’t prevent her from doing normal things. But she decided not to say anything. She couldn’t get her thoughts together well enough. 

She continued to play marbles for the rest of recess. She had to go to the bathroom by now, but decided to wait until it was easier to get there. She didn’t want to admit that  she couldn’t get up from the ground by herself. She’d have to wait for Brenda to come help her. 

[Ishigreensa]

The bell rang and students started to run towards their class lines, but Imelda stayed with Michaela.  Her teacher had told her that that's what he wanted, so she was pretty sure she wouldn't get in trouble for being late if her 'buddy' was late.  Actually, Mr. Greer put the kids with buddies at the beginning of the year, and at first, because the class had an uneven number of students, one group had three kids.  Now, he was due to change the line up so that even pairs would be made.

The buddy system was mostly for field trips, fire drills, and other such things, but he also like them to be aware of their buddy's needs like if they were absent and missed some homework explanation, and to remind each other to get in line when the bell rang or other such things.  He figured that giving the kids power like that, would make them more likely to pressure their peers into doing the right thing rather than the wrong things.

Brenda smiled as she saw Imelda staying with Michaela.

Imelda thought that Michaela smelled a little bit, but she kept that to herself.  She wasn't sure why it kept smelling like her friend wets her pants, but realizing her friend had limited mobility, she wondered if it was a side effect of not being able to walk very well, that maybe her friend just pees her pants because she can't get to the bathroom in time or something.

She decided asking about it would be rude, so she pretended that nothing was wrong.

"Let's go  back to class," Brenda told Michaela.  "Before we do, do you need me stop by the bathroom for you?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela was embarrassed by the fact that she couldn’t even stand up while she waited for Brenda. Standing from a seated position on the floor was difficult. She had been making progress with the task in PT, but hasn’t mastered it, and now she was facing setbacks from being out of PT for so long, and from small equipment. 

Michaela’s cheeks turned pink when Brenda asked if she had to go. She felt like a kindergartener. It was embarrassing being asked if she had to go to the bathroom. It was one thing if the teacher told the whole class to go, but this was specifically Michaela. 

She nodded shyly, hoping Imelda didn’t think she was a little kid. She was able to use the bathroom independently if she was on crutches, but not in her wheelchair. She waited patiently as Brenda took her to the bathroom. She hadn’t seen one yesterday, but she hoped one of the bathrooms had a bar by the toilet so she could get on by herself. It wouldn’t work if it was attached to the wall because she was still a little kid, so it’d have to be on the floor by the toilet. 

[Ishigreensa]

Sadly, the larger stall had a bar along the wall to help people, but it didn't have one right next to the toilet because there was just no space for it.  The builders of this building had assumed that most kids would either be taken by an adult if they were unable to walk because it was designed long before the invention of the special crutches of today.  The district didn't have money to redesign schools, and barely had enough to pay for all the programs that a school needed, so the bar could not be replaced very soon.

While this was true of the regular toilets for most students to use, the toilet in the nurse's office did have a lot more room, and there were not one, but two bars, one on each side of the toilet for someone that might need them.  However, as Michaela had not been to the toilet in the nurse's office yet, there was probably no way for her to know about that, and Brenda didn't think about it as she brought her to the girls' toilet and wheeled her in to the main area.

"I can help you get up so you can use your crutches to get to the toilet if you want," Brenda told her.

Imelda took the opportunity to also duck into an empty stall to go.