Guinea pig [CH6 2021/03/03]

[Pierry Louys]

Great chapter I really like the way the story is progressing! I hope you don’t take too long to post a new chapter rsrs 

[kirababy]

wow what a great surprise to see the next chapter.   Love the cliffhanger ending of it, just where did they go?

[Sarah Penguin]

Hmm

[Bonsai]

That poor saturated “super thirsty” will soon have a hard time dealing with all the soda that Jay drank through the movie. Will Jay ask for the potty and, if yes, how will Lily handle the request? Best scenario is a trip to the toilet for disabled and then a rather awkward change.

Worst scenario... how large the puddles can be?

[Jayme]

Jay may be in for a hard time at the theater for a bit....

[Pierry Louys]

Really ansious to see the next chapter 

[adamlathamsmith]

I hope the new chapter is come soon as this really good

[Pierry Louys]

Yeah the cliffhanger is killing 

[k-dkid]

I seriously hope this gets continued. It was turning out to be one of the best stories that were ever written on this forum.

[TheJ]

I apologize for not getting new chapters out. I'm just struggling to find any kind of flow into writing for the time being. It feels laborious and forced rather than passionate. I have the ideas and I know where I'm taking the story, but putting it into text is where I'm lacking.

I'll try my best to get over it and push another chapter out.

[Pierry Louys]

We understand! Take your time ! I really your story ! Hope you can make another chapter soon 

[Jayme]

TheJ, we all understand how writer's block can be a pain. All I can suggest is don't force it out as you will hate how it reads later. I for one will be patiently waiting for new chapters of the stories I read (which is almost every story here), so don't stress that you are stuck, take some time and relax for a bit if you can.

Stay safe and try to keep happy days ahead!

[TheJ]

Chapter 6: Finding a way home

 

Jay sat strapped into a chair in a breakroom. Another feature of the harness could be marked off the list as tested. He wasn’t going anywhere. A feature Jay hasn’t anticipated was how the harness could make any adult dismiss his mental abilities. How couldn’t Lily or Tina or this new black bearded man sitting on the other side of the table see past the harness, see how lucid he was. In a way it made him less of a person, more of a target of prejudice.

“Hi there, Jay! I’m Saul,” the man introduced himself and held out his hand for Jay to shake before continuing, “and I’ve heard you’ve got yourself in bit of a pickle. I’m here to help you.”

“There would be no problem if they had just let me walk home.” Jay crossed his hands across his chest.

“You were trying to tell them you’re wearing that harness without a reason. Could you explain that to me? I wish to understand what you mean.” The man was the first from the cinema staff to seem genuinely interested to hear Jay out.

“I’m not special needs. My mom just has this company that makes these harnesses and other stuff. I help her out by testing them.”

The man studied Jay’s face and pondered for a while.

“How old are you?”

Great, Jay thought. The man, Saul, wouldn’t believe him either. Jay sighed and answered, “I’m ten.”

“My son is eleven. He’s autistic. Matter of fact he has a harness like yours, might even be an older version from your mother’s company. You see, Jay, I can tell you’re not autistic nor do you even appear to have ADHD. If I let you go, you would likely find home without an issue.”

At last someone saw past the webbing of Jay’s harness. He was going home.

“But… If it turned out that I was mistaken and something happened to you, I couldn’t live with myself which is why we are doing this the hard way. Can you see why I prefer to play it safe?”

Jay nodded. He had to admit it; Saul had a point.

“So, do you have a phone?”

The boy’s eyes brightened. Of course! He could just call his mother. She would come right away and get him. How stupid of him not to think of it. Jay patted his pockets, stuck his hands in them. Empty. All of them empty. He hadn’t picked up his phone before they left home. When everything was getting taken care of for him it was easy to forget such a mundane task.

“No,” Jay answered, defeatedly.

“Can you memorize your mother’s number?”

Jay shook his head. He hadn’t taken the time to imprint the number in his memory, something he needed to fix as soon as this mess was resolved. Saul was thoughtful for a moment.

“I said that you would probably find your way home. Is that right?”

“Yes.” Jay said tentatively.

“You must remember your address then. I could drive you home.”

“Yes! Will you?” Jay got excited.

“Of course. Let’s get you home.”

All Jay’s worries faded when looked into Saul’s observant yet somehow warm eyes. Saul heard him and saw who he was. Perhaps it was the experience from growing an autistic child. No, how could it be that? Jay wasn’t special needs. He was perfectly normal, or was he? Jay begun doubting himself. The burden of proof was constantly on him, squeezing him with its weight. Was it time to plead guilty and take the full sentence?

“How’s that diaper of yours holding up?” Saul asked, no hint of awkwardness in his voice. “No need to be ashamed. I’m used to this with my son. I think nothing of it.”

Jay was ashamed, nonetheless. “I… It’s fine.”

“You sure about that?”

Jay wasn’t. It could have been on the verge of leaking all over his clothes. It might have been fine for another wetting. “I don’t know…”

“May I take a look?”

Straight from nice to meet you’s to may I see have you peed on yourself was the name of the game now. At least he asked, Jay thought and nodded.

Saul gently worked the harness off the chair and Jay. He fiddled with the one-piece’s quirks for a while, making a “hmm” sound. The zipper opened at last revealing Jay’s back to the cool air of the breakroom. Saul didn’t need to feel Jay’s diaper with his hand. Its status was visibly critical.

“That could leak from the next dribble of sweat.”

“I kinda need to pee. What can I do?”

“You can use the staff bathroom right over there”, Saul pointed and continued, “and it’s your lucky day. I have couple of my son’s pull-ups in my backpack.”

Jay waddled towards the bathroom door while Saul kept talking.

“I assume you can take the diaper off yourself and throw it in the trash. And Jay, don’t try to sneak out while I’m getting that pull-up. You probably noticed by now that there are women in the lobby that don’t hesitate to catch a charmer that you’re, let alone one half undressed.” Saul winked to Jay as the boy pulled the bathroom door shut.

Jay ripped the tapes of the weighty diaper open and carefully disposed it in the trash bin. He sat on the toilet, letting the stream go. The moment alone was too inviting to waste, so Jay just sat on the cold toilet seat, chin on his hands. The one-piece was in a bundle at his feet on the bathroom floor. These few days had been an obstacle course to him. He would climb over a mountain just to face an ocean to cross. Why did it have to be so complicated? At least there was land in sight at last.

Jay heard knocking from the door. He gathered the one-piece up enough to cover his crotch and shuffled to the door. It was Saul who waved a Goodnites pull-up with a blue and green space design in his hand.

“Put this on and get dressed. Then we are all set to go.”

Jay nodded and thanked for the pull-up. He shuffled back to the toilet and sat down to take off his shoes. He pulled the thin disposable on. It felt like underwear compared to the diapers Jay had which he didn’t mind the slightest. The one-piece went over Jay’s arms and shoulders, the shoes back on his feet. Jay looked into the bathroom mirror, swiped strands of hair off his eyes and nodded confidently to his reflection.

Saul was waiting right outside the bathroom. He pulled the zipper shut on Jay’s back and closed the tabs.

“There you go. Off to my car. It’s about time we get you home.”

Saul took the harness that had been left on the breakroom chair, but instead of bothering to put Jay into it, he held out his hand. Jay put his hand into Saul’s firm hold before the two walked out to the lobby. Lily was at the cashier and noticed the pair.

“So, have you two come up with a plan?”

“Yup, Jay here remembers his home address, so I’ll drive him home and come back to finish my shift.”

“That’s great!” Lily patted Jay’s head. “It was nice to meet you. Make sure to come back again, but don’t get lost!”

“Okay,” Jay said. He would steer clear of the cinema for unforeseeable future.

 

***

 

The sun had already set, and the air was getting cooler but there wasn’t as much as a breeze. There were many people out on the street, some were chatting oddly loud. A man yelled obscenities on the other side of the street to another man who walked away from him, showing a middle finger over his shoulder. A woman was trying to calm down the yelling man. Low bass beat was piercing the walls of the building next to them. Jay wondered what was so special about the place to justify the long queue in front that was being held up by a man whose shoulders were wider than the door of Jay’s room.

A noisy group of young adults walked by Jay and Saul. Jay held onto Saul’s safety tighter and drew himself closer to the adult. The walk didn’t take much longer, and they stopped by a black car parked on the side of the street. Jay’s jaw dropped.

“Woah…”

Saul laughed. “Do you like it?”

The car was a 2015 Ford Mustang GT, not exactly a car you’d expect someone making a living out of selling movie tickets to own. That didn’t cross Jay’s mind. Money was still abstract to him. He nodded.

“Man’s gotta have his fun. Anyway, you’re not tall enough to sit without a booster seat. The car seat I have is the right size for you but meant for someone who likes to unbuckle the seatbelt on the go. We’ll have to make do.”

“Uh-huh,” Jay answered nonchalantly, his excited gaze still making rounds over the sports car.

Not much of a dealbreaker, Saul thought as he opened the passenger side door and tilted the passenger seat out of the way. Behind it on the backseat was a large car seat with 5-point harness. Saul put the straps to the sides and helped Jay in the seat. The boy didn’t say anything or make a face when Saul buckled him in and pulled the straps snug. With Jay buckled in, Saul stared at the kid for a moment, puckering his brows.

“What?” Jay asked, giggling.

“You have a seat like this, don’t you?”

“No.”

“How are you not bothered by it then?”

“Your car is too cool!”

“Fair enough. I wish it was this easy to please my kid.” Saul tilted the passenger seat back up before shutting the door and getting in from the driver’s side. The engine roared to life. A grin spread on Jay’s face when Saul pumped the gas and glanced at the boy from the rear-view mirror. They drove off into the traffic. The streetlights gently illuminated the interior of the Mustang as waves, occasionally accompanied by the headlights of an oncoming car creating a riptide of light. The route to the Carneys’ would have been low city speed limits all the way, so Saul decided to take a small detour to a highway to give the boy on the backseat a small taste of speed. They slowly turned onto a ramp and Saul glanced at Jay from the mirror.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah!”

Saul gently floored the gas pedal to avoid spinning the tires. The forces sucked Jay deep into the car seat which was in a way alike to a race car seat. The harness and the long sides kept him in place. They went up the next ramp and Saul braked sharply to comply with a stop sign. Jay got pressed tightly into the harness and giggled. Without the seat he would have drifted all over the backseat.

The speed was kept responsible by Saul when they rolled into the suburban neighbourhood. Jay stared absentmindedly out of the small backseat window. He only got a peek of the passing houses; most of the view was obstructed by the comfortable headrest that wasn’t designed for sightseeing. Saul slowed down more to scan the house numbers. His eyes fell on the number he was searching for and he gently brought the car to stop on the side of the road.

“Looks like we are here, Jay. Is this your house?”

Jay peeked around the headrest. “Yep!”

“Alright,” Saul said and stood out of the car. While walking to Jay’s side of the car, he got a glimpse of Jay who was fiddling with the harness buckles. The boy stopped when the passenger side door opened to hide his futile attempt of unbuckling the harness. Saul used a tool that looked like a plastic flathead screwdriver. It went inside a small hole on the chest buckle. He pushed and turned the tool and simultaneously pressed the buckle open, then repeated the process on the lower buckle.

Saul grabbed Jay underneath the boy’s arms and lifted him out of the car. Jay was a little taken aback when he was positioned on Saul’s hip with a strong arm wrapped around his lower back. After a doubt fleeting by, he decided he enjoyed being carried; he had had a long day. Saul got Jay’s harness out of the car and then the pair walked towards the door. That was when Jay thought about his mother. She must be fuming from his unruly disappearance. He would be kept on a short leash forever, no matter what excuses he could come up with.

At the door Saul let Jay down on the doorstep. Jay hesitantly rang the bell and fought the urge to hide behind Saul. Sound of steps could be heard from the inside and they were closing in on the door. Jay bit his lip. The door slowly inched open or at least it felt that way to Jay. It was Shannon at the door and her eyes first saw Jay.

“Jay!” she exclaimed and swept Jay off his feet into an embrace. “I was worried sick!”

Jay grunted as wind was being squeezed out of him. Shannon acknowledged the man standing on her doorstep and set Jay back on his feet in front of her. She held gently onto his shoulders as if he could run off any moment.

“Thank you for bringing my son home!”

“Glad I could help. I wish someone did the same for me if they found my kid wandering around.”

Shannon nudged Jay. “Say thank you for the ride home. Then you can go inside. Hayleigh will help you get ready for bed. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

Jay didn’t like his mother’s tone in the last sentence. “Thank you, Saul!”

“You’re welcome, kid! Good night!” Saul said and held out his hand. Jay shook it, smirking when he thought back to how Saul had showed off with his Mustang. Jay slipped inside and the warmth greeted him. Shannon stayed out to exchange few words with Saul.

“I was about to call the police, but luckily I called the cinema first and they told me you were bringing Jay home. I was so worried. I thought he had left the cinema without us.”

“Yeah, my colleagues had found him wandering about the lobby. His harness caught their attention,” Saul said and shook the harness in his hand and passed it to Shannon. “Is he special needs if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Erm, no. We made an agreement that he would help by testing some new products of my company this summer.” Shannon raised the hand she held Jay’s harness in for emphasis along her explanation.

“Jay Adaptive?”

Shannon blinked her eyes in surprise. “Yes, you’re familiar?”

“I have bought some of your things for my son,” Saul answered and continued to save Shannon from asking the awkward question, “He is autistic.”

“You know what? I was just thinking how I could pay you back for bringing my son home. I’ll—

“No, no. I’m good. You don’t have to.”

“I insist. Let me get my card.” Shannon fetched her purse from atop a drawer and rummaged it until she got hold of a metal case that held her business cards.

“Here you go! Next time you need anything for your son just give me a call.”

Saul reluctantly took the card. “Thank you very much.”

“And if you don’t call before December, I promise I’ll come looking for you at the cinema and force you to order some Christmas gifts on my company.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll give you a call. You have my word. I need to get going now.”

“Thank you again! It was a pleasure to meet you!”

“Likewise! Talk to you soon!”

Shannon watched the man drive off into the darkening summer night.

 

***

 

A hand wiped condensed water off a mirror revealing a reflection. Jay’s tired eyes stared back at him from behind is long wet hair. Water dripped from the tips of the strands into the sink. Jay heard the bathroom door handle turning and Hayleigh peeked in.

“It’s late. Don’t spend too much time staring at the mirror. I can tell you’re more than ready for bed.”

Jay nodded to Hayleigh. She saw her little brother’s droopy eyelids. Shaking her head, she stepped inside the bathroom.

“Let me help.” Hayleigh grabbed a hairdryer and plugged it in. She sat Jay down on a stool, beginning to blow his hair dry while Jay focused on staying awake. The soothing hairbrush running through his hair wasn’t helpful, but the screaming hairdryer countered the efforts the brush made to set him asleep. Once Hayleigh was satisfied with Jay’s hair, she flipped the hairdryer off.

“I take it you don’t want me to brush your teeth, so take care of it. I’ll be waiting in your room.”

When Jay tiptoed into his room, he found Hayleigh standing by the changing table. A night diaper was laid out waiting for him. Hayleigh took off the towel Jay had wrapped around his waist and hung it on the backrest of Jay’s gaming chair before lifting him on the changing table. Jay closed his eyes to let Hayleigh wrap the thick diaper on him. He opened his eyes when he felt someone kissing his forehead. It was his mother.

“Sweet dreams, Jay.”

Good night, mommy,” Jay answered before Shannon slipped back out of the room.

The character on the night diaper was one Jay felt deep connection with. It was a lion peeking from underneath a blanket with sleepy eyes. A watchful crescent moon shone its stolen light above it. Stars were spread all around the plastic garment.

Hayleigh helped Jay down from the changing table. A short sleeper was waiting for him on the bed. It had the same kingfisher pattern as the one Jay had tried before, but it zipped on the back instead of the snaps in the front. Hayleigh tucked Jay in his new bed.  She was about to lift the side when Jay interrupted her.

“Lei?”

“Yes, little brother?”

“Would you… Uh… Read me a story? Like you used to before I knew how to read,” he asked timidly.

Hayleigh pondered and then sat on the side of the bed. “Scoot over. I’ll tell you a story.”

Jay sat up and let Hayleigh take a pillow to place against the backside of the crib to lean on. Then he rested his head on her lap. The big sister ran her fingers through his soft blond hair as she thought of a story. Putting on her mellow narrator voice, she begun.

“Once upon a time there was a little orphan boy. He had been on his way back to his home village from a marvellous day at a fair with his parents when the group of thieves had jumped on their carriage. His parents had fought vigorously and shouted at him to run away. Run he did. He had run and run through the woods until the trees no longer knew the clop of the hooves, until the bushes no longer stood apart. He had lost his parents in the hands of the thieves and roamed the woods all alone.

“The little orphan boy ate any berries he could find as he walked without a clue of where he was headed. All the trees stood silently and when he looked at them for help with sadness in his eyes they only pointed in every direction. Somewhere far away a woodpecker drummed on its favourite tree. The darkness was falling over the forest and hopelessness over the little orphan boy. That was when he saw light flickering in between the trunks and branches. The little orphan boy carefully walked closer and the light grew brighter. A view to a river opened in front of him. On the shore there was a campfire. The light had come from the dance of the flames. Around the campfire sat three silhouettes.

“Pushing his fear aside, the little orphan boy walked up to the three silhouettes. They turned to him and he saw they were three boys older than him, who were now sizing him up. One was plump, one scrawny and one nothing short of usual.

“The scrawny spoke, ‘What are you doing here, little boy?’

“’I… I lost my parents on the way home. Thieves… They…’ the little orphan boy wanted to explain but broke down to tears.

“The three big boys rolled their eyes and the plump said sneeringly, ‘We don’t want a cry baby here. Bugger off!’

“The little orphan boy got hold of his tears. ‘But I’m all alone.’

“The big boys got close together to whisper to each other. They talked for a short while, and when they came to agree, the nothing short of usual said, ‘You can join us but only if you prove that you’re a big boy.’

“’Big boy like us,’ the plump boasted.

“The little orphan boy nodded enthusiastically. He could prove them how big he was. So, they agreed to begin at sunrise.

“In the morning the three big boys gave the little orphan boy his first challenge. He was to cross the river with them but without their help. The little orphan boy looked into the wide flowing river in front of him and gathered his courage. He would show them. The scrawny tied a rope around the little orphan boy so they could pull him out of the stream if he didn’t make it across. The three big boys went first, and the little orphan boy followed them into the water.

“This is easy, he thought when he was halfway across. Suddenly the river got deeper, and his feet no longer touched the bottom. He tried with all his might to keep up with the three big boys, but the stream engulfed him. Just as he thought the river would keep him forever, he felt a tug on the rope tied around him. The three boys pulled him ashore.

“While he was still gasping for air the three big boys jeered him, ‘You’re not such a big boy after all!’

“The little orphan boy insisted that he would prove them wrong, so they gave him another challenge. He would need to split a branch as thick as his shin in half. It would show them he had the strength of a big boy. The little orphan boy took the branch in his hands and twisted it with all his power. The branch would not split. He set one end of it on the ground, stood on it and pulled the other end with his hands. The branch would not split. He lifted the branch up and swung it against a rock. The branch would not split. The plump boy snatched the branch from his hands, pressed it against his knee with one hand on each end. The branch split with ease.

“’You’re not such a big boy after all!’ the three big boys taunted.

“The little orphan boy begged for one more challenge. This time he would prove them wrong without a doubt. The three big boys mischievously agreed. They walked through the woods and came to a cabin. By the cabin stood a tall apple tree. The three big boys told him he had to pick an apple from the tree. The little orphan boy gazed the tree. The branches were up high. He tried to reach an apple by jumping, but it was just out of the reach of his fingers. He tried to shake the tree, but it was much too big and sturdy. He tried to climb but couldn’t get a hold of the trunk. The nothing short of usual picked an apple out of the tree without as much as tiptoeing and took a big bite.

“’You’re not a big boy! You can’t come with us!’ the three big boys exclaimed in unison and left him sitting underneath the apple tree, defeated and in tears. He was left all alone again. He was good for nothing and no one. He sat still beneath the tree. Suddenly, someone touched his shoulder gently. He turned and saw a lady with long auburn hair. She smiled a sunny smile.

“’What are you doing here sitting all alone, little boy?’ she asked.

“The little orphan boy told her his story, sniffling. The lady felt sorry for him as much and more than she felt for herself.

“’I’m a lonely lady living in a cabin here all on my own. Would you want to stay with me?’

“The little orphan boy took the lonely lady’s offer without a second thought. So, the lonely lady wasn’t lonely anymore and the little orphan boy wasn’t an orphan. The lady showered the little boy with love and care as a son of her own. In the fall the lady fell very ill and became bedridden. The little boy took care of her the way the lady had taken of him. With his help she got back on her feet and the two of them lived happily ever after.

“This was the story of how the little orphan boy learnt he was small on the outside but had a big loving heart inside of him.”

Hayleigh had been so engrossed in telling Jay the bedtime story she hadn’t noticed when Jay had fallen asleep. Slowly, she slipped from underneath the sleeping boy and set down his head on the pillow. She gave him a small kiss on the forehead before quietly lifting the side of the bed up and locking it in place. With a flick of the light switch she left the room.

 

                                                           

Here we go again. Been a while. I really struggled with writing this chapter. I pretty much wrote a paragraph every now and then, but finally took the time to finish it. I've lost the initial spark I had to writing this story and it feels difficult to come up with sentences that do not feel empty. I'm still determined to finish this story before I begin working on anything else.

I already have two new story ideas. The plan now with this story is to get a decent buffer written, so once I release the next chapter I'll be able to stick to somewhat regular schedule. Then when I'm done writing this I'll begin researching and making the rough plot for my next story. Especially the latter I should do better next time around. Perhaps the actual writing part will come easier then. I would estimate this story finishes somewhere around 15 chapters.

I also have a question. Is just me or can you no longer change the font? It still is an option on another board I use that has IPB.

[Pierry Louys]

Really loved this chapter glad to have you back to writing 

[Sarah Penguin]