diaper dimension Lights! Camera! ...What?!? - Chapter 110 - 4/26/24

[TerranV]

When they say don't drink the water...

[Baby Billy]

Another great chapter.  I was thinking about the scripts that were written and thought that Connor had two classes, one screenwriting and one filming and camera work.  Wouldn't the actors be from the theater majors?  As far as the water being tampered with I think that might be the last little that they came and pulled from bed. The others were wondering if Connor would tell Amanda about it, of course he will and maybe they could store the water in Beth's room and she can give him a few bottles each day.🙂  

[dmavn]

lol, I see people talking about the backpack but the pony tail along with it.. Slow treck to being someone’s baby girl?

[BabySofia]

On 10/13/2023 at 6:18 AM, Moon3ye said:

As always, I'm excited to see what happens next.

Thanks for the comments! 🙂

On 10/14/2023 at 1:21 PM, WehavePi314 said:

What I’m trying to figure out is how the water additive doesn’t hoist the nest mothers by their own petard.

Thanks for the comments! 🙂

11 hours ago, TerranV said:

When they say don't drink the water...

Yep! 🤣

5 hours ago, Baby Billy said:

Wouldn't the actors be from the theater majors?

No, they're not using them for this. More rules will come out in the next few chapters.

Thanks for the comments! 🙂

1 hour ago, dmavn said:

Slow treck to being someone’s baby girl?

🤷‍♀️ We'll see what happens! Thanks for the comments!

 

Sorry, everyone, I didn't reply until tonight. I've got a few more weeks of crazy hours and then, hopefully, some normalcy! (Although no real time to write again until after New Years usually) I should be posting another chapter early Friday morning again this week, as it seems to be my best chance to do so! 

Thanks for reading, liking, and commenting on my works! 💜

[LittleFenny]

Hope your right that your schedule will get more normal soon (I think you said end of November before?), don't forget to let your plushies help you sleep!

I'm also hoping that Conner doesn't forget to get that nightlight taken care of while worrying about his tampered water. Oh! And that whatever was in the water doesn't have lasting effects!

I was curious and did a search on the name Kylie and the only one one seeing that came up before was a Kylie who was in the daycare in Seems To Good. And I don't think the timing quite works there (I don't recall exactly when Seems To Good/Exchanged took place I think they weren't that far off from each other), but perhaps if the events in Seems were a little more before the events of Exchanged than I think that might be the Kylie who is the other Nest Mother's mother and could have run into Stacy. It would be amusing if Stacy and her dimension family were wracking their brains trying to remember a classmate named Kylie when it turned out she was the younger sister of a classmate or elementary aged daughter of someone she new. Someone for whom Stacy made a much bigger impact then she did for Stacy. Hearing for four years all about the impressive things some portal little was achieving, seeing her as almost as much an inspiration as some of her family, and then from time to time giving her kids a when I was your age story that involves Stacy. And then her daughter discovers that one of Stacy's kids is right in the same nest facility where she's a Nest Mother. "If only I got those boys! Mom's going to be so surprised when I tell her!"

Or I might be being a little hopeful there. Kylie could have been the daughter of one of those who ended up arrested or a student who felt they lost opportunities due to an uppity little who was acting bigger than they deserved.

[Menaiya]

I hope a Kindle book will be released of this eventually. I have purchased all the other books I could find so far by you.

[BabySofia]

21 hours ago, LittleFenny said:

Hope your right that your schedule will get more normal soon

It should, we'll see if my creativity catches me there or not. I'm still 4 weeks from running out of pre-written chapters. There's another part of my project with this that I may release to cover a few more weeks if I need to too. We'll see what comes down! Worst case scenario we'll have to pause the season for a few weeks over the holidays and at the end of January start having more chapters I hope. 

Thanks for the comments and all of the guesses! 🙂

8 hours ago, Menaiya said:

I hope a Kindle book will be released of this eventually.

Generally within a few months of finishing the book I try and publish. In-Between took a bit longer just due to some burn-out I felt with that project. This may still be another year to go on this one, I'm not entirely sure where the endgame will be!

Thanks for the support! 🙂

[Guilend]

23 hours ago, LittleFenny said:

Hope your right that your schedule will get more normal soon (I think you said end of November before?), don't forget to let your plushies help you sleep!

I'm also hoping that Conner doesn't forget to get that nightlight taken care of while worrying about his tampered water. Oh! And that whatever was in the water doesn't have lasting effects!

I was curious and did a search on the name Kylie and the only one one seeing that came up before was a Kylie who was in the daycare in Seems To Good. And I don't think the timing quite works there (I don't recall exactly when Seems To Good/Exchanged took place I think they weren't that far off from each other), but perhaps if the events in Seems were a little more before the events of Exchanged than I think that might be the Kylie who is the other Nest Mother's mother and could have run into Stacy. It would be amusing if Stacy and her dimension family were wracking their brains trying to remember a classmate named Kylie when it turned out she was the younger sister of a classmate or elementary aged daughter of someone she new. Someone for whom Stacy made a much bigger impact then she did for Stacy. Hearing for four years all about the impressive things some portal little was achieving, seeing her as almost as much an inspiration as some of her family, and then from time to time giving her kids a when I was your age story that involves Stacy. And then her daughter discovers that one of Stacy's kids is right in the same nest facility where she's a Nest Mother. "If only I got those boys! Mom's going to be so surprised when I tell her!"

Or I might be being a little hopeful there. Kylie could have been the daughter of one of those who ended up arrested or a student who felt they lost opportunities due to an uppity little who was acting bigger than they deserved.

Remember, there's a few Amazon students that Stacy's adopted mommy spanked and put in the Little dorms when they got too handsy with Stacy. I don't think any names were given of those students, but Stacy mentioned it in a paragraph or two somewhere in the last 3 chapters, I think it was the second to last chapter, I don't remember exactly. Maybe this Kylie might have been one of those students. 

I think whoever is after Beth is connected to the Inbetween story, might even be her grandmother or Aunt. I don't know the math, but it's possible that at least the Aunt might be released from whatever punishment she received. I don't remember what her punishment was. Heck, even the grandmother might be released. I wouldn't even be surprised if Kelly was actually the Aunt or Grandmother haven "grown" up. Probably with an entirely new identity. 

[BabySofia]

5 hours ago, Guilend said:

I don't know the math, but it's possible that at least the Aunt might be released from whatever punishment she received. I don't remember what her punishment was. Heck, even the grandmother might be released. I wouldn't even be surprised if Kelly was actually the Aunt or Grandmother haven "grown" up. Probably with an entirely new identity. 

Since I don't consider this a spoiler... Addy's sister is the closest to release, but she's still not been regressed/mind wiped the final time yet (I believe she's close). Addy's mom has a considerable time left in her sentence. They are both safely behind bars and won't have a part of this story. 

[BabySofia]

Chapter 55: Budgets 

BETH WAS FINISHING, closing her backpack, when her friend Reila came over. “Hey, how’s it going?”

She shrugged, “It’s been a weird start to the semester so far. How about for you, Reila?”

“Pretty good, I guess.” Beth could tell she was itching to ask her something. “So, I heard a rumor earlier and wanted to ask if it was true?”

“Huh?”

“Are you and that Little going out?”

Beth felt her heart come to a complete stop in terror at that question.

“It’s okay if you are; I’m just dying to know! You never date anyone? Do you have a thing for Littles?”

Beth sighed, knowing it wouldn’t stay secret forever, but she was also sure she had to be careful. “We’re just hanging out together. He’s a family friend, so I’m trying to keep an eye out for him as a favor to my mom, who was good friends with her dad in college.”

“Oh?” Reila looked disappointed.

“Why? You looking for a Little to date?”

Reila looked shocked, “No?”

“Good, then I don’t have to introduce you,” she gave a somewhat awkward laugh, and the two filed their way out the doors of the class. Beth took the chance to use the bathroom and walked to the dining hall, where she planned to meet Connor for lunch. She found him sitting next to two Little girls opposite him at one of the mid-sized tables.

“Hi,” she said after getting her tray and sitting beside Connor. She noticed some looks from several nearby Bigs but hoped there would be trouble.

“Hi,” they said nervously.

Connor laughed, “She’s not going to eat you.”

“Sorry, everyone taller than us has been causing problems,” Amy apologized.

“What’s happening to you guys?” Beth asked.

Both girls blushed, “A lot, it seems like?”

Connor looked at them, “Something more than the diapers?”

Amy nodded, “We keep having ‘therapy’ now with our nests together in some ‘rec room’ for a half hour before bed to ‘wind down with free play.’”

“Huh?” Connor asked.

“I guess they haven’t brought the boys into them yet?” Ava said. “Basically, it’s a half-hour of forced playing with dolls and our nest mothers.”

“I haven’t played tea party since I was four or five, and I hated it then!” Amy griped.

Ava blushed, and Beth suspected she enjoyed playing tea parties at least a little.

Beth felt herself blanch at that personally, though, “Seriously? That’s messed up even for Littles dorms.”

“Yeah, the other girls in our dorms aren’t really sure what’s going on. Then we heard there were a bunch of boys who disappeared this morning. One of them was dating the girl in the pod next to mine,” Ava said.

“Which one?” Connor asked.

“Grayson?”

Connor nodded, “Yeah, he was the last one busted in things last night…”

“Busted?” Ava asked.

Connor sighed, “They tried framing me as having accidents since they were angry that I’m the only one still in Pull-Ups?”

“How are you still in Pull-Ups?” Ava asked Connor.

“I hadn’t had an accident since they poisoned us until last night?”

“Seriously?” Amy asked.

Connor nodded.

“How?” Ava asked.

“I’m not sure, and I think the nest mothers are just as perplexed,” Connor told them. “I’m beginning to wish I was having accidents, though, just so I don’t stand out.”

“Yeah, but you’d have to put up with everyone checking your pants every time you come by!” Ava said.

“That still happens,” Connor told her. “They just comment on how cute my big boy pants are while assuming they won’t last long.”

“The worst was getting changed off to the side in class yesterday,” Amy complained.

“Beats on a professor’s desk in front of the rest of the class,” Ava said, blushing.

“Really?” Connor asked.

They both nodded.

“Ugh,” he said.

“How about we talk about something other than diapers and potty problems?” Connor suggested.

“Sure, what’s up with you two?” Amy asked.

“Huh?” Beth found her saying in stereo with Connor.

“Exactly!” Ava said with a smirk.

Beth found her face heating up and looked to the side to note that Connor was, too. “We’re just friends,” Connor said. “My mom and her dad were good friends in college, and we have hit it off since we met a couple weeks ago.”

“Right,” Amy said and winked at them.

“Don’t worry, we’re not stupid, we won’t tell anyone,” Ava said.

They both sighed, and Beth decided to bring up the script. “You think everyone in the group is on board with your script?”

“It looked like most were from the vote?” Connor smiled at her, “My screenwriting professor seemed to like it!”

“What’s it about?” Amy asked.

Connor told her about the idea and how the classes intertwined. “That is really cool!” Ava said when he was done.

“Thanks,” Connor said.

When they had all finished eating, Connor looked at Beth, “You want to go find a room and study like we did last week?”

“Study,” Ava kidded them with her fingers, making quotation marks.

“Ack,” Connor groaned, “Please don’t?”

She smiled at him, “Okay, but I reserve the right to pick on you about other things. You deserve something since you’re the only big boy or girl in our dorm!”

Beth noted that even Ava seemed to harbor some minor resentment towards Connor, and she understood where he was coming from when she’d seen him at breakfast. After they said their goodbyes, they made their way to the library and spent some time working on studying. Every now and then, they’d ask each other a question, and for the most part, they could fill in the blanks for the other!

Finally, it was time to head to Narratives class, and she could tell Connor was nervous just by the fact he stopped for the restroom at the library and then again in the Matisse Center. They found their spots in their studio and waited to discover the details to bid on scripts.

 

I SAT NERVOUSLY, waiting for Professor Wyler to start class. Charlotte had sat beside me on my right, while Beth was on my left and started talking to me. “Connor, I love your script!” she told me.

“Thanks!” I replied, “I’m not from here, but I’ve heard you probably know more what you’re talking about than most?”

She smirked, “Been a lot of things I’ve been involved in.”

“Like what?” I asked.

She smiled, “It’s kind of refreshing to encounter someone who didn’t grow up watching me grow up!” With a shake of her head, she said, “It started when I was just a toddler, and I got cast on a show that featured a mix of real people and these cartoon holographic characters. The network ran it for five seasons, and then when I was eight, I got cast in my first big movie. After that, I’ve been in at least one to two movie releases each year.”

“That’s cool!” I said. “What’s even cooler is that you still decided to go to school?”

She smiled at me for that, “Most people think I’m nuts to come to school?”

I shrugged, “I’m sure you have more real-world experience in this major, but you’re probably also going to be able to do more producing and running companies with a degree?”

“That’s my hope,” she said. “Plus, I wanted to take a few years of only filming in the summers to have somewhat of a normal college experience.”

I nodded at that, “I bet you didn’t get much of a normal childhood growing up?”

“Not really,” she agreed.

For her part, Beth seemed to be more in awe, sitting beside us, with me maintaining a conversation with Charlotte. Apparently, she had been a big fan growing up!

‘I’m surprised she hasn’t talked about her more?’

Professor Wyler finally got up to the front of the classroom and started. “Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome to what will be the most important class of the semester: choosing your scripts!”

Everyone smiled at that, and I felt butterflies in my stomach.

“Before we begin with the auction, and I tell you how much each group made from our contest on Tuesday, I want to explain how budgets will work for the film. You’ll first have to bid on your scripts from the contest from the funds you have accumulated. I have a feeling a couple of them may inspire some bidding wars. I have already contacted your Producers and Directors to get a list of scripts that received any votes from your groups. We will put those on the auction block first, and if you want to move up anything else, you may request it.”

I nodded, along with most of the people in the room.

“Whatever you have left from the scripts auction will be useable for rental of various equipment, special effects tools, advanced makeup and appearance changes, and things like that. You will all have guarantees of the film equipment we went over last week, but you will have to pay for the rental of time in the soundstages, for example. Those will be available for a rate of seventy-five thousand dollars per hour. Music composers will be available through the film music class but must be paid by the time they write for.”

I did the math in my head and figured that would go quick if you didn’t have your act together!

“Additionally, there will be other ways to earn money through the next few weeks that you may further expand your budget. The first possibility will be that if you have a scriptwriter in your group that has their script chosen, your budget will be offset with the bid from the group that made it.”

‘Cool!’ I thought to myself. ‘If we choose my script, we won’t really spend any money then!’

“A full price sheet will be provided to your groups after today’s auction. As I said, you will have four weeks to complete your filming and editing. If you want any original music added, you should have at least a rough cut completed no later than the third week to get to the music composition majors to start working on it. You must have costumes designed in the first week, if not before.”

Charlotte had been taking additional notes on her tablet, but I was just filing stuff away in my head for now.

“Okay, so let’s get to your budgets first! The first challenge was recreating the scene we showed you. Two of your studios did an amazing job, and it came down to a few minor details to decide the winner. Third Place was Studio 4, Second Place was Studio Three,” a small cheer and a groan both came out from our group, “and First Place was Studio 2. Studio 1 received no money from this round.”

I pulled out my tablet, scratching the groups’ winnings on the screen.

“Round Two was sound effects, and given we had two good entries, we went with the first completed for the winner. Third Place was Studio One, Second Place was Studio Two, and First Place was Studio Three.”

“Alright!” Sebastian quietly exclaimed!

“Studio 4 received no funds from that round.

“For Round Three, you had to act out a scene, and sadly, here we had a team that did not complete the round. Due to the incomplete assignment, Studio Three received no money. Studio 4 earned Third Place, Studio 1 won Second Place, and Studio 2 won First Place again.”

“Damnit!” One of our group members swore at that. I would have agreed with him aloud, but the last thing I wanted was a demerit!

I did the math and wasn’t a fan of the numbers. Right then, I showed:

Studio 1: $1,000,000

 Studio 2: $2,750,000

 Studio 3: $1,750,000

 Studio 4: $500,000

We were in second place, but the distance between us and Studio 2 was too far apart, by my guess, to win!

I stayed still as he said, “For the final task, we had three pretty evenly matched scenes for the Holo-Scenery. They were what we asked for and, quite frankly, would be good enough for class in any given year. Then we had one far above any work I’ve seen from a student group here! So, without further ado, Third Place was Studio 1, Second Place was Studio 2, and First Place was Studio 3!”

Everyone said, “Thanks, little guy,” or “Thanks, Connor!” to me.

“If that stupid little witch had listened to directions!” Charlotte hissed under her breath.

I nodded and noted that several in our group were glaring at Kelly. She couldn’t seem to accept that she was at fault, though!

“So, for those who may not have been keeping score, that means we’re sitting with Studio 4 in Fourth Place with Five-Hundred-Thousand Dollars, Studio 1 in Third Place with One-Million-Two-Hundred-Fifty-Thousand Dollars, Studio 3 in Second Place with Two-Million-Seven-Hundred-Fifty-Thousand Dollars, and Studio 1 in First Place with Three-Million-Five-Hundred-Thousand Dollars!”

“At least we’re not last,” someone in the group said.

“So, on to the auction!” He said. The screen gave a view of the scripts people had placed votes on. Nine were available, and I was unsurprised to see mine, Kelly’s, and the murder mystery one we had voted on with our group up there. The scripts listed two comedies, three more crime dramas, and one superhero flick. In the air, we could read each synopsis if we hadn’t already.

“So, I debated how to start this, but since we’re only letting you bid on one script per group, we’ll start with the most requested script first.”

‘Holo-Genesis,’ the name of my script, suddenly hovered in the middle with the summary.

Humans have created solid AI Holograms that can work safely in any hazardous environment. Looking to expand civilization, they sent them first to Mars to prepare for a colony of humans. That colony was a huge success. Now, humans have created an even more advanced version of the AI Holograms they are sending to Io to build the colony facilities there. 

The AIs are sent three years in advance of the crew. Now, time has passed, and the humans finally arrive. The mission crew discovers the AI holograms have taken on a true life of their own and have no clue what to do with the forgotten humans. 

“Every group requested this one, so we’ll start the bidding at one hundred thousand!” He said.

Charlotte raised her hand first.

“Five-Hundred-Thousand!” the leader of Studio 4 bet their whole budget.

“One million!” Studio 1 shot out with the same plan.

“Two-Million!” Charlotte said.

“Two-Million-Seven-Hundred-Fifty-One Thousand,” Studio 2’s leader shouted.

I felt a pit in my stomach; we’d been outbid for my own script!

“Sold to Studio 2!” He said. “Since I know that you all are thinking of second options, we’ll give you all a chance to talk for a few moments before resuming.”

“Ugh!” Sebastian exclaimed, “I guess the only good thing is our budget just doubled thanks to Connor’s writing.”

I hadn’t thought of that, but that didn’t make me feel better.

“In our vote, the potty-training flick was second, right?” a girl named Madelyn said.

“Yeah,” Charlotte said, “It could be cute, I suppose… and honestly, it might be marketable for real.”

“But really? It’s just so cliché!” a boy named Ethan said.

“We could revote on what’s left?” Charlotte said.

“If you pick it, we won’t lose any budget money,” A girl named Amelia pointed out. “Kelly is in our group, too?”

“Thirty seconds, and we’ll resume the auction!” Professor Wyler said.

“Not enough time,” Sebastian said, “We can probably pull it off?”

“But…” Beth started to say.

“Time!” Professor Wyler said. “We’re going for the next most popular script.”

The title, Diaper Diaries, was shown on the screen.

A successful businesswoman desperately tries to potty-train her five-year-old daughter before kindergarten starts in two months. A friend suggests that she needs a potty-training buddy to help her out. Desperate, she recruits one of her office workers to fill the role until she hopes to finally get her daughter out of diapers! (Comedy/Drama)

“We’ll start the bidding at one hundred thousand!” He said.

My stomach plummeted, fearing what was about to come!

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thank you for reading!!! I'm now into the worst few weeks of my year with work, so it might be Saturday morning or Sunday before I can respond. Please let me know what you think, though! It makes my day to get done with everything and come home to your comments and likes!

All of my completed works are now available on Amazon Kindle! Please consider visiting my store and purchasing my works if you have enjoyed them! https://www.amazon.com/author/babysofia If you do purchase them, please press the '5-Star' rating when you can! You don't have to leave a review to do so. (Though that would be so amazingly appreciated!)

[bje]

3 hours ago, BabySofia said:

Beth sighed, knowing it wouldn’t stay secret forever, but she was also sure she had to be careful. “We’re just hanging out together. He’s a family friend, so I’m trying to keep an eye out for him as a favor to my mom, who was good friends with her dad in college.”

It doesn't really make sense. Shouldn't it be "my dad" and "his mom"?

[Moon3ye]

It was clear that Connor doesn't get his script but now the worst possible script for Beth and him together.

That will really suck for both of them.

A small hope is that they can force the bitch who wrote the script and is in their group to play the Little.

But I doubt it.

Oh, this is gonna be so bad.

If someone doesn't try to get Beth to actually use the diapers and maybe she'll end up with the Little nesters after all.

[CCApril]

Putting aside my dark (now not so secret) desire to see Connor act in the movie (he will be so cute!) the group should try to drive up the bidding on the script and then take the increased budget and grab the superhero script or one similar. They will have plenty of money to do the special effect and sound tracks that way. 

What changed at the college? They used to understand that at least some littles had to graduate. You need bait to bring in more littles in the future. At the rate they are going they might as well have just sent them straight to the orphanage. 

Wonderful story !

April

[CDfm]

Again I loved the new chapter.
Well I guess this outcome was inevitable.  I now see Kelly really pushing to have Connor and Beth as main characters in the movie.  I truly hope the group has learned from the past and DOES NOT allow Kelly to act. I have no doubt she really wants the role of the mother, giving her a position of authority over Beth and Connor. The next real concern is how will Connor or any of the other littles be able to maintain their school work with all these new restrictions being placed on them?  Granted it’s only a half an hour of free play but that’s just more time being taken away from studying. On top of the forced early bedtime it just keeps getting harder and harder. 
I completely understand with the workload and all that you are definitely being pushed beyond what is right, but when time allows you might give this chapter another quick proofing.  Just not quite at your very near perfection as there were some little typos in this one. I am not even going to express my desire to see more.  I will be grateful for getting anything new when it comes. 

[Tracey]

Im with April on the dark side, I didn't see the auction coming and love the way you manipulated the money so they could be outbid on Connors script and not have to spend any when the win the bid for Kelly’s. The next few chapters will be a lot of fun to read, well done!

[BabySofia]

On 10/20/2023 at 9:23 AM, bje said:

It doesn't really make sense. Shouldn't it be "my dad" and "his mom"?

I'll go back and check on that one later... I've been burning the candle at both ends and the middle the past couple weeks. (Just another week or two of that thankfully!) 🙂

On 10/20/2023 at 11:14 AM, Moon3ye said:

That will really suck for both of them.

Definitely looks that way... We'll see what happens in the end, thanks for the comments! 🙂

On 10/20/2023 at 11:26 AM, CCApril said:

What changed at the college? They used to understand that at least some littles had to graduate.

Unknown at present, but clearly something is going on! Thanks for the comments!🙂

On 10/20/2023 at 1:33 PM, CDfm said:

Just not quite at your very near perfection as there were some little typos in this one.

Sorry about that, I'll try and go back and check this one over again. I came home and did this one after a really long day at work... (My hours are obscene this week that I've been working) I'll try and make sure the next is in better shape! 🙂

On 10/20/2023 at 2:41 PM, Tracey said:

love the way you manipulated the money so they could be outbid on Connors script and not have to spend any when the win the bid for Kelly’s. The next few chapters will be a lot of fun to read, well done!

Thanks! Spent a bit on the game theory there! Appreciate the comments! 🙂

[Guilend]

Kelly should play as the potty training budding and Connor can play the toddler and Beth can play mommy lol

[Panther Cub]

OH!

Maybe Kelly will end up as the Star of the movie she wrote... but not in the role she had envisioned for herself... eh?

[BabySofia]

On 10/22/2023 at 12:04 AM, Guilend said:

Kelly should play as the potty training budding

Well... I'm not surprised that you're suggesting that! 🤦🏼‍♀️ 🤣

On 10/22/2023 at 12:20 AM, Panther Cub said:

Maybe Kelly will end up as the Star of the movie she wrote... but not in the role she had envisioned for herself... eh?

We'll see what happens! Thanks for the comments! 🙂

[Guilend]

1 hour ago, BabySofia said:

Well... I'm not surprised that you're suggesting that!

In the words of my great grandmother, if I hadn't said it then y'all would think something was wrong with me. 😂

[Baby Billy]

Someone wondered what had changed at Emerson, and I think they let more little's finish now.  Though it really does not matter as almost every little on the mainland will at some time in their life end up in diapers babied by an amazon anyway no matter how smart they are.  That just seems to be the way it goes in most of the states anyway.  As for Connor's nest the little's were just plain stupid not thinking that they would have a nanny cam in their room.🙂

[BabySofia]

Chapter 56: Casting

 “FIVE-HUNDRED-THOUSAND!” Studio 4 went for broke again.

“One-Million-Two-Hundred-Fifty-Thousand,” Studio 1 shot out at the script I definitely didn’t want to do.

“Going once, going twice,” Professor Wyler started to say.

“One-Million-Two-Hundred-Fifty-Thousand and One Dollar,” Charlotte said right then.

Beth wanted to puke as he said, “Sold!”

‘Shit… I will have to be the daughter!’ she realized.

Connor looked at Beth, who could see that she seemed equally pale as he did. She could see that for the first time, Connor seemed to realize it wasn’t just him who would be getting conscripted into acting for this atrocity.

Beth wasn’t sure which role was worse, but somehow, being cast as a potty-training dunce seemed way up there! Connor reached over and gripped her hand, squeezing it. “We’ll get through this,” he leaned over and whispered to Beth.

She nodded, feeling numb, though.

They watched the rest of the auction as Studio 4 forced Studio 1 to spend Five-Hundred Thousand and One Dollar to get their script. At the same time, they could buy theirs for just one Dollar with no competition.

“Well, now you know what you’re going to be filming! Just to make sure you all know what your budgets are after this auction, Studio 1, you have Seven-Hundred-Forty-Nine-Thousand-Ninety-Nine Dollars. Studio 2, you have gained from two scripts within your group, so after your purchase and that you’re at One-Million-Two-Hundred-Fifty-Thousand and One Dollar, Studio 3 missed out on a script from their group, but that and buying their own script means they’re sitting at a healthy Five-Million-Five-Hundred Thousand and One Dollar in your account. Studio 4, you are even with One, with Four-Hundred-Ninety-Nine Thousand Dollars.”

“I thought this was a class in filmmaking, not game theory!” I heard someone from Studio 2 shout.

Professor Wyler laughed, “You’re right it is, but who says life doesn’t follow game theory concepts?”

Beth shook her head; she was torn on all sorts of levels right then. She despised the script that had been chosen. Still, they did have a massive advantage of an almost five-to-one budget over their nearest competitor now!

“Okay, we have reached the halfway point in class today. I suggest that you all take a quick restroom break and get something to drink if you want, and then we have assigned conference rooms for each group that I will tell your producer. Producers, I will also give you a price sheet for items you can spend budget money on. In Tuesday’s class, we will also have more challenges to help groups earn more budget funds.”

“Keep in mind that you have other projects this semester with your studio, so banking some additional funds for those may be helpful!” He smiled, “Anyway, next Tuesday, please report here for the first half of class, and then the second half will be yours again. Thursday, I plan on you having the entire time to work in your conference rooms or begin scheduling soundstage time. Good luck!”

“Alright, let’s break, and then we’re going to room six-forty-two,” Charlotte said.

Beth felt like her eyes were consoling her then as if she knew how upset Beth had to be and how hard this film would be on her and Connor!

 

BETH AND I traveled to the bathrooms and then hung together for a couple more minutes outside in the hallway before proceeding into the conference room. I discovered one of those portable highchairs already attached to the table. Without asking, Charlotte lifted me into it, and Beth sat beside me in a slightly taller chair. Charlotte sat on the other side, and as others filed in, I took note of the group of twenty that would be assembling this horror film.

“Okay,” Charlotte said, “First of all, a couple elephants in the room need to be addressed.” She looked straight at Kelly, “Kelly, this is your script we are doing, but I am the producer, and Sebastian is the director; make sure you understand your role is screenwriter and script supervisor. Nothing in that involves final decisions.”

“But…” Kelly started to argue.

“But nothing,” Sebastian joined in. “We lost out on the best script because of your stupidity and unwillingness to take direction. Charlotte’s right; remember your role.”

I looked at our nemesis turning bright red and silently enjoyed her pain.

“Next elephant in the room, obviously the cast is coming from our group,” Charlotte said, turning to me. “Connor and Beth will be playing roles; you will remember they are just playing roles! These aren’t signs of maturosis or invitations to abuse them. If I catch anyone rubbing in those roles, poisoning them for effect, or otherwise making their lives miserable, you will be gone. I will personally file a criminal complaint!”

I looked up at Charlotte and wanted to thank her. Beth actually did squeak a “Thanks” to her.

“Now, that being said, as much as I would prefer to have done Connor’s script, this has resulted in some advantages for us. It will be much simpler to film, and we will have a bigger bankroll for different things we need. I want to spend the next hour finalizing the cast, measuring the cast for wardrobe, and planning our shooting schedule. I want to reserve our soundstage time when we leave this room! Also, we need to look at this list of costs and figure out our budget.” Charlotte seemed ready to run the group with an iron fist, and I truly appreciated it!

“I’d like to see us save some funds for our future projects if we can,” Sebastian added.

“Yes, I think that is important too. Let’s get started with the casting,” Charlotte said.

“I think you would make the best mom?” Sebastian suggested to Charlotte.

She sighed, “Yeah, that’s probably smart unless someone else wants her?”

“I kind of do…?” Kelly said.

Charlotte shook her head, “That won’t work, sorry. Anyone else?” She made a note on an app she was using on her tablet. “Okay, Callie, her daughter is obviously going to be Beth. Again, no one is to make this more miserable for her or Connor!”

“And, of course, that makes Connor, Brian,” Sebastian said.

“Now we need a friend for the mom who suggests this whole stupid plot...?” We worked for another ten minutes, lining out the other minor roles in the film. I was happy Kelly was being set aside for most of that. I was even more delighted when she was picked to voice one of the computer-generated kids who would be a daycare background character! When I learned we could do that, I asked why Beth and I were needed. Still, a quick ‘rules’ discussion and showing that only extras with up to three lines could be generated was the end of that discussion. Apparently, that matched up with union rules that were in place out in Selagnasol.

“Gary, did you happen to bring a scanner like I asked you to?” Sebastian said as they finished the casting.

“Yeah, you want me to start scanning everyone for their costumes? They’re creating them for us in the costume shop, right?”

“Right, but looking at our budget sheet, we will pay for each change. We might acquire some of it from our own resources and clothes.”

“Let’s plan that for the extras, but I think we should go ahead and do sets for the main cast,” Gary said.

“Sounds good,” Sebastian said.

“Now for scenes and set design,” Charlotte said. “Madelyn and Ben, that’s your department, but based on what we saw from the challenges, I would encourage you to involve Connor in this as well. I don’t want to overwhelm him with too much between the lines and then editing at the end, but I’ve seen people spend weeks programming holo-sets and not do nearly as well!”

“Got it!” Ben said to me. “Make sure I get your number,” he told me.

I nodded, “I’d love to help if I have time with that! It’s incredible what you can do with that tech!”

“You should come to check out one of our plays this semester if you can… maybe a matinee since I’m guessing you’ll be required to be in bed in the middle of any of our normal shows… but anyway, the sets for theater are one of my favorite pieces of the production!”

“Cool,” I told him.

Charlotte, Beth, Sophia, and I were each scanned for wardrobe one at a time. Sophia would play Charlotte’s friend who caused the whole chain of events that brought my downfall into a stuck Little!

“Okay, let’s discuss shooting schedules,” Sebastian said as we neared the end of class. “Connor, I’m guessing you will have the most constraints of anyone in this room. Since you’ve got quite a few scenes, we need to figure out yours and make those work around you.”

“Well, I’m pretty much in class most of the week… Since they’ve locked down our nests with an early bedtime, I don’t know if I’m much good to you on a weekday.” I told them.

“Can we get an exemption for him?” Madelyn asked.

Ben mentioned, “Sometimes we’ve been able to do that for some theater students if we promise they take an afternoon nap?”

“Let’s keep that in reserve,” Charlotte said. “There are quite a few office and home scenes in the script that don’t involve him that we could film in the evenings. We could also do scenes where only Beth is needed and not him that we can easily knock out. Connor, what do you think about filming on the weekends?”

“I’m normally at my grandparents, but there’s no reason I know I couldn’t be here during the day?”

“At your grandparents?” Kelly asked. “Aren’t you a Portal Little?”

“My mom came here for college; Grandma adopted her while she was here. So, she’s technically my adoptive grandmother,” I told her. “Since I haven’t seen her before, she got permission for me to stay with them on weekends.”

“How? Why?” Kelly spluttered.

“Who’s your grandmother?” Sebastian asked.

“Professor Westerfield,” I told him.

His face changed completely, “Seriously?”

I nodded.

“I can see why then…” Sebastian said.

“Why does some random woman matter?” Kelly asked.

“You ever look at the name of the Student Union building?” Sophia asked her.

“Westerfield Ha…” Kelly suddenly got it as a puzzled expression appeared.

“Anyway… so you think you can do weekends?” Charlotte asked me.

“Should be able to. Are we starting this weekend?” I asked.

She shook her head, “No, we need to take our time and have everything prepared. That way, we can just get everything done in fewer takes and time. The savings in shooting time will be well worth our patience!” I watched as she opened an app that let her figure out scheduling, “Let’s plan on starting Thursday evening with the scenes we don’t need Connor for. Then we’ll try nine in the morning on Saturday until five in the evening with a break for lunch. That’ll give us a twelve-hour shooting day. We can do the same the next day unless we have some church conflicts?”

Everyone shook their heads, “Okay, we’ll plan that for both next weekend and the following weekend with Connor. I will book both weekends, Thursday and then the following Thursday. Hopefully, we don’t need all of that time. If it takes that long, that’ll wipe out a big chunk of our budget.”

“It shouldn’t,” Sebastian said. “I think we need to focus on making all of our costume choices on Tuesday, and it would be good if we could read through the script sometime together on Monday?” He asked me, “Do you have any breaks in your schedule?”

“If we met over lunch, I have a gap between my Holo-Fields Theory and Math Analysis classes?”

“Huh?” William, our Director of Photography, asked. “Did you just say you’re taking Holo-Theory?”

I nodded.

“You’re nuts!”

“Yes, he is!” Beth acknowledged for me.

I rolled my eyes, “If it wasn’t for strange dimensional terms, it wouldn’t nearly be half as bad; I think I’m getting a handle on those, though.”

“And that math class, isn’t it like math major upper-level voodoo numbers?” Harper, our Sound Designer, asked.

“Maybe…?” I said innocently.

Charlotte shook her head, “Clearly, underestimating you would be a mistake! Okay, I’ll buy lunch on Monday. Cast, plus Sebastian and Kelly, meet here on Monday at 14 O’clock. I’ll get this space reserved then and have food for everyone. If you can practice lines independently, it would be really helpful! Remember, the less we spend on this project, the more we’ll have later and can use it on other things. We already know we’ve got to allocate four hundred thousand for Connor’s nanite adjustment.”

I gulped nervously after the makeup, “What exactly will it do to me?”

“It’s temporary, but it’ll be what Callie’s mommy uses on you to make your character’s dream come true. As well as the blackmail aspect she’s using… You could probably pull it off without it, but we want things to be as real for the audience as possible. We’ll just use normal SkinSync makeup for everyone else. All cast; if you don’t have your own already, please buy a set. That includes all of the other guys who are cast!” Charlotte told us.

“Okay, if that’s it, let’s call this a wrap for today!” Sebastian said.

Charlotte helped me down from the highchair and walked with Beth and me outside. She stopped by a set of benches by the sidewalk when the others had passed and said, “If anyone gives you or Beth grief, I want to know immediately. I don’t care who they think they are at any point; I will protect you two.”

“Why?” Beth asked.

Charlotte sighed, “I’ve known too many good Littles and Mids who have been abused just because they got cast for a role like this. If it became a syndicated show, you would probably have even fewer options to avoid some problems. Still, as long as we’re only shooting this over two weekends, with those couple evenings, I’m hoping we can avoid those.”

Beth nodded, “I’ve been having issues with people making accusations already; I’m a little nervous they’ll use this as proof?”

“I’ll keep track of everything, document it, and if need be, I’ll push my weight around. Which you seem to have plenty of your own given who your parents are, Beth?”

I looked up at Beth as she blushed, “I hate using them… and I’ve had to already this semester.”

“We’ll keep you safe,” Charlotte said.

I was a bit shocked when she hugged both of us and then she walked away from us in the opposite direction we were going.

“Come on, Connor, you only have forty minutes until Lights Out! Let’s grab you something to eat and keep you out of trouble!”

I hurried down the sidewalk, past the daycare that seemed eerily empty without any Littles playing outside, and into the dining hall. I grabbed one gigantic piece of pepperoni pizza and scarfed it down with water. I returned to the nest room only ten minutes before Lights Out, and Mackenzie looked at me with concern.

“Where were you?”

“My class is scheduled until an hour before now, and we ran over with a meeting. I just scarfed a piece of pizza in the dining hall and came back here.”

“I forgot you have classes that late…” Mackenzie said. “I’ve got everyone else in their jammies; why don’t you go potty again, and I’ll get you ready for bed too.”

I nodded and hurriedly went into the bathroom, used the potty, brushed my teeth, and washed my face before returning to where she was sitting in the rocking chair. I could see the guys were already in their pods and looked asleep already?

“Are they already asleep?” I asked as she picked me up.

“They were all tired. The last day was a long one for everyone,” she reminded me.

I nodded at that, noting that now six desks were empty of anything on them. “It seems kind of empty in here,” I said, not catching myself first.

She nodded, “It is. I’ve known other nests to lose this many members before, but in the two years I’ve done this, I’ve never had more than one disappear.”

I sat compliantly as she ran her phone over the ribbon and said, “Seven more gold stars for you!”

Unfortunately, I had already noted the wet accident on the chart, too.

She must have guessed my thoughts, “It’s okay if you have another night-time accident, Connor; nothing is wrong with having one. Especially with these early bedtimes…”

I shrugged, “I’ve not had one since I was really young - it’s worrying.”

She hugged me after putting the diaper on me. Her arms against my naked back were warm and comforting. “It’s okay,” she told me.

Dressing me again in a footed sleeper, she loaded me into the front of my pod and tucked me in. She handed me my griffin, “Did you ever name her?”

“Kylie,” I said sleepily.

She smiled, “That’s a good name for her, goodnight, Sweetie.” I was surprised when she leaned over and kissed my forehead and knew I was definitely in the danger zone for her ‘cossetting’ me.

‘Better her than most,’ I thought as I drifted off.

 

THAT NIGHT, BETH returned to the dorm, slammed her door shut, climbed onto her bed, and cried while holding Rings.

‘I’ve spent my entire life trying to avoid wearing diapers again!!!!!’ she raged. ‘Now I’m stuck playing a potty-training dunce?!?’

Her phone eventually broke through her stupor, and she noted a missed call from Laura. Knowing she rarely called, she decided to call her back.

“Hi, Laura,” she said, looking at the hologram of her sister appearing to sit across from her on the bed.

“Hi yourself, sis,” Laura said, and Beth knew she was closely examining her face. “Have you been crying?”

Beth just nodded, not wanting to start again.

“What’s wrong?” She asked. “Mom and Dad said there were some problems last week?”

Beth hissed, “Some, and now… there’s even worse, I think!”

“What?” she asked.

“So, I’m in this filmmaking class…?” Beth filled her in on the information. “So anyway, I’m terrified this will return to the university as strikes against me?”

Laura laughed, “Did you say you have Charlotte Perez working with you?”

Beth nodded.

“Like the full-on mega-star we watched growing up, Charlotte Perez?”

Beth nodded again.

“And just who are your parents?”

Beth shrugged, “I can’t always expect them to get me out of jams?”

“And who is your boyfriend’s grandmother?”

“Who said he’s…?” Beth started.

Laura’s laugh told her she’d been played, “Oh my god, are you actually going out?”

Beth rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at her holographic sister. “Maybe? Is it hard to have a relationship with someone with a forced bedtime even earlier than a three-year-old?”

“Did he get into trouble?”

“No…”

Beth talked to her sister for over an hour before their mom yelled at Laura to get off the phone and go to bed. “Beth, I love you, and I promise you no matter what, nothing bad will happen to you. You have too many defenders in your corner, including a sister who will gladly come and beat them up!”

Beth giggled, “Thanks, Laura; I wasn’t in a good place tonight. I love you.”

“Love you too, Sis. Night!”

Beth stared at the empty space where her sister’s hologram had been displayed and sighed. ‘She’s right, Dad, Grandma, Amanda, Charlotte… if they all have my back, nothing will be allowed to happen to me again.’

Climbing down from her bed, she used the bathroom and washed her face before getting to some homework for her Friday class and packing a bag for the weekend. She knew Amanda would pick them up after their last class, and she looked forward to spending time away from the insanity that had become college life the previous two weeks!

 

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Thank you for reading!!! I'm now into what is one of my final crazy weeks. I won't see any comments until Sunday, but I hope you'll please let me know what you think with a comment and/or a like! It makes my day to get done with everything and come home to your comments and likes!

All of my completed works are now available on Amazon Kindle! Please consider visiting my store and purchasing my works if you have enjoyed them! https://www.amazon.com/author/babysofia If you do purchase them, please press the '5-Star' rating when you can! You don't have to leave a review to do so. (Though that would be so amazingly appreciated!)

[Baby Billy]

Another great chapter, you answered a question I was thinking about before, thoug never asked.  I was wondering about the acting profession there, like with our Hollywood strike about AI in films, why not just use all holo's in the movie and cut out the people.  As you said they have a rule that only background characters may be a holo.  Glad Kelly is getting put in her place but feel bad for Beth, at least Connor is already wearing protection every day so it won't be as bad for him.😀 

[TerranV]

Charlotte's nice. I'm instantly suspicious lol.

So they are getting Connor some temporary nanite adjustments? I see nothing going wrong with that.

Kelly is coming across as quite dumb.

[Baby Billy]

BabySofia one line in this chapter was confusing to me (Beth felt like her eyes were consoling her then as if she knew how upset Beth had to be) I had to read it a few times until I realized what you meant as Beth felt like Charlotte's eyes were consoling her.💜