You Know What They Do To Girls Like Us In Brighter Days? Chapter 16 and 17 Posted!

[Chels in Ribbons]

Hello All!

It's been a while since I've posted a new story, but I'm back with a project I'm very excited about!

"You Know What They Do to Girls Like Us in Brighter Days?" is the story of Rei Akiyama, a young girl trying to navigate through life in a near future dystopia where the age of majority has been raised to 28 for girls and regressive behavioral therapy has become popular to help girls adjust to these new laws. The world this story is set in is very strongly inspired by/based on the world building of Alteredstates, so a lot of credit goes to him! For those unfamiliar with Alteredstates, he does world building through ad copy and other cultural artifacts. While you don't need to be familiar with his work to understand and appreciate this story, I strongly recommend you check it out! Not only because it will help you immerse yourself in this world, but also because it's genuinely really good! You can find him on Tumblr, Twitter, and Patreon!

Without further ado, I give you the prologue and first two chapters of "You Know What They Do to Girls Like Us in Brighter Days?"

Prologue

            The night of Wednesday, October 4^th, 2028, was unseasonably cold in the city of Greenham; snow was in the forecast for the next day in a city that rarely saw a snowflake until at least January. By 7:28PM, there were already flurries dancing through the cold wind that whipped through the dumpsters behind City Hall, where John Bennet, the head of City Hall security, stood with his foot propping open the emergency exit of the east stairwell. He blew out a lungful of smoke as he dropped his cigarette on the pavement below and crushed it beneath his shoe. John was nothing if not a creature of habit; so much so that, if one cared to be so observant, they could predict exactly what time John would take the last smoke break of his shift before he did his final sweep of the building. He would then go home to his shabby apartment. That night, however, was different. That night, John wouldn’t be going home; he would be meeting a 28-year-old girl he had met on the internet.

That night, John’s phone rang just as he was about to go back inside.

            He fished his phone out of his pocket, smiling when he saw his date’s name on the caller ID, and swiped his finger across the screen as he raised the phone to his ear. “Hey, baby girl,” he said, trying to sound smooth, “I can’t wait to see you.”

            On the other end of the phone, a young-sounding voice poured honeyed words into his ear as he turned and walked back into the building. Another night, under less distracting circumstances, John would have almost certainly noticed that the door never clicked closed behind him, but the telling silence was lost amongst the words that sent his blood pumping.

            In a bar a few miles away, Edward Cook was ordering a drink for a girl who looked too young to be there. The girl blushed as she slid her ID and emancipation card across the counter at the bartender’s request, brushing her blue hair behind her ear to look coyly at Edward out of the corner of her eye as she did. Edward never even noticed the girl on the other side of him, or her hand as she slipped a hard plastic card at the end of a black lanyard out of his suit jacket pocket. The card, printed with Edward’s picture and the seal of the Office of Juvenile Affairs, disappeared into the girl’s clutch purse as she quietly slipped away from the bar. She checked the time on her phone as she stepped out into the frosty night: 7:34PM.

            Elsewhere, the number 9 county bus was pulling over for an unscheduled stop due to a disturbance on the bus involving three young girls. The driver, Richard Lawson, broke up the altercation with the help of another passenger and removed the girls from the bus. That taken care of, an exasperated Richard reported the incident to dispatch, who noted the number 9 bus was running ten minutes behind but was resuming his route at 7:47PM.

            Back at the courthouse, John, having finished his final sweep of the building and found nothing out of the ordinary, put the finishing touches on his security logs for the night and leaned back in his chair, eyes sweeping over the bank of CCTV monitors that showed snapshots of the interior of the courthouse. It was, however, the clock that John was truly focused on, his eyes constantly flicking between it and the monitors. The moment those numbers turned from 7:59 to 8:00PM, John pushed himself out of his chair and jabbed his finger at the button that caused all of the monitors to wink out simultaneously. Had he waited just a minute longer, he might have seen the black garbed figures slip in from the emergency exit in the east stairwell.

            He could have watched as they crept up that staircase and slipped into second floor hallway. Another camera would have shown the figures slink down the hallway, past the Permits Office and the Office of Parks and Recreation. On a third camera, the figures stopped in front of a frosted glass door with Office of Juvenile Affairs printed across it in thick, black block letters. One of the figures swiped a card by the panel next to the door, the light turned from red to green, and the figures quickly disappeared through the door.

            Later, security logs would be pulled showing Edward Cook had accessed the office at 8:04PM; the subsequent investigation would find Cook was not guilty of any direct involvement but would still lose his position on the grounds of gross negligence.

            By 8:15PM, Greenham City Hall was silent and empty. At 8:17PM, the number 9 county bus blew past the empty bus stop at the far end of the City Hall parking lot. On an ordinary night, Richard would typically idle at this station for a few minutes, but he was working hard to make up for lost time. The next few stops were just as empty, which wasn’t unusual for this time of night on a weekday. It was 8:34PM when the bus pulled up to the stop at Greenham Community College, where three girls and four boys boarded the bus, all of them in their late teens and early twenties. Richard Lawson wouldn’t even think to mention this to investigators later, though they likely would have made nothing of it if he had.

            By 8:50PM, the city of Greenham, a suburb of the nation’s capital city, was settling into its slumber. A few bars and restaurants were still pouring drinks for late night clientele, but curfew was quickly approaching and all those affected were either already home or else rushing to get there.

            At 8:54PM, the electric engine of the number 9 county bus was humming along through the streets of one such sleepy neighborhood, empty but for Ricard Lawson and a small handful of passengers: a young girl with black hair and tawny skin carrying a bookbag tight to her chest, two boys with their feet on the seats laughing raucously in the back of the bus, and a mother and a daughter riding together. Richard glanced up at the passengers in his rearview mirror and caught the eye of the daughter. She had bright blue eyes, a practical waterfall of golden curls, and looked to be in her early twenties. Richard smiled at the girl in the mirror; he had to admit, she was adorable in her pink shirt and plaid skirtall. She smiled back at him from behind the shield of her pacifier.

            The mother turned away from the book in her hand and leaned over the girl, slipping one hand up the girl’s skirtall. Richard quickly averted his gaze, suddenly feeling like he was invading their privacy.

            “Oh, Rebecca,” the older woman sighed quietly, but still loud enough to be heard easily on the otherwise silent bus, “your pull-up is soaked; did you even know you had to go?”

            The girl’s smile disappeared into her blush as she mumbled some words from behind her pacifier.

            The mother chuckled. “It’s alright, sweetheart,” she ruffled her daughter’s hair, “we’re almost home! Then we can get you changed into your nighttime diapers and feed you a nice bottle before bed, would you like that?” She booped her daughter’s nose and sent the girl into a fit of laughter.

            The black-haired girl shifted in her seat across from the mother and daughter, obviously trying to avoid looking at them. She glanced at her phone, 9:52PM.

            Richard Lawson shifted in his seat and tried to ignore the cooing and giggling going on behind him. Little single-family homes passed by as he made his way down Ridgemont Street, and only more in sight as he turned right down Wrighton Square. The bell dinged and Richard slowly pressed the brake, bringing the bus to a stop at the corner or Wrighton and Central Lake Drive. Richard wished his passengers a good night, stay safe, as they all got off. Glancing back in his rearview mirror to confirm the bus was empty, Richard slowly accelerated into the night.

            Peter Grant watched the bus pull away from the front seat of his Greenham Police Department Cruiser. He scanned the passengers leaving the bus stop. Two young men cross the street and kept walking up Wrighton Square while three women started walking up Central Lake Drive and toward his cruiser.

            He checked his clock: 9:56, damn near too late for young women to be out alone. “Let’s check it out,” he said to his partner, Dave Clusky, as he stepped out of the cruiser and started crossing the street towards the trio.

            As Peter approached, the women were backlit by a streetlamp, but he could make out the vaguely feminine shapes of three women. Two of them walked side by side as the third, at least a few inches shorter than the other two, walked a couple of feet behind. Peter raised his flashlight, “Excuse me, ladies,” he called out officiously as the beam of light cut through the night, bringing the slowly drifting flakes of snow into heavy contrast.

            The three ladies stopped in their tracks. The shorter of the two in front whimpered behind her pacifier and clung to the older woman next to her as they both blinked against the light. The girl behind them gasped inaudibly and stared ahead like a deer in headlights for a moment before raising a hand to protect her eyes from the worst of the light.

            “Evening, ma’am,” Peter nodded to the older woman, “these your children?”

            The woman glanced behind her, then back to Peter, “just this one,” she replied, squeezing Rebecca close to her.

            Peter nodded, “Sorry to disturb you, ma’am. Best get your little one inside, it looks to be about her bedtime.”

            The mother laughed politely, “yes, we’ve had a very long day, thank you, officer.” She tugged on Rebecca’s hand and quietly urged the girl on.

            Peter swept his flashlight over a few degrees to focus his beam on the girl in the white button up shirt and plaid suspender skirt. “Could you lower your hand, miss? How old are you?”

            “Uhm, nineteen,” she replied nervously, “I know it’s—”
            “It’s almost curfew,” Peter interrupted her, “you allowed to be out past curfew?”

            “Um, no, sir, I—”

            “Yeah, didn’t think so. What’s your name? What are you doing out so late?”

            “Um, Rei, sir, and I’m coming home from college, sir, I was—”

            “College?” Dave chimed in, “you got parental permission for that?”

            “Yes, sir, and I—”

            “What were you doing at college this late?” Peter asked. “You go to Greenham CC?”

            “Yes, sir, I was studying—”

            “Studying,” Dave scoffed, “yeah, right.”

            “I was, sir, I have—”

            “You got a pass from your professor?” Peter asked.

            “Yes, sir, it’s—”

            “Well?” Dave said impatiently.

            “Let’s see it,” Peter demanded.

            “Yes, sir,” the girl reached into her backpack and produced a folded sheet of paper that was immediately snatched out of her hand.

            “Professor Lewis? English?” Peter read key words off the piece of paper before handing it off to Dave.

Dave looked the sheet over, made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat, then handed it back to Peter. “Looks legit”

            “You know it’s almost curfew, kid?” Peter turned back towards the girl, thrusting the paper back at her.

            “Yes, sorry, I was—”

            “Yeah, you were at college, you said. You live close by?”

            “Yes, sir, I—”

            “Where at?”

            “Just up the street,” she raised her hand and pointed behind Peter.

            “Uh huh,” Peter sounded skeptical. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time: 9:59PM. “Think you can get home before curfew hits, little girl?” He smiled maliciously.

            The girl’s knees went weak; she clutched her bag to her chest as if it could protect from him the malice in his smile. Her vision tunneled in on the face of Peter Grant and the world around her sounded like it was moving through water.

            Tick.

            10:00PM.

            As curfew went into effect all over Greenham and it’s surrounding townships, the eastern wing of the Greenham City Hall exploded outward, raining fire and rubble into it’s expansive parking lot.

            The sound of the explosion tore through the still night air, audible as a low rumbling miles away on Central Lake Drive. A portion of the horizon of the night sky lit up.

            “The fuck…?” Peter cursed.

            “Fuck me!” Dave swore.

            The girl let out a quiet yelp and resisted the urge to make a break for it.

            Silence filled the air in the aftermath of the explosion, and then the radios on Dave and Peter’s shoulders started squawking. They completely forgot about the girl as they scrambled back to their cruiser.

 

 

 

Chapter One

            Snowflakes were melting in Rei Akiyama’s hair as she slumped against the front door of her house. She was still shaking and trying to steady her breath.

            “You’re late,” a voice said from the living room.

            “I know, I’m sorry, Mom,” Rei said, still panting slightly as she took her shoes off before entering the room. “The bus was running late; I ran all the way here from the bus stop.”

            Ms. Akiyama made a sound in her throat as she looked her daughter up and down. “You were studying? Let me see your pass.”

            “Yes, Mom,” Rei said as she pulled out the now slightly crumpled piece of paper out of her bag and handed it over.

            “You’re working too hard in school,” Ms. Akiyama said matter-of-factly. “Well, whatever, I’m glad you’re home,” she discarded the paper on the end table, “I was starting to get worried when I heard that rumbling. Did you hear that?”

            “Yes, Mom,” Rei nodded and chewed on her lip, unsure what else to say on the topic.

            “Rei, stop chewing your lip, it’s a bad nervous habit.”

            “Yes, Mom, sorry.” Rei forced herself to stop and instead just looked down at her shoes.

            “Well?” Ms. Akiyama asked expectantly a moment later. “It’s almost bedtime; shouldn’t you be getting ready for bed? The news said we were supposed to get a few inches of snow, so school will probably be cancelled tomorrow, but I want you in bed on time just in case, okay?”

            “Yes, Mom,” Rei replied. She tried her best not to turn and run up the stairs, but instead walked casually up them as if it had just been a normal night of studying.

Her mother watched her go, sensing something was off about her daughter, but she was unable to put her finger on what, exactly, she was sensing. Rei stopped briefly at the top of the stairs, turned back, and gave a small smile and wave when she saw her mother was still watching, then disappeared around the corner. Ms. Akiyama sighed quietly: what was she going to do with that girl? She was worried what kind of ideas her school was filling her head with, and Rei being out all-night studying didn’t do anything to allay that worry.

 Picking up the pass Rei had given her, Ms. Akiyama turned and settled back down on the couch. According to the pass, Rei had been working on her midterm essay for English with Professor Lewis. Sighing once more, she set the note aside, making a mental note to ask Rei what she was writing her essay about (maybe that would give her a clue on exactly what kind of idea’s the school was filling Rei’s head with), and turned her attention back to the TV where a mature looking woman was smiling back at her while holding a colorful package.

“That why I decided to try new Pampers Overnight Diapers! They are expertly designed for girls who wet the bed,” as the woman delivered the line, she reached her free hand out the side and pulled a young girl of about eight or ten into the frame and into a side hug, “and those who don’t,” the camera pulled out and panned over to reveal an older girl about Rei’s age staring distractedly at her phone seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, “yet,” the mother added after a beat and punctuated it with a wink.

Upstairs, Rei leaned against the wall, just out of sight, focusing on getting her breathing back to normal. The night hadn’t gone exactly as planned, but, so far, nothing had gone terribly wrong. She could only hope it stayed that way. Rei pushed herself away from the wall and made her way down the hallway towards her bedroom, closing her door behind her just as downstairs the TV alerted her mother to breaking news.

As Ms. Akiyama was stunned to hear of the bombing just a few miles from her, Rei was tossing her backpack on the floor next to her desk and throwing herself face down on her bed. She was slightly dazed and more than exhausted. Part of her couldn’t believe the events of the night. Yes, they had been making plans for weeks now, she had known this night was coming, but now that it was done…it felt surreal.

She was terrified of what would come next.

Still, there was one more thing she had to do before this night was over.

Rei crept back to her bedroom door, listened carefully, then cracked the door ever so slightly. The distant sounds of the TV still drifted up the stairs and the hallway was empty. Closing the door silently, she rushed across the carpet in socked feet to her desk, which, looking back over her shoulder towards the door, she inched away from the wall. Kneeling down, Rei reached behind the desk and pried off a piece of the baseboard to reveal a small crevice between the wall and the floor from which Rei produced a cell phone at least a decade old. It was black with a silver lined screen and a numeric keyboard. Rei brought up the messaging app only to be greeted with over a dozen texts; each was from a different number, but they all said the same thing: “home safe.” She sighed with relief, painstakingly typed out her own missive (“home safe”) on the numeric keyboard and pressed send before immediately replacing the phone in its hiding place and putting everything back in order.

Now, Rei thought, it was time to get ready for bed.

 

 

 

Chapter Two

            “It was confirmed early this morning that there were no casualties or injuries in last night’s explosion at the Greenham City Hall, which occurred at exactly 10PM and destroyed most of the building’s eastern half. While authorities have yet to make any statements regarding the cause of the explosion, many are already speculating that this was an act of domestic terrorism committed by the radical leftist feminist group Rebel in response to recent social policy legislation restricting the rights of women under twenty-eight. Supporters of this theory have been quick to point out that the offices of the newly established Office of Juvenile Affairs, which was formed to enforce these new policies, was located in the eastern wing of the Greenham City Hall. We’ll be sure to bring you all the breaking details on this story as it develops. Back to you in the studio, Steve.”

            As the news switched back to less interesting stories, Ms. Akiyama turned her attention away from the tablet propped up on the kitchen counter and back to the cast iron skillet in front of her where the pancakes were beginning to form bubbles along the edge of the batter. She flipped them with the kind of perfection that only came with years of practice and shook her head, it was just terrible what had happened. She knew some people thought the new laws were going too far, but surely bombing buildings was going just as far, if not further. No, it wasn’t the proper way to go about voicing dissent at all. And if this was the kind of stuff feminism was preaching these days, maybe there was some sense to these new laws. Certainly they didn’t teach girls to behave that way when she was younger.

            Ms. Akiyama just prayed Rei’s head wasn’t being filled with this kind of stuff at that college she had begged so hard to go to. Maybe it wasn’t too late to put her in a vocational school; with a little discipline, Rei could make an excellent secretary. Or maybe she could get Rei a job working at a daycare; Rei always liked children, and maybe tapping into Rei’s maternal instincts was just what was needed to make sure she stayed on the right path. Or, there was always…

            No, no, Ms. Akiyama shoved that thought away. Rei was a good kid; a bit headstrong, but a good kid, surely that option was too drastic. Ms. Akiyama sighed as she stacked the pancakes on the steadily growing pile; she just wanted Rei to be safe and have a nice, happy life. She didn’t want her daughter falling in with the wrong crowd and getting herself in trouble.

            It wasn’t easy raising a daughter in such complicated times.

            Ms. Akiyama was still musing on such matters when Rei shuffled sleepily into the kitchen, almost instinctively following the smell of pancakes.

            “Pancakes?” Rei asked hopefully. “Does that mean school is canceled?” Mom typically never made pancakes on weekdays.

            “It sure does,” Ms. Akiyama replied cheerfully, trying to hide the somber mood the news had put her in. “Have you looked outside? We got quite a lot of snow!”

            Rei grinned and rushed out of the kitchen and into the living room and its bay window overlooking their front yard and the street beyond. Everything was white and brilliantly bright in the morning sun, covered in what must have been at least five or six inches of snow. Even the road was covered; it seemed like the snowplows hadn’t made it to their neighborhood yet. Rei couldn’t help but stare out the window in wonderment; she had always loved the snow. There was just something magical about it.

            Behind her, Ms. Akiyama leaned against the door frame and grinned. When it came to snow, kids were always kids.

            “Come on,” Ms. Akiyama said after giving Rei a few moments to take in the wintery spread, “the pancakes are getting cold.” She turned and headed back in to the kitchen without checking to make sure Rei was following her. The news was once again talking about last night’s incident, so Ms. Akiyama quickly turned it off as she grabbed the plate of pancakes; she didn’t want to upset Rei with such terrible news first thing in the morning.

            “So,” Ms. Akiyama said as she set the plate of pancakes on the table and Rei settled into her seat, “you were working on an essay with your professor last night?” She grabbed the syrup from the fridge before settling into her own seat.

            “Um, yeah,” Rei responded simply as she loaded her plate with pancakes, “my midterm essay,” she added after a moment.

            “Oh, that’s nice,” Ms. Akiyama passed the syrup across the table and took a couple pancakes off the stack for herself. “What’s it about?”

            “Um,” Rei was drenching her pancakes in syrup, “well, it’s…well, our professor gave us some articles to choose from and we just have to like respond to one of them.”

            “Interesting, what kind of articles?”

            “Just, you know, current events stuff.”

            “Uh-huh, and what article did you choose?” Sure, Ms. Akiyama was testing the waters, trying to see what kind of stuff Rei was learning at school, but, to her credit, she was genuinely interested in her daughter’s life.

            Rei, on the other hand, was getting nervous. Her mother didn’t usually ask her this many questions about her schoolwork. Rei liked that her mother didn’t ask her about her schoolwork. Rei thought the less her mother asked about her schoolwork, the better. Why was her mother suddenly interested? She thought about lying, but if her mother asked to see the essay, she’d be caught immediately. “Well, just about…about the passing of The Hayes Act…”

            “Oh, I see.”

            Rei shoveled a too large bite of pancakes into her mouth to avoid having to respond. Oh, I see? What did that mean? Rei tried to smile around the bite of pancakes, but her eyes were searching her mother’s face for anything that might hint to her true reaction.

            Ms. Akiyama worked to keep her face as passive as possible, raising her cup and taking a long, slow sip of coffee to help her efforts. She had barely discussed the act with her daughter since its passage six months ago. She hadn’t needed to much, and it had always felt like such a…touchy subject.

             “Why did you choose that article?” Ms. Akiyama asked, trying hard to sound casual but interested and definitely non-confrontational. Just a mom interested in her daughter’s schoolwork.

            Rei speared a hunk of pancake with her fork and cut it away from the rest with her knife, “Um, I just thought the article was interesting,” she spoke with her head down, giving her voice a muffled quality.

            “What was the article about?” Ms. Akiyama knew Rei had strong feelings about The Hayes Act, and she couldn’t blame her. Rei had turned nineteen a month before the law had passed; she had been an adult for thirteen months when she once again became a child in the eyes of the law for another nine years. Of course, Ms. Akiyama understood why her daughter felt so strongly about it; she respected Rei’s passion, but she wished Rei could accept that there was nothing that could be done. She wished Rei could just accept that the world wasn’t what her mother had promised it would be she told Rei she could grow up to be whatever she wanted.

            “Just,” Rei shrugged, “I guess the author was talking about how it shouldn’t have passed and stuff…”

            The two were in a minefield; they both knew it. Neither wanted this to end in an explosion, but one couldn’t leave, and the other couldn’t leave well enough alone.

            “Oh,” Ms. Akiyama said, “do you talk about that kind of stuff a lot in school?” The last time they had discussed The Hayes Act had been when it had come time for Rei to enroll in her second year at Greenham Community College. With Rei then legally a child, she needed Ms. Akiyama’s permission to continue attending college. Ms. Akiyama could have stopped her; she had certainly been tempted to do it.

            Rei shrugged, “What do you mean ‘that kind of stuff’?”

            “Stuff like The Hayes Act? Politics?”

            “I guess, sometimes.”

            “What kind of stuff do they teach you about it?”

            Rei shrugged, “I mean, they just like…explain how it came to be. Historically, you know?”

            “I see.”

            Ms. Akiyama could sense her daughter getting…defensive? Evasive? She was certainly becoming something. Maybe it was time to pump the brakes.

            “I just worry,” Ms. Akiyama said, genuinely thinking it would help defuse the situation.

            “Worried?!” Rei said a little too loudly, “there’s nothing to worry about, Mom!”

            “It’s just…I hear a lot these days about what kinds of things colleges are teaching and—”

            “Mo-om!”

            “—and I don’t want them filling your head with the wrong kinds of ideas, that’s all!”

            “Mom, they are not…brainwashing me, okay?”

            “I didn’t say brainwashing, okay? I just hear what kinds of things colleges teach these days, that’s all,” Ms. Akiyama repeated.

            Rei slumped in her chair. Her mom had managed to ruin pancakes.

            “I just want you to be happy,” Ms. Akiyama said after a long, awkward pause. She reached across the table to take her daughter’s hand. “College just makes things harder for most girls these days, and, besides, you study so much, it’s not good for you.”

            “But I like school, Mom. It makes me happy.”

            “Well, why don’t we sign you up for one of those extended high school for girls programs?” Ms. Akiyama smiled, genuinely thinking it would be a good suggestion.

            “Ugh, Mom,” Rei withdrew her hand and shot her mother a withering look, “those are just housewife classes.”

            “There’s nothing wrong with that, Rei!”

            “I’m not saying there is,” Rei protested, “it’s just not what I want to do.”

            “I know, you want to be a teacher, but I just don’t…well…you can’t be a teacher for another nine years, what if by then they don’t let women be teachers anymore?”

            A silence fell over the room as both mother and daughter felt the weight of that thought.

            It was a legitimate concern.

            “I don’t know, Mom,” Rei said at last, sounding crestfallen. “But what am I supposed to do?”

            Ms. Akiyama frowned. Like most mothers, deep down she just wanted her child to be happy. Part of her really wished her child could have her dream, but most of her knew it simply wasn’t meant to be and there was nothing that could change that. Most of her just wanted to help Rei find another way to be happy.

            Without a word, Ms. Akiyama rose from the table and cleared their plates. Breakfast was clearly over.

            On her way out of the kitchen, she lightly ruffled Rei’s hair, “Go on,” she said, “enjoy your snow day, okay? But just…think about the extended high school program?”

            Rei nodded.

 

[Wysteria]

My favourite writer, writing stuff inspired by my favourite captioneer? It's a christmas miracle!

Assuming you have acesss to his patreon, the recent spysoftware advert is probably my favourite bit of indirect worldbuilding in anything abdl...

[Chels in Ribbons]

16 hours ago, Wysteria said:

My favourite writer, writing stuff inspired by my favourite captioneer? It's a christmas miracle!

Assuming you have acesss to his patreon, the recent spysoftware advert is probably my favourite bit of indirect worldbuilding in anything abdl...

Favorite writer? 🥺🥰🫠 thank you so much!

The spysoftware was really great! I really like his Vantez Collective pieces, which, as you can probably already tell, have a huge influence on this story.

Thanks for reading! I hope you contine to share your thoughts!

[BabySofia]

Interesting start, I'll be curious to see where you take this!

[MinnesotaWriter]

Really enjoying the start to this story. Am looking forward to seeing what direction you take this in.

On 1/5/2024 at 7:25 PM, Chels in Ribbons said:

            “I know, you want to be a teacher, but I just don’t…well…you can’t be a teacher for another nine years, what if by then they don’t let women be teachers anymore?”

Definitely getting some Handmaid's Tale vibes.

[reginold]

Whats the release schedule?

[kerry]

I'm immediately hooked. At first, I was a bit put off by the choppiness of the opening pages' quick-cut narratives, but that settled quickly (and even as I felt that way I was fascinated by what was happening). I also thought the woman on the bus with the 20-something daughter in diapers and acting like a baby was a bit weird, as nothing thus far had prepared me for such an extreme thing...and then extremity was obliquely alluded to later on. I hope that we'll get a look at just how something like this could have happened and why it doesn't have half the country or more in open revolt...but that is to come.

[Chels in Ribbons]

On 1/6/2024 at 10:29 PM, MinnesotaWriter said:

Really enjoying the start to this story. Am looking forward to seeing what direction you take this in.

Definitely getting some Handmaid's Tale vibes.

Not by accident! XD When I was talking to some friends about my initial ideas for the story, I pitched it as "the handmaid's tale but ABDL"

On 1/7/2024 at 11:47 AM, reginold said:

Whats the release schedule?

No firm release schedule! I'm going to try to post at least two to four chapters a week, but especially with the new semester starting soon, I can't guarantee anything!

 

On 1/7/2024 at 1:16 PM, kerry said:

At first, I was a bit put off by the choppiness of the opening pages' quick-cut narratives

To be honest, I usually write in first person, so this whole narrative, and especially the prologue, is kind of experimental for me. BUT! Fascination and confusion was what I was going for in the prologue, so it sounds like I nailed it! XD

Thanks everyone who commented, I really appreciate hearing your thoughts, and I really hope you continue to share them!

And now, I give you the next three chapters of You Know What They Do to Girls Like Us in Brighter Days?

Chapter Three

The Greenham Post

Friday, October 6^th

Radical Leftist Terrorist Group Rebel Responsible for Attack on Greenham City Hall

 

Late Thursday evening, during a joint press conference held by the Greenham Police Department and Homeland Security, Police Chief Geoff Holden announced that Rebel, a radical leftist feminist terrorist organization, has taken responsibility for the bombing of the Greenham City Hall on Wednesday, October 6^th. Though many already speculated the involvement of this terrorist group, this officially confirms those theories. Law enforcement did not share any statement made by the group, if there was one, but did confirm that the attack was politically motivated by recent social policy legislation regarding the rights of women under twenty-eight.

            This is not the first such attack committed by Rebel. Early this past August, they claimed responsibility for a series of robberies against pharmacies in and around the nation’s capital, during which they focused on stealing products such as muscle relaxants, benzodiazepines, others sedatives, and newly FDA approved therapy drug diuranuretine. They have also left their signature at the site of countless acts of vandalism, theft, and property damage. Clearly, however, this newest attack marks a stark escalation of their tactics.

            Rebel is believed to be one of the newest splinter groups of The Vantez Collective, a seemingly national organization whose stated purpose is “radical Marxist action through feminist solidarity.” These splinter groups, which are widely believed to be originating out of institutes of higher education and likely led by students who have been radicalized by leftist propaganda in the classroom, have been appearing around the country at an increasing rate over the past 18 months. At this time, it is believed that there are likely over two dozen chapters of The Vantez Collection who, collectively, have been connected to 67 acts of terrorism across the country over the past year. However, despite its rising membership, there have only been four arrests of known members for crimes in conjunction with the group’s terrorist acts.

            An inside source suggests that this trend is unlikely to change, despite Police Chief Geoff Holden’s insistence at the press conference that they were “aggressively following several leads [he] believes will lead to multiple arrests and convictions.” Our anonymous insider tells a different story, however, claiming that, at this time, all leads have gone cold. … CON’T PG 18.

 

           

Chapter Four

            The two walked on eggshells around each other for the rest of the day. They were snowed in, and the house wasn’t particularly large; try as they might, they couldn’t quite escape each other. Their snow day extended into Friday, and with new snowfall early Saturday morning, the roads remained impassable until late on Sunday. Tensions mounted, but thankfully never broke. By Monday, Rei couldn’t wait to leave for school.

            Rei had school every day, Monday from Friday. Unlike many college students who tried to cram their classes into the same days to reduce the number of days they had classes, Rei liked to spread hers out. Her mom allowed her to take four classes. So, she had one class that met on Mondays and Wednesdays in the mornings and a second that afternoon, and her third and fourth mirrored that on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but her second class also had a lab period that met on Friday. This way, Rei could arrive on campus early in the morning, and spend the whole day there and away from her house.

            To add to Rei’s excitement to get to school that morning, her Monday morning class was her favorite: Introduction to Gender Politics and Feminist Theory with Professor Natalie Lewis.

            So, Rei was slightly surprised that Monday morning to find that her mind kept wondering. Try as hard as she could, she couldn’t pay attention to a word Professor Lewis was saying. Her mom wanted her to trade college for an extended high school program, where she’d learn to be a housewife and stay at home mom. Rei’s soul retched at the thought.

            Rei’s mother had never exactly been progressive, but Rei still couldn’t believe she seemed to be buying into this Hayes Act bullshit. But Rei knew she was lucky. Rei knew things could be so much worse.

            Last year, before The Hayes Act, Rei had gotten used to her classes being pretty evenly split in regard to gender, but now Rei sat in the back right corner in a group of the only six girls amongst nearly twenty boys. In front of her was Jennifer Duffy; from behind, Rei could easily see the crinkled waistband of her diaper sticking out above her skirt. To Jennifer’s left was Melanie Wright; Rei could see a spare pull-up sticking out of her purse. Behind Melanie, directly to Rei’s left, was Becca Thompson, who crinkled every time she shifted in her seat—of course, she had already been in pull-ups when Rei took a class with her last year, so that was hardly surprising.

            Rei knew things could be so much worse.

            “Rei?” Hearing her voice shook her out of her thoughts and she suddenly realized everyone around her was getting up. She must have missed Professor Lewis dismissing the class. “Rei?” The voice repeated, “May I see you?”

            It was Professor Lewis. Rei nodded in response and slowly began to collect her things, waiting for everyone to filter out. When the last person left, Professor Lewis closed the door behind them and walked over to Rei, saying nothing until she was sitting in the desk Melanie Wright had only recently vacated.

            “Everything okay at home?” She said at last.

            Rei nodded, “I mean, I guess, why?”

            “I checked my email this morning to find an email from your mom asking me to confirm you were with me Wednesday night.”

            “She doesn’t suspect anything,” Rei responded after a beat.

            “You sure?”

            “Yeah, she’s just…worried college is putting crazy ideas in my head,” Rei snickered.

            “Wouldn’t that be terrible,” Professor Lewis replied wryly. “Well, I’ll confirm the story, of course.”

            “Anything else?” Rei asked, sensing that there was, well, something else.

            Professor Lewis sighed, “she asked me how much I teach about politics in my class.”

            “Fuck.”

            “I take it you don’t tell your mom much about this class?”

            Rei grimaced, “She thinks it’s an English class.”

            “Ouch,” Professor Lewis flinched.

            “What did you tell her?”

            “I haven’t replied yet, but…legally, you’re a child, I can’t keep my lesson plans away from your mother if she asks for them.”

            “I know.”

            “I’ll try to downplay it and hope she doesn’t press it, okay? I just wanted you to have the heads up.”

            “Thanks, Professor.”

            “Yeah,” she sighed and frowned. “How bad is this going to be for you?”

            “I don’t know,” Rei replied. She genuinely didn’t know. She had been a little surprised by how complacent her mother had been about The Hayes Act. She knew her mother didn’t think going to college was a good choice, but she never would have imagined that her mother would try to push her into an extended high school program. But, then again, she never imagined there would be extended high school programs until there were.

            The room was filled with silence for a few moments before it was finally broken by a middle-aged man barging through the door. “Oh!” He exclaimed as he saw the pair, “Natalie, I’m sorry, are you still using the room? I have class in here shortly.”

            “Oh, yes, sorry, Professor Winston, we were just wrapping up, please go ahead.” The two professors exchanged a few more pleasantries as Professor Lewis packed away her class materials into her purse and passed off the desk to Professor Winston. Rei waited for her and walked with her out the door when she did. “I’ll do the best I can,” Professor Lewis said once they were in the hall, “but…”

            “I understand,” Rei replied. “Have a good day, Professor Lewis, and thank you for the heads up.”

 

 

Chapter Five

            It was early afternoon, and the campus cafeteria was a bustle of activity. But Rei was oblivious to it all, sitting alone in one of the booths with her forehead against the floor to ceiling windows that took up the whole wall on one side of the cafeteria. She stared out at what was usually an outdoor seating area for students to enjoy their lunch in the open air but was now just a lumpy expanse of brilliant white. She anticipated a text from her mother at any moment, perhaps demanding that Rei come home at once for immediate transferal to an extended high school program, perhaps worse. But it hadn’t come yet.

            “Hey.”

            School, and specifically college, was the only thing that made Rei feel like an adult anymore, and it was a feeling she was clinging to desperately. She knew a few years ago when the first state enacted their own version of The Hayes Act that things were getting bad, but she never imagined she’d see that kind of legislation passed on a federal level. She never imagined she’d have her adulthood and maybe her entire future ripped away from her so officiously.

            “Uhm, hello?”

            When Rei was a kid, people still told young girls they could be anything they wanted when they grew up. Now, Rei’s options were dwindling even as she sat there.

            “Hey, excuse me?”

            Rei practically jumped out of her skin at the voice that suddenly cut through her thoughts and jarred her back to reality.

            “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, but you seemed kind of lost in thought there.”

            Rei looked up at the girl talking to her. She wore black Doc Martens, black skinny jeans, and a ribbed black tank top under a too large flannel shirt. Sharp black eyeliner and matching lipstick made a strong contrast to her pale skin. Blue hair spilled out in curls from under a black beanie. The girl had a book tucked under one arm and was holding a lunch tray in her opposite hand. “Mind if I…?” The girl gestured to the bench across the booth from Rei.

            “Uhm, yeah, sure, sorry,” Rei stumbled over her words as she tried to clear the wreckage of her crashed train of thought.

            “You’re Rei, right?” The girl said as she sat down.

            “Yeah, um, how…?” Wait, suddenly the girl’s face clicked in Rei’s memory. She remembered seeing her in all the meetings leading up to Wednesday night. No, that wasn’t right, she had been leading those meetings.

            The girl smiled knowingly and nodded her head, recognizing the look of revelation on Rei’s face. “Yeah, mutual friends, you know?”

            Rei nodded; she did know.

            “Sorry if I scared you,” the girl repeated as she settled into her seat. “I just saw you over here by yourself and…well, there aren’t exactly a lot of empty seats,” she gestured towards the crowded cafeteria around them. “Hope you don’t mind.”

            “No,” Rei smiled weakly and shook her head. She was digging desperately through her memory to find this girl’s name, “I don’t mind at all.”

            “Everything okay?” The girl popped a french fry into her mouth. “You seemed pretty deep in thought when I came up.”

            “Yeah, I’m okay, just…a lot on my mind, you know?” It seemed rude to have to ask her name when she clearly knew Rei’s.

            “Yeah? You doing okay after…last week?”

            Rei noticed the girl’s fingernails were painted black as well as she watched the girl fumble to open a packet of BBQ sauce.

            “Yeah, I mean, I don’t know, it’s okay I guess.”

            The girl squirted out a puddle of BBQ sauce, dipped another fry in it, and crunched down on it.

            “Sounds less than ideal, if you ask me. Wanna talk about it?”

            Rei fidgeted in her seat. She knew she could trust this girl—she knew she could trust any girl that had been involved with Wednesday night—but it felt weird to unburden herself on someone who was still, for all intents and purposes, a stranger. She didn’t even know her name, for god’s sake. So, instead, she just shook her head and said nothing.

            “Are you a freshman?” The girl asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

            “Sophomore,” Rei corrected, “you?”

            The blue-haired girl shrugged, “I don’t know anymore, I just keep taking classes, but this is my fourth year here.”

            “You don’t want to transfer to a four-year university?”

            The girl chuckled, “yeah, I mean, that would be ideal, but in this economy?” Both girls laughed at that, but there was an undercurrent of nervousness in both of their laughs. “Seriously though, I feel like I can do more good staying here, you know? Helping freshmen and sophomores…get involved, you know?”

            “Have you been…involved for long?”

            “Founding member,” her black lips stretched out in a proud smile. “Of course, we didn’t know how far things would go when we started, but…well, a lot has changed since I was a freshmen.”

            “No kidding.”

            Neither girl knew quite where to take the conversation from there, so an awkward silence slowly began to form. Rei turned her attention to the crowd filling the cafeteria. Just like her classroom demographic, what was pretty evenly split last year was now dominated by boys. Perhaps more importantly, there was very little inter-mingling. The boys in this school were all over eighteen, legal adults, whereas most of the girls were under twenty-eight, legal children. They occupied different worlds.

As Rei watched, Jennifer Duffy walked by the table Rei was sharing with the blue-haired girl. Rei wouldn’t exactly call Jennifer a friend, but they had done a group project together, so they weren’t exactly strangers either. Jennifer smiled behind her pacifier when she saw Rei and gave her a small wave before crinkling past them, her diaper sagging below the hemline of her pleated skirt.

“Ugh,” the blue-haired girl said when Jennifer was out of ear shot, “kill me if I ever become like that, okay?”

“I don’t know,” Rei shrugged, “she seems happy. Isn’t that what feminism is supposed to be about? Giving people the freedom to pursue the life that makes them happy?”

“Yeah, of course, but do you think she would have chosen that if she hadn’t been coerced by her parents and the media and all the other brainwashing, metaphorical and literal, out there? She’s happy because she doesn’t know better; she’s assimilated into the hegemonic order.”

Rei chewed on that for a moment. “Mom always tells me she just wants me to be happy,” Rei said, surprising herself with her sudden openness, “but she doesn’t seem to like…I don’t know, she says she wants me to happy, and I say school makes me happy, and she says, like, ‘no, not that way,’ ya know?”

The girl nodded sympathetically throughout Rei’s mini tirade. “Like she wants you to be happy but thinks she knows what will make you happy better than you do?”

“Yes, exactly!”

“I’ve talked to a lot of girls in that situation,” the girl said, dragging a fry through her BBQ puddle absently. “I think their mothers genuinely mean well most of the time. I think a lot of them are just afraid for us and, frankly, afraid to stand up for us. So, we have to stand up for ourselves and each other, and that’s what we are doing.”

Rei nodded, there was some sense to that. There was a lot of sense to that. “What about your parents?” Rei asked.

“Well, my father is a misogynistic piece of shit,” she replied with no small amount of disdain in her voice. “My mother left him a few years ago when all this started to happen and he made it clear he thought this whole movement was the best for everyone. If he had his way, I’d probably be sitting in one of those pre-schools for young adult girls right now, but, thankfully, Mom ditched his ass.”

“So, your mom doesn’t buy into any of this?”

“Nu uh,” the girl shook her head, “she’s pretty progressive; signed the emancipation paperwork and everything.”

“Oh, you’re emancipated?” Rei felt a pang of jealousy. Emancipation didn’t protect girls their age entirely from the new laws; it could be revoked by the state for various infractions and by your parents at any time for any reason. But it meant not needing parental permission to attend college; it meant getting some of your adult privileges back.

“Yeah, thankfully.” The girl wiped her fingers on a paper napkin and laid it gently over the remains of her lunch. “What about your parents? You said your mom isn’t happy about you being in college, but you’re here, so they can’t be that bad, right?”

“For now,” Rei responded sourly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I barely got my mom to agree to let me keep attending college after they passed The Hayes Act. Now, she wants me to think about going to one of those extended high school programs.”

The girl scoffed, “housewife classes.”

“Yes, exactly!”

“What about your dad?”

“Oh, he, uh, passed away.”

“Oh,” the girl seemed taken aback, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay; it happened when I was a kid. Cancer.”

“That sucks; I’m sorry.”

“Thanks, but it really is okay. I don’t know what he would have thought of all this, to be honest; maybe I’m lucky he’s not around.” It was not the first time Rei had considered what her father’s stance would have been on the events that had transpired since his death, but she was ten years old when he passed, she didn’t exactly know his political views.

“Well,” the girl replied after a beat, “at least your mom sounds pretty reasonable. I mean, housewife classes would suck for sure, but it could be worse.”

Rei thought back to Jennifer Duffy. “Yeah, I don’t think my mom would ever go that far, thankfully.”

“Well, look,” the girl said as she picked up her phone and checked the time, “I’ve gotta run to my next class, but it was really fun talking to you, Rei.”

“Yeah, you too, thanks for the company,” and Rei meant it. Her discussion with this girl hadn’t fixed anything, but it had distracted her from her impending doom and inexplicably made her feel better.

“We should do this again,” the girl said as she gathered up her stuff, “or…maybe you might want to text me?” It was the first time the girl had sounded anything less than 100% confident.

“Yeah? I, uh, think I’d like that,” Rei replied.

“Awesome,” the girl smiled and pulled out a binder and a purple pen from her bag, scribbled something on the corner of a piece of paper, tore it off, and passed it across the table to Rei. “Don’t be shy, okay?” And then she was rushing off.

Rei smiled as she watched the girl go, then looked down at this piece of paper. The girl’s ten-digit phone number was written out in impeccable handwriting. Underneath that was one word written in flowing cursive script: Riley.

[BabySofia]

Interesting... so they can be to an extended high school... or preschool classes...? I'm looking forward to more of your world-building here. 

[Chels in Ribbons]

33 minutes ago, BabySofia said:

Interesting... so they can be to an extended high school... or preschool classes...? I'm looking forward to more of your world-building here. 

Most of the world building credit goes to Altered States! The narrative and characters are completely mine, and I'm filling in some holes or putting my own twist on some details here and there, but I really am trying to stay as close to his vision for this world as I can, and I do want to make sure he gets that credit. But thank you for your continued interest!

[MinnesotaWriter]

On 1/7/2024 at 12:16 PM, kerry said:

I hope that we'll get a look at just how something like this could have happened and why it doesn't have half the country or more in open revolt...but that is to come.

I didn't like The Handmaid's Tale when I first read it back in high school. The main issue I had with it at the time was that the way society had so quickly shifted against women in the U.S. in that story was unbelievable.

My view on that definitely has evolved over the years. Especially with learning about what happened to women's rights in Iran and with events in the U.S. since 2016. The Handmaid's Tale is still an extreme dystopia, but not so far outside the realm of possibility that I once viewed it as.

As for a diapered version of it, I'm looking forward to more worldbuilding.

 

[MinnesotaWriter]

There was something I noticed on the second read-through. There's nothing noted yet about whether Rei is wearing a pull-up at all. I get the sense, especially from the section where she describes how her classmates are in diapers or pull-ups, that perhaps Rei isn't in pull-ups yet since nothing is mentioned about there. But I'm curious about that. 

[Chels in Ribbons]

57 minutes ago, MinnesotaWriter said:

There was something I noticed on the second read-through. There's nothing noted yet about whether Rei is wearing a pull-up at all. I get the sense, especially from the section where she describes how her classmates are in diapers or pull-ups, that perhaps Rei isn't in pull-ups yet since nothing is mentioned about there. But I'm curious about that. 

Huh! That's an interesting thing to point out, and I think it says something interesting about how cultural norms would shift in this alternate history. I didn't even think to mention whether Rei was in panties, pull-ups, etc., because, in our world, panties is the default, thus it's assumed that if I don't mention it, that's what she's wearing! But that might not be the default assumption in this world!

To clarify, yes, Rei wears panties! In retrospect, I wish I had added a scene of her getting ready so we could clarify that--maybe if I ever do a revised edition XD

Thanks for pointing that out; it's an interesting thought!

[reginold]

Something tells me that rie won't be staying in panties for long. 

[Chels in Ribbons]

Hi All! I was talking with some people about this story in a discord server and I thought, ya know what, let's give 'em some more, so here's a big update for you!

Chapter Six

Ms. Akiyama,

            Thank you for reaching out to me with your concerns. First of all, I can, in fact, confirm that your daughter, Rei Akiyama, was with me this past Wednesday evening. I was running a workshop for a number of students to give them a chance to work on their midterm essays under supervision. As to your second question, I understand a lot of parents have concerns about the curriculum their children are learning in college these days. Please, allow me to reassure you on this matter. While we do deal with political issues and current events in my classroom, my goal is to provide students with a balanced perspective of the issues and help them formulate their own thoughts on matters. This is a tough and confusing time for everyone your daughter’s age, but especially for girls, and I like to think of my classroom as a place where they can work through their thoughts on these matters in a safe and educational environment. Of course, my first and utmost priority is to make sure your daughter receives a high-quality education, and I only include politics as much as I think is appropriate for this course.

            On a more personal note, I would like to add that your daughter is an exemplary student, and it has been my pleasure to teach her thus far this semester. I can tell that she is very passionate about her studies, and I very much look forward to continuing to work with her through the semester. You should be very proud of her.

            I hope that my answers have allayed some of your concerns; if you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Sincerely,

Professor Natalie Lewis, PhD

She/Her/Hers

Associate Professor

Gender Studies Department

Greenham Community College

 

Chapter Seven

            Rei slipped through the front door of her house as quietly as she could and slipped off her shoes. She stopped for a moment and just listened, trying to see if she could tell where her mother was. Hearing nothing, she carefully peered into the living room, expecting to perhaps see her reading on the couch. Nothing. On tiptoes, Rei made her way to the kitchen and looked through to the dining room beyond. Nothing. The downstairs bathroom was empty too. The car had been in the driveway, though, so Rei knew her mother was home. Maybe she had gone to bed early?

            Feeling uneasy, Rei crept up the stairs. She didn’t even know for sure that she had anything to fear from her mother; maybe Professor Lewis had managed to quell her fears without revealing that Rei was taking exactly the kind of class her mother had told her not to. The kind that put ideas in your head, according to her mother.

            Relieved to see the second-floor hallway clear of her mother, Rei breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door to her room. A gasp caught in Rei’s throat as she registered she was unexpectedly not alone in her bedroom. Then her eyes caught up to her panicked brain and that panic faded and sunk into dread. Her mother was sitting on the edge of her bed; sitting on the bed beside her were some of Rei’s school books—specifically the kind that taught feminist theory.

            The two looked at each other in silence as the moment stretched on forever for Rei.

            “Mom…what…?” Rei finally managed to force out a few strangled words.

            “How was class today, Rei?”

            “Uhm, okay, how was your day?” She replied, trying to redirect.

            “Tell me again, what classes did you have today?”

            “Uh…” Rei chewed on her bottom lip nervously, knowing she was caught and unsure how best to minimize the damage.

            “Stop chewing your lip, Rei, and answer the question.”

            “I had class with Professor Lewis and Professor Slater today,” evasion, she had decided, was her best bet right now.

            “Uh huh, and what class, exactly, does Professor Lewis teach?”

            Damn, that didn’t work.

            “Rei! I’m tired of telling you, stop chewing your lip and answer the question.”

            “English.”

            Ms. Akiyama clicked her tongue and shook her head; she had hoped her daughter would come clean, but instead she had lied through her teeth right to her own mother’s face. Who was her daughter becoming? Whoever it was, Ms. Akiyama didn’t like it, and she wasn’t going to let her daughter go down a bad path.

            “So, you are reading,” Ms. Akiyama picked up one of the books on the bed next to her, “The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir for English?”

            Rei nodded; she was committed now, and the only way out was through.

            “I see,” Ms. Akiyama set the book down and picked up the next, “Gender Trouble by Judith Butler?”

            Rei nodded, her eyes wide, glossy discs.

            “And A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects by Mary Wollstonecraft?”

            Rei kept lying, but there was no light at the end of the tunnel yet.

            Ms. Akiyama sighed and set the books down. “Well, don’t you worry; you won’t be needing these books anymore. I called the school today and withdrew you from that English class.”

            “What? Mom! That’s not fair!” Rei was trying to keep her voice calm, but she couldn’t help but let it crank up a few decibels. Her heart was suddenly beating way too fast, and she felt vaguely beside herself with frustration and anger.

            “Life isn’t fair, Rei,” Ms. Akiyama spat back. “And you don’t just get to do whatever you want without consequences. When I agreed to let you continue going to college, you promised me wouldn’t be taking courses like that. You don’t need to be filling your head with the kind of dreck these classes teach! It is bad enough that you took that class after I had expressly forbidden you from taking any such classes, but then you sat there and lied to my face about it. You abused my trust, Rei; you have to learn there will be consequences to this kind of behavior.”

            “I wouldn’t have had to lie about the class if you would have just let me take it in the first place!” Rei shot back impotently. Tears were threatening to run down her face, and her hands were balled into fists at her side.

            “Excuse me, young lady? Are you saying it’s my fault you lied?”

            “No, that’s not what I meant!” As upset as she was, even Rei had the sense to know when to back pedal. “It’s just…” her mouth worked for words her brain wasn’t providing.

            “Just what? What do you have to say for yourself to justify this behavior?”

            “Just…ugh! Why can’t I just take the stupid class? You don’t even know what we learn in there!”

            “I have a good enough idea, young lady. And I’ve already told you, I don’t want that school filling your head with all sorts of ideas about what the world could or should be; the world is what it is, and you have to accept that! You have to live in reality, Rei; don’t you understand I just want what’s best for you?”

            “You don’t know what’s best for me!”

            Rei saw the look in her mother’s eyes and immediately knew she had said the wrong thing.

            It all happened so quickly that Rei’s brain had to race to keep up with her body. Ms. Akiyama’s hand shot out, catching Rei’s wrist in an iron grip, and tugging the small girl forward and across her mother’s lap. On Ms. Akiyama’s end, the motion was surprisingly instinctive despite it having been the better part of two decades since she had needed to perform it.

            “Mom!” Rei protested as she realized what was about to happen. “I’m sorry!”

            But her pleas fell on indifferent ears.

            Ms. Akiyama flipped her daughter’s skirt up, yanked down her cotton panties, reared back, and smacked her daughter hard enough to fill the room with a thunderous clap that nearly swallowed Rei’s pained yelp. Then she did it again. And again. And again.

            By the fifth hit, Rei had started kicking her feet, desperately trying to get away, but Ms. Akiyama held her firmly in place. By the fifteenth, Rei’s yelps had turned to cries, quickly approaching sobs. By the thirtieth, all the fight had gone out of the girl, and she lay limply across her mother’s lap, tears cascading freely down her face, praying it would end soon. By the fiftieth, Ms. Akiyama had to help her shuddering daughter get up off of her lap and stand on her own feet.

            “I am your mother, Rei, I will always know what is best for you,” Ms. Akiyama held her daughter by her shaking shoulders as she looked into her tear-filled eyes. “You, Rei, are a child and do not understand how the world works. You do not have the experience, knowledge, or maturity to make these kinds of decisions. I had thought that maybe, just maybe, you were ready for that responsibility, but this whole fiasco demonstrates very clearly that you do not. So, from now on until you grow up and can make important decisions yourself, I will be making them for you. I will make your decisions because I know what is best for you. And what is best for you is that you never go to that class again. Do you understand?”

            Rei nodded weakly.

            “Say the words, Rei. Do you understand?”

            “Yes, Mom, I understand.”

            “Now, I think you should thank me for allowing you to continue going to all your other classes, don’t you?”

            A fresh round of sobs racked Rei’s body, but she nodded, “t-thank you,” she managed to get out.

            “You’re welcome.”

            Ms. Akiyama let go of her daughter’s shoulders, and the girl crumpled to the ground. Without another word, she gathered up the now confiscated feminist texts and walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind her.

            Rei lay on the floor for a long moment after that, but eventually crawled over to her discarded backpack. She grabbed her cell phone from the front pocket and opened her texting app.

 

 

Chapter Eight

            Ms. Akiyama quietly closed the door behind her, cutting off the worst of Rei’s sobs. Clutching the confiscated books to her chest, she resisted the urge to run to her bedroom at the end of the hallway and instead forced herself to make her there in slow, measured steps. Stay calm, she told herself, just stay calm.

            But when the bedroom door closed behind her, Ms. Akiyama could no longer keep her composure. She slumped against the closed door and let out a little sympathetic sob; she couldn’t believe what she had done. She had just lost her cool. She hadn’t spanked Rei since she was a toddler, but now she had done it without even thinking about it. She just wanted what was best for Rei; she wanted her daughter to be happy and safe. Rei needed to understand that; her daughter needed to understand that she wasn’t as smart as she thinks she is, nor was Ms. Akiyama as clueless as her daughter believed her. Maybe…maybe it was for the best, maybe Rei needed a good spanking to get the lesson through her head, but…but Ms. Akiyama couldn’t help but feel terrible for what she had done.

            Wiping her eyes, Ms. Akiyama sat down on her bed. She’d always thought of herself as a good mother, but now…now she wasn’t so sure. Things were so different than when she was a kid. The parenting she’d learned no longer seemed to apply; she felt like she was starting over as a new mother, as clueless and rudderless as she was when Rei was first born.

But on the other hand, maybe she wasn’t giving Rei enough credit for how hard this must be for her. It was no wonder Rei was being so rebellious; the world had changed a lot since she was a kid, too, and she was having to relearn the ways of the world just when she was at an age when she was starting to figure things out. In as much as Ms. Akiyama was, in many ways, a new mother, Rei was…well, a child.

Huh…wait…that was an interesting thought. Could it really…? Could she…? She wouldn’t know where to begin.

And after all, when she thought of it like that, there was a certain sense to what some mothers were doing to their daughters. Ms. Akiyama had been stunned to find that some of Rei’s friends from high school had begun to go through this kind of treatment; she had been baffled to know that women Ms. Akiyama had worked with in the PTA were doing this to their daughters. She hadn’t gotten it then; she hadn’t understood why someone would do that to their young adult daughter, but, suddenly, she could see the sense in it.

And then there was…well…Ms. Akiyama couldn’t help but think back to a few months ago when she had been shopping with Rei when the pair had run into one of Rei’s best friends from high school and her mother: Megan and Heather Eckridge. Ms. Akiyama had been shocked, to say the least, to see the former being pushed in a stroller sized for a young adult. Megan had been like Rei in high school: bright and ambitious. But for all appearances, Megan had looked happy. It had been the first, but certainly not the last, time Ms. Akiyama had seen someone so close to her and Rei regressed so far, and Ms. Akiyama still remembered the sort of surreal feeling she had. She was cognizant of how horrified she might have been to see a girl she had known to be as driven and mature as Rei sucking on a pacifier with what was obviously a very soaked diaper pressing against the snaps of her onesies, but Megan had seemed so…happy. And that happiness had diffused the horror of the situation, leaving only an uncanny echo.

And all Ms. Akiyama really wanted for Rei was to be happy.

But Rei would never go for it.

No, Ms. Akiyama knew what was best; if she thought this was what was best for her daughter, her daughter would do it. She wouldn’t have a choice in the matter. Rei might hate it at first, that was true, but Ms. Akiyama was sure she would come to find happiness in it. More happiness than she was bound to find if she kept filling her head with all sorts of dreck and detritus. And it wasn’t even like Ms. Akiyama was thinking of going as all in as Heather Eckridge had; she was only considering going deep enough to put Rei back in her place and keep her in line, make sure she grew up to have a nice, happy life despite the new twists and turns the world had thrown at her.

But…was this best? Rei was mostly a good kid; she was just too curious for her own good. Maybe she could handle this in a more conventional way. Rei would see reason if Ms. Akiyama talked to her.

            But, then again, Rei hadn’t seen sense yet, despite Ms. Akiyama trying to talk to her. In fact, she usually got pouty and sullen when Ms. Akiyama tried to talk to her about these things. In fact, Rei acted like a child who didn’t get her way; maybe, if Rei was going to behave like a child…

            There was a time Ms. Akiyama would have found this suggestion ridiculous, laughably so. Indeed, that had been her initial reaction a few years ago when this thing first started becoming popular enough to gain national attention. And yet, perhaps for the first time, she saw the sense in it.

            But one thing was for certain: Rei would fight tooth and nail every inch of the way.

            Luckily, one thing was the same today as it was when Rei was a child: Ms. Akiyama was not too proud to admit she didn’t know what she was doing and seek help. When she was pregnant with Rei, she had devoured parenting books and blogs and guides of any format. And certainly, they had been helpful, but, once Rei was born, Ms. Akiyama quickly found that the best source of wisdom was the other women down in the trenches of motherhood with her.

            So, Ms. Akiyama did the one thing she could think of: she picked up her phone, opened her contacts, and navigated to Heather Eckridge.

           

 

Chapter Nine

(Author's Note: My apologies if there are any formatting issues in this chapter. This chapter contains a text message conversation between two characters; in the original Word document, I took the time to put the messages in colored boxes like in a messaging app, but, unsurprisingly, this didn't translate. I think everything should be fine, but just in case, my apologies!)

            Rei’s thumb hesitated over the send button. She barely knew the girl; should she really be texting her about…this? Somehow, though, she was the only person Rei wanted to talk to about it. Somehow, Rei knew she’d understand how awful Rei felt right now. Somehow, she would know what to do.

            Rei took a deep breath and hit send.

            “Hey, riley, it’s rei”

            Rei immediately regretted hitting send. She stared at the screen of her phone, desperately wishing there was an unsend button. She even long-pressed the text box to make sure there wasn’t. After a few more long moments spent looking at that unchanging screen, Rei put her phone to sleep and set it on the floor next to her. It was stupid, Riley was probably busy, and, besides, it was dumb to even bring this up with her. But, who else could Rei talk to?

            Megan Eckridge had been Rei’s best friend throughout both middle and high school; the two had been inseparable for six years and had planned to go to the same university. But the last time Rei had seen Megan had been a few months ago when she ran into Megan and her mother in Target; the latter had been pushing the former in a stroller. The look on Megan’s face had been embarrassed and slightly apologetic, but she had simply sucked her pacifier and let her mother do the catching up.

            Rei had met Brian Redburn during their freshman year of high school; they were lab partners in biology and entered the science fair together, taking home third place. The two had stayed close after that, even though Rei always suspected Brian was aiming for more than friendship. In senior year, Brian started to be very vocal about his support for groups like Mothers for America that lobbied for the kind of social policy change that would eventually lead to the passage of The Hayes Act. That had been the end of their friendship.

            Sally Walker had been her partner in the debate team; they’d always had a bit of a frenemy vibe going. No, that wasn’t quite right, they were never enemies, but frequent rivals, challenging the other to get better grades and perform better in their debates. They were fast friends when it mattered though. Sally’s mother had emancipated her when The Hayes Act was passed, and Sally went off to the kind of fancy university Rei herself would have gone to if not for…well, everything. They had lost touch. Maybe Rei could have reached out and tried to rekindle that friendship, but…no, Sally could never even begin to understand what Rei was feeling.

            But, for that matter, could Riley? Riley had been emancipated too, but…there was something about her. She wasn’t fighting this fight for herself, but she was still down in the trenches fighting for girls like Megan. Girls like, it seemed, Rei.

            Rei dived on her phone like a live grenade as it vibrated.

           “Hey girl good to hear from you, hows it going?”

Rei let out a sigh of relief; part of her had been worried that Riley had only given Rei her number to be nice and didn’t expect Rei to use it.

            Rei’s fingers danced across her screen.

          “Tbh it has been a weird night. I was…kinda hoping i could talk to you about it, if that’s okay”

           Rei was relieved to see the three bouncing dots that told her Riley was typing back appear almost immediately.

            “Yeah of course, sounds serious, everything okay?”

Rei’s fingers remained motionless as she thought through how to respond to that question. Everything was definitely not okay, but…how to explain what had happened? Rei started typing, her fingers flying, as she narrated the events of the evening, starting with coming home. Wait, no, hold on. Rei held down the delete button until what she had just written disappeared. She had to explain the lead up to today, or else Riley wouldn’t really get how things had led up to this point. Rei started typing again, then started deleting before she had finished a sentence.

            Okay, she thought to herself, just keep it simple. She typed out for words, let her thumb linger over send for a long moment, then let it drop.

            “My mom spanked me”

            “Shit. You okay? What happened?

            And so, for the second time, Rei launched into her retelling of the events of the day. Riley remained silent on her end until Rei finally reached the end of her story.

Rei pressed send on her final message and set her phone down to wait for Riley’s response. The burning, stinging sensation on her ass was finally beginning to fade, but the deep muscle ache was still very present. Rei couldn’t help but wonder if her butt would bruise.

            Riley did not keep Rei waiting for long.

            “Shit. That’s so fucked up, im so sorry rei. What can I do to help? Do you need me to come get you? You can stay at my place for the night if you need to. We will figure out how to get your re-enrolled in that class, okay? So don’t worry about that.”

            “No, no, that’s okay…I just needed someone to talk to about it, and tbh I didn’t know who else I could talk to about this. Anyway, there’s no way my mom would let me leave the house tonight and I don’t want to think about what she might do if she caught me sneaking out tonight. As for the class..idk, maybe it’s better I just obey my mom on this one.”

            “Okay, if youre really sure…”

            “I’m sure. I just…really needed to tell someone about this that I knew would be on my side, if that makes sense”

            “Yeah, it does. And rei? Never doubt that I’m on your side.”

            “Thanks riley. Thanks a lot”

             Rei smiled weakly and put her phone down. Riley hadn’t been able to make anything tangibly better, but Rei hadn’t expected her to either. Just sharing what had happened and having Riley affirm that it was, indeed, fucked up was enough. That was all Rei had really needed.

            Well, that was all Rei needed that she was going to get right then.

            The two continued texting throughout the night, but conversation quickly turned on to other matters. When Rei finally went to bed that night, she fell asleep with her face bathed in the light of her phone screen as her eyes danced amongst those three bouncing dots.

            When five minutes passed without a response from Rei, Riley started to think the girl had fallen asleep. She had, after all, said she was lying down in bed; it was the obvious assumption for Rei’s sudden silence. When another ten passed and Riley’s phone remained silent, she was quite sure of it.

            Riley got out of her own bed and, leaving her phone behind, wandered downstairs to find a snack.

            As she made her way down the stairs, she could hear the murmur of the TV coming from the living room and see the flickering light illuminating the hallway. Riley’s socked feet moved silently over the hardwood floor as she crossed the hallway and entered the living room, where she found her mother sitting in an otherwise dark room with a bowl of popcorn watching what appeared to be some old sitcom. She looked up at her daughter as Riley came into the room and paused the TV.

            “Hey,” Anne, Riley’s mother, said, “you’re still up. I thought you went to bed a while ago.”

            “Nah,” Riley said, plopping down on the couch next to her mother, “I’ve just been in my room, texting a friend.”

            Her mother extended the popcorn bowl towards Riley, who grabbed a handful.

            “Everything okay?” She couldn’t quite place it, but her daughter had an odd tone in her voice.

            “Yeah,” Riley crunched down on a piece of popcorn and chewed thoughtfully. “Yeah,” she repeated once she had swallowed, “my friend is just going through some things.”

            “Sorry to hear that,” Anne replied. “Is this a friend of yours I know?”

            Riley shook her head, “nah, I just met her recently. She goes to school with me.”

            When it became clear that Riley wasn’t going to continue, Anne picked the TV remote back up and pressed play, and the two sat in silence watching the TV and munching on popcorn for a long moment.

            As they watched the show in silence, Riley’s mind drifted back to the whole reason Rei had texted her. Truthfully, Riley had been excited to see Rei’s text; their meeting had been brief, but she felt a connection with the other girl. If she was being honest, she had been slightly sad that Rei was coming to her because she had a problem. It was silly, but she wanted Rei to…well…genuinely want to talk to her. Would Rei had ever texted Riley if this hadn’t happened? Riley knew, however, that this thought was unfair and ungenerous to her new friend. Furthermore, it downplayed the significance of the fact that Rei had trusted Riley enough to come to her with this. Riley was sure the other girl had plenty of other friends she could have gone to.

            All of this was, of course, overshadowed by Riley’s concern over the implications of Rei’s mother’s actions.

            Riley knew she was lucky to have a mother like hers; one that respected not only Riley’s adulthood but her personhood as well. The sad truth was, what had started as something practiced by only the most conservative families had become rather mainstream, and most girls had parents who had supported The Hayes Act to some degree or another. There was a reason The Hayes Act had soared through both houses of congress with the most bipartisan support of any bill in recent memory.

            Of course, not every family went so far as to completely regress their adult daughters to giant infants. This extreme of the spectrum was still, technically, in the minority but large enough that it was considered perfectly normal. Large enough that adult sized baby products and clothes had become big business. Large enough that that they still outnumbered the families on the other extreme of the spectrum who had emancipated their daughters. The majority of families fell in sort of a middle ground that included varying degrees of regression: some families stopped short of fully regressing their adult daughters to babyhood, instead merely regressing them to toddlerhood; some treated them more like elementary age girls; some merely extended their teen years; and, of course, there were those who combined elements from ages to their liking.

            The fact was that it was estimated that 82.7% of girls ages 18 to 28 wore pull ups or diapers. The fact was that only 8.5% of girls age 18 to 28 were emancipated. The fact was the companies like Kimberly-Clarke and Proctor & Gamble, companies that produced brands like Pampers, Luvs, and Huggies, were raking in record profits. The fact was that their profits had been having exponential growth over the last five years as this movement started gaining traction. The fact was that those rising profits had been reinvested in propaganda and lobbyists.

And that’s not even to mention the role of the pharmaceutical companies and private education institutes.

The fact was that Riley was well aware of all of these facts; they were ingrained in her memory, and just thinking about them was enough to make her furious.

She forced herself to unclench her jaw, then took a deep breath. She willed herself to calm down. It kind of worked.

Rei had told her today that her mother was a bit on the fence, but this was a sign that she was picking a side. This was a pretty drastic and pretty sudden declaration. How far would Rei’s mom take it? Were diapers in Rei’s future? Pre-school? Elementary? Maybe Rei would get lucky and her mom would just send her to an extended high school program. Riley hoped that’s all it would be, for the sake of her new friend. But either way, in in the best case for Rei, Riley would lose her.

Even if Rei went the way of Jennifer Duffy, being regressed to infancy in some ways while still allowed to attend college, it was only a matter of time before the two couldn’t be friends anymore. Rei was far from the first friend Riley would lose to this trend, and once their parents started dragging them down, it was only a matter of time before they stopped being friends. Sometimes, it was because their mother forbade them from hanging out with Riley, citing her as a bad influence. Sometimes, it was because the other girl couldn’t handle being friends with Riley, either out of embarrassment or jealousy or some other complication. And sometimes, it was because the other girl started drinking the kool-aid and decided Riley was a bad influence on their own.

That was how it had been with Jennifer Duffy.

Riley didn’t want to lose another friend, especially not one she had just made.    

            “You know,” Anne spoke up suddenly, startling Riley out of her thoughts, “I loved this show when I was a kid. I saw it was on streaming now and decided to rewatch it.”

            “And?” Riley prompted. “How is it holding up?”

            Anne chuckled, “not well. I remember it being a lot funnier; but maybe I was just easier to amuse back then. Either way, the show didn’t age well.”

            Riley snorted a short laugh. “Yeah, well, some things are better left in the past.”

            Anne looked at her daughter thoughtfully, wondering what was going on in her head. Something seemed to be weighing on her. Of course, it didn’t take a genius to see that Riley wasn’t thinking about TV shows when she had said that. Anne frowned, uncertain what to do for her daughter. Riley was smart and mature and passionate; Anne was proud of all that. She had given her daughter every opportunity she could give her to be independent and seek out her goals, but Anne could only do so much, and the world was against both of them. It couldn’t help that Riley was one of only a select few amongst her peers whose mother gave them such freedom.

            “Your friend,” Anne said after a long silence, “is she…are her parents…” Anne gestured vaguely, uncertain how to put this euphemistically.

            “No,” Riley responded, getting the gist of what her mother was trying to say, “at least, not yet. I don’t know. I hope not.”

            Anne frowned deeper. She knew how many friends Riley had watched have their adulthoods stripped from them. She knew how furious the whole thing made Riley.

            “You know you can’t interfere, right?”

            Riley reached over and grabbed a small handful of popcorn. She shoved it in her mouth and chewed silently, staring at the TV.

            “Right?” Anne said again, louder this time.

            Riley swallowed pointedly and gave her mother a withering look, “it’s rude to talk with your mouthful.”

            Anne sighed, “but seriously, okay? Right?”

            Riley flopped back on the couch, “right, whatever.”

            “I know it’s hard, Riley. I’m really sorry.”

            “It’s fucking dumb is what it is.”

            “That doesn’t make it any less real.”

            “I know, mom.”

            “I just worry you are going to get yourself in trouble. Even I can’t protect you if you get in trouble.”

            “I’m not gonna get in trouble.”

            “Uh huh, sure, you’re not, little miss Rebel.”

            Riley rolled her eyes but said nothing. She hadn’t wanted her mother to know she was member of Rebel, much less figure out that she was its founder and leader; she would very much have preferred if that had stayed a secret. But Riley’s mother wasn’t stupid.

            “I’m serious, Riley,” her mother continued a moment later, her tone dropping to reflect the gravity she intended for her words, “you know I’m proud of what you are doing, but I want you to scale it down, okay? That was dangerous and risky.”

            Riley just sighed. Her mother hadn’t said anything about the bombing yet, but of course Riley knew her mother knew Riley was behind it. Of course, Riley knew she wasn’t going to stay silent about it forever (how could one stay silent if they knew their child had masterminded an explosive act of domestic terrorism, after all, and Riley was, quite frankly, shocked it had taken her this long), but Riley really wasn’t in the mood to talk about it tonight.

            “Hey, you listening to me?” Anne pressed.

            “This is the only way we are going to effect change, mom,” Riley replied calmly.

            “You are not fighting this fight alone, Riley; let the larger groups with more resources do stuff like that. Stick to vandalism and anti-propaganda, okay? That’s what you are good at anyway.”

            “We had to do something big, mom!”

            “No, you didn’t. I told you, if I thought this was getting out of hand, I would revoke your emancipation. It would kill me to do it, but I’d rather you hate me than see you in prison…or worse.”

            “It’s not getting out of hand.”

            “You could have killed someone, Riley!” Her mother was trying to keep her voice level, but that one tested her.

            “We made sure we wouldn’t. We did our research, made sure no one was in the building.”

            “What if someone had stayed late?”

            “Well, no one did!”

            “But, what if?” Anne huffed angrily. Fighting was going to get nowhere. And the truth was, it really wasn’t like Anne disapproved of what her daughter had done, she just didn’t want to see her daughter get in trouble. “Look, I don’t want to fight, okay? But you know what could happen if they catch you, right?”

            “Yeah, mom, I do.” Best case scenario? Prison. Worst case scenario? Fostered with a family that would send her to some place like Brighter Days Academy where they’d force the kool-aid down her throat.

            “Are you really willing to risk that?”

            Kill me if I ever become like that. Those were the words Riley had spoken to Rei just that day. Riley wanted to say yes, that this fight was important enough to her that she’d risk the ego death of complete regression, and maybe there was some part of her that truly was dedicated enough to the ideal to risk it. But the truth was, the bombing hadn’t even been her idea, and she had been against it at first—not out of principle, but out of fear. But it was safer that her mother think it had been Riley’s idea—safer that Anne not know who truly led Rebel.

             Finally, Riley sighed and gave her mom a half smile, “can we go back to doing robberies?” She was making a joke only she would get; she had been against that too.

            Anne sighed in exasperation, “You know I didn’t like it when you did that either, but I’d prefer that to this. But I’d really prefer you stick with vandalism and anti-Hayes propaganda.”

            “Yeah, okay,” Riley agreed, genuinely hoping she could keep her end of that agreement but also genuinely worried she might not be allowed to.

[BabySofia]

Rei is on her way to a one-way trip to babyhood I'm guessing... if she's lucky her mom will let her stay in college. I'm guessing she's destined for the nursery school/daycare option you mentioned in one chapter. Riley may very well be joining her if her mom figures out it's the only way to save her. I can't imagine they all get to hideout forever... 

Great tale so far! Make sure you update your first post with the updated chapter. I find putting a date on it is helpful to readers as well. 

[Chels in Ribbons]

1 minute ago, BabySofia said:

Make sure you update your first post with the updated chapter. I find putting a date on it is helpful to readers as well. 

Would love to! Can't figure out how! XD

2 minutes ago, BabySofia said:

 Make sure you update your first post with the updated chapter. I find putting a date on it is helpful to readers as well. 

Nevermind! Figured it out!

[BabySofia]

2 minutes ago, Chels in Ribbons said:

Nevermind! Figured it out!

🙂

[fyunch]

Well written.  Well paced.  Good signposting and foreshadowing.  Really enjoyable.  Thank you for writing and sharing.

[reginold]

Love the story. Hope to see more of it. Keep up the good work. 

[Chels in Ribbons]

Hi all! Sorry for not posting any new chapters lately; the new semester started and I've been kind of swamped with that! I'll be doing my best to post a 2-4 chapters every week from here on out!

Chapter Ten

             Ms. Akiyama’s sunglasses blocked out the brilliant reflection of the sun off the still remaining banks of snow as she walked up the concrete steps of a cute little three-story townhouse. Cute little handmade Halloween decorates hung in the windows, like pumpkins and ghosts cut out of construction paper and black and orange paper ring chains. Ms. Akiyama reached out one finger and jabbed the white plastic doorbell and heard a series of chimes call in response from inside.

            A gust of wind cut through Ms. Akiyama’s peacoat as she waited; the snow was melting, but it was still unseasonably cold for this time of year.

            “Well,” a tall woman with strawberry blonde hair, tanned pink skin, and big glasses wearing mom jeans and a slightly wrinkled white blouse exclaimed with a slight southern drawl as she opened the door, “if it isn’t Hana Akiyama. Darling, how are you doing? Please come in,” she pushed open the screen door and stepped aside for her visitor, “I was so pleasantly surprised to hear from you last night.”

            “Hi, Heather,” Ms. Akiyama gave a tight lipped but polite smile as she stepped past the other woman and into her home. Ms. Akiyama immediately checked the floor around herself and the door, noting no discarded shoes and a pair of off-white New Balances on Heather’s feet, cueing her to leave her own shoes on. She then surveyed the room she had stepped into; a large living room with a dark grey couch flanked by a matching dark wood set of end tables and coffee table facing a sleek black entertainment center with a large flat-screen TV currently playing cartoons. “Thank you so much for inviting me over today, I really appreciate the chance to pick your brain.”

            “Oh, no worries at all, darling; I’m so happy to help you! Come on,” Heather beckoned Ms. Akiyama further into the house, waving her in with pale pink acrylic nails, “we can talk in my office! May I get you something to drink?”

            Ms. Akiyama followed the other women deeper into the house, but as she rounded the couch, her eyes were fixated on the large, open space in the living room where a girl Rei’s age sat in a playpen. The playpen itself was made of interlocking, hard plastic squares and could be configured to various shapes and sizes. The walls stood a little more than three feet high: taller than one would need to keep a toddler-sized toddler from mantling the sides, which was good since the toddler sitting in the middle of it was taller than Ms. Akiyama (though, admittedly, she was not a very tall woman).

            Megan Eckridge didn’t seem to notice Ms. Akiyama at first. Her gaze was fixed on the TV and a line of drool fell from the corner of her mouth around the thumb firmly planted inside. She was wearing a cropped t-shirt and a bright pink diaper with bunnies on it. It was clearly wet. On the floor in front of the girl’s crossed legs was a coloring book and a box of colored pencils.

            “Hi, Megan,” Ms. Akiyama said tentatively, giving the girl a little wave.

            The girl turned her head towards her name and immediately withdrew her thumb, wiping it on her shirt and trying to pretend she wasn’t just sucking it. “Um, hi,” she responded, but there was no recognition behind those eyes.

            “Oh, silly me,” Heather came back to where Ms. Akiyama had stopped, “I didn’t even think you might want to say hello to little miss Megan over here. Megan,” she addressed the girl with a saccharine voice, “do you remember your friend Rei?”

            Megan smiled and nodded, understanding dawning on her face. “Yes, um,” she turned her head towards Ms. Akiyama, “hello, Ms. Akiyama.” Her diction was far better than everything else about her appearance (size aside) would suggest.

            “Hi, Megan,” Ms. Akiyama couldn’t help but find herself bending over the girl a little bit in mimicry of Heather’s stance, “how are you doing today?” Nor could she keep a certain cooing quality out of her voice. Somewhere in her brain, she knew this was a nineteen-year-old girl, just like Rei, and yet the illusion of toddlerhood was so convincing, she couldn’t help but respond to it.

            “I’m good,” her cheeks were turning a warm red, “just…watching TV and coloring.”

            “She’s being a good girl for mommy while mommy works, isn’t that right, munchkin?” Heather chimed in.

            “Mommy…” the girl whined embarrassedly, yet seemingly unembarrassed to be heard calling her mother ‘mommy,’ Then the girl’s eyes suddenly went wide, as if just remembering something, “is Rei here?” She leaned over, her diaper crinkling under her, to look behind Ms. Akiyama.

            “Not today, sweetheart,” Ms. Akiyama responded.

            “But,” Heather chimed in immediately, “maybe it won’t be too long before you two can have a playdate, right Hana?”

            Ms. Akiyama let out a little breathless laugh, “yes, maybe, would you like that, Megan?”

            Megan put her finger to her lip, pantomiming being deep in thought, and Ms. Akiyama couldn’t help but notice how truly toddler-like Megan was in that moment. “Sometimes,” Megan said at last, “I miss Rei, it would be nice to see her.”

            “Well, then we will just have to make sure to arrange that for you two,” Heather reached down and grabbed the pacifier hanging from Megan’s shirt and popped it in the girl’s mouth. “Now, Ms. Akiyama and Mommy are going to go talk in her office, you be good and watch your show, okay? And no more thumb sucking, little lady, that’s what your paci is for.” Heather booped her daughter’s nose, eliciting a gleeful giggle in response, then straightened up and beckoned Ms. Akiyama deeper into the house.

            “Now, Hana,” Heather said as she led Ms. Akiyama into the dining room and pulled out a chair for her, “can I get your something to drink? Coffee? Iced tea?” She dropped her voice and held her hand to her mouth as if whispering a secret, “a glass of white wine? I won’t judge, darling!”

            Ms. Akiyama chuckled politely, “a coffee sounds lovely, Heather, thank you.”

            “Coming right up,” Heather walked into the kitchen, pulled out two mugs and began fiddling with a pod coffee machine as she spoke. “You know, I was a little surprised to hear from you last night. And don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t unwelcome, I was just…surprised, you know?”

            Ms. Akiyama did know. She had once been pretty good friends with Heather Eckridge. Their daughters had met in middle school and become inseparable for years after that. Heather might not have been the kind of person Ms. Akiyama would have become friends with under more natural circumstances, but their daughter’s friendship had put them in close proximity and the two had eventually grown fond of each other. And then everything changed, and their friendship changed with it. It wasn’t like they were strangers now, but they…well…aside from the run-in a few months ago at the store, the most the two had communicated since their daughters had graduated from high school was through liking each other’s social media posts. Which, for Ms. Akiyama, just added to the surrealness of this reunion; she felt like she knew every major life update Heather had gone through for the past couple of years, and vice versa, while also having drifted away from the woman they had happened to.

            “Yes, I’m…sorry I didn’t keep in better touch,” Ms. Akiyama replied, mostly because she felt like that’s what she should say.

            “No worries, sugar,” Heather said as she came back into the dining room and set two glass of iced tea down. “I understand life is just hectic these days; I mean, you see what I’ve had my hands full with,” she chuckled as she gestured back towards the living room. “Speaking of, you said this was about Rei? What’s going on with her?”    

            Ms. Akiyama sighed, blowing the steam from her coffee cup as she did, “I’m not sure I even know, Heather,” she replied, “and that’s kind of the problem.”

            Heather made an sympathetic sound in her throat and sipped on her coffee. “I’ll be honest, Hana; I always thought you were against…well, the kind of treatment Megan gets,” Heather said bluntly but neither accusatorially nor defensively. “To be honest, I thought it was part of the reason we drifted apart.”

            “I was never against it,” Ms. Akiyama replied, “and it certainly wasn’t the reason we drifted apart.” Of course, neither statement was entirely true; though, in fairness, neither was entirely false, either. “I guess I just…never understood it,” she said, a little more honestly, “but, lately…well…” she shrugged and took a sip of her coffee.

            “Why don’t you tell me the whole story, darling? Right from the beginning.”

            So, Ms. Akiyama did. “I’m just worried about her,” Ms. Akiyama said some few minutes later as she was coming to the conclusion of her tale, “worried she’s going to start hanging out with the wrong crowds and get herself in trouble, not to mention fill her head with ideas that will only lead to being unhappy and frustrated. I know Rei’s independence is important to her, and I’ve tried to be respectful of that, but if these are the kinds of decisions she is making with that independence, maybe…maybe she’s not mature enough to handle it, after all.

            “I understand exactly what you mean, darling,” Heather reached out and placed a sympathetic hand on Ms. Akiyama’s, “that’s why we never let Megan go off to college. Her and Rei are so alike, I just know Megan would have ended up taking those kinds of classes, probably gotten herself involved with that Rebel group—”

            “And that’s exactly what I’m worried about,” Ms. Akiyama interjected. “It’s bad enough that Rei is even taking these kinds of classes, but going behind my back and lying about it is so unlike her that I’m worried what else she might be capable of doing. It makes me worried she’s already gotten her head full of ideas that are going to get her hurt or worse.”

            Heather nodded along sympathetically as Ms. Akiyama spoke. “It would certainly be a tragedy to see poor Rei go down that path.”

            “So,” Ms. Akiyama continued, “I started thinking last night, and it just…kind of clicked. You know, like I said, I never was really against this kind of…behavioral therapy,” Ms. Akiyama used what she believed was the politically correct term for it, “I just…didn’t understand. But…” Ms. Akiyama went on to explain her thought process, finishing with a timid, “does that make sense?”

            “It makes perfect sense, darling, and that’s exactly why we decided this was best for Megan.”

            “Do you ever…regret it?”

            “Goodness, no! Megan and I are closer than ever, and I know she’s happy and staying out of trouble.”

            “Is she though? Happy, that is.”

            Heather smiled, “come on,” she stood up from the table and headed back into the living room.

            Ms. Akiyama pushed her chair away from the table and followed Heather, finding her kneeling down next to the playpen, where Megan’s focus had shifted from the TV to her coloring book.

            “Honey?” Heather said gently, getting Megan’s attention.

            “Hi, Mommy,” the girl mumbled around her pacifier.

            “Sweetheart,” Heather reached out and gently pulled the pacifier from her daughter’s mouth, “how do you feel about being a little girl again for Mommy and Daddy?”

            Megan’s smile positively beamed, “I love it, Mommy.”

            “Do you ever,” Ms. Akiyama chimed in as she settled on the floor next to Heather, “miss being a big girl?”

            Megan scrunched up her face in thought, “well, I used to, but I really don’t anymore. Besides, Mommy says I’ll be a big girl again. When I’m ready.” She added the last bit as an afterthought.

            “Of course,” Heather added, “that’s still quite a few years away, huh little one?”

            Megan just giggled and nodded.

            But, Ms. Akiyama wanted to ask, are you really happy? But what did that question even mean; how could Megan possibly answer it? And why was Ms. Akiyama so bent on not taking Megan’s response at face value? Especially when every piece of evidence seemed to verify the truth of it.

            “Thank you, Megan,” Ms. Akiyama said as she pushed herself up off the floor, “I’ll let you get back to playing.”

            “Um, Ms. Akiyama?” Megan asked as the two mothers began moving back to the dining room.

            “Yes?”

            “Is Rei going to…are you…is Rei going to be a little girl again too?”

            “I don’t know, sweetheart, why do you ask?”

            Megan looked down at her hands, which fiddled with her pacifier. “I miss Rei. I didn’t want to stop being friends with her, but I thought she wouldn’t want to be friends with me after…you know…”

            Ms. Akiyama couldn’t help but feel her heart breaking from the young girl. “Don’t worry, Megan,” she replied, “even if Rei doesn’t become a little girl again, I’ll see what I can do about you two being friends still, okay?”

            Megan smiled that beaming smile again and thanked Ms. Akiyama before popping her pacifier back in and returning to her coloring.

            “See?” Heather said as the two women sat back down in front of their coffees. “I wouldn’t have guessed she’d be this happy when we started, but…well, here we are.”

            Ms. Akiyama sighed, “I can’t deny that, I just worry Rei won’t…share those kinds of feelings.”

            “Listen,” Heather replied, leaning forward to convey her seriousness, “almost every mom I talk to says the same: before long, every girl accepts her place and is happier for it. I’m not going to tell you it will be easy; if you are really thinking about this…well, I mean, you tell me, are you really thinking about doing this?”

            Ms. Akiyama looked away from Heather, staring at the wall that hid Megan from sight. “I am,” she said after a long moment, surprising even herself. “I mean, maybe not taking it as far as you have with Megan, but…”

            “Well, that’s another thing,” Heather said, “early on, a little bit goes a long way, but if Rei is taking those kinds of classes at college and going behind your back, I think you need to think about how far you want to go, and then be prepared to go further, if necessary.”

            Ms. Akiyama considered this, “well, how far do you think would be far enough?”

            Heather shrugged, “it’s different for every girl and every family, you have to figure out what’s best for you. Look, darling, I’m happy to help you with this if you need it, and you certainly look like you need some help, but the best thing I can suggest is to get some professional help.”          

            “Professional help?”

            “Yeah! We went to Brighter Days School and Behavioral Therapy for Girls; they were fantastic. Richard and I couldn’t have done this without them.”

            “Oh, no,” Ms. Akiyama quickly brushed aside the suggestion, “I don’t think Rei would respond well to being sent off to a school like that.”

            “That’s the thing, you don’t have to send her there.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “When Richard and I first decided to handle Megan with this kind of behavioral therapy, we went to them for a consultation. We told them what kind of girl Megan was and what our goals were for her, and they gave us just so many tools and resources we could use. Megan had no idea, and we couldn’t have gotten the results we did without them.”

            “Huh,” Ms. Akiyama took this in as she sipped at her coffee. That, she had to admit, sounded like exactly what she needed.

            “If you want,” Heather offered, “I have a referral code I can give you; should get you a discount on the initial consultation.”

            “I guess…it can’t hurt, right?”

 

 

Chapter Eleven

            “Reports coming in early this morning that late last night Greenham Police Department made two arrests in conjunction with the October 4^th bombing of the Greenham City Hall. The suspects, seen here, are twenty-year-old Melanie Wright and twenty-one-year-old Josie Stone. Both women are assumed to be members of the domestic terrorist group Rebel and are confirmed to both be students at Greenham Community College. Given national intelligence telling us that most splinter groups of The Vantez Collective form around colleges, speculation is rampant that our own Greenham Community College could be the recruiting ground for these homegrown terrorists.”

            Ms. Akiyama had been watching the news cycle surrounding these arrests all morning, feeling a sense of dread that built every time the news anchor mentioned the connection to Greenham Community College. And everyone knew that these kinds of gender studies classes that Ms. Akiyama had pulled Rei from spoon-fed them all sorts of radical nonsense. Exactly the kind of nonsense that led to your signing up to be a terrorist. Why did they even allow those classes to be taught anymore?

            Ms. Akiyama took a breath. That was neither here nor now. She’d made the right choice to pull Rei from that class; but maybe that wasn’t quite enough for a girl like Rei. Especially if they already had their hooks in Rei.

            But, of course, Ms. Akiyama was jumping to conclusions. Right? Rei was headstrong and at times stubborn, but she was a good kid, she knew better than to get herself wrapped up in this kind of business, right?

            Ms. Akiyama wanted to say that was so, but a knot of anxiety in her chest said otherwise.

            “Wait, what’s going on?”

            Rei’s voice from behind her shocked her from her internal monologue. “Oh, um, they arrested two girls for the bombing of City Hall.”

            “They did?” Rei’s hair was still a mess and her pajamas crumpled on her small frame. “Who? Did they say their names?”

            Ms. Akiyama couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. “Why? Worried you know them?”

            “Well,” Rei shrugged, “there aren’t a lot of girls at my school, mom…”

            Ms. Akiyama frowned at that; Rei had a point. She picked up the TV remote and rewound until she saw the two girl’s pictures pop up on screen.

            “year-old Melanie Wright,” the voice on the TV narrated, “and twenty-one-year-old Josie Stone.”

            “So?”

            “Uh, yeah,” Rei replied, too shocked to even consider whether she should have lied. “I didn’t really know them, though. I had a class with Melanie and um…just saw Josie around.” The instinct to lie kicked before she could blurt out where she really knew Josie from.

            “What class?”

            “Um, you know, the…gender…class…”

            “Oh.” Ms. Akiyama felt that knot of anxiety in her chest tighten. Rei had known these girls. They could have tried to recruit her! These girls could have gotten Rei involved in this whole mess. They hadn’t, had they? She studied her daughter’s face as she stared at the news coverage of the arrests. It wasn’t possible Rei had been involved, was it? She’d come home late that night, Ms. Akiyama remembered that, but she had been with her professor. Her…gender studies…professor…

            But, no, that was ridiculous. Those professors might fill these girls’ heads with all sorts of nonsense, but certainly they’d never go so far as to encourage much less participate in these sorts of acts. No, Ms. Akiyama was jumping the gun there, surely.

            But Rei had known them. These were the kinds of girls Ms. Akiyama was letting Rei be around if she kept letting her go to college. If she didn’t do something to make Rei understand that Ms. Akiyama knew best. If she didn’t help Rei learn a new way to be happy in this world.

            For her part, Rei was glued to the TV, as oblivious to her mother’s stare as she was to her internal dialogue. Was she safe? Were they going to arrest her next? Were they going to arrest Riley next? The truth was, Rei had hardly been involved. She had been in a car with three other girls three blocks away in case something went wrong. She was on the B team. Surely they couldn’t have any evidence against her, right? But what if Melanie or Josie turned on the rest of them? Some kind of plea bargain? They had all promised not to name names or cooperate in any way in the event that this happened, but what would they stick to their word if it meant getting themselves out of trouble?

            Rei just had to trust that they wouldn’t.

[D503]

This story is great - can't wait for an update!

[reginold]

Are you still planning on continuing. I know you said IRL is keeping you busy. 

If you are. I can't wait for the next chapter. Hope your having a good day at least. 

[Chels in Ribbons]

2 hours ago, reginold said:

Are you still planning on continuing. I know you said IRL is keeping you busy. 

I absolutely intend to continue, just, yes, irl is being a bitch right now. I do apologize for the delay; I'll have some new chapters for yall soon!

[reginold]

Yay! Im thinking of trying my own hand at this setting. 

 

Though mine will be more smutty... dont judge me! If you do I will summon... danny dorito.