Accident At School

Accident at School

By Daring Diane

At 24, Michelle was taking on all kinds of new challenges.  She had just returned from her honeymoon and elopement with Fallon O’Leary.  Michelle and Fallon had dated for a short period of time and decided they were meant for each other.  Fallon was a lot older than Michelle at 45.  He had been divorced for over seven years.  Michelle had been looking for a husband and Fallon was exactly what she had been looking for.  He was successful, trusting and he was not some kid that was going to run around on her.  But he could surely take care of her in the way in which she wanted to become accustomed. 

Fallon traveled extensively for his job as a business consultant.  In fact, after getting back from the honeymoon yesterday afternoon, he had taken off this morning on a flight at 5 AM. 

This morning, Michelle was alone in the master bedroom of the O’Leary home. 

****************

The first time Michelle met Mrs. Perkins, Fallon’s housekeeper, it was clear that she disapproved.  After running into Michelle in the living room, Mrs. Perkins introduced herself.  She asked if Michelle was one of Mary‘s friends.  Mary was Fallon’s 17 year old daughter. 

In a huff, she stated, “Of course not, I am Fallon’s fiancé.”  Michelle’s indignant response reminded Mrs. Perkins of a child trying to convince everyone they were more important than they actually were. 

Michelle tried to assert herself and provide Mrs. Perkins direction on the one or two times they interacted.  Mrs. Perkins ignored her and pointed out that she worked for Mr. O’Leary and she knew what her job responsibilities were.  On one occasion, Mrs. Perkins declared, “When you grow up, your advice on how things should run may have value in our house.”

Of course, Mrs. Perkins was a little surprised that Fallon would be chasing such a young girl.  She hoped that this little detour from his otherwise reasonable life would blow over.  It did not.

Mrs. Perkins was disappointed when she realized that Fallon might actually marry this young gold-digger.  She ran the house with an iron fist and Fallon had always allowed her to control the roost.  Without a mother in the home, Mary needed the strict controls and direction Mrs. Perkins put in place.  And Mrs. Perkins was not about to let some child come in and disrupt their home.  If Michelle was going to come into this home, Mrs. Perkins needed to get a firm grip on her as soon as possible to prevent a total deterioration in the home environment.  She realized that this would have to be handled carefully to avoid a confrontation with Mr. O’Leary, but she had known him for much longer than Michelle and she certainly knew him better. 

Thus Mrs. Perkins spent a significant amount of time trying to figure out how she was going to exert herself and not end up in a fight.  She needed to make sure this was handled right for herself and for Mary’s well being. 

****************

Mary O’Leary was Fallon’s only child.  At 17, she was a blossoming young woman.  She was very attached to her father.  Mary knew Michelle was a girl not much older than herself. She could not believe that her father wanted to replace her mother with this young girl.  Mary felt her world was under attack and she was not happy. 

Mary believed that every minute Michelle spent with her father was a minute stolen from her.  She was jealous of Michelle and was always trying to prevent her father from going out or spending time with Michelle.

Now that he had actually eloped and gotten married, Mary was beside herself. 

****************

Mrs. Perkins had been nice to the newlyweds upon their return last evening.  She had decided that she would watch for nicks in Michelle’s armor and she would develop her plan of attack based on information.  However, she had no plans to let her control falter in the initial days of this new resident of their home.

She decided that she needed to force Michelle and Mary to interact to ensure that there was a relationship.  It would also suit her purposes if Michelle was perceived as a friend of Mary’s as opposed to an adult. 

What Mr. O’Leary did in his bedroom was one thing, but Mrs. Perkins was going to make sure that the adults were running the asylum. 

****************

And so it was that at 7:00 AM on the first day of her new life of luxury that Michelle was rudely awoken by her curtains being thrown open.  Mrs. Perkins looked down on her.

“Up and at ‘em girl.  It’s a school day.”

“What?” Michelle asked.  “What do you mean?  I don’t go to school.”

“Michelle, you are now part of a family.  And everyone has a role.  You need to bond with Mary.  You will need to get used to going to school with Mary.  Today, you will go to school and find out where it is, introduce yourself and see if you can learn anything.  It’s time to get involved.  Get dressed.” 

With that said Mrs. Perkins yanked the covers off the bed revealing Michelle in a Princess Barbie baby-doll nightgown.

Michelle was embarrassed as she realized how she was dressed.

Mrs. Perkins successfully hid any reaction although she could not have been happier to find that Michelle was dressed like a little girl. 

“Mrs. Perkins, Let me explain,” Michelle said.

“No need.  At least I’ll know whose gown it is when it hits the wash.  Get dressed.  You don’t need any help selecting clothes do you?”

“No, of course not.” 

Mrs. Perkins smiled as she left the room leaving the door open.  Yes, she thought to herself, this may just work out.  I wonder what other surprises she has for us.

****************

As Mary was finishing her breakfast and Mrs. Perkins was cleaning up a few dishes, Michelle pranced into the kitchen wearing a t-shirt, short skirt, stockings and heels with a 2.5 to 3 inch heel.  Mrs. Perkins first reaction was that Michelle should have let her pick her clothes because Michelle’s selection left much to be desired.  This was not a mother’s or a step-mother’s outfit and it was not really an adult outfit.  It actually was more of a teenager type outfit if you left out the heels.

Michelle had simply pulled her hair up into a scrunchie and had little makeup on. 

Mrs. Perkins wondered if the school might not try to enroll Michelle when they see her.  Wouldn’t that be a laugh? 

Mrs. Perkin’s imagination went into overdrive imagining the advantages of having Michelle as a student instead of the second tier head of household. 

****************

Mrs. Perkins was accustomed to driving Mary to school and she volunteered to drive the two ladies to the school today so that Michelle could learn the way to the school.  Of course, Michelle immediately wondered why she needed to get up in the first place.  But, she realized that she needed to build a better relationship with Mary and Mrs. Perkins so she went along with it.

Michelle paid little attention to the banter Mrs. Perkins kept up during their ride to the school.  She really wasn’t that interested in all the street names or the history of the area. 

When they pulled up in front of the school, Mrs. Perkins told Michelle that she should walk Mary in and familiarize herself with the school.  She would run to the store down the block to pick up a few things for dinner and she would be back to pick Michelle up in about 20 minutes or so. 

Michelle was a little put off by all of these instructions but again it seemed to make sense that she should familiarize herself with the school. 

Michelle walked a little behind Mary.  She was out of her element.  She never really liked school and she had never gotten very good grades.  School was not full of happy memories.  As they approached the steps to the main door, there were construction workers laying down tar and asphalt in the area adjacent to the steps.  There were barricades and signs.  Michelle was not paying enough attention to her surroundings.  As she started up the steps a loud bang from one of the trucks startled many people in the area.  Unluckily, Michelle was unfamiliar with her environment and was paying little attention as she suddenly spun around on her heels on the edge of the steps. 

Michelle tumbled down the steps and over the short wall which was in place of a banister.  She landed on her head and her body rolled in the newly laid warm tar.  She ended up on her back, stunned and momentarily dazed. 

Construction workers ran to her.  Michelle was groggy.  A teacher asked who she was.  Mary explained that her name was Michelle and that she had moved in over the weekend because her dad had gotten remarried.  The construction workers picked Michelle up and, under instructions from the teacher, helped her into the nurse’s office.  Mary tagged along.  While she didn’t like Michelle, she was a little worried. 

Michelle was covered from head to toe in black tar.  Most of it was on her clothes and the nurse quickly removed her clothes to limit damage to her skin.  Soon Michelle, who was responding slowly, was down to her panties and bra.  Michelle was giving the nurse a little attitude, but the nurse knew how to handle bad attitudes.  With everyone but Mary and the teacher out of the room, the nurse asked her name.  Michelle said her name.  It sounded like “maachewl” because she had apparently bit her tongue and hit her lip.  Mary clarified with “Michelle.”  The nurse immediately began calling her Shelly or little Shelly. 

She pulled Michelle’s bra off and Mary was surprised to see that most of Michelle’s chest was in the bra.  Mary’s solid b cups were way bigger than Michelle’s. 

“Little Shelly why do you girls always want to grow up so fast.  People will love you for who you are not for a couple of inches of manufactured boobies.” the nurse chastised.

“What oo you mean? Whaa aah oo aching off my cwowwes?”

“Honey, your clothes are covered in tar and oil.  It’s lucky they got you out of there and in here as fast as they did or you could have burned your skin.  Just let me get you cleaned up and we’ll see where we are then.  Take a deep breath and tell me where you hurt.”  The nurse had a motherly voice and it calmed Michelle down.

The nurse grabbed a paper gown and put it over Michelle.  She then reached under her and snipped the sides of her panties and pulled them off. 

Michelle reacted, “Whaa are you doing?  Weave maa underwayew alone.  wou’ve wuined wem.  Wou Bwitch…”  It was clear that she meant “you bitch”. 

Whap!  The sudden sound echoed in the small room.  The nurse had slapped Michelle.  And it was hard.  Mary was stunned and Michelle was speechless.

“No one talks like that in the nurse’s office.  And, no one ever talks to me like that.  GOT IT?”

Michelle was stunned but had to push it.  “Who wo wou whink wou are?  You…”

Whap!  She hit her again.

“You can’t…  Heyyyy.” Michelle screamed.

As Michelle began to talk again, the nurse picked her small frame up and spun her around.  Suddenly, Michelle found herself facedown on the nurse’s lap.

Mary almost laughed at the sight. 

Michelle was momentarily speechless trying to figure out what was happening when the first strike occurred.  As the nurse began spanking her, Michelle began to scream.  The frequency increased and Michelle devolved into crying and kicking like a little baby. 

The nurse paused.  “Shelly, are you ready to keep that filthy mouth shut?”

“Yeth,” Michelle wept.

“And Shelly, are you going to do as you are told?”

“Yeth, yeth.” Michelle pleaded.

“I am going to get you cleaned up and then we’ll get you some clothes. OK“

“OK.” Michelle mumbled.

“Next time you come to this school, you will not wear these slutty clothes, right? “

“Wight.” Michelle mumbled.

“You’ll wear the appropriate clothes or Mary here will also be punished.  Mary knows the rules and since you are new, I will hold her responsible if you do not follow these simple rules.  Do you understand?”

“Yeth.” Michelle mumbled trying to understand.

She picked Michelle up and placed her face down on the doctor’s table in the middle of the room.  Grabbing some wipes, she began at Michelle’s feet and wiped down her skin.  She was working to get all remnants of the oil and tar off of her skin.  She pushed the gown aside and cleaned her up before helping her turn over. 

Michelle continued to sob quietly.

Mary was astonished to see that Michelle was hairless everywhere including in her private areas.  The nurse thought nothing of it and continued cleaning her up.  When she got to her head, it was clear that there was a lot of oil in Michelle’s hair.

“Shelly, we have to cut out some of your hair which has tar in it.  Don’t you worry your little head.  It will all grow back.  Sit up for a second.”

Michelle sat up and the nurse began cutting.  Unluckily, because Michelle had rolled in the tar, a large part of her ponytail had tar in it.  Michelle was still a little out of it from her fall and the recent spanking.  Her haircut was evolving into almost a bowl cut.  The nurse thought nothing of it, but had Michelle been looking in a mirror, she would have erupted again. 

The teacher turned to Mary and quietly asked, “What is she, ten, or eleven?  I would guess fifth grade.  Tell me I’m right.”

Mary was beside herself.  They thought Michelle was a student.  She wanted to start laughing but held it in.  She thought, hey let’s have fun. 

“Just coming on eleven, but she was held back.  I expect you guys will probably want to put her in fourth.  She’d obviously be excited to be in fifth.”  Mary smiled to the teacher. 

“Based on what I’ve seen here today, I’d say we should start with fourth.  I’ll help you with the registration and talk to the principal.  It’ll be exciting for you having a new little sister.  Won’t it?” 

Mary was stunned.  This woman was serious.  Her father’s new wife was about to be registered in grade school.  Mrs. Perkins had originally thought Michelle was a friend of Mary’s.  But with some unplanned accidents and Michelle’s actions, she had lost 13 years and was now Mary’s little sister.  Now that was something she could enjoy.  Yes, Mary thought, we have to put little Shelly in her place and start this relationship off right.  Mary was in 10^th grade and her little sister would be in the lower school.  She should register Shelly for girl scouts.  Mary quickly slid the purse with Michelle’s wallet into her backpack. 

“Yes, I’m looking forward to showing her the ropes.  Do you think she will be able to get into girl scouts?” 

“Honey, they make exceptions for transfer students.”

The teacher stepped over to a closet and reached inside.  To Mary’s amusement, she extracted one of the grade school girl’s plaid jumpers.  This was getting better every minute.

The nurse noticed the teacher selecting the uniform, reached in a drawer and grabbed some cotton full cut briefs and a camisole from a drawer.  She slid the briefs up Michelle’s legs and put her feet in some shorty white socks.  Michelle seemed to be out of it.  After dropping the camisole over her shoulders, the nurse helped her into a white blouse and the teacher helped her pull the dress over her head. 

Michelle began to complain and a quick swat to her backside with a loud “SHH” reminded her who was in charge. 

****************

At a little under five feet tall, Michelle had always been self-conscious about her size.  Therefore, she always wore shoes with a heel.  Even in heels, Mary at five foot nine inches towered over her. 

Fallon, Michelle’s new husband, was turned on when Michelle dressed up in a little girl outfit one night.  For their marriage, Michelle went to her favorite salon and arranged for an all-over Brazilian body wax.  It turned out that Fallon was very turned on and they had a fun time. 

However, in the middle of a grade school, a five foot hairless female with no breasts was more likely to be a grade schooler than a married woman.  All of this and her attitude contributed to Michelle’s current predicament. 

Mary of course was doing nothing to change anybody’s mind.  She was just enjoying the show.

****************

“So you’re new here?”  The nurse asked her.

“Huh, oh yes I’n new in da awea.”

The nurse turned around and pulled a packet out of one of her cabinets. 

“This is something we do for all of the new people.  It helps in case of accidents.”

Michelle did not understand.  The nurse took her hand and placed it on a pad and then pressed it on the first page of the book.  She did the same with her other hand and then washed Michelle’s hands off. 

Michelle was still trying to figure out what was happening.  The nurse took a cotton swab wiped it on the inside of Michelle’s mouth and put it in a little vial.  She handed the book to the teacher. 

The nurse asked, “Shelly, what month were you born?”

“November, why?”

“Shhh.  What day of the month?

“The faateenth (14^th).”  Michelle was watching as they wrote the results in the little book. 

The teacher wrote her age as eleven and put the name as Shelly O’Leary. 

Mary realized that Michelle had just filled out the child registry to protect against missing and abducted children.  Michelle was now being registered as an eleven year old.  This would help if she got lost.  Mary laughed to herself again. 

The nurse asked Michelle to look at her and “FLASH” took her picture with a digital camera. 

“What awre wou doin?” Michelle asked.

“Calm down Shelly.  We have to get a picture of you.  You fell on school property and you’re new.  We just need this for the records.”

The teacher put the little book down in front of Shelly and asked, “Can you write your name on this line here?  It’s for the school records.”

Michelle proudly wrote her new name, Michelle O’Leary, on the line.  Since she was newly married, she wrote it slowly to make sure she got it correct.  This action to the Teacher and nurse appeared more like the tentative writing of a young student. 

The nurse gave the camera to the teacher who promptly left with the camera and book. 

The nurse examined Michelle’s mouth and lips.  She gave her an ice pack for her lip and for the bump on her head. 

Michelle sat quietly holding the icepack alternately to her mouth and the top of her head. 

****************

The teacher left the office and she returned about ten minutes later.  She pulled Mary into the corner and gave her a class schedule, a student ID card and told her that Shelly had been registered for scouts and the first meeting was this Wednesday.  Her data was now in the Amber alert database.  The student ID card had a cute picture of Shelly O’Leary in her new Catholic school girl uniform, with her name listed as Shelly and her signature was across the bottom of the card.  The card was embossed and had a clip which would hook to the front of her plaid jumper just like the one Mary had hooked to her high school uniform skirt. 

“Mary, Mrs. Perkins left a message at the office that you and Shelly should call when you need a ride home or she will see you two after school.  She was tired of waiting, so she went on home.  I’m not sure what she was waiting for in the first place.  I normally teach the fourth grade, so I arranged for Shelly to be in my class.  I have a teaching assistant this month which is why I was able to stay.  It will smooth things over since I know the situation.  I’m also one of the Scout leaders.”

“I talked to the office and it probably makes more sense for Shelly to sit in and observe class today just to get a feel for things.  I’ll keep an eye on her to see if she develops any symptoms.  We’ll write up an explanation of the accident for you guys to take home.  The nurse will get it to Mary by the end of the day.  Mrs. Perkins should probably get Shelly to a doctor to look at her mouth, her front teeth and her head.”

The teacher walked over to the patient and introduced herself to Michelle, “Shelly, I’m Miss Williams and you will be coming with me to my class to observe things today.  This will give you a chance to see how we do things around here.  OK?”

Michelle was unclear what was happening.  A stern look from both the women made her hold her tongue.  “I guess so.  Dis is so I can see how things work hewe at da schoowl?” she asked.

“Yes,” Miss Williams said.  “It’s always helpful for new people to understand how we conduct things before raising our expectations.  You’ll want to get more involved over time but right now you just need to get a feeling for how things work.  Right?”

“OK,” Michelle said slowly.  Michelle thought, I came in today to learn about the school, introduce myself and see what it was all about.  “Good then you are all in agreement.”

The Nurse said.  “Shelly, your lip was bleeding and is now swollen.  You may need to visit a dentist to make sure you didn’t damage any teeth.  When you get home, have someone look at this bandage I placed on your forehead.  You are probably going to have a nice goose egg there later today.  Miss Williams, I need you to keep a close eye on Shelly to watch for signs of shock or any other after effects of the fall.  Since she is new here, we can’t give her pain relievers without a prescription.”

“No problem.  I’ll escort Shelly around, give her the tour, and deliver her to Mrs. Perkins at the close of day.  We’re going to get along great.  Right Shelly”

Michelle was unclear how or why she wanted to get along with this pandering teacher, but she wanted to make a good impression in spite of her ungracious fall and clothes destruction. 

Michelle then stated offhandedly that she had a prescription for pain relievers and she usually carried it in her bag.

The nurse and Miss Williams thought that was cute and turned to Mary. 

Mary shrugged, reached into her backpack, then into the purse and felt around for a medicine bottle.  She extracted a bottle which had Michelle’s new name on it.  She had gotten the bottle before the honeymoon.  It said it had Tylenol in it and to take one as needed. 

Miss Williams poured out a pill and gave it to Shelly while passing the bottle to the nurse.  As Shelly was about to take the pill the nurse suddenly reached out and slapped the girl’s hand causing the pill to fly across the room. 

The nurse looked at Shelly and said, “Where did you get these pills?  These are not Tylenol.  This is a school and NO drugs can be given without a valid prescription and this is a bottle with a prescription for Tylenol.  But clearly the pills are something different.” 

Stunned, yet again, Shelly said, “I weplaced dem wiss dese.”  Shelly looked up at the nurse with an expression that said, hey I did it and so what.

“Well you can’t take them on campus.  I will hold them till the end of day.  I have to think about this.”

“Miss Williams, why don’t you head out?” The nurse suggested. 

“Come along Shelly and I’ll give you a tour of the school before going up to the classroom. 

Michelle still felt slightly groggy or out of it and at this point was happy to get away from this crazy nurse.  Her upper lip hurt, her teeth hurt and her head was beginning to throb.  Various other scratches and bruises were beginning to ask her brain for attention. 

Miss Williams took Shelly’s hand and led her out of the nurse’s office and began the tour of the school.  As Michelle contemplated her injuries, she was paying little attention to her talkative tour guide.  Miss Williams pointed out the principal’s office and the cafeteria.  The gym looked like a gym and soon they were outside of Miss William’s classroom. 

****************

After Shelly left for her tour, the nurse visited the principal’s office and a report was filed with the local social services office.  Children were obviously not allowed to select their own medicine or bring it to school.  Schools, even private parochial ones, were required to notify the social services office when ever problems at home were suspected or when children exhibited risky behavior regarding alcohol or drugs.  Authorities were not brought in unless the behavior was repeated or if specific evidence was found.  However, it was the policy of the social services office to visit the home and discuss their concerns with the parents.  This gave them a chance to see the home environment and determine if the problem was an anomaly or if it was something that warranted more research. 

Two notes would be sent home with Mary.  The school administration’s note would detail the implications regarding Shelly and the drugs.  A second note from the nurse described the injuries and recommended that Shelly see a dentist because of bleeding in her mouth and swelling in her lips.  It also suggested that she see her regular doctor because of the bump on her head.

****************

Mrs. Perkins found herself sitting in a kitchen chair staring at the answering machine. 

She had waited outside the school for over 20 minutes and Michelle had not returned.  She assumed Michelle was investigating the school, possibly taking Mrs. Perkins’s advice to heart.  Upon returning home, Mrs. Perkins had brought her bags in from the car and placed them on the counter.  As she removed her coat, she noticed the blinking light on the answering machine.  She hit play and began emptying the bags on the counter, and then stopped.

As she continued to listen, she slowly turned towards the machine.  Mouth agape, she slowly walked towards the machine.  As she hit replay, she found herself sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs.  Continuing to stare at the machine, she played the message a third time. 

“Hello Mrs. Perkins, this is Principal Harper from over at the grade school.  I’m sorry to have to tell you but we have a few problems.  When the girls got to school this morning, we had a little accident.  It seems that Shelly tripped on the stairs near the north entrance, where they are doing some construction.  She bumped her head and fell into some wet asphalt.  While she seems okay, her clothes were ruined.  The nurse had to trim some of her hair because it got soaked in asphalt.  She has some bumps and she hit her face in two places really hard.  She has a bump on her head and she hit her mouth.  Her lips are swollen and she may have knocked a tooth loose.  She also bit her tongue and is having trouble speaking.  At this age things heal pretty fast but you should probably try to get her into a dentist this afternoon and maybe see her pediatrician. 

On an administrative note, I can not find any notice that Shelly was starting today.  But we took care of everything.  Mrs. Williams, a teacher, had witnessed the fall and helped the girls into the nurse’s office.  She assisted the Nurse and while they took care of her cuts and bruises, we got her registered for school.

When we discussed her age, Mary let us know that Shelly had been held back and was in fourth grade and not fifth as we would have expected given her age.  That was convenient since Mrs. Williams is the fourth grade teacher.  Therefore, we temporarily assigned her to Mrs. Williams until we can evaluate her properly.  Often children at this age bond well with one of the first people they met and I understand they have hit it off. 

Shelly has been a bit quiet as would normally be expected and the fall has probably exacerbated the situation.  But, rest easy, Mrs. Williams is one of our best teachers.  We found a school uniform that fit Shelly and I know you should have some of Mary’s old ones around.  Please make sure she is properly attired for class when she returns. 

On an unhappy note, Shelly had a prescription bottle for Tylenol.  When we looked inside, the nurse found some other medicine which she believes is a heavy duty adult form of Oxycontin.  Shelly told us she had swapped the pills.  I realize she is new to your household, but, we are required by the state to report these types of incidents. 

The state will send someone by to do a follow up at your home in the next few days.  There will be an interview and they will want to tour the house and Shelly’s room.  As long as everything is clean and I know it will be, there should be no other problems.  She will need to act normal.  They are looking for parents that are not looking after kids and early identification of kids with drug problems. 

As part of the registration process, we collected some DNA from Shelly and registered her in the child runaway/abduction database.  We made her new student id and like Mary she should keep that on her at all times while in school. 

If you have any questions please give me a call.  Good-bye!   CLICK”

Mrs. Perkins continued staring at the answering machine.  Her mind was trying to process this.  Shelly? Shelly was in school?  Shelly was registered for school?  Shelly, Mary’s new mom, the bitch on wheels was registered in school?  Shelly, I’m in charge, I’m the new queen around here was registered in fourth grade at a Catholic grade school and needed to see a dentist and a pediatrician?

Mrs. Perkins began to giggle.  Then she began to laugh.  Light laughing and then a full belly laugh.  It continued until she was crying and her gut hurt. 

Here she was trying to figure out a chink in the new diva’s armor so that she could maintain her position in the household.  And the new matriarch had gone and registered for the fourth grade.  She laughed again. 

As she calmed down, she glanced at the clock.  She started to think.  Obviously, Mrs. O’Leary, uh Michelle, I mean little Shelly must be a little out of it.  I need to act fast.

Mrs. Perkins’ bridge partner in the ladies club was Dr. Spencer.  Dr. Spencer had been a friend for years and she was a dentist, a children’s dentist.  Mrs. Perkins had told Dr. Spencer of her concerns and problems with Mr. O’Leary’s new wife.  Maybe they could work something out. 

Dr. Spencer and a few other doctors had formed a group specifically for dealing with children and their medical needs.  The group had no special name or anything.  But they had a thriving practice.  One of Dr. Spencer’s partners would be able to look at Michelle’s head and face. 

Mrs. Perkins arranged for an appointment immediately after school.  

****************

Mrs. Williams sat Michelle in a desk near the front of the classroom.  Michelle was not sure why she was in this classroom.  It was apparently part of the tour.  She listened half-heartedly.  She thought about the throbbing in her head and around her mouth.  She had a headache. 

Later, Mrs. Williams escorted Shelly to lunch and sat at a table with Shelly and a few other girls from the class.  Michelle was introduced to the others, but she quickly forgot their names.  Several of the girls tried to ask Michelle questions.  Michelle stared out the window and wondered why she was here.  Mrs. Williams told them the story of Shelly falling outside of school and everyone understood. 

During the afternoon, Michelle began to get impatient but calmed down when Mrs. Williams suggested she lay her head down.  Michelle cat napped and soon Mrs. Williams was walking her out to meet Mary. 

Mrs. Perkins waited anxiously not knowing what to expect.  This morning, she had thought maliciously that Michelle was dressing like a kid and should get enrolled.  And now, somehow, it seemed that was exactly what had happened. 

****************

Mrs. Perkins was watching out the window of the car.  She saw Mary quickly moving towards the car.  But Michelle was no where in sight.  Behind Mary lots of students and children were bustling around.  But then she noticed that one of the adults, a teacher and a youngster were right behind Mary.  Suddenly, it dawned on Mrs. Perkins that this child was actually Michelle.  She almost could not get her breath. 

Mary hopped in the front seat and the lady opened the back door and helped Michelle in.  She then motioned to Mrs. Perkins.  Mrs. Perkins quickly exited the car and met the lady at the front of the car. 

After introducing herself as Mrs. Williams and summarizing the days events, she mentioned that “little Shelly” (hmm, she liked that) had been a little sleepy but had shown no outward signs of a concussion.  She told Mrs. Perkins that she would be Shelly’s teacher and that she had met several of the girls today.  She figured once everyone got to know each other, they would get along famously.  Mrs. Williams also told her that she was the girl scout leader and that Little Shelly had been signed up for Girl Scouts.  While Mrs. Perkins could hardly contain her amusement, she thanked Mrs. Williams for her assistance today.  Mrs. Perkins let her know that they were going to see a doctor immediately and everything would be looked over. 

As Mrs. Perkins climbed back in the car, Mary was looking at her with a smirk and a look like the cat that ate the canary.  Mrs. Perkins nodded and looked back at Michelle.

“Michelle, I’m so sorry to hear about your bad experiences here at the school.  They called me and told me about your fall and all.  They recommended that we get you to a dentist and a doctor as soon as possible to make sure there are not any follow on problems.  I have scheduled an emergency visit with a dentist that is a friend of mine and she believes we can get a doctors visit with one of her partners after she looks you over. “

“I dust wanna doe home.” Michelle whined.

“Well, we’ll get home just as soon as we are sure that you are alright”

Mary listened to Mrs. Perkins and wondered where they were going. 

When they pulled up outside the clinic, Mary recognized it as the place where everyone went for their pediatricians and kids dentists.  Her dentist was here, but she only worked on kids.  Mary gave Mrs. Perkins a sideways glance and Mrs. Perkins held a simple smirk on her own face as she exited the car. 

In typical fashion, Michelle paid little attention to where they were going and failed to notice that this was clearly a place for kids.  The fact that there were kids in the waiting room did not totally seem out of sorts.  Although she did feel that the décor was a little juvenile. 

Mrs. Perkins alerted the receptionist that they were there.  She filled out a form with Michelle’s name and her new birthday.  Michelle ignored most of what was going on around her and concentrated on her headache.  She just wanted to go home and sleep.  Her mouth was throbbing and that was the only reason she was willing to go see the dentist. 

Dr. Spencer and Mrs. Perkins had talked ahead of time and agreed to play things by ear.  Mrs. Perkins and Mary went into the examination room with Michelle to meet Dr. Spencer.  Dr. Spencer examined Michelle’s mouth, teeth and tongue.  She asked where it hurt and looked over the scrapes and marks.  A couple of x-rays were taken and the doctor excused herself to review the pictures. 

A moment later, Mrs. Perkins excused herself to go the restroom. 

A nurse was cleaning things up and having Michelle rinse. 

Mrs. Perkins and Dr. Spencer had a quick meeting and Dr. Spencer suggested a strategy.  Mrs. Perkins was excited and they agreed to move forward. 

“Michelle, you have some serious problems here.  As you know, you bit down on your tongue and that is why it is swollen.  You cut your tongue and these types of wounds are always hard to deal with.  They heal slowly and are very susceptible to infection.  In addition, your front teeth are loose.  But we are going to get you taken care of.  Alright?”

Michelle nodded and said, “awight.”

The doctor gave her a pill.  She assumed it was a pain pill.  It was a sedative commonly given for sedation dentistry these days.  Michelle was soon out of it and pretty much unaware of her surroundings.  The dentist took pictures of Michelle, to document her condition.  Dr. Spencer thought the pictures of the little school girl in her uniform, before and after her braces were applied were certainly inconsistent with the troublemaking new wife Mrs. Perkins had expected. 

After the dentist had completed her work, another doctor from the practice (a pediatrician) examined Michelle.  She determined that there was no concussion.  She gave Mrs. Perkins a prescription and asked her to bring the patient back in a couple of days to make sure there were not further problems. 

So it was that Mrs. Perkins and Mary carefully led Michelle out of the dentist’s office with her new braces on her teeth.  Mrs. Perkins had some pain pills and some shots to help (or delay?) the recovery of her tongue.  The braces had been modified by Dr. Spencer to have a few extended edges that would prickle and hurt Michelle’s tongue.  She would not want to press her tongue against the braces.  This would lead to her changing how she used her tongue to form words which would yield a slight lisp.  It would also delay the healing process for her tongue. 

Mrs. Perkins and Mary escorted Michelle into the house and into Mary’s old bedroom.  They gave her a sleeping pill.  Mrs. Perkins got Michelle’s Princess Barbie nightgown from the master bedroom and tucked Michelle into the juvenile bed in the pink bedroom with the white bedroom set.  When Mary saw the nightgown she reached into one of the dresser drawers and extracted a pair of Barbie full cut panties that with a nod, they both agreed would go perfectly with the nightgown. 

A clean school uniform was found in the closet and was hung on the closet door.  She pulled a blouse from the closet.  Mrs. Perkins retrieved a child’s camisole that matched her clean Barbie underwear from Mary’s old dresser and ankle socks. 

Mary had simply abandoned her old bedroom and moved down the hall.  The dressers and closet still held all of Mary’s old clothes and shoes.  Michelle had planned to redecorate the room for her personal purposes.  Now, Mrs. Perkins figured maybe Little Shelly could use the room as it is for a while. 

As Michelle slept, Mary and Mrs. Perkins took several pictures of the sleeping girl.  They made sure to get the little Barbie night gown, her face and lots of the room in the pictures.  They placed her thumb in her mouth in one of the more staged pictures.  She looked pretty cute. 

Mrs. Perkins mind was teeming with ideas and plans.  Yes, if she could pull this off, Mr. O’Leary would return to find that his new wife was a well behaved fourth grader.  At the very least, this princess would never be a problem for her.  Mrs. Perkins knew how to control and raise children.  Now that Michelle was being put in her correct place in the family hierarchy, she would be able to manage things just fine.

****************

On the second day in her new home, at 6:40 AM, Michelle was rudely awoken by her curtains being thrown open.  Mrs. Perkins looked down on her.

“Up and at’em girl.  It’s a school day.”

“Wha?” Michelle mumbled.  “Wha ooh ew meam?  I on’t no to skewwl.”

Memories, of the day before, flooded back to Michelle.  Her mouth ached.  Her lips hurt.  Her head hurt.  And apparently, she could not talk. 

“Honey, try to keep quiet for a moment and let’s talk about yesterday.”  She sat on the edge of the bed and put her finger to Michelle’s lips.

“We agreed that you needed to get more involved with Mary and to take a role in her life.  Right?”

Michelle nodded.

“So you went to school with Mary.  You had an accident and things deteriorated from there.  Remember, school and going to the doctors yesterday afternoon?”

Michelle nodded. 

“Well, the school wants you to come back today.  They didn’t think things went well.  They want you to get the full picture.  They also felt bad about how things went.”

Michelle whined, “Ah dust wanna shtay in bed.”

“Michelle, you are now part of a family.  And everyone has a role.  You need to bond with Mary.  You will need to get used to going to school with Mary.  So again, you will go to school today.  Let’s get you dressed.” 

With that said Mrs. Perkins pulled the covers off the bed revealing Michelle again in her Princess Barbie baby-doll nightgown.  Michelle did not even remember putting it on. 

She was still a little befuddled and wondered why she needed to go to school again. She also noticed that she was in the wrong bedroom. 

“Does your head still hurt?  I have the pills the doctors gave us.  They should help things feel better.  I have a glass of water here.  The first two pills are for your tongue.  You place them on your tongue and let them dissolve.  It will help with pain in your mouth and help things heal.  Open wide.”

Michelle was going to revolt but the appeal of a pain reduction overwhelmed her as Mrs. Perkins placed the pills on her tongue and told her to suck on them till they dissolved.  As the pills dissolved, Michelle immediately noticed that the pain from her mouth was reduced. 

This made her wonder what other helpful pills the doctors had sent home. 

Mrs. Perkins gave her several other pills that she swallowed with the water.  She did not bother to ask what they were.  Mrs. Perkins was glad to see that things were moving along smoothly. 

Now, can we get her dressed?

Mrs. Perkins talked to Michelle and asked her to recant her memories of yesterday.  This allowed time for the pills to do their thing.  There were two dissolving pills.  One was a pain pill designed for kids.  The second was used by dentists to deaden nerves for an extended period of time.  The purpose of the second pill was to cause Michelle to not be able to use her tongue effectively, which would lead to a lisp.  It also would cause her to push the tongue against the sharp edges of her new braces which would retard the healing in her mouth.  The pain pills would cause her to slow down a little bit mentally and make her a bit suggestible or more agreeable.

As Mrs. Perkins could see the pills working she helped Michelle sit up.  The unanswered question was; how agreeable would Michelle be? 

“Why an ah in dis woom?” Michelle asked.

“Last night when we got home, you were pretty out of it.  Previously, you said you were going to use this room and it was easier for Mary and me to help you in this smaller bed.”

“You still seem a little out of sorts.  I know it’s embarrassing, but let me help you get ready.  Okay?”

Michelle tried to lift her nightgown and was having problems.  Mrs. Perkins comforted her and helped remove the gown.  Michelle did not notice her underwear.  Mrs. Perkins helped her put the camisole on.  Michelle often went braless and therefore she did not even take notice of the lack of a bra.  When Mrs. Perkins started to help her put the blouse on Michelle balked. 

“The school mentioned that the clothing you wore yesterday was unacceptable.  They asked that you wear the standard outfit like the one they gave you yesterday for any follow up daytime visits.  They said everyone at the school during the day has to wear the same outfits.  Today would be one of those visits.  “

While that made some sense to Michelle, something seemed wrong.  As she pondered this, Mrs. Perkins buttoned up the blouse.  Next, she helped Michelle put on the socks.  As Mrs. Perkins reached for the school uniform on the closet, Michelle knew something was wrong. 

Michelle’s eyes went wide, “Way a mimutt?  I’n not wewrin dat.”

“Honey, did you listen to what I said a few minutes ago.  You agreed it was a good idea to go to the school for another day.  I told the school that you would go again today.  The school told me that this is what you have to wear today.  You need to learn what goes on at the school.  Let’s just get through this.  Didn’t you notice that everyone at the school wore the same clothes?”

Michelle nodded. She was reluctant to talk.  Her mouth felt numb.  She was trying to put her thoughts together. 

“It’s just the school policy.  Mrs. Williams and I talked about it when you came out to the car yesterday.  Remember?” 

Michelle thought and then nodded again. 

Mrs. Perkins held the dress over Michelle’s head and she reluctantly put her arms through the jumper straps.  Mrs. Perkins tied the school shoes on her feet and felt a huge sense of accomplishment as Michelle was now fully dressed in a catholic grade school girl’s uniform. 

She grabbed a brush and helped straighten out Michelle’s hair. 

The next big hurdle would be when Michelle saw herself in a mirror or reflection. 

****************

Mrs. Perkins decided that the best strategy was to deal with some of these things up front.  She figured that the hair and teeth would be the big things and if they were dealt with quickly, maybe little Shelly would miss how juvenile she looked in her outfit.

“Now, Michelle, I want to make sure you remember everything from yesterday.  Okay?”

“Yeth!”

“You remember that after you fell, you hit your face and rolled into the tar.  This resulted in two things.  First, the nurse had to trim your hair a little bit to get rid of the affected hair.  We’ll plan on going to a salon and getting that fixed in the next day or so as you feel better. “

Michelle reached up and ran her fingers through her hair.  She realized that a lot of length was missing.  She groaned.  She started to get up to look, but Mrs. Perkins held her shoulder firmly and said, “Honey, there is one other thing.  So hold on.”

Michelle looked up at Mrs. Perkins. 

“I’m not sure you fully realize this.  Let me review what the dentist said.  You knocked several teeth loose.  She was very concerned and wanted to ensure that there was no permanent damage.  She wanted to make sure the teeth did not move.  While you agreed to all this, your reactions this morning make me wonder whether you remember that, that is why she had to put (pause) braces on your front teeth.”

Michelle got up and looked for a mirror.  The only mirror was above the tall dresser.  Mrs. Perkins held her arm and walked with her over to the dresser. 

Michelle stared, her mouth agape.  Because of the height of the dresser, all she could see was her shoulders and above.  Her hair was clearly massacred.  It was shorter and looked like someone just cut all her hair around her head like a bowl cut.  It looked like the hair cut you see on little kids. But, the braces on her teeth, shined and it was virtually all she saw.  With her concentration on the braces, she basically missed the school uniform. 

Mrs. Perkins comforted her. “Michelle, your hair will re-grow.  And, as soon as your teeth are stabilized, we can get those braces off.” 

“Let’s get something to eat and I’ll drop you guys off at school.”

Michelle walked in a fog down to the kitchen. 

Mary was waiting in the kitchen.  She almost wet herself when she saw Michelle enter the kitchen in her school uniform.  She had to quickly turn to the sink so Michelle wouldn’t see her smile. 

After a quick breakfast, they prepared to leave.  Mrs. Perkins gave Michelle two more pills with a glass of orange juice.  “Michelle, these are some additional pills the doctor said you should take.” 

Mrs. Perkins reached over and grabbed Mary’s old school bag.  It was a small back pack with the insignia of the school on it. 

“Michelle, I put a few personal items in here.  The school does not want people carrying purses around on school grounds.  This is the only bag people can carry around to classes.”

Michelle started to say something, then stopped and just nodded with acceptance.  Mrs. Perkins attributed this to the drugs.  If Michelle was amenable to things, she would quickly dig her own grave.  Of course, Mrs. Perkins and Mary were happy to provide the ground, the shovel and any other tools necessary.  Mrs. Perkins and Mary had basically convinced Michelle that the second day visit was just a repeat of the first day since she had problems yesterday.  They did not mention that Michelle had been registered in the school as a student. 

And so, on the second day in her new home, Michelle (little Shelly) walked out of her new home dressed in her catholic school girl uniform carrying her school book bag.  Unbeknownst to Michelle, Mary took several pictures with her cell phone.  Mrs. Perkins had clipped Michelle’s school ID card to her uniform as they were preparing to leave. 

Mary also knew something that Michelle did not know and that Mrs. Perkins had probably forgotten.  Today was class picture day at school.  Mary smiled as she thought about that. 

****************

On Shelly’s second day at school, Mrs. Perkins decided to walk both Mary and Shelly into the school.  She was not taking Michelle, she was taking little Shelly to the door of the school.  She escorted Shelly into Mrs. William’s class room.  Mrs. Williams was excited to see her new student return and immediately noticed the new braces. 

“Shelly, welcome back.  Hopefully, today will be a better day than yesterday.  I see you got braces.  Do they hurt?”

Mrs. Perkins quickly said, “The braces are because she loosened some teeth.  She still has significant swelling of her tongue.” 

Shelly mumbled a hello to the teacher and took the chair she had sat in yesterday.  Mrs. Perkins pulled Mrs. Williams over to the front of the room for a few quick words. 

“I’m a little worried about Shelly.  She is taking a prescription for the pain and she still seems to be a little out of it.  You’ll call me if there are any problems?” 

Mrs. Williams brightly responded, “Of course.  We’ll be fine.  And it is so exciting that she is here today, since we are taking class pictures.”

Mrs. Perkins eyes popped.  “What did you say?”

“We’re taking class pictures today.  If she was not here, she wouldn’t be included in the class picture.”

“Oh you’re right.  It is a good thing she is here today.”  Mrs. Perkins smiled and chuckled to herself.  “Well, I would not expect too much from her for a few days.  Let her get acclimated.  She may revolt.”

“No problem.  That is always the way with the new students.”

Mrs. Perkins leaned over and spoke to Shelly.  “Honey, it is important that you try to do whatever Mrs. Williams says.  You want to understand everything that happens in this class.  Follow along and work with her.”  She then finished with a firm statement.  “Michelle, you will do what you are told and try to fit in.  Do you understand?”

Michelle seemed to be in a little bit of a trance.  The statements seemed to be affecting her subconscious.  She quietly said, “Yeth, I untersand.”

Mrs. Perkins was very satisfied with things as she left Little Shelly in the care of Mrs. Williams.  “Class Pictures,” she mumbled to herself and chuckled.

****************

The class spent most of their days with their homeroom teacher.  Mrs. Williams started the day with a history lesson.  She pulled out a history book and placed it on Shelly’s desk.  Shelly was told what page to open it to. 

Michelle looked at the book and attempted to follow what the teacher was talking about.  She did want to be able to understand what went on here at the school.  Something seemed strange about that, but she felt she needed to try to follow. 

As they worked through a religion lesson and English, Shelly was given a new book.  She was told where they were in the books and tried to follow along with the lessons. 

At 11:45 the class made their way as a group down to the cafeteria.  Michelle still seemed in a fog.  She took the lunch of the day and nibbled at it while trying to absorb the banter of her tablemates.  Mrs. Williams sat with them and continued to observe her new student. 

After lunch the class lined up.  Instead of going back to the class room, they filed out of the room and went to the library.  Michelle, as the new person, was at the front of the line.  

Mrs. Williams told everyone to stand in line quietly.  She took the first three students, Shelly and two other girls into a side room off the library where the photographer had set up.  Mrs. Williams grabbed Shelly’s arm and said, “Shelly please sit in this chair for a moment.”

Michelle, was not clear what was going on.  As Mrs. Williams hustled her over to the chair, a man called to her.  She noticed all of the lights and looked over at the man to ask what was going on, when FLASH. 

The photographer asked Michelle if she had done any modeling.  Michelle, caught off guard by the silly question, blushed and barely hid a smile.  FLASH. 

“Next” the Photographer called.

As Shelly and her two buddies were escorted out the back of the room, they were told to wait in a line.  All students were quickly photographed and then they were taken to the gymnasium where a second photographer took a picture of the whole class. 

Michelle told Mrs. Williams she should not be in the picture since she was just here for the day.  While the words were hard to understand, Mrs. Williams understood.  Mrs. Williams told her that the rules were that everyone here on picture day was in the pictures, even visitors and substitute teachers.  Pictures were a snapshot of the school on a given day.  Michelle complained at first, but did not want to be embarrassed in front of this class.  Her inability to communicate well frustrated her and she gave in.  It was fate and Michelle would be in the picture. 

And so it was that little Shelly was placed in the center front row of the fourth grade class picture where her braces and bowl cut haircut would be forever documented. 

****************

During recess, Mrs. Williams and one of the other girls sat with Shelly on a bench.  Mrs. Williams and the other girl kept up a banter about the weather and upcoming school activities.  They tried to get Shelly involved.  Shelly was confused.  She was asking herself questions.  Why was she in school?  She just got married and now she was at the school each day.  It was so she could fit in with the family.  She felt like she had to do what the teacher was telling her.  She felt some underlying urge to do well and fit in.  She just wasn’t sure why. 

With her banged up face and the extra attention from the teacher, other students were put off a bit.  They said hello but did not push to get Shelly involved in any of their games. 

Mrs. Williams had seen this before with new children.  They often took a few days to begin to fit in.  She was sure that when Shelly came to tomorrow’s scout meeting that she would begin to make more friends. 

Mrs. Williams told Shelly that she would ask her a few questions during math just so she could get a feel for how class was handled.  Shelly wondered what kinds of questions.  Math was never her best subject. 

During math, the Mrs. Williams was covering basic multiplication and division.  It seemed they had just begun to subject.  Eventually, she called on Shelly and asked her what 3 times 17 would equal.  Shelly had observed other people in the class and realized she was supposed to stand.  She slid out of her seat and looked at the teacher.  She thought about the question and said, “fiffy un.” 

She looked hopefully at the teacher.  There were titters in the back of the room due to her trouble forming the words.  The teacher quickly admonished the class and was happy to confirm that Shelly had gotten the answer correct. 

Mrs. Williams realized that with Shelly’s mouth being swollen, talking in class was going to be a problem.  She did need to figure out at what level Shelly was in her skills.  Shelly got a later question wrong and this worried Mrs. Williams. 

As classes were winding down, Mrs. Williams asked Shelly to stay for a minute.

Frankly, with being led around for the last two days and the medicine she had been given, Shelly was not even sure where she would go if she walked out of the room alone. 

Mrs. Williams looked at Shelly and began, “Shelly I know you are overwhelmed with all of the information about the new school and I realize that your accident yesterday has made it a little harder for you to concentrate.  It has also made it harder for me to get to know you.”

Shelly nodded.

“Well I think that tomorrow I want to walk you through some of our student evaluations.  This is a process we use to make sure that all students get the appropriate attention and it allows us to focus our lessons on the student’s needs.  I think it will be an eye opening experience for you.”

Shelly looked her in the eyes.  “Tho I ssould cun here agin tomowow?” 

Mrs. Williams gave her a motherly look and said, “Of course honey.  You need to come in here again tomorrow.  And I have another treat for you.  Tomorrow, after school, I am going to introduce you to our girl scouts.  This is an after school activity and it is important for you to know about sports and other social activities the school provides.”

“Do I haff to?”

“Yes.  I’ll see you for class first thing in the morning.  After Homeroom, we’ll start reviewing the evaluations.”

Mrs. Williams walked Shelly out to the car and met Mary in front of the school.  She waved to Mrs. Perkins and they had another short meeting in front of the car after the girls were seated. 

“Mrs. Perkins, I think things are really going well.  Now I told Shelly that we will be doing a student evaluation tomorrow to make sure we understand where she is in the schooling process.  I also reminded her of the scout meeting.  She understands and seemed excited about the meeting.  Do you think that you still have any of Mary’s old uniforms?  If so, she can wear that instead of the standard school uniform.”

For the second day in a row, Mrs. Perkins found herself speechless.  She managed to say that she thought they still had some of the uniforms.  Then she asked, “Which uniform should she wear?”

“Why, a Girl Scout, I guess.  If after testing she is moved back to third grade, then she would be in the Brownies with the first and second graders.  Assuming she stays in the fourth grade or is moved up to fifth she’ll stay in regular girl scouts. “

Now there was a thought.  Mr. O’Leary’s new wife could be in Brownies.  I hope she does well on her tests.  I wonder how she presented these tests to get little Shelly to agree to take them.  I’ll ask her when we get home. 

****************

On the way home from school, Mary chattered on about some people in her class.  Mrs. Perkins watched Michelle in the rearview mirror.  She sat quietly in the back seat staring out the window. 

As soon as they got home, Mrs. Perkins told Michelle that she needed to take her medicine to prevent the pain from coming back.  Michelle placed her book bag on the table as Mrs. Perkins gathered the pills and a glass of water.  The two dissolving pills were placed on her tongue and she chased it with a glass of water. Mrs. Perkins suggested that the three of them should go to the family room and see what was on TV.

Mrs. Perkins knew that the most important thing in managing a person, child or even a dog, was to get them on a routine and stick to it.  The more familiar the routine, the better things would be.  The less free time, the easier it was to enforce the habit pattern.  She also realized that this would have to be handled firmly but slowly.  Converting a free loving playgirl into a rigid activity involved fourth grader (or maybe third grader) was not going to be easy.  But, she was happily up for the challenge. 

Mrs. Perkins needed to give the pills time to renew their effect on Michelle’s system before she began quizzing her on the day’s activities. 

Michelle stared at the TV.  Mrs. Perkins was astounded Michelle did not run upstairs immediately to remove the school uniform.  She looked just like a school girl having a snack after getting home from school.  Perfect, she thought. 

During a commercial, she asked, “So Shelly, Miss Williams said you and she have some stuff scheduled for tomorrow.  Could you tell me more?”

Michelle was annoyed that Mrs. Perkins called her Shelly.  But she thought she needed to answer the question.  “Mith Wiwwiams n I had a wong tawk.  See sinks I need to undewstan how dey ebawuate da diffewent sudents.  See is goin to wawk me fwoo da pwocess.  Aftah skwool I’n goin to see giwl scout meeteen.  See said I haff to.”

“Well it sounds like you’ll learn a lot about the school and its evaluation process.  I talked to Miss Williams when she walked you out.  She told me that I should let you wear a scout outfit instead of what you wore today.  Won’t that be nice for a change?” Mrs. Perkins was looking for Michelle’s agreement.  “She said she would take you directly to the scout meeting after school.  I’ll pick you up after the meeting.  The school allows the scout uniforms on meeting days because everyone must have the scout outfit to attend the meeting.  Since you will be attending the meeting, you have to wear the outfit.  I checked and I think we have everything we need.  Isn’t that great?”

Shelly wasn’t really paying that much attention. Miss Williams had told her about the meeting.  “Yeth, ok.”

Mrs. Perkins knew it was time to start the routine. 

“Mary, it is time for homework.”  She nodded to Mary.

“Okay, Mrs. Perkins.  I’ll get started now.”  Mary turned off the TV and opened her book bag. 

Mrs. Perkins looked over at Shelly who was disappointed the TV was turned off.

“Oh Shelly, Mrs. Williams asked if we would have time to read up a little bit on the history book they are using at school.  Apparently, she thought it would help you understand what they are talking about and how they teach the subject.  Here is the book in your bag.  I think she asked that you read the 3^rd and 4^th chapters.  If you need to, you can read the earlier chapters to make sure you are totally up to speed.  You can just read right there on the couch.” Mrs. Perkins was handing her the history book.

“Weawy?” Shelly was disappointed.

“I think you need to do this.  This is the time of day when we all do the work to know what is going on at school.” Mrs. Perkins said firmly. 

Shelly felt oddly agreeable and took the book.  Mrs. Perkins opened it to the first chapter and said, “Start reading here.”

Mrs. Perkins exited the room once it was clear Shelly would do the reading.  It turned out that Shelly read for the next hour and a half until it was time for dinner.

“Girls, it’s time for dinner.  Come to the table.” 

Mary closed her book and placed it in her book bag.  Shelly just closed her book and left it on the coffee table.  “Shelly, you should put your book back in the bag so you don’t leave it behind.”  Shelly seemed annoyed, but she picked up the book and placed it in her bag. 

Both Mary and Mrs. Perkins noticed how agreeable Shelly was.  In addition, Shelly was not complaining about the shortened version of her name.  And, without much help from Mrs. Perkins, Little Shelly was apparently going to attend her third day of grade school without even a significant complaint.  Mrs. Perkins wondered at the ways of the world.

After dinner, Mrs. Perkins told Shelly that she thought a good soaking bath would be a good idea.  They had really not had a chance to clean her up after her accident and it had now been two days.  Shelly seemed to like the idea.  She soaked in the tub for a long time.  Mrs. Perkins told her she was worried about her following her accident and being on new medicines.  She did not want her to slip or have an accident. 

When Shelly was done with her bath, she wrapped herself in the towel provided.  Shelly was suddenly very tired.  She actually appreciated having Mrs. Perkins in the room to help her into the bedroom.  She started towards the master bedroom.  Mrs. Perkins told her she needed to go to the other room since that was where her things were. 

Shelly thought that odd, but allowed herself to be led into the other bedroom.  Mrs. Perkins had washed her nightgown.  Along with the gown there was a pair of childish full cut cotton panties with Barbie on them.  Shelly said she wanted to wear her normal underwear.  Mrs. Perkins insisted that she needed to wear something in cotton and that it matched her nightgown.  Exhaustion was overtaking Shelly and she really was not up for an argument.  She needed to get to bed.  Mrs. Perkins helped her into her panties and gown.  She then gave her the medicine from the doctors. 

Shelly was quickly asleep.

****************

Mrs. Perkins woke Little Shelly up for her third day of school. 

Shelly protested as she had each day.  It was taking on the whining typical of a child.  Mrs. Perkins reminded her that she had promised Miss Williams that she would be there today.  The two of them had big plans.  Shelly admitted this was true. 

As Mrs. Perkins pulled the scout uniform out of the closet, Shelly balked.

“Dat isn’t da unifowm.” Shelly stated using her lisping speech.

“Honey, we talked about this yesterday.  Remember?”

“Ya.  But dats fow a kid.” 

“Yes I know.  Miss Williams told me that was the meeting you were going to.  Also, it turns out that after Mary and I looked around, this is the only full uniform we have.  Miss Williams said you have to wear the full uniform.”

“Ah wiwl feew siwwy.” 

“Now why would you feel silly?  All of the other girls will be wearing the same uniforms.  Yesterday, you wore the same uniform as everyone else and that worked out fine didn’t it?”

“Ya” Shelly replied reluctantly.

Mrs. Perkins began helping her into the uniform.  Within minutes, Shelly was completely outfitted in her Girl Scout uniform including the beret on her head.  Mary thought it looked really cute with her new shorter hair.

Mrs. Perkins gave Shelly her medicine.  Breakfast was followed by a gathering of book-bags.  Soon, Mrs. Perkins was on the way to school with her two ‘girls.’

Once they were on their way, Mrs. Perkins wanted to impress on a suggestible Michelle that people would be calling her Shelly.  “Shelly, you don’t have a problem with me, Mary, your teachers or the other students calling you Shelly, do you?  It is a nice form of your name isn’t it?”

Shelly couldn’t tell if this was an order phrased as a question or what.  But she felt like it sounded like something she should agree with.  “I guess it’s OK.”

And with that, Mrs. Perkins banished the name Michelle from her memory. 

Mrs. Perkins hand delivered Shelly to Miss Williams.  After their good-byes, Miss Williams left her class in the care of the student teacher and she took Shelly for the student evaluations. 

****************

Miss Williams way of talking to students was to try to treat them as adults.  In Shelly’s case this was what she expected.  However, the fact that Miss Williams described the evaluations and suggested that Shelly sit down and work through it so she would understand the evaluations, made Shelly believe she was just there to learn the process.  When told by Miss Williams to take the tests and follow the rules, her higher level of suggestibility made her more agreeable. 

Shelly completed tests on IQ, math skills, reading, writing, and basic history.  Miss Williams and one of the secretaries from the office oversaw the tests. 

With the drugs slowing her down, Shelly underperformed on the timed tests.  She did ok on the math tests and reading.  Her writing and history tests were less satisfactory.  But, Miss Williams was happy to find that based on their tests, Shelly should either be in fourth or fifth grade.  Based on her performance so far, and her lower performance on timed tests, everyone felt comfortable leaving her in the fourth grade class.  The office called home to let Mrs. Perkins know the results of Shelly’s evaluation tests. 

The secretary explained everything to Mrs. Perkins.  “So we feel that based on her test scores, Shelly should remain in the fourth grade class.  Her tests scores just don’t justify moving her up to fifth.”

Mrs. Perkins was stunned that an adult like Shelly would perform so poorly.  She thanked the secretary and assured her she would follow up with Miss Williams. 

After the call, Mrs. Perkins sat in her chair incredulous.  Mr. O’Leary’s new wife just tested into fourth grade.  If Mrs. Perkins could have just a little time to work on her, maybe she could turn Shelly into a fourth grader permanently.  She needed to get her out of the evaluation phase and convince her she needs to go to the school and actually perform.  Then she needs to regiment her life to the point she has no free time.  A little discipline may be needed to keep her in line.  At that point, it’s almost brain washing and soon her adulthood may be a long lost memory. 

Mrs. Perkins had taken the first steps.  Shelly was developing a bothersome lisp.  Her braces contributed to her childish appearance.  She had now attended fourth grade for three days.  Her pediatrician and her dentist were creating solid juvenile health records for her.  She was very compliant due to selective medication.  And long term, the hormone blockers she was taking would eliminate her monthly periods and slim out what little womanly curves she possessed. 

The real long term goal will be to somehow convince Mr. O’Leary to view her as a child and not as his wife.  But, there seemed to be a little time for that. 

****************

In the afternoon of Shelly’s third day of school, Mrs. Perkins received a call from the local social services office.  They let her know they had been contacted by the school since one of the children from her household had a controlled substance at school.  The office would be visiting in the next few days on an unscheduled basis to determine the conditions in the home and to determine if any follow up was needed.  They let her know they would need to see the student’s room and most of the common areas of the home.  They planned to discuss with Mrs. Perkins the reported incident and what was being done to prevent it from happening again.

After school, Shelly and several of the girls in her class, along with Mrs. Williams, went to one of the activities rooms to have their Girl Scout meeting.  Shelly had never been a Girl Scout and they had not had a troop at her school.  Therefore, she was not really familiar with the group.  Shelly was welcomed to the group and a couple of the girls from her class sat with her.  They discussed conservation efforts and as a group they created signs to post around the school to encourage recycling.  They discussed upcoming cookie sales and badge requirements.  Shelly was told what she needed to do to get the basic badges started.  Shelly was not sure that she needed to know that.  People kept telling her that she needed to do things and for some reason, she felt an unusual desire to perform up to these expectations.  This was unusual for Shelly.  She had typically been an outspoken member of most groups and she usually tried not do the things people wanted.  But, for some reason, she felt different.  Mrs. Perkins might suggest it was due to medication which made her suggestible and agreeable.  The question was whether the effects would remain when the medication was reduced or removed.

Mrs. Williams walked Shelly and the other girls out to the pick-up area and Mrs. Perkins was there to drive her home.  The two talked for a moment and Mrs. Williams told Mrs. Perkins that Shelly seemed to be getting along with the other students and that she had participated in the scouting session. 

Mrs. Perkins was a little surprised at how well she seemed to be adjusting. 

****************

At Home, Shelly followed Mrs. Perkins into the house and put down her book bag.  Mrs. Perkins told her to turn on the TV and she would get her a snack.  Shelly was pretty tired and stared glassy eyed at some cartoon Mary had on the TV.  Mrs. Perkins returned with a glass of juice and a couple of pills.  She told Shelly to take the pills and after a moment’s hesitation, she popped them in her mouth. 

During the day, Mrs. Perkins had packed away all of the clothing and other things Michelle had brought to the house after the wedding.  They had planned to go back to her place to retrieve the rest of her belongings.  Mrs. Perkins had located all of Shelly’s money, identification, keys, cell phone, et al, and she had locked it all away securely. 

The master bedroom had been returned to its pre-Michelle setup and other than some childish bed wear, Shelly would be wearing Mary’s hand me downs for the foreseeable future. 

Now ensconced in Mary’s old bedroom, there were plenty of clothes, and toys for a grade school girl to keep occupied. 

After some TV, Mary turned it off and said it was time to do homework.  Mrs. Perkins told Shelly that Mrs. Williams wanted her to read some more of the history book and look at the identified sections in the math book so she would know what they were talking about at the school tomorrow. 

After dinner, Mrs. Perkins herded the girls up stairs for showers. 

Shelly wanted to know why she couldn’t use the master shower and Mrs. Perkins told her it was not available.  She also pointed out that this bathroom was right next to the room where she had been sleeping.  Shelly wanted to know why she couldn’t sleep in the other room and Mrs. Perkins insisted that this was a better room for her to sleep in and that that was why she had agreed to sleep in here the last few nights. 

Shelly didn’t think that sounded right.  But, Mrs. Perkins insisted that Shelly had really slept well in this bed and Shelly agreed.  She also said it was much more convenient in the morning since her school outfits were in here.  Shelly thought that sounded reasonable.  Mrs. Perkins also said that all the other clothes she had been wearing were in the dresser and closet in this room.  She said since the situation with the school seemed temporary that there was no point in moving all of these things into another room when it really did not matter where Shelly slept. 

Somehow this logic made some twisted sense.  Shelly was tired after her shower and donned the underwear and her clean Barbie nightgown before being tucked into bed.  As she lay there, she thought it was kind of nice to have someone tuck you in.  Then she wondered if that sounded wrong.

****************

On Little Shelly’s fourth day in the O’Leary home, Mrs. Perkins woke her for her fourth day of school. 

Shelly was more adamant this morning that she was not in school.  It was more childish whining. 

Mrs. Perkins told her that Mrs. Williams said she expected Shelly to be there today and Mrs. Perkins intended to ensure that Shelly was there, on time.

Mrs. Perkins had provided clean childish underwear for Shelly the night before and produced a matching camisole this morning.  While Shelly did not want help, she still seemed a little out of it and Mrs. Perkins quickly pulled off her nightshirt and had the camisole top and blouse on her in minutes.  After she pulled on the rest of the uniform, Mrs. Perkins helped her brush her hair and take her morning medicine. 

“Why ew I haf da go to skewl?” Shelly asked using her lisping speech.

“Honey, we keep talking about this every morning.  You and Mrs. Williams did a lot of tests and things and there are still things for you to learn at the school.  Mrs. Williams is going to help you understand everything that goes on at the school.  You need to keep going until then, because you’re part of our family now.  Remember?”

“Ya.  But it feels wong.” 

“Let’s not go through this again.  You agreed to go to the school with Mary and to learn what is going on.  They have a plan for you and you have to go.  Now let’s get some breakfast in you before we have to leave.”

She dropped the girls off at school and took a quick picture of the two girls walking into the school in their uniforms with her cell phone. 

****************

Mrs. Williams began calling on Shelly more regularly in class.  The other girls tried to talk to Shelly during recess and lunch.  Shelly tried not to talk too much about herself.  She mentioned she had just moved to the area.  Shelly listened to the girls and periodically offered an opinion on something they were talking about.  They discussed music and some pop stars. 

Shelly’s tongue still hurt and it was making her talk funny.  This made her try not to talk and it created the impression she was shy. 

During TV time, Shelly asked Mary about some show the girls were all talking about.  Mary filled her in and they watched an episode of the show.  Mrs. Perkins kept the girls on a strict schedule that had Shelly worn out and in bed at a reasonable time each night.  With the medication and the stress of the school experience, Shelly was dead to the world each night. 

****************

Mrs. Perkins was a little surprised by the lack of fight on Friday when she awoke little Shelly for school.  She took her medicine; quickly donned her uniform with Mrs. Perkins help and the family was on their way to school. 

Some of the girls in the class felt that Shelly had been getting a lot of attention because she was new.  And as usual, there were girls who felt snubbed.  This led to a pushing match during recess where Shelly ended up shoving another girl so hard she fell and hit her arm.  The girl who had incited the situation got a trip to the nurse.  Shelly, however, got a trip to the principal’s office.  Shelly tried to explain, but even she had to admit that along with her lisp the entire story sounded childish and wrong.  She was stunned however, to find out that the school enforced spanking as a disciplinary tool and that this event fell into that category. 

The principal was an older nun who seemed very strict and no nonsense.  As she rounded the desk and took hold of Shelly’s arm Shelly started to pull away.  Shelly was swiftly pulled across the principal’s lap as she sat down in a strong wooden chair.  With practiced moves, Shelly’s skirt was whisked up to her back and her panties were pulled to her knees.  Through her lisps, they still understood some of the attempted expletives and that simply led to the punishment lasting longer.  In the end, Shelly was crying and agreeing to be good.  She promised to apologize and not to push anyone else.  As the spanking reached its conclusion, the sister pulled her stumbling into an adjoining bathroom with her panties around her ankles.  There the nun took hold of a bar of soap and scraped it back and forth across Shelly’s teeth and braces.  After soaping her mouth up well, the principal suggested that Shelly avoid using her mouth for anything except to speak to God for the rest of the day. 

After 10 minutes of standing in the corner, the principal told her she could pull up her underwear and rinse out her mouth.  No matter how much she rinsed her mouth, there seemed to be flakes of soap caked in the brittle tines of the braces which could not be removed. 

Finally, the nun instructed her to leave and return to class. 

Shelly climbed into the car and Mrs. Williams came out to explain what had happened.  Shelly was withdrawn and Mrs. Perkins and Mary observed her on the ride home.  She went to her room, the small child’s room, and lay on her stomach on the bed for over an hour after they got home. 

Shelly had her head buried in her pillow when Mrs. Perkins looked into the room.  Michelle’s mind was trying to process her world with what she was supposed to do along with a memory in the back of her mind about what she thought she was supposed to be doing.  The accident and the medicine were having an effect on her.  The pills had affected her suggestibility.  The school was unaware of this and in typical school fashion, they were providing strict direction and telling her what to do and how she should behave.  Mrs. Perkins kept reinforcing that Shelly was her name now and that she should do as she is told.  Mrs. Perkins was also providing a map which would lead Shelly to conclude in her own mind that the events were things she was agreeing to.  Every time Shelly agreed with Mrs. Perkins that she had agreed to do something, it affected her mind and the way she expected future conversations to go.  And she did seem to remember agreeing to go to school and behave in a certain way. 

When Mrs. Perkins tried to console Shelly, she was stunned to find that, Shelly was actually trying to understand what she had done wrong and why she had behaved badly at school.  Shelly did not seem to be concerned with why she was going to school.  It appeared that she had all but accepted that she was going to be going to school for a while.  She was trying to reconcile her behavior and how she could behave better to avoid the punishment in the future.

Mrs. Perkins was very pleased by this.  Later she called her doctor friend to make sure that nothing was out of the ordinary.  The doctor told her that as suggestions or orders became the basis for Shelly’s behavior, she would manufacture justifications that made sense in her own mind.  This would actually serve to reinforce the expected behavior.  Since they were regimenting her activities and her day time activity, Shelly had little time to consider why her life had changed or what had happened.  Michelle had never established a set pattern of living in the O’Leary household and due to her accident, her medicine and behavior had been shaped from her first day.  Along with the mild brainwashing affect of the medicine, she was being reshaped into the student Mrs. Perkins and Mary dreamt about. 

Over the weekend, Mrs. Perkins continued the medicine along with waking and bed times to keep her in a regimented pattern.  She discussed with Mary on Friday evening and Mary stayed with Shelly during virtually all her waking hours.  They watched children’s shows consistent with what Shelly’s friends would be watching.  She was told these were her favorite shows and Mary educated her on the characters and the storylines. 

Mary helped Shelly get dressed in clothes from the closet which were casual and age appropriate.  She was told that these were the kind of clothes the O’Leary’s wore on the weekend. 

Shelly never saw a bra.  She was never allowed in the master bedroom and there was no talk of Fallon.  The only clothes she was allowed access to were clothes for 10-11 year old girls.

Whenever she was told something was a certain way, she would pause and then reluctantly accept it as fact.  On Sunday, she didn’t even question why she was wearing children’s underwear and camisole under a childish t-shirt and childish skirt from her closet. 

She was told that Mrs. Williams wanted her to read a few books and Shelly was soon reading the A-Z Mystery book series designed for young readers in the 3rd-5^th grade.  Mary would question Shelly on the characters and the story lines.  Shelly was also reading a series of books for young girls.  Since it was only a weekend, she only got into the first book in each series, but it was clear that she was going to be a dedicated reader.

****************

Fallon called to talk to his new bride, but Mrs. Perkins at first reported that Michelle had gone to Mary’s school to learn about it and had an accident.  She told Fallon that everything was alright but Shelly had been to a dentist and a doctor.  She assured him that she took care of everything and Michelle was fine.  In fact she told him, Michelle had decided to continue to go to Mary’s school each day.  She said Shelly had insisted that she wanted to know what was going on at school and the school had accepted her.

In a later call, Mrs. Perkins gave glowing reports on how Shelly and Mary were getting along and how they were out or unavailable.  She casually switched between Shelly and Michelle in her discussions. 

Once late in the evening, after little Shelly’s bedtime, Mary talked to her father and said how well she and Shelly were getting along.  She told him Shelly came to school every day with her.  She told him they had talked a lot, read some books and watched TV.  Everything was true.  But, of course, Fallon read the reports differently than the reality. 

Fallon had really been sucked into a major issue and would be out of town for at least another 10 days if not two weeks.  He kept asking them to apologize to Michelle and they assured him Michelle understood. 

****************

Mrs. Perkins and the doctor thought that if they could get Shelly into a regimented set of behavior for at least two weeks that they could cut back on the pills and see what the long term impact on Shelly was.  The hope was that by that time, her brain would be rewired from wife to student. 

Mrs. Perkins and Mary took every opportunity to reinforce the “Facts of life” and helped Shelly past any questions she had.  Shelly was still having trouble talking because of the rough places on the braces.  This caused her to change her speaking. She subconsciously did not push her tongue forward in her mouth when she spoke or put her tongue on the top of her mouth.  This caused a lisp which Shelly seemed to be comfortable with.  Shelly stopped cringing when she spoke once she figured out how to talk without hurting herself.  On Tuesday of the second week of school, Shelly went to see the Dentist after school.  This time she was not sedated and the doctor did a review of her mouth and looked at her tongue.  Shelly asked about the sharp places and the doctor said she would look into it.  She said that maybe they would need file them down on her next visit.  The pediatrician came over and looked at the bump on her head and pronounced her fit.  The doctor gave Shelly a hormone blocker shot to continue to “turn back the physical clock” on Shelly. 

Shelly was getting more involved in talking to her school mates about the shows on TV.  She used her lessons from Mary and was developing a few friends.  Shelly tried not to talk too much since she was a little embarrassed about her lisp. 

Mrs. Williams was issuing more directives and instructions to Shelly which embedded them in her suggestible mind.  Shelly was starting to try to do her homework and wanted to do the things the school asked.  She accepted that she was supposed to go to class and that she was supposed to learn some things.  She was not totally sure why she needed to learn them, but she accepted that she was supposed to do it. 

Each morning, Mrs. Perkins would help Shelly dress in her uniform and there was no more challenge or questioning from Shelly.  Shelly saw the scout uniform on Wednesday and knew that was the uniform of the day.  Each afternoon, Shelly did her homework and she was in bed at a reasonable time. 

By the end of the second week, Mrs. Perkins felt she had two really good little girls and things were going well.  Of course, she knew two things had to happen. One, they needed to cut back on the medicine and secondly, Fallon would eventually return home. 

On the second weekend, Mrs. Perkins and the doctors decided they should cut out the pain medications but keep the pills that made her suggestible.  She would also continue on the hormone blockers.  The pain pills were eliminated and everything went pretty smoothly on the weekend.  Because Shelly had subconsciously changed her speech pattern, there was no pain and the pills were not needed.  Her head had been healed for over a week. 

Mary and Mrs. Perkins noted that Shelly seemed more alert.  But, Shelly did not seem to be reverting or asking why things were happening.  On Monday of the third week, Mrs. Perkins skipped the morning pill which affected suggestibility and sent little Shelly off to fourth grade. 

Mrs. Williams noticed that Shelly seemed to be paying attention in class.  Shelly also answered questions a little quicker.  She assumed that Shelly had gotten over the new student blues and was starting to fit in. 

Tuesday went the same as Monday and on Wednesday morning; Shelly didn’t even question why she was putting on her scout uniform.  Mrs. Perkins took pictures often without Shelly noticing throughout this period.  She had a scrap book going of everything that had happened since Shelly came home that first day from school. 

On Thursday, Mrs. Perkins contacted her doctor friend and reported on Shelly and what had been happening.  The doctor recommended that they only use the mind affecting drugs if her behavior reverts or if they want to provide new suggestions or directions for Shelly. 

Shelly was into the regular routine of a fourth grade student and this left little time for her to ponder what had happened to her world.  It also gave her mind a chance to accept the present circumstances as the way the world should be.  However, Mrs. Perkins was worried about what would happen when some circumstance from her past rose up. 

Mrs. Perkins knew that Fallon would come home soon and the social workers had not yet come by. 

Mrs. Perkins decided they needed to mold Shelly’s memory and convince her that she wanted to go to school and help integrate this with her past.  Mrs. Perkins felt she needed to create some path from the past which would integrate some aspects of the truth with reasons for Shelly’s new reality.  She smiled as the pieces fell into place.

On Thursday evening, Mrs. Perkins gave Shelly the medicine and waited until she was clearly in a highly suggestible mood.  Then Mrs. Perkins began rebuilding Shelly’s history.  She added more background and constructed a history which Shelly seemed to accept.  She reinforced these ideas over the next few days and made sure the reality fit around the story.

Shelly was actually a fourth grade student.  She was the daughter of one of Fallon’s best friends.  Her parents had died in a bad car accident and their will left Shelly in the care of Fallon.  Shelly had bumped her head in the accident and that had affected her memories of her parents.  Shelly had always had a crush on her parent’s friend Fallon and dreamed of one day marrying him.  In her mind, she dreamed of running off and eloping with no one else around.  The fantasy was so real she almost believed it had happened. 

Shelly was trying hard to fit into her new family and yet she still had feelings for Fallon.  She would keep these feelings hidden deep in her dreams.  She did not want to jeopardize her living situation by scaring Fallon or the other family members.  It would be her own little secret.  Shelly was encouraged to confide in Mrs. Perkins and Mary. 

Meanwhile, Shelly was starting to fit in at school and she was getting comfortable in her new life.  She had a bit of trouble speaking due to a minor lisp.  She wished her lisp would go away 

Mrs. Perkins suggested that Shelly was excited about having her own room and all the clothes she had. Over the weekend, Shelly spent time searching through her drawers and closets to make sure she knew all the pieces of her large wardrobe.  While much of it seemed new to her, Mrs. Perkins and Mary’s encouragement caused her to adopt the clothing as her own.  By the end of the weekend, Shelly talked about her room and her things.  In one conversation, Shelly talked excitedly about seeing her friends at school on Monday and talking to them about one of their shows from Saturday.

****************

Mrs. Perkins had a serious private phone call with Fallon O’Leary.  She explained how Shelly fell at school and hit her head.  Fallon had been told about the fall.  However, he had not been told of all the follow-up details.  Mrs. Perkins explained that physically, Shelly was just fine.  She had been to the doctor and they declared her healthy. 

Mrs. Perkins explained that on her first day Shelly had wanted to go with Mary to her school to learn more about the school and everything Mary was doing.  After, Shelly’s fall had occurred, Shelly had told the people at the school that she was Mary’s new sister and that she was going to attend school with Mary. 

Mrs. Perkins alluded to the fact that Shelly and Mary did look a lot alike and were not that far apart in age.  She explained that the school had registered Shelly in class and she had even signed up for girl scouts.

Fallon thought it was a joke at first.  Fallon assumed this was a continuation of Shelly’s love for playing the younger kid in their private moments in the bedroom.  Mrs. Perkins explained that it was not a joke and that the doctor told her to let it play out. 

The doctors explained that there was nothing unhealthy about Shelly going to school.  The school administration was aware of her fall and were keeping an eye on her.  However, Mrs. Perkins told him the school was not aware of Shelly’s real age.  Mrs. Perkins did not want to embarrass the school or Fallon and she was working with the school as if Shelly’s school persona was her real self.  The doctors told her that their expectation was that Shelly would suddenly remember everything.  But it was important during this healing period for everyone to work with Shelly as if everything she believed was true. 

Mrs. Perkins explained that Shelly seemed to believe that she was a little girl whose parents were killed in an automobile accident.  She also believed that she had been sent to Fallon and that he was her guardian.  Fallon was going to have to play along with this fantasy until Shelly fully recovered.  That would include treating her like the child she believed she was when he was at home. 

Fallon was speechless on the other end of the phone.  His mind was in a whirl.  This fantasy Shelly (he had already forgotten she liked Michelle) had concocted was amazingly similar to their bedroom role playing games.  In fact, he was stunned to realize he was getting sexually excited by the story Mrs. Perkins was telling him.  Due to his excitement and being uncomfortable with those feelings, Fallon seemed to miss the response a typical husband might have had.  Most husbands would demand to talk to the doctor and begin searching for specialists to cure their wife.  Fallon wanted to believe Shelly was doing this as part of their games.  It caused his mind to go off evaluating scenarios and ways this situation could play out.  

Fallon found himself asking, “So Shelly is in Girl Scouts?”

Mrs. Perkins paused on her end of the line and looked at the phone.  This was not the question she expected.  Fallon sounded excited or almost happy about the girl scouts.  He was breathing hard into the phone.  And on a positive note, she noticed he was referring to her as Shelly.  She responded carefully, “Yes, Mr. O’Leary, Shelly is a Girl Scout and she has meetings on Wednesdays.  She has to wear her uniform to school on Wednesday.”

Fallon’s mind was in a fog.  He was not thinking straight.  “Shelly has a Girl Scout Uniform?”

Mrs. Perkins remembered Shelly’s nightgown from the first day and her hairless body.  She wondered if these events weren’t reminding Fallon of some of his night-time escapades.  She decided to listen to his reaction and said, “Yes, little Shelly has a Girl Scout uniform that she wears to school on Wednesdays so she is dressed for the meetings after school.  On the other days of the week, Shelly wears her regular school uniform.  She has to wear the same uniform as Mary did back when she was in the fourth grade, because Shelly registered herself as a fourth grader.”

Mrs. Perkins heard Fallon gasp.  It sounded like he dropped the phone.  Fallon was fumbling around trying to pick up the phone.

On Fallon’s end, this conversation had gotten him uncomfortably excited.  He had adjusted his seating position due to his excited state.  When he heard his wife was wearing a school uniform, his manhood stepped from excited to fully ready and on the edge.  But when Mrs. Perkins said Shelly had registered herself in the fourth grade, Fallon suddenly tensed, dropping the phone and climaxing.  He had not touched himself.  He was out of control. 

Fallon suddenly remembered Mrs. Perkins was on the line.  He tried to get the handset back up to his ear.  “Hold on.  Mrs. Perkins, I dropped the phone.  Hold on. (There was a pause) Mrs. Perkins, did you say little Shelly is registered in the fourth grade?”

“Yes sir.  Little Shelly is in Mrs. Williams fourth grade class.”

Fallon seemed to have lost any interest in the potential health issues.  He was totally focused on Shelly and school.  “And she wears the school uniform?”

Mrs. Perkins smirked on her end of the line.  This might work out after all.  “Yes, Mr. O’Leary, Shelly wears the full uniform including the regulation children’s underwear and the matching vest since she has not developed to the point where she is allowed to wear a bra to school.”  She listened carefully to the other end of the phone.

Fallon was having trouble breathing.  He was almost ready to erupt a second time.  He needed to get off the phone.  “Mrs. Perkins, it seems like you have everything in hand.  I have to think about all this.  I’ll give you a call in the morning.”

Mrs. Perkins smiled, “Mr. O’Leary, can you try to make the call after 9.  That way I’ll be back from dropping the girls off at school.  You know how hectic it can be getting the little ones off to school in the morning.”

“Fine, yes after you get the girls off to school.”  Fallon almost choked the words out and hung up. 

Mrs. Perkins sat there trying to fully understand how things were interplaying between herself, Fallon and little Shelly. It seemed that at the moment, Fallon was so caught up in his fantasies that he was ignoring the fact that his wife had a health problem.  In fact he had all but dismissed it as one of the health issues, Mrs. Perkins always dealt with when Mary was a younger child.  That of course worked perfect for Mrs. Perkins and her plans.  If Fallon thought he wanted a new little girl, Mrs. Perkins was going to do everything she could to give him what he wanted.

****************

On Monday, there was no challenging.  Shelly and Mary got up for school.  Mrs. Perkins helped Shelly get dressed in her school uniform.  Both girls seemed happy to start another week of school. 

Fallon called Mrs. Perkins late Monday morning.  The call was brief.  Mrs. Perkins made sure to alert him that Shelly had moved into Mary’s old room.  Mrs. Perkins stressed that Shelly believed that many of the things in that room were hers and had always been hers.  Mr. O’Leary needed to treat Shelly like a fourth grader who was 11 years old and not an adult.  Fallon said he would be in town later in the week.  He wanted to surprise the girls.  Mrs. Perkins wondered who would be more surprised. 

On Monday afternoon, Mrs. Perkins was surprised to find that her girls had their school picture packets with them.  Mrs. Perkins sat in the kitchen and praised both girls on how great their pictures looked.  Mrs. Perkins grabbed a matching picture frame and placed Mary and Shelly’s school pictures on display in the entry hall.  There were also pictures of their classes with everyone's names.  Yes, Fallon's two girls’ pictures showed them smiling in their school uniforms.  Shelly’s braces flickered in the pictures. 

****************

Fallon arrive in town midday on Thursday.  He surveyed his room which looked the same as it always had.  Mrs. Perkins showed him Shelly’s room and Fallon spent a long time sitting in the living room staring at the picture of Shelly in her school picture and the group picture of her fourth grade class.

Fallon had regained some of his senses and wanted to know more about Shelly’s amnesia.  Mrs. Perkins asked her doctor friend to drop by to talk to Fallon.  The doctor told Fallon that Shelly was physically healthy.  The doctor asked Fallon about Shelly’s family.  It turned out her parents had died in a car accident a number of years ago.  It was very traumatic for Shelly.  Mrs. Perkins knew this and had woven it into her history. 

The doctor stressed that Shelly was in a safe environment and there was no need to push her to remember.  He suggested that Fallon go along with Shelly’s reality.  Apparently, Fallon was going to be okay with that.  There was no telling how long the situation would continue.  The doctor stressed that in this situation, Fallon was a father figure and he needed to play that role as needed.  The doctor said it was likely Shelly would act out like a typical child and that he needed to be prepared to handle the situation.  If discipline was needed, he was the father figure and he needed to play his role until things cleared up. 

Amazingly, this fit in well with Fallon’s fantasies.  He dreamed of Shelly being his little girl.  The only drawback was that they could not seal the deal.  Fallon that this might cause him to work to get more satisfaction out of the father-child fantasy relationship.  That could well lead to a little more pain for Shelly.

After the doctor departed, Mrs. Perkins suggested that she pick the children up from school and let them be surprised when they got home.  Fallon thought it was a good idea.  In every conversation, Mrs. Perkins referred to the children or Mary and Little Shelly.  Fallon had unconsciously began to use the same names and references when talking about the girls and Shelly specifically. 

****************

As the girls entered through the front door, Mary saw her father.  She dropped her things and ran to give him a hug and kisses. 

Shelly stood staring at Fallon.  Mrs. Perkins was behind her.  This was the moment of truth.  Had all the training and preparation worked? 

As Mary stepped aside, Fallon stared at Shelly.  He did not want to admit it, but he was sexually excited.  But Shelly looked like a little girl.

Fallon held out his arms.  “Hi Honey.  Don’t I get a hug?”

Shelly dropped her book bag and ran to Fallon.  She gave him a big hug and kissed him on the cheek. 

Fallon wondered if this was all some practical joke. 

Shelly stared into his eyes.  She was smiling.  She was happy. 

Shelly suddenly said, “Wait, I’ll be right back.”  Shelly ran to her book bag. Mrs. Perkins and Mary followed her every move wondering what was happening. 

Shelly grabbed something out of her bag and ran back to Fallon.  She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the couch.  Shelly was animated.  She started talking fast, just like any fourth grader.  “I have to show you the pictures I drew in art class.”  Suddenly, she was showing him pictures of their house and the park.  Different paintings and drawings which they had worked on in their art class at school.

Mrs. Perkins relaxed.  Fallon was engrossed.  He could not believe this was Shelly.  She had turned into his fantasy girl.  The problem was if she believes she is in fourth grade, he cannot have the alone time with her he craved.  At the moment, he did not care.

After Shelly told him all about things at school, Mrs. Perkins got the girls set up with a snack and had them doing their homework. 

Mrs. Perkins and Fallon stepped outside into the back yard while the girls were working on their homework.  He looked at her and shook his head.  “I couldn’t really believe it until I saw it.  She really is in fourth grade.  She has no idea.”

Mrs. Perkins nodded.  “Yes, we just have to deal with our young charge the way she is and see how things turn out in the future.  You are her father now.  Remember that.  Whatever personal feelings you have, you can’t risk pushing her while she is in this delicate state.”

Fallon nodded, “Yes, I think the doctor made that clear.  I do love her and I’ll do my part.  I just had no idea how immature she really was.  I thought she was an adult.  Maybe I was wrong.  We’ll see.”

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Thursday evening, Mrs. Perkins got Shelly ready for bed dressed in her original childish nightgown and a pair of juvenile panties that seemed to match.  Shelly ran downstairs to kiss Fallon good night.  She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug.  “Good night” she said. 

Fallon noticed the small lisp in Shelly’s speech pattern and smiled, “Good night honey.  I love you.”  And he meant it. 

Mary was actually beginning to think of Shelly as her little sister and she sort of liked her new little sister. 

Shelly laid in bed that night.  She was so happy Fallon was home.  Gosh, Fallon is handsome.  Shelly laid there dreaming of how great her life would be with Fallon.  Of course, that would probably be in a couple of years after she grew up.  Tonight she would dream of being married to Fallon and going on a honeymoon and everything.

In a nearby room, Fallon was thinking about Little Shelly while giving himself a personal massage.  He couldn’t get to sleep while he had all this swelling.  Once he had climaxed, he fell into a deep sleep with visions of Little Shelly in his head.

Mrs. Perkins fell into a very satisfied sleep knowing that the adults were in charge and the children were under her thumb. 

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