The Principal or Principles (a Novel length story)

The Principal or Principles
By: Daring Diane

Students challenge Principal to adhere to the dress code.
What could possibly go wrong?

1.    Background

The members of the school board thanked Elizabeth Warren for her wonderful presentation and for sharing her views on the future for the Princess Ann Ladies Academy.  Elizabeth (Beth to her friends) was one of two finalists for the open position of Principal at Princess Ann.  This was the final interview and the board planned to make their decision tomorrow. 

Elizabeth highlighted her doctoral work and her quick rise to Principal at her present school.  While she had only been in her position for a little over 2 years, the standardized test scores had improved dramatically.  Teacher and student satisfaction were rated excellent across the board. 

Elizabeth believed in integrating new teaching methods with old standards.  She worked to keep her staff focused on student success and they avoided teaching to the test as so many schools now seemed to do.  She highlighted her new views and her youth in emphasizing her ability to understand the children in her charge.

Coming from a family of well-educated parents, Elizabeth had been home-schooled in the younger grades and when she entered a regular school, she tested well ahead of other students her age.  Elizabeth had graduated from High school a full three years early with marks that put her at the top of the class.  She was accepted into a college which focused on developing teachers and school administrators. 

Elizabeth wanted to get on with her life and she knew exactly what she wanted to do.  She wanted to be a teacher and later an administrator guiding a team of teachers to help improve schools and the children’s lives.  To that end, Elizabeth took an overload of courses and carried a full load in the summer.  By her third year, Elizabeth was working on classes towards her Master’s Degree.  Elizabeth completed her PHD research and dissertation after spending only 6 years start to finish. 

At only 21, Elizabeth Warren, PHD had been heavily recruited.  She took a job at a very troubled school and her students responded immediately.  By her second year other teachers were working with her and she was given administrative responsibilities.  Elizabeth had a lot of self-confidence and with a little success she was ready to take on the world. 

Now at only 23, she was actually a finalist for principal at a major private school.  If she got this job she would be able to change the entire curriculum and mold the institution into a model using her self-defined “leading edge” teaching methods. 

The school board had invited Elizabeth to interview after one of the board members learned of her success in her present position. 

The board needed to complete the interview process so that the new administration would be able to work together to prepare for the upcoming school year.

The other finalist was Jackie Coleman.  Presently, Jackie was the Vice-Principal at Princess Ann.  Jackie had taught at Princess Ann for almost a decade before taking on the position as Vice Principal during the previous year.  Jackie had attended Princess Ann as a youngster and was proud of her role in shaping women for the future. 

Jackie was confident that she was the best candidate.  Her only competition was a woman that had only actually been teaching for a few years and her administrative experience was much less than Jackie.  However, there were people on the Board that wanted Princess Ann to evolve and get more with the times.  These members were the ones who appeared to be supporting Elizabeth.

2.    The Board Meeting

There were five members of the Board. 

Mary Woodson, a local real estate developer had nieces who attended the school where Elizabeth Warren was presently teaching.  Mary’s sister raved about the young teacher who turned their school around.  Mary attended some school events where she introduced herself and befriended Elizabeth.  Mary was the person who invited Elizabeth to apply for the open position of Principal at Princess Ann Ladies Academy.  

Carl Banton who owned the local bank was one of the heaviest financial supporters of Princess Ann.  His sisters, his wife and his daughters were all Princess Ann students or alumna.  Mary Woodson had introduced Elizabeth to Carl and Carl was sold on her ideas by the end of their first meeting. 

Stacey Newman was a graduate of Princess Ann and she supported Jackie for Principal.  Stacey’s last daughter Maya was in 6^th grade at Princess Ann.  Her other two daughters were now away at college.  Stacey was the widow of a very successful businessman who had died 3 years ago.  She believed that Princess Ann was an important part of society and it did not need to change.  Stacey would drop into the school to be seen and to ensure she knew what was going on at the school.  She took her role on the board very seriously.

Rene Martin, another graduate of Princess Ann is older than many of the board members.  She values tradition and like Stacey she is a strong supporter of Jackie Coleman. 

Reverend Dave Williams, the minister at the largest church in town, is a very well respected member of the town.  His daughter attended and graduated from Princess Ann.  He takes his responsibilities on boards like this very seriously.  He has worried that the school is falling out of step with new educational techniques.  His daughter had some issues with Jackie Coleman when she was in school. While he knows her qualifications, he views both women as newcomers to the administration side of the house.

In the end, Carl and Mary swayed the Reverend to support Elizabeth Warren as the new principal.  One of the key factors was that they wanted Jackie to stay on as Vice-Principal to provide long term stability and she would be there if there were any issues with the new principal to step in and help out.  Her experience was valuable.  But the Reverend believed new blood was a good thing, like replacing the minister at a church and bringing in new practices and methods.

Jackie Coleman was stunned when Stacey Newman told her about the Board’s decision.  She had not even considered looking elsewhere for a job.  Stacey had all but guaranteed her she would get the Principal’s job.  Now she had to prepare to work for some kid who was barely out of school.  Jackie decided she would assert herself and make sure the board saw her as the true leader in the administration. 

3.    The New School Year

Jackie and Elizabeth worked together to get the school set up for the new school year.  Since the decision had been delayed, there was not a lot of time to implement major changes to the courses and methods used at Princess Ann.

As the school year began, each day Elizabeth and Jackie would welcome students at the entrance to the school.  Elizabeth wanted to get to know the students.  Jackie, as Vice-Principal was responsible for discipline at the school.  So, during their morning greetings, Jackie was constantly identifying contraband and student uniform violations.  It was much easier to try and catch these things at the beginning of the day than later on.

Things at the school began to fall into a pattern until the third week of school.  Jackie had pulled several older girls aside to clarify uniform violations and note the girls for later punishment.  Several of the girls began to complain and Principal Warren felt the need to assert herself in the conversation. 

Elizabeth began to lecture the group of students about following the rules and avoiding simple uniform violations.  The students complained that the rules were designed to allow the administrators to always find something wrong.  The Principal assured them that for years students have worn the uniform proudly and without such complaints.

The Vice Principal harbored a lot of quiet frustration and animosity after losing the Principal’s position to Elizabeth Warren and she was bothered that the new principal felt the need to insert herself into an area which was clearly her responsibility. 

As the kids continued to debate, they claimed that if a fair and consistent process for uniform review was done on a regular basis, virtually no one would be able to pass a valid check.  The Principal claimed that there were regular checks and only a few students failed to meet the requirements.  The Vice-Principal reluctantly nodded her agreement.

The kids said that the teachers basically identify the students they think are trouble and then they find things wrong with their uniforms.  Since the teachers believe some students are performing above expected levels, they don’t pay as close attention to those students’ uniforms.

The kids said that if a consistent set of rules were used it is virtually impossible to meet the requirements. 

The principal quickly stated, “That is silly.  A person who wanted to could easily follow all the rules.  School dress and student behavior are examples of principles we and the board believe are fundamental and key aspects of this school's foundation.  These are things that will help you become the best and most successful women in our society.” 

The kids emphatically disagreed.

The Principal and Vice-Principal stepped aside to discuss this matter and when they turned back to the girls the Vice-Principal said “We will redouble our efforts to perform a consistent examination of all uniforms in the morning and prove that students are meeting the requirements.” 

The leader of the kids demanded to watch and maybe assist in the review.  The Vice-Principal felt this was not needed.  Elizabeth suggested this would give the kids some buy-in to the process.  Reluctantly, the administrators agreed. 

The next morning, the administrators approved of about 50% of the uniforms in the first 60 students.  However, the student reviewers identified problems with almost every single student.  The problem was that the administrators missed hem lengths, sock and underwear violations, school tie variations, hair control items, backpacks and other items. 

Again, the principal claimed this was failure on the part of the students not a fault of the rules.  The rules must be followed and if the students tried harder, it would be easy for them to pass.

It was at this time that the leader of the kids challenged the principal to prove that someone could meet the uniform requirements on a regular basis.  “You keep saying that it is easy and that anyone can do it.  Frankly, we don’t believe it is possible.  Can you prove that someone can actually meet the rules on a consistent basis for say a week or more?”

Being challenged by a student, Elizabeth quickly responded, “And exactly how would I prove it to you?”

With a serious look on her face, the student stared Elizabeth in the eye and said, “Actually, you could prove it by wearing the uniform yourself and demonstrating to us how easy it is to meet the requirements.”

Elizabeth stepped back.  She stumbled on her words for a second as she responded, “That’s silly!  I can’t dress as a student.”

The student, sensing an advantage, continued, “Why not?  You’re in charge.  You set the rules. You say this is easy.  If you are so confident it is easy, why not prove it to everyone?” 

“This is crazy.”  Elizabeth said as she turned to her Vice-Principal and said, “Explain to them why this is a dumb idea.”

The Vice-Principal’s mind was running in high gear.  She looked between the principal and the students.  An idea was forming in her mind.  This could be fun.  She looked at the students with a serious look on her face.  “Now girls, you cannot expect the principal to hop and jump just because you don’t believe her.  We have to run this school and maintain discipline.  There is a uniform code and you need to follow it.  The principal and I know she would have no problem wearing the uniform and meeting the student code requirements.  But, why should she do this?  What is in it for us?”

The principal was taken aback.  While she agreed with the Vice-Principal, it sounded like they were entering negotiations which could result in her wearing a school uniform.

The leader jumped in, “If the Principal wears the student uniform and has no violations for a full week, then we will all agree that we were wrong.  We will apologize and work very hard to live up to this example demonstrated by the Principal.  Either way, the entire seventh grade class will donate 20 community hours each to helping out the homeless in our area.”

The Vice-Principal continued, “So, once the principal has met the student uniform requirements and lived up to the student code for five sequential school days, you will apologize and we will put this behind us.  If the Principal resigns or gives up and says she cannot meet the uniform and other student code requirements, we will have to convene an administrative review to consider changes to the uniform requirements.”

“That sounds good to me.  I know my team will find this a fair method.”

The Vice-Principal, Jackie Coleman, concluded, “Let’s write it up.”

Turning to the Principal, Jackie said, “I think this will be a good lesson for all the students.  You have really found a great way to work with the students and get their buy in.  I’ll work out the terms with the girls and we’ll get together tomorrow morning to finalize the challenge.”

4.    The Challenge

Elizabeth was sitting in her office reading the proposed agreement Jackie Coleman had brought to her.

The present Principal of Princess Ann Ladies Academy, Elizabeth Warren, agrees to wear the standard seventh grade school uniform as defined and required in the student handbook.  The Principal will agree to follow all student rules during this challenge period of time.  The principal will be subject to all rules and requirements in the student handbook during the challenge period.  Once the Principal has completed 5 sequential school days wearing the seventh grade school uniform with no student rule violations, the challenge period will end.  Students as well as administrators will be able to identify potential problems or student rule violations.  An administrator must verify any student identified violation.  A violation will void any completed time.  Students will strive along with the principal to follow all the uniform requirements and other student rules in a show of support for the challenge.  The 7^th and 8^th grade student population agrees to perform 20 hours of community service each as part of this challenge.  The School Board has been notified and has approved this project. 

As the principal finished reading the document, she looked up at the Vice-Principal and the student leaders who were all standing in her office.  Everyone was all smiles. 

Elizabeth felt like she was standing on a cliff.  She began, “This seems like more than we talked about.”

The Vice-Principal responded, “Not really.  You said it should be no problem to wear the uniform.  The challenge was for a week.  So you agree to complete a full week without violations and that completes the challenge.  We have different school uniform requirements for different grades so we selected a specific uniform using the seventh grade version.  We had to clarify that the student handbook was the definitive measure for determining whether you are following the school rules since those are the rules the students must follow.  By the way, the school board was really excited.  They love this interaction with the kids and your willingness to stand up for what you believe. “

Elizabeth looked at Jackie, “So you talked to them?”

Jackie Coleman replied, “Oh yes.  They loved it.  In fact, Stacey Newman will be here shortly to witness the agreement.  The School Board has agreed that this is the type of interaction they support.  And, Stacey volunteered to oversee the agreement from the Board’s perspective and ensure that everyone including you follow the terms of the agreement.” 

Elizabeth felt another nagging problem.  Stacey was certainly not a supporter of her employment or her ideas.

The student leader interrupted her thoughts, “So, we have an agreement?  You’ll start wearing the uniform next Monday?”

The Principal felt like she was falling into a trap.  But, it seemed too late to jump out.  “I guess so.” She said. 

The Principal and the student leader both signed the agreement along with the Vice Principal as witness.  Stacey had shown up and she signed the agreement on behalf of the school board.  

5.    Getting Dressed for School

Monday morning, Elizabeth completed her shower and put on her bra and panties.  After fixing her hair and completing her morning ablutions, she sat at her vanity and completed her make-up.  She then turned to the uniform laid out on her bed.  She picked up the blouse and put it on.  After donning the plaid skirt she observed that other than the fact that she saw the kids in this skirt every day, it was after all just a skirt.  Unluckily, when she added the student tie, it did start looking a little more childish.  The knee socks instead of stockings further negatively impacted her image.

Elizabeth had acquired some brown leather tie shoes with a stacked heel to keep some height in her shoes.  Elizabeth never went anywhere without heeled shoes.  Even the few tennis shoes she owned had at least an inch of height if not more.  She put the shoes on and looked at herself in the mirror.  She hoped that no one noticed how much shorter she was. 

Elizabeth realized that the uniform did highlight her youthful features and the fact that she was closer to the students’ age than most of the teachers.  It was very unsettling and she stopped looking at herself in the mirror. 

She added her pearl earrings along with a gold bracelet, her watch and her school ring which she always wore. 

After donning the school uniform jacket with the school crest emblazoned on the left breast an overcoat was added to disguise/hide her clothing for the ride to work.  Finally, grabbing her purse and briefcase, she headed out to the car a full hour earlier than usual.  She wanted to make sure she was inside the school and situated before any of the students and most of the administration arrived.  She knew there would be a few humiliating moments, but she was sure she could handle it.  She just had to keep focused on the goal. 

6.    School Day 1 – Monday Week 1 - New Uniform

Elizabeth Warren arrived at the school very early.  In the car on the way to the school, she began to feel foolish in the school uniform.  Even though her overcoat shielded her outfit from any observers on the road, she had an uneasy feeling people knew what she was wearing. Once in her office she actually started setting things up without removing the coat.  She was self-conscious about how she looked and it made her uncomfortable.  She was very disturbed that this whole uniform project was affecting her self-confidence. 

When Jackie pulled into the parking lot, she noticed that the principal had arrived early.  Jackie couldn’t blame her.  Jackie had spent most of the weekend fantasizing about taking the new principal down a notch or two.  She didn’t really know how things would go.  But she hoped to raise her own capabilities and reputation with the board.  Stacy promised to help her and Stacy still thought the new principal might get run out on a rail.

Entering the office, Jackie noticed that the principal had her office door closed.  She smiled to herself.  Maybe the new principal was not so confident in her ability to win the challenge.  She decided to let Elizabeth stew in her worries until right before they needed to go out to meet the girls. 

Mrs. Thompson, the school secretary, arrived and started getting her desk organized for the day.  Her desk sat in the center of the office between the offices of the Principal and the Vice-Principal.  Both of them were apparently here and had their doors closed.

Jackie was excited to see the principal in her new school uniform.  Jackie was almost giddy.  Finally, Jackie gathered herself up and opened her door.  She walked across the office and knocked on the Principal’s door.

Elizabeth answered, “Yes?”

Jackie opened the door and as she walked into the office, she looked over to see Elizabeth sitting at her desk with some paperwork in front of her. 

Jackie couldn’t help herself as she exclaimed, “Wow.”  She could only see the top half of the uniform.  But, the change was extraordinary.  Jackie could see the blouse and the school tie.  Elizabeth still had the school jacket on.  She had hung up her overcoat.  Elizabeth looked like she had an adult head on top of a school uniform. 

Elizabeth looked down at herself and said, “What?  Does it look bad?”

Jackie tried to get her emotions under control, “No it looks fine.  I was just stunned to see you.  I guess I had an image in my mind of what you would look like.  You actually look pretty good.  It doesn’t look like a joke.”

Elizabeth was trying to get her concern back under control.  “Okay.  I tried to do what was expected.  You think I look alright?”

Jackie thought and said, “Step out from your chair so I can take in the entire uniform.”

Elizabeth stood up and as she stepped out from behind the desk, Jackie immediately noticed that Elizabeth was a good 2-3 inches shorter than yesterday.  That will certainly sap a little of her self-confidence Jackie thought.  The difference was stunning.  Jackie waved a finger in a circle to get Elizabeth to turn around. 

Elizabeth slowly turned.

Jackie thought Elizabeth looked perfect.  She was perfect because no one wearing that school uniform could demand or expect any type of respect or deference from anyone other than a child in the lower grades.  Yes, she thought, Elizabeth was not going to be the strong leader for the next week. 

Jackie said, “I think it looks good.  Let’s head out to greet the students and talk to our group of challengers.”

Jackie and Elizabeth made their way to the front door of the school.  The girls were waiting in a group for them to arrive. 

The girls assumed that this was going to be a serious challenge until they saw the Principal.  The girls immediately realized that there were clearly a bunch of things wrong.  They started to list all the things that were wrong when Mary pulled them all back.

Mary began, “Wait a minute.  We have to see what the Vice-Principal says when she reviews the uniform.  If we are correct, she will get a pass on all the little things that we would all be penalized for.  That would show that we were right.  But, we don’t want to make this easy, right?”

All the girls nodded.

“So,” Mary continued, “let’s see what we see is wrong with the uniform.  But, let’s only pick one or two things that are wrong.  Then, we can nail her tomorrow for something else.  If we are lucky, we can add at least 2 or 3 extra days to this before she catches on.  In fact, we should reread the rules and be on the lookout for some of the more unusual rule violations.  None of the administration looks for everything.  Maybe we can push it for a full extra week.”

The girls all giggled. 

Even from a distance, it was obvious that the Principal had on the wrong shoes.  She had on jewelry that violated the rules and she was probably wearing make-up. 

Mary looked at the girls.  “So, we have four things.  We will only tell them one of them.  Then they will know we are serious and they will probably look for everything.  Agreed?”

“Yes,” they all agreed.

The girls made their way over to the Principal and Vice-Principal.

“So, Principal Warren, what do you think of our school uniform?” Mary asked.

Principal Warren smiled at the girls, “Well, it certainly is not what I wanted to wear when I woke up this morning.  But, it is just a blouse and a skirt.  I don’t see what the big deal is.”

Mary turned to Jackie Coleman and asked, “So, the Vice Principal has approved of your uniform?”

Vice-Principal Jackie Coleman smiled at the girls and answered, “As you can see, Principal Warren has donned the appropriate uniform and I checked her tie and her skirt length.  Everything seems up to snuff.  What do you girls think?  Have I missed anything?”

Mary smiled and she and the other girls all looked at the principal.  They pretended to be looking her over.  Then they huddled together.  Turning back to the two administrators, Mary got a quizzical look on her face.  

Mary asked, “Miss Coleman, I thought the regulations prohibited any kind of a heel on the school shoes.  We don’t think the shoes Principal Warren is wearing are allowed under the school uniform policy.  What do you think?”

Jackie was caught off guard.  She had actually noticed the principal was wearing jewelry.  But she had overlooked the shoes.  She wondered why the girls did not mention all the jewelry.  She looked down at the shoes the Principal was wearing. 

“Principal Warren, I believe the girls are correct.  Your shoes do not meet the guidelines.  I’m sorry, but I actually did not notice that.  Maybe the girls have something here.  You’ll need to get the right shoes for tomorrow.  Actually, if you let me know your shoe size, I’ll get someone to run to the store and get them for you so we don’t interrupt your day.  Since the rules are very specific, there is only one style you can buy.”

The Principal looked down at her shoes.  She actually did not realize they were that rigid on the shoe rules.  Oh, well.  She looked at the girls and said, “Congratulations girls.  You are right and I was wrong.  I will get the right shoes and we can move forward.  Thank You.”  And with that, the Principal and Vice-Principal turned and headed back to the office.

Mary and Susan were watching the Vice-Principal and the girl in the uniform walking next to her.  It certainly did not look like two administrators.  Mary whispered under her breath, “Susan, this new principal is too smug for her own good.  Doesn’t she look just like a little school girl going to the Principal’s office.  We have to keep her in that uniform as long as possible.  We need to put on our thinking caps and talk after school.”

Susan smiled and nodded. 

Later that morning, the secretary returned with a pair of regulation school shoes for the Principal.  Elizabeth pulled her lifts out of her other shoes and put them in the new shoes before putting them on.  She was still disappointed by the flat soles of the shoes.  She had lost another inch and at least 3 if not 4 inches in height when compared to her normal heels.  In addition, the shoes were uncomfortable due to the addition of the lifts.  But she was determined to leave them in. 

Elizabeth tried to stay in her office as much as possible.  She ventured out to the lunchroom and took some ribbing from the kids.  Everyone congratulated her for going along with the challenge. 

Mary and Susan noted that she now had the correct shoes on.  They congratulated her on being a good sport.  Both smiled noting she was still wearing the jewelry and they noticed the make-up.  They had at least one if not two more days for sure. 

The Vice-Principal kept an eye on the Principal all day long.  She looked a lot like the regular students.  It was the little things that made her stand out a little.  The shoes had been a great catch on the part of the girls.  She wondered if they planned to get her on the jewelry tomorrow.  The idea that this little experiment could be used to take the new administrator down a few notches was very satisfying.  She figured the longer they kept Elizabeth in a uniform, the easier it would be to deflate her ego and reduce her effectiveness.  Yes she concluded, this little project was working out better than she could have imagined. 

At the end of the day, the Principal donned her overcoat and made her way home.  Jackie watched her making her way to the car.  Yes, Jackie was confident her new little Principal was ashamed of the uniform and she and the girls needed to work together to keep this experiment going. 

7.    School Day 2 – Tuesday Week 1

Elizabeth followed the same routine as her first day in uniform except she wore her new school shoes. 

When the girls met with the Principal and Vice-Principal everyone agreed the shoe problem had been solved.  However, Susan pointed out that the students were not allowed to wear jewelry.   The Vice-Principal had a subtle smile on her face.  She now believed she and the girls were all working towards extending this experiment as long as possible.  She wondered what the girls would come up with tomorrow.

The Principal was letting Jackie deal with more of the issues throughout the school.  That allowed her to hang around the office.  Principal Warren would venture out once or twice during the day like during lunch.  But she mostly stayed in the office. 

8.    School Day 3 – Wednesday Week 1

On the third day, Elizabeth followed her same routine but left her jewelry at home.  Unluckily, the reflection in her mirror was looking younger and her confidence was waning as each day passed.  She drew strength from the fact that today was Wednesday and she felt that she was half way through her week of hell. 

As expected by Jackie, at their morning meeting the girls pointed out that the Principal was wearing make-up.  The Vice-Principal agreed and Principal Warren was instructed to go remove her make-up. 

Elizabeth called Jackie into her office and it was clear that the pressure of this challenge was getting to her.  Before Elizabeth went to the rest room, she wanted to talk to Jackie for advice on how to deal with this situation. 

Jackie relished being thought of as Elizabeth’s confidant when she felt like she was an unspoken partner in the girls’ antics. 

“Jackie, this is getting out of hand.  I have a job to do and this little project is starting to become a distraction.”  Elizabeth had almost a pleading tone to her voice. 

“Well Elizabeth, the girls have been trying to prove their point.  I’m not sure if it would have been better for me to highlight these issues.  Each item they have identified is a clear violation of the rules and I did over look them.  Mostly, I missed them because they seemed appropriate to your normal role and I was not looking at you as a student when I evaluated your uniform.  I’m actually at fault.  And unluckily, it looks like they are proving their point.  You have to stick this out.  Otherwise we will lose all credibility with the students.”

“I think they are just trying to embarrass me.”

“No, I think they want you to follow the rules which is what we agreed you would do.”  The Vice-Principal continued, “Now, Elizabeth, I think we have to take a new look at the rules and make sure you are following all the rules.”  Jackie wanted Elizabeth to come to a specific conclusion on her own.  “I guess, I look at you as a colleague and that is affecting my evaluation.  How do you suggest we handle this?”

Elizabeth thought for a moment and then seemed to have an idea.  She smiled and said, “You need to look at me as a student when you are evaluating the school uniform.”

Jackie smiled because that was the conclusion she hoped Elizabeth might come to, “That is an interesting suggestion.  I have to look at you as a student when evaluating you.  Is that what you are telling me?”

“Yes, I think that is probably best.  We need to get past this.”

“So, for the rest of this challenge, you want me to evaluate you just like any other student.  Is that right?”

Elizabeth was looking down at her desk.  “Yes, I guess so.” She reluctantly agreed.

Jackie continued, “And you won’t hold it against me if I find some additional fault.  Because we are trying to be fair.  You need to be held to the same rules as any of the students wearing the seventh grade uniform.  Right?”

Elizabeth answered a little slower this time, “Yes.”

Jackie was fascinated watching Elizabeth.  Each day this week and more importantly, for the last few minutes, it was as if with each step, with each question, Elizabeth was changing from administrator into a school girl.  Her mannerisms and reluctant answers were more like a child agreeing they had done something wrong than a strong leader.  Jackie wanted to push her advantage and make sure that Elizabeth agreed to take this little test further.

Jackie thought and then continued, “So, I’m going to go make sure that I refresh my memory on every one of the rules.  And I suggest you do the same.  From this point forward, as you have directed me, I will do my job to make sure you are following all the rules just like I’m supposed to do for any seventh grade student.  Agreed?”

“Yes, fine.”

Jackie knew that for this to work, she needed to change Elizabeth’s view of their roles.  Elizabeth needed to start viewing Jackie as the person in charge.  And Jackie needed to provide more and more direction to her young charge if she wanted to change the hierarchy here at the school.  Jackie would have to consciously take on a leadership role and guide Elizabeth away from her authority.  This should provide an opportunity for Jackie to collect that authority and with time cement her position as the dominant leader. 

With a smile and a semi-serious look on her face Jackie said, “Well young missy, students are not allowed to wear make-up.  So get in the restroom and clean yourself up right now!  I’ll wait here to check you out.”

Elizabeth was caught off guard by the tone of Jackie’s order but it seemed like she was making a little joke about it.  Elizabeth entered the restroom and washed off all of her make-up.  When she re-entered the office, Jackie was astounded by how most remaining signs of the adult principal had been removed.  Elizabeth could walk into any classroom in the school and no one would take a second glance.  That got her thinking. 

“Very good Elizabeth,” Jackie said as she looked her over.  “I don’t want to see you wearing make-up to school in the future.  Do you understand?”

Elizabeth was embarrassed and she was looking at her feet.  She thought Jackie was pushing the envelope.  But she responded, “Yes, Jackie.  I will not wear any make-up to school.”

Suddenly, Jackie looked very serious.  “What did you call me?  You will address me as Vice-Principal or Mam.  I am not in the habit of having students use my first name.  Especially when I am offering corrective suggestions.  Do you understand?”

Elizabeth thought Jackie was pushing the role-playing a little bit too far.  But she played along.  “I’m sorry Vice-Principal Coleman.  I will try not to let it happen again.”

Jackie was excited.  She had over-reacted to see how the defrocked principal would react.  And, her reaction was perfect.

Jackie looked at her with a serious face, “If it happens again, you’ll be visiting my office for a personal correction session.  Do you understand young lady?”

Elizabeth found herself quaking slightly.  What was happening her?  She needed to get Jackie out of her office.  She quickly answered, “Yes, Mam.”

Jackie said, “Good!” in a very authoritative way and turned to leave the office.  Her mind was going a million miles an hour as she returned to her own office after declaring Elizabeth Warren free of make-up. 

Jackie got nothing done for the rest of the day.  She was fascinated by the regression of her new boss from Principal to school girl.  In fact, she thought, anyone walking into the office might wonder why a student was hanging around in there.  Hmmm, that got her thinking. 

Jackie grabbed a copy of all the rules and took them home with her to look for loopholes she had not previously considered.  Mary, Susan and some of their friends were doing the same thing. 

For her part, Elizabeth remained in her office for the rest of the day.  This morning had been very unsettling.  This project had brought her involvement in school activities to a stand-still.  She basically sat in her office and stewed for the rest of the day.  She spent much of that time reading and re-reading the school uniform rules to ensure she was not breaking any more rules. 

9.    School Day 4 – Thursday Week 1

On Thursday, the fourth day of their experiment, Elizabeth found her morning routine went even quicker.  Without having to do her make-up, she was done sooner than every day this week.  However, she had noted that the rules said she could wear her school ring which she slid on her finger. 

In reviewing the rules, Elizabeth realized that her underwear might be a problem with the rules.  Elizabeth loved silky panties and regularly updated her collection at Victoria’s Secret.  However, the rules stated that she was supposed to be wearing the school uniform white cotton panties.  Though she hated the idea, she decided to avoid another pitfall and concluded she should wear her Victoria’s white cotton panties for the rest of this project. 

Confident that she was now fully within regulations, the student Principal left for school.  Of course, she was still wearing her overcoat.  The weather was actually quite warm because it was early in the fall and this did make the ride to and from school a bit uncomfortable.  

Her reflection in her mirror this morning sapped more of her self-confidence.  There was no question that without jewelry and make-up, she looked way too young.  Of course, with lower self-confidence, she was probably more critical of her looks than others might be.  She kept saying to herself, it’s only a few more days. 

Jackie got to school early on Thursday.  She saw the principal getting out of her car in her overcoat and watched as she entered the school and came to the office. 

Jackie followed Elizabeth into her office and watched as she removed the overcoat and hung it in the corner. 

Elizabeth had gathered her confidence on the way to school and looked at Jackie.  “Well, what do you think?  Have I finally got it all together?”

Jackie smiled and made a circular motion with her hand.  Elizabeth slowly turned around in a circle. 

“I think the uniform looks correct.  No make-up or jewelry and you have on the school socks and shoes.”  Jackie was amazed by how much shorter Elizabeth was.  It was just a fleeting thought.

Jackie then got a more serious look on her face.  “Elizabeth, there is one thing we need to talk about.  The overcoat you have been wearing to school is actually a violation of the school rules.  You could leave it in the car.  But in the future, you are only allowed to wear an overcoat during inclement weather.  That is why we have a jacket for the uniform.  Since school has not started today, it’s probably not a big deal.  But in the future, I will consider it a violation.  Why don’t you run it out to the car before the students start arriving?”

She had added the instruction to put the coat in the car as an afterthought.

Elizabeth was staring at her open-mouthed.

Jackie continued, “Young lady!  I said take that coat out and put it in the car.  Now!”  She ended the statement very firmly. 

Elizabeth sort of jumped and quickly grabbed her keys from her purse along with the coat and took it out to the car.

Jackie returned to her office with a smile on her face.  Elizabeth was beginning to learn who was in charge.

A while later right before classes were to begin, Jackie stuck her head in Elizabeth’s office and said, “Young lady, it’s time for us to meet with the other girls for uniform inspection.  Come along.”  Jackie had decided to avoid Elizabeth’s title and her name as much as possible.  She would use terms that would be more common with a child and thereby continue to sap authority and confidence from the new principal.

Jackie did not wait and immediately turned and left the office to go meet the girls in the main hallway.  Jackie walked briskly and Elizabeth was following but having a hard time catching up.  She looked just like any other school girl late for a meeting.  Jackie looked like the authority figure. 

Jackie approached Mary, Susan and some of their friends.  The girls had avoided any uniform mistakes on their part so far this week.  Elizabeth slid into the group late.  Jackie was surprised to realize that Elizabeth was shorter than all of the other girls in the group.  They were all seventh and eighth grade students. 

Jackie began, “Well, I think our young lady may have finally succeeded in meeting the dress code requirements.  What do you girls think?”

They all looked Elizabeth over and walked around her in a circle.  Then they talked amongst themselves. 

Mary again stepped forward.  “Vice-Principal, we think your protégé has made great progress.  But again you have failed to see something we think is a clear violation of the rules.”  Mary opened a school handbook and read;

“Hair may only be managed as follows.  Hair may be held with simple bobby pins, school uniform scrunchies, or the school uniform headband.” 

Mary continued, “It looks to us like the principal has curled and fashioned her hair using a curling iron and hairspray.  This is clearly not fair.”

Jackie was caught off guard with this issue and stepped back.  Reaching out and touching Elizabeth’s hair, Jackie had to agree with the girls.

“I think you are right again.  Frankly, I am as disappointed in myself and I know Elizabeth is sorry.  This is silly that we seem to find one new thing every day.

Elizabeth did not even realize that when the Vice-Principal was discussing her she referred to her by her first name and not by her title.  This was a subtle change and part of Jackie’s strategy. 

Mary continued, “We agree so we have two other issues we would like to discuss.  One is that we noticed that our subject is wearing a school ring even though we discussed jewelry.”

Elizabeth felt like she was being ignored in this conversation.  So, she jumped in.  “I read the rules over again last night to make sure that I was doing everything correctly.  The rules clearly state that I can wear a school ring.  And I am very proud of my ring and have worn it daily for years.”

Mary looked at the Principal and then at Jackie and said, “I understand the reasoning.  However, the rule says;

A Princess Ann class ring is the only hand ornamentation allowed.  Other than previously mentioned earrings or the school ring, no other jewelry is allowed.”

Mary paused and looked up at the Vice-Principal, “The ring she is wearing is from another school.  Therefore, it is a violation of the dress code.”

Jackie nodded thoughtfully.  She had to agree with Mary.  “I’m Sorry Elizabeth, I think you have to take the ring off while at school.”

Turning to the girls, she asked, “Is there anything else?”

The girls asked if they could have a minute and Elizabeth and Jackie waited patiently.  Elizabeth dreaded whatever they might come up with.  Jackie was enjoying every second this interaction played out. 

The girls had noticed that the Principal was staying hidden in her office and they were not getting the enjoyment they had on Monday when she was seen around the school in her uniform.  They wondered how they could change that.  They noticed that she was always at school before everyone else and left long after the students.  Susan was the one who remembered a rule in the back of the book.

The girls turned back to the administrators and Susan began.  “We have a question.  According to the terms of the agreement, the Principal has to wear the seventh grade uniform and I believe follow all the student rules during the challenge period of time.  Right?”

Elizabeth and Jackie looked at each other and both nodded and said, “Yes.”

Susan continued, “The student handbook says students are not allowed on school grounds until 7:45 AM.  It also says that students must be out of the school within 15 minutes of the end of day.  Being in the school before or after these times is a violation.  The principal has been avoiding everyone in the school by arriving early and leaving way after everyone else.  She should have to arrive with the students and leave with them if she is going to conform to the rules.”

The girls were all staring at the Vice-Principal.  No one was looking to Elizabeth for an opinion.  Elizabeth found herself wondering why they were not asking her and she found herself looking to Jackie for an opinion.

Jackie was thrilled.  This was a perfect example of what she had been looking for.  It fit right in with another issue she would identify in the future.  She had learned from the girls that stringing this project out was going to be more fun. 

Thoughtfully, Jackie looked at Elizabeth and back to the girls.  She realized that she was now perceived as the final arbiter in these matters and that suited her just fine.  Another notch had been etched in Elizabeth’s authority.

“Ladies,” Jackie began, “I think that is probably a good point.  We would certainly not let any of you in the building early.  For the remainder of this project, I believe that Elizabeth should arrive at school at the same time other students do and she can leave after school.  There are no major issues this week and I’m sure she can work on paper work at home with her additional free time.”

Having issued her opinion, Jackie did not want to allow Elizabeth to jump in.  So to cement her position as the decision maker, Jackie turned to Elizabeth and said, “I’ll talk to Elizabeth and we will work out her arrival and departure schedule.  You girls get to homeroom.  Come along young lady.” And with that, Jackie gave a subtle push to Elizabeth guiding her back towards the offices.

Elizabeth was fuming but she did not want to make a scene in the hall.  Jackie purposely headed directly into her own office.  This forced Elizabeth to go into Jackie’s office to confront her.  But of course they were now on Jackie’s home turf and that gave a psychological edge to Jackie. 

“Jackie,” Elizabeth began, “What…”

Elizabeth was cut off by Jackie in a very firm voice, “What did you call me?  We agreed that in any dealings regarding this matter you would not use my first name.  You will address me as Vice-Principal, Mam, or Vice-Principal Coleman.  You will forget my first name.” 

Jackie had many more years of teaching experience and she knew from experience how to cow a younger person and demand their respect.  She was now using this experience to re-mold her student principal into a new role.

Elizabeth was caught off guard.  She totally forgot what she was here to complain about.  “What are you talking about?  I’m the Principal.  You work for me.”  Elizabeth was mildly stomping one of her feet.  Just like a petulant child thought Jackie. 

Jackie responded, “Look, you agreed to this project with the full support of the school board.  They are watching to see what happens.  Now yesterday we talked about this.  You told me that I should treat you just like the other seventh grade students.  And I agreed to do so.  We will not discuss this again.”

Elizabeth started to say something and Jackie pointed her finger and said, “Don’t interrupt me.  You agreed that we needed to follow the rules.  You agreed multiple times that I should treat you like a student in regards to this project and these rules.  I told you; I am not in the habit of having students use my first name.  I asked if you understood and you said yes.  You promised it would not happen again.  And I told you that if it did, you might be visiting my office for a personal correction session.  Do you remember this conversation?”

Elizabeth was overwhelmed by Jackie’s attitude and the force with which she delivered this rehash of yesterday’s conversation.  She was trying to process everything Jackie had just said when Jackie started again.

“Young lady, I asked you a question.  Do you remember the conversation we had yesterday and do you remember agreeing to the points I just listed?  Answer me!”

Elizabeth jumped.  Jackie saw it.  Jackie’s direct approach to breaking down Elizabeth’s personal barriers was working.  Elizabeth was reacting just like any other student who found themselves in front of the Vice-Principal’s desk for correction.

Elizabeth quickly answered without thinking, “Yes, I remember what we talked about.  Yes, I agreed.  It’s just that…” Elizabeth began to whine a little.  Jackie cut her off.

“It’s just that NOTHING.  You are a big girl.  You understood the agreement with the students and you understood what you told me to do yesterday.  You gave me marching orders on how to treat you and deal with the matters regarding this project.  We are not going to mince words.  I will not have a repeat of that conversation every time there is an issue.  Follow the rules, complete the agreement and we can stop this nonsense.  If it continues, it is your fault.  As you said at the beginning of this; ‘Read the rules, know the rules, and follow the rules. How hard can it be?’  That is how we ended up in this situation.”

Jackie continued, “The girls were right.  And you know it.  We never allow students on the property before a certain time for insurance reasons.  If you are following their rules, you can’t be here early.  Same goes for the end of day.  My decision has been made.  You can complete any work you have at home.  It will be homework, just like all the other girls wearing a seventh grade uniform do when they get home.  Now I have real work to do.  So, please go back and hide in your office.  That seems like what you’ve been doing all week.”

Fully chastised, Elizabeth slumped her shoulders, turned and started to leave.  Before she got to the door, Jackie said, “Excuse me.”

Elizabeth stopped and turned not knowing what was wrong.  “I believe you still owe me an apology.” Jackie continued.

Elizabeth thought for a moment and said, “I’m sorry Vice-Principal Coleman for using your first name.  It will not happen again.  Is there anything else, mam?

Jackie responded, “I accept your apology.  And, Students usually ask if they can be dismissed before leaving my office.”

Elizabeth was almost broken, “Mam, may I be dismissed so I can return to my office?”

Jackie smiled.  “Yes, you are dismissed.  I’ll talk to you later.”

Elizabeth slowly made her way back to her office.  And yes she felt like she was hiding there.

Jackie closed her door behind the girl.  She could hardly keep herself from shouting.  This was great.  Elizabeth had not even responded when Jackie clearly stepped over the line and accused her of hiding in the office.  A lot of starch had been taken out of Elizabeth’s pride.  And then to top it off, she got Elizabeth to ask to be dismissed from her office.  Jackie moved back to her desk to ponder her next moves.

She realized they had not dealt with Elizabeth’s hair.  This would give her another reason to visit her office later this morning. 

Jackie talked to Mrs. Thompson the secretary for the office.  She asked her to please collect a school scrunchie and a headband for their “young charge” as Jackie referred to Elizabeth.  Mrs. Thompson laughed and Jackie knew she had an ally.  She asked Mrs. Thompson to deliver the items to their “young charge” and explain the hair policy to her.  Mrs. Thompson said she would be happy to take care of it. 

Later that morning, Mrs. Thompson knocked on Elizabeth Warren’s door and entered, closing the door behind her.  Elizabeth looked like she was in a daze. 

Mrs. Thompson began, “Dear, the Vice-Principal told me to explain the hair policy so you don’t have any further problems with the rules.  Can you please come over here for a second?”  Mrs. Thompson moved to one of the visitor chairs and stood behind it.  This was a disarming move on Mrs. Thompson’s part to take Elizabeth out of her seat of authority.  Jackie had suggested it.  It would allow Mrs. Thompson to take the lead and instruct Elizabeth easier.

Mrs. Thompson waited as Elizabeth reluctantly came around the desk and sat in the chair.  Mrs. Thompson showed the headband and scrunchie to Elizabeth.  “These are the main tools of the trade.” she said.  Now, we obviously can’t wet your hair down in the middle of the day but we have to get this hair back under control to be in compliance with the school rules.”

With that Mrs. Thompson took a brush and began running it through Elizabeth’s hair.  As she did, the hairdo flattened out and once Mrs. Thompson put the headband on her head, her hair looked just like all the other students.  And, Elizabeth knew, she had just lost between 1.5 and 2 inches in perceived height.  She always wore her hair in an updo to give her head perceived height.  It was just another tool in her arsenal.  It was another tool which was being removed from her personal tool bag.  With the loss of her heels and now her hair style, Elizabeth knew she would lose over 5 inches in height that people normally associated with her.  This was a disaster.

Mrs. Thompson held out a hand mirror and was very proud of her efforts.  Elizabeth knew it looked as good as it could under the circumstances.  But, that did not help. 

She did not have to stand up or move around to know that everyone would see her as much shorter now.  She had felt disheartened after her talk with the Vice-Principal earlier and now it just felt like piling on. 

As the school day came to a close, Jackie moved across the hall to Elizabeth’s office.  She did not knock and simply opened the door.  “Excuse me but I wanted to remind you that the school bell will ring in a couple of minutes and you should gather up your things to go home with the ‘other’ students as we discussed earlier.”  Jackie had purposely used the word other to put Elizabeth in the same social status as the other students.  In addition, the wording she selected was how most of the teachers talked to their students in the last 5 minutes of the class day. 

Elizabeth gathered up her notes and the unused scrunchie and put them in her briefcase.  She no longer had the overcoat.  She picked up her purse and briefcase and got ready to leave.  As the final bell sounded, Elizabeth opened her door. 

Jackie was waiting in the outer office and nodded as Elizabeth made her way to the door. 

Mrs. Thompson said, “Have a good afternoon honey.  We’ll see you in the morning.”

Elizabeth felt like she was entering a sea of kids as she made her way to the parking lot and her car.  When she went to get in the car, she donned the overcoat so that people would not see how she was dressed when driving or when she got home. 

10.                       School Day 5 – Friday Week 1

On Friday, the fifth day, Elizabeth’s morning routine was getting much simpler.  She simply had to comb her hair back and gather it in the headband.  No make-up or jewelry and she looked for all the world like some dorky grade school girl.  With her coltish slim body, she didn’t even look like a teenager anymore.  No she was solidly in the grade school girl look. 

Elizabeth found herself sitting around wondering what to do.  She normally got to school early no matter what.  Lately, she had been going in even earlier.  But, she did not want to sit in the car in the parking lot.  So, she figured she would delay her departure to coincide with arriving as school was starting. 

Unluckily, Elizabeth was new to the area.  And, she did not yet understand the rush hour travel time variations which could change wildly by waiting as little as fifteen minutes. 

Elizabeth found herself parking her car at 7:30.  She ended up at the far end of the parking lot and School started at 7:30 and most students were in the building by 7:25.  Elizabeth took off the overcoat quickly.  She was embarrassed to be arriving right as school started and hurried to the door with her briefcase and purse in hand. 

At the door, she found the Vice-Principal and the girls waiting for her. 

“Good morning everyone.  Sorry, I guess I misjudged traffic since I don’t usually come in at this time.”  She smiled to everyone.

The Vice-Principal said firmly, “Anyone arriving after the clock strikes 7:30 is considered late.  I’m sorry but I will have to note that you were late this morning.  Girls we are running behind.  Let’s get this review done so everyone can get to class.”

Elizabeth was stunned.  Who cared if she was late?  And why was the Vice-Principal being so firm this early in the morning?  She realized it had not occurred to her to think of the Vice-Principal’s name, only her title. 

Mary and Susan along with the others looked at the Principal.  They huddled and Susan began.  “Mam, it appears that the uniform is in compliance along with her hair and shoes.  However, students are not allowed to carry anything but a school backpack.  I guess since she (Susan pointed at Elizabeth) has been coming in early none of us noticed.  In addition, for obvious reasons, students are not allowed to drive themselves to school.  And even high school seniors who can drive are not allowed to park in the teacher’s parking lot.  We think that someone else should be transporting Miss Warren to the school or she could always ride the bus like most of the students.  At least that way she would not be late.”

Suddenly, a voice entered the conversation from behind Elizabeth.  “I agree with Susan,” Stacey Newman declared.  Elizabeth turned to see Stacey walking towards the group.  Stacey was stunned to realize how juvenile the new principal looked. 

Stacey continued, I believe that the Vice-Principal, Miss Warren and I will have to have a discussion to work this out.  But these are all good points.

Mary half raised her hand to get the Vice-Principal’s attention.  “Yes Mary.”

“There was one other thing.  We’re not sure how you want handle this and you will probably want to discuss it.  Each day this week we have found at least one thing wrong with Miss Warren’s school uniform.  She is supposed to be following the rules as a student would.”

The Vice-Principal was annoyed.  She did not see where this was going.  “We know that Mary.  That is why we are going through this effort.  What is your point?”  On the other hand, Jackie was excited to notice that the girls were referring to Elizabeth as she and her instead of her title.  A clear loss of respect and authority.

“Well Mam, if one of us had had any one of these problems we would have received a written discipline form dictating the problems and it would have been put in our file.  And, after 5 days in a row, wouldn’t you be taking some kind of corrective action based on the number of problems?”

Jackie wanted to hug Mary.  How better to put the student principal in her place than to have her disciplined?  This was going to be tricky. But with Stacey here, Jackie was confident they would figure something out. 

“Mary that is a very good question and something we never considered.  We will talk it over and let you know.  Now, all of you off to class.  Elizabeth, come with us to the office.”  And with that, Jackie and Stacey began walking towards the office with their young student Principal, Miss Elizabeth Warren, trailing behind.

As they entered the office, Jackie walked up to the secretary and said, “Mrs. Thompson would you please gather up a school backpack for our young charge and help her move her things from that inappropriate briefcase.”

Mrs. Thompson looked at Elizabeth and said, “You wait here at my desk and I’ll be right back.”  Jackie felt the shift in Mrs. Thompson’s view of their young charge.  Even Mrs. Thompson was starting to talk to Elizabeth the same way she always dealt with students. 

Jackie and Stacey entered Jackie’s office and closed the door.

Elizabeth found herself standing pigeon-toed looking at the walls waiting for Mrs. Thompson to return.  Mrs. Thompson opened the book bag.  She then took Elizabeth’s brief case from her and opened it next to the backpack. 

Looking at Elizabeth, she said, “Come over here so we can work on this together.”  Elizabeth found herself edging to the end of the table to get a look at her own briefcase and the empty backpack.

“Now,” Mrs. Thompson began, “we will put your pens, pencils, calculator and other items like that in this smaller front pocket.  Remember to keep it zipped up so things don’t fall out.  Your papers can go in this middle section of the backpack.  That will leave the back section open for large items like a sweater or books.  You could even put your purse in here.  Students are not allowed to carry a purse.  So you should select the important items and leave your purse at home.  I’ll put your briefcase in the office closet so you don’t lose it.”

Elizabeth found herself standing at the secretary’s desk while Mrs. Thompson went into her office and put “her” briefcase away.

When she returned, Elizabeth suddenly wondered what she should do.  She looked at Mrs. Thompson and asked, “Can I go into my office now?”

Mrs. Thompson thought it was really cute how she asked for permission to go into her own office.  She thought for a second and replied, “Let me ask Miss Coleman what we should be doing now.  OK?”

Elizabeth found herself nodding.

Mrs. Thompson buzzed Jackie on the phone and asked what she wanted Elizabeth to do next.  Jackie told her to have her wait and they would be with her in a minute. 

Mrs. Thompson told Elizabeth that the Vice-Principal wanted to see her in a minute and she should wait on the bench outside the Vice-Principal’s office.

Elizabeth was in a daze after this morning’s meeting with the girls.  How could the person in charge be considered late?  She sat down on the bench.  They took away her briefcase and didn’t even ask her opinion.  It was just done.  Now she was sitting on the Vice-Principal’s bench holding a school backpack with all her papers and her purse inside.  Why didn’t she just go into her own office?  She had just about decided to do just that when the door opened. 

Jackie looked out and got a big grin on her face when she saw her Student Principal seated on the bench where children usually waited to receive their punishment.

In a firm voice she said, “Young lady, you can come in now.”

Jackie held the door as Elizabeth walked in carrying her backpack like it held all of her worldly valuables.  Jackie closed the door and gestured towards the front of the desk.  The only visitor chairs in the room were away from the desk.  So, Elizabeth was forced to remain standing in front of the Vice-Principal’s desk.

Stacey was standing behind the desk to one side.  Jackie slipped around the desk and sat down in her chair.  This was the tried and true way to demonstrate the school administrator’s dominance over the children.  Elizabeth stood there holding her briefcase to her chest.

Jackie started, “Honey, you can put your book bag down on the floor there.”

Elizabeth placed the bag on the floor in front of her leaning on the bottom of the desk. 

Jackie looked at Stacey and then back at Elizabeth.  “Well, it seems we have several issues to talk about today.  The key items are the briefcase, student driving and the question of how we deal with the discipline issues.  It looks like we already have eliminated the briefcase and that should resolve the first issue.  So let’s talk about driving.  I have talked to Mrs. Newman to get her opinion on where the Board is on this matter.  Mrs. Newman says the board is behind you 100%.  But they expect you to follow the rules and live up to any obligations you commit to.  You have committed to follow the student rules for seventh grade.  Therefore, it seems clear that you cannot drive to school.”

Elizabeth had a pained look on her face.  Jackie was eating it up and Stacey was savoring the moment.  Jackie knew that the way in which Elizabeth started her response would tell them a lot about where this effort was going.  “But, Vice-Principal Coleman I have to be able to get to and from school.”

Jackie was ecstatic.  No first name.  Behavior modification was working.  She interrupted Elizabeth, “We discussed this and Mrs. Newman and I have come up with a plan.  Listen to our ideas and see what you think.  As I understand, the place you are renting is on the other side of town.  Is that right?”

Elizabeth nodded, “Yes, Mam.”

“Well, Mrs. Newman offered to rent rooms to a few of the teachers at the beginning of the school year.  No one took her up on it.  So she has a room to rent.  She has volunteered to give you free room and board during this project to help you succeed.  She and the school board want to do everything they can to help this project along.  Her daughter rides the school bus each day; so you will be able to get on and off at the same stop.  It’s perfect.  You can keep your place for now and go back there once our project is complete.”

Elizabeth felt the world going a little too fast.  Why did she need a new place to live?  “I don’t understand.  Why do I need a new place to live?  Can’t I just park a block or two from the school?”

Jackie just continued, “Mrs. Newman will provide your meals and you will have no worries at all.  If someone finds out you are driving, we will all be in trouble.  In addition, it is clear you are worried about driving in your school uniform.  Isn’t that why you keep that overcoat in the car?  This way you don’t have anything to hide.  You just live with Mrs. Newman and keep her happy and there should be no problems.”

Stacey jumped in at this moment, “Elizabeth, this is really the best solution.  We don’t want to embarrass you or the school.  And we need a solution that ensures you are not breaking any of the rules.  I can follow you to your place and we can get a few of your things after school.  Then we will go to my house and you can stop worrying.  We are all working to help you succeed.  With us all focused on your success, things should be much smoother.  Don’t you think this is a great solution?”

Elizabeth tentatively answered, “At first blush, it seems like a good solution.  Shouldn’t we think about this?  It seems like an awful lot of effort for just a couple of days.”

Jackie had a surprised look on her face.  Jackie asked, “What do you mean only a couple of more days?”

Elizabeth now had a puzzled look on her face.  “We’ll be done on Monday or Tuesday.”

Jackie laughed at her response.  “Elizabeth, you have failed to meet the uniform requirements every day this week.  You have to have 5 days in a row where you do not break the rules.  You are starting over on Monday.  If you repeat this week’s performance, you will still have another week after next.  It’s time for you to focus on the task at hand and follow the rules.”

“Starting over on Monday?  I thought that as long as everything was fine during the day we were done.”  Jackie and Stacey were both looking at her with that disappointed look parents give their children when they are trying to weasel out of following the rules as written.

Jackie watched her as the situation was dawning.  “Elizabeth, the girls saw multiple things on Monday.  They picked them off one by one to force you into this situation for a longer period of time.  You have yet to complete even one day. 
And today is already a failure.  Mrs. Newman and I are trying to help you complete your adventure.  You obviously need our help.”   Of course, Jackie and Stacey’s idea of help was to help her fail.  But Elizabeth did not know that. 

Jackie and Stacey had talked about some of the psychological games Jackie was playing with their young principal and Stacey was looking forward to adding her own little twists to Elizabeth’s deteriorating world. 

Jackie continued, “So we all agree, you will move into Mrs. Newman’s home for the duration of this project?”

Elizabeth found herself nodding. She just wanted to get out of here.

“Now comes the more difficult issue.” Jackie concluded.

Elizabeth was caught off guard.  How could anything be worse than continuing this charade for another week?  How could anything be worse than moving into someone else’s house and losing her freedom?  She looked at Jackie with a questioning look.

Jackie said, “Your discipline issues.  First, as the girls noted, we should have produced discipline sheets each day for the mistakes.  I have gone ahead and written those up while you were waiting on the bench.  I also proactively started a student file for you.  Because without a file, we have nowhere to put the discipline forms.  The problem is you have 5 days of discipline complaints in a row.”

“I’m sure you know what the school rules call for in this situation.  What do you think we should do?” 

Elizabeth was staring at Jackie.  The rule was that after 5 discipline notices in less than 2 weeks, the Vice-Principal was authorized to deliver 3 swats with the discipline paddle. 

Elizabeth looked at the Vice-Principal seriously.  “Vice-Principal Coleman, the rule does not require discipline.  It allows it as an option.  And I have no intention of submitting to some ridiculous standard due to misunderstandings regarding the dress code.”

Jackie was happy that Elizabeth had used her formal name.  But the forcefulness was a little unexpected.

Jackie said, “I agree with you.”

“You do?”  Elizabeth asked.

“Yes, I do.  This is not something we ever planned for.”

Elizabeth was relieved.

“However,” Jackie added, “Now that the girls have brought this issue to the forefront, I think we have to have an agreement going forward.  They will expect you to live up to the same rules they are required to meet.  So, we can tell them that you and I have worked things out.  But, Mrs. Newman and I have agreed that if you continue to pile up discipline forms, we have to agree that as per the agreement you will submit to any required student discipline in the future.  The Board says this is what they expect and it is consistent with the agreement.”

“That is crazy.” Elizabeth replied.

“Well that is what we on the board believe is required in this situation.  You entered into an agreement and we all joined in that agreement.  If you do not live up to that agreement we will consider this a breach of your employment contract.” Stacey concluded.  The surprise on Elizabeth’s face indicated that it was clear that she was stunned by this possibility.

Stacey continued, “I suggest you make sure you don’t break any of the rules and get this project done.  Buck up lady.  After school today, I will meet you here and follow you home.”

Elizabeth was stunned.

Jackie was satisfied with how things were going.

“Well Elizabeth, now that we seem to have everything worked out, I need to talk to Mrs. Newman about a few important issues.  Why don’t you grab your book bag and head over to the principal’s office.  Please close the door on your way out.  Thank You.”  Jackie was going to stop referring to the office as “her office”.

Having been dismissed, Elizabeth made her way out and headed to her own office.  Mrs. Thompson smiled approvingly as she crossed the office.

Elizabeth closed her door and sat down at her desk.  She spent the rest of the morning trying to understand what was happening.

Near the end of the day, Stacey dropped into Jackie’s office and let her know everything was set up at home.  Jackie went across the hall and again opened Elizabeth’s door without warning like yesterday.  “Honey, Mrs. Newman is here and school lets out in a few minutes.  You should gather up your things for the final bell.”

Stacey was standing behind Jackie and almost burst out laughing at the childish way Jackie was addressing the person who was supposed to be running the school.  If their plans came together, Jackie would be firmly in charge of this school very soon. 

In the rush this morning, neither Stacey nor Jackie had realized that with the changes to Elizabeth, she was really short.  As Elizabeth exited her office and was standing next to Stacey they both noticed that Elizabeth was shorter than most of the student body. 

Stacey reached down for Elizabeth’s hand.  “Come along my dear we have things to do before dinner.”  Stacey started walking towards the door and did not let go of Elizabeth’s hand.  She basically walked briskly out of the building and made sure that she all but dragged the reluctant student principal behind her. 

When they reached the parking lot, Stacey asked where Elizabeth lived and she told her she would follow.  Stacey followed Elizabeth to her place.  The two women went into Elizabeth’s place and Stacey looked around. 

Stacey said, “Look, honey, you won’t need a lot.  Grab some underwear and personal items.  Also grab a couple of casual outfits and anything for your school uniforms.  “

Elizabeth grabbed a small overnight bag and loaded some underwear and bras along with socks and some tennis shoes in the bag. She grabbed some heels and pants as well as a couple of tops.  After grabbing her other personal items, they were ready to go. 

Stacey suggested they leave Elizabeth’s car here for the weekend and they could ride in Stacey’s car.  Stacey carried Elizabeth’s book bag and loaded it into the car.  They were in the car and on their way before Elizabeth realized she was still wearing her uniform.  In addition, she was quietly wondering why she needed to go to the Newman house for the weekend.

When they arrived at Stacey’s house, Elizabeth was impressed.  It was a nice size house.  Stacey explained that there were several bedrooms in the house. 

Stacey explained that her two older daughters had moved out.  One was still in college and the other had graduated.  Her youngest daughter Maya was in the 6^th grade at Princess Ann.  She explained that as the girls moved out she had a policy that the younger girls could move up to the available rooms.  Maya was now in the room recently vacated by her older sister. 

Since no one had decided to rent a room from Stacey, she had made no changes to the rooms.  Maya’s recently vacated room looked like any other room that had been occupied by a little girl for 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th grade.  The third children’s bedroom had been for Maya when she was a toddler.  It came in handy when friends came by with their small children.  There was a crib and a changing table and the room was decorated for a small child. 

Stacey explained that Elizabeth would be using Maya’s old room.  It was convenient and had its own bathroom.  Yes, it was a bit juvenile.  But no one but Stacey and Elizabeth would know where she was staying.  Well, Maya would know.  In addition, Stacey told her she had no intention of redecorating a room for someone that should only be staying for a week or so.

Stacey dumped Elizabeth’s bag on the bed.  She immediately noticed that Elizabeth’s bras were very heavily padded.  Stacey pulled open a drawer in the dresser and pushed some underwear to the side so that Elizabeth’s bras and panties could be added.

She made note of all the clothes Elizabeth brought.  Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, Stacey hoped to shape her wardrobe during non-school hours.  She also made a note to call Jackie and alert her regarding Elizabeth’s bras.  Since Stacey had three daughters who had attended the school she was well aware of the uniform dress code regarding bras. 

Stacey told Elizabeth to look around the room and she would call her when dinner was ready.  Elizabeth took her time looking around.  This was a real room like many of her students lived in.  And now she was staying in this room.  It was mildly disconcerting. 

A little while later Stacey called, “Girls, dinner is ready.”

Elizabeth made her way down to the kitchen and encountered Maya on the stairs.  Maya was a full head taller than Elizabeth.  She thought that was strange since Maya was only in the 6^th grade.  They sat at the table and Stacey fed them a nice meal.  After they were done, Stacey talked about the rules of the house.  Elizabeth was not to leave the house without telling Stacey ahead of time.  Stacey needed to know where people were and what they were doing.  Stacey would provide a list of chores that each girl was supposed to do.  Stacey was paying for the room and board and they would each be expected to pull their weight.

Elizabeth was surprised but did not feel it was unreasonable to have chores.  Because of Maya’s size, Elizabeth almost felt like the little sister sitting next to her. 

Maya was astounded to find the Principal living in her house.  She was even more surprised to find that she was still walking around in the school uniform on a Friday evening.  And to top it all off, Maya was taller and bigger than the principal.  Her mom had told her to call the principal Elizabeth at home.  At first, she thought that was crazy.  But now that they were going to be sharing chores and the principal seemed so meek and quiet, Elizabeth was only the name she would start with.  Maya found herself getting a little excited about putting the principal in her place.  Yes, she looked forward to sharing the chores with the principal.

Stacey suggested that the three of them watch a movie after cleaning up the kitchen.  Maya and Elizabeth moved the plates and dinner serving things into the kitchen and began cleaning up and putting things in the dish washer.  Elizabeth found herself getting into the tasks and she tried to take her mind off of today’s events. 

When they were done Elizabeth went into the family room and Maya went looking for her mother. 

Stacey and the girls selected a movie and they all settled in to watch.  At the end of the movie, Stacey suggested that it had been a big day and that they should all get a nice night’s sleep.

Elizabeth grabbed one of the nightgown she had brought and brushed her teeth.  Her evening activities were much easier now that she was not wearing make-up at school.  In fact, she realized that she had forgotten to pack her make-up.  She reminded herself to get Stacey to take her by her apartment tomorrow to get that and anything else she needed.

Elizabeth found the bed comfortable and she was soon sound asleep. 

11.                       Saturday – Week 1

Elizabeth woke up totally disoriented.  It took her a few minutes to realize why she was in a little girl’s bed room and not her own.  After visiting her bathroom, Elizabeth donned her robe and went to the kitchen. 

Stacey noticed that Elizabeth had on a very adult looking nightgown and matching robe.  “Good morning Elizabeth.  How did you sleep?”

Elizabeth responded, “Well.  That is a great bed.  I probably need a new mattress at my apartment.”

Stacey asked, “How about some eggs and toast for breakfast?”

Elizabeth was not a big eater.  But, she was hungry.  “Great.”

Stacey grabbed a bottle of grape juice and poured some in two glasses as Maya joined her at the table. 

Stacey was bringing the two glasses over to the table when she seemed to trip on the air in the middle of the room.  As she stumbled towards the table, the contents of the two glasses flew through the air dousing Elizabeth and the wall behind her.  Stacey continued to fall and ended up on the floor next to the table.

Maya and Elizabeth both screamed.  Elizabeth pushed her chair back and looked down at Stacey trying to figure out if she was okay.  Maya jumped around to help her mother. 

Stacey was grumbling and giggling at the same time.  She rolled over to her knees and Maya helped her stand up.  As she dusted herself off, she looked at Elizabeth and started to laugh.

Elizabeth, temporarily worried about Stacey, forgot that she had been hit with whatever was in the glasses.  Looking down, she exclaimed, “Oh no.  I’ve got grape juice all over my gown.”

Maya added, “You’ve got grape juice all over everything.”

Stacey started apologizing.  “I am so sorry.” She grabbed some paper towels.  “We have to get that in to be soaked right away.  But you can’t drip it on the rug in the hall.  Take that off and I’ll get you something to slip on.”

Maya was helping her take off the robe, her socks and tennis shoes.  Elizabeth was blotting juice with paper towel. 

Stacey was back with a dark black bath towel.  “Here, this is our stain drying towel.  You can’t hurt it.  As Elizabeth started to take the towel, Stacey went behind her and pulled the nightgown off over her head.

Elizabeth yelped in surprise and quickly covered herself with the towel.

Stacey said, “Well, welcome to our home.  This is part of the initiation.”  And she laughed.

Elizabeth laughed along with Maya and any tension seemed to dissipate.

“It looks like breakfast will have to delay until you can wash the purple from your body.  Go up and take a shower and I’ll get breakfast going.  Leave your underwear on the floor and I’ll gather it up for the wash.  These other things need to be soaked.  Get going.”

Elizabeth found herself scampering up to her room to take a shower.  In the shower she found that she had also forgotten her bath soaps and hair products.  She found herself washing her hair with some simple shampoo and there was no conditioner.  The ivory soap cleaned her skin but she did not have the skin lotions she normally used. 

Elizabeth ran a comb through her hair and noticed the lack of her hair dryer.  Of course she wasn’t allowed to fluff her hair at school anymore so she forgot all about it.  She parted her hair and pulled it straight back behind her ears.  She grabbed some underwear and her jeans.  Donning a bra and a casual t-shirt she sat and after putting on socks realized she only had heels and her now grape soaked tennis shoes. 

Elizabeth made her way into the kitchen and Stacey noticed her stocking feet.

“Were those your only shoes?” Stacey asked.

“No, I have one pair of heels, and my school uniform shoes.”

“What size shoe do you wear?” Stacey further inquired.  Elizabeth responded.

Stacey said, “I think we have some shoes in that size.  Let me look around.  Wait here.”

Stacey went directly to the room Elizabeth was staying in and opened the closet.  She grabbed a bright pink pair of Disney Cinderella tennis shoes.

“Here try these on.” Stacey ordered as she handed the shoes to Elizabeth who was sitting at the table.

Elizabeth laughed, “Cinderella tennis shoes?”

Stacey smiled and answered, “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

Elizabeth was surprised to find the shoes were a perfect fit.  Stacey was excited because that meant that pretty much everything in that room was going to fit her new guest perfectly. 

After breakfast, Stacey and Maya showed Elizabeth around the rest of the house.  They sat in the back yard for a while and eventually worked as a group to make lunch.  In the early afternoon, Stacey indicated she was going to run a quick errand and was out the door before Elizabeth remembered that she wanted to go by her apartment. 

Elizabeth’s hair had blown around a bit and right before lunch, Maya grabbed a headband from the house and Elizabeth slipped it on her head. 

Stacey met Jackie Coleman at a restaurant in the mall.  Since it was the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday there was a small crowd.  They sat in a secluded corner booth and talked about further plans for the student principal. 

“My first goal is to keep her out of any adult looking items for the weekend.”  Stacey related the grape juice “accident” and she and Jackie laughed at this removal of Elizabeth’s adult nightwear.  “Since I will be responsible for the wash, some of her items will go missing or need extended treatment.  Tonight, she will sleep in one of Maya’s old Barbie nightgowns.” 

Stacey then alerted Jackie to the fact that Elizabeth was wearing heavily padded bras from Victoria’s Secret along with matching panties.  These were both uniform violations.  Given the amount of padding she had observed, Stacey wondered aloud whether Elizabeth met the requirements to allow her to even wear a bra.  Both women laughed heartily.  Jackie however made a mental note to verify that fact specifically when the bra violation was “detected”.  The school had very specific rules regarding when their young ladies could wear a bra to school.  Nothing she could think of would sap the bluster from young Elizabeth more than being told she was not developed enough to wear a big girl bra. 

Jackie then told Stacey that they needed to try to get Elizabeth’s hair style into a more childish looking cut.  Right now it was generic.  But the right cut could easily make her more childish looking. 

They schemed for over two hours.  Stacey suggested that they needed to identify some childish or student like tasks to assign to Elizabeth.  Jackie said she would figure something out.  They had already determined that Elizabeth needed to get out of her office for lunch.  She would be sent by Mrs. Thompson to the lunchroom when the seventh graders were eating lunch.  She would be expected to gather a lunch from the lunch line, join a table of seventh graders and do whatever the other seventh graders did during that period. 

Stacey and Jackie wandered the mall to kill time.  They knew that if Stacey got back too early, Elizabeth would demand to go to her apartment.  Normally, Stacey would not have left Maya alone at home for that long on a Saturday afternoon.  But with Elizabeth there, she was pretty sure things would be okay.  However, if she planned to treat Elizabeth like a child, she might need to look into a baby sitter for the girls when she went out.  That wouldn’t be needed for a few days. 

Stacey and Jackie also decided to try to avoid using Elizabeth’s title or her real name unless absolutely necessary.  Jackie would plan to use her name when she was in trouble.  Stacey would refer to her as one of the girls or honey or dear or some other similar term.  By not acknowledging Elizabeth’s real name they would be taking something else away from her. 

When they left the mall, Stacey headed to the grocery store to gather the ingredients for Maya’s favorite meal, homemade fajitas. 

Arriving shortly before 6 PM, Stacey popped the front door open and entered the house with her arms overflowing with bags from the grocery store and her purse.  “Girls, I’m home.”  She made her way into the kitchen and started putting groceries away.

Maya and Elizabeth made their way in from the family room where they had been watching television.  Maya asked, “What’s for dinner?”

Stacey told her, “Fajitas.”

Maya turned to Elizabeth and excitedly explained, “Fajitas are my favorite.  You’re going to love them.”

Stacey already had a pan warming up and was slicing some peppers.  As she moved around she noticed the pained look on Elizabeth’s face as she realized things were running away without her and she was probably not going to her apartment tonight. 

Stacey slowed the cooking down as much as practical and they finished eating and cleaning up close to 8:15 PM.  Stacey told them at dinner that she was worn out from her meetings.  She planned to go to her room, read her book and go to bed.  She asked the girls to straighten out the family room and head upstairs by 9 PM.  She didn’t care if they read or something else. 

Elizabeth was in her room when she asked herself why she needed to go to bed at 9 PM.  There was a soft knock on the door and Stacey popped in. 

“Honey, I was obviously gone much of the day.  So, not much got done on the wash front.  Did you bring another nightgown?”

Elizabeth thought for a minute and shook her head no.  She was disappointed with herself again.

Stacey patted her on the shoulder and said, “Hey, don’t worry about it.  We have plenty of clothes around here that will fit you.  Let me look in your dresser.”

Stacey appreciated the comforting.  Then she wanted to point out that the dresser was not hers.  But Stacey opened the bottom drawer and Elizabeth realized it had a pile of nightgowns.  Stacey reached in and grabbed the one on top and held it up in front of Elizabeth. 

“This will fit you fine.  It’s a baby doll two piece.  Here you go.  If you need any other clothes, you can wear anything in the dresser or closet.  Please make yourself at home.  I want to help you be comfortable in our house and we are going to make sure you succeed at school.  That is going to look really cute on you.  Go on in the bathroom and try it on.”

Stacey had an excited perkiness to her voice.  And, yet it felt like she was telling Elizabeth what to do.  And Elizabeth felt like she needed to help keep Stacey happy.  Elizabeth reluctantly took the proffered night wear and entered the bathroom. 

The night gown fit well and might even have been a little big on her.  In the mirror Elizabeth felt that with the right make-up, it would be pretty cute.  But without make-up it seemed a little youthful.

As she exited the bathroom, Stacey fawned all over her.  Stacey collected her clothes from today and said she would drop them in the wash.  Elizabeth climbed into bed and as Stacey left she turned out the light. 

Lying in bed, Elizabeth realized it was probably 9:30 in the evening and she was dressed and in bed with the lights out.  She tried to think about things that had been happening at school and she resolved to spend tomorrow reading all the rules to ensure she had no more setbacks.  Soon she drifted off to sleep. 

12.                       Sunday – Week 1

On Sunday, Elizabeth woke up and again was a little disoriented.  She got up and went to the bathroom.  There was a knock on her door and Stacey said she should head downstairs for breakfast. 

Elizabeth was wearing the baby doll pajamas and did not want to go downstairs as she was.  Therefore, she began to select clothes to wear. 

A second knock and Stacey popped the door open.  “Elizabeth, don’t worry about getting dressed.  I think there is a robe in your closet.  It’s on the left side.  Just slip that on and come on downstairs.  There are some bunny slippers on the floor.”

Elizabeth looked in the closet and found a short pink robe which seemed utilitarian but slightly juvenile.  She pulled it on and tied the sash.  She then took the robe off along with the pajama top.  She slipped a bra on and redressed in her pajamas and the robe.  She felt much better at that point.  Of course the bunny slippers did not help her feel more mature.  

Stacey made a nice breakfast of pancakes, juice and other items.  They all talked and had a really nice breakfast.  Stacey announced that today was yard cleanup day.  At the end of breakfast, she asked Elizabeth and Maya to take care of the dishes and pans before donning some casual clothes to work in the yard.

Stacey made her way to Elizabeth’s room and pulled an old t-shirt out of the dresser along with some orange shorts and pink socks.  As the girls were finishing up in the kitchen Stacey alerted both girls that she had laid out casual clothes for each of them in their rooms.  Elizabeth looked surprised.  Stacey said, “Honey, I assume you didn’t bring any old clothes.  So I picked out some old clothes we had that I think will fit you.  You can wear the tennis shoes you wore yesterday.”

Elizabeth was put off by the childish pink and orange t-shirt with balloons on it.  But she figured, no one would see it and they were just clothes.  She was a little disappointed that the clothes fit her.

When Elizabeth returned to the kitchen, Stacey was thrilled to see how well Maya’s old clothes fit her house guest.  Imagine Stacey thought, the school principal is wearing my sixth grade daughter’s old clothes from fourth and fifth grade.

Stacey kept the girls hopping in the yard until they went inside for a late lunch.  After lunch they filled the last of the yard bags and concluded the yard was clean.  Stacey went inside to start dinner as the two girls put the yard tools away and took the yard bags out to the curb. 

Maya showed Elizabeth around the yard and talked about different things as they wound down from their afternoon of hard work.  Elizabeth did not remember the last time she had worked so hard in the yard. 

Stacey told the girls to take showers and put on their nighties and robes before dinner.  Elizabeth found that Stacey had swept through the bedroom and removed her underwear and night clothes from the night before.  After her shower, Elizabeth went to the dresser and extracted a Barbie bight gown.  After dressing in new underwear and bra, Elizabeth added the night gown and robe before heading to the kitchen for dinner.

After dinner, Stacey asked Elizabeth, “Honey, how many school uniforms do you have? 

Elizabeth said, “Only one, why would I need more?”

Stacey looked at her with that motherly look and shook her head.  “Don’t you think we should wash it sometime?  Let me have your uniform from last week.  You will find several more uniforms in the closet in your room.  They should fit you just fine.  I’ll get yours washed and back to you in no time.”

Elizabeth went to her room and returned with the uniform.  She wondered if the dirty clothes was a sinkhole where all of her things were disappearing. 

After dinner, the girls cleaned up the kitchen and Stacey washed some clothes.  They all watched a little television before Stacey sent them to bed because, “Tomorrow is a school day.”

13.                       School Day 6 – Monday Week 2

On Monday morning, Stacey fixed the girls dry cereal with milk and a glass of orange juice.  Maya and Elizabeth were dressed and eating quickly to make the bus.  Stacey walked the girls to the bus stop. 

As they got on the bus, the driver asked Elizabeth her name.  She told her she had been alerted Elizabeth would be on the bus.  However, she told her that all students needed to have their student ID pinned to their uniform when riding the bus.  Elizabeth told her she would deal with it when they got to school. 

The driver told her she needed to go to the back half of the bus because that was where all of the smaller students needed to ride.  Elizabeth didn’t think much of that direction until she was riding on the bus and realized that most of the kids near her were in the second or third grade.  She also was aware that some of them were taller than she was. 

Upon arrival at school the students got off the bus and started to gather on the playground in areas assigned to their homeroom.  Elizabeth with her book bag made her way to the door of the school where she met Jackie and her tormentors.  The students seemed happy to see the student principal.  They determined she was on time and that the uniform she was wearing met the dress code. 

One of the girls pulled out the student handbook and said to the Vice Principal, “Vice-Principal Coleman, it says in the handbook that all students arriving at the school before the first bell should gather with their homerooms in the assigned areas outside unless the weather prevents this.  While she was here on time, shouldn’t she have waited outside with one of the homerooms until they were instructed to enter the school?”

Jackie looked thoughtful.  She loved the creative way the girls were dragging this out.  “Let me re-read the rules and I’ll get my decision to you all later today.  Is there anything else?”

No the girls had nothing else.  Elizabeth felt like she had a major accomplishment under her belt by not having a fault today.  The entire homeroom question seemed silly and she certainly couldn’t be expected to do something no one had considered previously. 

Jackie dismissed the girls and turning towards the office she said, “Come along dear.”

Elizabeth followed Jackie into the office and before Jackie could enter her office, Elizabeth said, “Mam, there is one other thing.”

Jackie was ecstatic that Elizabeth was still referring to her formally.  She paused at her door and turned towards Elizabeth, “Yes, what is it?”

 “Well, Mam, the bus driver says I need a student ID to ride the bus.  Can you please give them a note explaining the situation?”

Elizabeth looked so cute.  Jackie felt like Elizabeth was begging Jackie to save her from a confrontation with the bus driver.

Jackie said, “I was unaware of that.  Let me look into it and we will certainly resolve the problem.  Now, you run along to your desk and I’ll get things worked out.  Mrs. Thompson please come into my office.”

Elizabeth thought telling her to run off to her desk was a weird thing to say.  Mrs. Thompson nodded to her and pointed at Elizabeth’s office.  Then she went into Jackie’s office and closed the door.  

Mrs. Thompson asked Elizabeth to come down the hall so they could get an Id picture taken for the bus.  Elizabeth followed Mrs. Thompson to a room where office supplies were stored and where they had a small photo area set up with a backdrop including the school name and logo.  Elizabeth stood on the star where indicated and smiled for the camera.  Mrs. Thompson told her she could return to the office.  A little while later, Mrs. Thompson printed out a new student ID card for Beth Warren.  It indicated she was a seventh grader and her homeroom teacher was Mrs. McGuire.  It had a picture of Elizabeth, clearly in the school uniform and it looked like every other student ID on campus. 

Mrs. Thompson stored a copy of the picture in the student file Jackie had created to hold Elizabeth’s discipline forms.  Mrs. Thompson took out a student demographics form and added it to the file just like she did for every other new student.  She filled in the data she knew.  After consulting with Vice-Principal Coleman, she put Beth’s address as Stacey Newman’s.  Stacey was listed as Elizabeth’s contact for the school. 

Mrs. Thompson entered the principal’s office without knocking.  Elizabeth thought this woman acted like she owned the place.  She made a mental note to talk to Mrs. Thompson about knocking and proper etiquette in the office for staff versus the Principal. At the moment however, Mrs. Thompson seemed on a mission.  Mrs. Thompson walked directly to the side of the desk and looked down at the student principal. 

“Young lady, it is time for lunch.”

Elizabeth was surprised, Mrs. Thompson never told her when lunch was in the past.  “I’m fine Mrs. Thompson.”

Mrs. Thompson had a look on her face.  “No, you are not fine.  Vice Principal Coleman says you need to eat lunch with the seventh graders from now on.  It is now time for the seventh graders to eat lunch.  So, you need to go through the line, get a lunch and eat with the seventh grade students.  The Vice Principal says you discussed this yesterday after the girls questioned why you were hiding in the office.  You can come back here after lunch.”

Elizabeth just shook her head and began to get up out of her chair.   As she walked past Mrs. Thompson she heard, “Hold on one second.”

Mrs. Thompson stepped in front of Elizabeth and clipped an id card onto the front of her uniform.  “There, now you can go.  You need to have this ID card on you when you are riding the bus and when you are at school.  It is a requirement and the Vice-Principal says not wearing it will be considered breaking the rules.”

Elizabeth looked down and read the card.  “Why does it say Beth?  My name is Elizabeth.”

Mrs. Thompson shook her head.  “Because there is already an Elizabeth in Mrs. McGuire’s class and I was pretty sure you didn’t want to get mixed up with her.  Who pays attention to such things anyway?”

Elizabeth pressed, “Why does it say I am in seventh grade and why does it have a homeroom teacher?”

“Because you are expected to follow the rules for seventh grade students and Vice-Principal Coleman thought this would make sure that anyone encountering you would know which rules you were expected to conform to.  Anyone with a student ID has to be assigned to a homeroom.  Mrs. McGuire had room and does it matter to you which homeroom you are given?  It’s not like you are spending a lot of time there.  Now stop all this questioning and get to lunch.”

Elizabeth felt like more things were outside of her control.  She made her way to the cafeteria and soon found herself in line behind the seventh grade students.  After getting some food, she hardly noticed what she selected, Elizabeth sat at the end of a table of seventh grade girls.  They ignored her and she ate slowly and her mind was elsewhere wondering how it had all come to this.

When lunch was over, the kids all lined up to go out for recess.  Elizabeth made her way out into the hall and headed for her office. 

One of the eighth grade girls who had been in the morning meetings, Tori, saw the student principal walking towards the office.  “Excuse me,” she said to Elizabeth.  “Where are you going?”

Elizabeth stopped and turned around trying to figure out who this student was referring to.  There was no one else in the hall. 

Tori walked over to Elizabeth like she was in charge instead of the other way around.  Tori repeated her question.  “Where are you going?”

Elizabeth stood up straight and with an authoritarian attitude replied, “Who are you to ask me where I am going?”

Tori pointed to a badge on her chest indicating she was a hall monitor.  “I’m the hall monitor this period.” She said proudly.

“So what,” Elizabeth shot back.  “I’m the principal.  I go where ever I want.”

Tori nodded and agreed, “I wasn’t suggesting I could tell you where to go.  I was asking where you were going.”

Elizabeth was getting frustrated (a common occurrence lately).  “What is the difference?”

Tori brightened up, “You agreed to follow the student rules, right?”

Elizabeth gritted her teeth, “Yes. And?”

“And, I as hall monitor am supposed to ask students why they are in the hall and where they are going.  So, if you could tell me where you were headed, we could probably get you on your way.”

Elizabeth felt a shift in the conversation in that Tori seemed to be talking down to her like a student that doesn’t understand the rules.

Elizabeth, tried to calm herself and slowly responded, “I am going to the Principal’s office.”

Tori smiled, “Students have to have a hall pass to walk the halls between classes or to go to the office.  You are supposed to follow the seventh grade student rules.  Do you have a hall pass?”

“Of course, I don’t have a hall pass.  I’m the principal.  I give out hall passes.”

“Well,” Tori came back, “Why didn’t you give yourself a hall pass?”

“Because, I do not need a hall pass.”  Elizabeth was really having to hold herself back now.  Tori was writing something down.

Tori continued smiling.  “No problem, give this form to Mrs. Thompson when you get to the office and I’m sure everything will work out.”

Tori turned and walked away.

Elizabeth looked down at a piece of paper entitled, No Hall Pass Violation.  It said, name, Beth Warren, grade, seventh, time 12:04 PM, toady’s date and was signed by Victoria.

Elizabeth all but ran to the office in a rage.  She went directly into her office and closed the door.  Mrs. Thompson was coming back to her desk and simply noted the principal was back from lunch. 

About a half an hour later, Mrs. Thompson opened the door and all but stormed into the office.  Before Elizabeth could say anything, Mrs. Thompson demanded, “Did you receive a No Hall Pass card from Victoria?”

Elizabeth was caught off guard.  She answered without thinking, “Yes. But…”

Mrs. Thompson cut her off.  “There are no Buts.  You were given a violation card and told to bring it directly to me.  Right?”

Elizabeth didn’t understand why it mattered, “Yes, but”

Cut off again, Mrs. Thompson said, “There are no buts.  You were given a card for breaking a student rule and given instructions on what to do.  You ignored those instructions.  When Victoria turned in her log and asked how we were going to handle this situation, I had no idea what she was talking about.  How do you think that makes me look?”

Elizabeth was stammering, “I, I …”

Mrs. Thompson continued, “It made us look like no one knows what is going on and it embarrassed me.  And, I don’t put up with that from anyone.  Do you understand me young lady?”

“Yes, Yes I understand.  I’m sorry.”  Elizabeth was losing control. 

“Give me the card and we will deal with this right now.”

Elizabeth handed over the embarrassing card. 

“Get up young lady and follow me.”  Mrs. Thompson turned and headed directly for the Vice-Principal’s office.  Elizabeth felt her stomach turn into a knot.  She was afraid to go in there and started to stop and return to her office.

Mrs. Thompson was at the door and knocking.  She pushed Jackie’s door open and Elizabeth turned to walk away from the door.  “Where do you think you are running off to?” 

Mrs. Thompson strode across the main office, grabbed Elizabeth by the shoulder and dragged her into Jackie’s office.  She pushed Elizabeth up in front of the Vice-Principals desk and turned to close the door.

Jackie looked at Mrs. Thompson and demanded, “What is going on?”

Mrs. Thompson said, “I guess she thought she would get out of dealing with this problem by running away when I told her we were coming to your office to deal with the matter.  I had to go pull her in here.” 

Jackie was ecstatic to hear that Elizabeth was afraid of her and her office.  Things were evolving perfectly.  “Tell me what happened.”

Mrs. Thompson related that Tori had encountered “this young lady” in the halls after lunch.  “Tori reported that she had a bad attitude and questioned her right to ask what she was doing.  After determining that she was coming to the office without a hall pass, Tori gave her a card.  Tori told her to give the card to me.  However, our little schemer thought she could keep the card and simply not tell me.  Imagine how embarrassed I was when Victoria asked me how we would deal with this today and in the future.”

Elizabeth was staring at the floor and trying to keep control of her emotions.  She wasn’t sure if she was going to explode or cry.  Jackie was watching Elizabeth carefully.  She looked just like any other student in trouble.

Mrs. Thompson continued, “And as if that wasn’t enough.  When I confronted her and told her we needed to talk to you about this, she started to retreat back into her office.  It was like she was trying to hide from dealing with her mistakes.”

Jackie was relishing this moment.  “Well young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?  Stand up straight and look at me.”

Suddenly, Elizabeth had her feet together, standing straight and she was staring at Jackie.  She looked like she was going to cry any second. 

“I tried to explain to Victoria that I didn’t need a hall pass.  She just wouldn’t listen.  So, I figured it didn’t matter.  Why would I give it to anyone?”

Before she could help herself Mrs. Thompson interjected, “Maybe because Victoria told you to give it to me.  Maybe she thought that would allow us all to work things out.”

Jackie jumped in here, “It seems my dear that when Victoria told you that it was a violation you realized it might have implications on our little experiment.  And you figured you would pretend it did not happen and hide it from myself and Mrs. Thompson.  Tell me that did not cross your mind.” 

Elizabeth conceded, “Okay, yes it did occur to me.”

“And you further compounded the situation by trying to avoid coming in here to discuss this matter with me.  Do you admit that?” Jackie was string right back into Elizabeth’s eyes.

“Yes,” Elizabeth admitted.  “I didn’t want to deal with it.”

Jackie prompted, “Now does that sound like the way an adult would deal with this situation or the way a child would deal with it?”

Elizabeth did not answer.  They continued to stare.

Jackie continued, “Let me ask a different question.  If a student was sent to the principal’s office and told to deliver a form to Mrs. Thompson, and that student avoided delivering the form and tried to hide the form and avoid punishment, what do you think our normal response to that behavior might be?”

Elizabeth was now in a quandary.  That behavior was clearly unacceptable.  Elizabeth tried to remember she was in charge here and wanted to regain some footing.  Reluctantly, she answered while looking at the corner of the room and avoiding Jackie’s eyes, “Normally, I would expect us to produce a discipline report for the student’s file and the hiding and avoiding would probably lead to some form of swift punishment.”

Jackie kept her face grim and responded, “I agree.  Mrs. Thompson would you please get us a discipline form.”

Mrs. Thompson was intrigued to see how this was going to play out.  She exited to her desk, verified there was no one waiting in the office and retrieved a discipline form before returning to Jackie’s office and closing the door.

Jackie took the form from Mrs. Thompson and placed it on her desk.  She pulled the No Hall Pass form over and looked at it.  She wrote Beth Warren in the student name field.  She wrote seventh grade and Mrs. McGuire in the required fields.  She described the events as they had been told to her.  She then turned the form to Elizabeth and asked, “Does this seem like an accurate description of the events involved I this incident?”

Elizabeth looked in horror at the student discipline form with her name on it and reluctantly nodded after reading the form.

“Young lady, I asked you a question and I expect an answer.”

Elizabeth jumped, “Yes mam.  The form looks correct.”

“Mrs. Thompson, did you happen to bring in our young charge’s student file?”

Mrs. Thompson smiled and produced the student file.

Jackie now made a production of looking at the other forms from the last week which had been added to Elizabeth’s file.

Jackie paused and looked at Elizabeth.  Elizabeth felt like she was going to have a coronary.  She was hardly breathing and gritted her teeth in fear. 

Jackie selected her words carefully.  “We talked last week about what would happen if there were more discipline reports, didn’t we?”

Elizabeth slowly said, “Yes mam.”

Jackie continued, “And when we had that discussion, I think we expected more issues of the same minor severity as last week’s uniform issues, right?”

Elizabeth, “Yes mam.”

Mrs. Thompson wondered if Elizabeth was shrinking with each question.

“But, I think we all agree that today’s infractions are worse than anything so far.” Jackie looked up to Mrs. Thompson who quickly said, “Absolutely.”

Elizabeth, added her “Yes mam.”

With each question and each agreement Elizabeth realized she was slowly sealing her fate.  She was walking towards some punishment, yet unknown that she was basically agreeing to ahead of time.  And yet, she could see no way out.

Jackie told Elizabeth, “Please sign the discipline form.”

Elizabeth leaned forward and signed the discipline form agreeing that she had done the things documented thereon. 

Jackie retrieved the form and thought for a moment.  “This is your first punishment.  But I am reluctant to let you off too easily.  This behavior in students cannot be condoned and the students need to know we are serious.  You have put me in a very awkward position.”

She continued to stare at Elizabeth.  Time seemed to stand still and Elizabeth felt like she was losing her mind.

Finally, Jackie nodded to herself and checked a box on the form and wrote something down.  Looking up at Elizabeth she said, “You will be given 3 swats with the paddle.  Nothing less could possibly be acceptable.”

Elizabeth gasped.  “What?”  But she was cut off by Jackie.

Jackie glared at her and roared, “Don’t you say a thing or I’ll double it.  You have no idea how lenient this is.  Your behavior deserves 6 or 8 swats.  If you were not new to this, I would not even consider being this easy on you.  Now shut up and Mrs. Thompson please help our charge assume the position.”

Elizabeth wasn’t clear.  What did she mean swats?  Surely she did not expect to spank the principal.  But as Mrs. Thompson moved her towards the desk Elizabeth realized the punishment she had expected was about to become reality.  She knew she shouldn’t have held onto the form.  She just didn’t know what to do.  As she was almost justifying to herself that she should be punished, Mrs. Thompson had her lean over the desk.  Jackie reached into a drawer and retrieved what looked like a ping pong paddle.  As Jackie moved around the desk, Mrs. Thompson went to the other side and held onto Elizabeth’s hands. 

Jackie wanted this to be a moment that would break a portion of Elizabeth’s will.  A life changing event that would cement their relationship with Jackie in the dominant position.  Jackie started to go back over Elizabeth’s bad behavior and explained that this was all for her own good.  Elizabeth gritted her teeth and stared into Mrs. Thompson’s face. 

Jackie waited till the last minute to flip Elizabeth’s skirt up onto her back before delivering the first blow.  Elizabeth yelped but wanted to try and keep what little dignity she thought she had.  The second shot was clearly targeted on the right buttock and Elizabeth had tears running down her face.  But she was still controlling herself with all her willpower.  The third and last shot was hard and aimed for the left buttock.  Elizabeth was crying but still holding herself together.

Jackie indicated that Mrs. Thompson should not let go just yet.  She backed up and let loosed with a full swing at Elizabeth’s exposed bottom.  Elizabeth was unprepared.  She thought it was over.  She screamed, she was bawling and kicking her legs.  Two more powerful swats followed before Jackie walked around the desk and placed the paddle in front of Elizabeth.

Looking into Elizabeth’s eyes as she fought to regain some type of composure Jackie said, “And, your underwear is not consistent with the school uniform policy and by now you should surely know that.  If we had not had this little session, you would have pulled the wool over our eyes on that little transgression.  That earned you the extra swats.”

Mrs. Thompson reached into her pocket and gave Elizabeth a handkerchief.  “Try to control your breathing.  It will help you control the pain.  Calm down.”  She rubbed Elizabeth’s shoulders to get her mind off her sore rear end.

Jackie looked at the student principal as she was regaining some measure of her composure. 

Jackie admonished her, “I hope we don’t have to repeat this in the future.  No more uniform violations will be acceptable.  We should be winding this experiment down.  As you so clearly stated, read the rules and follow them.   How hard can it be?  Mrs. Thompson why don’t you take her back to her room.  She can spend some time pondering how hard it is to follow the rules.”

As Mrs. Thompson started to lead Elizabeth to the door, Jackie interrupted, “Wait a second.  That is a good idea.  I think our little charge here should spend some time pondering this experiment and how hard it is to follow the rules.  Maybe that will give us some unique insight.”  She turned to Elizabeth.  “I want you to take some time and write out at least two pages on your thoughts regarding this experiment so far and explain why you are having so much trouble following the directions.  I’ll expect it before you leave for your school bus.” 

Jackie added over her shoulder, “Mrs. Thompson please provide her with some lined paper and pencils.”

Elizabeth wondered why she couldn’t use her computer.   But she was in no mood to confront Jackie right now. 

She stepped delicately over to her office.  Though she moved behind the desk, she did not sit down.  She pushed things out of the way so she’d have room to write.  Mrs. Thompson brought in some lined notebook paper and a couple of sharpened number 2 yellow pencils. 

Mrs. Thompson looked at her and smirked a little.  “You know I can tell you a secret.  If you sit down and don’t move around it will only hurt for the first few minutes.  It won’t be totally comfortable.  But, you’ll get by.”

Elizabeth thanked her for her advice and said she would think about it while she was planning what to write.

Mrs. Thompson reminded her of how much time there was till the bus left and went out of the room.  She told Elizabeth she would check back to make sure she was making progress.  However, she left the office door open.

For some reason, Elizabeth felt like she could not go and close the door.  She had kept the door closed virtually the entire time since she started wearing this horrible uniform.  Now, she would be on display working at her desk dressed as a grade school student.  She slumped into the chair and jumped up. 

About 15 minutes before the last bell, Jackie called Mrs. Thompson into her office.  She asked Mrs. Thompson to explain to Elizabeth where she should gather on the playground to wait until the start of school.  She also asked her to retrieve Elizabeth’s assignment. 

Mrs. Thompson barged right into the office and walked up to the side of the desk.  “It’s almost time for the last bell.  Let’s gather your things up in your book bag and clean up your desk.  I’ll take your assignment.”  Mrs. Thompson couldn’t help but straighten several items out on the desk and slide the yellow pencils into the top drawer. 

As Elizabeth approached the door, Mrs. Thompson asked her to hold on.

“Tomorrow when you arrive on the bus, the Vice-Principal has determined that you need to wait with your homeroom until the bell rings.  Then you can come into the school with the other students.  Do you understand?”  Mrs. Thompson was talking to her like she was a kindergartener. 

“Yes mam.  I understand.” Elizabeth assured her.

Mrs. Thompson smiled and said, “Then run along home and I’ll see you tomorrow.”  Her sing song way of saying it only cemented the image of Mrs. Thompson talking to a small child.  Elizabeth had no intention of allowing her anger to get the better of her when she was so close to getting out of this mad house.

Elizabeth all but ran to the school bus; just like all the other bus riders.  Jackie and Mrs. Thompson both watched their charge out the window and each smiled thinking about the recent changes at the school. 

Elizabeth sat alone staring out the window as she rode home on the school bus.  Exiting the bus, Elizabeth followed Maya home to the Newman home. 

“Girls please come the kitchen.” Stacey called as the Elizabeth closed the door. 

Elizabeth followed Maya into the kitchen.  Stacey was looking at Elizabeth as she entered the room.

“Well, young lady, it seems you are trying every way you can to continue to fail at this challenge you got all of us involved in.  You challenged the students.  They took you up on the challenge.  The School board got behind you.  And now after a week and a half you don’t seem to be able to complete one day of following the rules you called simple.  I might add that these rules have been in place and children have successfully met these requirements for years.  Did you ever even read the rules?”

Elizabeth, having calmed down on the bus was unprepared for this assault.  She looked from Maya to Stacey.  “Of course, I read the rules.  It’s just been more challenging than I expected”

Stacey wasn’t giving an inch.  In almost a mocking way she asked, “Challenging to dress up in a school uniform and follow a simple set of rules?”

Elizabeth didn’t want to upset Stacey, “No that’s not what I meant.  I guess I just didn’t realize that some of the things I considered normal were violations of the rules.”  In a brighter tone she said, “All my clothes have now been evaluated.  So I guess there are no more ways for me to fail.” 

Continuing the mild mocking Stacey said, “That’s great honey.  But I would have thought that a big girl like you could read the rules and understand them without all this help from others like the Vice-Principal, Mrs. Thompson and myself.  However, it is clear that our help is needed.  So, after I was alerted that in addition to all the other violations of the dress code you had last week, that you apparently were always wearing underwear that violated the dress code, I decided that I would help out, just like I did when my children attended our school.  To prevent temptation, I removed all of the underwear which violated the school rules.  I was able to do that because I read and understood the rules.  I left underwear for you which meets the uniform requirements and that is what you will wear until this challenge is completed.  Do you understand?”

Startled, Elizabeth replied, “Yes, mam”

Stacey continued her lecture, “The School Board is invested in this challenge since we signed on as a party.  Therefore, we want to make sure you live up to the agreement you made with the students.  Otherwise, we as well as you will lose credibility with the students and their parents.  I have been asked by the board to help you in whatever ways I can.  This actually means the other members of the board are going to hold me responsible if something goes wrong.  I have no intention of allowing you to embarrass me.” 

“Since you have been blatantly breaking the rules, I’m helping you out.  Your only choice is to wear the correct underwear.  If you think going commando is an option, I have a brush with a wooden handle that will convince you otherwise.  And, No I am not kidding.” 

“For the next few days and whenever I feel like it, I will inspect you prior to leaving for school so that at the very least we hope you will meet the uniform rules on arrival at school.  There’s not much I can do during your school day.” 

Elizabeth bristled at the reference to her ‘school day’.

“Also, for the next few evenings, we are going to spend time going over the rules to make sure you know all of the rules you are expected to follow.  I would have expected a smart girl like you to have done this.  But the performance over the last week makes it clear that you are not taking these rules seriously or you never bothered to read them.”  Stacey continued, “And are you going to comply and wear the correct underwear from now on?”

Elizabeth replied again, “Yes, mam”

“Good,” and then she ordered, “Go to your room.  Remove the inappropriate underwear and get something to wear from the drawer in your dresser.  Then come back here with your soiled clothing.  I believe you should give the uniform rules one more going over this evening.  You can work on that until dinner.”

Like a chastised child, Elizabeth returned to her room and pulled off her panties.  She opened the drawer in the dresser to find a large stack of full cut thick childish cotton underwear.  They didn’t really seem to qualify as panties.  She extracted a pair and pulled them on.  They were rough on her bottom. 

Elizabeth turned in her dirty clothes and sat down to reread the uniform rules. 

Stacey looked in to see the two girls in their uniforms engrossed in reading their assignments. 

Stacey observed Elizabeth fidgeting at dinner.  No doubt it was due to her new underwear on her reddened bottom. 

After dinner they cleaned up and soon everyone was off to bed.

14.                       School Day 7 - Tuesday

The next morning, Stacey checked and Elizabeth was wearing the correct underwear.  The only remaining piece of clothing she still wore from before her school uniform days was her bra.  She wondered what her young charge would look like bra-less.  Without her breasts, she would be totally indistinguishable from any of the other grade school students.  In fact, were it not for her chest development, Maya would clearly be the older sister.  As it was Maya was taller and bigger than Beth.

Elizabeth made her way over and stood near Mrs. McGuire’s students.  As they made their way into the building, Elizabeth headed towards the Vice-Principal and the girls who were there to review her each morning.

The girls approved of her uniform this morning.   They were a little surprised when the Vice-Principal asked ’Beth’ to lift her skirt so they could verify she had on the uniform required underwear.  The girls snickered when they saw the childish underpants the student principal was wearing. 

“Miss Coleman, we agree that it was the right decision for Beth to wait with her homeroom but there is something else.”

“What else?” Jackie inquired.

“I didn’t really think about it yesterday.  But it says in the next paragraph that after the bell rings and I quote ‘all students will head to their assigned homeroom and will remain there until attendance is completed and morning announcements are made.  After that students will move to their assigned locations based on their class schedule.’  We think that Beth should go to her homeroom with the rest of her classmates as required.  Don’t you agree?”

Jackie asked to look at the rule book.  She showed it to Elizabeth and asked, “Do you see any other way this can be interpreted?”  Elizabeth was too caught off guard to analyze anything.  Defeated, she shook her head no. 

One of the girls offered to show Beth where Mrs. McGuire’s homeroom was.  And, Jackie headed back to the office of power without her pain in the neck.  Elizabeth was led to a seventh grade class room where she was handed off to Mrs. McGuire.

Jackie had alerted Mrs. McGuire that Elizabeth had to be assigned to a homeroom and Jackie had assigned “Beth” to her room.  However, Mrs. McGuire did not actually expect her to show up. 

But she understood this was a big test for the school administration. She decided she would play along and see what happened. 

Pointing an empty desk, Mrs. McGuire said, “Beth, you can use that desk in the second row.”

Elizabeth quickly slid into the desk and placed her book bag on the floor next to her feet. 

Mrs. McGuire read the attendance and noticed that Beth was not on the list.  She added her to the bottom and had one of the other girls run the attendance to the office.  After announcements, Beth noticed some of the students getting up to leave.  She approached Mrs. McGuire.

“Mrs. McGuire, I’m supposed to go to the office now.  Do I need a hall pass or can I just go since classes are changing?” 

Mrs. McGuire was staring at her in disbelief.  The principal and leader of the school sounded like a little girl searching for guidance.  She sounded like she was afraid of Mrs. McGuire and the whole system.  Mrs. McGuire somehow avoided laughing and told her she would give her a hall pass just in case.  She tried not to be too patronizing, but it was hard.  And, she told her, she would have one on her desk each morning for Beth.

Elizabeth took the pass and headed to the school office.  She handed the hall pas to Mrs. Thompson and entered her office.  As she went to close her door, Mrs. Thompson shook her head.  “Honey, you don’t need to shut the door.  Leave it open in case we need to talk to each other.  Otherwise, the air in there gets stale.  It’s not healthy for you to be cooped up in there all day.”

Elizabeth walked to her desk and looked in her book bag.  It didn’t seem like she had done any real work this week at all.  She found herself staring at the wall trying to remember what she was supposed to be doing.  As she daydreamed, she was playing with her hair with her right hand.

Mrs. Thompson could see Elizabeth and it was clear she was aimlessly wasting time.  She made her way into Jackie’s office and closed the door.

“Miss Coleman, I don’t know what the long term goal is here.  But our student principal seems to be spending her morning daydreaming.  Up until today, she has been closing the door so I couldn’t see what she was doing.  I told her to leave it open today.  You’ve been doing pretty much all of the administrative work.  Is there any work she should be doing?”

Jackie thought about that.  “Our young lady has been working hard at trying to follow the student rules and though she keeps failing, I think it is occupying all her mental efforts.  I think we should avoid giving our student principal any real work until she can succeed for at least one day in following the rules.  I wonder if there is any busy work we could give her to take her mind off her problems.”

Mrs. Thompson added her two cents, “Maybe we should just have her memorize the rules.”

Jackie suddenly had a smile on her face that took up almost her entire face.  She was staring at Mrs. Thompson with true appreciation.  “That’s perfect.  Her own words come back to haunt her.  Read the rules know the rules.  Tell her to memorize and understand all the rules.  Tell her you will test her on it to ensure she knows all the rules.  Tell her you want to help her overcome these problems.  You are her friend.  Then you can prepare a series of tests asking different levels of questions to verify her knowledge of the rule book.  We can grade her tests and see how she does.  The tests will evolve to test for very specific areas in the rule book.  We can probably keep her busy with that for a few days.  She has certainly not demonstrated any level of understanding yet.”

Mrs. Thompson nodded and headed back to her desk. 

A little while later, Mrs. Thompson walked through the door and around Elizabeth’s desk.  Standing next to Elizabeth she asked, “How are you doing this morning?”

Elizabeth had done almost nothing since she had gotten to the office.  She had gotten out her pens and pencils and arranged them with some of the other office clutter on her desk.  There was clearly no work on her desk.  Almost apologetically, she answered, “I’m fine.  I’m just working on some things.”

“Really?” Mrs. Thompson asked in a clearly surprised voice.  She was staring at Elizabeth like a child who was telling a story.  And Elizabeth knew she was caught telling a story.

“No.  Not Really.  I’m just so disappointed in myself for failing at what seem like such simple things.  I’ve really let myself and everyone in the office down.”

Mrs. Thompson took this as her opening.  “Well, I have come in here with an idea on how we could help resolve your poor performance.  Are you interested?”

“Absolutely.” Elizabeth exclaimed.  For the first time all day she felt like someone was on her side. 

Mrs. Thompson pulled out the rule book.

Elizabeth started to look disappointed.

“Wait, I have a plan.” Mrs. Thompson declared.  “I think you need to memorize the rule book.  I have no idea how long that will take.  But what we can do is this.  After you memorize a section, I’ll first ask you some oral questions.  Then when you are confident you know the material, I’ll give you a written test to prove you know the material.  We can break the book down into sections and when you are done with everything, I’ll give you a test on everything.  Once you know the rules and are confident you understand them all it should be no problem to finish this challenge with the students.  Don’t you always say, read the rules, know the rules?”

Elizabeth didn’t like this idea at all.  She was prepared to dismiss the entire idea until Mrs. Thompson reminded her of her own words.

Mrs. Thompson could see that Elizabeth was conflicted.  “I’ll tell you what.  Let’s just try it a section at a time.  Once you see some success, I think you’ll agree to complete the project.”

Elizabeth asked, “Why do I have to do the whole book?  Don’t I just need to do the dress code?”

Mrs. Thompson looked at her with questioning look.  “How did you get to school this morning?”

“On the school bus.” Elizabeth answered.

“Where did you go when you got off the bus?”

“I gathered with Mrs. McGuire’s class on the playground.” 

Mrs. Thompson continued, “And where did you go when you first came into the building this morning?

“To Mrs. McGuire’s classroom.”

“Why did you go to the class room?”

Elizabeth explained, “Because I had to be there for attendance and morning announcements.  Then I could come back here to my office.”

Mrs. Thompson almost laughed at the idea that this little girl had an office.

“And what was the first thing you did when you entered the school office this morning?”

“I gave you the Hall pass Mrs. McGuire gave me.”

“Exactly.”  Mrs. Thompson prepared to close her case, “So, can you explain how you riding the school bus, waiting on the playground, going to homeroom or needing a hall pass to move around the building are covered in the dress code section of the rules?”

Elizabeth had the ‘AHA’ moment as Mrs. Thompson asked the question.  It showed in her eyes.  She did not have to answer.

Mrs. Thompson concluded, “You need to both know and understand how all of these rules are inter-related.  It will help you in the future.  We’ll do the entire book so we don’t miss anything.  Lots of the rules are related to other areas of the book.  This is the best strategy, don’t you agree?”

Elizabeth had to agree.  It was clear.

Mrs. Thompson now began to lay out her plan.  “I suggest that this morning, you read the entire rule book to get a general feel for all the sections and the different rules.  Then after lunch we’ll decide which section to concentrate on first.  So, stop twiddling your thumbs and start reading.  We’ll take a break in about an hour.”

Elizabeth took the book.  She wasn’t sure why Mrs. Thompson felt the need to plan her entire day.  Surely she had some work related things to get done.  She needed to talk to the Vice-Principal to figure out what needed to be done. 

Elizabeth started reading the rules.  Within 15 minutes, she was looking out the window and thinking about her situation. 

“Young lady, you don’t look like you are focused on your assignment.”  Mrs. Thompson standing in the doorway with a disappointed look.

Elizabeth straightened herself up in her chair and started reading again.

20 minutes later, Mrs. Thompson was in the door again.  Again, Elizabeth was not focused on her reading. 

Mrs. Thompson said, “If you can’t keep focused I’ll have you come out here where I can keep an eye on you.  Why don’t we take a bathroom break and you can get back on task after a little break.” 

Mrs. Thompson annoyingly followed Elizabeth across the hall to the girl’s bathroom and waited outside until Elizabeth was done.  “Mrs. Thompson, do I really need you to go with me to the bathroom?”

As they re-entered the school office, Mrs. Thompson said, “Well, we avoided having to get a hall pass or a bathroom pass and we just got it done.  If you would like me to write you a bathroom pass next time so you can go alone like a big girl, you just tell me.”

God, this woman could be patronizing.  Elizabeth returned to the desk and refocused herself on the task at hand.  She wanted to kick herself.  How hard could it be to read a simple set of school rules?  But, she kept wanting to review her situation and try to beat herself up for the failures of the last week. 

When Mrs. Thompson came to get her for lunch Elizabeth was again gazing out the window.  “Honey, it’s time for lunch.  When the bell rings head for the cafeteria.  And, here is your hall pass to come back here after lunch.”

Elizabeth tucked the hall pass into her small pocket and as the bell rang, she headed for the cafeteria.

After lunch, she headed back to the school office.  Tori stopped her in the hall and Elizabeth showed her the hall pass.  Tori sent her on her way.

As Elizabeth entered the school office, she noticed two things.  First, her office door was closed.  The second thing she noticed was that here was a student desk on the wall just past the door to her office.  It was facing off the wall and directly at Mrs. Thompson’s desk.  Elizabeth stopped when she noticed that her book bag was next to the student desk.  She looked up at Mrs. Thompson and was about to ask what was going on.

Before she could ask a question, Mrs. Thompson began speaking, “I hope you had a nice lunch.  Your productivity this morning was unacceptable.  We have to get you focused on your work.  So, I had Mr. Johnson bring an extra desk so that you and I can work more closely.  That will allow me to help keep you focused.  If you don’t learn these rules, you’ll be wearing that uniform for the rest of the year.”

Elizabeth’s breath was sucked away by these foreboding words.  It seemed ridiculous, but she was failing.  Maybe this would keep her focused.

“Come on honey, you must realize that all those distractions in the big office are keeping you from your reading assignment.  Let’s just get this done.  You can work here beside me until we get this done.”

Elizabeth found herself sliding into a child’s school desk and picking up the student handbook to begin her reading assignment. 

Mrs. Thompson suggested, “Let’s just skip the whole book right now.  You can finish it up tonight at home.  Right now, let’s read the first chapter.”

Elizabeth realized Mrs. Thompson had just assigned her homework.  But, she began reading the first section.

The first section discussed the school philosophy, its’ mission statement and the purpose of the handbook.  Elizabeth read the pages twice and thought she had a good handle on things.  However, Mrs. Thompson told her that she thought that Elizabeth should be able to recite the school philosophy and mission statement from memory. 

Elizabeth spent the next hour working on memorizing the mission statement.  After an afternoon break to go to the bathroom and get something to drink, Elizabeth began memorizing the school philosophy. 

By the end of the school day Elizabeth was almost able to recite these two items from memory.  Mrs. Thompson suggested that she could work on it at home and then finish reading the book. 

When Jackie and Mrs. Thompson dismissed Elizabeth, she quickly made her way to her school bus. 

At home, Stacey had been alerted to the assignment.  Stacey talked to Elizabeth and all her free time was spent reading the rule book until bed time. 

15.                       School Day 8 - Wednesday

Elizabeth left the bus and made her way to her homeroom.  Several of the girls introduced themselves and noticed her nametag said Beth.  They started talking to her and about her using the name Beth.  She didn’t have it in her to point out that she was the principal.  She followed the class into the school and made her way to Mrs. McGuire’s homeroom. 

Taking her desk, Beth responded, “Here,” when her name was called.  After announcements, she picked up her hall pass from the teacher’s desk and headed to the school office.  As she started for her office, Mrs. Thompson pointed at the student desk and Elizabeth put her book bag down and pulled out the rule book. 

Three of the older girls appeared in the office and Mrs. Thompson let Vice-Principal Coleman know they were waiting. 

As the Vice-Principal exited her office she pointed at Elizabeth saying, “Honey, please come join us.  I arranged for the girls to come here after morning homeroom to do our inspection and deal with any new issues they come up with.”

Elizabeth made her way over to the group.  Mrs. Thompson observed the goings on wondering what new surprises the girls might have today. 

“Mam,” Tori said looking at the Vice-Principal, “The uniform looks correct.  Should we check the underwear?”

Jackie looked at Elizabeth.  Elizabeth insulted, lifted the side of her skirt to allow them all to see her childish underwear. 

“Do I finally meet your expectations for the school uniform?” Elizabeth asked a little too snidely. 

“Actually, you finally seem to meet the expectations you have for students wearing the school uniform not our expectations.”  One of the girls quickly responded. 

Again, one of the girls half raised her hand.  “Yes, Mary?” The Vice-Principal asked.

“Mam, while Beth appears to be finally meeting the uniform aspect of the requirements there is another issue which occurred to us yesterday.  That is after we realized that Beth was eating lunch with the seventh graders we remembered that there is a rule that says that all students must go to recess after lunch.  They can only be excused based on a doctor’s note or some other special note from home.  Does Beth have a note excusing her from recess?”  Mary asked.

“No, Mary,” Jackie answered.  “Beth does not have a note excusing her from recess.  After lunch today, our young charge will go out to recess with the seventh graders.  After recess, she will come back to the school office.  Maybe the fresh air will help her mood.”

“One more minor thing.  Yesterday we resolved the morning gathering and homeroom issue.  However, the rules also indicated a student should go wherever their class schedule indicates.  Given some of the ongoing issues, we think the school office should generate a class schedule so we can ensure that no rules are broken by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“I’ll have Mrs. Thompson generate a class schedule and we can distribute copies to you girls tomorrow morning.  Hopefully, we are done with this creeping problem identification.”  Jackie stated and turned to return to her office.  “Everyone get back to class.  This is a school.”

Mrs. Thompson addressed Elizabeth, “Young lady let’s get back to our studies.”

Elizabeth slipped back into her student desk.  She was deep in thought as she opened the rule book in front of her on her little desk. 

Mrs. Thompson turned to her computer and began putting together Beth’s class schedule. 

The top of the schedule said Beth Warren, Seventh Grade

7:15-7:30     Gather with Mrs. McGuire’s class on playground.

7:30-7:35     Enter the school and proceed to homeroom.

7:35-7:45     Class Attendance

7:45-8:00     Class Room announcements and Morning Announcements

8:00-8:05     Proceed to School Office; Report to Mrs. Thompson

8:05-9:35     Mrs. Thompson’s will provide direction

9:35-9:50     Bathroom break

9:50-11:15   Mrs. Thompson’s will provide direction

11:15-11:25      Put away work and prepare for lunch

11:25-11:30      Proceed to Cafeteria

11:30-12:00      Lunch in the cafeteria

12:00-12:30      Recess with seventh graders on playground

12:30-12:35      Proceed to School Office; Report to Mrs. Thompson

12:35-1:15   Mrs. Thompson’s will provide direction

1:15-1:25     Bathroom break

1:25-2:35     Mrs. Thompson’s will provide direction

2:35-2:45     Put away work and prepare to go home

2:45               Proceed to exit and board school bus with other students

Mrs. Thompson printed out the schedule and took it in for Jackie Coleman’s review.  Jackie approved and Mrs. Thompson went ahead and printed out several copies.  One copy was put into Elizabeth’s student file. 

Mrs. Thompson gave a copy to Elizabeth and asked her to review it and keep a copy in her backpack. 

Elizabeth could not believe how far down she had fallen.  She was now in possession of her own seventh grade class schedule. 

While Elizabeth was at school, Stacey was doing some cleaning up at home.  She was putting away some clean laundry when she went into Elizabeth’s room.  She laughed to herself about having demoted the principal to a childish bedroom more appropriate for a 3^rd grader than an adult school principal.  She grabbed a few things and went to Elizabeth’s dresser.  She had some socks she wanted to put away and decided to make sure she had not missed any of Elizabeth’s adult underwear. 

Looking in the drawer, Stacey noticed a couple of Elizabeth’s bras in the drawer.  Picking one up, she was stunned to realize that the bras were overly padded.  There was so much padding, that Stacey deduced that Elizabeth could not possibly have much if any breast tissue. 

But, Stacey considered, Elizabeth was an adult.  Why would she need such a heavily padded bra?  Stacey decided this required more investigation.  Stacey called Jackie Coleman and updated her on her discovery.  She reminded Jackie that the school had a clear definition of when students were allowed/required to wear a bra.  Jackie snickered to herself and told Stacey she would handle the situation. 

Elizabeth was working with Mrs. Thompson on the school rules.  She was oblivious to the plotting going on in the Vice-Principals office.

Jackie was in and out of her office running errands throughout the morning around the school. 

At 11:15, Mrs. Thompson told Elizabeth to put things away and get ready for lunch.  Before she left, Mrs. Thompson gave her a pass to return to the office after recess.  At 11:25, Elizabeth headed off to lunch. 

After getting her lunch and selecting a table, Elizabeth sat down to begin eating lunch.  She wasn’t even aware of the two students walking behind her when one of them tripped.  Two girls and Elizabeth screamed as a lunch tray was spilled all over Elizabeth and the tray banged into Elizabeth’s head.  Suddenly a teacher and several people from the kitchen staff were there.  The girls were trying to apologize.  Towels were being rubbed on Elizabeth and food and juice seemed to be on Elizabeth’s hair back and running down inside her shirt. 

The teacher wrote up a report for the principal’s office and escorted Elizabeth into the nurse’s office to have her head looked at and to deal with her clothes. 

The teacher deposited Elizabeth with the nurse and made her way back to the cafeteria to try and stop bedlam from breaking out.  The nurse knew who Elizabeth was but dealt with her the same as anyone brought in in this condition.  After closing the door, she spoke in a calm and soothing voice. She insisted they needed to get her shirt off so they could get her cleaned up.  Before Elizabeth realized what she had said, the nurse had unbuttoned two top buttons and then swiftly pulled the shirt over her head without opening the remaining buttons.  The nurse bade her stand up and dropped her skirt around her ankles. 

Elizabeth was standing there in her juvenile full cut cotton underwear and a Victoria’s secret bra.  The nurse grabbed some wipes and began to clean off Elizabeth’s back.  The bra was clearly soaked and the nurse unhooked the back of the bra.  Elizabeth yelped and pulled away holding the cups in place.  Her worst nightmare about to come true, she thought. 

The nurse was still holding onto one side of Elizabeth’s bra when the door suddenly opened and in strode Jackie Coleman.  Elizabeth stumbled and dropped one hand to catch herself as she screamed.  The nurse pulled the bra since that was all she had a hold of.  Jackie slammed the door behind her.

Elizabeth caught herself as she landed on her bottom on the floor.  She had her hands at both sides and that was what caught her from falling further or keeling over.  The nurse was holding her padded bra.  And Jackie and the nurse were looking at Elizabeth’s chest which sported two areola and little nipples but basically no breasts at all. 

Jackie suddenly had her hands on her hips.  “I came here because I heard you were hurt in the cafeteria.  But it seems we have exposed what can only be your final attempt to break the rules at the school.” 

Elizabeth now had her hands on her chest and was beginning to cry to herself.  The nurse suggested that Jackie give them a few minutes to get put back together.  The nurse made sure the door was locked and got a wash rag.  She helped Elizabeth wash up and dry off.  The nurse then went to their stock of clothing and gave Elizabeth a childish camisole which was a very close match to her underwear.  A replacement blouse and skirt were provided.  And, after some work on her hair, Elizabeth made a sort of presentable student.  The nurse walked her back to the school office.  The nurse told her she would not be going to recess today.  The insignificant relief she felt at this news was due to her concern over what the Vice-Principal was going to do about the bra she had been wearing. 

As they entered the office, Mrs. Thompson told them to go ahead and enter the Vice-Principals office.  The Vice-Principal had a very stern look on her face.  “Well Miss Warren, it appears that you found at least one more way to break the uniform dress code.  What do you have to say for yourself?”

The nurse was surprised at the way in which the Vice-Principal was talking to the person she thought was the principal.  She was further taken aback when Elizabeth began, “Mam, I realize my bra was probably not specific to the dress code.  But, I thought it was ridiculous to go out and buy new bras just for a week of this experiment.”

Jackie kind of snickered, “You think the problem is the brand of your bra?  I agree that that bra is not acceptable according to the dress code.  But we have bigger problems here.”

Elizabeth was totally clueless.  She had no idea what the problem was.  She looked from Jackie to the nurse.  The nurse finally broke the silence.  “Honey, our dress code specifically dictates who can and cannot wear a bra with a school uniform.  And if you had taken the time to read the dress code you would find that you are not allowed to wear a bra as part of our school uniform.”

Elizabeth sucked in her breath and looked at Jackie.  Jackie was nodding and clearly in full agreement.

“You can’t be serious.  I’m a woman and I have to wear a bra.  I always wear a bra.”  Elizabeth was almost begging.

Jackie said, “You may truly wear a bra all the time.  But according to the dress code, you may not.  Normally, we would measure you.  But, I am sorry to tell you that you are not even close to what would be required to wear a bra in this school.  From this point forward, you will not be allowed to wear a bra for the challenge.  I’ll have to tell the girls.  I expect you appropriately dressed tomorrow.  And after this escapade you can bet I will be checking everything.”

“Mam, this isn’t fair.  No one needs to know.  Can’t we just let this go?”

The nurse couldn’t believe the principal was begging the Vice-Principal for permission to wear a bra to school.  Jackie saw in her every little girl who wanted to be given an exception to some rule.

“Young lady, stop this this instant.  Stand up straight.  Now get back out there and see what Mrs. Thompson wants you to work on.  We’ll discuss this later.”

Elizabeth sounded like she would break down in tears at any moment.  She shuffled out the door and back to her student desk in the school office. 

Jackie closed her door and turned to talk to the nurse.  “I think she’s regressing back to grade school.  Soon, we may have to enroll her.”

Both women started laughing.  The nurse said, “I can’t believe her behavior.  She sounds and looks like any other student.  It’s only been a week and a half.  What happened to her?”

Jackie shrugged her shoulders.  “Who knows?  We just need to get this challenge done.  I think she knows where the power in the office is now.  We just need to get things back to normal school.  I appreciate your help in this matter.”

Elizabeth could hardly concentrate on her rules.  She made a little progress.  But Mrs. Thompson could clearly see that the lunch incident had deflated her. 

In the middle of the afternoon, Mrs. Thompson’s phone rang.  It was the Vice-Principal.  Mrs. Thompson looked at Beth and hung up the phone.

“Beth, the Vice-Principal would like to see you and I.  Hop up and let’s go.”

Beth was suddenly nervous.  She almost dreaded going into the Vice-Principal’s office.  The fear was un-nerving.  She shuffled slowly behind Mrs. Thompson.  Mrs. Thompson knocked on the door and held it for Beth.  “Don’t dawdle girl.  You shouldn’t keep school administrator’s waiting.”

Beth knew she was supposed to be an administrator.  Yet it didn’t feel like it at the moment. 

Jackie pointed in front of her desk.  Mrs. Thompson closed the door and stepped to the side of the desk.  Beth moved to stand in front of the desk. 

“Beth,” Jackie began, “we need to talk about your behavior earlier today and over the last few days.”

Beth felt a shiver of fear run up her spine.  Both women saw her shake.  The fear was clear.

Jackie began her questioning, “What do you think the punishment should be for a student who willfully breaks the rules on multiple occasions, day after day?  This is a student who is putting themselves out there as an example of how the administration believes students should behave.  This is a person trying to tell the students, I know the rules and I can follow them to the letter no problem.  Tell me, what is the punishment that student should receive in your school?”

“I have the discipline report right here.  I know what I think the punishment should be.  But, I want you to tell me how you would deal with this situation, if you were in charge.”

Wait Elizabeth thought, I am in charge.  Or, I was in charge.  The conflict was tearing her apart.  She knew what the punishment should be.  She knew it was unacceptable behavior that needed to be dealt with harshly and immediately.  She knew it had to be something the student would remember and try ever so hard to avoid in the future.  She just didn’t want to admit that she knew.

Jackie could see it in her face.  Elizabeth knew what needed to be done.  She just kept staring at her.  Elizabeth was fidgeting and clearly conflicted.

“It’s time for you to act mature and tell me the answer.”  Jackie prompted.

Wait

Elizabeth decided to deal with this in the third person.  “A student who willfully violates the rules while putting themselves out there as an example of success and a model for behavior is unacceptable.  The administration must deal with this harshly and immediately.  The student should be given a session with the paddle and then sent to detention for at least a day or two.  The severity of the paddling would be up to the Vice-Principal and should be based on past behavior and an evaluation of the circumstances at the time.”

Jackie smiled and nodded with a serious look on her face.  “That was a very good evaluation.  I agree with your analysis.  So, given that you have misled me and the girls for over a week and that you have had multiple dress code issues I believe that 6 swats is the correct punishment on this occasion.  And, you will be expected to attend detention today and tomorrow.  You will take the late bus home with the students in sports programs.  Here is the discipline form.  You are admitting to the violations we discussed and saying you understand the punishment, sign at the bottom.”

Elizabeth signed the form. And handed it back to Jackie.  The Vice-Principal gave the form to Mrs. Thompson to copy. 

Mrs. Thompson stood across the desk and beckoned Elizabeth to give her hands to her.  Elizabeth took a deep breath and reached across the desk while bending over.   Jackie flipped up Elizabeth’s skirt and tucked it into the waistband of the skirt.  She was pleased to see the juvenile underwear worn by a little girl embracing Elizabeth’s bottom.

This was going to be Elizabeth’s second visit with the paddle.  But Jackie used the paddle and these sessions to try to mold young minds.  The fear was almost as bad as the punishment. 

Jackie had avoided using Elizabeth’s name or title for days.  She decided it was time to use her shortened name.  The lecture carefully crafted to belittle and berate the offending child increased the mental impact of the spanking.  “Young lady, when I begin your punishment you will count out the swats and thank me.  If you fail in this, we will begin again.  Beth Warren, you have willfully violated the dress code of this school for 8 straight days.  This is not what I expect from my older girls.  Do you think I should find your behavior acceptable?”

“No Mam,” Elizabeth answered.

“Should I have had to have students tell me you were wearing makeup and jewelry last week?”

“No Mam,” Elizabeth answered.

“Aren’t the rules clear on these matters?” Jackie prompted.

“Yes mam, the rules are clear.”

“So, you admit that you understood the rules and violated them with clear intent?”  Jackie asked in a serious tone.

“I guess so,” Elizabeth slowly answered.

“You guess so.  Can’t you be sure?”

“No mam.  I mean, yes Mam.  I mean I wore those things because I assumed the rules did not apply to me.”  Elizabeth was clearly flustered.

Jackie shot back, “The rules don’t apply to you?”

“No, the rules apply to me.  I just didn’t think about it.  I wasn’t thinking like a student.” 

“Well young lady, what kind of rules are we talking about?”

“Student rules?” Elizabeth seemed to ask.

“And who do student rules apply to?” Jackie kept pushing.

“Students?” Elizabeth again seemed to ask.  She seemed unsure where the questions were going. 

“Have you been following or attempting to follow these ‘student rules’?” Jackie asked.

”Yes mam” Elizabeth answered confidently.

“Would you say that you have been successfully following these student rules?”

“No mam” Elizabeth responded.

“So you would say that you have failed to successfully complete even one day of following the simple student rules?”

“Yes Mam”

Whap.  Jackie landed the first swat.

Elizabeth yelped and gritted her teeth as she awaited the next question. 

Whap.  A second swat harder than the first and Elizabeth felt the first tears coming down her cheek.   This was much more painful than her last session.

Jackie had not asked a question.  Elizabeth gritted her teeth and tensed for the next swat.  Jackie swung and stopped.  Then she gave her two short swats one to each cheek.  Tears were running down her cheeks.  Only two more to go.

Jackie paused.

“Beth, do you remember the rules for discipline sessions?  I told you when we started.”

Elizabeth thought back.  Nothing was coming to her.

Jackie took a hard swat.

Elizabeth lost her concentration again. 

Jackie said, “I told you that with each swat you were to count it out and thank me.”

Jackie swatted her again. Elizabeth said, “What?  Thank you?  When?”

Jackie continued talking, “And I told you if you didn’t do so or lost count, we would start over.”

Elizabeth was crying and sputtering, “What?  That’s not fair.  I, I …”

Whap.  Another swat to her rear end.

Jackie prompted, “It’s about time you started counting don’t you think?”

“Seven, Th th thank you” Elizabeth spluttered.

“Ah, ah, ah.  No, no, no.  We have to start over since you haven’t started thanking me yet and you didn’t count.”  Jackie was enjoying this now.  This was where she was going to cement their relationship and demote their student principal to a sidelined pawn in the school hierarchy. 

Elizabeth was crying.  She was trying to understand.

”Now Beth.  You are Beth right?”

“Yes, I’m Beth”

And you are following the student rules right Beth?

“Yes mam”

“Who is your homeroom teacher?

“Mrs. McGuire, mam”

“What grade are you in Beth?”

Elizabeth answered without even pausing, “Seventh grade, Mam.”

“Are seventh grade girls allowed to wear jewelry or makeup?”

“No mam”

“You didn’t even have the right school shoes, did you?  You were more worried about your vanity and how tall everyone thought you were.”

“Yes mam”

“Should our seventh grade girls be worried about their height and makeup or should they be concentrating on their school work?”

“School work.  They should worry about classes and school not their vanity.”  Elizabeth’s crying was slowing down and her breathing was starting to return to normal.

“I thought you said you were in seventh grade.  Shouldn’t you be worried about things other than your vanity?  Shouldn’t you be worried about school work and following the rules?”

“Yes mam.  I should be worried about following the rules.  I don’t have classes, but..”

Whap.  Elizabeth was interrupted by a new swat to her exposed rear end.

Quickly Elizabeth tried to get her thoughts together.  “One, Thank you mam.”

“That’s better.  Do you think students should be arguing with the Vice-Principal about what they should or should not be doing?”

“Absolutely not mam.”  Elizabeth knew by how the question was asked that there was only one acceptable answer. 

“Did you say you were in seventh grade?  And, who is your homeroom teacher?”

“Yes mam.  Seventh grade.  Mrs. McGuire is my homeroom teacher.”

“And what did you say about the rules and vanity regarding yourself and the seventh grade students?”

Elizabeth paused to get this right, “We, the seventh grade students should not be worried about our height or makeup.  We should be following the rules and class work.”

“Very good Miss Warren.  And who gets disciplined in my office?”

“Students who break the rules.”

“Do I discipline anyone except students in my office?”

“Not to my knowledge, mam”

“Why are you here today young lady?”

“I am here to get disciplined for breaking the school rules regarding school uniform.”

Whack, Miss Coleman delivered a well-timed spank.  Elizabeth yelped and began to cry again. 

“Two, thank you mam.” Elizabeth quickly responded.

“Is that the only reason you are getting disciplined?”

“No mam.  I tried to hide my rules violations in the hope no one would notice.” Elizabeth was crying and explaining.

“Who does the discipline form say is getting disciplined today?”

“Beth Warren.  That’s me.”

“Do you agree that this discipline is fair and that you deserve it?

Blubbering, Elizabeth admitted, “Yes mam.  I deserve to be spanked.”

“Tell me who Beth Warren is.”

“Beth is a seventh grader here in Mrs. McGuire’s class.  She has been violating the dress code for almost two weeks.” Elizabeth responded and added, “In addition to several other failures.”

“That sounds correct.  What was Beth’s latest failure?”

“I was wearing a bra which was two violations.  The bra itself did not meet the dress code, but I do not need a bra.”

“Were you showing off to impress the other students?”

Elizabeth paused unsure how to answer, “I guess.”

Whap, “You guess,” Miss Coleman demanded.

Caught up in her unsure answer, “Yes I guess I was trying to give the impression I had more of a chest than I really did.  Wait, Wait, three, three. Thank You”

“I don’t think so. I think you took your eye off the ball here.  You are supposed to be focused on the discipline session.  Not trying to figure out what I wanted you to say.  We will have to start all over.  This time, I’ll try to go slow and make sure you have a chance to experience the value of this entire discipline session.” 

Elizabeth was in full breakdown mode at this point.  She had to get this session over with or she would never be able to sit again. 

“I suggest you answer questions truthfully with the first thing that comes to mind.  That way you can concentrate on counting and thanking me for your discipline session.  Now, what will be the count on the next swat?” 

“One, mam,” Elizabeth was crying and trying to talk.  She clearly wanted this to be over.

“That is right.  Now let’s review.  I’ll ask quick questions and you answer with the first thing that comes to mind.  What grade are you in?”

“Seventh grade, mam,” Elizabeth blurted it out quickly.

“Who is your teacher?”

“Mrs. McGuire, mam.”

“Who gets disciplined in this office?”

“Students that break the rules, mam”

“Did you break the rules?”

“Yes mam, I broke the rules.

“So you are here today to get your discipline, right?”

“Yes mam.  I am here for my discipline.”

“And what rules did you break?”

“I broke the rules for student uniforms.  I did it on purpose and that’s why I am being punished.”

“And what name is your name on this form?”

“Beth Warren, mam.”

Jackie said with confidence, “That’s right you are that seventh grade student that can’t seem to follow the simple rules regarding the uniform.  Is that right?”

“Yes mam, that’s me.” Beth said. For she was becoming more Beth than Elizabeth.

“Ahhh,” Jackie said before bringing the first stroke down on Beth’s behind.

Whap.  The sound bounced off the walls.

Beth said through gritted teeth, “One, thank you mam.”

“Now there has been a lot of discussion about you not breaking the rules and it has not stopped you.  Is that correct, Beth?”

“Yes mam,” Beth said through her gritted teeth.  Her crying was making it harder to understand the Vice-Principal.

“I think when we are done here, you should write up an agreement in writing that we will both sign clearly stating what you will wear in the future.  You will agree that you will not wear a bra and that you will wear the uniform defined underwear from this point forward.  Don’t you think that is a good idea?”

“Yes mam. I will get it written up as soon as we are done.”

“Good.  And if I determine that you need to wear a bra in the future then we will change the arrangement.  Do you agree that makes the best sense since I am in charge of discipline?”

“Yes, mam.  You are in charge of enforcing the rules and discipline.”

“Just so I am confident you understand all this, I want it all in the agreement.  Understood?”

“Yes mam”

Whack, the second stroke fell.

Elizabeth yelped and quickly said, “Two, thank you mam.”

“When we are done here today, I will talk to Mrs. Thompson and Miss Newman to have them review everything and make sure no other rule violations are expected.  Do you understand?”

“Yes mam”

“Now, remind me again.  Who is in charge?”

“You are mam.”

“And why are you here?”

“I am a seventh grade student who broke the dress code.  You are disciplining me.”

“That’s right,” Whack came the third hit.

“Three, Thank you mam.”  Elizabeth was crying constantly and her breathing was coming in gasps. 

“Now I think you working at a desk in the school office is becoming a distraction.  Don’t you think parents will find it odd that a student is sitting in the office all day? Answer quickly now.”

“Yes mam it is odd.”  Elizabeth thought, thank god I can finally move back into my office. 

“Did you know there is a rule that no student shall sit in the principal’s office?”

“No mam.  I didn’t.”

“Neither did I till I read it earlier today.  It also says students cannot be alone in one of the administration offices.  Do you think this poses a problem for us?”

“Yes mam” she quickly answered just before the fourth strike of the paddle.

“Four, Thank you mam.”

“I wonder.  Where do you think a seventh grader should be if not in the office?”

Without even thinking, Beth blurted out in questioning tone, “In class?”

“Brilliant,” Jackie exclaimed.  “We’ll just have Mrs. Thompson adjust your class schedule to take care of that.  Do you think you can follow the rules?”

“Absolutely mam.  I don’t want to be back in here.” Elizabeth admitted through her tears.

The fifth strike landed squarely on her rear.

“Five, thank you mam.”

“Now Beth, a good student reads the rules and follows the rules.  Don’t you agree?”

“Elizabeth agreed with a “Yes mam,” before even realizing these were her own words coming back to bite her.

“So you are going to be a good student from now on, Right Beth?”

“Yes mam”

“And no more uniform violations, right?”

“Right! Mam”

“And finally, can I count on you to follow and know all the other rules?”

“Yes mam”

“That’s my girl.” And Jackie landed the final swat.

Elizabeth almost missed it, and jumped in with, “Six, thank you mam.”

Mrs. Thompson held a towel up to allow Beth to cry into it.  She continued to lay across the desk for a minute or two.  Her bottom was on fire and she knew she did not want to sit down for a while.  Mrs. Thompson escorted Beth to the bathroom where she was able to wash her face and compose herself.  When her skirt had been dropped from her waistband even its light weight cause pain to shoot from her rear. 

Elizabeth was incredulous when Mrs. Thompson explained that she was lucky the Vice-Principal had let up with her punishment.  The idea that someone could experience anything worse than what she had just gone through was horrifying.  She vowed to avoid another punishment at all costs.

Returning to the desk outside of her office, Mrs. Thompson allowed Beth to write up her agreement with the Vice-Principal while Mrs. Thompson generated a regular class schedule for Beth Warren, seventh grade student.

I Beth Warren do not need to wear a bra.  I will wear the student uniform including underwear in the future.  I have told Vice-Principal Coleman that she may discipline me in the future if I deviate from the seventh grade student dress code rules.  Vice-Principal Coleman will determine when I can wear a bra to school.  The Vice-Principal is in charge of these matters and I agree she will be the decision maker in these matters.

Elizabeth Warren

Vice-Principal Jackie Coleman

Witness by: Mrs. Thompson

Jackie and Elizabeth signed the agreement which Elizabeth had written and Jackie kept a copy and put one in Beth’s student file.  Jackie planned to frame her copy and put it on the wall in her office or at home.

Mrs. Thompson added Beth’s class schedule to the student file along with today’s discipline forms.  Beth was given a copy of her class schedule for the next day.

At the end of the school day, Mrs. Thompson escorted Elizabeth to a class room where three other students were sitting at desks.  Mrs. Thompson explained to the proctor that Beth had been disciplined and would probably be unable to sit down for the hour long detention period.  For today’s detention, students were told to sit quietly and work on their homework.  Since, Beth had no work, she was told to stand quietly against the wall and she could read a book on the constitution. 

Beth stood facing the wall because with her back to the wall she tended to lean back and when her rear end touched the wall she wanted to scream.  After the hour was up, Mrs. Thompson arrived to escort Beth back to the office to collect her things. 

Mrs. Thompson gave a copy of the discipline form to Elizabeth and told her to put it in her backpack and take it home.  “You will take a copy of this form home and have Miss Newman sign it.  Bring it back to me in the morning.”

“Why would I get Miss Newman to sign the form?” Elizabeth asked.

Mrs. Thompson explained, “Because the rules say that students receiving discipline or assigned to detention must take a copy home and have it signed by their parent or guardian.  You obviously don’t have either of those things at the moment.  But you are living in the Newman household therefore I will accept her signature.  It’s really for my records.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense.  I don’t have a guardian.  Why would I need this signed by anyone other than me?”

Mrs. Thompson showed her where the rules stated that if a student did not return the discipline form signed by an adult from their home, the student would be sent home.  “You don’t want to break another rule after this do you?”

Elizabeth’s shoulders sagged.  This was getting preposterous.  Now Stacey Newman was going to sign forms for her.  It’s crazy.  But who else would sign it.  Elizabeth never considered that she was an adult at home.

Elizabeth soon found herself hustling out to the bus with the little girls and boys. 

On the bus, Elizabeth held the back of the seat in front of her to try and keep her bottom off the seat.  She was still in excessive pain.  Her bottom ached.  Maya, it turned, out was also on the late bus.

As the girls made their into the Newman home, Stacey confronted them.  Looking directly at Elizabeth, Stacey said, “Maya, go in the kitchen.  Get a snack and start your homework.  Beth and I need to go to her room and have a private talk.  Let’s go missy.”  Stacey was pointing towards the bedrooms and Beth led the way. 

Beth entered the room and dropped her book bag near the bed.  After closing the door, Stacey turned to deal with her. 

“I received another call from the school today.  I assume you are fully aware of why.”

“Yes.”  Elizabeth answered curtly.

“Don’t you get smart with me!  You will address me with some respect.  From now on, while you are living in this home, you will be polite and give me the respect I deserve.  You may call me, Miss Newman, Aunt Stacey or mam.  Now, let’s try this again.  Do you know why the school called me today?”

“Yes, Aunt Stacey.” Elizabeth choked the words out.

“As I understand it, after a week of small violations of the simple school dress code, the Vice-Principal found out that you have been wearing a bra that is a blatant violation of the dress code.  In addition, she informed me that your bra was so stuffed that upon further investigation, it was found that you don’t even meet the school uniform rules for wearing a bra.  Is this true?”

“Yes, Aunt Stacey.”  Elizabeth muttered.

“Well I told them I would evaluate this for myself and we would let them know our response.  So, let’s get that blouse off.  We’re both women I need to evaluate this for myself as the board representative.”

Elizabeth began unbuttoning the blouse to reveal the childish camisole.

“Young lady, where is your bra?”

Elizabeth opened her book bag and removed a bag with her clothes that were soiled in the cafeteria.  She explained to Stacey what had happened.

Taking the bag, Stacey made a big deal about observing the bra and all its stuffing.  She then turned to the dresser and opened the drawer.  Pulling out the bras she exclaimed, “The entire cup is padding.”  Looking back at Elizabeth, she ordered, “Remove that camisole.  We’re all girls here.”

Elizabeth reluctantly removed the camisole and stood with her arms over her breasts.

Stacey ordered, “Put your hands down at your sides.  You know why we are here.”

“Honey, you don’t have breasts.  Why are you even wearing a bra?  Are you so insecure that you feel no one would take you seriously without a false front?”

Elizabeth stuttered, “I, I, I d d d don’t…”

“You had to realize that you were clearly not allowed to wear a bra as part of the school uniform.  Why did you do it?” 

Elizabeth’s response sounded like every kid, “I always wear a bra.  Why wouldn’t I wear my bra?”

“You obviously needed more moral support than any of us realized.  Your decision making in this matter raises serious doubts in my mind regarding your qualifications and capabilities.  Well, you can count on me.  I am going to help you get through this.  First of all, you will not be wearing these bras with your school uniforms.  So, I’ll just hold on to them for you until you need them.  That way there will be no temptation.”  Stacey carefully collected all of Elizabeth’s bras from the dresser.  Stacey noted to herself that the only underwear in the drawer was the juvenile underwear and matching camisoles Elizabeth would wear with her uniforms.  Of course, since Stacey was removing other alternatives, Elizabeth would be limited to this underwear on the weekends also.

Elizabeth was totally cowed and simply stood and watched as Stacey went about collecting her things.  It was like she was in a trance.

Stacey turned to Elizabeth.   “Honey, put your camisole and blouse back on.  Then let’s go down and get dinner ready.  I am going to help you with this.  You can count on Aunt Stacey.”

Stacey sent Elizabeth and Maya into the living room while she got dinner ready.  When she had a moment, she returned to Elizabeth’s bedroom and quickly searched to make sure she had not missed anything.  She noted Elizabeth’s backpack and snooped inside.  She noticed Elizabeth had her purse inside the backpack.  Stacey removed the purse. She examined the purse and verified it included Elizabeth’s wallet with all of her ID and money along with her telephone and keys to her apartment. Stacey pulled Elizabeth’s few clothes out of the closet. She stowed the clothes and purse with the previously removed bras and underwear.  All that remained in the bedroom were school uniforms and Maya’s old clothes from when she was in 4^th grade.  These left over clothes surprisingly seemed to be a perfect fit for Elizabeth.  Some of them were even a bit too large.

16.                       School Day 9 - An Accident?

Stacey had Beth and Maya out the door in plenty of time for the school bus.  Beth made her way to her homeroom classmates and they all entered the school together.  After attendance, Beth was told to head over to the office. 

Beth Warren, seventh grade student arrived in the administration offices and approached Mrs. Thompson's desk with her pass.  Mrs. Thompson greeted her, “Good morning Beth, are you here for your morning meeting with the Vice-Principal?”

Beth felt like an outsider in the offices.  Mrs. Thompson was clearly in charge and Beth felt like the world was out of control, “Yes, mam.  I’m here for my meeting.”  Beth meekly answered.

Mrs. Thompson smiled, “The other girls are not here yet.  You take a seat on the bench over there till they arrive.”

Beth sat on the wooden bench outside the Vice-Principal’s office.  This position allowed her to look at the sign Principal’s office which had been moved and was mounted above the youth desk outside her old office. 

The other girls arrived within a few moments and everyone was escorted into the Vice-Principal’s office.  Beth stood in front of Jackie’s desk but separate from the other girls. 

The girls observed Beth as did Jackie.  Jackie was finally comfortable that almost all of the stuffing had been removed from the pompous new principal.  Beth clearly had no breasts or bra and her reduced height from removal of heels and her inflated hair had brought her down to the size of a lower school child instead of the seventh grader she was presently playing at. 

Jackie said, “Well girls, I feel an obligation to tell you that yesterday, I found out that Beth has been violating the dress code every day since this project began.  She was wearing a bra which violated the dress code and in fact after a review she decided she does not need to wear a bra to school at this time.  Isn’t that right Beth?”

Beth felt smaller than an ant.  She wanted to cry.  She looked at the floor and couldn’t bring herself to look these girls in the eye.  Knowing she had to answer, Beth said, “Yes mam.”

“But,” Jackie proudly proclaimed, “It seems that our young charge has finally figured out all of the little obstacles and is wearing the proper school uniform.  Now, for once, do you agree with me?”

The girls were still reeling from the realization that the principal was wearing a school uniform and she apparently did not need a bra.

Susan finally said, “Mam, we agree.  It appears that Beth has met the dress code.”  She turned to face Beth and bent down a little bit which emphasized how much taller she was than Beth and said rather smugly, “Congratulations Beth on getting to school in your proper uniform.  Let’s hope you can follow the rules for the rest of the day so you can finally knock a day off the list.” 

The other girls all clapped like they were congratulating a toddler.

Jackie then said, “Off to class girls.  Susan can you show Beth where to go.  I believe she will be in all your classes today.”

Susan said, “Of course, mam.  Come along Beth.”  So saying, Susan snatched Beth’s hand and started for the door.  Susan was taller and had longer legs.  Therefore, it looked like a girl pulling a little girl along behind her as the two made their way back to class.

Beth was trying to get her mind to understand that she was attending seventh grade classes.  Teachers were asking her questions like she was any other student.  They were telling Beth what she needed to do to catch up with the other students. 

Beth ignored the opportunity to use the bathroom during a morning break as she just sat there wallowing in her world.  But as the morning was coming to a close, Beth found herself needing to use the bathroom.  She raised her hand and the teacher told her she could wait until lunch. 

Beth found herself in desperate need of the bathroom.  As she waited for the bell, she found it hard to concentrate.  As soon as the bell rang, Beth exited the room and made for the nearest bathroom.  She rounded the corner and burst into the bathroom.  As she entered, Donna Stone turned from the mirror.

“Excuse me, but where do you think you are going?”

Beth was in a hurry and she felt her bladder wanting to burst.  She paused to look at Miss Stone and said, “Sorry, Donna, no time to talk.  I’m in a bit of a hurry.”  With that Beth entered one of the stalls.

As she grasped the door to close it, she felt herself being pulled backwards. 

“What the hell?” Beth shouted.

Beth was shoved against the sink counter and Donna Stone was staring at her. 

Beth looked up at Donna and rage began to boil over.  “Donna, what do …”

Suddenly, Beth was cut off as Miss Donna Stone slapped her across the face.

Beth Warren was stunned into silence.  She put her hand to her cheek and looked up at Donna Stone with a questioning look.

“Now young lady, I don’t want to hear a sound from you except the answers to my questions.  You stand there and answer the question I asked.”

Beth was at a loss.  She had no idea what Donna was talking about.  “Donna, I have no idea what you are talking about.  What question?  I have to go to the bathroom.”

“If you address me by my first name one more time you will be in detention till the end of term.  I asked you where you were going.”

Beth was suddenly reminded of her school uniform and tried to consider her situation. 

Miss Stone demanded, “Answer me.  Now!”

Beth’s adrenaline was running high.  But she was suddenly reminded of why she was here.  “I was obviously going to the bathroom.  And I need to go now.”

Beth began rocking side to side and her hands were moving to her crotch.  She subconsciously began to move nervously as she waited for Miss Stone to explain what the problem was. 

Miss Stone immediately recognized the familiar pee-pee dance that all the children reverted to when they wanted to get access to the facilities. 

“Well young lady, it is clear that you believe your bathroom needs are an emergency.  However, what made you believe that because of your needs, you could invade the teacher’s bathroom.  There are plenty of girl’s bathrooms around the school.  And you certainly know you are not allowed in here.   You just thought you could break the rules and get away with it.”

The words ‘break the rules’ struck terror in Beth’s mind.  Her answer was almost frantic, “No I did not want to break the rules.  I’m sorry.  I’ll just use one of the other bathrooms.”  Still doing her pee-pee dance, Beth started for the door.  But she was pulled back to the counter by Miss Stone.

“We’re not done just yet young lady.  I don’t know you.  But you seem very familiar with me.  I have never had a student casually refer to me by my first name.  Not once but three times.  You did it like it was the most normal thing.  No, I think we need to deal with this before you run off to do your ‘business’.”

Beth was still rocking, more frantically now.  She was in trouble and needed to get to a toilet.  She thought negotiating was the best strategy. 

“Miss Stone, I am so sorry.  If I could just go to the bathroom, I will submit to whatever punishment you feel is necessary.  I am going to have an accident if I don’t get to the toilet.”

“Still worried about yourself.  Well I will release you when I am done.  We have rules here and you seem to think you can bend them to your own needs.”

Miss Stone grabbed Beth’s hand and pulled her towards the bench on the far wall.  As Miss Stone sat down, Beth knew she was in for a real talking to. 

That is why Beth was stunned as she felt Miss Stone pull her towards her.  Not realizing what was happening, Beth was trying to maintain her balance as she believed Miss Stone wanted her close.  As Miss Stone gave a final yank on her arm, Beth lost her balance and felt herself falling across Miss Stone’s legs.  And the realization hit her.

“No.  Miss Stone.  You can’t do this.  Wait.  Let me explain.  You don’t understand.”

“No, you are the one that does not understand.  But, you will.”

With that, Miss Stone bent Beth’s arm behind her back and held her down.  With her other hand she swept up the skirt of her uniform.  She reached down to her purse and grabbed a hair brush.  She flipped it around and brought the back of the brush down squarely on Beth’s bottom. 

Beth yelped.

The brush began a regular pattern on her bottom.  Elizabeth could not think.  She just kept crying, “Stop, please, I’m Sorry.”

After 15 hard whacks, Miss Stone flipped the brush around and delivered 5 more with the bristles.  She preceded each of the final strikes with a demanding set of questions.

Whack!

“You will not address any of the adults by their first name.  You will only use the children’s bathrooms.  Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.” Elizabeth cried. 

Whack!

“Then say it and make me believe you understand.”

“I will only address adults by their proper names and I will only use the children’s bathroom.”

Whack!

“Again!”  And Beth repeated her statement.

Whack!

Beth felt herself giving up.  All she wanted to do was convince this woman she understood.  She cried and said, “I will only use proper names and I will only use the children’s bathroom.”  And Beth had never meant anything more than that statement.  And as she accepted that she felt her body give up.

As Miss Stone delivered the final stroke, Beth’s bladder gave up and she began to pee.

Miss Stone suddenly heard the sound and pushed the girl off her lap.  Luckily, the pee had not saturated her uniform before Miss Stone pushed her from her lap. 

Miss Stone was surprised but frankly she was seriously mad at this young girl. 

And this little accident would provide fodder for her to further teach this student a valuable lesson. 

Beth was crying.  She had curled up in a ball on the floor and was sitting in a pool of her own urine. 

Miss Stone stood up and gathered her purse. 

She looked down at the girl on the floor.  “Come on.  Let’s get you cleaned up.  We’ll go see the nurse.”

Miss Stone helped the crying girl up and moved towards the door.

Beth was having trouble thinking.  She was crying.  Trying to breath.  She knew she had peed all over herself.  And she knew she had to use the other bathrooms from now on.  She was trying to get her breathing under control.  Miss Stone was helping her up and said she would help her. 

Beth continued to weep as they moved out of the bathroom.  She was in a kind of trance and did not really know where she was.  Soon she realized that somehow they were now in the nurse’s office.  Miss Stone and the nurse were helping her off with her clothes.  They helped her remove her camisole and her underwear.  The nurse bathed her with a wet washcloth.  Soon they helped her put on a new camisole.  They had her on a doctor’s bed and the ladies helped her into a laying down position.  She expected them to put on new underwear. 

Beth felt one of them feeding underwear onto her legs and they lifted her bottom from the table.  They had slid a towel under her bottom.  As they were feeding her legs into the under wear, the towel was pulled up between her legs.  Beth did not understand.  She had just been getting ahold of her breathing and crying.  Now it felt like they had pulled a towel between her legs and the underwear was being pulled over the towel.  Miss Stone was holding her down at the shoulders and wiping her face with a wash cloth. 

Beth began to realize something was wrong.  “There is something wrong with my underwear.  What are you doing?”

Miss Stone looked down to her.  She had a weird smirk.  The nurse stepped forward. 

The nurse started, “We have a strict rule that all students will be potty trained before entering school.  It has been the policy of the school for years that when students have an accident on school property they will follow a strict regimen.  The rules state that any student having an accident will be required to follow the Potty Control process.  That process requires the student to wear a triple layer cloth diaper at all times at school.  The student is barred from using the toilet and is barred from tampering with or removing the diapers.  The student may, during regular breaks, come to the nurse’s office to use my bathroom facilities and be re-diapered.  Or if the student cannot control themselves the nurse will change them into dry diapers.  The student must be dry for 5 days before being allowed to go back to school without diapers.  After that, the student will wear a training underwear for a further 5 school days.  After completing the ten school day Potty Control period, the student may return to wearing the regulation underwear.” 

Beth was stunned.  She sat up and looked down to see that her camisole ended in a balloon of cotton captured in a large pair of plastic pants.  “I can’t wear this.  This is ridiculous.  Look, there’s been a misunderstanding.  How can I wear my uniform?”

Beth was bothered that she had just referred to the school uniform as “her uniform”.  But she was cut off by the nurse.

The Nurse continued, “Obviously you can’t.  Your normal uniform would look silly.  I was not done with my explanation.  You are in Miss McGuire’s seventh grade homeroom, right?”

“Yes, But…”

The nurse interrupted, “I thought so.  The rule is based on the assumption we will only have these problems with the younger children.  That is why there is another condition to the Potty Control rules.  Any child in the Potty Control program is re-assigned to a first grade homeroom and class schedule while they are in the Potty Control program.  Therefore, you will be wearing the first grade uniform which is a jumper instead of a skirt.  It will cover the diapers a little better.  The teachers in the first grade are better prepared to deal with children having accidents.  In addition, the children sent back are usually so ashamed about the program that they seldom return.  It has been quite effective.  Luckily, I have a jumper and blouse here that should fit you.”

“Just to be clear, the purpose of the triple diaper is to make sure everyone knows you are wearing diapers.  There will be no hiding it.  In fact, to make sure that all the staff know you are wearing a diaper and prohibited from using the bathrooms, you will be required to wear a pacifier on a string pinned to the front of your uniform.”  The nurse was staring her in the eye to make sure Beth understood that she was serious.   

Unluckily, the nurse had a school jumper that fit little Beth.  It ballooned around the diapers.  Miss Stone seemed to take great pleasure in pinning the pacifier to Beth’s uniform. 

While Beth had gotten dressed, Miss Stone called the office to get a room assignment for the new first grader.  She then proudly volunteered to escort their charge to her new homeroom. 

Little Beth’s mind was spinning trying to grasp the full impact of what was going on around her.  She started to realize the full impact of what had been said as Miss Stone grabbed her hand and started to lead her from the nurse's office wearing diapers and a child's jumper.  As she began to complain, Miss Stone paid no attention to her, stopped, quickly shoved the pacifier into her mouth to cut her words off and said, “I guess I won’t have to worry about you running into the Teacher's restroom for an emergency since you can just use your diaper wherever you are.”  Beth’s eyes went wide.  She tried to mumble around the pacifier.  Miss Stone finished with, “You will follow me and keep your mouth shut.”

Beth found herself waddling along with Miss Stone since she could not get her legs together due to the diapers.  Miss Stone dutifully led her to a first grade class room and introduced her to the homeroom teacher. 

Knocking on the door Miss Stone said, “Miss Mitten, I have a transfer student who will be joining your class.  This is Beth Warren.  Good Luck, honey.” 

Giving Beth a push into the room, Miss Stone turned and left.

17.                       A different homeroom, A Different Uniform

The teacher looked at her with a huge smile.  “Welcome to our class.  We have a little problem we have to deal with.  You see I have several girls in my class named Elizabeth.  This is very difficult for children at this age.  So I try to help them out.  If there are different names or nicknames we can use, I try to do that so that everyone has a unique name.  Then when anyone’s name is used, we all know who we are talking about.  Since you should only be here for a short time it’s no big deal.  Now, we have an Elizabeth, a Liz, a Beth and a Betty.  I know, I’ll just refer to you as Betsy.”

Before, Elizabeth realized the import of this statement, the teacher turned to the classroom and gathered their attention. 

“Children, please welcome Betsy Warren.  She is joining our class starting today.  Betsy, please take a seat at the table on the right in the empty chair.”  She was pointing to a table with other children. 

Elizabeth was so stunned, she found herself waddling over to the chair and sitting down.  Several of the other children noticed how she was walking and guessed she was wearing diapers.  But, there was no chance to discuss it now in front of the teacher.  Betsy pulled the pacifier out of her mouth and several of the other children giggled.

The teacher wrote a quick note and asked one of the girls to run the note to the office.  She gave her a hall pass and the girl took off on her errand.  The little girl returned soon after. 

Near the end of the lesson, right as the bell was sounded, Mrs. Thompson appeared at the door and talked to the teacher.  The teacher walked over to Betsy and said, “Excuse me a second, honey.”  She reached down past Betsy’s pacifier pinned to her uniform and unclasped the student id.  She replaced it with a new one that said Betsy Warren, First grade.  It noted her new homeroom and her new teacher.  It also had a big yellow bus in the corner along with a second little picture of a stick figure on a swing.

Betsy looked down at the ID and was so perplexed by the stickers she hardly registered her new name and grade.  She quickly wondered why she needed a new ID for just a few days but was more worried about the stickers.  “Why is there a bus and a picture of someone swinging?”

The teacher looked at her and smiling replied, “The yellow bus tells me you are a bus rider so I don’t get you mixed up with the kids whose parents pick them up from school.  The swing set tells all the teachers that you will be going to after school Discover Club and take the late bus.  I’ll explain it to you when the kids go to morning recess.”  Having dismissed Betsy’s concerns the teacher returned to the front of the room and handed over Betsy’s seventh grade school ID to Mrs. Thompson.  Mrs. Thompson smiled and waved before abandoning her to her first grade class.

18.                       Student Records need to be updated

Back in the school office, Mrs. Thompson updated Betsy’s name on her student file and changed her registration information.  She included all of Betsy’s new information including her Discover Club Registration form. 

Stacy Newman was called and updated on the situation.  She came by the office to fill out the registration for Discover club and she went ahead and signed Betsy’s student registration for First grade as her guardian.  She was the adult responsible for picking Betsy up from school or the bus and she had to give the school her information.  Stacey put down her children’s pediatrician as Betsy’s doctor.  She removed any reference to Betsy’s old address. 

Stacey asked Mrs. Thompson for copies of all the documents.  Then she stepped in to talk to Jackie Coleman.  Closing the Vice-Principal’s door, Mrs. Thompson was confident Betsy would be their main topic of conversation. 

Jackie told Stacey that after disciplining Betsy for violating the dress code by wearing a bra that Betsy agreed to an addendum to the original agreement.  The student principal signed an agreement saying she did not need to wear a bra and that she would wear the student uniform required underwear in the future.  She further gave ongoing permission for the Vice-Principal to discipline her if she deviates from the dress code and gave the Vice Principal the right to determine when she would be able to wear a bra.  The wording of the second sentence could be interpreted to say that if Betsy violated the student dress code at all in the future then the Vice-Principal could punish her.  So, they could potentially keep her in the uniform for as long as they wanted.  Even if this challenge ended and the Principal attempted to re-establish her role in the school, Jackie had no intention of ever allowing her to wear anything but juvenile panties and camisoles underneath.  Jackie suggested that maybe the Principal should continue to wear the full student uniform.  She wanted Betsy to remember who was in charge.  Even if their challenge was completed, she figured that the Student principal might have to make an announcement that she would continue to wear the student uniform to demonstrate her support of the rules.  Only a select few would know that she had no choice in the matter. 

On the home front, Stacey informed Jackie that she had confiscated every piece of clothing Betsy had brought to her home along with all of Betsy’s identification, her phone and keys.  The only things Betsy had to wear were clothes for 3^rd and 4th graders in her original bedroom.  However, with Betsy’s demotion to diapers, she would be moving her to the toddler room where the only clothing was more appropriate for kindergarten or 1^st grade students.  Betsy would have trouble emanating the image of anything other than a 5-7 year old for the near future. 

19.                       First grade, New Rules

At the break, the kids all fled to the playground to run around.  Betsy’ waddled up to the teacher’s desk.  “Miss Mitten, I don’t understand why I have a swing set on my ID card.”

Miss Mitten talked to her just like she talked to every other student.  “Betsy, our student rules say that first grade students have to be picked up at school or met at the bus stop by a parent or guardian.  You may only be with us for a short time, but right now this is your class and you have to follow the same rules all the other students do.  The bus driver cannot let you off the bus without an adult to meet you.  Whoever that person is told Mrs. Thompson she could not guarantee that she could be there for the first bus and that you should plan on riding the second bus.  Therefore, you have to go to Discover Club which is a program here at the school for kids whose parents can’t take them until after work or other responsibilities.  You will be put on the late bus by the Discover Club teacher.  You’ll like Discover Club.  It’s like extra recess and you can get any homework you have done.  Of course, in the first grade we don’t have a lot of homework.  So, you can just enjoy yourself.  Now, let's get you outside to run off some of your energy and get some fresh air.”

“I don’t want to go outside.  I don’t want to go to Discover Club.  Can’t I just sit at my table until after recess?” Betsy whined.

“No you can’t.  And get that frown off your face little missy.  I’ll walk you out.  You just have to meet some of the other girls and boys.   You’ll all become fast friends.”

Betsy found herself holding hands with the teacher while being led to the playground.  She wandered through the jungle gyms and fake stones before finally sitting down on one of the benches.  She pondered her situation and found herself swinging her feet and enjoying the fresh air in spite of her foul mood. 

The bell rang and all of the children started milling around.  Betsy made for the door when she hear an authoritative voice ask, “And where do you think you are going?”

Turning, Betsy was confronted by one of the other teachers.  “I was going inside because the bell rang.”  As she answered the question she realized all of the other kids were lined up in single file lines by homeroom.  The problem was, she wasn’t even sure who was in her homeroom. 

The teacher noted the pacifier and realized this was one of their special demoted students.  She did not realize who the student was.  Her tone softened a little.  “Betsy, is it?” she asked looking at the nametag, “Who is your teacher?”

“Miss Mitten.” Betsy answered tentatively.

“Then get in the second line at the end.” She directed pointing at one of the lines.  The kids were all shaking their heads at the new kid.

Once everyone was in their lines, the teachers did a head count and then the lines of students filed back into the building and into their class rooms. 

Miss Mitten asked Betsy as she came back in the room whether she needed to go see the nurse.  Betsy shook her head ‘no’ while wondering at the humiliation of having her diapers discussed in a room of first graders.

Betsy quickly made her way over to her place at the table.  The teacher talked about numbers and adding and subtraction.  Betsy was bored.  But, she spent a lot of time observing the other kids.  This was a unique opportunity she thought to watch the kids from their own perspective.  Later, they had a snack and some juice drinks.  Betsy hoped to hide for the rest of the day till she could work this out with the Vice-Principal.  How could she expect people to take her seriously while she was wearing diapers?  Somehow, it had never occurred to her to ask how people took her seriously when dressed as a grade school student.  She didn’t even ask if they took her seriously.

At the end of the school day, while the kids were all getting their things together, Miss Mitten came over and after saying “I need to check you” she suddenly pulled up the side of Betsy’s school uniform and stuck a finger inside the side of her diaper.  Finding it dry, she nodded to Betsy and dropped her uniform skirt. 

Betsy bowed her head as she realized a new low in her humiliation. 

The kids lined up behind the line leader, a student assigned to be first.  They walked down the hall towards the door when the line stopped.  Miss Mitten grasped Betsy’s hand and identified four other children who were led into the cafeteria.  Miss Mitten introduced Betsy to Angela, a young woman who could barely be out of high school.  Angela was the coordinator for Discovery Club.  Betsy thought she was essentially the head babysitter. 

20.                       Discover Club

As Betsy sat in Discover Club, she suddenly realized that none of the lower grade teacher's seemed to recognize her.  They may not even realize she is the principal.  That was even more degrading. 

The kids sat around working on homework for a while and then they were all escorted to the playground.  The kids ran around for about half an hour and Betsy sat to the side. 

At the end of Discover Club, Betsy was escorted along with several other students to the late bus.  The bus driver was given a list of the Discover students and their drop off locations along with contact numbers in case their guardians were not at the drop off location when the bus arrived. 

Betsy made her way to a seat in the second row and sat down on her well-padded bottom.  It was yet another reminder of how far she had sunk in her humiliation.  When the bus pulled up to her stop, Stacey Newman was there waiting and she reached for Betsy’s hand as they began the walk to her home.

21.                       Betsy comes Home

Stacey said nothing on the walk home and pointed at a chair in the kitchen when they entered the house.

It was clear Stacey was unhappy.

“Well young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?” Stacey demanded.

Betsy was sitting on her well-padded bottom wearing the first-grade school jumper and she had not yet removed her backpack.  She looked like any other grade school student returning from a hard day at school.  At this moment, no one would believe that this person was old enough to be in middle school much less old enough or mature enough to be the principal of a school. 

Betsy was trying to figure out how to answer the question.  She was fidgeting and swinging her legs which hung well above the ground.  She was looking at her hands with their fingers jumping around like they were playing an instrument.

Stacey interrupted her thoughts, “Stop stalling and answer my question.  What do you have to say for yourself?”

Betsy looked up at Stacey with a bewildered look.  “What do you mean?”

“It would seem obvious to most people what I mean.”  Stacey reached down and grabbed Betsy’s arm.   “Come with me.”

Betsy hopped down from the chair and followed as she was dragged into the last bedroom which was decorated for an infant.  Stacey approached the closet and let go of Betsy’s arm as she swung the door open to reveal a full mirror on the back of the door.  The room was well lit with bright colors and Betsy found herself staring at a little girl in a child’s school uniform clearly dressed to go or come home from school.

Stacey ignored her history as an adult and focused on today.  “Betsy, I seem to remember sending a big girl to school today.  I thought you were in seventh grade.  Were you in seventh grade this morning?”

Betsy was trying not to look at herself in the mirror.  She was looking at the floor and swinging one of her legs.  Tentatively she mumbled, “Yes.”

Stacey pushed on, “Yes, What?”

More mumbling from Betsy, “Yes I was in seventh grade this morning.” 

“You are not wearing your uniform I sent you to school in, are you?” Stacey asked.  She wanted to emphasize that the uniform belonged to Betsy. 

“Noooo.” Betsy stretched the answer out.

Stacey stared at her.  “Look me in the eyes while I am talking to you.”  Betsy’s eyes looked up at Stacey.  Stacey could feel the power.  Betsy was just like any other child who was in big trouble.  She firmly continued, “Where is your uniform that you went to school wearing?”

Betsy answered, “It, It’s in my book bag.”

“So you folded your uniform and stored it in your school book bag and decided to wear different clothes?  Is that what you are telling me?”

Betsy was trying to figure out what to say.  She did not want to admit what had happened, but clearly Stacey knew something was up.  “No, I didn’t fold up my uniform and put it in my school bag.”

Stacey now pressed forward.  “Little girl, I don’t know what you are trying to hide.  But tell me what happened.  I want a full explanation right now or you won’t be able to sit for a week.” 

The implication was clear.  Explain or get a spanking.

Tears started to flow.  Betsy started whimpering and finally began her explanation of what had happened.  She told about the incident in the bathroom, the spanking, her accident, the nurse dressing her in diapers, and her demotion to first grade. 

Stacey looked at her with an incredulous look.  “You had an accident, in the day time, at school?”

Betsy nodded as she continued to wipe her tears.

Stacey asked, “Do you think the school administrators should let children like you just pee like newborns where ever they are?  Don’t you agree that Miss Coleman and Mrs. Thompson need to have a firm plan for handling children who can’t control themselves?”

Betsy mumbled, “I guess so.”  She hardly realized that she was now one of the children separated from the school administration in her agreement.

Stacey stated, “Well, it looks like diapers were the right decision on the part of the school then.  If you show them you are a big girl who can control your bodily functions, I’m sure they will let you wear big girl underwear like all the other seventh graders.  Do you think you can do that?”

Betsy nodded.  She really did hope she could earn the right to wear her big girl underpants like the other seventh graders.  Something felt wrong about that.  But Stacey was asking another question.

“Do you think seventh graders wear diapers?”

Betsy responded, “No.”  She was unclear where this was going.

Stacy agreed, “I don’t think seventh graders should wear diapers either.  So, the decision to put you into first grade was probably the right one.  The teachers are more prepared to deal with these sanitary problems.  Don’t you agree?”

Betsy thought for a second but felt pressure to answer, “I guess.”

Stacey continued, “And, you are going to try to be the best first grader in the school so that I, your teacher, Miss Coleman and Mrs. Thompson will all be proud of you.  Right?”

Betsy didn’t want to be a first grader.  She wanted to be a seventh grader.  Wait, that didn’t seem right either.  But it seemed that right now she was stuck dealing with first grade.  “I guess.”

Stacey looked at her firmly, “You guess?  Can’t you be more decisive than that?”

Betsy tried to get her thoughts together and responded, “Yes.  I’m going to try to be the best first grader in my school.”  She smiled a fake smile as she looked to Stacey for some type of reassurance that she had answered correctly. 

Stacey nodded and gave a half smile to assure her that was the correct answer.

“Now on to other things.  No matter what happens, I am very disappointed in your actions at school today.  I have always felt it was important to deal with school discipline both at school and at home.  So, while you are required to wear diapers at school, you will wear them at home as well.”

Betsy with a look of surprise was about to say something.

Stacey jumped in, “Don’t say a word.”  And continued.  “In addition, the bed in your old room is not set up to handle accidents.  I had no idea you might still have accidents.  Therefore, until I am confident that you have yourself under control, this will be your room.  The first grade uniforms are in this room along with the diapers you need to wear to school.  The bed is protected and it just makes more sense.  I have plenty of clothes that should fit you and will cover your diapers in the closet.  All of the baby supplies are in here along with the changing table.”

Betsy was speechless.  She stared around the room.  She identified the changing table, child dresser with open slots filled with diapers, baby supplies on the table tops, a crib, and a closet with childish uniforms and other clothes on hangers.  There were toys and stuffed animals everywhere.  The room was beautiful and perfect for a baby.  But, she couldn’t live here.  Her first reaction was to internalize her concerns and she found herself whimpering and tears were running down her cheeks.

Having defined the environment, Stacey moved towards Betsy. 

“Honey, let’s get you out of those school clothes.”  Stacey helped her off with her book bag and pulled her jumper over her head.  Taking off her shirt, Betsy stood in the middle of the nursery wearing a childish camisole tucked into her voluminous diapers and plastic pants.  She grabbed a cloth diaper off the pile and used it to wipe Betsy’s tears away and let Betsy hold onto it.  Betsy held it to her cheek like a child’s blanket. 

Stacey helped her to sit down in a child’s chair and removed her school shoes.

“Betsy, the last thing you need to know is that while you are in the first grade, you will be treated and expected to behave like any other first grader in my home.  You have had a rough day today and all this crying and trauma has clearly worn you out.  I know you will think it is crazy, but I want you to lie down for a little while and try to take a nap.  You need to clear your mind.  I’ll get you something to drink and then I want you to lay down for just a little while.”

Betsy wanted to fight it.  But to be honest, she was exhausted.  Stacey told her to sit in her little chair and she would be right back.

Stacey had prepared a little juice container earlier in the day.  She had it in a large glass with a child sippy cup top.  She had added a mild sleeping pill to help Betsy sleep along with a diuretic.

Returning to the room, Betsy was still in her chair clutching the diaper cloth to her face.  Stacey said, “I don’t let my girls eat or drink in their rooms because I don’t want to clean up spills.  This juice has red dye in it so I put it in this cup with a sipper just in case.”

Betsy had little fight left in her.  She took the cup and tried the juice.  It tasted odd.  But the cranberry seemed to be the overwhelming taste.  She quickly downed the large glass and handed it back. 

Stacey helped her stand up and guided her over to the crib, where the side was down.

Betsy started to fight, “I can’t sleep in a crib.  Let me sleep in my own bed.”  She was almost crying again. 

Stacey shook her head.  “Honey, we already talked about this.  It’s just till you get out of the diapers.”

Stacey leaned down and picked Betsy up and placed her in the crib.  There was a pillow which was a stuffed turtle.  And nearby a large fluffy rabbit looked down at her.  Stacey drew the room darkening drapes closed and the room was suddenly very dark.  Stacey turned on a little light on the dresser which created a mild glow.  Turning back to the crib, she pulled the side of the crib up and locked it in place.

“Now, I’ll come check on you in a little while.  But I want you to really try to settle down and get a little rest.  Can you do that for me?”

Betsy was holding the soother diaper cloth to her face and nodded, “um hm.”

“One last thing honey, I don’t want you to get hurt so call for me and I’ll let you out of bed after your nap.  I don’t want you to get hurt climbing over the railing.”

Betsy nodded.

Stacey turned and closed the door as she left.  The baby monitor was on.  So, she would hear any noise from the room.  In addition, earlier in the day Stacey had set up her old nanny-cams to record the interaction in the nursery.  The unit was noise and motion activated.  It was hooked to her computer.  She had the entire interaction on her computer from multiple cameras in the room.  She had put the units in to monitor babysitters when her own children were younger.

22.                       Birthday Party

While Betsy was napping, Stacey received a call.  One of the mothers heard there was a new girl in the class and didn’t want her to feel left out.  So she called and invited her to a birthday party for one of the other little girls in the class.

Stacey quickly thanked her and assured her that Betsy would love to come to the party.  Stacey asked her for the names of some of the other children who would attend and of course Stacey knew several of their parents.

As she hung up, Stacey smiled and thought this would be a good chance for Betsy to start building a relationship with kids in “her class”.  She immediately began planning for what outfit little Betsy should wear to the party.  As she planned, it occurred to her that Betsy should probably have a hairdo more appropriate for her place in school.

As she brought her focus back to the present, Stacey planned on how to deal with the rest of the evening and getting little Betsy off to school on Friday.  After her nap, Betsy needed to be fed dinner and put to bed at a new early bedtime.  Maybe Stacey should give Betsy a bath. 

Betsy had gotten home at about 4:30 and Stacey had her down for her nap before 5 PM.  By 5:15 Stacey confirmed on her nanny-cam that Betsy was asleep.  She looked precious in her bulging diaper, camisole and little white socks.  She was grasping her diaper cloth in one hand and clutching the stuffed bunny in her other arm.  At around 6 PM the baby monitor chirped and Stacey saw movement in the crib.  She moved towards the nursery.

Betsy slowly woke up and could not figure out where she was.  She felt like she was in a haze.  Why were there bars in front of her?  Whose bunny was she holding?  As she looked around the room, she started to remember the nursery and remembered she was wearing diapers from school.  She wanted to start crying again.  As the door opened, she felt an unreasonable excitement, almost relief that someone was coming to get her.  Betsy stared at the door.  She wanted to scream, “Come get me.  I want out of my crib.”  She momentarily realized that she had thought of the crib as her own. 

Stacey entered the room.  In that moment, without consciously realizing it, Betsy identified Aunt Stacey as her protector.  Aunt Stacey was here to save her.  She would help.  Aunt Stacey was going to get her out of her crib. 

Betsy sat up on her knees and grasped the side of the crib. 

Stacey smiled and asked, “Did you have a nice nap?”

Betsy was still a little groggy from the sleeping pill.  “Yes.  I feel better.”

Stacey lowered the side and reached in to help Betsy out of the bed.  Betsy reached up to Stacey’s neck and she was carried over to the changing table. 

Stacey smiled and said, “I know you are a big girl, but you probably need to go potty.  I’ll loosen your diaper and you can sit on the potty for a minute.  Would you like that?”

Betsy nodded.  She felt like she needed to go potty.  She also realized that her diapers were a little cold. 

Stacey stretched out the plastic pants over Betsy’s diapers and slid them down to her ankles.  Stacey had specifically avoided the bathroom prior to Betsy’s nap.  As she reached for the diaper pin on the near side of Betsy’s diaper, she clearly saw the crotch of the diaper was damp.  It was not soaked, but Betsy had clearly had an accident.

As she was undoing the pin Stacey pasted a surprised look on her face and her right hand touched the crotch of Betsy’s diaper.  She swung her head towards Betsy and stated, “Well, it seems that I made the right decision moving you to the bed with protection.  Did you wet yourself on purpose or do you seriously have no knowledge that you wet your diaper like toddler?”

Betsy started to react when Aunt Stacey touched her diaper but when she said the diaper was wet, Betsy was incredulous.  She was a big girl.  She did not wet her diaper.  And yet as she tried to sit up, she touched her diaper and realized that reason why she was cold down there.  She had wet herself without even realizing it.  What was wrong with her?  “I didn’t know.  What is wrong with me?  It was an accident.  I must be sick.  Oh my gosh, Oh my.”  Betsy was devolving into a crying fit.  

Aunt Stacey lifter Betsy’s legs and slid the wet diaper out and dropped it into the diaper pail.  Betsy was whimpering and crying.  She grabbed a diaper wipe and cleaned up Betsy. 

Stacey reached across and pulled the safety strap across Betsy and attached it so that Betsy was immobilized on the changing table.  Betsy started to struggle and Stacey put her hand on Betsy’s chest holding her down.  “Betsy, you are developing a little rash.  Let me get something from the bathroom and we’ll get this under control.  I just wanted to make sure you did not fall off while I stepped away.”

Betsy nodded and continued to whimper to herself.  Stacey snatched up the diaper towel from the crib and gave it to Betsy.  Betsy pulled it to her cheek and it seemed to calm her down.  Betsy closed her eyes. 

Stacey returned quickly from the bathroom.  She immediately rubbed some cream all around Betsy’s crotch and between her legs.  She looked down at Betsy with a comforting look and said, “Now we just have to let this work for a few minutes.  I’ll grab something for you to drink and then we’ll get you cleaned up and dressed.  Now stay still here till I get back.  Okay?”

Betsy nodded as she continued to whimper.  Stacey retrieved another juice glass from the refrigerator.  This one only had the diuretic added.

Returning to the nursery, Stacey helped Betsy drink her juice.  She then used a warm wash rag to wipe away all the big girl hair Betsy used to have below her waist.  Betsy now had that little girl look which was more appropriate for a diaper wearing toddler. 

Stacey rubbed some lotion into Betsy’s skin and then applied a generous amount of baby powder before pinning a clean triple diaper onto Betsy.  After sliding a clean pair of plastic panties over the diapers, Stacey sat Betsy up and pulled her camisole over her head.  She reached down and retrieved a clean camisole and pulled it over Betsy’s head.  She stepped over to the closet and pulled out a juvenile dress which puffed out below the waist.  After pulling it over Betsy's head, she helped Betsy off of the changing table. 

Betsy was just starting to get over the realization she had wet herself during her nap when she saw herself in the mirror.  She looked like a little girl.  Her diapers stuck out below the dress. 

“I can’t wear this.  I look foolish.”  Betsy was pleading.

Stacey looked down at her.  “Young lady, you will wear what I dress you in.  And of course your diapers show.  They are huge.  That is the point.  Outfits like this don’t hide the diapers.  These outfits assume you are wearing diapers and simply make the wearer look cute.  And whether you know it or not, you look adorable.  Now, let’s go down stairs and get you some din-din.”

Taking hold of Betsy’s hand, Aunt Stacey guided them down to the kitchen.  Betsy was directed to sit in a chair and Aunt Stacey got her another glass of juice.  Betsy nursed the sippy cup as she watched Aunt Stacey prepare dinner.  Stacey maintained an ongoing prattle about school and things around the house.  Betsy tried to tune it all out and figure out why she had wet herself during her nap. 

Stacey waited to see if Betsy would ever realize that when her diaper was changed, Betsy had never actually gone to the bathroom. 

Maya was stunned when she came into the kitchen and saw that her big sister was now clearly the little sister.  Looks from her mother made it clear they would talk later. 

After dinner, Stacey decided that a bath at this point would be pushing things a little too fast.  The girls were sent to Betsy’s room and Maya and Betsy spent time talking.  Maya asked Betsy all about her new classroom and her new teacher.  Maya pulled a few books out and the girls discussed some other innocuous things.

Before 8 PM, Stacey declared it was bed time and sat Betsy on the changing table.  Stacey pulled the dress over Betsy's head and removed her camisole.  She dropped a baby-doll pajama night gown over Betsy’s head.  Betsy’s socks were removed and she sat there in a daze allowing it all to happen.  Stacey slipped a finger into the side of Betsy's diaper and confirmed she was dry. 

“Betsy, you have school in the morning and today has been a big day.  Let’s get you to bed and tomorrow will be a better day.”  As she said this, Stacey picked Betsy up and placed her back in the crib.  She placed two of the diaper cloths near Betsy’s head and positioned her with her head on the turtle pillow.  Maintaining a constant banter, Stacey placed the fluffy bunny in Betsy's other arm.  A soft fleecy blanket was pulled up on Betsy.  Stacey pulled up the side of the crib and turned on a music box with some lullaby music.  Saying good night, Stacey quickly exited the room.  Betsy was laying there in her crib holding bunny and her soothing cloth.  She was warm and comfortable.  It was only as she was drifting off to sleep that it occurred to her she had not gone to the bathroom before going to bed.  She was so tired, she actually slipped into sleep before she could react to her thoughts about the bathroom.

23.                       School Day 10 – Friday

Betsy awoke in a dark room.  She had no idea where she was.  But she had a raging need to go to the bathroom.  She was laying on a pillow and holding a stuffed animal.  She realized it was her bunny. 

Betsy had to focus on her need for the bathroom.  She sat up in bed and remembered she was in a crib.  Betsy pressed her right hand to her crotch and willed herself to control her bladder.  She knelt at the bars and tried to determine how high the bed was.  This crib was higher than many she had seen.  The base must be over three feet off the floor.  If she fell climbing over the railing, she could actually hurt herself.  She was beginning to rock from knee to knee.  She tried to stand up.  As she did.  She found that the railing was pretty tall and reached to her chest level.  But now that she was standing, she pressed the diapers into her crotch harder and began doing the pee-pee dance so common for juveniles in need of the bathroom.  Betsy was so focused on not wetting herself she had trouble putting words together.  She was talking to herself.  It came out as a mumble or a whimper.  As her needs became more frantic, her whimpering became louder.

Stacey heard the whimpering on the baby monitor and slowly made her way to the nursery.  There she found her little charge holding the bars with one hand trying to get a leg over the edge while clutching her crotch and bouncing up and down.  Betsy was almost crying. 

While Stacey knew what the problem was, she decided to act clueless and go into soothing mother mode.  If she could stretch this out for just a moment or two, Betsy might lose control.  Each event like this took another nick away from Betsy’s adulthood and was a further loss of control. 

“Honey, it’s okay.  I’m here.” So saying, Stacey moved to the crib and reached over and hugged Betsy to her.  “Calm down.  There’s nothing to be afraid of.  You’re safe.”

Betsy could not believe that Aunt Stacey was so clueless.  Couldn’t she see that Betsy needed the bathroom?  “N.n.n.need p.p.p.potty”  Betsy could hardly maintain her thoughts to say what she needed. 

Betsy was frantically hopping from leg to leg now. 

Stacey acted surprised and stepped back to lower the railing.

“Step back honey.  I don’t want you to fall out when I open the railing.”  And Stacey waited as a clearly frustrated Betsy tried to lean back and grab the far railing without falling. 

Then Stacey carefully lowered the railing and stood up.  She reached for Betsy and taking her in her arms she turned.  Betsy had to put her arms around Stacey’s neck which meant she took her hand away from her crotch.  She also could not do her little dance.  Stacey turned and moved towards the door.  Then she stopped and plopped Betsy down on the changing table. 

Stacey said, “Let me help you out of your diaper so we can get you on the potty.”

As she looked into Betsy's eyes it was clear that it was too late.  When she plopped onto the changing table it surprised Betsy causing her to lose concentration.  That was all it took to open the floodgates. 

Betsy just began to cry.  She had just wet her diaper like a little baby.  This was no little accident.  She had flooded her diaper. 

Stacey had to use all her self-control to avoid smiling.  She pulled Betsy into a hug and began to sooth her. 

“It’s okay honey.  I didn’t realize you had to go potty so bad.  I’m sorry.  It’s okay.” 

Stacey laid Betsy back on the changing table and pulled the strap across her.  Betsy continued to cry.  Stacey retrieved her soother cloths from the crib and gave them to Betsy. 

Stacey began the diaper change routine.  She asked Betsy if she needed to use the bathroom and Betsy whimpered a no.  Stacey bundled Betsy up in a new diaper and plastic pants.  After adding a camisole, Stacey dressed Betsy in her school uniform and combed her hair.  Yes she thought to herself, Betsy needs a new hair style.

Stacey fed the girls some cereal and juice for breakfast.  Betsy was excited to get to use a regular glass.  After breakfast, Stacey walked the girls to the bus stop.  Betsy was totally aware of the waddle her diapers forced her to use as she walked.

Betsy tried to withdraw into herself while sitting in her first grade class.  When morning recess came around, the teacher checked to see if Betsy was dry.  She asked her if she wanted to go to the nurse so she could use the bathroom.  Betsy decided she needed to take every chance to use the bathroom. 

After getting a hall pass, Betsy went to the nurse.  The nurse unpinned Betsy's diaper and immediately noticed the lack of hair from yesterday.  She said nothing.  Betsy went in the bathroom and forced herself to tinkle.  Returning to the nurse she was totally embarrassed.  The nurse quickly bundled Betsy back into her diaper. 

Betsy took her pass and joined her class outside near the jungle gym.  Betsy sat on a bench and pondered how she would survive the next few days in diapers. Her life was totally out of her control.  She hardly remembered that she used to be principal.  Her thoughts were more focused on rejoining her seventh grade class and getting back in big girl underwear.

She realized that in the last two days she had wet herself three times.  And two of those times she had done it in her own diaper.  Betsy fidgeted on the bench as she mulled things over.  She decided she needed to talk to Aunt Stacey about how she could get to the bathroom when Betsy was in her crib.  She had to get her diaper wetting under control. 

The thing Stacey and Jackie Coleman would have been excited to know was that Betsy was sitting around thinking about how she would handle “her” diapers.  She thought of the crib as her bed.  And she was trying to work out a plan to get back into seventh grade and big girl uniform panties.  Betsy’s reality was being changed. 

Betsy spent her second afternoon coloring and playing with children in the discover club.  Stacey met Betsy when she got off the bus.  Stacey was surprised when Betsy sort of half smiled and said “Hi Aunt Stacey.”  They walked home. 

When they got home Stacey walked them up to the nursery.  Stacey looked at Betsy and asked, “The first question I have is my little girl dry this afternoon?  If so, does my little girl need to go potty?”

Betsy was suddenly unsure.  It seemed a foreign thought process.  Betsy was not sure if she was dry.  She felt lost.  “I..I’m not sure if I had an accident.  I don’t think I did.”

Stacey was caught off guard by this lost moment.  “Well let me check honey.”  Stacey pulled up Betsy's school uniform and stuck a finger in the side of Betsy's diaper.  It felt dry. 

“It seems dry.  Do you need to go potty?” 

Betsy decided she should take advantage of this chance.  She nodded. 

Stacey took off the school uniform jumper and put Betsy up on the changing table.  She loosened the diaper and slipped it and the plastic pants off.  She picked Betsy up and placed her on the floor so she could run to the bathroom.  Like any small child she scampered into the bathroom wearing a shirt, and shoes with nothing below the waist.  Betsy truly looked like any juvenile first grader who was still in diapers. 

Betsy was so embarrassed by her situation, she hurried through peeing and wiped herself before flushing.  It never occurred to her to stop and look at herself and she had clearly not noticed her hairless state just yet. 

Stacey was waiting for Betsy with a clean diaper and a play dress.  Betsy’s school shoes were exchanged for some brightly colored tennis shoes.  Stacey pulled a diaper cover over the plastic pants that had rows of ruffles and matched the play dress.  Somehow, Betsy thought that was a better look since the diapers were not on full display. 

Stacey walked Betsy into the TV room and turned on some cartoons.  She reminded Betsy that she would only watch shows acceptable for a first grader.  Stacey then went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. 

As they ate dinner, Stacey announced that she had to go out for a meeting this evening.  She explained that she would be gone for an hour or two.  Betsy thought nothing about this announcement and she went to the nursery after dinner.  She was bored with cartoons and decided to see what books might be available.  Of course, all the books were pretty juvenile and had more pictures than words.  But, it was better than cartoons.

The doorbell rang and Betsy thought nothing of it. 

Aunt Stacey called and Betsy returned to the kitchen along with Maya. 

Waiting in the kitchen was Aunt Stacey along with two of the eighth grade girls Betsy had been dealing with earlier in the week.  Mary and Susan had been two of the key members of the student group that kept finding fault with Betsy’s uniform. 

Stacey began, “This is Maya and of course you girls know little Betsy.  Betsy and Maya, this is Mary and Susan.  They will be babysitting you while I am out this evening.  I can’t leave a first grader and a sixth grader home alone.  You girls behave and I’ll be back later.”

Turning to the girls, Stacey explained that Maya’s bedtime was 10 PM and Betsy needed to be in bed with lights out by 8:30 at the latest. 

Stacey grabbed her purse and headed out the door. 

Maya returned to watching TV.  That left Betsy with Mary and Susan.

Mary and Susan were surprised when they got the call from Mrs. Newman.  After talking to her, they decided it would be fun to babysit the principal. 

Mary asked, “Betsy why don’t you show us your room?”

Betsy was worried about what was going to happen.  But the girls walked to her room with her and they talked about her rabbit and her turtle pillow.  They asked about the books on the floor.  The three of them sat on the floor and started paging through the books.  The girls gave Betsy several glasses of the juice Mrs. Newman had prepared in sippy cups.  The girls kept pulling their phones out to text with other friends.  But one or the other was usually focused on Betsy.  What Betsy did not realize was that the girls were taking pictures of her in her juvenile attire along with her room.  They got pictures of her drinking from her child’s cup. 

Soon the girls decided it was time to get ready for bed.  They had been told to use the changing table and not to put up with any complaining from little Betsy. 

Betsy was placed on the changing and they began to disrobe her.  The dress and diaper cover were removed.  Betsy complained that she could do this herself.  She did not want children to see her naked.  The girls removed her socks and shoes and retrieved a sleeper from the dresser.  When the girls pulled Betsy’s camisole over her head they were floored to realize that the Principal had no breasts.  Both of them in the midst of their development had b cup breasts.  Mary said, “Betsy honey, you have no breasts.  I think this is all a big joke.  You really are just a little girl aren’t you?”

Betsy was trying to cover her chest with her hands.  It was no use.  She was laying on a changing table in diapers.  And as much as she didn’t want to admit it, she was not too big to be on this changing table.  Betsy was crying.  “Leave me alone.  I can’t help it.  Just give me my pajamas so I can go to bed.”

Susan repeated the question, “Are you just a little girl?  Why were you pretending to be the principal?”

Betsy whined, “I was the principal.  I can’t help how I look.”

Susan noted to Mary, “She looks younger than my sister who is in first grade.  But, I guess at that age all you little girls look pretty young.”

Betsy was begging them to go away and let her go to bed. 

While Mary tried to calm Betsy down, Susan fed her feet into the sleeper.  Soon they rolled Betsy a little to one side and then back.  Her arms were fed into the sleeves of the sleeper and Betsy heard the zipper closing and looked down to realize the girls had encased her in a blanket sleeper.  She and her diapers were closed up tight.  The girls moved Betsy to the crib and gathered her soothing diaper towels along with her bunny.  The girls pulled the fleece blanket over Betsy and tucked it in on the sides of the crib before raising the railing.

Betsy was so worried about the girls seeing her naked, she forgot to ask to use the bathroom.  The girls turned on the music box and the night light before leaving the room. 

Within minutes Betsy realized that in the blanket sleeper and with the fleece blanket on top she was starting to get hot.  But since the girls had tucked the blanket in tight, Betsy could not move around much and she was having trouble pushing the blanket down.  Finally after 10-15 minutes, Betsy finally fell asleep. 

A half an hour later, Mary and Susan returned with a bowl of warm water.  They carefully loosened the side of the blanket and maneuvered Betsy’s right hand into the bowl of warm water.  Susan swished the water around a little bit because she heard that water sounds tended to help things along.  Several minutes later they were rewarded with the clear sound of Betsy voiding her bladder into her full and fluffy diapers.  The girls removed the bowl and tucked the blanket back in.

When Stacey came home she asked the girls to review the evening.  They obviously skipped over the hand in the water portion of the evening.  Stacey however, did a quick review of the nanny-cam footage and observed and listened while Betsy clearly voided her bladder for the girls. 

Stacey spent some time planning her Saturday.  Tomorrow would be an interesting day. 

24.                       Saturday – Week 2 – Birthday Party

Stacey made sure she was up early.  She wanted to make sure she was awake when her little girl awoke in her well used overnight diapers. 

Stacey slowly entered Betsy’s room quietly.  She started gathering things for her young charge.  She selected a white party dress which would stop half way down Betsy’s diapers. She chose a white diaper cover with lots of rows of pretty lace along with some white mary-janes.  Finally, she pulled out three well-padded diapers and a clean pair of plastic pants. 

She had prepared a breakfast of oatmeal and juice for little Betsy. 

Walking over to the crib, Stacey reached in and nudged Betsy.  “Honey, it’s time to wake up.”

Betsy had not been woken up by someone else in a long while.  It reminded her of when her mother used to wake her up.  She slowly stirred and started to stretch before opening her eyes.  She hugged bunny and stretched her legs as she opened her eyes.  She saw Aunt Stacey smiling down at her and she smiled back.  She had really been in a deep sleep. 

Stacey reached in and pulled the blanket back.  As she lowered the railing, Betsy started to sit up.  Stacey quickly picked Betsy up and placed her on her left hip while giving her a hug.  Betsy’s legs were around Stacey and her arms grasped at Stacey’s neck.  But as Betsy landed on the hip, both she and Stacey felt the squish of the large soaked diaper. 

Betsy was lost for a moment trying to assemble the facts and figure out what that meant.  Stacey of course knew what it meant.  Before Betsy could react Stacey had her on the changing table and pulled the safety strap across her. 

Stacey began, “Well it seems that your bedwetting problem is much worse than I thought.  I guess I’m lucky you didn’t soak the bed in the other bedroom.  If you are going to act like a baby, then I guess my only choice is to treat you that way.”  As she said this, Stacey reached under the table and retrieved a pacifier which she plopped into Betsy's mouth.

Stacey continued as she loosened the sleeper, “I don’t want to hear your excuses.  I can’t have you running around in a wet diaper.  So I’ll get you cleaned up and we’ll have breakfast.  I don’t want you to spill anything on your clothes so I’ll wait till after breakfast to get you dressed for the day.”

Betsy was trying to remove the pacifier.  She wanted try to talk.  But Stacey kept the pacifier in Betsy’s mouth and ignored her. 

Stacey looked at Betsy with a serious look, “If you take that pacifier out of your mouth, I’ll be making your bottom glow like a ripe apple.  Lie still.”

Stacey feathered Betsy’s legs out of the sleeper and made quick work of changing her diaper.  She then redressed her in the sleeper and picked her up.  In the kitchen, she plopped Betsy down at the table.  She placed Betsy’s oatmeal with lots of chocolate melted into it on the table along with her juice. 

Betsy had not had oatmeal in a long time.  Stacey removed her pacifier and told her to eat and not talk.  She told her they could talk after breakfast. 

Betsy was surprised by the size of the bowl of oatmeal.  But she was hungry so she dug in.  She had never had oatmeal with chocolate and it turned out she liked the combination.  She drank her juice and slowed down halfway through the bowl. 

Stacey looked at her.  “We have a big day today and you need to eat your breakfast.  And, I mean all of it.”

It took a while and Betsy kept trying to stall.  But Stacey eventually came over and gathered the last few spoonful’s of oatmeal and forced them into Betsy’s mouth.  She then had Betsy finish her second sippy cup of juice.

Betsy felt full and a little bloated.

Stacey gathered up the dishes and rinsed them off.  She then grabbed the pacifier and Betsy’s hand and led her back to her nursery. 

Standing in front of the changing table, Stacey unzipped Betsy’s sleeper and helped her out of it.  She then put a new camisole over her head and followed that with the white party dress.  She fed Betsy's legs into the matching diaper cover.  Betsy sat on the floor and Stacey helped her put on some lacey white socks and the white mary-jane shoes. 

Betsy looked up at Stacey and asked, “Why am I all dressed up?”

Stacey looked at her with one of those motherly looks.  “Because you are a pretty little girl and we have to run a few errands.  I wanted you to look nice.”

Betsy whined, “I don’t want to go anywhere.  Can’t I stay here?”

Stacey responded, “No, honey.  We have places to go and people to see.”

Stacey grabbed a diaper bag and made sure there were plenty of diapers and other supplies.  She took Betsy's hand and they returned to the kitchen.  Stacey told her that Maya had gone to a friend’s house down the block and it would just be the two of them. 

Gathering up her purse, the two of them went out to Stacey's car.  Stacey opened the back door and pushed the diaper bag across the seat.  As she stepped back and Betsy started to climb into the car, Betsy saw the car seat. 

Betsy asked, “What is that for?”

Stacey grasped Betsy around the waist and said, “Don’t you mean, who is that for?  And the answer is it is for my little first grader, you.”

Betsy complained, “I don’t need a car seat.”  But Stacey had already snapped the child straps across Betsy’s shoulders and into the child-proof security lock. 

Betsy continued, “Let me out of here.  I’m not a little kid.  Please, let me out.  I don’t want to be in a baby seat.”

And with those last words, Stacey placed the pacifier she had retrieved from her pocket into Betsy's mouth.  This pacifier was a little different from the first one.  It had a nice taste to it.  But Betsy wanted to spit it out. 

Stacey looked at her and reminded her of the consequences of removing the pacifier. 

Betsy noticed that her mouth was watering a little bit and she found herself sucking periodically to remove the saliva.  Each time she did she got a little jolt of that nice taste. 

As Stacey drove across town, she noticed that the longer they drove the more regular Betsy's sucking action was.  She had coated the pacifier with a chemical that had two effects.  First, it caused the body to produce more saliva.  This would trigger a sucking action.  The second compound caused an uptick in certain endorphins associated with pleasure.  In other words, Betsy would produce saliva and that would induce her to suck on the pacifier.  That sucking action would cause pleasure.  Over time Stacey hoped that this might lead to Betsy associating pleasure with sucking on her pacifier. 

Along with her breakfast, Stacey had included a mild sedative to help keep Betsy calm as well as the diuretic she had previously used.  The chocolate in Betsy’s oatmeal was a laxative which should take a few hours to have any effect on Betsy.

They went to a grocery store where Stacey gathered a few dry items since they were not going directly home.  She spent some time in the baby products aisle to restock some of the supplies she was using with her new charge.  She just wanted to get Betsy out in public.  Betsy was scared to see someone she knew and refused to let go of the basket while in the store.  Stacey had removed the pacifier when she took Betsy out of the car and there was almost a look of disappointment on Betsy’s face. 

Returning to the car, Betsy was strapped in and Stacey put an identical pacifier in Betsy's mouth.  Stacey assumed that after a certain amount of sucking that her magic mixture would wear off.  Therefore, she had prepared several identical pacifiers for Betsy.

Betsy seemed pretty calm and accepted the new pacifier without complaint.  As Stacey drove, she noted that Betsy was consistently nursing on the pacifier and had a happy look on her face. 

They pulled into another strip mall and Betsy was helped out of the car.  They walked hand in hand to a hair salon.  Aunt Stacey told her she had an appointment.  Betsy was reluctant to enter but certainly did not want to be alone outside.  When they entered several women oohed and ahhed about how cute Betsy was.  Stacey talked to the receptionist.  Soon, two women approached them and Stacey led Betsy further into the salon.  They stepped into a changing room together and Stacey slipped on a smock.  She then turned to Betsy and kneeling next to her, she undid the clasp on the back of Betsy's dress and pulled it over her head. 

Betsy was caught off guard. “What are you doing?  Wait.”

Stacey slipped a smock over Betsy’s head and explained that they were going to get their hair done together.  However, Stacey explained that she had already told the stylists what she wanted.  She told Betsy to behave or she could expect a public spanking.

Betsy was reluctant to return to the salon.  One of the stylists helped her up into a chair right near Stacey.  The stylists proceeded to wash both of their hair.  Betsy was still fidgeting and trying to ask questions.  Stacey reached in her pocket and plopped another pacifier into Betsy's mouth and instructed her to behave. 

Betsy felt a total loss of control.  How did she keep ending up in these situations?  She found that the more she worried, the harder she sucked on the pacifier. Somehow she started to feel better. 

After having her hair washed, the stylists started doing similar things to their hair.  Betsy watched and saw that they were doing pretty much the same thing to both of them.  Betsy could not see herself because of the mirror placement.  But they were using the same things on both of them.  Soon they washed both of their hair again.  The sedative and the pacifier were keeping Betsy from totally thinking straight.  Soon both Stacey and Betsy were having their hair rolled up in curlers.  Solutions were applied and they were moved to the dryers.  After the hair dryers, more solutions were added and their hair was washed again. 

After the curlers had been removed, the stylist began to move around her head with scissors and Betsy closed her eyes to keep hair out of them.  She sucked harder on the pacifier. 

When they were all done, Betsy looked at Stacey and really liked the large body curls in her blond hair.  She looked great.  As Betsy looked in the mirror, her eyes got huge.  She quickly reviewed the steps of the day.  They had both had the same things done.  But Betsy entered the salon as a brunette.  Now she was sporting blond curls just like Stacey.  But, Betsy’s curls were much smaller in tight spiral curls.  But across the top of her face, she had baby bangs.  She did not realize it but her hair had been thinned which along with the bangs stole any possibility of her being perceived as anything but a juvenile.  That along with the blond hair color made her immediately question how anyone above 8 or 9 years old could possibly take her seriously. 

Betsy could not speak.  With or without the pacifier, she would not have been able to form words.  Redressed in her child’s party dress, Betsy was convinced that Aunt Stacey had stripped away any remaining evidence that Betsy used to be in seventh grade.  The other girls would laugh her out of class.  How could she possibly return to her old homeroom?

With these thoughts roaming around in her head Betsy tried to smile to the ladies as they left the salon and got back in the car.  Betsy was sucking on the pacifier with such force, Stacey wondered if she might swallow it. 

When Stacey parked the car in front of a house Betsy did not recognize, Betsy wondered what new humiliation was coming.  Aunt Stacey grabbed a pretty bag from the back of the car, snatched the diaper bag from the back seat and the two of them started walking up the walk to the house.  Half way there, Stacey bent down and removed the pacifier.  She could see the fear in Betsy's eyes.

“Betsy, this is the Jordan’s house.  Mrs. Jordan is someone I know from your school.  I expect you to behave like a good girl.  We’re going to have lunch here.  Remember your actions reflect on me.  I will not be reluctant to correct you if your behavior requires it.  Do you understand?”  Stacey was looking for agreement.

Betsy was scared.  But, she nodded in agreement. 

Aunt Stacey knocked on the door.  Mrs. Jordan answered the door.

Mrs. Jordan greeted them with a big smile.  “Stacey, how nice to see you again.  And this must be Betsy.  Welcome to our home honey.”

Betsy shook the woman’s hand.  Betsy noticed there seemed to be a lot of noise coming from the inside of the house.  She saw several other women watching as they entered the house.  It was bright and cheery. 

Mrs. Jordan interrupted her thoughts.  “Betsy, the other girls from your class are over here.”  Mrs. Jordan had grabbed her hand and was hurrying her along into the next room.  As they entered the room, Betsy was surprised to find most of the little girls from her first grade homeroom class.”

A couple of girls squealed when Betsy entered and came running over to greet her.  As Betsy looked over her shoulder for Aunt Stacey, Aunt Stacey approached and handed her the bag from the car with tissue paper hanging out the top.  Betsy suddenly put two and two together.  This was a birthday party and Betsy was a guest. 

The girls were dragging her over to their gathering.  Everyone was introducing themselves.  Betsy was trying to focus and remember the names.  Soon, she was caught up in all the questions and talking. 

Several of the mothers talked to Stacey.  Being on the board, Stacey knew most of the parents in town.  As with many parties for small children most of the parents stayed for the party. 

The girls played some party games and everyone was laughing and running around.  The girls ate a simple lunch of hot dogs and chips before everyone had some cake and ice cream.  Betsy was caught up in trying to keep people straight and trying to follow the conversations and time flew. 

A number of the mothers asked about Betsy’s obviously diapered condition.  Stacey mentioned that Betsy had only recently come to live with her and that she was having some trouble with her control.  She mentioned that Betsy had had an accident at school and told them that she always believed in the potty control program and she made sure that her girls followed it at home when they were punished at school.  Either way, Stacey said, “Hey I have a closet of clothes that look really cute on a well diapered girl, why waste them?”

Most of the mothers agreed.  None of them realized that Betsy was supposed to be the principal at the school.  Few seemed to notice that she was actually older than their children.  You certainly couldn’t tell from the party interactions. 

The girls were running around out in the back yard playing tag while the mother’s observed from the patio.  The back yard was flat and open and beautiful.  Stacey kept an eye on Betsy.  She was in the far corner of the yard trying to get away from one of the other girls.  As the person chasing her selected a new target, Betsy paused next to a tree to catch her breath.  The children were all laughing and the parents were encouraging them. 

Stacey noticed the sudden look of desperation on Betsy’s face.  She looked left and then right.  Betsy pressed her knees together and started to try to waddle towards the patio.  The problem was that with the large diapers, Betsy could not really bring her legs together.  And she was not solving her problem.

Stacey stepped back in the group as if she was going to refill her iced tea glass. 

Betsy had never had something like this happen in her memory.  She suddenly had a desperate need to pee.  But she also needed to poop.  She was trying to keep her emotions under control as she tried to get back to the house.  It was slow going.  A couple of the other mothers noticed her odd behavior and they exchanged knowing looks.  Betsy was trying so hard not to pee, that she couldn’t walk.  She needed to relieve the pressure so she could get inside and find a bathroom.  She decided that if she had to let a little pee go to relieve the pressure then that would be better than the alternative. 

However, as any experienced mother knows, once the stream has started it is all but impossible to stop.  In addition, that action invariably leads to a release of the bowels. 

Betsy tried to let just a little pee out.  Then she tried to stop it.  Suddenly, the dam burst.  Her stomach cramped and she bent over and crouched to relieve the pain. 

The women on the patio all noticed the look of surprise on the little girl's face.  And all of them knew she had just had an accident.  And when they saw her suddenly bend forward and crouch, they knew that the other end had opened up also. 

There were several snickers and one of the mothers called loudly to Stacey.  “Stacey, I think little Betsy has used the portable potty.”

Stacey responded in exasperation, “Oh you have to be kidding me.”  She continued towards the yard shaking her head as she went.

At that same time one of the other girls came running past and tagged Betsy by whacking her on the shoulder yelling, “You’re it!”

The action threw her off balance and Betsy found herself sitting in the middle of the yard as her mushy bowel movement spread throughout her diapers. 

Betsy was crying and the girl who had tagged her was trying to apologize.  The other mothers all joined in the fray as they tried to explain that it was not their fault.  Stacey moved Betsy over to the patio and sat her on a short wall. 

One of the other mothers was trying to calm Betsy down and Stacey disappeared for a moment.  Stacey threw down a changing pad in the grass at the corner of the patio and led Betsy over too it.  Betsy was so out of it, she was not really aware of where she was or why Aunt Stacey was leading her there.  They sat her down on the pad and laid her back.  Two of the other mother’s came to help.  One of them was talking to Betsy and wiping her tears when Mrs. Jordan slipped the diaper cover off of Betsy's legs.  That was immediately followed by the plastic pants and Stacey had soon unpinned the diaper and was cleaning up her young charge.  Mrs. Jordan helped hold Betsy’s legs in the air as Stacey cleaned her up and slid a clean diaper in place. 

Betsy was in hysterics.  She was naked in front of all these people.  They were standing around her like she was a show on how to change diapers.  Everyone saw her privates. 

With a smearing of diaper cream and a puff of baby powder.  Betsy was soon bundled into a clean diaper and plastic pants.  Once the diaper cover was replaced the mothers cleaned up her face and she was pushed back into the back yard. 

They couldn’t leave.  They hadn’t opened presents yet. 

Betsy’s mind was on overload.  All these mothers had seen her naked and re-diapered and not one of them saw anything wrong with it.  The girls were talking to her and she was trying to focus on what they said. 

In a little while she was reluctantly playing with her new friends again. 

As they were leaving the party, Mrs. Jordan told Betsy and Stacey, “Let’s set up some play dates for the girls.  I’m sure Betsy and my little Madeline will be best friends.”

Aunt Stacey assured her they would set something up.  She led Betsy out to the car.  Stacey was carrying the obvious diaper bag, which based on today was not as useless as Betsy had thought. 

As soon as Stacey had Betsy strapped in, she began to mumble.  Stacey could see that she was upset.  She retrieved one of the pacifiers and popped it in Betsy’s mouth.  She removed it for a few minutes to give Betsy some of her juice from one of the sippy cups.  Then the pacifier returned. 

Even though the ride home was not that long, Betsy looked like she was going to fall asleep in the car.  Once home, Stacey hustled Betsy into the house and did not bother to remove the pacifier.  Betsy had had a lot to drink and eat at the party.  So she did not feel Betsy needed to be rehydrated. 

She moved Betsy into the nursery and began removing her party dress.  It was after 3:30 and Aunt Stacey felt Betsy could use a nap to recharge.  After removing the dress, shoes and diaper cover, Aunt Stacey popped Betsy in to the crib wearing her camisole and diapers.  She gave Betsy a clean pair of diaper cloth soothers and gave her the bunny.  She tucked the fleecy blanket in, closed the curtains and left the room. 

Betsy was sucking on the pacifier nonstop and as she relaxed in her crib she quickly drifted off into slumber land. 

Betsy was dreaming of waterfalls.  She was near the edge of a river and the water was flowing over the edge of a short waterfall.  In her dream Betsy decided to slip into the water and swim around.  Shortly she felt the need to pee.  She thought hey I can pee in the river and no one will ever know.  As she started to pee something happened. 

Betsy awoke with a start as she was just starting to pee a little.  It was only a small accident.  Maybe Aunt Stacey wouldn’t notice.  Of course, if she didn’t say anything her diaper was going to be wet. 

Betsy sat up in bed and looked around.  There were no clocks.  She had no idea what time it was.  She wasn’t even sure what day it was. 

Stacey heard her little charge moving around and headed for the nursery.  Betsy was clearly happy to see her.  Betsy stood up in her diaper and held onto the corner of the crib looking expectantly at Aunt Stacey. 

Aunt Stacey lowered the railing and picked Betsy up.  Betsy felt really good when Aunt Stacey held her and hugged her.  It was especially satisfying when she woke up.  Stacey reached up and popped the pacifier out of Betsy's mouth.  Betsy hadn’t even realized she was still sucking the pacifier. 

Aunt Stacey smiled and asked, “Are you dry little one?”

Betsy was conflicted.  The problem was it showed on her face.  She looked at Aunt Stacey through hooded eyes.  She wanted to cry.  She slowly shook her head no.  She couldn’t answer.

Stacey was already moving to the changing table.  She quickly changed Betsy into a new dry diaper and slipped a clean t-shirt and a puffy short skirt onto Betsy.  As with all her outfits, it highlighted instead of hiding her diapers.  Little canvas sneakers completed the ensemble. 

Betsy grabbed Bunny and one of her other stuffed animals and followed Aunt Stacey downstairs.  Stacey seated Betsy in the family room where she could play while dinner was being prepared.  Maya sat down and started a childish banter with Betsy.  Maya was trying to treat her like the infant she appeared to be since she knew it should bother Betsy.  Betsy seemed lost and just played with the toys and she appeared to miss the treatment from Maya.

Dinner was quick and soon, Betsy found herself being disrobed in the bathroom.  Aunt Stacey said she needed a bath, especially after her accident earlier today.  That brought back bad memories for Betsy.  Betsy had taken to avoiding looking down so she did not have to look at the offensive diapers.  As her diapers were removed, Stacey picked her up and placed her in a tub full of bubbles. 

Stacey had no intention of leaving her little girl alone in the bathroom.  She proceeded to wash her hair with baby shampoo.  Then she grabbed a wash cloth and washed Betsy from head to toe.  She had Betsy stand up and she cleaned her bottom and privates.  Then Betsy sat down and just absorbed the bubbles and the warm water for a few minutes. 

Finally, Aunt Stacey drained the tub and dried Betsy off.  Wrapped in an immense bath sheet, Betsy was carried to her changing table and the diapering and bed time preparations were quickly taken care of.  It never occurred to Betsy to ask to use the toilet while she was in the bathroom and Aunt Stacey had no intention of prompting her.

Betsy was bundled into bed and lights out.

25.                       Sunday – Week 2

Sunday morning was another disappointment.  Unknown to Betsy, Maya had repeated the bowl of warm water trick and waited until Betsy had flooded her diapers. 

Stacey took it all in stride and wondered aloud how Betsy had survived her first few nights without ruining her good bed set.  Betsy was quickly losing confidence and wondered how she could lose control so quickly.  She wondered if she was sick.  They spent the day at home and took a walk to a local park.  Maya and Betsy played on the swings, jungle gym and other park toys.  They returned home and had a simple dinner and everyone went to bed a little early so they would be bright and awake for school the next day. 

Betsy had no daytime accidents and used the toilet twice.  Aunt Stacey praised her like a 2 year old getting potty trained. 

During the day, Betsy drank several glasses of her juice.  She told Aunt Stacey that sometimes she gets thirsty at night.  Aunt Stacey said she would think about it. 

At bed time, as Aunt Stacey put Betsy into her crib, she said, “I thought about your request for something to drink.  I’m worried about spills.  Even a sippy cup could cause a large spill if left overnight.  So I looked around and I think I found a solution.” 

Stacey reached over and grabbed a large baby bottle with juice in it.  “This bottle could roll out of the bed and nothing will spill from it.  You can drink as much as you want and the rug and the bed are protected.  I’ll just put it in the corner of the bed so you can grab it if you need it.”

Stacey had coated the nipple on the bottle with the same combination she was applying to Betsy’s pacifiers. 

Betsy had no intention of drinking out of a baby bottle.  But leaving it would cause no harm.  She did not want to hurt Aunt Stacey's feelings. 

After Betsy had been asleep for a while, Stacey returned to her room and watched Betsy lying on her side sucking hungrily on the pacifier.  She took the bottle and after slipping the pacifier out of Betsy's mouth she replaced it with the bottle.  She leaned it on Betsy's soother blankets. 

Betsy was soon draining the bottle. 

An hour or so later, Stacey returned.  The bottle was almost empty but Betsy was still latched on and sucking constantly.  Stacey replaced the pacifier in Betsy’s mouth and left the empty bottle in her crib. 

26.                       School Day 11 – Monday Week 3

Stacey was not surprised to find a wet little girl in the crib the next morning.  As she dressed her for school, Stacey reviewed the Potty Control program to make sure Betsy understood what was happening.  Friday had been considered the first day of Betsy’s Potty Control timeline.  She needed to follow the rules for 9 more days to get out of first grade. 

Betsy continued that thought thinking “and then I can move back where I belong in seventh grade.”  But something about that felt wrong.  Her thoughts were interrupted as Stacey slipped her uniform over her head. 

Stacey had decided that Betsy needed a few days of regular diaper wearing experience in school before she possibly had an accident.  Let her feel success before she has a setback. 

The girls ate a nice breakfast before heading out to the bus.  At school Betsy no longer went anywhere near the office.  Her morning meetings with the girls had been canceled. 

With Stacey dressing her for school, Jackie Coleman had informed the girls that their agreement was on hold until the principal was out of the potty control program.  They agreed that Stacey would ensure full uniform compliance.  Mary and Susan had seen the situation on Friday when they babysat Betsy. 

Jackie Coleman had to use all her will power to control her emotions until she got back in her office after hearing the girls version of their babysitting adventure.  They mentioned preparing Betsy for bed and wondering if she was really just a little girl.  They did not mention the bowl of water.  But when Jackie called Stacey for an update, Jackie was in tears she was laughing so hard. 

Stacey informed the Vice Principal that Betsy had not woken up dry since last Thursday morning.  Four days in a row, little Betsy had woken up with a soaked diaper.  Multiple day time accidents had dashed her self-confidence. 

Then Stacey told Jackie how she had plopped the principal down on a changing mat in the back yard at a birthday party and stripped her bare before re-diapering her.  She explained that several of the mothers had helped change the poor little girl who had fully used her diapers in the middle of the party. 

They pondered how an adult could devolve in just over two weeks from being the Principal to being a diapered first grade student who seemed to be failing at everything including control of her own bodily functions. 

For Betsy’s part, she successfully attended her first grade classes.  She visited the nurse and went to the bathroom.  When she got to recess all her friends from the party dragged her into their games.  She found some moments of enjoyment as long as she ignored what she thought she should be doing.  If she just went along with things, she found a certain level of happiness. 

At the end of the day, Betsy found herself on the bus going home.  She felt a weird sense of success.  It seemed like this was the first day in weeks where she did not get into trouble at school.  Of course, she continued to worry about why she was wetting the bed at night.  It would be nice to have a good day that also included waking up dry.  She decided that was her goal for tomorrow.  She would try not to have an accident overnight.

Anyone other than Betsy evaluating her goals might think potty control was a low bar for a PHD. 

Betsy did not have a nap on Monday afternoon and she was in bed before eight o’clock.  Betsy got a little grumpy when she was only allowed to watch cartoons on TV.  Aunt Stacey popped a pacifier in her mouth and told Betsy to act her age. It seemed an odd suggestion.  But, Betsy sucked on the pacifier and tried to concentrate on the cartoons until dinner.

Aunt Stacey provided another bottle for Betsy at bed time since she drank last night's bottle overnight.  Betsy was tucked in and sucking on her pacifier when Stacey declared lights out.  Later, Stacey helped Betsy to her bottle.  When Betsy was done drinking the bottle, Stacey replaced the pacifier. 

27.                       School Day 12 – Tuesday Week 3

Betsy only had a small accident overnight and somehow she convinced herself that this was progress she should be proud of.  Betsy figured that not waking up soaking wet was a big achievement. 

Stacey tried to encourage her just like she would a 2 or three year old trying to get toilet trained.  Of course, Betsy was already supposed to be toilet trained.

On Tuesday, the teacher started asking Betsy questions in class and Betsy was more involved in reading and other in class activities.  The teacher noted that Betsy was bonding with several of the girls and seemed to be fitting in well.  During lunch, the teacher suddenly remembered that Betsy was not supposed to be a long term addition to her class.  She was only here because of the bathroom problems.  She decided to keep observing Betsy to see if she misunderstood what was happening. 

That afternoon, Betsy worked hard and played with the other children.

At home, Aunt Stacey announced that she had set up a play date for Wednesday after school with Madeline Jordan, the birthday girl from last weekend.  In fact Mrs. Jordan was going to pick up Betsy after school along with her own daughter.  Aunt Stacey would come by a little later to pick up Betsy before dinner.

As Aunt Stacey was re-diapering Betsy and getting her dressed for her early bed time, Betsy was prattling on about the play date.  Stacey knew that in the last week and a half, Betsy had only been out of her control when she was on the school bus or at school.  It appeared that Betsy was worried about going somewhere else without Stacey.  Betsy’s questions and concerns mirrored any small child’s worries about the unknown when separated from their parents or guardians.  The thing was, Betsy was not a child, but she seemed to be thinking like one. 

Betsy continued, “I like Madeline and she has a nice house.  But, how am I going to get there?”

“Mrs. Jordan will drive you in her car.  She’ll pick up both you and Madeline after school.  You won’t go to discover club.” Stacey answered.

“What kind of car does Mrs. Jordan have?  How will I know which car is hers.” Betsy asked.

Stacey answered in that motherly patronizing way, “Your teacher and the school administrators will make sure you only get in Mrs. Jordan’s car.  You have nothing to worry about.”

That concern quelled, Betsy wondered, “What will we do when we get there?”

Stacey smiled, “I guess you’ll play with Madeline.  You’ll find something fun to do.” 

Betsy got a worried look on her face, “Won’t the bus driver expect me?  We have to tell her I won’t be on the bus.”

Stacey assured her, “Mrs. Thompson in the school office will tell your bus driver.”

Betsy paused and looked seriously at Stacey, “What if I have to go potty?”

Stacey gave her a little hug.  “Mrs. Jordan helped change you when you had your accident at Madeline’s party.  She will be happy to help you.  You just tell her and she will help you out.  If you are afraid to tell her, you can always just use your diaper and I’ll clean you up when you get home.” 

Betsy thought about that as Stacey put her in her bed.  “Yeah, I could just use the diaper and wait till I get home.  Or, I could use the potty at their house.”

Stacey wondered why Betsy would actually consider wetting herself instead of using the potty.  “It’s time for bed.  Tomorrow’s a big day.  Good night little girl.”  She placed Betsy's bottle in bed and popped her pacifier into her mouth.

Betsy said, “Good night,” and opened her mouth for her pacifier.  

As she turned out the light and closed the door, Stacey wondered at the regression in her young charge in such a short time.  Betsy was really worked up about going on a play date with a first grader.  Betsy was acting like a first grader.

For her part, Betsy lay in bed sucking on her pacifier wondering why she had seriously considered whether or not to wet her diaper instead of using the toilet at a friend’s house.  What was wrong with her?  This caused her to fall into an uneasy sleep.

28.                       School Day 13 – Wednesday Week 3

Stacey assumed that Betsy’s worries along with her night-time bottle led to Betsy having a soaked diaper on Wednesday morning.  After she was cleaned up, Stacey told Betsy she was getting a little rash and she reapplied the depilatory cream with a hair regrowth deterrent.  She wouldn’t want Mrs. Jordan to notice anything unusual if she had to help her young charge.  For her part, Betsy just laid there grasping bunny and asking why she couldn’t stay dry all night.  Betsy had so little experience with kids she had no idea what Stacey was doing.  Betsy just accepted what she was told.

At school Betsy seemed to have no trouble getting to the bathroom with the nurse at recess and lunch. 

After school, Betsy was directed to go with the car riders.  She was paired with Madeline and soon they were strapped in the back seat of Mrs. Jordan’s car in two car seats. 

At the Jordan's, Madeline wanted to show Betsy her room.  They spent time talking about toys and dolls and animals.  Betsy wanted to know about her friend and they chattered along for a while. 

After a while, Mrs. Jordan called them into the kitchen for a snack.  They had some spread cheese and crackers along with juice. 

After their snack, the girls went out into the back yard to play. 

Stacey showed up a little before 5 PM and she and Mrs. Jordan watched the girls playing in the back yard while they talked. 

In the car on the way home, Betsy told Stacey what they had done.  She reviewed all the things in Madeline's room and then told her how they had spent their time.  Clearly, Betsy had enjoyed herself.  When asked, she agreed that she had a good time at her friend’s house. 

Stacey was quite surprised that Betsy had fallen so comfortably into the role of a first grader.  Where was the Principal who was the leader of the school?  The woman who told the Board how she would change the school. 

As she put Betsy in her crib, Stacey made no pretenses about the bottle and simply slipped the bottle into her mouth instead of the pacifier.  Betsy was a little thirsty and simply began to suck on the bottle.  She knew she had clearly sucked it down every other night.  Betsy fell asleep suckling the bottle.  Later, Stacey replaced the bottle with the pacifier. 

Betsy had wet the bed every night for 6 nights.  So, Stacey had no intention of letting her out of diapers at night for the foreseeable future.  Stacey was beginning to wonder what Betsy would do if she successfully completed her potty control program. 

29.                       School Day 14 – Thursday Week 3

Betsy’s diapers were damp but not soaked completing a week of overnight accidents.  Stacey cleaned her up and got her dressed for school.  Stacey noted that in the last week, Betsy had totally abdicated any responsibility in getting herself dressed or undressed.  Stacey was disrobing Betsy as she would with any small child.  Betsy had just given up fighting it or trying to help. 

For breakfast, Stacey gave the girls oatmeal with chocolate.  Betsy had really enjoyed this the last time they had it.  She told Aunt Stacey it was her favorite breakfast.  Earlier that week they had oatmeal but not with chocolate. 

Betsy was fully into her school routine now.  As soon as breakfast was done the girls gathered up their things and Stacey walked them to the school bus.  Betsy sat with one of the girls from her first grade class and they talked about silly things on their way to school. 

While Betsy was attending class with the other first graders, Stacey visited the school office.  She greeted Mrs. Thomson and noted the child’s desk outside the Principals office.  There was a sign above the desk which said “The Principal’s Desk”.  She snickered with Mrs. Thompson.  She entered the Vice-Principal’s office and sat down across from Jackie Coleman. 

“Soo Jackie, how are things going here at the school?”

Jackie smiled.  “You know,” she began thoughtfully, “Things have been going pretty smoothly lately.  There was a fuss a few weeks ago, but lately I think I have everything here under control.”

Stacey responded, “Things outside of school seem to be moving right along also.  My boarder has developed a serious bed wetting problem and she hasn’t been anywhere else but to the Jordan’s house in three weeks.  Frankly, I think we should give up her old apartment just to save money.”

Jackie laughed.  “You do seem to be responsible for her.  You should probably do whatever is in her best interests.  We assigned you as the guardian when she enrolled.”  She snickered some more.

Stacey was softly laughing too.   But, she was suddenly deep in thought.

Jackie asked, “What’s the matter?”

Stacey said, “Nothing is the matter.  I was giving your suggestion some serious thought.  I wonder what would happen If I did become her guardian.  Grade school students have to have a guardian.  She is enrolled.  Maybe she needs a guardian while she is enrolled as a student.  I think I’ll drop by and ask my lawyer when I leave here.”

Jackie smiled.  “Wouldn’t that be perfect?  You could be her guardian.  You would be in control of her money, assets, her pay, everything.  It would probably be up to you to keep her enrolled.  If and when she ever graduated, maybe she could get some of her control back.  Of course, the Vice-Principal might have to sign off on such a ‘graduation’.”

They both laughed.

They discussed how comfortable Betsy seemed to be in her first grade class.  Jackie was as surprised as Stacey at the recent behavior.  Stacey mentioned that today was supposed to be Betsy's last day in diapers at school even though she had wet the bed for the last seven nights.  Jackie got a further chuckle from that.

Jackie said it was too bad Betsy had not had a further accident which would extend her situation.  Stacey mentioned that Betsy was going to have an urgent need to use the restroom somewhere around noon.  She suggested that if Jackie could find some way to put pressure on Betsy or surprise her that the results might be unexpected. 

Jackie thought about it and said, “Hey we haven’t had a fire drill in a while.  Maybe we should have a bomb drill and we can get people way away from the building and take some time explaining procedures.  Let me call the fire department and schedule it for a moment or two before Betsy’s lunch.  We can have one of the firemen use her as a patient.  That will keep her from running off.”

Stacey smiled and nodded.

At around 11 in the morning, Jackie had the lunch staff deliver juice to Betsy’s class room as a surprise for good behavior lately. 

Moments before lunch, the fire and bomb alerts went off.  The teachers all gathered their children and ran as fast as they could for the exits.  All the children in the school were ushered to the far end of the running track away from the school. 

Moments later the fire department and the police showed up.  The children were all excited.  They had to run around the field and they were all nervous trying to figure out what was happening. 

The fire department then came down to the field to hold an impromptu session on school fire safety and emergency behavior.  They wanted to demonstrate what might happen if someone was hurt.  They selected several children including Betsy to be subjects for the examples. 

Betsy needed to go to the bathroom well before lunch, especially after the juice.  She had convinced herself she just needed to wait until lunch.  Then they had been running around on the field and lining up.  Everyone was excited.  They were calming down and now she was laying on a board on a stretcher in front of her class being used as an example.

The problem was that now that she was relaxing, her need for the bathroom returned with force.  She wanted to do the pee-pee dance.  But she was being held down.  They were holding her arms and talking to the class.  Betsy was trying to control herself.  As the demonstration ended, the firemen dropped the stretcher back down to the ground with a bump so Betsy could stand up off the stretcher.  The problem was the bump caused her to leak a little pee.

As she got up she tried to maintain control. She looked at her teacher and told her, “I have to go potty.”  The urgent need was pasted on her face.  The teacher confirmed things were over and put Betsy at the front of the line.  They would all hurry back to the school and Betsy could go to the nurse to use the bathroom. 

Betsy could see the school door.  They were almost there.  Miss Coleman came out the door and asked the class to stop.  She pulled the teacher aside.  She explained that she wanted all the classes to go back in the far entrance so that they could get a head count on everyone. 

Betsy had held on.  For the second time in 30 minutes she was almost able to go to the bathroom.  She had leaked a little, but she had hoped it would not be noticeable.  But this stop and discussion, so close to the door, was too much.  Betsy leaned over and grabbed the bannister for the entrance steps.  She wanted to cry.  She started bouncing slowly left to right and back.  It was too much.  She felt a small trickle and tried to stop it.  She bent over a little to build pressure to stop the flow.  As she tried to stand, she had a cramp and felt herself instinctually crouching down.  As she did, her bladder let go along with her bowels.

Jackie and Miss Mitten stood there looking at the spectacle.  Several of her classmates were also looking on.  Madeline looked up at their teacher, “Miss Mitten, I think Betsy had an accident.”

Miss Mitten was fully aware of the situation as was Jackie Coleman. 

Jackie looked to the teacher and said, “I’ll get her to the nurse.  You take care of your class.”

Jackie Coleman helped the whimpering Betsy up and walked her into the building and over to the nurses office.  The Nurse was all business and had Betsy up on a table and was changing her diapers like a pro.  Jackie sat there holding her hand and comforting her while observing Betsy’s naked, hairless, first grade uniform dressed person.  She was crying like a first grader.  This person was supposed to be her boss?  Jackie just shook her head.

After getting her dressed, the nurse mentioned that due to this accident, Betsy had to restart her potty control program. 

In her mind, Betsy had known that today was supposed to be her last day in diapers at school.  She wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen.  But she had been proud that she had made it this far.  And now, it was like all her progress had been lost. 

As Jackie was getting ready to walk Betsy down to lunch the nurse offhandedly mentioned that Betsy’s poop accident was the first one by any student in over a year.  Jackie thought to herself; and the first by an administration member ever.  But Jackie couldn’t help saying out loud, “Of course, the last person didn’t have their accident on the front steps of the school in front of virtually every student.  This will be much more memorable than that last time.”

Three weeks ago the Principal was firmly in control of the school and wanted to prove that the dress code was reasonable.  Attempting to prove that simple point, had caused Betsy Warren's life to devolve to the point that she was probably the butt of every joke and conversation throughout the school today. 

Unknown to any of them, a couple of the older girls who had broken the rules and kept their phones had quickly taken video of the first grader filling her diaper on the front steps of the school.  Betsy’s face was clearly visible and there was no question what she was doing.  The video was already on the web.  The video featured three key items, Betsy's face, the school name emblazoned across the door way and Betsy’s voiding of her systems. 

Across town, Stacey’s lawyer, another Princess Ann graduate, assured her that getting guardianship over the demoted principal would be something she could accomplish in a couple of days.  Since Betsy was enrolled in grade school, it was unlikely the judge would need to actually talk to her.  Stacey would be named a special guardian with power of attorney for Betsy.  Her lawyer assured her this would give Stacey control of Betsy’s home, car, bank accounts and anything else she had.  Betsy would legally be her ward with no rights.

Vice-Principal Jackie Coleman had decided that should Betsy Warren ever complete her week of meeting the dress code and the student rules as a seventh grader, the Vice-Principal would ensure that Betsy never wore anything but juvenile underwear along with her school uniform for as long as she stayed at Princess Ann.  In addition, if she was wearing the student uniform, Betsy should probably keep riding the school bus to school. 

That night, Stacey planned to put a little of her special concoction on little Betsy’s thumb to induce some good old thumb sucking.  With any luck, she might start sucking her thumb at school when there was pressure.  Wouldn’t that create the perfect reaction for the principle to begin sucking her thumb while a parent was complaining about something?  Or the principal could keep a pacifier in her desk for times when the pressure gets too much. 

Betsy sat in her afternoon first grade classroom and tried to pay attention.  She was worried about how long it would take for her to finish the potty control program.  As she thought about it, she wondered if completing the program would affect her relationship with Madeline.  She was a good friend.  But, she said to herself, I have to complete the program so I can get back into seventh grade where I belong. 

Of course, while most children completed the potty control program and simply moved back to their normal class room, Betsy’s situation was special.  It might make more sense for her to accomplish different goals at each of the grades between first and seventh grade.  Or, maybe Betsy will simply have to stay in first grade until the end of the year.  Then what will she do?  Apply for another job, go to seventh grade or maybe simply move on to second grade with her new friends.

Stacey figured it was about time to start planning her annual dinner party for the members of the school board.  But not too soon. 

The End? - Certainly not!

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