[B][U]Chapter 5: Mental Card Games
I awoke groggily. I hadn’t had a sleep this good for as long as I could remember! It felt good to wake and feel… wet? I felt around and realized that the bed wasn’t wet, but I was. I felt down my body until I realized I was in a footed sleeper. I examined it, taking note of the bears on it and its powder blue color. As I felt my crouch area, I noticed that my diaper wasn’t only wet; but it was also warm. I’d wet my bed? I was excited, and confused. “How could I have wet my bed?” I wondered. “I never wet the bed…” I thought hard about it. “Must just be that I’m in a diaper.” I thought it odd, but shrugged off the thought.
It was no sooner than that that Terri walked into the room smiling. “Good morning sleepy head!” She cooed.
“Good morning…” I replied shyly.
“What’s wrong sweetie?” She asked, sensing hesitation and angst in my voice.
“I… wet the bed.” I confessed while blushing.
“Aw, that’s okay sweetie! That’s what your diapers are for!” She once again cooed me. She really knew how to make me feel like a baby.
She stood me up, and turned me around. She unzipped the sleeper, and pulled it off me gently. She tossed it into a hamper in the far corner of the room.
Feeling more awake, I examined the room. The bed I was sleeping in had a dark navy blue blanket with white stripes on it. The bed itself was very toddler like. Maybe it was the timber; shape; size; or something else but it most definitely felt like a toddler or young child’s bed. Besides that, the room itself was definitely meant for a baby. It was a nursery. There was a playpen in a corner, and a changing table against another wall.
There was a toy chest and a dark blue dresser which had a blue’s clues TV on top of it. I was made to lie down on the bed again as Terri was already undoing my diaper. “Terri, why didn’t you put me on the changing table?” I asked.
“If I did that you’d be really uncomfortable and I don’t think it would hold you. You may act like a baby, but you’re still the size of a teenager and it’d be pretty hard to change you on that, trust me.” She replied.
Not wanting to get in trouble or fuss too much, I accepted the answer and let Terri change me. Once the cleaning process was done, she took the dirty diaper and put it in a trash can across the room. She then walked over to the dresser, and pulled out a few things. The first, I saw, was what looked to be a much thinner diaper. The second, third, and fourth thing, were all articles of child-like clothing. A green T-shirt with a teddy bear on it, a pair of what looked to be shortalls, and a lighter pair of green socks. I guess green was just my color for that day.
After all was said and done, I was looking pretty green! I was lead out of the room, and down the same hallway I tripped over in yesterday. We arrived in the dining room, and there on the table was breakfast. I never really had breakfast that often, for one reason or another. Mostly I just waited till lunch, or grabbed a small snack out of the pantry to eat on the bus or at the bus stop. I was under the impression that most people didn’t really eat breakfast too often because the only couple of times I did the previous year were all during school holidays.
Not only did I see a breakfast of pancakes and bacon, but I also saw Nick reading the paper; enjoying some of the bacon and pancakes; while also drinking some coffee. I was a little shocked, but in a good way to say the least. I was set down on a seat next to Terri, when Nick looked up from his paper and noticed me.
“Hey there sport, how’d you sleep?” He asked me.
“Good.” I responded simply. He smiled, nodded, and returned to his paper. Seemingly out of nowhere, a bib was tied around my neck.
“Open wide! Here comes the airplane!” Terri giggled, holding a fork full of pancake in front of my face. I ate it happily. That process generally continued for about fifteen more minutes until I had entirely finished breakfast. I ate pretty neatly, and made almost no mess. Even still, Terri felt the need to wipe my face with my bib and baby wipes. She removed the bib from my neck and set it neatly on the table.
“Honey, why don’t you go get Tristian ready while I do the dishes?” Terri offered.
“Sure thing” Nick replied, setting his newspaper down. He walked over to me and held out his hand. I took it and he walked me back to the nursery. He pointed to a pair of white and blue sneakers next to the dresser. “Put those on for me while I pack your bag, okay?” Nick commanded me.
“Wait, we’re not going… out, are we?” I asked inquisitively.
“Yeah, we are.” He said bluntly.
“B-b-but,” I stuttered “I’ll get shot! You’ll get shot!” I stammered, cluttering my mouth with words.
“Relax, so long as you’re with us and we stay in town, no harm will come to you.”
It had been no more than fifteen minutes since we left the house when we arrived at the barber shop. I had been given a baseball cap with a New York insignia on it so that nobody would know who I was. I was also told by Terri and Nick to go by a fake name. I chose the name Will Anella. The barber shop was small, inside a strip mall. When we walked in, it had that ‘barber shop smell’ to it. I don’t know why, but it felt very comforting.
A few moments after we sat down, I was made to get up again and sit down in a barber shop chair. The man looked at me a bit oddly. That, of course, was to be expected. The bulge in my pants obviously and plainly showed off my diaper, and my babyish attire did nothing to help it. I was embarrassed to say the least, but I asserted myself; so to speak. I wanted something new. Not something a businessman would have; nor a lawyer; nor a doctor. I wanted something I never got.
“Can I get it cut short, and spiked?” I asked. The man nodded, and got to work quickly. If this man was a murderer, I wouldn’t be surprised. Like Sweeny Todd, the way he moved the scissors showed years of expertise! It was like watching a show at the circus or state fair, where people juggle knives and roll them on their bodies, then chuck it at a piece of wood and have it go right through.
A short while later I was brushed off by the barber with finesse and grace. Staring at myself in the mirror, I felt as though somebody else was staring at me. It didn’t look like me… the old me that is. It looked like something, or someone… new! And new, for me in this case, was something I welcomed. Nobody would recognize me at all!
“Thanks!” I said to the barber, beaming happily.
“No problem kid.” I then walked back to Terri and Nick.
“So, what do you think?” I asked.
“You look good sport!” Nick said.
“Aw, you look adorable!” Terri replied. It wasn’t exactly the response I was looking for…
I blushed a little, and then was lead to the car. Before I left to go out the door though, the barber stopped me.
“Hey kid, you want a sucker?” He asked.
I nodded and followed Nick to the counter as he was paying. He opened up a glass jar, and I was told to pick one. I put my hand in, and pulled out a green one. I opened the package quickly, and tossed the wrapper in a close by trashcan. I popped it in my mouth. My face scrunched up like I had just tasted the most sour thing in the world, but it was so good. I pulled it out of my mouth. “It’s Sour apple!” I exclaimed. “And it hurts SO good!” I giggled, and then put it back in my mouth.
Both the barber and Nick laughed at the comment. Nick patted my padded butt gently.
“Go with your mom to the car sport!” He said cheerfully.
“Mom?” I thought. Then I realized why he said that. I was undercover as a new person, and if people believed that Nick and Terri were my parents, then the chances of people recognizing me would be decreased dramatically. I nodded and ran off through the door and obediently hopped in the back of the car. I fastened my seatbelt and relaxed, looking in the dashboard mirror to inspect my new haircut. It looked good, and I pulled it off nicely. Terri was in the passenger seat. She glanced back at me through the same mirror and smiled. I licked my lollipop more, and with each lick, I grew more accustomed to the sourness. Sure it was sour, but the more I sucked, the more I was conscious of the sweet, sweet sugar buried inside the green stick of delicious taste.
My train of thought was interrupted as Nick opened the driver side door and quickly closed it as he sat down. He turned the key, and the car roared to life. He backed out of our parking spot, and then out of the parking lot. As we drove to the main road, I realized we were going in a different direction to the one we’d come from. This enticed me and sparked my curiosity.
“Hey Nick? Where are we going now?” I asked, tilting my head, holding my lollipop in my right hand.
“We got to stop by the medical supplies store real quick to pick up some stuff for you.” He replied.
I simply nodded, and returned to sucking my sour apple on a stick. By the time we arrived, the lollipop was completely devoured and my teeth were tinted a lime green. It was amusing, to say the least.
When we parked the car, I noticed that across the street from the supply store was a card shop! As I hopped out, I turned away from Nick and Terri to marvel at the sight. I loved card games… ‘Anything and everything’ was my motto! I usually had unique play style for all games, but all culminated in special abilities and special cards to amplify other card’s powers. Nick walked up behind me, and put his hand on my shoulder.
“You want to go in? I could buy you some stuff, since you’ve been behaving.” He stated.
My face lit up, and by uncontrollable second nature, I hugged him. I was quite a bit shorter than him, my hug going around his lower chest. “Thank you, thank you, and thank you a million!” I yelled happily. I let go and jumped up and down in place, cheering. Nick laughed, and grabbed my hand. I stopped jumping, but smiled with my lime green tinted teeth none the less.
As I looked back, I saw Terri walk into the supply store. I looked ahead once more and watched as cars went by. When the coast was all clear, Nick and I ran across the street, stopping for a second to catch our breaths. It was odd to run in a diaper, it really wasn’t the same. My legs couldn’t move together, so when I ran, or sort of waddled, it became more and more apparent that I was wearing a diaper. At least, it became more apparent to me.
Upon entering the shop, I could smell the cards. Playing cards have a very distinct scent about them. It’s better than fresh mown grass or vanilla and lavender. It’s just an amazing smell. There was a desk to the right upon immediate entry, and stacks of card packs on the walls. It was a small place and there was but a single employee behind the counter.
“Hi there, can I help you two find anything?” He asked.
“No thanks, I’m just looking for right now.” I responded. I peered around the store. Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon, Digimon, and Inuyasha cards, Magic the gathering; all of it was there! It was definitely a small castle of Japanese playing cards. My dream world, one might say. As I looked around, I noticed my favorite game on a wall; Duel Masters. Now, it was an obscure card game, but it had a cult following that I myself was proudly a part of. I loved the cards; the rules; everything just seemed perfect with it.
It borrowed something from everything, and that’s what made it great. But there was only one problem; my deck was at home! I didn’t exactly have anyone to play with, but I still liked to add my cards to my deck right away. I had collected the cards secretly, and it was a bit of an obsession. My father didn’t approve of some of them, due to graphic violence depicted in some of the cards.
I still remember when I brought home a deck of them a friend had given me. We’d had the argument a few times. It always went the same way.
“Tristian, why are all of these blackish-grey cards so…evil?” He’d asked me.
“It’s because they are darkness cards dad!” I’d explain. I’d continue to explain to him how the darkness cards were, in a sense evil in and of themselves; but how much power they possessed because of it.
“I don’t like these, these- things son. Give them back to your friend in the morning” He’d tell me.
“But daaaaadd…”
“No buts!” he’d interrupt.
From then on I kept the cards secret, but I never collected any more darkness cards. I couldn’t do it. At least if my dad had found my stash, he wouldn’t be ticked or freak out from the pictures. I only collected light cards from then on.
After I looked at some of the newly released decks and packs, I picked out some to buy. Once I had finally chosen all of my things, Nick instructed me that we should get going. We paid for the cards, and left the store. We sat in the car for about five more minutes waiting for Terri, and when she came out with a shopping cart filled with things, Nick hopped out to help her load them into the trunk. I however, was too busy and far too excited to care. I had unpacked all of the decks and packs I’d gotten, and I’d gotten absolutely ‘destructive’ cards. There was only one problem; not all of them were light. It ticked me off some. About seventy five percent of my cards were light here, but my most powerful card was that of darkness! How could it be? I made a deck quickly. Forty cards composed the stack, making the deck half and half; light, and the forbidden dark.
“Father, forgive me…” I mumbled.
When everything was said and done, my day was pretty good. Upon arriving back to the house, I was made to take a nap. I was given a bottle to drink, and so on. I had dinner, played some games and watched a movie with Terri and Nick. My only complaint is that I had to mess my diaper during the movie. It was uncomfortable at first, but afterwards I didn’t really care all that much. I had fallen asleep quickly.
If only I knew what was to come… maybe I would have preferred running away and getting shot. Maybe… maybe.