Deborah got up and stood between Ami and the door. “Listen, I can’t help it,” she said. “I went through a very stressful situation last year. I have nightmares every night and it’s horrible.” Tears came to her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut to keep from crying, but it couldn’t shut out the tears. “You have to promise not to tell anyone.”
“It’s still gross,” said Ami. “Maybe you want to take a shower because you smell like pee.”
“Do you promise?” asked Deborah. “I’m not asking you to refrain from teasing me; I’m just asking that you not tell anyone about this. It is so embarrassing.”
“Okay,” said Ami. “I promise.” She looked toward the door. “I got an embarrassing problem too. I wasn’t counting on the common bathroom. I hate public bathrooms and…” She looked around. “It’s early enough. Can you guard the bathroom door while I go. I promise I will keep your secret.”
“Okay, but we better hurry.” She went into the closet and put on her robe. She also grabbed the outfit she planned on wearing for the day and her bag of toiletries. Before she came out, she stripped off her diaper and rolled it up. She put it in a plastic bag and wrapped it in her towel.
“I’m ready,” Deborah said.
“Let’s hurry,” Ami said. She put one hand over her butt for a second before they went into the hall.
“Thank goodness no one is in there,” said Ami. “Wait by the door and please don’t listen to anything.
Deborah stood in front of the doorway feeling foolish. She smelled herself: a mix of sweat and pee. Her hair felt matted and gross and her t-shirt stuck to her skin where she had soaked it with her sweat. She also had the wet diaper and new diaper hidden in the folds of her clothes and towel. It was only a matter of time until someone discovered her holding them.
She almost screamed when a hand tapped her shoulder. “I’m done,” said Ami. “You can come in now. Ami’s face had turned bright red. “It’s so embarrassing. I overate yesterday.”
Deborah hurried into the bathroom, deposited her used diaper into the garbage and hopped straight into the shower. She had just gotten wet when Ami called from the next shower stall.
“On the bright side, the water is hot. I expected it to be cold,” she said.
“One thing went right today,” said Deborah. She let the water rinse her pee and sweat down the drain. She rubbed the shampoo in her hair and let the lilac smell cover the grossness she felt every morning. When she was finished she dressed in a toilet stall, this time in her diaper and skirt. She was not taking a chance with leaking today. She finally came out and brushed her teeth at the sink. Ami was just finishing flossing when Deborah came out.
“Ready for another day?” asked Ami. “The schedule said we have to take math, English, and writing placement tests. We should get a good breakfast first or they will put us in dummy classes.”
“I guess you are right.” Deborah dragged her comb through her wet hair. She winced a bit as a tangle got caught in the teeth, but then had it under control. Alison’s hair was longer than her old hair had been and it was much harder to take care of, but she liked how it looked and had never cut it.
Ami spent a longer time on makeup than her, so Deborah was able to finish at relatively the same time. “Ready for food?” asked Deborah.
“Of course,” Ami replied. After dropping their stuff off at the room, they took the elevator downstairs for an early breakfast.