Escape Room – Chapter 2

Nobody said anything for a long moment, the silence stretching on just enough for Serena to start to get antsy. After all this, was their trip going to end here, without them ever actually doing anything? A part of her was excited at the prospect of being the leader, of getting to prove that, after dreaming of them for so long, she was a natural at escape rooms; if it had been only her and Julianne, perhaps she would have done it.

With Alecia here, however… She didn’t want her to be the leader, definitely, but she also didn’t want to risk making a fool of herself in front of the girl. She knew Julianne wouldn’t make fun of her if she made some silly mistakes… She was less sure about Alecia, and if that happened, she might crumble, get even worse, let them all down…

“Okay,” Julianne finally spoke up. “You’re right, Serena. I have done this the most, so it makes sense for it to be me, huh? I’m sure we can switch, too, once things get going, if you decide you want to give it a shot.”

“Okay!” Serena nodded, mentally letting out a giant sigh of relief. “Good plan!”

“Sure,” Alecia chirped. “I could take over, too, if we need me to.”

Serena barely swallowed a sharp, “We won’t,” choosing instead to exchange a glance with Julianne, who gave her a tiny shrug. They needed three to do the room, and unless somebody else miraculously walked through the door, this was who they had. There was no way Alecia was going to be the leader, though. That was a step too far.

“All right,” Julianne looked around at the other two, seeing that neither had any objections. “Well… Here we go, I guess!” She walked over to the open door, waved, and stepped through. Serena jumped when the door closed by itself, seeing a look of shock on her friend’s face just before it swung shut with a click.

“Ooo, automatic doors,” Alecia snarked. “So fancy.”

Serena blushed, wondering if she was being silly, feeling impressed by it, and a little scared, even. There were definitely goosebumps popping up on her arm, but perhaps they were just from the excitement of knowing it was about to start, that, soon enough, she’d be in the escape room, too.

She almost regretted not volunteering to be the leader now, as she and Alecia waited in the lobby. She wanted to get the most out of this experience, after all; she’d have to interrogate Julianne about exactly what was going on here when they got back to school, and could ditch Alecia. She’d assumed it would only take a moment or two for the leader to get situated, maybe be told a secret or two to help guide the others, but it seemed like it was taking too long for that. Or was that her impatience to get things going talking?

She got her answer when Alecia whined, “Is this it? Does she solve it herself, then, while we wait out here? Why did they need three of us?”

Before Serena could come up with a witty response, or fret too much about how similar her own thoughts were to Alecia’s, the door swung back open, as if on cue, the woman standing just inside. “All right, dears,” she smiled. “Time to join your friend!”

“Great,” Alecia stepped ahead of Serena, who was shivering with anticipation. “I was starting to think this was some sort of scam or something!”

“Certainly not,” the woman arched an eyebrow, taking Alecia by the hand, then holding out her other towards Serena, who blushed, feeling like a little kid as she shuffled forward and took it. The door shut again, plunging them into darkness before Serena could even take a look at where they were.

“Are you scared of the dark, dear?” the woman chuckled, giving Serena’s hand a squeeze.

Serena shook her head desperately, before she realized that nobody could see it. “N-No!” she insisted. “Th-This is just my first time, and I’m excited!”

“How fun!” the woman exclaimed. “What about you?”

“Sure,” Alecia said noncommittally. “I guess I’m excited.”

“No, silly,” the woman laughed. “Is this your first time?”

“Oh!” Alecia giggled vacuously, making Serena scowl at her in the dark. “Yeah, it is!”

“Well, you two definitely chose the right person to be your leader, then,” the woman told them. “Now, I’m going to lead you to the room, okay? Take tiny steps so you don’t trip over anything!”

It was odd, but Serena was willing to go with it, to accept that this was how they wanted the room to start; Alecia was less swept up in the experience. “If you turned the lights on, we wouldn’t have to worry about that,” she pointed out.

“So true!” the woman replied, her tone the same Serena had heard other adults use with toddlers, not that Alecia seemed to notice, or mind. “What a clever girl! You’re going to do very well here!”

“I found this place, too,” Alecia bragged smugly. “We wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for me!”

Serena bit her tongue, stopping herself from reminding Alecia that she’d scrolled past the ad at first, that, if it hadn’t been for her interest, Alecia would never have bothered to give it a second look.

“I’m sure your friends are very grateful,” the woman said, with the same condescending tone. “Be sure to make them thank you when this is all over! Now, then, little ones, the rules are very simple: you have to find your way out within an hour. You can have two hints for free, whenever you like, but after that, you’ll have to pay for them.”

“Pay for them how?” Alecia asked. “The website didn’t say anything about microtransactions.”

The woman chuckled. “No, not money, silly. Now, close your eyes for me, okay? I don’t want the light to hurt them.”

Serena obediently did as she was told, seeing the darkness behind her eyelids brighten up, even though they had stopped walking. Had they already been in the room, and the lights just came on then? Slowly, cautiously, she opened up her eyes again, her mouth falling open at what she saw.

They were in what appeared to be a feeding room in a daycare, perfectly recreated on a giant scale. Everything looked absolutely huge, as if they truly were the size of toddlers, yet it all appeared totally normal as well, showing no signs that it had been built specifically for this escape room, which, of course, it must have been. Nobody made refrigerators that big, after all.

“Oh, my God,” Alecia giggled. “What are you wearing?!”

Serena blushed; she’d agonized over what outfit to pick out, not wanting to appear too nerdy and uncool if Alecia was going to be with them the whole time. She hadn’t said anything about it until now, though, or even seemed to notice. “The same thing I have been,” Serena told her, as she glanced down…

And realized how wrong she was. “Oh, my God!” she squealed, parroting Alecia unwittingly, as the cheerleader reached over, grabbing the hem of Serena’s babydoll dress, lifting it up, revealing, in full, the bulky baby diaper underneath.

“Really?” Alecia smirked. “You were wearing that the whole time? Where did you even find it? That’s, like, exactly the same kind my baby sister wore, up until she got potty trained. Maybe I should have her give you some pointers.”

Serena whimpered, trying to yank them hem of her dress out of Alecia’s hand, but the other girl was far too strong for her, no doubt thanks to her time as a cheerleader. What was going on?! How had she wound up in some frilly, pink dress, white thigh-high stockings, pink Mary Janes, and, of all things, a diaper?! When had that happened, and how had she not noticed it?! It was so obvious now, bulging between her thighs, forcing them apart, crackling softly as she squirmed in place, mortified.

She was so embarrassed, in fact, that it took her another moment or two to process what her tormentor was wearing. “W-Well, what about you?!” she demanded.

“What do you…?” Alecia asked, glancing down, her eyes widening. “What the hell?!”

Her outfit was even worse, her baby diaper on full display beneath a pink crop top stretched over her ample chest, lined with white lace, far too short to hide her padding, unlike Serena’s dress, which was, instead, just barely inadequate for the task, leaving a sliver of plastic showing, no matter how still she stood. Besides that, the only thing on Alecia’s body was a pair of pink, Velcro sneakers and white ankle socks.

“Now, now,” a voice boomed above them. “No squabbling, little ones! You don’t want to be sent to time-out, do you?” Alecia and Serena both looked up, and up, at the woman who now towered over them. She’d already been taller than either, though, now, it was like she was ten feet tall, or more, grinning down at them. “You don’t have time for that, anyway. You only have an hour to get out of here.”

Was this real?! Serena gulped, squirming, searching for a sign that this was a projection, or a very realistic-looking animatronic, but that didn’t seem possible, not for the budget a place like this should have… Between the woman, and the rest of this place, it was more like they had been shrunken down to the size of toddlers… But that was even more impossible!

“And I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that naughty word, young lady,” the woman bent over, staring Alecia in the eyes. “Because next time it happens, I’m soaping out your mouth, and your bottom.” Alecia let out a shocked yelp as the woman gave the seat of her diaper a sharp swat, reaching back to give it a rub. “Now, then, I think you two had better get to work, unless you want to end up like your leader. She went on ahead to show you the consequences of losing.”

She snapped her fingers, and the lights went out again for a moment, and, when they were turned on, she was gone. “Wh-What is going on?!” Alecia demanded, staring down at herself in horror.

Serena was, of course, concerned about that, too, but that wasn’t all. “Where is Julianne?” What did the woman mean she’d ‘went ahead?!’

“How am I supposed to know?!” Alecia groaned, not realizing Serena was thinking out loud. “This is all your fault! You made us come here!”

Serena rolled her eyes; Alecia was so immature! It was like she really did belong here! “You were just bragging…” she started to point out.

“No fighting,” the woman’s voice floated over the air, probably from some invisible speaker. “Time is running out if you want to go back to being big girls anytime soon.”

Serena and Alecia looked at one another, and their infantile outfits, and seemingly shrunken forms, taking in the impossibility of their situation, and the fact that they were going to have to work together if they wanted to get out of this.. “We need to look around,” Serena said. “Get an idea of what is here.”

“Right,” Alecia nodded, thankfully not fighting her, at least on this.

A quick survey of their surroundings answered Serena’s question quickly as, in one little nook of the room, she saw a giant high chair, the tray locked into place with a colorful, oversized combination lock. Sitting there, the tray keeping her in place, was Julianne, decked out in pink like the others, though, in her case, she was wearing a bib, a bonnet, and booties. At the very least her diaper wasn’t in plain sight for anyone to see, but the way her pink, ruffled diaper cover was bulging made it clear she was wearing one beneath it anyway.

“Juli!” Serena shouted up at her, and she could see her friend glance down, cheeks red. She wasn’t about to say anything, however, or do much besides kick her feet uselessly, because the tray was filled with baby bottles, and jar after jar of baby food in various colors, a plastic spoon resting in each, one flying out seemingly at random, jamming itself into Julianne’s mouth as soon as it was empty from the previous one, the bottles taking their place now and then.

“Is she over..?” Alecia asked, hurrying over, halting and gawking at the spectacle before her. “We have to get her out of there!”

She scurried up to the chair, stretching up, too tiny to even reach the footrest, her pitiful attempts at jumping only making the lights on her sneakers blink mockingly.

Serena took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, to push aside her panic at the insanity of what was going on. This was an escape room… That meant there had to be some way to escape. All she had to do was figure it out.

She made herself look away from Julianne, at the rest of the room. The walls were brightly colored, cheerful, like the ones she’d expect to find in any daycare. The only way out was through a doorway that was blocked by a huge baby gate, far too high for them to climb over; unlike the high chair, she didn’t see any obvious lock on it, but getting it open had to be their ultimate goal.

Had the woman brought them in through there? Serena didn’t recall hearing it open, or close, or stepping over it, and it didn’t seem to be in the direction they’d entered from, but, in the dark, it was hard to tell for certain. If they hadn’t come through it, then there was probably another way in, and presumably out… Although, considering everything else that had already happened… Well, it was difficult to say for sure what was or was not possible.

There was the refrigerator, which was covered in magnets of different letters, scattered across the surface. Were those a clue? Or were they supposed to look inside the fridge? The handle was high in the air, out of her reach for now, though she could see a footstool off in one corner. With it, it might be possible to reach the handle, or get onto the high chair.

There was a sink, too, surrounded by empty bottles, turned upside-down to dry. There was a cupboard underneath it, as well as some above, though the latter seemed far too tall for any of them to get to, even with the footstool’s help.

The floor itself was brightly colored, covered in shapes of all different colors. It was also covered in piles of picture books and pots and pans, turned over and ready to be banged on, to entertain the occupants of the daycare while they waited their turn to be fed.

“What do we do?” Serena shook her head, feeling overwhelmed at the sight of it all. “Julianne, where do we start?!”

But her friend couldn’t tell her that; she was too busy being force-fed baby food and juice, flailing uselessly in the high chair. “All right,” Serena closed her eyes for a moment. “Alecia, we need to look around,” she said again. “Can you..?”

“We need to get her out!” Alecia pointed up at Julianne.

“I know!” Serena glowered at her. “We’re going to need the combination to the lock to do that.”

“Well, where is that?” Alecia demanded.

Serena shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Maybe we can get her out without it,” Alecia said. “Look! There’s a footstool! I bet if I…”

“That’s not how it works!” Serena snapped. “They aren’t going to have a lock there if we aren’t supposed to open it.” Alecia pouted, not happy about being yelled at by an underclassman, Serena unable to keep herself from thinking how well this all seemed to suit the girl, how natural she looked in her new, babyish outfit, how much she wouldn’t mind leaving her like this… But she had a feeling that wasn’t going to be an option. They had needed three people, after all.

“Listen,” she tried to sound a little more patient. “Why don’t you…?”

“I’ll do what I want!” Alecia huffed.

“Fine!” Serena sighed. “As long as you’re doing something…”

Alecia stuck her tongue out, Serena wondering if she was playing into it, if she knew how childish that was making her look… Or if, maybe, this place was already starting to get to her.

“Okay,” Serena whispered to herself. “This is it… Where do I start?”

Should Serena…

Check under the sink?
Check the sink?
Look at the magnets?
Try to open the fridge?
Look at the picture books?
Look at the pots and pans?
Examine the baby gate more closely?
See if she can find another, hidden exit to the room?
Or ask for a hint?

And should Alecia…

Check under the sink?
Check the sink?
Look at the magnets?
Try to open the fridge?
Look at the picture books?
Look at the pots and pans?
Examine the baby gate more closely?
Keep trying to get onto the high chair to help Julianne?
Or ask for a hint?

This decision has already been made, but if you’d like to catch up on the story, and help decide where it goes next, you can find it, and other exclusive stories, at my Patreon!

Short Skirt, Thick Diaper

“I had really hoped I wouldn’t see you again so soon, young lady, but I suppose I should have known better… You just can’t stay out of trouble, can you? And you know what that means… Or, rather, you have an idea of it…

“You see, young lady, I know what you girls are up to. I know the rules seem unconventional, and some girls have been taking advantage of them, none more than you. And, to be honest, I can understand that… This is college, I’m sure most of you thought you were done with uniforms, looking forward to dressing however you want. But we tried that, and it simply doesn’t work.

“What should have worked was our punishment system. We thought it was a clever way to make it immediately obvious who could follow the rules, and who was a trouble-maker, both to the professors and the other students. Shortening your skirts whenever you get sent to me sounded like a good idea… Except, girls like you have decided a quick spanking and a few side-eyes were a price you were willing to pay to… What? Look a little sexier, in your mind? To show off more of your legs?

“And now look at you! Your skirt is barely long enough to cover your panties! It would almost be indecent to make it any shorter!

“Oh, that’s the point, is it? You think you’re proving a point by doing this? No, young lady, I’m not going to back down. In fact, I’ve come up with a little idea to nip this in the bud, before anyone else decides to follow your example any more than they already have.

“Do you know what this is? There’s no need to lie… I see that look in your eye, that wrinkle in your nose… Yes, young lady, this is a diaper. A nice, thick, crinkly diaper. Listen to that! Anyone who walked around in something like that would be heard a mile away… Anyone around would be looking around, trying to find out what was making that noise… Though, if it was under a skirt that was short enough, there wouldn’t be much of a question.

“Who is it for? Don’t be silly… I’m sure you have younger siblings, or babysat, or something… You know this is far bigger than the diapers you’d use for a child… Why do you think that is? Why am I bringing this up now, when I’m about to discipline you?

“That’s right, little missy… As soon as I finish warming that backside of yours thoroughly, I’m taping it up into this diaper. I’ve already had your student ID re-programmed, so the only bathroom door it will open is the shower room on your hall. Every other bathroom on campus is off-limits to you. And your classes are all over the campus, aren’t they? There’s no way you can make it all the way back to your dorm in between them, and then make it back on time, for every class… And if I hear you’re showing up late, you’re going to wind up right back here.

“We’re going to take a trip to your room after this, in fact, so I can confiscate your panties and put them with the other clothes you tried to sneak in that don’t meet the dress code requirements, for you to pick up at the end of the school year. Don’t worry, though… I’ll give you plenty of diapers to replace them, of all colors and designs… But all nice, and thick, and loud.

“Oh, and young lady… Because you argued with me, I think I’d better shorten your skirt yet again… If you wanted to make sure everyone would have a chance to catch a glimpse of your underthings at any time, you’re in luck; there’s going to be no hiding your new ones, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you squirm or tug at it… I wonder if your little friends will think you’re such a rebel, standing up to authority, when they see you now, after I’m done with you?

“Now, then, you know the rules. No, crying isn’t going to get you anything except an extra swat with my ruler… I’ve had quite enough of your behavior, and I am going to put a stop to it, right here and now. Over my lap right now, little missy; it’s time to get this show on the road!”

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Amelia vs. the Bimbo

I grit my teeth, take another sip of my drink, Kelsi’s voice grating on my nerves, though not nearly as much as the sound of everyone else humoring her, laughing at her as she natters on. Who do they think they’re fooling? We all know the only reason they’re even paying attention to her, much less trying to act like she has anything interesting, or amusing, to say is that short skirt she’s wearing, the tiny, tight crop top that her giant breasts are practically hanging out of…

Then again, if there’s anyone who might be tricked by their transparent desire to gawk at her some more… Well, it would be her, wouldn’t it? If it wasn’t for her… assets… I can’t imagine she’d have survived at work as long as she has, lowly secretary or not. She’s such an airheaded bimbo, there are time I wonder how she can remember to get to the bathroom on time.

Am I jealous? I wish I could say no, that I have no desire whatsoever to have the rest of the men from the office drooling over me, but… I may not want that exactly; it would be nice to have any of them look at me twice, though. I’ve always short, scrawny, needing a little help to have any cleavage at all, which means I need to be careful about how I flaunt it, to not make that obvious. If she wasn’t so stupid, I’d feel like an absolute child next to her… As it is, I know that’s something I can lord over her, along with my much more important role in the company than her…

But that doesn’t stop me from being a bit envious now and then, watching how effortlessly she can get every eye in the room on her, when it’s so hard for me, even when I’m the one leading the meeting at work. Here, at a party, away from those power structures, and the power it gives me? I don’t stand a chance.

“You really like them?” she giggles vacantly. “I just kept losing my contacts, so I thought, these are bigger, so it’ll be harder for me to misplace them, right?”

She has glasses now, too. I’d have assumed they were for show, more than anything, a fashion accessory for her. Supposedly that isn’t the case, but I wouldn’t put it past her, especially with what she says next.

“I mean, they make me look smarter, too, so there’s that.”

“Really?” I gripe under my breath. “They’re not working, in that case.”

“What was that?” I freeze, having barely registered that I was speaking out loud at all, much less that she could have heard me. She has to know it was me… Doesn’t she? I’m the only other woman here, the only one whose voice sounded like that… And yet… She’s looking around, chewing a finger, confused. “Is there, like, a ghost in here?” she asks. “I thought I heard something…”

Part of me wants to repeat it, to stand up and let her know how I feel… The rest of me knows how pointless that would be, how little it would accomplish, other than making my other co-workers mad at me for bullying her, as if she wouldn’t, like a goldfish, forget all about it in five minutes, moving on to whatever other shiny object floated past her.

“Guys, this isn’t funny!” she pouts, stomping her foot, chest jiggling. “My family has, like, a history of being sensitive to this kind of thing, and I don’t want to get possessed or something!” She quickly cheered herself up, however. “Why don’t we go out to the pool? It won’t follow us there!” And, of course, everyone agrees, because they know what that means.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

It is, somehow, even worse than I imagined. Everyone was coming to this party, so I didn’t feel like I could say no, yet, despite the pool being the main draw, it was what I was dreading the most. I’d hoped Kelsi would distract everyone long enough that I could make my exit before we transitioned out there – and it had been going well on that front – but it was far too early to dip out now.

I didn’t bring a swimsuit; there was no way I was going to run around in a bikini in front of my co-workers, whether Kelsi was there or not. She definitely is here… And not leaving anything to the imagination. Her swimsuit – pink, obviously – looks more like a collection of straps than an actual garment, each one in constant threat of slipping out of place. There are tiny, cloth hearts over the really important bits, though I doubt they’d stay still if the bits of cloth holding them there moved.

I can’t help but gulp as I look at her, fidgeting in place. I’m not gay, but… Well, sexuality is a spectrum, and it’s hard to deny, with it all hanging out the way it is, that, as much as I hate her, she is a very, very attractive woman.

Did she notice my embarrassment, the tint of my cheeks? It’s like she’s zeroing in on me, strutting over, ignoring all the guys in their swim trunks, waiting much closer to the pool, if not in it. “Hey, there,” she smiles down at me. She doesn’t have her glasses on, I realize, hating myself a little for how long it took me to see that. Is that proof that she doesn’t need them after all? I’m probably just being unfair… I wouldn’t have my glasses on if I was going in the pool, either.

“Where’s your suit, Amy?” she asks.

“Amelia,” I respond back automatically.

“Oh, don’t be such a stick in the mud,” Kelsi giggles. “We’re not at work!”

“I still prefer Amelia,” I say. “And I didn’t bring one.”

“Huh?” I can hardly stop myself from rolling my eyes; has she actually already forgotten the question she asked me not ten seconds ago? Am I actually surprised? “Oh, right,” she bats her eyes. “That’s too bad! I’d offer to let you borrow one of mine, but…” She looks me up and down, not needing to finish the sentence. “You know what, though? My little cousin was here not that long ago, and I think she left her one-piece… I bet you could borrow that.”

That would, almost, be worse than draping one of her bikinis over my smaller body, walking around practically naked… I don’t know how old her cousin is, how childish the suit would be, but I’d much rather be next to Kelsi while she was in her own bikini wearing my own clothes than a one-piece swimsuit. That would invite far too many comparisons. “I’m good,” I tell her.

“Aww, come on!” she says. “I thought we could have some girl time, get to know each other a little better!”

I do feel bad, slightly. She probably wants to talk to someone who doesn’t just stare at her like a piece of meat the whole time, even if I had done a bit of that a moment ago, too. What could there possibly be to get to know about her, though?

“Well, actually, I can’t swim anyway,” I confess. It’s mostly true… I took a few lessons as a kid, but it’s been so long I don’t remember any of them.

“That’s okay! We can still talk! Come sit by the edge of the pool with me!”

I glance over at the guys, sigh. “Okay,” I give in. “I guess that won’t be so bad…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

“Trivia?” Kelsi asks, sipping at her drink. “You really like that?”

I nod, not sure why I thought she’d understand. Or was I trying to impress her, to flex that I was into smart stuff like that, instead of whatever vacuous nonsense she did to pass her time. “It’s pretty fun. You can win some decent prizes sometimes, too, and…”

“Oh, prizes?” she perks up. “What kind of prizes?”

“Usually gift cards, stuff like that,” I shrug. “Whatever they want. I play at pubs, generally, so it’s what they…”

“Whatever they want?” she interrupts. “I like the sound of that… I bet they have games like that online, too.”

“Sure?” I reply, not knowing where she’s going. “I guess?”

“Maybe we should try it,” she suggests. “That could be fun for after we get out of the pool, right? You can show me how it’s done!”

“Well, you just answer questions,” I tell her. “There’s not a lot to…”

“We can make it interesting,” she offers. “The prize can be anything we want… Like, I dunno… How about the winner gets to decide what the loser wears for the rest of the party?”

That is intriguing, if only to help level the playing field a bit, making her put on whatever the most conservative outfit she has in her closet is, assuming she has anything that fits that description. Then again… “That only works for you, though,” I point out. “Your clothes are here, mine aren’t.”

“I bet I have a few things that would work,” she chirps. “I’m not going to win anyway!”

That’s true; there’s no way she’s going to beat me at trivia, of all things. I’ll be surprised if she gets a single answer correct. “Okay,” I say. “You’re on.”

She steps out of the pool, water glistening on her bare skin. “Come on,” she wiggles her finger, beckoning me on. “Let’s get this started. Oh, boys! Amy and I are going to play a little game, if you want to watch!”

I probably don’t want to know what they’re expecting, what dirty images they’re conjuring up in their minds as they emerge from the pool, following us in to crowd around Kelsi’s computer. “You play in pubs, mostly,” she reminds me, “so you don’t really know a lot about the online ones, I imagine. I’ll just look for one.”

I should know I’m being hustled by how quickly the address bar auto-fills her search, but I don’t let that bother me. There’s no way I can lose this, not to her… “Oh, look at this,” she giggles. “It’ll show the questions on here, and we can answer on our phones. I know I have mine around here somewhere.”

She’s ready much faster than me, almost like she doesn’t have to download the app first. I scan the QR code for the game, and the first question pops up, both of us reading it, selecting our responses. It doesn’t tell us our score right away, which is always nerve-wracking, but, again, I can’t get too worried about it, considering who my opponent is.

It isn’t my best round ever; it doesn’t have to be. There are a couple I wasn’t certain about, but I’m a decent guesser. I grin as the website plays an ad, while it tallies up my scores, already seeing the scene when we come downstairs in my head, fantasizing about how rapidly the men’s interest in her will fade if she’s actually covered up for once.

And then… The scores show up. I missed one, which isn’t bad.

Kelsi missed none. “Must be beginner’s luck,” she smirks, as our audience bursts into applause. “Good job, Amy! But not good enough!”

“A-Are you sure?” I squint at the monitor in disbelief. “M-Maybe it glitched, or…?”

“Don’t be a sore loser, Amy,” Kelsi takes me by the hand. “Let’s go get my prize…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

“Kelsi!” I gasp, eyes widening. “That’s a diaper!”

“Of course it is, silly,” she giggles, giving it another wiggle. “Do you think I don’t know that?”

My eyes dart to the door, wondering if my shorter legs can beat her to it, get me out of here. “B-But… It’s a diaper!” I repeat myself, still unable to process what I’m seeing, what it means. Why does she even have that thing?! Why is it clearly big enough for an adult like me, however small I may be?!

“You’re just so cute and little,” she says condescendingly, bending over to boop me on my nose. “I have to confess, Amy, I’ve always wondered what you’d look like in one of these… And now, I’m going to get my chance to find out!”

“No!” I shake my head, sniffling.

“Yes,” she counters sternly. “You lost fair and square, young lady.”

“No!” I huff. “You cheated! I-I don’t know how, but…”

“Do you want to go back downstairs so I can kick your ass again?” she asks smugly. “I’m happy to do that. Or you can take those pants off, and I can tape you into this,” she taps the diaper, producing a crinkle that sends a chill down my spine. “If you want a rematch, though, this diaper is coming with us, and I’m going to change you right there, in front of everyone.”

A tiny squeak of fear escapes my throat, along with something else from further south. My hand shoots to my crotch before I can stop it, and, from the smile on Kelsi’s face, it’s hard to imagine she doesn’t know what that means, that she hasn’t realized the fear of that imagery she’d put into my head, of being stripped and diapered with my co-workers, many of them whom I outranked, watching, made my bladder twitch, a spurt of warm pee squirting out, soaking into my panties.

“See?” she purrs. “You need someone bigger and stronger to look after you, don’t you, sweetie?”

“No, I don’t!” I shake my head, furious. I can’t deny she’s bigger, and, by virtue of that, she’s probably stronger, too, but I definitely don’t need her for anything! She’s a useless, brainless bimbo!

A useless, brainless bimbo who had beaten me at trivia, the thing I’d bragged to her about being so good at, in front of everyone… After that, they were going to think I was even dumber than her! And if they saw me in a diaper, too, after that defeat… My whole body feels like it’s on fire, imagining that indignity.

“Kelsi, please!” I beg, falling onto my knees. “Please, don’t do this…”

“But this is my prize,” she reminds me. “I earned it. Although…”

“Yes?” I sit up, waiting, ready to go with anything else she might suggest.

“I still want to see you in diapers,” she says. “I can wait, if it’s that big a deal… Next time I ask, however, you can’t tell me no.”

“Okay!” I nod, almost collapsing in relief. “Okay, whatever you say, Kelsi! Thank you so much!”

Kelsi grins, in a way that might make me nervous in someone else, someone more clever. “You are so welcome.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

Mortifying as all that was, I’d nearly managed to forget about it, other than some extra discomfort whenever I saw Kelsi at the office. She didn’t show any signs of following through on her threat, and I wasn’t about to remind her. Maybe she’d forgotten all about it… She had been drinking; perhaps she’d killed off the few brain cells that were storing those memories.

“So,” she asked me one day, “when’s your next date with that cutie?”

I should have known better than to let Darren pick me up from work once. It was far from the first time she’d asked about him… It was nice, though, to have one thing, at least, that she was jealous of. “Tomorrow, actually,” I’d told her without thinking.

It was a stupid mistake, I could see that now. Even then, I’d felt a pang of regret as the words came out of my mouth, but not enough to worry too much, when she simply said, “Have fun!” in response, making me assume I was being paranoid.

Until today, that is. Until I hurried to answer my doorbell, confused that Darren was showing up so early, and found Kelsi standing there, large, pink bag slung over her shoulder, wearing a very low-cut yellow dress. “Hi, Amy,” she beams, bending over, practically shoving her overflowing cleavage into my face. “Guess what? It’s time to pay up!”

“Kelsi!” I squeal. “Not now!”

I try to slam the door in her face, but she’s too fast, catching it, easily holding it open, then giving it a shove, making me lose my grip. I stumble backwards, shaking my head, as she advances, inviting herself in, shutting the door behind her and perching on my couch, setting her bag down beside her.

“There’s no reason to be upset,” she tells me. “I picked out the most darling outfit for you… Let’s see…” She pulls out a pink, frilly dress, covered in lace and ruffles, like something meant for a three year old, at best. “Isn’t this cute? Much better than that boring suit you’re wearing…”

“No!” I whine, stomping my foot.

“Don’t be fussy,” she orders. “I got you these to go with it…” A pair of thick, white tights, with even more ruffles. “And I always worry about you, running around in those heels… These are much safer…” A pair of flat, pink Mary Janes. “And speaking of safe… What could keep your little panties cuter than this?”

And there it was, the thing I’d been dreading the most… The diaper. Was it different than last time? Had she found yet another one? I think so… I don’t remember unicorns frolicking across the other, or the rainbows and butterflies, making it that much more childish, that much girlier… I could have sworn it was thicker, too…

“Kelsi, please,” I sniff, gasping as she pulls me closer to her, starting to unbutton my pants. It doesn’t matter. In no time, she has me laid out on a changing mat, in the middle of my own living room floor, sliding the diaper beneath me. “Oh!” I nibble my lip. “I-It’s so big and bulky…”

“The better to keep you dry, my dear,” she winks, watching me wiggle my bottom, listening to the crinkling it makes, so distracted that the sudden invasiveness of her finger sliding into my bottom takes me by surprise. “H-Hey!”

“Sorry,” she smiles. “Just getting you all cleaned up…”

It feels even worse, tugged up between my legs, pushing my thighs apart, held snugly in place by the tight tapes, cradled to my crotch by the tights. “You don’t need this,” she smirks, tossing aside my padded bra. “That won’t be nearly enough to convince anyone you’re a big girl now.”

She was right. I sniffle, staring down at myself, at the frilly nightmare I’d wound up in. It would have been bad enough on its own, but the diaper was the crowning achievement, peeking out from the dress’s short skirt, keeping the ruffles on the back of my tights sticking out straight. Any hint of my adulthood that could have survived the rest of the outfit was leeched away by it, ensuring there was no way anyone would see me as anything other than a slightly overgrown toddler.

And, to make it all the worse, I feel the padding warm at the sound of my doorbell. “That’s Darren!” I whisper. “P-Please, you can’t let him…”

But she opens the door anyway, letting him see the both of us. Of course there’s no competition, even without the story she weaves about how I’d been too shy to tell him the truth about my desires, and had wanted her to help, the story I was too flustered to be able to believably deny. And that was before the three of us went out to dinner, and my tummy began to feel funny…

There was too much else to worry about; that slip of Kelsi’s finger was long forgotten. The pressure was building fast, too fast, making me squirm frantically in my seat, not wanting to leave the two of them alone… Finally, I realized I didn’t have a choice. I hopped down out of my chair, ready to make a dash for the restroom. Instead, my knees bed, my face turns red, my body starts to push…

Oh, my God! “St-Stop,” I gasp to myself, feeling the seat of my diaper expanding, feeling a soft, warm mush flowing out, showing no sign of slowing. It was too late… I’m pooping my pants!

“That’s right,” Kelsi shakes her head. “Stop making such a scene, Amy. Sit down.”

“B-But…” I whimper, one glare enough to shut me up, make me comply, wrinkling my nose as my backside sinks into the still-growing load in my pants, making the situation feel all the more real, and horrifying. I glance at Darren, wanting to tell him it isn’t true, yet I can see his nose twitch, know there’s no way of hiding it now… I grunt softly, helpless, a second wave starting, the mucky mass spreading through more of my diaper. I’m not just having a little accident… I am thoroughly filling my pants, and there isn’t a thing I can do about it!

By the time it’s done, it’s hard to care too much when my bladder lets go, too, making the mess all the squishier. I see Kelsi lean over, whisper something to Darren, but, given the state of my diaper, it’s simpler to assume that, as a baby, it doesn’t concern me, rather than to get upset at being excluded.

“Come on, dear,” Kelsi holds out her hand. “We’re going to call it a night, so we can get you a new diaper in private.”

That’s good, I think. This place is probably too nice to have changing tables in the bathrooms, and even if they do, the last thing I’d want is to be seen on one of them, getting my stinky bottom wiped by this bimbo… Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all…

We don’t go back to my house, however… Darren drives us to Kelsi’s place instead. “I’ll get her taken care of, and be right back out!” she promises, holding up a fresh diaper from the diaper bag at her side, leading me into the guest room.

“Lie down,” she orders, and I’m happy to comply, more than ready to get out of this diaper, even if it means going into another. She sets it down on top of the dresser, opens that up, and starts to strip, paying no mind to the fact that I’m in the room, too, getting completely naked while I lay on the bed, blushing, squirming uncomfortably, watching her put on some very sexy, very skimpy, lingerie.

“Here we go,” she says when she’s done, picking the diaper back up, carrying it over to the bed. She opens it up, slides it under me, as I cringe silently, bracing for the moment she rips open my old diaper, sees exactly what I’ve done to it.

“I don’t want you to worry,” she tells me, pulling the front of the diaper up between my legs. “I’m going to take very good care of Darren for you.”

“Wh-What?!” I pout, staring up at her in disbelief. “B-But… Y-You didn’t…”

“I said I was going to get you a new diaper,” she grins. “And I am, because I don’t want you leaking everywhere… I have a feeling Darren and I are going to have a lot to… talk about… so it might be a while before I get back to clean you up. I’ll try to keep it down, since we’re right next door, but… No promises.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

It’s a little scary, how quickly I got used to it, almost as if this was my destiny all along, like there was some part of me that knew this was where I belonged. Of course, it also didn’t hurt that Kelsi didn’t give me much of a choice.

“Go home?” she’d laughed when I asked her for my car keys after that first, sleepless night, tossing and turning in my full, double diaper while I listened to her and my former boyfriend moaning the next room over. “I don’t think so, sweetie… You’re staying right here with Mommy.”

“B-But… I have work!” I’d whined.

“Don’t you worry,” she’d told me. “I used your phone to send in your letter of resignation, telling them the same thing I told Darren… And now that your position at the company is open, I’m going to see if I can move on up.”

“No, you can’t!” I’d insisted, furious. “You’re too…!”

“Too what, baby girl?” she’d raised an eyebrow. “You don’t honestly still think you’re smarter than me, do you? Look at what I’ve done to you!” I’d complied, reluctantly, tilting my head down, getting a good look at the pair of diapers under my ruffled plastic pants, the oversized bib, the mittens and booties, all matching the bonnet tied around my head.

“K-Kelsi,” I’d sniffed, terrified.

“No,” she’d snapped. “It’s Mommy from now on, little lady, and if I hear you call me anything else, you’re going to have a little date with Mr. Hairbrush!”

It happened again, that trickle of urine, that signal that, from the start, I’d never been quite as grown-up as I’d liked to think. It didn’t stop there, however, as I tried in vain to press my thighs together, the double diaper proving too bulky to allow that, letting the flow continue as I sat there, pouting up at my new Mommy, reality slowly starting to sink in.

It’s difficult to keep track of time exactly when I don’t even have a clock in my nursery, much less a calendar. I don’t think it’s been more than a month since that first party, though, if that. And here I am, sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by the people I’d used to work with, celebrating Mommy’s promotion.

I’m sure she chose the same outfit she wore to that party on purpose, to rub my defeat in all the more. She definitely did that with mine, putting me into a similar pink crop top to hers, nice and tight to emphasize just how flat I was in comparison to her, with one of my extra-thick nighttime diapers underneath, nothing else to help me hide it, to keep my former co-workers from getting a perfect view of it, and me.

“It is hard work,” she says. “I mean, doing her old job, and taking care of her? I don’t know how I do it some days! But it’s totally worth it… Like, I was so honored she chose me to tell the truth to… And she’s so cute!” She bends down, practically shoving her chest in my face as she pinches my cheeks. I hate myself a little for the way my mouth waters, moves towards her nipple…. She’s been breastfeeding me lately, and she’s threatened to put on a little show, tell everyone that was what I wanted, if I got fussy for any reason… Even so, I can’t help myself.

“You wouldn’t believe how adorable it is when she goes poopy!” she giggles. “Actually… Go on, sweetie, show them!”

So this is her plan… She knows that will make me grumpy – and be thoroughly mortifying, of course – so she’s going to make me do this, then use it as an excuse to get her boobs out, let everyone see them, and me hungrily sucking on them, like the baby she’s turned me into…

“I-I don’t know how,” I mumble into my pacifier, my only defense. If I want to get out of this, I have to play dumb, even dumber than the bimbo who did this to me…

“Don’t be silly!” she says. “You just bend your little knees like this, and give a push, and it’s done! Even you can do that!”

“B-But Mommy,” I sniffle. One look is all it takes to make me start to obey, to remind me of my new place, of how far below this woman I’d looked down on for so long I was now. I didn’t stand a chance against her… In all honesty, I think, feeling my diaper start to balloon outwards, hearing the snickers of my co-workers, I never did…

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The Queen Bee

“Oh, I’d better be sure not to mix these up!” the receptionist teased, taking the paperwork Cecelia had shoved into her hand, pretending to weigh it against the piece of paper the mother of the cute little brunette toddler Cecelia had just seen being taken inside had given her.

“Yeah,” Cecelia agreed snottily, “you’d better not. That’s, like, your whole job, isn’t it? If you can’t handle that, then maybe you shouldn’t have it?”

The receptionist’s eyes widened slightly, clearly not expecting that response. Maybe she was being a bit harsh, maybe she should apologize… To be honest, though, Cecelia was already in a bad enough mood, having to do this in the first place. It hadn’t been that long ago she’d been on top of the world, one of the most popular girls in high school, constantly surrounded by friends who looked up to her, and wanted to dress like her, and did whatever she told them to do, and now, they’d all graduated, and she was the only one left, the only one who hadn’t decided to go out of town for college.

She claimed she was taking a break, going to start school next semester, or school year, but really, she hadn’t had any plans for that until now that she’d been left all alone. She could take her time, relax, apply to whichever university most of her old friends were at, then slide back into her proper place among them… Assuming nobody else had claimed that spot in her absence.

Her parents had been less thrilled about her doing nothing for the next few months, and insisted that if she wasn’t going to be in school, she needed to get a job. And, while this daycare hadn’t been her first choice, she suspected it would be better than fast food or retail, judging from the horror stories she’d been told by friends who had done those in high school.

But that didn’t mean she was happy about any of this. She was probably lucky she’d gotten the position at all, with the attitude she’d had during the interview, yet somehow she’d made it, and here she was, dropping off her final bit of paperwork so she could start her first day.

The receptionist recovered quickly, her wide, pasted-on smile returning. “Don’t worry, dear,” she told Cecelia, “I’ll put it right where it belongs… Why don’t you go on in?”

Cecelia should have said thank you, at least; she hated being condescended to, however, and that was all she could hear, dripping from the woman’s words. She stared daggers at her, and, with a flip of her purple hair, marched right into the daycare’s playroom, shutting the baby gate on the entrance behind her.

Immediately, she was shocked with how big everything seemed, how overwhelming… She’d gotten a brief look at it during her interview, but hadn’t actually gone inside, and it was crazy how much of a difference that had made. Even the kids appeared larger than she’d expected… This time of day, she assumed it would be mostly toddlers, children too young for school, and, while these did look that age to her, they were tall enough that they must have been older than that. Or were kids just that much bigger these days?

Either way, she wasn’t about to let herself be intimidated by that, marching right up to the one person she recognized, the woman she’d interviewed with, Tai. She’d been sitting for their other meeting, so Cecelia hadn’t realized that she was, in fact, huge, towering over her. Cecelia had always been petite, but this was ridiculous… Or was she simply too used to spending the majority of her time around her friends, who were also, mostly, pretty small?

Cecelia didn’t even seem to pull Tai’s attention as she approached, leaving her having to tug on the hem of her shirt like a dumb little kid, blushing as the woman glanced at her, smiled, and knelt down. “Hello, there!” she cooed.

Cecelia’s nostrils flared, though, knowing Tai was a manager here, she didn’t dare speak to her the way she had the receptionist, despite Tai literally speaking down to her in a way that got her blood boiling. “Hey,” she forced herself to say, as normally as possible. “I’m here.”

“You certainly are!” Tai gushed. “And we’re so happy to have you!” Maybe she was telling the truth, Cecelia reasoned. Maybe she was just so used to talking to babies that she’d forgotten how to speak to grown-ups. “What’s your name again, sweetie?”

Were they bringing in that many new people that she couldn’t remember? “It’s Cecelia,” she grumbled.

“Of course, Cece!” Tai replied.

“No,” Cecelia pouted, before stopping herself. She needed to pick her battles, and get off on the right foot. “Sure,” she shrugged. “Whatever. So, where should I start?”

“Wherever you like!” Tai chuckled, seeing Cecelia look around, brain overloading at all the options, at trying to calculate what the best thing to do to impress Tai. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you go play with those girls?” she pointed to a group of toddlers at a dollhouse. Cecelia nodded, turned to obey… And felt a pat on her bottom. She gasped, jumping at the contact. “That’s what I thought… First, we’d better take care of this…”

Escape Room – Chapter 1

“Oh, what about this one?” Serena asked, turning her phone around so that Julianne could see it. “Have you done it?”

Julianne set her fork down on her plate, scanning the webpage her friend was showing her. “Yeah, I think so… Look at the pictures?”

Serena sighed, spinning her phone around to open up the gallery, Julianne picking her phone back up to pop another bite of food into her mouth. “It looks familiar,” Julianne mumbled. “Next one?” Serena tapped to the next photo. “Yeah, yeah,” Julianna nodded. “I remember that!” She pointed at a wall, painted with mystic-looking symbols.

Her friend was disappointed, but also curious; that was why she was going on this search in the first place, after all. “What do they say?” she stared at Julianne, eyes wide, ready for some epic tale that would take her through the whole journey.

“It was a red herring,” Julianne shrugged. “I think it was a warning about how dangerous the goddess whose idol we’d stolen was, or something like that? Honestly, if something is as obvious as that, a lot of the time, it isn’t going to help you solve any of the puzzles.”

“Oh,” Serena pushed her glasses up on her nose, cheeks glowing slightly, making a mental note. She felt like that was the sort of thing she should have already known… But how could she, really? She’d read a lot about these sorts of things, yet she’d never had the chance to go to one herself. “So this one’s out…”

“I’m telling you,” Julianne said. “I’d love to take you, but there are only so many around here, and I think by now I’ve been to them all.”

“There has to be one you missed,” Serena shook her head, determinedly going back to her Google search.

Julianne chuckled. It was charming, seeing how dedicated the other girl was to this, taking it as seriously as the finals they probably ought to be studying for instead. Serena was pretty shy, keeping to herself for the most part, preferring to hole up in her room and read rather than go to parties, or out with the few friends she’d managed to make…

Julianne was two years ahead of her, and only really noticed her when they’d had a class together. Even then, they didn’t speak until after the teacher made them do an icebreaker game where Julianne had confessed that one of her favorite hobbies was going to escape rooms. She’d seen Serena, her already big eyes amplified by the lenses of her glasses, staring up at her, transfixed, as she spoke about them, though it was another week or two before she gathered up the courage to talk to her on her own.

“I hope so,” Julianne smiled, going back to her supper. She’d promised Serena she’d take her to an escape room before she graduated, but they were quickly running out of time. She hated to think of breaking her word – and always loved finding a new one to conquer – however, by now, she was fairly certain she’d hit, and solved, every one of them in the area around their college. She’d considered lying, taking Serena to one she had done and then standing back and letting the girl do everything… Serena would probably see through her ruse, and it wouldn’t be particularly fun for Julianne. The whole point was for them to do it together…

“Hi!” Julianne could see Serena flinch, her eye twitching slightly at the sound of a plastic tray landing on the table beside her. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Alecia,” Julianne waved, giving Serena a tiny, apologetic shrug when the girl shot her a look.

Alecia was the opposite of Serena in a lot of ways, as exemplified by the cheerleading outfit she was wearing, in stark contrast to the cardigan Serena stubbornly clung to, despite the weather starting to get a bit too warm for it. She was bubbly, outgoing, loved parties… Her grades were definitely not as good as Serena’s, by any means – she had come into the school the same year as Julianne, yet had only successfully completed enough credits to be considered a junior, not a senior – but that, like everything else, didn’t seem to bother her.

It wasn’t necessarily that Alecia and Serena didn’t get along… Julianne suspected they’d like each other if they were each able to give the other a chance. Serena was put off by Alecia’s energy, though, overwhelmed by it – to be honest, Julianne was sometimes, too – and Alecia found Serena, and her disinterest in going to the games Alecia cheered at, or the parties she frequented afterwards, boring. Julianne could sympathize with that, to a degree, as well… Serena was a nice girl, but she refused to take a chance on most things she was unfamiliar with, even when Julianne promised to go with her to help her through her first time.

“I-I should probably…” Serena slid her phone into the pocket of her cardigan, setting her nearly full plate and glass back onto her tray.

“Serena.” Julianne didn’t like using her ‘big sister’ tone on her friends, but there were times when it was necessary. Serena was a tiny little thing, and she’d hardly touched her food… She couldn’t imagine the girl having the guts to go sit anywhere else with it, either, a quick scan of the cafeteria telling her there were no more empty tables. She hated to think of Serena starving herself just because she didn’t like Alecia… She also didn’t want to banish Alecia, however, when she hadn’t really done anything wrong.

“I-I have to finish up my paper,” Serena stammered, “a-and…”

“This is our last chance,” Julianne reminded her. “If we don’t find something now…”

Serena’s face fell. “Oh,” she pouted. “Right…”

“Oooh, what’re you talking about?” Alecia asked. “Do you need a hookup? I know people who can find you pretty much anything!”

“I’m sure you do,” Serena grumbled, Alecia, thankfully, not picking up on the barely concealed tone of disdain in the other girl’s voice.

“I do!” Alecia bounced in her seat, happy to be helpful – or, at least, think she was being helpful. “What do you need?”

“Nothing you would know anything about,” Serena replied harshly.

“I don’t know about that,” Alecia shrugged. “I’ve gotten around!”

Serena raised her eyebrows, Julianne giving her a minuscule head shake to keep her from commenting. “We want to go to an escape room,” Julianne said, Serena looking grumpy at her for letting Alecia in on it, as if it were some great secret.

The other two were both surprised to hear Alecia’s reaction, each assuming the cheerleader would find the concept boring, like more homework. “Fun!” she smiled instead. “You know, I saw an ad for one on Insta that looked cute!”

“Cute?” Serena wrinkled her nose. She didn’t want something cute, she wanted a challenge, something she’d be proud to make it through!

“Yeah, it was based on that baby cartoon… You know…” Alecia clearly didn’t, screwing her face up in an attempt to recall the name. “Well, whatever!”

“I think I heard about that, actually,” Julianne said. “It was supposed to be pretty good… I didn’t know it was open around here, though!”

Serena’s eyes widened. “Does that mean you haven’t done it?” she asked. Julianne shook her head, Serena clumsily pawing for the phone in her pocket. “Do you remember where it was?”

“No,” Alecia responded nonchalantly. “I thought it was cute, and then I scrolled past.”

Julianne saw the frustration in Serena’s expression, gently suggested, “Do you think you could see if you could find the ad again?”

“Sure!” Alecia pulled out her phone, too, Serena seeming, almost, to take that as a competition, frantically tapping away, trying to find it first. She didn’t have much of a chance, however. “There it is! It’s like it was listening to our conversation!”

She offered Julianne her phone, going back to eating cheerfully. “Huh,” Julianne tilted her head, staring at the ad. “This isn’t the one I was thinking of after all… I think it’s some kind of a rip-off of it, though, because it’s the same sort of thing…” The more she looked at it, the more intrigued she became. Like what she’d seen of the other one, the room itself appeared to be built on a giant scale, meant to put the participants in the mindset of being toddlers.

If anything, this one almost seemed to do that better. She’d thought it was an interesting sort of twist, one she hadn’t seen before, when she’d heard about the original, and while this might be a copy, it was still something she hadn’t done herself, which was quite rare. And she knew Serena would be happy to do any. “It looks like they have a slot open for this weekend…”

Serena’s eyes lit up. “Can we do it?!”

Julianne chuckled. “I don’t see why… Oh.”

“What?” Serena scooted forward in her chair.

“Well… It says you have to have at least three people,” Julianne told her, Serena slumping down.

“Why’s that a problem?” Alecia asked. “I mean, it isn’t, right?” She frowned, pointing at Julianne. “One,” she counted, moving her finger to Serena, “two,” and, finally, gesturing towards herself, “three!”

Serena turned desperately towards Julianne, silently begging her, with her eyes, to do something. “We need three,” Julianne shrugged. “Do you have someone else you’d rather ask, who won’t be busy this weekend?” She knew the answer was no before she even asked the question. “And she did find it…”

Serena gave Alecia a dirty look, sighed, realizing it was her, or not doing the escape room at all. “Fine,” she caved. “It’s better than nothing…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~

The building looked normal enough from the outside, a fairly nondescript concrete cube, with barely any indication that it was a business at all, though the tiny sign Serena spotted over the door was enough to make her quiver with excitement, and the recognition that, at last, she was about to have the chance to experience something she’d been curious about for so long.

“We’re not, like, going to get murdered in here or something, are we?” Alecia asked, clearly viewing the plain building a little more skeptically.

“You can always wait out here,” Serena was quick to suggest.

“No, she can’t,” Julianne corrected. “We need three people, remember?”

The lobby was pretty plain, too, though was a little odd to see that the woman sitting behind the desk was dressed, seemingly, in theme with their room, wearing a long, light blue dress with a white apron over it. Most of these places, from what Serena understood, had more than one room going at a time, or else they’d have a hard time breaking even.

“You must be here for our Tiny Tots experience,” the woman smiled at them, standing up. Did she have a different costume for each room, and had to change before each group showed up? That was impressive, Serena had to admit.

“We are,” Julianne nodded.

“How wonderful!” the woman beamed. “We have everything all ready for you, whenever you want to start… All we need is for you to choose a leader.”

“A… leader?” Serena looked to Julianne, a bit pleased to see that she seemed confused as well. Serena hadn’t heard about this being a common thing, though, since it was her first time, she didn’t really know if it was or not.

“That’s right!” the woman replied, offering no further information.

“Well, you’ve been looking forward to this,” Julianne told Serena. “It should be you, right?”

Serena shook her head nervously. “B-But what if I don’t know what to do? You’ve done this so many times! It should be you!”

“What does the leader…?” Julianne turned to the woman.

“I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise,” the woman winked.

“What about me?” Alecia crossed her arms. “I found this place! I could be the leader, too, you know!”

Serena’s nostrils flared, barely stopping herself from stomping her foot at the idea. This was for her and Julianne! Alecia was only here because they needed another body! The thought of having to look to the girl as some sort of leader, whatever that meant, made her bristle… At the same time, however, she wasn’t sure she was ready for the responsibility, either.

“I need a decision,” the woman said. “I’ll tell you what… It’s just through there,” she pointed to an innocuous looking door. “I’ll wait in there, and whoever is the first to follow will be the leader.”

She didn’t wait for a response, simply strutted across the room, skirts swaying, and stepped through the door, opening and shutting it so quickly that Serena didn’t have a chance to get a peek inside.

The three girls glanced at one another, none certain of what to do. “Well, it needs to be one of us,” Julianne spoke up after a long moment. “Or we’ll never get started. So… Who should it be?”

Serena?

Julianne?

Or Alecia?

This decision has already been made, but if you’d like to catch up on the story, and help decide where it goes next, you can find it, and other exclusive stories, at my Patreon!