✅ Potty Genius [NaNoWriMo 2022]

Thirty-Seven

¿What did your parents say?

I didn't ask them. I knew they would want to talk to me, and they might even withdraw their support for me going to university if they didn't like my answers. I couldn't even face talking to them now. There really was no good solution, so all I could do was panic.

I don't know how much time passed, but I was brought out of it by another phone call from Britney. She asked if something was wrong, and I started to tell her. But she quickly told me that they didn't need all the details over the phone. That was what a therapy appointment was far. She just encouraged me to ask for any help that I needed right now, to get me out of the house. She even said that they could meet me at home, but I thought that would be even harder to explain to my parents. So instead I agreed to go ahead with the plan, and I promised that I would do my best to get out without speaking to my parents. Whatever discipline or correction they had in mind would have to wait until I got back from my appointment.

I pulled on sweatpants, a plain tee, and as a small concession to cuteness the jacket with all the sequins around the studs. I made sure that everything I needed was in my bag, and pulled on my boots while sitting on the edge of my bed, so that I wouldn't need to stop at all downstairs. I couldn't face talking to my parents now, so I wanted to make my exit as quick as possible.

I shot down the stairs, grabbed the post at the end of the bannister, and used momentum to launch myself towards the back door. Then I found myself fumbling with my keys, which hadn't been in the plan. And the surest sign that I had failed, Dad's voice carried through from the lounge.

"You up, Adrica?" he said.

"Got an appointment!" I called back, hoping that would stop him asking too many awkward questions. "See you later!"

"Okay! Hope you had a good time last night. Your diapers came, sorry about the box. We didn't mean to open it but it fell to bits when we were–"

The end of the sentence was cut off as I slammed the door behind me, and sprinted to the bus stop on the corner. To my surprise, I found Britney already waiting for me there.

"You look terrible," she said. "Emotional, or physical? Either way, you need a good breakfast, and a friend to talk to. Come on." I nodded wordlessly, though I doubted anything could make me feel better in my current situation.

To my surprise, we weren't going into town at all. We got off the bus at the end of Graveller Road, and Britney led me into the train station where Theo was waiting for us. She already had tickets, which kind of surprised me. From our interactions so far, despite her obvious talent for hypnosis and an amazing understanding of the human mind, Theo really didn't strike me as someone who would be capable of buying the right train tickets on her own.

¿Did you get to where you were going?

It wasn't too bad. It turned out that the Mercer Center had its own train station in the basement, which I would probably have known if I travelled by rail more often, or at all. And by the time we got off the train, Britney was already busy on her phone, arranging a group of friends who, she promised, would be the perfect people to help me find a new look that both me and Baby Adrica would love.

But before we got there, Theo was asking why I looked so sad.

"My parents found out," I mumbled, after burying my face in my hands. "They found out that... ugh... The Potty Genius thing says it will automatically order more diapers when you need them. They came yesterday, while I was out. And the outer packaging got damaged, the box is open, so my parents saw like... a pack of SleepSafe XtraSure, a pack of SleepSafe Allnights, and this special offer pack of these super-babyish, super-thick ones from a company called BKS. They'll think I'm some kind of freak! I might not even get to go to university at this rate! What am I supposed to say?"

I realised I was starting to sound hysterical, and forced myself to take deep breaths. Britney handed me a drink, which I thought would help to calm me down, giving me something to do with my hands, even if it didn't really do anything to address the problems.

"BKS?" Theo asked.

"Yeah?"

"Bureau of Kidult Services?" Britney asked. "The adult baby store? They do a lot of really high-quality baby stuff. Not just diapers, I mean they do adult size rompers and tutus, giant blocks, dolls, and pacifiers, even a crib big enough for a grown person. If this app has a connection to them, that makes me respect them a little more. And makes me wonder what kind of people created this. I mean..."

"I thought the app was meant for babies," I said, getting what she was thinking of. "I mean, I thought this hypnosis stuff was some extra thing bolted on the side, but it seems so complicated. And there's actual stores who sell this stuff? And enough people using the app that they can have their own... connection to the store, to get stuff delivered? Yeah, it seems weird. There must be more people than I thought who actually found this thing. But how many of them actually buy diapers? Is it enough for the app to make money on commissions? Is this what pays for it?"

"I'm going to ask one of my friends about that," Britney said. "A different friend, I mean, not the ones we're talking to about the fashion stuff. Actually the boyfriend of a friend from high school, but he's in the computer industry and if there's anyone who knows about how apps work and stuff... Maybe he'll be able to tell us a little more about the app, and the legality of what it does. Who knows... you might even get them to pay for your sessions with Theo to undo the mess they caused. We've been looking at this directly, but the simple existence of this app raises so many questions, and I'm sure there must be some kind of..."

"Yeah," I said, and nodded. "I don't know if I'd want to, like, sue the company or something. But I worry that if actual parents found the secret, it could cause a whole load of problems. But seriously, why does anybody make diapers like that? I mean they're like more than an inch thick!"

"Some people like acting like babies," Theo said with a shrug. "Some people want to feel like babies. And a thick diaper like that is a constant reminder of how they are dressed. I think I said before that age regression is a therapeutic thing for some people. And for others it's just comforting. A bunch of people who didn't have a happy childhood the first time around want to relive it with someone who'll treat them like a real Mum or Dad, and some transgender people want to have their formative years again but without all the inappropriate gendered expectations. All kinds of reasons someone might want to feel like a real baby."

"I guess so," I nodded. And then there wasn't much else I could say. I couldn't stop worrying about what Dad was going to say when I got home, but right now I was going to focus on getting a new outfit and looking cute enough for Baby Adrica to appreciate.