January Exclusive - "Orientation" - Part 4

The game is frustrating. The game is a waste of time. As far as Jack is concerned, he might as well be trying to play Scrabble with toddlers.

They’re no good with their colours. They’re even worse with shapes. The one thing the students do engage with is the animal sounds – but most of the time they’re not correctly identifying the animals, instead merely echoing Jack’s prompts.

“Does the cow say woof? Does the pig say woof?” He holds up the worksheet invitingly, taps a finger against the animal pictures, and hopes to elicit a correction. Surely, these students can’t be that slow.

“Woof!” the women in the pink onesies respond enthusiastically. “Woof-woof!” They giggle and cuddle each other, a mess of fuzzy pinkness and pigtails.

The men are even less able, struggling to form the words. One just stares wide-eyed at Jack, sucking on his fingers.

A silver lining? Jack hasn’t felt so grown-up since he arrived in the classroom. Despite his school uniform, he’s intellectually head and shoulders over the other students. Mr. Briggs will see that, once he gets back. He’ll tell Mrs Taylor that Jack belongs in the most advanced class in the school!

He thinks of his mother, when she calls to ask about his first day. He can tell her how much smarter he is compared to the others. And he can tell her that he made a new friend. He thinks of Suzie, such a pretty girl in her uniform, and so dismissive of the others. Yes, they belong together, they should be in a class of their own.

Jack indulges the fantasy, feeling the hardness between his legs, and it only increases his desire to be in a different class. He shakes his head at the other students, the pink-clad women and the nearly-naked men. They’re little more than drooling idiots! What on earth was Mrs Wilson thinking, putting Jack here in his first day?

Jack shakes his head at them. “This isn’t a classroom,” he says, unable to keep the sneer from his tone. “You’re never going to learn, you’re all dumb as posts.”

As if to prove him right, one of the women – Veena, Jack has time to think to himself, Why was Suzie friends with someone so dumb? – crawls over to Jack and climbs onto his lap, giggling and squirming, as if she’s an overgrown toddler.

“What?” Jack asks, dropping the worksheet and falling onto his back. “What are you doing?”

Veena has no answer, nothing beyond nonsensical giggles as she looks down at him and grins with a glassy-eyed expression.

“Get off!” Jack protests, trying to push her away but ending up with his hands pressing against her breasts, earning a groan and another giggle from Veena.

“Cozy!” she exclaims, her cheeks becoming flushed. Coh-thee! And she continues to squirm on top of Jack, and he starts to feel building pleasure between his legs.

“Look who’s playing well with others,” says a voice.

Jack looks up to find Mr. Briggs has returned with Suzie.

“It’s…not…” Jack blushes furiously, finally manages to push Veena away, and then scrambles to his feet. “I was just…”

Mr. Briggs nods and smiles. “It’s quite okay. I know the girls can be quite a handful.” He looks at them indulgently in turn. “Such silly bunny boos.”

Jack looks to Suzie who giggles. She giggles just like Veena and the other female student.

Veena is also dressed like them.

Suzie. All dressed up in a fuzzy pink onesie, red-faced and giggling.

Jack shakes his head. That’s not what…he tries to remember. Wasn’t Suzie wearing her school uniform before, wasn’t she dressed like him. He spies the worksheet, lying crumpled and forgotten on the ground. “Here,” he says to Suzie, holding out the paper, “We can finish our work now.” Anything but sit back down with Veena, anything but admit how hard the mentally diminished woman was making him.

Suzie stares at the worksheet for a moment, as if she’s also trying to remember their times from before. Jack holds the paper up and Suzie keeps staring, looking cross-eyed with effort. “Umm…I gonna…” Jack sees the recognition, muddled but there, in Suzie’s face. “Gotta…”

“Are you a clever girl?” Mr. Briggs asks, “or are you like your friends?” He delivers a pat to the woman’s rear. “Are you a bunny boo?”

Instantly, the spark of intelligence leaves Suzie’s face, and she giggles, and she pushes past Jack to join her friends on the ground, and all three woman are cuddling each other like long-lost friends.

“Such happy girls,” says Mr. Briggs fondly.

“What’s going on?” Jack asks, his mouth dry. “This isn’t a school,” he says. “It’s something…”

Mr. Briggs gives Jack a sympathetic nod. “It’s hard to understand, I know. I could explain it all to you, what we do here, but really there’s no point.” He gestures to the two diapered men. “Go ahead and sit with your friends, Jack. Soon you’ll be having just as fun as they are.”

Jack shakes his head. “No way. I’m not like them.”

Mr. Briggs looks thoughtful for a moment, and then he nods. “Of course. I’m getting ahead of myself.” He puts a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “You haven’t been cozy yet, have you?”

“Huh?” Jack feels a renewed stirring between his legs.

“That's right,” says the teacher. “You can be all cozy in your jammies.” He points to the women. “Would you like that?” He smiles, and then says in a sing-song voice meant for toddlers, “Of course, your jammies aren’t pink. They’re blue, because you’re a little boy, aren’t you Jack.”

Jack nods. “Yeah,” he says softly.

Mr. Briggs nods approvingly. “Good boy. You’re doing so well, Jack. I think we’re going to have you ready today, well ahead of schedule.” He nods again. “It’s obvious how much you needed this. Just like the others.” He waves at the other students, and Jack looks at them in turn.

They all came to the school. And they are acting like toddlers.

Is Jack little too? Is he just a silly little…

But when he looks at Suzie, Jack thinks of a key difference.

Daddy made me.

No one made Jack come here. He came here all by himself. It was his idea. Wasn’t it?

There was a video. Something that hiding in his mind, something he needs to wake up so he can understand the truth.

Because he’s not like the others. He’s not dumb. He’s big.

“Want to play a game?” asks Mr. Briggs. He smiles. “Or do you want to get extra cozy in your jammies?” "I can see how excited you're getting." He points at Jack's crotch. "What an excited boy you are. Do you need your jammies, Jack?"

Jack nods, as if agreeing to both suggestions. And then he hardens his jaw and pushes the teacher, pushes him down and then Jack is at the classroom door. He wrenches it open and then runs into the hallway.