January Exclusive - "Orientation" - Part 3

Is this a classroom? Seriously? As far as Jack is concerned, Mr. Briggs is teaching preschool.

“Welcome, Jack!” The teacher beams at him. He turns his smile to Seren. “Thanks so much.”

Seren squeezes Jack’s hand and then she’s gone, and Jack is left in a room decorated in primary colors, with blankets, mats, and other things that confirm there will be diaper changes.

Jack looks around the room with a sense of foreboding that only increases when he takes in the sight of four bare-footed adults playing with toys designed for pre-schoolers. Four of Mr. Briggs’ students are sitting on the floor; two women dressed in what Jack can only describe as pink onesies like an infant would wear, both playing with dolls. But the two men are worse; both males are dressed in nothing but adult diapers.

Jack shakes his head. “This is…I can’t…”

Mr. Briggs puts a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I get it, you’re not sure which class is for you. That’s why you’re just visiting mine today, see if you’re a fit.”

A fit for what? Jack produces another shake of his head. “But you’re not…” He waves at the students. “You’re not teaching.” He has the urge to stamp his foot and manages to resist. He whispers, “They’re like babies.”

Mr. Briggs makes a so-so gesture. “They’re very young,” he says brisky, “in here.” He taps the side of his head. “My job is to keep them stimulated, with games, stories and toys. And well, who knows?”

“I can’t do this,” Jack says, looking towards the closed door. How about he just leaves? How about he makes a run for it? And he imagines that working out for him, running out of the school in his gold polo shirt and blue shorts. A uniform? A school uniform, surely. He doesn’t even have shoes on! Mr. Briggs wears shoes, Mr. Briggs is dressed like a grown-up. Because he’s not a silly…No. Don’t say the word. Don’t even think it.

The teacher gives Jack a sympathetic nod. “I know you’re confused. You’ll feel better soon. Mrs Wilson said you were feeling jet-lagged. A little foggy?”

Jack shrugs. But foggy is right on the money. Why had he let Seren dress him up like this? Why can’t he remember a single second of the orientation video? And why the hell is he so hard between his legs?

Jack notices with surprise that in actual fact he’s no longer hard, his erection has subsided. He blinks. One less thing to feel self-conscious about.

“Look, Mr. Briggs says, “I know you don’t want to play silly baby games with them.” He winks. “I know you know your letters and numbers.”

Jack stares at the man – he’s probably in his twenties, and yet he’s talking as if there’s decades between them.

“I’m a teacher,” Jack manages. “I know a whole lot.”

Mr. Briggs looks at him. And he will laugh, surely, at Jack. He will poke at his school uniform. Because there’s been a big misunderstanding, and there is about to be an even bigger humiliation. All because of the stupid video and stupid Seren and this stupid-

“Mrs Wilson told me how bright you are.” Something in the teacher’s tone changes, and he says, “Look, I don’t which class you’ll end up in, but I know you can be a real help today.”

That’s better. Jack is here to help, not to learn. But he still doesn’t want to supervise a bunch of adults as mentally challenged as the ones playing before him. The looks on their faces – happy but incognizant – Mr. Briggs can’t be serious about expecting intellectual growth. Jack can hear one of the women talking to her doll like the youngest of children playing make-believe. And both men are drooling, with one sucking on his fingers like an infant.

And so Jack has to refuse. The sense of foreboding returns, and he says, “I can’t. I can’t help them.” He is supposed to be a teacher, not a baby-sitter. And that’s not the only thought that makes Jack’s stomach feel like it’s tied up in knots.

“Sorry,” says Jack. And even though they’re around the same height, Jack feels like a naughty boy apologizing to the teacher for forgetting his homework.

He hangs his head. Mr. Briggs will be disappointed. Maybe he will be angry. After all, it’s only Jack’s first day.

Instead, the teacher says, “I get it.”

Jack looks up hopefully. Finally, someone who understands that this situation is far from right.

Mr. Briggs nods. “You’re worried you’ll get bored.”

Jack frowns. “No, I mean-“

“I don’t think you’ll find this boring at all. But for now you can help our most advanced student.” The teacher points over at the far end of the classroom. “Maybe you can help Suzie.”

Jack stares. He’d been so caught up with the four infantilized students, he hadn’t seen the other student, a woman working quietly at a table.

Sitting at a table! Holding a pencil!

Jack relaxes as he walks with Mr. Briggs to meet Suzie. The woman, gifted with large breasts and a bossy expression, has her hair in perky blond pigtails and sparkling blue eyes. Best of all, she’s wearing a proper school uniform, gold polo and blue skirt.

At Mr. Brigg’s invitation, Jack sits down at the table beside Suzie.

“There,” says the teacher warm, “My two best and brightest.” He winks at Suzie. “You’re not a silly goose like the others, are you Suzie.”

The woman shakes her head emphatically, pigtails jiggling. “I’m doing my work,” she says importantly.

It’s Jack who feels a moment of dizziness, it’s Jack who feels a giggle bubble at the back of his throat. He swallows and asks Mr. Briggs, “What should I do?”

The teacher points at the worksheet on the table. “Help Suzie. I bet if you work together, the pair of you can finish it in record time.”

And there’s something in Mr. Brigg’s tone that gives Jack pause – is he really comparing Jack with Suzie – but then he catches the look in the teacher’s eye and is reassured. The condescending tone is for Suzie.

“Yeah,” says Jack, looking over the worksheet. It has a colorful farm scene, with crops and animals, with a list of vocabulary words on the side. He quickly sees that it’s at a Kindergarten level, with an option to extend to a second-grade reading level if the student is working alone. He nods. “I can help.”

“Good on ya,” says Mr. Briggs. And he leaves them to look after the other students.

Jack immediately takes the opportunity to take the teacher role. “I can see you’re working hard,” he says brightly. “You’ve done all the shapes already!”’

Suzie shrugs. “It’s easy.” She looks over at the rest of the class. “They can’t do it,” she says dismissively. “They’re too dumb.”

“Well,” Jack replies, “I’m sure they’re doing their best.”

Suzie shakes her head and then whispers to Jack, as if she’s afraid the teacher will hear, “They’re being lazy.” She points to the woman who keeps talking to her doll. “Veena was my best friend before, but now all she does is play with her doll.” She looks vulnerable for a moment, and she asks softly, “You wanna be my friend?”

Jack blushes. “Sure. I mean, I’m a teacher, like Mr-“

Suzie cuts him off with a laugh. “You’re like me, silly.” She points at Jack’s matching outfit. “All the new students wear it.”

Jack would love to disagree, but the reason behind is clothes is muddled in his head. Something about not looking silly on his first day, right? And compared to the students in their fuzzy onesies, and the ones in nothing more than diapers, Jack actually does feel well dressed.

“I can be your friend,” Jack says, making peace. He points back at the worksheet. “We can do the shapes, yeah?”

Suzie nods approvingly. “Not like silly Veena. She won’t do her shapes or colors.” She adds with a disgusted tone, She’s even wearing a diaper like the rest.”

“I bet she’d like to,” says Jack. “But you’re a much smarter girl. Maybe if you help her, she’ll-“

Suzie interrupts. “She did it yesterday!”

Jack frowns. “Did what?”

Suzie glares at Jack as if he’s the idiot. “This,” she says, jabbing the paper with her finger. “Veena said it was easy.”

Jack looks over at the woman who’s babbling at her doll. He can’t believe it. “She was…”

“Yesterday,” Suzie says. “But then she got all silly. She got all silly goose like the others.”

Jack blinks. “Silly…” Like Seren said. Like the teacher said. There’s something about that word.

Suzie rolls her eyes. “Goose.” She frowns at Jack. “You’re not a silly goose like the other boys are you?”

Jack grins. He can’t help it. “No-oh,” he replies, even though he is feeling very silly, as if his brain just got smaller, as if his intelligence is draining away in the most delightful and ticklish of ways. He giggles foolishly, and puts fingers to the sides of his head as if he can stop the intelligence leave his head by plugging his ears.

“Silly,” says Suzie, but she doesn’t mention the animal again. The one that Jack can see in his mind, wearing a scarf. The funny bird from the video. He rubs his eyes. At least there are no geese on the worksheet. Just a horse, cow, some sheep, a dog and a cat. One of the exercises is to produce the animal noises associated with each of the pictures, and Jack hopes that they’ll do that one next. He can’t want to show off his animal noises.

“I’m the only one in uni…” She struggles with the word, and then says, “the only one dressed like a big girl.” She pouts. “The others are just all silly.”

Jack swallows. The giddiness is fading, although he worries, even as his understanding returns, not all of it is coming back. He looks over at the other students. Yes, they’re babbling and playing like toddlers, but doesn’t it actually look like fun? Don’t they look more comfortable, out of their uniforms and free to play like…well, like silly babies?

“What you smiling for?” Suzie asks, poking Jack in the arm.

“Nothing,” says Jack quickly. He points back at the worksheet. “You want to do the colors part?”

Suzie shakes her head. “That’s just for babies.” She points at the picture of the animals and a list of animal sounds. “I wanna do the noises.” She sighs. “But I can’t read the words.” Her nose wrinkles. “I could do it yesterday, but now it’s too hard.”

“You could do it before? You could read the words?”

“It’s too hard today. I can’t ‘member.” She makes a huffing sound and folds her arms across her generous chest.

Jack takes a breath. He looks at Suzie and then over at the others. Mr. Briggs is playing a game with them, some kind of song and hand-clapping thing, and Jack feels a twinge of jealousy below a bigger sense of disquiet.

He pushes the worksheet away.

Suzie frowns. “We gotta finish it. I don’t wanna get in trouble.”

“Suzie.” Jack takes her hand. “You reading yesterday. Your friend being…smarter before.” He looks over at the others and then back at Suzie. “Are they all getting sillier?”

The woman nods. “I don’t wanna be silly.” She squirms in her chair and whispers, “They do other stuff too.” She glances down at herself. “They’re naughty.”

Jack is baffled, until he remembers his erection from before. Naughty. Something happened during the orientation video, and Seren…

He blushes hotly. Does he want to talk about this? Does he really want to know?

Full of misgivings, he gives Suzie’s hand what he hopes is a reassuring pat and asks, “Is it Mr. Briggs? Does he…is he making them silly?”

Suzie twists her lips and shrugs. “Mr. Briggs has the new students, we’re all new.” She looks over Jack’s shoulder at the others, and pulls her hand back to count on her fingers. “Three days ago, we all were in our…dressed like big boys and girls, and we all sat at the table.” Her voice takes on a whiny tone. “Two days ago, the boys were getting silly and…naughty and they didn’t wanna wear their clothes and so…and so they wore jammies and the girls had to do all the work. And one day ago, the girls are silly too.”

Jack shakes his head. It’s impossible that the students of this special school are actually getting worse. That doesn’t make any sense. That would make Mr. Briggs…what? The opposite of a teacher?

He looks desperately at Suzie. “Why?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t wanna go to school anymore,” she says. Her hands form into fists. “But Daddy made me.”

In that moment, Jack understands that something very bad is happening. In the same moment, he notices that Suzie is looking up, that she addresses her last comment to someone standing behind him.

“I’m the only one being a big girl!” Her tone has changed from whining to anxious.

Jack twists around in his chair to see Mr. Briggs looming over them.

“How you guys getting on?” the teacher asks brightly. He looks at Suzie sympathetically. “I know it’s hard, doing all the work by yourself. That’s why Jack’s here to help.”

“I don’t…I don’t…I can’t do it!” Suzie blurts.

Jack looks with alarm at the tears filling the woman’s eyes.

“I didn’t…” He waves his hands. “We were just talking.”

“No worries,” replies Mr. Briggs. He crouches down beside Suzie. “I know you’re not a silly goose like the boys,” he says softly.

Jack watches Suzie’s expression stay the same, a mixture of sulkiness and anxiety, while his own head feels lighter like before.

“Notta goose,” Suzie insists.

Mr. Briggs nods. “I know.” He pats her shoulder. “I do think you’re like the girls, though. He leans close and whispers something in Suzie’s ear.”

Suzie frowns. “Huh?”

Mr. Briggs chuckles. He winks at Jack and then whispers something to Suzie again.

Jack watches as the woman’s’ expression changes. It’s as if something relaxes in her facial muscles. Her mouth drops open, confusion washing over her face. She looks at the teacher with wide eyes. “Bunny…boo?”

The teacher nods and grins. “You’re a bunny boo like Veena, aren’t you Suzie. Just a sweet little bunny boo.”

Jack frowns. What on earth is a bunny boo? The words leave no impression on him.

It’s Suzie who blinks and smiles, her eyes softening as she nods gently. “Imma…I’m…” And then she shakes her head. “No!” She gives Jack a desperate look. “I’m notta bunny…” she says.

“Bunny boo,” Mr. Briggs says, stroking the woman’s back. “I think you are.” And the he reaches and tugs gently on one of Suzie’s pigtails.

And Suzie’s face changes. The desperation fades to something closer to simple incomprehension. “Buhhh…buh-nee?” And then she giggles.

“Good girl,” says Mr. Briggs sweetly. “Bunny boo, let’s see that lovely smile. Time to play with Venna, she’s a bunny boo, just like you!”

Suzie nods, a faint smile playing on her face.

“Good girl,” says Mr. Briggs again. “Time to get you all cozy.”

Suzie’s smile gets bigger. “Uh…uh-huh, I gonna…” She points a wobbly finger at the other students. “I gonna…like…?”

“Yes, you are,” Mr. Briggs confirms, as Jack looks on, nonplussed. “Cozy like Veena.”

Cozy.

Suzie squirms in her chair and Jack feels a warmth between his legs.

He helps Suzie to her feet and says to Jack, “Can you look after the other for five minutes?” He hands the worksheet to him. “How about doing the animal sounds with them, I bet they’d have fun with that.”

Jack looks with concern at Suzie and then back at Mr. Briggs. “I’m in charge?”

Mr. Briggs gives him a serious look. “Until I get back.” He puts a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Reckon you can handle that.”

Jack nods. “Sure!”

“Golden,” says Mr. Briggs. “Can’t wait to tell Mrs Wilson what a help you were today.”

Jack nods again hurries over to the students. His students. For five minutes, anyway. Thank goodness!

He sits down with them, gives them his best teacher smile. “Let’s play a game,” he says brightly. Just like that, he has their attention, and he looks at their trusting gazes with a rush of confidence. It’s only when he looks up briefly and sees Mr. Briggs leave the room with Suzie that he spares a moment to wonder what’s happening with his new friend.