Lights, Camera, …What?!? Book 1 Chapters 16 and 17 by Sofia Hammerstein

Connor Slane has grown up to be one of the brightest kids in his dimension and one of the most ambitious computer science majors at his top university. Now, thanks to an exchange program between his university and his mother’s alma mater, Emerson University in another dimension. Connor has the chance to forge his own path in computers and his other love, filmmaking. Having seen still images of their amazing holographic films, he hopes go to Emerson, and then return to build his own empire - and maybe even find his true self, as his mother did.

Beth Sylvester is a Tweener herself and another child of influential parents in the other dimension. Her wealthy Big mom is the daughter of a disgraced former CEO, and her dad is the first and only Tweener to serve on the Supreme Court. Connor’s mom and Beth’s dad were good friends while she was in the dimension, and they’ll quickly discover that they enjoy hanging out with each other. They’ll also discover that if either is going to survive to the end of the semester academically or as mature adults, they’ll need to help each other out. If not, Connor could quickly find himself on the one-way road to being adopted by some Big, and Beth might not be far from that fate either…

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The Legal Stuff: Lights, Camera, …What?!? By Sofia Hammerstein
 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Copyright © 2023-2026 Sofia Hammerstein.
 

 
 

Chapter 16: Schedules
 

“CONNOR, YOU CAN’T antagonize Kelly or others like here!” Beth hissed at me. “She’ll find a way to get to you!”

I sighed, “I know, but I couldn’t let her keep going at you, Beth. So I gave her a better target so she’d stop.”

“Why?” She asked.

“It was the right thing to do,” I said with a smile. “Besides, when am I even going to encounter her?”

“You never know,” Cassie said, suddenly more on Beth’s side.

“Anyway, you were saying about your RA?” I asked, seeing we were clear again.

“She didn’t want me talking to you at all anymore. I have no idea why, but I think someone is out to get you?”

I nodded, “Probably? Mom was kind of worried there would be some people holding grudges from her time here. That, or people maybe who have a grudge against my grandmother.”

“You really think of her as your grandmother?” Beth asked.

I shrugged, “I know my mom has always thought of her as her mommy? She considered bringing us to visit a couple of times but decided it was too risky for them. I think as much as she didn’t want me to come, she was at least looking forward to her being able to meet one of her kids.”

“What are you talking about with your mom?” Cassie asked, “Aren’t you one of these portal exchange students that just got here?”

I smiled, “Long story, but my mom went to school here. She was able to go home afterward.”

“She made it home free?” Cassie asked in shock.

“Apparently, his mom was good friends with my dad in college,” Beth told her. “Anyway, Connor… you really do need to be careful?”

I nodded, “I get it; I’ll do what I can. But, in the meantime, tell me about yourself?”

She shrugged, “I’m sure you figured out my dad is a bigshot?”

“I just guessed you all had money? Wait, didn’t Mackenzie ask if he was a judge yesterday?”

She nodded, “He’s a Supreme Court Justice,” she told me.

“That’s pretty cool,” I told her. “All your life?”

She shook her head, “He’s been a judge since before I was… born,” she hesitated just a second, I noticed, “but the Supreme Court appointment only happened a few years ago.”

“What’s it like having a dad like that?”

“He’s just my daddy,” she told me with a smile.

“Daddy?” Cassie grinned.

Beth smacked her head, “I can’t go anywhere with you!”

Beth laughed, and I joined her, “My sisters call my mom ‘mommy’ pretty often too.”

“What do they call your dad?” Cassie asked.

“They don’t; we have two moms,” I told her. “We all call our other mom ‘Mama.’”

“That has to get confusing,” Cassie said.

I shrugged, “Other kids have always said that, but we’ve never had a problem.” I didn’t want to linger on a conversation I knew made many people uncomfortable, “So what do you do for fun around her? I’m guessing I’ll be limited from joining in much of it since I’m a Little now?”

Cassie and Beth nodded, “I wish you had come through at your normal height,” Beth said.

“Normal height?” Cassie asked.

“I’d be a Mid - I’m six-foot-six back home.”

“What happened to the other feet?” Cassie asked.

“Good question!”

I learned more about both girls over lunch. Beth and Cassie told me about movies they liked, music, and some of the hobbies they had. “You like filmmaking?” I asked Beth.

“I always messed around with some cameras at home and did some projects in school with one in high school.”

“That’s cool! It’s the main reason I came here. I want to learn how you all make holographic films work. Mom was able to get a copy of one to sort of project at home last year. It was really cool!”

She nodded, “I’m taking a course this semester that’s supposed to help me learn more about doing it. Of course, I’ll never use it for my career, but it’s an art elective for my major.”

I was just about to ask her more when Mackenzie appeared.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we just finalized the meeting schedule with Dean Northrup, Connor, you’re supposed to meet with her in forty-five minutes. Are you ready to leave? Liam is supposed to meet with her just before you.”

“Umm… I thought we were walking there…?” I looked at Beth.

“We can walk Connor over like we said?” Cassie said. “We’ll let him eat those last fries and head over?”

I looked at my plate and saw five mouthfuls of fries remaining.

Mackenzie looked suspiciously at her, “You might take him by the potty, too.” Then, without warning, she reached over and felt the front of my pants, “Feels dry still. Let me know if you need to change his pull-ups by then.”

“I’m sure he won’t, but we’ll make sure to stop by the bathroom,” Cassie said.

Mackenzie walked away and gathered Liam, standing with his arms crossed beside Lucy. I guessed she’d left him with her to be babysat and grabbed him by the hand to lead him away. “She’s going to be a nightmare,” Cassie told me.

“I think she’s probably the best of them, though. She at least let me go swimming this morning.”

“Really?” Beth asked.

I nodded, “She doesn’t seem as bad as most. I hope you didn’t make her mad here, though.”

“I highly doubt she will try and be too aggressive with you given who your grandmother is, and being friends with me won’t hurt.”

I nodded and shoveled the last of the fries into my mouth. Then, I grabbed a drink and said, “I do need to find that bathroom, though!”

We walked to the front of the dining hall, where a set of bathrooms were located, and I hopped into the men’s while Cassie stood guard outside. I used my stepstool to successfully reach the urinal. However, as I washed my hands, I looked at the regular toilets and worried, ‘I’m not sure I can get onto one of those even with the stool!’

Folding it up and going outside, Cassie leaned down, “Sorry, Connor, but I have to do this.”

“Huh?” I started to say as she pulled down my pants. Miss Madelyn and one of the girls from her nest stood there as she examined my Pull-Up visually and squeezed the padding.

She turned me around, pulled the back from my skin, and said, “Good boy! All dry and clean! I’ll make sure Miss Mackenzie knows so she can give you an extra special sticker today!”

I was the reddest color I could have been, even as I saw Mia blush too. I noted her stance was wider than normal and wondered what padding she wore beneath her uniform skirt. Without any interaction from me, she pulled the pants back up and said, “Okay, let’s get you to your meeting like we told Miss Mackenzie we would!”

Beth stood a little way away and gave me a grimace but shook her head. I took the hand she offered until she let go outside of the building. “Sorry about that, Connor; Madelyn is one of the worst! Last semester she had most of her nest taking turns nursing from her in the dining hall before the break. Be glad you didn’t end up with her.”

I shuddered, “Is that why she has all of the smallest girls from our group?”

“Probably,” she told me.

“She’s also really manipulative,” Beth said. “Be careful around her!”

I nodded and walked beside them to a large administrative building. Mackenzie was waiting outside an office labeled ‘Dr. Sydney Northrup, Dean of Littles.’

“There you are, Connor!” Mackenzie said with a smile; she looked past me. “Did you have to change his pants?”

“Nope, he was all dry and clean,” she told her. “It was nice meeting you,” Cassie told me, “Beth and I need to get going.”

“Nice meeting you too,” I told her.

“Thanks for watching him!” Mackenzie told her like she was sending away the babysitter.

I shook my head.

“Come sit next to me!” She insisted and, without warning, picked me up and sat me beside her on the couch. My backpack was still on my shoulders, which was a little awkward. I swung it off my shoulder and pulled it to sit on my lap. “It’s so exciting that you’re already making new friends!” Mackenzie said to me. “Are you having fun so far today?”

I shrugged, “Tests this morning? Not really time for fun yet, Miss Mackenzie.”

She nodded at that, “True! When you finish meeting with the dean, I’ll take you back to the dorm with Liam, and you two can have the rest of the day to settle in. I think Miss Lucy and Miss Madelyn wanted to get our groups together in the common room to watch a movie before dinner.”

“Oh… sure, that sounds like fun,” I told her, even as my alarm bells rang.

She began peppering me with questions about my favorite colors, foods, and things that reminded me of a conversation with a babysitter from my childhood. I was growing tired of it as the door opened, and Liam was led out. I couldn’t help but note that the bulge around his waist seemed thicker than earlier, stretching his pants to the limits. ‘No question you’re in a diaper,’ I thought sadly. He had a grim look on his face.

“Connor?” I heard from the dean who followed him.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

“Come on in!” she said while motioning me to follow her inside.

I jumped off the tall couch and heard a worried “Careful!” from Mackenzie. I passed by Liam, who was grimacing and walked into the office. “Already wet again?” I heard Mackenzie say before Dean Northrup closed the door behind me.

She had a tall chair in front of her desk with a set of steps leading up to it. Beside it was a highchair, complete with all the straps Mom had told me about, making my blood grow cold. “Have a seat,” she directed me vaguely forward, and I used the freedom to use the chair with the steps.

Only then did I notice a third chair to the side with Doctor Owens, who was clearly taller than me, but I guessed it was only a few inches taller than Beth. “Good afternoon, Doctor Owens,” I told him while finding a place to hold on and climbing into the chair. I grimaced when I realized this chair had a seatbelt, but I left it undone behind me.

“How are you doing, Connor?” He asked me as Dean Northrup made her way around the desk. I had to guess I could stand on top of Doctor Owen’s Shoulders, and still, my head wouldn’t be taller than hers.

“I’m doing okay. Bit of an adjustment being so small compared to everyone!” I told him.

“Tell me about it! Even though I’m double your height, I’ve still been told I’m only about the average height of a tween here in this dimension.”

“I think I can relate,” I said, motioning to myself.

As Dean Northrup sat down, I noted she had a diploma showing a doctorate from Emerson in Little Education and another beside it from New Albany University in Psychology.

‘Double doctorate in manipulating Littles. I guess there’s a reason she has her job,’ I mused darkly. I was high enough in the chair that I could see pictures of her ‘babies’ showing off around as well. There were pictures of the two girls in dresses showing off their diapers while their brother crawled in only a diaper. Another showed the two girls in ballet tutus with seemingly exaggerated diapers. At the same time, they tripped over themselves and attempted a pirouette. ‘Definitely not one of the good ones,’ I told myself.

“Well, Connor, it’s nice to meet you! I understand you are Dr. Westerfield’s grandson?” she said as she sat down.

“Yes, ma’am, though I only met her in person for the first time yesterday.”

“Still, between all Matthew here has told me and all I’ve learned from Amanda, I feel like I already know you! I was surprised to learn you would be in my care for the semester. I believe you were Mid height back home?”

“Barely, but yes,” I told her.

“Yes, but barely here would be the equivalent of my height here.” She shrugged, “No one seems to understand the portals, though.” She began quickly typing on a keyboard, even though I saw no screen visible. I guessed she was using one of the contact implants I’d heard about earlier. She noticed me looking, “Don’t worry, I’m not pretending to do everything here, just using my eye display here,” she pressed the contact to the side of her right eye. I saw a tiny bit of blue plastic show. “Since Bremer industries introduced them a few years ago, I haven’t wanted anything to do with traditional displays or tablets. It’s way more convenient!”

“One of the TAs helping out earlier mentioned them,” I told her. “I might have to look into them myself.”

“Unfortunately, there’s a size limitation in the technology still. The smallest we can make is one for about a third grader so far. So you’ll be limited to headsets, unfortunately.”

“That is too bad!” I agreed.

“Now, I’m looking at your test results here and… wow!” She looked at me, “I’ve heard your mom was smart, but these are really unusual?”

“How so?” Doctor Owens asked.

“Well, for our first two exams, we essentially use our CARE exam that we give entering Little students to the university. However, we have added parts for higher-level math content since some dimensions we get visitors from have better education systems. I can’t recall any visiting student scoring higher than Connors?”

“How high?” I asked.

“You missed one question,” she told me, “A total component score of 796 out of 800.”

“What did I miss?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“It was more of a physics question concerning portal physics. Your written answer was missing one more step to be correct. You stopped one level of work early.”

“Oh,” I said, vaguely remembering that question. “I’ll have to find out how you’re actually supposed to solve that.”

She shook her head, “Unless you plan on changing majors, I see no need. Your results and transcript from back home mean you have the prerequisites for anything in the math department. You don’t strictly have to take a math class here. Still, I see on your initial request you were hoping to take Mathematical Analysis I?”

“Yes, I know it’s on the required courses for Math Majors, but reading about some of the theories the course covers intrigued me?”

“I think your nuts there,” she told me, “But you qualify, so I’ll add that in there.”

“How about the sciences test?”

“You did very well on all of that as well. But, again, Portal Physics was really your only nemesis. I don’t see any requests for courses on that subject?”

I shook my head, “No, I’m really just here for the filmmaking and holographic courses.”

She nodded, “I have heard you all are about twenty years behind us there?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know that we’re that far back on the projecting technology, but we are on the stasis fields you use to make them solid?”

“Solid?” Doctor Owens piped in.

“You didn’t know that you could touch them?” I asked. “I was in a car yesterday with a built-in holographic hostess that could even pick me up.”

“That’s cool,” he said. I noticed he was kind of fidgety in his seat, and I hoped he wouldn’t start having his own potty problems this semester!

“Anyway, so where did that test place me?”

“Your score of 720 would place out of the first four semesters of chemistry, first two of biology, and first two of physics if you were a normal student.”

“And the computer science test?” I asked.

“It hasn’t been graded yet…” she started to say, but her eyebrow twitched. “Pardon me one second,” she said and typed on her keyboard.

I looked at Doctor Owens, looking a little uncomfortable. “Doctor Owens, if you need to take a break for a moment, you are more than welcome?” I suggested to him, guessing his problem.

She suddenly started talking, “Doctor Faulkner, you asked me to call?”

I grimaced and wondered if history was repeating itself.

“I see? Well, you know who his grandmother and mother are, right? Probably not that surprising that he would do well?”

I heard silence as she listened, “You said you checked? No signs of cheating, right? You even checked the headset?” I heard more silence. “Look, I actually have him right here in my office, Doctor Faulkner. Given his math and science scores, I think we can just determine this to be a legitimate test score. I don’t think he had any way to cheat.” She paused, “Yes, I know it’s hard to believe a Little could do that, but remember, he’s not from our dimension. I have no problem with the additional testing security you’re requesting for his future exams, but I doubt they’re needed.”

I squirmed, ‘What more security could they use?!? I had a headset on my head!’

“So, assuming this was an honest result, what was the final score?”

I wished I had a phone I could overhear the other side from.

“Very well; please submit that into the system in the next few minutes so I can finalize his schedule. He requested a class or two that will need those prereqs covered. Have a good afternoon,” Northrup blinked, and I realized that she might have even been having a video conference with the professor.

She looked back at me and shook her head, “You are going to cause a lot of problems here this semester, I’m guessing.”

“Problems?” Professor Owens asked, concerned.

“Not what you think. Every now and then, a Little tests better than some believe they should be able to because of prejudices. From the stories I’ve heard of Connor’s mother, she was the same way. So, Connor, congratulations, you scored a perfect score on the computer science exam.”

“Really? My last solution worked?”

“Yes, and that concerned Doctor Faulkner a lot. Enough so that he’d already investigated you for cheating. I know that question was added since the last time your grandmother was involved in the test design, so I know there’s no way you could have had the question in advance. You must be brilliant to get through it.” She shook her head, “Okay, with that information, let’s look at the rest of your schedule. You requested Engineering 349, Holographic Field Theory. Your physics placement just barely allows for this class. I would make sure you plan to seriously study if you want to do well in that class. It regularly flunks about sixty percent of the students who attempt it.”

I nodded, “I’ll work at it. It’s the whole reason I came here, though!”

“Very well, ‘Computational Intelligence I’ was next on your request. Do you still wish to take that one?”

“What else would I take?”

“Your results technically mean you can take any computer science course through graduate coursework?”

“Let’s just stick with that course,” I told her. “It fits in with my degree plan back home that way.”

“Fair enough, next you requested two film classes. ‘Film 230: Cinematic Narratives’ and ‘Film 241 Screenwriting’ are nearly full, but we’ll go ahead and register you in both.”

“Great, that’s all the classes I requested before I came, right?”

“Right, but we also have to add another. We’re going to assign you to Littles Seminar II this semester. You’ll be with the second-semester freshmen, but it is a very beneficial resource and class. It meets just one day a week but helps us ensure you are well taken care of in that time?”

I squirmed but knew I wouldn’t be able to skip it. “Okay, I know my mom took it.”

“Yes, I’m sure she did. Now, this is a pretty full schedule. Are you sure you’re up for taking this many classes?”

“Yes, ma’am, I should be fine,” I told her.

“In that case, unless you have any objections, Doctor Owens?” She looked at him.

I noticed he was really bouncing then. “None,” he said.

“We’ll finish this one up then.” She said.

“I’ll be right back for the next meeting,” he said as he jumped off his chair and ran out the door.

I heard a small giggle, but when I looked at the dean, she had a stoic face. “I’ll email you the schedule. Here is a packet to ensure you can get everything you need for your courses. You should already have a tablet to hold all your textbooks in your room.”

“Thanks,” I said as I stepped out of the chair and took the folder from her.

“You’re very welcome, Connor. Welcome to Emerson!”

I walked out the door Doctor Owens had left open and saw Mackenzie standing there holding Liam on her hip. “All done?” She asked as I walked out.

“Yep, what’s next?”

“Let’s head back to the nest, and we’ll play it by ear…” she told me.
 
 

Chapter 17: Break-Ins
 

I FOLLOWED MACKENZIE as she carried Liam back to the dorm. He looked pitiful in her arms and clearly was embarrassed about being carried around like a toddler. Liam was not quite a foot taller than me, but he looked about the size of a year-old baby at best in her arms. I couldn’t help but notice her patting his back like one as we walked across campus, and he buried his head in her shoulder.

‘He’s going quick!’ I couldn’t help but think. He struggled to free himself one last time as we reached the door to Sanders Hall. Still, she bounced him like a fussy baby and said, “I’ll put you down when we get inside. We still need to talk about what happened earlier,” she warned.

‘What happened earlier?’ I couldn’t help but wonder! ‘He didn’t stay for the computer science test… so it could be during that time… or after she took him back to the dorm? Or something while he was with the Dean?’

He had hurried out almost as fast as Doctor Owens had. I couldn’t help but wonder if he had actually made it to the potty in time!

Back in our room, she finally put Liam down on the floor, and he moved as quickly as he could to his desk, away from her. I walked over to my desk and pulled my backpack off my shoulders before saying, “Miss Mackenzie, I’m going to use the potty real quick?”

“Go ahead, Connor; I’ll be there in a second.” I walked towards the open doorway to the bathroom and pushed my way into a stall. Pulling down my pants and hopping back onto the potty-shaped toilet was just a little effort but far more accessible than the big toilets would have been earlier! I took advantage of the smaller potty to empty my bowels and bladder, which had grown fuller as we walked back.

I was just getting ready to reach for the toilet paper when Mackenzie opened the stall door. She knelt and looked at my Pull-Ups, “All dry and clean here! Smells like you made a poopy in the potty?” She asked, even as she pulled me forward and looked down at the bowl. “Wow! What a good boy, unlike Liam! I think you’ve made it every time today!”

I was red as a tomato then and only got redder as she grabbed some wipes from up above somewhere and proceeded to ‘help me’ get clean. Her efforts only required a few moments, and then she dropped them in a wall-mounted trashcan and stood me up. I reached down to pull my pants up but was slower than her, so she finished the job.

“Why don’t you wash your hands, and then we’ll update your potty chart together!” She said happily.

Earlier that day, Mackenzie seemed like a better Nest Mother than the others, but suddenly the ‘mommy’ part of her seemed to be out in full force.

I sighed and went to the sink while she went to the main room and said, “Come on, Liam, let’s change that diapee!”

I took my time washing my hands, but she still was in the middle of lifting his butt up into the air to moon me as I walked out. I looked away and walked to the desk, turning on the computer and inputting my login information. Obviously, I didn’t trust their laptop, so I opened up my backpack, pulled out my computer, and sat it beside the desk.

“Why are you using that computer?” Mackenzie startled me.

“Because it’s one from home with all my documents on it?” I told her, “Not to mention, it’s more familiar to me. Also, I have a camera from home that I brought to take pictures of my time here that I can’t connect to your computers?”

She started to object when I said, “Say, can we take a picture together? My moms will love to put a face to a name?”

“Umm…” she was shocked by the suggestion.

“Liam, can you come to take a picture of Miss Mackenzie with me?” I asked. He gave me a look like I was nuts, but I glowered at him to take the hint. “Miss Mackenzie, how about you sit on the ground, and I’ll sit on your lap?”

“You’re sending this to your moms?” She asked.

“So they know I’m okay and in good hands!” I told her. “Don’t tell me none of your nest has ever asked you to take a picture with them before?”

“Umm… actually, no, they haven’t?”

“That’s kind of silly,” I told her. “Go ahead, sit down there. Here Liam, take the camera,” I told him.

He hesitantly stepped forward and grabbed it. Mackenzie clearly didn’t know what to think but ended up sitting down, and I clambered onto her lap.

“Okay, umm… three, two, one,” he said, and the flash went off.

He took a few for me, and I said, “Here, let me see it,” I told him. I pressed some buttons, and it pulled up the zoomed-in photo of us looking like a mommy and her baby. “Here, Miss Mackenzie, you want to see it before I send it?”

She was still on the ground and said, “Umm… sure?” She sighed as she looked, “Aww, it’s a cute picture of us! Thanks for asking me to take one with you! Liam, you want one?”

“No, thank you,” he said.

He started walking away, but she said, “Let’s update those potty charts for you two. Liam, we’ll do you first.”

Without warning, she picked him up and placed him on her hip. Some stickers appeared from somewhere, and she said, “Okay, we didn’t do yesterday yet, so here’s a poopy sticker for your first accident. Can you be a big boy and put it on Wednesday?”

I grimaced for him as he said, “Do we really have to do this?”

“Well, if you want to just plan on diapers for the rest of the semester, we don’t have to do a potty chart? Since only big boys get underwear, they’re also the only ones who get potty charts?”

“Fine!” he said. I watched as he put a brown sticker on Wednesday.

“Then let’s see, we went through three more diapers yesterday, so let’s put those down on Wednesday too!”

He grumbled but put some yellow stickers down on the chart.

“You had one time you did use the potty yesterday, so go ahead and put this down on Wednesday!” I could tell it was a gold star from where I was sitting.

“Now, this is the morning spot; you had a wet diapee then, so put this yellow one there!”

“I wouldn’t have been wet if you had let me out to use the potty! You were gone when I woke up!”

“Aww, sweetie, I actually checked you before Connor, and I left. You were already wet, but that’s okay. Night diapees are normal in our Nest.”

“I was…?” He started to say. “Now you had two more wet diapees, and then that poopie diaper just before we picked up Connor. Then the wet one I just changed, so let’s put three more pee pee stickers here and one more poopie.”

He was bright red as she did this while holding him underneath the diaper bulge with one hand. When she was done, she bounced him up and down, “Liam, I’m sorry to say you aren’t going to be earning a Potty Star this semester. You’ve already used up enough accidents to make even a Bronze Star impossible!”

“But…”

“It’s okay; it’s not the first time a Little has burned through their stars so fast. I need to tell you, though, that if your chart looks like this every day for the next week, I’m going to just pull it down, and we’ll go with diapees only.”

“But…”

“Now, why don’t you go explore and check out your textbooks? They should be on your tablet,” she told him and set him down. A pat was made to the rear before she said, “Come on, Connor, let’s update yours too.”

I walked over to her and found myself in her arms like he’d been. “You said you had a poopy diaper yesterday while you were out?”

I blushed but nodded, “Yes.”

“So here’s a poopy sticker for that.”

She handed me a sticker that was shaped like an old poop-shaped emoji back home, complete with a frowny face on it. I grimaced but put it down on Wednesday.

“Now I think you used the potty five times yesterday, according to my records and what your grandma said, so here’s five gold stars!”

She handed me one sticker at a time, and I put them on the chart.

“And you’ve been a good boy all day so far, so from the records, I have you earning seven more gold stars today!”

I took each ridiculous sticker and covered a fair amount of the area on the chart. Mackenzie bounced me up and down like a fussy baby, “You, unfortunately, have that one accident that will keep you from a Gold Star, but I think you might be able to achieve a Silver or a Bronze still!”

“Great,” I told her.

She sat me down, “Okay, you two, why don’t you check out your coursework and schedules from the Dean and start planning everything you’ll need next week for a bit. I’m going to be in my apartment for a while. Don’t try and leave the Nest, please.”

Liam looked like he was about to challenge that but instead joined me in saying, “Yes, Miss Mackenzie.”

I walked over to the computer and camera I had left on my desk. A quick glance that she was gone and Liam was occupied let me pull up the camera card memory. While the camera displayed the picture that Liam, or anyone focused on, the actual image recorded was far broader. Nearly 360 degrees wide! Liam’s body was the only thing blocking the camera’s rear, but even his face and body were completely imaged.

I began typing an email to Mom, making it as innocuous as possible but still attaching the ‘real’ images.

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to let you know everything is going well here! Well… at least well enough.

Unfortunately, I’ve shrunk two and a half feet, so I’m definitely a Little. At least I’m taller than Mom was! (Not that it’s saying much since I’m tied with the shortest in the exchange group) This morning we took our placement tests and got our results, and set up schedules this afternoon. I did really well on the tests… including scoring a perfect score on the programming one! Math and Science I only missed things related to Portal Physics since I’ve never studied any of that!

As a result, the courses I requested before I came are the ones I’m signed up for. Well, those plus I have to take that Little Seminar you told me about Mom.

I met Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Bella, Aunt Megan, and all of their family yesterday, as well as Uncle Cameron, Aunt Addison, and their kids. Beth is here going to school and is really cool. I ate lunch with her and one of her Big friends earlier. She’s like double my height, but really nice! I hope I can hang out more with her this semester!

Anyway, I need to keep exploring what I have been given for textbooks and things, but I’ve attached a picture of my Nest Mother here. Miss Mackenzie was nice enough to take me swimming this morning, and she’s mostly been nice to me, at least. I’ll write again soon! Love you all,

Connor

I wiped some moisture from my eyes and played with the ends of my long hair as I explored my textbooks on the tablet they’d given me.
 

BETH WAS JUST about to enter her room when her phone rang. It showed her mom’s picture on the screen.

“Beth, don’t go into your room; go downstairs instead,” her mom told her.

“What? Why?”

“Just go! I’ll explain when you’re away from your room.”

“Okay…?” Beth was confused that her mom even knew she was about to go to her room before remembering she’d enabled her family tracking location on break. ‘Got to remember to turn that off!’ she griped.

She walked down the stairs and reached the bottom, “Okay, now what?”

“Someone got into your room and planted some used Pull-Ups to try and prove that you’re not mature,” she heard her dad’s voice.

“What?!?” she hissed.

“Luckily, your dad’s Christmas present recorded it all,” her mom said. “You’re going to go to your RD right now and show her the video. If you recognize the culprit, that will help. We’re sending it now; please call us back as soon as you’ve shown her so we can be on the line.”

Beth was shaking then with anger as she hung up and received the video file from her dad. She watched as Kelly’s friend Nevaeh entered the room and put a wet Pull-Up underneath her bed covers, another in the trash can hidden by the limited trash she had so far, and a stack of unused ones in her underwear drawer. The bitch actually stole all of her panties while she was at it!!!!!

Deciding that calling her parents later would be too late, she instead opened an app she’d installed that allowed for a call that couldn’t be seen while she was showing the video. “Mom, just stay quiet. This is going to stay open so you can hear me. Mute your side; I know the culprit.”

Her face was red as she walked up to the RDs apartment and knocked. The door opened suddenly and revealed that Kelly was inside with their RD, Penelope Rogers. “Oh, there she is now,” Kelly said.

“Can I help you?” Penelope asked.

“Yes, can I talk to you? But without her around?” Beth motioned to Kelly.

“I’m only trying to help,” Kelly said, “I’ll talk to you later, Penelope!”

She didn’t even argue as she left. Instead, once the door was closed, Beth said, “I have a complaint to make about a break-in into my room.”

“A break-in?” she asked.

“Yes, a girl, Nevaeh Dominguez, broke into my room and planted some used Pull-Ups. If I had to guess, Kelly was just trying to say she’s been catching me having accidents or some other made-up story?”

“Well, actually… she did say she thought you were having some potty problems?”

“Here, let me show you this video,” Beth told her.

“You know it’s not a big deal if you’re having…?”

“Watch this video, please!” Beth told her and used a built-in projector from the phone to project the video of her phone physically to a mid-sized image in the air in front of them. Unfortunately, the 3D mockup of her room wasn’t physically stable like a real projector. Still, it quickly showed the whole thing, from the sounds of a series of beeps from outside the room to Nevaeh committing the crime.”

“Oh my…” Penelope said, taking in the situation. She glanced up at Beth and seemed to realize she was well-connected based on how white she had turned. “This is a serious problem. Let me call campus security…”
 
 

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you did so and press the Kudos button! I should be posting a couple times a week until this is fully posted here on BC. This first full novel is complete (73 chapters plus Epilogue) and published on Amazon if you wish to be impatient though! I hope to have Book 2 published there in the next few months as well.

All of my published works have AI read audiobooks available for them. I’ve spent some time tweaking pronunciations, and they’re pretty good when you can’t afford thousands to pay for audiobook creation! They’re a $1.99 addon to the $6.95 price on Kindle. If you’ve already purchase the book it should come up as only $1.99. They’re also available on Audible directly, but that’s $10.95 versus the cheaper price! https://www.amazon.com/author/babysofia