Lights, Camera, …What?!? Book 1 Chapters 36 and 37 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 36: Trust
 

I WOKE UP to my diaper being pulled off, “Finally waking up, huh?” Mackenzie asked me. She quickly ticked my belly, “Since you’re awake and have a dry diapee, why don’t you go try the potty?”

I nodded and found myself carried to the potty and sat on it. It took no time to have my bladder releasing, and I was surprised by how full it was. “Good boy,” Mackenzie cooed as she wiped me unasked. A moment later, the swim diaper was held open for me, and I was dressed in my swimsuit.

My morning started off well with more laps, and I found myself racing a large body again after a while. I’d lapped the person several times before Mackenzie again pulled me out of the water. Miss Lilly had started treading water then and said, “I wish our dorm could participate in the intramural swimming contests; you would place well!”

I just laughed, “I can only wish, Miss Lilly.”

Mackenzie had helped me into the shower after she checked the swim diaper for any signs of a mess. I’d shaken my head and got ready as fast as I could that morning. I could finish getting ready before she pulled anyone from their pods by hurrying through my morning routine and tossing my hair into a low ponytail.

As I hurriedly worked on my Screenplay homework with the university’s computer, I watched her pull the other guys out of the pods. Each was as deeply asleep as I had been, and I wondered if there was more to it than being tired? I also watched every nest member get marked down as wet for their night diaper. Liam no longer had a potty chart, but Mackenzie made a big deal about teasing him for being poopy too! ‘That must suck to be stuck in a poopy diaper overnight!’ I thought. ‘Of course, he will probably get used to it pretty soon. Mom said she got desensitized pretty quickly.’

‘Why am I the only one still dry at night?’ I worried I was standing out in a way that would get me negative attention.

The extra time before everyone else was up paid off, though, as I managed to get through the homework for Screenwriting and made a good start on a couple of assignments that I knew from the syllabi would be coming up for other classes.

Liam was carried to breakfast instead of walking. “I just don’t want to bend over to grab your hand today,” Mackenzie told him as she loaded him on her hip. “Besides, it’s not like you weigh much!”

Liam had turned bright red, and I couldn’t help but feel an odd jealousy as she carried him as the rest of our nest walked beside her to breakfast. I found myself sitting with the group I was considering ‘my friends,’ now out of the littles, with Ava and Amy. They had three other friends on the other side at a long, short table we sat at together.

I leaned over to Ava and quietly asked, “Is anyone in your nest not wetting the bed at night?”

“Connor… that’s…”

“Embarrassing, I know. So…?”

She shook her head, “Everyone, including myself, has been wet every night. I really don’t understand it! According to my mom, I haven’t wet the bed since I was three.” She blushed, “I even checked and messaged her asking last night.”

I nodded, “They’re doing something to everyone.”

“Really?” She asked in surprise. “This girl Maya,” she pointed towards a dark-haired girl about her height at an adjacent table, “said something new had to be happening. She said no one in the nests was staying dry since they returned from break.”

I nodded, “I’m worried…”

“The diapers keep it from being too bad,” she told me, “or have you been having the other kind of accidents?”

I blushed, “No, the problem is I’m the only one who isn’t having those accidents.”

She looked at me, “How?”

I shrugged, “I have some ideas, but I’m worried it will get me noticed if I’m the only one who’s not. Would you let me know if you hear anything being said about me?”

Ava looked perplexed but nodded. “I should hopefully be seeing Professor Owens today, too; he is sitting in on a couple of my classes this semester to learn more about the Big’s history here.”

“We’ll see how long he lasts,” I said quietly.

“Huh?”

“He almost wet himself in my meeting with him and Dean Northrup last week.”

She looked like she was about to ask more questions, but right then, Kaylee, her nest mother, came up. “Come on, Ava sweetie, we need to make sure you’re in a dry Pull-Up and ready for your classes today!”

I looked at her, and she blushed, “I’m not….” She tried to argue.

Miss Kaylee was more than twice her height, and I had a feeling she could be terrifying, but she just gently lifted her under her arms and stood Ava on the seat she had been sitting on. A quick tug up of her skirt pulled it upwards to where the waistband was the only part still in place. It showed off a pink Pull-Up that was certainly not dry given how swollen it was, and the princess crowns had disappeared!

“If you were getting ready to say you’re not wet?” Kaylee said sternly.

“I was going to say that wet, but I was wrong Miss Kaylee; sorry.”

I worried she’d get scolded more, but instead, she was given a hug, “That’s quite okay! Sometimes little girls like you don’t know they wet that much! Usually, that means we probably should just use diapees, but we’ll keep trying Pull-Ups a little longer, though - maybe today is a fluke!”

Ava shook as she grabbed her bag and followed Miss Kaylee and most of her nest out of the dining hall. Amy looked across at me then, having been one of the few girls not gone by then. “That’s getting old,” she said.

“Did you end up with Pull-Ups after what Dean Northrup said the other day?” I asked.

She shook her head, “Not until I can have only one wet diaper a day,” she sighed. “Miss Madelyn says sleeping counts, so it only takes one mistake or not being able to reach the potty… and let’s just say it happens more than that.”

“Sorry,” I told her.

She shrugged, “Ready to go to classes?”

I nodded, “Yeah, probably should get going.”

I shouldered the backpack that weighed more today with the weight of the school laptop, my laptop, and the tablet. All of those were pretty thin and light devices, but when you added them up, they still weighed a quarter or more of my new body weight!

I hiked to the Kilby Center on my own and stopped by the bathroom before heading to my Intelligence class. I’d completed all the homework for that class, and I felt well prepared as I entered and found Professor Turing setting up for the lecture. I noted the high chair seat was clipped to the long table but decided to see if I could just sit in a chair first.

Before I could even consider assembling the folding booster seat, though, I had a set of large hands picking me up. “Let me help you!” the female voice said, and I realized it was Skylar as I turned to see her. She wasted no time buckling the safety straps and setting my bag before me. “There you go, cutie!” she said as she ran a hand through the loose part of my ponytail.

“Umm… thanks,” I said awkwardly.

“You’re welcome!” She said, then whispered, “Look, I’m sorry if it seemed like I was overbearing the other day. I will fully admit that I have problems with my stupid hormones and mothering instincts.”

I looked at her with surprise at the admission, “I accept your apology; I know from my family that it’s hard for you to resist sometimes.”

She laughed, “I wish it was only sometimes! It’s like a constant thing for me, but I don’t want to force a Little to be my baby. I guess I kind of hope someday I can find someone who actually wants to be cared for by me.”

I nodded nervously at her, “I hope you can understand that’s not my goal?”

She nodded, “I promise I won’t push anything on you. I just may not be able to resist helping you if I see you struggling to do something?”

I shrugged, “As long as you’ll take no for an answer if I say it?”

She tensed but clearly forced herself to agree, “I promise.”

“Good enough for me,” I said with a smile.

She smiled back and then asked quietly, “Listen… I’m really embarrassed to ask this, but did you understand the homework?”

I looked up at her, “It wasn’t hard?”

Her face fell, “It was to me?”

“What didn’t you understand?” I asked her.

Professor Turing glanced over at us as she explained what she was having trouble with. It was about ten minutes before class began, so I did my best to walk her through where she was lost.

“I wish you could help me study!” She said, “That already makes more sense,” she blushed.

“I don’t have much free time in my schedule, but if you want to get together for lunch tomorrow, I might be able to help you then?”

“I’m not on the meal plan since I moved off campus… Would they let you eat at one of the other restaurants here?”

“I think they will?” I shrugged, “How about we trade numbers, and I’ll ask?”

“What time do you have a break tomorrow?” She asked after trading contact info.

“I should be off from 13 o’clock in the morning until I need to get to my next class at about 1:40 in the afternoon?”

She nodded, “I’m not free for long then… You have a big gap between classes?”

“Only on Thursdays, Tuesdays I’ve got a seminar I have to be at in the middle of that.”

“Maybe next week…?” we discussed a couple ideas and decided we would have to finalize a time this weekend.

We were about to keep talking, as I did think the girl was mostly harmless – even if she was clearly baby crazy - but Professor Turing began speaking.
 

BETH WENT ABOUT her morning as calmly as she could, even as she cursed her schedule. She’d basically locked herself in her room last night to study. She was at least gratified that she didn’t feel completely lost in her Logic or Fields and Waves classes that morning in the beginning. Unfortunately, by the end of the class, the professors had both chosen to push the next steps, and she felt like she was back to being impossibly behind in understanding!

In an effort to catch the concepts she’d missed, she carried her notes and tablet to lunch and sat down in a corner to try and figure out what the professor wanted. She was so into her work she didn’t even realize she’d had company join her for a long while.

“Umm…” she jumped, “How long have you been there?”

Connor smiled at her, “Just a few minutes. I didn’t want to interrupt? Do you mind if I sit here? I promise I’ll just be working on my own work?”

She saw he had his tablet propped against his lap and the table even as he was munching on some fries.

“Umm… sure?”

“What are you working on anyway?”

“This stupid Fields and Waves chapter…” she groaned and explained it to him.

Connor smiled at her, and Beth couldn’t help but think, ‘I love looking at his face. He’s cute,’ she thought. ‘I wonder if he would ever let me play with that hair of his?’

When she finished explaining what she was lost on, he said, “Okay, well, assuming nothing has changed with the dimensions methods, you just need to…”

Twenty minutes with Connor was like the two hours of class should have been with her professor. She now understood what was being taught, and it took everything in her not to leap across the table and hug him. “So, what are you working on?” she asked him.

He sighed, “Holo Field Theory, I was able to get caught up last night before today’s class and thought I was going to be better off? Well, I guess I was, but there are still so many unique terms and concepts that I’ve never heard that I will have to spend several more hours again on it!”

She nodded, “That’s how I felt before you helped me. I doubt I can help much, but what are you stuck on?”

Connor explained the parts he was struggling with, and Beth found herself shaking her head, “I recognize about every other word you’re saying, Connor… I can see why people say that’s a nightmare class. It’s almost as bad as the portal physics majors talking about their dimensional wormhole homework.”

Connor sighed, “I’ll get it; it’s just going to take a lot more hours of studying.”

“Do you have enough time for it all?” Beth found herself asking. “I was up till after midnight last night trying to get everything done; I can’t imagine they let you stay up that late?”

Connor shook his head, “No, definitely not normally.”

“Not normally?”

Connor looked around, “Mackenzie is taking me to some spicy eating contest tonight after the nest is asleep?”

Beth looked worriedly at Connor, “Are you nuts? Those things are like deathtraps for Littles?”

“Remember me at the restaurant last week? I think I’ll be fine.”

“This is the one at Westerfield Hall tonight?”

He shrugged, “I’m guessing? She didn’t say?”

“Maybe Cassie and I will stop by and make sure you can live through things?” Beth found herself saying.

Connor smiled, “That would be nice.”

Beth felt her insides feel funny with that smile, and she couldn’t help but be sure she was really having a crush on this smaller guy. Eventually, they needed to head to class, so they walked together to Euler Hall and separated to go to their separate classes.

As she sat down in Calculus, she hoped she could make it through the semester without breaking her heart with her crush.
 

I SAT DOWN on my booster and made it through the one class that clicked fairly easily for me that day. At one point, Doctor Nash started calling on each of us for answers, and I’d been pleased that I’d had the correct one. Molly had been the only other person in the room to answer one correctly, and we were both trying to pin down a time study after class ended. “So… maybe Mondays after this class?” she suggested.

I nodded, “I think that will work!”

“Sure, you can’t do Saturday?”

I shook my head, “My grandma will pick me up for the weekend.”

“Your grandmother is really Professor Westerfield?” She asked.

I nodded, “Yes, she is.”

“That’s crazy! Anyway, I’ll see you Friday then. Are you sure you don’t need any help in the bathroom?” She asked as we reached the bathrooms I was heading to.

“I’m good, thanks!” I told her.

She looked genuinely torn to leave me, but I was proud of her for tamping down those instincts she’d told me about. As I used the folding step to reach the urinal, I thought about how Mom had said Grandma struggled with the same thing, especially her first week after she arrived so short. I was deep in my thoughts as I walked back to the nest room and put on my goggles to work on Holo homework first, then my other classes.

Mackenzie showed up at some point, “You still want to join me tonight?” she asked.

I noticed that Grayson suddenly looked interested.

“Sure, I said I would?”

She smiled, “Great! Once we get everyone ready for bed tonight, I’ll get you ready, and we’ll go.”

I smiled nervously and said, “Okay.”

“You going to get anything to eat before lights out?”

I shook my head, “Figure I might as well save the room for the challenge.”

“Okay then,” she said and walked to her apartment door, closing it behind her.

I looked at the clock and saw we had about ninety more minutes until the lights were out. I was about to put my goggles back on, but Grayson came over, “What was that about?”

“A deal I made with her; she’s going to take me to a spicy food-eating contest tonight.”

“What?!?” He asked me. “That’s after lights out?” He practically sputtered, “And are you crazy? Littles can’t even stand the first round of that?”

“What’s he talking about?” Logan asked.

Soon I had all of the nest trying to talk me out of being stupid. Even Liam looked like he thought I was being crazy this time.

They wasted about fifteen minutes of my time before I got them to go away, and I got to work again. As Mackenzie put everyone in their night diapers, Grayson came to me and said, “You realize she’s taking way too much interest in you, right?”

I nodded, “Yeah, but better to keep your enemies closer,” I told him. “Besides, I’m looking forward to us making a profit tonight!”

He shook his head but said, “Your funeral.”

When everyone was finished, she came for me and said, “I know you can use the big boy potty, but given we’re putting you straight to bed when we get back, I’m going to put you in your nighttime diaper.”

“What if I need to go before bed?”

“Then I’ll take it off if you let me know.”

I nodded as I knew there was no choice in it. Normally I pulled the dry Pull-Up down, but she instead just ripped the sides of my pull-up apart like it was messy and needed to be changed. The diaper that she dressed me in was just a standard baby diaper. Still, I knew I couldn’t easily pull the tapes loose from my experience the first day. She pulled the tie and button-up shirt off of me, and instead, from somewhere, she pulled out a pale green Emerson University onesie that featured a diapered Griffin on the front. The onesie seemed more of a pale color meant for a girl instead of a boy. She pulled the crotch closed and snapped the tail together before pulling up the pants I’d worn with my uniform. “We should probably have put some of your jeans on you that I saw your grandma bought,” she told me.

I shrugged, “these are already worn.”

She nodded, “Do you like the shirt?”

I blushed, “It’s a little… much for me.”

She smirked, “Good; hopefully, everyone will be so caught up with how cute you are! But first, we need to do your hair!” Mackenzie carried me into her apartment and placed me into a highchair. I remembered being off to the side before. She didn’t buckle me into the harness, so it was just a tall seat at that moment. I sat still as she brushed my hair, and I could feel her pulling it to the sides.

“Are you putting my hair into pigtails?” I asked, blushing but secretly feeling goosebumps up and down my body. Something about her care made me feel good.

“Why yes, I am,” she said with a smirk as she peeked around, “I told you I wanted to play with your hair!”

When she finished, she showed me myself in the mirror, and I realized I looked more like I belonged in the girl’s nest then. Two bows that matched my onesie were tied off in cute bows. “There, everyone will believe you’re being punished for being stubborn, and we can enjoy ourselves tonight without any of the other mommies saying anything!”

“What about the other guys?” I asked as she moved to pick me up.

She smiled, “They’re already asleep, cutie. Let’s go!”

I couldn’t help but look at the dimly lit pods as she placed me on her hip and carried me like a toddler out of the room. Unless they were faking it, it appeared she was right, ‘What is up with those pods?’ I wondered.

The diaper bag she grabbed on her way out didn’t make me feel much better about my nerves, but I tried to trust her as she carried me to Westerfield Hall!
 
 

Chapter 37: Spicy
 

BETH, REILA, LIVY, and Cassie had decided to come to Westerfield Hall for the beginning of the semester festivities as a group. It was a fun evening the student government association put on for the first Wednesday back. A live band was currently playing in a student bar, another room held a casino night they planned to hit, and the main attraction was the spicy wings contest.

“Do you think she’s really going to bring him?” Cassie asked Beth.

Beth shrugged, “He said she was. I still can’t figure Mackenzie out, actually…”

“Yeah, it’s like she wants to choose him after graduation for her, but at the same time, she’s also being way too nice,” Livy stated.

Beth nodded, “I don’t trust her at all… but I bet she brings him. If they’re going to come, it’ll have to be in the next ten minutes?”

“Why don’t we grab a drink first while we wait?” Reila suggested.

“How about we have Cassie go with you,” Beth said, “I don’t trust drinks at this place. If it’s not something they’ll give Cassie, we don’t want to drink it?”

Cassie nodded, “Good idea; come on, Reila, these two can keep an eye out for Connor.”

Right as Cassie and Reila returned, Mackenzie showed up carrying a female Little on her side. “I thought you said she was bringing Connor? She has a girl with her?” Livy asked.

As the Little looked around the room, she made eye contact with Beth and realized, “That’s not a girl; that’s Connor!”

“Why did she dress him like that?” Cassie asked, her voice not happy.

“I don’t know…” Beth said.

“You’re just jealous you didn’t get to braid his hair first,” Livy smirked.

“I…” Beth was about to say, but voices raised right then.
 

THE TRIP TO the hall hadn’t been long, but we had definitely gotten some glances. Almost everyone expected her to take me to a late-night meeting with Dean Northrup, so it wasn’t until we passed the administration building that we started getting the really odd looks, though. She held me in her arms as we waited to sign up, and I caught Beth staring at me. ‘Well, there goes any chance of dating her…’ I thought. ‘You’re half her height; that ship sailed already!’

Truthfully I didn’t mind my hair being this way; I never had a problem letting my sisters braid my hair, either. I always enjoyed the affectionate attention they gave me when they braided my hair.

We finally made it up to the front of the line, and an older male student said, “Mackenzie, what are you doing with a Little out at this time of night?”

“It’s my night off, and I have a little bet going on that I need to bring them,” Mackenzie answered as she bounced me up and down like a fussy baby.

“What’s the bet?”

“Whether or not Con here can win this challenge?”

The guy instantly began laughing, “What? Is this some sort of punishment? This might really cross the lines?”

“They’re willing?” Mackenzie said, “Go ahead and tell him,” she turned to me and said.

“I’d like to enter,” I told him.

“You’re the one who will have to clean up any mess?” He said.

“No problem, I’m used to cleaning up after my chicks.”

“Your funeral,” He said. “Fill this out,” he told Mackenzie.

She handed me the huge clipboard, and I filled it out myself. “Sign in as Con,” she said.

‘What are we saying? This is a con?’ I thought to myself. I shrugged, though, and did it.

“That’s all we need,” he said. “You might want to snag a booster seat or a high chair from the dining area and bring it to the tables?”

“Sure!” Mackenzie said.

She had just carried us a few feet when my friends, led by Cassie, showed up, “What’s going on?” Cassie asked.

“Just grabbing Connor a highchair?” she said.

“Wouldn’t a booster be better?” Cassie countered.

“They’ll underestimate him in a highchair more,” I noticed Mackenzie’s smile and eyebrows raise.

“I’ll grab one then,” Cassie said.

“Are you really sure you want to do this?” Beth asked me.

I nodded, “Yeah, it sounds like fun!” I said as I blushed at answering her in a diaper and being held like a baby.

“Your funeral,” Beth said as she shook her head.

Cassie showed up with the highchair, and there was a loud amount of jeering as she placed the plastic fast-food-style highchair at the table, and Mackenzie belted me in. “What are you doing with the Little there?” Someone asked. “You trying to kill them?” someone else called.

Beth and our friends stepped back even as about thirty participants sat at five round tables of six apiece.

One girl at my table looked at me and said, “Well, if you need to cool your mouth off at the end, I have plenty of milk for you.” She patted the tops of her breasts suggestively.

“I…” I didn’t even know how to respond to that one.

“We have it in hand,” Mackenzie said to her. “You will not get to nurse Con here no matter what.”

“Geeze, sorry, didn’t mean to trample on your territory Mommy,” she leered.

Before the catfight could begin, someone with a small portable PA started to speak. “Good evening! Welcome to this semester’s first student night! We try to have a few of these events throughout the semester to help you all unwind and celebrate your return to classes.”

I found the person speaking and saw it was an older woman who must have been a faculty member. “It looks like we have someone up extra late past their bedtime tonight. Does your nest mother know you’re out?”

I nodded and pointed at her. Mackenzie put her hand on my head, “Special treat,” she said firmly.
 

BETH SAW THE wink Mackenzie gave the union director and hoped this wouldn’t blow up in Connor’s face.

She saw the pigtails hanging beside his shoulders. She wondered if Mackenzie had intentionally tied as girly of bows as she could have. The look was totally adorable on him, but she guessed Connor hated it. She was sure that he definitely wouldn’t want his nest mates to see him like that!

“Well, since the Little is here with permission?” The MC shook his head, “These are the rules of today’s contest. Each contestant will be given a chip with an equal amount of specially prepared salsa and hot sauces. Contestants must finish the chip and sauce completely within one minute. Failure to do so will result in elimination. We also have these glasses of milk coming to each of you,” she said as someone began putting gigantic cups of milk on the tables. “If you need to tap out, you can drink the milk. Drinking it before the end of the competition, though, will result in your elimination.”

Beth looked on as a pink sippy cup with a griffin was placed in front of Connor.

“I sure hope that’s regular milk…” Livy said beside her.

She nodded, “This could be a disaster!”

The director continued, “The contest will be held in ten rounds of spice, with each sauce increasing in intensity. We’ll start with the most basic salsa that even a Little should be able to handle and move on to the last round eventually, which is the new Scorching Dragon that has just been created by Emerson’s agricultural department in the last year and has been named the world’s spiciest pepper!”

Beth felt her face fall at that; she knew her brother had tried a bit of a diluted sauce based on one last year. She remembered he had sobbed in pain for ten hours afterward!
 

I SMILED AT that information of how hot the peppers we would get to sample would be, “Cool.”

The girl who had taunted me before looked back at me, “You’re going to die, you know?”

I smirked at her, “Maybe? But it’ll be fun!”

A tray of chips appeared in front of me then, with numbers from one to ten on little Post-it notes in front of them.

“Okay,” the woman said, “Take your first chip now. You’ll eat it on the count of three.”

I reached for the chip and held it in my hand. The only thing I saw as a downside with the challenge was how large the chips were! It would have been an entire corn tortilla back home! ‘This is why I didn’t eat dinner,’ I reminded myself.

“One… Two… Three… Go!”

I quickly chomped the chip in my mouth and smiled as the salsa they’d placed on it was quite sweet, really. No spice at all, as far as I could tell! Most of those around me seemed to feel like it was no big deal, but I noticed one girl at another table struggle.

A boy at the table looked at me and said, “What do you think?”

“It’s incredibly sweet, but I don’t taste anything spicy?”

He nodded, “I agree.”

“It would be good for dipping chicken in,” I said.

“You like your nuggies, huh?” The one girl said.

“Sure, who doesn’t? By the way, I’m going as Con at this tournament. Can I get your name?”

She glared at me, “Marla,” she said to me.

“Thanks; I like to know the names of people I beat at things.”

“You little…”

“Okay, next chip, on Three!” the MC announced. I took the second chip and again noticed no spice in the flavor. The one girl who was struggling before seemed to be squirming even more.

“That one?” the guy asked, “I’m Zander, by the way,” he said.

“Not as tasty… still no spice. I think that girl may be dying already, though,” I said, nodding to the one girl.

“Only a Little would think it’s spicy,” he agreed. “No offense…”

I laughed, “None taken!”
 

BETH WATCHED AS Connor showed no negative reactions to the chips at all. If anything, he seemed to be having fun and joking with the others at the table. Marla was a girl she recognized as being quite the witch at times. She’s been in her dorm Freshman year, and no one had wanted to be around her!

She was one of those girls who seemed to always want to get into a fight to prove that women were better than men or something. Something like a villain out of a children’s movie!

Chip number three was called, “This one is starting to get up there,” the announcer said. “One-hundred-thousand SCUs.”

Beth watched as Connor didn’t even blink and kept talking. The excitement broke out though at the table next to him where a girl she didn’t recognize instantly began chugging the milk, “I’m out!” she cried.

“We have our first person out! So, for all those who were betting on the Little being first, you just lost!” the announcer laughed.

Beth giggled then, even as Mackenzie seemed to collect some payments from people near her. ‘She’s really using Connor to hustle them?’ She thought to herself.

“Dressing him up to look more like a girl was smart; everyone underestimated him,” Cassie said.

“Can’t believe he went along with it,” Livy said.

“If I was a guy, I sure wouldn’t have,” Reila said nervously.

Beth watched as chips four and five removed a third of the field.
 

I WAS HOLDING chip number six, waiting for the go-ahead, even as I watched Zander’s eyes water. “This isn’t too spicy for you?” Marla asked beside me. I realized she was also quite red.

Sweat was moving down the faces of the other two remaining competitors at my table, but I’d yet to feel much. “Honestly, we’ve yet to hit a mild pepper to me?”

“One, Two, Three!” I heard and munched on the sixth chip. I wasn’t feeling any spice still, but I had to admit my stomach was filling from the gigantic chips! ‘I can do four more,’ I told myself.

Chip number six must have affected people much differently, though, as suddenly Zander and one of the other guys at the table were chugging milk like it would be taken from them!

Zander looked at me as he burped and waved his hand in front of his mouth, “Good luck! I’m going to go find some more milk! That one was intense!!!!”

Two minutes later, I discovered we were down to ten people and were consolidated to our one table so no one would have to move my highchair.
 

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, we have our final ten contestants!!!” the MC crowed.

“I can’t believe he made it this far,” Cassie told Beth.

“It’s nuts!” Reila added.

“Think he can actually win this, though?” Beth suggested.

“I hope so! I just bet fifty bucks on him,” Livy said.

All three of them looked down at her, “You what?!?” They said in unison.

“Only three people bet on him winning, but forty went against him. If he wins, off-campus fine dining will be paid for a while!”

“You’re nuts,” Beth said. After a pause, she added, “If you do win, I think you owe Connor a meal too!”

Livy giggled, “We’ll make it a lady’s day out… I mean, assuming he wants to go out with those pigtails.”

Beth shook her head, “Somehow, I don’t think that’ll be what he wants to do.”

All attention turned to the contestants as chips seven and eight disappeared into their mouths.
 

CHIP NUMBER SEVEN was the first to taste like anything to me, and chip number eight finally tasted like a good dollop of Tabasco sauce! I watched after the eighth chip as seven of the remaining ten of us all hopped up and guzzled their milk. Several went desperately to some milk jugs nearby and began refilling their cups. One began chugging directly from a jug!

I was still not even sweating, but the other two looked like they were in serious pain! I was thirsty, though, and wished there was some way I could at least get a drink of water without losing the contest!

I could feel my stomach quite full from the chips, though, and I wish I could have just had the salsa on a spoon in the earlier rounds. ‘They could even have fed it to me like a jar of baby food,’ I thought. ‘The sweeter stuff from that first round probably could almost be used as that, actually.’ I shook my head, glad Mom’s theory about the larger peppers of this dimension was not holding as much spice. From the way everyone else reacted, I think the equivalent for them would probably have been a chocolate habanero or ghost pepper on the last round.

Because of that, it was like having the larger and milder Tobasco pepper sauce on my palate.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are down to our final three contestants!!!!!” The MC said, “We have Marla, Ryan, and Con at the table!”

Cheers went up, “Go, Little One!!!!” Someone shouted.

Someone else screamed, “Marla, you’re really going to let a Little beat you?!?”

“Woohoo, come on, Ryan!!!!” A girl, who I assumed was his girlfriend, screamed.

“All three of these contestants will win a prize today! First prize will be a five-hundred-dollar gift certificate to the bookstore and two-hundred dollars in various restaurant gift cards. Second place will be one-hundred dollars in gift cards, and this baby bottle filled with milk to go nurse your pain away!”

“That’s for the Little!!!!” someone cried with laughter.

“And third prize is fifty dollars for the book store,” the MC finished.

“Get on with it!” someone said.

“As they said, take your ninth chip!”

“One… Two… Three, go!!!!”

I watched as Marla and Ryan both winced as they ate the chip. I felt really full, but I ate it as quickly as possible. We were finally nearing something close to a milder habanero to me back home with this chip. Still, based on the faces of the other two, it would have been a special pepper like they’d described the last one, more like a Carolina Reaper or something?

Ryan tapped out with the cup of milk almost immediately, and Marla cried tears as she sat there staring at me. For my part, I just found a need to burp, “Excuse me,” I said with a smile.

Marla glared at me through the tears, even as I could feel my guts twisting! ‘I may be sick later from eating this much!’ I worried.

The baby bottle was placed between us, and I laughed as Marla was clearly in pain. “The tenth and final chip now!”
 

BETH WATCHED ON and started to join in a chant someone started, “Con, Con, Con,” to cheer Connor on.

“I think he’s going to make it!” Reila said.

“Come on!!!!!!” Cassie cheered beside them.

Beth watched the chip enter Connor’s mouth and saw him wince as he forced it inside his mouth. This was the first time she’d even seen any signs he was eating anything spicy! Sweat started beading on his head like it had been on the others for the last five chips.
 
 

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you did so and press the Kudos button! My work schedule is insane for the next couple of months, so my apologies if I don't get as frequent of posts up on this! The good news is that 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