Laura sits in silence for the rest of the bus ride. She’s panicked to have lost the dice, but relieved that nothing has happened to her as a result of their destruction. Eventually, the bus pulls up in front of a school. The preschoolers, including Laura, are ushered off the bus and inside. As they walk through the halls, Laura feels pressure building in her bladder. She was lying about needing to go before, but she actually does need to go now.
Once the preschoolers are brought into classroom with a sign reading “Bumblebees” on the door, Laura is brought to the bathroom within the classroom by the chaperone. She’s not pleased that the chaperone comes in with her, but needs to go urgently enough that she doesn’t try to fight it. She removes her overalls, pulls down her training pants, and hops onto the toilet just in time.
“See? I was right,” the chaperone says. “You could hold it.” Laura blushes. When she finishes, the chaperone wipes her, to her surprise. After she redresses and washes her hands, she is let back into the main area of the classroom. Her new classmates are clustered around short tables, finger painting. Laura looks longingly at the door. But she won’t be able to escape.
Laura walks over to the nearest table and sits down next to a girl with blonde pigtails.
“I’m Becky,” the girl chirps at her.
“Laura,” Laura replies. Becky beams at her. A piece of paper is placed in front of Laura. Stifling a sigh, she begins to finger paint.
The rest of the day goes by in a blur of picture books, snacks, naps, and basic instruction of numbers and letters. Just as Laura is getting so bored she feels like screaming, the bell rings. The teacher gets to her feet and claps her hands.
“Good work today, bumblebees!” she says cheerfully. “Now it’s time to go home!” Once again, Laura is herded with the other preschoolers. They leave the school and stand in front, in a spot apparently dedicated for parents to pick up young children, as there are kindergarteners there as well. Laura spots her niece, Alexis, standing with the kindergarteners.
Parents come up, get their children, and leave. Now is the perfect time for Laura to make her escape.