Leah refuses to humiliate herself by going to her regular classes dressed like a little kid. She also doesn’t want to skip school. A little girl wandering around unattended would attract attention. After a moment’s deliberation, she decides to go to kindergarten. That’s the oldest she feels comfortable appearing while dressed like this.
Leah strolls into the school. Instead of taking her regular route, she turns down a different hallway, heading for the kindergarten class. She stops outside of the class door, takes a deep breath, and opens it. Her heart drops. Not a single kid has the distinctive bulge of diapers or training pants. She’ll still stick out here.
“Oh, hello!” chirps the kindergarten teacher, swooping in to check on Leah. “What’s your name?”
“Hailey,” Leah says, quickly providing her middle name. “I’m new!”
“You sure are! You aren’t even in my attendance sheet yet. Well, come on, you got here just in time.” The kindergarten teacher leads Leah over to a rug where the kindergarteners are already sitting in a circle. “Are you wearing pull-ups?” the teacher whispers.
“Yes. But I’m a big girl! I only have accidents at bedtime,” Leah fibs quickly. “Mommy has me wear them always just in case.”
“Okay. Accidents when you sleep are all right, but if you have any daytime accidents, you’ll have to go back to preschool,” the teacher says. Leah nods. “Go ahead and have a seat, Hailey.” Leah joins the circle. The teacher goes to the front of the rug and claps her hands. “Everyone say hi to your new classmate, Hailey.”
“Hi, Hailey,” the kindergarteners say obediently. Leah manages a smile and small wave. The teacher begins class. Leah wonders idly what the first activity of kindergarten will be.