Belle sits there for a short while longer until a woman arrived to check in for the flight. The woman looked to be about Belle's real age and had a little girl who looked slightly younger than her new age in tow. While the employee is checking her in, the woman noticed Belle and smiled at her.
"Hi there sweetheart. Aren't you a little young to work here."
Despite herself Belle giggled, "I don't work here. I'm going on the plane! See?"
Belle stuck out her arm and let the woman read the wristband. The woman frowned as she read the words.
"You're traveling all by yourself?"
"Uh huh! That's because I'm a big girl!" Belle announced proudly.
The woman looked less than enthused. Turning back to the employee she said, "Who is going to watch her on the flight and make sure she gets to where she's supposed to be?"
He shrugged, "Someone will take charge of her at the airport, but on the flight the flight attendants can only drop by to check on her once in a while."
"Well if you could move her to be next to me I could keep an eye on her."
The man perked up, "That sounds like a great idea! Here why don't you spend some time getting to know her now?"
The wan agreed and Belle was turned over to her care. Belle was pretty sure this was against airport policy, but was happy to be leaving that grumpy grown up. The woman who introduced herself and her daughter as, Nancy and Lexie respectively, headed over to the seating area. There she set out a blanket for the girls to play on.
Suddenly sitting eye to eye with a "peer" made Belle uneasy. She grabbed the bear from her backpack and clung to it for comfort. Thankfully, Lexie was more interested in her own toys than Belle.
Belle soon became bored again and decided to actually try to interact with the smaller girl. Presenting her bear, Belle said, "Uh this is Mr. Stuffles."
Belle blushed as Lexie held up a doll, "This is Gigi. What is Mr. Stuffles like?"
As the two traded off describing the personalities of their toys, Belle felt increasingly comfortable in her new role. After what seemed like only a short wait, Nancy interrupts the play session.
"Almost time for the flight. Let's get you both changed into something more comfortable."
Belle wondered what that meant as she was led to the restrooms. There Nancy started with Lexie, who was changed out of her day clothes into pajamas. Nancy then looked through Belle's backpack.
"Hmm looks like no one packed any changes of clothes in here. You'll just have to borrow something from Lexie, ok?"
Not sure whether her input is actually being asked for, Belle nodded subtly. The woman then stripped off Belle's clothes. As Belle stood there she felt like she was supposed to be embarrassed to be seen naked by Nancy, but it felt perfectly normal. Preoccupied by her thoughts, Belle didn't pay much attention as she was asked to step into a pair of underwear. It wasn't until the papery material was snug against her crotch she realized it was actually a pair of training pants.
Seeing the protests forming in the girl's mouth, Nancy said, "I know you're a big girl, but even big girls can have accidents on long flights."
Reluctantly, Belle held back her complaints. She was promptly zipped into a set of footie pajamas. They were a bit tight, but the soft material against her skin made her suddenly feel tired. Yawning, she was led towards the boarding ramp.