After what felt like years, everyone was on board the bus. Jim stood at the front of the bus.
“All right, kiddies, you’re going to be dropped off at your homes directly,” he said. He smiled. “It’s stormy, but you’ll be perfectly safe on the bus, so don’t get scared, okay?” Hailey nodded, confident that she could handle a little thunderstorm. She was a big girl, after all!
She was wrong. The thunderstorm was very loud and very scary. Each lightning strike made her pee a little bit. A particularly loud one caused her to fully wet herself. Hailey was disappointed to have used her training pants, but she was glad she didn’t poop like a little baby. She was a big girl still. By the time the bus arrived at her house, her training pants were clammy and uncomfortable.
“Hailey?” Jim called. Hailey raised her hand. Jim came over, unbuckled her, and led her off the bus. Her parents were already waiting, as was her big brother, 11-year-old Max. “I think she needs a change,” Jim said quietly to her parents as he handed Hailey over.
“I can do it!” Max said quickly. Hailey’s mom chuckled.
“Max just loves being a big brother,” she said to Jim. “He’s so excited that Hailey is going to the same preschool he did. Thank you so much for the scholarship there.”
“No problem. Hailey is quite the smart little cookie,” Jim said. Hailey beamed. She was smart and a big girl! “I’ll see you at preschool tomorrow, Hailey.” Hailey nodded. She went inside with her family. Her mom turned to Max.
“Max, go ahead and put her straight in her nighttime diaper, okay? She’s had a very busy day, she’ll need to sleep.” Max nodded. He led Hailey down the hall, to Hailey’s bedroom. When he opened the door, she frowned. Right now, she loved her bedroom; it was perfect for a three-year-old. But it hadn’t been like that this morning.
“Time for a change, little sissy,” Max cooed.
“My room is dif’rent,” Hailey said. Max frowned at her.
“No, it isn’t.”
“It used to be for a big girl.”
“You are a big girl,” Max said. Hailey shook her head.
“No, bigger!” she said impatiently. Max raised an eyebrow. “I was bigger!” Max chuckled.
“Okay, Hailey Bear, whatever you say.” Hailey bit her tongue, knowing that it was pointless to argue with her big brother. She let Max change her out of the wet training pants and into a fresh, puffy diaper. During the change, she remembered that she wasn’t supposed to say anything about how she used to be bigger.
Hopefully, she didn’t make an oopsie.