Tina carries Leah into the daycare she works at.
“Remember. Be on your best behavior this week, and you’ll be back in high school on Monday,” she whispers to her stepdaughter. Leah, anxiously suckling on a pacifier, nods. After Leah threw a temper tantrum worthy of a baby, Tina knew that Leah needed to be treated as such until she learned her lesson. So, Leah had been pulled from class for the week and enrolled in daycare.
“Hi, Tina,” says the secretary, a cheerful girl named Olivia. “What’s up?”
“This is my stepdaughter, Leah,” Tina says, setting Leah on the desk. “Normally, she’s a teenager. But she’s been behaving very poorly lately, so she’ll be a baby this week.”
“Say no more,” Olivia says. Leah looks at Tina in horror.
“Did I forget to tell you?” Tina asks. “Part of your punishment is that all of the people taking care of you know exactly how old you are.”
“Why?”
“After yesterday, I’ve been beginning to wonder if you actually like filling up diapers. If that’s the case, then this won’t be punishment at all. To make sure it really sticks, you’re not going to be an anonymous baby. You’re going to be a teenager that everyone knows.”
“But…” Leah whimpers.
“Ah ah,” Olivia says. “Babies don’t talk.” She smiles at Tina. “I’ll let everyone know.”
“Thank you, Olivia.” Tina picks Leah up again. “As you can tell, you aren’t the first problem child to be punished like this. In fact, I believe we actually have another person also in punishment diapers.”
“Yes, we do,” Olivia confirms. “Of course, the other teenager is actually the size of a teenager, not a big toddler like you, Leah.” Leah squirms uncomfortably. “Oh, does someone need a change?” Tina stuck a finger down the back of Leah’s diaper.
“No, not yet.” Tina gives Leah a firm look. “But I’m sure she will at some point today. Won’t she?” Leah nods nervously. “Good girl.” Tina carries Leah deeper into the daycare, eventually coming to a door with a sign proclaiming it as the room for babies. She opens the door.
“Oh, we have another baby?” asks the daycare worker in the room.
“No, another punishment baby,” Tina corrects. “And since she’s my punishment baby, I’ll be helping you out today.”
“Sounds good!” the worker chirps.
“Do you want to meet the other teenager put in diapers for misbehaving?” Tina asks. Without waiting for a response, she marches over to a teenager sitting in a corner. As they get closer, Leah can see that the teenager is wearing only a diaper and T-shirt, and grumpily sucking on a pacifier. By the time she’s been set down on the floor by the other teenager, Leah’s realized she actually recognizes her peer.
The other teenager in punishment diapers is…