Obviously, Nicholas was going to wear the informal, masculine outfit! He would take a T-shirt over dressing up like a little girl! Within a few minutes, he was dressed like a regular kindergartener, ready to do whatever regular kindergarteners did. Nicholas grabbed Bernard’s spare backpack, loaded it with his keys, phone, wallet, and the dice case, and left his apartment.
Unfortunately, his ride in the elevator down to the first floor was not completely on his own. A few floors below his penthouse, a neighbor Nicholas vaguely recognized got on. The neighbor beamed at Nicholas.
“And what’s your name?” the neighbor asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. Stifling a grimace, Nicholas defaulted to the nickname he’d gone by as a six-year-old.
“Nicky,” he said quietly. The neighbor smiled.
“Shy, huh? That’s okay, I understand. I was just so impressed by how big of a boy you are, riding the elevator all on your own!”
“Uh-huh,” Nicholas, or, he supposed he was going by Nicky now, mumbled. Finally, the elevator arrived at the first floor. Nicky sprinted out of the elevator, making the neighbor and some other adults laugh at his adorable behavior. He exited the building and pulled out his phone to look up the address to the store. His heart sunk. It was further than he thought. Walking there at this age would take forever.
“Better start now, then,” he said quietly to himself. Nicky set off.
So focused on his mission, he didn’t notice an adult approaching him until his arm was grabbed.
“Little boy, what are you doing over here?” the stranger asked. Nicky looked up. One of his former secretaries, a young woman named Elise, had ahold of him. She’d quit a few months back to pursue some sort of field that involved interacting with children.
“Going to the store,” Nicky said flatly, trying not to cringe at how childish both his voice and his phrasing sounded.
“Well, your mommy or daddy can take you to the store after they pick you up, okay?” Elise said patiently. Ignoring Nicky’s protests, Elise guided him away from his route and towards a…