“Three to four.”
“Wh- you said that I was a toddler?!” Leah demanded.
“Sweetie, there weren’t any spots left in the older age group,” Tina lied. “I had no choice. Don’t worry, I said you were four, not three.”
“Ugh.”
“Now, let’s get shopping!”
The first thing Tina went to grab were new clothes for Leah. If she was going to pretend to be a toddler, she needed to dress like one. And she needed a toddler ballet outfit, too. Leah actually seemed to enjoy this part of the shopping trip, actively participating and getting excited over some of the cute clothes she was going to get to wear. Tina felt like this was a good sign for her mission to make Leah the toddler she was meant to be.
However, Leah was horrified when they went into the baby and toddler supplies aisle and Tina put a few packages of training pants and baby wipes into the cart.
“Why are you getting those?” Leah hissed.
“Unfortunately, all kids in the three to four age group are required to wear training pants at all times. Even if they’re potty-trained,” Tina said. This was another lie. The camp only required training pants or diapers for the kids who needed them. “You won’t have to use them. Just wear them!”
“If I’m not expected to use them…fine.” Leah looked at the shelf. “But since I’m stuck wearing them, I’m going to pick what ones I want.” She pointed at a different package, this one patterned with butterflies and ladybugs. “Those.”
“Sounds good to me!” Tina chirped. She put the training pants she’d grabbed back on the shelf and instead got the ones Leah wanted. Given how well Leah had adjusted to the knowledge she’d be in training pants at camp, Tina was tempted to get more toddler things. But she decided not to push it. She had to be patient if she wanted it to stick.
They went to the check-out. The cashier smiled at Leah, clearly not recognizing her as a teenager. After buying everything, Tina brought the cart to the restrooms. She then grabbed Leah, a package of training pants, and one of Leah’s new T-shirts. She dragged Leah into a bathroom stall.
“What are you doing?” Leah asked.
“Honey, the camp runs all summer. That means you’ll be pretending to be a toddler eight hours a day, five days a week, for three months.”
“And?”
“That’s a long time to pretend to be four. We have one week before the first day of camp, which isn’t much time to get you ready. Which is why we need to start now. I’m not going to ease you into it, either.”
That was partially a lie. Tina was easing Leah into things if taking her master plan, full babyhood, into consideration.
“You’re going full toddler right now,” Tina said. She removed Leah’s clothes, had her pull on the training pants, and then slipped the T-shirt, which was patterned with butterflies, over her head. Tina put Leah’s hair into pigtails and removed the makeup from her face. Leah looked like one of the attendees at Tina’s daycare. “Perfect.”
“Can I get some pants? Or a skirt?” Leah begged. Tina shook her head. “Why not?”
“This is full toddler. Toddlers run around bottomless all the time.”
“Do I even need to wear the training pants at all when I’m not at camp?”
“You need to get used to wearing the training pants. Or do you want your ballet to be messed up by them?” Tina asked. Leah scowled.
“Fine. I get it. Can we go now?”
“Yes. We’re going to go…”