In the absence of a trampoline, a bed works.

I would like to thank my dear friends,
Angel O’Hare, Karen Page, Joni W., Annette MacGregor and Holly H Hart
for their kindness, help, support, and input.

Education in the Hills
Chapter 21

By Penny Reed Cardon

D Day - Minus sixteen.

I woke up at my usual time - when Mother Nature demanded it. After going to the bathroom and crawling back into bed, I spent some more time crying and feeling sorry for myself.

'How do I keep getting myself into these messes?'

“Morning, Munchkin,” Mary Beth called out as she entered my room. “Hey, what’s going on? You’re always up by now. You're not sick or something, are you?”

“Yeah, that's good. I'm sick! Call Mr. Peterson, tell him to cancel today,” I grumbled.

“You know we can’t cancel today. Come on now, get out of bed.”

“NO," I moaned loudly, as I pulled the covers up over my head. "I don’t want this day to be here yet.”

"You seem pretty glum this morning. What's the matter? You didn't, umm, I mean, well … did you-"

"NO! I didn't wet the bed," I snapped. "And, I won’t, at least ... not until I have to." The last sentence was barely a whisper.

I felt the bed shift as she climbed up and scooted next to me. Then, I felt her hand on my shoulder. “So? What’s the matter?” she gently asked.

“I - I can't do this,” I whimpered.

"But Matilda, you told them that you would. You’ve never gone back on your word, before."

That got me going. I didn't need to be reminded of that. Not today. Not this morning. I threw the covers off my face, sat up and all but screamed at her, "Can I help it if sometimes I'm STUPID?"

Mary Beth, true to form, and showing the love she felt, even if she wasn't ready to admit it openly, calmly took one of my hands into hers. "You're not stupid. You're one of the smartest people I know. It’s just that … well, sometimes you care about others, lots more than about yourself."

"So I'm a caring stupid person," I moaned.

"You're not a stupid person."

"But I do stupid things."

"Heck, we all do stupid things once in a while; that doesn’t make you stupid."

With my brief bout of anger defused, my emotions caught up with me and I started crying once more. Mary Beth moved closer and took me in her arms. She just sat there and held me tight, my face buried in her shoulder, as I cried myself out.

"Feel better?" she asked, once I'd stopped soaking her shoulder with tears.

"A little," I replied softly.

"You ready to get dressed?"

"I guess I might as well," I grumbled.

She slid off the bed, taking the blankets with her.

When she started giggling I asked simply, "What?"

She pointed at my lap, where my nightgown had ridden all the way up to my waist, saying, "That’s why I prefer baby-doll nighties with matching panties to long nightgowns. But, a pink nightgown with lime green panties?"

I'm sure I was blushing as I worked my nightgown back into a more modest position, while I muttered, "So, I don't know anything about color coordination, alright? That was always Rachel's big thing. Besides, Sally always wears long nightgowns."

"Whatever," she giggled. Grabbing my hand she pulled me off the bed. "Need to use the bathroom?"

"I guess so. Give me one last reminder of what cold porcelain feels like," I grumbled.

"Oh come on now, you don't need to exaggerate like that. It's only going to be for a couple of weeks."

"Plus the recovery time," I muttered gruffly.

She snickered, "Ellen's right, you are going to be a grumpy baby."

"What? When did she say that?"

"Never mind! Just get in the bathroom and do what you need to do. I’ll bring you some clothes so you can get dressed."

"But I haven't had a shower yet."

"Don't worry about that right now. We should be downstairs already. I'm sure you'll have time later."

Just then someone knocked on my bedroom door. Turning away from the bathroom, I started for the door.

"I'll get that." Mary Beth grabbed my arm and swinging me around. "You get in the bathroom."

As I was closing the bathroom door, I heard the bedroom door open. I left the door ajar so I could hear what was going on.

"Morning, Jenny."

"Good morning, Mary Beth. You and Matilda are much later than usual. Is there anything wrong?" I could hear the concern in Jenny's voice.

"No, Matilda is ... Well, Matilda just isn't quite herself this morning."

"Hmm, perhaps we could escort her to the hospital after breakfast, so one of the nurses can give her a once over," Jenny suggested.

"That's a good idea, Jenny. I'll take her over right after breakfast."

"And who will be taking you?" Jenny asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if my memory is correct, you should still be using your wheelchair, at least for the most part."

"Yeees -"

"And, if you are taking Matilda to the hospital and you are in your wheelchair, I must assume that Matilda will be on your lap. So my question remains, who will be taking you?"

Mary Beth giggled, "I'm sure I'll be able to find a few volunteers. You and the rest of the year go ahead and go to breakfast; we'll be over in a couple of minutes."

"Do not be too long, the volunteers will be waiting. Not to mention that Mr. Peterson, along with the rest of us, will be concerned."

"Thanks, it's good to know that you guys care about us. We'll see you in a bit."

They bid each other farewell. After the door closed, there was only silence. A silence so complete the only sound I heard was the beating of my heart ... and my tooth brush.

A few moments later I was startled by a little knock on the bathroom door. "Yeah?"

'I've got to be more eloquent when I'm grumpy.'

"You ready for some clothes?"

"I guess."

"May I come in?"

"Sure, nothing you haven't seen before."

Mary Beth tentatively said, "But we’re not supposed to see each other ...” as the door slowly swung open. “You're still in your nightgown."

"Well at least my teeth are brushed," I said, putting my toothbrush back in its usual place.

"Do I need to help you get undressed?" she teased.

"Noooo," I sarcastically replied. "Just give me my clothes and go away."

She handed me my clothes and turned to leave. Pulling the door closed she paused to say, "Make it fast, I’ll be back in two minutes."

"Make it five," I countered.

"All right, three. Now get a move on." She closed the door quickly, cutting off any chance of me trying to ask for four.

I undressed quickly. It was then I noticed that Mary Beth had only brought one pair of panties.

'Oh well, I’ll stop in the closet and put on a second pair before we leave. Why is it that pants and panties are referred to as pairs? A pair of socks is two socks, but a pair of panties is just one. Who invented this crazy language anyway?'

Dressed, I went back into my bedroom to pick up my PDA, to find Mary Beth was waiting on the couch. She was wearing a different blouse.

She smiled cheerfully as I emerged, "See? You only needed two minutes."

"But I wanted five."

"Why?"

After a moment’s hesitation I grumbled my reply, "So I could pout some more."

"No more pouting!" She giggled. "Now, where's my happy Munchkin?"

I replied by sticking out my tongue.

"It is a cute tongue, but you're supposed to keep it in your mouth. Do you want to explain to everyone why you're sad and grumpy today?"

"YES ... but I can't."

"All right then, put a smile on your face and let's get going, my itty-bitty Munchkin."

"Do you want to wear a bruise to breakfast?" I sneered, as I picked up my PDA.

"Matilda, you wouldn't kick me … would you?"

"I … No, I guess not. But, please, don't call me that."

"I’m sorry." She came over and put an arm around me. "I shouldn't tease you like that and I won't do it again, promise."

I looked into her eyes and knew she meant what she said. I smiled and she smiled back, then she leaned down slightly and kissed my nose.

I was about to put my PDA into its customary pocket when I stopped. I paused for a moment just looking at my top of the line, state of the art, beta unit, PDA. Shaking my head, I sadly tossed the PDA onto my bed.

"What're you doing?" Mary Beth asked, surprised by my action.

"Sally doesn’t use one. So, I don't think I'm going to need that until this is over," I stated sadly.

"Hmm, I guess you're right about that. Come on now, you were almost happy for a moment. So, where's that happy Matilda smile that everyone knows and loves?"

"I left it on the bed with Nellie and my PDA," I sarcastically replied.

"All right, I know you're unhappy and upset about what you have to do today. I understand how you feel and I’ll do everything I can to make things as easy as I can. But, unless you want to go through the grilling of a lifetime from the resident experts, you’d better put on your happy face."

"You're right about that. If they see me this depressed, they won't stop until they know everything, and I do mean everything. They'd even have Jenny work me over again, like yesterday on the bus." I painted on a sweet smile and gave a little curtsy for Mary Beth.

“That’s better, although just a little too little girlish,” she giggled. “Come on, let's go.”

“One second, I need something.” I dashed into my closet where I slipped a second pair of panties on under my skirt, to firmly hold things where they belonged.

As I exited the closet Mary Beth asked, "What was that all about?"

"You forgot that I always wear two pairs of panties," I answered.

"Sorry."

In reply, I just smiled and nodded.

"You want to splash some cold water on your face? It looks like you've been crying."

"Well that's good to know. It should look like I've been crying, because I have been. But no, I think I’ll use some snow, cold and wet, it should do a good job and take less time … I’ve got it! I can disappear into a snow bank for two weeks. Then I won’t have to go through with this," I teased, as we left Mary Beth's room in our customary arrangement. Mary Beth was seated, with me pushing.

"It won't work, but it was a nice try."

"And why won't it work?"

"Two reasons; first, there's that locator system you told me about."

"Oh, yeah, it’s a nasty little system. What if I disable it first?"

"You can't do that."

"And why not?"

"Because, you left your PDA on the bed with Nellie."

"Rats, I screwed up again. So what's the second reason I can't hide out for two weeks?"

"You gave your word. Hiding or running away would mean you went back on your word. That would be like breaking a promise."

"See? I told you I'm stupid. Why can't I be like everyone else?"

Mary Beth turned to look at me, and smiled, "Because you're special."

"You don't have to rub it in," I countered, lovingly tapping her nose with my finger.

To my great surprise, and relief, Ellen was our table's visiting therapist for the day. We quickly got our breakfasts and took our usual seats. Everyone was eating when we arrived, so either we'd missed the morning announcements, or there weren't any.

"Morning ladies," Ellen greeted.

"Morning everybody. Sorry we're late. I, umm, overslept." 'That was a feeble excuse. I hope I don't get too many questions.'

"We were out rather late last night," Ellen commented, before anyone else had a chance say anything.

"Did we miss anything important?" Mary Beth inquired.

"No. Mr. Peterson did not have any announcements this morning," Jenny answered.

"Maybe I should sleep in more often," I joked, insinuating a connection between the two events. That comment coaxed out a few chuckles and some heckling, as I expected. The consensus was we should all sleep in.

"I'm not sure your correlation between sleeping in and a lack of announcements is valid," Ellen countered with a smile. "I suggest being here on time would give a better impression."

"It may not give a good impression, but it would sure feel good once in a while," Morgan countered, with a little chuckle.

The breakfast conversation was going about as I’d expected. Mostly, they were discussing last night’s dinner and show. I sighed to myself as Misa mentioned the part where I’d kicked Mr. Mortensen.

I'd already decided that, that would be my cue to change personalities. Too bad I hadn't finished my breakfast.

Pushing my chair backward and grinning like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, I slid off my chair and under the table. Mary Beth leaned down, asking, "What are you doing?"

I looked up and kissed her nose, before I crawled out from under the table, but on the other side. Dancing around the table I stopped and threw my arms around Mary Beth and whispered in her ear, "Showtime."

I grabbed a sausage link from Morgan's plate and stuffed it in my mouth. "Hey," he cried out.

I continued dancing around the table humming the first two lines of 'Ding dong the witch is dead' over and over. I completely ignored Ellen's attempts to get me to sit down. It wasn't long before my mouth was empty. Being that I hadn't finished my breakfast, and seeing that I was imitating Sally, I helped myself to some of Ellen's toast, much to her dismay. Besides, I love raspberry jam. Not being greedy, I only took one bite and gave her back the rest. Unfortunately, the toast landed upside down in her bowl of oatmeal. I hope she didn't mark me down for neatness.

I continued my little show for several minutes, working my way around the room. I paid no heed to the verbal attempts made by the other psychiatrist's for me to stop. I also dashed nimbly out of reach when they tried to catch me.

I stopped from time to time, to pilfer bits of breakfast from years B and C as well. After all, I didn't want to be accused of showing any favoritism. Finally I got around to where Mr. Peterson was sitting. I just couldn't skip by without giving him a hug and a very wet kiss on the cheek. I mean after all, this was partly his doing, so I figured he would like to share in the fun.

Loudly I proclaimed, "I wuv you, daddy."

Mr. Peterson, for some unknown reason, didn't find my actions amusing. He abruptly grabbed my arm as he stood, calling out, "Ellen, I don't know what's gotten into this young lady, but I think you have some work to do."

Ellen and Mary Beth rushed over to collect what had become a loud squirming child. After all, it was dancing and playing time. Obviously, you can't dance and play if someone is holding your arm.

With Ellen on one side and Mary Beth on the other, I was quickly, although not quietly, escorted from the cafeteria and rushed to Ellen's office, in the administration building. Once we were behind the closed office door I stopped the squirming and yelling. In fact, I was so wiped out I would have collapsed on the floor. It's a good thing Ellen and Mary Beth were holding on to my arms.

"Are you okay?" asked a very concerned Mary Beth.

"Yes, I'm okay," I replied between deep breaths. Slowly I stood upright once more. "That was exhausting, I don't know if I can pull this off. How do little kids go on like that for hours and hours?"

Ellen replied with a grin, "They don't know it’s supposed to be exhausting. They just keep going until they can't go on any more. When they've used up all their energy they stop and take a nap for an hour or so, just so they can recharge, before they're at it again."

"So, is being Sally harder than you thought it would be?" Mary Beth wondered aloud.

"I guess it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I just hope I don't need to have tantrums too oft ..."

Mary Beth interrupted, "See? All that pouting this morning was for nothing."

"You may be right, MayBee. But, the day has just begun," I finished.

"Matilda, where's your PDA?" Ellen asked when she discovered I didn't have it with me.

"Nellie's keeping it warm for me," I replied sarcastically. The look on Ellen’s face told me she was not amused. "Well, Sally doesn't use one. I just figured that I shouldn't carry one while I’m impersonating her."

"Well, in this case you figured wrong. As long as you're a student here you will have your PDA with you any time you're not in your room. When you’re off school grounds you’ll carry one of the travel PDAs." Ellen paused, looking concerned. “Although, I suppose you won’t have the travel PDA while taking the place of Sally, and I’m not happy about that.”

"I didn't think ... I'll pick it up the next time I'm in my room."

After being scolded, we talked about Sally and the things we'd learned from the DVDs and what I’d have to do to pass as Sally. We also told Ellen about the letter that Mr. Black had left, the one that told us why Sally is the way she is. Ellen appeared to be concerned about Sally. She even talked about things she'd like to try to stimulate Sally mentally, that is, if she had the chance.

We’d been talking for a while when I heard the unmistakable sound of someone very familiar calling my name. I tried to ignore her as best as I could. As time went by it became harder and harder to ignore her persistent call. Eventually I got up and started walking around as we talked. I knew very well my efforts were futile and what the eventual outcome would be.

“Mary Beth, why’s Matilda walking around?” I heard Ellen whisper.

“It’s starting,” she sadly whispered back.

Yes, it had started and I knew I would lose the ageless battle of will against Mother Nature. I was so not looking forward to this part, but it had to happen. Sally doesn’t have any control and I was fighting to retain mine. Even though it was a fight I knew I would never win. At least I wasn’t out in public view.

"What's started?" Ellen inquired.

Facing the inevitable, I slowly sank to the floor in an empty corner of Ellen's office, with my back to the room; I did my best not to cry.

"She needs to use the restroom."

"Now? Someone should have said something sooner. Let's move, ladies! Quickly now, we don't have a moment to lose. Mary Beth, go see if there's anyone in the hall. Matilda, up off that floor," Ellen commanded, as she went to a small closest.

"There's nobody in the hall," Mary Beth reported.

"Terrific, come along ladies," Ellen said as she took me by the hand. She led us two doors down the hall and into a small restroom. "Matilda, if you would please, step into one of those stalls and take care of your immediate needs."

"But I'm -"

"No time to argue, move."

I quickly decided to follow Ellen’s instructions. After all, anything was better than the alternative. Rushing into the first stall, I was relieved, both mind and bladder, to have been spared the humiliation I expected I’d have to endure.

"From my visit with Kimberley, late last night, I knew what you were planning. Now here's my plan," Ellen went on to explain. "Matilda, while you're in there, please remove your clothes; from the waist down. Then slide them under the door to us. Oh, and while you’re at it, if you could accidentally stub your toe, it would be beneficial. Then we can honestly say you had an accident. Mary Beth, I’d like you take Matilda's clothes and wet them in the sink. Here's a plastic bag to put the wet clothes in. You're then to return to your rooms, drop the wet clothes down the laundry chute and return to my office with some dry clothes suitable for a munchkin."

Somewhat confused, I questioned, "But Ellen, as Sally I'm supposed to-"

"I know, you're supposed to have an accident. However, you have been looking at the problem from only one perspective, the thing you fear and hate the most; excluding Black Bart of course. You need to remember 'There are always possibilities'. As I see it, there's no need for you to be humiliated or embarrassed. Sally is the way she is because of an incident many years ago. She is neither embarrassed nor humiliated because of her condition, and there's nothing to be gained by your being embarrassed just because you are impersonating her. After all, your wellbeing is my responsibility."

"Thank you Ellen. You don't know how much I've been dreading what I thought I would have to do. Here are my — OUCH - clothes."

"Matilda, what happened?" Mary Beth asked, almost scolding me.

"While I was rolling up my skirt, I slammed my elbow into the toilet paper holder," I confessed.

"Oh well, one accident is as good as another," Ellen chuckled.

As Mary Beth was about to leave, she asked, "So what do I tell anyone I might run into?"

“What do you mean? I expect that you will always tell the truth. Matilda has had an accident, yes?"

"I don't know if I'd call smacking your funny bone an accident."

"So that's a little bit of an exaggeration. Secondly, now that you've soaked her clothes in the sink, she does need some dry clothes, does she not?"

"Yes, but-"

"Mary Beth, everything I've said is true. Unrelated statements perhaps, but true nevertheless. We'll let them draw their own conclusions. Lastly, I suggest that you walk quickly, don't run. After all, you don't want to be in your wheelchair any longer than necessary."

"That's for sure."

"Now then, if anyone asks any more questions, just say that I don't know any more about her condition than I did at breakfast, another true statement. We’ll spread the word about Matilda thinking she's a baby munchkin just before lunch.”

“This whole schema is kind of stretching the truth a bit. But, I like it better than what Matilda had planned. I’ll be back before you know it.”

As I heard the door close, I asked, “Um, Ellen, what am I supposed to wear until MayBee gets back?”

“Well, I’m afraid you have little choice there. Please put this on,” she said as she slipped a white object under the door.

“This is a, a-”

“It's a diaper. You can say it; the word won't burn your tongue. It’s the same pull up style diaper that Sally wears; we had them flown in from France. I’m assuming you can figure out how to pull it up around your hips. I know that Kimberley will be taking care of that duty from now on, but I figured you could handle the first one on your own.”

I knew that sooner or later I’d have to accept being exposed, but for now, Ellen had saved me from that, and I was grateful. After donning what was to be my underwear for the next two weeks, I slowly opened the door of the stall.

“I’m ready to go, I guess,” I muttered softly. I was nervously tugging at the hem of my blouse, trying to make it longer.

“Absolutely not! You’re not walking through the halls of this school wearing just a diaper and a blouse. Come here so I can wrap this blanket around you.” “There you are, at least now you’re modestly covered.”

“Thank you Ellen, for everything. I was really afraid I would have to … well, you know … Thank you.” I shed a few tears as I hugged her.

“Why do you think scheduled myself to be at your table? To prevent you from doing something that you’d be uncomfortable doing. And, you’re welcome, my dear.” Ellen gently lifted me up, carefully wrapping the blanket around my legs before she carried me unseen back to her office, setting me on the large couch.

Mary Beth arrived a short time later with my munchkin dress from Halloween, along with my PDA. After I was dressed, the two of us sat on the couch and talked quietly while Ellen was at her desk. It wasn’t long before I started nodding off. I guess the stress of this morning had taken its toll.

I awoke in a darkened room, lying on the couch in Ellen's office, covered by the blanket that I'd been wrapped in earlier. That's when the memories flooded into my mind and I realized that, yes; it had happened. It had all happened just the way I remembered. It could have been a nightmare, a horrible, horrible nightmare, but thanks to Ellen's love and kindness, it was simply an uncomfortable dream. While lying still I looked around. I couldn't see anyone, although I heard the muffled sounds of Ellen talking with someone. Lifting the blanket, I rolled over. Kneeling on the cushions, I peeked over the back of the couch. I saw Ellen at her desk, illuminated by the soft glow of her computer monitor, talking with someone on the phone.

I'd only been looking at Ellen for a few moments when she interrupted her conversation, "I'm sorry, but you must excuse me, I have two little eyes staring at me. Yes, she's awake. Yes, you may come over. Yes, I think you should bring the others with you. Very well, I'll see you in ten minutes. Uh ha, goodbye."

Ellen hung up the phone, sat forward in her chair and looked at me. I hadn't moved. I was still on my knees, with my fingers and eyes above the edge of the couch. The scene reminded me of something funny; I just couldn't place it at the time. For some reason, I had this uncontrollable urge to giggle.

"Well now, from that giggle I think I'll have to assume you're feeling better. Well, rested at least."

Grinning to myself because Ellen couldn't see my mouth, I gleefully nodded. I turned around and slid off the couch. Grabbing the blanket, I slowly crept around the end of the couch. Once Ellen could see me again, I quickly scampered across the office and crawled onto her lap, dragging the blanket along.

Laughing at my antics Ellen greeted me, "Yes, I'd definitely say you're feeling better. Well now, just who do I have on my lap, Matilda, or Sally?"

"Me Sally."

"You're Sally? Could I talk with Matilda for a few minutes?"

"No"

"No? May I ask why not?"

"Tilda make pwom-us. Me Sally. I need see Wizard. Den Tilda come back. Tilda never bake prom-us."

"Tilda is it? Well, I really need to talk with Tilda. We still have some details to work out."

"Otay. You talk. Tilda listen. Me ... Now how would Sally say that? She wouldn't know the word, answer. What would-"

"How about just saying, me talk?"

"Yeah, that would work ... Ahhggg. Not five minutes into this and I've already blown it. I told them this whole thing was crazy."

"Relax Matilda. This is exactly why you need to practice the role for two weeks. Two months would be better. Given enough time, speaking and acting like Sally will be as natural as speaking French, which, by the way you're doing very well with."

"Thanks.” I paused for a moment, getting back into character. “OKey. What need talk bout?"

"We just need to discuss some of the details around this evening’s announcement. However, on second thought, why don't we wait for the others?"

"What ov-hers?"

"Mary Beth, Kimberley, and Angel. They should be here in a few minutes. While we’re waiting; you didn't eat much breakfast, and you slept through lunch. Are you hungry?"

"Uh ha."

"You are. Okay, I’ll have something sent over from the kitchen. What would you like to eat?"

"Ice cream" I said with a smile.

"Ice cream? For lunch? Not really what I'd consider a nutritious lunch. Let's try again. What else would you like?"

"Ummm, peezza miff beer."

"What? I'm going to have a talk with your mother about your upbringing. You know very well that we don't allow our students to have-"

"Boot Beer!" I said, interrupting Ellen.

“Boot Beer? Oh, you mean Root beer. That entirely different, however, my research indicates that they don’t have Root Beer in France. So, I don’t think that’s something Sally would ask for.”

“How bout rrape?”

“Rape?” she questioned alarmingly.

“Grr — rrape.”

"Gr? OH, you mean grape, as in grape juice."

I replied by smiling, nodding, then laying my head on Ellen's shoulder.

Ellen shook her head as she picked up her PDA. After sending a note to Kimberley to stop by the kitchen, she called and placed my request.

"Well, now that your lunch order has been placed, should we move to one of the couches while we wait?

I smiled and nodded.

A moment later, Ellen asked, "Are you going to get off my lap?"

I shook my head, giggling.

"No? So how are we supposed to go wait on the couch if you don't get off - Wait, you want me to carry you?

Again, I smiled and nodded.

"I don't think so, young lady. You have two perfectly good legs, now hop down," she commanded with a chuckle.

Putting on my sad-puppy-dog face, I whimpered softly.

"That's not going to get you anywhere. I'm not your mother, and I'm not Sally's mother, so you can save your sad face for when it will do you some good."

"Just pwat-us-sing" I said as I slid off her lap.

"Practicing? Well, I doubt a two-year-old would know the word practicing, let alone how to mispronounce it so properly."

We were both amused by Ellen's little joke. After all, how does one mispronounce any word properly?

I returned to the couch I'd been sleeping on, dragging the blanket behind me. Ellen sat beside me and we chatted peacefully while waiting for the others to arrive. I didn't have too much trouble talking as Sally, as long as I thought about what I was doing. If I stopped thinking about it and relaxed, Matilda's words came out instead of Sally’s.

'This is going to be harder than I thought.'

As our small group of visitors arrived, Angel was pushing Mary Beth's wheelchair with my lunch was on her lap with Kimberley bringing up the rear. It was at that moment I realized how utterly ungrateful and selfish I'd been the last few days. I'd been so wrapped up in what a hardship and embarrassment being Sally was going to be on me, I hadn't once stopped to think about who would be taking care of Mary Beth.

Dropping out of character, I rushed to Mary Beth's side, "I'm so sorry, Mary Beth."

"Sorry for what?" she asked, surprised by my outburst.

"I’m sorry I’ve been so selfish and only thinking about me the last few days. I'm supposed to be taking care of you."

"And if you weren't doing this to help others, I'd probably be mad at you. But, I guess I can share you for a while. Just remembered, I want you back for Christmas. Cus after Christmas is when we'll start our regular classes and I'll really need you then."

"It's a deal."

"Right. Now, until then ... I didn't know Sally had such an advanced vocabulary," Mary Beth jokingly scolded.

I smiled as I shook my head. Closing my eyes, I let my head drop a bit while I fought to remember more of the details of Sally's character.

Raising my head, I started hopping up and down, "Nummy peezza. Me have peezza. Me have peezza."

"Yes Sally, the pizza is for you, and the grape juice," Kimberley giggled, trying to calm me down.

“Nummy. Me like rrape juice.”

“All right Sally, settle down. Go sit at the coffee table and I’ll bring you your pizza,” Kimberley instructed.

“O — Key,” I replied, hopping to the table and plopping myself down on the floor. In that position, the edge of the table was just below my chin. ‘Gee, having a padded bottom may not be so bad, that's if I could keep it dry.’

Kimberley set a plate down for me with two small pieces of pizza. Well, it was really some pizza sauce, hamburger, sliced olives, and cheese on both halves of a hoagie bun. She also set down a large plastic tumbler filled with white grape juice and a straw, just within my reach.

While Ellen and Kimberley were talking about how to introduce her and Angel as my caregivers, Angel and Mary Beth were talking about Black Bart, and how and why she and Rachael had been attacked. It was very hard to not join into one or both conversations. I stopped eating several times to listen, dying to jump in.

I gritted my teeth at not being able to join in and reached for my juice. 'Boy did someone goof! They set a glass of juice in front of a supposed two-year-old with a straw and no lid.'

Acting as any two-year-old would, I picked up the glass with both hands, carefully lifting it over my plate. I opened my mouth and tilted the glass to try and get the straw into it. Well, the straw hit my nose and some of the juice went in my mouth, mostly the juice went everywhere. The only good part was the juice washed most of the smeared pizza sauce off my face. Of course, I started squealing.

Kimberley rushed over and picked me up; causing the juice that had pooled in my lap to flood onto the coffee table, soaking what was left of my pizza. I guess I’d eaten enough, for a late lunch.

"Well Matilda, you sure made a quick study of those DVDs," Angel commented amid her laughter.

"Angel, she only answers to Sally, and she has managed to make a mess of my office," Ellen added while shaking her head. "Would you take Mary Beth to their rooms and retrieve another outfit for Sally? On second thought, you'd better make that two. Who knows what may happen during, or even before dinner."

"Sure thing, Ellen. Come on, Mary Beth," Angel agreed as she and Mary Beth headed for the wheelchair and the door.

All this time Kimberly had been holding me, dripping juice, at arms length. "What should I do with her until they get back?"

"What would Arabelle do under these circumstances?" Ellen replied.

Kimberley sighed, "I, I don't know. I guess I've got more homework to do."

Giggling at the sight before her, Ellen offered some advice. "I'd recommend setting her down just outside the wet zone. Then strip off everything that's wet. While she's in such a state of undress you might as well check her diaper to see if she needs changing, and take care of that if needed. After you've done that, wrap her in the blanket that’s on the couch, behind you. You can read to her from the books on the end-table until her dry clothes arrive."

As Sally, I wouldn't care about, or even have paid attention to what Ellen had proposed. As Matilda, I was just a little shocked that she would suggest such a thing. To show my alarm, I scowled at Ellen in protest. Ellen's response to my scowl was to raise a single eyebrow, much as any Vulcan would respond when their logic was questioned.

In no time at all, Kimberley had my clothes off and the blanket wrapped around me, fortunately I didn’t need changing. What I found most comforting was the way she went about it. She started by putting the blanket around my shoulders. Even though I was dancing around a little, Kimberley managed to hold the blanket in place with one hand while undressing me with the other.

While we waited for Angel and Mary Beth to return, Kimberley held me on her lap, wrapped snugly, and read me some fairly tales.

'I could get used to this part. Well, not the diaper and I wouldn't want to be held like this every day. But, once in a while I wouldn't mind relaxing and snuggling with Mary Beth.'

Mary Beth and Angel took just a little longer to return than I anticipated. It seems they stopped by the cafeteria to get me some more juice and some fruit. I honestly don't know where they found a sippy-cup for me, but they found one somewhere. It was a bit small, but who am I to argue.

After I was dressed, some plans needed to be finalized. Mostly they concerned the announcement to be made at dinner and how much interaction I would have with the rest of the students. The discussion also included the sleeping arrangements in the new suite. The group agreed that Matilda needed to be part of the discussion, not Sally. So for about an hour I was allowed to enjoy more intelligent conversation skills.

Just before the four of us went to dinner, Mother Nature decided to pay me another little visit. It was hard to force myself to urinate in the diaper. At least it happened in Ellen's office, not after we'd arrived in the cafeteria. I let Kimberley know I was wet, using the code we’d worked out the night before. She was as gentle as possible; she laid me on the floor behind Ellen's large couch where we were out of sight of everyone else. Even though I was uncomfortable with the situation, Kimberley quickly attended to the task at hand. She even worked the pull up into place while I was laying down to prevent any chance of my being exposed to the others, by standing up to change my wet pull up. After she repacked the diaper bag, she picked me up and rocked me gently until my sniffles stopped.

"I'm sorry, Kimberley," I whispered.

"Sorry for what?"

"For making such a fuss about this."

"It’s OK, I understand. After the request for someone to take care of you was made and it was announced that I’d been selected, Beca came to me, you know she really cares about you. She gave me some information about you that’s not in your file, telling me how you would react to being exposed. I'm sure that in time you'll get used to me."

"I hope so. We'll never fool anyone this way."

"Listen, I'll see to it that I'm the only one changing you, all right?" I forced a smile and nodded. "You ready for dinner?"

"I suppose so. I guess I need to get back into character, don't I?" I stated as I stood up.

"It wouldn't make much sense for Mr. Peterson to announce that you’re suffering from a post-hypnotic-trance and acting like a two-year-old, if you aren't," Ellen agreed.

"O … K. Me sewwy me make bubble."

"Make bubble?" Ellen questioned.

"She means, she's sorry she causing so much trouble," Kimberly translated.

"Oh. I still think we need to work on her vocabulary skills. A two-year-old would only be using two to three word sentences."

"We'll work on that," Kimberley assured Ellen.

"Come on Munchkin, let's go get some dinner," Mary Beth said as she sat in her wheelchair.

"Ohh - kaa," I went for the handles to push her.

"Hey, that's my job now," Angel said while putting her hands on top of mine.

"MayBee my friend. Me help," I complained as I pushed towards the door.

"MayBee?" Angel asked.

"That's my nickname," Mary Beth confessed.

"Okay, Munchkin, you can help push MayBee to the cafeteria," Angel relented.

"Goody! Me helping," I responded with glee.

"I'm not too sure about this, Ellen," Angel complained. "I think she's going to need more than one babysitter."

Mary Beth countered with a smile, as she turned to look back over her shoulder. "That's okay, she has three; you, Kimberley, and me."

As if on cue, I turned to face Angel and stuck out my tongue.

"Sally!" Mary Beth scolded, "What have I told you about that tongue?"

"Dat is cute?" I sheepishly replied.

"Yes, it’s cute, but you're supposed to keep it in your mouth, remember?"

"Me sewwy." I replied sheepishly.

After the giggling stopped, Ellen said she would schedule me some time with Miss Baker, complaining that I sounded like an adult that was trying to sound like a child. That was before she chased the four of us out of her office, mumbling something about a whole day wasted, and needing to get some work done.

I let Angel take over pushing Mary Beth just before we entered the cafeteria. After all, it's a three minute walk from the administration building to the building with the cafeteria and classrooms; that's about three times the attention span for the average two-year-old.

Our timing was impeccable; we arrived as the last of the Black Sheep were sitting down. Mr. Peterson was sitting at the other year A table. From the look on his face I could tell he wanted us to be seated before he made any announcement. With Kimberley and Angel's help we had our dinners, and were seated in record time. The problem was keeping me seated for the announcements.

Mr. Peterson was very convincing as he relayed the cover story, "Good evening everyone, as you know we had some unexpected excitement this morning during breakfast. As I'm sure you can tell, the situation with Matilda remains unchanged. As far as I understand it, Matilda is under the influence of a post hypnotic suggestion. It seems that Mr. Mortensen didn't appreciate being on the receiving end of a nasty bruise. Subsequently he left our little munchkin as ... well, a little munchkin, literally. According to the information that Ellen has been able to piece together, Matilda believes she is a two-year-old munchkin by the name of Sally. Unfortunately, we've not been able to locate or contact Mr. Mortensen or his assistant. We have no idea how long this will last. All we know is that Sally says she needs to see the Wizard of Oz.

“This brings us to our two guests. With Mary Beth still recovering from the injuries she received before joining us, and the rule about study partners never being completely undressed with each other; it was decided that we would have to make some unusual arrangements. After making the situation known to the older students, Kimberley and Angel volunteered to step in as big sisters and help take care of our two young friends.

“Until such time as we can get Matilda returned to her normal, mischievous, self; the four of them will act as a four person study partnership. This isn't exactly new for us. We did have a three-person partnership a few years back. However, a four-person partnership has never been done before, but under the current circumstances it is necessary. We've made special arrangements for a four-room suite in the administration building. We know that everyone here will do everything they can to help, and we thank you. Are there any question?"

It was amazingly quiet for some reason; the only sounds were the fans in the ventilation system and my random chatter. Mr. Peterson continued standing, waiting longer than usual for questions. I expected there would have been about ten questions asked before the first hand went up.

'Boy it’s hard to pretend you're not the center of attention when you know that you are.'

All totaled, there were twelve questions asked, mostly concerning me and the upcoming trip. There were a couple about how I was to be treated, and how I would affect the other school events, before the trip.

As everyone was finishing their dinner and leaving, all of year A came by to chat with Mary Beth, Angel, and Kimberly, and to offer their help and support. Talking with me wasn’t easy for anyone. It was especially hard trying not to answer questions that as Sally I wouldn't know the answer to. After everyone left, Mr. Peterson came by to offer us his support, and promised to help in any way he was able.

“So which room is mine?” Mary Beth asked as we entered our new suite by following the directions on her PDA.

“I don’t know,” Angel replied as I started bouncing around the common room, peeking into the various doors.

“Well, according to these directions-” Kimberly was saying.

“Mine room! Mine, my room!” I cried out. Through the second door I opened, I saw a bed made up with a Wizard of Oz bedspread and Nellie sitting on the pillow. I ran inside and climbed onto the bed. Picking up Nellie, I hugged her tight as I started jumping and jumping and jumping.

* * * To Be Continued * * *

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