Vivien could feel her tummy grumble from the tension.

“A competitive gamer?” The teacher teased, giggling at the little ones. “That sounds like quite a lot of fun, doesn’t it?”

Miss Panda’s right hand nodded shyly, trying her best to agree. “Yeah. Lots of fun…”

Robin, on the other hand, didn’t say a word. And neither did Alex or Aubree for that matter. Once Aubree had introduced herself and was given the okay to leave, the two other caregivers quickly made their way out, trying to get her to the nurse’s office as soon as they could.

“There’s no time to waste, girls.” Miss Panda stood next to the chart, gesturing towards it again. “As you can see here, I have a cute little chart for tracking you and your behavior throughout the week. Stickers on the right are for good behavior. Stickers on the left are for bad behavior. Whenever you break a rule, you’ll be punished with one of these little marks of shame by your name. But if you behave like a good little girl, you’ll be rewarded with one to show off to your caregivers.”

Molly’s dolly wiggled in her seat on the floor, glad that she didn’t yet have a sticker next to her name for bad behavior just yet. Still, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Luna, even if she had punched another girl in the face. Vivien didn’t know much at all about the other girl, but she felt bad for Aubree too. The absence of the girl who had just been sitting to her right was definitely felt, especially since Aubree had been the only one insistent enough to vocalize the anger that they were all feeling. But that also might have just been the quiet of not being snapped at talking.

Oh no…

She knew she was supposed to keep quiet during class, but Vivien couldn’t stop herself from whining. All she could do was try to do it quietly. Her stomach was still upset, but it had been slowly settling down. Vivi almost started to feel like she would get through the morning without incident after all, but her sense of relief was suddenly washed away as the stress and pressure set back in.

Charlie in front of her was too shaken to notice anything behind her, and both Lulu and Maisie were similarly stressed out. The former had just earned herself a couple of stickers for bad behavior, while the latter was just glad that Aubree was no longer sitting behind her. But while Aubree was no longer sitting to Vivien’s right, there was still someone to her left.

Zoey was right there, and she was seeing and hearing it all.

“If I were one of you girls, I would try not to have the lowest score on the chart. Not only am I sure your babysitters would be disappointed, but I’ll have no choice but to punish you for it myself.” Miss Panda resumed with full steam, sending a side glance to the girl up front sitting in black and white. “You don’t want to end up as the class crybaby like Candy here, now do you?”

The rest of the girls were far too nervous to answer her question. The fact that they were just as scared as she was should have been enough of an answer by itself. Nobody wanted to talk out of turn, but when Miss Panda asked a question, she expected an answer. It felt like a no win scenario, but the silence only made Vivien’s tummy growl more the longer it went on, and she didn’t want her upset stomach to be the only sound the other girls heard.

Vivi was nervous, but she raised her hand anyway.

“Yes, Vivi?” Miss Panda pointed with her ruler, calling on the girl. “What do you think?”

“W-was I supposed to raise my hand?” Her voice shook as she spoke. “B-because I don’t want to get in trouble…”

The teacher was giggling at her, which did nothing to answer Vivien’s question. And she supposed that was the point. Vivi and the rest of her contemporaries weren’t meant to clearly understand the rules. They were little kids, they were meant to have as many questions and as few answers as possible.

“Come here, little one.”

Miss Panda’s instruction deepened the hole of anxiety in Vivien’s stomach. The attention of the other girl’s was on her this time too, which made it that much harder to hide the gurgling in her tummy. But she stood, her stomach churning as she got up, and for once she was glad that the crinkling and shuffling of the padding between her legs helped drown out all other sounds.

“Y-yes, Ma’am?” Vivi kept her head down as she stood just before her teacher, noticing for the first time just how tall and imposing the woman was.

“Here.” Miss Panda guided a sticker towards Vivien with the tip of her finger, waiting for Vivien to take it from her. “Put that on the chart for me.”

Vivi’s heart sank in her chest. She already had butterflies in her stomach, but the quiet terror of finding herself in trouble threatened to totally squash the butterflies and replace them with more nervous aching in her tummy. “Yes, Miss Panda…”

Vivien sighed, taking the sticker from her teacher and slowly walking to the chart, trying to make sure the diaper between her legs didn’t hinder her movement nor upset her stomach further. She definitely didn’t want to mess herself at the front of the classroom. With a frown on her face, she found her name on the chart and slowly began to place the sticker next to it like the teacher had for Lulu and Aubree.

“Not there, little one.” Miss Panda taunted, deliberately trying to make fun of the girl. “That’s where naughty girls put their stickers.”

Vivien’s heart fluttered. “You mean?”

“You can do it, silly. Come on.”

A surge of relief rushed through Vivien as she moved her hand, placing her sticker on the other side of the chart to show off good behavior. And once it was on the board, she couldn’t help but smile at it.

“Good girl.” The teacher praised, reaching down to Vivien’s backside and giving her a firm pat on the butt. “Now go on and-”

She didn’t mean to interrupt her teacher, but Vivien’s tummy clearly did. With a lot of the tension released, Vivi had calmed down a bit. All of a sudden though, she felt a hand on her bottom, and she couldn’t help herself from letting out a quiet fart to get rid of a little gas.

Her skin went pale save for the red glow at her cheeks, anticipating a small stream of giggles at her expense, and she wasn’t disappointed.

“My oh my you poor poor little thing.” Miss Panda’s eyes dissented onto hers, glowing with a subtle delight. “That didn’t sound good, now did it?”

Vivi swallowed nervously, her stomach still growling. “N-no, Ma’am…”

Her teacher’s eyes glanced down at the buckles to Vivien’s cute brown shortalls, and following that, she reached one hand down and unbuckled a single shoulder strap, signalling an intent to do something to the girl that Vivien wasn’t excited for. Her sweet little boots tapped together, nervously. Her knees were shaking like an avalanche. And worst of all, her tummy was still on the verge of rupturing with more.

N-no… Not now… Please…

She was begging her body not to mess itself, especially if Miss Panda was about to do what she thought she was about to do. But there really was no stopping her teacher once she’d started, and before long the other woman had her finger on the other buckle, ready to pull her overalls down and check the girl’s padding in front of everyone.

“Miss Panda?!” She heard one of the other girls blurt out, snapping her fingers and waving her hand back and forth as she tried to get the teacher’s attention. “Teacher?! Teacher?!”

Apparently saved by the bell, Vivien let out a sigh of relief as she watched Miss Panda retract her hand, turning her attention back towards the other girls. “Yes, little one?”

Vivi looked, and sure enough, it was Zoey who was acting out, almost deliberately choosing to be annoying.

“I have to go to the bathroom.” She whined, putting her hands down in her lap. “Can I go to the little girl’s room?”

“The little girl’s room?” The teacher approved of the way she asked, but the answer was still no. “What did I tell you about leaving the classroom, sweetie?”

“I don’t know.” Zoey turned her head to the side, pointing away from the teacher while still glancing out of the corner of her eyes, looking at Vivien. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

Miss Panda scoffed. “You weren’t, were you?”

“No, Ma’am.” Zoey reiterated. Lying. “Which way’s the bathroom?”

“The bathroom is between your legs, little one. Use it if you have to go.” She sighed, pulling out another sticker from the book and handing it towards Vivien. “Tsk, tsk. Put that right next to Zoey’s name for me and then go sit down, will you?”

Vivi swallowed nervously, but did as she was told, placing the sticker right where she was told. Where the stickers went when a little girl misbehaved. And then she quickly scurried back to her seat, sitting down right next to Zoey.

“Th-thank you…” Vivi whispered to her, glad to have been saved from the embarrassment of a diaper check in front of the whole class.

Zoey gave her the side eye again as she sat down, frowning. Not wanting to make any more of a scene, she extended an open hand towards Vivi to take, which she did. At first Vivien took it to mean that the other girl was trying to comfort her, but as soon as she was holding her hand, Zoey squeezed.

“You owe me one.” Zoey whispered, locking eyes with Vivi as she tightened her iron grip. “Don’t forget that.”

Then she slowly let go, allowing Vivi to shrink back into her place with an ever so nervous heartbeat. To which Vivi responded with a quiet, “Y-yes, Ma’am…” Which put a smirk on Zoey’s lips.

“W-we’re back, Ma’am…” Called a nervous Robin, standing in the doorway of the classroom as she led both her little one and the school nurse inside. “I hope you don’t mind, but-”

Aubree looked more miserable now than she had been when she left, and Vivi couldn’t blame her for that. Where earlier she’d been wearing nothing more than an oversized hoodie to hide her diapers, now she was wearing, well… Nothing.

“Aubree got blood on her outfit and needed cleaned, so I washed her up, changed her padding, and got her out of her clothes.” Robin tapped Aubree’s padded butt. “The other girls have already seen her like this, so I told her that she had to go to school naked. Except for the diaper, of course.”

“That’s fine, sweetie.” Miss Panda confirmed, turning her attention onto the little girl in question. “Think you can behave now, baby girl?”

Pinched between her own caregiver, and Lulu’s. Alex’s charge was clearly not excited to see Aubree holding her red elephant to her chest to hide her naked form, especially knowing that Aubree was the one who got Stomper taken away from her in the first place. But with a quick glance from Alex to the girl, Aubree rolled her eyes and made her way towards the former boxer.

She kept her head down, and her eyes focused on her target, and within moments she’d made her way to Luna’s side to give the stuffed animal back. Lulu accepted the little plush beast without a word, but Aubree couldn’t afford to keep quiet, and it was clear that she loathed the words coming out of her mouth before they even did.

“Alex… I mean… Miss Alex told me to apologize, so here. Here’s your toy back.” Aubree crossed her arms over her now exposed chest, her eyes crossed in irritation at the firetruck red bandage stuck decoratively over the bridge of her nose. “And I… I’m sorry for making you mad or whatever-”

“Aubree.” Robin tapped her foot impatiently. “You know what she meant.”

“Eugh… Okay, fine…” Aubree’s cheeks were about as red as her bandage was. “I… I’m sorry for yelling at you…”

Robin coughed, still giving the little one a knowing look.

“And… And… And…” Aubree stood up and paused, glancing back towards her caregiver and receiving an encouraging nod, which she growled at. “And…”

“Come on, little one. I know you can do it. What’d I tell you?” Robin had a smile on her lips as she leaned towards the girl, trying to encourage her with a whisper. “Mama roo is here for you.”

“N-not here…” Aubree loudly protested. “It’s embarrassing…”

“You told me you could do it without my help, baby. You said you didn’t want my help, didn’t you?” Robin asked calmly, patiently. “Do you need my help?”

Aubree’s lips parted wide to protest before slowly clenching back shut, unable to make another sound in the face of everything she was going through. She didn’t want her caregiver’s help, but she did need it.

“Baby blue kangaroo.” Robin whispered again, planting a kiss on the girl’s cheek as she did. “Mama roo is here for you.”

Aubree’s eyes went wide and soft, melting at the words as Robin said them, suddenly able to speak again. “Little roo can count on you…”

“Good girl.” Robin smirked proudly. “And?”

The little one locked eyes with her caregiver for a few more moments of encouragement before agreeing, turning towards the other kids again.

“And I’m sorry for being mean…” Aubree didn’t so much have something to say as she had something to whimper. “And for throwing a temper tantrum… And for yelling at Lulu… And for calling her mean names… And for getting her in trouble…” Aubree let out an apology, and it almost didn’t sound like her. Even more amazingly, it didn’t stop at Luna either. “I’m sorry for not listening to directions, and breaking the rules, and skipping breakfast, and lashing out at others, and… I’m sorry for knocking your blocks over when you were trying to build a castle…” Her almost pathetically soft eyes locked with those of the poor little girl sitting front and center, as Charlie looked up at her in awe. “I’m sorry…”

Miss Panda’s classroom went completely silent, save for the sound of Aubree quietly sobbing at the back of the class, and her teacher couldn’t be happier for it.

“Be a good girl and try to stay out of trouble for the rest of the day, okay?” Robin quickly swooped in to comfort her with a soft, fuzzy, powder blue blanket draped over her shoulders for warmth and protection- as well as a matching pacifier in her mouth to help keep her calm and quiet. “Can you do that for me?”

Aubree, broken for the time being, simply opened her crying eyes and nodded. She mumbled back, and that was as good of an answer as she was going to give.

Vivien was positively awestruck by the whole ordeal. Aubree- the very same girl who’d screamed profanities in another girl’s face until she got a bloody nose- just stood in front of everyone and, for once, actually did as she was told. The blonde reclaimed her seat at Vivi’s side, sitting on the playmat with the other girls, eyes still full of tears- and wrapped the blanket around herself for comfort. As glad as she was to have everyone’s eyes off of her for the time being, Vivi didn’t want Aubree to suffer through it either.

Slipping her hand under the other girl’s blanket, Vivi took Aubree by the hand and squeezed, letting Aubree squeeze back. The blonde didn’t seem to object to this strangely enough. If anything, she welcomed it.

“Why Robin, I must say, I didn’t expect that at all.” Miss Panda sneered, both teasing the girl and complimenting her at the same time. “I’m impressed.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Thank you.” Her eyes narrowed in on the black clad white girl up front at her mistress’ side. “How’s that for underperforming?”

“Tch.” Candy scoffed, pouting as she spat her pacifier out. “Let’s see you do it without cheating next time…”

A few moments passed featuring little but the two of them snarling at each other before Miss Panda took one of them by the ear and scolded her. “Now Candy, be nice to your sister. She’s trying her best and working hard like everyone else. And I’m sure all of the little ones will work hard to behave as well.”

Robin let out an audible giggle at her sister’s misfortune, as did Alex, whose job here with Aubree was done. “Shall I go fetch the rest of my sisters, Ma’am?”

“If you would, please. Why don’t you take Robin with you?”

“Of course, Ma’am.”

“As I was saying. Girls who misbehave will be made an example of.” The ever so patient Miss Panda returned to her spiel. “Candy.”

“Yes, Ma’am?” Candy looked up towards her caregiver, unsure of what was awaiting her.

“Let’s get that off of you so that the little ones can see the look on your face, shall we?” Miss Panda gave her a devilish smirk as she leaned over and plucked the mask from the other girl’s face, letting the other girls see her face for the first time. “Little Miss Candy here was my very first student. Don’t let her fool you, though. She may be perfectly well behaved now, but she hasn’t always been, not until I got my hands on her.”

The mistress tapped her ruler against the chalkboard again, issuing a command. “Stand.”

And her charge stood. Candy was clearly embarrassed, but she did as she was told, her dress swaying as she idled in place.

“Hike up your skirt and let the other girls see what you’re wearing.” She said, helping lift the dress with her ruler.

Candy was wearing a diaper under her dress, which did not at all come as a surprise to the other girls in her teacher’s class. But it didn’t make things any less embarrassing.

“Nngh…” She whined, growing flustered. “The things I do for love…”

“What was that, sweetie?”

“N-Nothing, Mommy!!”

“Mommy thinks you ought to show off for the girls, don’t you think?”

“Yes, Ma’am…” Candy whimpered, blushing profusely. She knew exactly what that meant.