The mornings brought Nicole no anticipation of a new day, no restfulness, only anxiety about what would be taken next.

She shouldn’t have been surprised. She barely had knowledge of when she peed anymore–there was little of her bladder control left to take. No amount of wet beds or new diapers in her dresser could shock her at this point.

So, she’d known it was coming, but even still she dreaded the change. Half the night she tossed and turned. Even still, when her alarm blared at her to wake up so she wouldn’t be late to work, she thought maybe–just maybe–her fears wouldn’t come true.

She sat up in bed. Her diaper squelched, no news there, but she also felt a a distinctly new, different sensation–a muddy squish, and when she sniffed at the air…

There was no denying it. She’d pooped her diaper in her sleep, robbing another bit of dignity away from her.

Setting her jaw, Nicole got to her feet. Her room had a diaper pail in it now–of course it did. Picking the bin up, she carried it with her to the bathroom, so she could strip out of her diaper and step right into the shower. On her way into the hall, though, she bumped into Vanessa.

“V,” she said, face turning pink in spite of herself. She knew that the curse wasn’t her fault, she couldn’t be blamed for the magic, and yet…

Vanessa sniffed the air, nose wrinkling automatically. “Oh…jeez, Nicky, I’m so sorry.”

Nicole wanted to ignore it, but she couldn’t help but steal a glance at her chart. Thunderclouds everywhere for the day, and the bottom square, the one she hated most, had a doodle of her with green stink lines wafting off her. The indication was clear.

“I know like, a…I guess like a feng shui person who might be able to help?” Vanessa offered weakly. “I’ll call. Just hang on till the weekend.”

“Just one more day,” Nicole agreed. “Right, we can solve this.”

She almost–almost–believed it when she said it.

Her shower took longer than usual–more muck to clean up–and her mood that morning was almost as foul as her nighttime diaper. She begrudgingly wore a long purple skirt, an attempt to hide the diaper she couldn’t choose not to wear, and hated the fact that she couldn’t just put on pants without leaving an obvious, humiliating bulge.

(Just one more day,) she repeated to herself.

…

Vanessa hated feeling helpless. Her friend was in need, and Vanessa had arguably contributed to that need, but her usual brand of help just didn’t do much good here. V was the encourager, the lifter of spirits, the nice words and positive vibes friend–Nicole had always been the fixer, the problem solver in their relationship. There wasn’t much she could do beyond offer words of support and do a bit of research online.

The camera idea hadn’t done much–pointing a cheap camcorder at Nicole’s door had only proven that nobody went in or out her door in the night. It confirmed that something paranormal was going on, but little else. She’d see if Nicole would be okay recording her sleeping that night, but doubted they’d learn much more from that.

Aside from that, the feng shui person she’d found didn’t seem like that good of a lead, but it was better than nothing. They’d promised to disperse ‘bad energies’, and this was as bad an energy as Vanessa could imagine.

At their request, Vanessa walked out into the hall to photograph the chart. Maybe there was some detail she hadn’t noticed that they would, a clue, or…

“Hmm,” she said, frowning as she noticed something.

The doodle of Nicole for the day–the one with stink lines radiating off her–pictured a white top and a purple skirt. Specifically, a very clear depiction of the purple skirt Nicole had left for work in.

She looked back at the clouds–today had two thunderclouds, one for nighttime, one for day. The little lightning bolt coming off each marked the doodles as distinct from the previous days, which had only rain clouds. (A thunder boom-boom,) she realized.

But a mark in the day meant it wasn’t just Nicole’s bedtime diaper that would end up smelly, and…

“Oh no,” she said, raising her phone to text Nicole a warning.

…

Nicole’s phone buzzed in her pocket, but she couldn’t answer it. Not while she sat under her boss’s cool stare. Jean didn’t look upset, per say, but her expressions were typically unreadable.

“We need to talk about your performance these past few days,” Jean said, simply. “I wouldn’t bring this up if it’d only been a single day, but you’ve been distracted and your reports have been sub-par.”

“I’m sorry,” Nicole said, feeling intensely small under her boss’s unflappable stare. “I don’t–I can get back to normal, I promise.” Her phone buzzed again, the vibration just loud enough that Jean could hear.

“If you’ve got problems at home, something that requires your attention, you’re welcome to take a few personal days,” Jean continued. “But slipping off to the bathroom every twenty minutes to check your phone isn’t an acceptable compromise.”

Nicole felt a cold shock of embarrassment as she realized her ‘discreet’ trips to the potty had been noticed, though at least the purpose had been misunderstood. Jean thought she was being lazy, not realizing that Nicole had been taking proactive steps to avoid pissing her pants.

Blushing, she said, “I promise I’m not just checking my cell–”

Her phone started to ring, cutting through her words like a razor. She felt a weight settle in the pit of her stomach, a realization that this meeting wasn’t going well.

Jean raised an eyebrow. “Do you need to get that?”

Shaking her head, Nicole reached down, tapping the off button on her phone to silence the ringer. “I’m sorry I’ve been unfocused these past couple days,” she said, simply. “But I promise, my full attention is going to be back on my work starting today. Everything is settled, and… eh…”

The sinking feeling in her belly grew lower, and she realized with a horrified start that it wasn’t an emotion, but rather, her body taking over control of yet another function. Her blush spreading up her face, she couldn’t even form words as she felt the inevitable push, and the spread of muck forming in the seat of her diaper.

Jean noticed her expression. “I don’t want to be a hardass here, but we need all hands on deck for the deadlines coming up. You’re sure you’re back with us?”

“Yes ma’am,” Nicole said, nodding quickly. A little sniff told her that the accident would be extremely noticeable any second now, and that she had to get out of the office as soon as possible. “May–may I be excused? I need to go use the bathroom.”

Jean raised an eyebrow, as if to ask, ‘Really?’, but she nodded her head. “Go ahead, Nicole.”

“Thanks,” she blurted, getting to her feet and waddling hurriedly to the door. She could feel her diaper sag beneath her skirt and tried to keep her legs wide so she wouldn’t squelch the mushy mass weighing it down, though a bit of squeezing was impossible if she didn’t want her awkward walk to be noticed.

Toddling into the bathroom, she locked the door behind her, eyes watering from humiliation. She couldn’t–accidents like this at work were too far, and–

Mind racing for a source of stability, she finally checked her messages. All were from Vanessa.

‘Nicole, you need to go to the bathroom.’

‘The chart says you’re going to poop your pants again today.’

‘Call in sick or something. Get out of there!’

Too late to do anything about it now, she sheepishly responded, ‘Thanks for the warning.’

Ensuring the door was locked, and the fan was on, she dug the baby wipes from her purse. Or, really, her diaper bag.

She had to get changed so she could get back to work.