princesspottypants

Elsie's Halloween Costume

Published: October 26th 2022, 12:00:09 pm

Here's this month's Community Story!

Elsie was not having a good day; to be fair, it felt like she didn't have many of those lately, so she'd hardly been expecting one. It had all started with her waking up late, after falling asleep in the middle of working on an homework assignment - which she hadn't finished - and having to rush around to make it to her first class on time, not thinking as her hands automatically braided her hair, the way she'd do with Rue's every day after giving her her bath when she picked her up from preschool.

She was just so used to doing that, she hadn't given it a second thought as she sat through her classes, feeling either bored or overwhelmed in each of them, until she made her way to the library to try to do some studying before going to her babysitting job. It was there that Gabe found her.

"Hey," he said quietly, Elsie peering up at him, her heart beating a little faster as she saw who it was. He was a TA in one of her classes, the one where she'd had to turn in an incomplete assignment, and she'd had a crush on him since the first day. He wasn't always there, unfortunately, but the days when he was were always a highlight. Or... They had been, once. "Are you busy? Can we talk?"

"O-Oh," Elsie shifted in her seat, nodding. "S-Sure, that's fine."

"I wanted to tell you that I really liked what you did in your paper," he told her gently.

Elsie blinked in surprise, blushing. "R-Really?" 

He smiled, making her melt a little more. "I did," he confirmed. "Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to give it a passing grade. I just wanted you to know it wasn't because of the contents of it... It wasn't long enough, and it had no conclusion, so... I asked the professor if you could have a few more hours to finish, but she said that wouldn't be fair to the other students."

Elsie's stomach fell. Of course that was why he wanted to talk to her, not anything else... She hated doing badly in any of her classes, despite how much that seemed to be happening lately; it felt especially bad in this one, when Gabe was the one grading her. He wasn't that much older than her, in reality, yet the gap seemed wider and wider every time he had to give her an assignment back with a failing grade, and she knew he probably saw her as nothing more than a dumb little girl.

"I-I get it," she swallowed. "S-Sorry..."

"You'll do better next time," he said, even though she found that hard to believe. "By the way, your hair looks cute today."

It was only then that Elsie realized it, reaching up and touching her hair, cheeks burning as she felt the pigtails dangling down, further humiliating her. "I-I was in a hurry this morning," she blurted out, not a lie, even if that wasn't really the reason... There wasn't a reason, not when she'd done it without thinking.

"I wasn't trying to be mean," he assured her. "It's cute." Was he hitting on her? Was it finally happening?! "Some of the kids I look after like their hair that way, but I've never been able to do it that well."

Elsie's hopes deflated, almost before they'd had enough time to draw their first breath. All that had done was confirm that he did, indeed, see her as a child. "W-Well, I bet you could with practice," she attempted to laugh it off, wanting to sink into the floor and disappear. "I promise, I'll do better on my next assignment." It sounded hollow, considering she'd said mostly the same thing last time, yet it was all she could do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"We had so much fun!" Rue babbled, bouncing in her seat. "We learned about colors, and then we go to color! And...!"

"Uh-huh," Elsie nodded. "And did you make it to the potty on time today?"

Rue blushed. "Umm... Mostly?" Elsie had been babysitting the girl long enough to know that meant that she'd managed it once or twice. Given her own day, however, she hardly felt like it was her place to criticize; she'd have killed to have one or two successes at anything.

"Good job," Elsie told her.

"And!" Rue's eyes widened as something else occurred to her. "And the school is all decorated for Halloween now! There are a bunch of cobwebs in the hall and everything!"

"Are you sure they didn't just forget to clean?" Elsie teased.

Rue shook her head. "No, they're fake!" she insisted.

"Well, that sounds like a lot of fun," Elsie said. It really did, especially compared to her own day... The college didn't do much for Halloween, other than a costume contest she wasn't even planning on participating in. It almost always went to one of the sorority girls in some stupid, sexy costume, and she didn't have the body to compete against that. "I wish I could come see."

"Do it!" Rue giggled. "That would be so fun!"

"I don't think your school would be too happy about some random adult showing up and looking around," Elsie chuckled.

"You could be a student!" Rue suggested. "You could wear one of my uniforms!"

"Don't be silly, Rue," Elsie told her. But the gears were already turning in her head... Rue was pretty big for her age, and Elsie was not... The difference in their sizes wasn't that huge. If she could fit in the uniform... Well, she couldn't actually pass as a preschooler, obviously. It might be a good costume, though. If nothing else, she could pretend that was why she'd worn her hair in braids today, as a test run for that, and if she looked cute enough... Could cute beat out sexy at the costume contest? Maybe it was worth a shot!

She grabbed one of the spare uniforms from Rue's closet while the girl was in the bathroom, and then, after putting her down for the night, she tried it on, shocked at how right Rue had been, at how well it fit her. She sat there on the couch in disbelief, looking at herself, at her pink shirt and plaid jumper, with her pigtails. This really might work...

But she couldn't help feeling like there was something missing, something that would bring it all together. It took her a few minutes to come up with it, and another few to stop blushing and feeling stupid for even considering it. Nobody would ever know, which meant that, both, it was safe to do, and that there was no actual reason to do it.

She was, in essence, dressing as Rue, though, even if nobody other than her would be aware of that. And if she was going to be Rue... Well, the uniform and braids would get her most of the way there, but there was one more important piece of the puzzle.

She changed back into her own clothes first, of course, not wanting any chance that Rue would wake up and see her like that. She stood in the doorway for a moment, waiting to see if the girl sat up, or sleepily asked what she was doing. In that case, she'd say she was checking on her and leave it at that.

It didn't happen. There was no reason for her not to creep in, to tiptoe over to her dresser, heart pounding, and grab one of the Pull-Ups from on top of it for the perfect finishing touch to her costume.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And the Pull-Up was, indeed, exactly what she'd been missing. She hadn't had the guts to try it on until Halloween morning, but as soon as she'd slid it up her legs, let the skirt of the uniform fall over it, she felt, instantly, a decade and a half younger. Knowing what she was wearing, that she had that secret, made her feel so tiny, so childish, and she found herself falling automatically into character.

It was almost scary, how powerful it was... She couldn't quite bring herself to braid her hair after that, worried that would, somehow, only seal the deal further, transform her into a little kid for real, as absurd as that idea was. She pulled her hair into a pair of high ponytails, instead, which weren't much better, to be honest, but at least separated her, in her mind, a bit more from Rue.

She was surprised at how comfortable the Pull-Ups felt, how little she minded them. She'd been afraid they would be hard to adjust to, after wearing panties for so long; they were different, definitely, and there was no forgetting that she was wearing them, that she wasn't in big girl undies like she should be. They weren't too bad, however, and, in some ways, there was something comforting about that extra bulk, about the soft rustling noise they made...

The walk from her apartment to college wasn't that long, but that morning, it felt different. The one big disadvantage of wearing the training pants was the thought of the wind blowing, lifting her skirt up enough for somebody to see... She was so concerned with that, with keeping her jumper held down to prevent it, that she didn't notice as she was approached, as a hand clapped down on her shoulder.

"And where do you think you're going, little one?" Elsie jumped, staring up at a much taller, stern-looking woman peering down at her. She blushed, squirming, her outfit only making her feel smaller in comparison.

"I-I'm going to class..." she stammered, despite knowing she didn't owe an explanation to this stranger.

"Well, you ought to pay more attention, dear," the woman told her. "School is that way." She turned Elsie around, the college girl blushing as she realized she was passing by right in front of Rue's preschool.

"N-No," Elsie shook her head. "I-I go to..."

"I can see your uniform," the woman said. "And, believe me, I'm very familiar with it. Come on, let's get you inside."

"N-No!" Elsie squealed as she felt herself being guided towards the building. "I-I don't... I-I'm not..."

"Now, what's your name?" the woman asked. "I don't think I've seen you before. Whose class are you in?"

"I-I'm not..." Elsie tried again weakly, a part of her wondering if the reason she wasn't trying that hard to convince the woman was because everything Rue had told her about preschool sounded so much more fun than college. She didn't want to get in trouble, to get caught... But if they really thought she belonged, one day wouldn't hurt, right?

"Never mind," the woman told her. "If you're new, you must be in Miss April's class, isn't that right?"

"Y-Yeah," Elsie felt herself nodding, hardly able to believe she was going along with this. "M-Miss April..."

As soon as Elsie was in the classroom, surrounded by her new classmates, she was certain the gig would be up, that the teacher would know. Instead, Miss April just smiled, thanking the woman who had led her here. "Hello, there," Miss April greeted Elsie. "And what's your name?"

Elsie gulped, looking around the room nervously. "Umm... E-Elsie..."

"What a pretty name! And did you forget it was Halloween, sweetie?" Elsie stared at her blankly; of course she hadn't. That was the whole reason she'd ended up here. "That's all right," Miss April patted Elsie's hand. "We have a nice dress-up box you can use. Now, then, sweetie, one more thing, since your paperwork seems to have gotten held up... How is your potty training?"

"M-My...?!" Elsie squealed, mind reeling at the thought of being asked such a thing. "I-It's fine!" She knew, however, from babysitting experience, how much her panic would make it sound like the opposite was true... As would the Pull-Up under her uniform. "I-It is!" 

"If you say so," Miss April said gently, in a tone that made it obvious she wasn't convinced. "Now, why don't we find you a costume?"

Elsie nibbled her lip, starting to have second thoughts now, wondering if she should have fought a little harder to get away... But it was too late now. "O-Okay," she agreed, letting herself be taken by the hand and led over to the chest of costumes.

It seemed so silly, picking out another costume when she was already wearing one. It almost felt like admitting what she was wearing now wasn't a costume at all, that it was who she was... The clothes in the chest were all very cute, however, and she couldn't resist one of the little, lacy princess dresses in there, even though she could see that most of the girls in the class were wearing something quite similar. She told herself it was a way to blend in, but she didn't spot how common it was until she'd already made the choice; really, she must just think the same way as any other little girl.

"Let's go into the bathroom and I'll help you get changed," Miss April told her. Elsie started to nod, before remembering what she was wearing.

"I-I can do it myself!" she blushed.

"Are you sure, Elsie?" Miss April asked. Elsie nodded frantically, desperate not to expose her 'lie', to let the woman see her Pull-Ups. "Okay, but I'm going to be right outside the door, so if you have any problems, let me know."

Elsie didn't, obviously, and she felt proud of herself for keeping her secret, at least until she looked at herself in the mirror, saw how childish she looked, how she was going to be spending the rest of her day. 

In all honesty, however... It wasn't bad at all. Sure, she knew everything, but that was a nice change from college, where, at times, it felt like she didn't know anything. She felt so proud every time she raised her hand and was able to get the answer right. And there were lots of other activities, too, coloring and games... And the Halloween decorations were as cute as Rue had said. 

She felt pretty adorable herself, in her little dress, every grown-up she saw commenting on how nice she looked. Nobody was questioning her presence there whatsoever, and, while she would have expected that would be a blow to her ego, having so many people so willing to believe she was a preschooler, she actually kind of liked it. It was liberating, oddly, knowing that they had such low expectations for her, and that she'd have no problem meeting them. She even got praised for asking to use the bathroom!

But... She couldn't help wondering about the alternative. She was wearing a Pull-Up, after all, and nobody really knew about it... And as nice as the praise felt when she politely raised her hand and asked to be excused, it was kind of a nuisance, when she was in the middle of coloring a picture of a witch on a broomstick... So, feeling very naughty, she squirmed in her seat, concentrating very hard until, finally, she felt the padding beneath her begin to warm, her cheeks following suit as it hit her that she was, in fact, peeing her pants, and doing it on purpose.

That was, of course, when the unthinkable happened. The door to the classroom opened, and she peered over her shoulder, blood running cold at the sight of Gabe walking through it. "Look, everyone!" Miss April announced. "There's Mr. Gabe! You know what that means, don't you? Mr. Gabe always gets here right at naptime, doesn't he?" The kids all groaned, while Elsie bit down on her bottom lip hard, staring a hole into the desk in front of her. "Don't be like that!" Miss April chided them. "You'll make Mr. Gabe feel like you aren't happy to see him! Now, then, let's start getting everyone ready... Mr. Gabe, why don't you start with our new student? I'm pretty sure Miss Elsie over there needs some help."

Elsie froze, knowing, from the woman's tone, that she knew exactly what had just happened, that it hadn't been as much of a secret as she'd hoped... And, in a few seconds, Gabe was going to know, too. She tried to look away, to hide her face, as he approached and took her hand, helping her up, leading her out of the room and into another one with a fully stocked changing table in it, praying he wouldn't recognize her, that he'd assume it was a coincidence that she had that name, desperate to tell him she didn't need any help after all, that she was fine, yet too scared to speak up, not wanting him to hear her voice.

In vain, she attempted to push his hand away, to keep it from lifting her skirt, from seeing her soggy Pull-Ups, but there was nothing she could do, and she felt the warmth in her padding grow as the boy she had a crush on saw what she was wearing, and what she'd done in it. "Sorry, Elsie," he told her. "Rules say if you have an accident during the day, you have to wear a diaper for naptime."

A shiver ran down her spine, hearing him say that name, and that word. "N-No! I-I don't..! I-I didn't...!"

But already, he was getting one out, laying it down on the changing table for her. This couldn't be happening! She whimpered and hid her face as he lifted her up onto the changing table, getting her out of her trainers and cleaning her up to tape her into a much thicker, crinklier diaper.

To her surprise, just like with the Pull-Ups, the diaper wasn't nearly as bad as she'd imagined, beyond the humiliation of it, and there was something cozy about it that made it easy to drift off for her nap. Gabe even praised her for staying dry as he put her back into her Pull-Ups afterwards, and she could almost forget he was there when she went back to playing, and 'learning' her alphabet.

He didn't say anything at all to make her think he knew who she was; there was no way he didn't, but the longer he kept from saying it, the more comfortable she was. Even when he asked her, "Can you show me how to braid your hair?" he hedged his bets, giving her enough wiggle room to believe he wasn't referencing their conversation in the library by adding, "You look like you'd be good at it."

It wasn't until he was helped her out of her costume, and into the uniform, at the end of the day that he ruined his streak. "You know," he told her, "I don't think I've ever seen you as happy as you were today."

Those words stuck with her as she walked away. The whole thing was embarrassing, yes... But she had been happy, wasn't she? Even with her Pull-Ups, and the diaper... She had genuinely enjoyed her time there, in a way that very much wasn't true of college...

She was so lost in thought that she didn't realize what she usually did at that time of day, or even where her feet were taking her, on auto-pilot - if a slow version of it, lost in thought as she trudged along the sidewalk - where they were so used to going after she left the preschool. It was only when she stepped into Rue's house without the girl beside her that it hit her.

"Where have you been?" Rue's mother demanded from the sofa, making Elsie jump. "I got a call that you didn't show up, so I had to go pick Rue up, and... What in the world are you wearing?!"

It was, really, a silly question; if anyone should know what the uniform at Rue's school looked like, it was her mother. But that wasn't actually what she was saying, and Elsie knew that. She knew what Elsie was wearing... What she really wanted to know was why. 

"I-I borrowed it, for a Halloween costume," Elsie told her, sticking with the truth, if only an abbreviated version of it. "A-And class ran long, so I... I-I assumed you'd have picked her up already, and came straight here!"

"Really?" Rue's mother raised an eyebrow. "Without so much as texting to check first? What if I hadn't, and you had to go back and pick her up?"

Elsie blushed, staring down at the floor in front of herself. "I-I... W-Well..."

"I am very disappointed in you, Elsie," the woman scolded. "You've always been such a good, responsible babysitter, but this is inexcusable."

"I-I know," Elsie replied quietly. She couldn't blame her for being mad... She was just glad Rue's mom had been able to get there, and that nothing had happened to the girl.

"I'm glad," the woman said. "So you understand why you deserve this."

Elsie gasped as she was yanked down over Rue's mother's legs, her own feet kicking in surprise, heart racing as she realized she was about to be spanked, like the little girl she was dressed as. Which would mean... "W-Wait!" she squealed, too late to stop the back of her dress from being lifted up to reveal what she was wearing underneath, even as she felt herself dribbling into it again out of fear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After that, Elsie could hardly blame the woman for firing her. And, since she didn't have any other clothes with her, and had to go back to her apartment in Rue's uniform, she couldn't be too mad that she didn't get her pay for the week in return. She hung the uniform up in her closet, rubbing her poor, sore backside, planning to forget about the whole thing, as much as she could.

But... She couldn't. Every morning, as she got ready to pick out what she was going to wear for the day, she found herself staring at the uniform, remembering how comfortable it was, how cute she'd looked in it. And every time she struggled over a question in class, or stayed up late working on an assignment, she recalled how easy her classes there had been, how clever she'd felt...

She couldn't go back, though. She was a grown-up... She didn't belong there, no matter how well she'd fit in, how much fun she'd had. She definitely shouldn't be running around in Pull-Ups, and diapers, like a toddler, even if she caught herself, a couple times, almost wetting her pants in the middle of class, thinking about how nice it had been, while she was coloring, not having to get up and go all the way to the bathroom...

And then, one day at the library, she heard a familiar voice. "Hey," Gabe said, smiling down at her.

"H-Hi," she blushed, unable to think about anything other than him taping her into her naptime diaper. "I-I didn't fail my last assignment, did I?"

"No, no," he chuckled. "Nothing like that... I just wanted to see if you were feeling better."

"Feeling..?" she frowned.

"Miss April has been missing you," he told her. "I looked at your file, so I know you've been feeling sick since Halloween, but I'm hoping you get over it soon."

Elsie furrowed her brow. "M-My... file?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I also made that file," he confessed. "That doesn't change what it said, though... Or the fact that you have a place there, if you want to go back."

"B-But..." she wiggled in place. "I-I'm... I-I can't..."

"You don't have to," he said. "But if you want to."

She shouldn't want to... She belonged in college, not preschool! But... Like Gabe had said, that had been the happiest she'd been in a long time... And her grades at college were pretty rough anyway... And it wasn't like she had a job to worry about anymore... 

"A-Are you going to make me wear a diaper at naptime again?" she asked.

"If you have an accident," he told her. "Rules are rules, little one."

"And... I-If I don't?" she blushed. "C-Could I wear them anyway?"

He nodded. "Of course," he said. "Anytime you want, Elsie. We even have some students who are in them all the time. Not many, but..."

"I-I don't know about that," she shook her head, though the more she thought about it, the more fun it sounded, at least every now and then.

"Well, we'll see," he winked. 

"Y-Yeah," she said, realizing that she'd already made her mind up, as insane as her decision seemed. "I guess we will..."