The French Exchange

Chapter 11

Will's flashback is brought to an abrupt end. As he tries to forget about what just happened, he is surprised by what he sees at the breakfast table...

The knock on the door startled Will and brought him back to reality. He shook his head before glancing down at his Apple Watch - he had been in the shower for over half an hour!

"Bon Matin Will", Audrey shouted as she opened the bedroom door.

After taking a few moments to process what had been said, Will called back. "Salut Audrey".

As Will heard Audrey exit the room and shut the door, he turned the shower off. His heart was still racing as he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

He got out of the shower and used the towel to dry himself. He often dreamed, but he had never had a flashback like that. It felt so real that it was like he was reliving every moment.

The accident had haunted him for many years but never as badly as this before. As he put on a clean pair of briefs, he thought for a moment about how lucky he was to be able to leave that part of his life behind.

After he was all dressed, he went downstairs to eat breakfast. While Audrey made coffee in the kitchen, Guillaume sat at the breakfast bar. Will helped himself to the different breakfast items, which included some fresh bread from the bakery around the corner.

Will was surprised to see Karim come down in his pyjamas wearing an obviously wet nappy sagging between his legs. Given his own experiences, he found it incredible that the younger brother was so relaxed and open about his problem.

Will thought he was pretty good at figuring out when someone was wearing a nappy, but this time it was very clear. When Karim turned around to get some fruit, the back of his nappy rode up and removed any element of doubt.

Audrey must have noticed this too and told Karim to come over. She put her finger on the front of the nappy to feel how wet it was. It was obviously very wet, because she shook her head and muttered a few words in French before pulling Karim's pyjama bottoms up hard to hide the diaper. She then patted him on the bottom and sent him back to the breakfast table.

Will found the situation very strange, he didn't understand why they were all so relaxed and open about it. Karim didn't seem to mind that he was wearing nappies, which was strange because most 13 or 14-year-old boys would feel very self-conscious about it, especially when they were with a stranger they barely knew.

Will wondered if it was because bedwetting was more common and accepted in France or if Karim's family just didn't care about it.

He contemplated a moment that maybe Karim's family knew about his own problems with bedwetting and that was why they were so relaxed about Karim. He thought about it for a few seconds, but then decided he was being irrational. It was just a coincidence because there was no way that they could know about his past.

Karim took his seat opposite Will and started to eat his breakfast. Will smiled back at him with an almost sympathetic look on his face. He really did feel bad for the poor boy but it also made him realise how relieved he was to have overcome that phase of his life.

Even thinking about having to wear diapers again made him grimace, especially in a family that didn't seem to care about privacy.

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The first part of the trip was planned so that the student could spend time with the host family. Because of this, there were no classes or activities planned.

Will was told to do at least four hours of self-study every day, but he decided to take a break and have a relaxed day so he could get to know his host family and explore the house.Even though he wanted to enjoy the day, he was aware that he was having a hard time communicating.

His French wasn't very good, and speaking with his hosts was even harder than he thought it would be. They talked faster than Will's teachers did, and they couldn't explain things in English when Will didn't understand.

He was determined to get better, but he knew it would be difficult. At first, the family tried to talk to him, but after several awkward exchanges, they had started making less effort. Even at this early stage, it seemed like everyone knew that talking would be very hard, so there was an almost unspoken agreement to talk as little as possible.

There were some problems and awkward situations because of the language barrier, but in some ways, Will wasn't that concerned. He had always been a shy boy who didn't like talking about himself or getting into heated arguments, so the situation gave him a chance to sit there quietly and blend in.

Will also knew from experience that he didn't have to use words to tell people what he wanted and how he felt. Instead, he could use gestures, looks, and sounds.

He was surprised by how well people could communicate to each other this way. Will was a very shy child, so had relied on non verbal communication more than most.

There was real concern about Will's development when he was younger because he was very shy and hardly spoke. He had several tests for learning difficulties but there was no obvious signs that he had a disability. He just seemed to be a slow learner.

Will often had accidents at school because he was too shy to ask to go to the bathroom. Because of this, he wore pull-ups for the first three years of primary school.

When the school implemented in a traffic light system, he was finally able to start wearing "big boy" pants. Will could show the teacher a red card to communicate that he needed to go to the bathroom. The system worked quite well, and Will only had one more accident while he was still in primary school.

The last accident had taken place after the traffic light system had been removed. Will had been taking an exam when he had a sudden urge for the toilet. Not wanting to disturb the class, he was afraid to put his hand up and ask to leave the room.

By the time the exam was over and Will had built up the courage to ask to go to the toilet, it was too late and his bladder and bowels simultaneously released themselves. That incident had taken place when he was 11 years old and much like the flashback he had experienced in the shower, the laughter and teasing still haunted him.

The situation was made worse by the fact that Will was wearing loose fitting boxers and shorts so much to the amusement of his classmates, the poo had slipped down his leg and on to the carpet of the classroom.  It was the first time that Will was old enough to really feel public humiliation and it had a lasting legacy on him.

Since that day, Will had always refused to wear boxers and elected to wear briefs. He knew briefs were considered more childish but if he ever had another accident then he was confident that the briefs would contain the poop and avoid a repeat of the exam accident where the contents of his accident ran freely down his leg.

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Will was quietly reading a magazine in the living room when Audrey called him.

"William, Lavage."

Will knew the word, but he forgot what it meant. As he tried to remember his French words, Audrey walked in and pointed to the laundry basket she was carrying, and asked him if he would like any washing done.

"Avez-vous du linge?"

He quickly ran upstairs to his room and grabbed the laundry bag, which had the few things he needed to wash. When he walked down the stairs, Guillaume's mom was there to greet him.

She smiled and put out her hands to show that she would take the dirty things. As Will took the items out of the bag, he began to blush. His mom would usually do this for him, so it was embarrassing when someone else did it and saw that he was still wearing briefs that kids his age don't usually wear.

He gave her the things, and he was surprised when she looked at him in a way that his own mother would do. At that moment, he realised that he hadn't washed his clothes by hand from the day before. There was a strong smell of urine, and the briefs and pants had a clear pee stain.

Will's heart was racing as he awkwardly stood at the bottom of the stairs while she took all of the laundry from him and put it in a basket. He wanted to be able to explain, but he knew there was no chance of that happening...