Eager Beaver

Chapter Forty-Eight - Getting Changed

"Leave me alone Nate!" I whined in my stuffed up nose tone and turned to look at the Cub. He was in his standard cub shirt and red neckerchief, his hair a little disheveled from walking in the parade with the others. The badges adorned his right arm like a general - he had earned every single badge by now and was good and ready to move into scouts properly. "I was just changing."

Nate looked at me with a crooked smile. He was definitely planning something. He squatted down and started to collect the clothes Mom had selected for me - green corduroy pants and a white button down shirt with little pine trees decorating it. There was also a pair of green suspenders, a matching green bow tie, and some red and white stripey socks. Nate carefully picked up each article. "Let me help you." He said in a weirdly kind voice.

"I don't want your help." I told him. I didn't know what he was playing at, but I hadn't forgotten about the fight on the bridge, or what he'd done at camp, or at the Magic Light Ceremony.

"Fine." He said, dropping the clothes back onto the school floor. "Let's see you do it then."

"I can do it." I insisted defiantly, and went to my knees to collect the clothes - but the annoying hoof mittens of the costume made it almost impossible to do anything. I tried to pick up the shirt, but was only able to hold onto it for a second before it slipped away again. I growled in frustration.

"Still don't want my help?" Nate asked, clearly holding back laughter. "How are you even going to unzip that thing?" Then he took hold of the reins. With me on the floor, and him holding the reins from above it must have looked like we were playing one of Laurie's make believe games.

"Can you..." I started, and started to rise again to my feet. "Can you just put them back in the bag?"

Nate's smile broke on his face; it felt like the ominous sound of ice breaking on a lake. He picked up the red and white bag and peered in. "Oh..." He said in a mawkishly confused kind of way. "I don't see a spare diaper."

I flushed immediately. How was this the second time today someone was talking about me wearing diapers?! "I don't need those." I spat at him.

"You did at camp." He told me. "You told me so... Is the one you're wearing still dry?"

"Stop it!" I squealed at him.

"I'll just check for myself." He decided. He shoved the clothes into the bag and took hold of the reins. Slowly, he started to drag me into the Kindergarten classroom. I was hoping against hope now that Ms Park would be there now, but he pushed open the door to reveal just an empty room - used only for storage of unused Christmas artifacts for the festival.

"Let go!" I squawked, and pulled and tugged at the jingly reins like an actual misbehaving toddler.

Nate took delight in the struggle and physically dragged me into the room, pulling hard on the harness. He closed the door behind him and pulled me towards Mrs Park's playpen. "Maybe you should just play nicely here?" He asked me. I just groaned in response. "But your good little babysitter isn't around to watch you, is he?"

"L-leave me alone." I whined in a fearful way. I had no idea what Nate was planning, but I knew it wasn't going to be good. It made me feel like when he dunked my head into the dirty dishwater at camp.

Nate got closer and took hold of the zipper at my back. It made a shiver go down my spine the way the cold metal touched my skin. He just held it for a moment. "There is no way a baby like you could do this alone." He told me and started to undo it slowly, the ripping sound of the zipper revealing my bare back.

I was too shy and scared and weak to actually do anything to stop him. Plus, he was right. I couldn't unzip the outfit by myself. I heard him unlatch the clips on the toddler reins and drop them to the ground before he gave the furry material of my onesie a strong tug to pull it down to my ankles. I squeaked in fright, left tottering unsteadily atop my hoof-stilts now in nothing but my silly Christmas briefs.