The Boy Who Couldn't Grow Up

Chapter Nine: Totally Tubular

Alex woke up to the sound of his alarm blaring in his ear. He groggily reached over to turn it off and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. As he looked down, he saw that he was wearing a wet diaper. Again.

He let out a loud groan and threw off the covers. How could this keep happening to him? He was a teenager, for crying out loud!

He stomped out of his bedroom, determined to have a word with his mom. When he got to the kitchen, he found her making breakfast and looking at him with a cheerful smile.

"Good morning, sweetie! Did you sleep well?" she asked, oblivious to Alex's frustration.

"What's going on, Mom?" Alex asked, trying to keep his cool.

"What do you mean?" she asked, still smiling.

"This diaper," Alex said, gesturing to the offending article. "Why do I have to wear it?"

His mom sighed. "You know why, Alex. You're not ready for underwear yet. You keep peeing your pants at night."

Alex felt his anger boiling over. "That's not the point! The point is that I'm a teenager and I don't want to wear diapers!"

His mom chuckled. "Oh, Alex, you're going to have to wear what you're given. And today, on Decade Day, you're going to wear this," she said, holding up a short-sleeve top and strap shorts suit outfit.

Alex's eyes widened in horror as he saw the outfit. It was a babyish-looking getup, complete with Thomas the Train briefs.

"No way! I'm not wearing that!" Alex exclaimed.

His mom just shook her head. "You're going to wear what I say. And that includes the briefs," she said, handing him the clothes.

Alex felt like he was going to lose it. He didn't want to wear this ridiculous outfit and certainly didn't want to wear diapers anymore.

As he walked out of the house, he felt like everyone was staring at him. He couldn't believe his mom had dressed him up like this.

When he got to school, he saw his classmates all dressed in their own outfits from different decades. He felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb.

As he walked down the hallway, he heard snickers and whispers from his classmates. He knew that he was going to have to deal with this humiliation all day long.

And as he walked into his first class, English, he felt like he wanted to crawl under a rock and hide. He knew that he was never going to live this day down.

As Alex walked into his English class, he couldn't help but feel like he was going to die of embarrassment. He was wearing a ridiculous outfit, complete with a short-sleeve top and strap shorts suit, and Thomas the Train briefs. He felt like he was the only one who didn't get the memo about Decade Day being about dressing up in outfits from different decades.

The other kids in his class were all dressed in outfits from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. There were guys wearing oversized suits with skinny ties, girls dressed in ripped jeans and band tees, and even one kid who showed up in a full-on 80s neon-green jumpsuit.

Alex felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone was staring at him, and he could tell that they were all trying not to laugh. He just wanted to disappear.

As he took his seat at his desk, he heard his teacher, Mrs. Johnson, say, "Okay, class, it's time to get started on our group project. Remember, you'll be working together to create a presentation about a topic of your choice."

Alex looked around the room, feeling like he was the only one who didn't know what to do. He had no idea what topic to choose or who he was supposed to work with.

Just as he was starting to feel overwhelmed, he saw Zachory, his friend from gym class, waving at him from across the room. Zachory was wearing a totally rad outfit, complete with a mullet wig and a neon-green sweatband.

Alex felt a surge of relief as he got up and walked over to Zachory's desk. "Hey, man," Zachory said, grinning at him. "What's with the outfit? You look like a walking Thomas the Train toy."

Alex laughed despite himself. "Yeah, my mom did this. She said it's Decade Day and I have to wear this."

Zachory chuckled. "Well, at least you're getting into the spirit of things. Want to work on a project together?"

Alex nodded gratefully. With Zachory by his side, maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all.

But as they started brainstorming ideas for their project, Alex couldn't help but feel like he was still stuck in a diaper-wearing nightmare. He just hoped that no one else noticed his Thomas the Train briefs.