Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two - Pajamas and Punishments
“Come on!” Leo demanded as he passed us, ushering us down the hall.
I grimaced at the thought of seeing Charlie, Alex and Zach in nothing but a towel and the horrible cushy crinkly pull-ups. Laurie however looked like he was about to be sick with worry. “It’ll be okay.” I reassured him, grabbing his hand and squeezing tight. “They’re our friends. Besides, they already know.”
“Uh huh.” Laurie said, his little voice quivering as he gave a nervous sniff.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” I declared conclusively, though I didn’t really think so. Still, I was determined to be brave for Laurie’s sake. I tugged him toward the door, Leo throwing it open and marched unabashedly inside.
I followed shyly after with Laurie practically hiding behind me as he tiptoed in. Charlie’s room was larger than I expected. There was a large bunk bed with a pull out bottom set up for everyone to sleep on; a grandiose bay window in the corner set up with a cozy blue and white striped seat cushion; and various school certificates, beaver awards, and a few yellowed old kindergarten-level crayon drawing decorating the walls - which were adorned with a forest theme that bled into the intricate starscape painted on the ceiling.
To the right, an impressive collection of toys, dinky cars, lego, play sets and all kinds of books were piled atop a blue and white striped rug. On the left were Charlie’s dresser, desk and closet - the three imposing mahogany fixtures looming across from the toys like gaping hungry monsters. The sturdy old fashioned furniture was a strange contrast to the rest of the room, unwelcome reminders of adulthood intruding on the otherwise cheery children’s bedroom.
Her shaggy orange hair damp from the shower, Alex was sitting on the top bunk in a fresh crisp pair of slightly oversized blue and white striped pajamas. Charlie meanwhile had set up enough pillows for the entire Beaver colony on the two levels below. He was wearing a faded pair of Buzz Lightyear pajamas, matching his little brother. He didn’t look too happy, frowning seriously as he kept busy pointlessly plumping up a pillow in his lap.
“Your Mom said you had something for us to wear?” I said stutteringly, standing strategically in front of Laurie to shield him from view. It seemed Alex had already seen him from her perch on top of the bunk bed however, the girl smirking down in amusement.
Charlie didn’t speak, but nodded - getting up tiredly and going over to his huge towering closet. He opened the door to the sound of ponderous creek, getting up on his tiptoes to take two warm looking fluffy robes off of a couple of hangers. Both were decorated with a distinct Winnie the Pooh theme, Piglet and Tigger dancing across the hem of the pale yellow material and a pair of stubby bear’s ears protruding from the hoods. One was much smaller with an ‘L’ written in cursive on the breast, and the other was slightly larger with a ‘C’ imposed in the same position. “You can wear these.” He told us, his eyes lowering apologetically. “Sorry. They’re the one pajamas I have left.” He said, gesturing vaguely to his own PJs.
Alex giggled from atop her bunk. “I don’t know what you’re whining about, Buzz.” She teased.
Charlie let out an audible grumble. “Why couldn’t you just wear those cat pajamas again?” he objected. “Or literally anything else? The van’s right outside!”
Alex tittered at his frustration, shaking her head. “It’s too wet to go out again.” She told him, pinching the cotton of the pajamas she was wearing between her fingers “Besides, I like yours better.”
Steadily growing more panicked the longer he stayed hovering by the door in just a pull-up, Laurie didn’t have time for their bickering. He darted out from behind me and practically snatched the smaller robe out of Charlie’s hands, fumbling to weed his arms through the holes. Finally working it out, he wrapped it around himself - looking visibly less stressed out as he crossed his arms and startled to fiddle with the belt of the robe, He struggled to secure that too however and eventually, Charlie intervened, bending down a little to tie it for him with a tight knot at his waist.
“Leo needs help with that too.” He told him, reassuring Laurie with a big-brotherly smile.
Laurie was still red in the face, but seemed to calm down now that he finally had something to cover up. I now had my own predicament, however. Somehow, I needed to discard my towel poncho to put on the robe without exposing my pull-up. It made me wish that Alex hadn’t stolen Charlie’s pajamas. That way, I could wear the Buzz Lightyear ones and easily slip the bottoms on under my towel so no one would be the wiser.
“Umm, don’t look.” I mumbled awkwardly, but my words seemed to have the exact opposite effect - the four other kids all turning to focus on me.
“Why not?” Alex asked. “You naked?”
“No.” I defended myself, taking a big gulp before I admitted it. “I’m…I’m just wearing a pull up.” My cheeks flushed red. I didn’t understand how, but saying it in front of Nate and his cronies felt about a million times better than explaining it to my friends. I moved back the hem of my towel from my wrist so that I could see the friendship bracelet still tied there from earlier.
“So what.” Alex shrugged nonchalantly . “So is Laurie and Leo.” She then turned to Charlie, giving him a sly look. “Maybe all boys wear diapers to bed?” she proposed with a giggle.
“I do not!” He denied with a snort, grabbing a stuffed elephant from his collection of toys and tossing it playfully at her face.
Alex made a big show of diving her head underneath a pillow, but her muffled breathless laughs were infectious.
Even I couldn’t help but titter at the situation, managing to push aside my embarrassment for a moment and feeling confident enough to finally pull off the hooded towel - revealing the pull up. I quickly slipped into the robe and tied it myself. Soon, the whole awkward situation seemed to have been forgotten - our pull-ups all hidden safe beneath our pajamas.
“Let’s play a game!” Leo squealed and rushed over to the toys.
Laurie, perking up even more now that I had shown off my pull up too, followed Leo towards the toys. “What about the dinky cars?” He asked and picked up a little suitcase which had an individual spot for each car, opening it up presumptuously. “We can play with them on the mat! I have one of those too!”
Charlie came to join them on the mat and Alex was heading down the ladder to join in too when we heard Ms Diaz call up the stairs. “Kids! Come down and get something to eat.”
The toys were quickly abandoned at the thought of food. I was starving myself. Alex, Charlie, Leo and Laurie got up and rushed out into the hall and down the steps. I followed last, but before I could get to the dining room my Mom stopped me in my tracks, an instructive hand slapping down on top of my still damp hair. “Cooper, can you get Zach from the spare room? I doubt he heard.” She told me.
“Uh huh.” I hummed obediently, although I was a little miffed about not getting to eat right away. I turned on my heels and clambered up the stairs again towards the room at the end of the hall, leaving the others to rush triumphantly into the dining room.
Approaching the spare room, I heard music being played from inside. It wasn’t that loud, but it was strange to hear it. Was Zach listening to some music? Why wasn’t he in the room with the others? I pushed the door open a crack to see him laid down on the couch with Ross standing over him, looking dejected as he nodded along to the music. His hair was wet from the shower, and he was dressed only in an oversized black band shirt. I squinted, making out the words ‘AC/DC High Voltage’ printed on it in a strange spiky font.
“They are going to kick me out of cubs.” Zach muttered to no one in particular, clenching one fist tight and tapping the fingers of his other hand along to the rhythm against the leather surface of the couch. The music seemed to be some rock song. I had never heard of it, but it kept going on about ‘Little Lovers’.
“Why would they do that?” Ross countered, trying to make eye contact with the boy - though he kept avoiding it. “For taking care of the Beavers during this storm?”
“We wouldn’t have gotten lost if I didn’t take everyone into the woods in the first place!” Zach went on. “I was stupid. I was in charge, and everyone trusted me, and I ruined everything.” Zach was getting emotional. He raised his clenched fist above his head ready to slam it down on the couch, but before he could do so Ross caught his arm - putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. The cub gave a startled frown, but unclenched his fist - sitting up properly on the couch.
I wanted to interject, but I was worried they would think I was spying on them. It was pretty obvious they were talking about something private. I decided to knock instead, acting like I’d only just got there.
“Come in.” Ross said. I pushed the door open properly and he paused the music.
“Umm, it’s dinner time.” I stammered, struggling to act like I hadn’t heard every word they’d just said. Zach just nodded wordlessly and stood up, moving towards the door. The shirt he was wearing went down to just above his knees, looking not too dissimilar to the way Alex’s nightie had on me. It was the first time I saw Zach looking like a little kid. He always seemed to dress so maturely. Even when I stayed at his house, he slept in boxer shorts.
I scampered back down the stairs, Zach and Ross following. In the kitchen, the other Kindies and Leo had already started digging into dinner - a buffet of frozen pizzas steaming fresh from the oven set out on the table while the kids all tore off whatever slices they liked. Laurie seemed to be going particularly wild, a smear of orange sauce marked around his lips as he piled his plate high with as many slices as he could get away with.
I frowned in confusion, tottering unsteadily forward to pull out a chair opposite Leo. The comfortable puff of cushiony material against my butt reminded me of my pull-up as I took a seat on the hard wooden chair. Why were they giving us pizza? Weren’t we in trouble? I reached forward hesitantly to take a single slice of pepperoni, eyeing it suspiciously as I held it in my hand as if it might be some trap, or as if someone might suddenly snatch it away.
“What’s the matter, Cooper?” Ms Diaz asked, showing me a frown of genuine concern. “Don’t you like pizza?”
“I do.” I confirmed, huffing and hawing and fidgeting in my seat like I was desperate for the toilet. “It’s only…” I frowned even deeper, not knowing what to say.
Zach finished my thought for me, dragging out the seat next to me with an aggressive creek and sitting down dramatically. “We don’t deserve pizza.” he snapped, actually sounding kinda angry. “Just tell us what our punishment is already!”
Ms Diaz looked very confused, looking askance at the grumpy bigger boy. “Punishment?” she repeated.
The happy chattering of the beavers came to an abrupt stop too, everyone turning to stare at Zach. A greasy blob of cheese disconnected from the tip of Laurie’s latest slice, falling down onto the fine polished table with a splat. “Are we getting punished?” the little boy squeaked in fear, blinking innocently.
“Nobody’s getting punished.” Ms Diaz confirmed, before looking to Ross for guidance. “What is he talking about?”
“He’s just tired.” Ross said calmingly, coming up behind Zach and putting down his broad hands atop his shoulders. “Got some silly idea in his head that he’s in trouble.” he tutted.
Zach grunted, clearly unconvinced. “But I got us all lost.” he complained, taking a couple of big heavy breaths. His facade of anger seemed to melt away, leaving just a devastated distressed expression. “And you all had to come looking for us, and go out in the storm, and get all worried - just because I was being irresponsible!”
Ross opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted. I had been staring right at Zach while he was talking, and the way his eyes were lowered in guilt and his lips were thinned out into this terrible somber frown suddenly made me feel impossibly sad and ashamed - like it was infectious. “And I fell in the mud…” I added piteously, feeling like I might start crying again. “And I had an accident.”
“And I tickled Cooper.” Laurie took over, the collective sadness spreading to him too.
“And I pushed him!” Alex butted it.
“And I was s’posed to be responsible too…” Charlie added. Soon everyone was chattering again, each confessing their own guilty feelings.
“Guys!” Ross shouted over the commotion, making everyone go silent. “No one is in trouble!” he repeated. “You’re kids. You’re allowed to make mistakes. And besides, you didn’t do anything wrong. You just got unlucky. No one knew that storm was coming.”
“We’re just glad that you’re safe.” Ms Diaz agreed.
My parents had come into the kitchen now too, attracted by all the noise. “Yes.” my Mum backed her up. “We all just want you to be safe.”
“No one is in trouble.” My dad echoed.
“I ruined your workbench.” Zach suddenly butted in, looking up at Ross with sad guilty eyes.
Ross flinched at that at first, another awkward silence descending on the group. Moments later however, he broke it - letting out a big booming laugh. “That’s okay.” he declared magnanimously, ruffling Zach’s short cropped hair. “Maybe you can help me make another.”
After dinner, we all went straight to bed. It was pretty late - almost midnight - and even though there’d been a few half-hearted attempts at play, the grown-ups made sure we all soon settled into our beds.
The house had no shortage of bedrooms, but it only seemed natural for us all to stick together. We all piled into the big three-tiered bunk bed Charlie had set up earlier: Alex and Charlie sleeping top and tail on the highest bunk; Laurie cuddled safely under Zach’s protective arm in the middle; and me and Leo shacked up together on the pull-out bottom. Charlie’s little brother had fallen asleep almost immediately, spread out like a starfish to leave me hunched up awkwardly on the very edge. A little line of drool was hanging from his mouth pooling on the pillow, and his hand was positioned atop his smooth tummy - the faint glow of a night light fetched from his room illuminating his pull-up poking out conspicuously from the top of his Woody pajama bottoms.
Half an hour after lights out, I was still awake - listening to the sound of the other kids’ breathing softly in and out. I couldn’t sleep, turning over what had been said at dinner over and over again in my mind. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t help but keep feeling guilty - despite what the adults had said. I thought about the beavers, and school, and my accident that night, and the pull-up rustling noisily every time I tossed and turned. Was I destined to always be treated like a little kid? Like a baby, even?
Grunting, I sat up - blinking out blearily into the inky blackness beyond the glow of the night light. With nothing else to do, I got to my feet, my feet slapping across the hard wood floors as I made my way out of the room and out into the hall - tiptoeing towards the muffled murmur of adult chit-chat emanating from below like a puppy dog following a strange unfamiliar scent.
I stepped carefully down the stairs, trying to hear what they were saying. I stood in the hallway, just before the opening to the living room, hearing the clink of a wine glass being set down.
“Maybe letting Zachary take the kids out today was a bad idea?” Ms Diaz proposed in a curious tone. “Four little kids all by himself is a handful even for an adult. He’s only a kid himself.”
“Well.” My Mom added, contemplating. “It’s not like he was in charge.”
“Hmmm.” My Dad hummed over her, seemingly trying to cut her off.
Mom didn’t take the hint however, and continued unperturbed. “Two tweens can handle three kids - and Charlie isn’t really a problem.” Mom went on. I felt a weight in my stomach. Was Mom really telling her my secret? Just like that? Did Ms Diaz already know? Did all the grown-ups know? “I mean he’s very well behaved.” Mom added flatteringly, referring to Charlie.
“Who is the other…” Ms Diaz began, sounding confused. “How old is Cooper again?”
“Eleven.” Mom confirmed, sounding almost proud. “So I suppose he was incharge.”
I couldn’t take it anymore! Why was Mom doing this? I didn’t want this. I thought of all the little lies I had told the Beavers over the last few months. Mom was undermining it all in one evening! I stepped into the doorway of the living room, revealing that I was listening in. I was breathing heavily from worry, seeing that it was just my parents and Ms Diaz. “Mom!” I hissed. “I said not to say anything!”