Great No One (Chapter Two Posted 12/14/21)
Date Published: November 24, 2021, 9:44am
Written By: Shade
Hey there, anyone who reads this. First, I’d just like to thank you for giving this story a chance. I’ve always wanted to write an ABDL story, but for various reasons, I’ve never gotten around to it. Today, I decided to change that, and I’m excited about what I have so far. Any and all feedback/criticism is welcome. As for the tags, I tagged this story with what I think there’s a reasonable chance of including, but my outline for this is very basic, so I might have to adjust tags as I go.
Chapter One
Kate sat there at her desk, the small, pathetic thing they’d given her that looked like it had been dragged straight over from an elementary school. She bounced her leg up and down in her stonewashed skinny jeans, tapping her foot into a repetitive rhythm of rubber soles pitter-pattering against thin sheets of old carpet, carpet that had been in this classroom probably longer than she’d been on this Earth. Looking around the room, her eyes met several annoyed onlookers, distracted by her fidgeting. Most of them were older than her, some by just a few years, and others by decades. But they all sat there in the GED testing room, adults who’d failed to make it through even the most basic of society’s rights of passage.
Kate was finished with her test. She’d been finished for going on ten minutes. The others were all still working on theirs. She would have gotten up and left, had the instructor not informed them prior to the test that leaving the room for any reason amounted to failing. If there was one thing she refused to do, it was fail this asinine test.
It was insultingly easy. America’s version of a high school equivalency test included basic math involving no more than two-digit numbers, and five-paragraph-long essays that required little more than basic memorization to recall when it came time to answer their associated series of questions. But the fact that it was so easy made it worse. And seeing that the others were still struggling with it filled her with senses of both superiority and disgust, at them and at herself for being so judgmental. After all, she was right there with them, no better than anyone else. And maybe that’s what made it so horrible.
But all those thoughts rushing through her head paled in comparison to the intensity of the pain swelling in her bladder. Bouncing her leg only helped so much, and the pressure build-up was worsening by the second. The moment the instructor came back in through the classroom door, she was handing in that test and on her way out of there. But as the minutes flowed by, the door didn’t open. And by that time, she had her hands folded in her lap and was bouncing both legs, squeezing them together tight and biting her lower lip. “This is getting fucking ridiculous,” she thought, looking up at the old analog clock hanging above the door.
It was 8:25, which meant five more minutes of suffering. Peeing her pants was not on the list of her plans today, so she held on while she rocked back and forth, feeling little droplets flow out into her panties at random intervals. If she’d known this was going to be a problem, she would have worn a pad. But what kind of testing center doesn’t let its participants use the bathroom?
She deserved partial blame, though, and she knew it. Drinking all those Red Bulls and forcing herself to stay up the night before was no one’s fault but her own. She hadn’t been able to sleep, the usual insomnia taking its toll. And by 4:00 AM, she knew that if she fell asleep, she wouldn’t be waking up in time to take her test. Such was the way she lived, consumed by the omnipresent anxiety that kept her awake all through the night, and then left to fend for herself when it came to keeping her body functioning. Her current predicament was the consequence of her lifestyle, though it was not one for which she was totally to blame.
She was anxious all leading up to the test and during it, but to her surprise, she wasn’t anxious anymore. The moment the need to pee swelled up inside her, it consumed every thought, to the point where any hints of anxiety were nowhere to be found. They’d gone off and disappeared for the silliest reason. Finally, she gets some semblance of relief from the constant wave of thoughts crashing through her mind, only for it to come at the cost of her poor bladder. She didn’t know if that qualified as ironic, but she was certain it was obnoxious, and just her luck.
She watched the smallest hand on the clock tick by at each second, counting them up to sixty and then starting from the beginning again. This wasn’t helping, but trying to focus on anything else had proven useless as well. There was nothing else to focus on. She couldn’t focus on the other students, since she could be accused of copying someone’s work. And focusing on her desperate need to pee would only serve to worsen the issue at hand. So she watched the clock with ferocious intensity, eyeing it like a hunter waiting for its target to open itself up.
Finally, the little red hand approached its destination, nearing completion of its full trip around the clock’s circumference. Each tick of the clock coincided with a growing sense of urgency welling up in her chest and throat. The anticipation was killing her. She was so focused she’d even stopped bouncing her legs, instead holding them tighter together and readying herself to spring up out of the room. The clock hit 8:30, and she twitched. The door didn’t open. Another few seconds.Oh God, the door didn’t open.
At this point, she was at a total loss as to what to do. If she sat there any longer, she was going to piss herself in front of a bunch of random strangers, who had already been staring at and judging her. But if she got up and left, she would fail. Weighing those options, she didn’t think she had any real choice. She could not fail this test. She couldn’t handle it. Working up the courage to even make the appointment had taken months of work between her and her therapist. Failing would mean the end of things. There was no way she would ever recover from the sheer embarrassment. It was one thing to flunk out of high school, she could make excuses for that. But to fail a test that had the audacity to ask her what 27 + 84 was, that would just be too much.
So she closed her eyes and bit her lip harder, nearly bringing it to a bleed. She tapped her feet again, trying her best to stay calm and composed. She breathed in slowly, through her nose, and then out through her mouth, careful to control the flow by pursing her lips. A technique her therapist had taught her. She imagined the air coming in through her nose as a light blue, unthreatening and calm. And as she let go of the air she was holding onto, she saw it as a harsh, yellow-orange color that represented all of her fears and obsessive worries. Then, she heard the door creak open.
She shot her eyes open and almost fell out of her desk, which was attached to her seat. She fumbled to grab the test, sprinting up to be the first in line to hand it in. But she underestimated how much sitting had helped her maintain control, and the sudden burst of movement was enough to knock off the delicate balance she’d been struggling to manage. As soon as she stood, she froze. She felt a warm trickle running down her legs and pooling in the seat of her jeans, spreading out through the material.
She stood there, in front of everyone, holding her test out for the instructor to take while peeing her pants like a toddler. Her cheeks burned red, and she felt like she could faint. The classroom was silent, and in some ways, that was worse. She could feel their eyes behind her, watching her flood her pants, seeing the damp spot grow. Her face felt so hot. She needed to get out of there, now.
She slammed the test down on the instructor’s desk at the front of the room and ran out the door, not thinking about what she was doing. In her rush to get to her car, it hadn’t occurred to her that the testing center was on campus. So as she strolled through the halls in her soaked pants, dozens of college students walked past her, several stopping and taking notice of her predicament. This time, people laughed. She was wrong, the silence was better.
By the time she made it to her car, her emotional battery was drained. She opened the front door and sat in the driver’s seat, not considering the squish that would come with it. That was the tipping point. Feeling the mess she’d made of her jeans squish below her and seep into the seat, that was just too much to handle. The tears that she’d been refusing to let swell up in her eyes could no longer be fought back. They streamed down her face, feeling hot and gross at the same time. And once the tears started flowing, her composure crumbled. Now, she was sobbing in wet pants on a wet car seat, in the parking lot of her local community college. Whatever she’d done to deserve this, she was so, so sorry for.
The drive home was made in silence and shame. She didn’t even turn on the radio. She just sat there, meandering through traffic, with tear-stained eyes drying into an irritating crust that she didn’t bother to wipe away. In a way, it was like she was punishing herself, and maybe she deserved it.
When she reached home, another problem presented itself. Her mother’s car was gone, but her sister was certain to be home. And that was an encounter she couldn’t bear to have in her current state. She sat in the driveway, wondering what to do. There weren’t many options. If she was lucky, her sister was still asleep, and she could sneak in undetected. But if she was awake, there was little she could do to avoid being seen. She considered calling her phone to see if she picked up, but didn’t want to risk that being the thing that woke her.
There was one thing she thought to do. She could drive far, out of town even, and find an unfamiliar store. Then, she could walk in with her piss-stained pants on display for all to see, where she’d be able to find another pair and buy it. That way, she could walk inside her own home without fear of being discovered. But that left the issue of what to do with her pissy jeans. She really liked these jeans, and they were maybe still salvageable. But then again, maybe not. Wearing them would just remind her of this little incident, and it was something she very much wished to put behind her as soon as possible.
In all her deliberation, Kate failed to notice the front door opening until it was too late. Her sister’s head appeared around the corner, her eyes marking her surprise to see Kate sitting there. She wandered over to the car and motioned for Kate to roll down the window. She took a deep breath to stifle the pounding in her chest, then followed her sister’s wishes.
Emily was two years older than Kate, a fact which the former relished in. Kate being nineteen now didn’t matter. Emily was off at college, drinking and partying with her friends, getting decent and sometimes even good grades. She was home for the summer, much to Kate’s dismay, not that there was anything she could do about it. In truth, she didn’t hate her sister, she just hated the way she felt around her, and that wasn’t even her fault.
“What are you doing out here in the car?” Emily had a trash bag in one arm and a small recycling bin in the other. It was trash day, a thought that hadn’t occurred to Kate until now.
“I had my test today.”
“Oh! How did it go?” Emily’s enthusiasm was genuine, but grating all the same. Still, Kate managed to muster up enough of a similar tone to appease her sensibilities.
“It went well! Honestly Em, it was super easy. I just had to actually get there and do it.”
“Aww, well I’m so happy for you hun. I knew you had it in you! You just needed to work up the courage, is all.”
Emily gave her a sickeningly sweet wink. It took all of Kate’s fortitude to hold back a groan, but she managed to choke it down with a closed-lip smile.
“I’m just taking the trash down,” Emily continued. “After that, I’m off to hang out with Liz. But I should be home tonight for dinner!”
“That sounds fun! Have a good time, and tell Liz I said hi.”
These basic pleasantries were most of how the sisters interacted. Kate wished things were different, but at the same time, she was glad she didn’t have to deal with actual conversations. She hated small talk, but it would do if it got her sister out of the way faster.
She watched Emily finish taking the trash down to the curb, then hop in her car, much nicer than the one Kate was driving, and head off. Before she left, Emily gave a small wave goodbye, one which Kate forced herself to return with another half-hearted smile. Once the coast was clear, Kate let out a long sigh of relief and stepped out of her car.
She looked down at her seat to assess the damage. It was soaked, she’d need to do a thorough cleaning to get the stain out. The same could be said for her pants. Before any neighbors had a chance to wander outside, Kate marched into her home, the home she’d spent her whole life in, and headed up the stairs for her bedroom, the one place of solace she had in this world.
Her bedroom was her domain. No one came in without her permission, and no one bothered her while she was just vibing in her room. Even her mom knew enough to leave her alone when she was holed up in there. With the door closed and the rest of the world shut out, Kate stripped off her wet clothes and threw them onto a pile of dirty clothes on the floor. She pulled out some baggy sweats and one of her dad’s old T-shirts. Her dad was a big guy, so his shirts hung off her and came down almost to her knees. Wearing them made her feel safe, like she was centered and connected to the world around her. She needed that right now.
Once she was all comfy, she headed back downstairs and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She hadn’t eaten anything that morning, and her stomach was desperate for some sustenance. As she was pouring the milk into the bowl, she heard her phone buzz against the kitchen counter. She’d left it there on her way inside.
She reached over and grabbed it, pulling the screen up to meet her eyes. It flickered on and showed one new notification, grayed out until she entered her passcode. Once she did, she saw it. Test results in. Suddenly, all the panic that had disappeared earlier rushed back into her head, and she felt lightheaded again. She leaned against the counter and forced herself to breathe, slowing down her heart rate until she was calm enough to compose herself.
She stared at the email, hesitating to open it. There was nothing to be so afraid of. The test was easy, and for all the embarrassment it cost her, at least it was over with now. She could put this chapter of her life behind her. She clicked open the message and logged into the GED site. There, in bold red letters, it said FAILED.
Hey guys! First, thank you all for taking the time to read the first chapter and for providing feedback. I appreciate it so much! I’ve noticed a couple of you mention the unlikelihood of the story, and I was wondering if you could expand on that for the sake of helping me improve my writing? There’s always a certain amount of unbelievability in stories like this, but I want it to feel as grounded as possible and I’m always open to hearing ways I can improve
I feel called out
I may be doing just that on the perfectionism thing, lol. Question though, is it better to release the next chapter in this same thread, or make another? I’ve noticed people doing both on here and I’m not sure if there’s a general preference
Chapter Two
Kate sat in her bed, wrapped up in a ball of old blankets. She was still wearing her comfy clothes, dad’s shirt included. She hadn’t moved an inch in what felt like hours. She looked out her window, checking to see that there was still light left in the sky, and there was. It couldn’t have been that long. She never heard the door open, so her mom wasn’t home from work and Emily wasn’t back yet. Good. She could wallow uninterrupted.
The image of the bold red letters written across her phone screen hadn’t left her mind. She knew she’d have to explain this to everyone. Not just her family, but her therapist too. The idea of facing them, seeing their disappointment in her, was simply too much to handle. They’d all put so much time and energy into helping her. Years of struggling to get her to go to school, to help her feel comfortable taking that test. It all meant nothing now.
And she knew she was being dumb. They’d just tell her to take the test again next month. But she also knew that wasn’t going to happen. There had been so much build-up, so much mental preparation. All of her emotional battery was spent focusing on that one day, that one test, and she blew it. And God forbid she have to explain to any of themwhyshe failed. She couldn’t even think about what had happened without her face growing hot and clammy. The image of everyone around her staring at her while she pissed herself was still burned bright into her brain. She still couldn’t believe she’d actually done it, but once it had happened, she had no choice but to run out of the classroom. Was a passing grade worth the sheer humiliation of standing there while everyone watched and stifled back their laughter? Not that she’d been able to avoid that laughter anyway, what with everyone seeing her on her way out of the building. There was no way she was ever going to show her face there again.
Which meant one thing: that she was going to have to come up with a viable excuse. She couldn’t tell everyone that she just chickened out because they’d insist upon her trying again. And there was no way they’d believe she failed the test legitimately. That might be the only thing more embarrassing than her current predicament. The only option left was to fake a pass, but that came with its own issues. They’d expect her to receive a diploma at some point, and eventually, she’d even need to start searching for a job. These obstacles seemed insurmountable, and she buried her face deeper in her tear-stained pillow and let out a muffled scream.
She laid there longer, letting time around her pass her by, ever-flowing and indifferent to her turmoil. Soon, she felt a familiar twinge on her bladder, and out of sheer spite, she actually considered just letting go right then and there. But that thought left her mind just as soon as it entered it, and she forced herself out of bed and onto her feet, heading toward the hallway bathroom. She sauntered over to the toilet, pulled down her baggy sweats, and sat upon the throne, relieving herself and letting her shame flow with it.
From downstairs, she heard the front door open and then close, followed by the sound of keys jingling. Someone was home, whether it be her mother or her sister. She wasn’t sure how long it had been but seeing as the sun was still up, she figured it must be her mother coming home from work. Emily said she was going to see Liz, a friend of hers since middle school. Kate didn’t have any longstanding friendships of her own, though she always got along decently well with her classmates when she bothered to show up. Growing up, Liz was always over at their house eating dinner with them or studying with Emily. Despite being two years older, Liz always treated Kate with a certain kindness that even her own sister didn’t often afford her. Kate was fond of her sister’s friend and was happy to hear that Emily was keeping up with her, even after they’d both gone off to different colleges.
Kate’s mother, on the other hand, was a different matter entirely. She’d always treated both sisters reasonably well, but there was a clear favorite. Being the oldest didn’t in and of itself award Emily with more of their mother’s love, but it certainly helped. And Kate’s struggles with school and even just managing to make it through day-to-day life gave their mother plenty of reason to look down upon her with that hint of scorn she knew all too well. As Kate saw it, Mom was a force to be reckoned with. A self-made working woman from the age of fifteen, one who raised two daughters on her own after her husband died. It seemed as if she never made a misstep, never faltered, and never looked back. And it was that woman who Kate would have to face, those eyes she’d have to see look so very disappointed if it came to light that she’d failed her test.
The footsteps made their way up the stairs, pounding down on the wood below with each incoming step. Soon after, there was a light knock on the bathroom door, followed by the sing-song voice of her mother.
“Kate, that you?”
Kate gulped. “Yes mom, I’ll be done in a minute.” She tried her best to sound calm like everything was normal.
“How did your test go?” There was an eagerness in her mother’s voice, but Kate swore she also heard a hint of reluctance. This was the moment of truth.
Kate hated lying. It gave her so much anxiety, and her heart was already pounding. Something was swelling up within her, grabbing hold of her throat from the inside and refusing to loosen its grip. She clutched at her throat, gasping and trying to force the air through, all while keeping silent to avoid her mother’s suspicion. She tried to get the words out.Just tell her you passed!Kate reprimanded herself. “I…” she hesitated, choking on her own words. With a tiny squeak, she let out the smallest utterance she could manage.
“I’m sorry…”
Her words lingered in the air. Seconds passed. There was no response. Then, from the other side of the door, she heard a brief “It’s alright,” followed by the sound of footsteps leading away from the door. Kate sat there in silence, feeling at once a wave of relief wash over her along with a shroud of despair. She stared down at the bathroom tiles, old and cracked. The drips from the nearby faucet set a rhythm to her ongoing agony. With each drip that hit the sink, she felt herself falling further into a bottomless pit.
Hours had passed, and Kate was back in bed now, her exhausted frame sprawled out over her covers. She wasn’t asleep, in fact, her eyes were open, locked onto the picture of her dad that stood in a frame on her dresser at the other end of the room. Her gaze hadn’t left it for what felt like an eternity.
Downstairs, she heard voices. Her mother’s, and two new ones. One belonged to Emily, and the other voice, also familiar to her, was Liz’s. They were discussing Kate’s failure out in the open, just loud enough for her to hear even from within her bedroom, though the words were muffled. She picked up every other sentence or so, gathering that they were disappointed and confused. Emily had been home for more than an hour now but hadn’t come up to see her. No one had bothered her since the brief conversation with her mother earlier. Part of her hoped the confrontation would elude her forever, though she knew such a hope was foolish at best.
Hearing the voices die down, she sat up in bed, awaiting the inevitable. Her intuition was right, and soon there was a small knock on her door.
“Come in,” she said, her voice barely eking out of her throat. To her surprise, Liz was the one to open the door. She didn’t recognize her at first, but her auburn hair was a dead giveaway. It had been almost nine months since they’d last seen each other, and that was enough time for Liz to look different and startlingly more mature. Her clothes looked expensive and well-kept, the kind you couldn’t afford without a decent-paying job. How Liz managed to find time for such a thing while also studying for her degree was beyond Kate, who recognized a hint of resentment stirring up within herself.
But any feelings of resentment were soon overshadowed by two other feelings. One of relief that it hadn’t been her mom or sister who opened the door, and another of pure joy just to see Liz standing there before her. She shot up to her feet, wanting to give Liz a hug, but then hesitated. She stopped dead in her tracks, just standing there staring at the girl who was now startled by her sudden burst of movement.
“You okay?” Liz asked, letting out a small smirk from the corner of her mouth.
“Yeah, sorry,” Kate said, blushing. “I’m just happy to see you.” She gave her best smile, though it was a half-hearted one.
“Do you mind if I sit?” Liz said, motioning toward the computer chair in front of Kate’s desk. Kate nodded and sat back down on her bed. Liz pulled out the chair and brought it closer to Kate, then sat down right in front of her, closer than Kate was expecting.
“First of all,” Liz started, “It’s good to see you.”
Kate was a bit taken aback but managed to gather her composure. “It’s good to see you too. It’s been so long.”
“Yeah, it sure has,” she said, glancing down toward the floor, perhaps remembering all the things that had happened since she and Emily went off to college, leaving Kate alone. A bit of guilt would do her good, Kate thought.
“Listen,” she continued, “I’m gonna be around a lot more again, if that’s cool with you? I know it’s probably been weird not having me and Em here.”
“It’s been fine,” Kate said, crossing her arms and trying to look disinterested.
Liz paused. “Well, either way, I’m here for you. Your mom told me what happened, and I managed to convince those two not to barge up here and beg for details. It’s your story to tell when you’re ready.”
She paused again, waiting for a reply, or any indication that her words were being heard. But Kate offered none, still feigning disinterest and looking everywhere but at Liz’s face. Liz let out a soft sigh, then went to stand up.
“Wait!” Kate said, her eyes now meeting Liz’s. She blushed, her mouth hanging open, searching for something to say. “H-how has college been?”
Liz gave her a tiny smile and sat back down. The two of them chatted for another thirty minutes, catching up and refamiliarizing themselves. Kate missed Liz’s warm demeanor. She had a way of talking, or maybe it was just something about her, that made Kate feel at ease in a way she never totally felt with her family, other than her dad. It was nice to have that back again, at least for a little while.
But she knew it would only be a little while. Soon, Liz and Emily would be back off to school, and Kate would just be here, at home, doing nothing. Like always. That thought lingered in the back of her mind, and no matter how much she enjoyed her chat with Liz, the thought remained there, looming over her like a dark cloud. She could feel it there each time she let out a small smile or a laugh, as if to remind her that any joy she felt would always be temporary.
The conversation wrapped up and the two of them exchanged their goodbyes, topped off with that hug Kate hadn’t gotten earlier. While they embraced, Kate hoped it would last just a little longer, but it ended, of course. And once the door closed behind Liz, Kate was alone again. Going downstairs would mean facing her family. So in her room she would stay.
It was dark now, but Kate wasn’t tired. Still, there was little else to do, so she threw herself onto her bed and sprawled out, staring at the ceiling. She looked over at the laptop on her desk. It was old now, her dad’s before hers, but she loved it all the same. She thought about getting up to grab it, and maybe even watching something on Netflix, but she just couldn’t find the energy.
Watching shows was their thing; her and her dad’s. She’d powered through a few new ones in the last few months, but it was never the same. And now, she felt numb to it all. Sometimes she would surf through the different categories, looking at things that used to interest her, only to find that she didn’t care to watch any of them. Maybe she’d already seen everything she would ever love, and that thought scared her more than anything.
She turned over onto her side, facing away from her desk, and saw her old teddy bear sitting atop one of the shelves across the room. Her dad gave it to her the first time he went into surgery, back when she was just a little girl. The bear was a golden brown, with a silky purple bowtie around its neck. And when she was a kid, it was about half her size. She would lug it around in her arms everywhere she went, and Emily would be jealous because the one Dad had given her wasn’t as big. Kate wasn’t sure if Emily still had hers, but Kate’s bear, which she oh so appropriately named Timothee, had its place there on her shelf.
She missed him, her father. It was almost four years since he died. He was diagnosed when Kate was four, and Emily was six. So going in and out of hospitals to visit him was pretty much all Kate had ever known. Before his first surgery, he bought that bear for her from the gift shop at the bottom floor of the hospital. It was a big one, all the way in the city. Kate had never seen a building quite so big before, and the memory stood out to her. Something about skyscrapers made her feel small, minuscule, but also at ease, like her worries didn’t matter in the face of something so large. It was quite the comfort for a suburbanite like her. Any chance she got to go into the city, she’d take it. Emily and Liz were both going to school there, not that either of them ever offered for her to come visit them in their apartments.
Kate let out a deep sigh, then forced herself up out of bed. She shuffled over to the shelf and grabbed Timothee, wrapping her arms around him before returning to bed. She hadn’t held him like this in years, but it felt nice. He still smelled like Dad.
Before long, she fell asleep. And the next morning, she woke feeling a sense of calm that had eluded her for a long time. She was still holding Timothee, but he had somehow made his way up onto her pillow, and her cheek was resting on him. She lifted her head and brushed him off a bit, before uttering a tiny “Sorry buddy” in her meager, just-woken-up voice. But when she moved, she noticed something strange. There was a dampness underneath her, one that went half way up the back of her shirt. At first, she thought she sweat in her sleep. She’d been known to do that occasionally, but it was typically met with an anxious night of tossing and turning, not a morning where she woke up feeling rejuvenated.
She felt around beside her and then pulled back the sheets. It was then that she realized what happened, and her eyes grew wide. She had completely soaked the bed and her clothes, not with sweat, but with pee. She’d wet the bed, and not just a little, but practically a moat-load. Her sweats were drenched, and her dad’s shirt was cold and clammy. She shot out of bed and threw off her clothes, still in sheer disbelief. It was then that she heard a knock on her door, followed by her sister’s voice.
“Can I come in?”