The Sanctity of Knowledge

Chapter 3
Chapter 3

“But I’m not a second grader!” Alexa protested as Ms. Andrews took her by the hand, leading her to the door.  The class began to point and laugh, entertained by the spectacle of the eight-year-old girl being taken by the hand out the door.  Outside in the hall, Ms. Andrews led Alexa towards the second-grade classroom as Alexa began to sob in embarrassment and confusion.  Deep down, she knew something was wrong but she couldn’t quite remember what that “something” was.

Ms. Andrews paused, crouching down next to Alexa and taking a tissue out of her back pocket.  “Now, now, there’s no need to cry” she consoled, her tone softening considerably upon seeing how upset Alexa was.  “You just got lost and ended up in the wrong classroom.  I have to say, I respect your determination, little lady!  By the time you get to fifth grade, I’ll bet you’re going to be the brightest student in my class!” she predicted, drying Alexa’s tears and wiping her nose.  “Now, do you need to use the potty before I take you to Miss Shaw?” she asked the sniffling little girl.  Alexa looked up, an indignant look on her face as she shook her head “no”.  At this point, she just wanted to be where she belonged.

Ms. Andrews opened the door to the second-grade classroom and led Alexa inside, still holding her by the hand.  The students turned to observe their new classmate as Elizabeth Shaw walked over to greet Ms. Andrews.  “Oh, Jessica!  Say hi to Ms. Andrews, class!” 

“Hi Ms. Andrewwwssssss!” the class replied in sing-song unison.

“And who is this?” Miss Shaw asked.

"Sorry, Ericka but I think she got confused and came to the fifth-grade classroom by accident. She clearly couldn’t keep up with the lessons.  When I looked her up in the database, it said she was supposed to be in your second-grade class.”

"Oh, how odd!  Well, all that matters is that we’ve got you in the right place now, so why don't you take your seat, Alexa?" Miss Shaw said, pointing at the empty desk in the middle of the classroom.  Alexa slowly walked to the empty desk, attempting to force a smile as her new classmates stared down the newcomer.

Miss Shaw walked to the front of the class, addressing her students.  “Now, who wants to tell Alexa what we were working on before she came in?”  Several hands shot up in the ear, each attached to a student eager to demonstrate how attentive and informed they were. 

“Yes, Matthew?  Would you like to tell Alexa what she should be doing?” Miss Shaw asked after calling on the confident-looking young man who turned to Alexa, holding up his math workbook.  “We’re doing addition with two-digit numbers!” he exclaimed, holding up two fingers to emphasize his point.  Alexa nodded in a way that she hoped demonstrated that she was fully capable of such computations.  After all, perhaps all of this really was a misunderstanding.  Maybe if she impressed Miss Shaw, she could show that she really did belong in the fifth grade!  Miss Shaw walked up to the blackboard and began her lecture.  Alexa sat patiently, trying her best to absorb everything she was saying.  For some reason, the concept seemed new to her, despite the fact that she could have sworn she knew how to add such numbers. 

After about fifteen minutes, however, Alexa realized she had to use the bathroom.  As the urge to urinate became stronger and stronger, Alexa raised her hand to get Miss Shaw’s attention, but her back was turned to the class as she continued on with her lesson.  After what seemed like an eternity to Alexa, Miss Shaw finally finished her lesson and turned back to face the class.

“…….and that’s how we line up double-digit numbers to add them.  Now who wants to come up and solve this first one on the board?  Any volunteers?”  Since Alexa’s hand was already up in the air, she immediately grabbed Miss Shaw’s attention. 

“Alexa!  You seem eager to show the class what you’ve learned!  Why don’t you come up to the board and solve this one for the class?” she offered, holding out a piece of chalk. 

“Um, ok but can I use the potty first Miss Shaw?” Alexa asked as she jumped out of her seat and towards the blackboard. 

“You’re a big girl, right Alexa?  You can hold it for a few more minutes, can’t you?”  Miss Shaw asked encouragingly.  Alexa turned around and noticed the entire class staring at her, waiting for a response to what they failed to realize was a rhetorical question.  Alexa swallowed, looked at Miss Shaw and then faced the class again.  “Y-yea!  I can hold it!” she said bravely, taking the chalk from Miss Shaw’s hand and walking to the blackboard.  As Alexa stared at the problem on the board, the fog that she had felt earlier from when she was attempting to read clouded her mind.  She knew how to do this problem only a few minutes ago, what was happening to her?  To make matters worse, the urge to urinate was growing stronger with each passing moment. 

“Alexa, what’s wrong?  You seemed so confident a few seconds ago… do you want me to walk you through it, honey?” Miss Shaw asked, walking over to Alexa. 

“I……..no……..I just have to remember, that’s all!  I know I can do it!” Alexa replied testily, determined not to be embarrassed in front of the class the way she was in front of Ms. Andrews’ students.  Alexa’s pride now overrode any other concern she had, including making it to the bathroom on time.  She stared at the numbers again, trying to remember how to subtract them.  Then, something strange happened.  Alexa new what the numbers were by themselves, but didn’t understand why they were next to each other.  Was there a name for that?  The feeling Alexa had back in Ms. Andrews classroom returned as she felt herself getting smaller, her uniform shrinking along with her as she struggled to understand what she was looking at on the blackboard. 

Then, it happened. 

Alexa began to feel the crotch of her panties becoming damp, then flooded with warmth. This was  accompanied by a faint hissing sound, followed by the sensation of warm liquid running down her inner thighs and into her shoes.  Alexa looked down in horror and realized she had lost control and was peeing herself.  She grabbed her crotch to stop the flow of urine but it was no use.  Miss Shaw uttered a soft “Ohhhhh, nooooooo………”  as Alexa finished relieving herself on the classroom floor.  Alexa turned around with her hands covering her crotch, faced the class and tearfully proclaimed the obvious:

“I……..I had an accident………”  Alexa proceeded to break down and bawl, covering her face with her wet hands.  Miss Shaw quickly took action.  “I want everyone to copy the problems I wrote on the board and solve them while I take Alexa to the nurse!” she commanded as Alexa’s classmates pointed and laughed.  Miss Shaw quickly took Alexa by the hand, leading her out the door as Alexa sobbed in shame.  By the time they had reached the door, the class had already started to chant “Alexa’s a BABY, Alexa’s a BABY!”

Miss Shaw took Alexa into the girl’s bathroom, removing her shoes and pee-soaked socks as she attempted to dry off the sobbing little girl’s legs and clean her hands.  “Shhhh, shhhh…….there, there……..it’s ok, sweetheart.  You just had an accident, that’s all.  I’m going to take you to the school nurse and she’s going to take care of you, ok?” she assured in a soothing voice. 

Alexa glanced at her tearily.  “And…….and then I can come back to second grade?” Alexa asked in an uncertain tone.  Miss Shaw smiled kindly, then shook her head.  “Oh, sweetheart, I don’t think you belong in second grade.  I think there might have been some sort of mixup!  You’re too young to be one of my students……..” she said, taking off her sweater and wrapping Alexa in it, then picking her up and holding her as if she were a small child.  When Alexa saw her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she realized she was a small child.  She looked like she was barely five years old.  Alexa began to tear up again and was soon crying into Miss Shaw’s chest.