User blog:MrTyeDye/The Nightmare House (Part 9: Lisa)

Previous Chapters:

(Lori)

(Leni)

(Luna)

(Luan)

(Lynn)

(Lucy)

(Lana)

(Lola)

Lisa sat in her mother's lap with her arms folded and her head slightly bowed, wearing an expression that practically screamed I would rather be anywhere else. Beside her sat her father, Lynn Sr., and before her sat Ms. Shrinivas, sitting behind her teacher's desk with her hands folded atop it. Lisa found these monthly parent-teacher conferences exceedingly tedious. Every session played out in the exact same way; "Your daughter has demonstrated exemplary aptitude in every subject," "she's performed far beyond expectations," blah, blah, blah...

On the positive side, Lisa's parents had promised her ice cream afterwards, so she at least had something to look forward to. She just needed to sit still and tune out her teacher for a half hour or so, and it'd all be over...

...or so she thought. Her curiosity was piqued when Ms. Shrinivas began the conference with a sentence that Lisa had never heard her use before:

"I've been having some concerns about your daughter, Lisa."

Lisa's weary eyelids flipped open. What was there to be concerned about?

"She's not having trouble socializing, is she?" asked Lynn Sr.

"Actually, no," said Ms. Shrinivas. "Not anymore, anyway. About a month ago I warned her that I was going to give her an F in Social Skills if she didn't start making friends. But she's made a friend since then, and the two of them get along famously."

This provoked a small smile from Lisa, who felt a glimmer of pride for managing to bond with Darcy Helmandollar, in spite of their vast differences.

"Well, that's good to hear," said Rita. "But if that's not the problem, then what is?"

Ms. Shrinivas sighed. "The problem is with her science experiments."

Rita and Lynn Sr.'s eyes burst open with surprise. "Her science experiments?" asked Rita. "What's wrong with those?"

Ms. Shrinivas sighed again, giving the parents a sympathetic look. "I know that must not be easy to hear," she said. "I'm sure you take plenty of pride in your daughter's scientific aptitude. But her experiments involve handling substances that are both volatile and hazardous."

Her face hardened as she leaned over the desk, looking the parents straight in the eye. "Just a week ago, she almost got a drop of concentrated acid in Darcy's eye."

"In my defense," said Lisa, "I had warned her several times that-"

"Lisa, shush," interrupted Lynn Sr. "Mommy and Daddy are talking."

Lisa rolled her eyes, but let them return to their conversation, prepared to jump back in if she needed to.

"Even though Darcy wasn't hurt, there's no telling what'll happen the next time one of the other children wanders too close to her."

"What's the big deal?" asked Rita. "Just take away her science equipment. Problem solved."

"Over my dead-" began Lisa, only to be shushed by Rita.

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple," Ms. Shrinivas said with a solemn shake of her head. "I've seen Lisa conduct dangerous experiments with ordinary household objects. Once, during snack time, I saw her use a pickle to channel electrical current, turning it into a crude light. As soon as I saw it, I warned all the other children not to touch it, but if I hadn't stepped in soon enough, someone could have been electrocuted."

This elicited a gasp from Rita, though Lisa didn't understand why; after all, shouldn't she have already known how dangerous her experiments were?

"It pains me to say this, but Lisa's simply too brilliant for her own good," said Ms. Shrinivas. "We need to put her in an environment where she won't be a threat to herself and others, until she learns some restraint."

Lynn Sr. narrowed his eyes at the teacher. "What are you suggesting, exactly?"

"I'm saying that Lisa needs to be taken out of kindergarten."

Lisa shrugged, figuring that a change in scenery would probably do her some good. True, she'd miss Darcy, but she could just as easily find other students to make friends with.

"I guess we can do that," said Rita. "So where should we put her? Fourth Grade? Fifth? Sixth?"

Ms. Shrinivas maintained her weary, sorrowful frown. "I'm not proposing moving her forward," she said. "I'm proposing moving her back."

Rita let out another gasp, this one twice as big as the last, and threw a hand over her gaping mouth. Meanwhile, Lisa was left in a state of stunned silence, as she struggled to process what she just heard. The idea of a girl with her intellect being held back... no, sent back a grade was too preposterous for her to comprehend.

"Back?" asked Lynn Sr. "You're telling us to send her back to preschool?"

"To be honest, I think even that might be too dangerous," said Ms. Shrinivas. "To truly ensure her safety, we'd have to send her back even further."

"But the only grade below preschool is... is..."

Lynn Sr. seemed to be struggling to finish that sentence, as if the last one or two words got caught in his throat.

"Is what?" asked Lisa, apprehension entering her voice. "Is what?"

This time, her parents didn't even acknowledge her, instead keeping their gazes locked on her teacher.

"Ms. Shrinivas, are you sure that that's the best solution?" asked Rita, her voice breaking.

Ms. Shrinivas looked down at Lisa, her eyes displaying a deep feeling of regret for what she was about to say. "I... I'm afraid it's the only solution."

Rita and Lynn Sr. nodded, both with looks of quiet resignation etched into their faces. Without another word, she picked Lisa up off her lap and handed her over to the teacher.

"W-what's going on?!" demanded Lisa, wriggling around in Ms. Shrinivas' grip as she carried her out of the room. "Where are you taking me?! I have a right to know the details of this new educational adjustment!"

Ms. Shrinivas didn't say a word - and she didn't have to. Lisa, as it turned out, would get her answer as soon as she saw the teacher arrive at the door at the end of the hall: one labeled "DAYCARE" in cutesy, all-capital bubble letters.

Lisa's stomach churned as Ms. Shrinivas opened the door, to reveal a room scattered with blocks, rocking horses, jack-in-the-boxes, teddy bears and other infantile paraphernalia. The walls were painted with murals depicting overly saccharine scenes of stick-figure children holding hands under a rainbow, while a grinning sun beamed down at them. On one side of the room was a plastic hexagonal multi-colored playpen.

"I'm sorry, Lisa, but this is for your own good," Ms. Shrinivas said with a sigh, as she carried Lisa over to the playpen and dropped her in.

"Ms. Shrinivas, wait!" Lisa cried, as the teacher turned her back and started to exit the room. "There must be a less drastic solution to this problem! I can take additional precautions to-"

"Well, hello there," called a smooth, honey-drenched tenor voice from inside the playpen.

Lisa swiveled around towards the source of the voice, and found a brown teddy bear with a baby blue ribbon around its neck sitting in the middle of the playpen.

"It's so nice to meet you, Lisa," said the teddy bear, rising to its feet and holding out its arms towards her. At its full height, it towered at least a foot over Lisa. "There's always room for more babies here at the daycare."

Lisa, flinched, baffled at how the teddy bear was talking and how it knew her name. "I-I'm sorry, but this is all a big misunderstanding. I was placed here due to the questionable judgment of my kindergarten teacher. I'm not a baby."

The teddy bear raised its stubby hand to its snout, as if to stifle a giggle. "Are you sure?" it asked. "You look like one."

Lisa looked down at herself, and let out a horrified gasp. In lieu of her usual green sweater and khakis, she was now wearing a green baby tee, along with a thick, plush diaper.

"W-what?!" she cried, her face flushed red with shame. "I-I didn't put those on!"

"Well, of course you didn't, silly," said the teddy bear. "Babies are too little to dress themselves."

"T-that's not what I meant!" sputtered Lisa. "I don't know who put me in this puerile outfit, nor do I know their motivation for doing so, but I can say with absolute certainty that I am not a baby."

The teddy bear started advancing towards her, hobbling about on its stubby legs. "But don't you want to be? Don't you want to drink your milkies and play with big blocks and crawl around in your diapee?"

"No! That all sounds dreadful!" cried Lisa. "And you're supposed to be inanimate!"

The teddy bear waggled its paw at her in a playful scolding gesture. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Babies aren't supposed to use words that big."

"That's because I'm not a baby!"

Lisa jabbed her finger towards the wall of the playpen. "Now please undo the lock on this containment unit and let me leave!"

But the teddy bear just shook its head. "Oh, no, we don't want that. We need to keep you in a place where we can watch you. What if you make a wetsy, or what if you go boom-boom and fall on your tushy-wushy?"

Lisa cringed at the cutesy language the teddy bear was using. "That's enough!" she spat. "I demand that you address me with the dignity and intelligence I deserve!"

Suddenly, the bear's felt eyebrows arched downward over its button eyes. "What a rude, naughty baby," it said, its tone shifting from playful to threatening. "I warned you about using big words, but it looks like that wasn't enough. I think someone needs to be spanked."

The bear's voice suddenly dropped an octave on the last word, causing Lisa to jump in her skin. As her frightened eyes were locked upon the bear, she noticed tiny metal claws starting to poke out of its paws. That was all the motivation she needed to make a break for it.

Unfortunately, that would prove to be easier said than done. Due to the bulk of her diaper, she was forced into an awkward waddle, and she only managed to make it a few feet before losing her balance and falling on her butt. Frantically, she pushed herself onto her hands and knees and tried to crawl away, but by then the bear had caught up to her. Lisa felt his paw coil itself around her ankle, and she winced as his small claws nicked her skin.

"You're being very difficult, Lisa," it said sharply. "Seems like I'm going to have to teach you to behave yourself."

"No!" hollered Lisa, her voice cracking. "Get away from me! I'm not a baby! I don't need a spanking!"

Tears started welling up as her protests went unheeded, though she desperately tried to keep them in. The teddy bear lifted her up and carried her over to a small table set up in the center of the playpen, all while she flailed about in its grip. Once there, he took a seat at the table, put Lisa over its knee, and started smacking her on the rear as hard as it could. Lisa bit her lip and clenched her eyes shut as the punishment was doled out, determined not to give it the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

But by the time she had endured the tenth consecutive slap, she was ready to give up. The stinging, agonizing pain was simply too great for her to tolerate. The bear had broken her.

"MOMMY!" she bawled, with hot tears fogging up her glasses and streaming down her cheeks. "MOMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY!"

The feeling of the teddy bear's paw striking her one more time was the last thing she felt before she woke up.