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He was a game changer.
He changed the game just when everything seemed to be going smoothly.
At least, that was what Earl referred to himself as. In the mediocrity that was high school life, Earl tried to slip through the cracks like an invisible superhero. Whenever drama got old and homework become insufferably important, Earl spiced things up. Whether it was sending nude pics of a freshman all over Facebook, or discretely tipping off a cheating scandal, Earl was the behind-the-scenes drama queen.
"You have that look in your eye," Alice said. She was eating carrots.
"It's just been rather boring lately," Earl said.
Alice rolled her eyes. They were seated in their high school cafeteria, trying to blend in with the BS that high school emitted. Earl could practically smell the desperation to fit in wafting from every student there. He only liked Alice because she volunteered to be his accomplice every now and then. He also liked her because she was the only one he knew that shared his obsession with World of Warcraft without being a total geek.
"So, Mr. Asshole," Alice said. "Who's your next target?"
Earl contemplated this. "It needs to be big, this time. Our small attacks haven't really stirred any drama, and people are spending their lunch talking about algebra. We need something... something completely game changing."
"Cheating scandal?"
"No, no. We've done that too many times. Something unique."
"We could try spreading a teacher-student rumor."
Earl shook his head. "We did that one just two months ago, and it fizzed out quickly. It can't be a rumor. It has to actually happen this time."
Alice rolled her eyes once more, finishing off her water bottle. She tossed it in the recycling bin, and stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. She did a little jig. "Well, you can think of that on your own, because I'm dying for a piss. If I don't get to the little girl's room, I'll probably wet myself." She chuckled to herself. "Wouldn't that be a horror?" She didn't wait for an answer, turning for the exit.
Earl watched her go. A slow, almost devilish smile spread on his face as an idea sparked in his brain.
Yes...
Wouldn't that be a horror?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
The target was Noah Steele.
Earl decided that if he was going to make someone humiliate themselves, they needed to be well-known. They needed to be someone that everyone would be whispering about. And who better than Noah Steele? The kid was popularity in a bundle. He was captain of the soccer team, a self-proclaimed player, and had the body of a Greek god to boot. Genes favored him like teachers favored kiss-up students.
"Are you sure this will work?" Alice whispered. They were sitting in the hallway a few meters away from Noah, who was talking with a girl by his locker.
"I've got diuretics."
"So? He'll find a bathroom."
"I'll put lots of diuretics."
"Is that dangerous?"
"No." Earl paused. "I'm not sure."
"Earl!" Alice hissed.
"It's fine. I tested them on myself."
Alice's eyes widened. "You did."
"Yes. It..." He blushed faintly. "It works quite well. If I didn't have a bathroom in my house, my trousers would have been soaked after thirty minutes."
Alice giggled to herself, and Earl sighed. He hadn't enjoyed the experience, but it was necessary to ensure success. He was planning on slipping the diuretics into Noah's water bottle at the end of gym class. If things went according to plan, Noah would drink from his bottle since he'd be sweaty and thirsty after gym, and would head straight to the double-block science period.
Their science teacher Dr. Cather was usually a dick about bathroom privileges, so Earl had a good feeling about his plan.
"Don't you ever feel like a bad person?" Alice asked him.
Earl paused. Did he? "If I wasn't here, high school would be a bore."
"The sheer arrogance," Alice said.
"It's true," Earl said. The bell rang. Earl stood up, shoving the diuretics in his pocket. "Time for action."
Alice nodded, and they got up, proceeding to put their plan in action.
.........
Earl sat in the back of the science classroom, tapping his foot impatiently. He had already placed the diuretics into Noah's water bottle after gym class, and was waiting for the boy to enter the classroom. He was taking his time, though - what if he had chosen to use the bathroom before science? Dr. Cather was already doing attendance, and Noah had yet to show up. Was the kid blowing off class?
It wouldn't be a huge surprise. Noah tended to skip class to make out with girls quite often.
Just as he was thinking this, Noah entered the classroom. His first few buttons of his shirt were undone, and his hair was mussed. Clearly, he had been late because he'd been a little... caught up. Earl noted, with a certain amount of glee, that the water bottle he was holding in his hand was empty.
"Mr. Steele! Late again!" Dr. Cather snapped..
"Sorry," Noah said. "I got caught up."
Dr. Cather eyed him disapprovingly. "I can see that. Take a seat."
Noah grinned impishly, before plopping down in one of the middle-row seats, legs splayed open in confident relaxation. Earl observed that Noah was wearing light gray sweatpants - any piss would be incredibly visible. Earl also wasn't stupid. He knew that if Noah was on the verge of wetting himself, the boy would disobey orders and head straight out of the classroom. But Earl had things covered in case that happened... for now, though...
"Let's jump straight into the factors that govern natural selection." Dr. Cather began grating about biology, chalk screeching on the blackboard. "As you know, variability is necessary for natural selection to occur, which is why individuals in a species must vary for certain genes to be favored..."
Earl tuned the teacher out. He was one of those "study for a test the morning of and still get a 95" type of kids. Instead, he doodled lazily on the side of his notebook, keeping half an eye on Noah. Noah didn't seem very uncomfortable at the moment, but after about ten minutes, Earl noticed a change in his posture.
Instead of sitting with his legs open wide like before, he had discretely moved them closer together, knees touching. His brow was also furrowed in concentration. Earl imagined that his bladder was filling quite steadily. Earl had tried the diuretics at home, and it had had him bursting full in minutes. He had lasted only a half hour before unstoppable leaks had stained his pants. He wondered how Noah would last the whole double science period - 80 minutes long.
Five minutes later, and Earl was seeing quick results. Earl's doodling had stopped, and his eyes were transfixed on Noah.
Noah had his legs crossed tightly together, thighs jammed closed as if glue had molded them together. His face was flushed, and the crinkle of his sweats as he shifted uncomfortably filled the rather silent classroom. A few people around him seemed to have recognized his predicament, but nobody snickered. Everyone liked Noah. Noah was the popular kid, and people ate him up like he was God.
But God didn't have trouble holding his pee like Noah did. Noah moaned softly, arching his back, his crossed legs bouncing up and down rapidly. The diuretics had worked like a charm. Noah was bursting to pee, and Earl was relishing in his quickly succeeding mission.
"Can anyone tell me what macro evolution is?" Dr. Cather asked, seemingly unaware of Noah's heavy breathing and constant shifting. "Perhaps tell the difference between micro and macro?"
The classroom was silent. Noah groaned softly.
"What was that, Mr. Steele?"
"Huh- oh, nothing." Noah leaned forward, gritting his teeth. "It's nothing."
"Answer the question, then."
"The question? What question?"
Everyone laughed quietly.
"Mr. Steele!" Dr. Cather looked annoyed. "Pay attention!"
"Sorry." Noah pressed his thighs tighter together if possible, his legs tangled in a knot. Earl watched him with interest. He wasn't fascinated by his predicament, nor did he have anything against Noah. But Earl liked his plans to follow through smoothly, and he was impatient with the question of whether his plan would succeed. Moments later, and it looked like it definitely would.
Noah was shaking rapidly in his seat. His legs were still crossed, but he was bobbing in his chair, face bright red with need. His hand was in the air, but Mr. Cather was facing the chalkboard, so he didn't see Noah's hand. By now, everyone in the class knew about his predicament, and was staring openly. Earl imagined Noah's bladder was extremely full. It was twenty minutes into class, and Earl had had his hands jammed in his crotch at home during the twenty-minute mark.
Noah was holding out better than him.
"Noah?" Dr. Cather asked in annoyance. "What is it? Have you finally decided to pay attention?"
"Can I use the bathroom?" Noah asked in a strained voice.
"The bathroom? Of course not. I never allow students to leave."
"It's - it's an emergency," he begged. He re-crossed his legs the other way, trembling. "I really have to go."
"I suggest you hold it. After coming late, and being incredibly disrespectful, I don't see why I should let you go. Besides, you know the rules. Go at lunch."
Noah looked like he was going to cry. "Please," he tried.
"I'm sorry Noah, but my answer is no." Dr. Cather turned back to the chalkboard. "Now, let's talk about how allele frequencies can fluctuate. Does anyone know what the Bottleneck effect is?"
As Dr. Cather dove back into his lesson, Earl had completely abandoned feigning any interest in class. His eyes were glued to Noah -as were the rest of the classes'. Noah seemed to be quite aware of the attention he was getting, and he seemed to be trying to conceal his increasing desperation. Still, he could do nothing to hide his squirming, his legs pressed together, and his crotch discretely grinding into the hard edge of the seat. Earl figured the diuretics were still pumping more liquid into his bladder, since Noah seemed to be getting more and more desperate.
Thirty minutes in, and Earl was highly impressed by Noah. Noah still hadn't touched his crotch with his hands, instead opting to squirm harder into the chair. Earl was a little disappointed in himself. He hadn't lasted thirty minutes, and Noah was still managing his composure quite well.
"Sir!" Noah pleaded. "Please." He groaned, leaning forward.
"I already said no." Mr. Cather put one hand on his hip. "Stop disrupting the class."
"But I can't - ohh." Noah moaned, twisting feverishly. "I'm sorry!"
"Sorry?" Dr. Cather asked in confusion.
Before Earl or the teacher could blink, Noah was out of his chair and hobbling toward the exit. His legs were pressed together as he nearly waddled out of the room, his bum and thighs shaking with desperation. Earl watched his desperate form casually, not at all unperturbed by what was happening. He had expected it. Of course Noah would rather face detention with Dr. Cather than humiliate himself in front of the whole class.
"Noah!" Dr. Cather barked. "Come back!"
Noah ignored him, and the last thing Earl saw of him was Noah's hand going to his crotch as he disappeared from view.
Ah, well. Things were just starting to get interesting anyway.
Poor Noah would wet himself no matter what he did.
Earl had a 100% success rate in his plans, and it wasn't a record that was going to be ruined anytime soon.
......
Noah was dying.
The moment he left the classroom, and entered the empty hallway, he squeezed his crotch hard with both hands. His bladder was hard and full in his abdomen - a swelling balloon of piss. He had never had to pee so bad in his life, and he could barely hold back the tremendous flood. His hands pushed further into his sweatpants, and he groaned as he tried to make his way to the men's bathroom.
Each step sent tingles to his full bladder, and his body trembled with each one. He was glad the hallways were empty because it gave him enough privacy to keep his hands glued to his crotch. Every few steps, he had to stop, leaning forward and pressing his thighs together, moaning with desperation. He had no idea why he had to pee so bad. He squeezed harder with his hand, and when he saw the bathroom come into view, a tiny spurt of pee snuck out.
Noah whimpered to himself, pushing his crotch into his hand. His bum wiggled and his body shook like a leaf as he made his way to toward the bathroom door.
"Noah!"
Noah stiffened. Immediately, he straightened up. His full bladder felt like a bowling bowl in his navel, and he whimpered once more under his breath as he forced his hands to let go. He trembled hard with sheer urgency as he survived on holding back the flood just with his legs jammed together.
Turning around, he swayed his hips lightly. It was Alice. She was a pretty girl, one he quite fancied, but had too much respect for to play around with.
"Alice." His voice quavered.
"Hey, Noah." She smiled sunnily. "Skipping class?"
"I'm sorry. I - I- " He couldn't think straight. A leak shot out, and he rubbed his legs together. "I have to pee. I have to go-"
Alice grabbed his arm. "I've actually been meaning to talk to you."
"Please, not now." Another leak shot out. Noah bent double, crossing his legs tightly. There was wetness visible on his crotch.
Alice seemed to be oblivious to this. "You're on the soccer team, right? Well, the girls soccer team was thinking of having a fun game between the two teams. A battle of the sexes kind of thing, you know?"
Her words fell away to Noah. He needed to go, but Alice's hand kept a tight grip on his wrist. He whimpered in pain, and his bladder quivered and trembled. Suddenly, hot need overcame him, and he used his free hand and shoved it deep in his crotch. He squeezed his eyes shut, and felt tears building behind his eyelids. He had to go so bad.
"Alice," he begged. "I need to pee."
"Hmm? Yeah, yeah. I just need to talk to you real quick."
"You don't understand. I need to - I need to - " He moaned again, as a long stream of piss slid between his tightly clenched fingers and streaked his gray sweatpants. His bladder pounded against his skin, straining and full with liquid. He could hardly stand it. He was just about to shove Alice away from him when the bell rang loudly. He froze. Most of the single block classes began emptying into the hallways, bodies tumbling out, eager to escape the confines of the classroom doors. Alice left him and disappeared into the flood, gone in a second.
"Oh, no-" Noah whipped back toward the bathroom, but he could already see a steady stream of boys filling inside during the break. There was always a line between classes. Tears spilled down Noah's cheeks. He squirmed in exhaustion, but the efforts were futile. His bladder pushed hard, and more liquid spilled over and into his pants. Noah tried to take a wobbly step forward, but his bladder had swelled even fuller, and it could no longer contain all of the liquid it had been pumped with.
In one single wave of desperation, pee stormed out from his squeezed hand, filling and warming his pants with golden liquid. Noah cried softly as pee drenched his gray sweatpants, pooling into his socks and shoes. A puddle grew steadily around him, and the students surrounding the area stopped and stared at him in awe and shock. People began snapping pictures, and Noah heard the click of video cameras and cell phones.
He had never been so humiliated in his life.
When he was finally done, the bump in abdomen had become flat once more, and the puddle on the floor was as enormous as a sea. His pants were soaked in piss, and his eyes were blurred with tears. Nobody moved to help him. Everyone just stared in silence as the leg of his pants dripped pee onto the floor softly.
Then in another moment, laughter filled the air. Even if people liked Noah, high school students were malicious when they got the opportunity.
He heard faint shouts of "Baby!" and "Need diapers, Noah?" from some of his classmates.
Noah sobbed, and ran into the bathroom, the cameras clicking behind him to make the most miserable day of his life permanent in all its awful glory.
..........
Earl sat on his couch, popping pretzels in his mouth. His laptop rested in front of him, and Alice laid her head on his shoulder, peering at the screen.
"There must be a million of these photos," Earl said, clicking through. They were all Noah, drenched in pee, sobbing his eyes out. Earl was extremely satisfied with his plan. Instead of people talking about how much homework they had, everyone was commenting on Noah's photos.
"Someone even took a video," Alice said mildly.
Earl hummed in agreement.
"Don't you feel bad?" Alice asked. "I felt pretty bad. I almost abandoned the plan."
"But you didn't," Earl said. "That's why you're my partner."
She shrugged, smiling. "So, don't you feel bad?"
He stared at Noah. The kid had never been a bad person. He was generally fairly nice to everyone, and now his reputation had went down the toilet. Or, not down the toilet, but on the hallway floors. Earl perhaps should have felt guilty, but he was going to hell anyway, and he didn't have any personal attachment to his fellow victims. He liked to think of them... as pawns to his chess game.
"I don't feel guilty," Earl finally said.
Alice smirked. "You're literally Satan, I swear."
Earl didn't respond. He didn't consider himself Satan. He didn't consider what he did as evil or malicious.
He was being Earl.
The high school game changer.
The behind-the-scenes to all the drama.
The king on the chessboard, with Alice as his queen.