Mom pulled my dress down over my diaper then put the wipes and powder back in my backpack. "Your teacher said you got into a fight today."

I raised my eyebrows at her as I sat up. "No one got hurt."

"She said she had to put you in time out."

"I sat at her desk and colored." That was the one thing I liked about this place. I didn't get punished and when I did, it was more embarrassing than anything.

Mom sighed. "Lyla, why do you insist on getting into trouble? I don't like getting calls at work telling me that you've been bad."

"I'm not bad, mom. Everyone here's just weird and... they don't understand me."

She stood and held out the backpack for me to put on. "Lyla, this town is nice. The people are nice. My coworker has a little girl that you could play with. Maybe I'll set up a play date for the two of you this weekend."

I rolled my eyes. "I'd rather you didn't."

She opened the door. "It can't be much fun playing all by yourself. Weren't you just saying the other day that no one wanted to be your friend and play with you here at school?"

It hurt to know that the other kids didn't want to play with me. Sure, they acted like babies and whined all the time. But it still wasn't a good feeling. "A playdate just sounds... childish."

"Give it a chance. You might make a new friend."

I sighed but said nothing more as she took my hand and we walked from the classroom.

---

Mom was going through our Halloween decorations that weekend. The leaves were starting to fall outside and it was too cold that weekend to go outside and play. So I was stuck helping her decorate the house.

I pushed around the various decorations in the box before finding a vine that wrapped around a door made of fall leaves. It was something we always put up back home, something I missed. I grew up in our old house and suddenly, it was taken from me without me getting any kind of say in the matter.

I sat back down on the floor and untangled it, pulling the leaves back into their appropriate spot. One section of the vine was broken and separated from the rest. I spotted the tape on the coffee table.

I reached across the coffee table for the tape. The tape didn't have one of the holders with the teeth so I grabbed the scissors that sat nearby. I was just about to cut the strip of tape I needed when mom grabbed the scissors from me and put them out of reach.

"Lyla, I don't want you using those without permission first."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't need to ask permission, mom."

"I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I know what I'm doing."

"Lyla, don't argue with me. Ask for my help next time."

I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't want to help anymore."

She responded without looking up from the fake pumpkins she was sorting by color. "Go play in your room then."

I hated the thought of playing with toys but anything was better than getting yelled at. I stood and walked out of the room, shooting mom a dirty look once she couldn't see.

I walked up to the window in my room and stared outside. The playset in the backyard looked so inviting but it was too cold to go outside anymore. The seasons were changing and my restrictions were increasing. There was less I could do and it was really annoying. I hated being stuck in the house all the time.

I glanced at all of the houses around ours. The town was small but had plenty of people living in it. I imagined there were lots of young adults going out and doing fun stuff, enjoying their newfound freedom after being stuck as a baby for seventeen years. It made me wonder what my life would be like once I turned eighteen.

How were they going to teach us how to function in the real world? I didn't know anything about paying bills or getting a job. I wasn't old enough back home. I'd only seen mock applications and those are just standard. It felt a bit intimidating and scary. Maybe that's what they wanted us to feel and think.

They just kept pushing that being a baby was the best thing for us. How long until everyone was a baby?

It was so screwed up yet no one could see it. Not Ms. Diane. Not mom or dad. Only me. And I felt so alone not being able to talk about it to anyone. Not even Alex understood.

It made me feel sadder than I'd felt in a long time.