office space

    “Are you sure I don’t need to go back home and change?” The little blonde new hire asked as she shuffled along in her frilly yellow skirt and white blouse. She felt, in this world of tight corporate buns, skirt suits, and tall thin heels, that she was woefully underdressed, “I read the handbook a few times, and I thought I followed the dress code pretty well…” her voice trailed off, and she reached into her purse, grabbing the small book and taking it out.

    “Sophie, you look totally fine! Trust me, I’m the HR director!” Maria responded, “there’s a pretty lax dress code here in the office, most of the ladies just prefer to dress like this!” She motioned to her own skirt suit, keeping up the bubbly tone, “but you’re totally welcome to express yourself with clothes! It’s part of keeping a relaxed environment here, and I’m sure that your fun outfits will do a lot to keep corporate culture more light-hearted in the office.”

    Sophie frowned but relented, resenting the idea that her wardrobe was somehow “lighthearted”. This was, though, her first day on the job, and she wasn’t really interested in being difficult or insistent, so she dutifully followed in step with Maria.

    They walked, step in step, towards a corner office. As she walked through the generic corporate workspace, Sophie thought about her new foray into adulthood, which inevitably led the blonde to think about her height. She was five foot flat in flats, and there didn’t look to be any other workers even close to that height that she had seen, and everyone was wearing heels. As a result, she was looking firmly at the lower part of Maria’s shoulder blade.

    The HR director gave a few firm but quiet knocks on the door to the office before opening the door for her and Sophie. She was, understandably, confused, since as soon as she walked in, she realized where she was.

    The black haired woman smiled warmly, the few wrinkles on her face somehow adding to her maturity without doing the same to her age. “So, is this going to be the newest addition to the office?” She asked Maria, and Maria replied with an equal amount of warmth.

    “That’s right! Sophie’s here to start work today, why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself?”

    Sophie squirmed awkwardly, feeling like they were talking about her as if she wasn’t there, but eventually, the black haired woman turned to her.

    “Sophie, I’m Christine, I’m the senior executive officer at this office! We’re so glad you’re here to help us, I’m sure you’ll be a great addition to the workplace!”

    “Er, thank you?” Sophie responded, thinking it strange that she would get an audience with the most senior boss on her first day of work, even before she got acquainted with exactly what she would be doing on the job. This was, though, her first hire, so she had no clue about the ins and outs of corporate culture, so she kept her mouth shut and tried to keep her involuntary blushing to a minimum.

    Maria kind of crouched down to talk to Sophie now, keeping her warm smile plastered all over her face.

    “Sophie, there are some chairs outside, do you mind sitting there for a little while so that I can talk to Miss Christine in private, please?”

    The little blonde, upon getting her first real task, however inane, jumped at the chance, “Sure!” she exclaimed, and promptly marched out of the office, shutting the door behind her and taking a seat in one of the chairs outside of the door.

    From her seated position, she could actually see quite a bit of the hustle and bustle of her new workplace. There were, she noticed, no actual men on the job, just women. Their slender, pantyhosed legs dashed around, hurrying to get work done, to fill out paperwork. It looked intense and, frankly, intimidating.

    Every once and awhile, Sophie could have sworn she saw a worker or two steal a look of her, and then talk excitedly in hushed tones. She saw it enough times to start blushing. Eventually, she tried to wave to some of them she caught, which caused them to visibly chuckle. Sophie was both embarrassed, amused, and a little demeaned by this silent game she was playing.

    “Alright Sophie!” Maria said behind her, the door to Christine’s office slung wide open, “Let’s finish up your orientation, and then we can put you on the job, okay?”

    Sophie nodded and then jumped a bit as Maria grabbed her hand and started to hurry, just like how the other office ladies were doing it. As she effortlessly navigated the maze of cubicles, Sophie caught snippets of whispers, little bits of gossip.

    “How cute!”

    “Oh, I bet she’ll be fantastic!”

    “Isn’t Maria the best, ladies?”

    Sophie, to her credit, did her best to ignore the chatter, instead trying to call up to Maria for some questions.

    “Um… Maria?” Sophie asked.

    “It’s Miss Maria, dear,” the woman gently corrected.

    “Oops! Sorry,” Sophie immediately apologized and saw the grin form on Maria’s face, “Do you guys always hurry so much like this?”

    “Yes Sophie, this is a pretty high-stress environment!” she responded, stopping at what looked like an abandoned conference room. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside, taking Sophie with her.

    “That’s where you come in!” She finished, flicking on the lights. The conference room was empty for the most part, save for a single shag rug thrown over the tile carpet on the floor. A TV was attached to the wall facing the rug, and there was another door on the opposite wall of the TV. The blinds were pulled, both to the outside world and towards the office.

    “That’s uh… where I come in?” Sophie asked.

    Maria smiled, grabbing the remote for the TV and turning it on. A timer appeared on the screen.

    “Now, why don’t you sit on that nice rug right there and watch our orientation video, okay? Then you’ll get to know all about what it means to be an office culture assistant!”

    Sophie, naively, sat down on the carpet square, criss-cross applesauce, like a little kid. The corporate culture stuff was definitely bubbly, she thought, but she still couldn’t help but blush at how patronizing everything felt.

    Before she realized it, the countdown was quickly approaching zero. As she returned from being lost in her own thoughts, she realized that Maria was nowhere to be found. She started to get to her feet and walk to the door to look for her, but then a crisp corporate jingle began to play from the TV, and her mind went completely blank.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The little blonde had no idea how much time had passed, she was, for the most part, stuck inside a room that was artificially lit, with no clock on the wall. The TV was bursting with light, playing strange sounds and words barely audible. Since she couldn’t make out any images, Sophie felt like she needed to get closer, or else she wouldn’t get everything she needed to know out of the orientation video. Scrambling to her feet, her legs felt heavy, and she took wobbling, precarious steps up to the TV, grabbing up at it for support. She knew she shouldn’t have this much trouble walking, but she didn’t know why. The television was just out of her reach to get a good grip on it and use it for support, so she felt herself sink to her bottom. She was starting to get worried, worried like she was sick, she couldn’t be sick on her first day of work!

    All of a sudden, the screen stopped, and a countdown appeared again. As if on queue, Maria stepped through the door yet again, and Sophie’s first thought was, when was she this tall?

    “Sophie dear, how did you like the first part of the orientation video?” Maria asked innocently.

    Sophie got up with great difficulty from the floor, taking wobbly steps over to the HR director.

    “Miss Maria!” She called, feeling silly as she spoke, as if the words felt funny to her, “I uh… I feel funny!” She didn’t really convey the gravity of the situation she felt herself in, and that was evident in Maria’s reaction. It was halfway between a sympathetic look of worry and an amused grin.

    “Aww, that’s alright dear, I’m sure it’s just nerves, okay? Why don’t you finish up the next section, and I’ll bring you a nice drink in the next break?”

    Without really being able to respond, Maria shut the door on Sophie, and before she could speak up, the corporate jingle started again, and it all went black.

    Sophie found herself sitting on the rug again, criss-cross applesauce, staring up at the TV, a screen that looked so huge, yet so far away. Initially, she thought it was the same images as last time, but she quickly recognized shapes, maybe even written words. From her vantage point, she couldn’t make it out.

    If she couldn’t make out what everything was on the screen, she wasn’t being properly oriented, so, fearing some kind of assessment at the end of the video series, she got to her feet again, taking more toddling steps up to the screen. This time, she held against the wall, staring up at the TV. As she approached, it felt like the screen spoke to her.

    Cute little baby~

    You’ll make all the workers in the office so happy~

    You have an important job, don’t you dear?~

    But there’s one teensy thing you need to do before you become our little model employee, right?~

    I think you already know what it is~

    Sophie needed to know. Abandoning the wall, she stood directly in front of the TV, as close as she possibly could. The words were extremely quiet, but Sophie could understand them. She was desperate, desperate for the secret of being a model employee.

    Regress~

    The word hit her like a ton of bricks, and she immediately fell backwards. The screen suddenly became uninteresting, and she looked down at her clothes instead, her outfit beginning to shimmer and glow. She could feel the fabric shift around her, and somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, there was something wrong with what was happening, but the desire to be a model employee won out every time. This was just part of the process, Sophie told herself, giggling a little bit as the transforming clothes began to materialize again, her white top becoming a red, Elmo-themed blouse, and her yellow skirt shortening considerably and forming into denim. Her professional but modest flats disappeared entirely, replaced by white ankle socks with strawberry lacings.

    As her outfit calmed down, she looked up at the screen to see another countdown. She thought back to the last one, about how she felt funny, and Maria said it was just nerves. Now she felt… great! Sophie had a goofy grin on her face as she got back onto her unsteady feet.

    The little blonde heard the doorknob click as Maria sailed into the room, her bubbly grin only growing wider as she saw Sophie.

    “Sophie, you’re doing positively amazing, dear!” She said. Sophie giggled with glee, she was a good worker! Feeling happy and energetic, she took toddling steps towards Maria.

    “I did it Miss Maria! I’m becoming a good worker!” Sophie cheered, her hands going up and grabbing as the HR director revealed the baby bottle that she had behind her back.

    “You are, dear! Miss Christine is going to be so happy with you, but you still have a little ways to go in the orientation video pumpkin, can you be good and watch closely for Miss Maria?”

    Sophie shoved the bottle in her mouth, drinking the sweet liquid. Part of her did it because that’s what she learned good employees do in the last part of the video, and the other part did it because she was completely parched. “Uh-huh!” Sophie said around the nipple.

    “Okay, Miss Maria’s going to check your diaper, and then the last section will start baby!”

    Diaper? Sophie thought, but she didn’t react as Maria’s hands crept down and pulled up her denim skirt, revealing a pullup.

    Maria couldn’t stifle a frown, “Hm, looks like you still have some progress to make, Sophie,” she muttered, mostly to herself.

    Realizing the clock was counting down, Maria stood up again, “Anyway, I’m sure the last part will handle it, enjoy sweetheart, we’re all waiting for you on the other side.”

    Maria shut the door with a smile, but Sophie felt… strange again. She plopped down on the rug once more, flipping up her skirt to look at the pullup below. It had disney princesses on it, which she liked, but she couldn’t help but think that something was wrong. Did good employees, big girls, really need this stuff? The jingle bursting from the speakers of the TV put an end to that line of thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Sophie’s eyes filled with wonder as she realized who was on screen, it was Elmo! Elmo was hosting the last part of her orientation video! The fact that her workplace got such a celebrity to do their training videos made Sophie think she made the right choice of employment.

    Elmo was talking directly to her, and Sophie couldn’t help but giggle at how great the situation was.

    “Hey there little Sophie!” the furry red monster said in his characteristic voice, giggling in a way that always made the blonde laugh to, “Elmo is so happy you decided to help Elmo’s friends here, you’re doing a really great thing!”

    To get Maria’s approval for her performance was one thing, but Elmo? Freakin’ Elmo? Sophie was over the moon.

    “But Elmo can’t help but notice that you’re not quite done with your training, so Elmo is going to finish it up for you, and then we can play, doesn’t that sound fun?”

    “Emmo!” Sophie cheered, struggling to get to her feet, eventually standing up in front of the TV yet again.

    “Okay, Elmo will count,” the red puppet said, “One, twoooo, threeee!”

    Regress~

    Sophie’s lips suckled automatically on the pacifier that appeared between her lips, the ribbon clipped to her Elmo blouse. Even though she had the rubber teat in, she couldn't help but drool, thin strands of the stuff refracting the fluorescent light shining from above in the fixtures embedded in the tile ceiling. For some reason, the girl felt a pressure underneath her, pushing her thighs apart. Grabbing at the hem of her skirt, she pulled up, revealing a thick Pamper, Elmo grinning widely from the crotch of the padding. Her mind was emptied, other than everything she needed to know to be Sophie, the permanent office toddler. Her grin was unbreakable.

    “Elmo thinks you look like the perfect office baby!” The red monster proclaimed, lifting his soft hands up in the air, causing Sophie to giggle uncontrollably yet again.

    “Elmo can tell you, you have a very important job, Sophie, you have to be a cute little baby in the office for all of the nice ladies that work there, can you do that?”

    “Uh-huh!” Sophie said around her pacifier, she would be extra cute for all of the office ladies, cause that was her job!

    Then the TV suddenly shut off. Sophie was now alone in a quiet room, the only sounds being the suckling of the pacifier and the rustling of the diaper she was wearing. The door opened, but nobody was on the other side. Sophie toddled over to peek through, seeing nothing but cubicles, along with a long, unbroken corridor between them to the far other wall of the office.

    Sophie blushed, not knowing what to do. Initially, she wanted Maria, Maria to come and tell her what to do. And then she realized that she had just watched the video, and so she probably needed to see Miss Christine! Her office was somewhere on the other side, so Sophie set off, taking toddling strides out and into the rat race.

    It was intimidating, to say the least, partially because of the pace of everything, impossibly big ladies strutting around, looking so powerful, looking so big compared to Sophie, but also because, as soon as they saw her, they stopped what they were doing, looking dumbfounded.

    Just as how it was when she walked into the orientation room, the whispering continued, with the same kind of stuff being said, but Sophie didn’t seem to mind now, she felt… funny again. She was still toddling with purpose, but her blank grin was turned into a confused frown. She kept going, turning at the wall towards Christine’s office, hearing the whispering behind her grow in intensity, feeling the diaper rustle underneath her. She began to whine, wanting Maria, Christine, someone! Anyone she knew!

    She didn’t know how much farther it was until she reached the corner, but she was starting to become a little frantic, and she didn’t know why! The funny feeling was getting bigger, bigger and bigger, until finally she realized what it was.

    “Uh-oh!” Sophie declared, muffled behind her pacifier. Her toddling legs bent into a shallow squat, and her face began to turn red as she pushed, sighing contentedly as her diapers grew mushy and warm, and the funny feeling slowly left her body.

    As Sophie began to leave her squat, her gaze crept forward once more, now spotting the lower hem of a smart-looking pencil skirt. Confused, she looked up some more, and eventually saw the face of Christine looking down at her, the smile identical to the one she gave the little blonde when she first met her. Now she understood the warm look, and now she understood her place in the office.

    “Miss Chrissy!” Sophie yelled, extending her arms and grabbing at Christine’s skirt, causing the woman to giggle and bend down a little bit to get closer to Sophie’s new level.

    “Hi sweetheart, I assumed after that little uh-oh in your new didees, that means you’re all ready to start your new job, right?” The woman cooed.

    “Yeah! I watched the video, and I learned all about being a good office worker, and then Emmo was there, and he helped me be an even better worker!” Sophie prattled on and on around her pacifier, barely able to be understood. Christine instead just picked her up, carrying her into the corner office. A few managers got to sneak in as well, including, of course, Maria, who was bursting with pride, both at herself, and at Sophie.

    The changing mat was already laid out on the executive’s rich mahogany desk, and she set Sophie down with ease, the toddler unceasing in her chattering.

    “That’s very nice sweetie,” Christine cut her off, trying to gently keep the girl on some kind of established train of thought as she continued the change, “What did Elmo tell you about how to be a good office baby?”

    “He uh… he told me that I should always try to be as cute as I can be, and that I should treat every nice office lady like they’re my mommy!”

    The spectators couldn't help themselves, they ooh-ed with endearment at the girl’s answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Sophie had no idea how long it had been since she had started off at the office, mostly because the constant retraining she had to do periodically took her ability to count away. Every once and awhile, Sophie would be plopped down in a playpen in the orientation room, and a new video, always featuring Elmo, would play, and it would change how little or how much she was regressed. One week she might be just on the cusp of pullups, and another week she might be… well.

    “Hey, can you take her for a while? I have a meeting in five,” Christine said, sailing into Maria’s office effortlessly, barely needing a confirmation as she took Sophie off of her chest and into the baby swing on the floor. Sophie could do little but burble around her pacifier, kicking her legs in her footy pajamas as Christine buckled her in.

    “Of course! You’ll be working through lunch then, I assume?” Maria responded, barely looking up from her laptop, “I have stuff to get done during then too, but I’ll just get one of the girls to feed her, it’ll be fine.”

    “Make sure to confirm that they went to our burping class Wednesday night, okay? I don’t want a repeat of yesterday, it was hell to explain why I had to leave that conference call, even for a second!” Christine replied.

    “I’ll make sure, good luck in your meeting Christine,” Maria called as Christine sailed out of the room as speedily as she came.

    Sophie, used to being the center of attention always, quickly grew bored of the mobile spinning above her baby swing, and began to get fussy, grunting and whining.

    “Aww, what’s the matter?” Maria cooed, getting up from her desk and bending down over the baby swing, “Is Miss Maria being a dum-dum for ignoring the cutest thing in the room, is she?”

    Sophie didn’t understand most words after this, but cute still stuck with her, causing her to grin wetly around the pacifier in her mouth.

    “Come here…” the woman said warmly, lifting Sophie up from the swing, cradling her in her arms.

    “You’re definitely cute like this,” she continued, knowing that Sophie wouldn't understand, “But I can’t wait for Christine to decide that you should go back to walking again, I love letting you roam around the office.”

    “Muh!” Sophie replied.

    “I know baby, I know,” Maria muttered back, before she realized that Sophie wasn’t trying to respond in her baby babble, instead she was grunting. Her absurdly thick infant diapers already strained against the fabric of her sleeper, but as she pushed Maria could definitely see the diaper balloon outward yet again. Sighing, and knowing she didn’t have the time, Maria bounced Sophie in her arms, making a beeline to the break room.

    Clean baby Sophie was delivered back to Maria’s office after a little while, and she cooed and kissed the girl before putting her back in the swing, placed closer now to Maria’s desk, so she could periodically bend down and push it, rocking Sophie to what was probably her third nap of the day.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    (More to come?~)