When I was 15 or so, something miraculous happened: I grew up. I started to become and adult. I had a relationship, and a job (assistant at the sporting goods store, after Macy's turned me down, of course). As an adult, I looked upon the mall in a whole different perspective. It was no longer a place of awe and wonder, but of some very harsh realities.

Every day after school, my friends and I would get on the bus and go to the mall as we had been doing for the past year or two. However, we were no longer here to hang out. We had jobs. I worked at Thompson's Sporting Goods, Gary worked at the video store, Carlos at Aeropostle, and even Jay got a job repairing machines at the arcade. Then again, of course, there was Chad and his private business. I became a very frequent customer there and helped out during my free time.

Christina worked across from Carlos at Aeropostale. She worked in the woman's side of the store, while he worked at the means. This was convenient in that when we all met up after work, I would always know what was going on. There was a bit of a problem, however; the store gave very few bathroom breaks. That put Christina in a bit of a dilemma.

One day after she nearly had an accident, she asked me for my advice. "Wear some protection."

"The pads aren't holding it," she said. "And I can't wear a diaper."

"Why not?"

"Do you have any idea how embarrassing that would look if somebody found out?"

"They have discreet products that are also cost effective and absorbent," I said, quoting Chad's advertisement word for word.

"Yeah, where?"

It was time for the proverbial cat to jump out of the proverbial bag, so to speak. I took Christina to Kidmania. She was pretty shocked. "I don't know whether to be happy or scared," she said. "Look at this place!"

Since I was there last, Chad had added a bunch of posters and stuff to the wall, and had some music going on the background. It made it all the more clear that kids ruled here.

"Back again?" asked Chad.

"It's not for me this time," I explained. "Chad, meet Christina."

"Hi," he said.

"Hi. I've seen you around before, I think."

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Umm, well I kinda have a problem. It runs in the family."

"I see what your getting at," he replied. "Come here for a sec." He took some measurements then said he'd be right back

"Do you trust that kid?" asked Christina.

"Yeah. Chad is a real pro at almost everything, including this. Besides, I'm his best customer; he wouldn't want to piss me off."

Chad returned with a pair of what looked like normal underwear and some pads. "OK, let me explain. These look like normal panties, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, good. They are, only they're about 10 times thicker. There's also plastic sewn into the crotch. Take a pad, put it inside where you need it and nobody will be able to tell."

"Thanks," she said. "You have them in other colors?"

"Sure."

She got a pair in green and blue, and got out hassle free.

"That was quick," she said.

"Yup."

"But I've got one question for you," she said. "Are you really into all that baby stuff?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"No. It's a little unusual, but its kinda cute."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I thought it'd be too awkward but I want to take care of you from now on."

"Take care of me?"

"Change you and feed you and make sure we're both happy."

"Wow, I'd really like that."

"We can try that tomorrow."

The next day I wore very thick diapers under my clothes to work. They made my butt look huge and made quite a bit of noise, but nobody said anything. So far, so good.

When we were on break, my co-worker/supervisor Jaquan asked for a word with me. "Hey Steve," he said. "Can I ask you sumthin?"

"Sure."

"You wear diapers, right?" Damn, he noticed.

"Yes."

"Is that cuz you can't always get to the bathroom? That isn't a bad idea."

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't have a problem with it, but Mr. Thompson might and if he does it could mean both our asses. So try to wear something a bit less noticeable, aright?"

"OK."

Jaquan was a pretty cool guy for not giving me a hard time about it, but he did have a point. Wearing diapers to work, albeit for practicality in my case, was strange and a bit unprofessional. Mr. Thompson, the store manager was a very conservative person and probably wouldn't approve. And even though it wouldn't be fair, he could very well fire me. So in the future I would wear a disposable and nothing more.

After we were all of from work, I hung out with my friends for a little while. I had always found the mall intriguing as a child, and now that I worked her it was far less majestic, but now there were allusions to corruption and ill actions behind its consumer-friendly guise.

"You guys aren't going to believe this," said Jay. "I was repairing one of the machines, right. It had a lot of wiring and I had to really reach in there. It was a pain in the ass and took forever. Anyway, while I was doing this, Mike and Andy, the two guys in charge of the arcade were standing around and chilling. Then this old guy, who was probably their boss came up and they started arguing.

I heard the old guy say," this money didn't just disappear." Then Mike walked over to me to see how I was doing. While I wasn't looking, he must have slipped a bunch of quarters into my pocket. The next thing I know, Andy asked me to empty my pockets. When I did, the quarters came tumbling out. And now all 3 of them were pissed off at me. They fired me. As soon as the old guy left, they were like "sorry, but that money has got to come form some place. And that was it. I don't fuckin' believe it."

"You mean they were stealing money and they blamed it on you?" I asked. He nodded. I was astonished. What had this world come to?

"You think that's bad, check this out," said Gary. "This kid walks in and asks me to get him a porno tape. I said no. So he throws a fit and starts telling everybody that I cursed at him. I nearly lost my job, and it took forever to get straightened out. They didn't even question the kid, just me. It's not fair."

"Talkin' about unfair," said Carlos. "How about Aeropostale. That place is always mad crowded. I don't know about stealing and lying, but it sucks to work there. Right, Christina?"

"Yeah."

"See you later," I said. Christina and I started walking around the mall.

"What's up?" she asked me.

"This hasn't been a good day. I find out there's all this corruption going on at the very place in which I work, and I'm also told I can get fired for wearing diapers."

"Ouch. Speaking of diapers, mine are like almost leaking so I'll go change."

"OK."

"You can come if you want."

I wasn't about to turn down the invitation, so we both walked to the changing rooms in Kidmania. I listened to her talk as she pulled down her pants and began to change. After she was done, she volunteered to change me. "I hope you didn't make too much of a mess," she said.

"Why do you think I wore such thick diapers?" I replied.

She smiled and took off my jeans and slid down my plastic pants. These diapers were Velcro rather then pin and didn't take as long to take off. She let the five well worn cloth diapers fall off then removed the pad beneath them.

"Yuck," she said. My entire bottom was covered with poop, and I was a real mess. Christina ignored the smell the best she could and started cleaning me up with a baby wipe. As the wipe caressed my privates, I got an erection. My feelings were intensified when I was doused lightly with baby powder. I was very much at peace. This wasn't humiliating or shameful. This wasn't a punishment or a requirement. This was an act of love. Christina took an Attends and taped it firmly on me. "All done." We cleaned everything up and were about to leave, but not without exchanging long kisses. It was a very positive experience.

I decided to talk over the corruption issue for Chad. "I'd like to pretend this is a shock," he said. "but it's no new news to me. Stuff like that happens and has been happening. That's another reason why my dad's store isn't booming financially: he's honest. No tricks and no gimmicks, and he's falling behind. I don't get it."

"Me neither," I said. "How about this place?"

"Kidmania is doing great. But that's because thus far nobody who could cause trouble here knows it exists. The only problem is, we're extremely busy."

"I can help out for a little bit."

"You don't have to."

"I'd like to."

"Me too," said Christina.

For the next week or so, I had two jobs. I worked at Thompson's and made off just fine. Nobody gave me any trouble about what I was wearing, and it wasn't nearly as noticeable. After work and after congregating with my friends, I helped out at Kidmania. My payment was in terms of diapers, and I became quite rich.

Since I was 'one of them' (I usually wore nothing more then diapers around the store), customers trusted me and respected my opinion. I helped to steer budding adolescents unsure about diapers in the right direction (even if it meant the loss of a sale or 2), and made sure everyone got the product that was right for them. If my dad could have seen me, he would have thought me an expert salesman.

One day, we got a rather unusual assortment of visitors. First in was Sal. His mother sent him to get thicker diapers to control his output, and also ones that he couldn't remove as easily. He was being grounded for quite some time. I listened to his complaints about his inequitable treatment with an open ear, and advised him to be good so his mom would have nothing to complain about.

Next in were Felicia and Normie. I was busy stocking things and didn't see them at the time. "So your dating my cousin," Felicia said, after tapping my shoulder to get my attention.

"Yeah," I answered. "You really don't look like you're related."

"I know."

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Do you have any pajamas?" asked Normie.

"Yes, I believe we do." I directed him to the clothing isle. There he could choose form our selection. He didn't want any footed sleepers, and instead opted for pajamas with super-heroes and sports teams. "Those look sharp," I said, pointing to the Spiderman pajamas he picket out. They were just like normal pajamas, only they were sewn together in such a way to accommodate a diaper more easily. "You know the Green Goblin's name was Normie."

"Yeah. I'm going to pumpkin bomb this place."

"No you're not," said Felicia. "And why don't you get something to wear for the winter?"

"All they got is footed pajamas."

"Then footed pajamas it is."

"Felicia!"

"Don't give me a hard time. Better that then freeze."

"Oh, OK," he whined. He brought the items, along with the appropriate funds and his store card over to Sam at the register and he rang them up.

"Sorry about that," Felicia told me.

"No problem. Hey, did you know the Black Cat was named Felicia?"

"What are you, the Spiderman trivia king or something?"

"I guess so."

"Well, take care. And good luck with Christina."

"Thanks. See you and Normie sometime soon."

The next customer in was a lost looking 11 year old.

"Hi. Looking for something?" I asked.

"No," he said, and continued to look around hoping nobody would notice. A minute or two later, he approached me then changed his answer to yes.

"Your Steve, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Richie. My brother Jaquan knows you."

"Yeah, we work together. So what can I do for you, Richie?"

"If I tell you, can you promise not to tell anyone else?"

"Sure."

"I've been wetting the bed lately. I keep on waking up early and changing the sheets, but I'm tired of it and I've almost gotten caught."

"Did you try going before you went to bed?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the first thing you might want to do is but a plastic sheet on there so you don't ruin the mattress."

"OK."

"And you might also want to wear something."

"Hello no, I'm not wearing diapers."

"I didn't say diapers. Something similar maybe."

"Like what?"

I showed him Goodnites and he was a little intrigued. "Yeah, this might work."

"So how did you find out about this place?"

"I followed you."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's OK."

"You're to going to tell anybody about this, are you?"

"No."

"Cuz if my mom finds out I wet the bed, she'll get real mad and she'll probably turn me into a baby."

"What?"

"She works in the baby store at Macy's and she always says, 'I remember when you were that little. Too bad you won't be like that again. Or will you?"

I suddenly had a flashback to a long time ago. Though I didn't like to think about Macy's, I recalled during one of my visits to the baby department with my mom meeting that one clerk who kept on ensuring that I was properly outfitted. Victoria, her name was. She even mentioned that her own son was like me in some respects. I saw the connection.

"Your mom's a nice lady and is probably just joking."

"How do you know?"

"I've met her before."

"I don't like going to work with my mom during the summer. I'd rather go with my dad."

"What does your dad do?"

"He's a cop. He works here at the mall."

"Captain Donner?"

"Yup, that's him."

"Does your whole family work in the mall."

"No, not my brother Lamar. He's in college, but he's going to work here while he's done."

"Well, tell your family I said hi."

"OK. Thanks, man."

That encounter reminded me that despite all the wrongdoing here, there were still some good people left at this mall.

Next week, I received word that Mr. Thompson would be going on a European vacation with his wife to celebrate their 20th anniversary. In his absence, Jaquan would be in charge of the store and I would be assistant manager. It meant more money, but more responsibility as well. I was ready for it.

While Jaquan was helping a customer out, I noticed a strange-looking guy lurking outside of the store. Every time I glanced over in his direction, he'd disappear. Then he'd be back again a few minutes later. After awhile, I was finally able to get a chance to talk to him

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Maybe you can. I wanted to know if by chance Mr. Thompson is interested in selling this place."

"I don't think so."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"Hmm.. well how would you be interested in making an easy $100?"

"What would I have to do?"

"Just give me the inventory to the store."

"I can't do that."

"Hey, what's going on?" Jaquan asked. The stranger then stepped back outside the door after handing me his card. It read: Roger Brenneman. Contact if interested.

I explained the situation to Jaquan and he told me to throw the guy out if I saw him again. Something strange was definitely going on.

Apparently, all my friends noticed strange occurrences as well. All of them had seen the guy before, and he had made similar offers at other stores. In the case of the Post, Roger tried to buy them outright. When he stumbled across Kidmania, he threatened to shut it down. I wondered exactly what this guy was doing and who he was working for. I would get my answer later.

During my time off, Leeann approached me. She was without her friends, a rarity. All my friends threw derogatory comments at her, but she ignored them. "Can I see you for a minute, Steve?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Something is definitely going on."

"You noticed that too?"

"Look. I was working the cosmetics department in Macy's when I saw that Roger guy and one of the assistant managers of the store talking together. I listened in to what they were saying, and it sounds pretty bad. They are planning to take over the store and the entire mall."

"Wow. I knew it! Macy's is evil."

"I'm serious here. You keep your eyes peeled and I will mine."

"OK."

The next day, Leeann approached me with some startling news. She had been fired. I felt her plight and was able to provide her temporary employment at Kidmania. I also began an investigation of my own into Macy's. What I came up with astounded me.

Macy's had been owned by Niles Sharman. When Sharman died, his interest had been given to his wife Eileen. Eileen was pressured by Max Lovitt, an assistant manager to sell her share. She begrudgingly accepted. Although she was officially still the owner, Lovitt ran the whole thing. He wanted to institute a complete takeover of the mall and make himself a millionaire by whatever means possible. To achieve this, he hired Roger Brenneman, a former dishwasher salesman and CIA agent to stake out the competition and spot anyone who was 'weak' and willing to sell. The rest they would force out. By the 21st century, the mall would be theirs.

As amazing as it was, I never had a good feeling about Macy's. I knew there was some kind of conspiracy behind it and know I was certain. All I needed was some proof and I would be able to bring the whole thing down before more people lost their jobs at the hands of the corporate machine.

Unfortunately, I never got the chance. While I was getting ready to leave around closing time one day, I entered Macy's out of curiosity. Before I could walk back out, two thugs grabbed me. One of them clamped his hand over my mouth while the other one slowly began to tie me up. I was then dragged off and into some sort of conference room.

Awhile later, the infamous Mr. Lovitt entered. "Max Lovitt," I said.

"Yes, and you are Steven Mattel."

"What do you want?"

"The question isn't what I want, it is what you want. I believe you'd want to be able to enjoy the mall, have a steady job and know you're in good hands with Macy's. I'd also believe that you'd want your sister to be employed here. Everyone will be happy."

"No way, you guys suck. And I'm going to tell everyone about you."

"Little good it'll do without proof," said Roger.

"In the event it does work, however, you'd be doing more bad then good. I am a very powerful man. I'll see to it that all your friends lose their jobs. I'll make sure that freak shop Kidmania is shut down for good. And I'll post my full report on you."

"Report?"

"Yes. It seems you've had some interesting moments here at the mall."

"How did you...."

"Security cameras my boy. Officer Landen of mall security is in my employment."

"I still won't do it."

"Well then think of Vicki Donner, a very caring and dedicated woman who has been working here for quite some time. Almost due for a promotion and a raise. It'd be a shame to see her go..."

"You son of a..."

"Watch your mouth, young man," said Roger. "This can be easy or hard, take your pick."

"Give me a minute to decide."

"Very well. We'll be watching."

That did it! I knew how I could trap them. They'd be watching. Meaning that while they were out of the room, the camera would be running. It was a perfect opportunity to get a confession on tape.

"Well?" asked Max through the door.

"Gee, that's a pretty good proposal," I said nice and clear. "Offering me job security so I won't tell anybody about your takeover scheme."

"Yes, it is, isn't it?"

"I like the way you threatened to fire everyone. That was a nice touch."

"Look, yes or no."

"Fine, I won't tell anyone what you've been up to. It won't leave this room."

"Smart kid."

They untied me and let me go. I knew they would probably get me fired for the pure joy of it. We both knew that. But what didn't know is that I had a lot of leverage on them.

"Steve, what are you still doing here," asked Captain Donner. "It's well past closing time."

"Fred, if you check the video tapes from the Macy's conference room I think you'll find something very interesting."

"We'll see about that."

We both walked to the security station, and he played back the tape. "Nice work," he said congratulating me. "You wouldn't make a bad cop."

"Thanks."

"Now you run along home, I think there's still a bus you can catch." I nodded and listened as he called in the police downtown.

"Get me Riggs and Murtaugh," he said. "I think I may have a career bust here for all of us."