Page 13 of Schooling Little Sage

“Tell you what, let’s finish eating then head down to the playground and arcade for a bit.” His eyes lit up. There he’d see Littles in action, enjoying themselves and maybe that would be the push he’d need to realize it was okay to let go.

“Okay, okay.” Sage wiggled in his seat.

The Little I knew was hiding inside peeked out as he ate. Suddenly, I found myself equally as excited at the possibilities. I couldn’t wait to meet his Little. I bet he was beyond adorable.

“Have you been down here yet?” I asked him as we stepped inside the lower level.

“No, but I saw it on the map. Are some rooms off limits?”

“There are, but these three along this wall aren’t. The first is the indoor playground and arcade, where you’ll find other Littles and sometimes a few Pets.”

Sage looked around. “Like puppies?”

My lips twitched as I reminded myself this was all new to him. “Not the animal kind. The Pets here would be those who choose to play at being a pet. Perhaps a kitten or a puppy.” His confusion still showed on his face, but I moved on. “Next to the playground is the gym and the room at the end is the indoor pool. Can you swim?”

“Yeah, Papa taught me at the creek behind our house. What are the underground tunnels for?”

“The winters here get nasty. That’s when we utilize the tunnel system the most to get to each building. It’s dangerous to be outside in blizzard conditions.” As soon as I opened the door, the laughter inside spilled out into the hall.

“Whoa.” Sage stepped inside and froze. “Those aren’t kids on the playground.”

“There aren’t any children here; this is an adults-only resort. These are Littles and this was all built for them. Would you like to play or go into the arcade side first?”

Sage glanced over at the games, then back at the play structure, then to the games again. “I-I’ve never played those games. Do you think the others will play with me if I go on the playset?”

My heart just broke for this shy, lonely boy.

“I do. Take your shoes off and put them in the cubby first.” I stood back and watched as Sage slowly approached the ball pit. There were three others in there, balls flying in all directions and about a dozen or so running through the tunnels and down the slides. Suddenly, another boy descended the rope ladder and headed toward Sage. I held my breath, intently watching their interaction.

“You’re Sage, right?” the boy asked, Sage nodded his head. “I’m Devon. I was in class with you today.”

“Hi.” Sage fidgeted.

“Is that your Daddy over there?” Devon pointed at me.

“I-I don’t have a Daddy. He’s my friend, I think. We work together, but he brought me here tonight.”

“Oh, gotcha. I’m only here for the week. Maybe he can be our Daddy while I’m here?”

That was my cue to step in. “Hi, Devon, I’m Warner.”

“Hello. Will you be our Daddy while I’m here?”

“I can do that, what did you have in mind? Playtime? Meals?”

“No sex!” Sage blurted out and stepped closer to me.

Was Sage nervous or was this his way of saying I was off limits? Very interesting and a bit hilarious.

Devon giggled. “That’s fine. I’m here for a week decompressing.”

“Is that what you want, Sage?” The familiar head bob followed. “Then Daddy I shall be. Why don’t you two go play. I’ll just be right over there.” I pointed to the sitting area for the Bigs, which had an ideal view of the play area.

Devon held Sage’s hand as they climbed into the ball pit. Devon sunk beneath the colorful orbs and swished his arms around. At first, Sage just stood and watched. then he disappeared. Before I had a chance to make it to the pit, he popped up. His giggles filled the air before he dove again, ferreting around the pit. Made me wonder if he didn’t have a bit of a pet in him. Definitely something to consider once he’d acclimated to his Little side.

They played hide-and-seek in the pit until they’d had enough of that and moved on. Through the tunnels, down the slides, then pretended they were pirates walking the plank across the bridge.

Sage’s parents may have had the wrong idea when they dropped him off here, but it was clearly the right place for him to be. The boy was all smiles, playing with his new friend and enjoying the freedom he’d never been allowed before.