NUMBER TWO! (Chapter 2)

Then it hit him—a feeling of panic and other things. “Ah….” I need a bathroom, and in a hurry, he thought. Number Two! He jumped from the swing and quick-stepped to the school door and started down the stairs toward restrooms, locker rooms, and gymnasium.
Halfway down, he heard voices. They came from the boys’ locker room. The football team is suiting up for practice, he thought. And I have to go by them to get to the toilet. He tip toed down a few more steps. But, what if they see me and make fun of me?
At the door, he held his breath and slowly pulled it part way open. Screeeeech! He froze, for through the opening he saw the team, half naked, putting on their shoulder pads. Giants! By now, the urge to get into a stall was very strong, but he just couldn’t enter. In panic, he turned and started back up the stairs.
Nature now took over. He wheeled and once more moved down the stairs. Toward the voices. He wanted to go in—he had to go in. Loud laughter erupted, and George bolted back up the stairs. Just as he reached the landing, the full force of his intestines took over. He felt what he dreaded, but was unable to stop. There he stood—paralyzed—and filled his pants, right on the spot—a full blown bowl movement!
I’ve got to get to the open air. Outside, outside….
The school janitor, coming up the front steps, noticed the youngster shuffling along bow-legged, trying to hide his strained, deep red face. “Are you alright son,” asked the kind janitor. “Uh-huh,” George said, to which the janitor shook his head and continued into the school.
What do I do now, George thought. My pants feel awful and the smell is awful. How can I sit on the bus in this mess? What will the others say? What will the folks say? His initial solution was to be the first on the bus so he could sit in the back. He waddled to the rear window seat and draped his jacket across his lap. Next, he put his papers and lunch pail along side his hip so no one could sit next to him. Maybe this will work, he thought. Then he realized he had to face another obstacle. He had to walk past lots of kids to get off the bus! Oh, man.
“What’s that smell?” Freddy asked when he walked down the aisle to sit beside their cousin, Kathleen Wilson. “Somebody must have died in here.”
The bus driver nodded that he smelled something, too. By now all the kids chimed in with a chorus of whews and ughs. Everyone except George. “There must be a dead mouse in the heater,” the driver said. “We can’t do anything about it now, but I’ll look for it at the end of my run.”
George sucked in his breath, feeling sick to his stomach. This is going to be a bad trip, he thought. Can’t this bus go any faster? Man, oh, man.
By the time George, Freddy, and Kathleen reached their drop-off spot, the bumpy bus had traveled five miles over some rough roads and chugged through several stops and starts. When George inched down the steps, the driver sniffed a bit and then smiled, but said nothing. He had been a first grader once himself.