By the time they turned the corner toward Dayton’s locker, the SEA presence had thinned out a little. The SEA officer behind them finally turned going down a side hallway. There were still uniforms at the far ends of the hall, still yellow tape over the office, but the immediate flood of armor and rifles had pulled back.
The bell had already rung. Most kids were in classrooms. The hallway was in that weird in-between state where it felt both too empty and way too loud, echoes of doors closing and a few stragglers speed-walking past.
Dayton stopped at her locker, shifting Mr. Rhys carefully to her left hand so she could work the combination with her right. The metal dial felt colder than usual under her fingers.
“Need me to hold him?” Nicole offered, already half reaching out.
Dayton shook her head. “I’ve got him,” she said, twisting the lock. “You can, like… spot us, though.”
“On it.” Nicole planted herself sideways, one shoulder toward the locker, the other angled toward the hall like she was security detail. Which, technically, she kind of was.
The lock popped, and Dayton swung the door open. A photo of the four of them at the fall carnival was taped to the inside, half peeling at one corner. Hayden was mid-eye-roll; Hannah’s hair was blowing across her face; Nicole was sticking out her tongue; Dayton had her arm slung around all of them.
Her chest squeezed.
“Okay,” she murmured, looking down at her palm. “I’m gonna put you in here for a second so I can grab my math stuff, all right?”
Mr. Rhys glared up at her. The glare didn’t hit as hard coming from four inches tall with a collar around his neck, but it was still very, very Rhys.
“Is that what I am now?” he asked, voice low. “A shelf decoration?”
“No,” she said, more gently than he deserved. “You’re my Little. And my locker’s safer than dangling you in the middle of the hallway while I dig around in my backpack, unless you want some seventh grader to shoulder-check you into the floor.”
He opened his mouth, clearly wanting to argue with at least three parts of that sentence, then shut it again.
Dayton nudged one of her textbooks aside to clear a little space. It felt wildly wrong to be making room between her English binder and her pencil case for her former teacher.
She lifted him in closer. The tiny charms at his collar – a silver soccer ball, a tiny dance shoe, and the little letter D she’d picked out last night – flashed in the fluorescent light.
“You can sit on my hoodie,” she said. “It’s clean. Mostly.”
Nicole snorted. “Lie.”
“I washed it yesterday!”
“Uh-huh,” Nicole said. “For a given value of ‘washed.’”
Dayton rolled her eyes, but a tiny smile slipped through. “Ignore her,” she whispered to Mr. Rhys. “You’ll be okay.”
She set him down carefully on the folded sweatshirt. He staggered for a second, getting his balance, then sat stiffly, arms pulled in tight. The bright blue of the hoodie made his pale shirt and the metal collar stand out even more.
The little cluster of charms at his throat gave a faint, unhappy jingle as he settled.
“Don’t close it all the way,” Nicole said instantly. “He’ll freak.”
“I’m not closing it all the way,” Dayton said. “I’m not a monster.”
She left the locker door open about a third of the way, enough that he could see out and still be mostly hidden if someone blew past.
For a moment, the three of them just breathed. The hum of the fluorescent lights filled the space where their classroom had exploded half an hour ago.
“All right,” Nicole said finally, voice soft. “So that… was a lot.”
“Understatement,” Dayton muttered, digging for her math notebook. “That was like… a TED Talk from hell.”
Nicole huffed a tiny laugh. “Plus military cosplay,” she said. “Those guys looked like they were about to breach Call of Duty.”
Dayton found her notebook and pulled it out, shoving it into her backpack. Her hands were still a little shaky, which annoyed her. Guardians were supposed to be calm. Steady. Not vibrating like she’d downed four energy drinks.
“Hey,” Nicole said quietly. “You did good, you know.”
Dayton snorted without looking up. “I collared our teacher in front of literally everyone we know. I’m not sure ‘good’ is the word.”
“You did what you had to,” Nicole said. “You saw something messed up. You reported it. That’s what they hammered us with in training, remember? If it feels wrong, say something. They literally just used you as a poster child in there.”
“Yeah,” Dayton said. “SEA’s new mascot.”
“Could be worse,” Nicole said. “They could’ve been like ‘look at this idiot who didn’t report anything.’”
Dayton shut her locker partway and leaned her forehead against the cool metal for a second. The quiet thunk felt steadying.
“I’m glad you were there,” she said, voice muffled. “In class. In the office. I would’ve— I don’t know. Fallen over. Or said something stupid.”
“Please, you always say something stupid,” Nicole said. “It’s part of your charm.”
Dayton actually laughed at that.
Nicole’s face softened. “But yeah,” she added. “I’m glad I was there too. I didn’t want you walking into that alone.”
Dayton straightened and turned to face her fully. “I meant it,” she said. “What we talked about at your place. With Kinsley. That we’re a unit now. I’m not… I’m not doing the ‘keep everything bottled up until it explodes’ thing anymore.”
Nicole’s eyes flicked to the locker, to the small shape sitting on Dayton’s hoodie. “Good,” she said. “Because this?” She gestured vaguely down the hall, toward the SEA tape and the lingering uniforms. “This is definitely a ‘tell your best friend’ situation.”
“Nicole,” Mr. Rhys said sharply from inside the locker. “You do realize I can hear you.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m counting on it.”
Dayton bit back a smile.
She stepped a little closer to Nicole so they wouldn’t have to talk around the locker door. “I want your help,” she said, serious now. “Through this whole thing. Reports, housing, whatever. You’ve already done the Guardian thing with Kinsley. You know stuff I don’t.”
Nicole shrugged one shoulder, but her eyes were proud. “I mean, yeah,” she said. “I’m basically a pro. Kinsley calls me ‘Guardian Supreme’ in our texts. At least, she did, before she changed it to ‘Tyrant.’”
“That tracks,” Dayton said.
“What exactly do you think Nicole Myers can help you with that I can’t?” Mr. Rhys interjected, folding his arms. The charms at his collar gave a tiny, irritated clink as he moved. “I have a decade of classroom management experience.”
Dayton turned her head so she could see him. He looked ridiculously formal sitting on her hoodie, metal collar snug around his neck, the soccer ball, dance shoe, and D hanging there like some weird personalized trophy set.
“You also have a decade of ignoring SEA guidelines,” she said. “So no offense, but your Guardian advice is, like, automatically suspect.”
Nicole smirked. “Yeah, we’re not taking pointers from the guy who used ‘radicalize minors’ as his teaching philosophy.”
“I did not—”
“Mr. Rhys,” Dayton said, a little more firmly. “We’re talking about logistics. Not… debates.”
He closed his mouth with visible effort. The charms gave one soft, annoyed jingle.
Dayton looked back at Nicole. “I want full disclosure,” she said. “No hiding stuff because you think I’ll freak out, no ‘I didn’t want to bother you.’ If you see me messing up with him, you tell me. If you hear something about SEA or Generitech or whatever that I need to know, you tell me.”
Nicole’s expression sobered. “Same,” she said. “If something feels off with him, or with those reports, or if SEA starts being weird? You don’t try to handle it solo. You loop me in. We’re a unit. That was the deal.”
Dayton nodded. “We’re a unit,” she repeated. Saying it out loud made something in her chest settle. “You, me, and… the tiny federal headache in my locker.”
“I refuse to be referred to as a headache,” Mr. Rhys muttered. “I am—”
“A dependent,” Nicole said sweetly. “Legally. Biologically. With a whole charm set hanging off your collar.”
He glared at her so hard the tiny muscles in his jaw jumped.
Dayton exhaled. “Look,” she said, softening her tone. “I know you hate this. And you probably hate me a little right now too. But I’m not— I’m not going to treat you like a prop. Okay? You’re not my backpack charm.”
Nicole flicked her eyes pointedly to the collar. “You look like a backpack charm.”
“Nicole.”
“Fine, fine,” she said, holding up her hands. “Serious mode. I get it.”
She leaned against the locker next to Dayton’s. “For what it’s worth,” she added, looking at Mr. Rhys, “being with Day is, like, top tier as far as outcomes go. You could’ve ended up in some overflow shelter, or with a Guardian who barely passed the class and thinks ‘feeding schedule’ means ‘when I feel like it.’”
Mr. Rhys stared at her, the fight in his eyes temporarily replaced by something more complicated. “I’m aware of the alternatives,” he said quietly. The charms on his collar made a much smaller sound this time, almost a shiver.
“Okay then,” Dayton said. “So we all… try. You try to not get us both in trouble. I try to keep you from getting… reassigned. Nicole tries to keep me from being an idiot.”
“That last part is gonna be the hardest,” Nicole said. “But I’m dedicated.”
Dayton smiled despite herself. “I really am glad you were there,” she said again. “In the room. When they were talking about… ‘radicalization’ and ‘consequences.’ I felt like I was going to throw up.”
Nicole’s face softened again. “You held it together,” she said. “Like, actually. You sounded like… not a kid.”
“Tell that to my math teacher,” Dayton muttered.
“Your math teacher is gonna lose his mind when you walk in carrying your collared English teacher,” Nicole said. “So that’ll be fun.”
Dayton winced. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“I did,” Nicole said. “And I am absolutely skipping the first five minutes of science to watch it.”
“You are not.”
“I so am,” she said. “Unit, remember? Emotional support. I need to emotionally support myself by watching your math teacher try to pretend this is normal.”
The late bell shrieked overhead, making all three of them jump.
“Okay, superhero,” Nicole said, pushing off the neighboring locker. “You’re gonna be late. Grab your tiny problem and let’s go.”
Dayton took one more breath, then opened her locker wider.
“Hand,” she said, holding out her palm.
Mr. Rhys hesitated only a second before stepping onto it, the soccer, dance, and D charms at his collar giving a soft, nervous jingle as he moved. She lifted him up, curling her fingers around him, and slid her math notebook more firmly into her bag.
She shut the locker door with a solid metal slam.
Nicole started down the hall with her. “We telling the others now?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Dayton said, already tugging her phone out one-handed. She balanced Mr. Rhys carefully against her chest with the other, the charms tapping lightly against her hoodie. “Kinsley’s gonna see SEA stuff on Snap anyway. I’d rather she hears it from us first.”
She opened their group chat – the one that used to just be memes and homework panic and occasional Kinsley selfies from inside the terrarium.
Dayton:
ok so you’re gonna see drama online but i need you to hear it from me first
SEA came to school
they pulled mr rhys out in front of class
he got collared
to me
Three little dots appeared almost instantly.
Kinsley:
WAIT WHAT
like
your little?!
A second later:
Kinsley:
is this bc of the report you filed before
are you ok???
Nicole leaned over to read as they walked, grinning despite everything. “She’s gonna roast you so hard later,” she said.
“I know,” Dayton said. Her thumbs kept moving.
Dayton:
yeah it’s from that
i’ll explain everything after school
promise
i’m ok
nicoles with me
Nicole snatched the phone for a second and added:
Nicole:
i can confirm she has not passed out or spontaneously combusted
7/10 holding it together
A string of laughing emojis from Kinsley popped up immediately, followed by:
Kinsley:
ok unit huddle later
i want DETAILS
Dayton slid the phone back into her pocket, feeling weirdly lighter.
“I’ll fill Hayden in during math,” she said. “If you can update Hannah in science? I don’t want her to just hear ‘Dayton owns Rhys now’ from, like, randoms.”
“Done,” Nicole said. “I’ll give her the PG-13 version and save the SEA propaganda speech for after school.”
“Thanks,” Dayton said.
They hit the corner where their paths split, math one way and science the other. For a second, Dayton just stood there, one hand wrapped around her Little, the charm set at his throat giving the tiniest, uncertain jingle, the other hand still warm from holding Nicole’s.
“We’re a unit,” Nicole reminded her, backing away down the hall. “Text me if your math teacher passes out.”
“If I pass out, catch me,” Dayton shot back.
“Emotionally!” Nicole called, already turning.
Dayton rolled her eyes, adjusted her grip on Mr. Rhys, and headed toward math, the charms at his collar chiming softly in time with her steps.
If she really wants to extend a early olive branch, Dayton should let him pick out a new collar with her instead of this one. It’d still suck, but if I were Rhys (gonna take forever to use his First name) it’d make me at least a little more relaxed with Dayton and it wouldnt be tainted by the memory of today. Like I think doing that with a collar is a huge gesture in this world that guardians overlook unless they’re really good and have high emotional intelligence.
The only kind of branch Dayton would offer this guy is the stick that accompanies the carrot
lol
It would probably depend on how much the collar was originally. Being 13 she is partially reliant on her mom for income. So she can’t just go out and buy a collar freely.
Plus she needs pellets and such. So she has other costs that may be a consideration m. It’s a nice thought but there would be some practicality considerations as she is someone’s dependent.
True but isn’t she getting Rhys’ stuff now? I know being a teacher he probably doesn’t have a lot of money or a big house and things like that, but she should get a decent chunk of spending money, shouldn’t she? Unless part of the plan is to put that all towards the loan.
Oh maybe that could be the olive branch, saving his personal stuff for storage and getting as many things that can be recreated in miniature size done as possible. Start with just pictures on photo paper and work on replacing those with better quality options over time
Rhys was reassigned to her.
So his assets were already liquidated as it’s doubtful the district kept his apartment and stuff as what would he have use for it. Beyond some personal things like a pictures or something that’s all gone. It’s not a Jordy situation. Dayton has the benefit of also not having to assume his debt as the district did that.
Ahh, well I guess that’s lucky for her at least. Does generitech assume debt of those that don’t get claimed while still under their care waiting to be sold, or is there like a forbearance in place until someone buys them
I would think the economy would have issues because of all the little stuff being sold and citizens that buy stuff Shrunk. I am not sure how the lack of resources would effect the economy also because there would be less taxes and less jobs for resources.
The housing market is probably taking a hit with all the houses now available from Littles that own them anymore.
Canonically smallara didnt hit hte US as hard as elsewhere.
So its harder to say nationally how worse off thingsa re as we are also only seeing snippets and not the nation at large.
Love the image, if the district was doing this, where Smallara stricken teachers could still teach, and it’s illegal. Mr. Rhys has the district to blame, not Dayton.
Agreed. It really is the districts fault, but Im in such a weird space with all this haha
I think he was right to kinda poke at the laws and statues, hell I had a teacher in 7th and 8th grade that did this (she was arrested for embezzlement funny enough but that’s besides the point haha) but wrong for making it personal like he had been, so I get them being mad and blaming him, but I also they should be a bit more compassionate about it cause he clearly thought everything was legit. So basically as the story goes on, I can understand Nicole and Dayton putting the blame on him for the lessons and stuff, being in the position isn’t his fault. And the SEA showing up like this wasn’t Dayton fault, either, but at the same time it kinda is? Like I expected them to show up too but not like this.
Idk, still a lot to process rn haha
Thanks I wanted to put the reader in Mr
Rhys pov. So it’s kinda seeing what he is seeing is the thought
A) i love the pic, makes me think her little will be on finger and toe nail duty a lot lol
B) i think Rhys was lucky to get Dayton because of what he was preaching against the goverment. I’m surprised they didn’t put him in a pen with real little animals for punishment.
C) I would think there would be rewards for turning in anti goverment little activity because it is such a money maker for the goverment so someone else would
D) I am interested to see Kinsley with him because of the size difference and how her snarky talk will be with some like him she had as a teacher and someone smaller then her lol. That should be fun
C) lol I think she technically got her reward. Shed probably would be glowing if it was just a fed and guidance counselor that enter the class VS a whole squad of people
0) This feels like another light ine, which I feel we needed
1) “Need me to hold him?” – “I’ve got him,” Dayton doesn’t want any sign of weakness or hint she can’t do this
2) “I’m gonna put you in here for a second so I can grab my math stuff, all right?” So much for keeping him from getting shoved in lockers
3) “Is that what I am now? A shelf decoration?” atta boy, give her shit already
4) “It felt wildly wrong to be making room between her English binder and her pencil case for her former teacher.” and yet that’s the situation she chose.
5) “I’m not a monster.” liar
6) “You did good, you know.” did she?
7)“You did what you had to, You saw something messed up. You reported it. That’s what they hammered us with in training, remember? If it feels wrong, say something. They literally just used you as a poster child in there.” She did what benefited her.
8) “Please, you always say something stupid, It’s part of your charm.” I wouldn’t say stupid, I’d say cruel and mean. I also wouldn’t say charm
9) “What exactly do you think Nicole Myers can help you with that I can’t?” If I was in Dayton’s position, I wouldn’t trust his help either. Largely because if I were in his situation, my help wouldn’t be trustworthy.
10) “You also have a decade of ignoring SEA guidelines, So no offense, but your Guardian advice is, like, automatically suspect.” Nicole does realise SEA hasn’t been around for a decade, let alone making guidelines.
11) “Yeah, we’re not taking pointers from the guy who used ‘radicalize minors’ as his teaching philosophy.” Wouldn’t that also include the SEA agents, even though that’s radicalising in Dayton’s values
12) “The charms gave one soft, annoyed jingle.” I like that they help his emotional expression
14) “I know you hate this. And you probably hate me a little right now too.” and that will likely not change for a long time, he doesn’t seem as forgiving as Jordan
15) “I’m not going to treat you like a prop. Okay? You’re not my backpack charm.” that’d be more believable if she hadn’t decorated his neck like one
16) ‘Nicole flicked her eyes pointedly to the collar. “You look like a backpack charm.” that’s what I’m saying
17) “being with Day is, like, top tier as far as outcomes go. You could’ve ended up in some overflow shelter, or with a Guardian who barely passed the class and thinks ‘feeding schedule’ means ‘when I feel like it.’” or he could have ended up with someone much better, someone who isn’t motivated by payback.
18) “I’m aware of the alternatives,” Better and worse
19) “So we all… try. You try to not get us both in trouble. I try to keep you from getting… reassigned. Nicole tries to keep me from being an idiot.” Why teh hell does she think he owes her his trying?
20) “Emotional support. I need to emotionally support myself by watching your math teacher try to pretend this is normal.” I see Nicoles wasted no time finding the part to turn into a punchline
21) “You’re gonna be late. Grab your tiny problem and let’s go.” When talking about him like that, how could he not trust them?
22) “Hand,” one word dog-esque commands… wonderful
23) “WAIT WHAT
like
your little?!” damn, even kinsley wasn’t expecting that.
24) “is this bc of the report you filed before, are you ok???” why wouldn’t she be, she got what she wanted.
25) “She’s gonna roast you so hard later,” hope we see that
26) “I’ll fill Hayden in during math If you can update Hannah in science? I don’t want her to just hear ‘Dayton owns Rhys now’ from, like, randoms.” Weren’t they both in class watching it happen?
0) It is lighter. We had a bunch of heavier ones so it calms down somewhat for a bit.
1) She wouldnt have an issue with Nicole holding him. Its more she wants a bit of a routine. Her thinking more he just got his life turned upside down. Lets not pass him around. She was trying to be considerate.
2) This wasn’t in that spirit. She more was talking about putting him in her locker and then just closing it and leaving him there. This is just him sitting there as she gets her class materials togther.
3) He is giving himself alot of credit if he thinks he is good enough to eb a shelf decoration for dayton.
4) she was more making an observation though its not like she was having doubts.
5) Dayton is pure and innnocent lol
6) within the construct of the world she lives in probably so.
7) She also followed the law which did benefit her.
8) I mean you would call her Sayton
9) I appreciate your honesty.
10) She didn’t mean literally a decade. She was more using it as a turn of phrase just like its been a long time or feels like it.
11)Well the SEA wasn’t radicalizing minors as they have the beliefset of the majority of the populous. So within the world it wouldnt be a radical belief even if within ours it is.
12) Had to give him some benefit.
13) no 13?
14) Well it probably partly depends who he is mad at the most. He might not view dayton as where his anger should be placed or he could go complete dayton scorched earth like you would.
15)He could be a beloved cuddle muffin.
16) Nicole is on team lethal or lethal is on team nicole one of thet wo.
17)Well there is always greener pastures as no matter where you land you could always think there is something better.
18) yeah
19)I feel like most people would atleast try to make it work. Not saying you would but you have a strong hatred for dayton which is even more stranger that you wrote a little dayton storyline for how much you hate her. I’m kind of surprised chapter one wasn’t she was hit by a car.lol
20) others call it foreshadowing. You’ll see with Mr. Greene tomorrow.
21) I know, what his deal.
22)well to be fair based on how she explained she shouldnt have to say anything but her saying hand was being nice. As she said when the hand is laid flat that is recall that means you come. So the facts he did it should be a wordless command.
Sara would never make such a mistake.
23)Its not unreasonable to think dayton would succeed but not be assigned him. Like legally she was righ and gets it shut down but he goes elsewhere.
24) She could have googled and saw basically people in full military gear basically busting into her school like its a military op with large guns.
25) Kinsley always is roasting dayton for something thats how their freindship works.
26) Well its more that its official transfer docs signed the reporting weekly, etc. Just the info they messed. Dayton is trying to be transparent to her friends.
Oh yeah i forgot you asked about my guardian ranking I was working on that at work when my computer ate it. Here it best to worst.
Carter is ranked low just because not much is known about him other hten Kayla’s boyfriend.
Damn, Nicole sucks that much she didn’t even make your list?
Ok nice, now if you’ll endulge me, which littles woukd you most want to be the guardian of?
I knew i was forgetting someone. I looked over the list a few times and couldnt recall who it was.
Nicole would probably slot in around dayton and Alejandra right below Brooklyn. As Madison, Brooklyn, alejandra are all kind of in the same area.
Oh thats a unique question. hmm which little would i want.
Jordan seems pretty chill. So he would be up there. But I would probably say Tucker as he lived on his own awhile. Would be self sufficient to degree. seems like he would be low maintenance.
As I wouldn’t really want to be a guardian in general. My wife has a dog and cat im roped into caring for so having to do all teh stuff just to be a guardian wouldnt be that appealing to me.
BUt in the spirit of the question probably Tucker, followed by Jordan. Kelli seems like she would be fun but also high maintenance. Charity is kind of similar.
are we getting more chapters in the Tucker story?
Probably at some point but not anytime soon.
Sigh I’m praying that this duo ….well I guess trio ….well…this little squad becomes something special and sincere
I hope Rhys talks his shit and slowly grows to trust and possibly like living with Dayton
But we also see the ugly and tough side of this bond before getting to the good place in this growing relationship
So good light ish chapter
You could turn into a diehard fan. A Daycole supporter if you will. Leader of the daycole movement.
A good outcome is possible in all this. Its not like it has turn into something as bad as peopl envision.
sometimes you need to work through the struggle to get to a better place.
You seem like your warming up to it.
Good episode.
My biggest issue is Dayton claims she is not making a decoration out of him, but those charms do exactly that.
Other than that she seems to be true to her word so far. Rhys is taking it better than I thought he would.
Can’t wait to see how Mrs. Harris treats him 🤣
Part of me thinks between Rhys lessons and seeing the SEA like this could change her views and beliefs. I’m not hopeful it’ll be seen overnight, but it’s possible daytons views are more fluid going forward
I think SEA is like the IRS, protecting goverment money source so they are scary already but I think him talking against her training and the law was what pushed her over
That’s kind of what I’m thinking too. And I think his words are scary effective. That’s probably why it took so long, they were comparing to other “extremists” to check similarities and see what if any effects they had on those that listened. The fact these are all 13 year old wouldn’t help either
he is kind of a pompous ass so it will be nice to see Kinsley put him in his place and because of their size difference, carry him around on her hip to piss him off lol.
to be fair she is 13 and charms are marketed as collar accessories. She is also a girl. I feel like thats more of just marketing teams doing there job well then dayton trying to actually make him a decoration. In her mind she probably went to the store and saw the charms and thoguht they were cute accessories for the collar and bought them with no thought of malice at all.
Out of curiosity what did you expect her to do?
Oh god Mrs. Harris is will be “thrilled” that a little is in her house.
She likes to think of herself as a kind of uber Guardian, and she promised to treat Rhys as a person to the extent that a Little can be (given the law). Given all that, I would expect her to NOT adorn his collar with charms, it is depersonizing (can’t use the word dehumanizing in this case 😁).
Yeah, I know she is 13 and a girl and so on, but she was promising to be more than that. Since Rhys never heard her make that promise and her entourage seems fine with it, I don’t expect anyone to call her out on it.
Another thought just crossed my mind. Did Rhys “assistant” suffer any repercussions from the SEA? Seems like she was kind of innocent in this and I was hoping she might get to teach more like she wanted to now.
You will find out her fate within the story. I didn’t forget.
Its understandable to expect more. The collar critique on her is fair but she is still dayton after all. Even a better, nicer, more improved dayton is still dayton in some ways.