Chereads / The Hidden World Beneath the Crust / Chapter 7 - You're Not Old Enough Kid

Chapter 7 - You're Not Old Enough Kid

"I think I still have your old car seat around here somewhere" she said as she perused around the garage. Eventually she found it but the mice had eaten most of the fabric off of it. "well poop, I can't have you sit in that"

"I'll be ok" said Tim as he climbed up into the van.

"I can't have you just sitting in a seat like a big boy" she said jokingly "it's illegal. You should be in a rear facing car seat"

Tera and Dean got in the van as well. Due to Deans size Tera made him sit in the back with Tim. They pulled out of the driveway and headed towards town. They had to make quite a few detours as their were lots of trees that had fallen and blocked the road. They didn't have to worry about power lines as the city council passed a law about a decade ago forcing the utility companies to put all their lines underground. The first stop Dean wanted to make was to Top Wireless. They were the best cell phone company in the nation. He wanted them because of their amazing service. It didn't matter where you were your service was never below 5G and with him moving to the mountains he really needed a reliable service. 

"don't forget your paperwork sweetheart, you're going to need it" said Tera as she too got out of the van. "i'm going to come in with you because.....well, I'm going to come in with you" 

They walked into the store and of course like all cell phone retailers it was full of display phones. They also had a few laptops and tablets as well. Sitting in a tall chair looking board out of his mind was a high school senior that Dean would see hanging around the Information Technology classroom. Every High school has that guy who's extremely nerdy that thinks that because they built their own PC that they were masters of the IT Field and think they can fix anything. The frustrating part to Dean was that he really could fix almost anything. He was so good in fact the school had to tell the staff to ask for the schools IT techs and not William because it was a liability to have a student do the work. Even though he was better than the techs.

William looked up from his phone and noticed Dean walking up to the counter "what can I do for the richest kid in the world" he asked while smiling like the cheshire cat. He saw a huge payday coming.

"Please tell me that's not what people are calling me" he asked 

"oh there saying that and more my guy" said william as he got off his chair "hero, savior, and the like" 

"you're not being serious." said Dean

"I kid you not. They say you freed them from the Hawks nest. You freed this town from their control" he said

"great so now instead of being the scourge of society like I was before Im now a celebrity" said Dean as he shook his head. 

"So Mr. Hawk, what can I get for you" smiled William

Dean sighed at the remark "I need a new phone and a laptop. The best of the best" 

"so i'm going to assume your using this lovely lady's account" he asked

"nope, Im emancipated. I'll be using me" 

"So that's going to cause a bit of an issue" he said " The way our system works is it's a step by step process. We enter the info and the computer does the rest. If the computer finds any discrepancy in your info it will deny you and in order to have an account with Top Wireless you have to be eighteen or older" 

"but I have all the same rights as an adult" said Dean

"I know that" said William pointing to himself "but our system isn't going to care. There's no way for me to select emancipated minor. Even our store manager cant bypass the age restriction. It would have to be our district manager and he left I do believe" 

"so whats my options then" he asked

"let me go get my district manager if he's still here" he said as he disappeared into the back. A few minutes later he came back with a tall slender man with glasses.

"hello Mr. Hawk, William here tells me you want a contract, but are running into a bit of a snag due to your age. Is that correct?" Dean nodded his head in affirmation "cool, I can definitely help you out. What i'm going to need from you is your birth certificate, proof of emancipation and a photo ID. Normally in situations like this we would also require proof of how you will be paying your monthly bill but seeing as you are the owner of Hawk Enterprises I think we can forgo that part"

Dean pulled out the two papers he needed and looked at the cards at the bottom of the envelope hoping that Mr. Wayne made him an ID and luck must have been on his side because when he dumped out the contents he found an ID with a photo he didn't remember taking. At the top it said Ohio Drivers License. He handed it to the manager and he scanned everything into the system. Afterwards he handed it back and Dean put it back into the envelope.

"so, what's going to happen now is once I send this, corporate will look over the info to see if its legit and will call us with a yay or a nay. Once we get the yay I can turn it over to William here so he can make the sale. Why don't you guys look around the store and decide what you want and William will come get you when we hear back" 

Dean decided to just sit and wait on the results because he new nothing of electronics other then how to use them. So he didn't know what was better and what wasn't. About an hour later William walked over and told Dean that everything was a go and helped him pick out a top of the line cell phone that had a built in AI as well as a laptop that would be good for online schooling. 

After spending almost two thousand five hundred dollars they left with the merchandise and headed to get a small bite to eat. Since it was already after 2pm they decided on something light so as not to spoil their dinner. 

"we can head to my grandpas house now" said Dean "all I really wanted to do is get this stuff" 

"I would go to the grocery store before you go home" said Tera 

"I was just going to order that stuff online and have it delivered" he responded "that way we didn't have to carry it" 

"Their is only one store in town that delivers and you missed the cutoff for today" she explained "for same day delivery you would have needed to put your order in by 4pm its 4:30 pm now"

"but their open till 10pm" said Dean 

"its because your order needs to be shopped and they may have other orders in front of you that need shopped for as well and not all of them are delivery. Some of them are pick up orders. It can be time consuming" Said Tim "you can still place your order tonight though and it will be delivered tomorrow morning"

"looks like we may be ordering take out" said Dean "nobody has been in my grandpas house since he died so any food that's in the fridge needs pitched." 

"you really think they left food in the house" asked Tim 

"I guarantee it. Unless Grandpa had the house cleared out before he passed. It's highly unlikely that anyone went in after he passed because Mr. Wayne changed all the codes that way certain people couldn't get in" 

Dean pulled out the list of codes for this property and located the one for the front gate. once they pulled into the driveway Dean hopped out and ran up to the code box and entered the code. the gate immediately started to open. He hopped back into the van and they drove through a wooded area with trees on either side of their driveway. This lasted for about a hundred yards until it finally opened up.

"The front yard is kind of a let down. It's an open field of grass that hasn't been mowed in a while. No decor, no fountains lined with gold, no flower beds, no flowers. Is the whole property this plain? For rich people you'd think it would look more extravagant" said Tim as he observed the view. 

"I agree it's very plain but there's a reason for that. You see, grandpa and grandma Hawk were allergic to bees. So grandpa would spend a lot of money to keep the bees away every year and this is another way to help with that." Dean Explained

"I understand that i guess but they still could have installed a few water features. That way the Beverly Hills style mansion and garage doesn't looked out of place" said Tim "It's literally just an open field with a house in the middle with an unnecessarily long driveway that's leading to a roundabout in front of the house and is this an intersection with stop signs?" said Tim as they stopped at the crossroads.

"This wasn't here the last time I visited" said Dean in confusion "it has lines and stuff on it like an actual road. I wonder if it goes back to the garage" 

"we can always check it out later" said Tim as he and Dean got out of the car.

"don't forget your diaper bag baby" said Tera "If you get scared and want to come home all you have to do is call. Dean is in charge. If I find out you've been misbehaving you'll be in trouble. And Dean it is your responsibility to make sure he brushes his teeth and takes a bath. He has a habit of forgetting" 

"aunt Tera I don't get stinky I'm only four" he protested at the thought of a bath.

"well, now that your body's not potty trained you need to bathe every day" she said 

Tim pouted at this revelation "don't worry bubby. We'll get you potty trained in no time." said Dean as he hugged the pouting toddler. "Thank you for the ride Ms.Tera I'll call you when I'm ready to head south. It'll be a while though. I cant call the school till Monday plus I have stuff here to settle" 

They stood there and watched as Tera disappeared into the woods. Dean looked at Tim who was squating slightly. He looked at his face and the boy looked completely flushed and ready to cry. Dean nodded his head and he rubbed the boys arm as they watched the fields. After about ten minutes Dean looked back at Tim and noticed tears streaming down his face. He was pretty sure of what just happened and decided to not address it. He didnt want Tim to feel any worse then he already did. "you ready to go see the house bubby" He asked as he rubbed the boys arm. 

Tim sniffled and nodded his head. They walked over to the front door and dean looked on the paper and entered the front door code. The foyer was big enough for a coat closet and a place to put shoes with a bench. They entered the main hallway and Dean opened the door to the first room on the right. He went in and had a look around his grandpas former office and noticed it was empty except for the desk. "wow they cleaned it out" he said 

"was this your grandpa's office " asked Tim 

"it was" he said "he put his office here, that way clients or employees didn't see the rest of the house. It looks like Mr. Wayne has already cleared out his office so that's one thing off my to do list." They walked across the hall to another door and opened it to see a small half room with a sink and a toilet. They walked further down the hall and opened the last door and saw a conference room complete with a table and armchairs.

"seems more like an office building then a house" said Tim as he closed the door behind him. 

"well this area is the office part of the house. we were never aloud to be in this hallway. That entrance was for grandpas employees. We'll use the family entrance from now on" he said "come on I'll show you the rest of the house"

"hey Dean.....ummmm....before we look at the rest of the house....I need your help" he said as looked at his feet.

"sure bubby, I'll help if I can" said Dean as they entered the Main sitting room. It was an open concept sitting room dining room combo which always seemed weird to Dean. On the far side was a gas fireplace with a variety of couches and chairs around the space. On the far left was a floating staircase that didn't have a banister. At the bottom of then stairs was another door leading into the home theater room. Dean sat down on one of the couches and had Tim stand in front of him. "ok, what do you need my help with" he asked knowing full well what the boy was going to ask but he wanted Tim to ask himself.

"its weird Dean.... I can't really hold anything anymore" said Timmy as tears began to roll down his cheek 

"that's to be expected when you go from being a twelve year old to being a toddler again. Your body has forgotten what it was like being this little and weak, so it's going to take time to regain that control. You're going to have to potty train yourself from scratch it seems like. But your body clearly isn't ready for that step yet. I know we sound like a broken record but you won't be in diapers forever. Don't stress yourself out over this" said Dean as he pulled Tims bag off his back and sat it on the couch next to him. He then took out the proper supplies and sat them on the coffee table. Dean looked at Timmy and he was still crying. He had Timmy lay on the floor and he got to work and in no time at all the boy was in a clean diaper.

 "You did that really fast" said Timmy as he wiped the tears from his face 

"my aunt and uncle would have friends over all the time and if they had kids it was my job to babysit and some were still in diapers, so i've had a lot of practice." he said as he put the supplies back into Timmy's bag "now give me a hug" said Dean as he opened his arms. Timmy practically jumped on top of Dean knocking him into the couch "careful dork, i'm not that much bigger than you" he said as he wrapped the boy up in a big hug. Timmy melted into it and seemed so small and young at that moment even though technically they were the same age.

"thank you for helping me. I probably would have made a huge mess if I tried that" he said in a whisper. Dean was rocking the him back and forth almost like a parent would if they were attempting to get their little one to sleep. Timmy felt at ease when he was this close to Dean so he laid his head on his shoulder and they stayed like that for about five minutes.

"your very welcome Timmy. If you ever need help again just ask" said dean as he continued rocking the boy. 

"you're going to make me fall asleep if you don't stop" said Timmy in a sleepy voice 

"you want to see the rest of the house then" asked Dean

"yeah" said Timmy excitedly "can we go see the the cars?"

"sure" he said as they stood up "but first you need to throw away your old diaper. Come on I'll show you wear the trash can is." They walked into the kitchen and Timmy stopped.

"This is the biggest kitchen i've ever seen in my life" he said as he followed Dean to a small room where the trash can was located. 

"yeah, there would be a staff of about three to four working non stop. Grandma liked her dinner parties. Come on let's go see the cars" he said as he walked towards the side door. He put on a pair of shoes he had left here by accident and opened the door. "go put your clothes back on and meet me out by the garage ok" 

"Why? There's nobody around but us" said Timmy as he stood in the doorway 

"alright" he said as he shrugged his shoulders "I just figured since you're sixteen years old like me you would want to save your dignity"

"I have no dignity Dean" Said Timmy as he walked outside "All that dignity I had as a middle schooler went away when dad removed the spell. I will tell you what dad told me. Long term spells can take up to a week to completely wear off. I had just turned three when dad put the spell on me so by this time next week I'll be a three year old. I'll still be me obviously, just not the mature big boy you're used to."

"so thats why your clothes aren't as snug as they were this morning" said Dean as here punched in the code and opened the door.

"exactly" he said as he followed Dean inside. "it just means that nothing will fit me soon. Even my diapers will be to big." 

"the diapers were to big for you before. Now their so big that you're at risk for springing leaks" Dean looked around for a light switch and eventually found one on the inside of the door on the left hand side. He flipped it on and bright fluorescent lights lit up twenty classic cars each with their own bay and garage door. Dean counted the cars just to make sure what was here matched what was on the paperwork and after walking through and checking all the VIN's he was satisfied but once he got to the end he saw a big pick-up truck that was black and chrome with windows so dark you couldn't see the interior "that's not on the paperwork" he said out loud as he heard Timmy gasp.

"that truck is so cool" he said as he ran ahead of Dean and tried to climb on the foot bar but was barely tall enough to see in. 

"be careful not to scratch it. I don't know who it belongs too" he said as he reached the truck.

"there's a letter taped to the steering wheel" said Timmy as he jumped down. "I think it might be yours" 

"what's mine?" said Dean as he walked around the outside looking at how shiny it was.

"The truck silly" he said with a goofy smirk on his face "the driver's seat looks like its for a little kid"

"that's just ridiculous" said dean as he opened the driver door only to be proven wrong as the driver's seat looked like a little kids car seat complete with five point harness. "he grabbed the letter and opened it. 

"lets sit inside Dean" said Timmy as he bounced around excitedly.

"not until i've found out who it belongs to" he said as he unfolded the letter 

"considering the letter is addressed to you, I think it's fair to say its yours" 

"we ain't getting in it until I read the words, Dean this is your truck, or some sort of variation of the sentence" he said as he started reading.

Dear Dean,

 If you're reading this letter then unfortunately I've passed away. I am so sorry that you had to go live with my son and his gold digger of a wife and their two heathens. Don't get me wrong, I loved all you guys but those two were the type of grandkids you love from a distance. The kind you wish only came around on the holidays. There is reason they all hated you so much and it's our fault that they do. You see, Thomas and his wife really wanted kids but due to a sports injury, Thomas was made infertile at the age of thirteen. When on holiday in Arizona they happened upon a cave that was in the middle of an oasis that was in the dessert. To make a long story short they found you clutched in the arms of a dragon. They panicked thinking the beast ate your parents and was saving you for later so they snatched you while it was asleep. It wasn't until they got you home and we had Andrew file all the necessary paperwork to make you our grandson that they noticed that you were able to cast magic when your emotions got away from you. That's when they knew that they messed up big time. Thats was also around the time that Andrew informed us that your real family had moved into town. Thomas and his wife spent the years that followed stressing out about when they would strike and it drove them to take their own lives. That's when your mood shifted and andrew said that your grieving was making us sick. I didn't believe him until your grandma passed and CPS took you away from me and placed you with Virgil. That's when i started getting the will together. I saw the way they treated you and vowed to get back at them. They have no idea about your abilities or the fact that you made us sick with your grief. Their hate was purely out of jealousy and suspiciousness. Please don't make the mistake of underestimating your uncles ability to gather information. If there's a secret that you are hiding he will find out. Don't worry about the birth certificate debacle there is no way Virgil can prove its fake. This will not stop him from trying to prove you ineligible to receive your inheritance. He knows a lot of people and he will exhaust all assets in order to save his status.

 I took the liberty of calling a gentlemen who was interested in my classic cars if you don't want them or this property just call Andrew and he will take care of the rest and he will make sure that the money is put into your account. I knew that once you found out the truth you would leave town and with your youthful stature I knew that would be next to impossible without a lot of trouble so I had Andrew draw up papers emancipating you at sixteen and also had him get you a license. I know you never took a test to get it but trust me when I say it's as real as if you did. I also had a special truck made just for you. All the controls are at your fingertips so you don't have to worry about reaching the pedals. It also has a built in AI that will assist you with driving. I suggest you read up on the drivers rules and laws for emancipated minors in all states you plan to live in or even drive through. And practice on the course I designed right here on the property complete with traffic lights and stop signs.

 With Love,

 Grandpa Hawk