It was Sarah, almost bent over double in her chair as she giggled uncontrollably. "Oh my gosh, Chris! You look so cuuuute! And so tiny! Look at your adorable little freckle cheeks!" She reached out and pinched them.
I was completely humiliated. I tried swatting her hands away. "Knock it off! This isn't me! I'm not a little kid!" But my voice came out like a high-pitched whine, and I realized I didn't sound convincing at all. Nor, I could tell, did I look convincing. I had a middle school kid's school uniform on, and I looked like my wispy hair had been cut with a lawnmower. No wonder Sarah was laughing at me.
I turned to the little girl. "How did you do this? This is all your fault!"
Sarah continued laughing. She ruffled my hair. "LOOK at this cute little buzz cut. Aw Chris why don't you always cut it like this? You'd look like such a nerdy little dork!"
"Make her stop!" I pleaded with the little girl. "Can't you make her a kid, too?"
The girl shook her head. "That's actually not exactly what I had in mind..."
"HaHA, that's right!" Sarah crowed. "I get to be the adult here." She finally stood up out of her chair, and my stomach sank as I realized that my head only came up to her breasts. "Aw, Chris, this is going to make playing basketball with you so much easier. No more patronizing me, huh?" She reached out and held my forearm, and I saw to my dismay that she could encircle my scrawny, hairless arm with her fingers.
"So actually, that IS what I had in mind," the little girl interrupted. "You CAN be the adult here." She suddenly snapped her fingers.
Sarah's expression suddenly went blank, and when she turned to me, it was like she hadn't been saying anything at all, like she had completely forgotten what we were just doing.
"Um, Sarah..." I tried looking into her eyes, but she was gazing off into the distance, and I was too short.
"That's actually Miss Ferris," she mumbled absentmindedly.
"Huh?" I said.
"You should call me Miss Ferris," Sarah said, suddenly sharp. She turned her head to me as though snapping back to attention. "After all, Chris, I'm your tutor. Not some little girl in your class."
It dawned on me, and I turned to shout at the girl. "You made her forget?? She thinks she's just my tutor, and I'm just some little kid?!"
But the girl was gone.