Heather trudged towards the driver side door, crestfallen at the idea she now appeared freshly out of college. The young brunette shuttered at the idea. Twenty three, she remembered that time all to well. She had graduated without honors and without a job. At the time she thought nothing of it. She ended up taking some dead end receptionist job. It allowed her to get a cheap apartment and still have enough money to hit the bars. Years later she would look back and curse herself for wasting so much of her youth.
"What are you doing?"
Laura paused, shaking herself out of her self loathing. Kaitlin was now sitting in the drivers side seat. "I'm driving my car," she answered curiously.
Kaitlin shook her head, giving Laura a solemn look. "That's probably not a great idea," she answered. "Laura, your only 23. If your dice rolls big you'll end up what, 17? And if it rolls twice?! You might end up being too young to even drive."
Laura could feel her face flush with anger as she glared at Kaitlin. "I'm 23 now because you dropped the box," she exclaimed. "I'm not some little kid here Kaitlin! I'm still an adult."
"Barely," Kaitlin muttered.
Laura grit her teeth, seething silently as she stared daggers at her friend. Grunting in disgust, she now stamped her foot as she stomped towards the passenger side. "Fine I'll hold the dice," she grumbled. Kaitlin said nothing as she turned the keys while Laura crossed her arms across her chest, letting out a large huff.
As they drove Laura would occasionally look over at Kaitlin, feeling an incredible amount of disdain for her friend. How dare Kaitlin treat her like some flaky kid. Laura was 23 and a college graduate. So what if Kaitlin was 9 years older than her and had been with the company longer.
"Whoa what was that," Laura thought in alarm. Laura fidgeted slightly as she now looked at the box in her hands. For a moment she had forgotten she was supposed to 43. She actually believed herself to be 23 years old again with Kaitlin the older and wiser woman. Were the dice not only affecting her physically, but mentally?!
Laura glanced back down at the dice, she hated being so much younger than Kaitlin. The 34 year old was making her feel younger than she actually currently was. She almost felt like she was becoming younger just by sitting there. A fiendish idea now began to creep it's way into her mind. What if her and Kaitlin were a little closer in age?
Slowly and unnoticed by Kaitlin, Laura cracked the box open. Looking at the dice she could see them glowing ever so faintly. For some reason she could immediately identify her own die. Reaching into the box she now picked the other one up, as she held it she could tell it was Kaitlins, it felt foreign to her touch. Laura now felt an internal battle take place inside her.
Part of Laura seemed to be screaming that this was an awful idea. Rolling Kaitlins die while they were driving was extremely dangerous. They could easily get in an accident or worse they could break free and roll the two of them even younger. Another part though, one that was growing louder, assured Laura everything would be fine. Kaitlin would be happy to be younger. The relationship between the friends would improve. Finally Laura wouldnt feel like such a child. "Time to knock you down a couple pegs Kaitlin," Laura though impishly as she let Kaitlins dice roll.
Thirty four years you have walked this Earth. Now that number is but twenty nine each roll of the dice return that which you have lost.
Kaitlin gasped gripping the wheel tightly as the golden orbs of light began to float off her body. She watched as her hands smoothed on the steering wheel. Gritting her teeth Kaitlin tried to focus as the years fell away. Kaitlin had the oddest feeling of pins and needles course over her body, which made driving in traffic an effort. As the feeling passed she anxiously looked at her appearance.
Kaitlin was definitely younger. The womans face looked fresher, her eyes brighter, while her hair looked much healthier than before. Glaring angrily at Laura she could see a young woman who looked both shocked and overjoyed at Kaitlins regression.
"The hell is wrong with you," she yelled as she regained control of the car. "Put those damn things away and DON'T touch them!"
Laura nodded sheepishly, muttering an apology as the two drove on. Laura was both excited and embarrassed at what she had done. She and Kaitlin were closer in age now, yet deep down Laura knew she shouldn't of done that. The two women now began to worry if this was a simple slip or the opening salvo in a war.