Laura's stomach growls and she remembers the dinner she never got to eat. Wandering around on an empty stomach wasn't going to do her any good. Spotting a McDonald's next door she makes her way over.
Inside she is unhappy to realize even the high schooler at the register is now her senior. She orders her meal and tries not to blush when asked if she knew the cashier's little sister. Once she got her order she found the only open table to be next to the play area. Looking at the children that she should be old enough to be the mother of but instead would pass neatly as an older sister was certainly not helping her mood.
She pulled out her phone in part to distract her, but also to look up directions to the magic shop. As it turns out it is in a neighboring city. By car it would only take an hour or so to get there but walking was out of the question. Pulling up the bus and train schedules, she found her best bet was a train leaving from a nearby station in an hour and a half. She sighs that is a lot longer than she would like to wait but with little other options she purchases a ticket.
As she finishes her food, a father struggles to pull a stroller through the play room door. Laura is about to offer to help when he finally unjams it with a start knocking over the chair with her coat and bags. She holds her breath waiting to hear to dice or the spirit, but it appears the tape held the box shut. The man offers an apology and helps her collect her things. Laura assures him no harm was done and wishes him a good day.
Laura finds her appetite to have vanished after that incident and tosses the remaining food into the trash. She then heads to use the restroom before departing. Once she steps into the stall she goes to put her phone in her pocket and only then discovers the box had indeed broken and the dice were loose. She yanks her hand out dragging one of the dice out with it.
"Fifteen years you have walked this Earth. Now this number is but twelve. Each roll of the dice returns more of what you have lost."
She gulps and finds the stall much more roomy than before as the orbs do their work. Once she regains her composure she pulls out the damaged box and does her best to bend it back into shape before returning the dice to it.
With that done she opens the shopping back holding the smaller clothes she purchased as a precaution and looks for a new outfit. She settles on plain white underwear, finding even a training bra to be unnecessary, along with jeans and a Christmas sweater that she found on clearance. Realizing her adult coat and purse would only draw unwanted attention, she reluctantly moved all her possessions to the shopping bag making space by dumping all the now too large clothes. Once again feeling like she was leaving her adult self behind, she stepped out of the stall to see what looked to be a tomboy dressed for a Christmas card in the mirror.
She pulled out her phone to see if she would be able to use the ticket and found an option to indicate an unnocompianted minor. Selecting it she was relieved at least she wasn't completely screwed. With still almost an hour to kill before departure, the newly minted middle schooler considered her options.