James set off towards the kids clothing section. Getting older wasn’t much good if it left him without pants or underwear. And being caught as a kid in his current outfit at the approximate age of 8 was a one-way ticket to child protective services. The cold tile beneath his feet was making James antsy and the feeling of his shrunk junk bouncing unchecked under the poncho like shirt was fueling an intense feeling of embarrassment, even if nobody could see him.
He stayed against the shelves of the aisles and poked his head around corners, to ensure no close encounters. He tried to keep away from the larger aisles as long as he could, but he had to cross one of the main aisles to get to any useful part of the store.
James found himself staring into the children’s clothing section from across wide aisle. He crept up to the edge. Before peaking around, he got down on his knees. He stole a glance around the corner. On one side, a board teenager was scanning items with some sort of supped up phone, and on the other was a plump woman sorting through greeting cards.
James ducked back into the aisle to think about what to do. He could make a run for it, or he could wait around, or even turn back and find a rout back to the men’s clothes. But that rout would lead him through toys again. And while he felt things couldn’t get much worse, turning into a baby would definitely count as worse.
As James crouched, nearly naked in the aisle he heard a squeaky shopping cart moving toward him in the main aisle. He looked around for the best place to run, but most of the aisles in the area were open, and if the woman came down this aisle, she’d be able to see into any of them easily. As the end of her cart came into view, James made a decision. He climbed into the shelf next to him at ground level. He pushed the pillows around to cover himself, burrowing his legs under some.
He waited in the shadows of the shelf behind the pillows. His bare legs resting against the cold metal. He wondered is it would feel so cold if he still had hair on his legs. In the process, his shirt had been pushed up, everything but his chest exposed, save for the pilows.
The shopping cart squeaked loudly and the woman swore a little, very close to where James was lying. He tried to only move his head, but he felt pillows resting against his legs move a little. James froze in place. The woman and her cart turned and started down his aisle. James did his best to keep his breathing slow. He saw the wheels of the cart roll past him but when the woman’s ankles came into view they stopped. James held his breath; afraid he had been caught.
The woman hummed to herself. “I could use some throw pillows for the den.” She started browsing through pillows on the shelves above James. James was starting to relax when a pillow fell from above, landing right in front of his face.
“Oh shoot,” the woman said. James could see her struggling to bend down and pick up the pillow. He held his breath as her hand came into view. The chunky bracelet on her wrist clinked as she grasped the pillow and pulled it back up.
“Oh, that was a work out,” the woman said to herself. James slowly let out his breath. He saw a pillow wiggle at the edge of his vision. He caught his breath and the sudden expansion of his round, childhood stomach, pushed the pillow covering it off the shelf. James froze. He felt his heart hammering in his chest. James felt like he would die of embarrassment if the woman bent down and the first thing she saw was his round stomach and youthened member.