“Hey kid, sit down!” One of those moms shouted at Mason.
“Kid?” He asked before he felt it. His eyes went wide seconds before he began to shrink. His voice cracked awkwardly, his height slithered downwards, and his shoulder popped inwards almost painfully. He got shorter and shorter by the second, regressing through all his awkward growing in high school and returning to his chubby childish form.
Eighteen years old, fifteen years old, twelve years old, nine years old, and finally six. He stood there breathing heavily and in absolute panic, he was six again and it horrified him. All the noise around him grated on his ears and he felt like he was having trouble sitting still.
Then it happened, his pants inverted itself, his hair grew long, a few body parts shifted size, and all his clothing merged into a little dress that matched Janette’s. He’d turned into a little Korean girl at a movie and the film was kind of distracting. He stared up at it with entranced eyes before finding his seat again and climbing into it.
He sat next to Janette, watching the movie whizz by and chewing on kids sized popcorn a d drinking from an XS soda. His mind felt blank, she was enjoying that film. What little girl didn’t dream of being a princess? That was why she’d worn her dress after all, she wanted nothing more than to live in a castle, ride horses, and dance every day while singing with a beautiful voice. When she grew up she wanted to have a nice voice so she could sing like the princess in that movie.
She actually sat still through the whole film and only came to when the movie ended and the woman who’d shouted at her earlier gathered her and Janette up.
“So how was your first movie?” Janette’s mom asked as she guided them out of the movie theatre. “You two were so quiet and polite. I’m so proud of you.”
“I loved it!” Janette exclaimed as she skipped across the parking lot to an awaiting minivan. “I wanna see more movies!”
“Me too!” Mason piped up before shaking her head. Mason? That wasn’t her name, she was named Maisy, her mom had named her after a celebrity in one of her magazines thinking a nice American name would help her fit in better once she went to school.
“Well, you girls were so well behaved we might go again in the future,” Janette’s mom smiled before ruffling her daughter’s hair. They then piled into the minivan and the instant the vehicle started moving both Janette and Maisy fell asleep, leaning towards one another.
Janette’s mom watched them through the rear view mirror with a smile. Those two had always gotten along and seeing them so sleepy and peaceful made her smile. She was a little old to be a mom she felt, and when she’d found out she was pregnant with Janette six years ago she’d been worried. She felt like a daughter of hers would be in college by this point, not six, but Janette was such an easy child and she’d made friends with Maisy who was the same way. An added bonus was that Maisy was a late pregnancy too, her mom was in her forties when she found out she was pregnant too. It was a relief to meet someone in the same situation and made her age gap with her daughter feel a little more normal.
“Maybe I’ll take the scenic route,” Janette’s mom mused as she watched the two cute kids sleeping in her backseat. “Let this day last just a little longer for you...”