Initially there was squabbling on the phone, Max provided more details about the situation but handled the it expertly balancing Will's urgency and the enchanter's pride expertly... Will felt blame for misuse being directed at him, and "use at your own risk" was coming through the garbled voice at the other end but Max expertly refocused saying, "Regardless, the primary concern now is the solution, do you possibly have anything to provide?"
In short order the phone was on speaker phone and Will was relaying his whole ordeal again. Rough laugher erupted when Will described himself and his friends grabbing beers and a craggy response began as he finished describing his last few minutes of transforming back to his 15 year old self in the store, "Ahh, last night at bowling, the socks wouldn't know what you are asking them to do. I've seen it before where the transformation, remains active, trying to complete something that was already finished. Last time, it manifested over days, but you switched out of the bowling shoes, back into your dad's loafers as you left, yes? I'm guessing that doing so doubled the effect, which in magic, is exponential, each effect feeding off of each other. Which explains why your transformation is accelerating so rapidly."
"You've seen this before! How do I fix it?"
"Well, the last person was a young man who became his girlfriend and tried on two pairs of her shoes while she was out and then switched back to himself. By the next day he realized something was going on when he began putting on her makeup as part of his morning routine. He reached out and after researching for several days I eventually realized what could be the cause. As this was new to everyone, he hadn't been reverting his form back out of caution making things worse and he was a she by end of week. Once my realization struck, we got him back to his masculine form, had him put on the shoes he tried on while already in her form, allowing the transformation to complete and calm down."
"Then he was fixed?" Will asked, eager for the solution.
"Mostly, but the transformation seemed to 'stick with' him. Unfortunately, after his initial reversion and no clear issues the next day he went back to wearing his shoes. A month later he realized he had been continuing to feminize but by wearing his daily shoes, he didn't have a form to revert back to. He didn't wait long enough to fully transform back into a her, despite my insistence that we study this. He was angry and I lost touch with him after his relationship fell apart. So there is a strong chance you may still shift towards your father's traits after letting the transformations complete. I'd recommend cycling back and forth between your form and his several times to really clear out the magical pipes as it were."
Will didn't handle the news well, "But I'm supposed to be 15! I can't be going to high school in the morning and stopping by the bar for a beer at lunchtime!"
"As it stands currently, you can!" the voice on the phone said icily before continuing in a kinder tone. "There is a chance that the severity of the transformation that remains is tied to how far the transformation progressed before you fixed it, how long you've had the affliction, and I mentioned cycling through the transformation several times may help. Since you only had this issue for a few hours, and you said you never progressed past your mid 20's, chances are in your favor. Your main focus right now should be remaining a teenager, and getting back to both pairs of shoes with the socks so you can allow the transformations to complete, and picking up an extra pair of shoes to wear once after you sort this out isn't a bad idea either! Well, do be in touch, I am intrigued to hear how it goes. Max knows how to reach me." With that the call was abruptly disconnected with no ceremony.
Max scowled, "It's never wise to raise your voice to magic practitioners. But he did give helpful information and things to try."
"That's easier when your life isn't this close falling to pieces." Will scoffed. "Alright, I guess I should head to the bowling alley first since I have dad's loafers stashed away at home. Thank you for helping with this." Will began heading for the door.
"Oh and sir?"
Will turned back to the clerk. "Hmm?"
"You may wish to switch out of those before any changes start up again..."
Will was still wearing his normal everyday shoes, and the socks. He looked up sheepishly and offered a "Right! thank you", swapping out of his only way back to his normal body...