"No, no, no, no, no!"
Alice was near panic, the 16 year old felt powerless as Nicole and Lena split the dice amongst themselves. "Don't," Alice exclaimed. "Look, see we're almost there." Nicole and Lena didn't listen, the two girls nodding as they now rolled.
Twelve years you have walked this Earth. Now this number is but nine.
Thirteen years you have walked this Earth. Now this number is but nine.
Alice gawked watching as the orbs of light floated from her friends. The girls had become experts at this point at rolling a single die. Nervously she now watched as both Lena and Nicole now raced further back in age, puberty completely abandoning the girls, their faces rounding, as their eyes grew wider and more innocent. Both Lena and Nicole seemed to sink lower in the backseat, inches melting off the pair until they found themselves the same height as Sharon. It seemed incomprehensible that this was happening. Only a week ago Sharon had been a cutthroat real estate agent, Lena had been an ageing actress, and Nicole had been Alice's employee and close friend. Now, the three girls looked ready for the start of fourth grade.
A series of small thuds now drew Alice's attention, the teen feeling ever more like a babysitter as she gazed at the girls. "What was that?"
"Our shoes are too big," Sharon giggled. "We took them off."
"But the backseat is alot bigger," Lena smiled. "We got plenty of room now." Alice bit her lip watching the three girls spread out, giggling happily. Listening to the three of then, it was impossible to even think that the three of then had been adults not too long ago. For all intents and purposes they looked and acted like children. Worse still for Alice was the desire to join them.
"Ali you should roll too," Nicole said excitedly. "Cmon join the fun!" A childish chorus now began encouraging Alice to roll herself back into childhood. It struck the teenage girl as odd, receiving peer pressure from a group of elementary students. "Focus Alice," she whispered, shaking her head as traffic inched forward. The Magic Shop was close, would her will hold out or would she give in and join her friends back in grade school?