Samantha lost her grip on her pants as her clothes shifted and reformed themselves. Her baggy, tent-like shirt and her voluminous pants constricted themselves to better fit her six-year-old body. Her shirt turned into a pink, collared, button-down top with long sleeves and fancy folded cuffs. A black cloth choker was strung around her neck, and she could feel something metal dangling off it and pressing coolly on her skin.
Her pants had reshaped into an ankle-length wool skirt. It was black with a pink-and-red plaid pattern. Underneath the skirt, Sam could feel a new pair of thicker girl's panties. Her body suddenly lurched upward, tipping her off-balance. She took a few steps backward until she had righted herself. Then she lifted the skirt to reveal shiny new school shoes, polished to perfection with silver buckles and three-inch-thick soles. Her legs were snuggly encased in black leggings that went up to her thighs. A wool vest appeared over her shirt with the same plaid pattern as her skirt.
Her lengthy hair turned black. Its natural waves became more pronounced as the hair gained thickness. Sam's scalp tingled briefly as the number of follicles on her head seemed to double, then double again. On either side, two sections of hair separated from the rest, rising up and twisting upon themselves. They formed a pair of perfectly neat black braids, so thick they appeared to contain a head's worth of hair each. These braids began directly behind her tiny ears and dropped in front of her shoulders, falling heavily against her chest and ending with tiny pink strings at her waist. The rest of her beautiful waves remained loose behind her back, covering half of her body with their shine.
The finishing touches couldn't be observed by Samantha. Her cheeks gained a subtle natural blush, and her lips turned a dainty light pink color.
Samantha continued to look over herself. Tricia suddenly erupted in a squeal, picking the girl up and twirling around.
"Look at you! You're so adorable! You're like the sister I never had!"
Samantha squirmed in her grip. "Trish, put me down!"
Tricia regained control of herself and carefully set Sam down. "Sorry. I just can't believe how beautiful you are."
Samantha took a few careful steps in her new shoes. Their height boost was throwing off her balance somewhat.
"I thought I'd give you a few more inches, as a consolation prize," Tricia said in a genuinely kind way.
Samantha was still annoyed with her new body. It was too young, too weak. But she had to admit that Tricia gave her that one tiny boost, showing that she wasn't totally immune to Sam's feelings.
"I want to see," Sam said.
"Okay," Tricia replied. She looked around for any kind of reflective surface, but the alley offered nothing. "Let's go find you a mirror."
Tricia grabbed Sam's little hand and started leading her out of the alley. Sam tried to release herself, but her body just couldn't. She was forced to walk rapidly to keep in step with Trish.
"Wait, stop! I'm not going out there like this!"
To Sam's relief, Tricia stopped and let go of her hand.
"You wanted to see yourself, right? Besides, we've got to get home somehow."
"I can go home after you change me back," Sam said sternly.
Tricia knelt down to look Samantha in the eye. She placed a gentle hand on her head. While being in such close proximity with this giant made Samantha feel uncomfortable, the motherly gesture of putting a hand on her head felt oddly reassuring.
"Here's the thing, Sam. We don't want to attract attention to ourselves. If you start making a scene, all anybody will see is a little girl trying to get away from her sister. They have no idea you're really an eighteen-year-old. We just need to pretend that you're my younger sister, and everything will be fine. Besides, if you run off, I've got you tagged.
Tricia flicked the golden circle attached to Samantha's choker. Samantha could only assume it was emblazoned with Tricia's phone and home address. "So I'm your property, is that it?"
"No," Tricia shook her head. "You're my friend, and you made a deal with me as a friend. I'd never try to hurt you." She thought for a moment, and then looked at Samantha sincerely. "If you want to stop right now, then I'll change you back. I'll call off the deal. I just wanted to share the remote's power with you."
Samantha knew Tricia meant well. She knew she had overreacted to her changes, but it was definitely justified. She wanted out of this body, but she knew one way or the other, it was only temporary. They had 23 and a half hours left to use the remote, and Sam doubted Tricia would keep her this way for even that long. The endless possibilities of the remote frightened her, and also they beckoned to her. And she definitely did want to see her new body with her own eyes.
"Okay, Trish," Sam finally responded. "The deal is still on...for now. Let's go, big sister."
Tricia smiled like a mother witnessing her child's first words. She stood up and took Samantha's hand, slowly walking her out of the alley.