As if responding to his question, a tough voice from behind him said, "So, what's it going to be, Kevin? You giving up your money, or do we have to persuade you to hand it over?"
Jim turned around to see a boy, who looked to be about 14, looming over a kid, the Kevin being addressed, who looked to be about 12.
"B- Billy, I'm sorry. I- I don't have any cash left on me," stuttered Kevin. "Please, I'll- I'll get you some tomorrow."
The two boys flanking Billy like vultures on his shoulders snickered at the pleading Kevin. "What a weasel," said the ugly one.
"Yeah, a real dweeb," said the uglier one.
Billy raised his hands in a subtle gesture to silence his cronies and said, "Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, don't you know that you're always supposed to be ready to pay my toll. Who knows when we'll meet up?"
"I- I'm sorry," said Kevin, sounding resigned to his sad fate.
Jim shook his head. He was part disgusted by Billy's cruelty and part excited that he had a new target. Time for some payback for Kevin.
Jim blew up the balloon and whispered a change for Billy. Then, Jim let the air start to deflate, slowly.
"Aw," said Billy. "Is baby Kevin gonna cry."
Billy's cronies laughed with him, as a single tear slipped down Kevin's face.
"Look at the baby," said Billy. "He's starting to cry. Eh, cry-baby. Cry-b..."
Billy stopped abruptly when his voice suddenly cracked up an octave. He coughed, trying to clear his throat. His dumb friends stared at him quizzically, looking even dumber. Kevin just wiped his eyes and gazed at Billy.
"Yeah," Billy said, trying to save some face while struggling to keep his voice from cracking. "You keep on crying, kid." He gasped when his voice cracked up again at the word, "Kid."
Jim smiled as the balloon kept deflating.
Billy rubbed his throat. Something felt wrong about his Adam's apple, that is, it felt like it was shrinking.
"You okay, Billy?" said ugly crony #1.
"I'm fine," said Billy in an unmistakably prepubescent voice. "I'm just getting a cold or something." Every time Billy spoke he seemed to sound even younger than before.
Kevin stared on in confusion. He was still too terrified to be amused.
The cronies looked at each other uncertainly. They weren't used to Billy, their leader, being confused. It just made them feel lost. In fact, any problem that they couldn't poke fun at or beat up left them feeling lost.
"Let's get out of here," said Billy. This time Kevin smirked. Billy sounded like a petulant child trying to act grown up. "I got to get to a doctor, or something," he said, now sounding like a worried first grader instead of an over-sized 8th grader.
Jim stopped up the balloon and said, "Release."
"Come on," squeaked Billy as he turned to walk off in a huff. He looked very worried. He realized that he'd have a hard time being taken seriously with the voice of a six-year-old.
His cronies hesitated a moment, did they really want to take orders from a guy that sounded like he was barely out of training pants? It was a conundrum.
Realizing he was alone, Billy squealed, "Let's go!"
The cronies followed, leaving Kevin alone to smile and ponder his sudden good fortune. Someone out there is looking out for me, he thought.
Jim smiled. Aging down Billy's vocal cords had worked like a charm. After all, it's hard to sound tough when your voice is pitched above the voices of girls your own age. Jim guessed that it would be another half a dozen years before Billy sounded old enough to bully anyone, and by that time, he would be out of high school. Poor Billy might find himself being bullied now instead.
Jim walked past Kevin and gave him a little wink. Kevin looked at him curiously. He suspected what that wink might have meant, and whispered, "Thanks."
Jim smiled and walked on, looking for his next target.