Mabel ran down the hall, hoping the other caretakers wouldn’t see her as she grabbed several pairs of pants from the “dress up” bin. She knew with the four children aging, even as slow as they were, they wouldn’t have much time until the oversized smocks were simply shirts. She returned to find 4 8-year-old children – Jeremy, now 45 inches tall, was bored with the coloring but he had developed such a close friendship with Beth that he was still engaged in what was going on. His brown hair was starting to get a little shaggier.
The girls were still happily coloring. Lori’s dark brown, almost black hair was still long and now tied into a long ponytail thanks to a rubber band she had found. She had grown to 48 inches tall, or an even 4 feet. She was still bigger in terms of body mass than the other girls, although far from fat. Just an access of baby fat that was about to begin melting off. She was still the leader of the group.
Annie, the stick thin, energetic blonde, was also about 4 feet tall now, maybe just a hair above Lori. Her hair had grown slightly longer as her tastes changed, although it wasn’t as long as before – now it was just slightly below her shoulders.
Beth, the quietest one with the curly, lighter brunette hair, was now 45 inches tall. Her drawings had progressed greatly, and were becoming very elegant for a girl of her age.
Mabel thought she would try something. An instinct emanating from the ring told her that, with the children’s constantly shifting minds, she may be able to pull off a bluff without arousing their suspicions.
“Guys,” she said, “you left your pants on the ground. You’d better put them back on.”
“Good idea,” 9-year-old Lori said, sort of confused as to why she wouldn’t be wearing them. Her brain, however, as well as those of the other three, seemed to be adjusting and reasoning not only for that, but for the fact that they had outgrown their other clothes, to the point that they had ripped to shreds underneath the smocks.
“Be good, kids, I’ll be right back!” Mabel said, and ducked around the corner yet again.
Mabel was quite impressed with the ring’s powers so far. The kids had no idea anything was wrong, it was if they were already 9 when they arrived that morning, and the oversized clothes didn’t seem to phase them either.
Lori, the bold one, decided to find out the answer to a question she was wondering.
“Hey Jeremy, do you like Beth?” she asked?
Beth’s face flushed red with embarrassment! You don’t just ask a boy if he likes girls!
“Ew gross!” Jeremy yelled, just as any 10-year-old boy might –whether it was true or not. Startled by the answer, Beth ran into the supply closet, crying.
“You big dope, you hurt her feelings!” Lori yelled at the boy.
Meanwhile, Mabel, from her perch, couldn’t help notice two tiny swellings, barely noticeable, in the front of the 10-year-old’s shirt. Her eyes darted to Annie, but no, she was still completely flat and stick-like.
“It looks like Lori will be the first to hit puberty,” Mabel thought to herself.