"Im tired," Kelly groaned. All the other girls nodded in unison. "When's Mom gonna come pick us up Katie?"
Katie froze. She hadn't thought about the fact that Kelly now saw herself as a little sister or that they had no way to really get home. The car was gone, but then again a swift wish could change that. "I dont want her to be grown up though, she was so mean and if I wish her that way, she might start again or worse."
"Soon," Katie said. "Hey, why dont you and your friends come over to the house! You can have a sleepover."
"Yeah!" Claudia said. "A real sleepover!"
The other girls all started giggling, smiling and whispering to one another. Katie smiled. She didn't know what to do though...after all if she used the ring to grow them up they might become angry that she let the wish roll as it had. As it was, she'd have to become the one in charge. The thought excited her, to become a real grown up, to be able to drive! How awesome would that be! Katie couldn't help but grin and tingle with the possibility. "I wish I was old enough to drive and have a car, and that I had all the knowledge to do so!"
Suddenly there was a swarm of magic and energy around Katie, so much so that she gasped. Her body was growing, up through puberty. Her budding chest began to expand to proper breasts even as her hips began to become more defined. Her soft, childlike features began to deepen and become more slender, graceful and adolescent. Her body grew and grew and as it grew the world seemed to become smaller, her mind filling with new thoughts and understandings a typical sixteen year old would have. She was still herself, but it was like all those years had flown into her brain with all the knowledge of a highschooler, but not the actual experiences or memories to go with them. Katie just knew how to drive a car, how much responsiblity it was....and how much responsiblity she now had. It was not the wonderous, childlike wonder she had held before. Suddenly, the former little girl wasn't so sure of herself.
"Uhm.... lets just get to the car kids." She said.
The girls all tromped back the way they came and Katie found that her mother's old car was there, restored to the way it had been mid change when Kelly was sixteen. Getting in, she found that there were car seats for all the girls and she had to fasten them carefully. It took forever with a bunch of squirming kids, and she found herself getting exasperated. "Come on Claudia, stop squirming!"
"Sleepover sleepover!" The girls squeaked.
Driving was another new task. Katie found her heart hammering in her chest. Sure she knew how to drive, but actually doing so was unbelievably stressful. A glance in the side pocket produced her moms former licence now being her own. Her fingers gripped the stearing wheel as she felt the humm of the powerful engine of the semi-sport car revving beneath her. Back behind her the girls were happy as clams, singing and talking to one another. Katie was all too happy to get home, unbuckle them and allow the kids to tromp out towards the house.
"That was....not as fun as I hoped," Katie thought. "I donno about being a grown up now. Maybe I should go back to being 12 or 6."