“I am so bored Kelly, but I don’t want to go back to school either” Amy Jensen told her sister Kelly.

“I know how you feel” Kelly responded barely looking up from her Kindle.

“I mean, I think we’ve done just about everything we could do around this house the past few months, and today it’s even too hot to go outside” Amy finished as she flopped into a chair. She kept her legs straight out in front of her. “How is it even possible for the backs of my knees to sweat this much?”

Kelly just laughed and shut the cover of her Kindle case. “We’re in air conditioning Amy…how are you sweating still?”

Amy laughed with her sister. They had spent all summer together and had a great time just taking it easy. With their Mom and Dad working, 17 year old Kelly and 10 year old Amy had the run of the house each day.

Despite their age gap, the two genuinely liked each other and got along with each other. Kelly never talked down to Amy and always treated her as an equal. Just because Kelly was going to be a high school senior and Amy was going into the 5th grade, didn’t mean that they didn’t get along and have a lot in common. Amy was very mature for her age and at times was more serious and responsible than Kelly. Kelly was by no means a bad girl or irresponsible, she was just a bit quirky and quite a free spirit.

“Come on Kelly” Amy said “Mom wanted us to work on cleaning up the attic”

“I don’t want to clean the dusty and smelly attic; why doesn’t she clean it?” Kelly said as she got up from the couch.

“I think that’s why she had kids…so she wouldn’t have to do the chores she hates” Amy responded.

“Fine…let’s go” Kelly said and started up the stairs.

At the bottom of the ladder, the two sisters kidded each other about who should go up first, but Kelly reached up and grabbed the chain to let down the ladder and went up first. “God it’s so hot and stuffy in here” she said upon reaching the top. “Go get the fan so we can get some air moving up here” she called back down to Amy.

Kelly heard Amy’s footfalls heading back down the hall as she took a look around and let her eyes adjust to the dark. She found the pull chain for the light and clicked it on.

“I’ve got the fan” Amy called from the bottom.

Kelly came over and stuck her head and arm out of the opening to grab the fan as Amy climbed up the ladder. She found two other old lamps and plugged them in along with the fan as Amy dusted herself off. “Gah…it stinks up here” Amy said disgustedly.

“It’s not that bad” Kelly said standing next to her little sister “You get used to it pretty quick”

The fan helped with the dust, heat and smell of the attic.

They started with piles of old clothes that no one had worn in years. They bagged them up and dropped them down into the hallway below for donation. They also filled up three trash bags with old school papers and broken stuff.

“Hey check this out” Kelly called over to Amy.

“What is it?” Amy asked as she crossed the room to where her sister was sitting cross legged on the floor. “What did you find?”

“It’s a book…but I’m not sure what it’s about…” Kelly began. “I don’t remember ever seeing this one before” she said as she ran her hand over the leather cover. Kelly remembered almost all of the other items in the attic from her other trips up there over the years. She had gone through a phase where she went up and poked around a few summers back, but she hadn’t seen this book before.

A folded up piece of paper dropped out and into her lap when she opened it. “What’s this” Kelly said as she picked it up and began to unfold it.

Amy now sat down too and took the book off of Kelly’s lap. She was just about to open it when Kelly said “Oh my god Amy…it’s a magic spell” and began to laugh.

Amy set the book aside and took the paper from her sister’s hand. She read it and crinkled her brow. “This sounds so stupid…”

“I know right” Kelly responded and took it back. “Flip Flop Slip Swap” she said with a fake scary movie accent. “Who says shit like that anyway?”

Amy laughed as Kelly stood up and said “Let’s take a break, I’m thirsty”

“Me too” Amy readily agreed and hopped up from the floor.

In the kitchen, Kelly grabbed a Coke for herself and a Sprite for Amy and they both sat down at the table across from each other. As they drank and cooled down, Kelly pulled the piece of paper out of her shorts pocket and put it on the table between them.

Amy nearly did a spit take at the sight of the paper but instead just kind of gagged and began to laugh. “Why did you bring that down here?” she finally managed to say.

“Because I knew it would crack you up” Kelly responded.

As it sat between them they both read it over before Kelly said “Come on…let’s say it”

“What are you crazy?” Amy replied.

“What are you chicken?” Kelly kidded her little sister.

“No, I’m not chicken” Amy shot back.

“Then what’s it going to hurt to say it…you don’t actually think it would work” Kelly said.

“No…but” Amy added hesitantly.

“But what…what do you have to be afraid of; if anything by the looks of it…if it works you get to be 17. I’m the one who should be afraid…I’d go back to being 10” Kelly finished with a fake shudder.

“I’d actually love to see that…I don’t remember much of you being 10 since I was only 3. I wouldn’t mind being your big sister” Amy replied.

“Then read it with me…big sis. If it works…you’re golden; skip right to the end of high school and puberty” Kelly said with a smile on her face.

“Okay fine…I will” Amy said sitting up straight for some unknown reason.

The both started out and spoke in unison:

“Flip Flop Slip Swap
We flip our ages
We swap our lives”

Then Amy said the next line by herself “The one who was younger is now the oldest”

Kelly said the next line by herself “The one who was older is now the youngest”

Kelly saw that it was her line again and said “The one who was first is now in second”

Amy smiled as she read her next line “The one who was second is now in first”

They looked at each other across the table and finished together:

“We do this willingly because we both want to see how life could be”

“Whoa” Kelly said and gripped the table suddenly.

“Oh my Gosh” Amy said and raised her hand to her forehead “What the heck”

Kelly swallowed hard and looked at her sister across the table from her and said in a somewhat shaky voice “Amy”

Amy looked directly at her big sister and saw fear and worry in her eyes. Amy took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down even though she could feel her heart beating stronger in her chest.

Kelly felt panicked and uneasy as they finished the spell. First her eyes narrowed in concern but now they bulged wide in realization “Oh My God Amy…what if…” she couldn’t finish her sentence but could tell by Amy’s widening eyes that she knew what she was talking about.

Amy heard her sister’s words and failed to comprehend for only a split second before she felt something in the pit of her stomach…her gut was telling her that they really had just said something that they would not be able to take back even if they wanted to.

Kelly stood up quickly and awkwardly. Her legs pushed the chair out a bit too fast and it tumbled over behind her and crashed to the floor. Kelly looked down and said “No, no, no, no, no, no”

Amy began to stand up as well “Take it easy Kelly” she said but knew that neither of them would be able to take it easy.

Kelly looked up at Amy and then quickly back down as she felt a twinge in her chest. “Oh God” she said and pulled the neck out on her t-shirt. “AH…Amy…my boobs are shrinking!”
She lifted her shirt up to her chin and Amy looked in shock as while her sister was still covered, it was undeniable that her bra was now loose.

Kelly dropped her shirt and said “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know” Amy said in a rushed and uncertain tone. “You’re the one who wanted to read that thing”

“I know but I thought it was some kind of joke…I didn’t think we would actually switch ages I…AH…” Kelly now pointed at Amy “Amy! You’re growing!”

Amy looked down at the ground and couldn’t tell that anything was wrong but as she looked across the way, her sister did look much closer in height to her own. “Kelly…you…you…”

“What” Kelly said, her voice pitching higher.

Amy stared in wonder as she watched her sister’s face get younger. The maturity that had resided in Kelly’s face was gone, suddenly replaced by a bit of baby fat in her cheeks and a fresh spray of freckles across the bridge of her shrinking nose.

Kelly’s hands went to her face and began to touch all across the surface as her body continued to shrink and change and regress. Kelly felt her bra strap slip off her right shoulder and could feel the underwire slap at her ribs as she jostled about in confusion as it no longer had anything to hold up.

Kelly let out a whimper and shut her eyes for a moment and bounced slightly up and down.
When she opened her eyes back up, she was shocked to find that her little sister was now taller than her. She pointed and said a simple “Amy!”

Amy had been looking down at herself as she began to feel the changes kick into high gear. She had an intense itch in her chest and was surprised as she scratched to feel mass where there had been none before. Somewhat embarrassed and definitely shocked, she dropped her hands to her sides and stared at her feet.

She watched in awe as her bare feet grew longer and wider to support her larger frame. Amy realized that her shorts were getting super tight on her legs. She tried to stick a single finger underneath the hem as her thighs expanded, but was unable as the fabric grew taut over her larger and rounder legs.

Amy felt and heard the waistband of her shorts give way as her hips and rear expanded outward. It was at this moment that she heard her sister call her name in a voice that she was unfamiliar with.

Amy looked across and realized she was now looking down at Kelly. “Oh…My…God, Kelly…you’re so short”

“I’m short! You’re tall!” Kelly replied. “You can’t be that tall. You can’t be bigger than me”

“Uh” was all Amy said with a shrug of her shoulders and a turn of her head. She felt the extra weight on her chest and felt herself blush at the thought of them switching ages and essentially body types. Her sister was turning into a kid again, while she was now a young woman instead.

“Ah” Kelly exclaimed once more as she felt even more of her height drop off. “This is not fair” she finally said in a childish voice.

Kelly looked down and saw that the table top was now much, much closer to her face. She had dropped almost a foot in height from 5’8” to 4’11”. The floor was also much closer on her shorter and skinnier legs. Kelly’s shorts were barely staying on her narrow hips and rear and she rose up on her smaller feet to stand on her tip toes and try to regain at least some of her lost height for even a moment.

Amy went through a final growth spurt and came to rest at 5’10”; a full foot taller than she had started at as her face continued to mature. Her eyes widened and her nose grew. Her lips filled in and her cheeks became defined along with her chin and jawline. Her brown hair became fuller and longer as the now 17 year old looked down at her new little sister.

Kelly’s mouth hung open in shock, staring up at her now big sister Amy “How…?” was all she managed.

Amy looked her sister up and down surprised at how small she looked to her. “Don’t panic Kelly”

But Kelly panicked; she screamed a high pitched girl’s scream for a few seconds before she turned and ran from the room at full speed on her spindly little legs.

Amy stood still before breaking from her stupor and chasing after her.

Amy found Kelly standing perfectly still in the doorway to her room. She came to a sudden stop “What’s wrong Kelly?” she asked, still not used to how her voice sounded.

Kelly turned to Amy and with a look of fear and anger said “Wrong? What’s wrong? Everything is wrong…including this” she said pointing into her room.

Amy cautiously came up behind her little sister and peered into the room before saying “What the hell?”

The room that was Kelly’s didn’t look like anything that either of the girls had ever seen before. Kelly’s room had been painted lime green and purple, but now it was all purple. Everything in it was familiar, yet different. It was the same headboard and dressers, but the items sitting on the dressers were different and the sheets and comforter were also new to them.

Kelly opened the dressers and found that all the clothes in them were clothes for a 10 year old. They weren’t Amy’s old clothes though; it was as if this was the wardrobe that a 10 year old Kelly had chosen along with the décor.

As Kelly remained in her room, Amy dropped back and went across the hall to her room. “Unbelievable” she muttered looking at the maroon colored walls and plain dark green comforter on her bed. Makeup and perfumes and lotion now covered the tops of the dressers instead on toys and Knick knacks. There were books on her headboard and pictures of what she realized were now her along with girls who she knew had been friends and classmates of Kelly.

Amy picked up a soccer trophy that stated 2013 Girls High School District Champions: Amy Jensen “No way”

Amy opened the first dresser drawer and found bras in it. She quickly closed it before realizing that they were hers. She saw the closet door was open and she stared at what were now her clothes in front of her. “It’s like I was always the older one…” she said under her breath.

Amy caught a glimpse of herself in her dresser mirror. She flipped her hair back and repeated “Unbelievable” as she shook her head back and forth slowly. Cautiously, she made her way back across the hall, where she found Kelly sitting on her bed with her head in her hands.

Kelly’s feet dangled off the edge of bed, nowhere close to touching the floor. “I can’t believe I’m a kid again” she said as she heard Amy approach.

Amy stopped in her tracks, just a step inside the door. Kelly now looked up at her. “I can’t believe that you’re not my younger sister anymore…you’re my big sister. I can’t believe how my life just got all flipped upside down just by saying that spell”

Amy raised her shoulders, it was the only thing she could do at the moment. “I can’t explain it any more that you can” Amy began “I didn’t think it was real either…but I guess…” she trailed off and shrugged again.

“It really was magic” Kelly said low as Amy turned around and cocked her head slightly sideways. “What?” Kelly asked her.

Amy now took a soft and slow step out into the hallway, her attention fully engulfed.
Kelly now came up beside her, annoyed anew that she only came up to Amy’s shoulder. Amy said “check out the picture” and pointed to the family portrait on the wall.

The picture had been taken last year at Christmas. It was a typical family picture with their Mom and Dad in the back; Mom in a white blouse and Dad in a white dress shirt and red tie. But where the picture had shown Amy on the left in a somewhat frilly red Christmas dress and Kelly on the right in a red blouse and black pants; now the portrait had a much taller Amy still on the left in a red sweater and black pants and an even younger Kelly on the right in a red, frilly Christmas dress.

They both stared at the picture before turning to each other. “Holy shit Kelly. That spell changed everything” Amy said.

“If the picture is different of us…that means everything is different for us” Kelly said in dawning realization of their situation.

“You know I saw a soccer trophy in my room with my name on it from 2013 for the High School team and I thought, but no, it can’t…” she trailed off.

Kelly ventured down the hall and went into their parents’ room. On the wall were their baby pictures and various other shots of the two of them. Kelly focused on her picture, it looked the same but the writing below it was different; it now stated Kelly Audrey Jensen 21inches 7lbs 7oz 11:18 A.M. May 12th, 2004.

“It should be 1997…not 2004. Everything else is the same…” she thought, but not everything was the same. Her picture had been on the right side of the two of their baby pictures, it had always been closer to the window, but now Amy’s was closer; their portraits had been flipped. She read the bottom that said Amy Elizabeth Jensen 20inches 7lbs 14oz 9:36 P.M. January 22nd 1997.

Kelly’s slight shoulders slumped. She looked at the other pictures and could easily tell the difference between her and her sister in the photos. What had been her 1st birthday picture with her holding a Teletubby, was now Amy. Her first birthday picture now had her holding Boots the monkey from Dora, what she knew had been Amy’s favorite toy at one year old.

She next focused on another picture. It showed a seven year old Amy holding her as an infant. She knew the picture well in its reversed state, but now it looked totally foreign to her with Amy being the big sister.

Amy now came into the room and saw what had been holding Kelly’s attention. She too now reflected on the subtle changes in the pictures on the walls.

Kelly turned and looked at Amy “It’s like you were always the big sister…it’s in the pictures…you’ve always been my big sister. Do you think Mom and Dad will notice or will this be fine for them when they come home tonight?”

Amy nodded “I think we’re the only two who know what happened and remember how it was this morning. I was just coming in here to tell you that.”  She said as she sat down on their parents’ bed. She was holding a photo album that she had pulled out showing essentially the same things. What had been pictures of Kelly growing up before Amy came around were now photos of a solo Amy. Amy also pulled their birth certificates out and showed them to Kelly. It showed that Kelly was born in 2004 and Amy came in 1997.

“I don’t know how those few little words on that scrap of paper warped reality for everyone but us; but it did”

“Do you think we can change back?” Kelly asked.

Amy looked at her and sighed “Honestly; no I don’t think we can. We can try, but I just don’t believe it will work”

Kelly dropped her head “Yeah; I don’t think so either” she admitted.

Amy was also carrying a copy of the high school yearbook that she found in her room. She opened up the junior class and flipped to the J’s and pointed to her picture, not Kelly’s, that resided there.

Amy got up and went back into her room. She tossed the yearbook on the bed and picked up the purse that was on the floor. She fished out the wallet and opened it up. Upon seeing what was there, she closed her eyes and realized “I do know how to drive”

She pulled out the license and ran her fingers over the embossed stamp on it, looking at her picture on the card. She knew that if she asked, Kelly would not remember how to drive, but she knew that she used to be able to.

Amy heard Kelly rummaging around in her drawers across the hall and she realized that she needed desperately to change her clothes. It took some effort to peel the tight shorts off and she ripped them further as she took them off. She also managed to work off her tight t-shirt and saw that it too, had ripped around the collar and the sleeves as she grew. She tossed them all into ball on the floor for them to go out in the garbage. She blushed as she picked out new panties and a bra and she allowed herself a long glance at her own changed chest. She added a blue tank top and khaki shorts that were in her new size before she padded barefoot out into the hall.

Kelly was in a state of delayed shock at what her life had become in just a few brief moments. This morning, she had woken up as a 17 year old young woman and by noon, she was a 10 year old kid. No life, no freedom, no independence, no nothing but parental supervision. She thought as hard as she could to remember the details though. She knew she should be a high school senior, but she couldn’t remember a single thing she had studied in middle school, let alone high school. She knew that she had a car, but she no longer knew how to drive it and now assumed it belonged to Amy. She knew she had a boyfriend, but couldn’t remember why she had been attracted to him besides just thinking that he was cute. Her old life seemed confusing to her now. She knew it had been hers to live, but all the specifics seemed beyond her now.

She sighed as she pulled off the large t-shirt. It had fit her this morning, but now it came half way down her thighs. She wanted to either laugh or cry as she took off the now useless bra, but instead, she just shrugged and dropped it on her floor. It took just a simple push to get her underwear and shorts off and she was all too eager to get into clothes that fit her new body. She dressed in a simple green and white striped sleeveless top and some tan shorts that both fit her perfectly.

The two sisters met each other in the hall, both freshly changed into more appropriate clothes. They both smiled at the other and nodded.

“You’re so…big now Amy” Kelly said.

Amy smiled awkwardly “I’m too big; I don’t feel right in this body…I feel like I’m a monster”

Kelly laughed “Attack of the 50ft Amy”

They spent the afternoon just talking and reminding each other to play it cool when their parents came home.