“Now Katrina; I’m counting on you to help me watch your brother and sister today” Sara Walsh told her 17 year old daughter as they parked their car at the pavilion.

“I know Mom” Katrina said distractedly. She was texting her friends and staring at her phone as she opened her car door.

“I’m serious Kat; they’re going to be like 200 people here today just in our family and this is a big park…”

“Mom: I know. Kevin is 12 and Kelsey is 10…give them some credit for being somewhat smart enough to not just march off you know” Katrina said while never looking up from her phone.

“And put that phone away and actually interact with some of your family today for God’s sake” Sara added in as she took out their supplies from the back of the car.

“Whatever…” Katrina mumbled as she grabbed her sunglasses and slid them on while pocketing her phone.

The noise from the pavilion was at a purely hectic level. Kids were running and screaming; adults were hugging and trying to talk over the kids and the oldest of the group just gave up trying to be heard and simply sat back and watched the chaos.

As Katrina took in the scene and tried to head for a shaded corner, she saw her Mom heading with her arms open towards her cousin Michelle. The high pitched squealing of her Mother upon seeing Michelle was too much for Katrina. Who merely shook her head and stared at the floor.

Michelle Hill had her three kids in tow behind her as she made a beeline for Sara. There were introductions all around and proclamations on how much everyone had grown since the last time they had seen each other in person, which had been a few years.

Katrina sized up her cousins: Miranda was 14 and trying very hard to look cool, Matt was 12 and already comparing video game conquests with Kevin and Michael was 7 and trying to avoid attention.

Hey Mike…remember me?” Katrina asked her young cousin.

Michael looked up at her and smiled shyly. “Kind of…” he mumbled.

“Well, I got to watch you the last time we had one of these reunions and you were about 4 then and all you talked about was Star Wars” Katrina said as she leaned over to talk to Michael.

Michael blushed and stared at the ground.

“Outta my way troll” Miranda said as she pushed Michael out of her way to get to the table.

“Hey” he said somewhat shocked as he caught his balance.

“Oh, don’t cry for Mommy little Mikey” Miranda added in as she took her seat. “I didn’t hurt you”

Michael opened up the cooler and just as he was taking out a Coke, his older brother Matt swooped in and snatched it from his hand “Thanks dork” Matt added in as he ran off with Kevin.

Michael pulled out a warmer Coke that was on top as Katrina gave him a weary smile and a pat on the shoulder.

“Katrina, where’s Kevin?” Sara yelled at her daughter.

“He just headed off with Matt” she replied.

“Do you know where he headed off to…?” she asked impatiently.

“Um…Not in particular but if I had to guess, I’d say he’s right over there with the other pre-pubescent boys” Katrina said.

“You need to keep an eye on him remember” Sara added in.

Katrina eased down on the bench across from Miranda and Michael and just as she was sitting, Sara added “And I don’t see Kelsey either…where is she?”

Katrina sighed and scanned the pavilion “She’s right over there getting a cookie…jeez” she snapped.

Sara gave her daughter a withering look. “I don’t want your attitude today” she hissed.

As Miranda got up Katrina looked over at Michael “Guess it’s just us two miserable souls today, Huh Mike”

Michael smiled and dropped his head “I guess so…” he replied shyly.

As they ate their lunch, Katrina continued to receive the wraith of her mother for not controlling every aspect of her younger siblings’ lives and movements and Michael continued to receive verbal abuse from his older siblings.

The crowd scattered once again and Katrina and Michael were once again the only two sitting at the table.

After getting yet another drink taken from his hand, Michael asked Katrina “What’s it like being the oldest?”

Katrina let out a little laugh “Um…I guess it’s different than being the youngest. You don’t get picked on by your brother and sister but you have to watch them all the time”

“Sounds better than getting yelled at all the time” Michael said.

“I don’t know…I’ve always been the oldest; guess I’ve never thought about being the youngest sibling” Katrina said.

“Well I think about being the oldest all the time” Michael said quickly. “You don’t know what I’d give to boss Miranda around for a while, or be able to push Matt around and not have him beat me up all the time. It’s not fair being the youngest”

“Like I said…I’ve never had the chance to experience it” Katrina said.

After a pause, Michael said “What if we could?”

Katrina looked over at him “What if we could what?” she asked.

“What if I could be the oldest in my family and you could be the youngest?” Michael said. “Like what if we could somehow switch ages with each other and I would be 17 and older than Matt and Miranda and you would be 7 and be younger than Kevin and Kelsey”

“Oh I don’t know; but sure…what the heck. It might be fun making them look after me for a day” Katrina said with a little laugh to cheer Michael up.

“I wish we could…” Michael said trailing off thinking about it.

“Yeah…I wish we could too…” Katrina added in.

Katrina put her hand out to grab her Dr. Pepper can and realized that the strap of her tank top had slipped off her shoulder. “Oops” she said quickly as she reached back to grab it and pull it back up.

As she was reaching back, Katrina saw her left hand and became focused on it; it seemed smaller. She tugged on the strap and felt a pulsation rock through her body. It felt like a sudden contraction and she shuddered. As her body involuntarily shook, Katrina began to shrink.

Michael also felt weird; his shoulders rolled forward suddenly and he hunched over the picnic table. As he sat back up, he could tell something was wrong and different. Michael felt his shoulders rising and broadening. He felt his legs growing and he could feel his whole body shifting on the bench as he adjusted to his growing frame.

Michael looked down and saw that his chest was getting wider and his torso was getting longer. Luckily, his clothes were changing in chorus with his body. His small t-shirt was growing out along with his chest and his shorts were also growing longer and larger. “What’s happening?” he asked in a deepening voice.

Katrina, meanwhile, continued to shrink smaller and smaller. She felt her feet rise up off the ground and begin to dangle as her legs became shorter and skinnier. Her rear slid forward on the bench just to keep her from falling off as her hips pulled in.

Her chest began to pull inward under a shirt that was decreasing in size, matching her body step for step. Her arms shortened and her hands thinned. Her hair also thinned and became messy and unkempt around her youthful face.

Katrina felt an odd tickle across her face as her features lost maturity and size. She rubbed her nose vigorously and scrunched up her brow in disgust.

Michael looked down at his expanding and growing body in awe. His arms thickened with muscle as did his chest and back as he matured. His knees now bumped against the underside of the table. He quickly ran his hand through his thicker hair and then let his fingers run softly down over his cheeks and his confusion peeked as he felt the rough stubble of facial hair beneath his touch. “What the hell?” he mumbled dreamily.

Katrina said the same thing as she sat motionless on the bench “What the hell?” she asked and surprised herself with her high pitched childish voice.

Katrina patted her flat chest. She picked at her shirt, which was no longer a dark blue tank top but instead, a white t-shirt with purple flowers on it.

Her hands ran down her soft stomach and she touched the top of her small purple cotton shorts. Her thighs were smooth and skinny and left plenty of room in the wide shorts. Katrina spun on the bench and brought her feet up onto the bench in front of her.

“My legs are so short and skinny” she said to herself “What happened to me?” She wiggled her small toes, noticing the chipped glittery pink nail polish on them, encased in dirty, purple flip-flops.

She managed to stand up and noticed that everything looked much bigger to her. The tables were higher; the adults that passed by seemed like giants to her; including her cousin Mike.

Michael had also stood up from the table. He banged his knees getting up as he took stock of his situation. He flexed his hands and brought his arms in, amazed at much more powerful he felt. The table top was now much further away and as his aunts and uncles passed him, carrying on their own conversations, he saw that he towered over them. “What happened to me?” he asked himself.

Then he saw Katrina.

Katrina and Mike’s eyes met across the table. Katrina was looking up over a foot to Mike now but it hit them simultaneously as to what had just happened to them.

Katrina’s eyes went wide and she pointed and yelled “Oh My Gosh Mike! You’re Seventeen now!”

Mike looked down at himself and then again over to Katrina. When he saw the small child standing in front of him he whispered “And you’re seven…my wish came true”

Katrina was looking up and down, taking in what she could see of her diminished body. “What am I going to do?” she said to herself.

Mike came around the table and got down on his right knee in front of her and was still a bit taller than Katrina. “My wish came true Katrina; we switched ages! I’m 17 and you’re 7…isn’t this going to be awesome?”

Katrina just stared at her huge cousin for a moment before snapping out of it “No! I don’t want to be a little kid again!”

“But…but you said you wish you could see what it was like to be the youngest” Mike said confused.

“Yeah but I didn’t really mean it” Katrina snapped. “Change us back before anyone sees us like this”

“Michael!” Michelle Hill called out to her son.

“Busted” he whispered under his breath as Michelle approached.

“I’m so glad to see you watching out for Katrina today, but can you tell me where your own little brother and sister are?”

“Um…Uh” Michael said genuinely confused. “Is there something wrong?” he said.

Michelle crossed her arms and said “I told you that I was counting on you to keep an eye on Miranda and Matt today”

“Oh, uh, yeah, uh…I saw Miranda just a minute ago and Matt was with Kevin” Michael said quickly.

“Good. Are you having a good time today?” Michelle talked down to Katrina.

“Um…no…not really” Katrina answered.

Michelle laughed “Gotta love the honesty of a seven year old” she said as she turned on her heel and left.

Michael and Katrina exchanged a dumbfounded look. “She didn’t think anything was wrong…” Mike said.

“She treated me like a little kid…” Katrina added.

“She treated me like I AM the oldest” Mike added, calculating things in his mind. “Maybe we’re the only ones who realize anything is wrong” he said.

It was then that 10 year old Kelsey returned to the table. “Mom said you’re not supposed to have any more soda today” Kelsey said as she took the Dr. Pepper off the table and gave Katrina’s shoulder a shove.

“Hey!” Katrina yelled “You can’t push me around like that”

Kelsey looked confused “Why not? You’re my little sister and I can push you around any time I want” she shoved past a still shocked Katrina “Why…what’re you gonna do baby? Run and tell Mommy?” she added in mockingly.

Katrina was left in shock as her older sister left the scene. She looked at Michael “Maybe we are…” she conceded with a dramatic swallow. Tears began to swell up in Katrina’s eyes and Mike sat down to comfort her.

“Don’t cry…please don’t cry” he pleaded with her.

“I can’t help it! I don’t want to be seven again”

“Hey, we don’t know how long this will last. Maybe we’ll change back at the end of the day” he said reassuringly while secretly hoping that they wouldn’t change back.

“Buh…but…what if we don’t…don’t change back” Katrina managed to hiccup out through her tears.

“I think we will, so why don’t you enjoy it for a few hours. Go nuts: eat all kinds of junk food and get in trouble and blame your older brother and sister for not watching you.” Michael said trying to cheer Katrina up. “And if we don’t; well then you’ll get back to seventeen eventually”

This made Katrina cry again.

Michael gave her a hug as they sat down next to each other on the bench. Miranda Hill was coming back to the table now.

“Hey Mike; Can I get my phone?” she asked.

Without hesitation Mike replied “No. You know Mom said you couldn’t have your phone today”

“But I need to check it” she pleaded.

“I said no…forget it” Mike said with a satisfied smile.

“Fine…whatever…I wish I was the oldest” Miranda mumbled as she walked off empty handed.

“That felt good” Mike said to himself as Katrina looked up at him. “What?” he asked her.

“You didn’t even think about your answer…you answered your sister like she was always your little sister” Katrina said.

Michael sputtered briefly thinking about how natural the encounter had been. “Uh…yeah…uh…I guess it did seem, I don’t know…just right to talk to her like that”

Mike got up and excused himself. He headed for the small bathroom that was in the back of the pavilion. Once inside, he stepped in front of the mirror. “Whoa” he said at catching a glimpse of his reflection.

He smiled and moved his face back and forth, taking in the angles of his mature face. “I am 17” he said to the mirror “I really am. How tall am I?” he said. He thought about how awesome it was going to be, being the oldest in the family now. “Wait till I get to see Matt’s face” he said.

Michael looked down at his long muscular legs and firm mid-section and broad chest. He gripped his biceps and flexed his neck, taking in the older reflection in the dimly lit mirror.

Katrina had taken a page from Michael and made her way to the restroom. She was very nervous about seeing what she looked like and as she stepped before the mirror; she was hit with an old familiar look. It was a look that she certainly remembered from 10 years earlier in the mirror. She really had regressed back to seven and she looked just like she had the first time around. “Oh man…not this again” she said to herself. She raised up on her tip toes and turned her face back and forth in the mirror thinking “No…not again”

As she stared at her reflection, her mind began to wander. At first she thought about how unfair it was that she was now the youngest in her family. She was mortified to have to look up to Kelsey, let alone Kevin. Kevin was now the oldest in the family and she’d have to take orders from both of them. Kelsey had already pushed her around and dominated her just a few minutes earlier. “I don’t know if I can do this” she said to her reflection.

They both exited the bathrooms at the same time; which was just as they were announcing that it was time for games. They exchanged a nervous look before they were herded towards their respective age groups.

Katrina found herself paired up with a cousin of hers that she barely knew. Her name was Maggie and she was also seven. Maggie went on and on about her favorite TV show while Katrina had to merely nod along; she had never watched the show and had no idea what Maggie was talking about.

Michael meanwhile was getting roped into a tug of war match where he was being asked to join both sides because of his size. And after his team did win the match, he was congratulated for swinging the contest their way.

Katrina and Maggie had lost the 3 legged race after Katrina had lost her balance and wiped out. As she got up and got untied she could hear her sister chanting “Lo-ser…Lo-ser”

“It’s okay Honey” Sara Walsh said to Katrina as she pulled her in and hugged her against her hip. Katrina hadn’t been this small next to her mother in so many years, that she had forgotten how it felt to be pulled in like that. Katrina had been about 2 inches taller than her mom and it humiliated her to be so much smaller again.

“Did you hear what Kelsey was yelling at me?” she asked.

“No, I didn’t but whatever it was just ignore it…you know how big sisters are. Well, I guess technically you don’t know since you’re not a big sister” Sara said as they walked back. Katrina looked ahead and saw Mike talking with a group of adults. She sighed and tried to increase her strides to keep up with her mom, but she was limited by how short her legs were.

Katrina headed down to the lake, hoping that the water would take her mind off what had happened to her. As she stood at the water’s edge and tried to relax, she suddenly she felt herself getting picked up.

“AH” She yelled before she saw it was Kevin who now had her in his arms. “Put me down you big jerk!” she yelled as Kevin ran into the water with her.

“Your wish is my command squirt” he said as he dropped her into the lake. He was laughing as he retreated to the shore. Katrina could hear him telling Matt “see how hard it is for me to get game time with two lame little sisters”

Katrina stood soaking wet in the water. She shook with anger and balled her fists up at her sides. Tears of anger and frustration and humiliation burned the corners of her eyes as her hair dripped with lake water. Her white shirt clung to her flat chest and her soaked shorts hung low on her narrow hips. “Why is this happening to me?” she said. “What did I do to deserve being put into the body of a little kid? Why do I have to get pushed around now by everybody?”

She wanted to run after her brother and teach him a lesson, but she knew she couldn’t; it would be pointless and just cause her more humiliation. She trudged out of the water and stood in the sand trying to dry off in the hot sun. She saw her purple flip-flops that had fallen off of her feet when she got picked up. She gathered them up and stepped back into them, still wiggling her toes in disbelief at how her feet looked.

As she reached the grass again, she saw Michael walking towards her. She found herself a bit intimidated by his size but he had a sympathetic smile as he approached with a towel. “I saw what Kevin did to you” he said as he handed her the towel. “I chewed him out and told him that it wasn’t cool to do that to you, then I handed him over to your Mom and now he’s really getting chewed out”

“Thanks” Katrina said “Thanks for sticking up for me”

“No problem. You were nice to me earlier when I was little; it’s only fair that I watch out for you now” Michael said as they walked back up the hill together.

“Do you really think we’ll switch back?” Katrina asked.

“I honestly don’t know” Michael said with a shrug. “I mean anything is possible. If we switched once, we can switch back or…”

“…or we could be like this from now on…” Katrina finished for him as she stopped walking. “I don’t want to be seven again. I wish we could switch back right now”

Michael hesitated to say anything.

“Come on; you’ve had your fun already” Katrina said to him “Say you wish we could swap ages again”

Michael looked at her and said “I wish we could swap ages again…back to how we started” but although his mouth was saying it, his mind was screaming “No way I want to go back to being seven! Please don’t swap our ages back”

They stared at each other for a minute waiting for something to happen; when nothing did, Katrina threw her arms up in the air in frustration “Awesome! Nothing happened1 I’m gonna be stuck in this little girl body getting picked on by my previously younger but now older brother and sister! This sucks!”

Kelsey was walking by and only managed to hear the last two words from her little sister so she slapped the back of her head and said “Yeah it does suck to be short and little and ugly huh squirt” as she ran off.

Katrina and Michael stopped in their tracks. “I’m sorry” Michael said to Katrina. “I mean, yeah it was my wish and I brought it up to you, but I didn’t think it could happen.”

“I know” Katrina said.

“I mean, how crazy is it that it did happen…that we did switch ages with each other. It should be impossible, but it happened.”

“I know” Katrina repeated. She looked nervously down to the ground. She rubbed her right foot up her left shin and her right hand up and down her left arm.

“And now that it did happen, I don’t know if or when we might switch back. We have to just act like it’s okay and right….like I said I’m sorry you regressed back into a seven year old…”

“But you’re not really sorry that you now get to be a seventeen year old” Katrina said seeing through Michael.

Michael dropped his head a bit but as he heard a call for a softball game, he rushed off to join with a shrug of his shoulders toward Katrina.

“Great” was all she muttered under her breath.

That night after dark, a few of the relatives set up fireworks to go off along the shoreline. Katrina found herself sitting next to her Mom on a blanket in the sand. After the show, she dozed off with her head against her Mom’s side.

As everyone was gathering up their things to head to the lodges for the night to go to bed, Michael made his way over. He offered to carry Katrina to the lodge instead of waking her up.