“Mom: Adam’s picking on me again!” 7 year old Lyndsey North cried out as she came down the hall.

Cheryl North had heard this cry so many times recently that she wanted to scream as well. “Adam, why is Lyndsey crying?”

“I don’t know: I didn’t do anything” Adam called out from his room.

“Really; get down here!” Cheryl called out.

She heard stomping coming from upstairs and finally down the stairs and into the kitchen. Cheryl waited with folded arms as her 17 year old son stood before her.

Adam was 6’2” and weighed around 180lbs. He was a big kid; much bigger physically than his Mom, but he was still just a kid and still needed to do some growing up.

“What?” he asked.

“Explain yourself please” Cheryl asked.

“Mom: Lyndsey was in my room again. I told her to get out and that’s all” Adam said.

“Nuh-uh…I was just walking past your room and you called me a baby and pushed me down” Lyndsey piped up from behind her Mom’s legs.

“Enough” Cheryl said “You…” she pointed to Adam “…you are to leave your little sister alone and you are not going out with your friends tonight”

“This is bullshit!” Adam yelled and slapped the counter which made Lyndsey jump.

“I won’t tolerate that kind of language from you in front of your sister” Cheryl said.

“Mom: I didn’t do anything and I’m the one in trouble” Adam pleaded. “You should punish her for always being in my stuff”

“I’ve heard enough…go to your room” Cheryl said.

Adam mumbled and grumbled as he stomped off out of the room and back upstairs.

“Stay away from your brother when he gets in a mood like that” Cheryl advised Lyndsey.

“Honest Mommy; I wasn’t doing anything” Lyndsey said before she too left the room.

Cheryl sat down and shook her head. Adam had gotten quite spoiled being the only child for ten years and had always resented Lyndsey. It broke her heart that her own two kids didn’t get along. Adam was always teasing and pushing around his little sister and could get downright mean. She could only wish that it would stop.

“I wish Adam could just know what it’s like to be the younger sibling for a change” she thought to herself. “He wouldn’t be so mean to Lyndsey if he just knew what it was like”

Cheryl just smiled at the thought and starting fiddling around on her tablet. For fun, she typed in ‘age swap’. Several stories popped up and a lot of pictures before she scrolled down and saw a topic that said ‘age swap spell’.

Cheryl clicked on the link and began to read all about the spell. By the end, she just let out a laugh and mumbled “Yeah right”

The next day…

Cheryl sat in her chair downstairs and heard the beginnings of a rumble. <Thud>…”Ow”

“Aw what’s the matter baby…don’t you even know how to walk”

“You tripped me you big jerk”

“Jerk?! Jerk…your words wound me little sis”

“Shut up”

“What…are you going to go cry and tell Mom?”

But it was what she heard next that made something click in Cheryl’s mind.

“You’re just a big meanie…if you weren’t so much bigger and older than me; you wouldn’t be so mean to me”

“Well, there’s nothing you can ever do about that. I’ll always be 10 years older than you Lyndsey. Face it: I’ll always be bigger and older than you”

“I wish you weren’t”

With those words, Cheryl closed her eyes and said to herself “I as the mother of Adam Robert North, aged 17 years and Lyndsey Marie North, aged 7 years, demand that they exchange 3 years in age from one to the other. Adam Robert North shall now be aged 14 years and Lyndsey Marie North shall now be aged 10 years”

She felt a chill run up her spine and she shivered accordingly. She stood up and stomped up the stairs to confront her two arguing children.

When she got to the top of the stairs she found both of them standing across from each other just looking at the other. Adam’s head slowly tilted and he said “I don’t feel right”

Lyndsey agreed “Me either…I feel hot all of sudden”

“Not me…I feel cold” Adam said. He held his arm out and said “Look…I’ve got goose bumps”

As he looked at the bumps on his arm, his arm hair began to thin and lighten. He blinked thinking it was just an optical illusion but then, he thought he saw something else; his arm was getting skinnier. “What the…”

Lyndsey shrugged her shoulders and fanned herself with her hand. As she did, her fingernails began to grow longer, to say nothing of her growing fingers as well.

Lyndsey was typical size for a 7 year old, a few inches above 4 feet tall, but now, she began to grow taller.

Adam swallowed as he held out his arm. Slowly he lifted his other arm and held them both out. As a football player and wrestler about to start training for his upcoming senior year, he was very conscious of how his body looked and it didn’t look right to him anymore.

“My arms! What’s happening to my arms?” he asked desperately as he watched his muscles shrivel and shrink. Adam began to shrink down then, getting smaller by the second. “What the hell is going on?”

Cheryl stood at the top of the stairs feeling faint and amazed. In awe, she watched as Adam lost not only height, but also weight, development and maturity. And while he lost it; Lyndsey gained it.

Lyndsey was growing like a weed.  Her sleeves rose up her lengthening arms as the bottom lifted up showing a peek of her stomach. Her cotton shorts grew tight around her waist and rose up her thighs as she continued to grow taller and older.

Adam panted and whimpered a bit as his body regressed and diminished. His chest and back narrowed and his legs also slimmed down. His shirt became loose against his chest as his muscles diminished. His pants began to droop and he made a grab for them just as they released from his slender hips.

Lyndsey stared at her brother, he looked different; smaller, less confident…younger.
Adam’s hair grew a bit longer and came down to cover his forehead and to cover the pimples that had broken out across his brow. His eyes widened and appeared rounder as his nose shrank some along with his mouth.

“What happened to you Adam?” Lyndsey asked, her voice a bit deeper, before she noticed that something was different about her own body as well.

Lyndsey was now at an even 5 feet tall and came up to her brother’s chin now that he was down to 5’10”. She put her hands on her exposed stomach “Why don’t my clothes fit me anymore?” she asked.

Her blonde hair brushed against her shoulders, her nose seemed bigger to her as she saw it in her peripheral vision.

“I feel bigger…” she said hesitantly.

“You…you are bigger” Adam admitted. He looked over at his sister and thought that she not only looked taller, she looked older. Her face was more mature and her hair was longer.

“And you’re smaller” she said with a thrust of her hip. She put her hand on that hip and looked Adam up and down. “Guess you were wrong about always being so much bigger and older than me”

“What? That’s impossible! This can’t be happening” Adam pleaded.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so mean to me from now on. Maybe this is what happens when you’re too mean to me. Maybe I’ll keep getting bigger and you’ll keep getting smaller” Lyndsey stuck her tongue out.

Adam was scared and his mind was reeling. Finally, he noticed his Mom standing at the end of the hall. “Mom; what happened to me? You’ve got to do something!”

“Uh…” Cheryl searched for words to even begin as she walked closer to them.

“If you don’t fix this…I...I’LL…” Adam stammered. Fear and anger mixed on his face.

“You’ll what?” Lyndsey prompted him.

“I’ll make you shut the Fuck Up you little bitch” Adam blurted out.

Cheryl’s eyebrows rose and her mouth dropped open; she had never heard her son use language like that before.

She turned her back and whispered “I as the mother of Adam Robert North, aged 14 years and Lyndsey Marie North, aged 10 years, demand that they exchange 2 years in age from one to the other. Adam Robert North shall now be aged 12 years and Lyndsey Marie North shall now be aged 12 years”

Cheryl turned and once again felt the shiver run up her spine. She shivered at the same time as Adam, while a few beads of sweat broke out across Lyndsey’s brow.

“Oh No…Oh God No” Adam cried out as he felt a shudder run up his spine and down his arms and legs and he began to shrink again.

Inches and pounds flew off of him as puberty reversed quick and hard. All muscle definition that he had retained now vanished. His arms were sticks, his chest was flat and his legs were like twigs as he desperately hung onto his pants that had no chance of staying up on their own. His feet disappeared beneath the bottoms of his jeans.

Adam could see himself shrinking down past his mother’s height as she stood nearby. “She has to be wearing big shoes” he thought, but when he looked down, he could see her bare feet on the carpet.

Adam dropped all the way down to 5’4” as he hit 12 years old again while his weight was down to around 110.

His face lost even more maturity as he went back. The pimples weren’t as many, but the baby fat built back up in his cheeks and his face became rounder.

Lyndsey, on the other hand, began to mature and grow taller and older again. Her hair thickened and her face matured. Her eyes set deeper and her nose and mouth grew fuller on her face. Her freckles faded as her cheeks and chin and jaw began to sharpen and define themselves.

Her shirt grew tight against her now growing chest. Small bumps were evident as the shirt rode up even higher and a small tear began to work along the side seam.

Her shorts grew even tighter and small tears started along the waistband as her hips began to grow out and her thighs got heavier and fuller. Her legs grew long and colt like as she became twelve.

Lyndsey stood up straight and tall and said “No…way” as she realized that she was an inch taller than her big brother.

Adam stared at his ‘little’ sister. His mouth went up and down, but no words would come out.

“Who’s the shrimp now Adam?” Lyndsey asked.

It was too much for Adam. He yelped out a high pitch squeal and dashed into his room; stumbling on his long pant legs as he went.

The door slammed and Cheryl and Lyndsey stared and gaped at each other in shock.

“Mom…what happened to us?” Lyndsey asked now in all seriousness.

“Well, it seems like your brother is being taught a lesson on a truly cosmic scale”
Cheryl said.

“What?” Lyndsey said in her deeper voice.

“It seems like every time your brother is mean to you, he decreases in age while you increase” Cheryl said, leaving out her role in all of this.

“Wow” Lyndsey said as she turned her larger hands over and over before her eyes. She looked down and took in her longer legs and her changing body. “This is…amazing” she said. She eyed the closed door and suppressed a laugh.

Adam was hyperventilating on the other side of the door. He pressed his back against it in case his sister tried to force her way in. “This is impossible” he thought frantically “Why is this happening to me? I’ve teased Lyndsey her whole life; why now am I getting smaller while she gets bigger”

Adam let his pants go and stepped out of them. His skinny legs shone with pale skin and light downy hair: They were no longer muscled and covered with black hair. His t-shirt hung well down his thighs, almost to his knobby knees. He lifted it off slowly and he gasped when he caught sight of his narrow and hollow chest, also hair free.

“How can this be…how old am I?” He wondered.

Adam went to the mirror above his dresser and nearly screamed out loud when he saw the boyish face reflected back.

“No this is impossible!” he said to the mirror as he saw what he has last seen in the seventh grade.

<Knock, Knock, Knock>

“Adam honey” Cheryl called through the door.

“Go away!” he screamed as his voice cracked causing him to blush.

“Your sister isn’t out here…let me in” Cheryl called.

“No!” Adam yelled.

Cheryl sighed. “I’m not going anywhere until you open this door. I do have a key and can get in when and if I have to”

Adam grabbed his bath robe and threw it onto his narrow shoulders. The bottom now swept just above his ankles as he stomped to the door. He flung it open and saw that he was now 3 inches shorter than his Mom again. “What happened to me Mom?” he asked.

Cheryl stepped in and closed the door behind her. “I don’t know honey” she lied. “But it appears that every time that you’re mean to your sister, you lose some age and she gains it”

“But how can that be?”

Cheryl just raised her shoulders and fought herself inside her mind. “I suggest that you be nicer to your sister and maybe it will all reverse itself. It seems like that might be the only way out of this for both of you”

“No…no way. I can’t be losing age” Adam said.

“Look at yourself honey…or look at your sister” Cheryl said.

“You have to get out of here Mom” Adam said. “Just leave me alone”

Cheryl got up. “I’m going to make lunch…you need to eat”

Adam just stared at his hands as Cheryl got up and left the room.

The longer Adam thought about what was happening, the angrier he got. He searched his bedroom for anything that would fit him. In the back of his closet, he found some shorts and a medium sized t-shirt that he should have tossed out years ago. Today, he was glad he didn’t because they were still loose, but they did fit him.

Lyndsey had gone into her room as her Mom had gone in to talk to her brother. Once the door was closed, she exploded into giggles. “I can’t believe it! This is so awesome! I’m bigger than that jerk face!”

She took of her top before it burst off of her body and took in her changing body in wonder. She pulled out a t-shirt that was too big for her this morning, but now it fit her just fine, if not a little tight. “If I grow anymore, I’m going to have to get some clothes from Mom” she said as she found some shorts with a draw string that she let all the way out.

Her larger thighs and wider hips gave the shorts a fight as she put them on and went downstairs. She took in how long her strides were and how once in the kitchen; she could reach the top shelf of the cabinets.

She got down a glass and was filling it when her Mom came in. Cheryl was momentarily surprised at seeing her daughter. Lyndsey was just 2 inches shorter than her and her more mature look startled her.

“Oh Lyndsey; your brother is coming down for lunch and I want you to behave and be nice to him” Cheryl said.

“Um, yeah Mom, sure…whatever” she said smiling.

“I mean it” Cheryl said pointing at her. “He’s very self-conscious of what just happened to his body and we have to let him adjust”

Adam entered the kitchen and Lyndsey stifled her laughter by shoving her hand against her mouth.

“Shut up!” he yelled but he had none of the usual force behind it.

Cheryl was reheating a casserole from the previous night as the two took their seats across from each other at the table.

“Wow…my feet touch the ground” Lyndsey said to herself.

“I’m sooooooo happy for you” Adam said with an eye roll.

Lyndsey put her hands down on the table and got a serious look on her face “Look; I’m not controlling this and I have nothing to do with what’s going on between us, but it looks like you might. So you might want to be nice to me for the first time in your life”

“I’m still your big brother and don’t you forget it. I am older than you and I am bigger than you” Adam protested.

“Are you sure…cause when that last shift happened, it looked like I was a bit taller than you” Lyndsey said and folded her arms.

Adam seethed and simmered but kept his mouth shut for the time being but thoughts raced through his mind.

Cheryl brought over the food and sat down at the table.

Adam sulked while Lyndsey brimmed with excitement. Lyndsey finished off her first plate and reached for the spoon to get seconds at the same time as Adam.

“Give me the spoon Lyndsey” Adam said through gritted teeth.

“No; I got it first” Lyndsey said and pulled it free from his grasp.

Both were shocked at the outcome. For the first time ever, Lyndsey had won a contest of strength against her brother. Lyndsey cocked her head and slit her eyes at her brother.

“You suck Lyndsey…give me the damn spoon or I will come over there and beat you with it” Adam said.

Lyndsey’s mouth dropped open.

Cheryl shook her head slowly and said to herself “I as the mother of Adam Robert North, aged 12 years and Lyndsey Marie North, aged 12 years, demand that they exchange 1 year in age from one to the other. Adam Robert North shall now be aged 11 years and Lyndsey Marie North shall now be aged 13 years”

She shuddered.

Adam felt a cold blast rocket up his spine. “AH!” he yelled at the now familiar sensation and what was going to come with it.

He kicked back out of his chair, already shrinking down shorter. Two more inches left him and he stood just 5’2”. His face rounded and more weight dropped off of him. The large shirt and shorts became larger on his dwindling frame.

The sleeves of the adult medium shirt came down to his scrawny elbows and his shirts dangled at his knees. His bare feet squeaked against the tile floor as they shrank back. “Uh…uh…” he muttered as he looked across at Lyndsey.

Lyndsey felt the now familiar warmth wash over her and she took in a deep breath in anticipation.

Her chest tingled and pushed her shirt out as it also rose up, once again exposing her belly. She felt her shorts shift and pull against her growing waist, hips and rear and the leg holes grew tight on her thighs. She licked her lips as she stood up, growing taller as she got to her feet.

Her feet grew two sizes larger as she grew 2 inches taller, up to 5’7”. She looked down at Adam and smiled a wry smile with lips that were growing wider and fuller as she did. Her nose grew and her eyes widened and matured.

“Always bigger…always older…I don’t think so. I told you not to be so mean to me…little brother” Lyndsey said, her words dripping with sarcasm.

She pointed at him with her final words and Adam reached for her hand.

He grabbed her outstretched hand and began to twist it, but Lyndsey flexed her hand and twisted her wrist in response, breaking his grip.

Adam dropped his hands to his side. He looked up at his larger sister and then bolted out of the room.

Cheryl shook her head in disappointment. She put her head into her hands as her elbows rested on the table. Without looking up, she said “You need to go into my room and pick out some new clothes Lyndsey”

Lyndsey took off up the stairs without a word.

“And don’t forget to put on a bra” Cheryl called out after her.

Cheryl stood up and realized “He’s not going to learn until they totally switch ages”
By the time Cheryl got to her bedroom, Lyndsey was reaching behind her back, trying to fasten one of her bras. It was big on her, but she needed it.

Cheryl gave her a hand and got out a basic black top for her to put on, which fit remarkably well.

Lyndsey put on a pair of her Mom’s panties, which were also a bit big, but they would have to do. It was better than feeling suffocated in her own clothes, before she put on some tan shorts.

Lyndsey stood up on her tip toes and slowly eased back down. She was the same height as her Mom now but much skinnier.

“Honestly Mom…what is going on? I’m getting a little scared and I’m sure Adam is freaking out right now” Lyndsey said.

Cheryl dropped her eyes before she said “Have a seat” pointing at the end of her bed.
Lyndsey perched on the end and looked eagerly up at her Mom.

Cheryl sighed and admitted “I’m teaching your brother a lesson; one that he is obviously having a hard time accepting”

Lyndsey leaned forward in interest; she could see the obvious frustration in her Mom’s eyes.

“I just got so tired of hearing you two fight and him picking on you…that…I…I’ve tried every punishment I could think of over the past few years. Well, I was playing around on the internet and I found this age swap spell and then when he started in this morning, I thought about that spell; and then it actually came true”

“What?” Lyndsey said in astonishment.

“Yeah: I thought about if you two could swap 3 years and you did. Then when he swore, I swapped another two and evened out your ages. Then he grabbed the spoon and I swapped another year and now you’re two years older than him” Cheryl  admitted.

“Oh my God Mom: That is so cool” Lyndsey replied.

“Lyndsey please” Cheryl said. “I’m really having second thoughts about all of this. I think I should swap you two back to your real ages”

“No wait” Lyndsey said and stood up.

“What” Cheryl asked.

“Well if you’re trying to teach Adam a lesson, then he needs to learn that lesson”
Lyndsey said.  “If you want him to stop picking on me and appreciate our age difference, then he needs to appreciate it from both sides. I say, keep him younger until he learns his lesson. I know I’m sick and tired of him picking on me constantly and I think a day or so younger than me will be good for him. Besides, we’re just in the start of summer break…it’s not like it’s keeping him away from school or anything”

“I appreciate your parenting tips for me Lyndsey, but I’ll make up my own mind on this” Cheryl said.

Lyndsey walked out and down the stairs while Cheryl thought long and hard on the subject.
It was only a few minutes later when her mind was made up for her.

She heard Adam’s door open and he stalked his way down the hall, past Cheryl’s room and downstairs. Cheryl heard the unmistakable yell of pain from Lyndsey.

“OW! Cut it out Adam!” she yelled.

Cheryl rushed down the stairs to find Adam holding Lyndsey’s arm behind her back. “Say I’m bigger than you Lyndsey! Say it and I won’t break your arm!”

“Adam let go of your sister this instant!” Cheryl yelled.

“Not until she admits that I’m better than her!”

Cheryl pulled Adam off of his sister “What do you think you’re doing?”

Adam stared at his Mother and just shrugged his shoulders “I didn’t do anything”

Cheryl swallowed and said “ALRIGHT…You want to know what’s been happening to you today?”
Adam looked at her and said nothing.

“It started out as something silly that I only said in my head: I was so tired of you picking on your sister and taking it for granted that you were so much bigger than her that I wished you could appreciate your age difference by seeing what it was like if you two were closer in age, but that hasn’t worked and you haven’t learned your lesson yet. So it is time for you to accept and embrace your punishment. For the next week, you will be the seven year old and Lyndsey will be the seventeen year old.”

“What!?” Adam screamed “You can’t do this to me!”

“You’re going to learn how to be nice to your sister and the best way for that to happen is obviously if you two swap ages totally. And if you try anything…Anything! You could find yourself spending the whole summer as a seven year old” Cheryl said.

Cheryl looked at Adam and said “I as the mother of Adam Robert North, aged 11 years and Lyndsey Marie North, aged 13 years, demand that they exchange 4 years in age from one to the other. Adam Robert North shall now be aged 7 years and Lyndsey Marie North shall now be aged 17 years”

She nodded her head and felt the chill run up her spine before she added “And this time, your attitude will change too Mister”

“Mom? I…I’m…” Adam sputtered as he felt the coldness return to his body.

Adam began to shrink down drastically as he went from eleven to seven. Height and weight began to drain away and his clothes became baggy. His shorts gave way as his legs got shorter and his t-shirt swam on him like a gown.

“And I want you to apologize to your sister for being so mean to her all these years” Cheryl said.

His hair shortened into a tight cut of bristly blond and freckles broke out across his chubby cheeks. His teeth shifted and became a mixture of adult and baby teeth with one missing on the bottom.

“Mommy” he called out “I won’t be mean to Lyndsey anymore…I promise” as he dropped down to just 4’5” and his weight bottomed out at 55 pounds.

“It’s one week as a seven year old if you’re good” Cheryl said. “You have to learn to respect your sister and be nice to her. You can’t seem to do that so maybe this will teach you”

Lyndsey felt a burst of heat rip through her and suddenly, her clothes began to fit her much better. She grew just another inch in height, but her body blossomed and developed. She now looked like a young woman instead of a young teenager. Her face matured and her blonde hair lengthened and became full.

Her lips plumped and her nose elongated, her cheeks rose up as her chin and jaw became defined.

She tugged at her shirt as it became tight across her full chest and she picked at the legs of her shorts as her long legs now filled into them with full hips and a pert behind.

“Ohhhh…” Lyndsey intoned as she curled her toes up in the carpet. “Just wait until I get to babysit you” she said with a low laugh and she could see fear break out across Adam’s young face.

“I don’t want you abusing your new stature and status either Lyndsey” Cheryl said as she took in her daughters’ new look.

“Oh I won’t…but I think some good natured teasing won’t hurt him; will it short stuff?” Lyndsey cooed at her brother.

Adam’s bottom lip began to quiver. “I…I’m sorry Lyndsey” he mumbled.

“Oh Yeah…now you’re sorry. Now that the roles are reversed you’re finally sorry” Lyndsey said and took a step closer to him.

Adam seemed to feel the ground vibrate with Lyndsey’s increased weight heading for him. He cowered instinctively as his sister was now over a foot taller than him.

“You need to think about what if this was how it had always been. What if I had tortured you on a daily basis for years? Birth order doesn’t give you the right to be so mean” Lyndsey said as she leaned down to get into Adam’s face.

She could have hurt him if she wanted to, but instead, she merely patted him on top of his head. The humiliation was much worse for Adam.

Adam took off like a shot up the stairs and into his room. Once behind the doors, the tears started to flow. They were tears of anger, frustration and fear. “How could she do this to me?” he asked about his Mom.

He looked around the room and was surprised to see how big everything looked to him. A pair of twenty pounds weights sat by his dresser; he went to them and could barely lift them beyond just picking them up.

“I have to put up with this for a week” he reminded himself. “What am I going to do when Mom goes to work tomorrow?”

He was still thinking about it when there was a knock at his door. When he opened it, Cheryl stood there with a Rubbermaid container in her arms.

“I found some of your clothes from when you were seven the first time; I thought you could wear these for the week”

“How could you do this to me?” he asked her.

“Look: I have tried every single punishment to stop you from being so downright hateful to your sister but nothing has worked. You have been nothing but disrespectful and resentful of her since the day she was born. This is for your own good. If you treat other people like you treat her, then you will be in for a long lonely life. You look down on her because she’s smaller and younger than you and if you do that to everyone, than you are going to be living a very sad life” Cheryl said.

“I hope that this week teaches you humility and humanity. I hope you learn to respect others that don’t have your advantages in life. Walk a mile in another’s shoes; see what life is like on the flip side. After this week, you should always be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and relate to them and what they’re going through”

“But…” Adam began weakly.

“But nothing: One week is not that bad. If you don’t behave yourself, it will become two weeks. If that doesn’t work, maybe the whole summer; and if you do anything to retaliate against your sister when this is all over… We will do it all over again”

Adam’s mouth dropped open.

“Yeah…I’m not bluffing. If you’d like to see Lyndsey leave for college next year as an 18 year old, keep it up” Cheryl put the box on the floor and walked out, closing the door behind her.

Adam was scared now; he thought about his Mom’s words and he finally thought about his own actions. “I guess I have been mean to Lyndsey” he thought to himself. He lingered on how he treated some of the other kids in school; how he picked on the ones who couldn’t make the football team. What would those guys do to him if they saw him now?

He picked through the clothes in the bin, they smelled musty from being in the basement and not having been worn since 2005. He pulled out some small white undies, a pair of denim shorts and a t-shirt with Mario on it that had been his favorite at one time.

He swallowed hard at seeing his whole body for the first time but managed to get dressed. He wanted to just hide in his room for the next week, but that would be impossible and besides that, he was feeling restless. Despite not wanting to do anything, he felt energized and he realized that he wanted to play.

He went downstairs and saw his sister lounging on the couch watching the movie Scream. Adam was instantly turned off by it and frightened that it was even playing in the room.
Lyndsey smiled as she saw him scurry out of the living room. She heard the back door close and she stretched her legs out on the couch. “Damn it feels good to have my feet reach the other end while I’m lying down” she said.

She got up and looked out the window and smiled at what she saw: Adam was out in the driveway trying to dribble a basketball. His ball control was not up to his usual standards and most of his shots hit the bottom of the rim.

Lyndsey slipped into a pair of her Mom’s shoes and went out to join him.

“What are you doing out here Lyndsey” he asked her.

“I just wanted to play” she responded.

“Well…” he began and went to shoot. Lyndsey swatted the ball as soon as it left his fingertips without leaving the ground.

“Stop it!” Adam whined.

“All I’m doing is playing basketball with you” Lyndsey replied innocently enough.

Adam started to dribble and tried to get past her, but Lyndsey flicked her arm out and smacked the ball away from him as he went past. She ran after the ball and scooped it up; she dribbled three times and shot a picture perfect jump shot over his head, hitting nothing but net.

“Go back inside Lyndsey…I don’t want to play with you” Adam said.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Cause it’s no fun; you’re too big for me” Adam admitted.

“Don’t say I didn’t try” Lyndsey said. She took a running start and did a layup as Adam stood idly by, staring at the ground.

Lyndsey grabbed the rebound and bounce passed the ball hard back to Adam. He jerked back and slapped at the ball instead of catching it square. “Have fun shorty” she said as she went back inside.

Lyndsey kicked off her shoes and got a Dr. Pepper out of the fridge. She watched Adam struggle in the driveway, shooting the oversized ball over and over.

Cheryl was too exhausted to cook, so she just ordered pizza for dinner.

Adam came down and took a look at the first container and scrunched up his nose in disgust “Ew…mushrooms”

“Then don’t eat them dummy” Lyndsey said as she pushed past him and took out three pieces.

Adam opened the second box and got out two pieces of pepperoni. He got full though and couldn’t finish his second piece.

“All done?” Cheryl asked him looking at the last few bites he left.

Adam nodded remembering when he could eat an entire large on his own.

“Then you need to go up and get your bath” Cheryl reminded him.

“Bath…but I” He stopped himself remembering again that he didn’t start taking showers until he was 9.

“And then into your jammies…you need to be in bed by 8:30” Cheryl said.

“But I wanted to watch the Sox game tonight”

“No: It’s past your bedtime” Cheryl responded, shutting down all future argument.

“Okay” he said as he trudged up the steps.

Lyndsey stifled yet another bout of laughter as she watched him go.

After lying in a bath tub for the first time in years, Adam got into a small pair of pajamas and climbed into his now very large bed. His feet came nowhere near the bottom like usual, but he was tired and he drifted off to sleep quickly.

Lyndsey on the other hand was not tired at all now that it was getting late. She hated that she couldn’t really explore being seventeen and was pretty much confined to the house. She wanted to go shop for some clothes that she could wear, because frankly, her Mom’s bras were a bit tight on her. She unhooked it and slid it off and out of her sleeve, reveling in the freedom.

Lyndsey stayed up late watching movies and YouTube videos that she hadn’t been allowed to watch before. Nothing was really bothering her even though she thought that it still should. Somehow, she was desensitized to it all.

The next morning, Adam was up at 7; he just couldn’t sleep any longer. He got up and was careful to keep quiet because he would catch Hell if woke up his big sister. His Mom had already left for work so he crept down and turned on the TV.

SpongeBob was on and Adam watched enthralled. During the commercials, he went into the kitchen to get some cereal. The box was too big for his hands and he spilled some Fruity Peebles on the counter as well as splashing out some milk since it was very heavy for him. He made sure he cleaned it up before Lyndsey came downstairs.

Finally at 11, he heard his sister stomping her way down the stairs. Her hair was unkempt and she wore just a long t-shirt that barely covered the top of her thighs. She plopped down in an armchair and looked over at her brother. “When did you get up?” she asked him.

“Um…I don’t know but I’ve been up for a while now I guess” he replied. He wasn’t very good at telling time yet.

“I want to go to the store and get some bras; Mom said I could and you have to go with me” Lyndsey said to Adam’s horror. “I’m going to go shower and you’d better be ready to go when I’m done” she said as she got back up and stretched out her back with a yawn.

“Yuck…I don’t want to go bra shopping with you” Adam said, sticking out his tongue.

Lyndsey rolled her eyes “Don’t make me carry you through the store” she said and she grabbed him beneath his armpits and lifted him easily off the ground.

“Okay…okay” he protested and kicked his legs until Lyndsey put him down. She patted him on the top of his head again as she went back to the bathroom.

Lyndsey took a long shower and enjoyed every second of it “I don’t want to go back to being seven” she thought to herself as she dried off, enjoying how her body felt at seventeen.

She got dressed in an old concert tee that she found in the back of her Mom’s closet. It was just retro enough to almost look cool along with some basic shorts and pair of her Mom’s flip flops. “I have got to get some real clothes that don’t make me look like a dork”

She grabbed the keys that had been to Adam’s car but were hers now. Lyndsey smirked as she realized that she knew how to drive now.

Adam got into the backseat of his old car as Lyndsey got behind the wheel. It didn’t seem to be bothering him that she was the one driving. “Shopping is so boring” he whined as they pulled up to the store “Especially bra shopping”

“Why?” Lyndsey asked him.

“Cause girls are icky” Adam replied without hesitation.

“That’s what I thought you’d say” Lyndsey replied as she took off her sunglasses.

Cheryl had left Lyndsey some money to get herself some clothes that would fit her and she had every intention of spending it all.

She took her time and put up with Adam’s grumbling and heavy sighing from beside her.
“Adam!” she had to call out a few times when he wandered too far away from her. “You need to stay with me…where I can see you” she had to remind him.

“Sorry Lyndsey” he would reply each time.

Lyndsey managed to stretch out her money to get enough pieces to dress properly. As she checked out, she noticed Adam watching a group of guys across the way. Lyndsey recognized them as members of the football team but Adam just had an odd look on his face.

“What are you looking at?” she asked him.

“Uh…I don’t know” he replied slowly. “Those older guys look…familiar to me but I don’t know why”

“They’re High School guys” she said “Why would you know them?”

Adam shrugged his shoulders and gave a mumbled “Dunno”

Lyndsey let it go at that and walked out of the store with Adam at her heels. She heard a low “who’s that…I don’t know her but she’s hot…oh yeah…” coming from the group of guys and she put on her sunglasses and shot them a quick look and smile over her shoulder as she went out.

As the week went on, both Lyndsey and Cheryl didn’t bring up the switch to Adam; they just let him play his way through while trying to avoid his sister and her slight verbal jabs.

Lyndsey thoroughly enjoyed herself and took every opportunity she had to make those slight verbal points about being older and bigger than Adam but she was never nasty about it in the way that Adam had been.

As Sunday morning rolled around, Lyndsey was sitting in her chair listening to an iPod.
She wasn’t happy that in a few hours Adam’s punishment would be over and she would be back to being seven. She liked being seventeen and thought she had done a better job of it than Adam had.

Adam was playing out in the yard, running off his endless energy.

Cheryl came in and sat across from Lyndsey. “Are you ready?” she asked her.

Lyndsey made a disgusted face but nodded “Yeah…I’m not thrilled with it, but he’s served his time”

“That’s why you’re my good kid” Cheryl said to her daughter.

“Adam!” she called out loudly to him. “Come in here please!”

Adam let the screen door slam behind him as he came into the house. “What Mom?”

“Come on in and sit down” Cheryl said.

Adam was sweaty and panting as he jumped up onto the couch.

“Well Adam; your punishment is over. You’ve been very well behaved this week while your sister has been in charge. I hope you learned your lesson” Cheryl said to him.

With a crashing realization, Adam came back to his full senses: He had almost forgotten that he was really seventeen all along. “Whoa” he said eyes wide open. “I had…”

Cheryl nodded at her young son. “Are you ready to change back?” she asked him.

Adam smiled and then he shook his head back and forth “No” he said simply.

“What?” Cheryl said.

“What?” Lyndsey echoed.

Adam sat on the couch; his feet up off the floor by a few inches. He kicked his legs up and down and looked down at his lap as he said “I don’t want to change back”

“Excuse me Honey” Cheryl said in disbelief.

Adam looked around and searched for words “I don’t want to go back to being seventeen again until I get there in 10 years on my own. I’m having fun again and besides…Lyndsey is a much better older sister than I was as an older brother”

Lyndsey smiled shyly and ducked her head as she mumbled “Thanks” and dug her big toe into the carpet.

“She should be the older one…not me. And if it’s okay with her, I’d rather she stay at her age and I stay at his one”

“Uh…Um…that’s not how this is supposed to work” Cheryl stammered somewhat confused.

“Why not?” Adam asked. “You wanted me to learn a lesson and I did. I was a jerk and I want to change, but the only way I can do that is to try again”

“Uh…” Cheryl was stumped.

“Please Mom; don’t make me change back” Adam said.

“It’s okay Mom; I didn’t want to change back to seven either” Lyndsey admitted.

“I knew you wouldn’t” Cheryl said to Lyndsey “It’s him that surprised me” she pointed to the small boy on the couch.

Adam just smiled a wide grin, minus a tooth on the bottom. He clasped his hands together “Please Mom, I don’t want to go back”

Lyndsey couldn’t suppress her smile as she nodded eagerly.

“Okay” Cheryl said. “If this is what you want”

Adam pumped his fist “Yes; I get to stay as a kid”

“Yes…I get to stay a teenager” Lyndsey said as she stood up.

“This is not what I expected at all” Cheryl admitted as Adam dashed off and into the backyard.

“Guess I need some more clothes money now” Lyndsey said as she looked down at herself.

“You’re old enough to get a job” Cheryl told her.

Lyndsey clapped as she too left the room.

Cheryl was left alone, just slowly shaking her head at the family she had made.