David Green pulled into his usual spot at Logan’s pool. He was running a few minutes behind where he liked to be, but it was still fine. He hopped out of his car and took the stairs two at a time to get to the concession stand.
Sarah, the supervisor waved at him and marked down that he was on time “Morning David; Joey’s out there waiting for you” she pointed out to the 5 year old boy standing poolside.
“I knew he would be; I saw his Mom’s car parked out front” David replied. He grabbed a can of Coke and his safety kit and walked out of the back of the stand toward the pool.
“Joey…how you doing Meatball?” David teased him with his nickname he had picked out for him.
“Good David” Joey replied spinning around.
“Kind of yucky today” David said looking to the sky “Cloudy…muggy…Hi Mrs. Andreoli” he added nodding to Joey’s Mom who was sitting sideways perched on a lounge chair.
“Good Morning David…do you think the water will be too cold this morning?” Maggie Andreoli asked.
“No; it should be fine” David replied. He kicked off his sandals and ran his right foot through the water “Yeah; it’s warm enough”
“What if it rains?” Maggie asked.
“Well we’re already wet right Meatball?” David said taking off his white t-shirt, leaving him in just his blue swim trunks.
Maggie stole a glimpse at David’s chest and abs. She was only 25 herself and her husband was at work; there was no shame in checking out the soon to be 21 year old lifeguards’ obviously nice physique.
“If we hear any thunder, we’ll get out in a flash” David assured her with a wink and a nod. He ran his fingers through his thick dark hair as he turned and talked to Joey “We’re going to start out with working on your floating” he said bringing over a bright green pool noodle with his foot “I’m going to get in with you and loop this under your arms and behind your neck. We need to get you used to staying still”
“I hate floating” Joey announced.
“I know you do, that’s why we’re going to work on it first and get it over with” David told him.
“I wish I didn’t have to do this…I wish I already knew how to swim” Joey said.
“I wish it were that easy, but it’s not buddy” David replied with a shrug.
Joey shivered looking at the water, his skinny little knees knocking under his swim trunks with the characters from Cars on them. Lightning McQueen smiled from one leg while Mater looked on from the other. He crossed his arms over his chest and peered down into the water.
David sat down on the ledge and put his legs and feet in, patting the spot next to him for Joey to sit down and start getting used to the water.
“So did you go see Cars 3?” David asked.
“Yeah, it was funny” Joey responded kicking his feet back and forth in the water. A few drops started to go higher and hit both of them in the chest. Joey started to laugh when David flinched at the cold water on his chest.
“See and you thought it’d be cold” David said. He slid off the ledge and went in up to his waist. They were in the three foot section but David would eventually lead Joey deeper to the six foot part of the pool. It wasn’t an issue for the 6’1” David.
He put his arms out and Joey jumped in splashing him. David wiped his face off and grabbed the noodle “Ah come on David! I don’t like floating on my back” Joey whined.
“Would you rather float on your face?” David asked him “You have to learn to float and tread water”
Joey gave him a dirty look but put his arms up so David could loop the noodle over his shoulders.
They drifted off into the water; David kept his hand up just under Joey’s back as they went into the 4 foot deep area “Good job Joey” he told him and which got him a wan smile from the floating 5 year old.
“Okay swim over to the side” David instructed him as he held him up and flipped him around.
Joey splashed off towards the side where he propped himself up on his forearms while David stood in the middle of the pool. They had almost made it to the 5 foot section and the water was up to David’s armpits as he stood flat footed on the bottom. “We’re going to get you to be such a good swimmer that we could hire you here at the pool as a lifeguard” David told Joey.
Joey laughed “No way I could ever lift anybody up and swim with them in my arms!”
“Yes way” David teased him.
“Yeah, if I were as big as you maybe I could” Joey said. “Wish I was big like you…then I would already know how to swim”
David smirked “I remember when I was your age…man that was fun” he said.
“Well if you like it so much, maybe I can be the teacher today and teach you how to swim” Joey said.
“I’m not going to splash around here acting like a 5 year old…we need to be serious about this” David retorted “You’ve had a long enough break; we’re going to get back to work with seeing how far across the pool you can swim. You’re going to kick off from the wall and I’m going to be right next to you; I want you to go at least 15 feet before you take a break okay”
Joey just looked at David with his head cocked; he closed his eyes tight, scrunching up his face.
“What are you doing? Come on…you need to take this seriously” David said still standing half way across the pool.
“How old are you David?” Joey asked.
“What? I’m 21 buddy” David responded.
“Okay then” Joey said “I wish I was 21 and David was 5” he said with an emphatic head nod at the end.
“You’re just being silly now Meatball…and you know what I wish; I wish you would take this lesson seriously”
“See I would if I were the one who’s 21 and teaching you how to swim since you’d only be 5 like me” Joey said as he drifted around and put his elbows on the edge of the pool and let his legs lift up in front of him as he kicked.
“Joey: get off the wall and start swimming to me” David looked around to see if he could get Joey’s Mom involved but Maggie had wandered off to the concession stand where she was talking to Sarah.
Joey just laughed and kicked his feet in the water “Nope…not until you admit that I’m the grown up and you’re the little kid”
“Fine; if that’s what’ll take to get you out here then I wish you were 21 and I was 5…there…happy now” and obviously frustrated David said.
“Yep” Joey answered. He put his legs down and as he did, they just kept growing longer beneath him.
David tread water and waved his arms in front of him beneath the surface. The shimmering light and movement of the water masked that his arms were beginning to thin; his muscles contracting and slimming down. His shoulders began to narrow as he bounced up and down a bit keeping moving with the water.
Joey put his feet back against the wall of the pool as they began to grow wider and longer. His toes popped bigger and fatter as his legs continued growing longer, taking those growing feet closer and closer to the bottom of the pool.
His torso began to elongate although no real additional muscle or mass came onto him yet; it was more of just getting bigger.
David lifted his knees up; his chest was thinning, his muscles getting smaller and as his feet touched back down against the bottom, the water now came up over his chin and he swallowed a bit making him cough.
<Cough-Hack-Cough> He hit the bottom and bounced up clearing his head from the water but suddenly, he was no longer as confident in his ability to swim “What’s going on?” he mumbled looking to the side of the pool to see if he had drifted down to the 6 foot section. He hadn’t.
Joey’s feet hit the bottom of the pool and he took a step forward expecting to bounce up to keep his chin out of the water but to his surprise, his head was still well above the water line. He shook his hair thinking that it felt longer and was moving more than usual.
Joey’s hair was growing shaggier on top of his growing frame and body. He waved his arms before him under the surface of the water. Muscles were beginning to form up and grow stronger just below the surface. His chest started to broaden and his back and shoulders stretched.
David’s felt a rising feeling in his stomach; something was wrong. Joey was coming closer to him and he looked bigger.
David rubbed his eyes; eyes that were narrowing down above a slimming and shrinking nose as he reentered his early teen years.
Joey was also a young teen. Both of them were 13 at that point when their eyes met. Joey cocked his head as David looked very different, much less confident and much younger.
“David?” he asked, his voice pitching lower.
David’s eyes widened upon hearing Joey speak “Joey?” he responded and shocked himself just as much at hearing his own voice sounding much higher and less commanding.
Joey continued to grow as he advanced to 14 years old and David continued to shrink as he decreased to 12 year old. All signs of puberty were leaving him quickly. All facial hair signs were gone showing off chubby cheeks with smooth skin as his chin came in along with his jaw.
David dropped in height again and had to push up off the bottom to keep his head above water. His swim stroke was gone and he flailed and dove for the side of the pool.
Joey took another cautious step toward David just before he took off. The splash made him turn and flinch as puberty hit him hard. He saw David clinging to the side of the pool as stubble broke out on his upper lip, thin at first but getting thicker by the second.
Joey’s body continued to develop and grow. His muscles cording and growing thicker as his feet rested flatly on the bottom and more and more of his body rose out of the water where he stood still.
David watched in awe as Joey’s face matured. His features took on an adult like sharpness as his shoulders and chest broadened out into a man’s physique.
Under the water, the tiny Cars swim trunks Joey was wearing blossomed out into a pair of plain blue trunks. Hair appeared as his testicles dropped and grew and his penis bulged in size with maturity.
David kicked hard with his shrinking scrawny legs and small feet keeping himself up. His plain blue trunks turned bright orange and cartoon sharks popped out. Underneath, his equipment shrank down very small and closed in tight to his body in the cool water.
David began to shiver and tears appeared in his fearful eyes “Joe?”
“It’s okay Buddy…it’s alright David” Joe said in a soothing tone and with a reassuring smile.
“Nuh-uh!” David yelled and kicked “It’s not!”
“Just settle down…calm down a second” Joe said heading toward David and the wall. Water droplets clung to his hairy and muscled chest as he put out his long and strong arms towards the scared little boy before him.
“Why are you all big and I’m not?!” David cried out “I’m supposed to be the big one! Not You! Not Fair!”
“I’m not really sure what just happened to us” Joe said “But something sure did happen”
“You were being bad!” David said pointing “You wanted to be my age and you wanted to make me your age and you did”
Joe stopped “Whoa…it worked…my wish…”
“Wish us back!” David cried. “I don’t wanna be 5!”
“Um…I wish I was 5 and David was 21 again” Joe said half expecting to feel himself begin to shrink back down, but nothing happened.
“I wish I was like I was!” David said still kicking and churning up the water in front of him, his little legs furiously moving “I wish Joe was little again and I was big again!”
Nothing happened.
Joe rose up onto his toes and then sighed and dropped back down flat footed “Sorry” he said with a shrug “I don’t know how it works or why it worked once but won’t work back again. Looks like we’re stuck like this”
“No!” David cried out.
“David!”
David spun at hearing his name and the familiar voice behind it “Mommy!” he called out hearing it.
“David! Are you giving your instructor a hard time? Because if you are, you will not be going into the water once this pool opens Mister. I leave for 5 minutes with your big sister to go back home and get your goggles that you forgot this morning” Emily Green waved the bright blue child sized googles at him “And I come back and hear you having a little hissy fit. You apologize to Joe right this minute and finish your lesson…honestly”
David stared in shock at being dressed down by his Mother and the smug look of satisfaction on his 8 year old sister Kaitlyn’s face confused him as well. “What?” was all he was able to muster in his small and high voice.
David looked around and felt very small and very scared; his Mommy was mad at him and his big sister had something new to pick on him “I’m sorry Mommy” he squeaked out.
Emily gave him a look of understanding eyes “You need to apologize to Joe” she told him.
“I’m sorry Joe” David said eagerly, not wanting the man before him to be mad at him “I din’t mean to be bad” she sniffled a quick time.
“It’s okay” Joe said lifting himself easily out of the water “I think we need to take a break anyway”
Joe looked over and saw his Mom Maggie still talking to Sarah by the window. His Mom would only be about 5 years older than him now. He grabbed a towel and walked that direction.
“So your sister said your car won’t be ready for at least another three days” Sarah said as he drew near.
“So I have to drive little Joey around like when he was little” Maggie said in a teasing tone.
“Um…” Joe said drying off “What?”
“Mike from the shop just texted me, he said he’s waiting on a part and your car won’t be ready so when do you need me to come back and pick you up?” Maggie said looking up at him.
David now stood at least 6 inches taller than his Mom, who was treating him as if he was her brother. He looked confused.
Sarah sighed and checked the schedule “He’s done at 5 today”
“Um, yeah…5” David echoed “Who else is working today?”
“Ellie will be here in a few minutes and Olivia and Dominic come in later” Sarah told him.
“Um okay” Joe said turning around. He watched as David worked his way out of the water and over to his Mom. He watched, mouth agape as David slunk in next to his Mom, now huge compared to his tiny size. He huddled near her with a SpongeBob towel wrapped around him, engulfing him.
David made eye contact with Joe, a desperate look in his eyes, a look of not understanding the situation he found himself in and not seeing any way to change it.
Kaitlyn came up behind him and tapped him on the top of his head “Hey! Quit it! Mom!” David whined “Katie’s pickin on me!”
“AM NOT!” Kaitlyn loudly protested “Baby won’t even let me come close to him without screaming for you”
“Stop you two; just stop. It’s way too early for you two to already be fighting” Emily shook her head.
Kaitlyn stuck out her tongue when their Mom wasn’t looking “Why do you always act like such a big baby?”
“I’m not a baby” David said. “I’m not a baby or…or even a little kid; I’m 20! I’m your big brother by like a whole bunch!” he said realizing how crazy it sounded even coming out of his mouth.
Kaitlyn turned to him and gave him a withering and confused look “What are you even talking about?”
“I just told you; I’m 20 years old. You have to believe me! I work here and I was giving a swim lesson to Joey and he wished we would switch ages and we did! Now I’m 5 and he’s 20 and we don’t know how to get back to normal”
Kaitlyn stared for a moment longer then burst out into laughter “That is the funniest thing I’ve heard all day! You…my little baby brother, have always been my little brother. I remember when Mom and Dad brought you home from the hospital and I got to hold you. I remember them changing your little diapers and you’ve been annoying me ever since!”
“Nuh-uh…I remember when you came home from the hospital cause I was 12! They made me change your diapers!” David protested.
“What are you two arguing about now?” Emily said in an exasperated voice.
“David just told me that he’s 20 years old and he keeps telling me stuff like that” Kaitlyn said.
“David” Emily said in a confused and quiet tone “Knock it off”
“But!” David began but stopped. He looked down at the now very close ground “It really does sound silly” he thought. His eyes traced up his skinny and short legs, quivering from the cold to his thin and narrow and flat and scrawny chest “I’m 5” he realized. “I’m really, really 5 years old”
David turned and saw Joe standing by the gate talking with Ellie who had just arrived for work. She was wearing pink tennis shoes and had on a white t-shirt over her blue lifeguard suit. Her long brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her heart shaped face beamed with a smile.
She was walking right toward him, smiling the whole time “Hey David! How was your lesson?” she said with her carefree saunter.
“Um good” David answered shyly. The 18 year old Ellie Martin towered over him and he thought she was really pretty too which made him nervous around her.
Ellie bent down, she was tall at 5’8” to get to his eye level “Hope you’re going to hang around today…should be a beautiful day for swimming”
David could only smile, nod and blush.
Ellie ruffled his wet hair and walked on saying hi to Kaitlyn as she went by heading to check the water chemical levels before they fully opened.
She saw a few people already beginning to gather by the gate. Wendy Sims was over there with her kids Taylor and Grant but behind them, she saw that Ashley Gordon had arrived too.
Ashley was the resident 11 year old mean girl. She talked back to everyone at the pool, guards and concession workers and her Mom didn’t care. They flaunted their membership like it was some kind of gold standard and not something that 500 other people had bought for the summer too.
Today, Ashley was here with her friend Kendall and Kendall’s Dad. Ellie was already dreading the day having to watch those two and their little stuck up antics.
Joe watched Ellie as she walked around the pool checking the trash cans. When he was little, he had what he realized was a bit of a crush on Ellie. Now he found himself two years older than her and in prime position to ask her out. He noticed different things now than before: Her long legs and firm ass stood out along with the warm smile and eyes he had seen as a child.
“Earth to Joe” he heard and he spun around blushing a bit. His sister Maggie was giving him a knowing look “Quit checking out her ass dude” she said laughing.
“What, I…” he stopped knowing he had been busted. “So anyway” he began trying to change the subject
Maggie just smirked at him “If you were my son I’d box your ears” she teased him.
The wording made Joe’s blood turn to ice for a second before he realized she was kidding “When are you are Mike going to have kids?”
“Pfft” Maggie made a face with her noise. “Why would I want to have kids already; we’re too young to do that yet. We talked about when we get closer to 30 to start trying…why?”
“No reason. You and…” he paused before he said Dad “…Mike have been married a few years now; didn’t know if you were thinking about making me an Uncle”
“Yeah, like I’d let you watch my kids dude” Maggie said. “I’ll see you at 5” she said before turning on her heel and leaving.
Joe watched her head to her car; the same car he had arrived in buckled into a booster seat in the back.
Sarah came out of the building and walked up to him “Are you feeling okay? You seem a bit spaced out this morning”
Joe laughed nervously “Yeah; I’m a little bit off today. It’s already been a weird day but it’s a long story”
“We all have those types of days around here sometimes” Sarah said.
Ellie came back carrying the chemical paper showing the levels were fine to start off the day. “I see your buddy is here today” Sarah told her with a slight head nod toward Ashley.
Ellie rolled her eyes “Every damn day they’re here…take a day off…go to the movies or do something else”
“Nope. They want to squeeze every last second the can from the sun and summer” Sarah said softly.
Ellie looked over at the young blonde girl standing in her two piece suit like she had something to show off. Her little upturned nose sat out from the round sunglasses that covered her blue eyes and just above her pouty lips.
Ashley switched the swim bag from her right hand to her left and shifted her weight sticking out her right hip instead of her left looking annoyed that she had to stand for another 10 minutes before the gate opened.
“Look at her” Ellie said to Sarah “What 11 year old wears a flipping sunhat?!”
Ashley did indeed have on a large floppy black sunhat on more appropriate for a 30 year old socialite on a Caribbean cruise than a tween at a public pool.
The hat didn’t match her pink and white bikini or her pink flip flops but she liked how it looked, she thought it made her look older and sophisticated. “Ashley!” she heard from the parking lot.
She turned and gave a halfhearted wave to her friend Hillary. Ashley had hung out with her much more when they were younger; frankly she was a bit bored with her, but hanging with Hillary and Kendall would be better than possibly having to talk with Taylor Sims.
Ashley glared at the back of Taylor’s head in utter disgust as she waited to be let in. Hillary rushed up and Ashley acted happy to see her while giving side eye to Kendall at the same time.
Ellie kicked off her tennis shoes and took off her t-shirt, getting ready for her shift. She smiled at David as she passed him on her way to her chair, her long bare feet feeling the heat already beginning to bake into the concrete.
Sarah blew a whistle and opened the gates as the members streamed through on one side while others stopped to pay for the day.
Ellie headed for the chair at the far side of the pool while Joe went to the one closer to the entrance. Ellie saw that Dom had arrived; he was a skinny 17 year old with shaggy black hair and black glasses. He was the youngest of the lifeguards and usually kept pretty quiet but he was a decent guy.
Dom headed out to the dive pool with a wave of his towel in Ellie’s direction, a group of kids following him already wanting to jump in.
The first hour passed without incident; the crowd was still fairly light as more people came in at a leisurely pace. Ellie saw David and his sister Kaitlyn playing in the 4 foot area. Grant and Taylor Sims were hanging around there as well and she knew Grant and Kaitlyn were in the same class at school so they would hang around together at the pool sometimes. When those two played, Taylor would play around with David helping him swim as it was obvious that he looked up to her.
At the first safety break, Ellie was doing her usual rounds when she heard the shower being used in the women’s changing room “That’s weird” she thought. There was a large sign stating that the showers were only to be used when a guest was leaving for the day so it was odd to hear them going so early.
When Ellie heard girls giggling accompanying the shower, she knew to go in and kick them out.
“Alright” Ellie said coming in the main door “Quit messing around; showers are only supposed to be used at the end of the day so unless you’re leaving: Turn them off”
The giggling stopped but the water kept going until she heard a whisper and the giggling started back up.
Ellie rounded the corner and found Ashley, Kendall and Hillary standing under the streams “I told you to turn off the showers and get out; if you can’t follow the rules, I’ll have to tell your parents”
Kendall and Hillary dropped their eyes and chins and moved to the doors but Ashley stared down Ellie and folded her arms “We were just cold; God what’s the big deal?”
Ellie sighed “The big deal is, rules are rules…follow them or get kicked out”
Kendall and Hillary exited but Ashley remained. She turned off the nozzle though and gave the nastiest look she could to Ellie.
“You don’t scare me…head back to your table” Ellie said.
“No” Ashley said softly but firmly.
“Fine, then stand here and pout, I don’t care” Ellie replied as she turned to leave “I’ll make sure you’re put on the list and not allowed back to the pool for the rest of the summer”
“I don’t think so!” Ashley said defiantly. “You’re not going to get me in trouble”
“And why not? Do you make the rules around here now?” Ellie asked with a scoff.
“What if I did?” Ashley said sounding rather confident “What if I was the lifeguard and you were the kid; would you like it if I threatened you with expulsion? What gives you the right to boss me around?”
“I’m the lifeguard. I have a responsibility to enforce the rules around here; it’s my job” Ellie said leaning forward and over enunciating her words.
“I don’t think you should be; you shouldn’t be in charge of anything or anybody” Ashley said with a sneer “I’d like to see how you’d like it getting bossed around by someone bigger than you who thinks they’re so important”
“Well you obviously think you’re so important even though you’re what, about to go into the 6th grade?” Ellie said “Come on…move”
Ashley furrowed her brow in anger and frustration. She did a dramatic sigh and huff of air and put her hands on her slim hips “Wish I was the one in charge”
“What was that?” Ellie said “I don’t think you…”
Ellie’s words drifted off to a stop, something didn’t feel right but she couldn’t quite place what was wrong.
“What?” Ashley asked “I don’t think I quite heard you” She straightened up, pulling her shoulders back and improving her posture.
“I, um” Ellie stumbled with her words suddenly unsure of herself. She felt small and confused.
“I’m waiting for your answer” Ashley said “What were you doing in the shower stall during break?”
“But…?” Ellie said looking down at Ashley “Why am I afraid of her?” she thought. “She’s not in charge around here…is she?”
Ellie looked down at her blue swimsuit, a one piece that stated Lifeguard across her chest. She picked at it nervously, pulling and stretching the suit out uncomfortably. She began to shift her weight back and forth from foot to foot. She sucked in her bottom lip and nervously ran her tongue across her upper “Um?” she said, her voice sounding higher.
Ashley’s eyebrows went up hearing Ellie’s voice. Her pink and white bikini was feeling tight against her skin. She rolled her shoulders and felt the shoulder straps pull and strain so she hooked her thumbs under them but tugging did almost nothing to alleviate the strain, in fact, it almost felt tighter.
Ellie heard something, an odd squishing and stretching sound coming from Ashley. She looked for the source of the sound and saw that it appeared that Ashley’s chest was growing. Ellie could see her bikini top straining and moving but there was even more movement; a general movement of Ashley’s whole body as she grew taller and larger before her. “What in the…” Ellie said in wonder.
Ashley could hear the sounds coming from her body, it sounded like someone running their fingers over a full balloon, a stretching sound with a rumbling undertone. Her suit kept getting tighter and tighter. The bottom slipped up giving her a wedgie and exposed her cheeks as they began to grow out full and round.
Ashley looked over and knew something was wrong. Ellie was no longer significantly taller than her, in fact, they were almost the same height. Ellie looked scared and confused but more than that, her face looked different, she somehow looked like she was younger than before.
Ashley’s eyes trained down; Ellie’s swimsuit looked loose on her, it was hanging off her “That can’t be right” she muttered. She felt her body moving and as hard as it was to comprehend, it felt like she was lifting up, growing while it looked like Ellie might be getting smaller in front of her. “How is this possible?” she asked herself.
“What?!” Ellie said a bit too loudly and in a nervous sounding voice. She pointed her toes inward and brought her knees in tight adding to her shrinking sensation. She groped at her suit as it grew larger and larger on her “What’s happening to me?” she whined clutching her suit and pulling on it.
Ellie’s body was tingling all over, she looked down in amazement “This isn’t right! What’s happening to my body? Why are my legs getting skinnier?!”
“Ah!” Ellie gasped out as she watched her feet shrink down. They narrowed and got smaller as she watched. She bounced up and down on her changing feet, her thinning thighs fully in view.
Ashley’s bikini bottoms were pulling tight across her waist and being eaten up by her growing flesh. Her thighs were growing wider and fuller as well as longer.
In a sound like a rubber band snapping into place, suddenly, Ashley’s swimsuit changed.
She was no longer wearing a pink and white bikini, instead, she now had on a blue one piece suit that read Lifeguard across her chest. It was a loose fit but she sensed she was growing into it.
She felt her feet spread out wider on the wet concrete floor beneath her. When she looked down, her toes had changed shape as they had grown longer and wider and her nail polish color had changed from a bright pink to a dark blue.
Ashley’s hips and ass grew out snug into the suit as her torso lengthened and her back spread. Her shoulders rose up and her arms strengthened and lengthened. No longer constricted by her top, her breasts grew freely outward until they pressed against and lifted out the spandex suit fabric before them.
Ashley was looking down and watching her body change, grow and mature when she realized that also in her sight, Ellie was also changing but in the opposite direction of her.
Ellie had shrank down shorter than Ashley. Her blue suit hung on her with a gaping hole where her chest was shrinking down flat. Her legs were shorter and skinny like a colt and her feet, while smaller than before, appeared bigger than they should be. Her round toenails painted a bright orange now, they lifted up away from the cold concrete beneath them.
Ellie felt strength draining from her arms as they shrunk up and her chest heaved in anxiety, her curves gone and her breasts non-existent.
With a popping sound, Ellie found herself wearing a girl’s swimsuit that was black with neon green and yellow stripes. It was still a one piece but it hugged her small body much better and tighter.
Ellie looked up as Ashley grew past her. Her body was not that of an 11 year old. She looked 18. Her face was maturing with her chin and jaw becoming defined, her nose broadened and her lips plumped.
Ashley’s eyes grew larger and her eyebrows grew thicker and longer. Her hair thickened and darkened a shade but remained steadfastly blonde.
Ellie’s chin and jaw weakened and her nose trimmed as her lips slimmed. Her eyes narrowed and her hair thinned and grew longer relative to her new size and stature. Her cheeks popped up and outward as braces cinched onto her smaller teeth.
Ashley looked down at Ellie who no longer looked 18, in fact, Ashley thought, she looked like she was her age; Ellie looked to be no older than 11.
“What the?!” Ellie said her voice pitched higher than usual “You…you’re huge!”
Ashley looked shocked and she slapped at her body feeling the jiggle and soft flesh “Me? You? You’re little and, and…you’re young! You look like a little kid!”
Ellie folded her arms over her flat chest “I’m not a little kid! I’m 18!”
“You sure don’t look it” Ashley said gravely.
“This is…” Ellie stuttered stepping forward realizing that she was shorter than Ashley “How are you taller than me?”
Ashley shrugged.
“How did you like, grow huge boobs all of a sudden?” Ellie asked.
Ashley shrugged again and shook her head. She looked down and took in the curves of her legs and body, her breasts straining the front of her blue suit.
Ellie looked down and saw how skinny she was, how flat her chest had become and how light she felt. “Something’s not right” she said as she took a few cautious steps “I’m 18…I’m 18” she kept repeating until she stepped before the mirror and her jaw dropped in shock.
Into the frame over Ellie’s shoulder, a tall woman with blonde hair stepped in “Oh My God” she said “Look at us. We reversed roles! I’m big and you’re little! I’m 18 and you’re 11! I’m the lifeguard and, and…you’re just another kid at my pool” Ashley said, emphasizing the word my.
“What the…how did this…I’m not 11!” Ellie said looking around very confused.
“Hey”
They both jumped at a different voice coming from a few feet away “Sarah!” they both called out upon seeing the woman coming to them.
“Yeah” she laughed “Did I scare you?”
“Um…” Ashley said nervously rubbing her toe against the ground.
“You need to cover the dive pool this hour” Sarah said.
“No! How am I supposed to lifeguard? Just look at me?” Ellie gestured with her skinny arms “I’ve been turned into a little kid!”
Sarah smiled and looked around nervously “Um…I was talking to Ashley but that was pretty funny”
“Sure” Ashley said “Yeah…no problem”
“Well I’m about to blow the whistle…” Sarah said.
“Oh, yeah” Ashley said. She glanced at Ellie, gave a shrug and together they left the room.
Ellie stood in shock “How did she do this to us? Somehow she switched our lives around. She turned me into an 11 year old and turned herself into an 18 year old…she stole my age!”
Ellie was still standing there motionless when she heard “There you are”
She jumped when she saw Wendy Sims coming her direction “What are you doing in here? We were getting worried about you; are you feeling okay?”
“Um…no I’m not” Ellie said.
Wendy rushed over and felt her head “You feel a little warm…come on, let’s get you out of here” She put her arms around Ellie’s narrow shoulders and led her out of the locker room and back out to the pool deck.
The bright sun caused Ellie to squint until she felt herself being eased into a chair.
“What’s wrong Ellie?” Taylor Sims asked coming over “Do we need to call her Mom?”
“I don’t think so honey” Wendy said wrapping a towel around Ellie “Maybe just a little water and some Tylenol will help. Do you have a stomach ache?”
“Um…no not really” Ellie replied “I’m just…”
“It’s okay” Wendy said in a soothing voice “You look like you’re about to cry honey…it’s okay”
Ellie lay back, slouched against the chair. She put the towel over her face and felt the warmth of the sun through it. As she closed her eyes, her thoughts began to change. She found it harder and harder to maintain her assertion that she was 18. She couldn’t remember graduating from high school let alone middle school. She thought about her house and her family. She saw her Mom and Dad clearly but when she thought about her 13 year old brother, everything got muddled. “He’s my big brother now. He picks on me a calls me skinny and Smelly Ellie when I go out and spend time in the barn…he gets up for first feeding; not me and he always teases me about it”
Ellie knew that she had always been the oldest and as such was responsible to the first feeding and milking of the cows but that vision was changing in her head. Now, she would go along and help her big brother sometimes. She could only picture herself as a kid; there were no signs in her mind that she had ever been older than 11 despite the wisps of thoughts trailing through her brain telling her she was actually an adult.
“I’m here with my friend Taylor and her family” she thought. “Taylor and I have been friends since 1st grade and we hate the fact that we have to put up with Hillary and Kendall being here”
Ellie pulled the towel off her face and saw the concern on Mrs. Sims. “I’m okay” she said succinctly.
“Are you sure?” Wendy asked.
“I…um…I just got a little light headed is all. Can I get some water?” Ellie said.
“Of course honey” Wendy said getting a bottle out of the cooler at their table. Ellie saw a pink drawstring bag at her feet embroidered with Ellie on it. She pulled it open and pulled out a pair of sunglasses and slid them on her face. Mrs. Sims handed her the water and she took a long drink.
“Maybe you should stay out a little while longer”
“I think so” Ellie agreed. She grabbed a bag of grapes and ate a few and drank some more water. As she did, her eyes scanned the pool area. She saw Hillary and Kendall bouncing along the far side and she instantly registered them as the mean girls from her school. “Hillary the queen bitch” she thought to herself.
Taylor went back into the water to keep her brother company as Ellie sat next to Mrs. Sims cooling off. She looked to the guard chairs and particularly the dive pool where Ashley sat, her legs crossed as she watched kids jump off the diving board.
“What was going on with her?” she tried to think as hard as she could about Ashley but besides her being one of the guards at the pool this summer, nothing was coming to her.
Eventually, Ellie told Mrs. Sims she was feeling better and promised to stay in the 3 and 4 foot section for a while so she was allowed to go back in and play.
Ashley took her shift at the dive pool. She climbed up the three steps and sat in the chair watching as kids lined up and went off one by one. She only had to blow her whistle once when a boy jumped a little too soon.
She kept waiting for someone to come up and call her out, call her a fraud and freak out about what had happened, but as of now, everyone was treating her like she was 18 and had worked here all summer long.
An hour passed and another safety break came up. Ashley made her way to the main pool deck and began talking to Joe and Dominic.
Olivia had come in to start her shift and she came up and joined the conversation “Hey I see your favorite swimmers are here” she said nodding to Hillary and Kendall.
“Those two…” Ashley said dismissively.
“You’ve been complaining about how bitchy those two are all season” Olivia laughed kicking off her flip flops.
“Oh I know…you just look at them and you can tell they want to push your buttons” Ashley said. She took in the scene and could tell that Hillary was acting like the Alpha over Kendall which surprised her. Without her around, Hillary had taken over her spot.
“Glad you don’t have to play those games anymore now that you’re out of high school?” Joe asked.
“You bet” Ashley answered. Visions of her college visit and the stuff she had already bought for her dorm room came to her mind. She scanned the deck and saw Ellie.
Ellie was sitting cross legged on a lounge chair eating grapes and laughing with Taylor Sims. She didn’t give any indication that she was mad or upset or even confused about why she was now 11 and playing at the pool instead of working at it.
Emily Green was making her way over to the stand where all 4 of the lifeguards were at. “Hey Ashley” she said.
“Hi Mrs. Green…what’s up?” Ashley replied.
“Are you still able to come over tonight at 7 and watch Kaitlyn and David for me?” Emily asked.
“Of course” she replied without hesitation “I’ve had you on my calendar for weeks now” she smiled.
“Thanks…just checking to be sure” Emily said before heading back to her table.
“No Problem” she replied.
Joe looked over and smiled. He saw David in the background playing with his sister blissfully unaware. Even to Joe this morning seemed years ago. He didn’t think of himself as 5, the thought alone was kind of absurd to him “That wasn’t real” he thought. “I’m who I am…I’ve grown up and gone to school; I’m an adult”
As the day went on, Joe felt more and more normal and comfortable in his life as the childish thoughts faded away.
Ashley too underwent her own evolving change as the day went on. When the next hour started up, she was the rover, walking along the sides instead of being planted in a seat. As she passed by Hillary and Kendall, she could hear them bad mouthing Taylor and Ellie “Look at those losers over there…I mean, do they even know what colors are in this year?”
“Just be thankful that Ellie is wearing a one piece so we don’t have to see any more of her disgusting body” Hillary said.
“Like you have any place to talk” she thought. She wanted to say it out loud and slap these two around but she couldn’t and she knew it. “I’m the adult here” she reminded herself.
Ashley hung around, lingering to listen to them, astonished at how rude they were and how much they thought of themselves “Was I really like that?” she thought “Oh God I was an asshole”
She went and relieved Olivia from the chair on the far side “Yeah, those two little bitches are awful”
“We know” Olivia said climbing down from her chair “We all know”
Ashley watched them closely as they would splash or laugh or roll their eyes behind Taylor and Ellie’s backs and could feel her blood boil “I’m so glad I don’t have to put up with girls like that anymore” she thought before remembering that she was a girl like that.
As the day went on, Ellie’s mind drifted further away from any and all thoughts of adulthood as she focused on having fun and going back to the 6th grade in a few weeks.
She helped Taylor keep an eye on little David Green but something bothered her the entire time; David seemed so familiar to her and the look in his eye was something she could understand.