This story can be posted freely as long as it remains intact and credit is given to me.
SRU: The Prom
By: justAdRifter
Julia had always been pushed aside by Christine.
For as far back as she could remember, every time Julia accomplished anything, Christine would pop in and force her out of the spotlight.
When Julia had made first string cheerleader, Christine's bubbly performance had knocked her to a reserve. When she was dating Josh, the star quarterback of the school football team, Christine showed up and Julia was dumped in a heartbeat. Back in Middle School, she had been assigned the star role in the school play, but Christine had sweet-talked her way in and Julia ended up with only a bit part. In elementary school, Christine had repeatedly out-done Julia's reports by just watching the movie version. The teachers never caught on so Julia's reports would always end up behind Christine's. Even in kindergarten and preschool, Christine would manage to weasel her way into the position of "teacher's favorite", but whenever Julia tried to get on her teacher's good side, she would just end up as a "teacher's pet".
Julia seethed as memories surfaced. She hated Christine. She despised Christine. She loathed Christine. Now, it was time to get even. The prom was tomorrow night and Christine was going with Josh. Julia, without a date, had been planning to skip it rather than be embarrassed, but had decided to try to find a means to humiliate Christine instead.
As she wandered through the mall, she dismissed store after store. She had a taste for revenge, but nothing she saw could sate it.
Still lost in memory, Julia turned a corner and saw before her a store she had never seen before, despite having wandered the mall numerous times. Above the arched doorway there was a sign with 'SRU' in big gold letters written on it. Through the window, it seemed to house a variety of antiques and oddities. Julia felt a strange attraction to the store.
"Oh, what the heck," she shrugged and walked in.
A small bell tinkled as Julia entered the store. The musty odor of ancient books and trinkets assaulted her nose. She was surrounded by strange medallions, assortments of vials, and massive, yellowed tomes. Lost as she was in the candlelight flickering over the vast array, she failed to notice the small old man behind the counter.
"Ahem." The old man cleared his throat. Julia started from the abrupt noise before grinning sheepishly. But before she could stutter out an apology, the old man spoke.
"I see you are in need of assistance, Julia," he said. His voice was soft, but held wisdom behind it. "I believe I have just the thing." He winked at her and began to search under the counter.
"How do you know my name?" Julia asked, amazed at how much the little man seemed to know. "Or my problem? Or a solution?"
"Easy, my dear," he replied from beneath the counter, "I am a wizard." With that, the man popped back up with a small vial in his outstretched hand.
Julia instinctively began to reach for the vial before she caught herself and sharply drew back her hand. She eyed the old man curiously. He claimed to be a wizard, and certainly fit the part. He was clothed in what seemed to be a bathrobe covered in astrological signs and lunar phases. His hair was pure white and his beard reached halfway down his chest. His hands, though somewhat gnarled with age, still looked strong and his eyes burned with a deep fire, seeming to shift between colors even as Julia watched them.
"Alright, what will it cost me?" Julia asked as she reached for the vial. "And what do I do with it?"
"Since this is your first time using our services," the wizard replied, "Consider it a free sample. As to your other query, all you must do is get Christine to drink it."
"Wait a minute!" Julia cried, "I may hate her, but I'm not going to poison her!"
"Not to worry, my child," the old man replied calmly, "It is not poison, merely something to give you the upper hand and, quite possibly, humiliate her."
Julia was overwhelmed by an odd desire to completely trust this mysterious man. "Fine. But still, how will I get her to drink it? I can't just walk up and hand it to her."
The old man chortled. "Well that's the easy part. The beauty of this particular mixture is that it can be mixed with almost anything and still work correctly. So all you need to do is pour it in something she will drink. It will affect only her as long as you follow the directions on the label."
Julia glanced at the small label. 'Do not ingest with alcohol' was all it said. No name. No ingredients. No brand name. Just the warning.
"Thanks," she said, "I'll remember this place."
"No doubts there," snickered the wizard, "Perhaps we shall meet again."
With another 'thanks', Julia turned and left the store.
The wizard mumbled to himself. "Such a sweet girl. Ashame really. The nice ones usually actually follow the instructions." He sighed. "Ah, well. Perhaps something entertaining will come of it. For now, there is other business to attend to." He turned toward the door and smiled as another young girl walked in. "Hello Stacy. I believe I have just what you are looking for."
*****
Julia rushed home. She shouted a hello to her mother and ran up to her room. She locked the door and fell onto her bed as she had done so many other times. However, this time there was a smirk on her face instead of tears in her eyes. She turned the vial around in her hands, examining it from every angle. It, like the old man's eyes, continuously shifted color depending upon the angle she held it at. Despite her scrutiny, she was unable to find any words other than the 'Do not ingest with alcohol' warning.
A short while later, her mother called her down for dinner. Julia stuffed the vial into a drawer and went to eat, but her mind was lost in thoughts of plotting and revenge.
*****
Friday morning. Julia woke to the incessant beeping of her alarm clock. As she hit it to shut it off, she glanced at the time. 12:30 PM. School was out for the day to set up for the prom so she had slept late. She sat on the edge of her bed and shook her head to clear it. 'Today is the day,' she thought, and grinned, 'Today I finally get even with Christine after all these years'. Despite having plenty of time, she eagerly performed her morning routines and got dressed. The school had been in need of volunteers for the setup, and Julia figured it was the perfect opportunity to set things up before anyone arrived. She hopped down the stairs and sat down for a quick lunch.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Julia's mother asked, "I thought you weren't going to the prom."
"Yeah, but I changed my mind. I'm gonna head over and help set up."
"See, I told you that it would be best if you went," her mother giggled, "After all, can't a mother want her only child to enjoy herself?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Julia shrugged. "But it would be nice if you would lay all the affection on somebody else for a change."
Her mother faked shock; this was an old debate. "Oh no! I could never do that! Of course, if you had a brother or sister then they could be my little sweetie, but unless your father and I learn to turn back time, there won't be any children running around this house again."
"You never know, mom," Julia grinned, "Maybe you and dad could?" she trailed off.
Her mother started to laugh, and Julia quickly joined her. "Oh, sure!" Julia's mother managed between gasps, "I'm only fifty-seven after all! No telling how many kids we could have if we just set our minds to it!"
After the laughter died down, Julia announced she was finished and began to clear off the table. With a quick goodbye to her mother, and a quick peck on the cheek, she left for the school. It was a warm day and she walked casually down the street toward the high school a few blocks away. She tried to lose herself in the peaceful early afternoon sun, but always found her thoughts wandering back to the vial in her pocket. She kept going over just how she would set things up, and just when to do so. All she would need was a few seconds after Christine arrived. Then revenge would be hers.
*****
The first students had just started to arrive. Julia stood off in the shadows. She had spent the time setting up to carefully lay out the details of her plan. It was simple enough. She had set up several small tables to block the direct view of the main food table from the door. She knew that Christine, with Josh in tow, would undoubtedly make a grand entrance. Thereby providing her with the distraction she needed. All she had to do was wait.
Half an hour later, Julia heard a commotion outside. The time had arrived. She slowly worked her way over to the food table as everyone else drifted toward the main entrance. Suddenly, the door swung open and in strolled Christine and Josh, arm in arm.
Christine had gone all out this time. Her long blond hair fell down the back of her perfectly proportioned body. A long, red gown with far too high a slit flowed smoothly with every movement. She was adorned in pearls and jewelry from head to toe. None could match her, and she knew it.
Julia was filled with rage, and just a hint of jealousy. All the qualms that she still had dissolved instantly and she quickly dumped the contents of the vial into the gigantic punch bowl on the table. Without a word, she slipped back into the shadows. She twisted her long black hair as she waited and watched. She felt completely out of place. Here was Christine in all her glory, while Julia just stood aside in jeans and a T-shirt.
Julia was suddenly overcome with the need for fresh air. She turned and, trying to ignore all the praise Christine was receiving, stormed out the side exit. Although she heard it lock behind her, she didn't care. She couldn't stand being in the same room as Christine. She would just wait outside for a short while before going back in. She knew Josh would grab punch for his date as soon as he could, and she didn't want to miss whatever the vial's contents would do. After waiting a few minutes, she slowly walked around to the front door and went back in.
Everywhere she looked, people were drinking punch and laughing. Julia was unconcerned about the others. After all, the old man had told her it would work only on Christine if she followed the directions, and she had. A young boy stumbled over to her in a strangely loose tux. He looked familiar, yet she couldn't identify him. "I think someone spiked * Hiccup * the punch," he said to her. Julia was horrified. Not only because she realized that the warning had failed, but also because she recognized the young boy's voice. Although a different pitch, Julie was certain the voice belonged to Josh.
"Josh, what's going on?!" she cried down at him. 'Down?!'
He just laughed and wandered off, his tuxedo pants dangerously close to falling off his now skinny waist. Julie looked around the room in horror. The same scene was repeated everywhere. Boys were walking around, trailing their pants behind them, and girls were tripping over their gowns as they dragged on the floor.
'Is this what the punch did? Make them smaller? No," Julia realized the full effect of the potion and alcohol-tainted punch, 'It's making them younger!'
All the high school students looked like they would fit more appropriately in a grade school. Even the staff that was helping with the prom were younger. 'And worst of all,' Julia noticed, 'Is that none of them seems to even notice the changes!'
Julia started to push her way through the crowd. She noticed that many of the ex-seniors were spilling their drinks onto their clothes as they grew younger. Strangely, every time punch was spilled on the clothing, it changed to be age-appropriate and continued to change design and size as the wearers regressed. She reached the center of the crowd and found Christine sitting in a puddle of spilled punch wearing a Minnie Mouse shirt and pink jeans, crying her eyes out. Julia scooped the kindergartner out of the puddle and into her arms.
"Oh, Christine! I never meant it to be like this! I only wanted to get even, but not like this! What am I going to do?!"
The child continued to sniffle as she left her school days behind. Her shirt was now decorated with Barney, and her overalls matched its purple color. Just like many other children, her feet were bare. She, as well as others, had simply slipped out of their shoes when their feet became too small to stay in them.
Julia tried to console the near-toddler, but without success. She felt a strange thickness in her hand and realized that the three-year-old Christine was now wearing pull-ups under her barney short-alls. Around the room, many children were sitting on the floor sucking their thumbs or toddling around. Some had lost their outer clothing during their regression and now wore only training pants or pull-ups. In some cases, Julia even saw diapers. The staff members had been regressing faster than the students and were now pre-teens quickly approaching their toddlerhood. She looked closely and noticed that some of the students had stopped changing. Still others were slowing down.
'Please stop,' she silently pleaded, 'Oh please stop.'
As Christine grew lighter in her arms, Julia noticed that the regression did seem to be slowing. Again Christine's clothes shifted to accommodate her youth. Her shirt was adorned with Baby Minnie Mouse and her pink short-alls acquired snaps along the crotch. It was obvious to Julia that Christine was now wearing a disposable diaper, as she could feel and hear it crinkling in her hand. Christine's sniffling came to a halt and she stuck her thumb in her mouth. Julia felt a warmth fill Christine's diaper as the regression finally stopped.
"Well, I guess that was your embarrassment, Chrissy," Julia said, "But I don't think it even bothers you anymore." She looked around the room at all the diaper-clad partially dressed toddlers and sighed. "I guess this is what I get for trusting that wizard and seeking revenge."
Slowly, a cry rose among the toddlers. Many cried for 'mommy', many cried for bottles, many just cried. The noise rose to a great crescendo.
"Oh great?now what!?" Julia yelled to the heavens.
"Do not worry my dear." The sudden voice startled Julia and she turned to face it. It was the old man.
"Since you did obey the instructions, I shall assist you," the wizard grinned and pulled out a strange wand from inside his sleeve. "Normally I wouldn't do this, but it's always nice to have repeat customers." With a sudden wave of the wand and a bright flash, the old man was gone.
*****
Julia blinked and looked around the room. It was nice of the high school to let them run the daycare in the gym. She set her little sister Chrissy on the floor and walked over to the door to wait. The parents would be arriving soon, so Julia and Chrissy would be free to return home. Julia hoped that one of the adults would come back soon and watch the little kids so she could go. After all, summer vacation started tomorrow. She was proud to be starting sixth grade next year, but the summer was all hers. She just wished her bratty little sister wasn't always stealing all the attention.