"But ~mom~..." Damon whined as they pulled into the parking lot of the corner drug store "I don't wanna put that ~goo~ on my face.... can't we skip it? C'mon!"
"Damon... That dermatologist charged 100 dollars to see you. Since I'M the one paying we're going to see her treatment thru! If you don't do exactly what she told you then I might as well have thrown that money out the window!" his mother explained.
Damon was 16 and worried about his acne. Although it was very minor it seemed like a huge social probem to him. His mother had told him not to worry about it and that worrying would only make it worse. Damon didn't agree and felt like it was the end of the world. He saw a story about a new treatment on TV and he was sure that a dermatologist would write him a prescription for it. Unfortunately for Damon, the dermatologist recommended an over the counter face mask to wear at night. He thought that was for "sissies" and wanted no part of it. Margaret, his 39 year old mother, was aggravitated that he was balking at the doctor's recommendation after she had paid out of her own pocket for the office visit that was his idea in the first place.
"Aren't you coming in?" she asked as he sat in the car and pouted.
"What? ~No~.... What if someone, like, sees me buying that stuff?" Damon countered.
"Who's going to see you? And why care? Get out of that car right now!" Margaret ordered as her frustration grew. In truth there was no particular reason for Damon to go in with her, she could pick up the medicine herself, but after all his whining she felt he deserved whatever embarrasment he got out of this. She never thought he needed to see the doctor in the first place!
"Damn" he muttered under his breath as he got out of the car.
"What?" she asked sternly.
"Nothin'!" he repied.
They entered the store and Margaret immediately scanned the signs above the aisles trying to find the skin care section. She spotted the likely area and urged Damon to follow. He reluctantly slinked behind her to the section.
"Help me look!" She ordered as she tried to find the proper product while Damon stared blankly in space.
Damon groaned and began scanning the shelves.
"May I help you?" An older woman asked as she approached the potential customers.
"Yes, Damon's looking for a face mask that the doctor wanted him to try for his acne" Margaret told the saleswoman.
"~Mom!~" Damon moaned. "Geez!"
"Honey, settle down!" Margaret said.
"Oh... I'm sorry! Did I hit a nerve? I never meant to." The saleswoman said apologetically.
"Damon is being a little difficult today" Margaret explained. "It's not your fault"
"I'm not being difficult! I just don't wanna wear some sissy face mask! You shoulda told that Dr that I wanted that new stuff!" Damon argued.
"~I~ should've told the doctor? Don't you have a mouth?" Margaret said as she raised a her voice.
"Yeah, but you were right there!" he answered.
"Hey, you're old enough to speak for yourself and besides, the doctor mentioned that stuff and didn't speak too highly of it!" his mother shot back.
"Well, what does she know!?" he complained.
"Teenagers!" Margaret said as she stomped her foot and rolled her eyes to the sky.
"Weren't you ever a teenager?" the saleslady asked Margaret trying to diffuse the situation.
"I doubt it!" Damon said.
"Yes, but I was never like him!" Margaret answered "Damon, For your information I was a good kid! I made good grades and treated my parents with respect! I never talked back or went behind their back to do things.... like you and those cigarettes I found in your drawer!"
"Right... whatever..." he said.
"Why don't you show him?" the saleslady asked.
"I ~try~!" Margaret replied "But he doesn't listen!"
"No, I mean show him what a good teen you were... or could be" the saleslady explained.
Margaret stepped back and tried to decypher just what the older woman was proposing. "What're you saying... role playing?"
The saleswoman cautiously looked around and reached into the pocket of her smock. "Here, this will do it" she said holding a small red jewel in her hand "Just touch this and tell it you want to be 16 again!"
Margaret was sure the woman was crazy! "Ummmm I don't want to be 16 again!" she replied trying to think of a quick exit from the situation.
Damon laughed. "She'd probably look the same... just a little bit younger and geekier!" he said in between laughs.
Margaret frowned. "I wasn't...ummmm ... I'm not 'geeky'!" Margaret raged inside. Damon wasn't showing her any respect. He has a lot to learn she thought! Without any more thought she touched the jewel and said "I wish I could be 16 again just so you'd see how a kid SHOULD act!"
Damon laughed some more. Margaret looked at her finger where she had touched the jewel. It tingled for a second. The saleswoman laughed. "Very good!" she said.
"There's what we came for!" Margaret said as she spied the face mask medicine that the doctor had sent them searching for. "I was sure I looked on that shelf before!"
"Mom, you don't look any different to me! Just old and geeky!" Damon smirked.
"Damon, what did you expect to happen? She was just trying to make a point or something. People don't get younger! They grow up!" his mother told him.
"Oh... yes.... quite true.... unless you happen to meet a witch on the Halloween eve!" the woman said "I'm afraid you'll be quickly growing younger until you find yourself sweet sixteen again! I might not be the most powerful witch but at this time of year I'm pretty good if I do say so myself!"
"I see... " Margaret deadpanned not interested in humoring the woman much longer. "Sooooo how do I return to normal ~if~ I happen to end up 16 again? It's not like I wanna be worrying about homework or prom" she asked sarcastically.
"Well.....a couple ways..... You could do it on your own... just like Damon. In a year you'll be 17 and then another year and you'll be 18... and so on.... or you could find me again and just touch the jewel and tell it you want to be 39 again!"
Margaret shook her head "Well... your ~spell~ doesn't seem to be working and we have to go so ummmmm thanks for your help" she told the woman as she and Damon headed to the front checkout counter.
"It's still early. My powers grow as the witching hour nears" the woman confidently told them as they walked away.
"That's nice" Margaret replied without turning around. "How did a crazy woman like that get a job here?" she whispered to Damon as they got to the counter.
She paid for the purchase and thought back to the encounter as they returned to the car. How did she know I was 39 she wondered? Lucky guess she figured although that didn't make her feel any better. After all, she wanted people to guess her age as younger!
On their return home Margaret found the country radio station a bit boring. She switched the radio over to a classic rock station and that was better but by the time they got home she had let Damon pick the station and liked his choice of a current hits format the best.
Margaret bounded out of the car and went inside. She felt energetic. Damon went to his room to listen to his stereo. Margaret heard the booming of the bass coming from his room but rather than wanting to tell him to turn it down as usual this time she seemed to like it. She fed off the energy and picked up her pace as she went to her room to change into something more comfortable. She grabbed a pair of sweat pants, a T-shirt, and some tennis shoes and noticed that her diet was working. This gave her another boost of energy as she headed to the kitchen to clean the mess that she had left earlier.
In the kitchen, she busily began pre-cleaning dishes before deciding to just put them into the dishwasher as-is. It was getting boring spending so much time on them! As she straightened up the room she noticed her shoes begin to slip. First a little and then worse. Tying them tighter didn't help much and she finally kicked them off. The room was warm and she tied the bottom of her T-shirt on the side exposing her stomach without thinking about it. She began putting away some items and when she went to put some items on an upper shelf she suddenly noticed that she could barely reach the shelf. She could always reach it before!
Her first thought was that it was because she was barefoot but then that hadn't mattered this much before! She looked down at her feet and a confused look came over face. She slowly lifted her hands in front of her face and stared at them. Her head and eyes slowly fell on her exposed and flat stomach. Her eyes grew wider and she padded into the bathroom to look at her reflection.
"Ohmigawd! Ohmigawd! Ohmigawd!......" she yelled as she saw the reflection staring back at her.
Damon, barely hearing the yelps over his stereo, muted it and went to see what the ruckus was.
"Ohmigawd! Ohmigawd! Ohmigawd!...." he heard coming from the bathroom. He pushed open the door....
Inside stood a blonde haired frantic 16 year old girl looking like she had just seen a ghost!
"Ohmigawd! Ohmigawd! Ohmigawd!.... I'm a teenager!!! Nooooooooo Ohmigawd! Damon....Ohmigawd!" she said.
"MOM?" he asked in disbelief.
"Damon.... she did it.... Nooooooooooooo!!! Nooooooooo!!!!" the girl said about ready to break into tears.
"Is this a joke? This can't be....." Damon asked as he looked for any sign of a setup.
"NO....... You've got to help me! I don't want to be a kid!" she said as she sank to the floor and grabbed her knees.
"Well, she did say that all you had to do was ask her to be your ~old~ self again" Damon replied emphasizing the word 'old'.
Margaret's young face brightened. The old woman had said there were two ways to grow up again and that was one of them. This could only be temporary!
Her mood swung the other direction. Suddenly this didn't seem so bad anymore. Maybe the old woman could make her 25 instead? Or 21? She stood back up and smiled at her reflection as she brushed her hair from her face.
"Are you ummmm still ~you~?" Damon asked slowly.
"What? Of course I'm still me!???" she replied questioningly.
"It's just that you're so uhhhhhhh....." he answered
"Young?" she interrupted.
"No... ummmm ~Hot~.... You're kinda like a... babe!" Damon replied hesitantly.
Margaret blushed. "Told ya!" she said. "I'm not a geek!"
"So now what?" Damon asked.
"Well, I think we should go back and find that saleslady before she gets off work and have her change me back or something. This is too young!" Margaret said "And I think maybe you better call me Maggie.... all my high school friends called me Maggie. It wouldn't look right with you calling me 'mom' and Margaret sounds so ~old~! C'mon... lets go" she said as she took another peek at her teenaged reflection.
Before they could leave the room Maggie felt a chill.
"What's wrong?" Damon asked when he saw her stop for a moment.
"I dunno.... I felt funny for a second...." she replied "Let's go"
"Uhh like that?" he asked seeing her shoeless and in sweats with her stomach uncustomarily showing.
"Uhhhh yeah? I'm 16! I'll fit in fine!" Maggie answered.
Maggie grabbed the car door and then stopped. "Ya know... Maybe you should drive?" she said.
"Why? Have you forgot how to drive????" he replied.
Maggie felt another chill. "Nuh huh... but if we, like, get stopped I don't think the cops would believe my driver's license or think much of our story!"
"OK..." agreed Damon and he drove them to the drug store.
Once they got to the drug store Damon hopped out. "You wait here and I'll get her."
"No way!" Maggie protested "First you don't wanna go in there today and now you wanna, like, go in by yourself? We'll both go! Why wouldn't you want me to go in with you?"
"Uhh What if someone sees us?" Damon asked.
"Sooooo?????" she asked. "Who?"
"Uhhhh maybe a girl...." Damon replied nervously.
"A girl???!!! I don't get it!?" Maggie replied.
"Just a girl... What if she, ya know, sees me with you?" Damon stammered. "looking like that and all"
The picture cleared for Maggie. "You've got a girlfriend? Or you're TRYING to get a girl? Is THAT it? Is that why you're so worried about zits all of a sudden?" Maggie snickered.
"~Mom~ eeerrrrrr Maggie. Chill! You're kinda ya know... a hottie.... and if she'd see us......wellll... you know..." Damon tried to explain.
"Maybe you'd make her jealous? Did you ever think of that? If she knows you were interested and then all of a sudden she sees you with another girl then she'll want you bad!" Maggie told him.
"I never thought of that... ya think so?" he replied.
"Sure!" she said "C'mon... besides... I'm not gonna be a teenager much longer anyway!"
They went inside with Maggie leading the way. They looked up and down the aisles looking for the woman but didn't see her. Maggie felt another chill.
"Like, I don't see her..." she said.
"Ya... me either..." Damon replied as he looked over the top of the aisles as best that he could. "Maybe she's in the back?"
"Hello... can I help you?" a man asked.
"Uhhhhh.... We were here earlier and uhhhhhhh" Damon said trying to figure out just how much to tell the man.
"Oh!" he said winking "You two need some protection.... they're over here" he said motioning toward the side wall.
Maggie quickly sensed what the pharmacist was thinking and grabbed Damon's hand. "I'm not THAT kinda girl!" she said mockingly and give Damon and peck on the cheek "We're not going to do that until we're married"
Suddenly Damon realized what the man was talking about as he saw the Trojan display staring back at him. His face turned bright crimson and Maggie giggled.
"Sorry..." the man replied but again winked at the blushing Damon. "So what is it I can help you with?"
"We're looking for the saleswoman that was here earlier...like a couple hours ago?" Maggie asked as she felt another chill and squeezed Damon's hand tighter.
"Saleswoman? I'm afraid I'm the only one working today. From open to close" he replied.
"But she had a smock on and everything.... Maybe she was just here?" Damon asked.
"No.... I'm pretty sure none of employees has been in this afternoon. She's not here now anyway... Sorry" the pharmacist said.
"Uhhhh will she maybe be here tomorrow?" Damon asked.
"Well, there's just the one woman working here and she won't get here until after classes... she's just a college girl...."
"No... this woman was older..." Damon interrupted.
"Sorry, no other women work here" the man told them "I guess I can't help you"
"Thanks anyway" Maggie said and then stuck her tongue out at the man as he walked away.
"Maybe if we come back at the same time tomorrow as we first came today we'll find her here? Damon offered.
"Yeah.... good idea... cool" Maggie said.
The two teens left the building and hopped back in the car. Just as they did a girl walked up.
"Ohhh....uhhhhh hi... Joleen" Damon said with a shaking voice.
Maggie looked up to see a brunette staring in at her.
"Mo..errrr Maggie... this is Joleen....." he said stammering nervously.
Maggie held up her hand in a half-hearted wave and barely managed a "hi" as she scooted closer to Damon. Joleen reciprocated with an equally icy greeting. Joleen reminded Maggie of the type of girls that she didn't like.
"So are you, like, on any teams at school?" Maggie asked.
"Just cheerleading.... Are you new in school?" Joleen replied.
"Uhhh yeah... that's it... I'm new. Welllll I'm really kinda ~old~ but I guess you could say I'm ~new~" was Maggie's rather cryptic answer. "Have you known Damon long?"
"Kinda... I guess" Joleen said.
"I hear cheerleaders don't hafta, like, study much cuz they're all teacher's pets... Are you like that?" Maggie said as she dug deeper.
"No..." Joleen replied sounding perturbed at the line of questioning "Sometimes we even have to do the same homework as the regular students even though we've gotta, like, practice cheers and stuff"
"Hmmm I bet it's ~tough~" Maggie said with sarcasm "Damon's gonna go to college when he graduates.... So are YOU gonna go to college after high school too?"
"Yeah, I guess so..." she answered starting to wonder where this all was headed.
"Do you have a boyfriend.... or do ya have, like, a bunch!? What about marriage and stuff?"
"M ahh eerrrrrrr Maggie! This isn't final exams!" Damon said after hearing enough of the line of questioning.
"Yeah, what are you....like, his mother or something?"
Maggie's face turned to disgust and she scrunched down in the seat and quieted. She was simmering inside. Damon was better than a girl like THAT! She was nothing but a fake uppity type Maggie thought.
Damon and Joleen exchanged small talk while Maggie shot laser beams thru the girl. She was just SO fake! Maggie was ready to leave and quickly boring of Joleen. Another chill shot thru her.
"Damon... I'm bored.... can we go?" Maggie finally asked.
"Uh.. yeah... sure... Well, Joleen... We better go" he told her.
"Oh... OK... Well, it was great seeing you" she told Damon "and you too... ummmmm Myrtle was it?"
"Maggie..." she corrected Joleen.
"Oh sorry... ~Maggie~" Joleen oozed "so ~nice~ to meet you"
"Yeah... you too" Maggie replied icily. "See ya!"
"Slut" Maggie growled under her breath as they drove off.
Part 2
"Why'd ya say THAT?" Damon asked.
"Cuz..." Maggie answered without really answering at all.
"She might've heard you!" he protested.
"As if! She didn't hear me. Besides, she's kinda skanky!" Maggie elaborated.
"Nuh uh! She's ~real~ popular and hangs with all the cool kids" Damon said in Joleen's defense.
"Popular? I wonder ~why~?" Maggie asked rhetorically as she raised her eyebrows "I told you she was a slut-bag! You think she's pretty?"
"I dunno... why?" Damon replied.
"Cuz, I just wondered." Maggie prodded Damon for more "So...do ya?"
"Yeah... I guess so" He answered reluctantly.
Maggie made a face "Hmmmmph! She's fat!" she spat out.
"Well, she may not be as skinny as you are now but I don't think she's ~fat~" He explained. In fact Damon liked Joleen's well proportioned curves.
"Her hips are too big!" Maggie shot back.
"Are not!" he protested.
"~WhatEVER~!" Maggie said and turned her head the other way.
"Are you mad at me?" Damon asked.
"Mad? Why would I be mad? I'm not mad" Maggie replied unconvincingly.
"You're acting funny is all....." he told her.
Maggie reflected a moment and then spoke. "Well..... like, look at what's happened. I'm 16! Too young to vote! I'm afraid to drive my own car 'cuz my driver's license is for a 39 year old! We can't find that witch to change me back and all you care about is that little tramp!" Her lower lip started to quiver. "I don't wanna be stuck like this...... "
Maggie put her head on Damon's shoulder as a tear streamed down her cheek. Damon put his arm around her to try and comfort her "It'll be alright. We'll find that witch and she'll change you back. She'll probably be back at the drugstore at the same time tomorrow waiting on you"
Maggie choked back her sobs and seemed to capture herself for a second. "I keep having these funny feelings. Like chills or something. I'm worried that, like, I'm changing more than on the ~outside~... ya know? I look sooooo ~young~ ...too young!" Just then another chill tingled her spine. She was quickly gaining the emotions and impulses of a 16 year old girl!
"How do you mean?" Damon asked.
"I dunno... You really think I'm too skinny?" Maggie asked changing the subject.
"Huh? What're you talking about ~now~?" he wondered aloud.
"You said I was skinny and that ~Joleen~ was perfect" Maggie complained.
"I never said that Joleen was perfect!" Damon replied truthfully.
Maggie sniffed "So I AM too skinny!?"
"What?? Hey... no I didn't mean that either... I didn't say either..." Damon said as he tried to recover from his unintentional gaffe.
"Yes you did!" Maggie replied through her sobs. "This sucks! That witch coulda made me a supermodel or something but she tricked me into being a scrawny teenager! I think I even have a gnarly zit coming on!"
"She didn't trick you at all.... you just didn't believe her and humored her and did it to yourself! Besides, I told you that you were kinda a babe didn't I?" Damon countered.
Maggie's sobs lessened. Damon HAD told her that! Her mood took another swing and she began feeling better about herself. "Ummm Ya know... I think I'd feel better if I had some cool clothes that fit and stuff. Let's stop at the mall."
Not wanting any more arguments or crying Damon did as she suggested. He figured if it made her happy it was worth the effort and plus maybe they'd luckily run into the witch there. It was worth a shot anyway. On the other hand he didn't see much need in her buying clothes for a 16 year old body that should soon be gone anyway. He just hoped that they wouldn't run into Joleen again just yet! The mall was decorated for Halloween. Orange and black were everywhere. Maggie went into one of the stores that mainly catered to young people and quickly picked out a few outfits.
"Why so many?" Damon asked.
"I dunno... I couldn't make up my mind!" Maggie said as she smoothed her new skirt and spun around while looking at the mirror. She had picked out a short skirt and top that allowed a peek of her belly button and a pair of clunk slip on shoes to wear now. In her sack was bell bottomed jeans, a tank top, and a pair of tennis shoes. She also had purchased a black dress that she thought she looked good in along with a pair of heels. While admiring her reflection wearing her purchase it stunned her to see herself as a teen. She realized she was becoming more comfortable with the situation and that confused her. Another chill came over her.... She felt dizzy and had to sit down.
"Whoa....." she said shaking her head "I must've, like, spun around too fast!"
Damon took her hand. "C'mon... we better you get you home" he said.
As she started to rise she spotted Joleen across the way amongst a group of other teens. There was no 'snapping' back from that last battle with her mind falling fLouder into teendom. She was impulsively caught in the moment! She was just about ready to mention seeing "that skank bitch" when a devilish grin crossed her face. "Ummm Damon, hows about us taking in a movie while we're here? The cinama's just across the hall and there's lots of cool stuff playing. We'll just be bored at home and it'll, like, take my mind off stuff"
Damon frowned but didn't want her causing a scene if he disagreed. Besides, he figured it was dark in the cinema so who'd see them. "OK" he said "What're we gonna see?"
Maggie looked across the way and saw that Joleen was watching them. "Oh... I dunno... We'll figure it out when we get there" she said as she tugged on his hand getting between him and Joleen so that he couldn't see Joleen amongst her friends. She let him get ahead as she held his hand and then followed making it appear he was leading. She shot a look toward Joleen just making sure she saw the display. Joleen quickly looked away and began talking to her friends. Soon they all looked toward Damon and Maggie. Maggie knew she'd gotten their attention! No way was she going to let a girl like Joleen have anything to do with Damon... he could do much better she thought. It was then that another chill ran down her spine. She squeezed Damon's hand tightly as the tingle raced through her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Just one of those chill things again" she replied rather matter-of-factly as they continued on.
"Ooohh... Let's see the Excorist!" she exclaimed upon seeing it was showing.
"But you said it was too scary?" Damon replied.
"But it's Halloween eve! You're supposed to see scary stuff!" Maggie explained.
Damon shrugged and asked for two tickets.
"You kids got 'ID'?" the man in the booth asked "It's rated 'R'"
'Kids? Dammit Maggie thought. She was about ready to complain when another chill hit her. Kids? So what if she was 16 they could still watch a stupid old movie! Maggie thought about that for a second. ...She only looked 16! The man was just being stupid! She was growing more frustrated as another chill hit her. It wasn't fair that they couldn't see a movie just because it was R rated she thought. She had an idea. Men are stupid she figured.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we forgot our ID's but we're really 18..... really we are" she said sweetly as she batted her eyes "Couldn't you make an exception and let us slide? Please....Pretty please?"
"16 dollars for two tickets" he said "Next time don't forget your ID's" he finished with a wink.
"Cool! He thought we were 18!" Maggie said as they made their way to their seats.
Pretty soon the movie started and slowly built into a terrifying ride. On some scenes she would look away and bury her head on Damon's shoulder. She decided that this movie was a little more intense than she expected. As the terror level increased so did Maggie's chills. She began clinging to Damon as the movie scared her a little more with each horrific scene. Once the movie finally ended Maggie sat silently in her seat still clinging to Damon and trying to collect her thoughts.
"You're shivering!?" Damon said.
"That was, like, soooo scary" she said "I bet I can't sleep tonight!"
"Yeah, but it wasn't that bad" Damon replied "It won't bother me"
"I wish I was as brave as you!" Maggie told him as she got up from her seat.
She made Damon uncomfortable the way she was clinging to him but he could tell she was visibly shaken by the movie. "Maybe it's part of that witch's spell or whatever that's making you more scared or something?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh.... I almost forgot cuz that movie was, like, so scary!" she answered.
"Well don't be forgetting that you're not really 16!" he replied worriedly.
"~WhatEVER~.... Besides.... What's wrong with 16?" she argued.
Before Damon could reply, Joleen and her friends approached. "Oh.... ~hi~ Damon...." she sang "and... ummmm Myrtle, right?"
"It's Maggie!" Maggie tersely corrected the girl as she felt another chill.
"OK... So, were you guys, like, checking out The Excorist?" Joleen asked.
"Ummm yeah... " Damon answered torn between talking to his dreamgirl Joleen and just getting Maggie away from there quickly. He could tell by her body english that she wasn't happy.
"Was it good?" Joleen asked as she brushed against Damon.
"What do you care?" Maggie blurted out "You just want in Damon's pants!"
"Whatever do you mean?" Joleen asked mocking surprise that she'd pushed Maggie's 'hot button'.
Maggie felt another chill. "You know! Bitch! Damon can do better than someone like YOU!"
"Uh!" was Joleen's well thought out reply.
"Tramp!" Maggie called her quickly escalating the situation.
"I'm a tramp? You fucking whore!" Joleen shot back.
That started a series of chills down Maggie's spine but she was too busy pulling at Joleen's hair to notice!
Part 3
Mall security broke up the two teens and, short of a little hair mussing, neither was worse for the effort. One of the security guards wanted to call the girl's parents but Damon was able to convince him not to do that. After some scolding and the girls pouting security let them go.... separately.
Maggie no longer had any qualms about being a teen. All she wanted to do was complain about 'The Tramp'!
"Calm down!" Damon told her "It's no big deal... really!"
"No big deal? As if! I would've kicked her fat ass!" Maggie said "No little tramp calls me names like that!"
"It's not like you didn't call her names too!" Damon replied.
"Uhhhh wellll... like, she started it!" Maggie argued.
"I dunno who started it and it doesn't really matter. Let's just get home where this stuff can't happen." Damon said.
Maggie got into the car and twisted her face into an expression of disgust. "I was having a good time until she ruined it! I hope you're not...like... mad at me? Were you having a good time?"
"I guess... this is all way freaky tho! I'll be glad to see things back to normal" Damon answered.
"Normal?" Maggie said "She put her feet up on the dash of the car, sank back into the seat, and seemed to be thinking. "I kinda wonder if this isn't...like.... for the better...ya know?"
"What?!?!" Damon exclaimed nearly driving off the road.
"Watch out! Want me to drive?" she yelled seeing the mailbox barely miss the fender.
"No... you don't mean you wanna stay... like....like THAT?" he asked motioning toward the girl in the car with him.
"Maybe... I dunno..... It's kinda neat hangin' out and stuff like tonight.... as long as that bitch isn't around!" she replied.
"But you're my mom.... you shouldn't look like THAT!" Damon told her.
Why not she wondered as she grew a little annoyed at Damon's statement. "I'm not...like... dead! I'm 16! So what?"
Damon was trying to figure out how to reply to that when Maggie started ordering him to pull over. "Wait... stop in here! Slow down! Turn in... right there's the entrance!..... Cool thanks... I'll be right back"
Damon watched as she went into the convenience store. He couldn't see what she was doing. After a while she reappeared carrying a sack.
"What's in the bag?" he asked curiously.
She giggled as she got back in the car. Her smile grew wider as she reached in the bag "Brewskies! I talked that cute boy into not checking my ID!"
"But.... I.... can't..... You're not supposed...." Damon was at a loss for words. "Ummm is this like some kinda test?"
"Don't be a geek! They're just beer! It's not like gnarly whiskey or somethin'!" Maggie told him
"Ummm I'm not sure about this" he said as she handed him a beer.
"Oh C'mon! "She pleaded "It's just beer!"
"But, I'm driving!" he said as he shoved the beer back.
Maggie sighed disgustedly and rolled her eyes. "Well, how about one of these?" she asked as she pulled a pack of cigarettes from under the waist of her skirt. "I lifted them when the counter boy was getting our beer!"
"You LIFTED them? As in 'stole' them? That wasn't cool! That's shoplifting! Besides, you don't smoke!" Damon complained. "...and girls shouldn't smoke anyway!"
"What are you...like...some kinda goody goody geek? Sheeesh! It's just a pack of cigarettes!" Maggie said as she opened her beer "Ya don't know what you're missing!"
"Ummmm I'll have one when we get home.... We're almost there." he answered as he hoped Maggie didn't get them in trouble before they got there!
Maggie lit her cigarette and took a long drag. She immediately erupted into coughing and gagging. "YECH... These things, like, SUCK!". The cigarette along with the whole package soon went out the window. "How do people smoke that stuff?"
Damon quizzed the girl as he shook his head "You stole 'em and don't even like 'em?"
"Yeah... big deal... it's not like I woulda wanted to PAY for 'em! Yech!" she answered as her breathing returned to normal.
----
Thankfully Damon got them home safely. Maggie had already finished one beer and was working on another. "Here..." she said as she handed him one "You gotta catch up!"
He reluctantly took the beer and went inside. Any other time he would've loved to sneak a beer with his pals but this wasn't right! She sat on the porch staring at the stars and thinking about her future. A couple of beers later she staggered into the house to see Damon still working on his first one.
"You're..... slow..... here's another...." she slurred as she flopped down on the couch and kicked off her shoes.
"I'm not in much of a drinking mood..." he replied.
She giggled and hiccupped... then giggled some more.
"You're gettin' drunk!" Damon told her.
"Yeah..... tehehehehehehehehe....I wanna dance!" she slurred as she got up and turned on the stereo. Most of her presets were 'boring' but she finally diald in a hip hop song that she could dance to. After making herself dizzy she finally made her way back to the couch and fell into it. She opened another beer.
"Mom?" Damon asked.
"Ummm 'Maggie'...OK?" she corrected.
"Oh yeah.... sorry... I forgot... Maggie.... You're not acting very mature...." he said.
"Am too! I'm just havin' fun! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" she exclaimed as she stood up and tipsily spun around on one foot for no obvious reason and then fell dizzily back onto the couch. A new song came on the radio. "C'mon and dance with me" she said as she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him off the couch.
"No..... I'm tired...." he grumbled. After some grumbling she gave in and sat back down and began more drinking and babbling. "You're... 'hic' ....kinda boring.... 'hic' tonight!" she mumbled after a while as she noticed Damon not paying much attention to her or wanting to 'party'. Time crept by slowly but finally she slowed and began not to look well. In a short while she was out for the night!
"Thank God!" Damon whispered seeing that she'd finally gotten quiet. He put her legs up on the couch and got her a blanket. It had been a strange day and he had school the next day. He was ready for bed himself.
He wondered if it could get any worse and realized Halloween wasn't for another hour. He set his alarm clock and hoped things would turn out better in the morning
Part 4
Halloween morning arrived and Damon groggily came to life. He wondered if everything had been some sort of bad dream. He heard water running in the bathroom. Maybe everything was back to normal? He got up and moved into the hall. As he did the door opened and teenaged Maggie stood there in her robe. Even though she had obviously showered she didn't look very 'fresh'.
"Geezzzzzzzzz..... my head.... " she complained.
"Yeah, you drank too much!" Damon told her.
"Yeah... well.... party til ya puke.... no pain no gain!" she said half heartedly.
"Whatever you say.... I gotta get ready for school. PROMISE me you'll stay here and not get in any trouble today! I'll take the car to school and I'll leave early to come back and get you and we'll go looking for the witch." he explained.
"Wellll... like, I was thinking.... maybe I could stay this way?" Maggie said as she nervously twisted a few strands of wet hair together "Would it be so bad?"
"You're not thinking right" he replied "Just stay here and we can talk about it when I get home this afternoon." Damon didn't want to discuss it right now although he knew the answer! NO WAY! His nerves couldn't handle much more.
Damon quickly showered and got ready for school.
"Ummmmm maybe I could, like, go with you?" Maggie offered as Damon was about ready to leave.
"Huh????" he asked with surprise.
"Maybe we could say I was your cousin... or your sister and I could go to?" she suggested.
"Uhhh... no... uhhh... that's a bad idea... plus new kids just can't show up for school these days. There's security and stuff!" he answered after some thought for a believable excuse.
"Oh...OK...." she answered with obvious disappointment.
He left on his way to school and Maggie turned on the TV. Maggie hugged her pillow and flipped thru the channels on the remote.
Damon couldn't concentrate on his studies for worrying about what Maggie might be up to. She gave up on the TV as too boring. MTV was fun for a while but she grew tired of that channel also. Her hangover subsided and she had all kinds of energy and nothing to do with it! She got out her jogging outfit, which didn't fit too well anymore, and decided to take her regular morning jog. It was a breeze and she finished faster than ever. She did her nails and tried different hair styles...up and down.... anything to kill some time. She couldn't believe how boring this place was in the mornings. She remembered how she used to like the morning quiet time but she didn't know why now... it was B O R I N G! She tried on her old wardrobe and made fun of almost everything. Shoes were too big and ugly.... dresses were 'boring' and baggy.... everything was 'blah'. She couldn't believe she actually owned any of that stuff. She grabbed a large box and quickly filled it with all that 'ugly stuff' and dragged it to the garage to be thrown out. She cut a pair of Damon's old jeans into floppy cut-offs and grabbed one of the new tops that she had bought in her shopping spree at the mall and went out back to lounge around and kill more time. A neighbor saw her and struck up a conversation. She made up a story about being Margaret's daughter that she had put up for adoption. The woman was surprised to hear that Margaret had such a past and Maggie continued the ruse. Maggie kept up the story until she got bored with it and excused herself and went back inside.
After what seemed like an eternity to both of them Damon finally arrived home to get her. She was pretty excited to see him and have someone 'her own age' to talk to.
"Do we hafta?" she said as Damon asked her to get in the car.
"YES... C'mon... We don't want to miss her... if she's even there... " he implored.
"Maybe she won't, like, be there?" Maggie replied sounding hopeful.
"We gotta try!" Damon answered and Maggie reluctantly followed. She was quiet on the trip and looked lost in thought. They arrived and she didn't want to go in. Damon had to coax her out of the car. Only a day before and it was she that had to coax HIM out of the car and into the drugstore!
Damon was pretty anxious and confident that they'd find the older lady back in the store. His eyes darted around the store hoping for a glimpse of her. She just HAD to be there he thought!
"Excuse me... can I help you find something?" A young female employee asked.
Maggie quickly sized her up. She was dark complected and trim. A few years older than Maggie but not so much older that she might not be competition... at least in Maggie's mind! Maggie stayed silent.
"Ummm wellll.. There was an older woman working yesterday... or maybe she was just here but she had her uniform thing on like you do" Damon said.
"Oh... you mean my smock?" the salesgirl asked as she tugged on the smock.
"Yeah.... that's it..." Damon replied hoping the cute girl had more info.
"I don't know..." the girl said and then grinned unable to contain something "Soooooooo Maggie... how does it feel to be a teen again?"
Maggie's expresssion changed, as did Damons. How did this salesgirl know that?
"You don't think a witch like me would want to be all old like that all the time do ya?" she asked. "Why not use some of my powers on myself?"
"I never thought about that! That's cool I guess. Well, anyway, mom wants to be herself again. You said she could" Damon told the young witch.
"Oh? Darn... she seems so happy being a teenager again" the witch stated as she observed young Maggie's and her choice of clothing, nail polish, hair, body language, and even her attitude.
"Yeah... like, that's what I was telling Damon.... But he keeps, like, all insisting and stuff..." Maggie finally said.
"She didn't want to be a teenager yesterday at first but then her personality kept changing" Damon explained "and she's just not thinking straight"
"I see... well... it's up to her..." the witch replied sounding disappointed "but she's seems fine to me"
"Maybe I could be, like, your cousin or your sister even?" Maggie offered.
"No...you're my mom. I liked you the way you were." Damon replied.
Maggie looked down in disappointment. "But we could hang togther and stuff" she said still hopeful to change Damon's mind.
"Nuh huh... You can't be a kid and be my mom!" Damon told her sternly.
Even with the total loss of her adult maturity she knew that what Damon was saying was true. She couldn't be a kid AND be his mom.
"~OK~" she replied hesitantly.
The young witch retrieved the the magical jewel from her pocket. "Ok.... just touch the stone and tell it what you want" she directed with some of her own disappointment. She'd hoped for more than a temporary change in their normality.
Maggie tried to think of something to convince herself that she could still be a kid and yet be a proper mother but she couldn't convince herself. The memory of being a mother was too much to ignore. She reached out to touch the stone.
"I'm glad this is about all over" Damon said.
"Me too..." Maggie said and then put her finger on the jewel that the witch was offering. Just as she touched it she smiled "I wanna forget all about being a mother so I can just be a kid!" she said confidently.
The jewel stung her finger and she dropped to the floor.
"NO!" Damon yelled.
The young witch laughed a laugh that turned into a cackle. "Perfect! That's even better!"
"No it's not!" Damon complained.
"This is TOO good! So funny!" the witch said between laughs "You know she'll probably have a 'thing' for you now?"
"What????" Damon asked as his eyes looked as if they'd pop out of their sockets.
"I'm sure she felt all jealous and protetive of you before.... and now she doesn't know she's your mother... this is too good!" the witch explained as her excitement grew.
"You're getting into this? You WANTED this to happen?" Damon asked the witch.
"Oh, I didn't much care exactly WHAT happened past messing up some lives on Halloween!" She replied. "It's what I live for... 'Trick AND treat' I guess you could say".
Damon was shocked.
"Damon... what happened?" Maggie asked softly as she stood up and took his hand and squeezed it tightly.
He pulled his hand away.
"Whatsa matter?" a confused Maggie asked Damon as she again tried to get close to him and put her arm around his waist.
The witch laughed hard at Damon's uncomfortableness.
"Mo.... errrrr Maggie.... she tricked you" Damon said.
"Trick?" the witch balked "I didn't trick her!"
"How?" Maggie asked Damon siding with him.
"She took away your maturity with that spell!" he told her
"I am to mature!" Maggie argued.
"Not like you were..... besides don't you want to be mature?" he asked her.
"Yeah... I guess so.... but I AM mature!" she maintained.
"Not like you should be!" Damon told her. He knew telling her that she is really his mother would cause her to think he's crazy. After all, here she was looking like a 16 year old girl, dressing like a 16 year old girl, acting like a 16 year girl, and with the maturity of a 16 year old girl and so there was now way she'd believe she was really his mother. On the other hand if he could get her to at least think she'd lost maturity then maybe she'd want that back!
"Is that what happened just now? I lost maturity? Ewwwwwwwwww...." Maggie exclaimed.
"Hey... "complained the witch "I only said she could change back... I don't have to let her do other things!"
"It's all in the wording, right? If she asks to change back you said she could!" Damon argued.
"I guess..... I said I would and a witch keeps her word.... BUT she doesn't want to change back" the witch said worrying that her Halloween fun might be coming to an end. Maggie was naive enough to do Damon's bidding now.
"Maggie... you want your maturity back dontcha?" Damon asked.
"Yeah" she replied with wide eyes. "Of course"
"Well... ummm just use the jewel thing and ask to be like you were before." Damon explained "That'll get your maturity back"
The witch's expression didn't change.
"Is this, like, what ~you~ want?" Maggie sweetly asked Damon as she squeezed on his waist.
He shook his head 'yes' and Maggie slowly reached out and touched the jewel.
"I wanna, like, go back to how I was" she said. Again the jewel stung her as its power went to work. She caught heself against the shelf behind her.
"Whoa.... " was all she could say for a while. The witch's expression didn't change. Damon waited for a sign. Maggie still looked like a teen.
"I'm..... I'm still a teenager?" Maggie finally said as she examined herself.
"The physical changes take longer" the witch told her "But I see you're mind is back"
"Yeah... most of it anyway... it's all kind of fuzzy" Maggie explained "What the hell did you think you were doing to me you fu...."
"MOM!" Damon yelled "Leave well enough alone! Let's go before she tricks you again!"
"Tricks? I don't trick anyone!" The witch replied and turned around hiding a grin.
"This is crazy" Maggie said and realized Damon was right "I just want to grow up again REALLY fast!"
They both made a beeline for the car. Once again Maggie deferred driving to Damon.
The events of the past few hours came rushing back. "Damon.... Ummmm I know I told you to call me Maggie but I think 'mom' is more appropriate."
Standing on the street corner up ahead was Joleen. More embarrassment washed over Maggie as she thought about their earlier run in. She turned her eyes and slid down in the seat hoping to avoid any eye contact.
Joleen yelled as she saw her 'rival' in the car "CUNT!" . Maggie ignored it. Joleen was just a kid she didn't know any better she figured.
"Mom? Are you getting older yet?" Damon asked.
"I feel a little funny and things are coming back to me. I think I am. Ummmm....Damon... Ummm I'm sorry... I guess I was really a handful... I guess being a teen isn't so easy... I knew that... but it's easy to just want to try and give you that knowledge without explaining how I ~do~ understand. I guess I wasn't as perfect or all together as I tried to make you think..." Margaret explained as she felt more adult. She also felt VERY embarrassed as each scene of her actions crossed her mind.
"Don't worry about it, mom. It was all pretty freaky and not your fault." Damon said "Just forget it... I know I am!"
"I'm gonna try, too. Thanks for understanding." she said with a relieved sigh.
------
"What do you want for dinner?" Margaret asked as they returned home.
"Maybe we should have a pizza delivered?" Damon offered.
"Noooo I want adult food and I want to cook it like an adult!" Margaret said.
"But you like Pizza....???" Damon said.
"I know.... but right now, contrary to looks, I want to separate myself from anything even remotely 'teenage'!" she answered with a laugh. "We might have to have broccoli!"
They both laughed and Margaret headed for the kitchen. "I'll think of something!" she said.
She began grabbing ingredients and bowls to make a macaroni caserole. She put some chicken in the microwave to thaw. She could feel her skin tingling and was glad to be getting older and leaving teendom behind for the second time in her life. As she stood on her tip-toes to reach the upper shelves she noticed her tennis shoes beginning to slip. She ended up kicking them off figuring that they must've stretched. She continued on with her cooking. She caught herself tugging on the shorts that she had made from Damon's old jeans. That's when she realized that she didn't want to end up 39 years old dressed like a teenage girl. The shorts were already getting to be ill-fitting and she didn't want to see her waist drooping over the waist band of the shorts or see her 39 year old belly exposed by the short little top she was wearing.
She quickly headed to her room for a change of clothing. That's when she remembered she'd thrown most everything out. The closet was bare! She remembered that she had a T-shirt and sweat pants in the hamper so she grabbed those. It was surprising how droopy the cut-offs were. She figured they'd be getting tight fairly soon. Shrugging, she kicked them into the hamper and slid on her sweats and T-shirt and went back to the kitchen.
She pulled the chicken out of the microwave and washed the bowl that they had been in. She then went to put the bowl back on the upper shelf. She stood on her tip-toes but couldn't reach the shelf this time. She got worried for a second but then remembered that she'd had on her tennis shoes earlier but now she was barefoot.... That's the difference, she thought, I could barely reach it before with shoes! She pulled the drawstring on her sweats and padded back to the stove to tend to her cooking.
"MOM?!" Damon shouted as he entered the kitchen.
"What?" she replied and then grabbed her throat "My voice!???"
"You're not getting older... you're getting YOUNGER!!" he replied. "How?"
Magaret looked down at the floor. The bottom of her sweat pants were bunching up around her toes. She pulled them up and also again tightened the drawstring. "Noooooooooooooo" she cried "I'm younger!"
Margaret was now maybe 14! The tingling hadn't been her getting older but rather her getting younger! "We have to do something... I still feel it working!"
"But how... you asked to get older?" Damon said as he tried to remember.
"Yeah... exactly" she said in her higher more girlish sounding voice.
"Is ummmm everything else OK? You're not turning into a kid in your head and stuff are you?" Damon asked worriedly.
"No... I don't think so... I was just doing what I intended... cooking... I feel like an adult! We have to do something! We have to go back!" she said frantically.
"Wait... Slow down... we don't want to be tricked... How come this is happening? What did you do wrong?" Damon said as he thought aloud.
"I just said I want to be older again or something like that!" she said with her voice sounding even higher as she tugged on the loosening sweat pants.
"No... you said.... hmmmmm 'I want to... I want to go back how I was'. That's it! That's what you said... but what's wrong with that?" Damon said dejectedly.
"I don't know but I'm getting younger still!" Margaret told him.
"I want to go back how I was...???" Damon repeated aloud trying to figure out how the witch had tricked them. Finally his eyes took on a worried look!
"What? What is it?" Margart asked as she let her oversized sweatpants finally fall to the floor allowing her now large T-Shirt to cover her just fine. "Tell me?"
"Mom" he asked nervously "if you went back to like you ~were~ how would you be?"
"An adult!?" she quickly replied.
"Think..... think it through slowly "If you went back to how you ~were~ what if that spell took it a little more literally?" he asked.
"I don't follow.....?" she said as she frustratingly kicked the sweatpants away "We've got to do something! Spit it out!"
"Ummmm At one time... You uhhhh ~were~ a baby. A newborn!" he told her.
"Oh... oh..... nooooooo No NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed.
She pulled on the collar of her T-shirt and looked down inside. "I'm 13..." she said as she looked back up "We have to find her again!"
"Yeah... but we have to be careful with what you say.... You probably need to say -I want to be my adult self again- That seems pretty safe doesn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah... Ummmm yeah... I guess.... I don't want to be a little girl... OR a baby! Grab the keys and let's go!" 13 year old Margaret ordered.
Damon looked on the counter. The keys weren't there! He looked on the floor and didn't see them.
"Damon... you haven't lost the KEYS!? Tell me you haven't lost the keys!" she pleaded.
"Uhhh Didn't I give them to you?" he asked.
"Shit... no.... maybe you left them in the car? Damon... Noooooooooooooooo" she whined.
The two ran to the car where the keys were still in the ignition. "Thank God!" Margaret said as she saw them there. "Drive!"
She ran to the passenger side and sat down. The first thing she noticed was that the dash looked taller. As a matter of fact the whole car looked bigger. Damon pulled out into the street and aimed the car in the direction of the drugstore
Continued in Part 5...