(NOTE: Revised for typos and clarity)
Retrofocus (part 3)
by Sumner
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Double Exposure
In the doorway stood a boy at least twelve years old. Nearly naked, except for random bits of clothing he held strategically over his privates, Kevin was no longer the plump little ball of energy he’d been only fifteen minutes before. Though still naturally chunky, the sixth-grader had all but lost his bunched up baby face. And his voice had deepened considerably.
”My clothes got small,” Kevin announced almost matter-of-factly.
Taylor’s mouth hung open as he watched Laura approach the overgrown kindergartener. The complications mounted yet again.
Great.
”Kevin, what happened to you?” Laura asked.
”I was watching toons and I got too big for my clothes,” the scantily-clad boy replied.
Laura already had the mystery figured out when she again perused the picture she had taken of herself earlier. As suspected, a barely visible blob in the background turned out to be none other than Kevin, candy bar in hand, just starting to make his way up the stairs.
Damn it, Laura thought.
One more hold up. Still, half-naked twelve-year-old standing in the dining room notwithstanding, her plan had hardly unraveled. Taylor and Sydney’s regression was complete – that got them out of the way. Neither of them would even pass for first-graders now.
Kevin pointed toward the living room. “Hey, they’re little kids,” he informed Laura.
”Yes, I know,” Laura said, wondering how best to handle the developing situation.
”But I thought—“
”Kevin, why don’t you go say hi to your cousin Cassenia over there,” she said, ushering the grown-up Kevin toward the table. “I want to take a picture of you two.”
”No you don’t!” Cassenia said, standing up. “I’m not sposed to be any littler!”
In a turn of events Laura should have seen coming, Kevin seized the camera and yanked it away from the distracted teen.
”Betcha can’t catch me!” the playful boy shouted, suddenly abandoning any shred of his prior modesty. Something about Kevin’s mature appearance had fooled Laura into thinking he may have actually “grown up,” though mentally he remained a lad of six. Kevin didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned about his nakedness; he’d found a playmate and the race was on. In the hierarchy of his young mind, a round of tag far outweighed any problems at hand.
”Kev, it’s not playtime, OK?” Laura insisted. “Cousin Laura needs to have that back. It’s very important.”
But the spirited youngster would have none of it. Pursing his lips together, Kevin produced a sloppy fart noise and continued toying with his ever more irritated cousin. “If you want it back, you hafta come get me!”
”Kevin, I’m not going to chase you. Just give the camera back and I’ll make you the right size again, all right? Doesn’t that sound fun?” Laura said, inching closer and closer. Distracted by the troublemaker’s lack of dress, she had to work at turning her attention toward regaining the coveted camera. Nudity, however inappropriate, had to take a backseat. She couldn’t afford for double-aged Kevin to pull off a snap – or god forbid, two snaps – and send her back to preschool. With the camera still set to regress, she could only imagine what havoc Kevin might wreak if left unchecked.
”Pffffffft,” the energetic boy returned. Laura took that as a no.
”Kev… KEVIN!” she yelled, watching the boy do an about face and scramble up the stairs. “Come back down here right now!”
Muffled laughter was the only response.
”Shit,” Laura muttered, reluctantly following the eager agitator. “This is the last thing I need…”
Midway up the stairs, Laura halted in her tracks.
Is he smart enough to stage an ambush? she wondered.
Nah, he doesn’t even know how the thing works. The teenager continued cautiously. At the top, she found an empty room with Looney Toons still blaring from TV, some chips scattered on the coffee table, and a crumpled heap of little pants and Batman underwear – undoubtedly Kevin’s old wardrobe. After a while, it became clear the little monster was hiding, so Laura decided it best to play along.
”Ohhh, Kevin… come out, come out, wherever you are…”
Still nothing.
”The big, bad wolf is coming… and he’s gonna getcha!...” the half-spooked teen sang. “He knows you’re hiding in here somewhere… and you’ve got to come out some time…”
”Bang! Bang!” Kevin blasted away from behind the sofa. Though still holding the camera, he seemed to be ignoring it in favor of an old-fashioned game of shoot-em-up complete with invisible guns.
”Pow!” Laura fired back, holding her finger like a pistol. “Pow! Pow!”
--------------
Downstairs, Taylor and Sydney exchanged timid glances. The camera’s effect had deprived them of the majority of their years, leaving them so small they hardly recognized one another. With enormous shirts draped over their tiny frames, the compact couple had grown so young that even Cassenia had to bow her head to view them. The change was so dramatic, in fact, that neither one moved a muscle for several minutes.
”Boy, she made you guys little,” Cassenia said, standing authoritatively over the twosome.
”Thanks for the newsflash,” Sydney sneered.
”Oh my god, your voice! You’re like a toddler!” Cassenia bellowed.
”I am
not a toddler,” the red-faced child answered.
”She’s not far off, Syd. Look at yourself,” Taylor said. “We can’t be more than five years old. The camera reduced our ages by half twice. One more time and—“
”Don’t even go there,” Sydney snapped. “I don’t want to think about getting any younger. This is enough of a nightmare already. Oh, and remind me to kill your little sister when we grow back up.”
”I’m not even sure how long the effects last – or even if they are permanent if left alone.”
”You mean she could keep us like this? What if she leaves with the camera, huh? Or breaks it! Then you have to order a new one? That could take months!”
”Sucks for you guys,” Cassenia chuckled.
”Ha ha ha,” Sydney mocked the ten-year-old. “If I ever get a hold of that thing, I’m gonna turn Laura into a newborn. Keep it up, Cassenia, and I’ll make sure you’re second on the list.”
”Ooh, I’m so scared,” Cassenia replied. “You can’t even reach the kitchen counter now I bet.” She stuck her tongue out.
Sydney reciprocated, poking her tongue out even farther.
”Hey, hey!” Taylor hollered. “Syd, look at what you’re doing! Remember you’re eighteen, all right?”
”She started it!” Sydney griped.
”Did not!” Cassenia said, flicking little girl’s ear. “Besides I’m older now, so I get to make the rules.”
”No, you don’t. Now, Cass—“ Taylor interrupted.
”That sounds funny coming from a little boy,” Cassenia teased. Taylor’s squeaky voice got her imagination flowing again. “Hey, maybe you’ll go to the same school as me! And I can show around where all the big kids go… of course, you’ll be in a lower class and stuff. The fourth-graders don’t really hang around with the kindergarteners, but I might see you on the playground sometimes…”
”We’re not going back to grade school,” Taylor assured her.
”That would be like so weird, me being all grown up and you stuck in kindergarten.”
Taylor kept cool and composed, sucking all the swirling emotions inside. He knew if he kept it together this whole thing would end a lot faster and Cassenia would stop her litany of hypotheticals that much sooner. With that thought in mind, he wrestled all the unnecessary clothes from his shrunken body and, with only one extra-extra large shirt covering his bits and pieces, tottered toward the dining room table.
”Hey, where ya goin’?” Cassenia asked, watching the little man wobble like an elf across the living room.
”None of your business,” Taylor said, finally approaching the table. As one might expect, everything had increased in size since his last visit. His head just barely cleared the top of the table now – further driving home the disquieting reality that he was not only five now, but a short five. Luckily, the target of his attentions sat on the edge, saving him the humiliation of having to climb onto a chair to reach it. So he gingerly slid the cardboard box toward him, but his caution did nothing to stop the thing from tumbling off the edge and sending what seemed like millions of Styrofoam peanuts onto the floor.
”Way to go, Shaq,” Cassenia jeered. “Now you’ve gotta clean all that up too.”
But Taylor was too busy digging through the mountains of packing foam to hear her. After a quick search, he unearthed a set of instructions from the white mess. He didn’t know exactly what to do with the mostly German booklet, but still, it might come in handy to know a trick or two Laura had been too hasty to learn.
”What are you going to do?” Sydney asked mournfully, as if she had already given up. Taylor swore he saw her lower lip jut out like a brokenhearted child coming home toy-less from Toys R Us.
”I’m not sure yet.”
”Wet your pants? Suck your thumb?” Cassenia suggested, quite enjoying her new status as official jokester.
”Shut up,” Sydney barked, then muttered under her breath, “I can’t believe I’m arguing with a ten-year-old.” Underneath her massive top she felt a tickle as her bra finally slinked past her waist, down her bare legs, and onto the floor. Something told her that morning it was a bad idea to go strapless.
Boy, this day couldn’t get any better, the college-freshmen-cum-pre-schooler thought.
”Having some trouble?” Cassenia asked, grinning like a comedian who just spotted a bald guy in the audience. “Doesn’t look like your bra fits too well.”
”At least I need a bra,” Sydney countered.
”Not anymore,” Cassenia corrected her. “We need to get you something to wear.”
”No, it’s fine.”
”Doesn’t look fine. Hey, some of Kevin’s clothes are in the den. Want me to go find them? I bet you’d look really cute.”
”Not really.”
”You don’t want to walk around looking that…” Cassenia advised, marching off to the din. “Hope you don’t mind Power Rangers.”
”I don’t want to walk around at all,” Sydney pouted. “And yes, I
mind Power Rangers.”
Meanwhile, Taylor discovered another box hidden among the Styrofoam. Examining the black, nondescript thing, he had a hunch – and opening the box confirmed it. A replacement role of film spilled out. Analyzing the set, he counted 15 blank pictures.
At least I know Laura will run out, Taylor thought,
and when she does, she’s gonna need these.
----------------
”Oh, you got me!” Laura gasped, clutching her stomach. Falling to the floor, the clever teenager launched into a hammy death scene. Kevin seemed pleased, as Laura appeared to be enjoying the game so much. So involved was Kevin that he had nearly forgotten about his body. And Laura found it difficult to concentrate on stealing the camera when she was confronted with the disconcerting scene – a lumbering, unclothed sixth-grader with a mighty case of Attention Deficit Disorder.
With Laura cornered and on the ground, Kevin stampeded toward her with an exaggerated smile. The camera, which he held by the strap, absorbed a couple of mean blows on the way. Laura cringed.
”Wanna play again?” he asked, out of breath.
”No, that’s enough for now. You killed me good that time,” Laura panted.
Kevin’s eyes lit up, as if he had only now remembered what dangled from his right hand. “Hey! I’ve got an idea.”
”What is that?” the exhausted teen replied.
”I can make you little with the camera and then you can be a kid, so we can—“
”No, no, Kevin! Not a good idea.”
”Awww, why not?”
”I’m not supposed to be young. I’m older, OK? I have to go to big girl school.”
”But it’ll be more fun. And we can run around and you don’t have to worry about school—“
Rethinking her plan, Laura suddenly rerouted the conversation. “Hey, Kevin, come to think of it, you’re right!”
”Really? Then you want me to take your picture so you can be a kid like me?”
”Yeah, I think it would be fun to be little. But you know what – if both of us want to play, we should both be kids, all right?”
The boy’s eyebrows lifted in confusion for a moment. “But I am a kid.”
”No, you’re not. Look at yourself,” Laura reminded. “Right now, you’re a big boy too.”
Kevin examined himself again, as Laura marveled at how someone could forget he had just doubled in age, height, and weight in the last fifteen minutes.
”I’ll tell you what,” Laura propositioned. “You give me the camera and I’ll take a picture of you, so you can go back to normal. Then you can take a picture of me.”
”Will it make you little?”
”Yes.”
”How little?”
”I’ll be eight years old,” Laura said, putting on as cheerful a face as she knew how, though the notion of becoming eight again made her recoil inside.
”But I’m six years old. Sure you’ll still wanna play with me?”
”Of course I will, Kevin. It’ll just take a second…” Laura said, slowly reaching for the camera. “You won’t even feel it.”
”Well… OK,” the boy said, halfhearted giving up the device.
Success, Laura thought, as she gripped the sought-after gadget. A surge of relief swept over her as Kevin relinquished the camera and she prepared to send the meddlesome boy back down to his natural age. Without hesitation or checking the settings, she pointed the camera at Kevin – who still looked somewhat unsure of the plan – and clicked the button. The shutter opened and a brilliant flash lit up the pale twelve-year-old. Kevin immediately started rubbing his eyes.
”Little colorful thingies,” the boy complained.
”That’s normal, Kevin. They’ll go away in a minute or two,” Laura explained, wiping the beads of perspiration off her forehead.
Finally, that’s over with, she thought,
and he can put his clothes back on. Laura had seen far too much of her cousin’s anatomy that afternoon – an episode made all the more problematic by the boy’s startling lack of shyness. But soon, that would be over and Kevin would return to his decidedly more cherubic kindergartener appearance.
”OK, now it’s your turn, Lau—“
The doorbell mercifully interrupted.
”I have to see who’s at the door, OK? You stay up here,” Laura instructed, pulling herself up from the floor.
Racing down the stairs, Laura prayed the bell-ringers were not her parents. By the looks of it, she was safe. Through the living room window, she made out her best friend Katie and her perennial beau Randy, plus a gathering of other girls she didn’t know. Hastily fixing her hair, Laura swung the door open and greeted the visitors with as natural a smile as she could muster.
”Hey guys,” she said, “what’s up?”
”Hey Laura. We were just in the neighborhood, you know. Wondered if you wanted to go over to Sasha’s. She’s having a pool party – no biggie, but we thought you might like to go.”
”Sure, errr…” Laura said, peeking back into the dining room. Cassenia and the others were peering around the corner, a sight that unnerved the already jumpy teenager. “I don’t know if I should—“
”Bobby Meyers will be there,” Katie said, winking.
”Well, in that case—“ Laura reconsidered.
Just then, the official family cell phone on the coffee table started buzzing a midi version of “Young Americans” and Cassenia darted into the room.
”No, I’ll get it!” Laura screamed, lunging for the phone and swiping just out from under Cassenia. “Hello?”
”Oh, Laura, it’s Mom and Dad. We got stuck with car trouble on 61. Calling from a pay phone. We just wanted to let you know we might be a little later than expected,” Julie said. “Is everything all right?”
”Oh… yeah… everything is great,” Laura said, rather unconvincingly.
”Mom! Mom! Is that Mom?” Cassenia shouted in the background while Laura tried her best to pry the ten-year-old away from the phone.
”Is that Cassenia?” Julie asked.
”Mom, Laura made Taylor little and she’s—“ Cassenia continued.
”Yeah, yeah, she’s just playing a game with Kevin…”
”Are you sure everything’s cool? It sounds like something’s going on…”
”No, it’s nothing. We’re all fine… Cassenia’s just… being a brat.”
”Well, be nice to her. You know how she gets worked up about things. Remember you were her age not too long ago.”
”I know, Mom,” Laura said sweetly, ignoring the irony of her mother’s last comment.
”Just do me a favor and tell everybody we’ll be home once Triple A shows up, all right?”
”Sure, Mom. Will do.”
”Bye, honey.”
”Bye.” Laura flipped the phone up.
Furious, Cassenia let out a growl. “You can’t just leave! If you don’t fix everything, Mom and Dad are gonna ground you for like a year!”
”Well, I figure I’ve got punishment coming to me anyway, so why not have fun with it while I have the chance,” Laura explained with a snide air about her.
Clearing her throat suggestively, Katie asked, “What are you guys talking about?”
”Oh, it’s nothing – just a little game Cassenia and me like to play.”
Katie, an intelligent, attractive brunette with a penchant for low-riders, seemed confused by the scene playing out in front of her. The situation grew even stranger when an angry young girl wearing nothing but an oversized shirt waddled into the living room behind Cassenia. Taylor had elected to stay behind for fear that a confrontation would further complicate matters.
”Who is this?” Katie asked, observing the curious sight.
”Oh, this… this is Sydney, another one of my cousins. We keep her sometimes, you know, when her parents are away.” Laura tossed off another lie, which Katie bought like it was on sale at the Gap. “Isn’t she the sweetest thing? Loves wearing adult shirts for some reason—“
”Don’t you dare go!” the little cupcake ordered.
”Wow, what a bossy one…” Katie noted. “Looks like she has a bone to pick.”
”No, sweetie, Laura has to go, OK?” Laura patronized the four-year-old. “But I’ll be back soon.”
”No!” the defiant child demanded. “This isn’t fair!”
”Ohhhhhh,” Laura feigned revelation, “I think I know what she wants.”
”What?”
”Well, I had been showing the kids this new camera I got today, and they really wanted to have their pictures taken,” Laura said, holding the viewfinder up to her eye and resetting the camera. “Say Sydney’s-a-big-girl!” The flash caught Sydney and Cassenia off guard – neither one expected Laura would be so brazen as to operate the device in front of her friends. But if it’s one thing the day had taught them, it was not to trust anyone holding the camera.
”Toodles,” Laura said, waving goodbye to the children and throwing the freshly-made print onto the coffee table. The door slammed behind her.
”Oh no, what did she do?” Cassenia said, sprinting toward the table and snatching the picture. Everything hinged upon the camera’s setting, but either way, they would soon know whether or not they were headed toward puberty or still farther away. Taylor, hearing the commotion, emerged from his hiding spot with some trepidation. He could feel the tension the moment he stepped foot in the room. Cassenia and Sydney were huddled over yet another hazy picture as they waited restlessly for the image to take shape.
”Taylor, she did it again!” Sydney cried.
”Do we look younger?” Cassenia begged. “Please say we don’t look younger.”
Taylor couldn’t tell, but he knew neither of them appeared any older. As the minutes wore on, the effects became evident and it became official; the two were plunging deeper into their youth. Cassenia’s transformation proved the most conspicuous, as she stood to lose more years than Sydney. As the changes began to manifest, Cassenia broke down into tears – this marking her first trip back to younger days. She would soon be no more than five, an age that seemed awfully immature even though she was only ten to begin with.
Meanwhile, Sydney found herself retreating to babyhood. Her shirt balanced precariously soon tumbled to the floor as the neckhole exceeded the size of her shoulders and waist. Taylor watched as his girlfriend’s tummy bulged further and further until it became the portly, rounded torso of a toddler. Capping it off, her nipples were reduced to two nearly invisible pink dots on her chest. Baby fat accumulating rapidly, Sydney retained only a faint suggestion of her former self. By transformation’s end, the sorority girl was left a meager two-year-old, sitting helplessly on her tush in the middle of the living room.
Cassenia, now roughly Taylor’s height, burst into a fit, all the while repeating, “But I don’t wanna… I don’t wanna…”
Before Taylor could even begin to comfort baby Sydney, he heard overly-loud footsteps. Turning toward the stairs, he found another surprise was in store for them.
A man, easily in his early twenties and holding his hands over his privates, entered the living room warily. Even Sydney, still reeling from the trauma, sensed his presence and craned her head to see who had arrived. Dumbfounded, Taylor was at a loss for words. It took several seconds for the realization to set in.
It had to be a mistake, he thought.
Why would Laura do this? What had gotten into her? Then the tall, surprisingly handsome man spoke in his new baritone voice.
”I got really big this time.”