Games of the Children

Brandi Nicole

  

Finale

  

Brad's flight back to the sane world of the Porter's front porch was instantly shot down, much to his horror. Walking up the driveway toward him were two very pretty girls, one of them being Sarah Little. The other was not immediately recognized, but between the sick suspicion and the sisterly resemblance, he knew the other was his friend and teammate Craig. Assuming that Craig's age was unchanged at thirteen, Brad could see that this teenage girl before him was well on her way to young womanhood. She had straight silky brown hair down to her shoulder blades and filled out her denim miniskirt and red sleeveless summer sweater as only a teen girl can. And she was apparently unabashed at the two inches of smooth belly that her sweater revealed. And she was smiling at Brad.

"Hey there Brad," she sang out sweetly, "Were you getting a math lesson from Jenna?"

Brad shook himself out of shock, an occurrence that was becoming too frequent. "Umm, No," He stammered, "I was here for…" He couldn't find any words! Daniel's transformation had horrified him, but standing before this new incarnation of Craig, he couldn't think straight. He felt his face burning red.

Sarah giggled. "I think he was just here to see Jenna in her uniform. Brad! Do you have a crush on Jenna?" Both girls burst into a giggling fit.

Brad felt small and out of his element now. "No! I mean… Ummm, I really have to go…I'll see you guys later…" He began to make his retreat.

Sarah grinned at the effect she and Craig were having on the younger boy. "Okay Brad! Be good…" Sarah grabbed Craig's slender hand. "C'mon, Kelli! Jenna's waiting for us!"

Brad almost tripped on the flat sidewalk. Kelli? Craig was now Kelli? Brad plodded home, his stomach feeling deflated by an unimaginable loss.

 

Brad's night was a slow dreary burden. His parents noticed that something was wrong with their son and tried to cheer him up, but he didn't seem interested in cheering up. So they left him alone, trusting their son to come to them for help when he was ready, as he always did. Brad recognized this tradition and was appreciative. He was almost able to smile as he thought how lucky he was to have a family that knew when to help and when to give him space. He comforted himself by telling himself how lucky he was to at least have a loving family. With that thought he was at least able to drift into an uneasy sleep.

 

Brad awoke the next morning and went through his preparation for school on autopilot. He began to realize that it was getting unbearable to live each day in dread and he knew that he would have to do something to get his life back in order. Under his mother's watchful eye, he munched joylessly on his breakfast before trudging out the front door and down the sidewalk toward school.

After a couple of hours at school, Brad realized how much his life was impacted by the loss of his three friends. Daniel, now Britney, was now a year too young for his middle school and was nowhere to be found. And now there wasn't even a partially feminized Craig to be found, since the fully female Kelli had apparently not been held back a year and was now in the eighth grade with most of the other 13 year olds. She was still in the same middle school this year, but next year would move to the high school building with the new freshman class. Brad saw her from a distance occasionally with the other middle school cheerleaders, but was not sure that he even wanted to see Kelli, as she reminded him of his loss with the impact of a sledgehammer. The only familiar face he saw was the occasional glimpse of a smirking Angela. Eventually, Brad concluded that he would have to swallow his pride, seek Angela out and attempt to put an end to this ordeal.

 

Brad found Angela at lunchtime and slid into a seat across from her, no longer concerned with how it looked for an eleven-year-old boy to associate with a nine-year-old girl. Angela gave him the now tiresome triumphant smirk as she looked up from her tray.

"Brad! I'm surprised to see you. Why aren't you with your friends? Couldn't make the cheerleading squad? And I guess you've outgrown Barbie…"

Brad turned bright red. "Angela, stop it. The reason I'm here is that I wanted to apologize. I was wrong to treat you like that. Now please stop punishing my friends!"

Angela leaned forward and spoke lower. "What are you saying Brad? Are you willing to be friends again?"

"Yes I am, if you'll turn them back."

"Well, maybe. You'll have to promise not to dump me like that again. I really value my friends! But why should I turn them back?"

"Because that's the only way I'll be your friend. Besides, I'm the one you're mad at. They didn't do anything to you."

"Well, Britney did make fun of me. But I can forgive you, Brad. I'll do it, but with one exception." Angela appeared to concentrate a little then smiled. "Done." She pointed behind Brad.

Brad looked behind him to see Craig sitting at their usual spot at the lunch table. He seemed a bit confused, but that was normal for Craig. Relief washed over Brad to see his friend sitting there without a skirt on. Angela broke his musing with a little cough.

"You'll find that Jenna is a boy again. He's back playing that stupid game in high school right now."

Brad grinned, and then a thought brought him back to earth. "What about Daniel?"

Angela giggled. "Britney will stay the way she is, though I am going to bring her into the fourth grade with me so I can keep an eye on her. At least she'll be one year older than she is now."

"Angela, please! He's my best friend!"

Angela's eyes flashed momentarily. "No she's not! I am! That's my deal. If it's not good enough, I can turn the other two back!"

Brad recoiled. "No! I'll take it, Angela. I'll take it."

"Good."

Just then a blonde girl arrived at the table and sat next to Angela. Angela grinned at Brad and then addressed the girl. "Hey Britney! You've missed lunch"

Britney gave them a pretty smile. "Sorry Angela. I wanted to watch the cheerleaders practice. I can't wait to try out for the squad in a couple of years. I thought I would meet you to walk to math class though."

Just then the bell rang, ending the lunch period. Angela looked over at Brad. "I guess I'll see you after class to walk home Brad. We're going to math class."

Britney gave a little wave. "Yeah, see you later, Brad!" The girls got up and walked off giggling.

Brad sat for a moment digesting all that had just happened before getting up to talk to Craig for a minute before going back to class.

 

After class, Angela was waiting for Brad as promised. They began their walk home in silence and not surprisingly Angela was the first to break it.

"If it helps, Britney still thinks you're pretty cool, Brad. And she thinks it's neat that my best friend is a boy. Actually, if I didn't know better, I might think she has a crush on you."

Brad winced. "I still miss Daniel. We were friends for a long time."

"Brad, I know, but we're best friends now and we can do everything together, you'll see!"

"I just wish you would have changed him back too."

Angela spun on him. "Brad, I'm tired of hearing about Daniel! She's Britney now! If I hear about it again, I might just turn the other two back!"

Brad pulled up short. "No Angela, I'm sorry! I was just saying…"

"I know what you're saying. Don't say it again! We're best friends and it's going to stay that way. If you don't like it, Maybe Jenna and Kelli will be back! I liked them better anyway!" Angela's eyes seemed to take on an unnatural light. "And maybe you'd like to have two Mommies…"

Brad was frantic. "No! Please, Angela, I won't mention it again, I promise! Just don't do that please!"

Angela seemed to calm a bit. "Okay, Brad. But just remember that. I could do it anytime…" She looked around and focused to two boys in a store parking lot throwing a football back and forth. They looked to be early high school age. Angela's eyes narrowed. "For instance…"

As one boy caught the ball, the one who had just thrown it put his hand to his forehead, then shook his head and looked up as the other threw the ball back. In what seemed like an eternity to Brad, his cargo shorts flowed together to form a trendy little cargo skirt and his t-shirt tightened into a tight pink long sleeve polo that matched his pink tennis shoes. As the clothing changed, the boy's body simultaneously became shorter and thinner and developed delicate curves. His brown hair lengthened to his shoulder blades and became lustrous, framing a pretty face with light makeup on. The new girl yelped as she tried to catch the football and it bounced off her newly blossomed chest. She rubbed a hand across her chest and looked surprised. The other boy laughed and called out to her. "Sorry babe! Didn't mean to throw it that hard!" The new girl looked at him with a shocked look on her face. "Babe?" She said in an extremely high-pitched voice.

Brad turned and started to protest, but Angela held her hand up. "No, Brad, I did that to show you that I mean business." Brad hung his head in defeat as Angela continued. "One little thing though, with this one everyone will know her as she is. But she will remember everything. Let's go."

Brad looked back at the new girl as she put a slender hand to her mouth, surprised at the pretty voice that came out. When she looked at her body, Brad saw her faint to the ground.

Tears were about to flow as Brad turned to catch up with Angela. He realized with this new development as well as with her threat that Angela was not just a mischievous girl with an unfathomable power. She was evil. Without conscience. She had just destroyed a life without a second thought just to prove a point. What's more, he realized that she intended for him to hang out with her constantly. With a chill that turned his stomach to ice, Brad began to wonder how long she would be satisfied with him. When she began to grow up and act like Kelli and Jenna had, would she still want Brad to hang out with? How long before she decided that she wanted her best friend to double date with her or go out for cheerleading with her, or wanted her best friend over for slumber parties? How long before Brad was being called Amy or Heather or Jessica? And how long before she acted on her threat for pure amusement?

As Brad caught up with Angela, he heard the sound of a large vehicle approaching around the corner of the building beside them. Angela was about to turn the corner in front of him. His heart pounding as he made his decision, he trotted to cover the last couple of feet between him and Angela.

And pushed.

Angela's eyes grew wide as she stumbled and trying to keep her feet, stumbled into the street, arms thrown out wide.

And then hit the bumper of the bus.

Brad looked up from where he had fallen to the ground as he stretched out to deliver the final shove that sent Angela into the street. Tears where flowing freely. He was barely aware of the crowd that gathered, the ambulance that had arrived, the sheet pulled over the small figure in the street. Barely aware of the voice that tried to comfort him as the hand laid on his shoulder, telling him that it wasn't his fault, that he was seen trying to grab the little girl before she ran into the street. Somewhere in his mind he guessed that the truth was something that a witness wouldn't want to believe, and that the role of the would-be hero was more pleasant to believe than that of the killer.

 

The funeral was a big affair in the town rocked by the death of a child. Brad attended and felt like an interloper the entire time. He saw Angela's parents there, who looked sorrowful, but Brad could almost swear that he saw a tiny slice of relief in their mourning. Finally, he saw Britney there crying uncontrollably over the loss of her friend and classmate. Brad almost felt like he should say something, anything to comfort the girl that had been his best friend and teammate, but found that he lacked the words and courage to approach her. At the end, he walked out of the funeral home with Craig and Jimmy, and then went home with his mom and dad, who worried about their son who had lost a friend.

  

  

  

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