Wrong Department, by Megs

[vended]

Megs' excellent story, originally posted on ForeverChanging.org. The autor also had an ungoing very long story with mainly AR, which seem lost.

Thanks to 10th_man_down, this one isn't.

Wrong Department, by Megs

Chapter One ? Shift Change

Another day, another dollar. Tina hoped if she kept chanting that in her head that somehow this job would seem better. It had been months since Tina had a steady job, not since she had been laid off from her job at the factory. Her boyfriend had dumped her three weeks later, calling her "fat and lazy". It wasn't her fault she got laid off, but he didn't seem to care. The temp jobs never lasted more than a few days. Tina just wasn't the pretty kind of girl who belonged in an office.

Not that she was ugly. Tina had brown hair, was average height and had just enough weight on her to still look like a woman but never fit in a size 0. But nowadays when girls where expected to look like teenagers into their twenties, Tina just didn't stand a chance. So here she was, ringing people through a register at the local Z-Mart, wondering if the torture would ever end.

Her current customer was a giant of a woman; she was 5 feet 8 high and wide, and draped her Hutt-like girth in a flowered tarpolin. Someone had once thought this thirty-something monstrousity attractive enough to breed with her, and in her cart she had a snot-nosed young boy in his twos or threes. The women had cart-loads of diapers for the brat, who was busy crushing every chocolate bar he could reach in the impulse bins. The bovine mother would take the chocolate away from her spawn as soon as she noticed, put it back, and giggle as if this was charming.

Once Tina had finished ringing through the stack of diapers, potato-chips and other junk food the mother hardly needed, she hit the total sale button and read aloud the bill. "That will be $107.98, please," she announced, as politely as she could manage.

The woman handed over her credit card, and the transaction was finished. Loading her bags the mother trundled off, towing her brat in tow. With a sigh Tina moved her hand to flag over the next customer when her `till phone chimed. It was early, but it must be break time, Tina concluded. When she picked up the phone with a "Till Six" to greet, her heart sank. The voice of the manager, Mr. Woolson, came through the phone in all his nasal intimidation.

"Tina, did you not notice your last customer had an extra pack of diapers under the cart?" he chided, as if the question was actually a question. If he was calling, it meant she hadn't noticed.

"No sir," she admitted, trying not to sound like a scolded child. "I didn't notice at all, I was ?"

Woolson cut her off. "That's the third time someone has walked out of the store with unpaid merchandise from your till, Tina," he nasally informed her. Tina's heart was caught between fear and rage. She hated being talked to like a child, but the fear of being fired was much stronger at the moment. "I think you had better come up to my office, Tina. Close down your till."

The next five minutes was torture for Tina. She had to close down her till, then walk across the store to the back, up the stairs and to the manager's office. The entire way she attacked her own stupidity in her mind. She was supposed to check under each cart as it left the store, she knew that. She had been so busy being disgusted by the slovenly woman she hadn't done her job. The manager was going to fire her, and she would be out of work, maybe even out of her apartment...

She swallowed deeply and entered the office. She hadn't been in Woolson's office since she had come for her interview. It was the same as she recalled it. A small, white room with irritating flourescents overhead, a large desk centrally located with a comfortable chair behind it. In front were three much less comfortable chairs, folding chairs. On the wall were a bank of screens with cameras all over the store being displayed. Woolson was watching them, and seemed to pay her no heed as she entered, the back of the chair turned to her like he was some Bond villain observing his fleet of ICBMs.

Tina waited for a good, long moment, than cleared her throat. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Woolson?"

Woolson spun around in his chair. He was a short man, balding with a well groomed mustache. His voice was a particularly annoying pitched whine that belied none of the authority he should have. Woolson made up for this shortcoming by being authoritarian, rude and overbearing. He was playing with a pen, and seemed to look over Tina as if she was a growth that the janitor had missed the evening before.

"I should fire you," he began. It didn't get better from there. Woolson spent the next ten minutes lecturing Tina about the cost of theft to a company, speaking as if Tina herself had walked out with the diapers. He then moved on to Tina's many apparent shortcomings, eventually coming around to her fate. "So, it seems, you are not suited to be a cashier. I'm afraid I'm going to have to demote you Tina."

Tina blinked. Her heart was fluttering, her mind racing. She wasn't fired! She was demoted! Then she started to think. What was lower in the company than a cashier? Z-Mart didn't have greeters. Her cashier position was an entry level position; what else was there? Shaking herself from her thoughts, Tina nodded in understanding. "Thank you sir, that's completely fair, understandable..."

Woolson nodded. "Go home for the day, relax, and show up tomorrow at nine AM for your new placement," he instructed, calmly. He was acting like he had just put her on Schindler's List. Tina couldn't help but feel elated regardless. She rose, smiled with all grace she could, and scurried out of the office before he changed his mind. It was as she was going down the stairs she realized she had failed to even ask him what she would be doing the next day.

Better to not go back and bother him, Tina concluded, and went home for the day. The night went by agonizingly slowly; television did little to distract her from whatever lay in store the next day. Tina struggled against a sense of rising dread. Was it just some jest Woolson had made to fire her without fuss? Would she get a call first thing in the morning saying "don't come in, you're fired"? Eventually she broke down, took some sleeping pills and slumbered deeply and dreamless throughout the night.

The next morning Tina arrived at work for quarter to nine, clocking in. She waited patiently in the break room for nine, wondering if someone was going to come fetch her for her new position, or if she ought to go see Mr. Woolson again. Both appeared to be true. At nine on the dot, Woolson walked into the break room, his finely polished shoes squeaking on the floor. Tina rose as he came in, but Woolson waved his hand to have her sit again. He sat down across from her, looking over her critically.

"Since you did such a lousy job of watching for theft at your till, I am assigning you to a undercover position within the store," Woolson informed her. Tina felt a tad confused. She didn't know there were undercover employees at the store. "You have to patrol a few departments, watching for people trying to steal, vandalize, mistreat merchandise and fixtures, employees goofing off, and the like. This morning I want you to look through the maternity section."

Woolson then pulled up a large, simple white maternity dress and put in on the table in front of Tina. "You'll wear this for the morning; your body shape is sufficiently out of shape that you could be mistaken for a pregnant woman, so you'll attract no attention."

Tina's temper flared. She was a tad plump, with a gentle belly, but she hardly looked pregnant at all. But Woolson's stern gaze shut her up before she protested. She was two steps from being fired as it was ? a rude outburst would the step out of the door. Resigned, and trying to make light of it, she picked up the maternity dress. "Guess there are some advantages to being a big girl," she joked.

Woolson pointed to the change rooms. "Just leave your street clothes in your locker, and keep your eyes peeled in the maternity section." And he rose, pausing at the door. "At noon come see me in my office, and we'll see which section you'll spend the afternoon in."

Tina looked at the dress balefully, but took it up and headed into the change rooms. She peeled off her pants and blouse, looking down at her pale, flabby body in frustration. She was overweight for certain, but not obese. Her belly stuck out, but not even passed her bust. She pulled the dress over her head, the soft cotton feeling blessedly good against her skin. As she smoothed it over her belly she was surprised how excellent it looked on her. The dress was empire waisted, sucking in under her breasts in such a way to give her belly maximum freedom. Already she could see what Woolson meant ? her small belly seemed somewhat more prominent in the dress. She could be a woman in her fourth month, just beginning to show.

Tina brought her own clothes back to her locker, stowed them within, and wandered out onto the sales floor. She moved into the east wing of the store, heading dutifully for the maternity section. And here the next hour slowly dragged on. Tina had found her way around the maternity section in under the hour, and had now checked out the same collection of dresses a dozen times. The entire time not one woman had visited the section, and Tina was thoroughly bored. A few staff members wandered by now and then, but none of them seemed to recognize her. Tina was fairly new, and stuck to the front of the store, so this didn't shock her.

At 10:30, Tina noticed a pregnant woman enter the section. She was a beautiful black woman in her late twenties, and large; the baby in her belly was at least in its eighth or ninth month, and she waddled as she walked, clothed in a red maternity shirt and blue pants. Tina spent several minutes watching the woman, trying not to appear obvious. After parousing a few outfits, the woman waddled over to where Tina was consulting a collection of dresses. She smiled as she came closer.

"Hello," she greeted happily. "How far along are you?"

Tina giggled. She put her hand down over her belly, intending on smoothing the dress down against her belly to demonstrate just how small it was. To her sudden shock, she felt the belly just slightly under the bustline. Her belly was swollen, and with incomprehension she looked down at it. She could just see her belly passed her breasts, the fabric of the white dress easily containing her swollen size. She looked pregnant.

The black woman laughed. "Somedays it's like that, isn't it? You just look down and wonder `how the heck did I get that big?" The pregnant woman rubbed her belly, soothing herself, while Tina stared at herself. The other woman went on to look at the dresses, no more suspecting the truth of Tina's wonder than she aught to. Tina, meanwhile, wandered away from the woman, over to one of the courtesy mirrors. She stood in front of it, then turned sideways to gauge her profile. The dress was definitely puffed out around her belly, and running her fingers over her belly she could feel the flesh underneath. The belly was slightly firm, unlike the pudge she had felt when she first put on the dress.

Tina's mind raced. This wasn't possible, was it? She looked back at the customer; the black woman was seeming to decide between a few dresses, and paying Tina no heed at all. A thousand possibilities ran through Tina's head, but without even thinking about it Tina marched to the back of the store to talk to Mr. Woolson. She must be having a medical emergency or something. People didn't swell up in an hour like this unless something was seriously wrong. As she reached the edge of the maternity department, with bras and lingerie to its north, she encountered Woolson. He must be out on his rounds.

"Mr. Woolson, I think I need to go to the hospital!" she urgently told him. "My stomach had swollen up!"

Woolson looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Tina, you're not swollen, you're pregnant, remember?"

Tina blinked. What the hell was he talking about? She hadn't had sex in months, she couldn't be pregnant. Then realizing Woolson was likely mistaking the loose dress for the reality of her situation, Tina pulled the dress more taught over her belly. "No, sir, look! It wasn't like this just this morning!"

Woolson nodded. "Of course not, Tina. You couldn't be undercover in a maternity department without being pregnant, it would be ridiculous. Now get back to your post, or you're fired." And he walked on as if she had been complaining about a loose shoelace.

Tina stood for a minute in mute shock. In anger she stormed to the break room, opening up her locker and grabbing her street clothes. This was the last straw. She could find a different job. Woolson had pushed her for the last time. She went into the change room and pulled off the maternity dress, dropping it on the floor. She looked down at her stomach, and had to stifle a scream. It was larger. Now she could see her belly passed her breasts, a large, round, pale dome of flesh. Right before her eyes her belly button pushed out as the belly seemed to grow in front of her eyes. She could feel the weight pressing down on her, her innards being pushed towards her back. She tried to pull on her pants, but leaning over had become difficult with her swollen belly.

Then she felt a kick. A small pressure from inside her belly. At the same moment she felt her bladder being pressed, and realized just how badly she needed to go to the bathroom. Tina squatted, slowly, her belly still growing, grabbing the maternity dress from the floor. She pulled it over her head, noting how snug it fit now, the smooth white cotton gliding over her sensitive skin. She waddled for the bathroom, shocked at how difficult it had become to walk normally. As she left the change room she found herself standing face to face with Woolson.

"Do your business then get back to the maternity section, Tina," he ordered. "A woman in your condition needs breaks, but they can't be this long."

Tina tried to say something, but she felt out of breath, and without another word she bolted for the bathroom, waddling as fast as her legs would take her.



Chapter Two ? Paging Teen-wear on Line One...

Tina had never considered just how hard going to the bathroom could be. She had never, in her entire life, been as heavy as she was right now. Her pregnant belly was jutting out in front of her, a mammoth mound of taught flesh that threatened to never stop growing for all Tina could tell. With some time and effort, Tina hiked up the white maternity dress and squatted ungracefully on the toilet. The stall felt small and close, and while she did her business Tina considered her options.

She was pregnant. Of that there was little doubt. While her mind and heart were racing, she just didn't feel like she was either dreaming or having a hallucination. She knew, without a doubt, that this had something to do with Woolson; he acted for too sapient about her condition for her to assume otherwise. This meant that not only did Woolson know she hadn't been pregnant, and that people just don't swell up like mother-balloons. It meant that Woolson knew he was responsible, and if so how to stop and (hopefully) reverse it. It was impossible to consider that Woolson had this kind of power, but here it was. Apparently the store manager of her local Z-Mart could force people's bodies to change, or at least Tina's body. She knew that if she didn't co-operate with his despicable demands she would be unemployed and very possibly left pregnant. Her choices seemed obvious; she either co-operated and went about her shift (and duties) as if this was par for the course, or she ran screaming out of the store in hopes it would stop or vanish in doing so.

The latter choice seemed very, very attractive to Tina at the moment. Tina had imagined being a mother every once in a while, but without the requisite father in the picture, it wasn't something she was hunting for. Being made into a mother-to-be so suddenly, and against her will, was infuriating and terrifying in the same breath. It was worse that Woolson, the toad-faced retail Napoleon, had done it to her. She should leave, run to the police and try to get them to believe her story...

But then, regardless, Tina would be out of a job. She would not get a reference, and to top it all off, she might be pregnant. Very pregnant. Tina looked down at her swelled belly, felt another kick from inside. There was a baby in there, against all reason. Whether she liked it or not, she had another mouth to feed if this was a permanent development. Before she thought any better of it Tina rose, walked forth from the bathroom and began marching to the maternity department to continue her job. It wasn't easy to walk; she had to waddle, and her comfortable work shoes didn't seem to fit quite and nicely anymore. Likewise, her bra was feeling a tad too snug. Tina took a deep breath, marveling at the difficulty in drawing a complete lung, and walked as proud as she could into the rows of dressed, pants and shirts for women in her condition.

Two more people came through the section in the next couple of hours. There was no sign of Woolson in this time, but by the time noon was approaching Tina felt both hungry and sore; her feet had swollen with the pregnancy, and the eating for two expression suddenly seemed a lot more relevant to her. She recalled that Woolson had told her to come see him at noon, and so (after waiting until exactly the noon hour), Tina waddled to the back of the store, easing herself up the stairs towards Woolson's office a step at a time. As she approached she noticed the door was open, and Woolson was waiting at his desk.

"Good day Tina," he greeted, still sitting. Tina came and sat across from him, easing herself into the chair. She was ready to jump out her skin in anticipation of some explanation. The baby kicked. Woolson stood and went over to his filing cabinet, pulling out a folder and looking over his shoulder at Tina. "How did you find your morning?" he queried.

Tina swallowed. "It was... ummm... strange, sir," she replied blandly. She rubbed her belly, disliking being in Woolson's presence as much as she disliked her sudden pregnancy.

Woolson returned to his chair, sitting down in the fine leather and putting the folder in front of him. "Well, so far I feel your new position suits you, but it's hardly the department we have the most theft in. I'm going to put you in a different department for this afternoon."

Tina nodded. "Um, what department do you want me in this afternoon, Mr. Woolson?" This was madness!

"After your lunch, Tina, head down to Teen Wear. I want you to spend the rest of the day there, and you and I can talk at five and see how this turned out. I'll bring down some new clothes down for you to wear," Woolson dryly instructed.

"But, sir!" Tina protested. "I'm... pregnant!"

Woolson rolled his eyes. "I'm sure I can find something that will fit you, Tina," he replied, then rose. "Go take your lunch, I have a meeting to go to."

And so, with that, Tina was out of the office and even more bewildered than when she had entered. She was, indeed, hungry enough to eat a horse, so she began the slow waddle down the stairs. It felt like she had to lean backwards to avoid falling forward and down. Tina paused as she got near the break room; she hadn't brought a lunch today, expecting somehow for this to have been her last day anyways. She would have to go into the attached mall, to the food court. It took her five minutes to get to the food court, aware of all the people staring at her. No one really knew Tina to notice she hadn't been pregnant just that morning ? it was pure fascination at her prodigious belly that caused the gape. Regardless, it made Tina very self-conscious, and she got a chinese plate and sat eating it alone.

As her lunch went by Tina felt better, and much to her shock and relief, the belly began to shrink. It was barely noticable at first, but by the time she was finished her meal the dress was fitting looser, the belly was still taught under her hands but it didn't protrude passed her breasts any longer. Tina wondered what the fate was of the child that had been within her. Was it all just some kind of illusion, some strange pregnancy-like suggestion all the time? Was Tina going nuts? Standing up, Tina pulled the dress snug to herself and walked calmly back into the store, heading for the break room to meet Woolson. She was going to get some answers now that she wasn't two steps from giving birth!

When Tina walked into the break room she found Woolson waiting there with a few articles of clothing. Not paying any attention to it, Tina walked up and folded her arms. "What is going on?" she boldly demanded.

Woolson pushed the clothing over to her. "This is your new job, Tina, and unless you want to start pounding the pavement again, you'll stop being so bull-headed and just do as your told."

Tina shook her head. "No, no, Mr. Woolson. Women don't just get pregnant out of nowhere and then loose it all over the noon-hour. This is weird shit, and I want to know how and why!" She was angry, furious at being fooled around with so casually. She had the words I quit on the tip of her tongue.

Woolson shrugged. "No, women don't, Tina. They do, however, get put under spells to make them blend in. And maybe if you stop acting like such a child about it, you'll work here long enough to appreciate it. Now put these on and get over to Teen Wear."

Tina blinked. That had been straight forward and dismissive at the same time. Woolson walked out of the break room as Tina looked over the clothes he had left her. She turned up her nose. A pair of black leggings, some bright pink canvas shoes, a pink-decorated bra and panties set and a white t-shirt with Edward Cullen on the front. She would have to dress like a teen to work in the teen department? Grabbing the clothes with a sigh, Tina trudged into the bathroom to change. She pulled off the maternity dress, hanging it over the edge of the stall. She looked at the bra and panties... they were far too small for her, teen sized. She didn't even know why Woolson had grabbed them for her.

Then it struck her. She was going to shrink. She looked down at her body, suddenly terrified. The belly was completely gone, with no sign it had ever been there. She didn't look any smaller, but her heart was already pounding. She carefully pulled off her panties, working to shimmy on the smaller teen-sized ones. They bit into her thighs, leaving large indents and fitting with an uncomfortable snugness against her vagina. Was she just going crazy? She unlatched her bra; her breasts seemed to have settled back down to their proper size. The teen bra didn't cup them properly whatsoever. It was too small for her, but with some effort she managed to get it latched. Pulling on the leggings (snug, but stretchy), then the shirt (which didn't even make it over her slightly pudgy belly). Last, the shoes. Tina had to work to get her feet into the tight canvas sneakers but with time (and a few grunts), they were on. She stepped out of the stall and looked at herself in the mirror.

An adult woman dressed like a teen. She looked absurd. She took her shoes, bra and panties in hand, draped the maternity dress over her shoulder and dropped off her own articles in her locker, leaving the dress on the break room table. Then, with heavy heart she walked out onto the floor. The teen section was just off of women's wear, with a large section for girl's clothing but a not insignificant section for boys. Currently a group of girls, somewhere in their mid-teens, was wandering through the section. Tina made sure to keep racks of clothing between her and them. Still, embarassed or not, she had a job to do.

She watched them for several minutes before one of the girls noticed her staring. She rolled her eyes and the group of them left. They had caught onto her. Had they stolen something already? As Tina wandered after them, she suddenly felt the bra settling into place. The panties dug in less. The shoes seemed to suddenly gain some room, so much so that Tina tripped and fell to the floor. "Whoa!" she heard a voice say from nearby.

Tina picked herself up to find herself looking at one of the girls. She had come back when Tina had fallen, and held out her hand to help her up. "Are you okay?" the girl asked. Tina was speechless. She looked down at herself as she rose. The t-shirt was no longer pulled tight over her adult belly. Now it was fitting perfectly, hanging to just above her butt. She looked at the girl and nodded dumbly. "Umm, yeah, just fell over my own feet I guess."

"Yeah, well, no wonder," commented the teen. "Your shoes aren't laced up right."

Tina glanced down. She had needed to keep them loosely laced to get her feet in before. Now her feet were sliding around slightly inside the shoes. "Oh, yeah, just got these today and I'm still getting used to them," she lamely replied. The teen, however, seemed to giggle.

"That's okay, I do the same thing, don't like `em too tight," she related. And without another word the teen wandered back to her friends who were heading for the checkouts. Without a moment to waste Tina rushed over to the courtesy mirrors. She nearly screamed when she saw herself. Her face was slightly thinner, having lost some of the weight she had packed on post-college. Her freckles were back, and the blush of youth was back in the eyes looking back at her. From top to toe she looked for all the world like she was sixteen again. Nervous, Tina turned sideways, checking out her profile. Her generous breasts had dwindled somewhat, down to perky teenage "boobs". Her thighs were just a suggestion now, and the leggings were no longer stretched so tight as to be shiny. Now they fit perfectly...

With shaking hands Tina knelt and fixed the laces on her shoes. She was a teen until five pm, she knew that now. Woolson was some kind of witch, or alien, or something. This was madness. Yet in ignorance of her mental turmoil, she remained fifteen years younger than she aught to be. Tina paced all over the department, nervously watching other teens as they came and went. At first she watched the girls, keeping her eyes on them like a hawk. But as the hours poured on Tina began to watch for the boys. They came in, glanced at jeans or shoes, usually in small packs laughing and making crude jokes or incessant chatter about sports.

One of them noticed her watching and walked over to her. He was sixteen or so, a thin guy with a good smile in a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt. "Hey," he introduced himself. "What's your name?"

Tina nearly gushed. The boy was way too young for her (normally), but at the moment his smile and simple charm was having an effect. "Tina," she replied, smiling winsomely at him. The boy chuckled.

"I'm Kyle," he offered. "What school you go to?"

Tina blinked. In a sudden hope to keep down his suspicions (like he would believe the truth), she said the name of her old school. "Willowdale," she said lowly, kicking herself internally for acting like such a... girl.

"Sweet," he replied, as if that was good news. "Wanna come hang with my crew? We're heading out to the `court to grab some fries or somethin'," he lazily suggested, giving her a once over that seemed to pay indiscrete amounts of attention to her breasts. Tina had to bite her tongue to avoid saying yes. She was working... this was work, she wasn't a teen and going out to hang out with a bunch of teen guys was ridiculous.

"Umm, maybe in a bit," she avoided. "I've got some shopping to do first."

"Oh," said Kyle, seeming disappointed. "When will you be done that?" he followed, hopefully.

"Five thirty?" Tina said, realizing she was twirling her hair. Her heart was racing in excitement.

"Awesome, I'll come hunt for you in here around then, `kay?" he said, questioningly. Tina nodded in confirmation and watched Kyle return to his friends before nearly bolting out of the teen section. Her head was swimming. A teenage guy had been coming onto her, and she was tickled with it. She wished, briefly, this wasn't just temporary and she could stay like this. When life was simpler...

Tina shook her head. She had to focus. She had a job. An apartment to pay for. Bills, food, rent, WOMAN stuff. She wasn't some sexed-brained bimbo.. was she? She wandered out of the teen section into the tween wear, figuring Woolson included that as well. They weren't really different sections; tween wear was like the teen wear, just in smaller sizes and (generally) less risque. As she walked through it she spied two tween girls hanging around the fashion jewlery. One slipped one into her pocket, then suddenly noticed Tina watching. She took it out quickly, dropped it and the two girls scurried away, panicked looks on their faces.

Tina felt elated. She hoped Woolson was watching her first loss prevention exercise. She walked over to the discarded bracelet; it was a purple plastic thing, but looked nice enough. Tina tried it on; it was small, a tad too tight for her wrists. Tina spent a moment looking over the rack, trying to figure out where on the rack the bracelet should be put back to.

The bracelet suddenly went a little more slack around her wrist. At the same time Tina felt her bra shift. It didn't feel right; the cup had drawn away from her breast somewhat, as if the bra had become too large. With a slow, haunting look downwards, Tina noted the t-shirt had become baggy, the tights had too much give on the leg. A small mirror was situated at the top of the jewelry rack; looking in it Tina felt her heart stop in place completely. Her throat closed and she croaked.

A twelve year old girl was looking back at Tina from the mirror.


Chapter Three ? Loosing Face

Tina stumbled backwards, having gone to take a step and finding the canvas sneakers had become loose. She fell on her ass, her eyes still locked at the small, horizontal mirror on the top of the fashion jewelery stand. Freckles. An extra helping of childish baby fat, the glimmer of youth and vitality no honest woman wanted to see in such generous helpings. Tina's mind raced for an explanation, and in a moment she suspected the cause of her latest unwelcome change.

Tina pulled the now well-fitting bracelet around so that she could read the tag attached. It was part of the "Tween Spirits" line, which was retail-speak for "cheap crap for girls too old to be girls and too young to be teens". Below it clearly said "ages 8 to 12". Her heart dropped into her socks, which seemed at the moment to be the only thing that still fit at all. Woolson hadn't given her the bracelet, so she had to assume that either anything she put on made her adjust to an age that fit, or that she was somehow being punished for putting on the jewelery that didn't belong to her. This was, however, the extent of the rational thinking Tina could pull off at the moment. What had begun as a day of hope and promise had become a day of catastrophe and terror. Her womanhood had been stripped from her with indifference. She had spent a morning waddling around like a pregnant hippo. She couldn't decide if she was furious, disgusted or terrified.

As if she had donned the One Ring, Woolson seemed to melt out of the clothing racks nearby, his presence as cold and caustic as one the Nine. He looked down at her and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "You stopped them from stealing Tina, but then you had to go and do something foolish like this."

Tina stood up, trying not to feel absurd. Woolson had always been a short man, no taller than Tina in the end, but now, with a start, Tina realized she was looking up at him. She had lost several inches of height with her dimunition of age it seemed. That shouldn't have shocked her, but being confronted with the face of a twelve year old was one thing. Realizing you were shorter than you aught to be, that was another thing, even if the two were related. She shifted in place, her bra hanging loosely, the t-shirt feeling oversized and ridiculous. She felt the tights slip a little - the elastic prevented them from plummeting, but they certainly were too big for her now. Even the pink panties drooped a little. She wanted to say something, but her throat was as about as clear as her mind at the moment, and all she did was mutter incoherent phrases.

Woolson took her by the arm and dragged her further into the Tween section. "Since you've gone and decided the Tween-wear needs a better eye, you might as well keep an eye on it," Woolson commanded. He paused by a clothes rack and pulled down a dress; it was red, simple and functional. Then he grabbed a pair of flip flops and handed them to Tina. "Go put these on, and don't worry about a bra - you don't really need one, do you?"

Tina went beet red and grabbed the clothes from the increasingly worrisome manager. "Will I..." she paused, noting how her voice seemed to have slipped into a higher octave. "Will I turn back at the end of my shift?" She looked up at him earnestly. Her heart was racing.

Woolson looked at her with a dispassionate face. He took her by the arm and walked across the aisle into Children's Wear and picked up a hat. It was a Barbie baseball cap. He brandished it at her as if it were a flaming torch. "Tonight, if you don't start behaving, you go home with me. As it is you're just old enough I think it's safe to send you home on your own, so run along now and put those on."

Tina's eyes widened. The threat was clear enough. She began her walk back to the break room, heart in her shoes. He wasn't going to change her back at the end of her shift. She was going to remain like this, a veritable child, for as long a Woolson wished. As she walked she passed by the infant wear section and paused. There were racks of tiny clothing for small children and babies, maternity bras, rows and rows of diapers. Tina wondered if this clothing would do as what the other clothing she wore had clearly done. If Woolson wanted to, could he put Tina back into the cradle?

She had to do something, and fast. Already she was young enough that living on her own would be at the mercy of Woolson. As a teen she could have quit, walked out and found a way to get by. But now she was clearly underage, and no business in the world would hire someone who aught to be in school, never mind under adult supervision. Yet, for all his meance, Woolson did seem honestly intent on Tina stopping loss prevention. Was it perhaps just his total lack of emotion that was making Tina's day bad? Would she be in the lingerie department tomorrow, strutting around like a super-model? Would, at the end of the day when she got her own clothes back, she become herself? She resolved herself to keep faith, for now. At worst, she had discovered a secret about how she changed.

For the third time today, Tina visited the bathroom to change clothes. The teen clothes slipped off her skinny, barely developed body where they had (only a few hours ago) been too tight to wear. Tina elected to keep the underwear on; going without seemed wrong somehow. The bra came off; it was now far too big. Looking down at her chest she could see the remains of her breasts; puffy pink nipples with a small B cup underneath. Tina had been an early bloomer. With a shudder she thought what she might look like if she had been a late bloomer. She could basically pull her feet out of the shoes, and toed them aside. Pulling on the red dress, then the flip flops, Tina trudged out of the bathroom. The mirror showed her a nightmare. Herself, young and cute looking, appearing for all the world like the `tween she had become. She had been demoted alright. Demoted, deaged, deheighted...

A minute later Tina was wandering the Tween Wear section, keeping her eyes open for any other shoplifters. She was loosing some of her drive to do so as the minutes passed. Everything felt larger, more imposing in some subtle way. All she could think about as she walked from rack to rack was how if this was permanent, Tina wouldn't even be able to reach the peanut butter at home. She didn't know why that was important, just that it was. It was as she was lost in this thought she nearly ran into someone. With a start she backed off, apologizing and looking up.

At Kyle. He was much taller than her now, having been taller than her before, the loss of height seemed more prevalent. He looked down at her and seemed confused. "Tina?" he queried. Tina nearly croaked in alarm. He had recognized her despite the reduction in age! He was the first person (aside from Woolson) who had done so. She couldn't decide if this was good or bad, so she just nodded.

Kyle rubbed his chin. "You look... different," he muttered. He took a step closer to her, and Tina drew away, suddenly very self-conscious of herself. Kyle was attractive for his age, and now that he was (currently) her senior in age, he seemed somehow even more alluring. "I mean, I didn't think you were that young."

Tina blushed. "I'm not!" she protested. A sudden urge was bubbling up in her to tell him the truth, Woolson be damned. But before she could get another word in edgewise, Kyle pushed her up against the edge of a rack of clothes, reached down and pressed his palm over her left breast. She had to bite her tongue to avoid screaming. He squeezed, then shook his head. "Thought so; you must have been stuffing."

"I wasn't!" she protested, annoyed at how high her voice sounded. Kyle laughed at her, a scornful, mocking kind of laugh that brought tears to her eyes. "Oh, sure, you just put on your magic shoes and got younger or something for an hour, right?"

Tina swallowed hard. He was joking of course. Trying to tell him how right he was would just make her sounds more childish. "Leave me alone!" she hissed at him, angry at him for being so cruel, and for copping the feel. Kyle laughed ran a hand down her side. "Oh, what, baby doesn't want any attention now that I know she's just a wittle giwl?"

Tina was furious, and going redder by the moment. "I'm more woman than you could handle!" she bit back, too angry to realize how silly she sounded. As angry as she was right now, the movement of Kyle's finger on her sides felt good. She hadn't been paid attention to in months, and now she was so close... if she could just become a teen again.

"Care to prove it?" Kyle retorted, thumbing to the nearby change rooms. Tina nodded without thinking, and the two of them proceeded to the change rooms. Once inside, Kyle began to unbuckle his pants while Tina screamed at her own stupidity. She was about to give Kyle a blow job, at her work, while Woolson had the secret to her entire life at his disposal. But right now she didn't care. She felt young and pointless, and she was tired of being treated like a child. Children didn't do things like this. Kyle pulled down his underwear, revealing his penis. It was already hard, and before she could think better of it Tina wrapped her lips around it and began to please him as best she could.

Tina had given men a blow job before. But now, younger and smaller, it seemed harder. The cock filled her mouth up more, and she didn't feel like she was in control at all. She started to have serious seconds thoughts about whether she should do this or not, but Kyle seemed to be ready. As usual, people had left unwanted clothing they had tried on inside the change room, and Kyle had grabbed a shirt and looped it around the back of Tina's head. As she tried to pull away, he pulled her back. "Oh, yeah," he groaned, obviously finding this even more erotic now.

Tina tried to push away on his legs, but nothing was happening. The larger, taller and stronger Kyle was keeping Tina held in place with the shirt behind her head, and she reasoned pretty quickly that finishing him off was better than being stuck here. She briefly thought of biting down, but she was afraid. She didn't want Woolson to find out about this, especially now. She had been titanically dumb to do this with Kyle! As she continued to pleasure him, speeding up as she felt Kyle beginning to peak, her eyes alighted on the tag of the shirt Kyle was pinning her with.

Maternity Wear.


Chapter Four ? The Price of Shame

Tina panicked. Already she could feel a slight rumbling in her stomach, and as she tried to pull away this only served to make Kyle more interested. A sudden knock on the door of the stall brought the entire, sordid affair to a halt. Kyle released her head and Tina pulled herself away, gagging in disgust at herself. How could she have done that?

The stall opened just as Kyle was struggling to do up his fly. Woolson was standing there, arms crossed and looking about as far from impressed as a man could be. Kyle seemed taken completely aback, and then crossed his own arms defiantly.

"Yeah, whaddya want?" Kyle cockily asked Woolson. The older man was a tad shorter than Kyle, who likely wasn't fully grown. Tina could tell Woolson was trying to intimidate Kyle the way he did most of his employees. Kyle, however, was having none of it.

"Sex in a public place is a criminal charge," Woolson breathed, obviously angry. "Sex with a minor is a worse charge."

Tina stood up, not wanting to say anything. She was much, much worse than the kid who had been caught with her finger in the cookie jar at the moment. This was likely how she got fired... and spent the next decade growing up! To her shock, Kyle pulled her close to him, protectively.

"Look, geezer, I don't care who you are. Unless you were watching what was happening in here, my girlfriend and I were just trying on some clothes. There's no law about sharing a dressing room, is there?" he jabbed back.

Woolson narrowed his eyes, doing his best Darth Vader impression. Despite Tina's terror of her boss, being held close to Kyle like this emboldened her. Not enough to speak out, but enough to not go along with what Woolson obviously wanted. Her boldness began to fade as rapidly as it came as she felt her dress beginning to shift in the front; she was getting pregnant. Her hand dropped down to her belly - it felt round and taught already, and it was growing.

"Girlfriend," Woolson retorted, seeming amused. "You're dating a pregnant twelve-year-old."

Kyle looked down at her, his eyes drawn as if by magnets to her expanded belly. It was already big enough that Tina knew she would have to get new clothes rapidly; the material was tight over the round belly, and she could feel a baby within. Kyle, for his part, went pale. "Ummm..." he muttered, obviously not sure of how to deal with this latest development. Woolson took Tina by the arm and dragged her away from Kyle; she stumbled with her manager in mute fear.

"You just couldn't behave for one, single, shift could you Tina?" Woolson grumbled at her. Each step was getting slightly harder as Tina's belly continued to press outwards. She could feel her breasts filling with milk, the belly beginning to press her legs apart... this was awful! She was pulled along like a child, through racks of clothing. Tina desperately turned from side to side, looking for some outfit to grab to stop her swelling belly. Her heart had gone from panicked to outright hurting; the day of humiliation was beginning to make her feint.

And feint she did, sinking into blackness. It was a dreamless, dark and horrifying bout of unconsciousness that Tina was dimly aware of. She felt as if she was swimming in the night, stuck under heavy blankets and water. Slowly, the dark gave way to light, and she began to come to herself. Tina came to awareness lying on a coarse material, and feeling a slight chill all about her. She didn't open her eyes yet ? she didn't want to. With a trembling hand she reached, her hand dragging along the side of whatever she was lying on (she thought it was the couch in the first aid room, the ugly orange couch that should have been put to death in the `70s). With trepidation she put her hand down towards her abdomen; it was soft, and close to her waist. She sighed relief, so tense that the breath came out in a shutter. She wasn't pregnant. The gears in her mind beginning to churn once more, Tina opened her eyes.

She was, as she had suspected, in the medical room of the store. It was empty, silent except for the faint hum of the flourescents overhead. A small desk sat in one corner, overhead several cupboards full of medical supplies. She sat up, noting that her sandals were lying on the floor next to her, her feet now bare. She was still wearing the plain red dress, but the front had an ugly rent down the middle. If she moved too quickly her belly and panties would be shown to all and sundry. Her body was still small, and Tina guessed that she was still a twelve year-old.

She rose, feeling a little shaky on her feet. Gingerly she slipped into her sandals, moving over to the desk. A small coffee maker was in the corner, and Tina fancied a cup of joe might get her wits back. As she went about making coffee, her mind examined her situation.

She was twelve years old. Any clothing in the store she interacted with seemed to change her to suit it.

Woolson knew how it worked, and seemed intent on putting her through these changes in utter indifference to the effect on her life or dignity. She had been pregnant when she passed out. Somehow he had reversed this change, so he knew how to control what happened to her.

She was too young to leave. And so she resolved she had but one hope. She had to sneak to her locker, get her own clothes and hope they changed her back to herself. Barring that she would grab whatever adult clothing she could off the shelves and run.

She poured a cup of coffee before the brewer was finished making the pot. It was acrid and awful; store brand coffee after all (and super strong, since the pot wasn't finished). The dark liquid braced her, and she took a deep breath. It was now or never. Striding over to the door, she opened it up. Or tried to. The door was locked. There was a slot for a key, but no latch. The life drained out of her. She was trapped in here!

Tina stumbled back over to the desk, sitting down on the aging chair. She poured another cup of coffee and glanced at the clock; it was a standard analog clock, reading a quarter passed ten. The store was in the process of closing down right now. If she had been working the later shift, she would be trying to balance her till right now. Trying to suppress frustration, she began to hunt through the drawers. A fleeting hope had seized her that there might be some nurses' uniform somewhere, but a quick examination found naught but pencils, pens and rock-hard erasers. She sipped at her bland coffee, feeling gradually better as the caffeine settled in to her system. The clock ticked away minutes.

A key in the lock. Tina sat bolt upright, nervous and angry. Woolson opened the door and closed it behind him, turning the key in the lock. He looked her over, and she noticed he had a shopping bag with him; likely replacement clothes, whatever new "position" he wanted her to fill. He approached, leaning against the side of the desk. His first comment surprised her.

"Are you all right?"

Tina blinked, but automatically responded. "Oh, fine," she replied.

Woolson breathed a sigh of relief. "When that boy took advantage of you like that, when he inadvertently bound you with that maternity dress..." Woolson shuddered.

"How did you... undo that damage?" Tina inquired. Was Woolson feeling guilty after all he had done to her? Had this gone farther than he intended?

He reached over and poured himself a cup of coffee. After a sip, he looked down at her. "I suppose I might as well be out with it, Tina. Whether you find this possible to believe or not, I'm a warlock of sorts."

"A warlock?" Tina echoed, incredulously. Despite the series of impossible things that had happened to her all day, the idea that this mousy little man was a practitioner of the dark arts was just a tad too J.K. Rowling for her to accept easily. Woolson, for his part, seemed either indifferent or oblivious to Tina's reservations.

"I've been itching to try out a spell I found recently, and plain and simple Tina you were the best opportunity to try it out upon," he remarked, as if talking about something much more pedestrian. "It, simply put, makes you become the right size and age for whatever clothing you wear for twenty-four hours. It was incredible to observe at first, but the state I found you in the dressing room..."

Woolson shook his head as if trying to cast off the memory. "I brought you in here and undid the latest change; a girl your age being pregnant, it was just revolting!" he muttered, genuinely penitent and concerned.

Tina cleared her throat. "What happens at the end of the spell?"

Woolson smiled. "You stay whatever size you had become," he calmly informed her. Tina's heart skipped a few beats. He reached into the bag and pulled out some clothes, laying them across Tina's lap. She looked down at the clothes as if they were irradiated; a pair of overalls, a cute pink t-shirt, a pair of plain white panties and white frilled socks. They were small. The overalls themselves were only as big as her thighs. With a growing sensation of fear, Tina reached down and pulled up the overalls. The tag said "Age 3 to 4".

"No!" she hissed at him. Woolson stood up as Tina grabbed the clothes and tossed them violently away from her. A small smile was on his face, a devious kind of grin that turned her blood to ice. He reached into the bag and pulled out something else. It was a small, white plastic diaper.

"Either you put those on, or I wrestle you to the ground and put this over a leg; it will fit soon after," he threatened.

Tina shrank away from him. All hope of Woolson being respectable vanished in a puff of smoke with the threat. He was enjoying this. She was nothing but a guinea pig for this spell of his. She racked her brain for anything she could think of concerning so-called warlocks that might help her in this situation. All that came to mind was Harry Potter lore and a movie about he son of Satan. She didn't think Woolson was born of Lucifer, and yelling Protego Horribilis likely wouldn't help either. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place - or, in this case, a child and a baby.

"I'll put them on," she sighed, resigning herself to further indignity. "But every other time I've tried things on, they didn't fit at all until a little while passed. These overalls won't even fit both my legs, much less go over my hips," she protested.

"Ah," countered Woolson. "If you hadn't noticed, the rate at which the changes happen has been getting faster as the day went on. As you try to pull them on, they'll start to fit, I promise you."

Tina was crestfallen. Her last hope to avoid this loathsome fate had been dashed. It was true. The braclet that had turned her into a twelve-year old had taken effect in less than minute, and the maternity dress in the change room had not even been worn before it started to take effect. Woolson turned and walked to the door, fiddled with the lock and looked over his shouler.

"I'm going to set the security for the night. When I get back here, you'd better be in those clothes, or it's the diaper for you!" he threatened.

With her heart in her heels, Tina began to pull off the remains of her red dress. She had a sinking feeling she might not be twelve years old again for a long, long time.


Chapter Five ? The Gravity of Youth

Tina took of the remains of her red dress, draping it regretfully over the desk. Just a few hours ago she would have sold her mother's soul to not be a twelve-year old. Now she would do the same to stay that age. Next she pulled off the pink panties, ill-fitting as they were. These had been her panties when she was still a teenager, now they hung a little loose on her. As she inched them over here heels, a thought suddenly occurred to her. With slightly shaking hands she picked up the teenage panties and then pulled them on.

A few heartbeats passed, and then Tina noted her hips beginning to fill out ever so slightly. To her delight her breasts filled in a tad more, and she watched as her body returned to her sixteenth year. She pulled off the panties and laid them aside. Hope sprung afresh in her mind; she could easily hide these panties in her pockets, and when Woolson wasn't looking slip them on and flee from his care. She could likely find something to wear at his place.

She paused at the thought. If she put on men's clothing, would she become a... man? The idea nearly made her sick. She would have to figure something out, but being a near naked teenage girl was better than being stuck a helpless little girl! Finally, with a feeling of dread, Tina picked up the socks. They were hopelessly tiny, the kind of socks that make one wonder if their own feet were ever that small. She pulled them as wide as they could and laboured to get her feet in. The sock would only admit two of her toes, and as Tina worked to get the socks on her at all, she was ignorant to the changes beginning to pass over her... at first. Her breasts began once more to press back into her body, and as she reached fourteen she had the sock over two toes and was working to get a third in. Her legs began to shorten slightly, and the breasts retreated further inwards, flattening out until they were nothing but suggestions of swell to come. She got the third toe in and began to work on the last two as she drifted to ten years old. Her nipples turned soft and pink, and as Tina felt the sock was close enough to on, she grabbed the other.

Raising her leg, she pulled the sock much easier over most of her toes, and paused as she looked at her feet. It was thinner, smaller, and right in front of her eyes she could see the first sock (on her left foot) slowly seeming to become less tiny. Now eight, Tina slid off the chair and was unnerved by how tall things had become. She was certainly shorter than when she had been twelve, and as she grabbed the t-shirt from the desk she noted how thin her arms had gotten. As she pulled the t-shirt over her head, she realized it was still too small to fit her. A tingling hit her mouth, and letting out a squeak of pain she felt her gums quiver and smoke seemed to drift out of her mouth. She felt her tongue touch bare, empty gum for a moment before teeth began to "grow" in. Confused, the situation being too strange for Tina to deduce her baby teeth had returned, Tina slipped to six years old.

Leaving the t-shirt handing over the back of her head, Tina pulled down the overalls, suddenly conscious of how tall the desk was becoming. Where she had seen her waist level with the desk before, it was now at the base of her neck. She separated the child's panties from the overalls and worked to pull them on, now noticing she could pull the socks taught over her increasingly small feet. The panties went up her legs, stretched tight, but as she worked them over her (now nonexistant) hips, the suddenly seemed to fit a little better. The t-shirt hung more loosely over her brow, and she pulled it down over her utterly flat chest. The four year old Tina noted the t-shirt didn't extend passed her belly-button. She pulled up the overalls, noting they were too small, but with a sudden shudder she felt them loosening up.

She glanced to her left. The desk was rising, to her lips, then her nose. The t-shirt drifted down to her belly button. She paused in her operation to don the overalls, mesmerized and horrified to witness the desk rise up passed her eyes and to the brow of her forehead. As Tina settled to the age of three, she swallowed hard. Without looking, she pulled the straps up over her shoulders, fastening them in the front. Her hands were so small, but they were in the right proportion with the rest of her body. She heard movement outside the door, and in a panic reached up and snatched down the teenage panties, stuffing them down the leg of her overalls. They were here last hope...

Woolson came through the door, his briefcase in his hand and looked down at her. Tina was shocked at how huge he seemed to her; she was staring at his waist, a reality that filled her with no small amount of dread. Woolson reached down and took her hand and began to pull her along with him. Tina had to hustle to keep up, her much shorter legs only keeping pace with the adult because Woolson himself just wasn't that tall. Out into the store the pair went, and through the rear door. Here Woolson locked up and set the alarm system, then turned and looked down at her.

"I really should have just put the diapers on you, it would be a lot easier to just carry you," he complained. Tina took a step backwards, but Woolson just kept on walking, pulling her along with him. "I don't have a car-seat, so you're just going to have to sit in the back seat and stay quiet."

Woolson drove a BMW, used. Tina had to admit the seats were nice quality, but being in the BMW with her least favourite person in the world, and being a child to boot, took the fun out of it. The drive was boring; she couldn't see much from her vantage point, just endless street lights. As they drove, Tina began to feel sleepy, and before she realized it she had fallen into a child-like slumber.

She awoke with a start, aware that she was being put down on something soft. She opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling, and sat up. She was on a nice couch, with a big screen TV in sight. She must be at Woolson's house, Tina reasoned. She heard the sound of sizzling coming from somewhere nearby, and the smell of peppers and chinese spices drifted into her nostrils. She was hungry quite suddenly. She sat up, reaching into her overalls to feel for the panties. They were still there. Tina slid off the couch, weirded out at the Alice-like feeling of being so short in a room obviously designed for people larger than herself.

She wandered through the living room and into the kitchen, seeing Woolson cooking away. To her amusement she noted the stepping stool in the corner; likely Woolson used it to reach tall shelves. He was dressed the same, not having changed since he got home, and evidently cooking up a stir fry. When he noticed her, he smiled.

"Are you hungry?" he inquired. Tina nodded, not knowing what to call him. Sir? Mr. Woolon? Daddy? The last jumped to her mind unbidden, and she dismissed it with revulsion. Woolson put down his cooking utensils and came over and picked her up, setting her down on the counter nearby where he was cooking.

Silence reigned for the next few minutes as Woolson went about making the meal. Once he finished the stir fry, he pushed out a small portion into a bowl and the rest onto a plate, then set both dishes down on the table. He pulled out a chair, then came over and picked up Tina, bringing her over to the table and setting her down in the chair. She had to sit on her knees just to reach the table. As she ate, Woolson seemed to ponder, idly picking at his food.

"Not much farther for you to go," he mused. "All we really have to do is wait for tomorrow and see how the spell works once the time is up."

Tina looked at him, wondering at his new conversational spirit. "Will you put me back before the spell wears off?" she meekly asked. The thought of being stuck like this was... terrifying. Woolson smiled, a kind but sly smile that made her skin crawl.

"Well, I did bring home a very nice, adult outfit for you to wear," he reported. He gestured to a bag sitting by the kitchen door. Without waiting, Tina slipped down and ran over to it. She opened the bag, her heart latching onto hope. What she found inside puzzled her. It was a matching bra and panties set, deep red and satin. Sexy lingerie. Woolson wanted her to dress in this... for him. She looked over her shoulder at him, noting his leering smile, the lust written across his eyes.

"You and I can do adult things tonight," he breathed, his lust painting his voice an uncomfortable tone. But she saw an opportunity where it presented itself. Woolson obviously wanted sex with her, and he was (fortunately) decent enough to want her to be the right age to do it. In all her experience, there was one thing men were terrible at doing after sex ? staying awake.

"I'll go get changed right away," she purred, aware of how ridiculous she must sound. She gathered up the lingerie and marched off, hunting for a bathroom or bedroom to get changed in. Her upcoming prostitution didn't even bother her at the moment. Being so short, young and helpless was far worse a blow to her dignity than the degradation of letting Woolson use her body...

Now that she had a few minutes to look around, Tina examined Woolson's home more thoroughly. It was a bungalow by the looks of it, with the kitchen adjoining the living room, and the bathroom and bedroom on the other side of the house. The bathroom was accessible by the living room and the bedroom. It was decorated with no feminine touch, but she did have to admit it was clean. The towels were white and clean, the soap was plain and unscented, there was no grime in the tub at all. She paused for a good minute here, looking down at the lingerie in her hands. Putting this on would restore her to an adult. This would be enough for her to flee, even before Woolson tried to get his mitts on her body. She could rush out, through the living room and out the front door. Her mind worked. If Woolson was a creep (which was a given), he might have the door bolted and jammed; this would make getting out time consuming, and he could easily come at her with a diaper or something to render her helpless. He had threatened to do so once already, back at the store. Then she would be truly screwed. This had to be done flawlessly the first time, or it would never work.

The spell had been laid on her around nine in the morning (she presumed), which meant according to him all she had to do was survive as an adult until that time and she would stay as such. If she gave him the night of his life, he could likely be driven to fatigue and sleep. Then she could try and sneak out after, and hide somewhere until morning. Of course, he might slip something on her before he nods off. If only she could just kill him or something...

The dark thought came and went. She shook her head. She was no murderer. Even as agonizing as it was to be this size, this age, she couldn't off Woolson for it. He was an evil warlock, sure, but she was hardly Buffy Summers. Beyond that, the thought of trying to kill him sent a shiver down her spine. She hated violence most of the time, and a life as a child was maddening, but not so life threatening that she couldn't think. No. She would have to think her way out of this.

She smiled. Pulling out the teen panties, she glanced around the bathroom. She finally decided on hiding them beneath the sink, tucked away behind some cleaning supplies. Even if he did turn her back into a little girl when he was "done" with her, she could sneak in here afterwards, put on the panties, and sneak out at least somewhat restored. Heck, with the height of the teen, she could likely reach the lingerie if he just put it up high, counting on her youth to keep it out of reach. Then Tina began to slowly undress, shedding the garments of the child she was. The last to go was her tiny, girlish panties. She glanced down at her tiny body. No breasts, no hips. She was slightly pudgy with baby fat, a sign which made her alarmed. Had she been that chubby earlier?

She picked up the lingerie and stepped into it, hoping for the best.


Chapter Six ? Baby Fat

Putting on the lingerie was a little like trying to pretend a beach towel was a bikini. The panties were so big there was no possible way to make them stay up aside from holding on to them, and the bra hung over her shoulders, sagging to her waist like a bizarre pair of satin water wings. She knew she must look absurd, but a little part of her waited, expectantly, for the change to start. She would grow up soon. The very thought of it filled her with relief. Being this short, this helpless had been a lot more trying than she ever could have imagined.

A minute passed. Nothing. The lingerie was still hanging off her like it had been fashioned by giants. She held her breath as a horrible thought crossed her mind. What if she had gotten too young, or if the magic didn't work outside the store? In a fit of terror Tina pulled out the teen panties from their hiding place and put them on. Earlier when she had donned them she had become a teen in a matter of moments. With trembling hands she pulled them up, still having to support them. Another minutes passed. She felt nothing. No tingling, no twinge.

"Wondering why nothing is happening?" Woolson questioned. Tina jumped. His voice was coming from the other side of the door.

"It's not working!" she complained, annoyed at how high and whiny she sounded. She stashed the teen panties away, ignoring the potential that they were now useless.

"Of course not," explained Woolson patiently. "I failed to tell you one of the most important parts of the spell."

Tina began to get dressed in the child clothes again. There was no point standing here naked, and the mixed feelings she had been working up to for the impending sex now felt utterly awkward and inappropriate.

"Magic, you see, requires a source to work, or that is energy I suppose in a more common means of expression," Woolson continued, as if presenting a staff meeting. "The energy comes from the victim typically, and yours is nearly used up."

Tina didn't quite understand what he was getting at. She did understand that the overalls were a tad on the loose side, the cuffs riding over her heels. She hadn't been wrong about the baby fat: she was getting younger still!

"Just enough energy left for the final transformation," breathed Woolson, now having moved closer to the door. "If you hadn't have wasted the change into the tween, the pregnant tween, and whatever you did in private, we could have had some fun tonight. You could have ended up an adult, a pretty one."

Tina stared in horror at her hands. Before her very eyes the fingers had just gotten smaller, her palms puffing out ever so slightly with a layer of pudge. She felt a strange sensation in her mouth as teeth turned to smoke, gums began to swell. She couldn't see it, but her nose turned up slightly, and as the overalls continued to droop on her. Tina could see her height descending as the counter got higher, the edge of the bathtub went from mid-chest height to chin height. "I'm gewwing sma'er!" she yelled, panicked, suddenly having problems making proper sounds in her rapidly toothless mouth.

The door opened and in walked Woolson, looking down at her with a very patronizing smile on his face.

"I diwn' wear anwe wiwwe cwozes," she babbled, frustrated. It was getting hard to talk. She felt her legs beginning to get shaky, saw herself getting slightly shorter. Her hair was crawling back into her scalp, a novel sensation she could hardly explain. Woolson reached up and pulled on her hair, setting something loose. He brought his hand down and showed her.

A small hair tie. It was pink with a tiny Hello Kitty face on it. Woolson smiled. "I grabbed it from the infants section," he informed her, holding it in front of her like the kryptonite it was. As she stood facing him she felt her legs turn to jelly, her balance increasingly lopsided with the size and weight of her head. She fell backwards onto her butt, the overalls now tangled up around her, as large to her now as the adult clothes were to the teen she had been just nine hours earlier.

He reached down and picked her up out of the clothes, letting the overalls drop to the floor right off her. Tina wailed in anger, frustrated at being used so, at being tricked and humiliated. She knew what fate was in store for her, and the fact that she had almost escaped it was worse. Woolson tucked her under one arm and brought her into his bedroom. He set her down on his bed and pulled up the bag of diapers. Tina was lying on her back, and as much as she tried she couldn't sit up; one of Woolson's hands had her pinned down. She kicked, noting how a soft layer of fat had developed on the bottom of her feet. She must be under one year old!

Woolson fiddled with the bag, letting Tina go while he worked to get it open. She rolled over, trying to stand up. Her legs felt weak, but with a bit of effort she rose to her feet. Two steps was all she made it, however, before she fell. Her balance was all off with her infant proportions. She resorted to crawling. Tina had no clue where she would crawl to, but getting away seemed much more important than anything now. She crawled, noticing the print on Woolson's bed. It was a strange diamond pattern, crisscrossing like some kind of kaleidoscope. She couldn't help it... the pattern was enthralling. She perched there on hands and knees, staring at the sheets, a small drip of drool appearing on her lips.

She was interrupted from her trance over the sheets by Woolson. He caught hold of one of her heels and pulled her back to him, flipping her over. "Time to diaper you before you make a mess," he said, still speaking calmly like he was telling her to mop a floor at work. He unfolded the diaper, lifting her butt into the air, both feet held in his one hand. She was being diapered by her boss! Her eyes were sucked in by the sheets again, but beyond them she saw the pack of diapers. It said "Newborn" on it.

Tina struggled furiously. She had to get away from Woolson before he got the diaper on her! But as hard as she struggled, she was an infant against an adult. Woolson pushed her down with his free hand, then let go of her feet. "Nooo!" she howled, but kick as she might she couldn't stop him from pulling one side up, then the other. The tiny newborn diaper was too small to fit across her pudgy belly, but as he tried she felt the magic begin to work. Her legs, flailing to try and push away the adult ruining her life got thinner, and she found it harder to keep them straight. Her feet withered, turning tiny with toes beginning to curl inwards.

"Sorry little one, but if you're not going to be an adult for me, I'm going to make you easier to look after, at least until the morning," he replied. His hand seemed to grow (though she knew it was her shrinking), covering her entire torso. Her vision blurred like she needed glasses, but she suddenly found she could smell better. The scent of coffee from Woolson, the deodorant he used, the faint whiff of the deodorant she herself had put on that very morning. Her hair pulled back into her scalp, leaving a fine layer of hair covering her head. In a final act of defiance she screamed at him, trying to hurl the F-Bomb at her captor before she was unable.

Too late. All that escaped was a shrill, croaking scream of infantile sorrow and rage. She felt herself being picked up, held close to Woolson, her head supported by his hands. "There there," he soothed, almost nicely. "It will be all over by morning, you just sleep now and when you wake up it will be all better."

She screamed for what seemed like an eternity, howling until her throat was raw. Then sleep took her, stealing her reason and wits away to give her deep dreams of comfort.

Tina awoke slowly, feeling herself nestled against something soft. She opened her eyes slowly, the nightmares of the evening fading from her. Her eyes were blurry, so she rubbed at them to try and clear the sleep dust away. As she brought her hands close to her face she noticed how small they were, the nails soft and pliable looking. Baby hands...

"She's so cute!" came a familiar voice. Tina started. She couldn't see the source of the voice, but she recognized it nonetheless. It was the girl who worked but one till over from her, Cindy. She panicked. Woolson had brought her to work! She was being shown to her co-workers. She was still a helpless newborn, being demonstrated to her former peers as if she was...

"Cindy, why don't you skip opening your till today and come with me," she heard Woolson say. "Just carry little Tina here, would you?"

She felt herself being transferred to different arms. Cindy always wore citrus scents, and the lovely smell of oranges overwhelmed little Tina. On top of this, she was hungry. She tried as hard as she could to think of steak, fries or anything else, but all she could think of was sweet, warm milk. She nuzzled into the shirt Cindy was wearing - it smelled like orange and soap. Under that material were breasts, and breasts meant food, Tina reasoned. She struggled with the thought. Cindy wasn't pregnant or lactating. She had to keep control.

They traveled the length of the store, the entire way Cindy stroking Tina's head. The act was soothing, and made it harder to ignore her hunger. She wanted Cindy to feed her. Up the stairs and into Woolson's office. As they came in, she heard Woolson say "9 o'clock, on the dot."

A shudder went through her. She began to weep. She was stuck like this. She would have to grow up, all over again, spend years helpless and hapless! Cindy sat with her, and she could hear Woolson sit at his desk across from them. "Did you put on the garments I requested you wear today Cindy?"

Cindy cleared her throat, sounding embarrassed. "I did," she shyly admitted. Tina was suddenly aware of a growing pressure against her cheek. "But it was maternity wear, umm, sir." The pressure was increasing. Tina realized, with growing horror that Woolson had selected his next victim. Cindy breasts were filling out. Tina, for her part, licked her lips. It was well passed breakfast for her.

With gasps of disbelief, Cindy clutched the child to her swelling breasts, confused as to why the maternity bra she had been wearing all morning now suddenly fit so well, and more confused as to why Woolson was smiling so cruelly...

The End