Dede made a shooing motion at me. “I need to call Oliver. Why don’t you go play that game I bought you?”

“Farm Veterinarian? Seriously?” I scowled at the game box. “I bet even girls don’t like it.”

Dede leaned over and pointed at the box as she waited for Oliver to pick up. “See? Right there it says ‘Fun for girls of all ages.’” Apparently Oliver finally answered his phone as she turned away from me. “Now hush.”

I sighed and walked to my room. I tossed the game box on my bed and climbed into my gaming chair at my desk. After I put my headset on, I noticed I was being flagged for a chat. I saw it was Diesel64. His real name is Scott.

I clicked on the accept button. “Hey dude. What up?” I re-adjusted the mic as the headset doesn’t fit my head anymore.

Over the headset, I heard Scott say, “Hey bro! Where did you go for four months?”

I frowned at my computer screen. “Don’t you watch the news?”

Scott chuckled. “Are you kidding, bro? Only old men like you watch the news! And what filter are you using, dude? You sound like a kid.”

I scowled uselessly at my computer screen. “You really don’t know? Dude! I was in a coma for four months like everyone else who’d encountered that switcher asshole.”

“Seriously?” asked Scott. “Oh wait. I think I did hear something about that. So what happened, man?”

“I’ve been changed into a ten year old girl,” I said flatly. “All of us switcher victims.”

“For reals?” exclaimed Scott. “Holy shit, man! I don’t believe you!”

“Check out your search engine,” I said trying not to yell.

I heard keyboard clicking sounds. Scott said, “Give me a minute to look. Man, I don’t believe you. That switcher thing wasn’t physical. It was electrical, right? Your mental state changed. To be a kid girl would require… Holy shit! Dude! That’s insane. It’s happened here and Europe. How is that possible?”

“Nobody knows,” I said honestly. “It’s baffled everyone. But hey man, that’s all water under the bridge. Let’s get a session going. I see Stan and Walter are on-line.”

“Wait a second, Harry. I have to ask.” Scott suddenly got very serious. “Are you legally ten years old? Do you get any credit for being twenty-five before all this?”

I frowned at my computer. “Sadly, I’m legally ten. And my name’s Chrystal now. Come on, man. Let’s play.”

Sounding worried, Scott said, “Sorry man. I have to break contact here. Don’t contact me again.”

Shouting into the mic, I exclaimed, “Scott, wait! Why? What’s the problem?”

Scott paused for a second and then said quietly, “Remember back when we were eighteen and that one bitch got me in trouble lying about her age. Told me she was eighteen when she wasn’t? I can’t have anything to do with underage girls.”

“You can’t be serious,” I said, shocked at his comment. “You know me. This isn’t sexual!”

“I can’t so much as interact with an underage girl, even on-line. And dude, you’re about as underage as you can get! Sayonara dude.” He clicked off. A minute later his account disappeared from my friend’s list.

I just sat there in stunned silence. A few minutes later, I saw Stan and Walter’s accounts disappear from my friend’s list along with a few others. Shit. Scott must be telling everyone.

There was a knock on my door and then Dede just opened it and stepped inside my room. “Hey sugar. What’s up with this? I’m getting notices on my phone that you’ve contacted older men. What’s that about?”

I scowled at her. “My friends from high school. I wanted a game.”

“How? I deleted your accounts,” admitted Dede. “And before you get your panties in a wad, I was told to.”

I folded my arms. “I did a restore. But now my account is being blocked. I can’t even play a game now?”

Dede shrugged. “I guess you’re underage.”

“That’s bullshit!” I shouted.

Dede scowled at me. “Watch your language!”

“Tell me again why I’m here?” I snarled. She told me before we left the house, but I still couldn’t believe she’d do this to me.

Holding my hand, Dede looked down at me and frowned. “I told you, Dear One. April is going to keep an eye on you while I’m out with Oliver. I brought you over because she’s having to babysit a couple of toddlers. She agreed to have you over since you’re older. You look really cute, by the way.” She dressed me in a blue dress and had put my hair in a high ponytail tied with a bow. I hated the bow. With her free hand, she rang the door bell.

A woman around Dede’s age answered the door. “Dede! Good to see you. Come on in.” As we entered the woman bent down to address me. “And you must be Chrystal. I love your bow.”

Dede said, “Hey Claire. I know it was last minute, but I’m glad April didn’t mind bringing on someone else.” Dede ruffled my hair trying not to disturb the bow. “I know she’s ten, but I’d feel awful if something happened while she was alone.”

Claire smiled. “I understand completely. And don’t worry about it. April was thrilled at the idea of having another girl over she could talk to. She’s in the den. Just follow me.”

Dede kept hold of my hand. Did she expect me to run away? Claire led us to another room. There was a fourteen year old girl and two toddlers playing on the floor. There was a large screen TV showing some stupid cartoon.

Claire said, “April. Say hello to Chrystal. She’s going to keep you company for a while tonight. Your father and I are going out to dinner as well.”

Holding on to one of the toddlers, April grinned as she looked up at me. “Hey Chrystal! Hey, I like your bow.”

Dede let go of my hand. “Okay, honey. I’m going to leave you in April’s capable hands. I’ll be back to pick you up about eleven. You have my number if you need me.” She looked down and smiled at April. “Thank you again so much.” She turned and Claire walked with her to the door to let her out.

A man walked into the room and looked at Claire. “Are you ready, honey?”

Claire smiled. “Yes. Let me get my purse and we’ll go.” Claire turned to face April and I sitting on the floor. “You two have fun, okay. April, let Chrystal pick a movie to watch, okay? See you in a little bit.”

The as yet unnamed man smiled at us as he led Claire to the door. “See you later, girls.” And out the door they went.

As soon as the door closed, April sighed. “I thought they’d never leave! Now it’s party time!”

I just looked at April, unsure of what to do. She frowned at me and exclaimed, “I’m joking. Mom would kill me.”

I grinned. “Same here.”

April shrugged. “Your mom seems nice. I guess she has a date?”

I just nodded.

April grinned and asked, “Does your dad know?”

I shrugged. “He’s dead.” I need to remember to talk to Dede about a cover story for the missing dad. Since my actual dad is dead, I just went with that.

The smile evaporated from April’s face. She said, “Oh. I’m sorry.”

I just said, “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”

April’s face suddenly brightened. “Hey. You want some popcorn? We can watch a movie.”

I nodded. “Sounds like a good idea!”

April stood up. “Keep an eye on the girls for me. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” She turned and scurried from the room. By “the girls” I’m assuming she meant the two toddlers.

I scooted over next to the two toddlers. I guess I just needed to make sure they didn’t eat anything off the carpet or drink something they shouldn’t. The area seemed clear of hazards and the two girls giggled and cooed at each other. After a minute of relative peace, one of them inexplicably burst out crying. Well crap. What do I do?

I tried to make cooing noises. I tried funny faces. She just cried harder and got a strand of my hair in a death grip. I tried to dislodge my hair but the baby seemed to have super human strength. I tried pulling the little girl into my lap and started rocking.

The girl almost immediately stopped crying and giggled at me.

Carrying a bowl of popcorn, April re-entered the room. She looked at me and said, “Oh wow. I’ve never gotten her to get quiet so quickly. I guess she likes you. I bet you’ll be a great mom someday!”

Being a mom. What a horrifying thought!

I tried to move the little girl from my lap. She immediately burst out crying again. I moved her back to my lap and she switched to giggles.

April laughed. “Yep. She definitely likes you!”

Terrific.

To be continued…