Younger (revised)

"What do you mean by 'get ready'?" I asked. 

"I may look pretty young but I need to not only look 15 years old, I also have act like a 15 -year-old if I'm going to pull this off," she explained.

"What are you saying, I'm going to have a, four-eyed, brace-faced, pimple-puss teenager running around the house?" I laughed.

"Those are some good ideas I hadn't even thought of," she replied thoughtfully.  I assumed she was being sarcastic but I didn’t realize just how serious she was.

She also told me while she was undercover in the house she couldn't take a chance of blowing her cover and was told not to make contact with me unless it was as her ‘former foster parent’. This whole crazy plan was getting out of hand, but I couldn't do anything to convince her to back out. She was dead set on going through with it all, so there was nothing to do except play along with her.

That day, she packed all her adult-looking things in a box and had me take them to the Salvation Army drop-box, getting rid of all the clothing she had carefully chosen over the years to make her look more grown-up.  She told me that when this was over I would have to buy her a complete new wardrobe.  She said she didn’t want to be tempted to ‘be adult’ at any point in the coming weeks and months. “I might get sick of having to live as a teen all the time and I can’t afford to break character once I’m into all this.” She kept only t-shirts, ripped up jeans and shorts, some cheap-looking garish jewelry, and bright colored makeup that a teen might wear.

I thought that was crazy enough, but then she also told me she was moving into the spare bedroom and that there would be no sex until this was over.

"You can't be serious!" I said. 

"I certainly am!" she replied.  “I need to become a teenage girl as much as possible, not just look like one.”  Jokingly she added, “After all, according to the state records, I'm now only 15 and that would make it statutory rape!  Remember, from now on you are Mr. Jones, my foster father - and, by the way, I need you to take me shopping now."

By that point I was feeling so overwhelmed by everything Erin had thrown at me that I couldn't even argue. I simply gave in.  We drove to the mall to go shopping.  The investigative division had at least given her some funds for all this, so we didn’t have to exhaust our small savings.

She went to the junior’s department in the department stores as well as hitting all the teen shops. She would pick out a pile of clothes, disappear into the dressing room and com out to model each new outfit.  Then she would tease me, knowing I wasn't allowed to touch her anymore.  Strangely enough, something about that behavior intrigued me. Rather than being frustrated, I found myself becoming a little excited by her display – which did make me uncomfortable, as I didn’t want to appear to be a father perving on his teenage daughter!

The next stop was the music store where she bought several posters of current pop, rap and hip-hop artists that a fifteen-year-old girl would be into.  She explained that she needed to decorate the spare bedroom to help get her into her role as a teenager. “Plus, you may get a visit from a social worker since the office we’re using for placement isn’t in on this whole plan,” she added.

That meant getting sheets, curtains, stuff animals and other knick-knacks appropriate for a teen girl. I realized the budget provided by DHHS wouldn’t last long at this rate, so I said we’d have to get a lot of that stuff second-hand at thrift stores. After some brief pushback Erin finally conceded – “I guess it wouldn’t make much sense for your foster daughter to have all new stuff anyway.”

We moved on to the bookstore where she bought teenage romance books and some teen magazines.   We also stopped at the phone store, where she bought cheap used phone and activated it with a new number. Her old phone was one of the only things she was willing to keep, but that was just so she could talk to her boss while she prepared for her ‘assignment.’ She told me she planned to leave it with me when she went undercover.  She said I should only contact her on the new phone if there were an emergency. She planned to use it mostly for Spotify, TikTok, & YouTube – she had already scanning them for music and videos to help her get into the right mindset.

She thanked me for helping her once we wrapped up all the shopping. On the way home she exclaimed, "Damn, I'm out of cigarettes! Stop at the market so I can buy a pack."

"Look, you are the one who wants to be fifteen. As you well know, that's legally too young to smoke and I won't allow it!"  She looked shocked, realizing she hadn't thought about that.  I quickly added, "Without a driver's license and with no money, I would say you are shit-out-of-luck, my dear." She knew I had her and dropped the subject.

 When we arrived home she put all of her new clothes away, then she hung her posters on the walls and finished arranging the spare bedroom. When looked satisfied once she finally finished. You had to admit that with stuff scattered everywhere around the floor, Erin had indeed captured the “organized chaos” of a teenager’s room. It looked like a 15-year-old lived there.

She spent the rest of the evening watching videos online, listening to music, and reading her teen magazines.  Before she went to bed, she told me she had several appointments the next day that I would have to drive her to.  I wondered what she had planned but agreed to chauffeur her around.

The next day I drove her to the office of a college friend of hers who was now an orthodontist.  I was sitting in the waiting room when she came out smiling.  I couldn't believe it; friend had installed a full set of silver braces.  "I can't believe how far you are taking this," I told her. "It was your idea, if I remember correctly," she said.  I was dumbfounded by how much of a difference the braces made. Between that, her lack of makekup, and her casual clothes, anyone would think she was a teenager.

https://i.imgur.com/5EkhLGz.jpg

She told me she had thought about getting some cheap plastic frames with fake lenses after my ‘four-eyed’ comment. “I tried some on at when we were out yesterday, but they didn’t really help,” she explained, “so I bailed on that idea.”

She finally made me drop her off at one of those cheap hair salons, the kind that does cuts for seven bucks. I hardly recognized her when she came back to the car; her long hair was cut short almost like a boy's.  She giggled at my shocked expression. “I know, I know… I ALWAYS keep my hair past my shoulders. But this is worth it – it made a big difference didn’t it?”  I just nodded in shock. “And it will grow back quickly. I’ll style it better later on, but I think this more rough cut works really well. Even people who know me might be fooled!”

https://i.imgur.com/pFO5sqb.jpg

As we drove home, she proceeded to bite her long, manicured fingernails nearly to the quick. Sitting there in her ripped jeans, sweatshirt and platform sneakers, I couldn't help but comment on her new persona.

 "I can't believe how far you have taken this," I said.  "You look completely different! With those clothes, short hair, braces, no makeup, and stubs for nails you do look like a fifteen-year-old girl!" 

"I told you that I was serious about this and would do whatever it takes to make it look real," she replied.  “So I need you to help me prepare for this, okay?”  At my reticence she pushed “If you really love me, you’ll give me your complete support!”

I relented. “Of course I’ll support you. Isn’t that what I’ve been doing?”

Erin gave me a measured look before nodding. “Yes, and I really do appreciate it. Taking me shopping and all that. But aside from a few jokes, you still basically treat me the same – as your 26 year old girlfriend. If I want to pass convincingly as a 15 year old to the social worker and the family – not the mention other teens – then I need to really start living as one. That means you acting as my foster father, not as my boyfriend!”

“Alright,” I said after several seconds. “If that’s what you want, I’ll do my best to make this as real as possible.”  I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to deal with everything she was asking, but I promised to do my best. Perhaps I could approach it more like a game? I decided to put my mind to coming up with ways to ‘improve’ her experience.

She spent the next several days mostly in her room immersing herself in Tikok and YouTube videos, listening to her new playlists, and reading her teen magazines and YA novels. She did her best to act like a surly teen to me, rolling her eyes when I spoke to her and responding with mono-syllabic answers.

As if all of this wasn't bad enough, she announced that she was starting a diet to lose some weight.  She wanted to get her weight down to that of a fifteen-year-old.  She was thin to begin with I couldn't imagine her much thinner. Since she was also trying to switch her diet to junk food and fast food, that meant actual exercise was required.  So she went running every morning and evening to burn off as many calories as she could.

https://i.imgur.com/HqivZGF.jpg

As promised, I took some time to consider what I could do. By the third day I had come up with a plan to both help Erin get into character while having a bit of fun at her expense.  I told her "You may look like a fifteen-year-old but you also have to be able to function socially if you are going to get away with this." 

"So you’ve got some ideas?" she asked curiously.

I gave her a Cheshire cat grin. "I'm going to start by dropping you off at the mall for a few hours every day. Then on Friday and Saturday night, I'll drop you off at the roller skating rink near my restaurant. You need to make some friends and start hanging out with them." 

“Skating rink? Kids actually still do that?” she asking, practicing her teen sneer.

“Yes, Erin, believe it or not” I answered. “Well, at least those too young to drive – which now includes you!  I don’t know how much they actually skate, but I see a ton of younger teens hanging around there every weekend. It’ll be a great place for you to meet ‘other’ teens – to practice acting like a teenager and maybe make a few friends.”

"But what if some teenage boy tries to pick me up?" she asked. 

"Well, if you really want to think like a 15 year old girl, I think having a boyfriend your own age would be appropriate," I told her. She looked at me with a shocked expression.  "I didn't say you had to sleep with him or anything, just play along," I assured her.  "Maybe even give him your phone number and let him take you out on a date or two." The image of Erin having to fend off a fumbling teenagers advances was so hilarious that I had to suppress a laugh. At the same time, though, there was something almost arousing at the idea. I wasn’t sure if it was the humiliation she would feel or the thought of her playacting as someone so much younger, but I definitely felt a small thrill imagining the scene.

Erin started to speak, clearly about to reject your suggestion, but then stopped to consider your idea. It took a minute but then she agreed that it would help.

Wanting to push her a bit further, I made a thoughtful expression and said “Frankly, if it weren’t summer I would enroll you in school. That would be the best way to force you into learning to live like as a teenager. But since that’s not an option right now, this is the best I can come up with.”

Erin looked shocked for a moment but, to my surprise, then agreed with me. “Yeah, that would have been best,” she said ruefully.

Erin back in high school – now THAT was something I would like to see!

"I also have another idea that might help you get into the 15-year-old mind set.”

"What's that?" she asked. 

"Well, as the general manager at a fast-food restaurant, let me say congratulations, you've got a job!" I announced.

"You expect me to work for you? Cooking burgers?" she laughed. 

"Yep, starting tomorrow you're our newest crew member.  All that grease and heat should help give you that perfect teenage complexion," I said. “Though as a 15 year old you can’t actually work the grill. You’re too young, so you’ll be taking orders, prepping food, and cleaning mostly ” I teased.   I thought making her work in fast-food might be a step too far, but Erin continued to surprise me with her dedication. She agreed reluctantly.

The next day I made her take the city bus, come in on her own, and fill out an application, then interviewed her like all of the other applicants. After the interview I told her she had the job and put her right to work.  I then made her go to the backroom and don her new shirt, pants, apron, and hat. Observing her being trained behind the counter, I was pleased to see that she looked just like every other teenager in the place.  After work I made her take the bus home so no one would think anything funny was going on.

By Friday night, she made plans to go roller-skating with Janet, a girl from work with whom she had made friends.  Janet’s mother picked her up and dropped the girls off at the roller rink. I wondered how well Erin could handle a lengthy social encounter, since most of her interaction with other teens had been limited to work. I shouldn’t have worried. When Janet’s mom brought Erin back that night, she was effusive in her praise. “Erin tells me you’re her foster father. Well I just want to say you’re raising a lovely young woman. She and Janet hit it off so well! Maybe next time they can have a sleepover.”

I was bemused by her rambling but please that Erin seemed to have fooled everyone, both adults and teens. Janet’s mother showed me some pictures she took of the girls together. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn they were both young teens.

https://i.imgur.com/lReH4oX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4GhSO89.jpg

Even after Janet and her mom had left, Erin maintained her role. She excitedly told me that night she had met a totally awesome boy and gave him her phone number.  ‘Maybe she’s testing me?’ I thought to myself. Regardless, I tried to act as like pleased foster father she had cast me as.

He called her the next afternoon as did Janet,  the girl friend from work. Between the two of them, she laid on her bed talking on her phone for hours.  I overheard her saying things like "Oh my god!" and "Like, that's so cool!" and Awesome!"  Her phone also started getting text alerts with amazing regularity.

The rest of the day she spent taking selfies and working on her computer. “I need to create social media new profiles,” she explained, breaking character for the only time that day.

https://i.imgur.com/T5rhyRI.jpg

On Sunday I pulled the classifieds from the newspaper and circled an ad for a baby sitter.  "I want you to call and find out about it," I told her.  She looked at me strangely but called the number.  By the time she got off the phone she had a job baby-sitting for a few hours Monday and Wednesday for the next two weeks.

She worked the whole second week at the restaurant as well. “I need the spending money since I’ll be moving to another family soon,” she said. I had mixed feelings about her statement. She was so much in character now that I started to feel like I was living with an actual teenager. But she was still Erin, my girlfriend of nearly 5 years, and I didn’t like the idea of not seeing her for weeks or longer. As it was, I was starting to get frustrated at the loss of intimacy, especially when she would casually prance around in her pjs – a long tshirt and panties.

She told me on Friday that she was going to spend the night at Janet’s house and meet the boy at the mall. So she packed a small bag and I dropped her off.

Saturday morning she called saying, "Mr. Jones, I want to stay another night, her mother said it was ok."

"I suppose, if her mother says it's ok, you can stay over," I told her.  "Where are you going and what are you doing?"

She said they were going to go to this really cool amusement park and hang out for the day.  They were also going to spend the night camping with her parents at a nearby campground and stuff like that.  "I guess it's all right, as long as there is adult supervision," I said with a grin, letting a teasing tone creep into my voice. A whole weekend with a group of ‘other’ teens with adults watching them – this could be a make or break test for her.

Erin didn’t lose a beat. "Ok, Toodle-Doo," she said and hung up.  I set down my phone,  shaking my head and thinking, "She's out of her mind!"

By the third week she was starting to unconsciously display the demeanor and vocabulary of a teenager.  She had lost so much weight that what little breasts she had were now almost non-existent and her curvaceous ass and beautiful thighs had shrunk to those of a shapeless teenager's.  I let it go, not wanting to interfere and ruin the plan.