Spring Cleaning

Chapter 5
"Kid Stuff"

Chapter Description: Angela dwindled backwards through puberty, becoming 13, then 12. It caused her only a tickling feeling, and she giggled as she made conversation between her dolls. What had been a bra at 14 had become a training bra at 12, and at 11 vanished completely. Her retainer turned to braces, but those too quickly disappeared. She regained her eyesight and lost her glasses when she returned to the age of 10. Yet even more changes were in store for Angela.

It was becoming a bit tiring for Angela as she tidied up. She hadn’t cleaned her room in a very long time -- for some reason that was the one order her mother made that she just wasn’t able to follow. Still, she knew it wouldn’t be long before the room would be clean, and her mom would be so impressed that she made the choice to clean it all on her own.

She had put most of the old shoes on a low shelf in her closet, keeping a few she knew would never fit her again in a small pile by her bed. The myriad coloring books from her younger days were now in a neat stack by her dresser. Presently Angela was collecting textbooks she had used in middle school and before (though she wasn’t entirely sure why they were scattered across her room).

One thing she hadn’t found yet in her spring cleaning was the music box, which she’d been humming along with as she cleaned. Angela didn’t care how the music box knew it was her birthday -- she was just glad it was celebrating with her.

If the 14-year-old had so much as opened the shutter of her window, she would have realized that something strange was going on. In her mind, it was the evening of her 14th birthday, shortly after dinner; outside, it was about 4:00 PM, and the sun was shining brightly on her clueless father, who was hard at work mowing the lawn.

But Angela didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary as she finished stacking her old Math textbooks, aside from the fatigue she was feeling due to all the cleaning. She massaged her left wrist briefly, which was aching a bit from lifting so much junk.

This is hard work...it’s no wonder I don’t do this often! Maybe I should take a break.

She didn’t want to rest on her bed, for fear she might fall asleep before her task was completed. For a few minutes, she pondered what she should do on her break.

Then Angela noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

Hey, is that...

In the far left corner of the room, she saw it: her favorite dollhouse, filled with several Barbie dolls and a few Kens.

She smiled and was about to walk over to the dollhouse, but suddenly hesitated.

I’m fourteen now. Do I still like Barbie dolls?

One little part of her was saying,

No, you’re too mature to play with dolls.

But the vast majority of her was saying,

Of course you do. You’re not all grown up yet; you can still enjoy "kid stuff" for a while.

Her eyes lit up and she went to sit down by the dolls and their mansion. Nobody was looking, right? No reason to be embarrassed -- it was fine to like Barbies at 14.

She knelt by the huge toy house and examined her collection with utmost affection. Here was a place she had loved since the fourth grade, and all the familiar faces were there: Kelly, Krissy, Skipper, Ken -- and of course, Barbie herself; all appearing in various forms. Malibu Barbie was always her preference, she recalled.

At the point, the music box stopped and started again, its new tune bringing Angela back to the rapturous feelings of childhood:

Toyland, Toyland

You are ever happy there...

With youthful nostalgia guiding her hand, Angela opened the dollhouse. Giddily she removed a few of her favorites and set to work giving them different outfits and accessories, preparing for a game.

The changes were slow and subtle, but the moment she opened the house, maturity began to leave her once again.

Angela dwindled backwards through puberty, becoming 13, then 12. It caused her only a tickling feeling, and she giggled as she made conversation between her dolls. What had been a bra at 14 had become a training bra at 12, and at 11 vanished completely. Her retainer turned to braces, but those too quickly disappeared. She regained her eyesight and lost her glasses when she returned to the age of 10. Yet even more changes were in store for Angela.

Her hair turned from a smart ponytail to a short cut an inch or two above the shoulders, and it became somewhat lighter than it had been when she was 14 just minutes before. Her nose became more button-like and cute. Indeed, every feature of her face became round and childlike: cheeks were chubbier, eyes were shinier, ears were littler, and many of her baby teeth came back. She didn’t even notice as her prized diamond studs, along with the ear holes they slid into, quietly glistened before evaporating into the air.

The shirt which had sported the Youth Group insignia shrank and shifted into a colorful young girl’s tee, bearing the image of the Disney princess Belle, as well as the title of "princess". The functional white panties she’d been wearing before morphed into a small, multi-colored pair, featuring Barbie herself. Even the flashy denim shorts, with their flower print, turned into the sort of simple pink cotton shorts she had worn as a young girl. The shoes on her feet slipped off and disintegrated, leaving each foot robed in only a rainbow toe-sock.

Of course, her room changed too. The shoes 14-year-old Angela had collected and put in her closet, now all too big for her, melted away, leaving only the ones she had previously said would never fit her again. Her bed shrank considerably, but it was still covered with many of the stuffed animals she had placed there at 18. Wallpaper, posters, and any other decorations of the room now sported a Barbie theme. Soon, anything remaining in the room that she’d obtained beyond fourth grade was no more.

Likewise, anything remaining in her mind.

The regression subsided, leaving Angela at the tender age of 9, a fourth-grade girl enjoying a pretend game with her dollies.

"No Ken, we should go to the beach."

"But Barbie, I wanna go to the football game!"

"I agree with Barbie," Skipper chimed in.

Ken threw his hands up into the air and stormed off. Angie laughed aloud, having more fun than she’d had in ages. This new dollhouse made Barbie games much more fun for her. The game continued until Ken and Barbie kissed and made up, and then Angie put the dolls away and rose to her feet, sighing with satisfaction.

As she turned around, Angie noticed something peculiar. There were lots of other toys on the floor, aside from her dolls and their house. She couldn’t remember playing with them, but she figured she’d have to put them away like she put her dolls away.

Mom’s gonna be angry if she sees I didn’t put my toys away.

Angie proceeded to gather the coloring books and place them on a shelf, arrange her various footwear (bunny slippers included) in her closet, and put the curiously large number of toddler toys scattered across the room under her bed. The room would soon be perfectly clean.

And Mrs. Thomas’ machination would soon be complete.