A Wish Too Far

Chapter 9
Back to School

Chapter Description: After Liam's wild day, going to primary school is actually an improvement. Might his long adventure finally pay off?

As Liam cleared the trees and hurried across the grassy field of the primary school he knew he still had several problems. He was still wearing a Sesame Street t-shirt that exposed his tummy and his shorts were overly tight and not even knee length once again. He looked like a toddler who’d eaten a magical cookie and grown into a young boy.

The fields were empty at the moment but it wasn’t long before he heard the sounds of cheering and yelling wafting across the space. He headed in the direction of the noise and found that it was coming from a small outdoor swimming pool behind the classroom blocks. A whole class of kids was in the water. A few were swimming swiftly back and forth while most practised kicking and blowing bubbles. Towels were draped across the grass outside the pool, but littered across the low fence which encircled the pool area were dozens of shirts and shorts. Liam snuck up to the fence and pulled a blue school uniform polo off the fence and then a pair of navy cargo shorts.

Swiftly disappearing behind a classroom block Liam didn’t bother changing clothes, he simply pulled the uniform on over his own clothing. It seemed the class he’d seen was a bit older than his current age, maybe seven or eight year olds. His shirt was only a bit baggy though, and the shorts were calf-length, fine for primary school. They had an elastic waist with a drawstring, so he was able to tighten them appropriately. No shoes of course, but he’d fit in better in bare feet anyway.

Now appropriately changed Liam headed around to the other side of the block, to where the playground was now filled with kids playing. On the cement porches of the class blocks kids sat on long benches eating their lunches. Liam tried to see through this flurry of activity to spot Lucy. It was tough because the uniforms made everyone look alike. He set off across the blacktop, now automatically correcting for the midday heat by walking on the sides of his soles. He was right in the middle of the tarmac, between a basketball game and hopscotch, when he saw her jumping rope near the edge of the blacktop. It was too good to be true, he’d found her!

Liam made a bee-line for Lucy, forcing his way across several games in progress. He ignored the jeers and complaints. He only stopped when his way was blocked by a teacher. It was a young woman in a long dress with a whistle around her neck. “Where’s your hat?” she demanded.

“What?” Liam asked, confused. Then he looked around and it dawned on him he was the only kid here without a bucket hat on.

“You know the rules, you must have a hat to play outside in the summer terms or you’ll end up red as a tomato. You’ll have to go to the shaded area to play,” she told him.

“But I can’t. I have to tell my friend something. It will only take a second, please!” he begged.

But the teacher shook her head. “You can talk to her back in class young man. Now scoot!”

Liam wanted to run past her, but she’d follow him and then he’d be in bigger trouble. So he made his way towards the shaded play are, keeping an eye on Lucy the whole time. The shaded area wasn’t a punishment place for kids without their hats. It had a smaller playground and a sandpit of its own and was filled with kids, some with hats some without. One of the best things about primary school was getting to play much of the day after all. They couldn’t deny a Kiwi kid that right just for forgetting a hat. Liam did find it a bit ironic that shoes weren’t required at all but no hat was taken very seriously.

How much time could be left to lunch, Liam wondered. He kept eyeing Lucy skipping rope across the tarmac and then looking at the teacher patrolling between them. There was only one thing for it. For the second time in twenty minutes and for the third time that day he was going to have to steal some kid’s clothes. At least all he needed this time was a hat. That wasn’t so bad.

Ambling innocently over to the sandpit he looked for someone with their hat off. Unfortunately there was no such luck. So now he started looking for easy victims. It was so strange to be sizing up kids this way. Even though he still had his mind being in a kid’s body was forcing him to behave like a bratty little kid in many ways. That was all the more reason to get to Lucy and be done with this thing. Liam settled on a little girl who was even smaller than him. She was digging on her hands and knee in the sand, no friends around her. Boys and girls wore the same blue bucket hats so it made no difference she was a girl. Liam stepped carefully into the pit, feeling sand squish between his toes.

Glancing around to be sure no one was watching, Liam leant over the girl and snatched her hat from her head, then gave her a slight shove into the sand, to keep her from calling out right away. Liam made a hasty retreat from the sandpit and started to run for the sunlit tarmac. Just as he felt elation washing over him a dirty bare foot suddenly shot out in front of him. He couldn’t help but trip over it, slamming to the ground and cutting his lip on the pavement. Lifting himself up to his knees he found his way blocked by a boy who appeared to be about eight. Like the others he wore a silly bucket hat and primary polo shirt, in his case with a pair of baggy cargo jean shorts. But despite his skinny appearance and childish clothes he appeared absolutely gigantic to Liam. Standing up did nothing to improve that impression. The little boy had a full head and shoulders on him in height.

“What the hell was that for?” Liam demanded, trying to use confidence to unsettle the little bully.

“You took my sister’s hat,” the boy told him. “Only I get to steal her hat. You don’t get to touch her dick-head!”

Liam gulped. An 8-year old who was willing to swear was likely also the kind of kid who’d happily beat up a smaller boy. “Sorry, I’ll give it back to her in just a minute, promise.”

The boy stepped closer, then pounded his foot down on Liam’s. Even though they were both shoeless it still hurt like hell. Before he could recover from the blow the boy had grabbed Liam’s shirt and yanked him close. Then he spat in Liam’s face and knocked the boy onto his back on the ground. “I’m gonna make you hurt now,” the kid yelled at him before dropping on top of him, pulling back his shirt and starting to pinch his exposed tummy.

Liam was powerless to resist. This was an 8-year old at best, a skinny little one at that, and yet Liam could do nothing. The boy’s knees were pushed into his body and the weight felt like a ton. The pain of the pinching was unbearable. He could help but yell out, tears rolling down his cheeks in pain and humiliation. “Say uncle!” the boy roared in his ear as a gaggle of other boys gathered around and watched, cheering for his assailant.

“Uncle!” Liam cried, willing him to stop.

“Not loud enough!” the boy yelled back, taking his arms and smacking his hands into his face over and over. Liam could hear the old school-chant of “Why are you hitting yourself? Stop hitting yourself!” ringing out around him.

It only ended when an adult voice yelled out, “Jonathan stop it this instant!”

The blows stopped right away and the boy backed up, his weight lifting from Liam’s body. “But he stole my sister’s hat miss!” the boy whined, now sounding like nothing but a wimpy little kid again.

“I don’t care what he did, you don’t use your fists to solve things Jonathan! We use our words, remember.”

“Yes Miss Lewis,” Jonathan mumbled.

The teacher appeared standing over him now, looking stern. “Can you stand up dear?”

“I think so,” Liam replied, finding the strength to stand at last. The crowd of onlookers was long gone, they’d gapped it as soon as the teacher showed up. Now it was just the two of them.

“You two boys are both going to the principal’s office,” she declared, gesturing for them to go inside.

Once inside Liam padded along the linoleum floor hoping the teacher would simply leave them to sit and wait for the principal. The other boy might sit there out of fear of the consequences but Liam had no such worries. Arriving at the office she made them both sit outside the door. “Honestly, a little boy like you already causing trouble,” she lectured Liam. “Stealing a poor little girl’s hat. I am not impressed and I doubt your mum will be either.”

“And you,” she spat, turning to the other boy, “Beating up a boy half your size! Whatever he did to your sister you had no right to hurt him when he had no way to fight back.”

“Well Mr. Goode will deal with the both of you,” she told them ominously. As she prepared to leave she turned back and eyed Liam carefully. “What’s your name anyway, I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“I’m Liam, I... I just started the other day.”

“Just started and already in Mr. Goode’s office. Not a good start my dear,” she remarked, then headed back down the corridor.

Liam had no intention of waiting for Mr. Goode. The principal was bound to know he wasn’t a student here at all. He could see from the clock that it was 1:20 in the afternoon. Lunch likely ended in ten minutes. That wasn’t much time, but he had nothing to lose at this point. In all the struggling no one had actually taken the hat off of him and that was his ticket to reaching Lucy. Liam turned to Jonathan. “Sorry I got you in trouble. And I’m sorry I stole your sister’s hat too.”

“Whatever,” the boy muttered, looking like he might cry.

Liam shrugged, he’d done what he could to make amends. So he hopped up from the seat and scurried down the corridor before Jonathan realised he was leaving. The playground was still a mass of play and activity when he emerged back onto it. Miss Lewis was visible talking to some children in the sandpit, perfect for his needs. Donning the hat he hurried the opposite way towards where he’d last seen Lucy.

Sure enough she was still there, playing a clapping game with another little girl. Dressed in her uniform shirt and navy three-quarter length pants with her pigtails sticking out from under the bucket hat she was still cute as a button, but now she was just as tall as him. It was weird to see someone he’d known as an adult now that he was kid-sized. Wasting no time Liam tapped her on the shoulder. Lucy stopped her clapping game and gaped at him. “What?” she asked, confused.

“Lucy, it’s me, Liam.”

Lucy gave him an even stranger look. “I don’t know any boys called Liam. Who are you?”

“No Lucy, I’m not a boy. Remember, Liam the grown-up, who babysat you the other night. Remember the wish you made, to make me little like you? Well, look, it came true,” Liam explained, gesturing to his little boy body.

Lucy’s eyes widened and a grin spread across her face. “It worked!” she shouted, scaring her friend a bit.

Liam eyed the other little girl who was staring hard at them. “Could you give us a moment?” he asked her.

The other girl frowned but then turned and walked away, leaving them mostly alone. Other kids played nearby but they weren’t interested in them.

“You got little! It worked, it really worked! I knew magic was real! I knew it!” she screeched, hopping up and down.

“Yes Lucy, magic is real obviously, though I’d never have believed it until now.”

“And now you can be my boyfriend!” Lucy gushed, grabbing his hands and pulling him closer.

But Liam pulled back, shaking his head. “Look Lucy, you have to understand, that just can’t work.”

The poor little girl looked absolutely crestfallen. “But why not? You said if you were little, we could be boyfriend and girlfriend, you said it!”

“I know, but I didn’t mean like this Lucy! I mean, no one knows who I am. In no time they’ll discover I’m not really a student here and ship me off to an orphanage where I’ll never see you again.”

Lucy was shaking her head. “No I can fix that, I can make it okay!”

Liam was shaking his head now too. “No Lucy it’s more than that. I’m a grown-up sweetie. You’ve made me look like a little boy but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m an adult. I have a life as a writer, I have grown-up friends. I can’t just leave all that, I couldn’t be happy watching cartoons and playing in a sandpit. I’ve been to university, I’d be bored silly sitting through lessons on basic addition and reading full sentences. No grown-up wants to spend hours colouring or pushing toys cars around a carpet. I have a wardrobe full of clothes and shoes at home, I would never be comfortable wearing t-shirts and shorts every day, running around barefoot everywhere. I don’t want to have dirty little feet with soles as tough as leather, I don’t want to take one bath a week and play in sand and dirt and muck! You have to see I could never be happy this way.”

Liam stopped and took a breath, seeing that Lucy was looking down at her feet, unable to look him in the eye. “Oh, Lucy, I’m sorry honey. You really are a pretty, even adorable little girl. But you must see now that this will never work between us. I can’t just make myself enjoy being a little kid again. You have to make this right, you have wish again, wish to fix all of this.”

Lucy looked up, wiping a tear from her eye. She forced a smile and nodded. “You’re right, I’m sorry I made a mistake.”

“It’s okay honey, just do what you can to fix it.”

Lucy nodded again and then closed her eyes tightly. Liam watched closely wondering if something might happen right away. And just like that something did happen. He felt something change... something shifted. He felt... so relaxed all of a sudden.

The pretty girl holding his hand opened her eyes and smiled at him. She had a nice smile. “You feel better?” she asked coyly.

“Feelin’ silly,” he admitted, not quite sure why he was holding a girl’s hand, even a very pretty one like Lucy.

She leant in closer and whispered, “You wanna be my boyfriend?”

Liam giggled, feeling silly and shy but knowing of course the answer was yes. He nodded his head, still giggling. Lucy leant in close and pecked a kiss on his cheek. It made him feel naughty, getting kissed by a girl, but at the same time really happy. Then Lucy declared, “C’mon, let’s play!” and pulled at his hand.

Liam skipped along beside her, enjoying the feeling of the warm tarmac under his nice tough feet, the feeling of the sun on his face and his arms, most of all though, he was feeling wonderfully proud. Wait until he told mummy and daddy what a big boy he was. Wait until he told them he had a girlfriend already, even though he was only six years old! Liam skipped cheerfully along, looking forward to cartoons and cuddling with mummy and running ‘round naked after bathtime, knowing that all was right in the world.