The next time Kyle heard from Jessie was on a Saturday morning almost two weeks later.
His phone buzzed with a text message. When he checked he saw it was from Jessie. “I need your help,” the message read.
Kyle typed his response. “What's up?”
“Pick me up, pls. At my girlfriend's place,” was all Jessie messaged in response.
“OK,” Kyle replied.
“Thx.”
On the drive over to the apartment, Kyle wondered what the problem might be this time. At the very least, Jessie still had access to his phone, but he seemed unwilling to share more than was necessary. Kyle parked outside the same door where he had dropped off Jessie last time. Then, he texted his friend to say he was there.
A minute later, the door opened and out walked a little blonde girl, wavy hair hanging all the way down her back, wearing an old-fashioned dress, a backpack hanging from one shoulder. Her wide blue eyes glanced around, searching. When she spotted Kyle, her face brightened and she ran up to his car, opening the back door and climbing in.
“Thanks!” the girl said. “I thought I'd go crazy if I had to spend another hour in there, alone.”
“Jessie?” Kyle asked. The girl bore no resemblance to his friend, but who else could it be?
“Just drive,” little Jessie said. “I'll explain when we're safely in your apartment.”
Minutes later, Kyle unlocked the door to his apartment, opened it, and gestured for the girl to enter.
“Thanks again for being there for me,” Jessie said, setting down her bag on the kitchen table. “I was too scared to walk over on my own, looking like this.” She gestured towards her outfit.
“So, she turned you into a little girl?” Kyle asked, even though the answer was obvious.
“Yesterday,” Jessie confirmed, taking a seat on a chair at the table, her feet dangling inches above the ground. “She noticed me looking at a woman that lives down the hall from her as we passed in the hallway. When she asked me if I thought the woman's outfit was cute, I said, ‘Yeah, I guess.’”
“Uh oh,” Kyle said.
“I know,” Jessie said. “Dumb answer. I mean, I didn't realize she was feeling jealous. I just thought she liked what the girl was wearing. Next thing I know, I'm shrinking out of my clothes again. She said, ‘If you like cute outfits so much, then you can wear one yourself.’”
They both looked down at the dress Jessie was wearing. It was indeed cute.
“Whoa.”
“I had to sleep on her couch in pink PJs,” Jessie said. “She just made them appear out of nowhere, same as this dress.” The girl sighed. “Then, she left this morning to visit her aunt who lives out West. She said she would be back Monday and told me to have fun this weekend. She even suggested I go play with the woman down the hall.”
“Wow,” Kyle said, not sure what else to say. “That sucks.”
“I think she wanted to make sure I wouldn't try anything with another woman,” Jessie said, sighing and leaning forward, putting her head in her little hands.
“So,” Kyle said. “You're stuck like that until she comes back.”
Jessie nodded, her long blonde hair swinging as she did.
“What do you want to do?”
“Can we just game, you know, like normal?” Jessie asked, looking up at Kyle.
Kyle nodded, and they both shared a smile.
***
“I'm thirsty,” Jessie said, later on that evening, after they had gotten some hamburgers and focused on gaming.
Looking down at his friend beside him, Kyle was impressed by how well she had adapted to using the controller with such girly little fingers. It confused him, though, just why Jessie had become such a pale blonde girl. It would have been simple enough to have just made him into a little girl that still resembled him. Why choose this particular look?
“She likes dolls,” Jessie said, apparently sensing Kyle's curiosity.
“Oh?” Kyle said, turning his eyes away after being made aware that he was staring.
“She collects them,” Jessie explained. “At least a dozen antique porcelain dolls. Frilly dresses. Big staring eyes. They creep me out. She knows how I hate ‘em.” She paused the game and looked down at herself, taking a lock of bright blonde hair in one hand to observe it. “I guess this was her attempt to make me look like one of her ‘little darlings.’”
“I see,” Kyle said, feeling pity for his friend. “Sorry.”
Jessie sighed and hopped off the couch. “I'm gonna go grab something to drink. You want something?”
Kyle looked down at his half-empty soda can. “I'm good.”
Jessie nodded and then headed for the fridge.
Kyle wondered if he should have just kept his attention on the game.
When Jessie returned, Kyle was surprised to see the girl was holding an open beer can.
“Hold on,” Kyle said, reaching for the can. “You can't…”
“Can't what?” Jessie said, pulling the can out of his reach. “I'm an adult. I've had a thousand beers before.”
“But, right now you’re not…”
“Just let me have this,” Jessie pleaded. “I feel so damn childish and girly. Just let me do at least something to make me feel grown up again.”
Kyle was concerned, but he was not about to stop Jessie. “Okay,” he said. “I'm not going to stop you from making your own choices. Just… take it slow, okay?”
“Thanks,” Jessie said, taking a sip. The girl's face scrunched up in disgust, as if she had just sucked on a lemon, but she just shook her head and said, “Right, let's get back to it.”
They started playing again, and Jessie took gradually larger sips as they went. Eventually, after she had built up her courage, she upended the whole beer into her mouth and slammed down the empty can on the table, letting out a satisfied belch.
“You feeling alright?” Kyle asked, noticing Jessie's head tipping from side to side as if the girl was close to falling asleep.
“‘M Fine!” Jessie said, fighting to keep her eyes focused on the screen. “Not even really tipsy,” she lied.
They played a little while longer. Jessie struggled to keep her character alive, having lost a lot of dexterity with her fingers.
When Kyle glanced over at his friend, he saw that her face had begun to look a little green.
“Uh oh,” Jessie said and rose to her feet, covering her mouth with one hand. She ran, stumbling towards the bathroom.
Kyle followed and entered the room just as she put her head in the toilet and began puking up the beer and the fast food they had eaten earlier. He walked over to the girl, knelt down and helped her hold her hair back.
“Thanks,” Jessie said between heaves.
They cleaned her up after she had emptied her stomach. Kyle lent her one of his larger t-shirts to wear as a sleep shirt. There were no more beers that night or gaming. Instead, she lay down and closed her eyes to shut out the sensation that the room was spinning.
Kyle left her a glass of water to drink as she rested and recovered on the couch. Then, he headed off to bed on his own, hoping that his friend would be doing better in the morning.
***
“You okay?” Kyle asked as he poured out a bowl of cereal for each of them. It was the next morning and little Jessie still looked unwell, but not as green as last night.
“Peachy,” the girl replied as she spooned out some cereal and milk from her bowl. She seemed extra small, holding that big spoon and wearing Kyle's shirt like a dress.
“You want me to bring you back to your place?”
She shook her head and ate another spoonful. “I want to be waiting at her place when she gets back.”
“We could hang out today.”
Again, she shook her head. “It just feels… weird, me being like this around you.” Then, she seemed to realize how bad that sounded and explained. “I mean, it's not like you did anything wrong or weird. I just feel weird in general, and being around you just reminds me of how big and manly I normally am, which makes being like this feel even worse.”
Kyle nodded. “I get it. I'll drive you back when you're ready.” He finished his bowl and helped Jessie gather up her stuff when she was done with her bowl.
Then, Kyle drove Jessie back to her girlfriend's place, all the while wishing there was something more he could do for his friend.