It's time for summer vacation once again! But Marcus isn't feeling too into it, since it'll be his Last One before the Big College. When troubles cause him to take a quick break from the road of life at a small summer camp, perhaps this can be the change he needs?

...of course it is, this is the internet. Never touch anything or go anywhere, lest you be teefed.

A little bit of clean, dreamlike regression for  skiesofsilver's Spring into Summer contest. As usual, the PDF has all sorts of amusing color font and formatting antics, because they're Fun. DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED to read it there this time, but it's posted below just in case.

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Marcus held in a deep breath as the squealing noise continued onward. 5… 10… 15 seconds… Ever so cautiously the swooshing trees slowed down to less than a blur, back into individual trunks and leaves. He swore internally, glaring down at his bike. The brakes had always been a bit janky, but this…

“Wonderful sound you’re making.”

Marcus glanced over. He’d come to a stop(finally) near that old series of camp buildings on the mountain road. Supposedly they were some old church retreat back in the day, but now they only opened up whenever schools got out and needed a nice place to stash their kids while the adults went on vacation. It was that time of year now, wasn’t it? Slightly toasty, if a little short of sweltering, where spring faded into summer properly. The sounds of happy kids making mischief could be heard back inside, up the grassy hill. Still, this voice was gruffer, older. An unshaven red/grey haired man, looking to be in his early 50s, sat in a lawn chair at the edge of the rounded parkway. His orange vest suggested he was here to stop little urchins from escaping on unscheduled woodland adventures.

“Yeah…” Marcus glowered and sulked. “I was hoping to make it back home, but if this keeps up I’m going to end up crashing into something.”
“Crashing’s no good, yep. Well, if you want, I can have one of the boys take a look at it.”
“Really?”
“Course! They’re more used to smaller bikes, but we have little ones for the kiddos to ride on. They might have something in the parts bin for you.”
Marcus was… many emotions, but relief mainly. “That… that would be great! Thanks.”
“Sure thing! Here, no sense staying out in the heat if you don’t have to. C’mon in, I’m sure they’ll love to have a new face for a bit.”

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Inside the classroom was a rather nostalgic sight. A smattering of small school desks, some 20 or 22 of them, arranged haphazardly facing the front wall. The desks tried to be organized, but the kids had managed to slide them around such that they were more clustered towards the back, with an uneven open space near the front by an old wooden podium. The lights were on, but this was a formality as sunlight beamed in through large windows on the far side, reflected off the greenery of the trees outside.

The children(maybe a dozen or so) ran the gamut, from a 14 or 15 year old down to the majority of them about 10 to 12, and a couple of smaller 7 or 8 year olds. They were wiggling about in their chairs marking a few choice words on small worksheets, though the strewn art supplies and colored writing utensils suggested that this was meant to be(or about to be) an art classroom. Indeed, an older 22 year old woman stood at the front near a large easel, keeping the crew on task. She was… very pretty, but now Really wasn’t the time for that. “Oh my, you keep bringing in stragglers Tom.”
“Now now, Heather. This one’s just here for a little bit. Had a bit of a run down bike.”
The kids “awww”-ed, partly out of concern for the poor bike, and partly that their new friend was just a loaner. “Well, I’m sure you’ll fit right in. Here, have a seat. They’re just finishing up a little questionnaire, but it would be great if you did it too. We don’t want anyone left out.”

Marcus sat down, tentatively. The seat was… small, and hard to fit in, though honestly he didn’t feel like he fit in much at all. He was 18, getting ready for his Last summer before the Dreaded College, and his collared shirt and baggy shorts stood out noticeably around the proper children’s summer wear of everyone else. It… it wasn’t his fault everything else was in the wash! School brought back feelings of being judged, and he could feel the little urchins probing him with their beady little eyes. Still, he definitely wasn’t going to get a bike repair otherwise, so playing along was his best bet at getting back home without an awkward phone call to be picked up. “Just answer everything truthfully dear, it’ll be fine.”

1. Tell us your name!
Well, that was easy. Marcus, he wrote with the little black pen. Odd that there had been a pen just waiting there. Ah well.
2. What’s your favorite type of art?
Well, that confirmed it. Hooray summer art classes. Still, no reason not to play along. He’d always been a bit of a fan of drawing, though he’d only taken one class in high school. Drawing.
3. Have you practiced a lot?
A little but, but I’m still learrrning. Ugg. This was why he hated pens. You couldn’t erase them, and the blue ink smudged something awful trying to mark out letters.
4. What’s your favorite animal?
Huh. Okay, that seemed out of nowhere. Mix it up a little, why don’t you. Um um um… something cool but fun, that the other kids wouldn’t laugh at… Wolf. There.
5. Are you excited about summer break?
A pang of sadness shot through Marcus, just behind the belly button. Well.. normally yes, but… but this was gonna be the last one. He liked it better when summer was this… endless thing that you could forget about what came next. That whatever was ‘next’ was just… grown up stuff.
A bit, but I kinda wish there were more.
6. Are you a boy or a girl?
Kinda the sort of thing you usually ask earlier, right? In any case, he-
“Alright, let’s collect your sheets.”
What? But… but there were still so many questions left… “Don’t worry, dear. We know you got here late.” The nice lady Heather patted Marcus gently on the shoulder, which made him a little shy and self-conscious. Still, it was good that he didn’t have to turn in something half-done. The kids giggled, but she gave them a quick “tut tut” before picking up their papers. Marcus turned back to his questions, only to be confused at having written Girl down. Gah! This is what happens when you rush people. He quickly crossed out Girl before moving on.
7. How many years of school do you have left?
Marcus grumbled a bit internally, but accepted the question. Some people might be further along or further behind. There was always the little kid at the back of the class whose mom had pushed him up a grade. He always seemed very sad about that. Well, after this summer, supposedly there would be Fo. o. ooooo.
Why couldn’t he write it? Something seemed wrong about the letters, but Marcus kept smudging them with the stupid rainbow gel pen. The line was getting all shiny and glowy, before he relented and wrote Five. There.
8. What about camp has you most excited?
Well, Marcus wasn’t really here for camp, right? Just needed some help from everyone else with the stupid bike. He shifted as his stomach gurgled a bit, and wrote I’m realylly excited to meet other kids. There. Typical answer. Foolproof. No one would ever know.

Marcus’ stomach gurgled again, and he looked up, around. The other children were doodling on bits of paper; animals, small stick figures. He… he kinda had to go to the bathroom, but...
“Yes dear?” Heather was looking over at him from another student’s work. She seemed a bit concerned, but in a kind way.
“I… kinda have to go to the bathroom.” Another student or two giggled. “Oh hush!”
“Now now, Marcus dear. It’s alright. Second door on your left when you head outside. Will you be fine on your own?”
A bit of pout, but quickly subsided. “Of course, I’m big.” Duh. He got up and quickly headed off to the door, ruffling his t-shirt as he went.

The bathroom door was a bit bigger than he remembered, but then again the whole place was a bit unfamiliar. It was… kinda cramped. A stall, an old-timey floor urinal, and a really dated sink. Church building for sure. Marcus’ stomach gurgled again, and he hurried about his business. Something seemed off about the whole thing, but he wasn’t sure what.
Finish up, rinse up, everybody clean up. Turn on the water, wash deeply, and… and…
Marcus gasped. His hair seemed, no… WAS longer. Down to his shoulders in the back, while nicely trimmed in the front. The stubble on his neck and lips was all but gone, leaving a tiny wisp in the little cleft. “This… but how?” He stepped back, but wobbled unsurely. His balance seemed off. Less in the shoulders, more in the chest. Less in the gut and more in the hips… oh… oh nooo…
Quickly he looked down at his… tshirt? There were little lumps there, small but obvious. He’d prided himself on a properly flat and firm chest, without any of the weird man-fat of his friends. But now… Even the nipples were a little bigger, puffier. Marcus giggled a little in spite of himself. He… he said nipples. Oh gosh…
His stomach gurgled once more, and he felt his waist push outward ever so slightly. This place! Something… something about this place! He had to leave, before… before…

Marcus thrust open the door, only to meet Tom the nice street guard standing outside. “There you are. Heather got a little worried when you didn’t come back right away.”
“Eeeep!”
“Oh! Sorry sorry, didn’t mean to startle you little one.”
“I’m not little! I’m big! I’m… I’m supposed to be big…”
“Oh, everyone wants that at one point or another. Don’t worry, we had the parts you needed.” What? Oh! The… the bike, right. It seemed so hard to focus on more than one thing at a time. All that mul… multitaskish that he was going to learn in the upper years of school. No, that… that he had learned? But… it seemed so unfamiliar…
“I’m… confused…”
“That’s alright, little miss. Here, let’s get you back to your friends. I’m sure they’ll help.”


Something inside seemed to protest, but it was met with a deep feeling of longing. Marcus knew that the classroom wasn’t the right way to go, but he felt that he’d be safer there. Feelings always had a habit of winning out with Marcus.
The walk back seemed longer. Was it 8 more steps, or 12? Either way, the door opened to the nice lady Heather at the podium. “There you are dear. Come on come on. We don’t need to be lollygagging in the restroom.” Haha. Lollygagging.
“Yeah. That’s for the mean kids.”
“The little ones.”
“I’m!” Marcus protested. “I’m nice!”
“Now now everyone, stop teasing. There there. You were doing so well on your questions! Make sure everything’s written how you want it, okay?” Marcus slid back into the desk, noting with concern that it seemed almost… normal sized now.
“And then I can go?”
“If that’s what you want, yes.”
“O… okay!” Alright. Let’s just… just finish these up, shall we?
9. What part of your Favorite Animal do you like most?
Back to the animal bit. A lot of the other kids were drawing animals, maybe that’s what the assignment was? Marcus didn’t like assignments, but… this wasn’t really work. Just having fun. Um… um um… The tail.
Why?
Oh! He hadn’t noticed that last bit. It… its fluuffffy and heavy… cute… wags when happy. Marcus felt nervous. The… this rainbow crayon kept smudging. Whenever he tried to write something weird. And… and it wasn’t a crayon before! He knew… he knew but… everything kept changing. He kept-!

“Eeep!” Marcus grabbed backwards, nearly falling out of his chair, as something pushed from deep down. Grabbing at his butt tush, he felt something… fluffy. Warm, moving gently. Only a few inches, but(haha, butt)... no! This wasn’t the time. “Miss Heather!” Oh. Oh gosh, everyone stopped and stared. Noooo…
“Yes dear?”
“I… I have…”
“Yes?”
“I have a tail…” The words mumbled out, very slowly, as if saying them as sneakily as possible would spare any shame.
Heather walked over, and Marcus shook a bit out of his confusion. “That’s okay. See? I have one too.” Indeed she did, a small little puff from under a strap in her shorts, like a bunny or a goat tail. Her large ears waggled a bit as her hooved legs clopped around to hold Marcus’ hand gently.
“Me too!” The little boy two seats over waggled his cat tail, along with his cat… everything. Hands and thumbs, but whiskers and paws too. How… how had he not noticed? Indeed, there was a fox in the corner, and a small girl who seemed similarly shy about her lizard tail, but a bit proud when she saw Marcus staring.
“It’s quite alright. Do you like it?”
“I… I don’t know. It’s neat, but…”
“But what?”
“It’s all so new… I didn’t have one when I came in!”
“Most people don’t. But you have one now, it’s right there! Promise me you’ll try to have fun with it?”
“Um… I…” Marcus wibbled and fretted. The wolf tail shifted and started to gently wag from its opening in the skirt. “I guess… I can try miss Heather.”
“There we go. Was that so hard?”
“Not really, no. Kinda… kinda fun.”
“Good! We like having fun here.”
Marcus liked having fun too, even if this game was… a bit new and overwhelming. Heather walked back to the podium, while an older girl behind Marcus patted his shoulder. “I like your tail. It’s cute.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You’re kinda cute too…” Oh! Oh gosh oh gosh. This was definitely odd. Marcus wasn’t going to be the type to be ‘cute’ in grownup school. He’d always tried to be ‘handsome’ or ‘strong’. This… this was kinda neat.

10. If you could change some of your earlier answers, what would you put?
Marcus stopped, and hesitated. This… this was really fun, but…
Even for a little while.
Oh! That… that defen deffen wasn’t there before. Still… Marcus, he… really felt brave for a bit. Like a big kid! Maybe just for a little… One of the earlier ones, um um…
6. Are you a boy or a girl?
There. That’s the one that he… had trouble with. Wrote down girl on accident, but… Girl. Hee hee… imagine her friends hearing about this. Her… her friends? Oh gosh. She…
The gurgling started again, and Marcus felt a tickling on her legs. Her… hair? The boy hair, it… she looked, and it was gone. All smooth, and shiny, and… and there was a space. Between her legs, a space that wasn’t, couldn’t be, but...
...what else could she change?
Girl. Cute, little girl. Her hair floofed a bit, and she gently grabbed the desk as everything started to get bigger. Slowly, gently, but... she was! A strange weight that she hadn’t noticed seemed to be rising away with each gentle shrinking. Weight from… her mind too? What… did something go away there?
7. How many years of school do you have left?
She quickly went to try and write here, but the numbers just… kept smudging. Fiii. Fiii. Was it sitc? Seeerv? How much was she shrinking? She tried to get a looksee, but… her chest was flat again, covered by a simple child’s blouse. The desks… how big had they been when she walked in? Well, she had to decide on something… um um…
“I’ve got 8 left!” said the girl behind Marcus. “Cuz’ I’m 10.”
“But… what about coll… collies?” The word seemed far away. Unfamiliar.
“That’s adult school silly. We’re not that big.”
“Oh yeah! Um um…” If 10 meant 8 years left, then… Nine.
The world grew again, and Marcus giggled as everything shifted. The girl behind her was… bigger! Marcus was little! This… this was so cooool!

11. What are you excited about for when you grow up?
Okay silly questions. Marcus was on to them! So sly, but that’s okay. Marcus never liked it when the questions didn’t fit well. Better write something fun down!
I wanna be a beautiful girl! Cute, well… I’m already cute. Tee hee. Of course. Maybe more doggy bits? Ears that waggle to and fro! Yes, that was good. That… this…
Marcus stopped. This… she was a little girl. Asking to be a doggy girl! It wasn’t normal, it wasn’t… she had to do something, but… racking her brain, nothing seemed to come. Little girls weren’t allowed to go outside without permission… she couldn’t… the phone! Big Marcus had a phone. She just had to…
She rummaged in the little bag she’d brought in? Had she? She had, but Big Marcus hadn’t. Where… where is… aha! A large, huge phone wrapped in a cute doggy case. Gotta open it up… how… how do…
“Marcus? What’s that?” Miss Heather was looking over. “Do you want to show the class?”
“This… this is Big Marcus’ phone… but… I don’t remember the number. You need a number to open it, but… where did it go?” She got up, frantick frannt quickly poking at the buttons.
“Are you Big Marcus right now?”
“Right… right now?”
“Remember sweetie? This is just for as long as you want it to be.”
“But… but I…”
“It’s summer break, silly. Don’t you want to have fun with your friends?”

Marcus looked around. Her… her friends. They were all looking at her. Some bored, some eager, some pleading with her not to go. Not yet. “I… I guess. But this… this isn’t my class…”
“Do you want it to be?”
Marcus looked at the nice goat lady Heather, then at the door, then the other kids, then back. “...yes. But...”
“But?”
“But I don’t know how…”
Heather gave Marcus a little hug. “It’s alright. We can show you. Right class?”
“Yeah!” The little lizard-tailed girl waved Marcus on. You can do it!
She nodded, slightly. Okay. Everyone was believing in her. “What… do I need to do?”
“Well, start by introducing yourself. Those questions you wrote down, write your answers up here.”
Marcus gasped. Oh… oh no… no no- hug? Heather patted Marcus gently on the head and nodded. “Just the ones you feel comfortable doing. It’s okay! Everyone gets a bit shy sometimes.”

Marcus took a piece of chalk, and got ready to write. The… the very first one… the name. Marcus… Marcus was his name… but it didn’t have to be, right? It wasn’t a very girl name.
Mar… Marc...
“Write whatever you want, sweetie. It’s not often kids get to name themselves!”
Oh gosh! This… this was important then, yes. She’d… have to pick a good one. Cute as a button, that the other kids would like. That SHE would like.
Ashley.
Immediately Marley felt something inside of her. Something weird, but proud. Ashley. That was Ashlus’ name? Make it official, something bold.
Ashley. There. The class cheered, and little 9 year old Ashley blushed. Her ears twitched, and a slight bit of brown fluff grew on them. She had done it! Her tail wagged with pride and giddiness. Such a big girl, indeed.