The sun rose for the start of another Sunday morning in Phoenix.
It was nine that morning, and Amy was buried under her covers sound asleep.
It was dark in Amy's bedroom when the door cracked opened, and Kate poked her head inside. "Rise and shine full Moon girl. Laurie will be over in an hour," Kate called out then closed the door.
Amy's head poked out from the covers and looked around her dark room. She slowly got out of bed wearing her red silk pajamas.
Amy moped across her dark bedroom on autopilot and headed straight for her bathroom.
Amy's bathroom was dark while she flipped on the lights.
Amy walked over and stood at the sink. But she didn't look like seventeen-year-old Amy; she looked like seventy-five-year-old Amy.
Her hair was completely white and thinner.
Her face was wrinkled with bags under her eyes. Her lips were dried and cracked. She was about to rip out of her silk pajamas, as she's now twice her body size.
Amy walked to the sink and grabbed her toothbrush. She glanced in the mirror for a split second while she opened up the medicine cabinet and grabbed the tube of toothpaste. She yawned and opened up the tube and squeezed some paste onto her toothbrush. She started brushing her teeth while she looked in the mirror. She spat out the toothpaste into the sink. Her eyes widened, and she looked back up at the mirror. "What the?" she said while she felt up her face. She pulled on her skin, and the wrinkles stayed.
"Ahhhh!" she yelled while she pulled on her white hair, thinking it was a wig, but it wasn't. Then she looked and saw some white hair in her hand. "My hair's falling out!" she yelled.
She looked inside her mouth, and her pearly white teeth had a hint of yellow color.
She peeked inside the top of her pajamas, and she sighed a sigh of relief. "Good, my boobs are okay," she said.
She looked at her hands, arms, and legs, and they appeared normal.
She looked at her rear end in the mirror and saw that her butt was now three times her normal size. "I have a huge butt!" she yelled.
Amy stood there for a few seconds and was stunned.
Kate rushed into the bathroom and was concerned over Amy's yelling. "What's the matter, sweetie?"
Kate saw the old Amy at the sink, and she got scared thinking a stranger was in the house. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my daughter's bedroom?" Kate said while she grabbed a hairbrush off the sink. She pointed the brush at old Amy for protection.
"It's me, mom," she said and looked confused.
Kate looked a little confused, and then it dawned on her. "Now that's a good costume! You didn't tell me you were in a play. Were you practicing your lines?" Kate asked while she set the hairbrush back on the sink.
"I'm not wearing a costume, and I'm not in a play. This is for real. I woke up like this. Like this old lady!" Amy said while her eyes welled up.
Kate walked over, tugged on Amy's hair, and it didn't come off. She felt Amy's face, pulled on her wrinkles, and realized they were real. Kate looked Amy over for a few seconds, and it hit her like a ton of bricks that this old lady was, in fact, her teenage daughter. Kate's eyes rolled back in her head, and she passed out.
Downstairs in the dining room, Rick read the Phoenix Gazette newspaper while he sipped on his morning coffee.
A loud, thump sound was heard from upstairs, and it shook the ceiling.
"Quit jumping around up there!" Rick yelled at the ceiling, then returned to his newspaper.
Back up in Amy's bathroom, Amy saw Kate passed out on the floor. Amy looked at her old face in her mirror then she looked at her passed out mother on the floor. Amy's eyes rolled back in her head.
Rick sipped his coffee while he started reading the Sunday's comics.
Another thump was heard from overhead, and the ceiling shook a little.
"Why don't those kids listen?" Rick cried out while he slammed the newspaper down on the table.
He jumped up from the table and was mad when he rushed out of the dining room.
Rick rushed into Amy's bathroom, ready to chew out some teenage butt.
"Why can't you listen and stop this banging?" Rick yelled out.
He came to a halt the second he saw Kate and old lady Amy passed out on the floor. "What the?" he said while he cautiously walked over to Amy, and ignored Kate.
He knelt by Amy's side and got curious as to why an old lady was inside his daughter's bathroom. For a second, he thought it was Aunt Wilma. "Who's this old lady?" he said while he knelt and looked Amy over from head to toe. "Why is she trying to wear her pajamas? They're too small," he added while he continued to look Amy over.
Amy's eyes opened and saw Rick kneeling by her side. "Daddy," she said while she sat up.
"Huh? Who, ah," Rick asked while he stood up and stepped away from Amy. "Who are you?"
"It's me, Amy," she said while she looked up at Rick.
Rick moved away extremely leery of Amy.
"What? No. You're not Amy. You're, you're, you're old," Rick said and looked a little confused.
Amy's eyes welled up. "I know!"
Kate's eyes opened, and she sat up a little dazed and confused. "What happened?" Kate said while she stood up. She glanced over at Amy again. "What's going on?"
Amy tugged on her facial wrinkles. "I'm old and hideous-looking!"
Kate's eyes rolled back in her head; she passed out and dropped back to the floor.
Tim ran into the bathroom, curious about all the commotion.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Kate on the floor. "Why's Mom sleeping on the floor?" he asked then he saw Amy. "Is that grandma sitting on the bathroom floor?" Tim asked Rick and looked a little confused.
Amy looked at Tim then she looked over at Kate on the floor. She started to sob in her hands.
"What did I say?" Tim asked, even more confused.
"Go to your room," Rick ordered Tim.
Tim got upset. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"Just go to your room," Rick yelled at Tim.
"Aw man!" Tim said while he stomped out of Amy's bathroom.
Rick helped Amy up and walked her out of the bathroom, leaving Kate on the floor.
Rick walked Amy over, and they sat down on her bed. He placed an arm around Amy while she started to sob.
Kate entered the bedroom, confused and dazed.
She walked over to Rick and Amy.
"What's wrong with me?" Amy asked her parents.
Rick and Kate looked Amy over.
"I don't know," Rick replied and looked worried.
Amy's eyes lit up with an answer. "I know, I had a bad dream last night where all these old ladies were chasing me. Maybe this is the result of my bad dream?" she told her parents.
"I don't think so, honey," Rick replied.
"She needs to see a doctor first thing in the morning," Kate told Rick.
Tim stuck his head in Amy's bedroom doorway. "Laurie's coming to the front door," he called out.
Amy jumped off the bed and rushed over to her bedroom window. "What am I going to do? She was going to spend the day with me," Amy said while she peeked out her curtains.
Tim looked around the bedroom. "Where's Amy?"
"Come here, Tim," Kate told him.
Tim entered the room and walked over to Kate.
The front doorbell rang downstairs.
"Amy's dressed like this for a school play. You can't tell anybody because her costume is a surprise," Kate lied but figured this would be an excellent white lie under the circumstances.
Tim looked at Amy. "Sweet!' he said.
"You also need to keep this a secret," Rick told Tim.
"What's in it for me?" Tim asked, knowing an excellent opportunity when it came knocking.
Rick thought for a second while the downstairs doorbell rang again.
"A new game for your Game Boy," Rick said.
Tim snapped to attention and saluted his father. "Yes, sir. Secret Agent Tim will never tell," he barked out like a Marine.
"Great. Now go downstairs and tell Laurie that Amy's sick today," Rick told Tim.
"Yes, sir!" Tim yelled out like a soldier, then he turned around and dashed out of the bedroom.
Outside the front door of the Bradley house, Laurie was impatient while she waited for someone to answer the doorbell. Her overnight bag was on the front stoop.
The front door opened, and Tim poked his head out. "Amy's sick today" he blurted out then slammed the door shut.
"What?" Laurie asked a little confused, as she didn't hear Tim. She rang the doorbell again.
The front door opened, and Tim poked his head out again. "Amy's sick," Tim blurted out again.
"Tell Amy I," Laurie said.
Tim slammed the door shut before Laurie could finish her sentence.
"Brat!" Laurie called out to the front door while she whipped out her cell phone from one of her back jean pockets. She punched in Amy's phone number.
Back up in Amy's bedroom, she peeked out one of her windows for any sight of Laurie.
Amy's cell phone rang on her bedside table.
She walked over to the table and grabbed her cell phone and saw "Laurie" as the caller in the viewfinder.
"Are you going to talk to her?" Kate asked Amy.
Amy just let her cell phone ring in her hand.
Her cell phone stopped ringing after a few seconds.
Amy walked back to her bedroom window and peeked outside.
She watched while Laurie, with her overnight bag, walked to her Corolla parked along the curb.
Laurie got inside her car.
Tears rolled down Amy's cheeks while she watched Laurie's Corolla drive away down the street.
"Lie down dear," Rick said while he walked Amy over and helped into her bed.
"I'll bring you some breakfast. You should eat something," Kate said while her eyes welled up and left the bedroom.
Rick pulled up a chair and sat down next to Amy's bed.
Amy's cell phone buzzed, indicating she had a text message. She looked at her cell phone's viewfinder and saw the "What's wrong?" text from Laurie.
Amy typed out an "I'm sick today," reply and sent it back to Laurie.
A few seconds later, Amy's cell phone buzzed again. She looked at the viewfinder and saw Laurie's "I'll check on you tomorrow," text reply.
Amy turned off her cell phone, and she plopped her head on her pillow. She closed her eyes, believing if she fell asleep and had a dream of being a teenager again, she would wake up and be back to normal.
Rick noticed a chunk of hair on the back of Amy's head appeared to be cut. He shrugged it off, thinking nothing of it and just sat there while he kept an eye on Amy.
After a few seconds, Amy fell fast asleep and started snoring.
Katie entered Amy's bedroom with a dinner tray with a bowl of Cocoa Krispies and a glass of orange juice.
Rick got up from his chair and walked over to Kate. "She's asleep," he quietly told her.
Rick walked Kate out of Amy's bedroom and closed the door behind them.
Three hours later, Amy woke up from her morning nap. She jumped up out of bed in anticipation of waking up as a teenager again.
She ran over and looked in the mirror of her dresser, and she realized she was still old lady Amy.
"Oh, no!" Amy cried out, then ran back to her bed.
Amy plopped down on her bed and buried her face into her pillow. She sobbed.
Twenty minutes later, Kate poked her head inside Amy's bedroom and saw Amy in bed, staring at the ceiling pondering life.
On the floor were all of Amy's designer blue jeans and blouses.
"Hey honey," Kate said while she stepped inside Amy's bedroom.
"None of my clothes don't fit because I have a fat butt," Amy cried out while Kate walked up to Amy's bed.
"I'm sorry, honey," Kate replied while she sat down on Amy's bed and held her hand.
"Well, I have some pants or dresses you could wear in the meantime," Kate offered.
"I guess," Amy replied while her eyes welled up.
Kate got off the bed and walked out of the bedroom.
An hour had passed, and Amy wore one of Kate's Levi jeans and tee-shirt and ate some lunch with Rick at the dining room table.
Tim was over at a friend's house playing Game Boy video games.
While she ate lunch at the table, Amy's cell phone buzzed with a new text message. She saw the "Feeling better?" text message from Laurie.
"No. I have to see a doctor tomorrow morning," Amy typed her text reply.
Amy's cell phone buzzed, and she looked at the viewfinder. "What's wrong? The flu?" Laurie's text message appeared.
Amy hesitated for a few seconds to reply. "It's difficult to describe. I'll get back with you tomorrow tonight," Amy typed as her text reply.
Amy got up from the dining room table and walked out of the room with less of a spring in her step.
She walked into the living room with a few aches in her legs. She sat down on the couch, grabbed the remote off the coffee table, and turned on the TV.
A Golden Girls sitcom rerun appeared on the tube. Amy quickly turned the channel, and the movie Calendar Girls appeared.
"I don't want to watch old lady movies!" Amy cried out and turned the channel.
The Grumpy Old Men movie appeared on the other channel.
"I don't want to watch old men movies," Amy said in a raised voice while she turned the channel.
The movie Miss Congeniality appeared on the other channel.
"That's better," Amy said while she placed the remote on the coffee table and watched the movie.
After a few minutes of watching the Sandra Bullock movie, Amy's legs were aching a little, so she placed her feet up on the coffee table.
Amy's cell phone buzzed. She looked at the viewfinder and saw Paul's, "Laurie said you were sick," text message.
Amy typed her, "Yeah. Going to the doctor in the morning," text response.
She waited for Paul's text reply.
After ten minutes of waiting, Paul's text response never arrived, and Amy dozed off to the movie.
Later that night, it was quiet at the dinner table in the Bradley house while they ate spaghetti.
Tim slurped up some spaghetti noodles while he eyed Amy. Why is Amy still dressed like grandma?" Tim said then grabbed his glass of milk and took a drink.
Kate and Rick looked at each other to see who would respond with a cover story.
"Well, Tim, Amy wants to stay in character for the play," Rick answered.
"That's it. She wants to stay in character," Kate added.
"Whatever," Tim said while he slurped up some more spaghetti noodles.
Amy sat there quietly while she ate some of her spaghetti. Then a fart snuck up on Amy, and before she realized it, she tooted out between her butt cheeks.
Tim giggled. "Amy farted," he said while he pointed at his sister.
Amy got embarrassed. "I'm sorry, it came out unexpected," she said.
"It happens when you get," Rick said then stopped before he inserted his foot inside his mouth.
Kate frowned at Rick for almost saying the wrong thing.
It was quiet during the rest of the dinner.
Later that night, Amy decided to soak in a hot bubble bath, thinking that might reverse her condition.
She almost sobbed when she saw her wrinkled and saggy body in the bathroom mirror.
She lay in hot water then noticed she had a couple of spider veins on the inside of both ankles. "What the hell is wrong with my ankles," she cursed while looked at her feet. "Why am I looking so gross?" she quietly added while she sunk lower into her bubble bath and her eyes welled up.
She farted in the water, sending bubbles to the surface.
An hour later and Amy was under the covers and was sound asleep.