Another boring day, huh. Most people think of summer vacation as a fun break from school, but it's not so for me. Just playing video games and watching anime gets tiring after a while, but what else should I do? Go for a walk, try to make friends? This world is so boring that there is really no point in trying.
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"AKIO", my mom shouts from the other room, "YOU NEED TO TAKE THE TRASH OUT OR THE LANDLORD WILL GET PISSED AGAIN." Crap, I forgot. I pause the anime I was watching and start my weekly duty.
As I walk down to the ground floor and around to the alley, I notice a sleeping man propped up against the dumpster, probably homeless. If I wake him up he might hassle me or something, so I try to put the trash in the dumpster as quietly as possible.
A raspy voice comes from below me, "Hey kid." It was the homeless man. Actually, when I get a closer look at him, he doesn't look homeless at all. He is wearing a wrinkled suit, taking shelter under an old blanket. Maybe he is some drunk businessman who couldn't find his way home. However, getting into other people's business is never a good idea. I ignore him and walk back to our apartment,
As I walked out of the alley, he grabbed my ankle, and stood up. "I am a representative from Akai productions! We have selected you as a candidate for our new program. All you have to do is take our pill and let us measure its effects on you! If you agree, we will pay your family $70,000 per month as long as you are a part of the program! You just have to fill out a bit of paperwork. Come on, let's talk to your mother!" He's pretty charismatic, is he a salesman or something? Then he starts leading me up the stairs to my apartment.
This feels like an obvious scam. Unless his "pill" is some scary illegal drug, the $70,000 per month is way to good to be true. But I don't really have the energy to stop him. My mom will have to deal with him instead. Hopefully she doesn't get caught in his scam.
We enter our apartment, and I introduce him to my mother. They sit down at the table and start talking. I go back into my room to watch anime. Oh, the new episode of Rewire came out. Maybe I should watch that.
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Halfway through the episode, my mom bangs on my door. "Akio", she said, politely. "Come out here, we need your signature". Is the scam artist seriously still here? I pause the anime and leave my room. He really is here, and my mom looks pretty excited. I guess she has fallen for his trap after all. Well, it's not like I expected anything better.
"Mom, are you seriously listening to this guy? He seems pretty suspicious, you know."
She sighs. "That's what I thought at first, but he's actually from your dad's company. He wants to run some tests on you for some project they're doing. I called your dad and apparently it's legit.
My dad had abandoned us when I was 2, and started a company in America. I'm not really sure what the company does, but frankly, I don't care. I think it is pretty reputable, so the offer probably is real. If it's just a bit of testing, it's worth it. I sit down and sign the papers.
The salesman gives me a vial with one pill in it. "Tonight, take this pill before you go to bed. We will start the testing next week once the medicine has had its effect. Don't worry, the pill won't hurt you. It has been widely tested, and of course, if something happened, we would be legally responsible."
I'm starting to remember that my dad's company has something to do with biotechnology. Well, what the man said was right. If the pill hurts me, we could sue them for millions of dollars. I accept the pill and go back into my room.
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After I watch a few more episodes, I realize that it has gotten late. My mom is probably already asleep, so I sit down on my bed and take the pill. I wait for a few minutes, but nothing happens, so I turn out the lights and fall asleep.
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The sunlight shines through my eyelids, waking me. I don't want to open my eyes, but it's already morning; I won't be able to fall back asleep even if I try. I open my eyes and immediately realize that something is wrong. I'm not in my bed, instead, it feels like I am lying on the ground. I look around, and discover that I am in a meadow. Feeling a heaviness on my stomach, I look down. A kitten is laying on me, staring at my face. I jump back and push it off of me. Does this weird situation have something to do with that pill I took? Am I having a hallucination or something?
I try to stand up, but my legs feel weird, like jello. What is wrong with my body? I sit up and examine my body. It feels like it's a lot smaller than usual. It's probably another effect of that pill.
I hope I wake up from this hallucination soon. Usually I wouldn't mind something like this, but I can't even stand up. What am I supposed to do? Maybe this is just a dream, and will end if I fall asleep. I close my eyes and sink back into sleep.
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The first thing I notice is the coldness. My body is shivering. Adrenaline flows through my body, causing my eyes to fly open. What the hell had happened? I look around, realizing that I am still in the meadow. It is much darker now though, the sun is probably about to set. I have no idea how this has happened, but I think I am actually in this meadow, it's not just a dream. Well, this is still no problem. I'll look for a restaurant, and use their phone to call my mom. She will pick me up and take me back home. I slowly manage to stand up, it appears that my body is still messed up. Walking is pretty hard, and I feel very uncoordinated, but I can manage. That kitten is still there too. Does it think I have food or something?
After walking for a while I come to a small lake. I can see a boathouse with a dock nearby. Maybe I should look at my reflection in the water. It might clue me into what's wrong with my body. I walk up to the lake and take a look.
A little girl's face peers back at me. I jump back in surprise. What the hell, I thought this was real life. Am I actually still dreaming? No, this feels too long and detailed to be a dream. It must be something else.
I slowly creep back to the edge of the lake and look in again. The little girl is still there. I notice that she is making the exact same movements as me. I wink and she winks. I stick out my tongue and she mirrors me.
This is hard to believe, but have I somehow transformed into a little girl? That would explain why I had so much trouble walking, a little girl's body is a lot shorter than mine, so my muscle memory wouldn't be able to control it correctly. Hmm what about that? A dirty thought has invaded my mind. I take off my T-shirt. Uwoaa. I have boobs after all, but they are pretty tiny. Based on the size, I would say 12 or so. Just at the start of puberty. I start shivering, so I put my shirt back on. I will probably have to sleep through the rest of the night in the boathouse I saw earlier. I don't want to freeze to death after all.
