Speaking of snot. Patrick sniffed in annoyance as he realized his own nose was running. Must be all the dust in this place. A dribble ran down his upper lip, and he automatically dabbed at it using the shirt in his hand. As soon as it touched his face, the shirt vanished. Had it been an illusion all along? Patrick looked at the floor to see if he had accidentally dropped it.
No shirt, but there were some black and white sneakers he didn't recognize. They were plain, tied in double-knots, and on his feet! Startled, Patrick discovered that his entire outfit was different. He had on new-looking jeans with cuffs, and a T-shirt that had wide, horizontal green and red stripes. OK. This was some kind of freaky illusion. He shut his eyes tight and counted to ten, then looked again. Nothing had changed.
He searched his pockets and was dismayed to find his cell phone was gone, as was his wallet and all his money except for some coins. So were his earrings. And as he felt his unmolested earlobes, he discovered that his hair had been cut short. Patrick stared at the handful of change. Quarters, dimes, some pennies. But they looked different, somehow. The stampings were different - these were all old coins, though some shone like new.
A dull silver glint caught his eye - there was a dusty mirror he had not noticed before, hanging on the wall near the door. Had it been there before? He didn't care - he moved close and looked into it. Patrick's mouth fell open. "Holy crap!" The teenager reflected back at him was recognizable, but still wrong. Patrick's emo look was gone, no silver tips, no shadowed eyes, no piercings. His dark hair was cut short on the sides, with just enough length on the top to have short bangs. Combined with the vintage clothing, he looked like he had just stepped out of one of those black and white TV shows!
Patrick's nose ran again, and he wiped it on the sleeve of his shirt without thinking. Was he hallucinating? This had suddenly gone from scary fun to just scary.