Just changing people's memories would not work - they might remember him being 10, but his life, his clothes, everything else would be wrong. So Jeff selected the Alter World option and then clicked 'Enter.' At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then his room started to blur. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, but it was not his vision blurring. The walls got fuzzy, furniture seemed to dissolve away, posters and pictures changed. When the room came back into focus, it was completely different! Smaller, with a new window and a different shape. Twin bunk beds stood against the wall, and the floor was strewn with Lego blocks. There was a skateboard sitting by the desk, and several Nerf guns.
The walls were decorated with posters from Superhero movies, along with a couple showing race cars. Nothing looked familiar. Jeff had been expecting to see his old bedroom from when he was a kid - this could have belonged to a total stranger. A quick check showed that the date had not changed - he had not gone back in time. But he'd never had any interest in Legos. And...
The door suddenly opened and his mom stuck her head in. He was so startled, he jumped. She didn't do that! At least, not since he was... a kid. "Sorry, hun. Didn't mean to scare you. Your stepdad and I are heading out to the movie. Brandon is here already. We'll be back about ten, but you should be in bed by then. We already told him not to let you stay up late again."
Brandon? He was the cute Middle School kid who lived a few doors down. Maybe 14? Jeff had entertained some private fantasies about Brandon in the past - harmless wishful thinking with them both being the same age. Now Jeff was going to be alone in the house with the object of his fantasy, but he was now 4 years too young instead of a couple of years too old. Curiously, he did not really feel anything sexual about the boy - it seemed that Jeff no longer had any sexual urges. That made sense, sort of. But that meant the way he thought had changed! Looking around the room, he also realized he liked playing with Legos and skateboarding, even though he had never done either before.
"You OK?" His mother looked at him curiously. Oh, he hadn't answered her!
"Oh, um, yeah. Have fun!" He grinned and added "Maybe I can get Brandon to help me with the Lego Millennium Falcon!"
She rolled her eyes. "You two! I should make him pay me to babysit you. Just make sure you don't leave any pieces in the living room - your stepdad likes to go barefoot!"
After she left, Jeff stared at his computer screen. He and Brandon were friends, sort of. The older boy treated him like a kid brother. They built Lego toys together, watched TV - Brandon was cool. He didn't treat Jeff like a little kid. Jeff got a little more uneasy as he 'remembered' many nights where Brandon babysat him, and other parts of his life, like school. It was all there - the life of ten year-old Jeff, filling in details as soon as he thought of them.
A familiar voice called from the living room. "Hey, Jeff! You want to watcha movie?" It was Brandon.
Jeff looked at the options on the computer again. This new life was looking interesting, but the adjustment was scaring him. Right now it was adding stuff - would he start forgetting things a ten year-old shouldn't know?