Footsteps were coming up the stairs.
"Oh, no!" Jeff said, fearing that she might get caught now.
"Jeff!" called Emily's voice as his heavy footsteps approached. "You had better not be in my room."
Jeff stumbled a bit over to the door and opened it up. Then, she quickly crossed the hallway to the other bedroom, bracing herself against each doorway with her big hands. She shut the door behind herself and slumped to the floor with her back against it.
She looked around this other bedroom as she waited for her big brother's footsteps to reach her. The walls were painted pink. There were posters covered in cartoon characters and cute boys. Stuffed animals were scattered on the bed, and an old toy house sat shut in front of her. Everything was so girly. This felt right, like it should be her room. It seemed that she belonged in there. It had to be her room.
Still...
"Jeff?" Emily's voice said through the door, startling her. "Are you in there?"
Jeff stood up. "Yes," she replied. "I was just moving some stuff in my room."
She opened her door and found herself standing eye to eye with her brother Emily. His head looked just the same as before with his round 10-year-old face and hair down to his shoulders. His torso looked the same as well. He still wore a denim jacket over his yellow camisole top. But, from the waist down, he seemed enormous. His body flared out wide at the hips, but there was no feminine curve back in on the legs. A pair of jeans hung on him comfortably and rested on the floor a bit by his big bare feet.
Emily put his little hands on his big hips. "Were you using my computer again?" he asked. Jeff was struck by how strange it was that her big brother's voice was so much higher than her own.
"No way," Jeff said, trying hard to sound casual. "I only use the computer in the family room."
Emily eyed her suspiciously. "Good," he said at last. "Just keep your big hands off of my stuff. You'll end up deleting something or breaking something."
Jeff was outraged. "I would not."
"Oh, really?" Emily said. "Then tell me. Let me quiz you. How do you shut down the computer properly?"
That was an easy question. It was obvious that you just... You need to press the... Jeff tried hard to remember, but the information seemed to be gone all of a sudden. It was important to shut down the computer properly. She knew that much, but shutting down was something that her parents always did. She never used the computer without them being around, anyway.
"I'm waiting," Emily said with a smirk.
Jeff blurted out, "Just press the button... you know, the power button? Right?"
"Wrong!" Emily said with a serious look. "That could corrupt the data. You want to corrupt my data?"
Jeff hung her head in shame. "No," she muttered.
"I didn't think so," Emily said.
"I'll stay off your computer," Jeff said. "Promise."
"Good," Emily said. Then, to emphasize his point, he shut his bedroom door behind him. "Let's go downstairs and watch some TV. Mom will be home with dinner in a little while."
At the mention of TV, something clicked in Jeff's head. "Oh, can we watch Cartoon Central? I just remembered that Pony Ninjas is on in a minute."
Emily sighed. "Fine," he said. "We'll watch your pony thing."
Jeff smiled. "Thank you! You are the best big brother ever!"
"Yeah, yeah," he said. "Come on." Emily walked down the hallway, taking long strides on his male legs, while Jeff stumbled along on her little girl feet behind him.
Jeff was thrilled. She loved watching Ponies.
Or, did she...?
Something felt off. There were gaps in her memory, as if some memories had been erased. She could still sense the places where the memories had been, like bare spots on a shelf. She knew that there was a Chronivac. She knew that it had changed her and Emily. She was just having a hard time figuring out what was different, though. It worried her.
As they went down the stairs, Emily rushed down confidently. Jeff held tightly to the railing for support and took each step carefully. Going down the stairs was never this hard before. She was sure of it. Maybe it had to do with her body feeling too big on top. That had to be what was wrong. Didn't it?
When they made it to the living room, Emily laid down on the big couch, so he could stretch out his long legs. He turned on the TV as Jeff hopped up onto the recliner. The theme song was just starting when Emily put on the right channel. Good! Jeff sang along, while Emily covered his ears with his hands. Then, the show started, and Jeff got lost in the colorful world of the cartoon. Any worries about her situation quickly faded away.
Time flew by until...