You’re frustrated at your inability to escape, but after a moment of thought, something else dawns on you. Even if you could get out… then what? You certainly didn’t believe in magic until putting on that outfit, and you can’t imagine that the average pedestrian would either. You don’t really know how strangers on the street would react to a living teddy bear, but it’s not likely to improve your situation.
Also, supposing everything went right, and you did manage to find help, you couldn’t explain what had happened anyway. Certainly not verbally, but you probably couldn’t work a pencil or pen either. And then if you somehow overcame all of that, it’s not like some random person could reverse the effects of a magic costume, anyway. No, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense to stay put for now.
Decision made in your mind, you turn back to poke around the shop. You figure you should start where everything began, and you make your way back to the aisle where you changed last night. You’re beginning to get the hang of walking in this body, swinging your arms wide with each careful step, but it’s still slower going than you’d like. You manage to only fall over twice, the second time stranding you on your back for a couple minutes as your strange proportions made it difficult to struggle back onto your stomach.
Eventually you find your clothes that you wore yesterday discarded haphazardly in a pile. Near them on the ground, you find what you hoped for – the costume’s label. You scurry excitedly towards it as best you can and awkwardly stoop over it.
The front of the label just has two pictures, one of the bear costume as it looked before you put it on, and one of a teddy bear that looks just as you do now. There’s a cheesy nineties CG warp and blur effect between the two images, seemingly implying the transformation the costume would perform, but you definitely don’t blame yourself for not realizing exactly what this was meant to suggest before putting the costume on. Image aside, the only other info on the front of the label is “CLASSIC TEDDY BEAR COSTUME” written in comic sans.
You sit down and fumble the label around with your stumpy arms for a bit, eventually managing to catch it just right against your leg and flip it over. The back doesn’t provide much more help. You’re greeted with a stiff picture of your uncle smiling in the same robe he wore yesterday, brandishing a fake-looking magic wand with a lens flare. Next to the image, you see Second Skin’s logo and address. In some small print at the bottom you read “For any merchandise questions, concerns, or orders, contact Jack or his assistant at 1-555-2ND-SKIN”.
Assistant? This is the first your hearing about this. There’s a good chance the number just directs straight to the shop, but with Jack gone, maybe the line’s set to forward to the assistant. It’s a stretch, but it’s better than nothing. Your cell phone should still be in the pocket of your pants if you can manage to wrestle it out. You won’t be able to speak, but could you text? Can you even work the touch screen without skin?
As you ruminate over your next plan of action, your contemplations are interrupted by a sound from the front of the shop. Someone’s outside the front door struggling with the lock. You freeze for a moment. Didn’t Uncle Jack say his cruise was going to be for three days? Then who’s outside? Regardless, this is exactly what you’d hoped for, but you didn’t expect to be able to seek help from another person so soon, and you aren’t yet sure how to break the ice in your current state.
You don’t get the chance to plan your next course of action, as whoever it is finally manages to unlock the door. Into the shop steps…