Aaron was feeling anxious. He could see the portable emitter for the Chronivac at the corner of his eye, inside of Edwins desk. He knew what he got himself into when he allowed Edwin to not only turn him into a kid, but return him to his chubby days. For a second, he thought about stealing the Chronivac from Edwins desk, and then restore both of their ages to 16. Aaron hated that he was fat again. He hated that he had to return to Clover Elementary, being stuck in one classroom for the whole day. He hated that he was now shorter than both of his parents, and that he had that strong urge to obey his mother this morning.
Ms Santos was putting Aaron to sleep, droning on about whatever lesson she was doing that morning. Despite this, Aaron tried hard to stay awake as he suddenly remembered being threatened with detention if he dozed off in class again."Detention?" Aaron questioned, "I never tried to doze off in front of Ms Santos, did I?" Suddenly, new memories came flooding in for Aaron. He remembered getting only three Bs and a lot of Cs on his last report card, and getting scolded by his mom for his slipping grades. He was also reminded that gym was his worst subject, with math not being that far behind. Aaron was confident that he would breeze through the lessons, but ended up having to relearn them just like Edwin had to yesterday. His spine shivering, Aaron waited until recess to talk to Edwin about his problem.
With the portable emitter in hand, Edwin met Aaron outside during recess. "Before we mess with the whole school, let's show this to the others" Edwin stated. "Others?" Aaron questioned, "You have friends that are really kids?" "Yep, and so do you," Edwin replied, "It's not like last time we were kids. We have a friend group now." Before long, they met up in a corner with Edwins other friends: Ellis, Sam and Jared.
Ellis was an orange-haired boy who was just as tall as Edwin but with more baby fat. Ellis apparently loved animals a LOT, so much that he continuously took them into both his house and class. His mom and teachers definitely didn't approve, but he simply kept on doing it anyway. Ellis himself was much too shy and kind for his own good, as Aaron recalled that he and Edwin initiated their friendship with him back in the first grade.
Sam was taller than Edwin but shorter than Aaron. Aaron remembered Sam moving to this town from somewhere in Asia around two years ago. He remembered his third grade teacher reminding her students to be inclusive and sensitive with Sam. Edwin initiated his friendship with him to set an example, and also because Sam lived next door to Edwin.
Jared was the tallest of the group, and also the oldest. He was also the only boy in the group that started puberty with the recent growth spurt and occasional voice crack. However, this was because Jared was held back a year in fourth grade due to excessive absences. As a result, Jared lost most of his old friends, who are now in middle school. He hated being alone, and also hated that he was being teased for hanging out with kids younger than him. Jared secretly felt embarrassed about hanging out with Edwin and his friends. Only Edwin knew how Jared felt, and wished there was something he could do.
"Now remember," Edwin commanded to Aaron, "All three of them think that we had always been kids, so play along with whatever we are doing, and do not mention that we were ever older!" "Older? What are you talking about? We're only 10," Aaron replied before instantly covering his mouth with his hand. "Of course we're not 10 Aaron!" Aaron thought, "Come on! You're not really a kid! Get a grip!" Aaron remained silent until the other boys showed up, with Jared and Sam being in a different class.
"Check this out guys! Just came in the mail the other day," Edwin stated before showing the other boys the portable emitter for the Chronivac. "Is that the thing you kept talking about?" Sam asked, "The Chronic...what was it?" "The Chronivac," Aaron replied. "What does that thing even do?" Sam replied before Edwin pulled up the change history. He purposely only showed the boys the changes made to Jack, who Aaron is witnessing being pushed around by his former cronies now. Aaron felt a little bad for Jack, but remembered that Jack had it coming for being a jerk.
Unsurprisingly, everyone was skeptical about the Chronivac being legitimate, but Edwin was more than willing to prove it. Jared was the first person to volunteer. "If that thing works like you say it does, use it on me," Jared requested, "Make me younger." "Is that kid crazy," Aaron thought, "The dude already started puberty, most of the guys envy his growth, and he wants to give it away?" "The thing is, I am sick and tired of all the older kids, especially those in middle school, making fun of me just because I hang out with you guys," Jared explained, "But I don't know if any of you are ready being older, so maybe I can be younger so I won't be embarrassed anymore." "I don't blame you Jared," Edwin replied, "It's only because you were held back." One scan later, Edwin can easily see Jareds stats.
Name: Jared Bates
Age: 12 years, 2 months
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight
Height: 5’0
Weight: 102 lbs
Edwin could easily change Jareds age by one year and call it a day, but wanted to dial it back by a few more months so that Jared would no longer be the oldest. He would also change reality so that everyone outside the group would believe that Jared was never older, and that Jared was never held back. Edwin then hit Start on the portable emitter and Jared immediately began to shrink. The fine hairs on his arms vanished in seconds, the acne breakouts on his face disappeared, and his hair not only reverted to a bowl cut, but also lightened in color.
Before any of the boys knew it, the changes stopped. Jared was now looking eye-to-eye with Sam as the two boys are the same height. Edwin then allowed Jared to see how he has changed.
Name: Jared Bates
Age: 10 years, 7 months
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight
Height: 4’5
Weight: 78 lbs
"So I'm really the same age as you guys," Jared stated, "And you even pushed by birthday back until later this year." "Well, I thought that because you felt embarrassed to be our friend when you were 12, I wanted to give you more time," Edwin replied, "And according to the school, and also your mom, you never got held back. You're officially one of us now."
As Jared was trying to get settled in his younger body, the other boys tried to brainstorm what else they can do with the Chronivac during recess.