"Would you prefer an average and nondescript relationship or one filled with love and passion even if it may come with some judgement from those around you?" "Do you value general capability or expertise?" "Agree or Disagree: Experiences have value even if the lasting effects are negative." "Is blending into a crowd important to you?"
Each of the questions posed by the tests were geared for teenagers to understand but phrased in ways so that the impacts of the answers weren't always immediately obvious.
Jeff made it to the kitchen as the quiz processed his results and recursively tweaked his profile into a coherent identity. The limitations Jenny supplied made the process only slightly faster.
Jeff reverted to his former identity initially as it was the starting point of what was to come. Jeff noticed his reflection in the microwave and smiled as reality shifted from him being Jenny's child to being Shannon's lab partner with a big project due 4th period. Jeff now was slightly more tired haven gotten up 2 hours early to rush over and complete the project. Jenny, being the supportive mother she is, had also been up at the crack of dawn to let Jeff in the house and wake Shannon early so they could finish. Shannon, never being a morning person, was groggily restraining the urge to murder everyone so she could just go back to sleep.
Memories of Jenny greeting him at the door and welcoming him to anything in the kitchen flooded in as Jeff helped himself to breakfast waiting for Shannon to appear. Last nights escapades faded away as the new reality came into focus. Shannon came down the stairs slowly with a heavy yawn, though dressed and put together, her eyes were slow to focus and the bright kitchen lights gave her pause.
Jeff had taken Jenny up on her invitation for food, as most teen boys would, and was in the middle of breakfast when Shannon appeared. He offered a warm greeting and began by recapping what they had gotten through last night. Coddling her sleepiness wouldn't get the report finished on time and they both would get a failing grade for not finishing it.
Shannon made herself a bowl of cereal trying to take in the words being spoken to her and understand the meaning behind them. Jeff finished and went back to the dining room table, which they had spent last night at, reviewing the chaos of notes and books to formulate their essay. 8 references, 5 from non internet sources, all properly sourced, such a pain. Why did they wait till the last minute?
Jeff began flipping through the books looking for the last source they could use in their essay and Shannon joined several minutes later. Silently the moments passed as they each skimmed through different books searching for something that would fit their needs. Jeff shifted as he began to grow, the Chronivac had begun making changes based on his answers warping reality as it went. Instead of a game system several Christmas' ago he got a 4 wheeler which he brutalized, but he loved it so much that he researched how to fix it and became a little bit of a novice mechanic. The extra physical activity and skipped snacks of junk food showed on his frame as puberty began effecting him differently than it did when his life style was sedentary .
"Here's something,..." Jeff read the passage finding that it wasn't as focused on their topic at hand as he thought. "Never mind." While his mind was preoccupied, his perspective shifted from that of a Sophomore to that of a Junior. A car appeared in the driveway as Jeff now had a growing caffeine addiction and a job after school and on the weekends.
23 minutes had passed and most of that had been the Chronivac processing what the new reality should be and how to transition from Jeff's original stats to the new ones, the remaining seven minutes were applying the changes. Jeff's facial features shifted becoming more handsome beyond what would have changed from age alone, his teeth straightened and his vision rivaled that of a hawk, his jawline squared and his features molded into the definition of masculinity.
Jeff's body ballooned outwards filling with muscle, the last two years he had been working part time and summers at a landscaping company, organizing jobs after school in preparation for the full time workers the next day. Sometimes this was moving equipment, sometimes this was loading trucks with bricks to build retention walls, or bags of mulch, dirt, or sod... Jeff was now a senior. He had traded in the old 4 wheeler for a dirt bike and was looking forward to a motorcycle.
Shannon's outfit shimmered and was replaced by a cuter outfit to catch the eye of the muscly senior assigned to work with her for this dumb essay. She wanted desperately to catch his attention and as luck would have it, the project required more work than expected... Meaning more time together working on it. His schedule was busy but he was really handsome.
Reality shifted as Jeff became the tutor of Shannon struggling to guide her through this class. This assignment was Shannon's alone as she was the odd person out and therefore had more freedom than the other students who had to agree with their partners on what to write. Jeff was here trying to pick up extra cash to make tuition payments for his classes.
A tattoo wrapped its way from Jeff's wrist up to his shoulder as the program made him slightly more impulsive and adventurous. One of the settings Jenny had set, not leaving it up to chance. A cup of flavored coffee from a 24 hour gas station appeared at Jeff's side. It was not a normal thing but an indulgence given the situation, mostly sugar, creamer, and flavoring but enough caffeine to get him going.
Shannon knew there was no way a 19 year old college student would be interested in her, but she couldn't fight the way she felt around her tutor, Jeff. He was devilishly handsome in a rugged sort of way and was studying at the college.
Jeff was going for HVAC and had an apprenticeship for when he didn't have classes. When he wasn't working or going to class, he always had some sort of project at home to work on or fix up. He always seemed to know enough about things to cobble something functional together, which meant everything around him was an active project to some extent or another.
Another couple moments and Jeff had left college. His career path stopped being interesting and he bounced around trying shop classes focusing on mechanics and dabbling in construction. The types of friends Jeff had shifted as drastically as his body, no longer quiet introverts but loud partiers desperate for instant gratification after a tough physical day. Alcohol, pot, and sex were all easy to come by so long as he didn't let himself get goaded into a fight and threw in for the costs of the party. Hedonistic experiences flooded into Jeff's brain and it became easier to work and party than it was to work and study.
His classes couldn't compete so Jeff quit school and focused on working full time. The parties became fewer and farther between though he had learned exactly what his limit for alcohol is, now had a pretty high pot tolerance, and shamelessly tried to bum cigarettes off coworkers at breaktime occasionally buying a pack of his own. He was a capable young man and there was nothing stopping him from trying something new. His relationship with Jenny was now back to dating and he had given up watching a movie with Jenny last night to help her daughter with an assignment.
Jeff reached over to his coffee mug and took several big gulps, no cream or sugar and the rest of the pot was waiting for him in the kitchen. Jeff glanced at the clock trying to calculate the latest they could leave if Shannon missed the bus... He would then need to drop her off at the school before heading to work. Jeff let out a sigh, stepping into a family is challenging but even more because of how close in age he was to Shannon, he would never be seen as a parental figure by her. Jeff's full time focus on physically demanding careers showed on his body. He had always been fit but quickly became solid and less lean as the full days of work made his appetite double.