Franklin woke up, unsure if yesterday had just been a long and detailed dream, but when he turned his head he could see the Speak and Say sitting on his desk. Even with physical evidence of his time in the store, Franklin still couldn’t believe the impossible things he had seen.
He slid out of bed and felt the cool morning air against his bare skin. He looked at himself in the mirror. A slim teenager in black boxer briefs looked back at him. He looked at his mop of curly black hair and Mediterranean skin, though lacking his mother’s olive glow since his was usually indoors.
Franklin checked his phone. A few texts from James that obliquely referenced his experience from the night before confirmed the experience.
‘omg, last night…’ ‘it was…I mean wow’ ‘we need to do it again’
Franklin didn’t reply. He had other things on his mind. He wanted to try the Speak and Say for himself. Which animal should he choose? He looked over his options. He didn’t fancy being a chicken or a frog. And maybe trying out being a duck and flying around would be cool, but not for his first test. His eyes went around the circle a few times.
“Honestly, cat or dog might be the best,” he mused. “Smallish, quiet. But boring.” Franklin’s teenaged mind started think about other things. “Bigger, I want to try something bigger.” He looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes lingered on the small bulge in his underwear. He looked at the toy and smiled. He moved the arrow to horse.
Franklin braced himself to pull the string. For five minutes, Franklin stood there, holding the toy in one hand and the feeling the little plastic ring with the fingers of his other hand. He kept imagining what it would feel like to get big and strong. To have hooves and a tail.
Franklin was about to pull the string, he was sure, when the sound of a lawnmower startled him. Through his window Franklin could see his hot neighbor, Sean. Sean was a mid-level manager not too far out of college. His bi-weekly shirtless lawnmowing was Franklin’s favorite part of the week. Not only was he shirtless on the other side of the fence, Sean was wearing very short shorts.
Just watching Sean was doing it for Franklin, he could feel movement in his boxer shorts. The feeling of expansion gave Franklin the confidence he needed. Staring at Sean, he pulled the string.
“The Horse says,” the toy said mechanically.
Franklin didn’t feel anything but to his surprise, Sean stopped pushing the mower as his clothes disappeared. Franklin caught a glimpse of Sean’s exposed butt before the man changed. Sean shot up, getting almost twice as tall, his muscular torso rounding out in to a full equine body, a full-length tail growing and flopping down over his crack. Narrow human legs turned into powerful horse thighs. His hands elongated, finger fusing into hooves. Sean’s neck lengthened and expanded, thick with muscle. His hear grew into a long flowing mane. Sean’s face pushed out into the round mouth and nose of a horse, his eyes dark and wild. He let out a loud winey and fell onto all fours. The sudden horse started looking itself over, walking in circles.
Franklin blinked for a moment then hastily reset the toy and pulled the string.
“The farmer says,” the machine rasped.
In moments Sean was kneeling on his lawn, naked but human, and then his clothes reappeared. Sean got to his feet, looked himself over quickly and went inside.
Franklin put the toy on his desk and stared at it. Suddenly, he had a lot more ideas.