Evan was at the mall with his friend, Dylan. Coming from a small town, there wasn't much else to do, other than walk around the dying mall on the weekends. It was the day before Halloween and Evan and his friends were hanging in the food court, watching people frantically shop for last minute Halloween costumes.
"You gonna do no-shave-November?" Dylan asked Evan.
"Maybe," Evan replied. He honestly hadn't thought about it. He knew he could grow some facial hair, but he usually had to shave for his afterschool job.
"You should totally do it, bro. I am," Dylan said, "Unless you're scared somebody younger than you could grow a better beard than you."
Evan was two years older than Dylan, but even he could see that Dylan was going to become one hairy dude. There was something about the challenge that intrigued Evan. He wondered what he would look like with a full beard, especially compared to Dylan, who just sitting there already had a 5'o clock shadow.
"You're on," Evan told Dylan. "At the end of November, you'll see that my beard is much better than yours."
"I doubt that," replied Dylan. "I gotta get home, but I'll see you at school on Monday. Remember: Don't shave."
Evan nodded as Dylan got up and left. Evan wasn't sure why he agreed to the challenge. He knew Dylan would win. It just seemed like something fun to do. He waited a few minutes and got up to start walking towards the other end of the mall to get to his car.
The mall was old and there weren't many shops left. As he walked towards the doors, a store caught his interest. There was no sign, and nobody was walking in or out of the store. What caught Evan's interest was a sign in the window that said "Beard growth guaranteed!" Evan figured it was some supplement store, but then again, he had just agreed to grow out a beard against somebody who would beat him. It couldn't be a coincidence.
Evan walked into the store. It smelled old, like really old. There was junk everywhere. He started browsing the isles. He saw vials of potions, jewelry, clothing, and books. Suddenly an old man appeared next to him.
"Looking for anything specific?" the shopkeeper asked Evan.
"Um," replied Evan, certain the shopkeeper had appeared out of nowhere. "Actually I am. The sign in the window says you can guarantee beard growth."
"Yes, I have what you're looking for," answered the shopkeeper, pulling a vial from his jacket pocket. "You'll want to drink just a little bit of this. It's full of vitamins that will stimulate hair growth."
Evan knew it was probably some drug that would kill him, but he felt compelled to purchase the vial. He couldn't explain why, but he did. He payed, and left the shop. As he walked away from the shop, he turned back to get one more look at the mysterious store, but it was gone. "I must be tired," Evan thought to himself.
Throughout the rest of the day, Evan couldn't stop thinking about the vial in his pocket. That night, he got ready for bed. He didn't have to be up early the next day since it was Sunday. The vial was sitting on his dresser. He looked in his mirror at his bare face and thought about Dylan's 5'o clock shadow. "I can't let Dylan win," he thought to himself. He grabbed the vial and drank just a small sip. "What's the worst that could happen from just a small sip?" he thought to himself. He laid down in bed and went to sleep.