When the girl came back, her mother in tow, Dan was still playing with the dolls.
“And why did you do this, Lacey?” her mother asked. Lacey shrugged.
“I thought it’d be fun. But it turned out to be a good thing at least, right?”
“Yes, you’re correct,” Lacey’s mom said. “Your cousin’s birthday is next week and we don’t have anything for her yet. Show me the employee’s stats.” Lacey pulled up the app and showed it to her mother. “Hmm. Not much needs to be adjusted to make the employee more like your cousin. Make her a bit smaller and reduce her reading and speaking skills.” Lacey did as she was told. Dan’s clothes and diaper suddenly became too big for her, before shrinking to match her new size. “Perfect!”
“Dan,” Lacey said, approaching the toddler. Dan looked up. “We’re done playing with dolls for now.”
“Otay!” Dan got to her feet. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and began to suck on it. “What do now?” she asked around her thumb.
“You’re going to demonstrate some things for us so that we can find the perfect birthday present for my cousin.”
“Otay!” Dan caught sight of Lacey’s mom. She waved. “Hi!”
“Hello, Dan,” Lacey’s mom said. “Thank you for helping us.” Dan smiled proudly, happy that her hard work was being recognized.
“It my job,” she said. “What want me dem- demo- strate?” she asked, stumbling over the word “demonstrate”. Lacey looked at her mom.
“What do you think?”
“Hmm, well, your aunt said your cousin needs some more…”