You knock gently on Rani's door. "Rani?"
It opens a crack, revealing Rani herself, her dark hair tied back into a messy bun. Behind her, her laptop sits on the bed displaying the contents of whatever work of fiction she was in the middle of writing. "Yeah?"
You gesture with a thumb over your shoulder. "They guys and I wanted to talk to you in the den, downstairs."
She looks concerned. "Oh. Um, okay. Just give me a sec." She steps over to her laptop and saves the document before closing the screen.
You lead her down the stairs and into the den, where Colby is standing, waiting for her. George is already sitting on the couch. His displeasure at letting Rani in on the whole thing is clearly written on his face, but he stays silent, the voting already done.
Colby gives her another genial smile, but there's worry in his eyes. "Rani," he says. "We haven't been completely honest with you, I'm afraid."
Rani's eyebrows rise. "Oh?" Now she's not only worried, but also curious.
Colby nods. "Yes. We have yet to share with you the primary reason we're really here. But, before we can tell you, you must promise not to tell anyone. Do you understand?"
Rani's worried expression intensifies as she glances between each of you. "Is it... drugs?"
Colby chuckles. "Oh, no. Nothing like that. Nothing illegal."
Rani frowns, confused. "Okay. I promise I won't tell anyone. What going on?"
Colby sighs and rubs his bald head. "Well... It's really much easier to show you."
You and him each take a step back, framing George, still sitting on the couch. Rani, unsure of just what's going on, looks to you and Colby for answers. Colby merely gestures at George. George stands up, arms crossed, staring at Rani.
Rani shakes her head. "I don't get what. What am I looking at?" She peers at George. "Wait..."
George is gradually losing height. His stature, once taller than yours, has shrunk, making him just shorter than you, and still shrinking. Rani has noticed this and is looking him up or down.
"Is this some sort of trick?" She looks behind him. "I don't get it, what's going on?"
You can see the once-shaved hair on his arms is growing out, moderately covering his forearms in dark, curly hairs. The hair on his head begins darkening in color form its current brown. As it does so, it retracts into his head and kinking into tight curls. Under his clothes, you can see his impressive muscle beginning to loosen, becoming soft and beginning to sag.
George puts a hand to a pec, feeling it soften. "Man. There go my muscles."
Rani backs away a step, wide-eyed. At first, you're afraid she's going to bolt. Then, she steps forward again, peering at George as he changes. "How is this possible?!"
George is about as tall as Rani is now, at about five and a half feet tall. His pants are bunched up at his ankles, just above the black leather loafers he'd put on over the magic socks earlier. His skin is beginning to darken in tone, certainly darker than his former Caucasian tan. The stubble on his cheeks vanishes as the stubble around his mouth grows out a little, giving him a goatee not unlike your own. The hairs on his chin gain a coppery sheen, as does the hair on his scalp, though the hair still looks dark, almost black when not in the light. At this point, his skin is about as dark as Rani's. His facial features begin to shift. His brow becomes heavier, his face more gaunt. His nose turns up and widens as the bridge sinks in. He definitely looks to be someone of African descent. His stomach bulges out, giving him something of a gut, his cheeks fill out a little, becoming less gaunt. He's starting to look something like an ex-jock. Rings form under his eyes and around his mouth, lines etch into his forehead, and grey sprinkles into his coppery-black hair as he ages a little over his decade, putting him solidly into his 40s.
George examines himself and feels his face with his long, dark, spindly fingers. He grins. "Well, I can't say I've ever been black before." His voice is deeper than before, with some gravel to it. He laughs. "Too bad about my muscles, though. Now it looks like I'm a chubby old guy like you two. At least I've still got all my hair, though."
Indeed, George appears to be a middle-aged black man. He's fairly short, sort of chubby, and has an odd coppery sheen to his otherwise short, black hair. He certainly isn't as hairy as either you or Colby, but the hair on his arms what little you can see peeking out from his shirt collar suggests he's about average in the body hair area. Judging by his skin tone and interesting hair, you had to guess there was at least one ginger person in his family tree somewhere. You can also see George is smiling a lot more, now, and not the same cocky grin as before. He seems to be genuinely happier.
Rani is just staring at what she's just seen. She puts a hand to her mouth, looking at the place where the tall, muscular Caucasian man had been standing only minutes ago, but now only stood a short, pudgy, African man. George smiles at her, holding his arms out. He turns a slow circle. "So, Rani, what do you think? Better? Worse? I mean, I lost my height and my muscles, but I got some age and experience to make up for it." He laughs as if he'd told a joke.
You turn to Rani. She stands there, trying to process what she's seen. A slow smile takes over her face. She turns to you. "Tell. Me. Everything!"
Between the three of you, Rani learns about the socks and their magical abilities. You decide it's best to leave out telling her you're actually all 15 year old kids hiding from your parents. It's best to only throw one surprise at a time at the poor girl. Though, to her credit, she takes the information in strides. In fact, before you finish your whole story, she seems to connect many of the dots on the socks and their function herself.
As your story finishes, she puts her hands to her head, an enormous grin on her face, a wild look in her eyes. "This is amazing! I mean, magic is real! This changes everything!"
George chuckles and scratches at his facial hair. "Yeah it does."
"I mean, no wonder you wanted to be in a quiet, secluded spot. Who knows what would happen if people knew about this?"
George points directly at Rani. "You must never tell anyone! We can't let word of this get out!
Rani looks completely shocked. “Are you kidding, the world needs to know about this!”
The three of you share nervous glances. “Rani, no. We need to keep this a secret” you say worriedly
Rani is taken aback by your words “Why, think of the possibilities for science.”
Colby stands up calmly. “Look, some very bad people might want these socks. You gotta keep this secret
“No.” In a surprisingly display of quickness, Rani takes the socks off George and bolts out of the cabin.
“Well, that went well.” George sarcastically said.