"You want me to use the app on you?" asked Jeff. He couldn't believe it, but the moment Mr. Smith had said it, a desperate excitement had lit up his eyes.
"Did I stutter?" asked the teacher. Mr. Smith regaining some authoritative composure.
"N-no... you just, took me by surprise is all. W-what would you like me to change?" asked Jeff.
"Make me younger. I used to have a great life--but that... that all changed a while ago. I want a second chance to do it all over again--try something different, not end up as a washed up football coach just because I fell into it because I liked playing ball more than really doing something with my life."
Jeff wasn't exactly prepared for an honest answer like that from the gruff old tubby football coach and elder phys ed teacher. It was like that gruffness--that tough attitude was a mask that he wore day in and day out, and one which he was quite tired of wearing. Seeing that mask slip for what seemed the first time all of a sudden made Jeff feel something he'd never stop to consider for Mr. Smith--sympathy.
"So you want this change to be permanent then?" asked Jeff
"Yes... and you're likely going to have to make me really young to counteract all my biases I had growing up. My old man popped me into midget football clubs almost as soon as I was old enough, and had me playing flag football as soon as I could keep a hold of the ball."
"Would say being as young as Ryan work?" asked Jeff, purposely referring to Mr. Huff by his first name to see if Mr. Smith would recognize any change to reality. If he did, Mr. Smith didn't show it in the least.
"First grade? Probably..."
"Okay, now I guess I need to ask this, but have you thought about who's going to raise you all over again?"
"Shit... I hadn't. My family's all six feet under except for my sister--and I wouldn't want her for a mother."
"Well, I could have reality altered so you were my little brother... I could make it that my parents adopted you, or change you to actually be related to my family."
"Adopted would work. I don't want to change too much about me... my age and memories are just fine."
"Okay, let me input all that into the app then..."
Jeff took his phone and using the app quickly scanned his teacher, who stood looking at Jeff rather awkwardly.
Name: Thomas Smith
Age: 63
Mental Age: 63
Height: 6’6
Weight: 312
Build: Husky
Body Fat Percentage: 10%
Gender: Male
Jeff inputted the basic changes that would make Mr. Smith the age he wanted, but then had to open some submenus and tabs until he found "Relationships" under Mental Age.
Name: Tommy Davis
Age: 7
Mental Age: 7
--Memory
----Relationships: Jeff Davis (adopted brother), Davis Family (adopted), Ryan Huff (best friend)
Height: Auto
Weight: Auto
Build: Auto
Body Fat Percentage: Auto
Gender: Male
Jeff even added a new relationship to Ryan to help better explain why Ryan would be being looked after by Jeff, and better shift reality a bit.
"Are you sure you're ready?" asked Jeff
"Just hit the damn button already before I change my mind," countered Mr. Smith, which Jeff couldn't help but snort at. If that kind of response was going to be typical from "Tommy", Jeff might just enjoy having him for a little brother. Jeff also instituted the same awareness factor being off for the transformation like he had for Ryan.
Thomas Smith at 63 was a mostly gray haired husky man whose better years had long since departed him. He had stubble which would grow back rather quickly after a shave, a bit of a belly from years of drinking his loneliness and depression away at night as he thought of the young man he had been. He wore a windbreaker jacket with the school mascot on it that had definitely seen better days, with the wrinkled collar of a polo sticking out at top, and rumpled khakis stretching down to his nearly worn out sneakers. As the transformation began his green eyes glossed over.
The first changes that became obvious to Jeff was the transformation to Thomas' hair and skin. As he transitioned back through middle age, his hair slowly darkened to the black it had started as, and his weather beaten and wrinkle-lined skin began to smooth out and regain some of its luster and color. His posture began improving about the same time it looked like he started sucking his gut in--or in this case loosing the weight he'd gained from too much drinking. Muscles seemed to plump up as Thomas returned to his prime, proving to be even more of a spectacular physically fit man than Mr. Huff had been as the windbreaker and khakis struggled to contain the regained musculature of the younger Mr. Smith.
But the changes didn't stop there as Thomas' transformation began speeding up it seemed, causing him to leave young adulthood as the muscles that had plumped up so quickly, began to shrink almost as fast as Thomas began re-entering his college years. At one point a cast appeared around Thomas' right ankle, and suddenly Jeff understood a bit more about Thomas' soon to be former life than he had before. It was also the first time that Thomas began to shrink a few inches in height as he began to look less like an Olympian god born to man, and much more like a highly athletic college athlete, quickly approaching high school by the way his muscles were shrinking him to a slimmer and lankier build.
High School stripped away the gifts of puberty almost too quickly for Jeff to keep track of as a series of shrink spurts had him go from looking slightly up at Thomas to looking even with him, to looking a little over him, to being definitely taller than him. The slim and lankiness only increased as Thomas began to look far more like a "Tommy" in Jeff's mind, and thoughts of him being his adopted brother began popping into his head which caused him a slight headache as memories began rearranging in his own head--reality was already starting to shift. Soon, a lanky preteen boy with overly large hands (and likely feet) stood in front of Jeff in clothes that bagged out just as badly if not worse than they had on Ryan.
But the transformation was still not complete as Tommy shrank even more, hands shrinking to be more proportional with Tommy's young boy body, and baby fat beginning to reappear as he left the double digits of life and re-entered the single digits. Shrink spurts bringing Tommy ever younger and innocent-looking. Tommy soon settled at age seven, swimming in his windbreaker, his pants and underwear pooled at his feet, and his eyes unglazing as he looked up at Jeff with eyes that at first looked confused but then apprehension turned to adoration as Tommy ran and hugged Jeff rather unexpectedly. Memories of his rather "sweet and affectionate" little adoptive brother Tommy had settled into Jeff's memory firmly now. His parents had adopted him as a toddler, and likely due to how young he'd been when he'd been put into the foster system, Tommy had reacted by being rather clingy to people--as though scared they would go away and leave him. Tommy was quiet, unassuming, innocent, and trusting, a complete opposite of the loud, curious and rambunctious Ryan who was his best friend since preschool. Mom and Dad were hoping that eventually Tommy's friendship with Ryan would have him come out of his shell--and for the most part it seemed to be working, as the two were stuck like glue to each other, Ryan always eager to do things with Tommy and looking out for him.
It was about then that Ryan burst into the room.
"Did it work?" asked Ryan eagerly.
"No," said Tommy.
"Rats... your app must be a dud," said Ryan.
"Yeah, I probably should just delete it," said Jeff as he exited the app, locked his phone and slipped it into his pocket.
"Let's go get you some clothes then, since we're not going to be grownups any time soon," said Ryan, grabbing Tommy's hand and dragging him out of the office towards the lost and found that Jeff had found clothes for Ryan at.