Michael paced around Sara’s (or rather, his new) bedroom, lightly looking around the room nervously… He instinctively reached out to the bed for support, his hand grazing against an adorable frog Squishmallow laying against the bed post… Oddly, a small smile crept across his face. He liked the softness, the way the felt body was squishy yet not overly so. He hopped on the bed, his shirt billowing slightly as he did so, and grabbed the plushie frog, turning it inquisitively in his hands… With its goofy smile, a tongue sticking out drawn in yarn, it looked a little silly… Fun too…
Actually… All of Sara’s toys kinda looked fun… The mountain of plushies, of course, but also everything else. Michael knew from babysitting Sara that she had plenty of toys… Barbies, Bratz, Polly Pockets, My Little Ponies, Monster High and baby dolls… A few tubs of pink, purple and light blue LEGOS… Even a small doll house and accessories for her dolls to play with!
He knew it sounded a bit weird but… Well, what else was he going to do to pass the time? He’d played with these toys before with Sara, and… Well, It’s not like he could go many places now that everyone thought he was a six-year-old girl… Maybe *Mommy*… Um, Chelsea was right… Playing for a bit may calm his nerves…
Michael clutched his frog plush close to his chest as he made his way to the toy box, letting it lazily hang in his hand as he began to dig through it, eventually settling on a blue skinned doll of a teenage girl with black and white hair and an outfit that matched her hairdo… Michael recognized this doll, one of Frankie Stein from the “Monster High” line, a doll series that Sara always seemed to like of cutesy girl versions of classic monsters… It definitely was better than Barbie and her ilk to him, at least… But… How do you even play with toys like these? These weren’t like boy toys or video games, no goals to them or action features to them…
He plopped back on the bed, maneuvering the doll and frog plush in his hands curiously… How did Sara play with these? He tried to think back to all those babysitting sessions… The way Sara moved the dolls, what seemed to go through her little mind… Finally though, something seemed to click, and Michael began to maneuver the Frankie Stein doll like it was dolphin diving in and out of water…
*“La la la, swimming in the ocean~!”* Michael said almost instinctively, putting on a high pitched voice for the Frankenstein-themed fashion doll, *”Loving the water~!”
*”Well hey there Miss Frankie!”* Michael continued, now holding up the Squishmallow and putting on a dopey sounding deeper voice, “Going for a swim?”
*”Ah, Mister Hops!”* Said “Frankie”, *“Nice to see you in the ocean! And yes, I am swimming in the ocean! I’m just afraid I’ll be blown away by the waves… My arms and legs aren’t sewn on good!”*
*”Well that’s okay, Miss Frankie!”*, Michael had the plush frog say, *”If you float away… I’ll… Swim to the rescue! I’m a super good swimmer!”*
Michael didn’t know where any of this was coming from… Was he remembering how Sara played with these things before, or was he making up a story like a little kid? He wanted to blush, but… Honestly, making up a story like this and having the toys act it out, it was kinda fun! Before long, Michael was having Frankie and Mister Hops the Frog enjoy their little beach adventure, thinking of who could join in next… Maybe the rest of Frankie’s friends could join the beach day, getting a tan and scared off by a giant monster expertly played by one of the stuffed animals! Or-
“Well, I see someone’s feeling better!”
Michael paused his play, blushing with embarrassment as he noticed Chelsea standing in the doorway smiling as she watched her “daughter” play. Michael gave a small mutter as he looked down at the bedspread, “I was… J-Just having fun…”
“Aw, sweetheart!” Chelsea cooed, “It’s okay! You’re more than able to play… I’ve got good news though, the other moms in the building found everyone, all your friends are okay! Oh, and that bad lightning storm’s calmed down for now… I’m sure it’ll come back later, but for now… I think everyone is safe…”
That’s right! Sara was out playing with her friends when the Swap Wave hit both of them… Michael was glad that they were all found… But… He wasn’t sure if they’d be the same as they were this morning. The Swap Wave hit plenty of people in the neighborhood, and it wouldn’t be out of the question that at least one of Sara’s friends got hit by it… But he was glad for now, things calmed down enough to take stock of the situation.
He just hoped things didn’t change too much. Thank God he was still the same…