Utterly confused by the situation, Hannah, Claire, and Leslie began going through all of their personal information. The trio looked through everything, bank accounts, the DMV, the school ombudsman, even social media accounts. All of it led to the same conclusion. Their ages as far as the world was concerned was 22, 21, and 18 respectfully.
"How is this even possible," Hannah exclaimed. "I remember being older. I remember being this age. How did the world change?" Neither Claire nor Leslie had a clue. They may remember theor adult lives, their past memories remaining unchanged, yet according to every piece of documentations they had, they were college students once again. "I don't know magic I guess," Claure shrugged. "I'm guessing that's how we ended up in our old dorm. None of this makes any sense, we need to figure this out." Both young women now turned to Leslie, the auburn haired teen now casting them an anxious look. "Why are you looking at me like that," she asked.
"We should test the watch," Hannah stated. "Have someone use it to see if....things change again."
"Okay," Leslie said slowly. "Why are you looking at me?" Slowly it dawned on Leslie what Hannah was insinuating. "No way," she exclaimed. "I'm young enough already! If I get any younger I won't even be old enough to be here!" Hannah tried to reason with her cousin, it was the easiest way to see if this watch altered reality. Leslie though was firm, she had no desire to vanish or to be stuck in high school was again. "If you ask me Claire makes the most sense, " Leslie huffed.
"Me," Claire exclaimed. "Why me?!"
"Because if you became 20 the only thing that would change would be your license," Leslie replied. "You two lived in this room for years so it's not like it's going anywhere. Unlike me, you wouldn't possibly vanish from college. You'd still be old enough to be here." Claire scowled, it was hard to argue with Leslie's reasoning, even if it did mean losing another year of age. Still, she wasn’t doing this alone. "If I have to get younger than so does Hannah!"
"Why do I have to get younger," Hannah asked, a frown forming on her face. "Because this was your watch to begin with," Claire countered. "None of us would be here if you hadn't shown us that thing. If I have to be 20 years old than so do you." Hannah scowled, biting her lip in protest. The last thing she wanted was to get even younger. As it stood, she would be back in the working world in a few short months if they couldn't fix this. Did she really want to relive college all over again? "Fine," she sighed. "Lets do it but, only back to 20."
Claire and Hannah now anxiously gazed at the watch. Neither wanted to use it again, but they needed to know for sure. Reaching for it carefully, like it would explode, Claire gingerly picked it up. Taking a breath, the young blonde presses the button, all three of them watching the numbers tick away.
21 years 6 months...5 months...4 months...
Hannah watched the months fall away from Claire. It was hard to tell if their was any significant change. Maybe Clares face appeared rounder, no longer as mature but she couldn't say for certain. Regardless, she was certain the young blonde would be carded at the bar. As Claire hit the stop button, the trio now looked at the readout. 20 years 5 months. "This sucks," Claire grumbled, handling the watch to Hannah. Hannah's now anxiously bit her lip. The brunette coed taking a deep breath as she pressed the button.
Hannah's changes were more impactful, the young woman inching further away from her gym days. Hannah noticed her body appeared less toned, a softness slowly but surely overtaking her body. She would hardly call herself fat but, she certainly looked less fit. This was only magnified as she felt her athletic shorts tighten around her waist. As she hit the stop button, she beheld a girl with a round face, possessing a girl next door beauty. She was cute, just not the head turner she would be in a few short years. "20 years 6 months," she sighed, looking at the fresh faced coed in the mirror.
Reaching for their licenses once more, Claire and Hannah anxiously gazed at them. The tension in the air was palatable, the pair hoping this experiment bore fruit and that they didn't waste years of their now young lives. As they stared at their license, they gasped. Slowly they could see words appear on the top of the pictures, their birthdays blurring as the information now changed in real time. Eyes wide, mouths gaping, the two silently read what the words said.
Under 21.
"Holy shit," Claire whispered. "This thing DOES change reality!" Hannah and Leslie nodded, the experiment was a success. Now they just needed to fix it.