Sam tugged at the collar of the shirt that now clung to his unfamiliar, much larger frame. It felt foreign—everything about this felt strange. He glanced down at his younger brother, Kenith, who was happily walking beside him, his six-year-old face brimming with excitement and mischief. How had Kenith talked him into this again? Oh right—Kenith had gotten into trouble. Again. And the school had called for one of his parents to come in for a meeting. But instead of bothering their real dad, Kenith had convinced Sam to let him use the Chronicle app to turn Sam into a copy of their father, Riley, a professional football player (or soccer, as they called it back home) and a well-known figure.
Now, here Sam was, walking through the school halls, a towering, muscular man who looked nothing like the twelve-year-old boy he really was inside. His dad’s body was tall, strong, and filled with an energy that Sam wasn’t used to handling. Every step felt heavier, his powerful legs carrying him with ease. His thick blonde hair, a grown-up version of his own, felt odd on his head. Everything about being an adult was weird.
“You owe me big for this, Kenith,” Sam muttered under his breath, his deep voice startling even him. It didn’t sound right coming out of his mouth. He felt so out of place.
Kenith, ever the mischievous little brother, smiled up at Sam and said, “Thanks, Daddy,” emphasizing “Daddy” with a childish teasing tone. Kenith was clearly enjoying this way too much. “I promise, you can tell me what to turn into when you need the same thing,” Kenith added, playfully folding his little hand into Sam’s large one and skipping along as though this were all perfectly normal.
Sam groaned. As they approached the classroom, Sam was trying to mentally prepare himself for this meeting, but he couldn’t shake the strangeness of the situation. He sat down in the small chair meant for parents, feeling ridiculously oversized, while Kenith took his place next to him, looking as innocent as ever. The teacher, Mrs. Garcia, was sitting across from them, flipping through her notes.
"Mr. Riley, thank you for coming in on such short notice," she began, smiling warmly at him. She was a pretty woman in her mid-twenties, with striking features and kind eyes. But Sam wasn’t prepared for how her smile made him feel.
Sam, who had been focused on trying to appear like his dad, suddenly felt something he hadn’t expected—nervousness. Mrs. Garcia’s smile lingered a little longer than necessary, and her gaze was a bit too soft. Was she… flirting with him? Sam’s stomach flipped. He was 12 years old! How was he supposed to deal with this?
“Kenith’s a clever boy,” Mrs. Garcia said, her voice smooth, as she glanced toward Kenith, who was sitting there, clearly amused by the entire situation. “But we’ve noticed some behavior in class that’s a bit... distracting. He’s very bright, and I understand why you might want to keep him in his current grade instead of moving him up. But some of the disruptions—”
Sam was only half-listening. Mrs. Garcia was still smiling at him, her eyes occasionally glancing at his arms or his face, and Sam could feel his cheeks heat up. No, stop. Focus. He had to pretend to be his dad, and that meant responding like an adult. But what was he supposed to say? His mind raced.
“Uh, yes… I’ll, um… make sure Kenith thinks about his behavior,” Sam stammered, his voice deeper than he intended, and it somehow came out sounding flirtatious. Mrs. Garcia’s smile widened. Kenith, sitting beside him, was practically vibrating with silent laughter.
Sam’s mind screamed, What are you doing?! He tried to play it cool, reaching over to ruffle Kenith’s hair, just as their real dad would, all while Mrs. Garcia continued to look at him with that knowing smile. Kenith, still playing the role of the innocent kid, was now biting his lip to stop from bursting into full-blown laughter. He clearly thought Sam’s awkwardness was hilarious.
After what felt like an eternity of dodging flirty smiles and giving half-baked answers, the meeting finally wrapped up.
“Well, thank you for coming in, Mr. Riley,” Mrs. Garcia said, standing up and offering her hand. Sam shook it, her touch sending another strange jolt through him. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough. With a final polite smile, he quickly turned and practically dragged Kenith out of the classroom.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Kenith let out a long, uncontrollable laugh. “Sam, you’re terrible with girls!” he teased, skipping alongside his big brother-turned-dad.
“Shut up,” Sam grumbled, his face red. “That was so awkward. And why did she have to be so flirty?”
Kenith grinned mischievously. “You were totally flirting back, though! That was hilarious!”
“I wasn’t flirting back!” Sam retorted, his voice cracking. “I didn’t know what to say!”
“Well, next time you’re in Dad’s body, maybe try not to get a crush on my teacher,” Kenith teased, smirking.
“Shut up,” Sam repeated, though his voice had lost some of its frustration. Deep down, he knew Kenith was right—he had totally stumbled through that whole situation. But it was hard not to laugh at himself now that they were out of the meeting.
Without warning, Sam decided to get his revenge. With his dad’s tall, strong body, he easily scooped Kenith up into his arms, lifting the little six-year-old as if he weighed nothing.
Kenith yelped in surprise. “Hey! What are you doing?!”
Sam spun him around a couple of times, laughing as Kenith squealed in protest. “I may be bad with girls,” Sam said, grinning, “but I’m still your big brother. And right now, you’re in so much trouble.”
Kenith, still giggling, wrapped his arms around Sam’s neck as Sam held him the way their dad often did. “It’s weird thinking you’re Sam,” Kenith admitted, catching his breath from laughing. “But you’re pretty good at being strong, I’ll give you that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sam said with a grin. He was surprised at how natural it felt to carry his little brother like this. Despite the awkwardness of the day, Sam was starting to see why their dad liked being able to scoop them up so easily. He felt protective over Kenith in a way he hadn’t expected.
When they finally got home, Kenith pulled out his phone and used the app to turn Sam back into his regular twelve-year-old self. Sam stretched, glad to be back in his own body, but still a little shaken from the day’s experience.
“Thanks for doing that,” Kenith said, his usual mischievous grin on his face. “You were a great ‘Dad.’”
“No problem,” Sam replied with a shrug, then smirked. “But remember—you owe me one transformation now. Don’t forget.”
Kenith rolled his eyes, flipping his phone between his hands. “Fine, fine. But don’t forget, I’m smarter than you. I’ve made it so only I can use this phone. You can’t even touch it.”
“Yeah, right,” Sam said, reaching for the phone.
But as soon as he tried to grab it, his body froze, an invisible force preventing him from taking the phone. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Kenith laughed, waving the phone in front of Sam’s face. “Told you.”
Sam groaned, shivering at the memory of Mrs. Garcia flirting with him in their dad’s body. “Whatever. But next time, no surprises without asking.”
“Deal,” Kenith said, flashing a cheeky grin.
Sam retreated to his room, still feeling a mix of embarrassment and amusement. He lay down on his bed, thinking back to the meeting—and how awkward it had been to deal with a 25-year-old teacher flirting with him while he was in his dad’s body. As weird as the day had been, part of him had actually enjoyed it. But he quickly shook off the thought and grabbed his controller, turning on his video games to distract himself from the odd feelings that lingered.
As the game loaded up, Sam sighed. Life with Kenith was never boring, that was for sure.
And deep down, he wouldn’t have it any other way.