Barry's eyes roamed the mall, taking in the steady hum of people going about their day and looking for who to test next.
His gaze eventually landed on a cashier behind the counter of a clothes shop, slumped over with his chin propped up on one hand. The guy looked to be in his early twenties, utterly disinterested in his job, tapping lazily at his phone in between the rare customer.
Barry figured hed do just fine.
Pulling up the app, he locked onto the guy and generated a sentence.
'The young man behind the counter is on his phone, waiting for his shift to end.'
Barry hummed in thought. Only able to change one word at a time definitely made it more interesting to think of what to change. He could change man to woman to see what would happen, or maybe make the man something like a dragon or kobold or some other creature. Or maybe...
Barry grinned, a slow, mischievous grin spread across his face as he tapped the sentence.
'The young man behind the counter is on his phone, waiting for his shift to end.'
Barry hit confirm and suddenly, the bored twenty-something was gone.
In his place sat a chubby little kid, no older than six, perched on a booster seat behind the counter. His uniform vest was still there, though it seemed the store hadnt had any in his size causing it to hang loosely over a pokemon t shirt.. His stubby legs kicked back and forth, sneakers lighting up on occasion as he tapped at his phone(which was now covered in a colorful protective rubber case) totally absorbed in whatever game he was playing.
Barry surpressed a smile at the sight.
The kid stretched his chubby arms above his head and let out a childish whine "Ughh, how much longer ‘til my break?" he grumbled, voice high-pitched and squeaky.
Like before, no one seemed to be reacting to the first grader manning the store. Everyone acted as if it was perfectly normal even. Even the now little boy had no idea he'd been shrunk down to size.
Soon, a woman approached the counter, arms full of an assortment of clothing. The newly minted kid perked up, pocketing his phone quickly, trying to pretend he hadn't been using it. The muffled cry of an angry bird from the kids pocket didn't help sell his act.
"Hi, miss!" he chirped, flashing a gap-toothed grin as he struggled to reach the scanner, one arm trying to lower the volume on hsis phone. "Didja find everything okay?" He asked nervously
The woman smiled back, holding back a giggle at the boys antics. "I sure did, Young man. I see you're working hard~" She said in a teasing tone.
Not noticing the laddies tone, the chubby Sox year old puffed up with obvious pride. "Uh-huh! My boss says I’m real ‘sponsible!" He then proceeded to squint at the register, tongue sticking out slightly as he slowly punched in the prices.
Barry watched as the first grader mumbled to himself trying to do the math to properly ring up the lady. The customer stood patiently, an amused expression as she waited for the little boy to finish up.
Eventually, he managed tl count everything properly. After the woman's things were bagged, she giggled once more, praising him for a job well done and making the kid blush.
Once she was gone. the kiddo went back to playing in his phone, wiggling and kicking his legs impatiently as he waited for his shift to end.
Barry could hardly believe he'd turned a grown man into a first grader with just a push of a few buttons, but the adorable chubby proof was sitting happily a few feet away from him. Who knew what was next?