Macy sat at the computer, her finger hovering over the controls. Jeffie looked up at her from her lap, the juice box now empty, his little brow furrowed in anticipation. He had reluctantly agreed—reluctantly being the key word. Anything was better than being a helpless baby.
“I have an idea… but you’re not gonna like it,” Macy had said. And Jeff had grunted his baby assent, still babbling something like “Juss doo i-it…”
So Macy clicked it.
First: she toggled the gender setting, switching Jeff Parker to Jessica Parker.
Then: with a deep breath, she slid the age bar up from 1 to 18, just like before.
The screen flickered. The energy in the room shifted.
Macy blinked—and suddenly, Jess was sitting in her lap. Long auburn hair tumbled over her shoulders, her expression dazed and blinking. The once-infant body now filled out a hoodie and leggings, awkwardly sized but adult. Jess sat up straighter, confused but no longer helpless.
"Whoa," Jess muttered, then startled at the sound of her own voice. "Wait… this… this is weird."
Macy stared. “Jess? You okay?”
Jess furrowed her brow. “I… yeah? I think so. I mean, this is weird but not that weird. It’s like, I remember being Jeff, but also… it doesn’t feel that far off?”
Macy squinted, confused. “What do you mean? You were just a baby a minute ago.”
Jess stood up slowly, brushing imaginary dust off her clothes. “Yeah, but it’s like I remember growing up a Girl now—like all the years in between just sort of happened? I remember ballet recitals, and arguing with Megan over stealing hair clips, and… ugh. Why do I remember crying over a pink backpack in first grade?”
Macy’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh no.”
Jess turned to her. “What?”
Macy paled a bit. “I… I didn’t think it would do that. I thought you’d just be you, but in a girl’s body. I didn’t realize changing your gender before aging you up would… fill in all the years like you’d actually grown up that way.”
Jess’s eyes went even wider. “You mean… this isn’t just some swap? I’ve got memories of growing up as a girl because you aged me after?”
Macy bit her lip, nodding slowly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mess with your head like that.”
Jess sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. “Okay… okay. Breathe. So I’m still me… but I’ve also got all this extra stuff in my head now. Like I’m both Jeff and Jess at the same time.”
There was a pause. Then, Jess let out a laugh—sharp and a little nervous. “Well. At least I’m not in diapers anymore.”
Macy laughed too, mostly from relief. “That’s the spirit.”
But deep down, Jess already felt the difference. She still remembered being Jeff… but she didn’t feel like Jeff. Not completely. Not anymore. Not in this body, Not with these memories.
And Macy was beginning to realize: this wasn’t just a punishment.
This might be the start of something irreversible.