Pants.
Who loses a pair of pants while driving? Ian wondered, poking at the clothing article with his right foot. Well, maybe their owner had been swimming or something, got the pants wet in the process, and had put them on top of his car to dry and then driven off, forgetting they were there.
They looked clean, not like they had been lying there long, and looked like a wallet might be in one of the back pockets, so Ian picked them up to see if he could find an i.d.
Man, they looked narrow! He glanced at the tag-- 28" waist, 30" inseam! Who had measurements like that?
He fumbled with the pants, reaching into the rear pocket to see if the bulge there was, in fact, the owner's wallet, not noticing as he did so that the pants brushed the medallion he was still wearing. Ian felt a tingle, but put it down to an insect, or dust from the hot roadside.
The bulge was, in fact, a wallet. Opening it up, he found a school i.d., with the picture of a smiling teenager on it, a social security card, and a state i.d. card, with another picture of the kid, which stated that the card's owner was 14, nearly 15, years old. The name on all three cards was Kyle Thomas.
Ian checked the other pockets, expecting to find a cell phone, since he figured the kid, or at least his parents, would be glad to get the wallet back. No such luck. Maybe Kyle had been busy talking on his phone when the pants went missing-- that would explain why he hadn't noticed, actually. He did find a music player, and, with a little bit of experimenting, was able to get it working. Putting in the ear buds, Ian was treated to some loud, furious music he didn't recognize. Still, it was better than nothing, so he kept listening while he resumed his walk to the gas station.
A little further along, and the gas station came in sight..., and Ian found his pants sliding down. Absently, he tugged them up while walking. Only to have them slide down again, this time more quickly and farther. Annoyed, Ian yanked them back up and tightened his belt, finding out that he was on the last notch, and the pants still seemed too loose. Weird, maybe he hadn't been eating right or something?
By the time he reached the gas station, Ian was holding up his pants with his hands, and his shirt was sagging loosely around his waist. He headed straight into the (surprisingly clean) Men's room and, locking the door, let his pants fall off.
"What the hell?!" he exclaimed, seeing his mostly hairless legs, and sagging underwear. Turning, he looked into the mirror-- and saw the kid from the i.d.s staring back at him. Blond hair, spiked, narrow features, beardless face (heck, not even "peach fuzz"!), light blue eyes. Good looking kid, but DEFINITELY not him!
"Oh my god!" Ian exclaimed, suddenly realizing his voice was different, too. It was then he noticed the medallion hanging around his (now smaller, leaner) neck-- or, more accurately, the chain. Somehow the medallion was under his (now too large) shirt. Pulling his shirt off, he exposed a skinny, lean chest and stomach, and the medallion. Could it have had something to do with this? The pants, wallet, and music player all seemed ordinary enough. (Well, he had to admit, he didn't really know much about music players, but it looked like an ordinary, mass produced thing.)
"Okay. The pants might have touched this and it touched me," he thought, trying to reason out what might have happened. "So, if I touch it to MY pants and me, maybe I will change back!"
Trying this, he was disappointed to find out that nothing happened.
"Crap! What should I do?!" Ian thought, panicking. Well, he couldn't go around without pants on, and the pants he found looked like they would fit..., so he pulled them on. Second, his car wasn't going anywhere without gas, so he took a deep breath and filled his gas can, paying at the pump.
Now what? he thought.