Gregory Davis was rather short for his age, he had been tall back in elementary school, but it seemed like the summer before middle school all of his friends had shot up. Their voices deepened, and they had started to grow pubic hair. Greg had becomes so embarrassed by his underdeveloped body, that he had gotten special permission to shower separately from the other boys after PE.
At least he got along well with a few girls. His lack of body odor and acne made him easy to be around, even if he didn't get their little pheromones pumping. A little tragic for him, as he was feeling more and more attracted to his long time friend Melissa Florentia. He couldn't summon the confidence to approach her, and he knew she wasn't interested.
He hoped and prayed that he would soon hit puberty, but was beginning to wonder if he had something like Kallmann Syndrome, which his parents assured him, simply wasn't possible. They told him whenever he brought it up, that late onset puberty simply meant that he was likely to be taller than his friends, which was only a small comfort in the short term.
Today, though, Greg was feeling good. Distracted by the idea of getting whatever this big surprise his parents had been planning. It would be waiting for him after he got home from school.
After one infuriating day at school, Greg returned home, resigned. "How was school?" His mother asked, unusually excited. "Fine, Mom. It's always fine." "I'm always glad to hear it!" She responded, as she probably had several times. "Your father took a later shift at work just so he could install your surprise in time, he finished it a while ago. You can thank him tonight when he gets home."
Greg had completely forgotten about this major surprise. Was he hearing right? Was it installed? It must have been big, if he couldn't do it himself. A new computer, or a big screen 3D TV? A personal home entertainment system?! He rushed up stairs, thoughts of surround sound dancing in his head. He clicked his heels as he rounded the corner and ran eyes closed into his room.
He looked around, for the TV. He searched for the speakers. He even turned on all the screens in the room, to check if the pictures were coming out at him. Then he discovered it. There it was. Monstrous and awful. A king sized bed, where his old twin had been, decked out in fancy new sheets: plain and white, but extravagant.
This was a sick joke. He hadn't even filled out his old bed yet. There were no other gifts. Just this one low blow. Beyond livid, Greg slammed his door, and locked it, even though his mother didn't follow him upstairs. He could hear her laughing in the back of his mind. His life was a joke. He was a joke to everyone.
Greg moved to destroy this abomination of a bed, fire in his eyes. As he laid hands on the silk, ready to tear it apart, a thought shot to the forefront from the deepest of his subconscious mind. "This really IS luxurious." He was torn between anger, exhaustion, and a little bit of amazement, and exhaustion won out.
There was still daylight outside, but suddenly Greg really felt like taking a nap.
He considered changing into pajamas, but upon feeling the silk on his skin, Greg opted for the first time to sleep in the nude. He kicked off his pants and dived under the covers, quickly falling asleep.
As he passed unconscious, he felt the strangest sensation, like he was sinking into the bed; this didn't bother him at all. In fact, it felt good.