Even though Ryan was in too much of a hurry to listen to the Grandma, Vinnie's Grandma
decided that Ryan needed to know anyway. So a little later, Vinnie got the message and
told what signs to look for in Ryan.
It only took a few days before the signs began showing. Ryan was noticeable thinner. At
first, he thought he was just losing weight but day after day he continued to become
thinner.
Vinnie chuckled inside as he waited patiently for what was coming. He'd rescue Ryan when
it came to that but he thought it best to wait until Ryan realized that he needed rescuing.
Ryan just kept tightening his belt or wearing smaller clothes but when even the smallest
clothes he owned began to slide off his hips, he began to worry.
"Vinnie," Ryan pleaded, "You've got to help me. What did your Grandma do to me?"
Vinnie said, "She helped you. Just like you wanted. You're the one who was too pigheaded
to listen to the warning."
"What warning." Ryan asked.
"The jock strap curse of course." Vinnie answered.
"Oh no," Ryan cried, "What is the curse? Am I turning into a jock strap?"
Vinnie explained, "I'm not sure. Grannie told me what signs to look for. Since you are
getting thinner, my guess is that you are turning into a jock strap again."
Ryan cried, "That's not right. How can she say she helped me if I'm going to be a jock strap
again."
Vinnie, who had never really been confident, suddenly had an eruption of boldness.
"Weren't you listening you cotton headed idiot. You are a jock strap. You were given the
body of a boy but your essence is now that of a jock strap. There's nothing that can be
done to change that. You should still thank my Grandma for granting you what time she
could give you as human."
Ryan cried for a while and then threw sniffles asked, "How long do I have?"
"I don't know. All I know are some signs to look for." Vinnie consoled, "But I do have some
good news. My Grandma said that the most likely way the curse would affect you would
allow you to change back into a human again. She said that frequently this curse works on
triggers. One trigger changes you into a jock strap while another changes you to human.
The full moon and the sun might be triggers which does explain the common werewolf
stories but she said that in reality, there are many other things that could be triggers:
certain foods eaten, seasons, temperature, activities. She told me a story about one person
whose triggers were that whenever he ran he transformed and stayed transformed until he
fell asleep."
Ryan said, "I haven't ran that much and I've slept like normal."
Vinnie said, "Well my guess is because your transformation is going slow instead of an
instant transformation, your trigger must be something that you are exposed to a lot. I'll
keep watch over you for the next few days and see if there are any other signs to indicate
what your trigger is."