The bell rung and with it came recess time. If Ryan believed that being a fourth grader was annoying before, he now left the classroom with the same thought but only strengthened by the immaturity of his classmates and the overall uninteresting school work. Fortunately the break came in handy. He could at least spend some time with teenagers like himself and not some dimwits.
Something struck him as strange when he saw both Tony and Jake running just like the rest of the class to the playground. Luckily he found Kevin and they both shared a concerned look. They managed to follow them to the playground. Both Tony and Jake were with a group of children and Ryan heard that they were about to play tag. Jake shouted and waved for both Ryan and Kevin to join them which of course they refused. They tried instead to talk to Jake and Tony in private but it was harder than they thought. Only after promising that they had a surprise for them did they follow Kevin and Ryan to a more private area.
“So where is the surprise?” Grinned Tony. Meanwhile Ryan looked annoyed. He felt like beating them both till they remember they weren’t kids but he decided to let Kevin have a more convenient approach.
“Hey, how old are you?” Asked Kevin.
“I’m 10!” Said Tony. “I’m 10 and a half!” Replied Jake.
It was as they feared. Not only were they physically kids they were now acting like kids. This was troublesome. For all they knew one of them could be next.
“No, you’re not!” Screamed Ryan. Surely if he had his usual voice it would sound angry but instead it sounded obnoxious. “You’re not brats! You’re teenagers, remember?”
“Don’t you remember? The scientists, the injection? Nothing of this is real. This is not who you are!” Added Kevin.
Jake looked confused for a second but then he seemed to have regained the knowledge of his own self. He could remember everything now, even the short time his mind was lost in as a 10 year old boy. Somehow it all seemed so easy, peaceful and fun being 10 again but deep down he knew that was a lie. He was a pawn in some screwed-up game that he had been dragged into. “I remember” He answered with a distinct sad tone.
It was harder to persuade Tony that he wasn’t a kid, though. Ryan had given up all hope but Kevin and Jake kept talking to him even when it seemed hopeless and the other boy wanted out of their “game”. Ryan even pushed him and was about to punch Tony just because he was feeling increasingly infuriated with the situation and wanted to smack some sense into him. However that seemed to make things worse and frustrated Tony as well who was on the verge of crying.
Jake calmed the boy down and kept talking with him. Tony at first thought Jake was now playing the same weird game of pretending they were older kids that Kevin had started but as both Jake and Kevin reminded him of their names and the weird events of the previous day Tony looked like he was coming back to his older self mentally.
“Damn… I really was acting like a kid…” Tony said after digesting all the information. Jake and Kevin nodded while Ryan just stood with his arms crossed.
“We really need to make something about this. We can’t risk this anymore.” Said Jake.
“How come you two weren’t affected?” Asked Tony.
“The question is how you two got affected?” Kevin asked.
“You wanna know how you don’t become a brat? Just don’t act like a freaking brat!” Said Ryan. “You two started acting like two morons who did their school work just like a freaking kid would. I think it’s pretty obvious. Kevin and I had to deal with some pests and that’s why we didn’t do much except hoping class would end and keep our own thoughts intact.” Kevin nodded in agreement.
“That does make sense” Admitted Tony in spite of his mutual hatred towards Ryan.
“Talking about memories seems like a good way to invert the process. After all that’s how you two got back to normal” Commented Kevin.
“I guess that’s true. The best way to avoid becoming a kid is remembering that we aren’t kids. It does make sense but it can be tough. It took a while for Tony to remember… but it’s the best thing we’ve got to defend ourselves. I have an idea: we should tell more about each of us. That way it may be easier for us to help the other.” Jake proposed. His idea was received with mixed feelings, though. The others didn’t really want to share their lives but Jake insisted: “It’s not a bad idea. Remember: we’re in this together. Learning about each other will only make us trust each other.” Said Jake.
“This is all bullshit! We need to get away from this place!” Tony opined.
“Do you really think that’s easy? We’re kids, well at least we look like kids. There’s no way we can get out of town without drawing much attention.” Ryan answered still annoyed. He’d thought about that a million times.
“We’ll keep up pretending for a while. Those scientists may actually expect us to run away so we’ll keep up with our charade. But just don’t get caught up in our own game, you hear me?” Asked Kevin looking at Tony and Jake who nodded.
The bell rang to the group’s disappointment.
“We’ll talk over lunch. In the meantime let’s not become little morons, okay?” Asked Kevin.
Fortunately no one slipped back during the class. Alarmed by the previous events both Jake and Tony didn’t work much in order to keep their minds in place. Jake was still surprised at his previous slip. He couldn’t believe the things he had written on his notebook. Tony looked worried as well. He looked conflicted. Jake tried to talk to him but the boy wouldn’t say much. If anything Jake would bet that the boy was struggling in his mind.
Finally when the bell rang they all went to have lunch. They sat in a more isolated area of the cafeteria. They barely talked to each other, mostly because they weren’t even sure of what to talk about. Jake broke the silence. “As I said earlier I think it’s a good idea to tell something about ourselves. Like the old man said we’re all delinquents so I guess that’s why we are all here. So, my name is Jake Peterson. I’m 16 and I got caught stealing some stuff. I’ve been living with foster parents ever since I was 5. Still after all these years the couple I met today was probably the best yet. They’re Mr. and Mrs. Sanders. Right now she’s pregnant and…”
“Dude” Said Ryan. “Don’t talk about them. Remember they are not your family, they’re obstacles.”
“I guess you’re right…” Jake said looking sad.
Luckily they all now seemed eager to talk about themselves probably because they didn’t want to lose their identity in a place where even their name was different.
Tony Williams was next. He would be turning 18 next week. He was the youngest of three siblings and his family was rather poor and uneducated. Living in a bad neighbourhood just made it easier for him to start selling drugs. However he was busted by the police and poof, here he was.
Next was Kevin Marsh. He was the son of a wealthy family but he didn’t have any siblings or friends. However he became a computer expert and despite being barely 15 he was good at what he did until of course he decided to top his previous hacking attempts and got caught. He didn’t remember after that except waking up with the others in that building. He didn’t even know if his parents knew his whereabouts.
The last one to tell his story was Ryan Clay. One day his house was robbed and soon afterwards he himself was approached by five black guys who basically took everything valuable from him. Soon afterwards he affiliated himself with neo-nazi groups as he felt nothing but hatred towards the “human parasites” or so he called them. He kept his hair short and tattooed his body with racial messages and swastikas. He was also violent. In no time he and his group spread violence against all non-white people. He was caught after one fight in which he had stabbed a gypsy man. He didn’t even know if the man was dead but didn’t care. The rest was the same for everyone else. Suddenly he had woken up in a strange building and now here he was.
Despite their different stories they all started to bond. Even Ryan became relatively friendlier with Tony after Jake insisted. Difficult times called for unusual allies it seemed. No matter what was happening they knew they couldn’t give up on their true selves. Nothing would break them. Or so they thought.