"Uh... My name is Megan," you say. Being a sixteen year old, you were curious about every new shop that came to town. It has been there a week already and you were just dying to know what they sold. This however is not exactly what you were expecting. "You're not... seriously turning people into objects, right?"
"Oh, but we do," Ashley responded kindly. "Where do you think we got all this stuff?" She then pointed to a shelf full of random objects that quite frankly didn't match up with each-other at all.
Well this was certainly a strange turn of events. You still didn't believe it fully, but the way this Ashley told you all this did make you wonder a little bit. Then, once again, you realized how silly it all seemed. You were about to say your goodbyes and go for the door when a couple about your age came from a door labeled 'catalogs'.
"Ah, have you two decided what you want?" Ashley asked them.
"Yes we have!" the girl said excitedly. "Oh gosh, I can't wait!"
"We have called the museum and they agreed to place us among their statue garden," the boy then said.
"A joined statue, huh? Great choice! I do hope you will enjoy your time together," Ashley replied.
"It'll only be one week, but that's okay," the boy then said.
"Yeah, we gotta be animate next week," the girl then said, laughing. The two then went to another door which read 'transformation', leaving you flabbergasted.
"So, I take it you are convinced right now?" Ashley said, turning to you.
You were still at a loss for words. This place really transformed people into objects! Temporarily, yes, but still! This was so unreal!
"So, what can we do for you?" Ashley asked you kindly.
You didn't know what to do. Part of you screamed to get out of here, part of you told you to pinch yourself to wake up from this wierd dream but still, a part of you is actually deciding to stay! Then, you remember something a friend of you once said: it's better to regret doing something than to regret not doing something. With this in mind and before you realized what you were saying, you say "transform me."
"Excellent!" Ashley said excitedly. "Now, it goes like this. You go into the catalog room and you make your decision there. When you're done, you return and go into the transformation room. Our employees will help you from there. You will have to pay beforehand of course, because an object can't really pay." She laughed. "In any case, the transformations are only temporarily. You do not have to worry about not turning back. You do have to worry about turning back in a public place though, because we still have not found a way to transform clothes with you. Before the transformation, you will also be asked about what will happen to you while transformed. You could leave behind a phone number of a friend or family member so that they can come and pick you up. They will then be your owner while the transformation lasts. You could also decide to be sold in the store like these people on the shelf which will result in you being sold to a stranger. If you choose this second option and you do get bought, you will even get your money back afterwards, because the client will have payed for you."
You had just heard this explanation but you were still baffled at all this, not to mention the fact that you agreed to go through with this. "I'll... go make my decision then..." you say, going to the 'catalog' room. Upon entering, you notice a few other people scrolling through a few catalogs. Feeling a little odd amongst these people who probably have already been transformed once, you just pick up a catalog and seat yourself on a nearby bench.
'What am I doing! I am going to let myself be transformed into an object! An immoveable thing! Why am I not running away from this?! you wonder to yourself as you look at the index. Clothing... toys... mannequins... art... there were so many different options that you didn't even know where to begin! That's when you started to think, what WOULD happen after you've been transformed. Getting your money back would be nice, yes, but the thought of being owned by a stranger just put her off of that idea. 'So, I'll just have to call up a friend,' you say to yourself. You take out your mobile phone and dial up your best friend Heather.
"Hiya Megs!" she says on the other side, obviously recognizing your number.
"Hey there, Jade," you say.
"What up?"
"Well... you know that new store?"
"The one we thought was a toys-r-us?"
"Yeah that one! Well, I'm there right now, and you won't believe what they're selling..."
"Huh? Why's that?"
"Well... just come over and you'll see."
"Uhm... okay... See you there then."
You then hang up and decide on what to do while you wait. You think this'd be a good time to just scroll through the catalog a little and think of all the possibilities.