Tim was playing video games at home. It was a Saturday afternoon, and the fourteen-year-old didn't have anything better to do. Sure, all the cool kids were out having parties and stuff, but here he was, stuck playing Call of Duty for the umpteenth time. He couldn't even remember which one he was playing, either.
He was brought to reality by the sound of his cell phone vibrating on his desk. Thankful for the distraction, he paused his game and answered the phone, noting that the screen said the caller was Gregory.
"Hello?" Tim answered.
"Tim!" he heard Gregory say. "Do you want to come over?"
Tim knew that Greg's family was out for the day. He smiled "I knew it! You're throwing a party at your house, aren't you? Finally. I mean, it won't be a senior party, but it's better than nothing. Who else is coming?"
"What?" Greg responded, aghast. "No! I'm not throwing a party. Are you kidding? My parents would kill me!"
Tim leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Then why are you calling me?"
"I just wanted to hang out," said Greg. "I'm bored out of my skull."
"Can't," Tim said, glancing at the Call of Duty pause menu. "I'm busy."
"I found this cool remote," Greg said, hoping to entice his friend.
"Uh-huh," said Tim, unimpressed. "Cool how?"
"You have to see it for yourself. It's really neat, man."
Tim sighed again. It wasn't like he really had anything better to do. He would go over and look at Greg's stupid toy, then they could play some video games or something. It wasn't like he hadn't beaten Call of Duty's single player at least five times already.
"Ugh! Fine! I'll come over," Time groaned. "But this better be good, Greg."
"Oh, it will. See you!"
"Yeah, bye."
Tim hung up, gathered a few things, told his mom he was headed "out," and made his way to Greg's house.
It wasn't a long walk, no more than fifteen minutes, really. Time felt relieved to be outside. His room had gotten stuffy. The fresh air felt good.
"Hey!"
Tim turned to see Jen approaching him on her black and pink skateboard. She was fully decked in elbow pads, knee pads, and a safety helmet. Her long dark hair trailed behind her as she rolled against the breeze. She smiled at Tim as she drew near.
"We're you going, Tim?"
Tim reshouldered his bag and kept walking. He didn't particularly like Jen. She was different than the other girls. While they wore makeup, talked about boy bands, and wore bright clothing, Jen often went around without a hint of makeup, talked about rock bands from the 70s, and often wore dark clothes and, on occasion, camo.
"What's it to you?" Tim shot back.
Jen frowned. "It's just a question, jeez. I was bored and thought I'd talk to you."
Tim shook his head. "I'm going to Greg's house, okay?"
Jen's expression brightened. "Greg? As in Greg Patterson, Greg? Can I come?"
What was her problem, Tim wondered. "He didn't invite you," Tim said.
"Did you ask him?" said Jen, skateboarding a slow circle around Tim as he walked.
"No," Tim grunted. "But if he wanted you to come, I'm sure he would have asked."
"Then I guess I'll have to ask him myself," Jen said, smirking.
"You don't even know where he lives."
Jen shrugged. "No, but you do. And, if you're heading there now, I'll just follow you there."
Tim frowned. "I'm not going to be able to stop you, am I?"
Jen smiled. "Probably not."
Tim sighed. "Come on, then."
Eventually, Tim and Jen reached Greg's house. It was a nice, suburban house, almost completely identical to the ones next door. Tim went right up to the front door and let himself in. Before Tim could stop her, Jen was inside as well, skateboard under her arm.
"Nice place," she said.
"Hey!" said Tim, putting an arm up to block her. "I didn't say you could come in."
Jen sidestepped his arm and made her way into the kitchen, looking around and taking everything in. "Nope. You sure didn't."
Tim shook his head and made his way to the living room. "Hey, Greg!" he called. "I'm here. I brought somebody with me, I hope you don't mind!"
Tim stopped in his tracks when he noticed the television, or what was on it. He saw a naked, full body image of Greg. No, it wasn't Greg. The teenager was a few years too old, but he looked almost just like Greg. Next to the figure was the caption "Age: 17 Time Remaining: 1hr 36min"
Suddenly, up from the couch sprang a person, the very same teenager from the television, except this one was wearing clothes that were a bit too small for him.
"Hey, Tim," said the strange teen. He gestured at the TV. "This is what I wanted to show you. Uh, I know it's naked, but it's not weird, right?"
The teen looked just like Gregory, if about three years older. He was well developed muscle-wise. Hair lightly covered his arms and Tim could see hair surrounding his belly button in the gap between his shirt and pants. Tim could also see sideburns and chin scruff befitting a teen his age.
"Who...?" was all Tim got out.
Jen was right behind him. She laid eyes on Gregory and grinned, then frowned. She turned to Tim. "I didn't know Greg had an older brother."
"Neither did I," Tim mumbled.
"What?" said the strange teen. "No, I don't. Just a sister, and she's gone." He pointed at the TV. "That's me. I found a remote that shows you what you look like when you're older. It's..." The teen frowned, then looked down at Tim. "Tim, since when were you so short. Or...." The teen glanced at the screen, then down at himself. He put a hand to his face, feeling his chin scruff. His eyes grew wide, and his face a little pale. "No way..."
He darted to the bathroom and stared into the mirror. "No freaking way!"
After a little freaking out and a lot of discussion, Greg finally managed to convince Tim and Jen he was, in fact, Greg. Tim was skeptical at first, but Greg couldn't blame him. But the more Greg talked, the more Tim seemed convinced. Jen seemed to take the whole thing in stride, more bemused than anything. Greg tried showing Tim how the remote worked, but it didn't seem capable of doing anything while a change was in progress. In the mean time, Greg helped himself to some of his father's clothes, which fit him much better.
"But how didn't you notice you were changing?" Tim asked.
"It's like my mom says," Jen interjected. "Men don't notice anything unless you point directly at it. Even then, it's a crap-shoot."
During the process, Tim had noticed Greg was changing, if subtly. His chin scruff filled out to a full-blown chin-goatee and his sideburns became fuller and slightly longer. He also noticed hairs poking out from Greg's shirt collar. Greg's musculature also filled out. He wasn't a body builder by any means, but he was certainly fit, like someone who worked out regularly. Most notably, Greg's voice dropped as he aged, giving him a deeper tone to match his body. He looked less like a teenager, more like somebody who was in their senior year of college. In fact, when he glanced at the TV, Tim saw the Age caption read "21".
"Looks like you're old enough to drink now," Tim said, nodding at the screen. Then he grinned. "You know, you could throw that party I talked about."
"Oh, no," said Greg, shaking his head.
"But you're 21! You could throw something more epic than a senior party. You could throw a college party!"
"That's dumb," said Jen, frowning. "First of all, you have to have an ID to buy alcohol. Second, you have to know college people to throw a college party. Just because Greg's 21 doesn't automatically make a him a college person. It just means he's 21."
Tim glared at her. "It was just an idea."
"Greg," said Jen. "How old is this going to make you?"
"I told it to age me sixteen years, so 30. And I don't think I can stop it."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to see how this goes, then."
While they waited for Greg's transformation to finish, Tim managed to talk Greg into playing a few board games, as they didn't dare touch the television. Jen watched the two with bemused interest, though Tim got the feeling she kept a close eye on Greg. As Greg aged, his changes were subtle. Between his chin goatee and sideburns, he acquired stubble which handsomely framed his square jaw. His musculature stayed constant, keeping him fit and in shape. As Greg moved about, Jen and Tim could occasionally catch glimpses of his musculature and the hair that covered it. Greg's dad was a fairly hairy man, so it made sense that Greg would be as well. After Greg passed 27, Tim noted that his hairline receded slightly. This also made sense, as Greg's dad was currently in the throes of male pattern baldness. To counter this, Greg's hairstyle changed to a short cut, which hid his slightly receding hairline. Greg was a little put down as he was only 28 or so, but it was genetic and selecting the "Age Well" option couldn't really subvert that. As Greg hit 30, the faintest of faint lines appeared at the corners of his eyes and around his mouth. Only Greg noticed these, and only from peering closely at a mirror as his changes neared their finish.
Tim and Jen watched the TV as the final minutes counted down.
"Almost done!" Jen called to Greg, who was admiring himself in the bathroom.
A "Ping!" sound emanated form the TV as the timer hit 0. A message popped up, declaring:
"Transformation Complete!
CHANGEMAX would like to thank you for using our products.
Always consider CHANGEMAX for you future transformation needs!
CHANGEMAX: Changing the future... to the max!"
Jen outwardly guffawed at the message. "Are they serious? Wow! Way to be hip, daddy--o's"
Greg walked back into the living room shirtless, revealing his hirsute torso to the two teens. "What?"
"You've got to read this," said Jen pointing at the screen.
"So, Greg," said Tim, approaching his friend. "How's it feel to be thirty?"
Greg shrugged. "Not bad, actually. Not too different, either. I did pick Age Well, so this is the best outcome, according to this thing. Other than that, not too different. I mean, I'm bigger and stronger, and, well, hairier. But I'm not much different."
Tim grinned. "Well, now that you're finally done, let's play around with that remote of yours some more."
"What?" Greg asked.
"Hey, you got a turn, what about the rest of us?" Tim said. "You get to be 30, what about me? It's only fair."
Jen shrugged. "Whatever you guys want to do is fine by me."
Greg frowned. He honestly hadn't thought about what to do after he had finished transforming. So many choices....