Bryan, noticing the clock on the stand next to the bed,
shoved his magazine beneath his mattress.
He hurried to his closet and pulled out his uniform to get
changed for work at the Big Burger, a local fast-food
restaurant. The horrid maroon-colored uniform didn't
diminish his All-American good looks.
He barely had time to look in the mirror when he heard a
horn honking from the driveway. He hurried downstairs to get
into the car with David, a friend and co-worker at Big
Burger.
David, like Bryan, was seventeen years old, but quite
different in looks. He had black hair and brown eyes. He was
several inches shorter than his friend, and he had a thin
body. He wasn't muscular and well-defined like Bryan.
Secretly, for he felt certain is friend didn't feel the same
way, he had a huge crush on Bryan. He enjoyed giving Bryan a
lift to work and to and from school. Just being in Bryan's
company was all that David dared wish for.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Bryan said as he slid into the
car.
"No problem," David said.
Unknown to both boys, Matt stared down at them from his
bedroom window, deeply disappointed that the wand had proven
such an utter bust. He should have known better to believe
in nonsense like a magic wand with the power to grant
wishes.
---------
A little later Bryan and David arrived at the Big Burger,
where some other co-workers were already hard at work. They
quickly clocked in and reported for their duties. David took
orders at the drive-thru window while Bryan grilled burgers.
Bryan took his position behind the grill when his manager
walked into the kitchen. "DeSoto, tuck in that shirt!"
Bryan, puzzled, looked down and saw that his shirt was
untucked from his pants. He must have been in such a hurry
he had forgotten. The manager was a real fanatic about
neatness, no matter that no one really looked good in the
horrid uniforms.
But, as he tucked his shirt, Bryan felt way too much fabric
in his hands. At the same time, he noticed that his pants
felt strangely loose.
He stuffed his shirt into his pants, which kept them from
feeling too loose. He then turned his attention to grilling
burgers.
But, before too much time passed, he began to feel strange.
Bill, a co-worker, packaged the burgers in paper bags as
they came off the grill. "Bill, watch the grill for me,"
Bryan said. "I got to go to the restroom."
The restroom was located in the back of the restaurant, and
he had to walk past David's post at the drive-thru window.
"What's going on?" David asked.
"Nothing," Bryan said. "I just feel a little sick to my
stomach."
David was standing, instead of sitting on the stool in the
alcove where he took the drive-thru orders.
Bryan noticed that he wasn't having to look down at his
friend. Indeed, he found his eyes level with David's gaze.
David, however, didn't notice.
Bryan shook his head, wondering if he might be coming down
with some weird virus. "Be back in a moment," he said.
David watched his friend hurry to the restroom. He could not
quite figure it out, but he had a nagging feeling that
something odd was going on