It took two calls before Jason was able get a cab company to come out to the bar because of his voice, and the second one only came because he said he was a kid stuck out in a strange place. The cabbie that picked him up tried to insist on taking him home, but Jason was able to convince him that he'd just gotten confused taking the bus and ended up in the wrong side of town. He was going to meet his older brother there. Happily, he was now at the mall, with the evening to enjoy as a kid. It hadn't been all that long since he was 13, just over ten years. The mall had been a cool place to hang then, and he was sure it would be still. Except he didn't see a lot of kids his new age, except with families. Maybe he'd been a little older when he was hanging out here.
The Mall fast-food court provided dinner for cheap, and he was surprised how good his hamburger tasted. And the fries and shake. Wandering around the mall afterwards, he was disappointed to find no groups of kids his age. Older teens were clumped in a few places, but he knew better than trying to crash a bunch of high schoolers. No arcade? Geeze, what had happened? There was a movie theater, at least, so he took advantage of his ability to buy a child's ticket. That, of course, also limited his choice of movies, but he'd wanted to see one of the new family adventure movies anyway. Like the food, he was surprised by the intensity of colors and sounds, And the movie was fantastic! He was mesmerized, shouting at the exciting parts and actually getting scared a couple of times. Was he actually thinking more like a kid? Or just letting himself enjoy the time by letting go of adult behavior a little? It was still fairly early when the movie ended, but with no arcade left, he took another cab home. Luckily none of the neighbors were outside, so he was able to get into his apartment without getting seen.
After locking the door and making sure the blinds were closed, he stripped and grinned at himself in the mirror. Situps, pushups, touching his toes. He'd been fairly athletic as a kid, and it was great fun to be so flexible again. The kitchen was a disappointment. No snacks other than some potato chips and dip. He craved chocolate or ice cream or something else sweet, and settled for some Sugar Pops cereal and milk. Then some TV that got boring real fast. He was trying to figure out what else to do when he realized he was tired. Really tired! It was just a little after 11, and he usually stayed up until midnight. Not as a 13 year-old, it seemed. Damn! He was going to wake up as a grown-up again. Jason sighed and threw himself on the bed. He'd plan things out better next time. And while he was still trying to think of cool things to do next time he got youthenizer, he fell asleep.