As you power-walk down the road, leaving your house behind in the distance, you spot the full moon hanging high in the sky above you. It can't be a coincidence that the socks broke, for lack of a better word, and caused you to transform back into your dad on the very same night as a full moon. Was this some sort of werewolf curse where you'll be a teenager by day and a middle aged man by night? That sounded even worse than becoming a werewolf, or at the very least, even lamer. But of course it wasn't exactly like lycanthropy. For example, you doubted you could pass on the curse to another person since the only reason you had become your dad in the first place was due to misusing a magical artefact. But just to be sure, you probably shouldn't be biting anyone for your sake and theirs.
As the small square shaped park appeared on the horizon, you tried to give Colby another phone call but got his voice mail yet again. Surely he wasn't sleeping already, it hadn't even turned 10pm yet and the guy was practically the king of all-nighters. You wonder whether he was still upset with you after making that unwarranted comment about his family not caring about him, but surely he'd still be somewhat worried that he turned back into the serious soldier. Unless he hadn't... You put your phone back into your pocket with an irritated grumble and walk through the ornate gates that stood at the entrance to the park. There were a few late-night joggers along with a dog-walker or two. But even in the dimly lit park, you couldn't spot anyone who looked like the half-giant that was now your friend. You head towards the back of the park and sit on the same bench that, less than 12 hours ago, you had eagerly waited in your dad's body to introduce your two best friends to the fantastical footwear you'd acquired.
15 minutes later, you were still sat on the bench alone. Clouds had crossed in front of the moon and dulled it's light, leaving you illuminated only by the occasionally flickering light from a nearby lamppost. Your dad's loafers and the magic socks were in a white plastic bag beside you. You were getting worried, George should have arrived by now. You were now the only person left in the park and it was close to closing time. You check the time on your watch, slightly disturbed by the amount of hair that surrounded your thick wrist and curled around the clock face. You sigh and slouch against the hard, wooden planks of the bench, resting your crossed arms on the taut gut that bulged out from your stomach. To think that this morning, you were thrilled to be in the brawny, if slightly round-bellied, body of your dad. To be as strong and hairy as the man you admired. But now it was feeling more like a burden that you couldn't escape from. While you waited, you tried to contact Colby two more times with no luck. In the end, you had to leave an error ridden text message for him, your coarse fingers being much bigger than the ones you were used to.
Finally, with mere minutes before the park gates were scheduled to close, you spotted a large figure looming in the darkness. For a moment, you thought it was the park attendant coming to tell you to leave. But as the figure came closer, there was no mistaking the larger than life man with his massive ginger beard and wild, thinning hair. It was George's dad coming to greet you. Or rather, it was George in the body of his father much like you were trapped in your own dad's body. He looked like he got dressed in the dark, which was probably likely since you last heard he was trapped in the laundry room. He called out your name and you stood up to greet him, sticking out a hand. But he ignored that, instead swooping you up in a massive bear hug that could almost crush bone.
"Man am I glad to see you!" he said upon releasing you from his death grip. "Sorry I took so long, sneaking out without anyone noticing was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Where's Soldier Boy?"
You shrug your shoulders. "He's a no-show. I tried contacting him but he's not answering. I just hope that means he's safe at home".
George grinned and lightly punched your shoulder. "Ahhh, he'll be fine! He's what, fifteen, twenty years younger than we are now?" The sudden realisation of your current ages made him unconsciously run a hand through what was left of his hair with a faux laugh before continuing. "He's probably out having the time of his life while he has the body for it".
He's probably right, you think. Colby had always been an unfit kid, it's the only thing that runs in the family after all. So being stuck in the buff, agile body of a trained soldier would be like a dream come true for him. He's definitely not going to be in any rush to go back to his teen body. You and George, however, weren't exactly in the same boat. With George as his huge, hefty, and wildly hairy father, and you as your own burly, rough, grizzled father, neither of you were particularly pleased with your predicament. Not while you were forced to be in their bodies instead of it being a choice at the very least. "Well if that's the case, it's lucky that we won't need him to find out why we're our dads again".
"You have a plan?" George asked
"Kind of, but let's get out of here before we're locked in" you reply, grabbing the bag containing your socks and rushing the big man towards the exit. You both manage to grab the attention of the park attendant just as he pulled out his array of keys. He mumbled something about stragglers always looking the same before letting you get on your way. You head back in the direction of your own house before taking an abrupt left turn onto a well-lit road lined with rough looking buildings, each containing their own neon signs that flashed whatever services they provided. A few places had people lining out the door while several drunkards wandered the pathways.
George looked uneasy and confused, it wasn't exactly known for being the safest part of town after all. "I thought we were going back to your house. What are we doing here?"
"It's part of the plan, trust me"
"Your plan doesn't involve us getting drunk and visiting a strip-club right?"
You laugh and reply "Of course not. The corner shop at the end of the street is where I bought the socks from. Everything around here stays open late so I'm hoping we'll be in luck." You see that your friend looks visibly tense for a man who looks like he fought bears in his spare time. You pat him on the arm and smile. "You can relax, it's not as bad around here as everyone says. As long as we keep to ourselves, we'll be fine.". He smiles back but doesn't loosen up. But at least he kept up the pace. The sooner you reached the store, the sooner you could find out what went wrong and the sooner you could fix things.