Josh stepped inside and set down his book bag with a grunt. The math, chemistry, history, biology book, along with notebooks and a small paperback reading assignment barely fit, but he got it in. He stretched and kicked off his shoes as his phone screeched out a cry, "This is your mother! Why don't you ever write? WRAAAT!" The personalized ringtone and text notification of a parrot pretending to be his mother sounded like a hilarious idea when he set it up but the annoying and shrill voice was really getting old.
Pulling out his phone and rolling his eyes he read, "Hey hon, meeting ran late, so i'm behind on work. please run to the store and grab some frozen pizzas for you and dad. I have some errands I have to run, and tonight is my gym night with the girls, be home by 8. xoxo"
Normally this would be awesome but Josh had been putting off a pretty big chemistry paper which was due Friday meaning he had to do all the research tonight and type it up tomorrow, on top of his reading assignment, math problems, and history outline. "I cant wait to be done with school." Josh said aloud as he slipped his hot sneakers back on.
"This is your mother! Why don't you ever write? WRAAAT!", pulling his phone back out. "Drive Save!"
Going upstairs he found the keys for the old truck which was promised to him if he makes it to 18 without a ticket, so no, he doesn't get to drive it to school.
"This is your mother! Why don't you ever write? WRAAAT!", pulling his phone back out. "**Drive Safe! lol, auto correct got me again."
"This is your mother! Why don't you ever write? WRAAAT!", "and check if we have eggs, milk, and bread."
"This is your mother! Why don't you ever write? WRAAAT!", "Don't get a ticket or no truck!"
"OK, I GET IT", Josh barely stopped himself from clicking send. Its not enough that they drop chores on me and hold things over my head, they have to rub my face in it too? His parents didn't let him get his license when he turned 16 because it was late fall and the weather was turning for the season. 8 months later he was able to begin practicing his driving skills and just a few months ago he was finally legal, for driving alone anyway, after fighting for his parents to let him practice.
"OK", he sent, putting his phone away and checking the fridge for bread, milk and eggs.
"This is your mother! Why don't you ever write? WRAAAT!", pulling the phone back out and unlocking it for what felt like the 8th time in 3 seconds... "Thx, make sure you get your homework done before TV or friends."
"GOD Fucking Damn it, MOM! I'm going to be 18 in less than a year! Let me manage my own FUCKING TIME! Seriously!" Josh screamed at the empty house. The only response was the quiet ticking of a clock on the wall, which was completely disinterested in his rage.
In a huff, but feeling ever so slightly better that he at least went through the motions of standing up for himself, he headed to the store. "Milk, eggs, pizza. Get home, work on... math first, while its fresh, then reading before I'm tired. Ugh, almost forgot history, I have to finish that by 8 before my TV show starts. Mom said I can't watch TV until everything's done." A new sense of rage threatened to boil up within him, he had wanted to get research done tonight, so rather than saying he had gotten everything done that he planned to do he will have to say that he finished everything that's due tomorrow in order to try to get a single hour of relaxation time in the god damn day.
Entering the store Josh was greeted with a blast of cold air. He went for a basket and noticed the store was having a huge promotion for something called Jungle Juice. Skipping the basket he walked over to check it out. The store had a section blocked off and decorated like a forest with plastic ferns and stuff. The novelty amused him as he approached. Getting closer he was cut off by a group of 4 college kids talking about a party they were at or were going to. Being a college town, this was common. There were tables in the sectioned off area and free samples of this juice they were advertising.
Josh didn't really care about juice but for some reason, the private area called to him and he wanted to get in and sit down, it looked like a beautiful, temporary oasis from his life which refused to grant him reprieve. A small act of rebellion if you will.
There was a man at the entry letting people in one by one, Josh wasn't paying attention until the man was asking for his ID. Without thinking he pulled out his wallet and presented it, the man said hold on and looked Josh for a second, then at the ID. It was then that Josh realized Jungle Juice was an alcoholic beverage, and he wasn't 21.
Josh's brain went frantic for a moment, buying alcohol for a minor is illegal, selling to a minor is illegal, is trying to get a free sample illegal? No money is changing hands, and he wasn't really trying to get alcohol, not that anyone would believe him.
Matt the "bouncer" at the local ShopCo's Jungle Juice display said, "Hey kid, follow me." as he stepped around the corner into the cart storage area. Not knowing what else to do and catching laughter from the college students I followed.
"Alright kid, I'm going to make this really simple." Matt (at least that was on his name tag) started to say.
Josh was frozen in panic, he couldn't afford to be kicked out of the store, the next one was 20 minutes away and the truck was low on fuel.
"If reality would change along with you, would you want to be older?" Matt asked.
"Huh?", Josh was completely taken aback. "Um... yeah?"
"Here's how it works, I collect years from people who want to be younger, I give them to people who want to be older. You get memories from those people, and sometimes me, reality resets and makes a new, familiar, life for you based on the memories and skills you get. So how many years you want? I'm pretty young already so I wont age you more than 13 years, which would make you... uh... 30 years old."
"How old are you?" Josh asked as the information rolled over him.
"Biologically I'm 33, but I'm telling ya kid, I've been at this for millenia. But how old do YOU want to be?" replied Matt, pressing for an answer.
"So Ill get older and you'll get younger, nobody will notice, and I'll get the memories I need to make it as an adult?"
"Yeah, that's how it works, the first day or two is rough but it all evens out by day three."
"What do you mean?"
"Kid, you're killing me. You'll get memories, recollections of time. Sometimes they don't fit. For example, you might get a memory of fighting about claiming your pension benefit as a 60 year old, which wont make sense if you are 22. So give it a day or two and your brain and reality will turn it into being on the phone and fighting for your dad's pension benefit. Ya understand? So how old do you want to be?"
The urgency in Matt's voice caused an older woman to look over, she probably thought Matt was trying to sell drugs.
"Will I remem..."
"Hold on a minute." Matt walked off as another batch of college students walked up checking their IDs then he scurried back.
"So, do you want to do this or not, I gotta get back to work. How many years do you want?"
"What will I remember?"
"Ugh, years lost feel like a long forgotten dream. years gained feel slightly out of place but you cant put your finger on what's weird about it? You may become a smoker, pot user, fitness fanatic, coffee drinker, or just plain drinker. You may have gone to college, served in the military, gone straight to work after high school. You may even get a family of your own if you do this. But kid, I gotta get back to my post." Matt started to walk off.
"I uh... Id like"