You flop across your bed, feeling like a wrung-out towel. Instead of helping, the treatment had made things way worse! Your eyes burn with fresh tears. None of your friends will know you, and even if they did they wouldn't want to hang with a refugee from third grade. You'll be a freak and an outcast! Somewhere in your misery, exhaustion overtakes you and you drift off to sleep. You dream of being pushed around your high school in a stroller, sucking on a pacifier, and catch your reflection in a trophy case - you are a toddler, maybe 2 years old! You start to cry, and your wails get higher as yo shrink more, becoming one year old, then 6 months, dwindling away into nothing...
You wake up with a start, back in your room and still 8 years old. However, you are naked under the covers of your bed. Your cheeks flush when you realize your parents must have come in and put you to bed like a little kid. And you never even woke up! The sun is up, and you sit up and rub your eyes. It's way past time for school, but you are not going back there if you can help it.
While you are staring blearily at the window, there is a knock on your door and your mom comes in. "Here, sweetie. Your dad made a trip to WalMart and got you some clothes that should fit. We'll do better later, but we figured you'd want to be able to have something to wear." She leaves the new clothes on the end of your bed and then leaves. The consideration helps, and you feel better when you find your dad did not get little kid's clothes. Well, they are for a boy your age, but the underwear is plain white, and the shirt shows the Avengers comic logo that yo have on one of your favorite shirts. Even your shoes are fairly plain kids sneakers with no flashing lights or cartoon characters.
Your parents are waiting when you come down, but they wait until you have your usual bowl of cereal and juice before talking. You dad says "We talked to the doctor again this morning, and since you didn't get any younger overnight, you'll probably age normally. There is also a chance that you might be stuck like this, or age slower than normal."
Seeing your fresh look of despair, your mom says "We know this is going to be really hard on you whatever happens. But we talked and made some phone calls this morning. You can go to a boarding school where you could start over with no one knowing you are not really 8. You would be considered really smart, advanced placement and studies as a high school student. We could move and put you in another school district, and you could go back to third grade and coast for a while. Or you can stay where you are, and go back to high school like that. It is your life, so we are letting you make the decision. And if you change your mind later, we can try something else."