Financial Aid

Chapter 2
The Red-Bordered Envelope

Chapter Description: Ben's mother receives a long-awaited package in the mail.

[img align=left; footer=’’; border=0; showfooter=1;]http://www.ararchive.com/images/stories/ewriting/255/thumb/c_schmitz_closed_envelope.jpg[/img]

That night, Ben opened his bedroom window to let a cool breeze in and fell asleep. When he woke up, around noon, he felt groggier than any night out drinking had ever left him. He scratched his right arm unconsciously, pulled on a pair of boxers and stumbled down the stairwell. His mom was already waiting for him, filling out some paperwork.

“Good morning, honey!” she said cheerily, pouring him a bowl of frosted mini-wheats, “do me a favor and sign this for me?” She slid him the piece of paper she was working on, and he quickly scribbled his name on the line after she handed him a pen.

“There you go! Anyway, what’s going on?” he said, scratching the bump on his arm again.

“I’m really glad we talked yesterday, I just wanted you to know...“

“It’s fine,” he interrupted, “hey, mom, did you get any mosquito bites last night? They must’ve came in my room and bit the hell out of me! Look at this bump on my arm!”

“Honey, what’re you talking about, there’s no mosquito, you know what that is!”

“What’re you talking about?”

“It’s your financial aid money!” she replied candidly.

“What? You’re saying my financial aid money gave me a mosquito bite?” he asked confusedly.

“No!” she laughed, “That’s where I gave you the injection!”

“Injection!? What the fuck are you talking about!?”

“Ben, I don’t know why you’re so surprised, I thought we were on the same page?” she smiled.

“Same page?!” he said, cocking his head at what he perceived as complete absurdity.

“Yeah, you know, our conversation from yesterday! You said you didn’t mind me taking care of you, you said that you’d rather not worry about anything until after you graduate, and how you didn’t really want to find a job, so I thought you were okay with this?”

“Okay with WHAT!?” he yelled.

Ben’s mom grabbed a red-bordered envelope lying on top of a neatly opened cardboard box the size of a shoebox and handed it to Ben. He read the company print on the front: “Regenerist Technologies.” He opened the already torn flap of the letter and pulled out the enclosed letter inside.

Ben quickly scanned the contents of the letter, which informed the recipient of how to apply what they described as a “telomere lengthening assembly enzyme.” Inject intramuscularly after applying topical anesthetic. Swab injection site with cotton ball post-injection to reduce risk of infection. Inject with designated enzyme quantity according to attached chart to achieve desired Regenerist results. It didn’t seem to make any sense.

“What is all this!?” he said, shaking the letter at his mother.

“It’s what I spent all your financial aid money for the year on! It’s...“

“Mom! I took out ten thousand dollars for the semester and I need...“

“Well, it’s all spent now, so why don’t you let me finish?” she said calmly.

Ben sighed and allowed her to continue.

“Thank you, now, as I was saying, this is what you always wanted! I read about trials for the new Regenerist drug online and saw the ads on TV, so I figured I’d sign up for it. It passed all the rat trials! It lengthens the protective shell of the telomeres, which is, uh,” she reached for the letter in Ben’s hand and flipped it over to the description on the back, “yep, right here, protects the telomere. Deterioration of the telomeres, which protect DNA, is the true cause of all aging. Isn’t this great?”

“You mean I’m never going to age!?”

“Well, you’ll age back when the enzyme runs out of your system,” she explained.

“Wait, age BACK?”

“Well, yeah, if I’m going to take care of you, I’m not going to be able to take care of an adult on the money I make!” she laughed, poking him in the stomach with her index finger.

“This isn’t funny! How old am I going to be when this shit is done?!”

“I gave you enough to make you about nine months old! You were so sweet back then!”

“Are you fucking kidding me!? I’m going to be a baby!? What about my friends?! What about...“

“Hey! I thought you said you didn’t want to worry about anything anymore! Take it easy! I gave myself an injection, too,” she said, showing Ben the bump on her left arm, “so don’t think you’re in this alone! This is for both of us!”

“You’re going to be a baby, too!?”

“No,” she laughed, “I just took a little bit, enough to get rid of these damn wrinkles, you know, be in my late twenties again! It’s going to be great!”

“Not for me!” Ben cried, shaking his head.

“Oh, stop. You’re just emotional from the injection. You’re probably pretty tired, if so, why don’t you go lay down for a bit? The enzyme should be taking effect pretty soon, and I read it makes your legs feel like jelly in large doses like yours. I’ll be up with your lunch in a little while.”

“I can’t believe this! Isn’t there something in the law against this!?”

“Not after you signed this,” she said holding up the piece of paper which bore his signature.

As Ben reached for the piece of looseleaf paper, his boxers slid off his thighs, revealing his privates briefly. He quickly covered up with his free hand and reached the other to the floor to pick up his underpants.

“Mom, please, if I...“

“Haha, go cover yourself up. I’ll be up in a little bit, I have some shopping to do,” she said, giving him a playful slap on the bottom and pushing him towards his room upstairs.

---

After reaching his room, Ben slammed the door behind him to see into the mirror on the back. He was shocked to see his finely trimmed beard was nothing more than peach fuzz. He dropped his loosened boxers and stood in just a t-shirt which seemed like a size-too-large now. He sighed deeply, too drained to muster up tears, and crawled into bed.