From Textbooks to Changing Tables

Chapter 1
A Hairlipped Foreshadowing

Chapter Description: Matt goes shopping for stuff for his inevitable fate with his step-mom, Samantha, and ponders his fate of the soon to come.

Matt and his step-mother, Samantha, were shopping. He was 20 years old, way too old to be shopping with his step-mom, but it was different this time. They were preparing. Matt had been informed by his doctor during a routine physical a week ago that he had been infected with the age regression virus. He was home for the summer from college, and he had wondered if he was ever going to go back,

“How long will it take, doc?” Matt asked, his face deathly pale with fear.

“Well, it can range anywhere from a month to a year, but the changes will become apparent soon. I suggest you let your family know and make the necessary arrangements.” The doctor bluntly replied.

“How young am I going to end up?” Matt squeaked.

“It can be anywhere from the age of 5 to a newborn. In your case, it’s probably going to be on the lower end of the spectrum.” The doctor looked away and wrote on his charts. “Either way, I wish you the best, and say hi to your pediatrician for me.” The doctor exited the room chuckling to himself as Matt sweated bullets. “Dick.” He thought to himself.

“Matt? Matt!” Sam interjected, snapping him back into the present, “What kind of shampoo do you like?”

She was a beautiful woman, in her late 30’s, with long black hair and dimples in her cheek. She had known him since he was 10, when she married his dad, 20 years her senior. Matt disapproved of it at first, but over the years had come to accept this side of his family, as his mom had died of cancer 2 years ago. Sam, his dad, and his baby half brother Scott were all he had left now, and he had to depend on them more than ever.

“Sam, I don’t care what shampoo I use. I’m a guy. As long as it washes my damn hair we’re good.” Sam was a bit taken aback.

“Look, I know it’s hard to adjust to what’s coming, but you’re going to have to get used to your new role in the family that’s coming up. You could be going to pre-school in the fall with Scotty, or you may have to stay home with a nanny, or even go to a daycare. Your father and I are very busy, and he’s constantly overseas, so it’s basically you, me, and Scott running the house” Sam said to him, “I promise, it’s going to be okay, and we’re going to be ready for whatever age you end up at.”

Sam had bought clothing for kids ages 0-5 over the last week, and had dragged all of Scott’s baby stuff out of the basement just in case. She had just gotten rid of it, and now she had to use it again if things ended up on the lower end of the spectrum.

Matt filed through the shelves of the rite aid they were in, and ended up in the aisle with the condoms. He had broken it off with his girlfriend after getting the news. She offered to babysit sometime, but this caused Matt to hang up the phone and start sobbing. He looked at them, almost as if he were an old woman going through menopause looking at tampons; he wasn’t going to need those anymore. He turned around and saw a wall of diapers. It seems that the drug store had placed them in the same aisle as a hair lipped reminder of what might happen if a horny teenager didn’t invest in protection. He gazed at a box of huggies in sheer horror, a mother and her toddler trundled down the aisle, the toddler in the basket of the cart, playing with a small knick knack. The toddler had a smell emanating from him, and it wasn’t the baby smell every woman raved about to Matt,

“Ooh, someone made a boo-boo” she cooed to her child, “It’s a good thing we’re in the drug store, I can just buy these and change you in the car!” she squealed.

She picked up the box Matt had locked eyes on, put it in her cart, and trundled on. Funny, Matt thought, the toddler always looked so happy to be running around in a diaper on those boxes.

Matt drifted back to Sam, “Sam, can we go? I’m starting to have a mini-freak out here” he whined.

“Okay, okay, we can go. By the way, when you start going back, can you address me as ‘mom’ or ‘mommy’ please? It’d be weird to have a little kid calling an adult woman ‘Sam’.”

Matt just glared at her, before weakly replying, "Okay... mom" and, shoulders slumping, headed back to the car with her.

"Actually, can I drive? It’s going to be a while before I do it again.” he sadly stated. Sam solemnly handed the keys to her step-son and they headed for home.