Infectious

PART ONE 

It started that Friday morning. Rohan wasn't at the bus stop, and when the bus went past his house, there were emergency vehicles parked up outside. I was worried, he hadn't been feeling well since Roger dared him to lick those test tubes during the museum field trip. I tried telling him there was no knowing what they were used for, but he said he couldn't back down from a dare. Now he was missing school because of it.

I knew something big was up when Rohan wouldn't answer his phone. Even if he didn't respond right away, I'd at least see the blue tick next to the message to prove he'd read it. The entire school day went by and not a single read message or notification from him. I even tried face-timing him and nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. The dial tone ended early, as if he'd declined my call.

So on the way home, I decided to get off the bus early and walk over to his house. All the hubbub from the morning was gone, which was a relief. I ran up to the front door and Rohan's mom answered. Except, she seemed distracted. When I asked to see Rohan, she dismissed me, saying that he'd caught something, and she didn't want it to spread.

But I couldn't take no for an answer, he was my best friend! So I crept around the back of the house, and clamored up the big tree in the yard. This wasn't my first time sneaking in, after all. Lucky for me, he'd even kept his bedroom window open so I didn't have to do my secret knock.

I stumbled through the window in a less than polite fashion and brushed myself off. "Rohan?" I asked aloud. I heard the door to his wardrobe shut and hangers clang together. Amused, I laughed, "Why are you hiding?"

"Go away!" He seethed. He sounded weird, like he had a cold. His voice deeper than usual. "You can't be in here!"

"No way!" I replied. "I gotta know what's wrong. I saw all the vans outside your house this morning, your mom wouldn't let me in, you won't even answer my texts. You promised we'd never keep things from each other."

"I want to tell you, really. But..." He sighed. "This is bigger than you know... I can't bring you into this."

"Fine. Don't tell me. I'll just find out why my best friend is hiding like a baby some other time." I grumbled and stomped toward the window when I had an idea. I waited a few moments before slamming the window down hard. Then I ducked down and hid as best as I could behind the bed and held my breath. Poor, gullible guy. He didn't even wait a minute until he opened his closet door and slunk out with a sigh. We locked eyes almost instantly, and he knew he was busted. But I was the one who screamed out loud, because that man wasn't my friend.

Wish You Were Here?

Black Friday... Cyber Monday... Now there was Travel Tuesday? The capitalistic desire to invent commodified faux holidays to get people to buy junk was abysmal. And nevertheless, Eric's distaste didn't stop him from browsing the latest travel deals that kept cropping up in his feed. It wasn't like he could afford a vacation at the moment, nor did he have any strong desire to go anywhere. It'd be nice to have something to look forward to, aside from the annual family visit to the great lakes about 9 months away. Maybe he could find something amazing for Spring Break. Something more than the typical booze-laden trip to Vegas or Miami.

It was getting late, and nothing had caught his eye, when a bright ad interrupted his scrolling. "WISH YOU WERE HERE??" It declared in bold colours. It showed a woman in a dull grey home tapping on beachfront property on her phone, and now she was relaxing in the summer sun with a cocktail in hand. Nothing too groundbreaking. "TRAVEL TUESDAY EXCLUSIVE TRIAL!" Now that caught his eye. What would a trial entail? Curiousity got the better of him. 

The trial, it turned out, was a free "ticket" to be used on a limited selection of vacation properties around the world. "This is your ticket to far-flung destinations worldwide! You can really go places!" Yeah right, thought Eric as he scrolled through the website, which was more like a home listings site than a vacation rental destination. There were rentals in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Seoul, Brisbane, Johannesburg, Lisbon. None of which were included in the introductory offer. Figures there'd be a catch. Even a free stay in Vegas seemed out of the question.

Eric barely flicked through what was included before deciding it was a dud. Except for one. A homely cabin in the middle of a forest, overlooking the Innvikfjorden in Norway. Unlike the other listings, it promised total immersion in the country, whatever that meant. Maybe it had to do with the owner of the property, a lonesome captain who guided tours around the nearby fjords and glaciers. Staying with a local certainly added a flair of authenticity to the affair, after all.

Eric had always fancied visiting Scandinavia one day, he had Viking blood according to an ancestry test his mom had done a few years prior. And spending the winter holidays surrounded by beautiful scenery and actual snow was tempting. It sure beat the eighty-odd degrees he was still experiencing in Arizona. But the price of travelling to Europe was a deterrant in itself. Wasn't Norway supposed to be one of the most expensive countries in the world? One the happiest too, apparently...

WISH YOU WERE HERE? The website silently declared next to the listing. He hovered his mouse over the YES button. Something about it made him hesitate. Did he really wish he was there? In the snow-capped mountain fjords? Well, it couldn't hurt to see where it led him. The second it asked for passport details or a credit card number, he could easily exit the page. Eric tapped that glowing button, and the screen was replaced by a cool toned loading screen. A whirring cog span in the center, while a progress bar slowly crept upwards. "LOADING - RECALIBRATING"

No More!

PART ONE

It was the sunniest day of the summer. Folks were out and about enjoying the beaches and parks while they still could, because fall was just around the corner. School was due to start in a couple weeks, and kids of all ages wanted to squeeze every last piece of enjoyment out of it. Nobody wanted to sit inside playing video games at a time like this!

Well, nobody except for Phillip and Lee. Even now, they were cooped up in the play room, air conditioning blasting on max, music blaring from the speakers as they threw insults and banana peels at each other in a relatively friendly round of Mario Kart, the electricity bill creeping ever higher.

Well, I was having none of that. It may be just another day of summer vacation, a summer that was rapidly drawing to a close, but they shouldn't be wasting it on a stale racing game. Not on my watch.

I'd just stepped back into the house after a pleasant snooze in the warm sun, when I came across the sad mess. I walked into the play room, causing Phillip to scramble for the pause button, and I stepped dead center in front of the TV, resting against the shelving beneath it. "I don't get you boys," I said cheerfully. "It's a beautiful day outside, and you're cooped up inside playing your video games. You don't have long until you have to go back to school. You should be making the most of it!"

I wasn't expecting an outburst of eager cries declaring me the wisest person alive or anything, but I at least expected an answer. I'm afraid my words of encouragement fell on deaf ears. Phillip gaped at me, while Lee did his best not to look in my direction. Although I could tell he was covertly peeking at me through his fingers. Finally, Phillip groaned. "Oh my god, dad! Put some clothes on!"

I chuckled and scratched at the hairs across my pecs. I was only wearing a pair of gym shorts after all. "I've been outside, enjoying that glorious sun I just told you about. You've heard of the sun, right? Big ball of fire that provides warmth and life to the planet? When was the last time you saw that, huh?"

Daaaaaad!" Phillip moaned, which only made me grin harder. I did enjoy making him suffer from embarrassment from time to time. It made up for all the times he embarrassed me in similar situations. Lord knew the amount of times he'd walk around the house in his underwear when I had company round. "Just get out of the way, I'm so close to winning!"

"Not if my blue shell has anything to say about it," Lee chuckled, still trying to avoid looking in my general direction.

I stood up, stretching out my limbs with an exaggerated sigh. "Well, why don't I join you boys? I could play as the little dinosaur guy. What's he called again, Yogi?"

"Daaaad!" Phillip almost screamed. He knew I was joshing, and I knew that only made him more annoyed. I tried not to let myself grin too wide. Revenge is sweet after all. Phillip dropped his controller, stood up, and grabbed me by the arm, dragging me out of the room. "Why are you doing this? You know I had Lee over, there's no reason to parade your body and act out like this!".

"Hey, I'm just following your lead. At least I have shorts on. Remember the time Benny was here and you accidentally mooned him?"

"I'd rather forget... And that's different, I didn't know any better. You should know that no kid wants to see their friend's dad half naked" Phillip pinched the bridge of his nose, and grunted. "Look, we want to finish the tournament before Lee's mom picks him up. At least put some damn clothes on for her sake!"

Morning Pranks

It was the morning following a very successful sleepover for Jackson and Bart. They'd stayed up watching scary movies with lots of snacks, and very little adult supervision. For the most part, his embarrassing dad had kept to himself for the evening. And now, the following morning, the two boys were battling each other in the newest Boulevard Brawler game. Things were going well until Bart finally piped up.

"Your dad's acting weird today."

His dad was always weird, Jackson thought to himself. But it was true, he'd been even weirder this morning. It all started when Bart woke him up from a blissful sleep, having crept out of the room to use the bathroom, only to find it occupied. Inside, his dad was in his undies, staring at himself in the mirror and flexing at himself. He even grabbed his phone so he could take some selfies, until he finally noticed the two boys giggling uncontrollably in the doorway. 

That wasn't too weird, his dad was pretty egotistical about his huge size, and masculine appearance. He worked out most days, when he wasn't on the construction site putting those muscles to good use. He even had beard paraphernalia around the house because he was obsessed with his bushy facial fur. But Jackson had never actually seen him acting so narcissistic. Maybe this is what he was like behind closed doors. And that was just the start of it.

Man Flu

Rohan whimpered as his mom pulled the thermometer out of his mouth. She studied the end before tutting and shaking her head. "It's ninety-eight degrees. That's normal, you're perfectly fine."

"But moooom," he whined, his voice unusually deep and husky for a twelve-year-old. "I don't feel good! Even my throat hurts." He coughed meaningfully, as if to prove his point.

"But nothing! What you have is a case of the man-flu. Now get ready for school."

As his mom left him to get ready, Rohan only dug himself further under the bed covers. He felt awful, and it hurt that his mom didn't believe him. Sure, there had been times in the past that he may have faked a flu to get out of school. And he did have an exam to take, one he hadn't prepared for. But he really wasn't faking it this time. He may not have a temperature, or clogged sinuses, or even a runny nose, but that didn't mean he wasn't actually sick!

Bigger

Want to be bigger? CLICK HERE!

Jerry stared at the ad on his phone. He only wanted to look up a walkthrough to a game he'd gotten stuck on. Then the video he'd chosen was interrupted by an ad break, as was typical. However, the ad choice was unusual. Even weirder, it didn't end. There was no timer counting down the remaining seconds. No X to close that would resume his video. Despite the irregularity, Jerry remained transfixed by those six simple words.

Because of course, he wanted to be bigger. It was his strongest desire, one he hadn't told anyone before. Not that they'd be surprised. What eleven-year-old didn't want to? And here was this intrusive advert, just begging him to interact. He knew not to click on dodgy links, that was basically Internet Safety 101. Yet, that innate desire of his, to be bigger than he was, it was too much. He squinted his eyes, and tapped the glowing link, before releasing a breath he didn't even realise he was holding. 

As the page loaded, Jerry dwelled on his predicament. It just wasn't fair. He was the shortest kid in his class. He was the thinnest, too. His best friend used to be as short as he was. Then he had a major growth spurt, leaving him in the dust. Everyone seemed to tower over him. His dad would always laugh it off, saying he was also the runt when he was the same age. But now he was tall, and broad, and so much bigger than everyone else in the family. It just wasn't fair, he'd waited years for that hypothetical growth spurt, when was it even going to happen? He wanted to be bigger now!

Finally, the website loaded. It was a garish looking piece of work that Jerry would have immediately backed out of, were it not for its promise. Still, it looked like it was made by an amateur in the early days of the internet, with pixellated GIFs, bold colours, and mismatching fonts. In the centre was a single message.

Do You want to be BIGGER? The biggest in your CLASS? In your SCHOOL?? Even bigger than your DAD???

Follow our INSTANT embiggening plan below!!!

BIGGER

Jerry raised an eyebrow. That was a little too specific, almost as if it were aimed at him. But surely he wasn't the only one... With a small bit of hesitation, he tapped the blue link. As the page loaded, his phone sparked. He jumped back in shock, dropping it on the floor. He slammed a palm into his forehead, why would he do something so foolish!? Had he busted his phone? Was it now a virus-ridden block? His parents were gonna ground him for a year! It was a hand-me-down, too... Carefully, he picked the phone up, and sighed in relief. The screen still worked, and it wasn't cracked either. The website now displayed a progress bar. 

EMBIGGENING - 3%.

Neighborhood Creator

A few months ago, my dad found some old PC game from the 90s while we were at a flea market. Something called Neighborhood Creator. I didn't think you could run things that old on new computers, but he managed to get it set up without any trouble. It was a life simulation game, which I think is a boring game genre, so I never wanted to play it myself. Yet, Dad was hooked on the thing. In a matter of days, he'd created a whole town, and treated it like a real place. If the graphics weren't so dated, I swear it could've been our actual town. It was a little creepy. 

Weeks passed, and he spent all his free time watching over his virtual town like a god. He already had a job playing and reviewing video games, so it seemed like overkill. My mom and I would try and get him to leave the house, but he wouldn't listen. He became a shut-in. Eventually, my mom left him for another woman, and he barely seemed to notice, acting like it was his own decision. Then I was offered a place at a prestigious private school, and I knew I had to take it. I didn't want to leave my dad alone, his obsession with the game was unhealthy, but I also didn't want to be around him any longer.

Chronolysis

It's game time. I bought my cinema ticket for Hyperion Re:Union online, and I collected it from the self-service machine without any trouble. It didn't even alert someone to check if I was old enough to see an R-rated movie. That was the hard part of the plan. Now I just have to convince the ticket guy that I'm old enough to watch it unaccompanied... Okay, well I look every bit the high schooler that I am, but all the cool kids at school sneaked in, and I'm not going to be left behind! Luckily, I have a little trick up my sleeve...

Test Subject

 What luck! Just as I was wondering how to discreetly test my latest, ingenius invention, the perfect test subject happened to board the bus. He was your typical, defiant teenager who had decided that long, greasy hair, spiked accessories, and a liberal usage of eyeliner really stuck it to the man. He trudged to the back of the bus, dumping his bag covered with band buttons in the seat next to him. He was completely oblivious to the world around him, oblivious to me and my wonderful invention.

I swung open the device in my lap and aimed the transmitter at the goth, smiling as a list of attributes ran down the screen. Phase one worked perfectly. Now to put it into action... I decided to start with something subtle. Those unsightly ear gauges would do perfectly. I tapped in my desires and held my breath, trying not to stare as I waited... Then it happened! I stifled a squeal of glee as the large, plastic hoops melted and dripped out of his enlarged ear lobes. The liquid glided effortlessly around his ears and joined above his forehead, forming a standard pair of sunglasses. Meanwhile, his droopy ear lobes rolled back up, tightening and molding until there was no sign he'd ever pierced his ears, let alone stretched them out.

I couldn't believe it, my invention worked! I mean of course it worked, I am a genius after all. But to show such promise in its initial test run? I couldn't hope for any better! That goth brat was entirely unaware as well, even when he reached up to touch the sunglasses, only to adjust their position. He didn't notice a thing!

Again!?

I did not expect to have as long a break as I did, but I'm back! I thought I'd start off by revisiting an old favourite. You might recognise this as a caption I wrote a few years back. I thought I'd look back through my old stuff and take a shot at expanding on them. Are there anything you've read and wished it was a bit longer? Let me know and maybe I'll give it a go!

-----------------------------------------

I arrived home from a long day at school brimming with anticipation. The weekend was finally here! I had no homework to complete, and no plans. It was just me and my PS4 all weekend long. I kicked my shoes off and dumped my bag on the staircase, only to pause in suspicion. The house seemed quiet. A bit too quiet... I gripped the banister and yelled upstairs. "Hey dad! You home?"

There was a pause before I heard a response. I couldn't make out what he said, it sounded like he was busy with something. He'd promised not to get up to his usual antics this weekend so hopefully he'd gotten a head start on cleaning the house. I fist pumped and darted into the living room, jumping over the side of the sofa to land on the soft cushions below. I grabbed the TV remote, started up the PS4 and got comfy. I'd had a busy week, and I was ready to play some games. I stretched my thumbs across the controller with a goofy grin, I really missed this. I barely had the time to do anything for myself recently. I was more than ready for some me time. I scrolled through my games library, a small twinge of guilt at how many I had yet to play. A few minutes of debilitating later, I finally decided on an old favourite. 

Yet before I could start it up, my stomach growled and I felt a sharp tingle run down my spine. It was a peculiar, unpleasant feeling that I had become familiar with, much to my disappointment. It's been almost a year since the first time and it still felt weird. I cursed out loud and jumped to my feet, tossing the controller aside. Why now of all times, he'd promised me a break this weekend! Already, I felt that uncomfortable, inflating sensation. Like someone was pumping me with gas. I yanked my shirt off in one swift movement, noticing how my chest seemed to swell with every breath I took. A couple of little hairs had sprung up around my nipples and the centre of my chest. 

Next, I unbuckled my belt and shimmied my jeans down my thicker, hairier thighs. I struggled a moment to get my feet through the leg holes, eventually losing my balance and falling back onto the sofa. I sighed in frustration, I've been through this ordeal a hundred times, at least, yet I still struggled with it. It would help if my dad didn't spring it on me without prior warning. I yanked my underwear off, freeing my junk from their tight, cotton confines. I scratched at my chin as sharp stubble broke through the skin in irritating waves. 

No longer at risk of destroying my clothes, I laid back on the sofa and waited for the changes to finish, mentally cursing my dad for using that remote again. By now, I looked like a college graduate with a slim yet firm body, and a decent spread of hair across my chest. Although I never stayed that way for long, as I raced through my twenties without much fanfare. As I continued to age, I could feel my muscles ache as they bulked up, which was always a welcome feeling. I grinned as my biceps inflated, and my thighs got meatier.

As I approached my forties, my scalp felt itchy as each individual hair faded in colour, focused mostly on the sides but a wave of steel grey eventually swept throughout. My skin grew weathered and rough as a subtle thickness blanketed my buff muscles. I flinched slightly as a tattoo inked itself into existence on my shoulder, which signalled the end of my growth spurt. I leaned back against the sofa with a sigh. Aging three decades in a few minutes certainly takes a lot out of you. I may have gone through the process dozens of times by now but it never got any easier.

Date Night

New You Resolutions

SANTA-FY!

The screen of Alfie's phone flashed red and green as a candy-cane striped logo filled its expanse. SANTA-FY! A gimmicky app he found recommended in the app store, which he downloaded to waste some time before getting ready for the office party. After the festive loading screen vanished, the app switched to camera mode. Alfie posed in front of the mirror and snapped a photo of himself. He grinned at his image, an Adonis with hard earned muscles that looked as rock-hard and precise as a Grecian statue. His handsome visage blurred and darkened as an hourglass symbol appeared over the top. The words "Santafying" slowly pulsed underneath. A minute passed with nothing else happening. "Pft, figures it's a piece of shit" he mumbled under his breath. "At least it was free...". He chucked his phone aside, along with his towel, and dug out a pair of fresh underwear.

Again?

Halloween Supervision

Swapping Dreams For Reality

I'm going to be on vacation for the next 2 1/2 weeks so there won't be any updates in that time. I tried to write something for today but I didn't manage to find the time in the end. However, I don't want to leave empty handed. In case you hadn't already noticed, I've been adding to the interactives over on CYOC recently. Notably doing a collaborative with ChickenPaddy about a trio of teens using socks that can turn them into other people, which has sort of lulled in progress for now. But you can start here and follow how you see fit. For more contained, single-chapter changes, here's a few I've written there.

Round The Clock - Pre-teen to young adult
School Runnings - Teen to middle age
Ultimate Nature Guy - Middle age to old (young adult to middle age in the previous chapter)

Finally, another chapter I wrote called Swapping Dreams For Reality, which you can read below, with added pictures!

App Exchange

Give It Back

Popular Brother 2

Popular Brother

Before They're Home