Guest Satisfaction

It's funny to think that, before we left, I was not looking forward to my family vacation. Usually, we'd stay in a condo in Florida, but this time we were going to some boring hotel and spa in the middle of nowhere, let alone near a theme park. Even worse, I'd have to share a hotel room with my parents. They both snore so loud, I'd never get any sleep! I begged and pleaded to have my own room, but they said it'd cost too much, so I was stuck with them...

When we got to the hotel, I complained once more. Mom told me off for making a scene, but the check-in lady actually went to speak with her managers. When she came back, she said they usually don't let kids stay in their own rooms, but they'd make an exception for me since they were trying something new and needed some feedback! Plus, it was no extra charge! My parents weren't too sure, but she managed to talk them into it. It's almost like she hypnotised them. Whatever she did, it turned this trip into the best!

Malfunctioning Clock

Things were quiet at the store this morning. That is, until an agitated man stormed through the door. I could sense his negative energy before he entered, of course. Yet the way he slammed the door open was enough to make me jump in fright. As he strode up to the counter, I was afraid he was going to throttle me! Still, I managed to keep my composure and smiled. "Good morning, how may I be of assistance today?" He said nothing. Instead, he thrust an alarm clock in my face. It looked familiar, certainly one of my own. Yet I couldn't place his face. He could be any of the bald, angry men who required my assistance. From recent memory, I'd only sold one of those clocks to a much younger man... "Oh, I remember you! You're the late bloomer, that's right..." I gazed at him and frowned. "Oh dear, you've aged terribly..."

"You think?" He growled as he slammed the clock on the desk. "This fucking clock is broken! It won't stop fucking ringing! Every ten minutes, R-I-I-I-NG! R-I-I-I-NG!" As if on cue, the alarm clock suddenly sprang to life in his hand. He slammed his hand down on the buzzer and buried his head in his hands, releasing a short wail. "It's driving me insane!"

The Hangover

"Wakey wakey, sleepyhead!" A voice chirped as the curtains were thrown open, and Scott was rudely awoken from his deep slumber.

"Ah..." He sat up and blinked in the sudden sunlight, trying to see who had disturbed him, only to wince in pain. He rubbed his forehead as a terrible pounding throbbed deep in his skull.

"Headache huh?" It was his brother, Trent. But something seemed off about him. Scott tried to focus on him, but the morning light only made his headache worse.

"Mmmhmm... I don't feel too good..." he mumbled before coughing to clear his throat. He sounded as rough as he felt. "Ugh, get me a bucket..."

"That bad, huh? Well, I'm not surprised after the night you had."

Night. What even happened last night? It all felt a blur now. Flashes of memory blinked through his mind, none of which made sense and only made his headache worse. There was, however, one thing that stuck out. "I had the craziest dream," The thick deepness to his voice still persisted. "It was like... We found this sort of spell book in the archives, and after reading it out loud, we somehow managed to swap... lives in a way? You became a kid and I turned into an adult..."

He stifled a chuckle, covering it as a cough. "Wow, wouldn't that be crazy."

"Right? But since it was in a different language, we couldn't reverse the spell before we were kicked out at closing. So we had to pretend to be each other for the day, and nobody even noticed. Your friends even invited me to some bar and..." He paused to scratch his chest, and froze. He felt something unusual, something hairy... "What the-"

"Then what happened." Scott looked towards his brother. He hadn't noticed how light his voice sounded until now. He squinted in the morning light. He had thought Trent was sitting down, given how short he looked. Only now he realised he was actually standing. He also noticed his cartoony PJs and the pair of bunny slippers he was wearing. Then he noticed how round and not scruffy his face looked, He was almost cherub-like. Trent cracked a knowing grin, and prodded, "Go on, what happened at the bar?"

Scott's eyes widened. "Oh no..." He was still dreaming, he had to be! He looked back down at his own body. He had a toned, athletic torso with a tidy coverage of body hair. "No, this isn't..." He could feel his beard scratch again his collarbone as he spoke. He wasn't even in his own bedroom. Probably because he was too big to sleep in his own bed. With a final, daring move, he shoved a hand under the covers, and cringed upon discovering he wasn't wearing anything underneath. He grasped his hard cock in confused wonder, feeling it twitch upon his touch. "Noooo..." he gasped under his breath.

Trent jumped onto the other side of the bed with a laugh. "Took you long enough! And to finish your story, you went out with my buds, and went a little overboard on the alcohol. Welcome to your first hangover!"

"Hangover?" Scott grimaced at the thought. He couldn't have gotten drunk, or gone to a grown-ups party, or anything else his mind insisted he had done the night before. "This has to be a dream..."

"Afraid not, bro. The headache, the nausea, the tiredness, among other things. You really are a grown man who can't handle his drink."

Scott buried his face in his hands, wincing at the feeling of his beard ruffling against his palms. He slammed his head back into his pillow and groaned, "Just leave me here to die..."

"Don't be such a cry baby. It won't be the last time you get one of those."

"Not if I can help it. I'm never drinking again..."

"That's what they all say, first time round."

Scott's phone buzzed. Or rather, Trent's phone which Scott had acquired. He reluctantly picked it up, only to moan loudly at the message he received. "They want to go out again tonight!? I can't... We're going back to those archives and fixing this mess!"

Trent sucked on his teeth the way people do when giving bad news. "About that. The archives are kinda closed to visitors for the next few months... So unless you remember the name of that book, you'll have to take it easy on the alcohol tonight. But for now, a good cup of joe should perk you up."

Before Scott could react, his brother jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. "What!? I can't be stuck like this for months... Trent? Come back!" He sighed once more, Trent had even left the curtains wide open. With an annoyed grumbled, Scott rolled over and clenched his eyes shut once more. Maybe if he woke up again, he'd discover it was all just some horrible nightmare. He just had to go back to sleep once more...

Long-Distance Spell

I was busy working on a report for work when my quiet time was rudely interrupted by my son yelling down the hallway. Without warning, Chris burst into my study and yelled, "He's gonna do it!"

I sighed. "Who's going to do what?"

"Grandpa!" He was brimming with excitement. "He's going to do the spell!"

"Aha..." I mumbled as I turned back to my screen, trying to recall what I was writing. That old coot was always bragging about his supposed magical abilities with nothing to show for it. 

"Don't you remember? I told him how you always tell me to grow up and stop acting like a baby, and he got all annoyed?"

"Oh, I remember," I replied with a sour expression. "But your grandpa isn't a wizard, no matter how much he believes it. You really must grow out of these fantasies..."

"Yeah, like that! He said he knew a spell to help me, and that he'd also help you reconnect with your childhood since you're a pain in the butt that needs to learn manners."

"Charming..." That man has had it out for me ever since I had that little affair and broke it off with my, um, lovely ex-wife. Honestly, I'd love to cut that whole, weird family out of my life, but Chris was too close to them, he wouldn't understand... I tried to shoo him away, until my computer screen started to flicker.

The air felt like static. I turned to look at Chris, who had a grin on his face. "I think it's starting! I'm gonna go watch!" He ran out of the room. I felt uneasy. Why did the room feel so peculiar? There was no chance the spell was real, right?