Fresh Start

Chapter 9
Kea Kids

Morning in the Kea Cabin didn’t see anything as dramatic as the little kid cabins. When Matt came to everything was quite still, no one seemed to be up yet. He was immediately relieved to find he still thought like a seventeen year old. To test it out he thought about the hottest girl in his high school class, Lisa. He thought about all the things he’d like to do with her. Nope, definitely not thinking like a little kid.

Climbing down out of bed he noticed that it seemed a slightly further drop. He felt his face, still some stubble but not what he was used to. His chest hair was gone too, he noticed. After a careful inspection in the morning light Matt decided he was about sixteen now, having lost nearly two years overnight. It wasn’t too bad yet, but he knew it would only get worse as time passed.

Tim, the thirteen year old in the bottom bunk, yawned and stretched before opening his eyes. He squinted up at Matt, adjusting to the light as he pulled the headphones off his ears.

“You know who I am?” Matt asked him.

“Yeah, you’re dork who woke me up,” he replied.

“How old are you?”

“I dunno yet, wait till I stand up,” Tim said.

Matt breathed a sigh of relief, at least Tim still knew who he really was. He watched the boy get out of bed and found he didn’t look much different. “Guess you didn’t lose too much,” he commented.

“Nah, I haven’t hit puberty yet, so I looked pretty much the same when I was eleven. I think that’s what I am now.”

Matt nodded, looking around the room as many others started to wake up. He wondered how many of them were dumb little brats now. Then the cabin door swung open and Jessica came marching in, clapping her hands and yelling “Morning everybody! Time to get on up!”

She made her way through the cabin, waking everyone. Then she stood in the common area and faced them, waiting for the kids to congregate apparently.

Matt pulled open the trunk to look for some new clothes. He felt dirty after sleeping in the ones he had on. The clothes looked identical but he could tell as he pulled them out that his were a size smaller than the day before and he was betting the clothes on Tim’s side were too.

Everyone seemed to have the same idea and there were arms and legs throwing up and shirts flying around everywhere as kids quickly changed. Matt chose a black Spiderman t-shirt with a big web graphic and some cargo jean shorts. All changed he hurried over to the common area waiting for everyone to gather.

When the whole cabin seemed to be standing before her Jessica smiled and asked, “Who wants to be a special helper today?”

Several hands flew up and Matt could see a black-haired girl and a couple younger teen boys eagerly jumping up and down to be seen. That was how he knew they were the ones who’d woken up younger this morning.

Jessica waved them all up to the front and they stood in a line on either side of her, proudly facing the rest. There were six in all, two girls and four boys. Their clothing was no different from the rest of the group, but the happy smiles on their faces set them apart.

“Okay now, you’re all going to be my special helpers, right?” she asked.

“Uh-huh!” they chorused, nodding.

“Okay, the first thing I want you to do is tell all the other boys and girls what your name is, how old you are and what you most like about camp. Okay?”

More nods.

“Let’s start with you dear,” she gestured to a blonde girl who looked about twelve now.

The girl fidgeted nervously, looking at the counsellor rather that the kids as she whispered, “I’m Annie and I’m seven.”

“And what do you like about camp Annie?” Jessica prompted.

The girl twisted back and forth, looking up at the ceiling as though she’d find the answer there. “Um, I like seein’ the sheep in the fields cuz they’re all fluffy,” she finally stated quietly.

“Thank you sweetheart, good job!” Jessica told her, making the girl smile and get even shyer at the same time.

Jessica nodded to the dark-haired thirteen year old with a buzz cut standing next to Annie, letting him know it was his turn. He seemed more than eager to take it, fidgeting with his hands like a hyper little kid until he got the nod.

He turned to face everyone, smiling like he’d just found the mother-load of chocolate. “My name is Robby and I’m six and three-quarters!” he roared at full volume, making several people flinch.

Matt and several others shared surprised looks as they remembered Robert from the day before. He’d been a quiet, very tall and slightly overweight fifteen year old who hadn’t said a word to anyone or even made eye-contact. Now he was a hyperactive stage performer.

Robby was still smiling at the crowd as he announced, “An’ my most favourite thing about camp is I get to go barefoot all week!” lifting his foot to show everyone that he had no shoes on, as though they couldn’t already tell.

Matt just rolled his eyes at his juvenile dirty little boy answer. His second favourite thing was probably not having to take a shower, or perhaps that was number one and he’d forgotten. But at least one person found his answer more funny that disgusting. Someone nearby Matt was giggling. He looked over to see that it was Tim, smiling and giggling his head off.

“What’s so funny?” Matt asked him.

“That’s my favouritest thing ‘bout camp too!” the kid chuckled, pointing down and wiggling his toes to demonstrate.

He wasn’t the only one. Within moments of Robby’s declaration Tim, a red-head girl and a boy of around Matt’s age had joined the other helpers at the front of the crowd and all pointing to their unshod feet to show everyone. As the helpers continued their introductions it became clear to Matt that their favourite things were all triggers. Whatever part of the programming had been most imprinted on the other campers was activated when they heard it referenced. A pudgy young teen named Louis liked getting to getting to go swimming, a girl name Sally was glad she didn’t have to eat any veggies and a boy named Brandon was excited to climb trees and play in the sand-pit. By the time they were done there were fifteen special helpers and twenty unaffected like Matt. Each time a new favourite thing was announced he winced, afraid it would be the one to make something in his mind snap, reducing him to idiotic childhood. He kept expecting to be the next grinning fool ambling up to be a special helper. But, thankfully, that didn’t happen.

With the introductions mercifully over Jessica led the whole group over to a big white board divided into three options. They were the activities they would be doing that afternoon. There was gymnastics/dance, soccer or a nature hike. Jessica briefly described each one then asked the children which they wanted to do. The special helpers were allowed to choose first and Jessica wrote their names for them on the board, figuring it would be too messy if they did it themselves.

Once they were done she handed off the marker to the first unaffected girl and let the rest of them go at it. They gathered around the board and Matt looked around to see who was left with a real brain. He was relieved to see James standing nearby, still looking older than anyone else with a bushy two day growth of stubble.

Not everyone was so lucky though. Matt bumped into a dark-haired boy he barely even recognised from the day before. He recalled meeting Tejay briefly while in line for the infirmary. He was fourteen, Matt recalled, and struck him as a real jock, rugby mad. He’d shown up wearing a rugby jersey and shorts the first morning in fact. Now he looked like a whole different person. Matt guessed Tejay had lost three maybe four years overnight. He was at least six inches shorter, but probably more. His hair was certainly still dark, but it was definitely a shade lighter. He’d had peach fuzz before, but now was smooth faced as could be. If he didn’t know who he was he’d have thought the boy was ten.

Tejay elbowed his way to the board like someone used to being bigger and getting his way. “Watch it!” he snapped when a bigger boy stepped on his toes.

The kid stepped aside hastily and Tejay was at the front. He snatched the marker away from the last girl to use it and looked over the options. “Gymnastics and dance?” he read, giving a disbelieving look to the boy next to him. “What a girly option! What kind of sissy would actually sign up for dance?” he asked, his voice dripping with condescension.

“Yeah, I know dude!” a brown-haired boy beside him agreed. The kid stood a full head and shoulders above Tejay now but Matt recalled they’d been hanging out together the day before and they had been friends in the real world. In fact they’d been about the same size and build then. Things had evidently changed a lot.

“Well I’m doin’ soccer,” Tejay stated. “I mean, a nature hike? That’s barely better than dance,” he laughed.

Tejay sounded like nothing more than a stupid ten-year old to Matt. He wasn’t a special helper so he clearly still knew he was really a teen, but Matt suspected his mind now matched his body. His buddy Jason barely seemed better. He signed up for soccer too, even though he said “It’s a girly sport too. I mean, where’s the rugby?”

Once the boys only club had moved along James stepped up and put his name on for the hike. He looked back and winked at Matt. So when it came his turn he put his name on for the hike too. He wasn’t sure if James was planning to escape on the hike or to plan the escape on it. Either way he had little choice but to go along.