Rachel had no intention of approaching those nose-picking, dirty adult-sized kids. Clearly they weren’t like her. She may have lost her reading but she still had her mind. Just as she was about to leave the playground she spotted someone familiar. Sitting crouched on the ground beneath the jungle-gym was Brian. He was dressed as goofy as any of the big kids here but from the way he was hiding and the desperate look in his eyes Rachel guessed he was feeling like her. At least she hoped that was the case. She didn’t know what she’d do without at least one friend to commiserate with.

“Brian!” she called, rushing over and dropping to her knees in the wood-chips before him.

Immediately she saw the relief in his eyes and knew she wasn’t alone. “Rachel? You remember me?” Brian asked, sounding greatly relieved.

“How could I forget you?” she exclaimed. “You’re the only person I’ve met yet who isn’t acting like a dumb little kid.”

“I know, it’s like the whole damned world has changed. Everyone thinks we’re five years old again.”

“No, it’s worse than that Brian.”

“Worse than that? What do you mean?”

“My mom knew I’m twenty-one. But she thought it was normal for me to go to kindergarten. It’s like our whole reality has been altered and now it’s normal to go through developmental stages at much later ages,” Rachel explained.

Brian nodded in agreement. “That makes sense to me. I mean, it doesn’t make normal sense, but I think you’re right. This whole thing is messed up.”

“You’re telling me! Brian you didn’t see my little brother. You remember Dan?”

Brian nodded, “Yeah of course I remember him. He was always trying to tag along with us when we were kids.”

“Well he was running around the house buck naked this morning, refusing to get dressed. And right now he’s at a daycare centre and wearing a fuckin’ pull-up!” she exclaimed.

“He was naked?! Ugh, that’s awful!”

“And mom seemed to think that was normal too. He’s eighteen but he acted like he was two, maybe three at best.”

Brian looked around the playground and shook his head. “Rachel, you and I can still think like normal. But why do you think that is? I mean, why are we still able to sit here talking while all our old friends eat their boogers and play in the dirt?”

“Our old friends?”

“Yeah, didn’t you notice?” Brian asked, pointing around at other young people on the playground. “Most of these guys and girls are from college. A lot of them went to high school with us too.”