The bed sheets were covered in Ben Ten decals, rather than the Thomas the Tank Engine designs he’d had when he was actually a little kid. His clothes had changed as well. His stylish t-shirt and shorts were gone. Now he wore a baggy white t-shirt emblazoned with SpongeBob’s smiling face and no pants at all. Pulling back the t-shirt he found he now wore white briefs with red piping and cartoon designs he didn’t recognise.

Brian’s first thought was that he was still dreaming, but the more time passed the more real it all felt. He’d never had a dream that was anywhere near this lucid. That was when his heart-rate started to pick up. At first glance everything in this room looked like it belonged to a five year old boy. But the more he looked the more he realised that wasn’t entirely right. While his bed was covered in kiddie designs it still fit him perfectly. The childish t-shirt and underoos were snug and comfy on him. Surely they didn’t make underoos like this for adults. No, everything in the room was designed for someone with the interests of a kindergartener but the body of an adult. That was what really frightened Brian most of all.

Pealing back the covers, Brian swung his legs off the bed and placed his feet on the carpet, feeling its softness under his soles. Sure enough his floor was covered in a wall to wall carpet, well worn from years of play, just as it had been until he was thirteen. Brian tip-toed around the room, afraid to make any noise, but needing to explore further. He found a book-shelf against the wall, but all the books were children’s stories, filled with large print and lots of pictures. There were classics like The Little Engine That Could and newer ones based around Shrek and Cars, books which told him he had not been transported backwards in time. When he was actually five it was Lion King and Aladdin he was obsessed with.

The real shock came when he opened the Shrek book. He looked down at the simple sentences written is block letters around colourful drawings and felt a sickening drop in his stomach. A wave of nausea rolled over him as he stared intently at the pages, as though that could solve the problem. But it was no use, no matter how long he stared it didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t read. For a second he’d held out the faint hope that it was written in some foreign language he didn’t know. It wasn’t. He was able to recognise a couple words in the sentence after much struggling, though only the smallest and simplest words there. Despite the fact that he knew he was a college senior Brian had to admit he was also now illiterate.

Casting aside the book Brian took to exploring the room further, hoping for some explanation. He was rummaging through the toy box when he heard footsteps approaching down the hallway. He froze where he was, unsure what to do. What on earth was going on here?

“Brian honey, wakie-wakie!” called a voice that Brian instantly recognised as being his mom’s. He stared at the door in shock, heart pounding in his throat as he watched the knob turn.

 

Rachel was having a bad morning. She had gone to bed a dignified if slightly tipsy college girl but had awoken to find herself in a room she hadn’t seen since she was a little girl. After getting over her initial shock she had quickly moved on to anger. Someone was playing a very nasty joke on her. Someone had clearly drugged her, brought her here and was trying to fuck with her head.

Opening up her closet she searched for something more appropriate to wear. She’d awoken, to her burning shame, in a pink frilly night-gown befitting a Barbie-obsessed little tyke. Unfortunately whoever was pulling this prank on her was sparing no expense because entire wardrobe in the closet was suited to a five-year old girl who had an adult body. There were princess dresses, t-shirts with Barbie designs, sweaters with knitted-on bunnies. Seeing this, Rachel had a much more disturbing thought. What if this wasn’t a joke at all? What if she’d been kidnapped by some kind of nut?

The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Who would do all this for a laugh? No, she had to be in very serious trouble. She needed to think of an escape plan and fast. But first she needed to get dressed in something. She settled on a pale pink sun dress that was at least free of cartoon designs. Her massive collection of shoes was gone of course but there were several pairs to choose from. None were stylish, nothing with heels of course. Little girls didn’t wear heels. She settled for some simple flip-flops.