“One sec!”
Nicole Hayward had hardly been in her apartment for ten minutes since getting back from lunch with her girlfriend Julie before there was a loud knock at the door. In her comfy blue pajamas, she was about to blow off the feature article she had to write and to curl up in bed with a nice book (probably a romance novel), but now that would have to wait. Truth be told, the last thing she wanted right now was a visitor, but she wasn't the person rude enough to ignore someone when she was home.
Unlocking the door to her apartment, she swung it open to reveal a baby-faced, fair-skinned young man, definitely out of high school but no older than 20, in a plain white shirt, blue shorts, and sneakers. His body was pretty lanky, and he was tall, but beating her own height by a few inches. If his brown hair wasn’t so shaggy and his facial hair not so unkempt, he’d be a boy young Nicole would have found cute. Appearing surprised to see her, he immediately flashed Nicole a wide, if not slightly nervous, smile. His right hand was submerged deep in his front pocket.
“Oh, uh, hey there,” the young man sputtered in a soprano voice, clearly a little bewildered. “This is pretty awkward but I was told this was where my friend Bryce lived and…you’re obviously not Bryce.”
Nicole let out a friendly chuckle. “It’s alright don’t worry about it,” She assured him, smiling back. “Good luck finding him. I’m sure he’s probably on this floor or at least close.”
Just as she thought this exchange was over and she could return to reading, the boy stopped her from closing the door by pressing his left hand against it.
“Wait!” He blurted out, leaning his head over and staring at her intently. “Will…will you let me in for a moment?”
Put off by the spontaneous request, Nicole couldn’t help but…want to say yes. She honestly didn’t want to (she wanted to get to that romance novel!) but she found herself completely unable to tell him no. It was a weird feeling, but what was the harm in letting him in?
“Sure thing. Just for a little bit.”
The boy’s face lit up like a Christmas tree as he strolled in, a lot of swagger in his strut. Sizing up Nicole’s apartment, he plopped down on her sofa as Nicole shut the slowly shut door, trying to shake off that puzzling sensation.
“I’m Gary, by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the boy stated proudly, turning his head towards her.
“Nicole,” Nicole answered. “Can I get you some water or something?”
Gary shook his head. “No thanks, but I do want to show you something. It’s something very, very cool.”
Curious, Nicole got few steps closer. Gary pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal a silver marble.
“Uh, what is that?” She asked.
“It’s a Marble of Affirmation,” he said, seemingly acknowledging how dumb that name is by the tone of his voice. “When the holder asks someone a question that can be answered just by a yes or a no, they will always answer, and the answer will always be yes. No matter how untrue the statement, the marble will magically make it true.”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “Um, like, no offense, but that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. A magic marble? Really? Is that what you wanted to show your little friend?”
Gary stood unfazed by Nicole’s patronizing tone. “Go ahead and mock it all you want, but it just worked on you.”
It took no longer than a second for the famously pessimistic Nicole to figure out what he was talking about, and once she figured it out, her face drained of color. “Don’t you dare tell me that’s why-
“You let me in? That’s exactly why, I’m pretty sure. I mean, I’m sure you would have otherwise considered the weird optics on that one. I’m a nineteen-year-old stranger and you’re…I want to say twenty-sev-”
“Twenty-six.” Nicole was quick to cut him off. “And yes, I get it, I wouldn’t have let you in. But I did. I fucking did, and I don’t know why the fuck I did.”
Gary promptly rose to his feet. “Because of this marble. And I was going to show my friend Bryce first, who just moved into this complex. However, I’m starting to really think you’ll be a great first test subject, Nicole.”
“I…I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I don’t want any part of this!” Shouted Nicole, confused and terrified. “Leave me the fuck alone!”
She tried to bolt for the door, but it was of no use the second Gary opened his mouth.
“You won’t leave the apartment, right?”
Nicole froze. She suddenly knew she wouldn’t leave the apartment, no matter how much she wanted to.
“Yes…I-I won’t leave the apartment.”
“And you’ll come back over here and stay put, right?”
The words seemed to automatically come out of her mouth. “Yes, I’ll come back over there and stay put.”
Unable to do anything but shuffle towards Gary and remain still, Nicole’s face was writhing with anger.
“Glad you decided to stick around,” he quipped.
“What are you going to do? Trap me here a-and make me your slave?”
“Oh please; that’s child's play,” Gary told her, smirking.
“What the fuck does that even mean?”
Gary couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll show you: is your hair short?”
Before Nicole could even process the question, she gasped as her waist-length brown hair came out of its ponytail and instantly shortened to a bob.
“Yes…I have short hair…” Nicole muttered, absolutely mortified at the change and how natural it felt to have short hair all of a sudden. If she wasn’t forced to stand still, she’d tear this kid to shreds to avenge her lost locks.
“As you can see, I can change just about anything. And I must say, you look way better with short hair.”
“Shut your mouth you little fuck!” Shouted Nicole. “Change it b-back right now!”
“Oh come on, don’t be like this. Don’t you like your short hair?”
“Oh…y-yes, I do like my short hair…” Nicole groaned, suddenly at peace with the fact that her long hair was gone. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror across the room, she had to agree that she looked hotter with a bob, as weird as it was to admit it. It was just a cuter style. A more refined one, too.
“Much better. See, I’m not the bad guy, really. All you needed was a little attitude adjustment...”
END OF PART 1