Lights, Camera, Change! - Part Five

The crowd murmurs slightly, only for a group gasp to rip through them as their little displays begin to light up.

"She knew the rules about sleeping" the Hostess smirks, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe she doesn't want to win the grand prize, I'm sure she'd be happy with coming back as the fastest loser in the games history."

Waiting for a moment for the snickering and laughter of the crowd to die down the Hostess looks off to the side of the stage, the older director of Lights, Camera, Change! giving her a little nod before finally mouthing 'First Vote'.

"But after spending so long on making her like this, it would be a shame to send her off so unceremoniously. While we usually have our first vote when all contestant's go to sleep for the day I suppose we can start with Ms Hughes" The Hostess announces, the crowd cheering excitedly.

"We'll work something else out in the broadcast, but as a special treat and a first in Lights, Camera, Change! history you get to not only make the the whole of the contestant's new body but you also get to decide their fate by yourselves!"

As the crowd roars with excitement the sound of the various beeps and bloops of their displays being selected and locked in begin to take over the room. The image of my sleeping form on the screen being overlayed with the various percentages of the vote.

The Hostess smirks as she watches one of the bars race to the other end of the screen, the crowd voting overwhelmingly for me to stay on the show with only a single vote from someone in the audience to end my time in the competition.

"It looks like you're all quite merciful" The Hostess coos, giggling playfully as she returns to watching the remaining poll slowly tabulate. The bars fight back and forth, each loser slowly falling behind until only two remain in contention. As the winner finally inches its way out the Hostess grins from ear to ear, twisting back around to give the audience a gleeful look.

"Since she wants to sleep all day like a lazy teenager..." she chuckles, her voice taking on a menacing tone. "Maybe she should look like one."

Tendrils of white smog reach out from the window, the haze stretching out towards my slumbering form. Snaking their way through the room they appear to erase whatever they touch, the aging and yellowed wooden floor of the apartment vanishing beneath them along with the furniture they pass over.

As they reach me I begin to slump over in my sleep, the pale smoky tendrils quickly grabbing me as I'm slowly enveloped. I shiver in the icy cold embrace of the smog, my skin prickling and going numb as whatever power compels them slowly begins its work.

With each shuddering breath my skin grows more youthful, my features softening ever so slightly as I slowly leave my mid-twenties and reenter my late teens. A strand of smoke lurches into my mouth, eliciting a gargled snore as a thin sliver of metal binds my perfect teeth and holds them steadily in their straightened state.

Pressure surrounds me as the smog quickly begins to press down on me from all sides, my breath catching in my throat for a moment before I vanish from view with a wet pop.

"Jordan Hughes!" shouts a voice above me, the breathy tones of an older woman snapping me from my sleep. My eyes shoot open in a panic, a deep instinctual fear gripping me as I lurch up in my seat.

My head swims as I find myself in yet another room, not one I reconcile from my normal life or as the one I fell asleep in. Pure white walls surround me, a large archway to my right leading to a seemingly somewhat modern kitchen while one ahead of me and offset to the left seems to lead to a main hallway.

Looming over me as a rather short woman, only standing at around five foot three, with a short coppery bob resting in a bit of a tangled mess. Her moss green eyes glare down at me, my blood turning cold as I find myself practically squirming at how uncomfortable the look is making me. A loose black night shirt clings to her fairly slender frame, her larger than average and sagging chest tenting out the fabric slightly along with her flared hips. Her freckled arms hand bowed at her side, her hands resting on her hips and the waist band of her Corgi patterned pajama pants.

"Oh don't give me that look young lady" she mutters, rolling her eyes. "I told you it was a school night, you've done this to yourself, now up!" she chirps, turning towards the kitchen as she shuffles off. "Harold? Harold!?" she calls out, the sound of her fluffy gray woolen slippers against the plush navy blue carpet filling the gaps in her shouting.

As she leaves I stare ahead of me in shock, my heart pounding in my chest as I feel the exhaustion that had gripped me seemingly moments ago abating ever so slightly. Across from me sits the remains of a bricked up fireplace, the stonework having been painted over sloppily and a large flat screen TV sitting atop the mantle with its display shimmering a dim foggy white. To my left sits an old and heavily worn leather back recliner, the brown hide having been worn down in the perfect shape of a person after decades of use.

The recliner sits next to a large bay window, a set of sheer white curtains showing a small driveway with the tail end of a small sky blue sedan sitting at the end of the drive. Across the street sits a row of brown brick houses, each one appearing identical to the next beyond minor changes to the landscaping and decorations.

"Yeah hon!" shouts the deep rumbling voice as a strange man in the kitchen. I watch at the redheaded woman slips into the kitchen, the sound of ceramic clicking against wood emanating from the room before the older woman lets out a little sigh.

"She stayed up all night again" the older woman mutters, a heavy layer of disappointment in her voice. "You think she can get herself to school or could you..." she asks quietly, stopping as the sound of the chair grinding back against tiles sharply fills the room. A set of heavy foot steps soon pace towards the living room, a large and burly man in his forties soon trudging inside with a large mug of coffee in his tan meaty fist.

He is easily over six feet tall, her short cropped brown hair sparkled with a few gray hairs along his side burns. A thick mustache  rests on his upper lip, the coarse hairs dotted with little droplets of milk laden coffee. His athletic and muscular frame is draped in a warm looking high-visibility jacket, the fluorescent yellow and silver striped coat adorned with a little 'Supervisor' tag. A set of heavily stained jeans cover his thick tree trunk legs, my eyes going wide as he strides over to me before looking down through a set of small glasses.

"You okay Princess?" the man asks, his thick Leeds accent rumbling off the walls of the room. I simply nod a little, my voice catching in my throat as I stare up at the fucking giant in front of me. The man reaches down with a free hand, ruffling my hair with a chuckle before turning his head to face the kitchen. "She's fine hon" he calls out, shrugging a little. "Besides, people drive tired all the time... and it's only a little ways."

I lurch up to my feet, my whole body almost tumbling over as I'm weighed down my the painfully heavy backpack strapped to me. The older man reaches out to catch me, chuckling to himself as he steadies me.

"On second thought..." he laughs, assessing my obviously frazzled state. "Maybe I should dri..."

"I'm fine!" I squeak, wincing as I feel my tongue tap against something metal against my top row of teeth. Looking down I'm met with a disturbingly familiar sight of the large perky bust I had woken up to in the museum, a cheap white button up shirt now clinging to my lithe and petite frame where the vintage blouse had once sat. Through the cheap and flimsy white fabric I catch the glimpse of a large plain black bra, the color seeping through thanks to the harsh light of the room and the thicker sections pressing out against the shirt.

Gone is the long maxi skirt and tights, the heavy and warmth trapping clothes sitting replaced with a long pleated black skirt and a set of thick woolen knee high socks. My shoes feel wrong as well, my delicate feet now resting in far cheaper and synthetic Mary Janes. Something clings to my scalp, the ruffled coppery hairs thankfully being bound in place by some kind of cheap plastic headband that seems to match the plastic frames resting on the tip of my nose.

The older man watches for a moment, pursing his lips for a moment in thought before smiling warmly. "If you say so Princess" he chuckles, reaching over again to smooth out my hair with his hand before nodding back to the kitchen. "I'll handle your mom, but you'd better get going. Just 'cause its your last year doesn't mean you can skip class you know.

I can barely give him a nod as I race towards the main hallway, a low throat clear catching my attention as I stagger over to a series of key hooks bolted to the plaster wall. Snatching the one set of keys with a little Pokemon key chain I whip around, facing the large maroon wooden door as I catch the sight of the older man looking at me expectantly.

"Uh... Bye... Dad" I squeak out, my words catching as I hope to hell I'm right about the relation. I watch as the man smiles, the large gentlemen blowing me a kiss as he smears coffee on his hand accidentally.

"Bye Princess, love you" he calls out, his voice full of glee as he watches me fumble with the keys.

"Love you... too" I croak, opening the door with a heave as the heavy hardwood fights my pathetically tiny frame. "And love you... mom!" I shout, darting out into the cool morning air before I can hear a response.

As I march towards the cheap little sedan I pass by a larger pickup truck, the white cab filled with rubbish from cheap takeaway meals and bottles of iced coffee while the back is filled with bundled up tarps and strapped down boxes.

"Fuck... fuck shit fuck..." I huff, shivering in the cold air as I long for the clothes I had on before I fell asleep. My eyes go wide as it hits me, the cold air waking me up enough to realize just what had happened.

"Sleep... Shit!" I squeak, biting my bottom lip with a whimper. I was meant to stay awake, to give them a show for the day to try and stay on... And yet... I was still here. I watch as the rear window the the pickup truck turns pale white, the telltale sign of the audience watching me as I struggle to unlock the driver's side door of what was seemingly my car.

"They... liked it?" I mutter under my breath, pulling my backpack off with a wheeze before tossing the cheap black bag over to the spare seat. It jostles as it lands, the hefty weight shifting as the various books inside move around. Clambering into the drivers seat I feel my lips tremble, an added cushion on the seat being required to boost me up into a safe driving position.

I quickly move to check the mirror, my whole body jumping with a start as I catch a glimpse of the pale freckled redheaded eighteen year old staring back at me through the cheap set of glasses. My mouth falls open, my fingers quickly shooting up to pull up my upper lip as I catch the glimpse of metal across my teeth.

"Awwwww 'aaaaan" I whine, struggling to form certain words as I poke and prod at my mouth and the little band of metal. "I 'ave 'aces?" I sigh, my tongue running across my perfectly white straightened teeth.

I suck in my lips as I reach down to start the car, the engine less so roaring to life and more coughing to life with a pained splutter. The rear window of the pickup quickly turns clear once again, the tiny pane of glass covering the sedan's radio display soon becoming obscured with the white mist.

"Great..." I sigh, looking down at the pale foggy glass as my ample chest partially blocks my view of it. "Enjoy the view I guess..." I mumble, pressing my delicate thighs together as I tug my skirt a little in an effort to preserve some modesty.

With a quick check of my phone my destination is more than obvious, one of the top recommended results being for some place called 'Eastmont Public'. The drive itself is painfully slow, not due to traffic but more due to the constant panic wracking me as I try to get comfortable with driving in a body over a foot shorter than my usual self.

The plain and simple post-war housing lines the winding roads, a cheap and bulk built suburbia leaving the whole drive blurring together. The bland brick aesthetic doesn't stop when I reach the huge block-like structure, the long brown building lacking much in the way of any distinguishing features beyond the wire fence out the front and the towering sign reading.

Eastmont Public School - Primary to Secondary

Enrollment for 2025 Closed 

Romeo and Juliet - October to November

Tickets Available

My head whips back and forth as I look for a place to park, the car lurching to a stop as I slam the break moments before passing a little lane way leading to a rather sparsely populated parking lot. As I slowly turn into the lane I give a sheepish wave to the young men and women outside the window, their eyes fixed on the source of the screeching tires.

"Sorry... sorry..." I whisper, my soft and sweet voice likely not reaching anywhere beyond the cabin of the car.

I quickly pull into the first parking spot I can find, my eyes darting around in search of any signage telling me not to park here but finding none. I let out a long deep exhale, emptying my lungs as I try to calm myself down.

"Come on..." I mutter, balling up my delicate hands into fists as I take a deep breath. "You were a teacher... you can handle school or a day or two..." I huff, glancing down to the opaque radio display as I look directly into the camera.

Opening the car door I brace for the cold, a whimpering shudder wracking me as I leap out of the sedan. "Cold... cold cold cold..." I pant, rubbing at my stick-like arms in an effort to warm up while inadvertently and disconcertingly squishing my bust with my forearms. I turn to get my bag, leaning in as my plump rear stick out while I snatch at one of the straps.

Suddenly, I feel a hand snake around my flat stomach before pulling me back. I squeal in shock, my feather light body being slightly lifted off the ground as I'm embraced from behind. My heart hammers in my chest, my breath going ragged in terror, though the heat from the person behind me threatens to leave me melting.

"Hey Jordy" coos a voice in my ear, their warm breath on my neck leaving my knees shaking a little. "I got your bag" the state, wrapping an arm around my waist they guide me to the side. As I stagger back, still held firmly by the stranger, I watch as they lower down to grab my overly heavy bag. 

I bite the inside of my lip as my eyes lock to the...