32-year-old single father Howard never fully understood exactly what happened. One moment, he was shopping with his 8-year-old son Malek, and listening to some Hispanic woman muttering about her daughter needing a new school uniform. The next, Howard, Malek and several other people around them found themselves falling to the floor. Most gently fluttered, though Howard fell quickly and landed with twin 'thunk' sounds.
Now utterly disoriented with his vision pointed in two very different directions, he watched as several items of clothing were picked up from the near-eye-level ground. A white hair scrunchie, white blouse, dark blue dress, white training bra and panties, black spandex shorts... A pair of white socks was lifted, and Howard heard the unmistakable voice of the Hispanic woman from earlier speak up.
"Oh look, I seem to have captured a little family. How cute! How about I let the two of you talk?" She snapped her fingers, and Howard could suddenly hear Malek's voice ringing in his... ears? He didn't really feel like he had ears anymore... "There we go, isn't that better? Oh, look at the time! I'd better get these new clothes to my Isabela before anyone realizes anything weird..."
The assortment of clothing had been shoved into a bag by now, including the pair of socks that Malek's voice seemed to be emanating from. Finally, the woman reached down toward Howard, her massive fingers hooking inside some unseen part of his body. He felt his form move randomly and separately, so perhaps the term 'bodies' was more accurate... He was dropped on top of the clothing in the bag, with a sharp "Ouch!" from Malek as he landed on top of the socks.
A confusing collection of light, color and rough movement followed as Howard and the other contents of the bag were carried through the store. The only break in the next half hour was the face and hands of a male worker checking to make sure the items of clothing weren't being stolen. By now, Howard had realized that his 'bag-mates' were, in fact, transformed people, and that he and Malek had been transformed as well. He tried to wrap his clearly non-existent head around the undisputable fact that his young son was now a pair of girls' white socks as they were carried out of the store. The woman would drive them to their new home, and by extension, their new owner.
As it turned out, their owner was an 11-year-old girl by the name of Isabela, and she attended a nearby private school. Clearly this small family was wealthy; the woman had merely decided she didn't want to pay for her daughter's newest uniform this time. It didn't seem like she used her otherworldly abilities very often. The people around her that day had simply been convenient victims to her random bout of frugality.
Their first day being worn wasn't exactly pleasant for anyone involved not named Isabela. Howard couldn't speak for most of the fellow clothing, although he couldn't imagine the person-turned-panties was having a good time. He and Malek had the unique perspective of being split into two bodies each. Howard listened as his son was pulled onto the older girl's tan legs, feeling as her newly-grown leg hair poked roughly into his fabric. Finally, it was his turn.
Howard's left half was picked up by the gargantuan Hispanic tween, and slipped onto her left foot. The Malek-covered appendage fit perfectly into Howard's inner cavity, and he felt his unwanted metal piece be buckled into place, locking his strap in place. The process was repeated with his right half, and Isabela stood upright, ready to start her day.
The girl probably only weighed about 90 pounds, and yet Howard felt as if he was being crushed by a near-infinite weight. The gentle thuds of his rubber soles hitting the ground were the only reminder of just how light she really was, and how insignificant he had become. He thought of his son, partially contained within his own father and stretching a mere inch or two above the girl's ankles.
Howard's vision was locked to the front-facing toe region, so the world passed by in a disorienting whirl of fast-moving shapes, too quick for him to fully comprehend. The girl simply continued with her morning routine, eating breakfast and donning her backpack, completely oblivious to the torture she was putting her new uniform through. The group of eight former humans acted as unwilling passengers to a perfectly average school day for their 11-year-old owner.
Today is another school day, and Isabela is waiting at her bus stop. Howard tries to enjoy the brief break from her walking, even if she still moves her feet around in the restless manner he has grown used to over the past few months. He has no way of knowing if the rest of her outfit today is made of ex-humans, but he knows the socks contained within him definitely aren't. After all, he was being worn the day the basic socks were bought from the very store he and Malek were taken from.
Howard has gotten used to seeing from the girl's toes as she walks, to the point where it's no longer disorienting for him. The weight, although slowly increasing, is certainly bearable, and the repetitive impact of her footsteps no longer bother him in the slightest. The only thing he struggles with is the fact that Isabela obviously has no idea what her mother did, and doesn't know that she wears transformed people on a regular basis. Oh, and the fact that Malek has gone missing.
In reality, Malek was packed in Isabela's suitcase when she and her family went on vacation. On the final night, a small nick in her big toenail tore a hole in his fabric. The new hole bothered her more than the one that had formed on the bottom of his other half, so she took him off. Having returned home the day before, Malek's twin cotton bodies rest in a small garbage can in the hotel room, along with a discarded box, a couple tissues, and a pair of Isabela's tights that developed a bad run. The former boy now waits for hotel maintenance to come in and seal his final fate...
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