Jay woke up the next morning like a kid on Christmas Eve.  His appointment was for 9 and the drive itself would take a couple of hours.  His mom was downstairs getting ready to leave for work when Jay started mobilizing for the day.  She was more towards Jay's side of the height gene pool, but was just ever so slightly taller than her son.  She was immediately suspicious that on the first day of summer vacation Jay was up and moving so early.  Jay's sister was still asleep and probably would be until it got closer to noon.

"morning workouts for football starting earlier than ever?" She asked, thinking her son's sport was the one thing that would wake him up so early on a summer day.

"Still a month out from early morning workouts, I'll be going later tonight with the other running backs on the team though.  I just.... wanted to make the most of a beautiful summer day....  Summer's just beginning and don't want to waste a minute you know?" Jay lied coming up with a lame excuse that he knew his mom didn't buy, but she also trusted him enough that whatever he was hiding it was most likely harmless.  Jay grabbed the ingredients for a protein shake while his mom was finishing up her own light breakfast.  While making his shake he was again thinking about how much taller he was going to get. "And besides mom, I have a  really good feeling about this summer."

"Good, normally I would be the one telling you not to waste your morning, and even that would be a couple hours from now.  If you're up this early maybe you can get some things done around the house as well.  I'll be heading off to work, but just a reminder that Monday morning I'll be flying out for that research assignment in Europe so its going to be just you and Darcy for two weeks.  I won't be home until late tonight and I know how you are on the weekends so now that I have you, I figured I would remind you.  I have a credit card set aside for you two, but I'll be watching the transactions.  Nothing too crazy."

"You know me mom,..." Jay said with a smile

"Yeah!  I know you alright.  Just try to get along with your sister, she'll be in the same school with you in a couple of months so just maybe you can bury the hatchet and start things off right?"

"Oh she'll be fine, I'm sure once she settles in with the volleyball team she'll be more than comfortable in school."

"I know she'll be fine, but she'll be even better with you and her on the same page.  How about this, while I'm gone I'll even say you can have one party. ONE!  And keep it to an ok sized guest list, but include your sister.  And obviously no alcohol!"

"No alcohol for just her.... or"

"NO Alcohol!"

"Alright, alright.  I'm assuming as is always the case when you travel you're going to leave a long list and all of that jazz" Jay stated being used to his mom having to travel for research.  She was kind of a big deal in her company which was cool in the fact that it meant that Jay was relatively spoiled.  He thought it helped that he was at least aware of the fact that he was spoiled.  The downside of course was that his mom was would be gone.  Jay prided himself as the man of the house and always felt safe and secure but it was always just one more thing to worry about.  All of the sudden he was preparing all of his meals(lot of PB&J sandwiches) and then he found himself worrying about his annoying little sister.  It definitely didn't have the cool factor that it did the first time she left him home alone with Darcy.  As it was, they were great friends with the neighbors next door, so Jay's mom would surely have the Smiths check in from time to time to make sure everything was going alright.

"Yes, it will be a list with emergency contacts, some spending cash, the hotels I'll be at, along with the best times to reach me and some stuff I would like for you two to do while I'm gone.  Well I'm off for work, have a good day hun,"  His mom gave him a kiss on the cheek and was out the door with some parting words, "And don't let your sister sleep until noon!  Try to share your newfound appreciation of summer mornings!"

As soon as she left Jay thought about why he had lied to his mom about the growth procedure.  He had not planned on lying to her about it, but at the same time, he knew it was something he wanted to keep private.  Everything seemed legit on the website, and as a research specialist for a major company she might have even heard about the place, but he wanted to go, get the procedure done and then shock everyone with his new height. 

After finishing his breakfast he went back upstairs to wash up and then he would be on his way.  He thought about his mom's last words about waking his sister up and decided against it.  He was in far too good of a mood to face that at 7 in the morning.  She was the absolute worst morning person Jay had ever known.  The important thing is, he thought, the next time he saw her, maybe he will finally be the taller one again.  Nothing aggravated him more than we she chimed in calling him "little brother" while trying to emphasize her height advantage.  It usually led to Jay having to exert his strength over her in one way or another to prove how much of a "big brother" he really was.  And with weight lifting and his overall athleticism it was never a contest.  He always knew that even though he was shorter. his sister was still "just that annoying little girl."  After today he wouldn't even have to listen to her about her height advantage.  Off he went for the best day in his life.

He arrived at the facilities about 15 minutes before 9, speeding down the highway with excitement.  Every song that came on the radio was perfectly loud and fast paced.  Jay singing along to every note, not something he normally did, but his excitement was evident.  The place seemed like any other hospital he had ever been to.  There was just this thought in the back of his head that this procedure was just too good to be true.  He walked through the front door with a big sign that read Scientific Evolution.  Just as on the website once he was inside he saw all sorts of pictures of perfect looking bodies.  Tall athletic men, women with **perfect** bodies in every way.  The "Evolution" in the name seemed well placed to Jay.  He looked at the posters and was thinking this was what he needed.  

Approaching the desk he saw that the receptionist also appeared as nice on the eyes as any of the models in the posters.  She was seated behind a counter wearing what appeared to be a long white lab coat.  She had brown hair that was styled in one of those "pixie" cuts.  She had a cute face and once she looked up from some paperwork, she had bright green eyes that he could see perfectly through her glasses.  Jay wondered if she even needed the glasses or was it just part of "the look".

"Hi, I'm Jay Robinson, I had a 9am appointment," Jay smiled.  She was definitely a few years older than him but Jay considered himself a good looking guy, and he tried to give a flirty smile.  After all, the only anxieties he ever had with the ladies was his height and today would be the first step towards ending that.

"OK, Mr. Robinson, we've been expecting you,"  She returned his smile before handing him several forms to fill out and made a copy of his driver's license for their records.  The receptionist signaled him to a waiting area before she returned going over some more files and paperwork.  After several minutes a Doctor called his name.  Jay was hoping for another cute young beautiful woman like the receptionist, but instead was greeted by an older man probably in his late 40s, early 50s.  When Jay walked to shake the Doctor's hand he was dwarfed by the doctor, who must have been close to a foot taller than Jay.  Jay thought that he must have had the same procedure Jay was about to take so that must be a good sign.  They walked into an office that had a desk, a scale, some computers and some other doctor's equipment and both sat down.

"Good morning Jay and thank you for coming in this morning, my name is Doctor Reed and I am Scientific Evolution's newest height specialist.  And yes, if you're wondering I'm also a client.  I used to be not that much taller than you, and now I'm 6'4.  The same height of Abraham Lincoln... I like to use that one instead of a basketball player because even to some of them I'm still short." Dr. Reed joked with a confident smile.  "The point is though, this is the height I always felt I should be.  And I don't worry that I'm not taken seriously because of my height anymore.  I can be the authority in a room based on nothing but my physical appearance.  Things I'm sure you have had problems with in the past.  Our nurse and receptionist Michelle that you met in the other room is checking up on your insurance information and your other financial documents that you gave her and once those clear we can begin the process today if everything checks out.  Assuming you're ready and everything tests positive that is.  I hope you're ready Jay, because the rest of your life starts today."

Jay had goosebumps he was so excited.  Dr. Reed continued talking up the procedure and he explained a bunch of scientific terms and processes that Jay was going to undergo.  They even started doing a couple of tests such as blood pressure and taking blood/urine samples and the such.  All the while most of it was going in one ear and out the other as Jay was getting more and more excited.  It seems like all of the tests were coming back with green check marks and Dr. Reed seemed encouraged.  Jay zoned back in for Dr. Reed's last words, "Alright then, let's get to it"

Dr. Reed led Jay into a large room that was filled with all sorts of computers and several large glass chambers that a person could walk into.  The chambers themselves had all sorts of wires and tubes going into them.

"Here we are Jay, this is where the magic happens.  So we're going to have to make this growth a slow gradual growth.  For example, with you wanting to stay with your athletics if we were to suddenly add a foot of height to your body, you would lose all concept of your motions.  So we're going to start with just a couple of inches," Reed was explaining this to Jay while typing away into his computer.  "Any other questions?"

"None! Can't wait!"  With that Jay stepped into the chamber and gave Dr. Reed a thumbs up.  After several loud sirens in alarm the chamber began to fill with a purple gas.  Jay realized at this point he should have been paying attention to Dr. Reed explain the procedure a little more closely.  Before Jay had a chance to worry any further he slipped into unconsciousness.  

The next thing Jay knew he was waking up in what appeared to be a normal hospital room.  He felt like he had slept for hours and was slow to his senses.  He quickly noticed the cute receptionist from earlier, Michelle, seated right beside his bed, still in her long lab coat.  She had her legs crossed, showing plenty of skin as her right leg came up poking out of the lab coat.  How short a skirt was she wearing underneath that lab coat Jay thought?  Was there a skirt at all?  She also had a clipboard on her lap and she seemed to notice that he was waking up.  Jay averted his eyes to make sure he wasn't caught checking out her legs.  Maybe with his new height he'll stand up, "wow" her and they could do it right in the patient room.

"Rise and shine tiger, I'm just going to get some more information from you and then we can send you on your way."  Jay answered a series of questions about how he felt and as she jotted away on her clipboard Jay realized her felt great.  Better than ever in a lot of aspects... until he was ready to go.  As Michelle finished up her questions she stood up and had Jay stand up as well.  Upon standing up he was a couple of inches shorter than Michelle was.  Jay was confused and a little deflated.

"I'm still...."

"Short." Michelle finished the sentence for him. "Afraid so, you won't notice any growth until you have a full night's rest.  You were only out for 30 minutes.  When you wake up the next morning is when you'll first get a chance to admire the new you.  Just one more thing, we're going to also prescribe you a pill that can halt any reaction you're having from the gas at all.  This way if you're growing too fast or you think you reach your desired height you can halt the process.  One pill will pause any change, and then if you just take one a day for four days you'll stick to that height for good.  Make sure you get the prescription filled as soon as possible"

Jay took the prescription as well as Dr. Reed's card if any other questions should come up and he headed home.  He was still excited and anxious while also a little disappointed.  The website had made it seem like he would pop out of the chamber at his new height and he could instantly be a changed man.  Oh well, good things were worth waiting for he thought.  He ended up having to go the gym right from the procedure.  He ended up being the only one of the running backs on his team to make it the gym that first day of summer so it was a quick in and out lift.  He could barely focus he was so excited. Meanwhile he didn't even think about the prescription pill at all, his initial thought when Michelle first told him about it was why would he want to halt the process?  It was probably just some medical law they had to fulfill to say they read their patients all of the available information. 

He got home in the evening, still well before his mom did.  When he walked into the house Darcy was home so he said a "hey" while passing by, she didn't even respond to him as she was typing away on her phone smiling at something.  Jay was starving so he went to the kitchen to make something easy for dinner.  Microwaveable hot pockets it was, he threw them in the microwave for a couple minutes and was good to go.  He turned around and his sister had snuck up right behind him, she must have smelled his dinner.  Three inches wasn't a huge height advantage... until it was your sister who was also four years younger than you, Jay thought as he looked ever so slightly up to his bratty younger sister.  She clearly had not left the house yet today.  Still wearing just an old Green Bay Packers t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants that were more like yoga shorts as they only went to her knees.  Her hair just messily pulled back she moved to swipe a hot pocket but Jay was too fast.

"Hey shorty!" she teased, "Could you make me a couple as well?!"

"They're not exactly difficult to make, you're on your own tonight sis.  And we'll see about those shorty comments, I had a doctor's appointment today and he says I should expect a second growth spurt.  I was starting to think my clothes and shoes were getting a little tighter,"  Jay lied, proudly looking forward to his growth the next morning.  He walked past her heading up to his bedroom to play some video games.

"Second growth spurt? Did you ever have a first growth spurt" She called after Jay as he headed up.  Before making it to his room she called up one more time, "Seriously though Jay, could you give me a ride to the park tomorrow? the girls are hosting a captain's practice for volleyball."  

"Sure no problem."  Jay answered at first reluctantly.  Then realizing he'll have had his growth occur by then, he couldn't wait.  First thing in the morning he'll get to show his sister who the shorty was.  He ate his hot pockets and then just to distract himself he spent the rest of the night playing video games.  He ended up feeling extremely tired and fell asleep hard and fast almost like he had taken a drug with drowsy effects.

Everything went wrong from this point.  Jay woke up the next morning and immediately jumped out of bed to check his height.  Before he could even get to a mirror though his boxers and sweat pants he had gone to bed with fell right down his legs and he tripped over them in his excitement.  He hit the ground amidst a flurry of cuss words.  He jumped back up to his feet and pulled his pants up... Why were his clothes so baggy?  If anything with all of the growing he had done last night they should be tighter than ever he thought.  He walked over to his mirror, holding up his pants all the way over, and this was not good at all.  He was not a couple of inches taller... in fact he didn't appear taller at all, he looked smaller.  Maybe it was just his imagination, he reached into his dresser and tried on another pair of pants... still super loose and baggy on him.  He grabbed a pair of jeans and saw that the legs that normally were a perfect length now stretched far beyond his feet while also being super baggy.  Had he actually shrunk instead of grown?  He tried to find some measuring tape that he had in his room to measure himself when he heard a knock on his door.

"Jay, I gotta leave for volleyball in like ten minutes, so get your butt out of bed.  You said you would bring me!"  Crap, Jay thought.  There's no way he can let his sister see him like this.  What are the odds of all the summer days of her sleeping until noon this is probably the first she has ever been up early.  He had to think of something, there had to be a way out of this situation without having to confront Darcy.  He just needed to get back to Scientific Evolution and they could fix him.  He hoped anyways. They had to! He convinced himself.  He dressed himself as quickly as he could.  Baggy sweatpants, baggy sweatshirt, a hat and a pair of sunglasses.  No one could see him look like this... even if it meant going out into the summer heat with a hoodie on.  What about his sister's ride to volleyball?  How much taller was she than him now? Was his mom around today?  Should he tell his mom?  Was he really shrinking?  Jay's thoughts were going a hundred miles a minute.  Who shrinks?! Ultimately he decided to just sneak out and get to the lab and nobody had to know anything.  He put some shoes on and had to concentrate with every step or they would fly right off.

He grabbed his keys and poked his head out of his bedroom door.  It sounded like his mom and sister were both downstairs in the kitchen.  Jay got to the top of the stairs and just bolted straight down and through the front door holding his pants up the whole way.  He jumped in his car and after having to make some seat adjustments he took off without his mom or sister seeing a thing.  About 30 seconds later he got a text message from his sister and then another.  At a red light Jay looked to the messages.  The first just asked simply enough, "Did you just leave?" followed up by a more profane laced message exclaiming her need to get to practice and luckily their mom was able to cover and get her there.  

With his phone now out he called Scientific Evolution.  Straight to voicemail. Crap.  He pulled over into a Dunkin Donuts parking lot and brought up the website for Scientific Evolution on his iPhone.  "Closed Sat-Sun", it was Saturday morning. Crap.  Jay's roller coaster of emotions continued now devolving to a full on panic.  He tried to slow things down.  Maybe he overreacted a little bit and actually didn't really shrink that much.  He got a text message from his mom requesting him to call home.  He kept the conversation short.  He just  made up a lie about forgetting about dropping his sister off because he was almost late himself to his own practice that he was running.  He got scolded about not only ditching his sister but also skipping out on breakfast before a workout.

Jay ended up driving around for a couple of hours trying to come up with a plan.  He didn't like lying to his mom, but he didn't like getting caught in a lie even more.  So he figured he just needed to avoid his family until Monday morning.  Not too difficult, he just needed to get home late, after both his mom and sister were asleep and then leave again before they both woke up, and repeat.  His mom would get on a flight out of town and he would go back to get his height restored.  He never thought he would ever be praying to be 5'5" again.

He figured he could waste some time by going to the movie theater at the mall.  He only had to hope his disguise would hold up and nobody would recognize him in this even more miniature body.  First thing's first though, he needed to at least email Dr. Reed and see if he could get a response.  He sent a very panicked email to Dr. Reed's address that was on the card he got and that's when Jay first thought about the prescription pill!  The nurse had said it could stop any reaction from the gas.  Would that trap him at his new short height though?  Maybe this was just a setback?  Maybe he was just shrinking a little bit now to almost reset his system and then he'll start growing?  Jay decided to hold off on getting the prescription to let the process run its course.

He arrived at the movie theater and walked in with his baggy clothes.  He had always thought he was short before, but this was short.  There were very few people that he was as tall as, all girls or children.  It was alarming the amount of "kids" who were even taller.  Meanwhile with every step he was making sure his shoes didn't fall right off his small feet.  His first break came with movie selection.  The new Avengers movie was out and the latest Fast & Furious movie.  At least he could escape for a couple of hours.  He watched both movies, and then Avengers again before realizing he hadn't eaten anything all day.  He wasn't hungry, just odd he hadn't eaten anything so he decided to go to the mall's food court out of boredom if nothing else.  He kept his eyes down and he truly didn't have a clue if he had passed anyone he knew, he didn't want to know because he didn't want to risk anyone recognizing him.

He took his sunglasses off when he got to a Wendy's where he got a burger and fries.  He must have looked like such an idiot.  Here's this short teenager wearing a pair of pants so baggy that even with the drawstring as tight as possible were still almost falling down, and a hoodie that was at least two sizes too big.  But with that said he had seen a couple of fun movies and was about to enjoy a rare unhealthy dinner.  Then he heard something he had been dreading all day...

"Jay! Hey, didn't expect to see you here!"  Walking over was this girl Andrea from school carrying her own tray from the food court.  Andrea was a classic gymnast in every way.  She was short but definitely a powerhouse.  Jay knew because he saw in the gym more than any of his football teammates.  She was probably there more than he was.  And she was most definitely easy on the eyes with all the time she spent toning her petite body for gymnastics.  Jay also liked that she was a girl Jay always had a height advantage over, as she was barely over 5 feet.  He definitely loved to casually flirt with her on a day in day out basis but her height was also why Jay didn't want to date her.  He hadn't dated anyone since he was dumped by Valery who was at this point the tallest girl in school and here was Andrea quite possibly the shortest girl in school, and Jay knew it would just be something everyone would mock him over forever.  Probably a stupid reason not to go out with someone but sometimes that's not how the mind works.  She was already walking over and Jay just cringed not sure how to get out of this one.  

She worked at Subway and must be on a break because she was just wearing an unflattering uniform of black pants, a polo and a Subway hat, her hair pulled back.  Even still Jay had to admit she was a cutie even like this.  Black hair almost always up in a bun or some pony tail maybe trying to appear a little bit taller.  Bright blue eyes and almost always a smile on her face.  Jay suddenly realized he didn't know if he would still be taller than Andrea.  She asked if she could sit, "Mind if I join you? I usually end up eating during my break all by myself"

"Definitely, grab a seat,"  Jay agreed without being able to really think it through.  He figured he would just try and have to play it cool  "I didn't realize you worked at Subway?"

They continued small talk for about thirty minutes talking about mainly the gym and their summer workouts.  Jay felt at ease and was even able to forget about his problems while having what was a normal conversation by all accounts.  Andrea meanwhile was having all sorts of feelings.  She had always liked Jay.  He was a gym rat like herself and very focused on workout/nutrition guidelines.  They liked a lot of the same classes at schools and stuff like that, but there was something different about him.  She found herself really wanting Jay.  Like really really wanting him.  It was even more odd to her since he was wearing this ridiculously baggy pair of sweatpants and a hoodie.  Must be trying to cut weight like in wrestling season already.  She couldn't understand her feelings, but just tried to block them out as best she could enjoying the conversation.  She clicked her cell phone to see the time and her break was almost over.  She stood up to go and as she stood up to leave, Jay also stood up as if to give her a hug, was he slouching?...

...As soon as Jay stood up he knew he made mistake.  It was just the first good part of his day so far.  He had completely forgotten his situation and here he was having this flirty conversation with a cute, fun girl so he wanted to give her a hug or walk her back to Subway, something to extend the moment.  But as soon as he stood up he made a quick realization that he was the same height as Andrea... if not a fraction of an inch shorter.  Immediately he looked to her feet hoping for some kind of heels. Nope definitely flats, and he sheepishly looked back into Andrea's eyes knowing she knew.

"Jay? How are we the same height"

"Can you keep a secret?"