But Dad

 Originally posted on Tumblr

“But dad. I don’t want to get a job,” Greg whined, acting more like the kid he used to be rather than the man he was.

“No ‘buts’ you knew the rules and didn’t listen to me even though I begged you not to.”

“How was I supposed to know you didn’t drink regular coffee?”

“I told you my coffee wasn’t for kids and what did you do?”

Greg didn’t answer. It was evident what he did.  Last week, when his dad wasn’t looking, the  then kid snuck a sip of his dad’s coffee. He had long been curious about the taste and wanted to know. His classmate’s parents let them try a sip of coffee. It wasn’t fair his dad didn’t do the same. His father had just so happened to leave his mug on the counter, when he went to the bathroom. Greg grabbed a step stool and climbed onto the counter. The coffee was a warm light brown. He stuck the edge of the mug to his lips. It was hot, but not bad enough to burn his tongue. The kid ended up taking a larger gulp then he meant to. Coffee tasted good! He sat the mug back down using his pajama sleeve to wipe his mouth. He put the step stool back and went back to the table.

His dad came out of the bathroom and walked into the kitchen to make breakfast. Not once did he mention his mug. Greg felt naughty and gleeful he had gotten away with it. When breakfast was ready his dad brought out cereal and pop tarts for him. His dad sat across from him watching the morning news.

The first sign something was wrong was when the two of them heard weird sounds. Greg’s dad muted the TV but neither of them could place it. The sounds continued, but the two ignored it. That was when Greg was starting to realize his clothes were shrinking. His pajama legs were riding up. The sleeves of his arms were exposing his wrists and soon his forearms. Even the hem of his top exposed his midriff. Greg’s stomach grumbled that coffee was settling in weird. His dad had gotten engrossed in the current news story.

Greg finally caught on that his clothes weren’t shrinking. He was growing. The sounds from earlier had been his clothes moving to accommodate his body, but now they were at their limit. His clothes began to stretch and pull themselves apart at the seam. Greg was ripping through them. His feet touched the ground, solidly planted,  no longer did they kick in the air

“Uh, Daddy?’ Greg said, watching as tiny hairs began to appear on his forearms.  He could even feel them poking out of his legs.

“Yeah son?” His dad’s smile at the news story dropped when he looked across the table. It was a double take because he had originally only briefly looked.

“Somethings wrong.” Greg’s feet swelled stretching forward. His legs bulged, starting with his calves and flowing up to his thighs.

Greg’s dad’s face paled, “Oh kid, please tell me you didn’t drink my coffee.” His son didn’t even look like a kid anymore. Puberty had well set in. He already knew the answer but needed to hear it.

Greg stuck his head down to the ground, “No,” he said full of immense shame as his arms and biceps grew, packing on pounds of muscle.

“ Please don’t lie son you did, didn’t you?”

“Nuh-uh” Greg said. At that moment his chest jutted out, in defiance as two hardened pecs formed.  When that happened, he frowned, “Just a little”  Finally Greg’s PJs exploded all at once. As if his body willed it too in that moment.

“Son…” Greg’s dad put down his mug. His voice was steeped in regret, “Coffee isn’t just a drink it’s a drug and an addictive one. That means it can alter your mind. And with this brand if you’re not the proper age then…” then the man’s voice trailed off. Greg continued to grow and mature as his hands got larger and his face grew chiseled. Until finally a grown Greg was left panting naked. Greg lifted his head and his mind expanded. There were things, concepts, knowledge, and lifestyles in his head. He didn’t just look older he felt it too.

Soon Greg acted like it too. Now he could have coffee whenever he wanted. Though it didn’t taste as good as before. At his new size, he didn’t have any pajamas yet, so he settled for lounging around in his underwear. He was bigger than his dad and they didn’t have money to just go buy new clothes.  That’s why Greg’s dad was telling him to get a job.

“We can’t stay afloat on my paycheck alone anymore. You eat way more than you used to. Time to start helping out.” Greg’s dad wasn’t relenting. He’d finally realized that adult Greg had no problem whining like a child if it got him out of trouble. If he wanted to be an adult, he’d be treated like one. Like his father hadn’t noticed Greg was still drinking coffee these days. Though Greg probably hadn’t figured his father had long since thrown out the ‘Morning Stud’ brand.