This choice: Austin, the red-headed, pale-skinned, dorky, quiet boy • Go Back... After considering the matter for a few minutes, Simon finally settled on Austin. Sitting at the side of the wall near the windows, Austin looked like he kept mostly to himself, but after searching through the new memories in his head, Simon realized that Austin was very intelligent but humble, and had a sweet, caring side to him that rarely came out in class. Simon didn't want his new friend to be so popular that they never got to hang out or talk, so Austin seemed to be the best choice.
After deciding this, a flash of light came over him, and Simon found himself in the seat next to Austin. Looking over, he saw that Austin was doodling something on one of the pages of his notebook, though he couldn't quite make out what. Austin saw that Simon was looking his way, and a smile started to creep across his lips. He started to say something, but then was interrupted by the teacher, who was continuing with the lecture.
Simon's head began to fill with new thoughts of his life as best friends with Austin. The two boys had known each other since kindergarten, and they hung out every chance they got. They were both only children, but they treated each other like brothers, sharing nearly everything and always getting into scrapes and friendly fights with each other, though their more cerebral sides would also lead to them helping each other on homework and pursuing more creative things, like writing. Neither of them had many other friends, but the bond between them was about as close as could be. Simon could even tell that there was a hint of something more than friendship, but it had never developed much.
Finally, the bell rang, and the students started to empty into the halls. As Simon got up, Austin quickly ran up to his side. "Wanna see my latest sketches for 'The Deadly Duo'?" He nearly hopped up and down with boyish excitement, clutching his notebook tight to his chest as he did so.
"The wha--?" Simon stopped himself mid-sentence, as he came across the memory of a comic book the pair had been working on for the last year or so. As far as he could tell, the work was more of just talking about ideas for characters and plot events, along with a few doodles, but nothing concrete. "Oh! Yeah, sure. Is that what you were drawing in class?"
"Mm-hmm," Austin nodded in affirmation. He handed over the notebook, opened to the page with fresh pencil marks (along with a few leftover eraser shavings). "What do you think?"
Simon studied the page closely. The first thing that jumped out at him was how good of an artist Austin was. The sketches were rough, sure, but the body models and facial expressions were on their way to being the quality of a professionally published book. But the biggest thing that struck Simon had to be the two character's appearances. They were big and muscle-bound, like superheroes should be, but there was no denying that they held a striking resemblance to Austin and himself - one with the shaggy red hair and glasses matching Austin's, and one with the shorter, spiky black hair and Asian appearance like Simon's. It was an uncanny resemblance.
"Wow!" was all that Simon could answer. "It looks… really good!"
Austin beamed with pride at this praise. "Thanks, man! I'm glad you like it! I can't wait to get home and ink and color them!"
Simon smiled, but as he did so, he felt a certain sense of power come over him, a strange yet familiar feeling. He could tell that this was an indication that he could make a choice to change reality again, but he wasn't quite sure how. He kept expecting the voice to return, but it never did. "Maybe," he thought to himself, "this is a sign that I need to act on these opportunities myself. But what should I change?"
Looking down at the notebook in his hands, he knew he had the answer.
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