Julian Greene, a junior at Thetford Academy, wrote this humorous story in response to the prompt: You’ve been granted a wish to be temporarily turned into an animal. What animal would you be?
Mind Cream
By Julian Greene
Grade 11, Thetford Academy
I was rummaging through my grandparents' medicine cabinets, looking for some Advil. I had a little headache from the long ride (with my annoying sister) and I wanted it to go away. Instead, I saw a brilliant blue bottle, with a worn label, yellowed with age and some prehistoric font. It proudly stated, “MIND CREAM.”
Intrigued and bored since I was alone, (I had managed to opt out of a loud family journey to the general store for ice cream) I turned the bottle around to see what was on the back. “Trade minds with anything that has a brain, lasting over 10 minutes,” it advertised. I giggled to myself and muttered, “What is this?”
Carefully unscrewing the cap, I took a look at the substance within. It was a clear white and looked like old lotion. Slightly disappointed, I dabbed a little of it on my finger and smelled. It had a slightly musty odor for lotion. Rubbing it on my hand, I already started to move on. I quickly put the jar down and, headache forgotten, wandered outside.
A clucking of one of the many chickens my grandparents kept reminded me of the chicken coop near the back of the house. I walked over to it, and without warning, the rooster came barreling at me in hatred (for no apparent reason). I put my hand down to stop the ferocious pecking at my legs.
The second I felt feathers, my view dramatically changed. I was staring at some blue-covered thing. Surprised, I just stood there for a moment, and then I tried to put my hand out. All I felt was an odd sensation near my side. Then I realized what I saw in front of me was a pair of jeans. My jeans. I looked up and got a nasty surprise. I was looking at myself, and my expression was that of stupefied surprise. I yelped, but all I heard was a cluck. Still looking at my face, I saw it change from surprise to fear, and my body started at a quick stumbling gait toward a field of high grass.
Waddling as best I could, I tried to follow myself into the grass, listening for a loud crunching. Unfortunately, soon after I entered the grass, I lost the sound of myself. Panicky, I started to wander around, wondering what happened to me, what was going on, and how I was going to return to my body.
Eventually, I found a small bare patch in the grass, and no sooner had I entered it than my view suddenly changed again.
I was lying on my back, deep in the grass. I sat up and looked at my hands. Still startled, I started laughing to myself maniacally as I remembered the MIND CREAM.
“It worked!” I laughed to myself. After I stopped, I ran over and picked up the now docile and surprised looking rooster and quickly returned to the chicken coop.
I knew I didn’t have much time left. I quickly found the MIND CREAM, and, wearing a pair of large cleaning gloves, rubbed some on the outside of a glass.
Walking back into the kitchen, I quickly found and filled the glass with some Sprite (my sister’s favorite), just as my parents' car drove into the driveway.
My family slowly got out, and walking to my sister, I said as normally as possible, “Sprite?”
She looked at me suspiciously, in my kitchen gloves and with grass in my hair. She said caustically, “What happened to you?”
I replied with a quick, “Just tripped in the field.”
She giggled at me and grabbed the glass, taking a big swig. I allowed myself a malicious grin.
