Steven Vale (a boy with a buried secret)

Steven worked in the warehouse in the back of a supermarket. He was skinny, had limp brown hair, did not have a strong sense of fashion, and generally felt aimless in life. This job was steady, but it didn't pay much and it wasn't interesting. It just barely made enough money for him to be able to pay his share of the rent.

When Steven found the app 'changes for money', he was sceptical. But he was also very, very bored.

Once installed, he opened the app. The interface was surprisingly minimal, lacklustre. He wondered what the point b of it was.

Steven was confronted with a single question.

Would you get hazel eyes for 15$ ?

Steven was not impressed. That was it ? Just a dumb app with a yes or no question?

"Ugh," he said, unable to work up the enthusiasm even to complain with words.

But he was also very, very bored. He pressed 'yes'.

After a short loading screen, another question popped up.

Would you get your ears pierced for 40$ ?

Steven looked off into the distance. He'd often toyed with the idea of getting his ears pierced, of doing... something, to try to find himself.

Would he get his ears pierced, if someone paid him? Yeah, probably. Why not. He pressed 'yes'.

The loading screen appeared. When it disappeared, he felt a swift pain in his earlobes that disappeared as fast as it appeared.

Steven froze in shock. "No," he said. "No fucking way."

He started walking, then running, to the staff room.