Trend Setter

Alex Mercer stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, running a hand through his thinning dark hair. Just another average middle-aged guy with tired brown eyes and a mortgage that seemed to grow fangs each month. The sound of his wife Diane's power suit swishing down the hallway made him sigh.

"Alex! The Henderson account needs those projections by noon. I've already been up for two hours." Her voice carried that familiar edge – successful, driven, and constantly reminding him of it.

"Coming, dear," he muttered, splashing water on his face.

Breakfast was its usual parade of dominance. Diane commanded the kitchen island like a general, rapidly typing emails on her tablet while occasionally barking reminders at their teenage daughters, Mia and Chloe, who were dressed in their typical attention-seeking outfits that made Alex uncomfortable.

"Dad, can I have twenty dollars?" Mia asked, leaning over the table in a way that made Alex quickly avert his eyes.

"For what?" he asked, focusing intensely on his toast.

"Just stuff," Chloe chimed in, twirling her hair and giggling at something on her phone. "Everyone's doing it."

Alex opened his mouth to respond when a strange sensation washed over him – like static electricity crawling across his scalp. The room dimmed momentarily, and when his vision cleared, knowledge had been downloaded into his brain.

You are now the Trend Setter. Your ideas, no matter how absurd, will be adopted. Your explanations, no matter how flimsy, will sound plausible. Your demonstrations will cement adoption.

The information unfurled in his mind like a user manual, complete with capabilities and potential applications. Alex blinked rapidly, gripping the edge of the counter.

"What's wrong with you?" Diane asked, barely looking up from her tablet. "You look constipated."

A slow smile spread across Alex's face. "Actually, I've been thinking..."

"That's dangerous," Mia snickered.

"...about new family traditions," Alex continued, the words flowing with surprising confidence. "I think we should all spend Sunday mornings doing strength training together. Build character."

Diane snorted. "Sunday is my only day to catch up on work."

But Alex felt the power humming through him. "Research shows that families who exercise together develop stronger hierarchical understanding. The Harvard Business Review just published a piece on how it improves workplace productivity by 40%."

Alex was bullshitting completely, but to his amazement, Diane's eyebrows rose with interest.

"Really? I didn't see that article."

"It's cutting edge," Alex said, warming to his new ability. "The most successful CEOs are implementing structured family fitness regimens where the, uh, household leader sets the pace."

"Household leader," Diane repeated thoughtfully.

Alex stood up, feeling bolder than he had in years. "I can demonstrate a few of the exercises right now." Without knowing exactly what he was doing, Alex improvised a ridiculous sequence of movements that looked vaguely like squats combined with arm circles.

"This regulates hormones and establishes clear family structure," he explained with newfound authority.

To his astonishment, Diane set down her tablet. "Show me again."

His daughters, who would normally mock him mercilessly, were watching with genuine curiosity.

"That actually looks kind of cool," Chloe admitted.

As Alex led his family through his completely made-up exercise routine, his mind raced with the implications of his new power. For years, he'd felt overlooked, undervalued, and frustrated by the dynamics in his home. Now, with this ability to influence and persuade...

Alex suppressed a perverse chuckle. The possibilities were endless. Perhaps it was finally time to restore some balance to his household and beyond.