Waiting For Midnight

With his proclamation made, Kyle quickly ushered his housemates out of the attic. Since his changes were only going into effect at midnight, he felt it was important that his housemates take some time to think through their changes instead of impulsively modifying the world at their whims. Thankfully Bianca and Pamela seemed onboard; the girls were currently discussing what change they should apply first.

Only Thomas opposed the plan. He hadn’t complained, but his groveling and scowl had given Kyle cause for concern. Unfortunately for him, as the original tenant, Kyle held the only key to the attic and made sure the door was locked.

For Kyle, it was simple: he’d never liked Thomas. He and the girls had been scraping the bottom of the barrel for potential housemates, eventually settling on the handyman’s offer. Thomas had initially proven his usefulness by helping to fix things around the house as they broke, but the girls hadn’t been shy about sharing how uncomfortable they felt when left alone with him.

Kyle wondered how concerned he should be. Thomas’ first change had been innocuous enough but there was no guarantee any future modifications would be the same. In the end, he was glad Thomas’ first use of the machine had been cautionary. Had he really not finished highschool? Kyle could only speculate, but it was plausible.

He glanced at the locked door, considering his options. Would it be wrong to use the machine to change Thomas for the better?

The thought felt wrong. So did using the World Processor. Hence why the limitations were necessary.

Kyle glanced at the key and walked away, not willing to succumb to hypocrisy.

“Now that the boys are gone,” Bianca began. Pamela barely had enough time to shut her bedroom door. “Tell me — what are you _actually _going to change?”

Pamela sighed. Back in the attic, upon agreeing to only using the World Processor one daily, she’d asked that same question which kicked off a discussion on how to better the world. Resolving world hunger; stopping the emerging wars; making America great again… All were good ideas. Deep down though, both girls knew the discussion had been just a facade.

Now Bianca was calling her out.

“I told you, I don’t know!” Pamela lied, trying her best to deflect, “The Russo-Ukrainian war would be a good place to start. I could…”

“Don’t bullshit me with that ‘Great Do-er of Good’ nonsense!” Bianca scoffed. “When’s the last time you got some dick? _Good _dick. Last semester, before exams? You need to get laid, girl. Yesterday!” When Pamela gave no reply, Bianca added “Just use it on Kyle! God knows he hasn’t been picking up your hints.”

“Absolutely not!” Pamela shot back, finally finding her words. “He’s just been distracted with work.”

“Pam, I’ve watched your attempts at flirting with him fly over his head for months. You need to try something new, and this machine is the perfect opportunity!”

“I just need to be less subtle!”

“Subtle like that v-neck you wore last week?”

“Listen!” the girl wailed. “I want something genuine with Kyle! Why is that so bad? If I used the machine to fuck him, I’d be no better than Thomas.”

“That’s my point!” Bianca countered, emphasizing with a finger. “You need to use it on Kyle before Thomas uses it on you. Or worse, before he uses it on Kyle.” Pamela’s expression made it clear she wasn’t following and Bianca rolled her eyes. “You saw that look he gave him. If I were him, I’d isolate Kyle before targeting the both of us. Make him unwilling to fuck us before getting at us”

“Bianca!”

“What? I’m being realistic!” she barked back. “We have a magical, reality shifting computer in our attic, Pam! Kyle might be a doormat when it comes to Thomas, but I’m not going to sit idly while he turns us into his sex puppets!”

The picture that formed in her mind made Pamela wretch. She quickly lost what remained of her defiance.

“Okay fine, what if I neutralized Thomas first then?” Pamela offered. “We’re only making one change a day anyway, and I’d rather wait a bit before making up my mind about Kyle. I’ll drop the pretense and have a proper conversation with him instead of flashing my tits.”

Bianca sighed but felt herself deflate. “The Pamela I met at frosh week would have jumped his bones the moment we moved it.”

“And the Pamela of today wisely remembers the pregnancy scares such impulsiveness garnered.”

“At least you’d know who the father is this time!” Bianca stated with a chuckle. When Pamela didn’t dignify her with a response, she shrugged and continued. “Whatever, I don’t care how you finally manage to bag Kyle. Just make sure Thomas doesn’t fuck with us.”

Pamela nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it so that Thomas can’t fuck us. He’ll have no say in the matter unless we want him too.”

Biance scrunched her face, disgusted at the thought of wanting Thomas for anything sexual.

With peace restored, Pamela sat next to her friend and gave her a warm smile. “So then, pray tell Bee, what will you do with the processor first?”

The girl’s excitement returned. “Easy!” she began, no hesitation in her word. She grinned brightly. “I’m giving my boyfriend a bigger dick!”

Pamela groaned.

Thomas sat alone in his room, staring at a diploma he’d never seen before. It had been hanging on his wall when he’d returned from the attic, proclaiming his high school graduation. An event he had no recollection of. On the paper, his achievement was surrounded by the faces of his schoolmates and peers, each looking a couple years older than he remembered.

He lowered the diploma, recalling the circumstances that had unfolded once he’d dropped out in tenth year. Had those still happened? he silently asked himself, questioning his memories. His disownment had been central to shaping the path he’d followed, culminating with his current career as a handyman.

Yet, it was clear that his job hadn’t changed in the wake of the reality shift. His phone retained all the contacts he’d accumulated over the recent years. Still absent were the ones he’d been **** to delete years ago.

“Whatever,” he told himself, hanging the frame back on the wall. In the end, graduating highschool seemed to have done little to improve his situation in life. He chose to ignore his thoughts and concerns on the matter.

He threw himself on his bed, resting his head on his hands to stare up at the ceiling and picture what lay beyond it.

The World Processor.

Thomas was no fool. He suspected the girls were currently plotting against him. Given the kind of power the device offered, he was certain they’d use it on him as retaliation for his leering. He still didn’t entirely understand how that was his fault. Pamela was the one perpetually peacocking around Kyle, begging him to make a move. Thomas just beat him to the punch. Her desperation would be pathetic if she wasn’t so hot.

Regardless, Kyle was either oblivious or simply not interested. Worst yet, the first thing the other man did when given a reality changing computer was to undermine everyone in the house. Kyle shouldn't have bothered; Thomas never had any intentions of using the machine more than once per day.

“Wait, did I always think that?” he asked himself with a startle. Or, was it the result of Kyle’s limitations? Both thoughts were unsettling. What mattered however was that his test trial had been successful and confirmed that the machine’s power was real. Now, he needed a plan.

Kyle would be the first to pay. Thomas had no control over what the girls would do and really, their changes would be inconsequential in the long term. From the moment he’d moved in, they’d been unobtainable to him. A few more days wouldn’t change that. It was best to let them think that their attempts at thwarting him worked. Better to skirt around whatever limitations they imposed and strike once he has a better idea of the rules at play.

No, Kyle and his stupid altruism would be the priority. Kyle would either get on board or be distracted to the point of not caring about what happened to the girls.

He grinned as an idea formed in his mind.

When the fateful hour arrived, Kyle stayed true to his word. Despite his trepidations, at the stroke of midnight, he returned to the attic door and unlocked the only entrance leading up to the dusty space above.

To the World Processor.