A text from mom distracts you

While you're busy sitting alone in the coffee shop, contemplating what exactly you should change with The Rulebook, your phone buzzes quietly next to you, the familiar jingle alerting you to a new text message. You glance at it from the corner of your eye, groaning silently upon noticing that the message came from your mother.

You open it, eyes widening as you read the text: Where are you? We're leaving in an hour and you haven't even begun to pack yet! Come home now, please.

You sigh, pocketing the phone and grabbing The Notebook. Heading out of the coffee shop, it's hard not to mentally jib yourself for forgetting - today, you and your family were heading to your Uncle's cottage for one of your numerous family get-togethers. The event was too last the entire weekend and yet, following the end of your Friday classes, you'd decided to stop at a nearby coffee shop to relax with a small drink before having to deal with your extended family.

However, since your good fortunes seemed to have blessed you with this world altering Rulebook, maybe visiting the extended family wouldn't be so bad.

Thankfully, the walk home isn't a long one, and you make it back well within the one hour time limit your mom provided. When you arrive, the house is abuzz with activity; your parents running around frantically as they try to find whichever random last minute item they need for their trip, while your older sister Robin is marching across the second floor, yelling for various articles of clothing you're certain she won't need but wants to bring anyway.

"There you are Michael!" Your mom exclaims the moment you walk in, sighing happily upon seeing you. "You took your sweet time coming from home from school today. Look, I know you're not a fan of these things, but the family always love seeing you. So could you please pack everything you need and be quick about it?"

You shrug dismissively, having heard her arguments before. Heading up the stairs to your own room, you're just glad she decided to keep it short this time around.

"Your father wants to leave within the hour!" she calls back as you leave, "Your suitcase is in your room!"

True to her word, your suitcase is indeed laying on the floor of your room, empty and ready to be loaded. Not wanting to be bothered with the packing, and secretly wanting to extend the inevitable as much as possible, you instead sit on the foot of your bed, idly rereading the note that had been tucked away inside the notebook you found.

It was still hard to believe the power that this thing possesses. Still, it had quite obviously faded out the barista's shirt from existence, turning your rule about female employees not wearing tops in that particular coffee shop into reality. What was even more astounding was that it had brought everything back to the way it was when you'd erased that same rule. Truth be told, you didn't want to go visit the extended family, you just wanted to goof off with the powers of the rulebook and see what it could do. You grab a pencil and tap it casually on your chin, wondering what you should write.

"Oh, I didn't know you kept a journal!" a voice sounded from the doorway, "You writing about how much you don't want to go to Uncle Joey's?"

You look up and see your sister Robin peaking through the open door, grinning at you in her teasing way. You take note of her long dark hair and soft brown eyes as you return her smile, happy to see her.

Robin was two years older, turning 21 later this year and already having finishes a few years at the local college. Despite you still being a month or two away from finishing highschool, Robin was deep in the throes of enjoying her summer vacation. Yet, despite her sharing a much different lifestyle, you two siblings have always been close. She always had a way of cheering you up.

"Nah, it's just some book I found at the coffee shop." You say, turning it over to show her a blank page. "It's actually empty. Someone left it behind and I took it because who knows, it might be useful."

She nodded, not suspecting the ulterior motive you had for taking the book. Why would she? Who'd ever heard of a reality changing notebook before?

"Mom wanted me to remind you to bring a swim suit. Knowing Susan and Tyler, they'll want us to go swimming while there." You nod in return, knowing all too well that that had been possible. Susan and Tyler were two of your four cousins; easy the most outdoorsy of the bunch and always trying to get the rest of you to follow them into the water, no matter how cold.

"I'm going to be wearing my swim suit on our way there - just to get it over with. Thought I'd warn you, in case you wanted to do the same."

You grin back, happy for her wisdom. "Thanks, I might do that. Just... need to pack first."

That got a chuckle out of her. "Don't wait too long. You know how dad is." And with that, she disappeared, presumably heading for her room further down the hall.

As Robin leaves, you get an interesting idea for what your first permanent change with the Rulebook could be. Pencil in hand, you quickly scribble across the empty pages, making sure what you write affects the world as a whole instead of just the lone coffee shop.

Old Rule: It's common place for siblings to grow up sharing a bedroom.

As soon as you finish writing, the world around you starts to fade and, appearing in its place, is a bedroom twice the size of the one you left behind. In this new room, you find yourself sitting on one of two beds, the bedroom neatly divided into two living spaces. On your side, you recognize all the old furniture that you'd previously kept in your room - dresser, desk, closet, discarded school work, etc.

What catches your eye however, is that the other half the room is an exact replica of Robin's room. The bed has her same purple sheets, the walls covered with both boyband posters and academic articles, her desk is there as well as all the stuffed animals she grew up with, and, standing rummaging through her dresser, stands Robin next to a half-packed suitcase.

"Do you remember where I put my new bikini? The white one, with the blue flowers on it." She asks as you stare at her back, dumb-founded that everything had worked. "I can't seem to recall where- Oh nevermind, I found it."

She turns back at you with a smile, her query in hand. "Mind turning around while I change, Michael?"

Swallowing dryly, you comply with her orders and look away, still shocked at what's currently going on. However, the urge too look overcomes you and you quickly turn back, catching an unobstructed glimpse of Robin. Her back once again to you, you struggle to breath at the girl shamelessly takes off her top.