Lance Shares His First Time Shopping At CVS Alone

Once upon a Saturday afternoon in the small city of Oakville, was a young boy named Lance. Lance was all of six years old. That day, his mom gave him money to go to CVS alone for the first time to buy a pack of his favorite chips. It was a rite of passage in his family. His mom, at a young age of 27, was raising him to be independent. Little Lance had successfully found the chips and managed to pay for it all by himself. But as he was on his way out, he was stopped by a 42-year-old woman. Her name was Caroline, but the neighborhood knew her as Careless. She had been homeless for such a long time that she made the streets her home and didn't expect her situation to change soon. Despite living on the streets, Caroline still carried herself with an air of allure. She had neck-length blonde hair swept up in a bun, a white tank top layered with a pink sweater, short shorts, pink strap-on sandals, and earrings that sparkled. She also had an old tattoo on her arm. Caroline approached the young boy and asked him gently if he had any spare change. Lance felt bad and regretfully told her he had no money left. As if to ease the little boy's guilt, Caroline extended her arms, inviting him for a hug. As Lance returned her gesture, he suddenly felt dizzy, and everything went black. When Lance opened his eyes, everything felt different. He saw that he was wearing sunglasses, reached up to pull them off and revealed that he was wearing the same clothing as Caroline has been wearing - the same pink sweater, white tank top, glittery earrings, sandals, purse, even the same tattoo on his arm. He was in Caroline's body! Overwhelmed and confused, he swiftly removed the earrings, sunglasses, purse, and sweater, and undid the bun in his hair. He caught sight of his reflection, he saw a woman in her early forties. Then he saw his own body, being animated by Caroline, slowly walking away. He ran and begged Caroline, now inside his body, to swap back. Yet, Caroline refused and nonchalantly advised him to enjoy life as a 42-year-old homeless woman. The shock was too much for Lance. As he began to cry, his memories changed and morphed until he was no longer Lance but only remembered being Caroline. Wiping her tears, the new Caroline, in her befuddlement, realized that her sandals were missing along with all her other belongings. She began to search frantically for them, her heart filled with relief when she found her things. She put back on her sandals, her jacket, her hair bun, earrings, sunglasses, and slung her purse over her shoulder. She sighed, saying "Oh God! I'm so glad none of my stuff was stolen. I can't really defend myself too much. I'm just a 42-year-old woman." As she looked down to see her sandals once again on her feet, a feeling of melancholy washed over her. She stopped in front of a mirror, her reflection looking back at her. Realizing that she was indeed a 42-year-old woman and still homeless made her shudder. She desperately hoped that her situation would change. Suddenly, a police car pulled up, and two female officers approached her. Caroline handed over her bag without arguing, her frustration clear as the officers checked her belongings. "What a surprise. I'm a homeless woman so I must be up to no good. I already hate my situation enough without you guys making me even more miserable," she muttered bitterly. As they handed back her bag, she fumbled around for a lighter and a cigarette, taking a long drag to calm her nerves. The real Caroline, now in Lance's body, watched from a distance, glad to no longer be homeless and to be considerably younger. Yet, it was impossible to ignore Lance's situation - forever believing he was a 42-year-old homeless woman named Caroline.