As he finally threw the pillow off his head and resigned to the fact that he'd have to wake up to face another day, Connor gradually came aware of a dull pain coming from his mouth. He never quite got used to the uncomfortable feeling wearing braces gave him, even though he had them for over a year now, and this morning, his mouth was extra-sore, like his orthodontist had just tightened them. Odd, seeing as he hadn't been to the orthodontist in over a month.
He swung his feet out of bed and onto the ground, hitting the floor with a loud THUD. He reached down and grabbed his alarm clock, shutting it off. He toyed with crawling back underneath the covers and trying to fall back asleep, but he was already too awake now, and besides, his mother would be up in just a few minutes to make sure he was getting ready.
As he stood up and began to make his way towards the bathroom, Connor's head started to pound, his body ached all over, and he had a hard time keeping his balance. "This must be what it feels like to have a hangover," he thought. But why? He had never drunk alcohol, and he had plenty of sleep last night. Maybe it was just one of those mornings.
He reached the bathroom, flipped on the light switch, and hopped into the shower, washing the sleep from his eyes. Though his headache and wooziness subsided, something still felt peculiar, and he couldn't quite place his finger on it.
He finished up in the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and then grabbed a hair drier. It was then that he finally looked at himself in the mirror, and stopped. Something was different! It wasn't his hair; it was still a shaggy brown mess. His eyes were as dark as ever, his nose and mouth were the same... He looked at himself up and down, and noticed that...he was bigger! His waist line was level with the bottom of the mirror just the night before, but now it was several inches above it!
"What the hell's going on?" Connor said aloud.
"What's that honey?" It was Connor's mom's voice. She must be outside in the hallway!
Not wanting to bring this to her attention just yet, he said, "Uh, nothing important, Mom."
"All right, dear," she said, "but make sure you're down for breakfast in five minutes." She turned and walked down the stairs, back to the kitchen.
Connor slowly opened the door, peeked outside, and made sure no one was coming. He then darted across the hall, back to his bedroom. He grabbed an undershirt and a pair of boxer briefs from his dresser. Both of them felt very tight; his undershirt didn't even cover his stomach! The clothes he was wearing the night before were still on the floor; he picked them up and put them back on. Whereas last night they fit just fine, this morning his shirt barely reached his belt line, and he had to struggle to get his pants on. When he finally did, they wouldn't fasten shut, so he had to get the braided belt he hated from his closet and use it for cover, as it was the only belt that fit him now.
"Okay," Connor said, "this should work." At this point, though, he felt his muscles begin to burn. He looked down, and was shocked by what he saw. He could actually see his legs getting longer, as the cuff of his pants rose higher above his ankle. The belt began to stretch further, straining to stay together, and his shirt was revealing more and more skin. Finally, Connor heard a loud RIPPPPP sound, as his shirt tore up the sides.
"Shit!" He said, as he quickly took his clothes off so that he wouldn't ruin any more of them. He stood there, dumbfounded, for a few minutes, only in his undershirt and boxers, which themselves were straining to keep it together.
He tried to figure out how tall he was. He knew the top of his doorframe was seven feet off the ground, and his head was about 10 inches from that, so he had to be over six feet. It was a gain of almost a foot, in just one night!
"Wow," Connor said, "I've heard of growth spurts, but this is ridiculous!"
Suddenly, he heard his mother's voice. "Connor!! This is the last time I'm calling you! Get down here for breakfast!"
Uh oh. Connor panicked for a moment. He couldn't let his family see him like this, could he?