Chapter 3:
The morning sun peeked through the curtains of the Roderick household, marking the start of another day. Justin, always the early riser, stretched out in bed, his feet dangling uncomfortably off the edge—a new sensation, but one he dismissed to the grogginess of waking.
As he stood up, a wave of lightheadedness washed over him, his head grazing the top of the doorframe as he exited his room. "Must've misjudged that," he mumbled to himself, attributing the oddity to a lack of full wakefulness.
Breakfast was its usual lively affair, with the family gathered around the table, yet Justin couldn’t shake the feeling that everything seemed... smaller. He bumped his knees against the underside of the table, a puzzled frown forming on his face. "Did we get a new table?" he inquired, only to receive bemused shakes of the head from his family.
School brought more peculiar revelations. As Justin navigated the crowded hallways, his head and shoulders towered even more prominently above his peers. Friends he once saw eye to eye with now craned their necks slightly to maintain conversation, their expressions a mix of surprise and curiosity.
"Man, did you get taller overnight?" one friend joked, only half in jest, as they walked to class together.
Justin laughed it off, but the seed of realization began to sprout in his mind. In class, his desk felt uncomfortably snug, his knees pressing against the underside with an insistence that was hard to ignore. Even his teacher, Mr. Henderson, did a double-take, his eyes lingering on Justin with a confused squint.
Lunchtime was no different. Justin's usual spot at the table felt oddly cramped, his legs needing more space to stretch out than before. His friends continued to make light-hearted comments, poking fun at his sudden growth spurt. "What did you eat last night, man? Magic beans?" they teased, their laughter echoing down the lunch table.
Returning home, the day's events weighed heavily on Justin's mind. He moved through the evening routine with a sense of surreal disbelief, the evidence of his growth mounting with every awkward interaction and physical discomfort.
Dinner was an exercise in déjà vu, with repeated knee bumps and a general sense of being oversized for the family table. His siblings eyed him with a mixture of awe and envy, whispering among themselves about Justin's unexpected transformation.
As night fell and Justin prepared for bed, the reality of his situation became impossible to ignore. Standing before the bathroom mirror, he looked into his own eyes, now noticeably higher than they had been just 24 hours prior. The realization hit him like a wave: he had indeed grown three inches overnight.
Lying in bed, Justin stared at the ceiling, his mind racing with questions and possibilities. How had this happened? Was it permanent? And, most curiously, why did he feel an inexplicable connection to the peculiar lamp sitting quietly in the living room?
The lamp, for its part, remained silent, its surface catching the moonlight in a soft glow. In the quiet of the night, it seemed almost aware, a silent observer to the bewildering change that had unfolded within Justin.
As Justin drifted off to sleep, the events of the day played back in his mind, each interaction and oddity a piece of a puzzle he couldn't yet solve. Unbeknownst to him, the lamp's influence had woven itself into the fabric of his life, changing him in ways he had yet to fully understand.
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