Avery used to be a 19-year-old college sophomore with a love for late-night parties, iced coffee, and putting off assignments until the last minute. But ever since the Great Shift, she had become a 62-year-old retired man with a thick beard, a hairy chest, and knees that ached if she stood up too fast.
Not that she minded.
While others struggled to adjust, Avery saw the shift as an opportunity. She had lucked out in the chaos—big time. The man whose body she now occupied had ended up as a frail 90-year-old woman. The shock was too much for him. He suffered a heart attack two days after the shift and, with no family or heirs, all of his assets legally passed to her.
A paid-off house in the countryside. A sizable retirement fund. Stocks. Savings. Enough money for her to never work again.
Why grind through college and minimum-wage jobs when she could enjoy the retired life? While her former classmates scrambled to adjust to their new bodies, Avery had been lounging by the pool, sipping cocktails, and living like a king.
Her father—now in her old body—wasn’t happy about it.
“Are you serious, Avery?” he snapped, standing over the pool as she lay on a striped inflatable raft, arms folded behind her head. “You had your whole life ahead of you! And you just—just wasted it?”
Avery sighed, pushing up the brim of her bucket hat to squint at him. “Dad, relax. I put in my two weeks at that diner job. And I never wanted to finish college anyway.”
He ran a hand through her former brown hair, exasperated. “You’re nineteen! You could start over! Go to school, get a real job, build a future!”
“Or,” Avery said, stretching lazily, “I could enjoy my golden years without any of that stress.”
Her father clenched his jaw, looking comically out of place in her old crop top and jean shorts. “This is ridiculous. I didn’t raise you to be lazy.”
Avery smirked. “Technically, you did. And now you get to fix that—if you want.”
His face darkened as the realization hit. If she wasn’t going to live her life properly, then he had to. He stormed off, muttering under his breath, while Avery closed her eyes and drifted, letting the warm sun lull her back into a nap.
Retirement was, after all, exactly what she’d always wanted.
Hey everyone! I’m back from my trip! Hope you enjoyed this story because I had a ton of fun writing it!


















