A little buildup to the reveal.
The Muscle Fairy
Taryn couldn't have been more ready for her brother to go away to college. Just to get a break. His constant teasing got on her nerves. Admittedly, she knew that she was very gullable. And he used that to his advantage, tricking her over and over. And then making fun of her for falling for it. It was never mean spirited, but the neverending barrage wore on her. He left for college the upcoming weekend, so she thought she was in the clear. Wrong again.
She'd always wanted to get stronger. Her metabolism was extremely high, so gaining weight was basically out of the question. A few rather rude classmates classified her as a walking stick. It didn't really bother her, because she saw it everyday in the mirror. She knew what she looked like. Brains were her superpower- she had already taken a few college courses even though she was about to begin her senior year- but, gaining a little muscle would've been incredible. Her brother knew this- but had mostly left it alone until this point. Apparently he had run out of ammo, so he dug deep into the bottom of the barrel, to pull out his latest joke.
"So Taryn, I heard this story the other day. I know you want to get stronger. I think I have the solution." her brother said, as they sat at the kitchen table.
"What now, Jared? What scheme are you cooking up this time? You know you can only do it so much before I catch on."
"Well, thankfully, you have a long way to go before you get there. Anyways, she's called the Muscle Fairy."
"What?" Taryn said, laughing.
"Stay with me. Now you know about the Tooth Fairy. This fairy is exactly like that except it will give you muscles instead of coins." Jared said, pulling out a quarter and spinning it on the table.
"Come on, Jared. What are you supposed to leave for this Muscle Fairy- protein?" Taryn knew he was full of crap, but she let him continue.
"Absolutely. But you have to have the right flavors. She only likes strawberry or cherry flavored."
"So I leave this flavored protein, I assume under my pillow, and then what?" Taryn asked, crossing her arms.
"Then the next morning, you're all buff. And you're problems are solved. Just like that." Jared said, pretend flexing his arm.
"So what you're saying is that Mom and Dad are going to buy me a muscle suit or something?"
"Nope. This is real. I have my sources. Besides, you never know 'till you try." Jared said, spinning his coin again.
"Fine. I'll play you're little game. Even though I know it's BS. I'd better not wake up to something disgusting again."
"What? The dead mouse? That was the cat. He's always trying to pin it on me. I swear I won't do anything disgusting. Scout's honor." He put his hand over his heart.
Taryn rolled her eyes and left the kitchen. As soon as she was out of range, Jared began to snicker. That night she took out the container of cherry vanilla protein powder that she had bought from the store, and put it under one side of her pillow.
"I can't believe I'm doing this. I call his bluff, and I still let him win. I'm a senior in high school for crying out loud. And the tooth fairy isn't real. What is wrong with me?" she said as she crawled into bed.
Meanwhile, Jared patted the stack of weight discs next to his bed before shutting off his light. His plan was to sneak into her room early in the morning and place the weights all around her on the blanket, essentially trapping her in bed. She wouldn't be strong enough to move them. He laughed at the thought of her struggling like a worm to escape the trap. Little did he know that his plan was about to backfire, enormously.
The next morning, Jared was jolted awake by a loud crash from his sister's room. He turned on his light and noticed the weights still sitting there. Cursing himself for sleeping too long and missing his opportunity, he got out of bed. If he hadn't done anything, then what was that noise? As soon as he stepped out of his door, his mother came running down the hallway.
"Jared? Are you alright? What was that noise?" She asked, a worried expression on her face.
"It wasn't me. Sounded like it came from Taryn's room."
His mother knocked on Taryn's door and slowly opened it.
"Taryn? Honey, are you al... Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed.
Jared got very confused as he watched his mother stand just inside the doorway, putting her hands over her mouth and shaking her head back and forth. He pushed his way past her to see if his sister was alright. And then it was his turn to get a shocked expression.
"Holy shit!"
