This story is a little slow getting started but I hope that you all enjoy
it none the less. It's the longest story that I've written to date. If
anyone wishes to archive this story, please let me know.
This story has adult material. If you are under 18 or offended by such,
read no further.
Simon's Story: A Prequel to the Club
By Morpheus
"Yo Simon," I heard a loud voice calling, wincing at the sound of my
name. God how I hated my name. Simon Victor Halloway, though often
referred to as Simple Simon or Simon the pie man, much to my disgust. I
couldn't help but wondering why my folks had ever saddled me with a name
like that to begin with.
Turning around, I saw the person who'd been calling me, running towards
me through the school hallway. He was 16 years old, more than just a
little overweight and had his acne splotched face smothered by an unruly
mop of brown hair. Edwin Marshall wasn't in a much better position than
me namewise, perhaps even worse. That just might be the reason that we'd
been best friends for most of our lives.
"Heya Ed," I greeted him when he got closer, using the nickname that I
knew he preferred, though I was about the only one who ever used it.
"What's up?"
Ed grinned at me. "Not much. I'm just glad the weekend's here."
"Don't remind me," I grumbled, definitely feeling less than enthusiastic
about the four day weekend which was just about to start.
Frowning sympathetically Ed asked, "Your dad's still serious about that?"
I nodded, sighing as I did so. "I'm afraid so. We're off to go camping
and be one big happy family," I added as much sarcasm as I could to it,
which wasn't at all difficult considering how I felt.
"Bummer," Ed told me.
Nodding agreement I frowned and stared off, dreading my weekend. My dad
had decided to try making us act like a family for a change, which was
what I knew it would just be. An act. He was probably trying to appease
his guilt or something, which he did about every six months Or after
about every major affair of his.
Dad was always out having an affair with one woman or another, usually
ignoring me and mom. But then again, mom certainly wasn't much better.
She just stayed at home, drowning her sorrows in a bottle and nagging
either me or dad every time she even bothered to say something. I never
could figure out if it had been her drinking and nagging that had made
dad start having his affairs or if it was the affairs that had started
her drinking. Either way, I guessed it was another one of those 'chicken
or the egg' situations. Needless to say, I was NOT looking forward to
spending any more time than necessary with my folks, especially not
camping. I shuddered at the very thought.
"Going to sleep on Elm Street would probably be more fun," I muttered to
myself, thinking that spending time with my folks was going to be
anything but a vacation.
"Well," Ed told me, "I'm really sorry to hear that, but I hope you can at
least keep from going psycho or something."
I chuckled, slapping Ed on the back. "Who knows," I told him with a
grin, "maybe I'll find some way to have fun with my folks. Like slipping
vinegar into my mom's vodka again." Ed and I both laughed, remembering
my mom's reaction the last time that I'd done that.
"Well, I've gotta go," Ed told me, starting towards his bus, "see ya
later."
"Later," I echoed, starting towards my own bus, dreading my return home.
It was times like this that I actually wished the school day was longer.
At least at school I had all the other kids around to talk to and didn't
have to put up with my folks bull shit. Shaking my head, I climbed onto
the bus and braced myself for the torments to come.
----------
I groaned to myself as I climbed out of the car and looked at the cabin
that was to be my home for the next several days. But still, at least it
was better than being locked in the car with mom and dad. The long drive
up there had been a living hell. And at least now I'd have the chance to
slip off among some of the trees that surrounded the cabin, as flea
infested a rat hole as it was.
"Well Simon..." my dad asked cheerfully. "What do you think?
Frowning I tore my eyes off of the cabin that dad had borrowed from some
friend and stared at him. He was grinning almost stupidly, obviously
thinking that this little family gathering was going to make up for
everything bad. I snorted in disgust, having long since given up on
those hopes.
"Does it at least have cable?" I asked grumpily, not at all happy at
having been dragged along.
Mom quickly interjected, "It's lovely." I swore that I could hear a
slight slur to her speech, even if I hadn't seen her drinking anything
during the drive up.
After a moment, dad said, "All right Simon, I'm going to take a look
around. I want you to take all of our bags inside." Then with that,
dad started walking off, leaving me and mom standing by the car. Mom
didn't even glance at me before going into the cabin on her own.
"Just great," I grumbled to myself, picking up my bags and starting
towards the cabin, "another weekend in hell."
The rest of the night was even worse than the ride up. The cabin was
drafty, the running water was cold and I had to listen to my mom nag my
dad for hours, at least until she got herself too drunk to talk, while he
insulted her the whole time. I just stepped outside, standing on the
porch and listening to the noises from the forest, wishing to God that I
was back home. At least there my parents didn't usually stay in one room
long enough to yell at each other too much.
First thing in the morning, I walked out of the room I'd stayed in,
yawning slightly but having slept much better than I'd expected.
Whatever friend of dad's had lent him the cabin definitely kept the beds
at least in good shape. It was almost as soft as back him. The only
real downside was how cold it was in the morning since no one had
bothered starting the fire. And of course the fact that my folks were in
the cabin as well.
When I went into the main room, I saw my mom laying on the couch where
she'd passed out and there was no sign of my dad. I figured that he was
probably still sleeping in, which was just fine with me. I wasn't really
in any mood to face him right now, or his hypocritical speeches about how
we were a family and should do family things together
After I'd eaten a quick bowl of the cereal that we'd brought along, I
went outside and took a look around the cabin. It wasn't actually quite
as bad as my first impression, but still, I'd much rather have been back
home where I at least had cable TV. This place didn't even have one at
all, which was a real bummer.
For a couple hours I just hung around the cabin, trying to ignore my
folks as they both got up and started to move about, even pretending that
they were a happily married couple. I just felt sick from it.
"Common Simon," my dad finally suggested cheerfully, "let's go fishing
and get a few big ones."
My only response was to shake my head and mutter, "Joy," but I went along
with him anyway down towards the lake, hoping that maybe I'd have some
fun after all. I certainly wasn't expecting it though, especially since
I'd never been a real big fan of fishing.
"You'll love it," dad insisted when we got to the edge of the lake. I
nodded, unconvinced but deciding to humor him for the moment.
The fishing trip was a big bust. After less than an hour, dad had
started to flirt with a pretty girl who'd come by from another cabin. I
smiled at her faintly myself but looked at dad in disgust. He hadn't
even tried pretending that he wasn't interested. Instead he just
grinned. "No harm in window shopping." I snorted, knowing that he
really meant "No harm in trying them on for size."
But eventually we both left the lake, neither of us having caught a
thing. "What a waste of time," I muttered, noticing that dad's good mood
had vanished just as quickly as the fish. He was grumbling to himself
the whole way back to the cabin, and after a few short words with mom, he
turned and left again. Back to look for that woman he'd been flirting
with I guessed.
"I don't know why I ever married that good for nothing bastard," mom told
me, pouring herself a glass of scotch. "And you....." She sneered
slightly as she took a sip.
"Whatever," I exclaimed, suddenly turning and storming out of the cabin.
I wasn't in any mood to hear about all my faults, especially not from
her.
As soon as I was outside the cabin, I yelled back, "I'll be back later.
I'm going for a walk." Then with that, I grabbed my back pack from the
door where I'd left after getting back from fishing and started towards
the hiking trails that I'd seen earlier. I didn't know where I was
going, but I was sure as hell going to get away from the cabin and my
folks for as long as I could.
I hiked along the trails for several hours, surprising myself in that I
was actually having a good time. Walking along the trail and being all
alone in the trees made me feel relaxed, more so than I'd been in a long
time. Without really thinking about it, I just continued walking,
enjoying the fresh air and most of all...being away from my folks.
Eventually I changed directions, deciding to follow some of the lesser
used trails, heading towards one mountain that looked interesting. I
figured that I could find my way back easily enough so didn't worry about
it when I left the main trails. I was having so much fun that I didn't
even notice how quickly the time passed.
After awhile, when I got closer to the mountain that I had been heading
towards, I was surprised to notice that the trees had thinned out
dramatically. There was a huge spot where all the trees were gone,
almost as if they'd been clear cut a long time ago, though a lot of
underbrush remain and some smaller trees. Not at all like the bigger
ones in the rest of the forest.
"There was probably a fire," I muttered to myself, glancing around and
guessing that if there was, it had to have been a long time ago.
Probably a couple decades too by the amount of underbrush and the smaller
trees.
Shrugging I decided that it wasn't worth wondering about so continued to
the huge rock wall that was on the edge of the clearing. The cliff had
looked so impressive from a distance that I'd been almost drawn to get a
better look at it up close. And better yet, there hadn't been any trails
so I figured that not many people actually saw it like I was.
When I got to the base of the cliff, I let out a loud whistle at how high
it seemed, then stopped suddenly when a glint of light caught my eye.
Curious I turned and started towards it, seeing that it was coming from
further down along the cliff. At first I wasn't sure exactly what it
was, but as I got closer, I saw several chunks of metal shredded and
scattered around, mostly covered up with brush and dirt from having sat
there for a long time, but enough was still in the open for the sun to
reflect off of it at the right angle.
"A plane crash," I gasped, realizing that was exactly what this had to
be.
I looked around, going further down and finding that the metal was
getting thicker. When I turned and looked back towards where I'd come
from, I noticed a pattern. The whole clear cut area had a deep trench
down the middle of it, going back all the way and it seemed to end just a
short distance ahead of me.
"Wow," I whispered, wondering if anybody else had ever found the place
wreck.
However as I went a little further, I noticed something embedded into the
wall of the cliff. Hell, it was so embedded that rocks and dirt covered
almost all of it, obviously having come down during the crash. The
plane, I realized in amazement. I could barely see any of it under the
large pile of dirt and rock.
Still feeling extremely curious, I started to move close to the wreckage,
nervously realizing as I did so that I might even find some long dead
bodies. The thought spooked me but excited me at the same time. It was
more adventure than I'd ever seen before in my life and doubted I ever
would again. And as I got closer and closer, as well as more nervous, I
saw that a there was a shiny section of metal that wasn't covered by the
dirt and rock, as well as a gaping hole where the side had been torn wide
open from the crash.
When I got to the edge of the gaping hole, I let out an, "Oh shit,"
wondering for the first time if maybe this hadn't been an airplane. It
didn't look like any airplane that I'd ever seen before in my life, and
the metal that I saw looked...odd. I wasn't sure why, but it was a
slightly bluish silver, which wasn't quite like what I would have
expected, especially since I suddenly realized, that there wasn't a speck
of rust on any of it. None of the exposed metal that I'd seen had been
rusted in the slightest. Dirty and buried yes, but rusted....no. With
that I let out another, "Oh shit," then nervously stepped inside.
The room in front of me was at a slope and I had to be extremely careful
as I slowly started making my way further in, and somewhat down. The
whole floor was covered with dust, dirt and debris, also with bits of fur
and stuff that made me think that a few animals must have found there way
inside at one time or another. I only hoped that there weren't any at
that moment, especially any bears. I shuddered at the thought of
suddenly running across a bear or wolf.
"That's that last thing that I need," I muttered, stopping where I was
and digging through my back pack for my flashlight. Once it was on and
giving me enough light to see by, I felt a lot better and more confident,
but also even more surprised. "Wow," I whispered again in amazement,
glancing around and not recognizing most of what I saw. "This ain't no
plane."
The sides were at an odd angle and there were several different things
that I assumed to be computers, but I couldn't tell for sure because they
looked like they were half made out of bone or something and half made
out of the same silvery blue metal that I'd already seen. I gulped,
fighting the urge to get out and run, but instead I started going further
inside, through a round door in the back and into yet another room.
When I got to the next room, I gulped, seeing some sort of light up ahead
of me. I looked around, even turning my flashlight off to make sure, but
the yellowish glow was still there in the back. Hesitantly I started
going towards it, finding that I had to go through one more round shaped
door, where I found myself in yet a third room. The yellowish light was
coming the far corner. From a glowing sphere that looked sort of like a
crystal ball. It was sitting on some sort of column and seemed to be
partially clamped down.
My eyes widened at the way the sphere was glowing, realizing that I'd
just found something that was more than just a little strange. "Oh
shit," I whispered again, moving closer to it and seeing something more.
There were two bumps on the floor just on the other side of it, both
piled up against the sloped wall. However as weirded out as I already
was, when I got close enough to make out what the bumps were, I was a
thousand times worse.
"Ohmygod," I gasped out in a rush, jumping backwards, my heart racing
faster than it had ever done in my life. "Aliens. I've found some
freakin aliens." I gulped staring at the skeletons which had obviously
not come from any human. I might have thought that they'd come from some
sort of monkey if it hadn't been for the large and elongated shapes of
the skulls, not to mention the fact that they both had two sets of arms
coming from the each shoulder. "Aliens."
For several minutes I just stood where I was, staring at the skeletons in
disbelief. Thoughts of amazement and confusion filled my mind, as well
as thoughts about how I was rich. Or at least how I'd be rich once I
showed these things to the newspapers. But then I realized something
else. My folks would probably get the money, not me. And worse, the
government would probably take the whole thing away. I gulped, glancing
around, nervous of being discovered. Fortunately though I was still
alone. Alone with two dead aliens and the freakiest glowing ball that
I'd ever set eyes on.
Finally I decided that I could probably keep the flying saucer I'd found
hidden. All I'd need was something to prove that I was telling the
truth. Grabbing one of the bones from the aliens came to mind, but I
quickly discounted that, instead looking at the sphere. That would do
it, I figured.
"Here goes nothing," I muttered as I nervously reached out to touch the
sphere. The hair on my arms stood straight up, and then, as soon as I
touched it, I felt shock run through my body, making every hair on my
body stand out. But at the same time, it didn't hurt. It just felt
pretty damn weird. "All right," I told myself, "it's not going to hurt
you." Then as an afterthought, I added, "Unless it's radioactive."
I didn't like that thought so ignored it, focusing instead on trying to
get the sphere off of the column. After holding onto the sphere for
several minutes, feeling kind of warm and tingly while I did so, I
managed to get it loose from the clamps that was holding it in. The
sphere popped loose into my hands and I stood there, holding it out
triumphantly, proud of my own success. I was grinning to myself and
didn't even notice it at first. The strange yellowish light that started
to pour out from the column.
"Oh God," I muttered nervously. "What did I do?"
Standing where I was with the sphere clutched firmly in my hands, I
stared at the light and the glowing yellow mist that came out of the
column, filling the room I was in. I was too terrified to move, positive
that at any minute something was going to blow up and kill me or that I'd
be poisoned. However neither happened. The room just continued to fill
with the mist for another minute, while the column continued to glow.
My whole body felt tingly and warm, making me even more afraid that I was
going to suddenly keel over dead. God, I felt strange.
After a couple minutes, the mist faded away and the column stopped
glowing. I stared at it still, using the light from both my flashlight
and the sphere. Nothing had happened to me, but that didn't change the
fact that I hadn't been able to move once that had started up. And it
hadn't been because of my incredible curiosity either. I'd been
terrified. Too terrified to move. I patted myself, seeing that nothing
harmful seemed to have happened, but that didn't really make me feel any
better.
"Just great," I told myself, gulping and then putting the sphere into my
back pack. I noticed absently that while it was still glowing, it wasn't
nearly as strong as before. Maybe that stuff from the column had been
powering it or something. I didn't know, but I did know that it would
make great proof of what I'd found, when I was ready to show it to
someone that was.
With that I took a deep breath, then hurried out of the wreckage, letting
out a sigh of relief once I was back into the fresh air. I gave it one
more nervous glance, then looked up at the sun, realizing that I'd spent
a lot more time away than I'd planned. And then I started hurrying back
to the cabin as quickly as I could.
When I'd returned to the cabin, the sun had just set and as soon as I
stepped inside my mom immediately demanded, "Where the hell were you?" I
winced, knowing from the smell on her breath that she was already drunk.
"Well?"
"I was just out back building a tree house," I told her in my most
innocent voice. "You told me that there'd be no problem, don't you
remember?"
Mom looked confused at that and I just smiled to myself and went to get
myself something to eat. Sometimes I thought to myself with some
amusement, having a drunk mom could be fun. However while I was eating,
it didn't take me long to notice that dad wasn't back yet either. I
frowned at that, not in the least surprised.
"Several more days of hell," I muttered, patting my back pack
protectively and knowing that I was going to have to keep my discovery
well hidden for now. But still I grinned to myself, barely able wait to
show Ed.
--------------------
After my weekend in hell was over, I was more than happy to finally get
back to school. Being back in the classroom and with all my friends was
definitely preferable to spending time with my folks. Even with all the
tests and teachers, I'd rather be at school than home.
Shortly after second period, I finally got together with Ed. "Man," I
told him in an excited whisper, "you won't believe what happened to me."
Ed chuckled. "I take it that things went a little better than you
expected. What happened, did you get laid?"
I grinned at that. "I wish." Then I frowned. "My dad got laid though.
But my mom didn't." Ed groaned at that. "Most of the weekend was about
what I expected. It sucked big time."
"So..." Ed asked.
"I did have one thing happen, that you wouldn't believe. I can't tell
you here," I told him quietly. "I've got something that I've really
gotta show you after school. I mean, you won't believe it otherwise."
Ed looked at me oddly. "You're serious?" I nodded. "Now you've got me
curious."
With that Ed and I grinned at each other, both of us knowing that we'd
meet together at his house to talk about what had happened. I couldn't
wait to let someone in on what had happened to me.
The rest of the school day went by pretty quickly. And pretty much just
like normal. Shelly Elbrook, the cheerleader that I'd had a crush on,
completely ignored me. John McCormick threatened to push me through a
wall if I looked at him again, and Mrs. Hendrickson, my English teacher,
ordered me into detention just because I disrupted her class a little
with a few comments. It's not like it was really my fault. She was the
one who'd set herself up by saying things before thinking them through.
I couldn't resist. Especially after she made a comment about us paying
as much attention as a buncha statues. I mean, how could I resist
comparing her to Medusa?
After school had finally ended for the day, not to mention my detention
as well, I returned home, dodged around my folks and grabbed my back
pack, with the sphere still in it, then rushing off to Ed's house. I
grinned to myself the whole way, barely able to contain my excitement as
I thought about telling him.
When I got to Ed's house, his mom let me in and I rushed up to his room.
"Hey Eddie boy..." I called out when I burst in, grinning broadly, "Howya
doin?"
Ed sat up from his bed and grinned. "So man, what was so important?"
I held up my back pack, patting it proudly. "Simon says, sit down." Ed
looked at me oddly, but sat back down on his bed. "You're gonna need to
be sitting for this."
"What's going on?" Ed asked, beginning to sound annoyed.
"Well..." I said slowly, still grinning, "I went out hiking and...." As
I told Ed the story, his eyes widened a little, though he looked a little
more incredulous than surprised. Obviously he thought I was joking,
which didn't surprise me too much since I have been known to play a joke
every now and then.
"You don't expect me to buy that, do you?" he asked me.
Sighing I said, "I guess this is what happens from crying wolf." Then I
unzipped my back pack, making a show of doing it slowly. "Of course
that's why I brought proof." Then with that, I pulled the glowing yellow
sphere from outside of my pack, feeling all the hairs on my arm standing
up slightly while touching it. "I found this on the UFO."
Ed just stared at it for a moment, his eyes wide with amazement. "I
don't believe it," he said quietly. "Maybe it's some sort of night-
light. Battery and a light bulb."
"No openings or seams," I pointed out, slowly rotating the ball around so
that he could see.
"Chemical then," He muttered. "Like some of those fish."
I shrugged at that. "I ain't got a clue how it glows or why. I only
know where I found it and that it's definitely weird. I mean," I
shuddered slightly, "you shoulda seen that place. Those skeletons..."
Still not looking completely convinced, but coming closer to it, Ed
hesitantly asked, "Can I hold it?"
"Sure," I told him, handing it over.
However as soon as Ed's fingers touched the sphere, I felt the static
shock hit me and then I was suddenly unbelievably dizzy. Everything
suddenly went blurry and weird, leaving me more than a little confused.
Then just as suddenly, everything cleared up and I found myself looking
at a tall thin kid with dark brown hair instead of Ed.
"What the hell?" I asked, yanking my hand back away from the glowing
sphere and staring at the guy across from me in shock. Then I recognized
him. It was me. The same face I saw every time I looked in the mirror.
"Ohmygod," I gasped out in a rush, looking down at myself and seeing that
I was shorter than before and a lot heavier built. I was inside Ed's
body.
My own face took on a look of confusion and dropped the sphere onto the
floor. "Holy shit!" I heard my voice exclaim. "I'm....I'm...."
"You're me," I gasped. "And I'm you." I stared at Ed in complete
surprise, then looked down at the sphere which was laying on the floor.
"I can't believe it."
"Well...." Ed said weakly, "I believe. I definitely believe."
I stood up, wincing at how heavy I felt compared to normal. Then I
slowly patted myself down, still trying to make some sense of it. Ed was
doing the same with my body, patting it down as if to try proving that it
was indeed real.
"How.....how did this happen?" Ed asked, his eyes wide as he stared at
me. for a moment I thought that I could see traces of panic in them.
I shrugged at that. "How the hell should I know? I just found the damn
thing." Then my eyes went back to the sphere. I stared at it for a few
moments, trying to stay calm and think about it. Then I realized,
"Nothing happened until we both touched it. Maybe if we both touch it
again....."
"Worth a try," Ed agreed.
But even though we'd both agreed, it took us a couple moments before we
bent over to touch the sphere again. I took a deep breath, then grabbed
hold if it with no effect. Ed on the other hand hesitated for a second,
then after giving me a nervous look, he touched it as well. Almost
immediately I felt a static shock, as well as a wave of dizziness and
confusion. When it had all passed, I found myself once more looking into
Ed's face.
"It worked," I said, half surprised. Then as I stared at the glowing
sphere, I slowly started to grin. "It works." Ed gave me a weak smile
and I just laughed. "It works!"
"Cool," was all that Ed said, still looking as if he was trying to make
some sense of it all.
I just stared at the sphere with a grin on my face, deciding that I could
probably have some real fun with that thing. Chuckling wickedly, I
thought that if it would keep working that way, then I could have some
real fun indeed.
The next day at school, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened
the night before with the sphere. I was burning with curiosity, not only
to know if it would work again but with people other than Ed as well as
what it would be like to be someone else. And not just for two minutes
either.
When school had finished for the day, I told Ed, "Do you wanna come on
over to my house for awhile. My dad's gonna be working late..." I
sneered slightly at that. "I wanted to try that sphere out again."
"I don't know," Ed told me nervously. "I mean, what if we get stuck?"
I shrugged, refusing to worry about it. "Relax," I told him. "We
won't." Ed didn't seem particularly convinced of that, but he agreed to
come over anyway.
A couple hours later, Ed and I were in my bedroom, huddled over the
sphere. I grinned as I stared at it, rubbing my hands together absently
and thinking about just what I had on my hands. Screw telling people
about it, I thought to myself. Why would I want to take the chance of
someone stealing the thing from me, especially now that I knew what it
could do. I only had to prove to myself that it still worked.
"I don't know about this," Ed muttered, repeating the words that he'd
told me earlier. "Are you sure that it will even work again?"
Shaking my head, I assured him, "Sure it will. It has to."
Then I grinned and put my hand onto the sphere, inviting Ed to do the
same. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out to touch it. As soon
as his fingers touched the sphere, I felt the zap and a moment later we'd
swapped bodies again.
"Cool," I said, standing up and gently patting my stomach, trying to get
used to the extra bulk that I'd suddenly gained.
Ed patted his as well, obviously noting what it was like to suddenly lose
the extra bulk. "Cool," he echoed. "You know..." Ed said, looking down
on me slightly and grinning, "I think I like being tall."
"Well..." I mumbled, patting my stomach. "No offense, but I don't think
that I really like the spare tire."
Ed just shrugged at that. "So, are we going to change back now?"
"No way," I grinned back. "I wanna see if we can stay like this for a
little longer or if it wears off or something." Ed looked a little
unsure of that, but he reluctantly nodded agreement.
For the next couple hours, Ed and I just stayed in my room, bullshitting
and playing my Nintendo 64. It was kind of strange, I mean sitting next
to him and seeing myself. Definitely weird. Even weirder when my mom
came in and told me, "You'll have to be leaving in awhile Edwin." I
smirked slightly at that and then Ed and I started laughing when my mom
had left.
When it was finally time for Ed to go home, he said, "I guess we'd better
change back now."
I looked over at Ed and then the sphere, thinking about it as I did so.
"But this is kinda cool," I told him, feeling a little reluctant. Then I
suggested "Why don't we stay as each other for the night? We can trade
back tomorrow."
"I don't know," Ed said reluctantly, but I could tell from the look on
his face, or was that mine, that he was definitely thinking about it.
It took me less than a minute to finish talking him into it.
"Well," I told him with a grin, "I guess I'll see you in school
tomorrow.....Simon."
Ed laughed at that. "Later...Edwin."
Then with that, we both chuckled and I left my room, going past my mom
who was sitting on the couch sipping something from a bottle while dad
watched the news on TV and ignored her, and me as I walked past.
When I got to Ed's house, his mom greeted me with a cheerful, "Hi Edwin.
How was your day?" I stared at her for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"Pretty good," I told her. "A little strange though." She looked at me
oddly for a moment, then asked what I meant. "Oh, nothing much," I
grinned. "I just don't feel much like myself at the moment." And with
that I chuckled and hurried up to Ed's room, even pausing long enough for
a quick "Hello" to Ed's dad.
I felt pretty odd when I got ready for bed. I mean, I was a couple
inches shorter than normal and probably 25 pounds heavier as well.
Having to wear Ed's underwear wasn't my idea of something fun to do
either, but at least I didn't use his tooth brush, preferring instead to
not even bother brushing my teeth.
When I woke up the next morning, I rolled over and slapped the alarm,
feeling rather confused at the same time. For one, I definitely felt
wrong. I opened my eyes groggily and looked around, immediately
recognizing that I wasn't in my own room, but it took me several seconds
before I remembered what had happened.
"Oh man," I groaned to myself, finding it a little harder than usual to
wake all the way up. I kept wanting to crawl back into bed. I'd never
had such a hard time in the morning. "Man," I mumbled, grabbing my new
gut in my hands, "this is not fun." Then shaking my head, I went about
taking a shower, figuring that Ed wouldn't be happy if I showed up to
school stinky.
When I went into the dining room, I was half shocked to see Ed's mom wide
awake, sipping at a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. My mom
never woke up before noon if she could help it. Ed's mom looked up at me
and smiled, actually looking pleased to see me. I suddenly felt
uncomfortable, as if I was where I didn't belong.
"Good morning sweetheart," she greeted me, getting up and going to the
kitchen cupboard. A minute later, she was back with a bowl and a box of
cereal. "Did you sleep well?"
"Fine," I told her, smiling in spite of myself. It was strange to
actually have a mother worrying about me, even if she was someone else's.
For some reason, having Ed's mom around and talking cheerfully while I
ate and then went about getting ready for school put me into a good mood.
It was quite a difference from my own mornings and I decided that I liked
it. But sadly, I thought about my own folks and knew that my own family
would never be like Ed's. At least he actually had a real family.
When it was about time to go, I returned to Ed's room to pick up his
books. Without really thinking about it, I reached under his bed and
grabbed the book bag that was underneath there. Once I had that in hand,
I started back out the room, stopping suddenly as I glanced down at the
book bag and wondered how I'd known where to find it.
"That's weird," I muttered, shrugging it off and then leaving for school.
"Later mom," I called out to Ed's mom when I went past.
"Have a good day in school sweetheart," she called back as I went out the
door.
Once I got to school and sitting in my first period, or actually Ed's
first period, I noticed something else. Ed had been taking a math class
that was a little more advanced than mine, but much to my surprise, I was
actually able to follow along with the lessons. And I didn't know
anything about math.
After the teacher, Mr. Bellmont, passed out the results of the test that
had been taken the day before, I looked at Ed's results and was startled
to see that he got an A. Since he was usually a B and C student like
myself, I guessed that he'd probably be pretty proud of it.
"Good job Edwin," one girl sitting next to me said cheerfully, bent over
and looking at my paper.
I looked at the girl for a moment, never really having seen her before
except in passing through the halls, but I suddenly knew that her name
was Ashley Morris. Ashley brushed a hand through her frazzled reddish
hair and I smiled weakly, just as suddenly also knowing that Ed had a
major crush on her. I could remember sitting in my room and staring at
her picture, which was extremely odd since not only did I not have a
picture of her, but I'd never met her. Then it dawned on me. That was
Ed's memory.
"Thanks," I answered quietly, feeling my heart beating a little faster in
her presence and thinking, 'Oh shit.' Somehow I actually felt attracted
to her. As if I was the one with the crush on her. Ashley grinned back
and then we both returned our attention to the teacher. Or at least I
pretended to return my attention to him. I was actually too busy
thinking about what the latest discovery.
The next time I saw Ed in the halls, I almost didn't recognize him, not
being quite used to looking for myself. I rushed over to him and asked,
"What's up?"
"Not much," Ed answered, grinning slightly. "But it is kinda weird. But
kinda neat at the same time."
"Definitely," I agreed wholeheartedly. "But I've noticed something else
that's kinda weird." I paused for a moment, wondering how to say it.
"Well, I've been remembering things that never happened to me. Some of
your memories and stuff." Ed's eyes widened at that. "Not much, and
only if I really concentrate on it," I told him, "But I've also
recognized people that you know but I never met. You know, knowing their
names and stuff."
"Common..." Ed said uncomfortably. "You're kidding, right."
I shook my head. "Nope." Then I told him about what happened with
Ashley.
Once I was finished, Ed whispered, "Jesus..."
"Have you had anything like that happen to you?" I asked him.
He shook his head, then after a moments thought, admitted that there
might have been something a little like that during one of the classes
though he wasn't sure. "And I don't really remember anything that you
did either," he told me, concentrating hard to see if he could. After a
moment, he shook his head. "I think I've got a little bit, but it's
really weak."
Closing my own eyes and concentrating, I found it relatively easy to pull
up a few of Ed's memories, though I did have to focus on exactly what I
wanted. "I wonder why I can do it then." Ed shrugged, admitting that he
didn't have a clue either. "Well," I glanced down at the watch on my
wrist, "I guess we'd better get to class. We can talk about this again
later."
"All right," Ed agreed quickly. Then after a quick "Seeya" from each of
us, we started for our next classes.
During the rest of the school day, I continued to know things and people
that I shouldn't. Things that Ed did. It was strange, but at the same
time very exciting. It even got easier and easier for me to pretend to
be Ed and once or twice I even caught myself thinking of HIM as Simon.
However when I asked him about the memory thing again later, he told me
that though he was able to pick up a lot of things that he didn't really
know, especially about who people were, he still wasn't able to get any
actual memories.
After school, I talked with Ed for a few more minutes then climbed onto
his bus for a ride back to his house. And the same time I was already
planning on going back to my own house a short while afterwards so that
we could switch back. I smiled faintly at the idea, still hardly able to
believe that I'd spent the last day as my best friend. It seemed so...
impossible.
When I got back to Ed's house, I was wasn't even surprised to find that
the dinner table was already set and ready to go. I'd instinctively
known that it would be, gained not only from my longtime friendship with
Ed but from his memories as well.
"How was school dear?" Ed's mom greeted me cheerfully, making me smile
and immediately feel better.
"Pretty good," I answered, sitting down and sniffing deeply as she
started setting the food on the table. "Boy this looks good." I smiled
even more, feeling a lot hungrier than I normally was.
Then Ed's dad walked into the room, looking a little tired from his day
at work but still in a bit of a good mood. "Looks good honey," he told
Ed's mom, giving her a kiss before sitting down himself. I just sighed,
wishing that my own family could behave like that sometimes. I was
beginning to envy Ed his family.
Dinner was over before I knew it, and after helping clean up a little, I
rushed out to go back to my own house. When I got there, Ed didn't seem
to be nearly as happy as I was about dinner, but that wasn't any real
surprise considering my mom's cooking talents. And not long after that,
we were both back in our own bodies and thinking about our experience.
--------------------
Over the next several days, Ed and I didn't use the sphere anymore, but
neither of us could stop thinking about it, especially me. I'd pull the
sphere out and set it on the foot of my bed, staring it for hours.
Rubbing it for hours. I couldn't get it out of my mind. What I could do
with it. Who I might be able to become.
Slowly I started to burn with an even greater curiosity about what it
would be like to become someone else. Someone who wasn't my best friend
and so much like me. Sure, I wouldn't mind trading with Ed again, but I
wanted to see what it was like to be someone completely different. Like
one of those jocks who ran around the school and got all the girls.
Hell, I even wondered once or twice what it might be like to be one of
those girls.
Ed and I were talking about the sphere one day before school and I
finally brought up the subject. "I think that we should tell someone
else about the sphere." I paused, frowning as I did so. I didn't like
the idea of telling anyone else about it. Of sharing my discovery of the
flying saucer and the body swapping ball. It went against every paranoid
fantasy that I had, but still....my curiosity was beginning to pull on
me. "We should get someone else swap with too."
For a moment after I'd suggested this, Ed looked thoughtful, then he
finally answered. "I was thinking the same thing." He looked
embarrassed at this, then continued. "Being you is all right, but what's
the point of having the sphere if we can't use it. I mean, I wanna
become popular." Ed stared at me, surprising me with the intensity of
his gaze. At the almost hungry look in his eyes.
"Do you have any suggestions?" I asked hesitantly. "Someone we can
trust?"
"Well...." Ed said slowly. "I've had a couple people in mind but I
really don't think that most of them would be much fun." I looked at Ed
and nodded understandingly. In other words, they'd be guys just like us.
The guys that didn't quite fit into any of the cliques. The guys who
were the average students that actually made up the main population of
the school but might as well have been invisible. "And..." Ed paused,
frowning and looking extremely embarrassed, "There is one that's a little
different. That might be interesting."
I stared at Ed impatiently. "Well?" I demanded. "Who? And can we get
him to even try it?"
Ed continued to look embarrassed for a moment and then coughed.
"Actually, I think it shouldn't be too difficult to talk her into trying
it."
It took me a moment to realize what Ed had said. "HER?"
Shaking his head, Ed forced a weak smile. "Yeah, but I think I can
convince her, and...." He frowned for a moment. "I thought it might be
interesting to be a girl. OfcourseI'dratherbeajock," he spurted out in a
rush.
"Who?" I demanded again, really wondering if this was a good idea.
Taking a deep breath, Ed spurted out, "Nancy Clark."
"Nancy Clark," I repeated. "You're kidding." I frowned. Nancy Clark
was probably the smartest kid in the entire school, and probably more so
than some of the teachers, but she was also nicknamed Queen of the Nerds.
However she did have one other thing in her favor. She and Ed were
friends, though nowhere near as close as I was with him.
Ed nodded. "I'm in fifth period with her so I can ask her to come over
to my house then." He paused for a moment. "Maybe she'll have some
ideas about how we can get some others to try it with." I nodded
agreement, then Ed and I went our separate ways.
--------------------
After school, I immediately left home and started for Ed's house, my back
pack firmly clenched in my hand, filled with my most priceless treasure.
The sphere. The whole way over to Ed's house I couldn't stop wondering
if we were making a mistake.
As soon as I got to Ed's house, I said a quick hello to his mom and then
went to his room, freezing as soon as I opened the door and saw that he
wasn't alone. There was a thin girl with shoulder length dark brown
straight hair. She wore a thick pair of glasses and had a somewhat pasty
reflection, not to mention a flat chest. It was Nancy Clark, Queen of
the Nerds.
"Um...hi," I said, stepping inside and closing the door behind me.
Nancy looked up and stared at me thoughtfully and then looked at Ed.
"So, what's going on?" She looked back at me. "Edwin said that there
was some sort of phenomenon that he needed my opinion on." The tone of
her voice was sort of curious but impatient as well.
I snorted, taking my time as I pulled my back pack off and moved closer
to her and Ed. "You didn't tell her?" I asked him. He looked
embarrassed and then shook his head.
"Well?" she demanded, probably wondering if this was some sort of prank.
I guess that wasn't too surprising considering my reputation as a class
clown.
"You invited her," I told Ed, though I also slowly started unzipping my
back pack. "You start."
"Simon found something...." Then Ed paused, turning and looking at me.
"It'll probably be easier to show her."
"Guess you're right," I admitted, pulling the sphere out of my pack.
Nancy's eyes were immediately locked on it. "This," I said proudly, "is
the phenomenon that Ed mentioned." I careful set the sphere down on the
edge of the bed in front of Nancy and making sure that she didn't touch
while I still was.
Nancy picked up the sphere and studied it with an intense look of
curiosity. "Interesting. What is it?"
"It was your idea," I reminded Ed. He nodded and then reached out and
touched the sphere while Nancy was still holding it.
The blank looks that appeared on Nancy's and Ed's faces were almost
amusing to watch, and then Ed's face looked confused instead. I looked
at Nancy, really Ed in her body and smirked.
"So, what's it like?" I asked.
Ed frowned and patted at his chest with an odd look on his face that I
couldn't tell if it was curiosity or disgust. "Kind of weird," he
admitted.
Then I looked at Nancy, who was staring at herself and Ed in shock.
"This is impossible," she exclaimed, obviously nervous but trying to
remain rational.
"Nope," I told her with a grin. "You and Ed swapped bodies." She looked
at me with a bit of fear in her eyes and I quickly added, "But you can
swap back without any problems. We just wanted to prove to you that this
was real and if we told you first, you woulda thought we were crazy."
Nancy seemed to think about that for a moment, then she nodded. "I see
your point." She frowned, still looking a little uncomfortable. "What
is this thing?"
I smiled at that. "I found it." I didn't bother telling her where,
deciding that she didn't need to know that. I mean, I couldn't help but
thinking that if she knew that it came from a freaking UFO, then she
might go and try to find the damn thing. I wasn't about to let anyone
know where it was at yet. That was my secret.
Ed looked at me for a moment, then nodded faintly, apparently realizing
what I was up to. "Sorry to catch you like that," Ed told Nancy, looking
just a little uncomfortable.
She nodded back faintly, then asked, "So why are you showing me this?
Why did you do this with me?"
I took a deep breath, then told Nancy about how Ed and I had discovered
its powers as well as had spend a day as each other. Then I blushed
badly, admitting, "And we wanted to see what it was like to be other
people. You were the only one that we thought we could get over to try
it who might be the least bit interesting."
"So you're perverts," she sneered.
"Actually," I told her, beginning to feel a little offended, "I rather
would have had a football player or something, but we aren't exactly
friends with any. It's not like we really had a lot of choice."
Nancy didn't say anything more about that though she did ask a few more
questions about what we knew of it. I still didn't bother telling her
anything about where I'd found it and neither did Ed.
Then finally Nancy smiled. "I do have to admit," she said slowly, "this
is interesting. I've always been curious about what it would be like to
be male."
"Pervert," I said with a grin. She grinned back so I knew that we were
all right.
For nearly an hour we just stayed in the room talking, none of us
suggesting that they trade back just yet. It was obvious from Nancy's
reactions that she was beginning to get curious as well. Then finally
she nervously suggested to Ed, "Why don't we stay like this for a day.
Just like you and Simon did?" With very little hesitation, Ed agreed,
looking almost relieved as he did so and making me wonder if he had been
about to suggest the same thing.
We talked for a little while longer before I picked up the sphere and
slipped it back into my pack, grinning at my friends and then leaving
with Ed coming right behind me. It felt rather odd thinking of the
skinny girl as Ed, but of course I guessed that it had to be even
stranger for him. Then Ed and I said goodbye and I went back to my house
while he went to Nancy's, wherever that was.
--------------------
The next day at school, I saw Nancy several times, both looking and
acting like Ed. At first I just avoided her, but since Ed and I sat next
to each other in one of our classes I couldn't avoid her any longer.
"So..." I finally asked quietly. "What do you think?"
Nancy grinned, giving me the same crooked grin that Ed always did. "It's
pretty cool man." I frowned at that slightly, thinking that she
definitely sounded more like Ed than she did Nancy. "I mean, whenever I
really think about it, I know things that I shouldn't. Like I've got HIS
memories."
"You too," I muttered to myself. "Interesting."
"Yep," she nodded. "Pretty weird too. I mean, I feel like you really
are my best friend. As if I'd known you all my life." She frowned at
that, looking thoughtful. "It's kind of confusing and scary, but pretty
neat."
I stared at her for a moment, remembering my own time as Ed. Then
beginning to grin, I asked, "And what about Ashley?"
Nancy suddenly blushed brightly, looking extremely embarrassed. My eyes
widened at the sight and I started to chuckle. "What about Ashley?" she
asked, pretending as if she had no interest, but I could see that it was
obviously otherwise. Some of Ed's emotions had obviously carried over to
her, just like they had to me.
"Must be strange for you," I told her. She just continued to blush,
nodding agreement but not saying anything more about it.
For the rest of that class and every other time I saw Nancy at school, I
just pretended that she really was Ed. Surprisingly it was easier than I
would have thought. But then again, she was acting like Ed, not like the
brainiac nerd girl that she usually was.
However the real surprise for me was when I finally ran into Ed towards
the end of the day. When I saw him in the hallway between classes,
looking for all the world like the Queen of the Nerds, I just had to go
talk to him.
"So..." I asked him, repeating the question that I'd asked Nancy herself
earlier. "What's it like?"
He gave me an almost arrogant look which surprised me, then answered.
"Unusual to say the least." Then he smiled faintly before continuing,
"I've been able to keep up perfectly well in all of my classes in spite
of the fact that most of them are more advanced than any that I'd taken
before." Ed looked smug as he finished, "Even calculus wasn't much of a
challenge."
"All right," I said slowly, not sure that I liked the way Ed was acting.
Then his expression suddenly changed and he grinned a lot more like the
Ed that I knew.
"It's pretty weird man," Ed told me with a grin. "I mean, I've even got
her memories, just like how you told me. And it's sort of like I've got
this Nancy mask inside of me. I just slip it on and poof, I'm her."
Ed and I talked for a few more minutes before I rushed to my final class,
actually feeling a little envious of him. I mean, I didn't want to be a
girl or anything, much less a nerdette, but still, he was getting to
experience something completely new. I knew that I'd be able to get my
turn and that helped a little, but at the moment I still felt a little
jealous.
--------------------
After school, we all met at Ed's house again. We sat in his bedroom,
staring at each other for awhile before I finally unzipped my back pack
and pulled the sphere back out. I was a little amused at the light that
seemed to flash in Ed and Nancy's eyes.
"Here we go," I told them, setting the sphere down and carefully pulling
my hand back.
Nancy and Ed both touched the sphere and a moment later she patted at
herself and let out a sigh. "That was definitely interesting, but I'm
kind of glad to be me again."
"I know what you mean," Ed said with a grin.
Then with that, Ed and Nancy both started talking about what they'd done
as each other, though they quickly found out that they didn't have to
bother. They could each 'remember' on their own, just like they could in
each other's bodies. I guess that would certainly help them to keep
track of what they were supposed to have done earlier.
About an hour after they'd changed back to normal, Nancy admitted,
"I...I'd like to try that again sometime." Then she had an almost dreamy
look on her face which I wouldn't have expected. "But I'd like to be
someone else. I've always wondered what it would be like to be....
popular." She started blushing, looking embarrassed. "To be pretty for
a change. Maybe even a cheerleader."
"I know what you mean," I agreed quietly. "I've always wanted to be
popular too. I think just about everyone does," Then smiling slightly, I
added, "At least with this sphere there might actually be a chance of
getting to see what it's like."
Ed added tiredly, "If we could find someone popular who'd be willing to
trade with us that is."
"Who said that they had to be willing?" Nancy asked with an almost evil
grin.
"No," I told her firmly, glaring at Ed as well. "We can't go around
stealing peoples bodies. Besides..." I smiled weakly, "I don't want a
lot of people to find out about the sphere. I want to keep it a secret.
Just a few of us."
The others nodded agreement then Ed chuckled, "So, we're a secret club
now, huh?"
"I guess," I chuckled back.
Nancy just shook her head, then she started to look thoughtful.
"Actually..." she mused aloud, "I think I know where we can get another
person to try this with." Then she actually began to grin. "Someone
that just might be interesting."
"Who?" Ed and I both asked at once.
Still grinning, Nancy said, "I tutor Sam Jordan twice a week." We both
stared at her with our mouths open. Sam was the star football player and
one of the most popular guys in school. Nancy nodded at our expressions.
"Yes. I can talk to him tomorrow night. Since he might be difficult to
convince, the best course of action may be somewhat similar to what you
did with me."
After we'd all agreed to at least try it, Nancy and I both started
getting our things together, about to leave and go home. I went over and
picked the sphere back up, feeling a little disappointment that I still
didn't get to try it again and it was my sphere. But then Nancy
surprised me by putting a hand on my shoulder and looking at the sphere
with an almost questioning look in her eyes. I nodded, holding it out
while Nancy touched it.
I immediately felt the static shock and the confused dizziness. When it
cleared up, I was staring up into my own face. "Wow," I muttered to
myself, stepping back and looking down at myself, seeing the slight
swellings of Nancy's small breasts. It was everything I could do just to
keep myself from grabbing my new tits or my crotch.
"I'm so....tall," Nancy whispered.
Grinning I glanced down at the cheap looking watch on my wrist and then
back at Ed and Nancy. I felt rather short, even having to look up a
little to see Ed. And the thick glasses resting on my nose weren't all
that normal for me either, but then again not much about me was at the
moment. I could scarcely believe that I'd actually turned into a girl,
even if it was only Nancy.
"We'll have to change back before your tutoring session with Sam," I
pointed out. Nancy nodded back. "Well then," I said, nodding faintly to
Nancy and then Ed, "I suppose that I'd better be going." Then with that,
I picked up Nancy's jacket and started for home.
After leaving Ed's house, I concentrated on Nancy's memories. I felt
them in the back of my mind, just waiting for me to use them, just like
with Ed.. It wasn't quite as easy as using my own memories, but then I
remembered what Ed had told me about having a 'Nancy mask' inside of him.
Now I had that mask.
"Cool," I muttered to myself, mentally slipping that mask on. I
immediately felt a difference though I couldn't put my finger on exactly
what it was. But with a shrug, I started walking towards where I
instinctively knew Nancy's house to be.
The walk seemed to take a lot longer than I would have expected, but then
again I did have shorter legs. And at the same time, while walking I
felt....nervous. Unsure. It was like I half expected someone to jump
out from behind nearly every tree, though fortunately nothing happened.
When I was in Nancy's house and safe in her bedroom, I finally let out a
sigh of relief, then sat down in the chair by her desk. For several
minutes I just sat there, then I noticed the school books piled up on it.
Without really thinking about it, I reached for the first book and
started on the homework assignment, surprised that I not only knew what
it was but how to do it as well. I could barely do algebra normally but
there I was, going through and actually doing calculus problems.
After I was finished with all the homework, which was amazingly easy, I
finally took a break. Standing away from the desk, I stared at it,
hardly able to believe that I'd gotten so caught up in doing homework.
Shaking my head, I decided to check out what had really been making me
curious earlier. Even if it didn't seem to be doing so anymore.
"The mask," I said aloud, realizing that I'd still had Nancy's memories
and personality loaded on top of my mind. With that I pulled the mental
mask away and suddenly felt different again. My whole perspective of
everything had changed back to normal, or at least mostly so. "Holy
shit," I muttered. That was a LOT different from when I was Ed.
Sighing I turned away from the desk and made sure that the door was
locked and then began to undress. I felt real embarrassed as I started
taking off all of Nancy's clothes, but then I reminded myself that she
was probably doing the same thing with my body. That didn't really make
me feel any better. I was still invading her privacy in a way that I'd
never imagined that it could be invaded. But that didn't stop me from
continuing.
Once I was entirely naked, I stared at myself in the small mirror that
I'd found on Nancy's dresser. Her figure wasn't much better without the
clothes on. Hell, I figured that I might as well still have been a boy.
My tits were so small that they could barely be qualified as being such
and I didn't have many other curves to compensate either. Nancy was
definitely not a looker, so I wasn't quite as excited as I would have
imagined being. I wasn't even able to get too excited about the change
between my legs.
I shrugged at that, feeling a little disappointed. Sure, it was
interesting being Nancy and different, but it wasn't really all that
exciting. Since my curiosity had been satisfied for the moment and I
still wanted to see what she was really like, I slipped the 'Nancy mask'
back on and went about her normal routine for the night.
--------------------
The next morning at school was more than just a little strange. I felt
an odd mixture of self-consciousness and smugness as I walked through the
halls. It was immediately obvious that most of the students seemed to
either ignore me or treated me as if I was some kind of social leper. I
was used to being ignored, but now people, especially girls, were cruel
and vicious. I just stuck my nose up, reminding myself that they were
just jealous of my intelligence. That most of them weren't going to have
any kind of future, but I was. Then I caught myself, realizing that
these weren't my opinions, they were Nancy's.
"Fascinating," I muttered to myself once I realized just how thoroughly
I'd allowed Nancy's personality to cover my own. I could bring my own to
the surface easily, but I didn't, not wanting to do anything that might
make people suspect.
For most of the school day I continued acting just like Nancy, finding
that it was relatively easy. I found that I resented the jocks and
popular students even more than usual, while at the same time feeling
more comfortable around the 'nerds'. Hell, they all treated me with
respect, which made me smile to myself and feel smug. It was no wonder
that Nancy was called Queen of the Nerds.
When I got to the class that Nancy shared with Ed, I talked to him for a
minute before class. "This is definitely an interesting experience," I
told him. "And I don't think I'd even mind doing it again sometime. But
I am very eager to experience even other peoples lives."
That much was more than just a little true. Throughout the day I'd
learned a lot more about Nancy and the rest of the nerds and geeks than
I'd ever imagined that I could. They weren't all Star Trek freaks or
anything, and in spite of how everyone viewed them, I decided that I
liked them. Or at least most of them. I wasn't sure how much of that
was my like and how much was Nancy's, but I didn't question it too
closely. What mattered was that I'd seen things from a whole different
perspective and was hungry for more. A lot more.
Then, just before the last class of the day, I ran into the real Nancy in
the hall way. We stepped out of the main hall and stood where we could
talk without really being heard.
Nancy smiled at me, then asked, "So, what's it like? How do you like
being a girl?"
"It's....interesting," I admitted. "Definitely interesting."
She nodded at that, then hesitantly asked, "Are you using my memories and
stuff like Ed did?" Once I told her that I was, she frowned. "But I
can't really use any of yours," she told me, sounding almost like she was
whining, which I hated hearing from my body. "I mean, I can handle
people and stuff, but I just can't get all the same kind of stuff that I
could with Ed. He mentioned earlier that he had the same problem. Do
you know why?"
I stared at Nancy for a moment, still wearing my 'Nancy mask' so using
her knowledge as I considered the situation. "Possibly a natural partial
immunity," I admitted with a frown. "Or it could possibly be caused by a
more extreme exposure to the sphere than you two had."
"Oh," she mumbled, looking a little disappointed.
However as I looked at her, another possibility dawned on me. I
shuddered slightly when I remembered all that strange mist and light that
had come out of the column. Maybe that had something to do with it? But
still, I didn't mention that to her.
"Have you been handling everything all right?" I asked her, then dropping
the 'Nancy mask', I asked, "I mean, you haven't wished that we didn't do
this, have you?"
"Oh no," Nancy shook her head. "It's definitely interesting." She
grinned at that. "I just can't wait until we get a few more people into
our....club. Then we can have a little more variety." I nodded back,
deciding that I liked that idea. Not the other people knowing about my
secret, but the variety part.
After we'd said goodbye, I went off to Nancy's last class for the day,
following her routine until I eventually ended up back at Ed's house.
Nancy hadn't shown up yet in my body, so it was just me and Ed, which
made me feel just a tiny bit uncomfortable.
Ed grinned at me. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"Yep," I agreed, glancing down at my watch. "So, where is she?"
For a moment Ed just frowned, then he admitted. "She got detention for
being a smart ass in class." Ed laughed at that for a minute, then
continued. "She was trying hard to be just like you, so she insulted the
teacher and got you a couple days detention." I groaned at that, shaking
my head. "But don't worry," Ed assured me with a grin, "She'll be here
soon."
Ed's prediction proved to be accurate since less than fifteen minutes
later, Nancy had arrived and in my body. She grinned at me then pulled
the sphere out of my back pack. A minute later, we were both back in our
correct bodies. The first thing that I did was pat my crotch, verifying
that it was indeed still there.
Almost immediately afterwards though, Nancy apologized. "Sorry, but I
really must return home for when Sam shows up. Why don't you two come
along and we can introduce him to the sphere there?" Nancy smiled
smugly, looking especially intense when she'd said the word 'introduce'.
Ed and I looked at each other for a moment and then agreed.
--------------------
When Sam showed up at Nancy's house for his t