Reassignment (Part 1)

It was the one day each year everyone dreaded. They went to bed hoping they wouldn’t be among the few selected. Lewis had gone to bed that night without many worries, but the changes to his body were unmistakable once he awoke: He had been reassigned.

Looking at his new body in the mirror, he wondered if the person he had swapped with had tried to get up early to try to avoid being switched. She had rollers in her hair and her makeup was fully done. Reassignment didn’t care if you were awake or asleep, however.

Lewis spent the next hour packing a small bag. He knew representatives from The Company would be arriving soon. When the two men in suits came, they instructed that he wasn’t allowed to bring anything from his former life with him. He left the bag and pulled out a single record, holding it close and begging the two men that he be allowed to keep it. They just shook their heads, pried the record from his hands, and dragged him to the van to be taken to the Reassignment Center.