Relax

“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Beth screamed, “What just happened? How did we switch bodies? How are we going to switch back?”

Derek slouched down a little in his seat and took a deep breath, “Relax. Look, I don’t know how or why this just happened either, but let’s not panic. Maybe whatever caused it will just sort of undo itself in a few minutes or days or whatever. In any case, there’s not much we can really do about this, unless you’re aware of some sort of mind swapping technology that the rest of humanity isn’t. I think I can handle being you for a while.”

“But there’s so much you don’t know about being a woman, let alone being me! I’ll have to give you tips and lessons, and make sure you don’t wreck my life. And you’ll have to tell me about being you too!”

Derek shrugged, “I’m sure you’ll be fine; just don’t stress and you’ve pretty much mastered being me. I’m sure I’ll be fine too, but whatever you want to tell me, feel free. I’ll do my best to listen...”

No Way Back

After using the strange device he had to steal a woman’s body, James ran as fast as he could. Even though he was stumbling in unfamiliar heels, he kept running. Finally, when he made it to a bridge, he threw the device into the river to ensure there would be way to ever swap back to his own body.

He turned back to where he had run from, expecting to see his own body approaching and chasing him. To his surprise, it wasn’t there.

She had to have been angry at him for taking her body, right? She had to be upset about losing such a great body; didn’t she?

James tried to put it out of his mind. Did he really care if she wanted her body back or not? No, he was just glad this body was his now. And, really, now that he had dropped the device in the water, there was nothing she could do about it even if she did want it back.

Worse

When Tim’s girlfriend, Amy, asked if he’d switch bodies with her for a day, he agreed without much fuss. While a little surprised body swapping was even possible, he tried to brush it off and just enjoy his time as a woman. He was a little surprised when he ran into Amy’s best friend, Fiona, to find out that inside Fiona’s body was actually her boyfriend, Greg. As Greg and Tim talked about their surprisingly similar situations of being swapped with their girlfriends, Tim received a text. It was from his girlfriend.

When he looked at it, his jaw dropped.

She had sent him a photo in which Tim saw his own body making out with Greg’s body.

“They couldn’t. I mean, if people find out...” Tim stammered, “Can we ever go back to our own bodies knowing this exists.”

“It’s actually a little funny,” Greg confessed, “But you may be right. We can’t go back. I mean, I’ve actually enjoyed being Fiona, and this is going to be my excuse for not switching back. I guess they enjoy being in our bodies as well.”

“I’ve enjoyed being Amy, but I don’t want to stay as her! I want to be me again! I’ll never be able to go back to my normal life if she shows this to everyone.”

Then he got another text with another picture. Tim screamed. This one was worse...

Maid of Honor

Adam had a tendency to jump into things and then try to find a way to back out. In fact, that’s how he got into this mess in the first place. He had only been dating Maureen for three months before he proposed, then he wanted out. Her maid of honor, Allie, gave him a way. She confessed to him one night that she was a lesbian and secretly in love with Maureen. She further went on that she had a way to swap their bodies, making her to be the one to go through with the wedding while also giving Adam a way out of the upcoming marriage. Now he was in Allie’s body giving the maid of honor speech at his own wedding. He couldn’t believe how much he crying. At first, he thought he was doing so because he realized he was going to be losing his own body for good. But another part of him felt just a little jealous. He wished he was the one getting married. But he could have been -- he should have been -- he would have been -- if he hadn’t swapped bodies to try to get out of it. He was having a hard time processing all of this.

Work (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

When John finally arrived back home, his wife noted that he still had a scowl on his face. She had hoped getting back to work would cheer him up after the Great Shift swapped him into a woman’s body.

“How did it go?” She asked him.

John sighed, “I got a promotion.”

She was confused. That didn’t seem like anything to be upset about. John picked up on her confusion and continued, “I never knew what a jerk my boss was. I think he only gave me the promotion because of my new body. The way he looked at me all day was really awkward. It got worse when he grabbed my ass. He claimed it was an ‘accident,’ but it really didn’t feel like an accident...”

John’s wife was unsure of how to take any of this. In some ways, her husband was learning about the type of stuff so many women in the workplace had felt before. She figured it was a good lesson for him in some ways. At the same time, she didn’t like that it was her husband being the one treated like that!

Work

“You look great, John,” His wife smiled as said after his clomped down the stairs awkwardly wearing her skirt suit and heels, “I’m sure your first day back after the Shift will go fine.”

John sighed. It had only been a week since the Great Shift placed him into the body of a woman. His office had allowed everyone to work from home for a few days, but now it was time to go back. His wife had let him borrow anything he needed, but he certainly felt awkward standing there wearing her clothes.

“This still feels so weird,” He complained to her, “It’s just all so uncomfortable.”

“You need to get used to the clothes.” She paused before she thought a little bit about it, “Or you may just be getting your period. You might want to bring some tampons with you to the office. Since you don’t know your cycle yet, it could happen at any time.”

This made John even more uncomfortable. There were aspects about being a woman that he hadn’t even thought about yet, and that was one of them. He just wished this day was over already. He also just wished things could be normal again...

Transformation Booth

The booths looked like something out of the distant past. When they started popping up in cities, everyone began to wonder what they were. Cell phones had long killed the need for telephones booths, and these retro-looking ones didn’t even have a telephone inside. Instead, they just had a single large button where a telephone would have been in the past. Many were curious, but few ever dared to enter and press the button.

Finally, one day, curiosity got the better of Mark. He got into one of the booths, closed the door, and pressed the button. There was a flash of light and the next moments were filled with a rush that was more intense than the best amusement park ride, more colorful than the wildest light show. There was a sense of euphoria and joy until it all faded, leaving him feeling a little disoriented as he left the booth.

His first thoughts were about telling his friends they should try it or even thinking about going again himself. That is, until the disorientation faded. He realized the lights and the joy were all just distractions from what the booth really did to him -- it transformed him. He was now a woman, and he was in an entirely different location! The booth had swapped his consciousness with another user in another booth somewhere. He was now her, and she was probably now him. He thought about going right back in again -- no longer because of amazing experience, but because he desperately wanted to try to get his own body back.

Benefits

Justin and his sister Evelyn had never seen eye to eye. Even as adults, they would fight at any sort of family gathering. It was a few days before Thanksgiving, and the two were at it in the upstairs of their parents’ house. At the most heated moment, lightning struck the house, which had the odd, unexplained effect of swapping the bodies of the two siblings. They were both rightfully panicked, but they also had no way of swapping back. They agreed to pretend to be each other for now.

The next day, Justin offered to go get some lunch for everyone. Evelyn scowled, thinking it was just an excuse for him to make a big charge to her credit card. First, he drove to a coffee shop and was surprised when the guy behind the counter smiled at him and told him it was on the house. Then a cop pulled him over for speeding. The officer glanced down at Justin’s cleavage and let him off with only a warning. By the time he was at the place to pick up food, Justin was actually feeling pretty good about being swapped with his sister. He grabbed his chest with pride, thinking about what this body had already gotten him so far today. Maybe he could get a good discount here too. And maybe if he did find a way to swap back with his sister, maybe he wouldn’t even take it...

Couples Therapy

The couples therapist waited as Brett and Ashley sat down. After writing a few notes, she spoke, “How have you two been doing over the past few days since you both began the exercise to get to know the other better?”

“I gotta say, Doc,” Brett started, “I still can’t believe what you can do with science this days. I still can’t believe I have Ash’s body. It’s surreal, but I can’t wait to get back. You wouldn’t believe what she had me do last night! I still can’t get the awful taste out of my mouth!”

“Whatever,” Ashley interrupted, “You’re never going to get this body back because I love being a guy. It’s great! Peeing standing up, loose clothes, being stronger! He just needs to stop complaining and accept his new role as the woman, because there’s no way I’m giving this up!”

Escape

It almost seemed like the fight broke out spontaneously. The only thing Harrison was concerned about was escaping the chaos, so he ran. After he made it a safe distance away, he soon realized the face that he had swapped bodies with a woman. All the arguing began to make sense. People were confused, angry, or just wanted their own body back. He wasn’t sure why it had taken him a little longer than most to notice. Maybe he was just more concerned about his safety than the fact that his body felt somewhat different. Maybe he was just better at keeping a cool head and ignoring even some of the most obvious changes in order to do so. Still, now that he had time to think about it, he did want answers about how this all happened...

Like You Never Left

Gordon rolled his eyes as he looked at the caller ID on his cell phone before he reluctantly answered it.

“It’s not even noon yet,” He sighed, “You’ve called five times checking in to see how things are going. I keep telling you it’s fine; I haven’t gotten you fired yet. How’s the research going about finding some way to switch us back to our own bodies?”

He paused as he waited for an answer.

“Yeah, okay, I get it,” He continued, “Look, just do what you can. And, relax, I can handle your body, your job, and your life for a while. Once we do figure out how to swap back, it’ll be like you never left it.”

Didn't Expect It to Work

Earl clutched the magical book tightly in his hands as he looked in the mirror. He couldn’t the spell in here actually worked; he never thought it would. In fact, that was the reason he picked the body swap spell; it had just seemed absolutely absurd. In fact, even his choice of targets to swap with was because he didn’t expect it to work. Yet here he was now in Melinda’s body. He was sure she was storming over here to yell at him, but even if she drove at top speed he had a bit of time. And in that time he could do whatever he wanted...

Life's a Beach (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

With a shocked expression still on his face, Steve had made it to the shoreline. He thought about diving in to try to save his body. While he knew he was a good swimmer, he didn’t know if this body would be at all strong enough to bring his own back to land. Plus, if he got stuck out there too, there was no way the lifeguards were coming to save him; they were much too distracted. And he soon realized his own body wasn’t the only one struggling out in the ocean. He swallowed his pride and made a choice. He’d save the people he could. It probably meant his own body would drown, but it seemed like the best option at this point. In the next moment, he plunged in, ready to save a few lives...

Life's a Beach

Steve’s vacation was long overdue. When he was finally able to secure a week off from work, he headed straight to the beach. He enjoyed spending time lounging on the sand and taking a dip in the water. As he swam far from shore, the undertow caught him. The current was strong, but he knew how to fight it as he started to head back toward shore. Then suddenly, he felt his feet on dry land. He looked out to where he had been swimming and saw that his body struggling.

“Help!” He screamed in a voice that seemed far too high pitched, “I am -- I mean -- there’s a man drowning out there!”

But no one seemed to be paying any attention to Steve. In fact, other people were also screaming, mostly saying they were in the wrong body. Even the lifeguards seemed too busy feeling themselves up to help. Then Steve looked down.

This whole body swapping thing had affected him too. He was now a woman in a black bikini while the person in his body was now having a hard time in the waves. He started to head to the water, trying to think of the best course of action.

11:59

One minute until noon. Zach checked his phone again to be sure of the time. He was supposed to meet Emma here at twelve o’clock, but he had made to sure to get here early...over an hour early, in fact. He was eager to use the Medallion of Zulu again to return to his own body. He was actually both surprised and worried that Emma didn’t seem to share his anxiousness. He didn’t want to swap bodies at all, actually; he didn’t even expect it to work when they had tried it. After it did, both he and Emma agreed to meet right back here twelve hours later. He thought about insisting staying by her side the entire time, but Emma seemed quite interested in going on her own to “try out being a guy.” At that same time, Zach was trying to put the fact that he was going to be stuck as a woman until they met again out of his mind.

As he continued to wait, Zach was sure she was going to be late. Heck, even if she wasn’t, he did feel like he had already been waiting around for Emma forever. He just wanted his body back. Where was she?

Compound

Dr. Lewis Steinberg was quite proud of himself for creating a chemical compound that once consumed could transform any organism from male to female. This included people, which was a fact he found out after accidentally ingesting some of the compound while testing it out on mice. However, it seemed developing a way to reverse the effects were more complicated. Even after weeks of work, he was still no closer to creating something that could transform an organism from female to male, which meant he was stuck as a woman for the time being...not that he really minded.

Happy Together

“Tomorrow, I will be Mrs. Trevor Beck,” Andrew thought to himself as he tried the veil on while looking in the mirror, “He doesn’t suspect a thing. A week ago I stole Pamela’s body, and he hasn’t said a single thing about me seeming odd or different. In fact, the only thing he’s mentioned is about how much calmer and more relaxed I seem to be about the wedding.

”Pamela didn’t deserve him. She always treated him so badly. When he told me he was going to marry her, I knew I had to stop it. I never told Trevor I was gay and had a crush on him. He never knew I could steal someone’s body. There’s no way he will ever know it’s actually me in here. After tomorrow, we will be happy together.”

Employed

Jerry had been shopping for items at a convenience store when he suddenly felt a sharp pain and bent over. When the pain subsided, he noticed that he was wearing the green smock of a store employee. In the next instance, he noticed he was clearly now female. He must have somehow swapped bodies with one of the employees of the store.

Then he heard a voice, “Mei? Are you okay, Mei? What’s wrong?”

He could only guess that the employee he swapped with was named Mei...

Sick

Edward held onto the side of the sink. He was ready to throw up at any second. He supposed it was either a side effect from the body swapping or else Leah just couldn’t handle her liquor. She had been eager to show off a strange remote she had been sent. It had no return address, but the instructions inside said it could swap people’s bodies. It took about a half an hour before they both decided to test it.

Edward had put down two shots of whiskey and they each drank one before Leah zapped them both with the remote. To Edward’s surprise, it worked, and he now found himself in Leah’s body. The transfer felt like it had taken a lot out of him. He stumbled to the bathroom and slumped by the sink.

He had trouble thinking straight, but he couldn’t believe Leah would feel like this after just one drink! However, his own body with Leah inside seemed perfectly fine. If he was going to have to spend time as her, he wished he could at least enjoy it!

Leave Me Alone

“I’m not exactly in a talkative mood right now,” Chad complained to his wife, “In fact, I could actually use a little alone time. I told you time and again that I didn’t want to go on this vacation, but you insisted on this trip to Exchange Island. And now I’m stuck in this body for the next week and a half. These things hanging off my chest are heavy and uncomfortable, and I’m not exactly in the best of moods as a result. So, please, just let me be for a little while.”

Blast

Edward was just going for a stroll in the park when a blast hit, knocking him off his feet and back a short distance. He wondered if it was a gas leak or a terrorist attack or what. He didn’t feel like he was hurt or in pain at all. The blast may have been large, but he was happy to be okay...or was he?

It took a few more minutes for him to realize it, but things weren’t normal. He looked down at a body that clearly wasn’t his. The other people in the blast radius also seemed to be affected. As they picked themselves up off the ground, he noticed them feeling up their own bodies. A few screamed upon the realization. Edward looked down at the tight leather pants and the toned stomach he now had. Whatever that blast was, it had somehow placed him into a woman’s body.

A Little Worse

Two days before the biggest game of his life, and Ethan couldn’t believe he swapped bodies with his aunt. He needed to impress the recruiter in order to secure a college scholarship, and he couldn’t imagine it would go well with his aunt using his body to play. After giving his aunt a crash course, he came up with a plan to better increase his odds. On the day of the big game, he picked out the tightest jeans his aunt own, a skimpy top, and some heels. He sat in the stands and tried to pose in seductive ways. He hoped to distract the other players. It was extremely awkward for him. He hated being his aunt and being a woman; he hated acting feminine even more. However, he knew he couldn’t make his aunt play any better, but maybe he could make everyone else play just a little worse.

Calculations

“So, I’ve run the numbers and if my calculations are correct, there is a possibility that we will be bale recreate the effects of the Great Shift,” Dr. Kenneth Watson explained to his colleagues. He certainly wasn’t happy about swapping into the body of his colleague, Dr. Ellen Kim, and his hopes of getting his own body back were greatly increased thanks to his research.

“There’s only one problem,” He continued, “While I know the exact conditions needed to cause another swap, the question is if we can actually pull any of it. And the other question is if we would be able to control it.”

Just Two Weeks

Daniel looked back to the lab with a pensive expression. He knew he’d be back in two weeks to get his body back, but until then he was going to be stuck in Erika’s body. He knew he had agreed to the experiment to swap bodies with another person, but after seeing that it was Erika he’d be swapping with, he was less sure. He was a little unsure about spending the duration at a woman, something about that just seemed weird. However, there was no way for him to back out. He was going to be her for the next two weeks. Still, he looked back, hoping for it to all be over as fast as possible.

Wake Up (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

Walter continued exploring and picked up a paper that had been delivered to the front door. He brought it out back to the pool and began to read. The big headline on the front page was entitled “A Great Shift,” which detailed a body swapping event that took place worldwide. In some places, it had been the middle of the day. Where Walter was, it had taken place at night -- which certainly explained why he woke up as a woman this morning. He kept reading about all the details and all the chaos. He was actually pretty glad things happened on the over night where he lived, and he was also pretty happy with the body he ended up with -- after all, it could’ve been a whole lot worse.

Wake Up

Waking up in someone else’s bed happens from time to time. Walter could remember a few times after drinking too much when it had happened to him. But waking up in someone else’s body? Well, that was a new one. He was having trouble getting his head around the fact that somehow he woke up as a woman. He pulled lightly at the pink pajamas, still not quite believing any of this was real, yet it didn’t feel like he was dreaming.

He started to explore the house. He decided that if he had to be a woman, this one didn’t exactly have a bad life. The house was big; there was a pool out back. He could probably get used to all this...

Photograph

Ron had just bought a camera and decided to take it out into the neighborhood to try it out. After taking a few pictures of building, trees, and a few others, he aimed it at a pretty woman wearing a blue dress in the distance. Oddly enough, when he looked at the picture in his viewfinder after taking it, the woman was nowhere to be found and was instead replaced with a guy who looked, well, a lot like Ron. He looked up from the camera and squinted to look in the distance. She was gone, and that guy now in the distance really did look like him. It took a few more minutes for Ron to figure out where the woman had gone. It wasn’t until he looked down and saw the familiar blue dress. Somehow when he took a photo of this woman, it must have swapped his body with hers. She was long gone with his body now. Of course, if this camera could swap people’s bodies, he could now be anyone he wanted...or he could just enjoy this body for a while, which could be pretty fun...

Thief

Ralph had been having a hard time lately with no job and no prospects. It was a moment of pure desperation when he decided to snatch a woman’s purse. He scoped her out for a few minutes as she walked into a department store. He figured he could go in, snatch it, and make a quick getaway outside. But just as he put his hand on it, the woman turned around and pointed a gun at him. He paused for a moment, but seeing that the gun was bright pink, he imagined it was a taser at worst and decided to risk it. Then she fired.

Ralph was shocked at what happened next. He was suddenly standing there with the pink gun in his hands, staring at himself. The gun must have been some sort of body swapper. He couldn’t imagine how or why this was supposed to work, but he didn’t waste another moment. Instead of continuing to stand there in shock, he still decided to make a break for it. He didn’t care whose body he had now, this life had to be better than his own. Judging from hearing his own voice scream in the distance to come back, he imagined the woman didn’t expect this reaction...

Thesis (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

Jason spent the next few days trying to figure out how to recreate his experimental invention to no avail. In addition, he had to juggle all of Kelly’s classes and responsibilities. When she finally ran into him one day, her jaw dropped.

“What do you think you are doing?” She gasped.

“What?” He replied.

“Your clothes! You’re making me look so frumpy! And that’s not nearly enough makeup! I thought I gave you simple instructions!”

“Look! I tried the first day! I swear! It took so long to get ready like that! I barely had any time to work on the invention to switch us back! This was quick and easy!”

“I don’t care! I can’t be seen looking like that!”

Thesis

Jason couldn’t have been more excited that the invention he had made for his senior thesis was a success. Of course, the targeting mechanism could still use some improvements. He had set up the machine with the intention of swapping bodies with his friend and volunteer, Owen. Except instead, he found himself swapped with a woman walking by in the hallway. He rushed back to the lab as soon as he could. Understandably, she was freaking out in his body, yelling at Owen. Jason did his best to calm her down, explaining how he just tested a body swapper and how it had misfired and accidentally caught her up in it all. She began to relax a little, telling Jason a little about herself. As she said her name, Kelly Park, Jason smelt something burning. His invention was on fire! He did his best to put it out quickly, but the damage was done. As the rush of putting out a fire wore off, Kelly and Jason finally looked at each other in shock. The realization was hitting both of them now. With the machine destroyed (at least temporarily) that meant they each be stuck in the other’s body. Jason knew he could make another one, but the first one had taken him all year. He needed time. And of course this time he would have to work with the distraction of having Kelly Park’s gorgeous body. How was he going to be able to even concentrate?