A Gooder Place (Part 6)

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It didn’t take long for Tahani to get sick of being Eleanor and her trashy Arizona life. Of course, despite having Eleanor’s lower class resources, Tahani still possessed her own knowledge of upper crust culture, allowing her to sneak into fancy gatherings easily. A few times Tahani found herself at one of her sister’s gatherings, feeling even more insignificant and belittled than before. However, with Eleanor’s body, she also felt a little bit of comfortable detachment that almost felt...nice. She was able to pt all these feelings aside for her true mission; what she hoped was to find Eleanor with her body at one of these events, and she figured Los Angeles was her best bet.

A Gooder Place (Part 5)

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Tahani also found herself back on Earth, and she was quite surprised to find herself not at a fancy gala or a museum opening, but int the parking lot of some low brow grocery store. Even worse was that she seemed to be wearing -- ew -- sweatpants. As she stood up from the ground, she caught her reflection in the mirror of a car and was instantly horrified. She was in Eleanor’s body! She felt like she could have a heart attack and die all over again. Then again, she had to think of the positives. Someone like Eleanor likely couldn’t make much of an impact on the world. Surely, living a good life would be easy as someone who was so insignificant and worthless.

A Gooder Place (Part 4)

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With Tahani’s life, every day was a party. Eleanor would hobnob with celebrities and drink expensive champagne. It was hard to her imagine having a thing to complain about. But her nights felt just as lonely and empty as her own life. Then she thought about her own life. If she was Tahani, was Tahani stuck as her? Eleanor began to feel bad about being so self-absorbed. She knows she has always been very self-absorbed, but for once she was actually feeling bad about it. She realized what she needed to do to be a better person, to live a better life. She needed to reach out and find her own body.

A Gooder Place (Part 3)

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After leaving the bathroom, Eleanor was greeted by Tahani’s personal assistant, requesting if she needed anything. Eleanor realized this would be pretty convenient to help with any details she might not know about Tahani and told the assistant she just wanted to go home.

Eleanor was amazed by Tahani’s estate. Her wardrobe was filled with so many dresses that probably each cost more than all the cars Eleanor had ever owned. Part of her was excited to live this lifestyle, but another part felt the large estate was vast, cold, and lonely. She couldn’t help but feel parallels with her own life, even if this was all so dramatic different than what she was used to in terms of material possessions.

A Gooder Place (Part 2)

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Eleanor saw a now familiar flash of light, and she soon opened her eyes back on Earth, but for the first time she remembered everything. As a result, she expected to return to the moment of her death. But instead of being in a parking lot, she was at a crowded party. Eleanor was confused, and she soon found a bathroom that seemed to be bigger than many of the houses she’d ever been in back in Arizona. Then she caught a glimpse of her reflection. She wasn’t back in Arizona because the judge didn’t put her back in her own body -- she was in Tahani’s body instead!

A sense of awe and confusion ran through Eleanor. Tahani was a rich and attractive socialite, and now that life was hers! Being good had to be easy with a life like this, right? Surely, whatever hangups Tahani had, Eleanor wouldn’t fall victim to, would she?

A Gooder Place (Part 1)

“Please! You need to give us one more chance!” Eleanor pleaded with the judge.

“I’ve already given the four of you what? Six? Seven chances?” The judge retorted before taking another bite of her burrito.

“Actually, I think we’re up to nine.” Chidi interjected.

“So why not make it an even ten?” Eleanor added while gently kicking Chidi to get him to shut up.

“Heck, why not, I’m feeling generous this eon, but no negotiating with me this time. I’m returning you all to Earth and I’m picking the rules.”

Before any of them could respond, the four humans were whisked away back to Earth in anther attempt to lead better lives.

Extra

Greg had certainly enjoyed his vacation on Exchange Island. How could he have not? Spending two weeks in the body of a beautiful woman was simply heavenly. But he was ready to get back to his own body and resume his normal life. There was only one problem: They couldn’t find his body. If they couldn’t find his body, they couldn’t send him back on a plane to the mainland. A few days passed, but his body still hadn’t turned up. Greg spent most of his extra days in much the same way he had spent his vacation -- enjoying some time on the beach in a bikini. But he was starting to get worried. What if they never found his body? What if he was stuck here like this forever? Would he have to get a job at the resort? Would they continue to offer him free room and board? Would he be able to sue Exchange Island for losing his body?

Extenuating Circumstances

As Kevin rounded the corner from the hallway into the living room, he leaned against the wall and sighed.

“I don’t think I can do this, Amber,” He confessed to his wife.

“It’s my sister’s wedding,” She replied, “We have to go.”

“But we’ve switched bodies! It’s extenuating circumstances!”

“And no one is even going to know, nor would they believe us if we told them. They’re just going to think you’re me, and that I’m you.”

“Can I at least wear something different? This outfit is so uncomfortable.”

“Welcome to women’s formal wear. And I’m afraid you’re stuck wearing it, because that’s what my sister asked me to wear.”

Kevin let out a final groan as he walked over to the couch. The one problem that Amber saw was that despite the fact that he was in her body, he still carried himself in a masculine manner. She told herself she’d sneak into the basement and turn up the device responsible for switching their bodies, which should force Kevin to be a bit more feminine. She hadn’t told him she was in complete control of the device that swapped their bodies, nor that she could swap them back at any time. He didn’t really need to know that, at least not yet.

Ran

When Benjamin suddenly found himself inside of a woman’s body standing in front of a crowd wearing a white dress, he panicked. He immediately ran away as fast as he could. It wasn’t easy with the white heels on his feet, but he kept going until he made it to the subway. He didn’t have a purse or money, so he hoped the turnstile. As he sat on the train, he began to sob. He didn’t want this body or this life! How did this happen to him!? Why did this happen to him!?

Collapse

The body collapsed onto the ground inches in from of Sebastian, and the impact was hard enough to crack open the skull and splatter blood onto his face. Sebastian was scared. Had he done something to cause this man’s death? Even if he didn’t, he was so close when it happened; would someone blame him? Sebastian wanted to help, but when he looked at the body, he discovered the man he was trying to help was himself. For several minutes Sebastian was puzzled until he began to notice things about his own body -- the pink top, the boots with flowers, the long hair. He was clearly no longer himself. He was in the body of a woman, and with no brain of soul to guide his former body, it must’ve just collapsed. But why did his soul suddenly jump into another body? Right now, he had any more questions than answers.

Pooled

The water in the pool was fairly cold, but that didn’t stop Doug was stepping in. In fact, he was wading in it for several minutes before a weird tingling began. Suddenly the cold water was much higher on his body, and when he looked down he was shocked to see the water line fall a little bit under the top of a bikini. He let out a short scream, which was unnervingly high pitched. He soon noticed that everyone in the pool was having a similarly shocked reaction. The people on the sides seemed to be wondering why everyone in the pool was freaking out. James wanted to explain that it was because they all seemed to have swapped bodies, but he was having trouble believing it himself if not for the overwhelming evidence of his own new body.

Harder

Putting on makeup was a lot harder than Martin expected. It was one of the many challenges he had to deal with since swapping bodies with Carmela. It seemed just when he thought he had perfected his look, his hand would slip and he’d have to wipe something off. Upon doing that, he’d smear something else and have to touch up and redo some more. It was like a never-ending process that had taken him several hours so far. He wondered how women did this every day.

Bookstore

While scanning the shelves of his campus bookstore for his college textbooks, Ian never expected to come across a book with magic spells in it. Out of sheer curiosity, he tried one that would allow the caster to steal someone else’s body. After speaking the words, he found himself immediately sucked into the nearest body, a female student he had a few classes with last semester. He was more than impressed. This book was worth every penny! Of course, he needed to wrestle it from his former hands, but he technically wouldn’t be paying with his own money. That book would be so much fun!

Internship (Part 6)

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Jake went up to the seventh floor and entered the office in room 704. He was both surprised and relieved to see his own body sitting there -- though weird to see himself wearing a shirt and tie. Before Jake could say a word, his body spoke.

“Nice to meet you, Jake. My name’s Wanda; let’s get down to business.” Wanda said, “First, you’ve noticed we’ve switched bodies. I’m sure you’ll agree this puts anything you’ve seen at that so-called ‘tech’ internship to shame. That’s just one of the things we invest in here. Your father told me he couldn’t convince you to take this internship; I hope this convinces you. What I can show you will blow your mind. But don’t cross me, or I can also destroy your future. Do we have a deal?”

She spoke so fast and so curt that Jake could barely process. He just extended his hand to shake in agreement, hoping doing so would allow him to get his body back.

Internship (Part 5)

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The meeting seemed to go on for hours. Jake was getting hungry, and (more importantly) wondering where his own body was now. He kept trying to find ways to leave, but escape always felt too awkward. When the meeting finally did end, Mr. Kim was waiting outside.

He handed Jake a keycard. “This will open your new office,” He said, “Room 704. On the seventh floor, of course. Your intern is waiting for you there.”

“My intern?” Jake asked.

“Yes, the one you hired last week. All his paperwork went through fine, and he just checked in while you were in that meeting. I think he’s moved everything over successfully. You should go take a look.”

Internship (Part 4)

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Mr. Kim walked the halls with Jake, but he didn’t get very far. A head popped out of a conference room, and asked who hey thought was Wanda to join their meeting. Jake sat as the people around him just continued to meet. He started to get pretty bored, and that’s when he finally noticed the fact that he now had a very different body. No one they were trying to impress him. They didn’t want to convince him to work here; they thought he already did! He began to notice people were calling him “Wanda,” and he began to respond by nodding every time the name was said. He wondered how this happened, and he sure hoped he didn’t screw anything up for her in this meeting.

Internship (Part 3)

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“Your father?” The Asian man, an executive named Otto Kim, asked.

“Oh, excuse me, pardon my unprofessionalism,” Jake pivoted, “I’m requesting a tour.”

Mr. Kim knew based on Miss Wen’s position that she could request a tour to analyze efficiency at any time, and he knew her father was a big investor in various projects the company worked to secure. He quickly agreed to show her around himself.

Jake still hadn’t realized the swap, and he was pretty impressed by how he was being treated. It wasn’t enough for him to want to ditch his tech gig, but he was still impressed.

Internship (Part 2)

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An older Asian man walked over. Jake suspected he was high up in the company, based on how Chad sprung to attention with some corporate buzzword speak.

“...And that’s how our synergies prove effective in raising the bottom line on the Agro account,” He said seemingly out of nowhere.

The Asian man scowled at Chad, and Chad soon walked away without another word being spoken by anyone.

“I apologize,” The Asian man said, “Some young men at this company are often overly ambitious.”

“The worst!” Jake piped in, just started to sense something a little off with his voice, though he shrugged it off, “Anyway,I’m here to see my father.”

Internship (Part 1)

Before his junior year of college, Jake was encouraged to get an internship. His father pulled some strings to hook Jake up at his financial firm, but Jake opted for something in the tech sector instead. Jake’s father was disappointed and talked Jake into taking a tour of the firm. Jake had no idea quite how badly his father wanted him at the firm.

Jake showed up in a t-shirt and jeans, but no one at the firm even saw what he was wearing. They’d never have the chance before his father’s plan had started. Jake hadn’t even noticed Wanda Wen brush up against him as he entered the building. He hadn’t even noticed that he swapped bodies with Wanda.

Jake did notice Chad Brolin, a friend of his dad’s who he thought was one of the cooler guys in his guy’s office.

“What’s up, Chad?” Jake asked, gesturing for a hi-five.

Chad was a bit taken aback. Wanda didn’t talk much, and she always seemed stiff. Yet here she was slouching, being loud and friendly, and almost acting out of place for the office.

He could only muster a short, “Uh, hi.”

My Own Mother!?

“Why the hell would you do this, Mom?” An angry Sam asked, “Why would you swap bodies with my girlfriend Erica?”

“Because I said it was okay,” Erica interjected from behind Sam, “She seemed like she could use a break from the aches of her older body. I can tell you from my experience over the past week it’s not pleasant.”

“A week?” Sam said shocked, “But the things we did...you mean I did them with my own mother!?”

“And we may have some more bad news. In order to swap back to normal, we need a third body. You’re going to have to swap back with one of us for a week.” His mom added.

“I’m going to have to pick between being my girlfriend or being my mom for a week to get you guys back to normal?” Sam groaned, “Maybe you both deserve to be stuck.”

Puddle (Part 4)

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“We need to chase that lightning,” Shane ultimately decided.

“It’s miles away!” Heather protested, “We’ll never be able to catch up to it. We’d have just as much luck waiting right here and hoping it will hit us again.”

“Lightning never strikes the same place twice. Plus, there might be others swapped over there now. Maybe we can figure something out together.”

“Well, you’re on your own then. I’m staying put and hoping something comes along to undo this.”

Shane wanted to convince Heather to come with him, but he had the feeling he wasn’t going to succeed. He also had the feeling that this might be the last time he ever saw his old body...

Puddle (Part 3)

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“Do you think the happened to anyone else? Or just us?” Shane asked as he hopped up on a nearby wall. He did so to not only look around to see anyone acting strangely, but also because he felt weird having to tilt his head up in order to look his own body face to face.

No one seemed to be doing anything out of the ordinary nearby, but he did see a flash of lightning in the distance in the now rainless sky.

Maybe they could chase the lightning. Maybe if they got zapped again they could swap back. All these thoughts raced through Shane’s mind. He didn’t want to be stuck in Heather’s body.

Puddle (Part 2)

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Shane walked up to his now former body and looked at it in the eyes. It was weird to have to look up to do so. He must’ve been much shorter now. It made sense since he was a woman now, and as a guy he had been on the tall side.

“What the heck happened?” He asked, hearing his new voice for the first time.

“No clue. Did you see that weird lightning bolt?”

“And the glowing puddle.” He added before pausing to add, “So what’s your name? Or, I guess, what’s my name now?”

“Heather,” His body replied.

“Nice to meet you, Heather. I’m Shane...or at least I was. I guess you’re Shane now.”

Puddle (Part 1)

It had been raining earlier in the day, but the wet weather had mostly stopped, leaving behind gray skies and many large, unavoidable puddles. As Shane walked down the street to grab a few things from the corner store, he stepped in one. As he did so, a bolt of lightning shot out of nowhere. He was startled, partially because the rain had stopped but mostly because of how close it came to hitting him. He was sure the bolt hit right in the middle of the puddle he had just stepped in. Weirdly, the puddle seemed to grow for a brief moment. He looked down, quite fascinated. As he did so he noticed his boots seemed to change color. He realized he was standing on the other side of the large puddle. He looked up to see his own body standing where he knew he had been, then he looked down again and saw a woman’s body. The bolt must have swapped his body with a woman who was also standing in the puddle at the same time. It didn’t make any sense, but that didn’t seem to matter as, despite being nonsensical, it was also true.

Hypocrite

While Chris was a professional psychologist, eh still often felt like a complete hypocrite when teaching a course on how to adjust to a new body in the wake of the Great Shift. Sure, he knew what you were supposed to do, but none of it had ever worked for him personally. Here he was telling an entire room full of people what to do in order to feel better in their own skin while still feeling very awkward himself now that he was a woman. He was sure he helped people. They told him as such. He got emails from past students. The only person he couldn’t seem to help was himself.

Footing

The bright flash of light was very disorienting for Patrick. He immediately lost his footing and began to tumble to the ground. Yet the fall felt strangely graceful; he seemed to weigh much less, even if the weight was distributed differently, and his body seemed much more adept and flexible. In fact, before he crashed face first onto the ground, he managed to catch himself with an almost dance-like movement. Then he noticed the people around him who all seemed to be examining their own bodies before he observed the tight jeans and red boots on his own body -- then he began to examine himself. He was a woman now. Based on the movements he was able to pull off, he wondered if she was a gymnast or a dancer. He wondered how he ended up in this body, and if there was a way to reverse it. It all seemed so strange...

Midterms

Juliana had never been a great student. In fact, she was always just shy of flunking out. By the time she reached senior year, there was a big risk of not graduating. She wasn’t too concerned about it until her parents issued an ultimatum on her eighteenth birthday. If she failed out of school, then they’d also kick her out of the house. Mooching off her parents was something she planned to do for at least a few more years, so she quickly got desperate. She appealed to one of the nerdy guys in her glass, Neil. There were rumors swirling around that Neil had invented some sort of machine that made people smarter, and that he’d used it on himself several times over.

When she approached him about it, Neil was flustered. He never expected a pretty and popular girl like Juliana to ever talk to him. He explained that he didn’t have the rumored device, but he did have something else that might be able to help her. He had created a body swapping machine. Before he could even offer a plan, she begged him to switch bodies with her during midterms. She knew people like Neil were in such advanced classes that he was excuse from taking them, so he could help her out without any poor consequences.

Neil realized he had quite a bargaining chip here, so he made a demand. They’d swap bodies for the midterms, but they’d stay swapped for the senior class ski trip the week after. He wanted to experience one social event in school career as a popular student instead of his shy, awkward, nerdy self. Juliana reluctantly agreed. Midterms came and went, and Juliana really wanted to get back to her own body. Instead, she had to watch Neil in her body having the time of his life on the school ski trip. It was painful, but she told herself just one more week, and she’d be back to her own body. Just one more week...

Ivy League

It had been ten long years since the Great Shift, and Theodore couldn’t believe he had to grow up all over again in that time. It was even weirder for him to be returning to a college campus for the first time in about thirty years. The Shift had put him in a rather advantageous position. He had the knowledge and experience of a forty year old trapped in the body of a kid. But a kid’s brain works differently. An adult’s brain is good at applying knowledge while a kid’s brain is much better at absorbing it and learning. He theorized that despite his memories, his brain’s anatomy was still young. And it seemed to be true. The amount he could absorb coupled with what he already knew was phenomenal. By the time he was eighteen, the ivy leagues were clamoring over him. As he walked the campus for the first time, he suspected many students here had probably just swapped with people their own age at the time of the Shift. It was likely a distant memory for them. They probably just saw him as another freshman, and judging from the stares from some of the guys, they likely saw him as a particularly hot freshman chick. But he knew he was a genius. He was here to publish research, make breakthroughs. This time around, he wouldn’t have time the drinking and partying nonsense.

Failures

In some ways, Dr. Reed Kelvin felt like a failure. His particle collider did not produce the test results his team had hoped for. It did, however, swap the bodies of everyone in a three mile radius and explode shortly after doing so. Now in the body of a woman, Dr. Kelvin hoped to turn his failure into a success. He hadn’t gotten the results he wanted, but his team had created a body swapping machine. If he could harness that power, perfect it, and isolated the subjects who would swap, he was sure there was still potential. He began to rebuild almost immediately. He not only owed it to everyone to get them back to their rightful bodies, but he owed it to science to learn from his failures.

Poser

Keith watched his friends in the skate park from the side of one of the ramps. He so desperately wanted to join them out there -- heck, he even brought his board -- but he was sure he’d humiliate himself if he went out there and tried. In fact, he had tried several times since he swapped bodies with his sister. This body was just so off balance from what he was used to that he kept falling off attempting really simple stunts. They’d label him a noob even though he most certainly wasn’t, so instead he decided it was better to be labeled a poser and just watch instead. They wouldn’t even know it was really him; they didn’t know his sister. However, one of the skaters did recognize the board.

Soon enough, a group surround him, asking how he knew Keith, and questioned about why he had Keith’s board. Keith responded with a half-truth, claiming to actually be his own sister. They all begged him to skate, and Keith tried to shy away before being talked into it. He stumbled and fell pretty quickly. He expected to be laughed at, but instead they were all fighting with each other about who would help him up. It took him a while to realize why. His friends didn’t get too many women skaters hanging around, and he ow had a dozen hungry male eyes all on him...