Charity Gala

Once I found my life stolen by the magic taxi and stuck in the body of that fat slob of a cab driver, I initially panicked. Reading the journal on the end table in the small studio apartment, I knew I would have to eventually steal a body as well. I started making plans. I targeted men around my own age and often looked for clues that they were better off than I had been in my original body.

He wore an expensive suit, but it was the Rolex on the wrist he flagged down the cab with that caught my eye. Except he wasn’t hailing the ride for himself, but it turned out he was an agent and I’d be driving his client to some fancy charity gala.

She sat silently in the back in her long red puffer coat. I could sense she was looking at me with a feeling of disgust. For some reason, it hurt. I mean, I could understand it; but it still hurt. Throughout the ride, I couldn’t take my eyes off her, which only increased the revulsion in her stare.

I had fully intended to drop her off and continue looking for someone that fit my plan. But as my cab pulled up, the cameras started swarming. As she got out, the red coat drifted off her shoulders to reveal it was part of an elaborate gown. But she hadn’t paid, and no matter how much I pushed my foot to the gas, the cab wouldn’t go. Being stiffed for payment wasn’t really mentioned in the journal. Other cars were honking wildly behind me with ushers urging me to move along. I felt pressured, like I had no other option, so I shouted out, “Have a nice day, Ma’am!”

And then it happened. I became her.

I quickly walked back over to the taxi, apologizing to the ushers. She didn’t have a wallet in this outfit, but she had been holding a phone. I scanned the QR code on the cab’s window and selected the option to pay with the largest tip possible. She was now the one inside the cab driver’s body, and instead of disgust in her eyes, there was fear and terror. But there was nothing either of us could do at this point as she drove off. Meanwhile, I made my way into the gala where the agent’s assistant met me, who apologized to me for not getting there in time to pay the cab driver. I brushed it off as he took my phone and lead me through a whirlwind of photos and red carpet interviews. I had to fake my way through it; I was never a pop culture guy; I had no idea who this celebrity even was!