Page 8 of Switch!
A bubble pops. My vision clears. The chants are unbearably loud in my ears as I release Travis, who crumples to the floor like a lifeless doll. Then I turn and grab Elliot’s foot, which throws him off balance. He lands on his ass, but I’m not done yet. I twist his foot and hear a snapping noise. It doesn’t take much effort. The strength I have at my disposal is terrifying. The crowd winces and gasps. I let go of Elliot’s foot and he begins to howl in pain while rolling back and forth.My best friend since the second grade. Always pushes my buttons. Never knows when to quit.
“What the hell?” Dean says, pulling on my shoulder.
Moved here from Little Rock two years ago. Better at baseball than me. Lucky with women.
Little effort is needed to shrug Dean off. I turn toward him and raise a fist in warning. He recoils but moves past me, kneeling to check on Elliot, who is still moaning. I stand up straight and tall. The crowd withers under my gaze. I’ve never felt so powerful!
“Teacher!” someone hisses.
This warning is repeated. The crowd begins to disperse.
“Help me get him up,” Dean says, looking over his shoulder at me. “You know I can’t get in trouble again!”
Father is strict. Always threatening to sell Dean’s car.
I glance down at myself. The real me. I’m sprawled out motionless on the hallway floor. I look dead, but I’m scared to release Caleb’s body in case he starts beating on me. I decide to make him go away first. That’ll give me a head start. Dean is still pleading for help, so I reach down and pull Elliot to his feet. He cusses at me but still puts an arm around my shoulders as we drag him down the hall. We’re near the exit when I feel something tugging on me. Caleb seems fine. He keeps making progress, but the part of meinside of himis being yanked on. As if something still connects me to my natural body, like a leash. Or a silver cord. I remember reading about that online, but I don’t have time to dwell on the details. I’m too distracted by the increasing tension, which feels like a rubber band ready to break, so I finally let go.
I’m in a void again, the sensation of drowning unbearable. It doesn’t let up. Maybe I went too far. What if I can’t find my way back to my real body? I’m starting to panic when I hear someone speaking my name. When I open my eyes, it’s not a teacher I see, but a police officer. He’s hunched over me and shaking my shoulders.
“Are you okay, son?”
“Yeah,” I manage to croak out.
“Are you sure?” The officer gently releases me. I don’t know his name, but I’ve seen him around when school gets out. More than once I’ve stood near him to keep the bullies at bay, too ashamed to ask for his protection directly. “What happened?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I respond. Propped up on my elbows, I can see the doors to the school. Caleb and his friends haven’t stopped. They’re still trying to get away. One of them is limping, which makes me laugh because for once, I’m not the one who got hurt. I turn a smile on the police officer. “You know what? Everything is better than okay. I’m going to be just fine from now on.”
Brave words. I’ll need to be prepared if I want them to come true. There’s no way in hell that Caleb and his friends won’t try to mess with me again. When they do, I better be ready for war. That means learning more about the gift I’ve been given, and quick. My training to be a superhero begins immediately… with some crappy books I picked up at the school library. Ugh. On the walk home, I promise myself to keep an eye out for four-leaf clovers, knowing that I’ll need an entire bouquet of them. At least.
Four ↔ Chapter
I spend most of the night locked in my bedroom. My mother’s boyfriend, Raymond, is visiting again. Something about him creeps me out. Or maybe it just bugs me to see my mom date someone other than my father. Not that I harbor any delusions about my parents reuniting. All they ever did was fight, in every sense of the word. Raymond is at least a step up in that regard.
I haven’t shut myself in my bedroom to avoid him. I simply want privacy to study the books I brought home. I still have all three. The police officer helped me gather them while I fed him a story about how I slipped and hit my head. I promised to visit the school nurse and even went to her door before doubling back and leaving the building. I missed my bus but didn’t really mind. I had plenty to think about during the walk home, including one very big question: What the hell is going on with me and my weird-ass powers?
I flip through the paranormal novel and am increasingly skeptical that it will be of use. A line about two souls kissing while in “astral harmony” is the final straw. Barf. The two reference books aren’t very helpful either, no matter how often I flip to the index. Only the Catholic concept of possession is similar to my situation, and I’m pretty sure I can’t make Caleb’s head turn in a full circle while he snarls profanities. Although I’m willing to try.
Shoving the books away, I grab a notebook to document what I’ve experienced so far, hoping that will help me see the bigger picture. I start by describing how each incident began, and what I went through both mentally and physically. Once I have it all down on paper, I notice a pattern. Envy. I wanted Melvin’s life before I took over his body. The same with Caleb. The other students I tried and failed with didn’t involve any true desire to be them. I was only experimenting. That explains the failed second attempt with Melvin. By then I no longer wanted to live his life.
I turn my attention to the next puzzle. Paralysis. Getting a possessed body to move and follow commands is often difficult or downright impossible. Why? When I do succeed, I’ve noticed that my vision and hearing become clearer. Not only that, but it gets easier to hear the host’s thoughts. Another pattern. Interesting! In my notebook, I divide the experiences I’ve had into two categories:
Phase One – The ability to inhabit a body and tap into muddled senses. Emotions can also be felt.
Phase Two – The ability to control a body and experience its full range of senses. Emotions can be felt. Thoughts can be heard.
I pause, unsure if that last bit is right. When I was inside Caleb today, I learned things, like how he and Elliot have been friends since the second grade, and that Dean is from Arkansas. The way that information came to me wasn’t exactly a thought, or it probably would have been more along the lines of,How come I’m not hitting Travis? Why can’t I move? I shouldn’t be such an asshole!Instead it was more like tapping into information I didn’t have access to before. The same when I possessed Melvin. I already knew about Normandy’s role during World War II, but I didn’t remember that much detail. Was I accessing memories instead of thoughts? If so, why weren’t there any visuals? I add a question mark after the word “thoughts” until I can experiment further. Assuming I ever return to school.
I set down my pen and give the matter serious consideration. Is it safe to go back? I don’t know what Caleb makes of what happened. Melvin didn’t seem to remember me being in his body, but that had been a much shorter experience. If the bullies suspect anything, I’ll have to defend myself again, and they might not give me much chance to.
What choice do I have? I can’t imagine my mother writing me a doctor’s note.My son Travis has come down with a sudden bout of superpowers. He won’t be in school for the remainder of the week.If only. For now, I’ll have to face my enemies and hope that what I’ve learned will be enough to keep me safe.
— — —
I’m on edge when taking my seat in Calculus the next day. I feel like people are watching me, which is weird when I’m so used to being ignored. Caleb is the first of his gang to show up. He scowls at me, so I prepare to make the leap to his body, if need be. I exhale in relief when he turns around to wait for his friends. When they show up, Elliot is on crutches, a brace around one ankle. He glances at me, as does Dean, before the three of them huddle. I wait until they’re facing each other before I lean back, close my eyes, and focus on what I want. I think about how good Caleb’s power and confidence felt yesterday. That’s all it takes to summon the necessary desire. I weather the usual sensations of throwing up and drowning without feeling frightened or confused. I know what I’m doing now. Sort of.
“Just drop it,” Dean says with a muffled hiss. “It doesn’t matter why.”
His face is a blur. I’m still in Phase One.
