The Swap

Zachary 6.1

When I wake up, I look at the calendar. It's been a month since we swapped. For some reason I don't feel fear upon seeing that. Have I gotten that used to waking up in Allison's room? I step out of bed, with an upset stomach that urges me to hurry and eat breakfast. When I make it downstairs, I don't see anyone else. Good, I don't need Chad to give me an upset mind on top of this upset stomach.

"Oh, you're awake, Allison?" his voice suddenly echoes from above. Dang it... I don't reply until he makes it all the way down the stairs.

"What do you want?"

"Come now, that's no way to greet your mom's fiancé," he smirks, "Do you need me to teach you that?"

"N-No! I-I'm sorry, Chad," I sputter. Last week flashes through my mind.

"Good. Now, you must know where your mom stores the batteries, right?"

Even if I did, I don't want to reply.

"Answer me!" he commands.

"N-No I don't..." Why does my mouth betray me?

"Fucking pathetic, that's what you are," he scoffs as he walks towards the living room. I'm avoiding eye contact the entire time, "I'll borrow the ones in the tv remote. If she asks where they went, tell her you took them, understand?"

"Y-Yes sir..."

"Speak up."

"I understand."

With that, he walks back upstairs and retreats back into his room. How long has he had a separate room? I can't get another bite of cereal down, so I decide to get changed. As I do, I feel a stinging pain on my chest. Did I imagine it?

Afterwards, I do my hair and a little bit of makeup before leaving for school with Megan, but without saying goodbye. I don't forget to grab the trash and together with Megan I walk to the garbage cans. Once again, I feel a stinging pain when I hurl the bag into the container.

"Are you okay? You just flinched for no reason," Megan asks.

"I'm fine. It's just pretty heavy."

Right as we walk away, I hear a thug approach and shout after us.

"You can stay as long as you want, okay?"

Megan and I both ignore him as we cross the street.

At school, I can barely concentrate. My stomach hurts and my head just feels fuzzy. Even after Megan and I have different classes and I have some time to relax from being social, I still can't get much work done. That just means more homework for later, I guess.

During lunch break, I search for someone and end up finding Evan. It's been a while since I've eaten lunch with him. A month already.

"So, how's it going with living Allison's life?" he asks.

"G-Good," I lie, "I've gotten used to most things."

"Are you still looking for a way back?"

"No, not really..."

"What? You've given up?" he asks, concerned.

"N-No, of course not! It's just..." It's not my biggest concern right now.

"... you're not actively looking for a way back anymore?" he guesses.

"S-Sure, yeah."

"You don't seem that upset about it, is everything alright?"

"E-Everything is fine. I'm just a little under the weather today."

"Okay. Do you think it's because you're wearing a skirt every day in the cold?"

"S-Shut up. I wear tights if it's really cold," I tell him. Since when have I stopped finding it embarrassing to wear those? "And besides, it's getting warmer lately."

"You're right." He pauses for a moment, "I don't mean to scare you, but you do realise once it's summer you're going to have to wear a bikini at some point, right?"

"Evan, what the heck!?" I almost choke on my food.

"Sorry, it was a joke," he laughs, "But at least you're a bit livelier now."

Was I being depressing just now?

"Okay, but it's not nice to talk about Allison's appearance when she's not around."

"I mean, right now it's your body," he shrugs, "I'm kidding, calm down," he adds when I give him a stern glare.

The school day ends, and I head back home alone. It feels a little weird to have talked to both our friends, but not Allison herself. When I enter the house, mom and Chad are kissing. Have mercy on my stomach.

"Oh, welcome back sweetheart," mom smiles at me.

"H-Hi," I reply.

"We're going out tonight again, you can take care of things here, right?" she asks me.

Again? How many times has it been? Chad's glare catches my eye.

"Y-Yes, no problem, mom," I sputter.

"Great," she says as she gives me a hug. She almost squeezes the truth out of me, but Chad's glare is stronger. When she recedes, I almost hug her again to try and squirm out the truth, but I don't. My stomach begins hurting again, and I can't tell what's the cause anymore. I'm not happy right now.

After a few minutes, mom and Chad leave. I grab snacks and head upstairs. When I enter my room, I sit down on my bed, tense.

What am I supposed to do? What can I do?

I look for something to do to pass the time, even though that's just as difficult to find. Maybe I should just message someone? That seems like fun. Why don't I normally do that? Because I speak with them enough at school, except for Allison today. Why do I want to message her and not Evan? I can't think straight. It's Chad's presence clouding my brain. I listen to the silence that permeates the house, to prove to myself he's gone for now. It doesn't help, I'm still disorganised.

As I lay down on my bed and scroll through my phone to Allison's contact info, I suddenly feel something bump against my back. I look over my shoulder to see Liam laying on bed with me, poking my back.

"Where are mama and Chad?" he asks.

"They're out again," I reply.

"Can we play then?"

"I don't know Liam, I'm not feeling well," I tell him. As I roll over to see him better, my chest stings again - I get reminded I have boobs now...

"Oh, but I wanna play!"

"Okay, just a little bit though," I chuckle. Maybe more of this can lighten up my stomach, "Go ahead to your room, I'll be there in a bit."

"Okay!" And with that he scurries out of the room.

I sit upright, my breasts sting. I stand up, my breasts sting. I walk over to the closet, my breasts sting. When they're not hurting, my stomach is. Something is wrong. What illness did I contract? Maybe I shouldn't be so close to Liam right now, but when I hear him call me to hurry up, I simply tell him I need to get changed out of my school uniform. Maybe something that's easier to breathe in will help.

When I take off my uniform, my breasts sting more. When I put on a loose t-shirt, my breasts sting more. This isn't normal, is it? Is this something that stress causes? Before I can think it through, my stomach rumbles with discomfort and I suddenly really need to go to the restroom. I stumble into the bathroom and sit miserably as I do my appalling business. Great, give me diarrhoea as well...

I take a piece of toilet paper and wipe, only to see it get drenched in red.

Blood.