I'm surprised I remember my way to school. It feels familiar and unfamiliar to approach the school from the opposite side. As I cross the schoolyard, nobody seems to notice anything different. It makes it feel like everything I've been through was irrelevant. Just as it should be. Everything is back to how it should be.
As I walk towards chemistry, I hear Evan call my name. I've talked with him a few times over the last month, but now his voice sounds so much more friendly. I turn around and can't suppress a dumb grin on my face.
"What are you grinning about?" he asks.
"It's me again, Zach," I tell him, still smiling.
"What do you- Wait, really?"
"Yeah, somehow we swapped back. Everything is back to normal."
"I can't believe it. How do I know you're not just Allison pulling a prank on me?" he asks. Typical of him to be so pragmatic.
"I don't know, but I am genuinely Zach again."
"You're not helping your case," he chuckles, "Although, I guess either way I'll act the same towards you."
What does he mean by that?
Before I can ask him that, someone taps on my shoulder. I turn around and see a girl I've never seen before wave at me as she walks away. I awkwardly wave back and turn back to Evan.
"Who was that?" we both ask each other.
What?
"You don't know her, Evan?"
He shakes his head. That can only mean three things: either Allison did something or this has to be a misunderstanding or prank.
"I'm going to need to ask Allison about that," I sigh. I'm not worried yet, but I feel like I should be.
"Should we go and head to physics?"
Oh right, my old schedule. I haven't seen Mrs. Brimstone in a month and that's one thing I wouldn't mind keeping that way.
Evan and I head to physics and take a seat in the back. Shortly thereafter, Sam also comes barging in late. He sits down in front of us and immediately turns around to chat. I haven't spoken to him for a month and yet I know exactly how to talk to him. I've missed this. I've missed you guys. The only big problem is that I haven't been with them for a month, so multiple times during the conversation I just sit there awkwardly as they laugh about something that happened recently. Unfortunately, Sam notices.
"Zach, you're so quiet today, is something going on?" he chuckles, not seriously.
"Oh, n-nothing, don't worry."
For some reason, I feel like that was unnatural of me. What a weird thing to think. Is the way I'm acting somehow unnatural for myself? I guess I'm not completely myself today. I'm not completely Zachary Marlowe yet, but that's bound to change.
People change.
YOU ARE READING
The Swap
Teen Fiction"Where am I? This isn't my room. Wait, this isn't my voice, either! This isn't my body!" Allison Par is a timid girl. She just moved to a new town and her mom started dating a new man. Allison just wants him gone, but she's too terrified to speak up...
