Kim

by T Cooper

  “For a fairy godmother, you’re bordering on lame,” I say, my voice cracking on the last word.

  The kids pass behind me, and after an appropriate pause which I’m hoping makes a point, I plod toward Tracy, who’s just entering the hut. Once inside, it’s obvious from the vintage rusted car parts sitting around, the old garage hasn’t been used since the Bee Gees were getting laid.

  Tracy removes her backpack and takes out a frilly looking handkerchief, carefully spreading it atop a dirty work bench. She proceeds to remove a few silver medical-looking instruments from her backpack, arranging them on the fabric. “Shut the door behind you.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just shut it,” she repeats, and now she’s snapping a rubber glove onto her left hand.

  Before I nudge the broken door shut, I peek out and glimpse a few more kids mindlessly heading up the path that leads to school. Their biggest worries are finding the right classrooms and generally not making fools of themselves. I squeeze my eyes tight and wish I could go back to being one of them.

  When I open my eyes, Tracy is straightening the instruments and checking her inventory, referring to a page of a small pamphlet.

  “Okay, I don’t know what weirdness you’re doing,” I say, “but I have to get to class, so I guess I’ll just be seeing you around?” I put my hand on the door.

  “The Council has one more requirement before you are allowed to proceed with this V.” She is sounding like an android now, and quite frankly, not that I couldn’t take her, because I totally could, but . . . she’s kind of scaring me.

  Tracy picks up a small, high-tech pillbox-looking doo-hickey, presses the thumb of her right ungloved hand on the top of it, and it seems to scan her print, then beeps. The top flips open.

  “I don’t want to be this . . . whatever it is!” I shout. My voice echoes in the cavernous shop.

  She snaps on a second rubber glove, carefully extracts from the box a tiny piece of metal the size and shape of a grain of rice. She holds it aloft, pinched between thumb and forefinger, studies it closely. “Change happens to everyone, Drew. You might as well embrace it.”

  “But I didn’t ask for this. It’s not fair!”

  “Drew . . .” Tracy’s shoulders rise and fall as she inhales deeply and exhales slowly. “You’ve been chosen. Ours is not to wonder why, but to embrace the opportunity.” She picks up a large stainless-steel-syringe type of contraption and loads the rice grain into the top of it, inspects the tip, and looks squarely at me.

  I’m not Drew is all that’s going through my head. I’m not Drew, I’m not Drew, I’m not Drew. I consider bolting, making a break for home, but I have a feeling my folks—not to mention “The Council”—would have a few things to say about my not accepting this important mission I’ve been blessed with. Why couldn’t this have been something simple, like being bitten by a radioactive spider that suddenly transforms me into a human-arachnid hybrid that can catch criminals and make chicks fall in love with me?

  “Drew, as I’m trying to tell you, there’s one more key component of Change 1–Day 1.”

  “Yes?”

  “The Chronicles,” she says, screwing a capped needle onto the end of the syringe. My eyes must be popping, because Tracy adds, “You’ll barely feel it.”

  “Uh-uh,” I say, backing away. “No ma’am.”

  “All Changers are required to keep a journal through the course of every Change. At the end of your cycle, after graduation but before your Forever Ceremony, you’ll be given the Chronicles containing the entries you wrote during the four years of your lives—so you’ll be better informed before declaring your Mono.”

  I back toward the wall, keeping my eyes on the needle.

  “Chronicling is a crucial aspect of the process,” she rambles on. “It’s an essential human tendency to forget who we were on the way to becoming who we’re going to be.”

  “Do you even hear yourself?” I’m sweating more now, wondering if I ran how soon my sneakers would fly off, and whether I could make it home anyway.

  “Trust me, you’re going to want to remember every single thing you went through as your four V’s. Picking your Mono is the most important decision of your life. Well—” she stops, blushes.

  “What?”

  “I was just going to say, picking your Mono is the most important decision you’ll make—until it comes time to pick your Static mate,” she explains, and it’s clear she wants me to ask her about it. Which I will not do. “I’ve got my eye on someone kind of special—”

  “I’m not good at keeping a diary,” I interrupt. “In seventh grade we had to write about our feelings for Human Development, and I forgot every week.”

  “Well, the best part about Chronicling is that you don’t have to do anything but think,” she says, carefully unsheathing the needle. Which. Is. Enormous. Thick as a porcupine quill. I suddenly realize the rice grain is supposed to get pushed through that needle.

  “You’re not sticking me with that thing,” I say.

  “The technology is amazing,” she continues, ignoring my protests. “All you do is think what you want to say, and it gets recorded into your file and securely stored in the mainframe. Hold up your hair.”

  I shake my head.

  “Come on, Drew, stop being such a baby. Turn around.”

  I slowly begin gathering my hair, but the strands are so weblike and wild, it feels like I’ll never be able to contain it all. I’m Medusa. If only, so I could turn this girl to stone and bail. Tracy nudges me with an elbow, and I slowly give her my back.

  “The more relaxed you are, the less you’ll feel this,” she mumbles, ripping open something between her teeth and the fingers not wielding the giant syringe. I feel cool moisture at the base of my neck, where Tracy is rubbing really hard, scrubbing me raw with alcohol like I’m some dirty gutter punk. It smells like Dr. Reese’s office. “Just breathe. In and out, big deep breaths.”

  I inhale and exhale for a few cycles while she futzes behind me, flips through the pamphlet some more. I’m getting light-headed.

  “It can take as little as five minutes a day,” she says, placing a hand on my head. “Or it can take as long as you want. But every day, at some point, you need to put some time into thinking about who you are and what’s happening to you—just focus your attention on it and you’ll know when you’re recording. Lean your head forward a little.”

  “Will it come out, like, complete sentences, or just thoughts, or fragments or—”

  “Just think of it as recounting what happens to a really close friend, someone you don’t hide anything from. Or if it helps at first, imagine you’re capturing the story of this new person’s life, like a character. But the person is you. Okay, here goes. Really deep breath . . .”

  After a few more seconds I feel the beginnings of what seems like a scalpel carving an incision into the base of my neck—this goes way beyond a “prick”—and soon after, the oddest sensation comes over me, almost like gears churning at the base of my brain. I can feel Tracy start to push the plunger in—it takes two thumbs for her to get it in there, and as she does, she whispers, “In the many, we are one,” and I’m holding my head up against her, and the pain is like nothing I’ve felt before. It’s not even pain, it’s something way past pain, and my head is whirring and feels like it will explode, but then I feel a click, the needle is out, and off in the distance, somewhere from a galaxy far, far away, I hear Tracy’s muffled voice trailing off.

  There, that wasn’t so bad, was it . . . ?

  END OF EXCERPT

  More about Changers Book One: Drew

  "Changers should appeal to a broad demographic. Teenagers, after all, are the world’s leading experts on trying on, and then promptly discarding, new identities."—New York Times Book Review

  "'Selfie' backlash has begun: The Unselfie project wants to help people quit clogging social media with pictures of themselves and start capturing the intriguing world around them."
—O, the Oprah Magazine on the We Are Changers Unselfie project

  Included in School Library Journal's What's Hot in YA" Roundup

  "This is more than just a 'message' book about how we all need to be more understanding of each other. The imaginative premise is wrapped around a moving story about gender, identity, friendship, bravery, rebellion vs. conformity, and thinking outside the box."—School Library Journal

  "A thought-provoking exploration of identity, gender, and sexuality . . . an excellent read for any teens questioning their sense of self or gender." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  "A fresh and charmingly narrated look at teens and gender." —Kirkus Reviews

  "Everyone should read this, regardless of age. The book discusses important topics about growing into your skin (literally and physically), and gender identity . . . Go get a copy of this right now." —Huffington Post

  "Changing bodies, developing personalities, forays into adult activities—where was this book circa the early 2000s when I needed it? But something tells me my adult self will learn a thing or to from it as well." —Barnes & Noble Blog/Indie Books Roundup

  "The Coopers have a strong ear for teenager-isms, and the exploration of Drew’s ups and downs is eminently believable . . . the slow build of a strong character—with the lure of something totally new coming up next—will leave readers ready for the next Change in this line-up." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

  "A perfect read for a young adult: warm and humorous without being superficial or saccharine, engaging real issues of teenage life with ease and natural grace, and offering an element of fantasy accurately reflecting the wonder and terror of growing up." —The Knoxville News Sentinel

  "An excellent look at gender and identity and the teenage experience." —Tor.com

  "A must read for every teen." —I'd So Rather Be Reading

  "Changers Book One really stole my heart." —Bookcharmed

  "Love it. Love it, love it, love it. Seriously. Read this." >—The Best Books Ever

  "4 huge stars. Maybe even 4.5. I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait to read the rest of the series!" —The Overstuffed Bookcase

  “I was thrilled to discover a book that deals with issues of identity and belonging with so much heart and, more importantly, humor . . . Changers Book One: Drew changed the way I think.” —Clay Aiken, singer/UNICEF ambassador

  “Change. It's the one universal thing that everyone goes through, especially in high school. Changers Book One: Drew ratchets that up a notch and kicks open the door, with both humor and panache. Big questions and equally big highs (laughs) and lows (cries). And you thought high school was awkward before!” —Kimberly Pauley, author of Sucks to Be Me

  “Humor makes Changers a joy to read, and Drew the kind of character you’d want to be friends with in real life. I loved this book.” —Arin Greenwood, author of Save the Enemy

  Changers Book One: Drew opens on the eve of Ethan Miller's freshman year of high school in a brand-new town. He's finally sporting a haircut he doesn’t hate, has grown two inches since middle school, and can't wait to try out for the soccer team. At last, everything is looking up in life.

  Until the next morning. When Ethan awakens as a girl.

  Ethan is a Changer, a little-known, ancient race of humans who live out each of their four years of high school as a different person. After graduation, Changers choose which version of themselves they will be forever—and no, they cannot go back to who they were before the changes began.

  Ethan must now live as Drew Bohner—a petite blonde with an unfortunate last name—and navigate the treacherous waters of freshman year while also following the rules: Never tell anyone what you are. Never disobey the Changers Council. And never, ever fall in love with another Changer. Oh, and Drew also has to battle a creepy underground syndicate called “Abiders” (as well as the sadistic school queen bee, Chloe). And she can't even confide in her best friend Audrey, who can never know the real her, without risking both of their lives.

  Fans of the books of John Green, the Joss Whedonverse—and empathy between humans—will find much to love in this first of a four-part series that tracks the journey of an average suburban boy who becomes an incredible young woman . . . who becomes a reluctant hero . . . who becomes the person she was meant to be.

  Because, while changing the world can kinda suck, it sure beats never knowing who you really are.

  Changers Book One is available in paperback and e-book editions. Our print books are available from our website and in online and brick & mortar bookstores everywhere. The digital edition is available wherever e-books are sold.

  Also Available

  Changers Book Two: Oryon

  ___________________

  “Fantastic.” —John Green

  “This is an excellent sequel . . . This installment raises the stakes, making the story not just about physical and emotional transformation, but about survival.” —School Library Journal

  “Oryon’s winning and witty narrative voice is consistently engaging . . . Oryon is African-American, and much of what he observes is about race . . . raises thought-provoking questions.” —Kirkus Reviews

  “This series is addicting . . . as soon as I started reading I was immersed into the book, unable to put it down . . . The series is just getting better and better.” —I’d So Rather Be Reading

  “I really enjoy these books . . . If you are looking for books–these are great.” —Yellow Porcupines

  Changers Book Two: Oryon in the four-part Changers Series for young adults finds our hero Ethan/Drew on the eve of her second metamorphosis—into Oryon, a skinny African American skater boy with more swagger than he knows what to do with. Enter a mess of trouble from the Changers Council, the closed-minded Abiders, the Radical Changers (RaChas), and his best friend Audrey—at least she was his best friend when Oryon was Drew—and now, it’s complicated.

  But that’s life (and life, and life, and life) for Changers, an ancient race of humans who must live out each year of high school as a completely different person. Before next summer, Oryon will learn what it means to be truly loved, scared spitless, and at the center of a burgeoning national culture war. Most of all, he will learn again how much the eyes of the world try to shape you into what they see—and how only when you resist do you clearly begin to see yourself.

  Changers Book Two: Oryon is available in paperback from our website and in bookstores everywhere. The e-book edition is available wherever e-books are sold.

  ALLISON GLOCK-COOPER and T COOPER are best-selling and award-winning authors and journalists. Between them, they have published eleven books, raised two children, and rescued six dogs. The Changers series is their first collaboration in print. The two also write for television and film, and are currently adapting Changers for television (with Lionsgate TV). The authors can be reached via their websites: www.t-cooper.com and www.allisonglock.com.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors’ imagination. Any resemblance to real events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Akashic Books

  ©2016 T Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper

  www.wearechangers.org

  ISBN: 978-1-61775-489-0

  eISBN: 978-1-61775-518-7

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2016935092

  New RaChas and Changers Illustrations and front cover design by Alex Petrowsky

  All rights reserved

  First printing

  Black Sheep/Akashic Books

  Twitter: @AkashicBooks

  Facebook: AkashicBooks

  E-mail: info@akashicbooks.com

  Website: www.akashicbooks.com

  About Akashic Books

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  Akashic Books is an award-winning independent company dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction by authors who are either ignored by the mainstream, or who have no interest in working within the ever-consolidating ranks of the major corporate publishers. Akashic Books hosts additional imprints, including the Black Sheep for Young Readers, the Akashic Noir Series, the Akashic Drug Chronicles Series, the Akashic Urban Surreal Series, Infamous Books (curated by Albert "Prodigy" Johnson of Mob Deep, Kaylie Jones Books (curated by Kaylie Jones), the Edge of Sports (curated by David Zirin), Punk Planet Books, Dennis Cooper's Little House on the Bowery Series, Open Lens, Chris Abani's Black Goat Poetry Series, and AkashiClassics: Renegade Reprint Series.

  Our books are available from our website and at online and brick & mortar bookstores everywhere.

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