In My Shoes

by Stephens, Adrian

  “Oh, and your skirt is on backwards.” I had just finished zipping the skirt up in the front. She turned it around so the zipper was in the back, looked at me and started brushing my hair. “Are you going to be okay today? You are all out of sorts. I swear, if your head weren’t attached you’d probably lose it today.” She had no idea.

  “I’ll be okay. I just woke up funny.” That’s an understatement!

  I started walking toward the door when she called me.

  “Nicole, are you not going to wear makeup today?” she asked.

  I wouldn’t even know where to begin. “I’ll put it on at school. I really want to get there early today.”

  “Do you have a test today?” She had a questioning look on her face.

  “Not until next week, but I said I’d study with some friends before school.” I hoped that sounded plausible.

  “Oh, okay. Well, don’t forget your purse and your backpack,” she said, pointing at them on the desk at the far wall. “Oh, and shoes.” She walked into Nicole’s closet and came back with some shoes.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  I grabbed the purse and the backpack and started following her out of the room. I was hoping she would lead me to a door out of the house, so I wouldn’t look lost in what was supposed to be my house. She led me down the stairs, and at the base of the stairs, about twenty feet in front of me, was the door. I started heading toward the door as she was heading into another room.

  “Are you going to eat breakfast at the school?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m not very hungry.”

  “Okay, don’t forget we will be getting home late tonight. Dad and I are getting together with the Hendersons for cards. I’m guessing you’ll be hanging out with Jessica or Caryn?”

  “Uhh…probably. I haven’t really talked to them yet,” I replied truthfully.

  “Just be sure you are home by eleven or call if you want to stay over at one of their houses.”

  “I will. Bye!”

  She turned and went into the other room as I made my way to the door. I shut the door behind me and ran out into the street. I didn’t recognize anything. I’d never been on this street before. I looked up and down the street and headed in the direction of the cross street that had the most passing cars. Clayton Avenue. That I recognized. I wasn’t positive, but I had a pretty good idea how to get to school from here.

  I ran almost the whole way. In a skirt, no less! I’ve never minded running, and it appeared that Nicole’s body was in pretty decent physical shape. I didn’t have too much trouble. It probably had more to do with the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about this whole crazy mess. What was I going to say to Nicole when I saw her…in my body? What if she’s not in my body? What then? I don’t have the slightest clue how we are going to reverse this whole thing, but if Nicole is not in my body, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Please be in my body. I slowed a bit as I reached the school.

  When I was younger, I used to run everywhere. I was a pretty good runner. The problem was, once I stopped running, the sweat glands seemed to just flood open. It wasn’t any different in Nicole’s body. I was sweating profusely, and my bra was itchy. Probably a result of the sweat. I needed to get to a bathroom to take it off.

  I entered through the front of the school and headed for the bathrooms in the science corridor. They seemed to have the least amount of traffic at any given time of day. School wouldn’t start for a while, so there was a really good chance I wouldn’t run into anyone there.

  I walked up to the entrance of the boys’ bathroom and stopped. I couldn’t go in there. If someone came in, I’d wind up in the dean’s office. I took a deep breath and walked into the girls’ bathroom. Nobody was inside. I walked into one of the stalls, closed the door and put Nicole’s backpack and purse on the door coat hook. I pulled the shirt off and wrapped it over the hook. I pulled the bra straps over my arms, pulled it down to my waist, turned it around and unfastened it. I waved the shirt around like a flag, trying to air it out and dry it off. Once it was passable, I put it back on. I opened the door and headed to the sink. I got a few paper towels wet and used them to wipe my face, arms and pits down. Well, that would have to do for now. Time to find Nicole…well, time to find my body.

  I headed out of the restroom and started toward Nicole’s locker. It was easy to tell she wasn’t there because there was nobody in sight. I waited at her locker for a few minutes and headed toward mine. Again, nobody around. I dialed my combination and opened my locker, realized I had all of Nicole’s stuff and shut the locker. That’s when I heard my voice call from a short distance away.

  “You!” she cried. It was weird seeing my body coming toward me, hearing my voice yelling at me. “I don’t know what you did or how you did it, but you need to undo it now!” The good news was that the best possible, miserable scenario appeared to have come true…Nicole seemed to be in my body. The bad news was…she seemed angry with me. Again!

  “Wait, you think I did this?” I said incredulously. “Now, just how do you think I managed to pull something like this off?” I said, throwing my hands in the air.

  “Well, I know that I didn’t do it!” she snapped.

  “Well, you figured me out! It was all part of my master plan. I thought, hey, I haven’t been humiliated enough by this girl, so I’m going to put some…voodoo spell on the both of us so we…” I lowered my voice to a forceful whisper, “switched bodies!”

  “Well, I don’t know how it happened, but I certainly didn’t wish this to happen,” she hissed.

  I laughed sardonically. “After how you treated me yesterday, if I were going to wish for something to happen to you, this wouldn’t be it!”

  A few people were starting to fill the hallways now. We weren’t exactly yelling, but it was probably evident that we were having an argument. Most people were making a point to look away. Mike saw us and walked up next to Nicole, obviously thinking she was me.

  “Hey Jake! Is everything okay?” He turned and looked in my direction, glaring at me as if he were trying to tell me not to mess with his friend.

  Nicole turned on Mike. “I’m sorry. You must be lost. I don’t remember anyone sending you an invitation to this party, so why don’t you butt out!”

  Normally, if this were anyone else, Mike would have had a snappy comeback and defended himself just fine. He’s usually good with the quick wit. But Mike thought this was me talking, and he must have thought I was still angry with him about yesterday. He stared at Nicole for the slightest second, and began walking away.

  “Hey,” I snapped back, again with the forceful whisper. I was trying real hard not to draw attention to us. “Who do you think you are talking to my friend like that? He doesn’t know what’s going on here and he thinks his best friend just chewed him out for no good reason!”

  Mike turned around. I don’t think he entirely heard what we were saying, but something caught his attention. He stood and stared at us squabbling, and he was standing about 15 or so feet away from us.

  “I don’t really care what he thinks,” she said. “I’m still not done with you, and I don’t have time to deal with him!”

  “I’m not going to have you ruin my life in the process of trying to figure out what happened,” I said.

  She smirked. “I’m not sure how you think you can stop me!”

  Okay, maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Maybe it wasn’t the classiest thing to do, but it was all I could think of. I turned toward Mike, and I lifted my shirt revealing Nicole’s chest to him.

  Several things happened at almost the same instant. Mike’s eyes bugged out and he passed out on the floor. I heard the most hideous, blood-curdling scream come from my mouth. I didn’t think it was even possible for me to scream like that. But there was Nicole, with my mouth wide open, screaming a scream that no guy should ever be able to scream. She definitely took some estrogen with her into my body. I quickly pulled my shirt down and tried to calm Nicole down.

&nb
sp; “Okay, okay,” I whispered. “I’m sorry. Now will you please calm down so we can try and sort this whole thing out?”

  “Sorry? You just flashed my breasts to your best friend and you’re sorry? And…couldn’t you have at least left my house wearing a bra?”

  “I did leave your house wearing a bra, but by the time I got here I was itchy and sweaty from running. I had to take it off.”

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” she said stunned.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know what else to do. You were getting belligerent.”

  We both stood there silent for a moment gathering our thoughts.

  “Look,” I said, “I don’t know how this happened any more than you do. All I know is if we don’t work together, this could turn out very bad. We can’t exactly tell all of our friends and family that we’ve switched bodies. We’d be committed.”

  She stared at me for a moment, contemplating what I had said. Then she said in an almost defeated tone, “Look at you. I can’t believe you left the house letting me look like that. I have no makeup on.”

  “I don’t know how to put makeup on. You don’t like the way you look now, you would have been really upset if I had tried to put on makeup. I woke up this morning screaming. Your mom came in to see what was wrong, and then she helped me pick this out. I was trying really hard not to make you look stupid in front of your mother, and I was trying really hard to get out of there before I said something that would make her suspicious.”

  She paused at this and her features, well actually they were my features, seemed to soften just a bit. “Okay, look,” she said. “You’re right about us needing to work together. This may all go back the way it is supposed to be tomorrow, but it may not. Either way, we need to work out a plan. We need to get to know each other well enough to pass as each other…at least for the short term.

  “I will make you a deal,” she continued. “I will do my best to be you…carry out your responsibilities and do things the way you would while I’m in your body, if you do the same for me. Working together will also allow me…us,” she corrected, “to keep an eye on each other.”

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure that I could be a girl even if I wanted to.”

  “The other option is we could destroy each other’s lives in a very short time. And trust me, I would destroy you.”

  I considered that. “Okay. We need a plan then.”

  She motioned me to follow her and we walked away, not even realizing that Mike was passed out on the floor still. She was leading me out toward the parking lot.

  “We can’t work out a plan here. We are going to have to ditch today. I don’t have any classes that I have to be at today, do you?”

  “No,” I said.

  “Good. We will go to my house. My mother is usually gone on Fridays, shopping and running other errands with her friend Julia. We should be safe there, and then I can get you looking decent. So, where did you park my car?”

  I looked at her blankly. “You have a car?”

  “Wait. You mean you ran from my house all of the way here?”

  “Well, yeah. I didn’t know you had a car, and I wanted to make sure I got out of there. Your mother kept saying that I was acting funny, and I was telling her that I wasn’t feeling right because I hadn’t slept well.”

  “Well, hopefully she didn’t notice that you left my car in the garage. That would make her really wonder. Hopefully Julia is driving this week.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “They take turns driving. My mom and dad get together with John and Julia Henderson just about every Friday. Whoever’s house they are getting together at that week decides the person who drives.”

  “Your mom mentioned they would be home late tonight because they were getting together with the Hendersons,” I offered.

  “Good,” she said. “Then, Julia will drive them both around to run their errands. My mom will keep everything in Julia’s fridge until they leave tonight. My father meets them at their house and drives my mom home. So, she likely won’t have noticed my car in the garage and we will have more time alone at my house to get to know each other.”

  If she had said that to me yesterday, I would have been bouncing off the walls. Today, it doesn’t have quite the same feel.

  We both were a little worn down from the morning drama, so we walked the distance back to her house, mainly in our own thoughts. I couldn’t tell what was going on in her mind, but for my part I was thinking about my mom. I hoped this would all go back to normal soon. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if I didn’t get to see my mother anymore. And my friends. Okay, so I wasn’t the wealthiest or most popular person in the world, but it was my life, and I liked it. I could make the best out of living in someone else’s shoes for a while, but I don’t think I could do this long-term.

  As we neared her house, I started wondering, “How did it go at my house this morning?”

  “Not too different from yours, it seems. I woke up screaming, and your mom came in to see if you were okay. It’s funny, but I had told her I had a bad dream, too. I guess there’s not much else you can say when you wake up screaming in the morning.”

  “Did she seem okay?” I asked.

  “Yes, she asked if I needed anything, and I said no. I rushed to get dressed, and high-tailed it out of there. I yelled that I had to get to school and said bye as I headed out the door. I hope she didn’t think I was being rude.”

  “Yeah,” I said, “I don’t usually do that, but I’m sure she will be okay. She doesn’t get offended easily.”

  She stopped two houses down from her house. “Okay, here’s the plan.” She started rummaging through her purse, which happened to be on my shoulder, and pulled out a set of keys. “You will go in through the front door and call out to see if anyone is home. If my mom is still there, tell her you aren’t feeling well and decided to come home. Then just go to my room and wait. If she’s gone, come out and get me. I will wait for about ten minutes. If you don’t come out by then, I’ll start walking around so I don’t look suspicious. Once she leaves, come outside so I know it’s safe.”

  I headed up to the front door, unlocked it and headed into the house. “Hello?” I called. “Is anyone home?” No answer. I walked around the whole house, calling out, and didn’t get a response. I went back to the front door and signaled to Nicole that it was safe.

  She came into the house and went straight to the garage. Two cars were in the garage. “Good, just like I thought. She’s in Julia’s car. Now let’s check the kitchen. If she were going to leave a note, it would be there.” We headed into the kitchen. There was a note on the counter. She picked it up and read it.

  Nikki,

  I hope you are feeling better. You didn’t look so good

  this morning. Remember, we will be at the Henderson’s

  late. There’s food in the fridge. Call my cell if you want

  to stay at one of the girls’ houses tonight.

  Love,

  Mom

  “Good. It doesn’t look like she noticed the car. Okay. First, I need to get you familiar with my house. You need to look like you know where you are going when you are walking around. You already saw the garage. My car, which you will be driving, is the silver Toyota Camry at the far end of the garage.” She stopped and turned toward me. “You do know how to drive don’t you?”

  “Yes, I know how to drive.”

  “Do you have a license?”

  “Yes, I have yours…right…here.” I smiled at her as I patted her purse.

  “You know what I mean. Have you passed your driving test?”

  “Yes,” I answered. “If you look in my wallet, you will see I have a driver’s license. I’ve never had a ticket.”

  “Well, that’s better than me. I got a speeding ticket about a year ago, and I lost the car for two weeks. Wait, do you have a car? I only saw one at your house, and I figured it was probably your mom’s.”

  �
�It is hers. No, sorry, I don’t have a car. Mike picks me up for school most of the time and sometimes I walk. It’s only about four miles from the school. It takes forty-five minutes to an hour if I walk somewhat fast. If you want I can pick you up and drop you off so you don’t have to worry about it.”

  “Thanks, but I’m hoping this won’t last very long. Let’s worry about that later.

  “So,” Nicole continued, “as you can see, the house is two stories. This, obviously, is the kitchen. Over there is the living room. We only use that room when we have certain company over. I almost never go in there. Through here, we have the formal dining room. The family room is through this archway,” she said, walking through an opening into the next room.

  “Wow!” I interrupted. “That is a huge screen.”

  “Yeah, my dad wanted this room to be set up like his own mini movie theater. Most of the time, we get together to watch a movie on Saturday evenings. It’s something we try to do together. We like movies.”

  She continued walking me through the house. “There is one bedroom downstairs, but my father uses it as an office. I don’t really ever go in there, either. The bathroom is straight down that hall,” Nicole said, pointing to her left. “That brings us back to the main foyer area. Now we head upstairs. You probably recognize my bedroom on the left there. We’ll head in there in a minute. Straight ahead is the Jack-and-Jill bathroom that opens also into my bedroom. To the right is the loft. Are you keeping up?”

  “Yeah, I’m keeping up,” I said with a laugh. It’s not like this was rocket science. “Nice pool table,” I said. Man, I was starting to feel like I was on The Price is Right, and I was being walked through my “Showcase Showdown.”

  “Thanks. Do you play?”

  “A bit. I like to go to Crazy Cues with my friends sometimes. I’m not the best, but I’m okay.”

  “Yeah,” she said, “I don’t play a whole lot, but I’m not too bad. My dad’s given me pointers over the years, so I don’t always lose. Just in case anyone asks you to play, I rarely beat my dad. So if you’re that good, lay up so he doesn’t get suspicious. I don’t usually make more than a few shots in a row. Just keep that in mind.”