In My Shoes

by Stephens, Adrian

  I turned off Jake’s computer and got ready for bed. Jake’s mom had already gone to bed, so I turned out the light and crawled into Jake’s bed. I lay awake in bed for a while, thinking about tomorrow.

  It’s so hard to plan for a day when there are so many variables that could come into play. I thought about Tyler, switching back, asking Jake’s mom for a car, going on a date with Jessica, what I would do if I had to kiss Jessica, the rain…

  DAY 8

  I slowly returned to consciousness before I opened my eyes. I could hear rain on the window. I’ve always loved the rain. We never get rain here, so the day seemed to have promise already.

  As I opened my eyes, everything slowly came into focus. Pink. Yellow. Flowers. Still not my room. I had tried really hard not to get my hopes up. Still, I was disappointed. At least I’ll get to enjoy the rain.

  I dragged myself out of bed, went to the bathroom, cleaned up and then headed to the closet to get my clothes. After putting my nightshirt in the appropriate laundry basket, I grabbed the clothes Nicole had set aside for today. Hmmm…a skirt and blouse. I didn’t know if Nicole was going to like this, but I made a judgment call to wear jeans and a t-shirt. The rain was going to make it cold, and it was a little windy. I didn’t really want to deal with a cold draft all day. Plus, I kind of figured jeans would weather the storm better.

  Once I got everything together, I headed back to put the clothes on the bed. Next, I needed to find a bra. I had picked out a forest green shirt, because it seemed that a lighter shirt might be a bad idea in rain. A darker bra would probably be better, but Nicole didn’t have any colors that seemed close enough to green. It came down to black or white, and since the shirt didn’t seem to be see-through, I went with white. It’s amazing the decisions a girl has to make, just to leave the house. As a guy, I’ve never once thought about the color of my underwear. Actually, there’s nothing to really choose from since all of my underwear is exactly the same. Nicole seems to have a different color for every day of the week, and then some.

  Once I put the bra on, I went over to do my hair. Definitely a ponytail day. Anything else would just get wrecked by the rain. I couldn’t help feeling at this exact moment like I was starting to become just a little too much of a girl. The thought scared me a little. At what point would I stop thinking like a guy altogether? Would I ever get back to who I was, or was this what I could expect for my life going forward?

  Once I had my ponytail looking decent, I went to the bed and put the rest of my clothes on. Last thing to do was to put on makeup.

  I’ve become better at putting the makeup on over the past week. Not because it looked a whole lot better, but because it gradually has taken less time to put it on. This morning it took me less than thirty minutes. I don’t know how long it took Nicole on average, but that was pretty good for me. I was just glad Nicole didn’t wear a whole lot of makeup. Since we’ve been switched, I’ve become more aware of how much makeup some girls wear. There were a handful of girls who, if I had switched with them, I would have been in big trouble. I would have never been able to get out of the house.

  Once I had myself put together, I put socks and tennis shoes on, grabbed my things and headed downstairs. I made myself some cereal for breakfast. It was strange being in Nicole’s house all alone. I don’t mind being alone. In fact, that’s kind of nice. But…it’s just weird being in her house alone.

  I couldn’t help but think about Tyler, and Nicole, and how hard it must be for her not to be there with her family. I sure hope Tyler recovers okay. Nicole’s father had left a message on her phone this morning. I hadn’t noticed until now. The message said Tyler had improved some. Not out of the woods, but improving. I guess that’s good news. I texted the information to Nicole as soon as I got it.

  It was nice listening to the rain pouring outside while I ate. Rain is so peaceful. I could listen to it all day, not that I would likely have the chance. When we get rain, it’s usually just enough to make all of the cars in town dirty. I’ll enjoy it while it’s here.

  It wasn’t long before I got a text message back from Nicole. “Thanks for the news.”

  “No problem,” I replied.

  “So, have you ever driven in the rain?” she followed.

  “Yes I have,” I responded back, “but I’ll be extra careful in your car.”

  “Thank you.”

  The text made me realize I should leave more time to get to school. People around here didn’t know how to drive in rain, and it would probably take longer than it already should take. I quickly finished eating, rinsed and put my dishes in the dishwasher and headed to the car.

  On my way to school, I thought about the day ahead. It ought to be interesting. I was going to be present to see myself on a date in the third person. As weird as that would be for me, I was glad I wasn’t in Nicole’s shoes. Or worse, I was glad not to be on a date with a guy. The thought alone gave me the willies.

  The drive to school ended up being uneventful, which I was thankful for. It wouldn’t have mattered whether it was my fault or not, Nicole would not have been happy with me if I had gotten into an accident in her car. Plus, it would have only added to her stress level today, and I didn’t want to do that. I had a feeling she was going to be a little on edge all day.

  There was still about thirty minutes until school started, and since it was raining, I decided to sit in the car and listen to music while I watched the rain dance on the windshield. The sky was gray for as far as I could see. It occurred to me that we were probably going to have a full day of rain after all. Nice.

  Mike and Nicole showed up at my…well, Nicole’s car about ten minutes later. They knocked on the windows and I unlocked the doors to let them in.

  “Wow, when was the last time we had rain like this?” Nicole asked.

  “I know! It looks like it’s going to be here for a while,” I said.

  “Yeah, it seems like usually we have about ten minutes of rain and that’s it,” she agreed.

  “So, what,” Mike interjected, “are you just sitting here watching the rain?”

  “Kind of. It’s not like we get rain every day, so I thought I’d enjoy it.”

  I looked over at Nicole, who had sat down in the front passenger seat. I couldn’t really read the expression on…well, my face. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Nervous about tonight or is it something else?”

  “I don’t really know. I guess…well, yes, I’m definitely nervous about tonight. But, I’ve just been thinking about us.”

  “What do you mean?” I said, trying to sound casual.

  “I mean, so much for our theory about last night. I was trying really hard not to get my hopes up, but it seemed to make sense, if any of this makes sense anyway, that we would change back last night. If we aren’t changing back after a week, then what? A month? A year? Ever? No offense, but I don’t really want to be you forever.”

  “None taken. I don’t want to be you forever, either.”

  “It’s just got me a little down, and I’m trying not to think about it, but it’s a little difficult not to right now.”

  “I know, I’ve been thinking about it a lot too. I mean, how far are we going to have to take this? When I’ve thought about getting married someday, I never imagined actually being the one walking down the aisle.”

  “You think about getting married?” Mike and Nicole asked together.

  “Yeah, doesn’t everybody?”

  “Dude,” Mike said, “I’m seventeen. Why would I want to think about getting married?”

  “It’s not like I’m thinking about getting married soon. It’s just, I think about the future and when I do, I see myself getting married and having a family. It gives me something to look forward to.”

  “I think that’s great,” Nicole said. “I…I just didn’t expect that most guys would think about their future like that.”

  “Most don’t,” Mike said, laughing.

&n
bsp; “Well, Mike, let’s hope you aren’t the gauge for how the average guy thinks,” Nicole quipped. “We should get to class.”

  As we hurried through the parking lot, Nicole picked the conversation back up. “You know, the worst part about all of this, if it’s even possible to pinpoint a worst part, is that I can’t even spend all of my effort thinking about Tyler. I’m really worried about him. I wish I could be there, but instead, I have to focus on going on a date with my best friend.”

  I didn’t know what to say to Nicole. I felt bad for her. I mean, I was experiencing a lot of the same problems, but I couldn’t imagine if…my mother were in the hospital right now. “I’m…sorry. I know it’s hard.”

  Nicole looked at me with an appreciative smile. My smile, but still a little different. Not much, though.

  We headed into the school, Mike and Nicole headed their way, and I went mine.

  This past week, I have been one of the first, if not the first, people in the locker room. Today, there were already plenty of girls inside. Jessica was one of them.

  “Hi Jess,” I said.

  “Hey, Nikki!” she said very enthusiastically. “We don’t have to dress out today because of the rain. They are showing a movie in the cafeteria instead.”

  “Great,” I said, trying to hide my lack of excitement.

  Usually P.E. has been an opportunity for me not to think about everything going on. With an hour of watching a movie, I wouldn’t have that distraction. Fortunately for Nicole, the boys would probably be playing something in the gym since we were in the cafeteria.

  Ms. Pierce put Groundhog Day on for us to watch. I had never seen the movie before, and I had a feeling most of the class hadn’t seen it either. There was a lot of grumbling in the class when she announced the movie she was putting on.

  It was actually pretty good. This real arrogant guy, Phil, finds himself stuck reliving the same day over and over again. At first, he tries anything to keep from living the day over again. Then, he realizes that he could use it to his advantage by using what he learned the previous day to manipulate the same events the next day, and try to get his producer, Rita, to fall for him. At the point where Phil decided to try and use the time to learn new things, like ice sculpting, Ms. Pierce turned the movie off.

  I don’t know about most of the class, but I was disappointed. I wanted to know how it ended. The movie was really funny. If I had to guess, I would bet that Phil learned how to be a better person in the end, and he probably got the girl. At some point, he probably stopped reliving the same day. I’ll have to watch it later and find out. I want to learn how to ice sculpt.

  The good news was that the movie did manage to keep my mind off of things. On to second period.

  I got to English before Nicole, since I didn’t have to shower today. As I was waiting for class to begin, I was thinking about the movie, and how it related to Nicole and me. I mean, we weren’t reliving the same day, but in a way it’s still the same. Every day we wake up to find that we still aren’t changed back, and every day we have to try and move on and live through the day. As much of a jerk Phil started out as, I still could relate to his situation and I still felt sorry for him.

  I must have been in a trance, because all of a sudden the tardy bell rang. I jumped a little in my seat. I looked behind me and Nicole was in her seat. She was looking at me, a little concerned, so I smiled at her and turned around. I completely missed the part where she came into the classroom and walked past me.

  English passed by at a steady pace. Ms. Early was reviewing for an exam next week. We were covering Dickens. Half of the exam was going to have questions covering a few of his works we had covered this quarter. The second half of the exam was take home. We would have to compose a final chapter to one of Dickens’ works. We needed to change the ending. It could be changed to anything we wanted, but we would be graded on how well it transitioned from Dickens’ work to our ending, originality and relevance to the story. We were supposed to follow the writing style of the novel.

  Maybe it was the nerd in me, but I thought the exam sounded kind of interesting. It would be kind of fun to try and come up with a new ending to a classic novel. I’d have to think about which novel I wanted to choose.

  The bell rang and I packed up my things. Nicole walked up to my desk and waited while I finished packing up.

  “So, what do you think of the exam?” she asked.

  “I think it could be interesting? Do you know which novel you are going to choose?”

  “Not really. It probably seems silly, but I was thinking about A Christmas Carol. I’m not sure how I would want it to end differently, though. How about you?”

  “I don’t really know. There are a couple I am thinking of, but I have to work out how I would change the ending too. I like the idea though. It could be fun.”

  We headed to physics class, where Mike and Jessica were already seated. Mr. Korelinski gave us a pop quiz on speed, velocity and acceleration, which I was pretty sure I aced. Judging from the look on Mike and Nicole’s face, I think they aced it too. Jessica didn’t look as confident.

  “How’d you do?” I asked Jessica as I packed up my things.

  “I don’t know. I think I did okay. What’s the formula for acceleration again?”

  “Change in velocity divided by the change in time,” Mike said, joining our conversation.

  “Okay,” Jessica said, a little disappointed, “then not quite as good as I thought. That means I missed question two, seven, eleven and…eighteen, I’m guessing.”

  “That would still be a B, Jess,” I said. “That’s not bad.”

  “No, I guess not,” she said as we headed out of the classroom. “You guys all probably aced it, though.”

  Nicole and I didn’t say anything. Mike chimed in after a minute. “Yeah, but your grades are still probably better than mine overall, so don’t feel bad.”

  “Thanks,” Jessica said, flashing a smile at Mike.

  We all said our goodbyes as we headed to our lockers. Jessica was already seated when I arrived in calculus. It’s interesting…Jessica is in physics and calculus. She’s not the best student, but she’s obviously not the worst. She gets decent grades. I wonder if she’s just trying not to be the smartest girl in school. Like Mike, but much less drastic.

  In calculus, Ms. Clark also gave us a pop quiz. What’s up with all of the Friday love? The good news was that, so far, it had been quite easy to keep my mind off of everything else.

  As the bell rang, Jessica looked over at me. “So, another A I suppose?” she asked.

  I smiled. “How did you do?”

  “I think I did okay. I’m a little distracted today.”

  “How come?”

  “I’m just nervous about tonight.”

  “Me too.”

  “Why are you nervous?” she asked.

  Uh-oh. I guess I shouldn’t have said that. “I…I just mean that I’m nervous for you.”

  She looked at me funny, but didn’t say anything more on the subject.

  We headed to lunch and got in line for our food. Everyone else was at the table when we made it over. For a group of people who couldn’t seem to stand each other a week ago, they sure seemed to be getting along now.

  “Hi guys. How’s it going?” I asked.

  “Good!” They all said, pretty much at the same time.

  “We were just talking about tonight,” Caryn said. “It should be fun!”

  “So,” Mike chimed in, “where are we going to go for dinner?”

  “Where do you want to go, Jake?” Jessica asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Where do you all want to go?” Nicole replied.

  “Do you want burgers or Italian or Chinese?” Meredith asked. “Are we doing formal or casual?”

  “Let’s do casual!” Nicole offered, a little too enthusiastically.

  “How about the Pasta House?” Mike offered. “It’s close to the theater and it’s pretty casual.”

  “Tha
t sounds good to me,” I agreed.

  Everyone else seemed agreeable. “Okay, Pasta House it is,” Jessica said. “Do we want to meet at six?”

  “What time’s the movie?” Caryn asked.

  “Seven forty,” Jessica said. “That should give us enough time to eat and get to the theater, right?”

  Everyone seemed in agreement. There was a pause, and then people broke into their own conversations. Jessica turned toward Nicole, who was eating and staring out across the cafeteria.

  “So, I’ll pick you up at about five thirty, Jake?” Jessica asked.

  “Oh, uhh…yeah, that would be great. Thanks.”

  “Sure. I’m looking forward to tonight. The movie’s supposed to be pretty funny.”

  “Yeah, the previews looked pretty funny,” Nicole said.

  There was another pause in the conversation, and Jessica turned my way and shifted gears. “So, whose house are we getting together at tonight?”

  Mike, who had been talking to Caryn and Meredith, perked up when Jessica asked the question. “Huh?”

  “Not you, silly. The girls. We usually spend the night at one of our houses on Friday nights. My house is available,” Jessica offered.

  “Sounds good to me,” Caryn said.

  “Yeah, that’s fine,” Meredith offered.

  I didn’t know what to say. I looked at Nicole. I think she gave me a subtle nod as she looked down.

  “Sure,” I said. “That’s fine by me, too.”

  The rest of lunch didn’t seem to last very long. We talked about our classes and how most of us seemed to be getting a lot of quizzes or tests today.

  It was still raining outside, but it didn’t seem like most of the group shared my enthusiasm for the rain. I knew Nicole liked it, but for as little as we get it, nobody else seemed to be enjoying it.

  “Well,” Jessica said as we packed up to go to our next class, “I just hope it dries up by tonight.”

  “How come?” I asked, apparently foolishly.

  “Because,” she said giving me a ‘how could you not already know the answer to that question’ glare, “I don’t want it to mess up my hair.” She gave Nicole a sideways glance.