Thomas, 17, had always been jealous of his sister, Bella, 15. The past few years, he had watched her blossom into a beautiful teenage girl. While Thomas struggled with his weight, Bella was slender and beautiful. She was free to express her full range of emotions –her femininity– while Thomas was trapped in the confines of toxic masculinity.
One way, while walking home from school, Thomas noticed a strange glowing rock nestled in a ditch. Intrigued, Thomas bent down to examine the rock. As he reached out to touch it, a sudden surge of energy jolted through him. He was taken aback by the sudden sensation. Perplexed and intrigued, Thomas slid it into his pocket and continued on his way.
He arrived home and attempted to get his keys in the door. But Bella had heard him and opened the door.
“Hey Thomas!” she smiled radiantly.
She had always had such an amazing smile, Thomas thought, “Hey Bella! What’s up?”
Bella reached out to hug him. Thomas felt the same surge of energy flowing through his body once again. And he could tell Bella was feeling the same thing.
Their embrace lingered longer than usual, the strange energy pulsing between them. Thomas and Bella pulled back, eyes wide with wonder and confusion.
"What was that?" Bella whispered, her voice barely audible.
"I... I don't know," Thomas stammered, still trying to process the sensation coursing through him.
His vision began to warp until he found himself looking back at …himself? He gasped, but his voice sounded much higher than usual.
He reached up to touch his face, feeling the delicate curves and smooth skin that belonged to his sister. Panic set in as he stumbled backward, only to realize that he and Bella had somehow swapped bodies.
"We... we switched bodies," Thomas muttered, the reality of the situation sinking in.
Bella nodded slowly, her eyes wide with a combination of fear and curiosity.
As they stood there in shock, trying to make sense of their sudden body swap, the sound of their parents' footsteps coming down the stairs made their hearts race. Thomas - now in Bella's body, and Bella - in Thomas's body, exchanged panicked looks and scrambled to come up with a plan.
"Quick, act normal!" Bella whispered urgently, her voice sounding strange coming from Thomas's body.
Thomas nodded nervously, trying to adjust to the unfamiliar weight and balance of his new body. As their parents entered the hallway, they were greeted with an elaborate charade put on by the siblings.
Their mother raised an eyebrow at the unusually formal behavior but shrugged it off as another quirk of her teenage children. As soon as their parents retreated to the living room, Thomas - still in Bella's body - turned to her with wide eyes.
"What do we do now?" he asked, his voice trembling with anxiety.
Great start :)
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