Play Date - Part 10

“You said ‘yes’, Jack?!”

Jack winced, holding the phone away from his ear as Julia's angry voice - his own voice - blared through the speaker.

"I didn't say yes," he protested weakly, "Abby did it for me. For you. I mean..."

He trailed off, realizing how ridiculous the situation had become. 

"What about us, Jack?

"Look, I'm sorry," Jack said, running Julia's hand through her long hair in frustration, "I didn't know what to do."

He heard Julia sigh heavily on the other end of the line, "This is getting so complicated, Jack. Maybe... maybe we should switch back for real."

“I think you’re right. We just need to get our hands on the pebble. Abby’s here at your house now, actually, so I can try to come up with a way to get it from her.”

Jack ended the call with Julia. He needed to get that pebble from Abby, and fast. Taking a deep breath, he headed downstairs to where Abby was lounging on the couch, scrolling through her phone.

"Hey, Abby," Jack said, “You know… I would’ve wanted to go with Jack instead.”

“As if I would let you date my brother, Julia,” Abby huffed.

“Why not? He’s a great guy,” Jack replied, forcing a laugh as he attempted to slip into Julia’s playful tone.

Abby glanced up, “You actually like him? That’s so weird. I mean, you know how he is.”

“Who wouldn’t? He’s charming and sweet,” Jack said, trying to sound breezy, but feeling a twinge of panic as he noticed Abby narrowing her eyes at him.

He needed to pivot the conversation quickly, "I was just thinking about... you know, that weird rock we found. Do you still have it?"

"Oh, yeah! I have it right here. Why?"

"Oh, I just thought it might be cool to try it out …with you…”

“Oh, uh, sure! I’d love to swap bodies with you! Let’s do it!”

Jack hesitated, unsure if he really wanted to switch bodies with Abby. Sure, he’d been in Julia’s body for a week, but the thought of inhabiting his own sister’s body was something else.

He scanned her body, imagining what it would be like to become her.

“Are you sure about this, Abby?” Jack asked warily.

“Of course! It’ll be fun,” Abby replied, oblivious to the fact that her brother would be inside of her body.

“Alright, let’s do it,” he knew he needed to get his hands on that pebble.

Abby handed him the pebble and they both held onto it tightly. Jack watched as her body began to glow and he felt himself being pulled into it. The sensation was strange but not entirely unfamiliar. After all, he had experienced something similar when he switched with Julia.

When the glowing stopped, Jack looked down at his new body. Long blonde hair fell in front of Jack’s eyes.

“Whoa, Julia!” Abby said, looking down at her new body in amazement, “I’m you! This is so weird!”

Jack couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. It seemed like she was having a great time in Julia’s body.

“So… can we switch back now?” Jack asked tentatively.

“Already?” she said, “I think I’d like to stay in your body for just a little longer.”