Chapter VIII

When the following morning arrived, Lilly was so tired that she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was going to be at risk of falling asleep in class during the upcoming day. She hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep since her mind had been so focused on trying to process the previous day’s events. Part of her was still trying to find some way to brush it all off as a dream or a hallucination but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t accept it as anything more than reality. That little orange gemstone had switched her into the body of Eric Reiner.

Magic existed. There was no way for her to deny that anymore. It was real and those in the Magic Club had their hands on it. She had no idea what they would do with it, but what she did know was that she didn’t want to be involved. She wanted to put as much distance between her and them as possible and go on with her life like nothing had happened. The problem was that it was easier said than done.

While they were switched, Eric had both monologued like a maniac in front of Jay and Alice then sprinted into the boy’s bathroom where Brad Fischer was. There was no doubt in her mind that the three of them were confused and would be demanding answers from her, especially given the drastic shift in personality that they witnessed.

Lilly grimaced. Well, Alice and Jay will want to talk. I’d be lucky if Brad didn’t just assume I’m some perverted psycho.

She shivered at the thought of the rumors that could potentially spread about her. Despite knowing that they would probably keep people away, she was very much against being seen as a pervert or as crazy by her classmates.

The girl bit her lip nervously, making a right turn and heading up the school’s staircase that would take her to the second floor. Nobody seemed to be looking at her or talking about her so for the time being, she was content to hope that any rumors were confined to Brad and his friends. Of course, she knew that didn’t mean it wouldn’t spread eventually but she was trying to be positive about the situation.

When she arrived on the second floor, she turned and made her way toward Mrs. Kentz’s English class. She cringed at the sight of the door, knowing with almost certainty that Alice would be waiting within. The girl had gotten to class early every day since school started and, after what happened the previous day, it would be surprising if she was late. Lilly knew there wouldn’t be a way to avoid the conversation and, despite having had all night to think, she still didn’t know how she was going to explain herself. She was grateful that she never gave her phone number to either of them or else she would have been forced to confront them sooner.

It wasn’t like she could tell the truth. Alice most likely already thought she was insane so claiming that she swapped bodies with Eric would only solidify that image. The problem, however, was that there was no other explanation. How was she supposed to justify going into the boy’s bathroom? There wasn’t a way that wouldn’t make her look crazy.

Well, she thought with apprehension. At the very least, Alice probably won’t want anything to do with me anymore. I can go back to being a loner like I used to be.

However, the thought wasn’t as comforting as she wanted it to be. While she wanted to distance herself from the other girl and just be by herself, she certainly didn’t want their brief relationship to crumble under circumstances like the one she currently found herself in.

Well…I might as well get this over with.

She took a deep breath and walked toward the classroom, whispering a soft “good morning” to Kentz before walking through the doorway. It was then that she felt her heart nearly stop as, when she looked over to where she and Alice sat, she saw not only the girl standing there but Jay Brooks as well. She stopped, her eyes going wide. She had hardly been prepared to face Alice, let alone Jay.

Lilly panicked, wanting to turn around and sprint from the room, when she noticed the other group in the room. Brad’s group of friends were sitting in their usual spot in the back left corner and Lilly immediately noticed the big boy looking at her with an uncomfortable expression. She looked back at him for a moment before the urge to flee overtook her and she turned around, only to stop once again.

“Harper? Where are you going?”

It was Jay’s voice. Clutching the strap of her backpack so hard that she could feel her fingers losing feeling, she took another deep breath and turned around. Now that they had seen her, running would only make the problem worse. It would be best to just face them head-on and try her best to get the conversation finished as fast as possible.

Jay and Alice were both standing by her desk, each with mixed expressions of concern and hesitation. The fact that there was no sign of Jay’s normal confident and obnoxious demeanor only further proved to her that the situation wasn’t one she could just brush off like it didn’t matter.

“I…just thought I…” she stuttered.

“Look,” Alice began, albeit with clear discomfort. “Can we just talk really quick? We won’t keep you long if you have somewhere to be though so don’t worry.”

Jay snorted, as if he had something he wanted to say but, oddly for him, he kept it to himself.

Lilly averted her eyes and nodded, reluctantly moving across the classroom to the opposite wall where her desk was. Nobody said anything as she removed her backpack from over her shoulders and set it on the ground under her desk. She then took a seat and waited for one of them to say what it was they wanted to say. To her, it was best to let Alice and Jay take the floor and then attempt to explain herself based on whatever they had.

“So…” Alice began, sitting down in the desk in front of her. “I’m just gonna come out and ask. Is everything all right because…well, to be blunt, you were really weird yesterday?”

“That’s an understatement,” Jay grunted. “I mean…what was all that about the stone having power or whatever? And then you just run into the guy’s bathroom? I mean…if I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought you were possessed by Reiner!”

Lilly grimaced inwardly. If only you didn’t know better, Jay. Then explaining this whole thing would be a piece of cake.

“Is something going on?” Alice pressed. “Like…something we should know about because…if so, then we’re here for you. Just…ask and we’ll help.”

Lilly frowned, having not expected to hear something like that come out of her mouth. She had been fully prepared for the two of them to look at her like a nutcase so for Alice to still act like they wanted to help her left her speechless.

“And we’ll keep whatever it is secret if you want,” Jay added. “Clearly you don’t want anybody knowing. So like…do you have multiple personalities or…?”

She looked between the two, trying desperately to figure out what to say. They stared back at her, both smiling warmly as if trying to comfort her.

I don’t understand. Why are they being like this? They don’t know me! They don’t have any reason to want to help me! They should think I’m some unstable maniac…so why would they want to try to help?!

“Look,” Lilly began softly. “Can you give me some time to think? Honestly…even I don’t really know what’s going on.”

She could no longer bring herself to lie—not after they made it so clear that they were there for her. However, since she couldn’t exactly tell the truth either, she opted to be vague and tell only the part of the truth that she could.

“Of course,” Alice replied sweetly. “Take all the time you need and, when you’re ready, just come to us.”

Jay chuckled. “And it better be a good story after everything we witnessed. Also…” he added, as if suddenly remembering something. “…don’t worry about Fischer telling anybody about what happened. Alice convinced him to keep quiet until we knew what was up.”

“Uh…thanks,” she whispered. “Honestly…I mean it.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jay said with a wave of his hand.

To her surprise, Lilly smiled. The two of them had annoyed her so much since school started and yet, in that moment, she found herself grateful that they were there. After having everything turned upside down with the stone, it was oddly comforting to have Alice and Jay by her side. However, that comfort only lasted a few minutes before a new voice rang out through the room.

“Ah, I was hoping I would find you here!”

Cringing inwardly at the voice, Lilly looked past Jay and to the door where Vinny Mickelson was making his way toward her. Luckily, there was no sign of Eric or his little gemstone.

“The hell do you want, Mickelson?” Jay snapped, clearly displeased at the boy’s sudden arrival.

“Wow, harsh,” Vinny replied with a grin. “What’s with the rude tone, buddy? I haven’t even done anything yet. I just wanted to talk to Harper about something.”

Lilly looked down at the desk’s surface, hoping Jay would somehow get Vinny to leave. She wanted to avoid the Magic Club and their stone at all costs so she certainly didn’t want to have any sort of interaction with Vinny.

“You want to talk to her?” Jay snorted. “Does it have to do with your buddy Reiner being all weird around her yesterday?”

Lilly looked up at the blonde boy to see him staring back at her, a knowing smile on his lips.

“I’d imagine so,” he replied. He then addressed her directly. “It won’t be long. I just wanted to talk to you about something outside for a minute. Do you mind?”

Both Jay and Alice looked to her, clearly awaiting her answer and she knew Jay wouldn’t be getting her out of it. If she wanted to avoid talking to Vinny then she would have to reject him herself. However, even though she wanted nothing to do with them, she couldn’t deny that she was slightly curious as to what he wanted.

Well, he said it wouldn’t take long…

Allowing her curiosity to get the better of her, Lilly nodded and got to her feet, much to the clear surprise of Jay.

“Awesome,” Vinny chirped. “In that case, follow me, my lady.”

Scowling at his dumb addressing of her, Lilly nevertheless followed him from the classroom and out into the crowded hallways beyond. Vinny didn’t take her very far from the class before they arrived at a small gap between lockers where a water fountain was. He leaned up against the wall and grinned.

“Well, seeing as you can’t exactly call yesterday a proper meeting, I thought I’d first introduce myself.” He stuck out a hand in greeting. “I’m Vinny Mickelson. It’s nice to meet ya.”

Lilly stared down at his hand in barely restrained irritation as she wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries. She just wanted him to get to the point so she could leave. Yet, knowing that angering the boy wouldn’t do her any good, she took his hand and shook firmly.

“I’m Lillian Harper. You can just call me Lilly,” she replied.

The boy nodded. “Coolio. In that case, Lilly, I wanted to talk to you about yesterday.”

Of course he does. What else would he need from me?

“After all,” he went on. “It wasn’t exactly a normal afternoon. It isn’t everyday you come across…magic, now is it? Quite frankly, I’m still trying to process the whole thing myself. It was such an insane idea…a gem that can switch bodies. It’s like something out of a fairy tale.”

Lilly cringed, glancing back at the passing students for fear of what they would think if they overheard any of the conversation. If Vinny noticed hey worry then he ignored it.

“My point is…” he continued. “We’re still trying to figure it all out and, seeing as you’re the only other person who knows about this, it seemed only fair that we let you know that you’re welcome to join us in our investigations. We meet after school in the clubroom.”

Lilly quickly shook her head. “Uh, thanks, but I have cross country practice after school. I wouldn’t be able to make it anyway.”

She knew she couldn’t let her curiosity overcome her. It was best to avoid the whole club and pretend the previous day never happened. And regardless of whether or not the gem intrigued her, it wouldn’t matter if she was busy. Yet, as Vinny welcomed her to join them, part of her was tempted to find some way to make it work just to see what else that magic stone could do despite every ounce of her body urging her to keep her distance from it.

“That’s fine,” he replied. “Cross country gets out at five, right? We’re here til around six so there would be plenty of time for you to stop by.”

Lilly immediately looked down at the ground, cursing the fact that she no longer had a confident excuse to not go.

Don’t be stupid, Lilly! That damn gem already got you in enough trouble as it is…not to mention the Magic Club is full of nutcases! There’s no logical reason to even consider taking Vinny up on his offer.

Yet there was still that feeling of curiosity that nagged at her every time she thought about the fact that magic existed and that she had experienced it. Part of her was starting to fear that she would regret it if she let such an insane opportunity like this pass her up regardless of her desires to keep to herself.

When she didn’t immediately respond, Vinny chuckled. “I’m starting to realize you aren’t a talkative one.” He then shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, that’s fine. If you don’t want to come then we won’t mind. But just know that this offer comes all the way from our club’s very own president, Mr. Eric Reiner, and I’m sure he’d be quite disappointed if you don’t show.”

The boy winked before giving her a cheerful few pats on the shoulder. Lilly grimaced at the contact but Vinny didn’t seem to notice as he moved to walk past her.

“I hope to see you later, my friend,” he called back to her as he walked into the flow of students. “Take care!”

Lilly stared after him, standing in place as she considered his words.

Eric’s the one who invited me?

She recalled how confident and outright strange the boy had been throughout the whole body switching situation. In particular, she thought about how quick he was to embrace and even get excited about what was going on. The way he spoke also made it seem like he wasn’t surprised but had instead expected the stone to have some sort of power.

The mysteries of Eric Reiner was just one other factor that seemed to be pulling her towards that infamous club.

She sighed, her thoughts shifting back to the experience of being Eric and all the foreign sensations it came with. She still recalled them all vividly and immediately felt her cheeks warming up. She shook her head and began making her way back toward the classroom.

I really shouldn’t go there later, she told herself.

And yet, she wasn’t so sure that she would be able to keep herself from doing so.

***

The beginning of the school day seemed to drone on for far too long so when the bell announcing the start of lunch rang out across the classroom, Vinny Mickelson couldn’t help but to sigh in relief. However, he immediately regretted it when Mr. Alexander, his Honors Inporian History teacher, looked to where he sat in the back of the class and raised an eyebrow.

“Have something you want to add, Mr. Mickelson?” the old, balding man asked with narrowed eyes.

Shit. I was a bit too obvious with my relief there, wasn’t I? he thought with an internal chuckle.

“Actually yes, sir,” he replied as the rest of the class began packing their books into their bags. “I was just thinking how silly it was that Faren Luther fell into the northerners' trap as easily as he did. For a supposed tactical genius, he seems like a bit of an idiot.”

He could hear a few laughs from the students around him but never once removed his eyes from Mr. Alexander’s features. He was mostly bullshitting his response, but at the same time, he knew enough about the history of the world to make it at least sound believable. Because of this, it took Mr. Alexander a moment to regard him before the old man responded with a snort.

“Well, that’s because you’re overlooking the clear fact that Luther’s opponent was just as clever, if not more so. Not to mention the battle of Cape Cavell was one of the final turning points of the Civil War. Luther had exhausted his forces in the northern campaign and so, he had nothing more to give when General Christi set the trap.”

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Vinny nodded. “I suppose you have a point there, sir. My mistake. Next time, I’ll consider all the details a little more carefully.”

“And perhaps you’ll pay more attention in class,” Alexander snapped. “I assure you that my lectures can be far more interesting than watching the clock tick if you just apply yourself.”

That’s quite debatable, Vinny thought and, by the dubious looks on the students still straggling in the room, he knew that he wasn’t the only person thinking that.

“Anyway, I’ll see everybody on Monday!” the man called out, addressing the other students still in the room. “And don’t forget that the exam on the Civil War will be next Tuesday so use the weekend wisely!”

Vinny smirked as he slid his history book into his backpack, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be opening it again until class the following Monday. It was just as he was getting ready to get up and leave when he noticed somebody stopping just beside his desk. He didn’t even have to look up to know who it was. However, when he did look, he saw a disapproving expression on the boy’s face.

“Yes, Damien?” Vinny asked wryly. “What is it?”

The other boy sighed. “Do you really need to butt heads with Alexander every day? We’ve only been in this class for two weeks and he already looks sick of you.”

Vinny laughed, getting to his feet and sliding his backpack over his shoulder. “He’s not sick of me. Mr. Alexander loves me. That scowl is just how he shows affection.”

“Oh really?” Damien smirked. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that, Vin’.”

Walking together, the two boys made their way from the classroom and out into the third floor hallway before making a right in the direction of their clubroom where they usually ate lunch together. They kept to the left wall to avoid running into any passing students. Normally, Vinny wasn’t terribly excited for lunch aside from getting to end Alexander’s painfully boring history class but on that day, things were different. If the halls weren’t so crowded, he would already be sprinting.

After all, they were going to discuss what Vinny and Eric had now dubbed “The Switch”.

I still can’t believe it’s actually real, he thought with anticipation. I mean…actual fucking magic!

When the person he thought had been Lillian Harper had burst into the room the previous afternoon talking identically to Eric, Vinny had genuinely believed that she had been paid by the boy to come in and mess with them. It wasn’t until Liz and Eric switched that he started to doubt it being a prank. After all, he just couldn’t fathom the Elizabeth Tao he knew willingly doing an impression of Eric. However, his confirmation came right after Lilly regained her body and fled the room.

Liz and Eric returned to their normal bodies and then the tall boy had offered to switch with Vinny. Wanting desperately to make sense of the situation, he had done as he was told and he touched the gemstone. What happened after completely turned his world upside down. He and Eric actually swapped bodies. It hadn’t been a dream or a hallucination or anything of the sort. He had actually been in the body of his old friend.

I always thought it was just a game, he thought. I thought this Magic Club was just a way to have fun and joke around with friends. I knew Eric believed in it but…I always just played alone cause I thought it was more entertaining than acting like the world had nothing magical to offer. But now to actually face something like The Switch…

Vinny glanced to his left where Damien was walking, his head down and his brow furrowed in deep concentration.

He’s probably thinking about the stone, too. Damien never even pretended to believe in magic so I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind right now.

“It’s a crazy world we live in, ain’t it?” Vinny asked with a grin.

Damien glanced over at him and shrugged. “I suppose so. I just…still can’t make sense of any of this.”

“Of course you can’t,” Vinny replied. “It’s magic, dude. It’s not supposed to be sensible.”

“But…” The boy shook his head. “Magic doesn’t exist, Vinny. It’s not real! Or at least…it shouldn’t be. So…I mean, there’s just got to be some sort of explanation for this.”

“Ha!” Vinny eyed his friend in amusement. “Really? You want a scientific explanation as to how people can swap bodies? Yeah, let me know when you figure that out.”

Damien scowled, briefly glancing around to make sure none of the passing students were paying them any attention. “Oh, shut up. I’m serious here. It’s not possible for a simple rock to switch bodies. Hell, the whole concept of switching bodies doesn’t even make any goddamn sense.”

“How so?” the blonde boy asked, genuinely curious to get his take on the situation.

“Well, for starters, what exactly is getting swapped?” he asked.

Vinny frowned. “What do you mean? Us…obviously?”

“No, I mean…the soul is just a human construct, right? It’s never actually been proven to exist,” Damien explained. “Our consciousness is made up of various functions in our brain. Take memories for example. They’re predominantly dealt with by the hippocampus, right?”

“Sure,” Vinny muttered.

“Okay, so what does the stone do?” Damien went on. “Does it transfer memories from one brain to the other? Setting aside the absurdity of a rock having the ability to do that, it’s not like memories make up your entire personality. The hippocampus is in the brain’s temporal lobe while personality is mainly dealt with in the frontal lobe. So does the gem access both lobes? And then does it overwrite it in the new brain?”

Vinny grimaced. “Dude, my head hurts. I dunno. It’s magic! It can probably do whatever the hell it wants!”

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Damien frowned. “Not to mention the shock it must deal to the mind to suddenly be in a foreign body.”

Vinny shrugged. “I mean I didn’t feel all that different when Eric and I swapped.”

Damien nodded. “Not too surprising, honestly. You and Eric are pretty similar in body types. I’m thinking more about what Eric and Lilly would have experienced.”

“Oh, yeah,” the blonde boy said. “Man, that must’ve been an experience. I wonder what it feels like to be a girl. Although you’re right, losing my dick would probably send me into shock from trauma.”

“That aside,” Damien grumbled, clearly not amused by Vinny’s attempt at a joke. “Ignoring the obvious anatomical differences between the genders, there’s still size to think about. Eric might not be big in the shoulders but he’s still a dude. Lilly’s smaller than him, not to mention their centers of gravity are much different. Walking around should’ve been a chore on its own but Eric was strutting around in her body as if he’d been born that way. It’s just…”

“Look,” Vinny interrupted, noticing Mr. Lowe’s classroom coming into view up ahead. “You’re trying to explain the unexplainable, Damien. The answer is magic. Simple as that.”

The other boy scowled. “I can’t believe you’re just accepting this.”

“Of course I am,” he replied casually as they arrived at the door. “What kinda MOAIT member would I be if I didn’t?”

Vinny pulled the door open and stepped inside, immediately noticing Liz and Eric already sitting in the back corner. There were a few seniors eating lunch at various desks but they were on the opposite side of the room meaning they’d have plenty of privacy.

“Gooooood afternoon, Mr. Lowe!” Vinny greeted the older man, who was hunched over his desk, grading papers.

Lowe barely managed a grunt in reply, which was more than Vinny got on a normal day. Satisfied that their grouchy club advisor was coming around, the blonde boy walked around the desks to where Eric and Liz were sitting.

“Welcome, fellow investigators,” Eric greeted with a grin.

“Yo,” Vinny replied, taking a seat in the desk beside Eric and turning it to face the boy.

Damien did the same to the desk beside Liz. Once they had the desks turned in a way that had them facing each other, Eric continued.

“So, now that we’ve all gathered again, I first want to ask you something, Vinny.”

“What’s up?” Vinny asked, surprised to be the first one to be addressed.

“Did Lilly Harper take us up on our offer to join?” Eric pressed.

The blonde boy smirked. “I mean, honestly, she really didn’t say much. I guess that means she didn’t say no but she didn’t really say yes either.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “You guys seriously think that girl’s ever coming near us again? If just switching bodies didn’t scar her enough then being Eric is gonna give her PTSD til the day she dies. I know I’m still shivering from the thought and I was only in his body for a minute at most.”

Eric frowned. “Hey! Being me isn’t that bad.”

“Regardless,” Liz continued. “I wouldn’t hold my breath. Harper didn’t seem like the type who would mix well with us anyway. And I doubt she’ll tell anybody about the gem…not like she'd be believed if she did though.”

“I agree,” Damien muttered. “There’s no way she comes back.”

Eric sighed, looking genuinely disappointed for a brief second before returning to his normal confident demeanor.

“Well, even if Miss Harper doesn’t come back, we still need to figure out what to do with the stone,” he said.

“What to do with it?” Liz asked. “What are we supposed to do with it? I mean, as cool as a body swapper is, it’s not like it’s going to be of much use to us. Unless you want to just swap bodies for fun.”

“That’s why we need to brainstorm,” he replied in exasperation. “We need to figure out what good it’ll actually do us.”

Damien sighed. “I still say we chuck it off the pier and into the ocean. That way, we can pretend like it never existed.”

“What?” Eric exclaimed. “Why would we want to do that?! We’ve finally found a magical talisman and you want to get rid of it?!”

“Of course I do!” Damien snapped. “Eric, think about this. We found that thing just laying in the cave, right? It had to come from somewhere! Someone had to have lost it and I highly doubt whoever it was isn’t looking for it! If that thing really is magic then it’s clearly supposed to be a secret from people like us! What do you think is gonna happen when it’s original owners find us?”

Vinny felt a sudden chill go down his spine at the thought. He hadn’t actually considered where the stone might have come from and Damien had a point.

Yet Eric simply shrugged. “I’m not too worried. I don’t think whoever lost it would want to hurt us.”

Liz cocked an eyebrow in bewilderment. “And why is that?”

Eric grinned. “Call it a hunch.”

Vinny chuckled, finding an odd sense of comfort in Eric’s confidence despite it having no apparent reason behind it. Yet, regardless, he felt his worries eased and was able to help brainstorm ways to use the gem with a clear mind. However, despite ignoring it, he couldn’t deny that there was still a nagging sense in the back of his mind telling him that they shouldn’t be so quick to brush Damien’s fear aside.

***

The sound of her footsteps against the linoleum floor of the school echoed through the silent and empty hallways of the third floor. The sun was setting over the horizon, casting an orange glow across the corridor. Lilly clutched her backpack strap and absently chewed on her lower lip, her eyes focused on her feet as she walked. Cross country practice had ended five minutes ago and, after breaking off from Alice and Jay, she had gone up to her locker to retrieve a few textbooks she had forgotten to get before going to practice. Now, all she had to do was make her way down to the bottom floor and start her walk home.

Yet, for some reason she couldn’t fathom, instead of turning right onto the staircase, she passed it by and continued down the hall in the direction of the Magic Club’s room.

What the hell am I doing? she berated herself. This is so stupid! There’s no sane reason to get myself involved with them any more than I already have! Did that gem drive me crazy or something?

She knew she only barely survived her last encounter with Eric Reiner and the gem. The fact that Alice and Jay were being so understanding wasn’t a turn of events she could ever have predicted and she knew she should be grateful that they didn’t think she was a nutcase. The logical course of action would be to then avoid Reiner and his stone like the plague so she could avoid getting herself into any more trouble. Then, if she could make up some excuse to give to Jay and Alice that would explain her odd actions while Eric was in her body, she could put the whole thing behind her.

So why am I actually going to that damn room?!

She knew she still had the opportunity to turn around and run. After all, she hadn’t arrived at the clubroom yet. But she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Regardless of how much her logic urged her to leave them alone, she just couldn’t ignore the simple fact that she now had undeniable proof that magic existed. How was she supposed to go about her life acting like it all never happened when she had witnessed real magic?

Especially since Vinny had offered to let her join them, she no longer had anything standing between her and investigating the otherworldly entity that was Eric’s little orange gem. She didn’t know what she expected to gain from it but she simply couldn’t convince herself to try and forget about it.

Lilly exhaled softly as room 3-5 came into view up ahead.

Well, let’s do this. Who knows. Maybe they’ll weird me out so much that I’ll come to my senses and run for the hills.

With that last thought, the girl pressed onward and stopped only when she stood right outside the room. Then, with a deep breath, she rapped her knuckles three times against its metal surface. For a few seconds, she stood in silence, listening for either a call to come in or for somebody to open the door, until she heard someone speak.

“Uh, come in.”

Lilly nodded, knowing she was now fully committed, and pushed the door open. The sight she was greeted with was the four members of the club gathered at desks arranged in a circle and pointed toward each other. Damien, Liz, and Vinny were staring at her in clear surprise but Eric merely smiled, as if he were the only one who expected her to come.

“Miss Lilly Harper!” he called out cheerfully. “Glad you could make it!”

Lilly cringed inwardly at his overly formal way of addressing her but found herself unable to make a response. It felt like her voice was stuck in her throat.

“Wow,” Vinny said with a chuckle. “I didn’t think you’d actually come. Here, pull up a desk and sit between Liz and I.”

Deciding to simply nod, Lilly slipped her backpack off and onto a nearby desk before walking silently toward them and doing as Vinny suggested.

“Okay, I’m just gonna come out and ask,” Liz began, looking at her with a cocked eyebrow. “Did either of them blackmail you to come?”

Before she could even consider a response, Eric and Vinny exclaimed in protest.

“I take offense to that, dear Liz!” Eric snapped. “As if I would ever attempt to manipulate an innocent maiden such as her!”

Vinny nodded his agreement. “And that’s rich coming from you considering you’re the one seducing Damien with your siren song! If anybody manipulated Lilly, it was most likely you!”

“Oh really? Is that so?” Liz said with a click of her tongue.

Lilly quietly took her seat as the three argued, noticing that Damien had his face in his hands in clear embarrassment. It actually surprised her to know that one of them seemed self aware enough to actually care about how they were perceived by her. He glanced up at her briefly and mouthed “I’m sorry”.

Despite the situation, she couldn’t help but to smile and shrug.

I brought this on myself, after all. I knew what I was getting myself into.

“Anyway!” Eric said loudly, breaking off the bickering. “Since Miss Harper has joined us, we should fill her in on what we’ve discussed thus far.”

Finally finding her ability to speak, Lilly quickly interjected before he could continue.

“Um, actually…”

When she trailed off, the other four turned to look at her curiously with Damien being the one to respond.

“Yeah? What’s up?”

She sighed, once again reevaluating her sanity, before continuing.

“I don’t know what’s up with the formalities or whatever but…just call me Lilly. No ‘Miss’ or ‘Harper’. Just Lilly.”

“Ah, I guess she’s not one for Eric’s stupid addresses,” Liz said with a laugh. “That makes two of us, to be honest.” The girl then turned to look at Lilly. “And I realize you’ve only really met Vinny so, we should start with introductions. I’m Liz. Nice to meet you!”

The bespectacled girl stuck out her hand and Lilly was once again forced into shaking hands and introducing herself. She supposed it simply came with the territory of being the new girl but she found herself growing progressively sick of it by the day.

“I’m Damien,” the boy added once she had shaken Liz’s hand.

“And I’m Vinny but…you already knew that.” He laughed like he had made some sort of joke before putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair.

Eric chuckled, extending his own hand to Lilly, which she firmly shook.

“Eric Reiner,” he said happily. “Though it is kinda odd to have to introduce myself to somebody who’s been inside my body, isn’t it?”

Lilly shrugged, feeling her cheeks turning red at the thought of their body switching. “I-I…guess so.”

“Oh, the poor girl really is traumatized,” Liz said, eyeing Eric through narrowed eyes. “What’d I tell you, Reiner? Being in your gross body is psychologically scarring for a girl…especially one as pretty as Lilly! Imagine being blessed with her face and then one day looking into the mirror to see your ugly mug staring back.”

Lilly’s cheeks burned even brighter at both Liz calling her pretty and the constant reminder of the previous day’s events that she could only continue to cringe at.

“Silence, Liz!” Eric commanded. “Your words cannot wound me! I know full well how much of a handsome devil I am and you can’t tell me otherwise.”

Damien snorted. “Can we just get to the point?”

“I am trying!” Eric replied sharply.

He then brushed at his uniform before reaching into his pocket to produce the small orange gem. He held it up for them to see, the light of the sunset reflecting across its smooth surface. Lilly felt herself tense up at seeing it once again but also felt an aura of intrigue now that the conversation had returned to the stone.

“Naturally, this is the main topic of discussion,” he continued, placing the stone down on the desk before Lilly.

She looked down at it in awe and Eric motioned with a nod of his head for her to pick it up. Despite being fairly hesitant to come into contact with it again, Lilly still found herself reaching out to wrap her fingers around its smooth surface. This time, however, there was no being enveloped in that white world nor did she switch bodies with anybody. All the gem did was glisten in her palm. She felt a soft warmth to it against her bare skin.

“As far as we know, it only activates when two people touch it at the same time,” Eric went on. “Otherwise, it’s just a simple gemstone.”

“It’s called “The Switch” by the way,” Vinny chimed in, earning a roll of the eyes from Liz.

“Nobody asked,” she retorted.

“Anyway,” Damien snapped. “Go on, Eric.”

The tall boy nodded. “Well, Lilly, after talking it over, we’ve decided that we need to figure out more about this thing. As of right now, all we know is that it can switch bodies but we don’t know anything past that.”

Lilly frowned, looking up at him in confusion. “What else is there to know? I thought it was pretty straightforward.”

Well, as straightforward as goddamn magic can be, that is.

Eric motioned for Damien to explain so it was him that took the floor.

“Well, you see, there’s still a lot to figure out,” he explained. “Even if we just accept that it’s magic, which I’m still not fully convinced about, there’s still other aspects to consider. How long could two people stay switched? Do you gain anything past physical elements from the person you swapped with? That sort of stuff.”

Lilly nodded, realizing now that they had put a lot more thought into the situation than she had.

“So,” Liz began, “since it’s kinda risky to use it at school until we know more about it, we were thinking about all getting together at my house this Sunday to experiment. My parents won’t be home so we’ll have the place to ourselves and you’re more than welcome to come.”

Lilly looked over at her in surprise. “B-but…you hardly know me. Wouldn’t it be kinda weird for me to just come over?”

Liz shrugged. “Listen, friendo. I’ve been in your body. As far as I’m concerned, I know you better than anybody.”

“That…” Lilly grimaced.

What kind of logic is that?!

“So, are you free Sunday?” Eric asked.

Lilly glanced back down at the gem still laying in her palm. She was, in fact, free on Sunday and could easily go over to Liz’s to experiment if she lived nearby. The problem was that she hadn’t been over to a fellow student’s house since she was seven. She wasn’t one to socialize with people and putting up with Jay and Alice was about her limit. Just the fact that she was currently sitting in that clubroom was a major feat for her.

But…what was the point in even coming here today if not to learn more about this thing, right?

Lilly closed her fingers around the gem and allowed it’s faint warmth to wash over it. She knew that no matter what she did, she wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about the stone until she had a better understanding of what it was. Prone to avoiding people or not, she knew herself well enough to know that she would be at Liz’s home come Sunday whether she liked it or not.

Lilly nodded with a sigh.

“Yeah, I’m free.”