Angie carefully picked up the device from the bin. Normally she wouldn't dare touch junk like this, and she'd just gotten a manicure for her date tonight and didn't want to mess it up, but she felt strangely compelled to see what it was. Something about this thing seemed oddly familiar, but she couldn't put a finger on it. She walked back to the park bench, crossing her pale legs & tugging the hem of her short dress as she sat.
It was some sort of remote, with only a couple of buttons. It looked old and weathered, like it had been sitting in that bin for years. She wondered if it even worked anymore, whatever it did. She was trying to make out something that was written on the side when LeMarcus came back, casually wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he sat down.
"What's that thing, baby?" he asked.
"I... I don't know," she said. "It looks familiar, though." LeMarcus leaned in to get a closer look and scoffed.
"That busted ass thing? Looks like some old TV remote, just a piece of trash." He leaned in even closer, obviously intent on changing the subject. "Ooh, girl, your hair smells nice. I love that you keep it natural like that."
Angie felt herself blushing and shrugged slightly. "I got it from my momma," she said proudly. She thought about that for a minute. She was so proud of her hair, something her mother had taught her. Hours spent learning how to style and maintain her hair, but not just hair - life advice too. Angie knew she was going to grow up into a strong, independent black woman just like her mother. But looking at the device, something about that thought seemed almost... wrong.
"I don't know, LeMarcus. I really feel like I should *know* this thing."
He chuckled again, "Here, let me see." Angie reluctantly handed it over. Something told her she shouldn't let it out of her hands again (...again?), but she trusted LeMarcus. After all, they were both heading to Howard University next fall, and she couldn't wait to spend more time together...
"Hm," he mused, turning it over in his hands. "What's this say... 'Role Swapper'? What, like it can switch peoples' lives around?"
Now Angie found herself laughing. "Boo, you trippin'. I know it looks weird but that's just impossible." She was starting to feel relieved that it was just her imagination acting up.
"Haha, yeah, that's weird. Imagine if you could just swap people around. Like I could swap with that old white dude over there," he pointed toward a man walking down the sidewalk - who Angie immediately recognized as the man eating ice cream who caught her attention earlier and stirred all that initial oddness. She was about to say something else when she saw LeMarcus start fiddling with the controls on the device.