The woman in the mirror looked stern. Her hair was tied up in a bun so tight it was pulling the skin on his forehead back painfully. She wasn't that old, either-- maybe late twenties. She was just trying to look older. Her dark skin contrasted the light beige pantsuit she was wearing. A professional, definitely.
"Who am I?" Alex asked the mirror curiously. The voice that came out of his lips was even and measured. Whoever this was, she was used to speaking in front of groups of people.
"You are Alex Madison, Spanish teacher at Elmwood, a private high school in the area."
Alex raised a slightly confused eyebrow. He'd never heard of this place before.
"And what area is that, exactly?"
"Illinois."
"Illinois?"
"Yes."
He'd moved from one state to another in the blink of an eye. It wasn't physically possible...but neither was turning into a completely different person. Magic was amazing. That was all there was to it.
And now that the mirror had said something about the teaching job, Alex could find himself recalling a few of his students. They were generally well-behaved, but there were always a few troublemakers. Even in Spanish class. Still, this new person that he was now enjoyed teaching. She found it fulfilling. And now, so did he.
He was also amazed to find that he knew Spanish now. Knew the ins and outs of it. Of course he did. He'd grown up in a household where his parents spoke it constantly. They'd learned it from their parents, who had moved here from Colombia. Woah. A whole new past. He'd gotten a taste of it as the cheerleader, but this was at another level.
The room he was in wasn't so different from his own, besides the fact that it was freakishly neat and orderly. The walls were painted a dull grey, and they were unadorned with anything exciting like posters or family pictures. Just about the only color in the room was the navy blue of the bedspread.
Someone else might call this Alex boring, but she called herself practical, and Alex was inclined to agree. Keeping things neat meant an easier time finding things when they got lost-- but they rarely did when you were as on top of things as Alex currently was. Today was a Monday, just like it had been for the cheerleader. But it was morning at the moment, as opposed to the afternoon it had been just a few minutes ago.
Alex was getting ready for work. His students had a very important presentation in class today, and he was looking forward to it greatly. Or rather, the other him was. It was difficult to maintain the distinction in opinion, even though he could clearly remember his real life. It was starting to matter less. Some lives had stronger 'flavors' than others, he supposed.
Alex fiddled with the suit, making sure that everything looked in proper order. Inside, he wondered if he was actually going to go through with this-- he'd hated high school when he was in it, mostly because of teachers like the one he now was. Still, he was curious about what it was like from the other side...maybe he'd even learn something. It might be worth a try. Of course, he could always move on....
Alex decided to...