"Looking for a student to tutor History and Classics asap!"
Jamal breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. The task was perfect. As Josh, he had come top of his class in History and Classics and the task looked to be from a senior at the same university. Whoever he ended up as with this role might not be "Josh" exactly, but it would definitely be a hell of lot closer to Josh than he currently was as Jamal! He would be a student rather than a bouncer, be young rather than about to hit his forties, and be an expert in history and classics rather than an expert in the gym and steroids. And the life of a student would give him a bit of breathing room to work out a way back to his proper life. Jamal didn't hesitate, and accepted the task. As before, the app suddenly gave him irections to campus and an hour to get there. Jamal looked back at the club. Maybe he'd come back here when he was Josh again, but for now he could wait to see the back of it.
Jamal realised that without his car he needed another way across town to make it to the session on time. He booted up a taxi app on his phone, struggling to punch in the address with his thick fingers. He waited a few minutes, instinctively smoking what he hoped would be his last ever cigarette. He realised, with a rolling fatigue, that he was exhausted. Partly because he had just finished a long shift at the bar where usually he would go to straight to sleep before waking up in the afternoon for a gym sesh. But also because it had been less than 24 hours and he had jumped through differences lives, difference bodies, different psyches. He was looking forward to just being in one place, in one body for a while.
He didn't have to wait long for the taxi, with a not entirely clean sedan pulling up shortly after Jamal finished his last cigarette. He peered into the window, noting that the driver he seemed to be in his forties. Jamal felt pride as he clocked that the driver only had a few years on him, but carried a hefty paunch and double-chin. He loved being reminded of his hard work. "Are you Jamal?" the driver asked. "Alright big guy, get in." The taxi creaked as Jamal squeezed himself through the door, and he could feel the weight of the car lopside as he sat down. His legs crunched up against the back seat - even though it was pulled all the way forward - his shaved head scraped the roof of the car, and he basically took up most of the back seat. There was no way he and Hasan would have fit in here together. Staring as his thick, long legs, Jamal realised that, despite everything, he would miss this body and some of the things that came with it - the ability to tower over people, the way he instantly garnered respect, the way his clothes felt tight against his body. There was of course some things he wouldn't miss - the bouts of anger, the gruelling gym schedule, and the fact that outside of working out and his door job he didn't seem to have much else on. As the taxi took off, he wondered what sort of body he would end up in with this new task. He imagined it would be quite similar to his former life - as a tutor, he would probably be a bit nerdy, a bit quiet, not very sporty. That was definitely closer to who we was but he was going to miss being admired, being looked at lustily as he had in all his news forms. Maybe there was a way to make sure this new body was still an improvement.
"So big man, you're off to the campus right" the taxi asked jovially. Jamal replied, adding for good measure. "Yeh, I'm a student there. A senior." Almost instantaneously, Jamal felt a shift. It was almost as if he whole being was beginning to... deflate. His once skin tight polo and jeans began to feel a bit looser, and he had to reshuffle his position on the seat. Was he losing mass? He stared at his hands, seeing them morph and become less weathered and less hairy, and as he used them to feel his face he noted that his bushy beard had trimmed back to stubble and that - he almost laughed out loud - he had a small, thick fro. He had hair again! Not just hair, but he was young again. Feeling himself up, he realised that while he was younger he was still huge for his age. He hadn't lost any height, so his legs were still crammed against the back seat and were still loaded with muscle. He felt his arms, his pecs and - with a smile - his six-pack abs. This was still the body of someone who lived in the gym, but he wasn't the roided beast he had been. This was a younger, fresher, more cut version of Jamal. It felt good.
Ignorant to the fact that he passenger had dropped almost 20 years in age and was now feeling himself up in his back street, the taxi driver continued on. "A student, good for you. What are you studying?" Jamal - distracted by his new cut body - replied "History and Classics, focusing on Ancient Greece." He grinned as he heard the youthful chipper out of his mouth, even if was still deeper and more gruff than most people he knew in their early 20s. Jamal gazed out the window; the passing streets were waking up, coming to life. In his distraction, he didn't clock the further changes his answer had triggered. The dark skin he had gotten accustomed to as Jerome and Jamal slowly lightened, from dark brown to caramel, to light caramel, lightening further before settling on a dark olive hue. His afro began to loosen, changing into dark brown curls that framed Jamal's face. His face was also going through changes as his olive hued skin settled, his lips and nose thinning slightly, his jaw becoming more square, his eyebrows and stubble becoming a bit more thick. Jamal was oblivious to it all, but what caught his attention was the itch. The hair that he had lost when he aged down came back with a vengeance - across his arms, legs, chest, his crotch, even a bit on his shoulders and back. Jamal - rudely awakened from his reverie - yelped as he saw the arms and hands that stretched out of the polo, baffled by the new skin tone and the fact that they were loaded with thick dark hair. He grabbed his face, it feeling unfamiliar and playing with his new slightly unruly hair. Had his answer about focusing on Ancient Greece made him Greek? Or of Greek heritage? Did the app think that would make a better tutor? At this stage, he needed to stop second guessing this app...
The driver was apparently completely oblivious to the fact his passenger - a forty year black behemoth - was now a hairy, white guy in early 20s. He smiled as he asked "so, eh, what were you doing that side of town? You don't get too many students there at this time in the morning." Jamal paused, unsure how to answer. He couldn't just tell the truth and say 'oh actually I was working there as a black bi bartender and then became a bouncer for the rest of my shift.' He thought about the changes that had happened in the taxi so far - saying he was a student making him younger, saying he was studying Ancient Greek seemingly turning him into someone with Greek heritage. His answers had triggered each change. For the first time since he used this app, could he control the outcome? Could he control who he became? That was maybe wishful thinking given everything that had happened, but he could try. Maybe this was opportunity to get the life that offered him the best of both worlds - be a young, college tutor whilst maintaining the fit, hunky bod we had gotten used to?
He decided to try his luck. "Oh, the gym I visit is across town." He went further. "I go there around four, or five, times a week." Sure enough, Jamal's answer caused a change. He wasn't in a polo and jeans anymore, but a baggy tanktop, sweatpants and trainers, and he had a small gym bag next to him. His top hung loose, showing off his hairy pecs and arms. It didn't seem like his body had changed that much - he was already in a gym-hound's bod - but it seemed arms looked a bit bigger, a bit more vascular. Maybe he would get both, the brains and the brawn. He was excited now, ready for what other questions the driver might ask. He was ready to design his perfect life.
"Good for you, staying healthy" the driver started, to which Jamal grinned smugly. "I guess that explains the smell haha. Hope you don't mind if I crack open a window!" What smell, Jamal thought? But, sure enough, Jamal soon felt a certain odor tickle his nostrils. The scent was thick and musky, a smell Josh would have been unfamiliar with but Jamal recognised. It was the smell of gyms, of changing rooms, of sweat. And Jamal noticed with panic that he was now dripping with sweat, his top and pants basically looking soaked though. As the driver cracked his front window, Jamal realised with a grimace that the putrid odor came from him. Maybe it was the hair or the constant gym visits, but he stunk. It dawned on Jamal that changes weren't just triggered by him, but by the driver as well. He had to take control, make sure the driver didn't say anythi...
"I guess you play college sport or something then?" Jamal's eyes bugged, but before he could say anything the driver continued. "Are you a wrestler or something?" The change was instantaneous. Jamal kept the muscles, kept the hair, kept the smell, but all of a sudden his legs weren't being crushed against the front seat. In fact, he had quite a bit of room now, and the ceiling of the car had now stretched away. He wasn't cramped any more, he had room to stretch. He examined his body, freezing at the sight of his arms and hands. Compared to his previous form, they looked almost stubby and his forearms were now even thicker and more vascular. In fact, his whole torso and legs were just like that - muscle on top of muscle, but shorter. It was clear that he had shrunk from his nearly seven foot height, but he didn't feel any less muscular. If anything, feeling his arms and legs, he was even more jacked now. He wouuld no longer have that envied V-shape and maybe didn't even have six-pack abs any more. He was stocky and blocky, as if his tall muscular form had been compressed downwards.
"Yeh, I pegged you for a wrestler," the driver continued. "You've got that compact but solid build." Jamal lamented his loss of height, but tried to rationalise it. He was probably no shorter than when he started this whole mess but now he had muscles and, he hoped, that handsome face. Sure he had some wild body hair and BO to contend with, but with some deodorant and trimmers they could easily be managed. He took in the broader changes - his now shorter haircut, his thick neck, the fact that his sweatpants were adorned with the college's team logo, that his worktop top was a more lycra-esque material - none of this was a disaster. And feeling his crotch, he noted with glee that he still had a massive cock. If anything, it felt even bigger now against his more compressed body. To Jamal's surprise, the driver continued to talk. "Ooft, between wrestling practice and going to a gym on the other side of town five days a week, you must not leave any time for studying!" Jamal braced himself for another change but... nothing came. Nothing he could see anyway. Inspecting his body, he was still fit, he was still hairy, he still stunk, he was in the same clothes. All good.
It was a fair comment, Jamal thought. The fact he was able to balance all that wrestling, classes, tutoring, and maintaining this bod, he was going to be a busy guy. He figured he should probably starting planning what he was gonna teach this student, but when he tried to draw on his years of study - all that time in the library pouring over old books, writing essays, preparing and aceing exams - his memories all felt a bit blurry. Jamal figured that being up all night plus the stress of jumping into different bodies and lives had tired him out. He just needed to relax and he would be sorted for the session, no worries. The taxi driver chuckled, seemingly bemused by Jamal's lack of response. "Ok, not too studeous then. I guess you're on a scholarship or something?" Jamal was sure what the driver was getting on about, he felt like he was still booting up after his long night. He murmured "oh yeh, something like that" just to keep the driver happy.
The taxi soon arrived at the college campus, the driver pulling up to the curb near the history faculty. "Ok kid, here you are. Have a good day, don't tire yourself too much with class", he laughed. Jamal just couldn't make sense of what this driver was on about. "Yeh, thanks man" he replied absentmindedly. He pulled out his wallet to pay the driver, catching sight of his new ID: he was now Jason Costas, 5'7" and was born in 2002. Which made him... 20. No, 21, right? He still wasn't firing in full cylinders he thought, and needed to up his game before his tutoring session - he didn't want whoever asked for some help to think he was stupid or something. He was struck by the unfamiliar image in the card - a handsome, hiruste young man with bushy brows and roughly chopped curly hair. He noted with pride the handsome face, with a strong jaw covered with stubble. And even in the picture he could see his thick neck. Jason looked at the picture more closely, at the dark green eyes. He couldn't get over just how... vacant and unfocused they looked. Must have been a side effect of the photo...
Jason emerged from the cab - much more gracefully than he had entered earlier - and overcome a slight unbalance as he adjusted back to being in short legs. He took in his surroundings. It was comfortable to be back somewhere familiar, somewhere that felt closer to home. It was just after 9am now and the campus was bustling with students rushing to classes and lectures. Jason was encouraged to be amongst them again. Waving the driver off, Jason started walking towards the history faculty and dwelled on the changes that had happened in the taxi. He was now a student again, studying Classics and History, and pretty much the same age he was when he started - that was all good news. He had also managed to end up with another hunky, handsome body, which was also good news. He couldn't quite work out why he was a wrestler in this life though, let alone a wrestler on a scholarship with a tendency to sweat. Walking through campus, seeing the other students and then seeing himself - still clad in his sweat-stained gym gear - it was clear that any passerby would look at and assume - incorrectly Jason thought - that he was another dumb, unhygienic jock who only lived for sport and working out. He wasn't sure how that fit in with his task of being a tutor, but as he looked down at his hairy pecs and buff arms, maybe he shouldn't be worrying too much. Brains and brawn, Jason thought, he was now the perfect package.