At the body swap facility, there were a number of security clearances, and armed guards were everywhere. David gulped. This was serious, he thought. They were actually doing what Dad said they were doing.
The waiting room was filled with a motley assortment of people. David tried to guess who could possibly be his chosen match.
"David," a nurse looked at him from across the room, "and Sammy."
David stood up and terrified, looked around the room.
The only other person standing up was an adorable little blond boy with flat hair in a bowl cut, whose jaw was dropping. He was pumping his fist in midair. This kid was so cute he could be on a Disney sitcom, David thought.
"Wow, David is gonna be a widdle boy??" Brad exclaimed.
"I don't think I can do this."
"If you would accompany me, David, we can prep you. We have a counselor waiting to talk to you." The nurse held her clipboard as she spoke in a calm, soothing manner.
The little boy scurried across the room, in his tiny little jeans. He barely came up to David's waist! The little boy waved up to him.
"Hi, I'm Bwad!"
"Hey. I'm Sammy," the nine year old shook Brad's much smaller hand. He seemed like a good little boy, not without a boyish charm. His smile automatically warmed Mom's heart.
"Oh, he is adorable."
"You know...I'm automatically thinking that if you take HIS body," Dad said, trying to sell this to David as much as possible (because his getting out of debt depended on it) "I bet one day you could have a lucrative modeling career. Not saying you're a bad looking boy but he's got the face of an angel. Just think what he'll look like when he's your age. You'll be dazzling, kiddo!"
"I'm sure you won't find a way to make money off of that. How about you, kid? Do you really wanna trade your good looks in for my face?"
"Are you kidding me? You're so tall!"
"He's getting taller, too," Dad added. "He's only 16 and he has a lot of growing to do yet!"
"Wow!" Sammy looked up in wonder at David's homelier but much more masculine face. David had easy going looks, ginger-blond hair, and a good endomorphic build that could catapult him into athletics if he actually applied himself. He was fairly popular in high school, and he had a wry sense of humor that carried in his voice, and an infectious shit eating grin that had been absent for the most part since his father announced this whole body swapping business.
"What do you even want to do in my body anyway?" David asked. The nurse with the clipboard sighed and tried to make eye contact with him. He put up a finger to ask her to wait.
"I want to join the army and drive a tank! And then I want to go dirtbike racing and drive a truck and a racecar and a helicopter!"
"See? You two will be fine!"
"I wanna dwive a tank, too!" Brad whined. "I wanna swap bodies with David!" he pouted.
"At least I'll be older than four," David muttered, and rolled his eyes.
David hugged his mother and refused to look at his father. Sammy and David went past the swinging doors down a hallway reeking of antiseptic chemicals. They were ushered into separate rooms. A beautiful older woman with long brown hair awaited him and asked him to sit on a couch.
"David, I know you probably have a lot of questions as to why all this is necessary. I can tell you that this is a matter of national security and we are encouraging you to do this not just for your family, but also your country. There are some very important intelligence operatives who will be able to infiltrate other governments with this technology but we have to make sure the system is perfected before using it on them."
"So I get to be your guinea pig," he said resentfully.
"Yes, but not without perks. Not everyone is here for the same reasons. Everyone in that waiting room was selected for different factors. Sammy's parents are rather rich and quite frankly indulgent. He wants to be a big kid and join the army. You were selected for your age and it was thought your genetic range was remarkably compatible. More so than we could have hoped. Our ability to extend past family lineage with swapping consciousness has increased dramatically but we still find race swapping to be more challenging than gender. You'll remain a white male. And just so you know, you will have to move in with Sammy's parents and say goodbye to yours."
"Done!"
"That was...easier that I'd hoped. You don't need any convincing?"
"I hate my Dad," David muttered.
"Duly noted," she wrote something down. "You'll be happy to know your new family is significantly wealthier than your prior family. You will be living in a very expensive home in an exclusive neighborhood with a swimming pool and all possible amenities, including homeschooling."
"What about Sammy?"
"His parents want the best for him. They understand that he will have to move in with your parents in order for the experiment to monitor how he adjusts to your environment. But they have every intention of keeping him as their son. They have expressed an interest in having him join his father in the family business when he turns 18 in a few years, though ultimately that will be his choice. He might want to go to college first and he really wants to join the military. We'll have to see how he feels about that after the swap."
"What about Brad?"
"Don't worry about Brad. We have a very willing and healthy donor to swap him with," she said, being rather unspecific.
Finally, it was time for the procedure.
He was strapped down. Sammy had a big smile on his face as he was strapped down on the opposite table. The large CAT scan like machine made a humming sound. They injected him with a syringe and everything blurred...
When he woke up, he thought he could hear someone with his voice talking from some distant point. He sat up in a hospital bed, dressed in a scratchy gown.
"Oh, I think he's up. Sweetheart, he's up!"
Suddenly, there was a couple in front of him, who introduced themselves as Linda and Alan Bennett.
"Am I...I'm so...where am I...my voice..." He held a now delicate hand to his throat.
They hovered over him as he got up groggily and noticed at once the height difference.
"Oh man, I'm so short now!" The pipsqueak voice coming out of him was almost painful to hear. When he got to the bathroom, his head just made it above the bottom of the mirror to the point where he couldn't see the rest of him.
"Don't worry, son. You're gonna be in great hands. We have a wonderful home just waiting for you."
"We know that your father has had some financial difficulties and that you felt pressured to do this for your family's benefit but we just want you to know, you made the right decision," Linda assured him. She sounded rich, he thought. Well mannered, in her early 40s, with curly blond hair that looked like she used old fashioned curlers, must have had her only child late in life. Both Linda and Alan were dressed conservatively as opposed to the frumpy clothing his much more overweight lower middle class parents wore.
"I...it's all so confusing."
"Let's get you home, buddy," Alan said, putting a fatherly hand on his new son's shoulder. Alan was not at all like his own father. He was a handsome, middle aged, closely shaved DILF with graying dun brown hair and a visible layer of stubble accentuating his classically handsome TV dad facial features, which were just craggy enough to evoke wisdom, empathy and confidence immediately. His voice was gentle yet firm and David, now Sammy, felt so much confusion that he began to blubber. "Can I give you a hug, champ?"
David fell into the man's arms. Why did he feel such trust and affection? Alan picked him up lovingly and brought him back to the bed, telling him all sorts of assurances.
The doctors came in and checked his reflexes, and vital signs. He was escorted to a special room where the same counsellor woman was now much taller than him. He didn't seem to mind. He seemed rather happy, and he smiled when he saw her.
"Oh my God, you are ADORABLE."
"Really? You're not just saying that?"
"I'm not. Everyone on the floor was talking about how much of a ladies' man you're going to be when you get to high school. Okay, now I have a few little tests for you..."
As it turned out, he had trouble distinguishing between magic acts and reality and answered that he thought the stage magicians had used real magic. His boyish imagination was running wild! He was able to do math on a 4th and even 5th grade level but the algebra and geometry left him clueless. Same with most high school skills, but he could answer a few questions about how cars worked, much to his delight.
"This is very good, Sammy. I feel it's best we call you that from now on. Is that alright?" she whispered. He nodded yes. She was such a nice lady and he was feeling really happy at the thought of going home with his new Mom and Dad.
After the tests were done, the counsellor exclaimed that he had done very well and offered him his choice of lollipop. "Thank you!" he exclaimed, choosing an orange one.
"Sammy, I want you to try some spinach pizza for me." The pretty lady produced a pizza box from the other side of the room.
"Spinach? Ew!" Wait...didn't he love spinach?
"Please try some? You said it was your favorite food before."
"Okay," he tried munching on it. He spit out the spinach parts. The pretty lady took some notes.
"Sammy, do you mind sharing with me what your favorite foods are?"
"Um...Pad Thai, oranges, any fresh herbs from the garden...wait. I never eat Pad Thai. My dad says it gives him indigestion. We don't have a garden!" He was panicking. "Am I just turning into this kid?"
"Don't worry. You're not going to lose your core personality. You're adjusting very quickly to your new body. That's good. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?" She began to ask him some of the questions he had to fill out previous to the swap. He answered them, though for some it took him a while to remember sequences of events as they occurred. His memory was feeling a little hazy.
"You're probably going to find that your new brain reacts differently to things like food, odors, visual stimuli. I'd like to play some music for you."
She played several of the songs that David recognized as his favorite kinds of music. His tastes in music hadn't changed at all. He still had a love for certain bands that would be considered strange for a 4th grader to listen to by some. David, now Sammy, shared a penchant for 70s and 80s rock along with his father. Now ex-father, he thought somewhat bitterly.
Finally, he came out to see his old parents talking with a tall man in a suit. The man was over six feet in height and had an average build. His features were also very ruggedly handsome. A young boy shyly looked at the ground to the side, and he looked content as he played hopscotch on the different colored floor tiles, making up a game as he went.
"Hi, David."
He looked way up and knew. Brad. Brad smiled and adjusted the lapels of his suit.
"B-Brad?"
"Yeah, but now it's Scott. Scott Bennett. We're gonna be in the same family! How cool is that? And look! No more talking with a lisp. I talk just like a normal grown up!" the man exclaimed. He had the same handsome features as Alan Bennett and Sammy deduced they must be brothers, only Brad...er...Scott, was a little more handsome and had darker, black hair slicked back in a very suave magazine-worthy haircut. His chin was firm but not too big or small. He had a darker layer of stubble than his new brother, who was David's new father.
"So...you're gonna be...my-"
"Uncle!"
"uncle..." they finished the word at the same time, but Brad was much happier about it. He was tall now! Tall and handsome and 35 years old. Old enough to be his own father! Wearing an expensive blue, sharp looking suit! So grown up!
From there, both families were urged to say goodbye.
His old body entered the room and marveled at how tall he was. Looking at himself, David felt a pang, a sense of immense loss. He was saying goodbye to the only body he had ever known.
It was necessary for "Scott" and "David" to test their driving skills right away. Both the new adult and the new 16 year old were incredibly excited to be behind the wheel of an actual car!
He watched from the side of the parking lot as both of them maneuvered their respective test cars through the cones that had been placed there by staff.
"Did you see me??" Brad exclaimed. He adjusted his tie. "Boy, this is gonna be great! We're gonna have a ton of fun, huh David? I mean...Sammy. Sorry. It'll take me a while. To get used to the names changing."
"It usually takes everyone a little while," the doctors assured us.
Brad was asked to let his new "brother" drive them all home, so he sat next to his former brother, now his nephew.
"This is exciting, huh?"
"We hope that you two like pot roast. I had the maid make one to celebrate," Linda said looking into a makeup mirror. "We thought we could all take it easy for the next few days while you adjust and then we'll start you on your new routines. Doctor's orders. They said after 3 days, Brad, you're going to go to work. And you'll be Scott from now on."
"Okay! Wow. A job! I get to go to a job, Sammy!"
Brad, now Scott, had never felt such a rush. It was the testosterone that now coursed through his veins. This body had an excellent mesomorph frame, and underneath that suit he knew he had taut, rippling muscles and abs. He really couldn't be happier. Mom and Dad were gone and he didn't miss them at all. Well...Mommy he missed. Daddy he didn't miss that much.
David, now a nine year old, felt himself dozing in the car and when the car came to a halt he looked in astonishment.
"Wow! Hey, check this place out, David! I mean, Sammy. This house is so cool!"
Brad oohed and aaaahed and gushed that everything was different now that he was super tall. They got the full tour of the six bedroom, four bathroom house with two large living rooms, two dens and an ample backyard.
"This is your new bedroom, dear," his new mother told Sammy.
"It's so cool!" the now little boy jumped up and down. There were so many toys and he even got his very own racecar bed!
"Darling, we need to talk to your new uncle so we're going to go talk. Why don't you explore your room and feel free to watch some TV if you want," Linda told him.
When they were alone with Brad, who was far more ebullient than a normal grownup would be over being grownup, Linda and Alan sat down and took on a serious tone.
"Brad. You're now Scott so I'll call you Scott from now on. Scott...there are some financial deals that my brother made without my permission and it took me quite sometime for me to untangle myself from those. Now that things are...better, I hope to start you off at the company. My father knows about this experiment. He's in charge of the company. And uh...there's one other little matter we need to discuss...you see, um...my brother is a homosexual. Gay. Prefers the company of men. Sometimes much younger men. We have to tell you that you are now an adult and there are facts of life we need to go over."
"The doctors said the information is in your brain but..." and then Linda talked to Brad frankly about sex, both heterosexual and homosexual. "The doctors tell us they aren't sure which way you'll go but if you do find yourself attracted to young high school boys, you'll have to just keep that to yourself."
"Just go out with men...or women, that are roughly your own age, okay?"
"So...adults...stick their private parts into each other and that's how sex works and stuff?"
"There are some...other details." Linda got up to leave it to her husband. Alan finished up the talk going into the details of sex and assured Brad that now that he was Scott, he would help him adjust to the adult world and added "There's a lot of fun you can have as a grown up, Scott. As for my brother, he crossed me and so he's out. It wasn't that hard a decision to make but I will say I am a bit concerned they chose someone so young to switch bodies with my brother."
"I feel great, though, Alan," Brad assured him. "It's just...being a grown up so suddenly has left me with a bit of vertigo. Hey. I know words I didn't know before!"
"Yes, you'll be absorbing a lot as time goes on. Enough to do the job of an executive CEO. Welcome to the working world, son. Or...should I say, brother."
"Okay," Scott said meekly.