The swapping facility is quite big. There is the research area, the medical area, the area that they are going to use to school the people with younger mental age than their current body suggests, and more that I didn’t know.
The main lobby is quite large as well, that is to say, it’s not strange to fail to notice an acquaintance unless they are right beside you.
When I was on my way out, I noticed a familiar boy waiting in one of the benches, or rather, that was Hailey in my previous body. When our eyes met, I briefly thought about ignoring him and be on my way, but I thought it was too awkward so I decided to do small talk
“Ohh, hey there. Hailey, right?” I said carefully
I saw recognition in his eyes and with an excited wave he said. “Yeah that was me, my new name is Oliver… ummm what was your name again?”
Seeing that he was eager for a conversation I sat next to him and chuckled. “You can call me Dahlia. Soooo, tell me, how has life been treating you?”
“Ohhh! it has been great” he said happily “I love how strong and tall my body is, ahh …but” and now he paused and looked a bit guilty “how are you feeling?”
“At the beginning was a bit difficult, but I have been getting used to it, and now, I think I am doing good for myself” I said and explained the progress I had made in my studies and the training of my body.
“Yes, when I saw you, I thought I was just a change of perspective, but your arms and legs do seem bigger, maybe I should go to gym as well and see how strong I can get…”
“But I am very glad!” he said and suddenly hugged me
I was startled for a moment, a 16 year old boy suddenly hugging a little girl was a bit weird, but considering that 2 months ago, she was the little girl, the gesture was totally understandable; she probably did this with her friends all the time.
“At first I did not pay too much attention to it, but as I continued to enjoy this body, I was worried that you were feeling horrible” he released me from his hold and looked to my face
I was somewhat confused and asked “is this something to feel worried about? I mean you and I are the same, we wanted the money and now we need to deal with the consequences, right?
However, she shook her head. “No, I am not in the experiment for the money; I was transexual and I entered the program with the condition to receive a male body. The facility accepted, but only if I received a tenth of the original offered money. Of course, even if I asked for a male body, it could have been a baby or a grown man; if I am honest, I am grateful for receiving this one.”
“I definitely didn’t want to experience female puberty and was considering using hormones, but when my family became aware of the body swap experiment, I thought this was a better option; I could be completely male inside out after all.”
I was surprised, but I came to a realization; it was normal for people to enter the program not just because of the money, but simply because they were dissatisfied with their current bodies.
Of course, I am sure that if they tried to give a few rich people exactly the bodies they wanted, the program wouldn’t be able to continue; for example, if the day of the swap I became aware that my swap partner was an old man about to die, I would surely refuse it no matter the money, but acknowledging a small request like ‘the body should be male’ should not be difficult at all. 50% of the population is male after all.
Oliver was looking at me like expecting me to become angry, but I wasn’t feeling angry at all.
“Well, your body is not too bad either, so don’t worry about it” I finally said with a smile and he smiled in return
“I guess I now know why there were so few skirts and dresses in your wardrobe… but since you wanted to be a boy, have you tried the iconic ‘peeing while standing up’ yet?” I said while playfully hitting his side with my elbow
“Yes” he responded bashfully but with an impish smile. “Not only in the toilet, but since I have a large back garden, I have been trying to see how far and how tall I can make my pee reach.”
I laughed a bit at that. “yeah, I remember doing something similar with my friends when I was a kid”
“Oliver!” I suddenly heard
Oliver turned around and exclaimed “Mom, dad!”
When I turned to see in the direction Oliver was looking at, I saw his parents….