5 minutes later the Scully family departed. Paul, Gary and Mary were finally alone and able to talk.
“What was that comment about us being romantically involved?” Accused Gary Dawson from Paul’s mother’s body. “I’ve proposed we go on a date several times and you rejected me outright”
“Well I didn’t want Angela staying with you tonight. We needed her to leave so we can change back. Besides, if you are going to have my body for any length of time I need to supervise you”
“I suppose I can keep with the charade. But now you will have no choice but to date me once we have swapped back”
“That’s fine with me. It wasn’t that I didn’t like you. I just wasn’t ready to start dating again”
“Well it was clever to suggest that Chelsea is your niece. That way you can stay together for the duration of the body swap”
Paul saw an opportunity to ask a question that had been on his mind. “Do you two suppose that the real Chelsea found herself changing into me? I mean you two body swapped. Do you think I and Chelsea have done the same? Have we a way of getting into contact with her?”
“No. I don’t even know her surname" the former Mary replied. "She only visited twice. I know the show she was in has finished its season. I suspect she has gone back to wherever she came from, or maybe they are still on tour? Whichever way I don’t think there is much chance of you running into her”
“We swapped after making contact with each other. There was that spark between us” chipped in Gary Dawson.
“You touched Paul’s medallion when I was holding it. I don’t think Paul has ever met the real Chelsea”
“Have you got that medallion. We can finally try to change back” said Mr Dawson from Paul’s mother’s body.
“How does it actually work?” asked Mary, from Mr Dawson’s body
“Let’s try doing the reverse of what we did before” suggested Gary. “I’ll hold the medallion and you touch it”
Paul went to his bag. He was relieved to see the medallion still there. He got it out and had another look at it. It wasn’t rusty but a tarnished bronze. There was a motif that looked a bit like an angel on it. It was on a bronze chain.
Paul passed the medallion to Mr Dawson. Mr Dawson took it and examined it. There was no electric shock during the handover.
“So how were you holding this when I touched you? Something like this?” asked Mr Dawson
“Yes like that. I was examining Paul’s find in my right hand, then you approached me from behind”
They re-enacted the scene. Neither felt an electric shock.
“I don’t think anything is happening” said the apparent Gary after several minutes
“Neither do I” said the real Gary. “What about you Paul? When did you feel that electric shock?”
“I was examining the medallion and it slipped from my hand into the leotard box. I felt the shock when I retrieved it and started changing shortly after that”
“The leotard box? Chelsea left a leotard here after her second visit. I just put it aside thinking if she wanted it she could return for it. She never did” Paul's male Mom answered
“So maybe I touched Chelsea’s leotard when I retrieved the medallion?” Paul mused out loud “Maybe I just need to touch my own clothes with the medallion and I will change back?”
“It’s worth a try” Gary suggested.
It didn’t work. Paul touched the shirt he had taken off earlier. He didn’t feel a spark and he didn’t change. He retrieved all his clothes from Mr Dawson’s cupboard and morosely stuffed them into his school bag, feeling quite down hearted. Had the medallion’s powers been exhausted?
That bought Mary’s attention to Paul’s shoes or lack of. “Why are you still in bare feet?”
“I didn’t want Alex to recognise my runners. They are quite distinctive and they are too big for me now anyway”
“I’ll check lost property. I think you might be in luck”
There was a lost property bin beside the leotard box. Mary delved into it and came out with two pairs of ladies sandals. “Try these on for size. If not, there are plenty of ballet slippers you can wear home”
The black sandals fitted quite well. The only problem was they had a slight heel. “They have heels!” Paul complained
“They go well with your dress and those heels are not big. Walk around and you will used to them in no time” Mary explained.
“They do look nice on you” Gary concurred
Paul practiced walking in the shoes while his Mom and Mr Dawson cleaned up. He quickly gained the knack. It wasn’t so hard. He supposed the heels were not particularly extreme, but the extra two inches in height he gained was pleasing. He was now back to his approximate pre-change height of 5’8
“I suggest we lock up then go to your place” suggested Gary. “While we wait for Angela we can Google magic medallions that cause bodyswaps. We really need to find out how this has happened”