lot less stress for your father and me if only one of you is upset with things."
"OK, but why me? Why not let Lucas switch with Brad? I mean, they’re both needy and rely on their parents.” Lucas looked less smug after I suggested that; he was clearly pissed I called him out.
"Your father and I thought of that, David, but Lucas doesn't want to switch at all and you at least admit that it's something we should do. Besides, your the one who’s name was picked. I know this is rough for you, but overall it seemed the fairest way to handle things and to make sure that it's as smooth as possible overall."
I sighed. My parents were right in their own twisted way; overall it just made more sense to them to let Brad swap with me since our names were both picked and he agreed to a swap.
"I suppose you're right. But I'm not happy about it."
"It's OK David! I happy for bof of us!"
The remainder of the week was actually pretty nice, aside from Lucas "accidentally" calling me “Brad" any time our parents weren't around and the fact that Brad’s near-constant low-level excitement was a perpetual reminder of what awaited me over the coming weekend. Still, I'd managed to convince myself that things weren't all that bad. After mom and dad's decision, Mariah and I had spent the rest of the evening together talking it out.
"I really don't want to be a six-year-old," I complained as soon as we were both back in our room.
"Hey, at least you'll still be more mature than Lucas." Mariah laughed and I managed a bit of a chuckle too. "Besides, when you think about it, this works out better for you too."
"How on earth does trading lives with my baby brother work out better for me?"
Mariah gave me a knowing look, "You realise that if you swapped with, let’s say me example, you’d be jumping right into the fun of having a period..."
I must have looked absolutely stunned because Mariah started laughing again. "Oh come on. They're not that bad. I'm just saying that with Brad there should be less to adjust to since you’ll still be a boy.
I'd been forced to admit that Mariah was making sense, and it really did help me to think of things with all those points in mind.
The following day, I went about my daily routines, not really wanting to go to school other than to see my friends one last time. Well. To see them as myself anyway, for they would be Brad's friends by next week. I figured I would be in less and less of a mood to go to school as the week progressed.
That day was a bit of a blur. When I got home, there was an official government vehicle parked outside the house. With curiosity spiking with a dash of hope, I ran inside.
What I was HOPING, was that someone was there to explain that this body swapping project was no longer in the works. When I entered, sure enough, there was a tall handsome man all dressed in black with my parents.
"Oh, David! Hi!" Said my mom in surprise, as if she didn't know this was the normal time for me to walk through the door.
"There has been a......uh.....change in plans," said my dad.
"What happened? Is the project canceled?" I asked excitedly, as I was feeling less and less good about becoming a little four-year old boy.
"No, buddy. It wasn't cancelled. Just. Changed."
"Changed? Like. How?" As my newfound momentary hope was quickly extinguished.
"Well. You see..." My dad hesitated.
"You want me to explain?" interrupted the government man.
"I think you better," my dad said in a reluctant tone.
"Well. You see, son. It's like this.....
"Swapping bodies with a young child is highly unethical. It's unethical to make a little kid lose almost his entire childhood. Instead, there's been a breakthrough in a different field of medical science:
"Cloning.
"Government restrictions on cloning humans has been unlifted. What this means," he continues. "Is that we are combining two projects in one. First, we would develop a clone of your little brother, Bradley. Then we would swap you into that cloned body."
My heart felt like it just dropped to the pit of my stomach. A clone!? A clone of BRAD!? There would be TWO Bradley's, and I'd be one of them!? Then an even worse thought:
Would I become an actual INFANT version of Bradley!?
"So....wait a second! Does that mean...? I....I never agreed to become a BABY!" I responded.
"Oh. Oh no! It isn't like that son," said the government man. "You would be an exact copy of your brother as he currently is. At the age of six."
Oh. Well. That was better as I felt a rush of relief. But. No! I'd still become a freaking little kid!
"Your parents have already signed the contract. Your family will be VERY well-compensated for this. Let's just say.... You'll probably never have to actually work for the rest of your life," he said with a wink.