Michael felt a bit embarrassed to be caught playing by Mommy- er, Chelsea. And yet, he couldn’t deny even through the embarrassed blush on his face, he still had a smile from how much fun he had been having… Playing with Frankie Stein and Mister Hops, making a story in his mind, it was a lot less stressful than his morning on campus… Taking notes in lecture, worrying about his upcoming freshman chemistry test… Letting go of all of those worries and just playing with the toys he now had in this life as Sara… It was oddly cathartic, relaxing in a way…
Michael continued to maneuver the toys around in his hands as Chelsea watched, a small smile creeping on his face. He idly hummed a small tune to himself as he played, letting himself get lost again in his play time…
It wasn’t long, however, before a bright and happy *DING-DONG* echoed through the apartment, Chelsea’s eyes lighting up with excitement, “Oh! About time they got here!”
Michael hopped off the bed, still holding the soft plush frog to his chest as he followed Chelsea out towards the living room. A curious look spread across his face, “Huh? About time who got here, Ch- um, Mommy?”
“Well,” Chelsea cooed with a small smile, “Your little play session with your friends got cut short by the craziness, but… With things calming down… I thought you deserved a little bit more fun, so I invited Sofia and her mommy over once they got settled again from the craziness!”
Michael didn’t have time to react as Chelsea unlocked the apartment door, swinging it open to reveal two vaguely familiar faces for the young man… It was another set of neighbors who lived down the hall from his old apartment, Luna Hernandez and her daughter Sofia. Michael definitely had a bit more familiarity with Luna, the gorgeous 45-year-old Latina mom an instant crush of his once he moved in with her perfect bronze skin, curvy figure and dark hair… But he had seen Sofia around too, the little girl a constant companion and classmate of Sara who she probably considered to be her best friend.
Of course, unbeknownst to Michael, both Luna and Sofia had been involved in the Swap Wave that had hit town… And though Michael didn’t realize it, both of them were drastically different to what they were before.
If anyone were to ask about Luna Hernandez’s style before the Swap Wave, people would say that she had a pretty standard “mom wardrobe”: floral blouses, leggings, yoga pants, and dresses, all designed to flatter her mature figure with perfect long black hair that went down to her mid-back. Now though? It was as if she’d raided a young boy’s closet, her clothes and interests swapped with a 10-year-old boy walking home from school. Her black hair was cut short into a perfect fade, a bit of hair spiked to the top… Her thick thighs were shoved into a pair of jeans that were slightly baggy on her, her braless D-Cup chest stretching out a green T-shirt with a game controller and the words “I PAUSED MY GAME TO BE HERE” printed on it. Her feet were covered by a pair of beat up black and red sneakers… And, to top it all of, she was carrying a Sonic the Hedgehog themed backpack in place of her purse, sticking her phone in the front pocket…
And then there was Sofia… Michael was registering “Sofia” as a 6-year-old girl, yet Sofia was the farthest thing from it, just like he was the farthest thing from the girl Sara was. Standing awkwardly next to Luna was an 18-year-old white boy with long brown hair hanging down past his shoulders. His clothes, while feminine and juvenile, were all sized perfectly for his 5’11” frame: A pink shirt reading “SISTER GOALS” with the three main sisters of Encanto, purple leggings with a white floral pattern, and a pair of purple and white sneakers. Cheap clip-on star earrings sat in “Sofia’s” ears, while a pair of pink framed glasses rested lazily on “her” face.
And yet, Michael didn’t register any of this as weird. After all, he wasn’t involved in the swaps that had hit Luna and “Sofia”, so he was unaware of how odd the two were looking. To him, the awkward 18-year-old white boy was a 6-year-old Hispanic girl, and he had always remembered Luna having the fashion sense of a young boy… After all, hadn’t he had a crush on Luna ever since he saw her in her Spider-Man swim trunks at the apartment pool a few weeks ago? That sounded right to him…
…
“Luna!” Chelsea said with a happy smile as she pulled her neighbor into a hug, “So glad you and Sofia are okay! Hopefully things didn’t get to crazy for you two…”
“Unfortunately, they did,” Luna said with a small sigh, “I got hit by the Wave driving home from work… Some kid comin’ home from school… Sofi didn’t get hit, thank God, but me? Well, I’m lookin’ like this with some boy’s wardrobe… Little snot even took my purse…”
As “Sofia” nervously looked down at the floor, Chelsea gave Luna a curious look, “Really? You look the same as ever to me… I don’t even remember you carrying a purse… But… I suppose you look a little… Well, better looking not covered in dirt from playing football… I swear, one of these days you should at least borrow my makeup… Women our age, that kind of stuff helps us to look our best…”
“Makeup? Ew, no way,” Luna said as she stuck out her tongue, “That’s too girly… People see me wearing makeup, they’ll call me a sissy or somethin’… I’ll leave the girly stuff to my daughters…”
Chelsea giggled at Luna’s comment, “Oh, you’re too much Luna… Why don’t we let the kids play while we talk this all out and see about the other neighbors… Besides, last time we texted, you wanted to tell me about some ‘Cod of Duty’ game you were playing?”
“It’s ’Call Of Duty’, you noob…” Luna said with a small eye roll as she continued, turning to her “daughter” with a small smile, “But you’re right… Alright, mija, go play with Sara, her mommy an’ I have some talkin’ to do,”
“R-Right, ma’am- er, I mean… Mommy…” the young man said with an embarrassed blush. He looked towards Michael with uncertainty, his voice wavering, “Um… C’mon… Sara, let’s go to your room…”
“Right!” Michael said, and he went off back towards Sara’s old room, “Sofia” following behind him…
As the two reached Sara’s room, Michael stood a bit awkwardly, still holding the stuffed frog he had been previously playing with. What was he even supposed to do with this “girl” that was supposed to be his best friend? Did she even like the same things as the real Sara did? He gave “Sofia” a curious look, “So… Um… What do you wanna do?”
“I… I…” the boy stuttered, before continuing with a small sigh, “I… I don’t even know… I’m not even supposed to be here in this stupid girly stuff, I’m supposed to be in my English literature lecture right now… I was walking through campus when this random little girl came running at me for help, and then some weird blue lights hit us and I was standing in her clothes and-“
“Wait, wait, slow down,” Michael said, his eyes lighting up curiously, “Campus? You’re a college kid?”
“Yeah!” The boy in Sofia’s life said, “A guy too! I… I can’t explain it but… Well, everyone seems to see me as some little Hispanic girl… B-But I wasn’t in Sofia Hernandez’s life before this morning… I was a guy named Noah Lincoln…”
Michael’s eyes lit up with recognition. He knew Noah… No, more than knew him. Noah was his roommate! His best friend! Michael dropped his plush, practically jumping for joy at the news, “Noah! Oh my god! Dude, it’s Michael! Michael Stanley!”
Noah’s blush faded as he looked excitedly at his friend, “Oh my god, Michael?! God… I… I can’t believe it! You… And me… And the little girls and…”
The two shared a look with each other of recognition, of shared experience… And the two couldn’t help but smile and laugh. After all, Michael finally had someone who understood exactly what he was going through… And now had at least one friendly face to get through this new girly little life.