I was glad to no longer have Kelly's slutty urges and bimbo brain, but this new accent was annoying.
"Like, seriously, who really talks like this? And why did I get her body?"
The girl answered, "If you don't put in the correct settings, sometimes the device will transport your mind into a random person's body. That person can even be a few miles from you."
My eyes moved from my new, petite hands to the girl in the room with me. She had washed off the ashes from the fire but was still wearing the same shirt as before. She looked about seven years old, certainly no older than nine. However, her focused gaze was serious and implied maturity. The way she spoke did not seem how a typical young girl would talk. She acted much older. Who was she?
"You, ummm, really seem mature for your age and stuff."
The girl laughed.
"What?" you asked.
"It's funny. You really don't sound smart, but I can tell you are thinking things through now."
"What-ever. You're like, totally changing the subject, you know?"
The girl laughed again.
"Stop it."
Now she sighed. "I guess I am mature for my age."
"Who are you? And what were you doing with that machine?"
"It's complicated."
"I like, saved your life. Now I'm stuck in the body of Kelly here. I deserve some answers, you know?"
"Fine, fine. You're in real deep this as it is, so I guess you deserve to know the truth. This girl that I look like... isn't me." She started to look sad. "She was my niece, Claire. I am her uncle, Sidney. Sidney Ramonski is my name. I'm a... an inventor. Claire's parents are dead, died in a car accident less than a year ago. I took her in to take care of her. I didn't know how spoiled and rambunctious she was. Always getting into my things, treating everything like a toy. Yesterday she got my prototype device and managed to trade our bodies with it. I'm not sure how she did it, the device is meant to transfer one person's mind into a second person's body only one way, not perform a full swap between two people. Since she was now the 'adult,' she felt she really had the run of the house. I was busy trying to figure out how to reverse what Claire did." The girl now looked down, sad at the memories washing over her. "Claire, in my body, apparently did something with my gas stove. I couldn't stop her, and I couldn't save her. She died in the fire. She didn't deserve this. She could be a brat, but she was a good kid. Now she's gone, and I'm in her body. I failed her. I failed her parents." The girl sniffled and wiped a tear off her check.
I said, "I'm... I'm sorry."
Sidney sniffled again. "Thanks."