One November Morning

Henry had hoped college would’ve been different than high school. Instead, it was more of the same. He was still made fun of for being smart while the jocks of the school were revered. He knew a degree was important, but he still wasn’t sure how he was going to make it through four years of this! He was feeling particularly distraught one cold November morning as he walked from the chemistry building to the computer science hall. He had to pass a field where there was always some time of practice going on. Today it was football and cheerleading. As he passed that morning, the sky appeared to explode for a moment in a bright white light. He found himself off the path and now a few yards away in the middle of the field. He could suddenly feel the cool breeze directly on his skin, and it was particularly chilly, as if he had been sweating. It took a moment for it to sink in, but when he finally realized what had happened, he screamed. He had swapped bodies with one of the jocks on the field, and not just any jock, but one of the cheerleaders -- one of the female cheerleaders! He was in a panic, and as he looked around, he didn’t seem to be the only one.

Skin Deep

Keith had operated his auto body shop for many years, but he had seen a downturn in business recently. He had attributed it to the Great Shift at first, as people were staying at home to adjust to their new bodies. Keith couldn’t blame them, he felt concerned when he suddenly found himself in the body of a young woman. But as things returned to normal, business didn’t. He soon came to one undeniable conclusion, people just didn’t trust a female mechanic. He couldn’t help but think how ironic that seemed. After all, considering the Great Shift placed all sorts of people in different bodies around the world, he would think everyone would come to the obvious conclusion that things like race and gender are just skin deep.