Story by Liam Slade // Originally Published Jan 27, 2024
It was all so crazy at the beginning of the year. Me and the other guys sat at the back of the class room throwing paper airplanes and spitballs in the direction of the brainy girls who sat up front. Every day was a blast.
Then one day, Mrs. Henderson announced she had had it. The boys in the class were always so distracted, we weren’t learning anything. It was time for a change, she said.
“Every day, I’m going to call a boy up to answer a question on the blackboard,” she said. “And if you can’t get it right, I’m going to take away your distractions.”
We laughed. What could she do? She couldn’t make us do anything, or learn anything, or stop messing around.
Kevin was the first one called up. He got an algebra question. Kev was worse at algebra than I was! He didn’t even bother trying to write an answer, he just drew a stupid-looking face on the whiteboard. We all laughed. Well, the guys did.
But we weren’t laughing at what came next. Mrs. H waved her finger. The lights flickered, the air got really heavy, like it was charged with electricity or something, and right before our eyes, Kevin transformed!
His hair grew out, he lost six inches of height, his whole body changed form — even his clothes changed! Kevin was now Kara, a girl. She couldn’t even say anything to express her shock, her outrage. It was like she was totally put in her place. She just moped back to her seat.
We were scared out of our minds. Okay, we can take a warning. We all tried to study, but I guess it was too late. The questions were too hard. One by one all the guys got called up, failed their questions, and got transformed. Mike J. got a history question and failed. Daron whiffed it at English. Andy had to face geometry. Ryan, Josh, Mike T… one after another, they all became girls.
And the crazy thing is, they seem to like it. They say they feel smarter and more focused now. They like it! They walk through the halls giggling with each other, pointing and laughing at those of us who are left, like they expect us to join them. I look at their bodies… I want to date them, not be them!
There’s almost none of us left. I’ve been hitting the books hard, but I know my day is coming.
“You’re gonna be like, so pretty,” Kara told me.
Gulp.
Copyright 2024 Liam Slade, all rights reserved. To be reprinted only with permission of the author.