Switched Read Free Page B

breathe. Cold sweat trickled down my cheeks.
    I grabbed Lucy’s hand. I held it tightly.
    I lowered my eyes to the ground. Not a very far jump. Onto tall, soft grass.
    â€œReady?” Lucy asked softly.
    â€œReady,” I replied without hesitation.
    I squeezed her hand. I took a deep breath.
    And we both jumped.

chapter

3
    I hit the ground hard, landing on both feet. Pain shot up from my ankles, and I dropped to my knees.
    The pain roared up my legs, my chest, my head. The woods turned bright scarlet.
    Breathing hard, I shook away the pain and climbed to my feet.
    Had it worked? Had our jump to the other side of the wall made us change bodies?
    I turned to Lucy—but she had disappeared. “Lucy?”
    I was staring at myself!
    Her mouth— my mouth dropped open as she stared back at me.
    I lowered my eyes to examine myself. I was wearing Lucy’s clothes—the sleeveless yellow T-shirt, the short black skirt over yellow tights.
    â€œOh, wow!” I murmured. I slid my hands over my face. Felt my nose. Lucy’s tiny nose. Reached up and ran one hand over my ponytail. Lucy’s hair. Not my hair.
    I’m Lucy, I realized.
    I’m Nicole in Lucy’s body.
    We were both giggling now. Both staring at each other, wide-eyed, not believing it. Staring and giggling.
    Neither of us said anything.
    We both started laughing hard. We tossed back our heads and laughed up at the sky.
    I felt giddy. I felt crazy. I felt out of control.
    Tears of laughter brimmed in my eyes. Through the tears, I stared at myself. At Lucy in my body. It wasn’t like looking in a mirror. I realized I had never really seen myself before.
    I had never seen the single dimple that deepened in my right cheek when I laughed. Never noticed that my mouth curled up more on one side than the other.
    I had never been able to see how my long hair glistened down my back. How it swished behind me with each turn of my head.
    It’s so strange, so totally strange. I’m outside myself, I thought. I’m outside myself watching me.
    I’m Lucy now, watching Nicole.
    I stared as Nicole raised her hands to her cheeks, saw her long red nails spread out against her face.
    We were still laughing, tears running down our cheeks.
    And suddenly we were hugging each other, holding on to each other tightly. Laughing and hugging. Laughing and crying at the same time.
    We started spinning. Holding on to each other, we started spinning in a wild, joyful dance.
    Spinning faster and faster. Nicole and Lucy. Lucy and Nicole. Switched. Whirling together. Together. Not one. Not the other.
    Spinning in a circle of both of us.
    Whirling and laughing. So much joy.
    And then it ended as sudden as the jump that started it. And we dropped to our knees on the warm grass, breathing hard. And gazed at each other with solemn expressions.
    The giddiness vanished, and we realized what we had done.
    We had jumped more than a few feet. We had jumped into new lives. Jumped into each other’s life.
    Lucy began singing. “Dum-dum-dum-dum dum-dum-dum-dum.” I recognized the theme song from The Twilight Zone.
    I laughed. “You’re right,” I agreed. “We’ve stepped into the Twilight Zone.”
    â€œWe can’t tell anyone,” Lucy said, her voice a hushed whisper now. “Not anyone, Nicole.”
    â€œCall me Lucy,” I told her. “I’m you now. Call me by your name.”
    She hesitated. “I still think of myself as Lucy,” she said. “Even though I look like Nicole now.”
    â€œYou’re right,” I agreed. “We can’t tell anyone. No one would believe it anyway. We’ll live each other’s lives for a while—”
    â€œAnd when we get tired of it,” Lucy interrupted, “we’ll come back here to the Changing Wall. And we’ll change back.”
    â€œYes,” I quickly agreed. Then I felt a pang of guilt.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?”