Chapter 19: Colorado

Rose stirred from her sleep, her brain struggling to start up like an engine that had been sitting idle for too long. The memories of the previous night slowly trickled in, reminding her of Dote and switching back to her own body. She opened her eyes, giving them time to adjust to the light, then examined herself. Her chest was still flat and firm at first glance, so she pulled the blanket aside. A pair of boxer shorts covered her nether region, but she knew right away that the spell didn’t work because her erection was standing straight up. Something wasn’t right, though. Her skin, hair, and body seemed different. This was definitely Ivan’s body, but it was a bit thinner and even cleaner, as if freshly showered.

She turned to look around the cabin, then sat up in a rush of fear. She was in a small bedroom, a modern one with a TV and other electronics. Leaping out of bed, she ran to the window and was presented with a street filled with cars. Rose turned and flipped through all of Ivan’s belongings until she noticed a cell phone on the dresser. She tapped the screen to turn it on, then input the password. Once it unlocked, she found that the calendar was two whole years before she vanished to Scarlaria. The memory of talking to Ivan in Hue Town came forward. He told her that he had been in Scarlaria for two years. Did she return to Ivan’s life before his trip to Scarlaria?

“Ivan!” A woman called from outside of the room. Somehow, Rose recognized the voice as Ivan’s mom. “It’s time to get ready for school.”

“I’m up,” Rose instinctively called back.

Rose hesitated to move as the name of Ivan’s school came to mind. She recalled all of Ivan’s classes and school schedule, even the names of his teachers. The fear of getting in trouble with her, Ivan’s mom, and especially the dad motivated Rose to get dressed. She seemed to know where everything was and pulled articles of clothing from the dresser and the closet. Just before opening the door, she remembered something else, turned around, then snatched up the backpack sitting near the dresser.

“Good morning,” Rose said as she entered the kitchen, acting as if she’d done this a million times before.

Continuing on the instinct of Ivan’s memories, she poured herself a bowl of his favorite cereal, ate, and then prepared to leave for the school bus stop. She tried harder to make sense of everything while walking. Even now, she remembered everything of her own life as Rose, so it wasn’t like she was having an identity crisis. She recognized many of the people waiting for the bus, including a best friend by the name of Rich. To Rose’s disbelief, she was able to carry on a conversation with Rich with little effort.

Rose was familiar with the school, thanks to Ivan’s memories, but in reality, this was her first time attending a public school. A mix of normality and excitement filled her senses, but she tried to focus on the new experience of it all. Everything was more chaotic and expressive than in any private school she had attended. The combined knowledge of her and Ivan’s memories made the assignments in each class somewhat easy. In fact, the only real issue Rose encountered was returning to the locker room after gym class. The sight of several pretty girls in shorts gave Rose an erection that didn’t want to cooperate. It didn’t help that she was in the boys’ locker room, and despite inhabiting Ivan’s body, she still found boys to be cute, too.