Slightly altered timeline: Taking place sometime during later years and accounting for Nicole's returning to PCA, but staying in another dorm room.
Switched
Chapter One
Atop the roof of one of the girl's dorms, Nicole, Zoey, and Lola sat back in reclined beach chairs, gazing through their sunglasses at the bright, beautiful sun. Zoey enjoyed the view of her tinted sunglasses that gave the constant impression of dusk. Lola gently rubbed her arms with sunscreen. "This is so nice," the Puerto Rican girl said.
"Yeah," Nicole replied, not looking away from the clear blue sky. "Hey, wasn't Quinn gonna come with us?"
"She said she was doing some experiments," Zoey answered, staring at the distant ocean. "Couldn't make it today. This is the fifth time she's done this."
"What's up with her, anyway?" Nicole asked, growing slightly annoyed. "All she cares about are those stupid experiments." The light brunette put her hands on the back of her head, letting out a sigh.
"She's just devoted," Lola explained. "Don't worry, she'll be done soon. You want me to see if she's ready?"
"No, I'll go," Nicole answered, getting up. Her pink bikini lined with dark blue strings glistened in the bright sunlight and over her lightly pale skin. Throwing a pink towel with the same blue design over the bottom part of her swimsuit, Nicole went to the dorm, approached Room 101, and knocked on its door. "Quinn," she called, pulling her sunglasses back so they carried her bangs atop her hair, which was pulled back in a chopped ponytail style. "Quinn, are you in there?"
"Yeah, I'm working on something," the inventor called back from her desk while observing a microscope.
"Didn't you wanna go swimming with us?" the brunette asked. "We can just keep tanning if you want."
"Sorry, Nicole, but I have a lot to do," Quinn replied. "Thanks for inviting me, though."
"...Why do you do these experiments, anyway?" Nicole finally gathered the nerve to say. "We could help you, or you could drop them for a little while...or do you just do it to be alone?" Quinn didn't answer. "You know, you're not gonna be able to shut everyone out forever..." Nicole departed, growing upset with herself.
Quinn looked up from her slides, and into the sky. A storm was coming, she knew. Nicole was wrong; she had to be. The Quinventions were never supposed to separate her from her friends. They're just fun...right?
"How's your tan going, Lola?" Zoey asked, letting the sun gently kiss her body. Unlike her friends, Zoey was only several degrees of tan and a couple of pounds away from being a gorgeous "beach bunny".
"Pretty good," Lola answered, feeling the rays hitting her body. Lola was naturally very thin, often wore her hair up and/or with different highlights and dyes. "It's starting to get kinda cold, though. I think it's gonna start storming pretty soon."
"Guess we should head in," Zoey replied, getting up. "Too bad Quinn never showed."
"More or less," Nicole declared, walking back over to the chairs. "Hey, Coco wants us inside."
"Just in time," Zoey responded, picking up her folded chair.
"Zoe," Lola said, looking at her friend's blue two-piece with a tutu-style flare-out around the hips. "I'm sorry, but you need a new swimsuit."
"What?" the blond replied, caught off guard.
"That bikini looks stupid on you since you got that tan," the Puerto Rican girl explained. "I'll take you shopping tomorrow."
"Random," Zoey summarized. "...Fine. You wanna come too, Nicole?"
"Sure," the brunette answered. "We'll make you look so hot." Suddenly, the rain began to pour down. "Come on. The guys won't be able to stand three soaking wet girls in swimsuits." Zoey and Lola chuckled, then ran for their dorm.
Meanwhile, Chase sat in the window sill, watching the rain pour down from the darkening sky. Gently strumming a sad tune on his guitar, the boy felt his emotions sink. Sure, he and Zoey had had their major overseas drama, but at the end of the day, what did it matter?
"Chase," Logan called out, breaking his friend's concentration.
"Huh? What?" Chase replied, caught off guard.
"You okay?" the rich boy asked, walking over to Chase with a concerned look on his face. "You've been moping all day."
"Fine," Chase answered, looking back out the window. "Just not in the mood to talk."
"Alright," a less-than-sensitive Logan replied. "I don't know what your problem is...You don't need a girlfriend to be happy."
"Said the guy who's dating Quinn Pensky as we speak," the curly-haired boy effortlessly retorted.
"Nah," Logan said, taking a seat. "We broke up last week. Said she needs to get her priorities straightened out, or...something."
"I'm sorry," Chase replied, feeling guilty. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Not a big deal," the wealthy teenager answered, looking through his JPhone. "We're still friends. Hey, I'm goin' to town tonight. Need anything?"
"No," Chase answered, picking up his guitar, only to throw it down once Logan departed.
Back in Room 101, Zoey and Lola were sitting on the bottom bunk, talking about plans they had; the days they'd spend on the beach, the times they'd spend maybe doing the things they used to love, like painting or playing children's games like tag or red rover in the ocean. It was always Zoey, Nicole, and Dana. Sometimes Chase, Michael, and even Logan. Then, Dana had to move away, and it was Zoey, Nicole, and Lola. Quinn joined in a little later, often accompanied with Chase, Michael, and Logan. Finally, tragically, Nicole was forced to go to an all-girl school, letting Quinn replace her as dorm mate. It was great...until Quinn became so obsessed with her work. Maybe that's the way she was before they became friends, but it's way harder to deal with now.
"Quinn, whatter you working on?" Zoey asked, trying to get her friend involved.
"Just studying," the girl answered, giving only the wanted information. Maybe she knew by now no one really cared.
"You wanna take a break and hang out?" Lola offered. "It's summer, anyway."
"No, thanks," Quinn answered, not looking away from her slides. A bright, blue-hued flash of lightning illuminated the entire sky over Los Angeles.
"Whoa," Zoey commented.
"...Perfect," Quinn whispered. "I'm gonna get the storm on tape. See you later." The brunette ran out, her camera in hand, and her nighttime glasses on.
Nicole was leaning against the wall in the hallway, looking at the raging storm she was separated from through the window. Quinn ran by.
"Quinn," the light brunette called.
"Sorry, Nicky, but I can't talk now," Quinn quickly said. "I've gotta tape this storm."
"Wait!" Nicole called, grabbing the girl's arm. "I'm coming with you."
Realizing the lightning could end any second, Quinn gave in. "Alright, but hurry," she said, leading the way under the balcony on the sidewalk.
"We're not supposed to be outside," Nicole said.
"We'll be safe from here," the scientific girl replied without any trace of fear or emotion. "Help me set up my digital camera on the tripod, please." Nicole bent down, and began attaching the joints on the silver tripod legs. "Okay, now put that one into that slot, and..."
Suddenly, a massive orb of blue electricity flashed across the sky, engulfing the two girls, and the entire school. "Oh, I don't feel so good," Nicole said, having some trouble hearing and seeing.
"We weren't directly struck," Quinn replied, not recognizing the symptoms of electrocution in herself or Nicole. "Oh...let's get inside." The two departed without the camera, and went back to their dorms. Despite the fact that the electricity was out, this wasn't a problem.
The next morning, though the time wasn't obvious, due to the fact that all the electrical appliances (plugged in or not) were still refusing to function, the girls in Room 101 woke up feeling groggy.
"Oh man," Quinn moaned, noticing her voice sounded kind of off. "I feel like garbage."
"Me too," Zoey added. "I feel so bloated."
"I'm kinda out of it," Lola said, stretching her bitterly aching arms. "That storm was something else." The girl opened the shades, and gasped at what she saw.
"What?" Quinn asked, noticing that her and Zoey were the center of Lola's shock. The girl picked up Lola's compact, looked at herself, and gasped. "Oh my gosh..." Grabbing the ends of her long, bright brown hair, the girl looked at her more mature but slightly pudgy cheeks. "...I don't need my glasses," she whispered. "...I'm...Nicole!"
"What the..." Zoey began. "...Oh my gosh!" The girl ran for the bathroom, and screamed at the top of her enlarged lungs. Running back into the room, Zoey shared her horrifying realization. "I'm Coco!" the woman shrieked in a deeper, slightly squeaky voice. Throwing her curly, reddish hair outward, the girl felt herself begin to panic.
"Just relax..." Lola said, wanting everything to stay calm. "...Why am I still the same?"
"Wait..." Quinn/Nicole said, not noticing Lola's comment. "If I'm Nicole, then she must be..."
Quinn ran into the room, not wearing her glasses, and having her shorter, dark brown hair down to her neck. "What happened to me?" she screamed. "I'm like...nine years old!"
"Thank you," Quinn replied in Nicole's voice. "...That lightning that hit the school seems to have caused several of us to switch bodies."
"Well, that's great," Nicole replied in Quinn's voice, sitting down. "I have plans today...people who 'er expecting to see me...not Quinn."
"Look...just sit down and relax," Lola said, her voice comforting.
"If I sit down, I'll never get up," the now-overweight Zoey replied, hitting her bulging, expanded stomach, which was displayed by slightly tight clothing.
"Quinn, do you know that the lightning caused all this?" Lola asked, acting as the sole voice of reason.
"That's the only thing that could've effected the entire campus," the petite brunette explained, enjoying being able to see without her glasses. "It was an extremely unusual occurrence. That's why I wanted to film it...Oh, I forgot my camera."
"Forget the stupid camera!" Nicole screamed in Quinn's voice. "We have to find a way to cure this!"
"Tell me about it," Zoey added, looking at her permed hair in a mirror. "Oh, man...feel like I could eat out this school."
"Wonder if Coco's realized she's in your body yet," Lola replied.
"Was there any time when you and Coco were exposed to the lightning?" Quinn asked, moving the long hair out of her face.
"I don't think so," Zoey answered. "But the room we were in lit up really bright. Coco wasn't there, though."
"Look, we can't stay here all day," Nicole interrupted. "Quinn, you have to meet Vince at the beach."
"Okay," Quinn regretfully agreed. "Do you have any light dresses or something I can wear?"
"We're going swimming...so no," Nicole answered. "How's a pink bikini with blue flowers on it sound?" The girl pushed her body towards her dorm, adjusting to Quinn's more petite arms and glasses.
"Looks like swimsuit shopping is out," Lola said, trying to lighten the mood.
"I'll say," Zoey said, looking at Coco's body. "Oh, this is horrible...We have to find Coco. Who knows what she's doing to me."
"You should probably stay here," the thin girl replied. "I have some ideas where Coco is. 'Till then..." Lola ran out of the room.
Nicole sat Quinn down in a chair. "Okay," she said, rubbing the back of her head. "Even if you're not really me, you still need my look and style. Now...when you see Vince, whatter you gonna say?"
"Um...'hi'?" Quinn answered, not sure what to say. Quinn was never good with boys. Mark was the only one, and he had "friends" on the side most of the time.
"Not likely," Nicole replied. "Here...put on your bikini. I'll show you."
"I hadn't thought of this," Quinn said, looking at her/Nicole's body. "This may be awkward."
"So close your eyes," Nicole quickly replied. "Come on, we don't have long."
"Okay," Quinn snapped, pulling her sleeves back. Soon, the girl was standing awkwardly in Nicole's bikini, keeping her arms at her side.
Nicole's... pretty, she thought, looking at her new, very thin tummy that gently peaked outward down the center.
"Be a little less stiff," Nicole instructed, fluffing Quinn's hair in the back. "Now...pose."
"What?" Quinn asked, getting nervous.
"Do a pose," the dark-haired girl answered. "Lemme see if you know what you're doing."
"Know what I'm doing?" Quinn asked, squinting in utter confusion.
"If you know how to be...Nicole-Cute," Nicole explained. "You know, body language and all that."
Quinn nodded, flapped her arms out while thinking, then went into a dramatic pose: throwing her left arm on her left hip, throwing her right arm in the air while her hand dropped like the branches of a palm tree, and curving herself to the right side.
"...There is no way you can make that look natural," Nicole declared. "But wow. Here...try this one...you two are sitting in the sand. You wanna give him a look that says 'I know I'm hot, and I want you to see that.'"
"...Isn't that kinda...trampy?" Quinn asked, returning to a normal position.
"Not really," Nicole answered. "Now...lay down...but make it look sexy." Quinn shrugged her skinny shoulders, then lay down on her belly, crossed her legs, putting her right leg upward, then let her left arm hold up her head. The girl gave a confident, sexy wink. "Great!" Nicole declared. "Wow...you just need to be more confident...that's all."
"Kay," Quinn said, standing up. "Now...should I teach you how to act like me?"
"No offense...but you've been in your lab so long...do you even remember yourself?" Nicole asked, trying to be sensitive.
The cute brunette dropped her head and blushed a little. "I don't usually blush," Quinn confessed.
"Yeah, but I do," Nicole replied. "Don't worry...I'll take care of you." The two departed: Nicole sat down on her bed, and Quinn walked into the hallway. Several seconds later, the brunette returned. "I should probably wear a t-shirt or something over this," she said, realizing her mistake.
Nicole sat down once Quinn left with her wrap, and looked at herself in the mirror. Quinn did have a rather young-looking face. All things considered, she was cute...Not hot. Nicole knew she could change that. Taking off her glasses, the girl noticed she could barely see. "Time to get contacts," Nicole said to herself as she put the black spectacles back over her eyes. Raising a makeup brush to her face, the girl began to apply blush to her cheeks.