Chapter 1: Sapphire.

"What's going on in here? Saf!", a loud, angry voice startled me, waking me up. Rob, my manager at the Cafe shop i've been working in for the past few weeks, stood a few feet in front of me. His eyes narrowed, mouth tightened and his face has a deep shade of a tomato. I jumped right up, trying to cover up the fact I just fell asleep mid shift. This is the third time this week.

"I'm so sorry Rob! It was such a long day and last night-" I started apologizing fast, avoiding any eye contact.

"Stop Saf. I don't want to hear it." He cut me aggressively, reaching a hand as though he wants to physically stop me. "You're fired. I'm sick and tired of hearing your excuses. I should have fired you the first time you slept during your shift!".

"Come on, you know how much I need this job! The trip is only a month away and-". I think i might cry at this point. "I don't care!" He hissed through his clenched teeth which he held so tight, i'm actually worried for his dentist. "I don't care about your stupid Pre-life trip. I care about my business and you're jeopardizing it. I made up my mind ,and now- get out!"

I quickly removed the apron, grabbed my bag and ran out of the back door. I jumped on my bike and headed home. Great. I just lost my second job in a month. What am I supposed to do now?

Today is December 23rd, which means i only have a year and one week before the Switch happens to me. I'm not scared or anything, I just think it's deceptive and gives false hope. My parents and brother are a living proof of that.

On every midnight of New Year's Eve, anyone who turned 22 in the past year goes through the Switch. It lasts for about twelve hours in which you wake up possessing your soulmate's body. I know, it's completely messed up and creepy. You're able to see through their eyes, listen to their surroundings and just experience what it's like to be them. People think it's the best way to find love and what not. Yeah, right.

My parents, Will and Veronica Miller, were 22 when they had the Switch. My father is tall and well built thanks to his job at the construction company. He has a warm, pleasant face. My mother is also tall and always has a serious expression on her face. She's the principal of the elementary school in the neighborhood. They knew each other since kindergarten , just like everyone else in town, and were thrilled to find out that they're each other's soulmate. They knew it will happen their whole life. They got married six months later, and had my older brother, Gilbert. For short Gil, to show the happiness and joy of their life. Gilbert has our father's soft brown eyes and my mom's cheek bones. His dark chocolate shade brown hair is so short you can see his scalp. He is my best friend, the one that can make me laugh just from looking at his face . Gil will be 25 next month. To him the Switch didn't happen the way he hoped for. Gil had a girlfriend ,Abby ,since they were seventeen. They were both positive they'll switch with each other. But he woke up in someone else's body. Not any girl, but a girl who hated him and was dating his worst enemy. When he woke up back in his body, Gil found out Abby had the Switch with Tommy, his basketball team opponent. She left him and broke his heart. He never got over it.

Then I came around and my parent named me Sapphire. My mom says that when she held me for the first time, my eyes were wide open, in the color of the deep ocean blue gem sapphire. When i was seven, my mom gave birth to twins, Rose and Ren, the flowers that make our life bloom. They're fourteen now and just started high school. They have my mom's big knowing eyes but in my father's coloring. They look almost completely identical. Rose's hair is long and beautiful while Ren's is shorter, but still has the same soft brown shade.

I know how it looks. The perfect couple with their perfect children living happily ever after. But that's not how life is. My parents' first big fight happened when i was twelve, and three years later they got divorced, hating each other so deeply as if love was only an illusion. My mom took the twins while Gil and I always moved between their two houses.

As for me, i am not special. I have the kind of a face you'll never notice. Except for my eyes, i look super ordinary. I'm not very tall nor too short, my brown hair falls straight down to the middle of my back with no shape. My style is not a thing too, mostly wearing those worn out pair of deep blue jeans and any colored top.Even though I don't attract any attention, everyone in our small town ,Glendale ,seems to know me. It's the kind of place where everyone knows everyone.

Glendale is a few miles north of Phoenix, Arizona. The summer is like living in hell because the temperatures goes higher and higher. The winter is better, though we really don't have a lot of it. I go to Glendale Community College working on my B.S. and eventually get my Bachelor in Fine Art with my friend Nicole. Our other friends, Cody and Anna major in web design and our fifth member, Sean, majors in English.

We're friends since elementary school and know everything about each other. Well, they don't know everything about me. They don't know I'm not in love with Eric, my boyfriend. They don't know what i think of the Switch. They don't know I've been dreaming of leaving town since my parents got divorced. They don't know I'm gonna do something.

Now I'm in trouble. After losing my job at the Caffè, i have no way of raising the money i need for the trip. The trip my friends and i are planning for months.