Startled at hearing Muffy's voice coming out of his mouth, Brain quickly looked
down. He was wearing not the blue pajamas he had put on the night before, but
a white nightgown. He reached up to touch his head, and felt waves of long,
straggly hair.
Panic started to well up in his stomach, but he pushed it down. "It's...a... dream," he mumbled quietly, again hearing Muffy's voice where his own should have been.
Climbing out of the water bed, Brain walked over to what appeared to be a light switch, and flipped it, bathing the room in light. Then he hurried to the full-length mirror, and his worst fears were confirmed. The face and unkempt hair of Muffy Crosswire were staring back at him with an expression of abject horror.
"Aaaargh! I'm a girl!" cried Brain, amazed at the high-pitched shriek that Muffy's voice was capable of.
Terrifying thoughts rushed through Brain's mind as he stared into the mirror at his altered form. "I'll have to wear girl clothes! And I'll have to get a girl job! I can't be a scientist!"
Muffy's heart pounded (for it was indeed Muffy's heart pounding, not Brain's) as she (no longer he) ran her fingers through her unwashed hair.
Then, unexpectedly, she started to giggle. It was an unusual sensation... almost pleasant.
"Right," said Muffy between giggles. "I've turned into Muffy. Very funny. Come on, Alan, you know this isn't possible. It's gotta be a dream, or a hallucination."
Brain's mind, in Muffy's head, wandered back to the previous evening, when he, Muffy, Arthur, Francine, and Buster had congregated at Sue Ellen's house for a pizza party.
"No, it wasn't that," thought Brain. "I only had two slices."
It was something else...
Brain was holding something in his hand...a small, carved stone figure with a painted, frowning face.
"Hey, Sue Ellen, what's this?" he asked.
"Oh, that," replied Sue Ellen as she opened a pizza box. "I picked that up on my last trip to Africa. Supposed to be cursed."
"Well, obviously you don't believe in curses," said Muffy as she prepared to take the stone figure from Brain's hand.
"So, what's the curse?" asked Brain as he started handing the figure to Muffy.
"Um..." Sue Ellen began, "I think the old woman said...that if two people touch it at the same time, they exchange bodies, or something like that."
She completed her sentence as Brain was passing the figure into Muffy's hand. Brain and Muffy exchanged sly glances.
"E = mc squared," said Muffy in a low, pompous voice.
"Vomitrocious!" said Brain in a high falsetto. He and Muffy started to laugh.
Suddenly Muffy, with Brain's mind inside of her, stopped giggling. Perhaps this was not so funny after all...
"What am I thinking?" said Muffy, shaking her head. "Curses are elements of the supernatural. They have no real power."
Yet the fact remained, as Brain verified by glancing in the mirror again, that he was now in somebody else's body...
A logical circuit suddenly completed itself in Brain's mind, and Muffy rushed to the end table to pick up her cell phone. She quickly dialed a number, and waited for the party to answer.
"Hello?"
"Uh...Hi, Mom...er, I mean, Mrs. Powers. I need to talk to...uh, Brain. Yeah, Brain. It's really important." Muffy had to force herself to speak, as Brain felt uncomfortable about having her voice.
"Hold on, I'll get him," said Mrs. Powers on the other end.
Brain waited impatiently, and started to notice that even Muffy's breathing seemed different from his own.
Then, to his alarm, he heard his own voice transmitted through the cell phone.
"Hey, Muffy."
Muffy struggled to compose herself. It occurred to her that she could hear the voice on the phone more clearly than usual, probably since her ears were lower on her head than Brain's.
"Uh...hi, Brain," she said nervously. "How are you doing today?"
Brain's voice on the other end sounded bored and sleepy. "Oh, I'm fine."
Muffy/Brain started to sweat. The voice she heard didn't sound at all like Muffy was talking through Brain's mouth.
"I've got a question for you," she said. "What's sixty-eight times forty-one?"
"2788," answered Brain's voice effortlessly.
"He's right," thought Muffy/Brain, starting to panic.
"Anything else?" asked Brain's voice helpfully.
"No," said Muffy weakly. "I'll see you at school."
Muffy/Brain pushed the off button on the cell phone. "That was really weird, talking to myself," she thought. "So it wasn't Sue Ellen's statue. I'm still in my own body, and I'm in Muffy's body, too. How is that possible?"
She went back to the mirror and looked glumly at her reflection. "I don't know how to be Muffy. I don't know how to put on girl clothes, or do anything with my hair. But I can't go to school looking like this."
There was a knock on the door of the bedroom. "Come in," said Muffy without thinking.
The door swung open, and Mrs. Crosswire poked in her head, which was covered in a hairnet. "You should be getting ready for school, Muffin," she said happily.
"Uh...okay, Mrs. Cross...er, Mom." Muffy/Brain saw no point in telling her the truth; she wouldn't believe it. Besides, she thought, perhaps she could get to the bottom of the matter more easily if she played along.
(Chapter 3 coming soon)
Panic started to well up in his stomach, but he pushed it down. "It's...a... dream," he mumbled quietly, again hearing Muffy's voice where his own should have been.
Climbing out of the water bed, Brain walked over to what appeared to be a light switch, and flipped it, bathing the room in light. Then he hurried to the full-length mirror, and his worst fears were confirmed. The face and unkempt hair of Muffy Crosswire were staring back at him with an expression of abject horror.
"Aaaargh! I'm a girl!" cried Brain, amazed at the high-pitched shriek that Muffy's voice was capable of.
Terrifying thoughts rushed through Brain's mind as he stared into the mirror at his altered form. "I'll have to wear girl clothes! And I'll have to get a girl job! I can't be a scientist!"
Muffy's heart pounded (for it was indeed Muffy's heart pounding, not Brain's) as she (no longer he) ran her fingers through her unwashed hair.
Then, unexpectedly, she started to giggle. It was an unusual sensation... almost pleasant.
"Right," said Muffy between giggles. "I've turned into Muffy. Very funny. Come on, Alan, you know this isn't possible. It's gotta be a dream, or a hallucination."
Brain's mind, in Muffy's head, wandered back to the previous evening, when he, Muffy, Arthur, Francine, and Buster had congregated at Sue Ellen's house for a pizza party.
"No, it wasn't that," thought Brain. "I only had two slices."
It was something else...
Brain was holding something in his hand...a small, carved stone figure with a painted, frowning face.
"Hey, Sue Ellen, what's this?" he asked.
"Oh, that," replied Sue Ellen as she opened a pizza box. "I picked that up on my last trip to Africa. Supposed to be cursed."
"Well, obviously you don't believe in curses," said Muffy as she prepared to take the stone figure from Brain's hand.
"So, what's the curse?" asked Brain as he started handing the figure to Muffy.
"Um..." Sue Ellen began, "I think the old woman said...that if two people touch it at the same time, they exchange bodies, or something like that."
She completed her sentence as Brain was passing the figure into Muffy's hand. Brain and Muffy exchanged sly glances.
"E = mc squared," said Muffy in a low, pompous voice.
"Vomitrocious!" said Brain in a high falsetto. He and Muffy started to laugh.
Suddenly Muffy, with Brain's mind inside of her, stopped giggling. Perhaps this was not so funny after all...
"What am I thinking?" said Muffy, shaking her head. "Curses are elements of the supernatural. They have no real power."
Yet the fact remained, as Brain verified by glancing in the mirror again, that he was now in somebody else's body...
A logical circuit suddenly completed itself in Brain's mind, and Muffy rushed to the end table to pick up her cell phone. She quickly dialed a number, and waited for the party to answer.
"Hello?"
"Uh...Hi, Mom...er, I mean, Mrs. Powers. I need to talk to...uh, Brain. Yeah, Brain. It's really important." Muffy had to force herself to speak, as Brain felt uncomfortable about having her voice.
"Hold on, I'll get him," said Mrs. Powers on the other end.
Brain waited impatiently, and started to notice that even Muffy's breathing seemed different from his own.
Then, to his alarm, he heard his own voice transmitted through the cell phone.
"Hey, Muffy."
Muffy struggled to compose herself. It occurred to her that she could hear the voice on the phone more clearly than usual, probably since her ears were lower on her head than Brain's.
"Uh...hi, Brain," she said nervously. "How are you doing today?"
Brain's voice on the other end sounded bored and sleepy. "Oh, I'm fine."
Muffy/Brain started to sweat. The voice she heard didn't sound at all like Muffy was talking through Brain's mouth.
"I've got a question for you," she said. "What's sixty-eight times forty-one?"
"2788," answered Brain's voice effortlessly.
"He's right," thought Muffy/Brain, starting to panic.
"Anything else?" asked Brain's voice helpfully.
"No," said Muffy weakly. "I'll see you at school."
Muffy/Brain pushed the off button on the cell phone. "That was really weird, talking to myself," she thought. "So it wasn't Sue Ellen's statue. I'm still in my own body, and I'm in Muffy's body, too. How is that possible?"
She went back to the mirror and looked glumly at her reflection. "I don't know how to be Muffy. I don't know how to put on girl clothes, or do anything with my hair. But I can't go to school looking like this."
There was a knock on the door of the bedroom. "Come in," said Muffy without thinking.
The door swung open, and Mrs. Crosswire poked in her head, which was covered in a hairnet. "You should be getting ready for school, Muffin," she said happily.
"Uh...okay, Mrs. Cross...er, Mom." Muffy/Brain saw no point in telling her the truth; she wouldn't believe it. Besides, she thought, perhaps she could get to the bottom of the matter more easily if she played along.
(Chapter 3 coming soon)