Chapter Four- Alexis
Alexis sat on the fountain idly flipping through the book, not sure how to proceed. He knew the best way to understand Atticus' flirting was to do it, but for some reason, the idea of flirting seemed…nerve-wracking. How does Atticus do it? he wondered. Oh, I wished I had asked her before she left. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Okay, I should be able to do this. I've talked easily with guys and girls so that won't be a problem. The problem is that I don't compliment in a flirty way, that's not who I am. But if is how Atticus is and since I'm Atticus, I have to act like her. He looked down at the book in his hands and decided to take some notes first. He got up and as he was heading for the boys' dorm, a couple of girls called out, "Hi, Atticus!" It took Alexis a moment to realize they were calling out to him before turning and flashing an Atticus smile which made them giggle and run off. Alexis felt satisfaction at causing their reaction; before he would have rolled his eyes and given Atticus a look of annoyance. Hmm, that was actually…fun in a way. Alexis headed up to his room to make notes and reference the book before heading outside to go to the beach. He had seen his sister there plenty of times and always seemed to be surrounded by admiring girls. Time to try some flirting
He trotted across the sand to where he usually saw Atticus sit. He plopped down and admired the waves in relative peace for several minutes before he found himself surrounded by a group of giggling, smiling girls. Alexis flashed his sister's charming smile and began making easy, friendly conversation with them. He felt lucky he knew their names from when he was in his real body. He began regaling them with stories of Atticus that he knew well. He suspected they may have heard them before, but they seemed to like hearing them again.
The group thinned a bit as the afternoon wore on, but he still had a decent number of girls hanging around him. He continued to entertain them almost feeling as if he was a girl again. He wasn't sure at what point he began actually flirting with them but he paused after a compliment caused one girl to smile shyly and blush bright red.
Oh my gosh, he thought in shock and awe. I was actually flirting and I didn't realize it until now. It felt so natural and I actually enjoyed flirting with them. Something tells me that Atticus doesn't really feel love for any of them, but they either don't know or they just enjoy her company.
"Atticus, can I join you for the event tonight?" a girl with long black hair and green eyes asked, doing a girl version of flirting: Eye-batting.
"Uh, sure Barbara," he said. He felt a little uncomfortable with Barbara's form of flirting. He never did that. He had always been a serious-minded student, focused on being a top duelist who would go pro after graduating. He had no time to get romantic with someone no matter what Atticus thought.
But maybe that's not true. After all, I do have a crush on Jaden and maybe after Atti and I switch back, I'll tell him. I'll need to plan it carefully so I don't scare him. Alexis stared out at the water, thinking about how best to tell Jaden. She determined that either in the privacy of his room or the little beach by the Slifer dorm. Perhaps start by talking about the report and the event such as what they liked best about it.
"Atticus? You okay?"
Alexis jerked himself out of his thoughts to focus on a different girl. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked.
"You seemed deep in thought. That's not like you."
Actually, it is like me, Alexis thought. Seeing as I'm Alexis, not Atticus. But I'm supposed to be acting like Atticus.
"I was just thinking about tonight. I chose shooting stars for my report and there's supposed to be a shower of shooting stars tonight."
"Oh," the girl sighed. "That sounds romantic."
"That's what I'm hoping for," Alexis said with a wink at the girl, falling back into Atticus' flirting tactics. He again marveled at how easy it had become to flirt. Maybe some of it had to do with have Atticus' body. The body language seemed instinctual.
He eventually shook off his admirers by saying he needed to gather his things for tonight. He returned to his room and had just left his room with said things when he heard a voice say, "Hey, Atticus." He turned to see a guy that usually hung out with Atticus. "Hi," he answered.
"Being a ladies' man again?" he said with a teasing tone.
Flashing his best Atticus smile, Alexis said, "Can I help it if they love me?"
His friend grinned and clapped Alexis on the back. "I have no problem with that. You may want to think about choosing one to be your girlfriend, though."
"Perhaps. I'm going to be watching the event tonight with one girl."
"That's certainly a start."
Alexis set up the telescope, laid the book he was borrowing next to it, and sat down checking to make sure he had his pad and that it was fully charged. He wanted to make sure he got the video and pictures Atticus wanted. He looked around to see where Barbara was not worried about her finding him. The sky had just darkened when Barbara sat beside him. "Hi, Atticus."
"Barbara. I'm glad you found me."
She giggled a little. "You're kind of hard to miss."
"You have a point."
There was silence for a few minutes before Barbara said, "I heard you're doing a report on shooting stars."
"Right. I plan to shoot a video and some pictures." He held up the pad.
"Great. I'm sure your video will be wonderful," she said as the sky suddenly lit up with the second night of the event.
Alexis marveled at how twenty-four hours ago, he had been with Mindy and Jasmine in his actual body and saying those fateful words to Atticus. I'm starting to understand Atticus a bit. My suspicions were right, though: She's not romantic with any to them. Well, at least I don't have to worry about upsetting any of them.
Barbara snuggled up against him, and he put an arm around her back. "Enjoying the show?" he whispered in her ear.
"Oh, yes."
"Good. You know, you're very pretty. You deserve to be up there in the sky with the other pretty jewels."
She giggled. "You flatterer."
"Who's flattering? It's true." He pulled her closer and out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw blond hair. He looked back over Barbara's head and saw Atticus stalking back to her friends. He fought back a smirk. Now she know how I feel when I see her flirting.
A flash in the sky caught his attention: The star shower was about to begin. Since Barbara was on his left, he was able to manipulate his pad with his right hand to bring up the video function, hold up the pad, and hit record. He kept the video recording on for a few minutes before ending it and snapping a few pictures. There we go, Atticus, he thought. One video and some pictures. He set his pad aside, looked over, and saw that Barbara had fallen asleep against him!
Everyone's supposed to be getting plenty of sleep during the day so they can stay awake at night. Alexis allowed a brief look of annoyance to cross his face before dropping it. He turned his attention to the sky and to tomorrow night. I really hope we switch back. It's not so bad being a boy, I just don't like that it's Atticus I switched with. He lowered his gaze and let it wander over his classmates, thinking, I wouldn't mind if I had switched with Jaden. Maybe someone will invent a machine to switch people's bodies with no time limit. I would definitely be interested in trading places with Jaden.
