At five in the morning she looked in her vanity mirror sighing to herself. Today was just another day in Hillwood. Her day would consist of cooking, cleaning, and tending to all the tasks in her home that would otherwise be neglected, just like she herself was neglected. She took the yellow tinted concealer dabbing it at her jaw line to cover the purplish bruise developing there. Helga Pataki had a lot of bruising and a lot of scarring. Helga was scarred to say the least of her problems.
Helga stared into the mirror sapphire eyes gleaming with confident ferocity as she took note that the bruises blended away in her ivory skin. Someday she'd have to send a thank you note to whoever had created Maybelline Make-up. She tugged at a platinum-ironed curl; tucking it into a long ponytail that cascaded down to her lower spine. Helga wasn't one to normally dress up, but she was taking her English teacher's advice to the class seriously. The teacher had explained to the class the will power of positive thinking. If you force yourself to look at the glass half full then you'll stop believing it's half-empty. `
So that was why Helga wore a bright pink bow, in her pale blonde hair, as a headband. She'd even gone as far as to wear a tight hot pink miniskirt with a black top matching leggings and pink heels. Helga was definitely on the positive side today. Pretty in pink verses her usual rock and roll look of pretty in punk. Today would be a great day at the Cheese Festival with her best friend Phoebe.
She considered the exact words the teacher had offered up to recite. With as wide of a smile Helga could muster she looked in the mirror and recited the phrase with as much charisma capable.
"Today is going to be unlike any other day in my teenage life!"
At five in the morning he looked in his bathroom mirror as he combed his cornflower hair. He tried to tame it but it appeared to have a mind of its own whirling and twirling in random directions. He woke up on the wrong side of the bed so to speak that morning. He did not look foreword to spending his day fist fighting and hustling rent from the other boarders in his house. He didn't want to journey all the bus stops to obtain his dying grandparents medication. He especially did not care to council and advise the neighborhood through shallow dilemmas as he did every damn day. He would though because Arnold Shortman was mister fix it even if he couldn't fix himself.
He sighed as a pair of aggravated Jade eyes examined him in his reflection. He continued to shave his strong jaw line. He always felt better after obtaining a good clean shave and removing all his five o'clock shadow. He'd grown into his head and his body too. He was 6'2 and masculine from all the baseball and sports he participated in at school. Arnold was a man's man and a ladies man to boot. He didn't have a girlfriend but there was definitely a flock of girls awaiting their chance.
He could hear his grandpa Phil coughing briskly through the paper-thin walls. Phil was putting up his best fight but cancer was clearly winning. Arnold tried to tune the sound out. His mind lingered back to his English teacher's concept. If you continue to look at the glass as half full it won't conclude to be half-empty to you. It was easy to verbally state positives but it was a difficult task to believe it too. However he had some optimism since he and his best friend Gerald would be heading to the cheese festival together later that night.
Arnold's green eyes boldly glared into his mirror. In Arnold's deep calm voice he recited his teacher's advised phrase word for word.
"Today is going to be unlike any other day in my teenage life!"
THE CARNIVAL
Helga latched arms with Phoebe as the petite Asian woman led them through the crowed tugging at her blue dress excitedly. The sounds of laughter and shouts morphed together in an exhilarating sound. People jumbled together anxious to ride the rides and try different textures of cheese.
Helga beamed truly happy. She could live here in this festival year round. Maybe in a year when she turned eighteen Helga would flee and join the carnival as they traveled the U.S.A. sharing cheer and cheese. She glanced at her best friend who was truly pretty. Phoebe tugged at her long brown locks of hair that laid against the sides of her face a dark curtain. She wore a short blue dress and matching flats with tiny blue bows on them. Both had gotten dolled up for the evening events. They were friends for life and thick as thieves. They were polar opposites fueling each other with the traits that they lacked but needed in their lives. Helga would gladly bite a bullet for Phoebe.
"May I cut in?" Came a deep smooth caramel voice. Helga smirked as Phoebe's face lit up a million watts before spinning around. "Gerald!" She squealed leaping into her boyfriend's arm. He was handsome his skin a flawless creamy chocolate. He sported his usual solid red pull over and slightly sagging skinny jeans. They were an adorable couple.
"Aw, how cute. It's so adorable, I could throw up in my mouth." Helga joked putting her index finger to her lips to imitate gagging herself.
"Pataki." Gerald chuckled.
"Johannson," Helga nodded her head laughing too.
Helga and Gerald had grown up together and were close friends. They teased each other maliciously but if anyone else so much dared to say anything other then themselves they'd knock that person out no questions asked.
"Hey Helga," Arnold smiled his wide toothy grin.
"Hey Arnold," Helga returned his smile casually.
"How's Wolfgang?" Arnold asked casual about Helga's current boyfriend.
Helga was an attractive girl and Wolfgang was not her first boyfriend he'd just happened to last longer then some of the others had. Arnold was a Casanova himself dating a new girl every few weeks. Helga assumed that it was because he really wanted to be with Lila Sawyer not them. Even after being friends with Lila for as many years as Helga had her nose still crinkled at the thought of the pair together.
"He's fine building a motorcycle lately," Helga didn't mention how he'd been spending more time with the bike then her.
"How's Ruth?" She mused continuing on with the simple talk.
"We broke up." Arnold replied simply.
"How come? Finally realize she's superficial have you?" Helga rubbed in.
"No, she's not my type. I prefer light haired girls." Helga frowned at the shallow response.
"I guess we can't all be red heads." Helga mocked. His eyes slanted agitatedly at her.
He'd chosen to change the subject rather then take the initiative to argue with her.
"Looks like we're on our own," Helga pointed to the empty space between them. Phoebe and Gerald somewhere in the conversation had sneaked off to exchange private smooches.
"Shall we then?" Arnold extended his arm out to escort Helga.
She shrugged: "What the heck why not." Helga placed her hand lightly on his arm.
On lookers would have believed that the pair of old friends were a couple the ways the pair teased and played around. They rode bumper cars clashing cars together every chance they got. Arnold won Helga a bear; so she split her cheese stick with him taking turns nibbling on the deep fried treat. Finally they peered curiously at a Gypsy tent.
"Come in children." An elderly woman beckoned. Apprehensively the two entered the tiny tent. It was enveloped in the smoke of incenses. "Sit down." She instructed and the two sat beside each other. "What brings you to my shop?" The old woman leaned towards a crystal ball in front of her peering knowingly. "Nothing did, you told us to come in here lady." Helga was annoyed she was obviously a phony.
"Helga, do you really have to jump ship? Give her a chance." Arnold countered.
"Talk about jumping ship, you can't commit to anything Arnold-o!" Helga countered back.
"Name calling real mature Helga I could have sworn we were seventeen not nine." Arnold retorted cool toned.
"Arnold you act like you know me but you know nothing. You're head is in the clouds most days anyway." Helga was growing temperamental forgetting all about the old lady in question that started the argument. Why was her and Arnold's relationship such a tipping scale from positive to negative?
"The truth can be disgusting and crude but if the boot fits." Arnold glared down at Helga's heeled boot.
"Well I oughta pound you Football head!" Helga roared.
He laughed at her. "You do realize you're like 100 pounds and 5'4 right?" He teased amused.
"Helga just stop just for once be civil." Arnold attempted to reason. Helga wanted to reason but she was hotheaded by nature and he'd already ignited the match of frustration in her.
"Why don't you let loose for a change Arnold. You're boring." Helga glanced at Arnold with narrowed eyes. "Helga you couldn't deal with my day to day if your life depended on it."Arnold's nerves slowly beginning to get the best of him. Both glared nose to nose angry.
The old woman cleared her throat and both gave their full attention glancing at her blind eye. "I can help you two." She smiled, "I know why you were brought to me now." Her teeth gleamed slightly sinister. "Here we are," She handed each of them a box. "The fair will be closing soon I really must be closing my tent down. Have a good evening children." With that the old gypsy shooed the two out of her tent. Both still angry went their separate ways home.
Helga tentatively opened the box as she began to walk home. She pulled the string open peeking inside the brown box. There was a white ornament clearly resembling yang from Ying and yang. Her fingertips brushed the ornament lightly. There was a script on the back of it.
All things carry the yin,
While embrace the yang.
Neutralizing energy brings them into harmony.
Helga re-reads the strange quotation. Little did she know Arnold was examining the Ying symbol in a similar small container a few blocks over. Both went to bed exhausted and well beyond confused.
THE NEXT MORNING
Arnold awoke to a heavy pressure settling uncomfortable on his chest. He rolled over stretching as he pulled the sheets back. He lifted to his feet puzzled as the weight over his chest did not loosen but grew heavier. Arnold looked down and bit his tong to suppress yelping out in shock. A full well rounded bust met his eyes. He tried not to panic about the fact that he'd somehow had a pair of double D's. His bladder quivered signaling he needed a bathroom. He ran out of the room he was in without examining his location.
He was relieved to discover where ever he was the room was straight across from the restroom. Arnold bolted inside the bathroom locking it behind him. He ran to the mirror and bit his inner cheek. He could taste the metallic flavor of blood. He couldn't explain it but the taste was as foreign as the face reflecting back at him. A pair of azure eyes peered widely at him. He tugged roughly on the pieces of long hair tickling his waist. To his horror a curvaceous blonde stared back with the same horrorstruck expression he could feel himself making.
He pinched his chest in disbelief cringing as pain shot through his body; or rather the body of Helga Pataki. He didn't know how it had happened but it wasn't a dream he could pinch himself awake from he was trapped in Helga's body. He couldn't prevent it any longer. Arnold screamed on the top of his lungs. A high pitched squeal is what greeted him and the higher voice only served to amplify his screaming as he ignored the pounding fist on the other side of the door.
ACROSS TOWN
Helga woke up to a sharp poke at her stomach. The sun shone vividly through the ceiling, which confused her since she'd put a sheet over her corner window to keep it dark all through the day. She glanced over and next to her on a couch instead of Phoebe was Gerald. Did Phoebe sneak him in her bedroom last night? She'd have to scold Phoebe later as she rolled off her stomach that poky feeling still present.
Helga swallowed down the scream itching to escape her lungs. As she looked down hidden in the confines of a pair of red plaid boxers was a bulging clearly all-male asset. Helga stumbled to her feet almost loosing balance; the universe around her seemed to be higher up then she'd recalled her vision of it yesterday.
With quivering legs she stumbled to the restroom connected to the bedroom. How did she get this foreign piece of her somehow new anatomy to go down? The answer came at once as she cringed listening to the sound of dreadful coughing. There was a disconnect somehow. She'd gotten rid of her little problem but there was still a disconnect. Somehow her soul was disconnected from the mind and body it inhabited. All she knew was something about the coughing triggered sadness in this body she had yet to be brave enough to examine and investigate.
She looked straight across to the mirror beside the old bathroom stall. She yelled and the yell was a deep base sound that she could not associate as her own voice. A pair of Jade eyes widened in surprise as she tugged anxiously at cornflower blonde hairs. She was no longer Helga but somehow on the outside had become Arnold! She had inexplicably swapped bodies with Arnold!
She quieted herself as Gerald swung the bathroom door open to put his hand on Arnold's shoulder. "Arnold my man are you alright?" Gerald said concerned. "No I'm not I-I-I," Helga couldn't even finish the phrase. How could she explain that she wasn't really a he at all? Her frantic thoughts only grew more hectic as she heard screaming from a far away distance. "Gerald did you hear that?" She shook her head still unsettled by her newly found low monotone.
"Hear what Arnold?" He raised his brow perplexed. Helga didn't seem to have the capability to speak. Maybe she was going through shock? Somehow in the distance she heard a woman screaming bizarrely. Helga couldn't explain anything happening to her but she knew the sounds of that scream it was her own. She somehow could hear through the distance herself screaming. She was definitely in for an experience of a lifetime if Helga could live through the sanity; or should she be calling herself Arnold now.
WRITER NOTE: Thank you to all those who read and review this. I am currently the writer of 13 Reasons why and If you haven't checked it out then I suggest you do so! I will not post without a comfortable amount of replies. So speak now or forever hold your peace! Happy Readings!