Alright, I am fully aware this took a while to get out. I'm very sorry for that. I was very busy with family stuff. I have to be honest though, this chapter is the hardest one to make. Mainly because the switching of perspectives between Ash and Misty. But look I pulled through in the end.
So yeah... Enjoy.
"… What.. on earth is this?"
I couldn't help but ask out loud as I looked at myself. I saw my uniform and skirt, all wrinkled up. … So I slept without changing?
"I see you're finally awake..."
The voice obviously belonged to Violet. I looked up and there was my bitchy as hell sister. She was laying down with her phone in her hands. Doing whatever the hell a girl like her does.
I ignored her. And walked down the hallway for breakfast.
"Morning Misty!" My mother, father and my eldest sister Daisy said happily in unison. I simply sat down and dug in my... Seriously? I need food for a lady not a poor girl.
"Yeesh... Rice again..." I whispered underneath my breath. I looked up to check the time. Then I noticed... All three of them we're staring at me? What do they want?
"Back to normal huh?" My dad jokingly said with a big grin. Back to normal? I'm the usual Misty! What are they talking about?
The looks I was giving must've told them I didn't know what they were talking about. "Well Misty you were acting alot more... younger. To say the least. It was honestly rather cute!"
My parents laughed. What did they mean by cute?! I'm always cute!
"Oh yeah... You were also... How can I say this loosely..." Daisy began to bring her hands to her chest. She grabbed them?! Wait... Was I?!
"I WAS DOING WHAT?!" I screamed covering them and my face went red. How could I do that?! And why would I?! Wait... That dream... What was it again?!
"I-I gotta go to the bathroom!"
"Don't touch your boobies again!"
My parents laughed at Daisy's "joke". I rolled my eyes and then looked at myself in the mirror. I look the same... My hair looks... weird I prefer it down to be honest and... Well everything is fine? Did I get amnesia?
Hold on... What is this?!
I looked at my phone. There was a diary entry I didn't remember at all writing... at all!
… And on the way home from work, I walked to the station with Mr Rudy! All because of my feminine charms!
I cringed while looking at it... But still... This diary entry...
"I-It can't be real." I thought.
Right?
"Misty, want to go to the cafe again today?"
"Tch, you do remember I have work after school right?"
"Haha, do you remember where you work?"
"Huh? … Oh, it was you?! Wasn't it? May?! " I asked accusingly, raising my voice. Actually, I really hoped it was May's doing. Unfortunately, her questioning look said otherwise. There was no reason a random person would go through that much trouble just for a stupid prank. I knew that much.
"… Never mind. See ya," I said reluctantly as I stood up from my chair. About to leave the classroom,I heard Drew's voice behind me: "She's normal today, huh?'" A chill ran through my feet. Something very strange was happening to me...
"… What do you want?"
I had just changed into my maid outfit and opened the door of the changing room, only to discover three of the other maids standing there blocking my way. One regular and two college part timers, all girls, were glaring at me with ominous bloodshot eyes. As I gulped in fear, they started talking to me in threatening voices.
"… Misty you snobby bitch, trying to steal him?" "Explain yourself!" "You two walked home together yesterday, didn't you?"
"Eh… wait, seriously!? Me? With Rudy!?" Which meant… the stuff in that diary was true!?
"What did you guys do after that!?"
"Um… My apologies but I really don't remember very well…"
"Don't screw around with me!"
As one of them was about to grab me by the neck, a calm voice rang throughout the hallway.
"Rudy, reporting for work!"
With his long legs and shoulders poking out of his top, Rudy came walking over. Stepping heavily in his black loafers, he greeted us with a smile.
"Good work, everyone!"
"Good afternoon!" Unable to withstand the dazzling presence of Rudy, who was basically like a prince in the cafe, the four of us girls unintentionally returned a greeting in unison. For a moment, I forgot about the trouble that was about to occur; then, he turned around and looked at me.
"Let's do our best again today, right Mist?" he said with a tone so sweet I could sense a heart emoji at the end of he sentence. He then winked at me so hard it almost made a sound and disappeared beyond a door.
My face turned bright red; I almost felt steam coming out of my head. I suddenly got the urge to polish all the windows in the restaurant until they were sparkly clean.
"… Oi, Misty." The dark voices of the three girls, which sounded like they were resonating up from the very bottom of the Earth, brought me back to reality.
This is bad. While receiving the brunt of their wailing interrogation, I thought. What in the world could be happening? Did everyone get together and decide to pull one big prank on me? Could I have really done something without remembering a thing about it? And wait... Ash... That name suddenly popped into my head. Why would I even think about that?
And what kind of name is Ash?!
Outside, the birds chirped their morning melodies as lively as ever. Pure rays of warmth and light born from the newly risen sun crept their way into the room through the thin paper walls. An ordinary, peaceful morning.
Back in this dump... I wished I stayed in that dream to be honest. I checked the time on my phone.
8:00am. Plenty of time.
"Morning Ash!"
Looking over, I saw my mom standing in front of the opened door. She did her usual thing. Lunch and uniform near my study table but before she left... She looked at me... Am I crying again? But instead... She gave a grin.
"Just saying... Lock the door next time when you decide to see how much you've developed... Breakfast is downstairs!"
I remained sitting in my bed as I watched her close the door and go off like always. Developed... What did she mean by? Then I remembered the lesson we got about a few months ago. I was... doing... THAT?! An image of me popped into my head doing that. And my mom opened the door!
What is going on?!
"Good morning..."
As soon as I stepped into the classroom, everyone's eyes all focused on me at once. Eek. W-What? Walking timidly over to my seat by the window, I heard quiet whispers being exchanged between my classmates. Ash was so cool yesterday. Maybe I need to rethink my opinion of him. But didn't his personality change a bit?
"I-I feel everyone staring at me…"
"Well obviously. You sure did stand out yesterday," Leaf said.
"Yesterday?" I asked as I sat down. Leaf peered at my face with a shocked yet worried expression.
"You know... In P.E you were badass as heck!"
"Eh?"
"Hmm? You don't remember? Are you alright? Well we were doing boxing... or was it... Karate? Whatever... You see Gary and his girls were at his usual gossip. You know making fun of us three and all. You heard them and actually challenged him to a fight! And you absolutely DESTROYED him. Every punch or kick he tried missed and you even did a big roundhouse kick right on the stomach! His fangirls were so shocked by it too. In fact he's now left in the dust since then!"
"I... what?"
My face grew pale. As soon as school ended, I dashed home. I passed by mom having a leisurely tea party in the living room, sprinted up the stairs, shut myself in my bedroom, and opened my classics notebook.
Who are you? I flipped to the next page.
A chill ran throughout my entire body. In the same handwriting, a full two pages had been buried. First, there was a giant Satoshi/Ash Ketchum. Surrounding it were numerous question marks and pieces of my personal information.
14 years old. In Second Year. / Friend: Red (What kind of name is that?) – quiet, kind of emo but nice guy (Kind of hot) / Friend: Leaf (Better then Red...) – mischievous, annoying and reminds me of Daisy / Living with mother / Middle of nowhere / Dad is mayor / Has a... weird religion / Mother is real nice / Dad living separately / Parents divorced /Not many friends / Is a boy
And lastly, again in huge letters: What is this life? As I stared at the notebook, my body trembling, images of Cerulean flickered into my mind faintly, as if trying to peek out from behind a curtain of haze. Cafe, job, two friends, walking home with someone… A corner of my brain began to grasp the tail of an absurd conclusion.
"Could this…. Could it be…"
"Could it… could it really be…"
...
...
Holed up in my room, I stared at my phone incredulously. Some time ago, my fingers had started shaking violently on their own, as if half being controlled by someone else. With those fingers, I scrolled through the entries in my diary app. Sandwiched between the ones that I wrote were unfamiliar headings, now more than just a few in number.
First time KFC! Chicken heaven! / Cerulean Aquarium with the May and Drew! / Viewing platform tour and flea market! / Visit to Father's work place!
A corner of my brain began to grab hold of an inconceivable conclusion.
Could it be-
In my dreams, this guy and I-
In my dreams, this girl and I-
Are switching bodies?!
The rising morning sun peeking through between the mountains. The sunlight illuminating the lakeside town building by building. The morning birds, the silence of noon, the calls of the evening insects, the twinkling of the night sky.
The rising morning sun peeking through between the skyscrapers. The sunlight illuminating the countless windows one by one. The morning crowds, the bustle of noon, the scent of life in the evening, the radiance of the city at night.
Each scene, each moment, held us in fascination time and time again.
And eventually, we came to understand.
Misty Waterflower - was a high school student of the same age living in Cerulean.
Ash Ketchum was a boy living in the middle of nowhere. Our switching occurred irregularly. It could come twice or three times a week. The trigger was sleep. The cause unknown.
Our memories during a switch became blurry soon after waking up the next day. Almost like we had merely been having a vivid dream.
But there was no doubt that we were switching. The reactions of others in our lives clearly proved that.
And ever since we realized that this phenomenon was occurring, we've been able to remember more and more of our dreams. Even while awake, I know that there exists a girl named Misty living in Cerulean.
I know that a boy named Ash is living in a village somewhere in the countryside. I have no reason or logic to back it up, but I am sure of it.
And we've started to communicate with each other. On days when we switch, we leave each other messages as diary entries or scribbles in a notebook.
We also tried calling and texting, but for some reason neither worked. But at any rate, it was fortunate that we had some method of communication. We needed to protect each other's everyday life as much as possible. And so, we decided on rules.
To Misty: Forbidden Actions!
Absolutely no baths!
No touching my body! Especially when mom finds out!
Don't get too popular! I hate Gary but I feel bad for him!
Don't become any closer with Leaf than necessary; she should be with Red!
Don't touch any other guys!
Don't touch any girls either!
To Ash: Forbidden Actions Ver.5
I told you not to waste money, right?
Don't be late to school or work; remember the way already...
Don't touch my boobs! Seriously WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
Are you secretly taking baths? I feel like I smell some kind of shampoo…
Don't act so close with May, you'll make her get the wrong idea idiot!
Don't get too close to Drew! Him and May are perfect for each other!
MOST IMPORTANTLY don't act so close with Rudy!
But still, reading the diary entries Ash leaves behind, I can't help but get frustrated.
Reading Misty's diary, I can't help but feel anger.
Seriously, that girl!
Seriously, that guy!
Made big plays during pokemon battling in P.E.? I'm not that kind of person! Also, jumping around and cheering in front of guys!? I got scolded by May for not properly covering my chest and stomach and legs! Watch out for your skirt and looks from guys! Fundamentals of life, right!?
Also Ash! Stop pigging out on stupidly expensive cakes! You're weirding out May and Drew. Also, that's my money!
Technically you're the one eating them! Also, technically I'm working at that maid cafe too! Anyways, you work too many shifts! I can't go out to play at all!
That's because of your spending! Also, doing that religion ritual thing at your town, that's impossible for me!
...
On the way home, I had tea with Rudy! I was about to pay for him, but then he paid for me! He said 'treat me once you graduate high school'! I played it cool and answered 'I promise I will'. Your relationship is going great, thanks to me! Tehehehe!
Damn it Ash, what the hell are you doing!? Don't go around changing my relationships like that!
Hey Misty, what is this love letter!? Why did GARY out of all people confess his LOVE to me?! And WHY DID I ANSWER "I'll think about it"?!
Haha. You're selling yourself short. If you let me take control of your life you'd be way more popular.
Don't be so full of yourself! You don't even have a girlfriend!
You don't have a boyfriend either!
I just haven't bothered to get one yet!