Welcome back everyone! Oh dear…what will happen now that the switch has taken effect? Well, we're about to find out, in the second chapter.

Revelations & Adjustments

Lili walked out of the bear's cave, frowning first in annoyance, then in guilt. Not getting her way was bad enough, but getting a dose of her own medicine was a completely different story. It didn't happen to her all the time, but it did on occasion—she would boss her friends around in a certain way, and sooner or later, someone would boss her around in the exact same way during a special adventure. Tonight that someone had been the bear who lived in the cave she and Nessa discovered. And thanks to him, now Lili knew how her friends had felt when she hadn't been fair to them during their sleepover; and that she had been unfair.

Well, she wasn't going to be unfair anymore. Lili might be very bossy, but that didn't stop her from caring about her friends' feelings. She liked her friends. They were all very nice to her, and ever since the day they'd rescued her from an island the day she thought her family was moving away (it turned out they were really just visiting her grandma for the weekend), she'd known a very strong connection had formed between them. Sure, the connection got unsteady sometimes because she, Matt, or Yuri caused a fight between them, but in the end they always made up. And hopefully, tonight would be no different.

As if on cue, the enchanted forest and the cave suddenly faded away, revealing Lili's living room. She found Nessa a second later, lying on the floor in front of her. Wait…in front of her? Did she leave the cave before she did? Without her noticing?

Nessa snored softly, and Lili's confusion quickly disappeared. She must have just gotten sleepy because it was a few minutes past their bedtime. Well, that was okay. She could just apologize to the rest of her friends by herself while Nessa slept. But then she remembered her mom saying she was going to call Matt and Yuri's parents to make sure they got home safely. Lili couldn't hear her in the kitchen, so that probably meant she'd finished both phone calls and left for work—which meant her apology would have to wait until tomorrow morning. She hoped the boys would forgive her anyway; she'd never had to wait more than an hour to apologize to them before.

Since her best friend was asleep, Lili picked up a few of her dolls and gently placed them next to her before running upstairs to get some blankets. She noticed her father coming out of her brothers' bedroom as she entered hers, and asked, "Dad? Can you help me bring some blankets downstairs?"

Lili's dad looked confused. "I thought you were all sleeping in your room."

"Matt and Yuri left, so the sleepover's going to be in the living room instead."

"Oh…well, sure. I'd be happy to help."

Lili smiled, and she and her dad entered her room. Working together, they found two blankets (the one on her bed and a selection from the closet) and then carried them downstairs. However, just as they entered the living room to set them up, Lili's dad stopped in his tracks, dropped the blanket he was carrying, and gasped.

"Daddy! What is it?" Lili asked, surprised by his sudden surprise.

Her father's eyes were wide in shock and fear. "There's…there's…a strange animal in here…"

Lili realized he was talking about Nessa, and stared at him in confusion. "Nessa's not a strange animal, Dad. She's my best friend! You don't have to be scared of her. She's really nice!"

Her dad stared at his daughter in shock. "That's your imaginary friend?!"

"Imaginary? What are you talking about?"

"I mean, your mom and I heard you talking to her every day, but to us, it looked like you were just talking to a blank space. We didn't think she was real…I mean, know she was real…"

"You didn't think Nessa was real?! How could you think that? Just because you couldn't see her doesn't mean she—"

A sudden gasp of surprise interrupted Lili, and she and her extremely nervous father turned to find that the pink giraffe was now awake, having apparently been awoken by Lili's shouting. "Oh," Lili said, "sorry Nessa! I didn't mean to wake you up. I—"

Nessa stared at Lili and her dad in confusion for a moment, then suddenly glanced around the room, getting more and more nervous as she did. "What…what is this place? Who are you?"

Lili was confused, especially by her best friend's new voice accent. "Nessa, it's me! Lili! And…and…why does your voice sound kind of different?"

"What do you mean? Who is this 'Nessa?'" Nessa tried to stand up on her hind legs as she spoke, but wobbled wildly and fell on her side. When she landed on the floor, she ended up face-to-face with her front legs, and the sight of them made her gasp again, this time in fear.

"Are you okay?" Lili exclaimed. "You didn't get a booboo, did you?"

Nessa swallowed hard. "One of you, bring me a mirror…"

Now Lili was even more confused. "A mirror? Why?"

"Just bring me one! The very lives of my tributes could depend on it!"

Her response only increased Lili's confusion, but she did as she told and went into the bathroom to get a handheld mirror. She brought it into the living room and held it so Nessa could see her reflection. As soon as her best friend looked through the mirror, she screamed so loud that Lili and her father both had to cover her ears.

"What's wrong with you?!" Lili exclaimed in frustration.

"I'M A MUTT!" Nessa screamed in horror, tears streaming from her eyes. "A PINK LONG-NECKED MUTT! What have I done? I knew I shouldn't have made that wish…but a mutt?! Why did that have to be who, I mean what, I swapped places with?" She then began sobbing, and Lili's dad awkwardly left the room to get a box of tissues.

"Swapped places with?" Lili asked, once again confused. And just like that, she knew. This wasn't Nessa she was talking to—not on the inside—not anymore. It was someone else; someone that she guessed was supposed to be a human, since they definitely weren't used to being on four legs. But who was it? And how did he or she end up in Nessa's body without her noticing?

Lili's dad returned with a tissue box, and taking a deep breath, he gathered enough courage to approach the giraffe and help them blow their nose. As he did this, Lili awkwardly apologized to the person who had switched places with Nessa for all the shouting she'd done.

"Oh, it's alright," whispered well, whoever it was. "How could you possibly have known I had swapped bodies with, um…this mutt? Such a thing's never happened before."

Lili narrowed her eyes a little. "Her name is Nessa, and she's a giraffe. Not a mutt."

Her dad put away the tissues, sighing. "This is a lot to take in. I mean, Lili, first I find out that your imaginary best friend's apparently not imaginary, and now I'm hearing she switched places with…this person here?"

"This woman here," clarified the person who had switched places with Nessa.

"What's your name, by the way?" Lili asked her.

The woman in her best friend's body looked confused. "You…you haven't already been told?"

"We've never even seen, I mean, heard you before!" said Lili. "Why would we know your name?"

"Because this is…or is it?" The woman tried to stand on her hind legs again, but fell down once more. Sighing, she turned to Lili's father and asked, "Um…I don't usually ask this of anyone, but…could you carry me to that window so I can look through it?"

"Why?" asked Lili's father, a slight edge in his voice.

"I need to make sure I'm not too far away from the Capitol. This living space isn't as fancy as the ones there, but it is presentable, and rather cheerful. So I must have landed in a Victors' Village…either in District 1 or District 2."

Suddenly a look of worry and disbelief came into Lili's father's eyes. "You're…you're from Panem?"

"Panem?" Lili asked in confusion.

"Yes!" the woman retorted. Then she frowned. "That is where we are…isn't it?"

"We're…we're in America," said Lili's dad.

The woman gasped. "America?!"

"Where's Panem?" Lili asked. "What's it like there? I've never heard of it before."

Lili's dad sighed. "I know. And you weren't supposed to…at least, not for about ten years or so…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

The woman looked from Lili to her dad in desperation. "Please. You must help me find a way out of this body, and back to the Capitol. Fast! If you don't…well, two tributes I'm supposed to be gathering sponsors for could—"

"Lili, go upstairs to your room," said her father. "I have to speak with…our new guest…alone for a few minutes. If your brothers need anything, keep them company until they go back to sleep, or until your mom comes back."

Lili stared at him, once again confused. "But I wanna help, um…" she turned to the woman. "…what's your name?"

"Effie Trinket," replied the woman. "The escort for District 12's tributes."

"And what's a tribute?"

"Please, Lili," said her father. "Go upstairs."

"But what about the blankets?"

"Take one of them with you. I really need to talk to Miss Trinket for a while, alone. I'll see you in the morning."

With a sigh, Lili grabbed the blanket from her bed and headed upstairs, into her room. As she closed the door and put her blanket back on her bed, a million questions popped into her mind. Where was Panem, and why hadn't she known about it like she'd known about the other continents of Earth? Why didn't her dad want to talk about that place? And she was even more curious about the things Effie Trinket had mentioned—tributes, districts with different numbers, a Capitol, a mutt—what did all those words mean?

But most of all, Lili was worried about Nessa. She hadn't been separated from her since the day she got stuck on that island, and that situation, despite the loneliness involved in it, hadn't been nearly as bad as what was happening right now. And why hadn't her dad been able to see Nessa (her body, anyway, since Effie was now in it instead of her) until now? Had Bongo and Golias been invisible to her parents too? And if her dad could see her Big Big Friend (or Effie) now, did that mean he would be able to see them too, if given the chance?

Lili groaned. Why did she have to wait until tomorrow to find the answers to all of these questions?

A very tall, fancy, luxurious ceiling—kind of like the ones in royal palaces—was the first thing Nessa saw when she finally mustered the courage to open her eyes. Her new eyes, anyway; the ones that belonged to the human woman she'd switched bodies with. The ceiling was so beautiful, but seeing it only increased her worries. None of the houses in Lili's neighbourhood were this fancy…how far away was she from her? More importantly, how was Nessa going to get back to her and return to her own body?

I guess I'll have to ask someone, she told herself. And the only way she could do that was by finding someone first…but when Nessa tried to climb out of the bed she was lying in, she ended up clumsily rolling off the edge of the mattress and falling on the floor. She just wasn't used to having hands or toes, such a short neck, or legs that were so far away from her arms!

It's okay, she told herself. I can learn how to do it right. I just need some practice… Seeing a nightstand sitting next to the bed and right in front of her, Nessa shakily lifted up her arm and placed it on the stand's top corner. She then placed her left hand on the floor and used it to push herself up, until she was standing on her feet.

Yes! Now to practice walking…that part can't be too hard, right? Well, she soon found out that it was. Nessa had never walked on just two legs before, and while she was immediately able to master walking in general, her legs still moved slowly and flimsily. She had to keep waving her arms around like crazy so she wouldn't fall down, and the long, frilly nightgown she was wearing didn't help much either; every time she took a step forward, its skirt would almost sneak under her feet, threatening to make her trip. It was such a tough experience, Nessa wasn't sure how she managed to stay on her feet despite all the obstacles.

Thankfully, she eventually got used to walking the human way, and by the time an hour passed since her forbidden wish had been granted, she was able to walk at a regular pace, without having to wave her arms around or hold onto the wall. And only fifteen minutes later, she wasn't just walking—she was skipping, which made the experience a lot more fun.

After successfully using the bed to get herself into a sitting position on the first try, Nessa decided it was time for Step 2: getting used to her arms and hands. This task wasn't easy either, especially since having and using fingers was entirely new to her—but after remembering all the gestures Lili had easily done with her arms and hands, she herself managed to get the hang of it within just half an hour.

Okay, Nessa told herself, now it's time to find out who I switched places with. So, this time with no problems at all, she climbed off the bed, walked towards a door that she correctly guessed was the room's exit, and opened it. She then stepped into a hallway, where a teenage human was just leaving a room three doors down—a boy with short blonde hair.

"Oh," said Nessa, taken by surprise. "Hi there!"

The boy spun around, also surprised at first, but then confused. "Effie? I…didn't think you'd be up at this hour."

Effie! That was the name of the person she'd switched bodies with. That was good to know—but there was still a lot she needed to find out. So, smiling cheerfully, Nessa tried to steer the conversation in that direction. "Sorry. I just wanted to ask you…do you know how close we are to Girassol Avenue, in Brasília?"

Although he looked a lot more confused by the question, the boy replied, "Uh…no one in District 12's ever been to a place called Brasília before, so I can't give you a straight answer to that."

Nessa skipped out of Effie's bedroom and down the hallway so she could stand closer to him. "Brasília's such a nice city! How come you've never been there before?"

The boy discreetly glanced around the hallway, and after a moment, he gently took her by the hand and led her into a stairwell, which took them to the roof of the building they were in. Once they were there, he closed the stairwell door and sighed. "Listen, I know you're anxious about the Games. But you shouldn't let it get to you. You never know when a few sponsors might come in handy…"

"Sponsors?" Nessa asked. What did he mean?

"You need to relax," the boy told her. "Trying to pretend you're someone who's just moved to Panem isn't a good way to escape reality. Trust me. I tried that when I was nine years old, and it didn't go so well with my mother."

"You don't understand," insisted Nessa. "I'm not Effie, and I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not playing pretend. I'm just someone who switched bodies with her, and I wanna switch back!"

The boy gazed at her in silence for a moment, then sadly looked away from her. "I'm sorry, but…we can't escape what's in store for us tomorrow, Effie. It would be so nice if we could, but we have to face it. Only one person's going to make it out of that arena, and it's not going to be me. All we can do is hope that it'll be Katniss."

Nessa sighed in disappointment. This boy didn't believe her. No matter how much she tried to convince him otherwise, he thought it really was Effie he was with and that she was so nervous—apparently about some games tomorrow—that she was only pretending to be someone else, to get out of having to put up with her feelings. Which left her no choice but to reluctantly bid the boy goodnight and go back into the hallway. Unbeknownst to her, as soon as she closed the door to Effie's room, another door nearby opened—and out stepped a teenage human girl with long brown hair that she could have asked for information as well.

Once she was back in Effie's bedroom, Nessa sat down on the bed, trying to figure out what to do next. She wanted to search the rest of the hallway for someone who could help her reunite with Lili, but now she couldn't help feeling curious about what the boy she'd spoken to had said. Were Effie's fears about these "games" tomorrow the reason why she'd made the same forbidden wish as her? Plus, why did they seem so scary? Games were supposed to be fun—but then again, hockey was the only game Nessa knew of that took place in an arena. And everyone "made it out of" that arena after the game was over, which meant the boy couldn't have been talking about hockey. So what game had he been talking about?

Yawning, Nessa crawled back underneath the bed's blanket. It was getting late. She'd have to figure it all out and find a way back to Lili tomorrow morning.

As she watched the sun rise the next morning, the sinking feeling within Effie only grew larger. At least she'd been able to do most of her job before making that wish—drawing names at the reaping, supporting her tributes as they prepared for their interviews and the Games, mentioning them to other Capitol citizens that would hopefully decide to become their sponsors. But what would happen now that Nessa, a pink giraffe from another continent, had swapped bodies with her? She knew Katniss and Peeta would be sure to receive gifts from at least a few sponsors because Haymitch would be at the Games Headquarters (physically and mentally), but it was her job to seek out these sponsors in the first place. And if Lili, the little girl she'd met right after the body swap, had no idea that Panem even existed until last night, she could only assume it had been the same case for Nessa.

Effie trembled, which of course felt awkward in a body she still hadn't learned how to use. Of all the souls who could have ended up in her shoes, why did it have to be a giraffe who most likely knew little, if not nothing, about a tribute escort's job? The very thought! One wrong move, and she could not only jeopardize Katniss and Peeta's lives, but also her own (and/or the real Effie's, depending on whether or not the Capitol would learn about the body swap). This was a disaster—and if the two of them weren't switched back by the time the Hunger Games' bloodbath began, things were bound to only get worse.

The sound of three babies crying at the same time suddenly filled the air, and Effie heard Lili's father rushing to where it was coming from. She gulped, remembering the tense conversation she'd had with him last night. He'd been very upset with her for almost mentioning aspects of the Hunger Games in front of his six-year-old daughter, which she'd apologized for doing three times. She had just panicked after suddenly finding herself in Nessa's body, and the girl's age was one factor that hadn't crossed her mind right away. He hadn't forgiven her though—in fact, he'd made her promise never to mention the Games in front of Lili again, and for some reason (he wouldn't explain why when she asked), to never even mention Panem to his wife if she happened to return before the body swap could be undone.

"But how will it be undone?" she'd then asked him.

"We'll find out tomorrow," he'd replied. "For now, it's late, and we all need some sleep." And with that, he'd left the room and allowed her to sleep on the couch for the night.

Effie snapped back to the present when she heard Lili come downstairs and enter the living room. "Hi Effie," she happily greeted.

"Hello Lili. I am truly sorry for the way I behaved last night. Suddenly waking up in your friend's body was just horrifying for me, and…I wasn't thinking."

Lili smiled reassuringly. "It's okay. Sometimes my friend Bongo panics when he gets scared too. And when my brothers get scared, they go, WAH! WAAAAH! WAAAAAAAH!"

"Quiet, Lili! You must remember your manners!" Effie exclaimed. The girl's imitation of her brothers' crying was so loud that she wanted to cover her ears; but she couldn't now that she had no hands.

"Hey!" Lili said (now in a normal volume), narrowing her eyes. "I'm supposed to tell people to watch their manners!"

"Well, that doesn't mean you should be neglecting your own," retorted Effie.

"I'm not 'neglecting' my manners," Lili declared, matter-of-factly. "I use them every day. I share all my stuff with my brothers and my friends, I'm always extra careful with my dresses, and I make sure everyone follows all the rules when my friends and I play a game. And if they don't, I send them to the time-out box."

Effie gaped at her. "Why that's no way to treat your friends, even if they were being impolite! If I were you I'd simply teach them proper manners and then let it go."

"As if that would work on my friends," scoffed Lili. She started to say something else, but was interrupted when the front door of her house was suddenly slammed open. The next thing she and Effie knew, a large, round, blue elephant was dashing into the living room, screaming in fright and followed closely by a dark-haired boy who looked like he was around Lili's age.

"Golias?" Lili asked, recognizing the duo. "Yuri? What's going on?"

"Lili, quick!" the boy said. "We have to help Golias find a place to hide before Mom finishes calling the zoo!"

"The zoo?" Effie and Lili exclaimed in unison.

"HURRY!" the elephant, whom Effie could only assume was the one named Golias, yelled. He was absolutely terrified—even more so than she'd been about the body swap last night.

Lili's father heard the commotion and came downstairs to ask what was going on, only to almost scream when he saw Golias. Yet before he could say anything to anyone, Lili was leading Yuri and Golias into her backyard, telling him to bring Effie out there as well.

"But Lili—"

"Please, Dad! Just do it! She doesn't know how to walk like Nessa does!"

With a sigh, Lili's father obeyed her and picked up Effie, carrying her outside. Once there, he set her down on the grass, and Lili gave him another order: if the people who worked at the zoo came looking for Golias, he needed to pretend the elephant wasn't there. An order that, with obvious uneasiness, he obeyed as well.

After Lili's father went back inside the house and closed the door, Golias sighed with relief. "That was close," he said. "Getting locked up in a zoo forever and ever would have been so scary!"

Yuri nodded. "Yeah. And sad for me."

"Aww," replied Golias. Touched, he wrapped one of his ears around Yuri, who smiled. "Don't worry, Yuri. No one could ever take me away from you."

Effie nudged Lili slightly with one of her legs. "Um, now that we're…safely hidden…do you think you could properly introduce me to these friends of yours?"

Golias smiled, albeit a little surprised. "Oh! Uh…" he giggled a little. "…nice accent, Nessa!"

"That's not Nessa," said Lili. "Not anymore. Last night, after you two, Matt, and Bongo left, Nessa switched bodies with an 'escort for District 12's tributes,' whatever that is. So…Yuri, Golias, I'd like you to meet Effie Trinket."

"Do we get to meet her too?" asked an unfamiliar (at least to Effie) voice behind them.

Everyone spun around, and the tribute escort was startled to find another young boy and a green kangaroo, just jumping over a fence and landing in the backyard. Apparently recognizing both of them, Yuri asked, "Matt? Bongo? What are you doing here?"

"MATT'S DAD TRIED TO TAKE ME TO THE ZOOOOO!" wailed the kangaroo, dramatically falling on the ground stomach-first.

The boy, Matt, nodded. "Yeah. This morning I found out my mom, my dad, and my sister couldn't see him, until now. I tried to tell them that he's my best friend and all, but they didn't listen. So we um…kind of had to run away?" He smiled nervously.

"That's exactly what happened with me and Golias!" Yuri said, surprised. "My mom and dad couldn't see him until this morning either, and then they tried to take him to the zoo!"

Bongo shakily stood up again, his panic having made way for confusion. "I don't get it. Why couldn't they see us until now? Matt's mom must have at least noticed I've been catching the ball in my pouch every time he plays soccer with me. Especially when it's just the two of us!"

Lili nodded in agreement. "Mommy and Daddy couldn't see Nessa either. Until last night, when Dad and I found out Effie switched places with her."

Effie gasped. "I'll bet my hat that's what happened! Everyone could see and hear me from the very beginning. So maybe as soon as I ended up in this body, it automatically became visible and audible too. And for some reason," she turned to Golias and then Bongo, "the impact must have affected you two as well."

"Yeah, that does make sense," agreed Matt.

"But why would it make me and Golias visible too?" asked Bongo. "Nessa's the one who switched bodies with Effie…"

Matt shrugged. "I don't know."

"Me neither, but I'd really like to find out the answer," added Lili.

When Effie silently agreed with Lili, Yuri inquired, "What do you think, Golias?"

Golias thought hard, and then suddenly made a little gesture with his ear, similar to the way humans snapped their fingers. "I know who we can ask! But they're very far away…"

"Who?" Effie, Bongo, and the kids said in unison.

"You'll find out when we get there," replied the elephant, sneakily. "They're in a place that's…underground."

Effie shook her head vigorously. "No no no, we don't have time to figure out why you're visible too! I have to get back inside my body before ten o'clock. I can't explain why, but I must!"

"But the friends I'm taking us to might be able to help you and Nessa switch back," said Golias. "And there's plenty of time before ten o'clock."

At this response, Effie perked up in anticipation. "Alright. If it'll help us switch back, then so be it. But trust me, we must find them and reverse the switch before ten o'clock."

"And we will," promised Lili. She then clapped her hands together. "Okay Golias…take us to the friends who can help us!"

However, Golias didn't obey her. Instead he just stood there, giving Lili a knowing frown. Confused, she glanced at the rest of her friends, only to realize Yuri, Matt, and Bongo were frowning in the exact same way.

Lili sighed. "I'm sorry for not being fair last night."

The boys' frowns instantly made way for smiles, and then suddenly, the entire backyard began to shake. A second later, the grass that the six were standing on got loose and fell into a big hole, then flew forward, taking Effie and her companions through a long (and extremely dirty) underground tunnel!

While everyone else screamed with either fright or pleasure as they plowed through, Effie frantically glanced around the tunnel, searching for a clock. She hadn't seen one since right before she'd gone to sleep back in Panem, so she had no idea what time it was—which meant she didn't know how much time was left before the Hunger Games would begin. Before she would be needed to help gather more sponsors. Hopefully she'd find out and return to the Capitol, right on schedule as always; and if she didn't, she could only hope Haymitch would find out about the body swap and give Nessa some guidance on how to attract tribute sponsors in her place.

OMG…what's in store for Effie, Bongo, Golias, and the kids? Can they find a way to undo the switch before the Games begin? Stay tuned for Chapter 3.