At school, things were *not* going smoothly.
Maya—now in Riley's body—tried to act sweet and responsible, but it was exhausting. She had to greet teachers, remember to say "please" and "thank you," and avoid sarcasm.
"You can do this, Maya," she muttered under her breath as she walked into class. "Just be nice. Smile."
"Hey, guys!" she said to Farkle and Lucas, but it came out weirdly stiff.
Farkle frowned. "Uh, Riley? Are you okay?"
"Totally fine, just super great. What a *beautiful* day!" Maya forced a grin.
Lucas narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't sound like you."
Maya groaned internally. *How does Riley do this every day?*
Meanwhile, Riley—now in Maya's body—was struggling just as much. She had to be *cool* and *sarcastic* and not burst into random happy dances.
She sat in her usual seat in the cafeteria, but everyone expected her to make jokes or mess around. Instead, she nervously poked at her food.
"This is impossible," she mumbled.
Lucas sat beside her. "Maya, are *you* okay?"
Riley forced herself to smirk. "Oh, yeah. Just... rebelling in my own quiet way."
Lucas blinked. "Huh?"
Riley sighed. *How does Maya do this all the time?*
By the end of the day, both girls were *exhausted*.
Maya flopped onto Riley's bed, groaning. "I *hate* this."
Riley nodded, collapsing onto Maya's bed. "Me too."
Maya sighed. "I don't know how you handle all this pressure, Riles. Everyone *expects* you to be the perfect, responsible one."
"And I don't know how you handle people thinking you don't care," Riley admitted. "You act so tough, but it must be *so* hard keeping everything inside."
For the first time, they really *understood* each other.