"I'm so pumped! Allie is so pretty! I hope she feels the same way about me"

It was a typically rowdy Saturday at the local mall, filled with laughter, chatter, and clanging cash registers. Roger, a sprightly 10-year-old, was there, buoyed by his friends’ company. He fiddled with the small amount of allowance saved over weeks, mentally calculating the cost of a movie ticket and ice cream. He was both thrilled and terrified of the prospect of asking Allie, his classmate and friend, out to the movies. Talking to his friends, he exclaimed, “I'm so pumped! Allie is so pretty! I hope she feels the same way about me." Simultaneously, on the other end of the mall, Paige, a 19-year-old with a predilection for easy money was up to no good. She flirted through the racks of a lingerie store, a gray hoodie covering her head, a pair of sunglasses on, and a pair of pink flip flops on her feet. Her heart pounded as she stuffed stolen merchandise into her large bag and even stashed smaller pieces in the more discreet spaces on her body. With a final glance at the suspicious security guard, she slowly made her way out of the store, leaving behind a theft crime scene. Paige was smart, but not invincible. Her pulse quickened as she saw mall security and police officers gathering nearby. She looked around, her eyes landing on a small boy - Roger. Seeing her opportunity, she approached him, extending a hand onto his shoulder. Suddenly, Roger's world spun violently, his vision blurred, and he lost consciousness. When Roger came to, something felt strange. His clothes were tighter, his body felt different, taller. He looked down to see a gray hoodie and short shorts, a pair of sunglasses shielded his eyes. He quickly pulled them up, revealing his new reality: pink flip flops, a stuffed purse, and stolen merchandise. His reflection in a mirror confirmed his greatest fear: he was now Paige. “Ew! I'm an icky girl? Oh yuck! I even sound like one. These clothes are so girly and uncomfortable. I'm taking them off", he muttered. Quickly disrobing of the gray hoodie, sunglasses, pink flip flops, and the hoard of stolen goods, he felt the disgust welling up. Roger wasn't a thief, and this wasn't his doing. With tears welling in his eyes, he muttered, “This isn't fair. I didn't do anything wrong! I wanna be a boy again. I wanna be me again." In the distance, he spotted his own body introducing itself as Paige with a smirk. He raced towards it, begging for a swap, only to be met with a derisive laughter. Moments later, he felt a force push his memories back, distorting his reality further into the comfort of being Paige. Despite his initial hopes, his new memories were far from pleasant. They seeped in like bitter venom, full of shoplifting, disrespect, and anarchic behaviour that ultimately led to resisting arrest. Eventually, all he recalled was being Paige. Meanwhile, Paige, now in Roger's body, woke up to the absence of her stolen treasures. Panicking, she blurted out, "Oh shit! Where the fuck is my purse? And where is my disguise? Dammit! They're gonna know what I fucking look like!" Rushing around, she finally found her discarded items scattered around. Without wasting any time, she put the hoodie back on with the hood draping over her head, rapidly clamped on her sunglasses, slipped into the vacant flip flops, swung the purse back on her shoulder, and grabbed the shopping bags. Upon catching sight of her mirror reflection, Paige let out a smug grin, murmuring, "Stupid lame ass security! All this shit I got for free and I dare a motherfucking cop to try and touch me, especially a male one. I'll scream like a scared little female and get him fired. No! Don't touch my boobs! I'm just an innocent little woman." Her laughter echoed around her as she exited the store. As she made her way back to her car, the feeling of satisfaction was irrepressible within her. Admiring her bounty one more time, she discarded the boy named Roger and the naïve hope of becoming a better person.