Please Notice

A sequel to "Never Go Back" which includes parts of their earlier school years.

Madison and I first switched bodies three years ago by complete accident. We were in fifth grade and having recess at the time. Some kid had announced that we were going to play tag and anyone who wanted to join in gathered around him, including Madison and I. A large crowd had formed before everyone finally decided to pick who would be “it.” Instead of choosing fairly, like with a game of ‘rock, paper, scissors,’ the tagger was chosen my majority rule, and majority rule had said I would be “it.”

As soon as I had been picked, the crowd of kids swelled, scattered and squealed. I had stood there, baffled. At the time, it was common knowledge for everyone except me that no one really liked me, so being singled out so easily had surprised and angered me. Regardless, I recovered quickly and chased after the nearest person, and by random chance that person happened to be Madison. She screamed as I drew near and began to run away. Other kids nearby also began to run away, hoping I would chase them instead, but I had already decided that my target would be Madison. While I was unaware of the common knowledge that everyone hated me, I wasn’t unware of the common knowledge that everyone loved Madison.

I was mere inches away from tagging her when some idiot kicked a ball directly at my legs. Whether or not this had been on purpose, I never found out, but as soon as the ball hit my legs, I tripped forward and collided directly into Madison. After the dust had settled, and we had both quickly came to the realization that something was amiss, we screamed in unison at the top of our lungs and were promptly sent to the nurse’s office. From there we formulated our ingenious plan- pretend to be each other for one day and by all means DO NOT go to the bathroom. Seeing as three years have passed by since then, we obviously had to adapt our plan into a more realistic version.

 

Two weeks after the switch.

I knocked on my front door and tapped my foot impatiently. It was the weekend and Madison and I had planned to meet today to discuss what we should do next. Irritated that I had to knock on my own front door, I knocked again, louder. What’s taking her so long? We don’t have time for this! Finally, the door opened slowly and Madison peeked her head out from behind. I forcefully pushed it the rest of the way open, slamming the door against the wall. I gave Madison a once over. She was in my body, but I still wasn’t used to seeing my messy brown hair, light brown eyes and mole-speckled face from the perspective of someone else. People weren’t meant to see themselves this way. I scowled as I noticed Madison was still wearing pajamas.

“What took you so long?”

“Nothing! You’re just impatient!” Madison stamped her feet and crossed her arms, pouting. I glared at her as I pushed past, hearing her protest behind me. I lead us to my room and immediately located the lump in my bed. I hurried over, ignoring Madison’s, “Hey, wait!” and ripped the blanket away. There sat my Nintendo DS. Madison tried to grab it from me but I knocked her back and turned on the console. A Pokémon game was inserted.

“Madison, what have you been doing with my game?”

“N-Nothing…I don’t play things like that. Those are for stupid boys like you…” I immediately looked for the gameplay history and as soon as I found it I gasped and read the number again, hoping my eyes were deceiving me, but to no avail.

“W-What?” Madison said, her voice quivering a bit. 

“One hundred and twenty-three hours Madison! I didn’t even know anyone could play this game that long! ‘I don’t play things like that.’ That’s crap!” I shoved the console in her face and she visibly paled.

“Ah- Well. You see…I was really bored so…”

Back then, even though everyone loved Madison, even though Madison seemed to be perfect, I soon realized that even she was human. And upon realizing this, I also realized that all of the kids I had been trying so desperately to fit in with at the time, to the point of making myself look like an idiot, were just stupid kids like me as well.

 

About two years after the switch.

I felt the breath get knocked out of me and the blood leave my face as soon as I pulled down my pants and saw red. I regained my composure only to scream, pull my pants back up, bolt out of the stall, rush out of the bathroom and race to Madison’s side at the lunch table. She was sitting with a bunch of guys she had become friends with after joining the basketball team. I grabbed Madison by the sleeve and tugged, hard. All of the guys at the table turned to look at me, including Madison, confusion written plainly on their faces.

“Adr- I mean Madison? What is it?” Madison said, glancing back at her friends nervously.

“Come with me. Now. I need your help. I don’t feel good,” I said, tugging on her sleeve harder. She stood up, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

“Adrian, are you sure you two aren’t dating? You’re together all the time,” one of the guys at the table said. The other guys chimed in in agreement.

“Hahaha…No we aren’t dating, we’re just really good friends,” Madison said, shooting me a glance that said, “What the hell are you doing?” I shook my head and tugged on her sleeve one last time before she finally gave in, “But it seems like Madison really needs me, so I’ll be right back guys,” Madison said, allowing me to drag her away. Once we exited the cafeteria I took her to the second floor, where the nurse’s office was.

“So, what’s up?” she asked. I turned around and grabbed Madison by the shoulders, looking up into her brown eyes. We were only in seventh grade but she had already grown a little taller than me. She should have been the one looking up at me, not vice versa. She should have been the one having to deal with this as well.

“Madison, I got your period.” I looked for a change in her expression but her soul seemed to have left her.

“Your…what?”

“Your period.”

“My period? What?”

“You know, when girls bleed for a little bit every month. You’re a girl, you should know this.”

“Ah, sorry…I don’t know much about those things…” I looked at her in exasperation, jaw hanging open.

“Are you kidding me? You’re the girl here! I hope you aren’t forgetting that I’m a boy!”

“I didn’t forget! It’s just that I’ve never had a period either! You already know more about this than I do!” She rubbed her hands down her face and looked down at her feet. I stood there in silence.

“Okay…Well, then I’m going to the nurse’s office. I might go home afterwards since I’m not feeling too well,” I said. Madison simply nodded and from there we parted ways. After that, Madison and I never really discussed her period. The period that I was having for her. She never really wanted to know about it for some reason. I wish I knew why. I wonder if I would have been like that too if I were in her position.

 

Three years after the switch, the present.

Madison’s family party bustles around me as I sit off to the side, isolating myself from everyone else. I feel like I’m intruding on something private. I’d much rather be up in my room playing video games. It’s the Fourth of July and Madison’s family is having a barbecue. I already ate so now I’m just waiting for the party to end.

Many people have walked by to try and get me to join in, but I turned them all down in similar fashion. As I sit in one of the lawn chairs facing the party, I become lost in my thoughts. How have none of them noticed that I’m not Madison? After three years of being stuck like this, I’ve virtually stopped trying to act like Madison. Maybe the change was too gradual for them to notice any difference or maybe I’m just a better actor than I thought I was. Regardless, I can’t help feeling absolutely alone and devastated that Madison and I have even made it this far without ever being questioned. We’re already going to be high school freshmen this year.

 

Three months later.

“Adr- Madison!” I turn as my name is called as Madison runs down the hall in such a hurry that she practically collides with me. I pick up a notebook I dropped from the scare and stare quizzically up at Madison. She’s several inches taller than me now.

“What is it?”

“This way, I don’t want anyone to hear us,” she says, dragging me into a nearby storage closet. I worry that a janitor might find us and yell at us but I follow along anyways. After a moment of silence, I speak.

“So…?” Madison grabs me by both arms and I tense up.

“Adrian, we’ve been found out. Someone found out that we switched. We’re screwed Adrian, everyone’s going to find out now. They said they’re going to tell everyone!” I stand there in a daze, jaw dropped.

“…What? Who is this person? How did they find out?”

“They called out my name, pretending to be you and I answered like an idiot. They said they went to grade school with us and that they noticed back then, but weren’t sure. When they saw us again, that confirmed it and they decided to test me. I just heard a girl’s voice and thought it was you so I answered. Her name’s Iris.”

“And she’s going to tattle on us, you say?” For some reason, I feel a rush of excitement and joy shoot through me. I don’t know why.

“Yeah! She says we’re bad for lying to everyone for so long and that she’ll have us arrested for identity theft!” We hear a yell outside and Madison jumps. Footsteps grow louder and fade as a couple of students run past the storage closet. Upon returning her attention to me, her eyes widen, “Adrian, why are you smiling?”

“Take me to her now, I want to be friends.” A tear runs down my cheek.