In My Shoes (28 page)

“Hey, Nicole?” he asked.

“Yes, Mike?”

He didn’t say anything.

I kind of half laughed. “Did you just want to
say my name, or was there something on your mind?”

He looked at me, and then quickly turned his
attention back toward the road. He looked nervous. Oh boy, what
now?

“Mike?” I said, trying to coax him, but
unsure if I really wanted to know.

“What is it that I do that makes me seem
fake?”

Wow. I wasn’t expecting this conversation. I
was actually relieved.

“Do you really want to know?”

“I asked, didn’t I?”

“The best that I can tell, you are actually
really smart. But I bet you have, what, a C average, if not
worse?”

His head was facing forward, but his eyes
briefly turned my direction before turning back. “Something around
there,” he said.

“What’s your highest grade?” I asked.

“I have an A in physics,” Mike quickly
offered.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he said, slightly offended.

“What’s your lowest grade?”

“I…I’m failing math.”

“That doesn’t even make sense. Physics is a
math based science. If you’re getting an F in math, you’re not
trying.”

He didn’t say anything at first. “It’s
boring. It’s too easy,” he finally said.

“Well, maybe you should be in a higher level.
Maybe if you tried harder, they would put you in a higher level.
Just because it’s easy, doesn’t mean you should punish your future
by not doing the work. I may be speaking out of turn Mike, but you
seem a little confused about what you want to be. It’s sad that you
are that smart, and that you aren’t doing better in school.

“What’s your grade in English?” I
continued.

“I don’t know. Maybe a D. Maybe better.”

“Okay, that doesn’t surprise me.” I was
trying to keep my voice low and conversational. The words were
harsh enough. I didn’t want my tone to sound angry.

“Why?”

“Your grammar is terrible. It’s one thing to
speak slang with your friends once in a while, but slang seems to
be all you know. When I hear someone speak the way you do, my first
impression is they are uneducated. I’m sure I am not the only one
who thinks that way. You don’t want people assuming you aren’t that
smart before they even get to know you, do you?”

“I don’t know. No, I guess not.”

“I’d hope not. The reason I said you are fake
is just that. When you are actually smart, but you act dumb, I call
that fake.”

He didn’t say anything. He looked like he was
considering my words.

“Mike, Jake thinks you are a good friend, and
I’m sure he’s right. But, you don’t need to try so hard to be
friends with people. If you be yourself, everyone won’t necessarily
like you, but plenty of people will. And…why would you want to be
friends with people who you always have to try to impress,
anyway?”

“I don’t think I’m always trying to impress
people.”

“I think you may not realize how much you do
try to impress people.”

Again he was quiet while he considered what I
said. “Anything else?” he finally asked.

“I don’t think so. Look, nobody expects you
to be perfect. Just don’t throw away the gifts you have, and don’t
try so hard. You may be surprised at how much better things get for
you.”

“Right. Uhh…thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” I said softly.

We pulled into the school parking lot with
about fifteen minutes until class started. As we got out of the
car, Jake came walking toward us. He must have just arrived.

“Hey, guys. How are you doing?” he asked. He
sounded as unenthusiastic as I felt.

“Okay, how are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m fine. I didn’t sleep well last night,
though.”

“That’s weird. I didn’t sleep well either. I
had really weird dreams,” I said.

“Now that you mention it, I had weird dreams,
too. I don’t really remember what they were about, though. What
were yours about?” Jake asked.

“It was weird, and didn’t really make sense.”
That was true, but I was hoping my vagueness would keep them from
asking more. I had my own ideas about what my dream meant, but I
didn’t want Jake and Mike chiming in about why they were both in my
dreams.

“Hmm…” Jake said. “Have you been having a lot
of strange dreams?”

“Actually, no. This is the first day I
remember having dreams since we switched.”

“I don’t really remember having any dreams
this last week either,” Jake recalled.

“You know,” I followed, “today is one week
that we have been in each others’ bodies.”

“Are you saying you think that we might
change back tonight?”

“I don’t know, but the thought did cross my
mind. The dreams…well, my dreams had to do with us switching
around.”

“Man, I wish I could remember what my dreams
were about.”

“I didn’t have any dreams last night,” Mike
chimed in. We both just stared at him. “Sorry.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to get
our hopes up,” I said, returning to our conversation.

“Probably not, but it’s the most hopeful I’ve
been in a while. It even kind of makes sense…if anything about this
whole thing actually does.”

“I don’t know. At this point, I think we are
looking for anything to make sense. I will admit, I am a little
hopeful, too.

“So,” I continued, changing the subject,
“have you heard anything new about Tyler?”

“Who’s Tyler?” Mike asked.

“Nicole’s brother,” Jake answered. “He was in
a car accident last night, and…I haven’t heard anything new,” he
said, turning back toward me. “Sorry.”

I smiled meekly. “That’s okay.”

We headed into school, and Mike and I said
goodbye to Jake as we walked into the boys’ locker room. The nice
thing about P.E. was that it usually required very little from me
mentally, which was good. I had a feeling I was going to have a
difficult time focusing today.

Thursdays were usually basketball days,
weather permitting. The boys’ class would play inside and the girls
would play outside one week, and the following week, we would
switch. This week, the boys were inside.

I didn’t know how good Jake was at
basketball. I wasn’t the best, and I wasn’t the worst. I actually
enjoyed basketball for some reason, so P.E. would be kind of fun
today. A nice distraction for my wandering mind.

Mike and I played on the same team with a few
other guys. I thought I was doing pretty good shooting the ball,
until Mike came over and told me I was shooting like a girl. I
decided it was best not to try and embarrass Jake, as he apparently
shoots better than me. After that I stuck to defense and passing
the ball. Our team beat the other team, and just like that, first
period was over.

We quickly showered and headed to English. I
arrived in class before Jake. He was probably spending extra time
on his hair today, since he probably got sweaty. Oh a day in the
life of a girl. I smiled as I took my seat. Hey, I have to take
some pleasure in this whole change.

Jake arrived just before the tardy bell rang.
He looked my way as he quickly took his seat.

English seemed to trudge on forever. I
started thinking about us changing back tonight. I told myself not
to get my hopes up, but I just couldn’t help the nervous
anticipation. I so wanted to be back in my body. Not to mention, I
wouldn’t have to go on the date night with Jessica tomorrow. That
would be…such a relief.

Ms. Early called on me at one point, and when
I gave her a blank stare, she rolled her eyes and called on someone
else. Jake looked back at me, with a look that said ‘what the heck
is wrong with you?’ I shrugged my shoulders, and tried my best to
focus for the rest of class.

As the bell rang, I gathered my things up and
headed toward the exit. Jake joined me on the way to physics
class.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about…”

“Me, too. I know there’s a lot to distract us
both right now, but you need to try and focus. I don’t want my
teachers thinking I’m unprepared.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” I said defensively.

“Alright. Are you ready for physics?”

“Yes. I’ll be better.”

We walked into physics, and Jessica was
already at her seat. She smiled and said hi to me. I’m still not
used to her looking at me like that. I mean, I’ve seen Jessica ogle
over plenty of guys, but it’s awkward now that I’m the guy. I
smiled and said hi, and then took my seat. Jake sat down next to
her and they talked quietly, waiting for class to start. Mike came
in just as the bell rang and took his seat.

Physics was interesting, to say the least.
Jessica kept subtly turning to look at me, to the point that Mr.
Korelinski asked her to face the front. She turned so red, I could
actually see her ears turn pink.

The previous day’s assignment had been on
speed and acceleration. Mike answered three questions during
review. It’s not really so surprising that he answered three
questions. He said he was getting an A in the class, after all.
What was surprising was that he answered all three of the questions
correctly, because usually he would answer with something funny and
not necessarily on topic.
And
, he actually raised his hands
to answer one question.

After the third answer, I looked over at him
with an amused smile. He was obviously trying to show that he was
making an effort. Mr. Korelinski didn’t know what to make of it
either. A few students glanced his way, aware of the sudden change
in Mike’s participation. Most were unfazed.

When the class bell rang, I looked Mike’s way
and told him good job. He smiled.

As we caught up with Jake and Jessica, I
heard Jake lean in and whisper, “Wow! Does this mean you are going
to start parting your hair down the middle and wearing a
bowtie?”

“Shut up,” Mike whispered back, with a smile
on his face.

Jake looked at his cell phone and shook his
head at me. I took that to mean there was still no word from my
parents. Goodness, why aren’t they calling?

We all went our separate ways, and I made my
way to Spanish class. Ms. Salazar gave us a pop quiz, which took
most of the class period. I was thankful to have something else to
focus my attention on. I’m pretty sure I aced it. It didn’t seem
long before I was headed to lunch.

Jessica saw me as I entered the cafeteria,
and she rushed to join me in the lunch line.

“Hi, Jake!”

“Hi, Jessica. How are you?” I asked
cheerily.

“I’m great! Are your classes going well?”

“Yeah, they’re going pretty well. I just had
a Spanish quiz, and I’m pretty sure I aced it.”

“You and Nicole, both. She aces
everything.”

I smiled. If she only knew.

“So, you probably have straight A’s too,
huh?” she asked.

“Well, mostly A’s. I have one B. How about
you?” I already knew the answer to my question, but Jessica didn’t
know that.

“Three A’s, two B’s and a C. I have a hard
time enjoying government.”

“Who doesn’t?” I said, trying to make her
feel better.

She smiled. We got our food and headed to the
table where Mike, Jake and the other girls were already sitting. We
said hi to them as we sat down.

I wouldn’t have figured, but Mike was
actually having a conversation with Meredith, Caryn and Jake, and
they all seemed to be getting along. Who would have guessed?
Jessica continued to quiz me about all things Jake, and she
continued to share the same information about herself.

It’s funny, but I’ve seen Jessica around boys
before. Usually, she doesn’t let them get two words in. She
actually seemed to be listening to what I had to say. This is
actually good for her, but it can only be bad for me. I can only
guess this means that Jessica really likes Jake. Please change back
tonight. Please change back tonight.
Please
change back
tonight.

As lunch ended, I saw Jake checking his phone
for messages. He looked at me and shook his head. Nothing.

We all got up and headed to our classes.
Jake, Caryn and Meredith headed their way, but Jessica joined Mike
and me as we headed toward my class. Neither Mike nor Jessica had
class with me, so I wasn’t really sure why they were headed in my
direction.

“So, do you guys all want to hang out after
school today?” Jessica asked.

Mike and I looked at each other. “We’re
actually getting together at my house after school,” Mike said.
“You wanna come over?”

I looked at Mike with a ‘what the heck did
you do that for?’ look. I was able to change to a smile just before
Jessica looked my way.

“What are you guys going to be doing?” she
asked, sounding interested.

“We’re going to be studying, mainly. Mike was
going to try and get Nicole to play some of his video games,
though.”

“Yeah, I bet Nicole that I could school her,”
Mike added.

“On what?” Jessica asked.

“It doesn’t matter. She can pick the game and
I’ll take care of the schooling.”

“Well, that’s probable,” Jessica said
laughing. “I don’t think she is much for video games. I’m surprised
she said yes. That should be fun to watch. Meet you in the parking
lot after school?”

“Sure,” Mike said.

She said goodbye and headed to class.

“Why…did you invite her to your house?” I
said quietly.

“I didn’t know what you wanted me to do? What
was I supposed to do, lie?”

“No, but you could have said you had plans,
or just said you were getting together with me. She wouldn’t have
been the wiser and you wouldn’t have had to invite her.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say. I
thought you’d want me to invite her, since you guys are
friends.”

“She and…
Nicole
…are friends. She
and…
Jake
…have a date tomorrow night, and I am really
dreading that.”