Ethel:Ethan

[29th December]

I can't be wrong. The cloud ceiling, the cabinet of trinkets, the guitar that stood at the corner of the room.

This was Ethel's bedroom!

"What the fuck..." I stumbled into the toilet to get a glimpse of myself. Oh my god...I was Ethel.

"Ethel!!" a familiar voice pounded on the door, making me flinch. Dylan? I unlocked the door, staring at him in bewilderment.

"Weren't you supposed to be in the mountains with your parents?" I asked. He was taken aback. "I-what!? Who told you that!?" he got defensive. "Johnny did..." I blurted out. He immediately scoffed and looked away. "It's none of your business, anyway." he swiftly glanced up and down at my attire as if to judge me.

"Why are you still in your pajamas!? We have school in fifteen ticks! I'm not waiting for you! Walk if you have to!" with that, Dylan stormed off. I watched his every step from the door until he disappeared. Weird...had he not learned the news about Jay?

Jay.

With slight hope, I wished he'd show up in school today. I wonder if Johnny would too. Did Silas and Ethan know? I had so many questions. What will happen to Rikki?

Rikki.

I scowled. Even thinking of his name left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Deciding not to hinder any longer, I promptly switched out my nightwears into Ethel's school uniform, settling aside my countless inquests. Not that it doesn't bother me why I woke up as Ethel, but it was more relevant to see who turned up.

I grasped his backpack and was about to leave until I caught sight of his hoodie. His hoodie...

I shook my head with a small smile. This is for a change. Ethel looked pretty, anyway.

Dylan was already barking at me by the car when I tumbled down the stairs so I chose to skip breakfast and jumped in before Dylan directs the driver to depart without me. I slammed the door shut with a sigh. I caught Dylan gawking at me from my peripheral view. I turned to him in dismay. "W-what?"

"Where's your hoodie?" he inquired spitefully. "I decided not to wear it anymore." I shifted to look at myself through the rearview mirror, fixing my hair as I do.

"You're so weird." he spat. I would've thought he was joking until I remembered I was Ethel. He probably meant it. My smile faltered as I faced him.

"Oh yeah? Why do you think that?" I challenged, my stare not wavering in the slightest.

Dylan turned to me with a scoff. Abruptly, he grabbed me by the chin and slammed me down onto the seats forcibly. I was taken aback as I struggled to push him off. For someone so tiny, he sure had a lot of strength!

"Talking back now, I see." he ran his tongue over his teeth as his fingers traveled down to my neck, his grip tightening around the skin. I cringed; my brows furrowed in shock as my breath was cut short.

"Don't forget whose house you're living in."

"It's your parents'." I managed to choke out. His knee was forced down on my stomach and it was painful to breathe. He laughed unamusingly.

"That's right, it's MY parents'. I have the power to have you kicked out with a snap of my fingers." he leaned in closer so his lips were brushing against my ear lobe. "You wouldn't want that, would you,

orphan Ethan?"

My eyes widened, a soft gasp leaving my mouth.

Ethan?

Dylan jerked his fingers off and retreated to his seat. Great, my uniform was all crinkled now. But what did he mean by Ethan? I laid frozen in the spot I was forced in until the car came to a halt. Dylan wasted no time getting out and I followed suit, making sure to keep a distance between us now that I've seen him in a new light.

Was Ethel always taunted by Dylan?

"What the...?" it was pretty odd to have eyes on me as I stepped into the building. I glanced around wearily. Why were they gasping and whispering?

The same thing repeated when I entered the classroom. Literally, everybody turned in their seats. I wasn't that bothered as I was busy searching and counting heads. Three of them weren't present.

Jay, Johnny, and Rikki.

Where was Johnny?

The rest of them: Nick, Ethan, and Silas turned to look too but they didn't say anything. I was upset to have ended up in Ethel's body. I wasn't, particularly in their friend group.

I needed to know what happened too!! Maybe I could drag them aside and explain everything. What if they think it was a prank!?

I checked the clock. I still had twenty minutes before our first class commences.

I made my way to my seat, set my bag on the hook, and marched over to Nick since he was the last person I saw before I fainted.

"Nick," I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to face me. Did he even get any sleep last night? He looked so worn out.

Nick straightened his back when he saw me. "Oh, Ethel. Is there anything I can help you with?" I didn't like how formal he was with me. "Can I talk to you?" I looked over to Silas and Ethan who were silently watching us. "And the two of them?"

I could tell Nick was stressed out and not in the mood but he assumed it must've been important. "Sure." he beckoned the other two and they followed us out too.

I decided to settle in an empty classroom. "What did you want to talk about?" this gave me a flashback on when Jay pulled me into this exact room too. I bit my lip and shook away the thought.

"This might sound crazy but please, believe me, I'm not pulling a prank on you guys," I assured them first. They were perplexed and annoyed but nodded for me to go on.

"I'm future Ethan," I stated.

Nick sighed heavily. "Ethel-" "God, please trust me on this! I don't even know why I woke up in Ethel's body instead of Ethan's!" I pointed at the oldest who looked sleep-deprived. I figured Nick told them both.

"We can't trust you just like that." I rubbed my face in frustration. How was I going to even prove it to them!?

A light bulb went off in my head. "Here!" I passed them Ethel's phone. They took it with furrowed brows. "I never told Ethel anything about this mission! Nick, remember that phone call? That was the last time I've talked to Ethel!" Silas and Ethan turned to Nick. "What phone call?"

"It's a long story. I believe you." Nick faced me. "But that doesn't mean I'm not skeptical. Why are you in Ethel's body in the first place?" I groaned, stomping my foot on the ground. "I don't know! This is so uncanny to me too!"

The bell rang.

The four of us exchanged glances. "We should go...it's the disciplinary teacher's class." taking a huge gulp, we nodded at Ethan's words and made our way to the door. I wished I had more time to explain. Twenty minutes went by so quickly.

"Hey..." Nick swiftly turned around after Silas and Ethan left the classroom. "What is it?" I asked. He fumbled with his fingers. "Does that...does that mean you have Ethel's memories now too?" I blinked in realization. "Weird...I don't remember anything on Ethel's side. Maybe it takes time to have them flow into me." Nick pursed his lips with a nod. "Alright." "Why'd you ask?" he shook his head. "It was just a thought."

Walking back with Nick, the three absentees' faces flashed through my mind. "What happened to Jay? Is he awake...?" I asked. He sighed and rubbed his arms. "He's alive," I breathed out in relief. "But he's...

he's in a vegetative state."

I frowned. "Oh," "The doctor said it was a miracle that they managed to find a pulse. Jay received a huge blow to his head and a part of his brain was damaged. He might not remember anything when he eventually wakes up." I bit my lip. "O... okay."

"What about Johnny? Where did he go?" Nick turned to me. "The last time he was ever conscious was in the park. He's in the hospital now. His sister took a couple of days off to take care of him." I nodded. Silence fell between us as I contemplated my next question.

"...what about Rikki?"

Nick visibly tensed and glanced away. "His trial is on Wednesday. Johnny and I have to skip and join the seminar as witnesses." my brows furrowed. "Johnny? But what will he even say?" Nick brought a finger to his lips and subtly nibbled on his nails. It was a habit he recently developed. I frowned and pulled his hand away.

"Don't do that. It's not healthy," he muttered a sorry and cleared his throat. "I might have to talk to someone in charge about this. Tell them that it was you there, not Johnny. But he can come to listen if he is awake by then." I nodded again, eyes staring down at the ground. I didn't know what to say. There was so much on Nick's shoulders. "He's currently locked up in a station somewhere," Nick added. "I see..."

"Do you want to go to the hospital with me and Ethan after school? We're planning to go there every day to check on the two." I agreed immediately. "Sure, but what about Silas?" he shook his head. "He said he wasn't mentally prepared." my brows knitted.

"Silas doesn't do well with news like this. He fell into a breakdown after I broke the news to him and Ethan." I muttered an oh. "Silas said it was more than his weak heart..." Nick added, glancing around the hallways as he did. It was empty by now. "What do you mean?" "He wouldn't tell me. He said it was partly his fault that Jay was in a critical condition now." I was curious but I decided to be patient and wait until Silas was comfortable enough to share.

"Dylan?"

"...he's coping. But he won't come with us. He'll visit by himself on Friday though."

"Have the news traveled to the public?" we turn the corner.

"Unfortunately, yes. I hope my father comes up with a way to keep himself safe, not that I encourage lying..."

Nick didn't say anything else as he opened the classroom door and led us in. Dylan, who saw us walk in together, knitted his brows and scowled at me.

Was it just me or have Dylan gotten meaner? Maybe the announcement truly affected him...or he just didn't fancy his cousin mingling around with his friend group.

Nick and I parted ways, sighing in relief when no teacher was seen upfront. As I took my seat in Ethel's spot, I saw Dylan lean towards me from my peripheral view.

"Hey." he hissed sharply. I looked over my shoulder to face him. "What?"

"Why don't you get your own friends? I'm sure lots of girls or guys would love to cling onto you now that you threw away your lovely hoodie." his eyes bore into mine. I raised a brow. "Sorry, I'd love to get along with your friends though." I didn't wait for his response as I turned back in my seat and opened my notebook. As if on cue, the teacher walked in. We instantly noticed the grim look on her face as she set her books down.

"I am disheartened to inform you that our dear classmates, Jay and Johnny are hospitalized and won't be joining us today. As for Rikki..." she stared at the empty seat at the back. I clicked my tongue. Even his name ticked me off. "Never mind. Continuing from quantum theory-"

-

"Why the fuck is Ethel joining us for lunch?" Dylan immediately spat in pure bitterness, his face scrunched in utter disgust. I glanced at Nick who had walked with me to the garden. The three of them went on without us to hog the table.

"What's wrong with that?" I raised a brow at him. He scoffed, tossing his sandwich onto the table harshly. "You wanna do this now?" he glared at me as if to dare.

"Guys, please don't. I know you two don't get along but for once, make peace," Nick rubbed his temples as he pretended to be frustrated.

"No, Nick. I feel like you're just doing this to replace the empty spaces." Dylan faced me. "How does it feel?" my brows furrowed at him.

"What do you mean?"

"To be a replacement product. Feels marvelous, doesn't it?" his words were laced in poison. I guess he had expected me to be hurt. "Dylan, cut it out! We're all just here to eat!" Nick raised his voice.

"No! If he's sitting here," Dylan brought his legs over the bench and settled them on the grass.

"Then I won't be." he grabbed his leftovers before marching past us, not forgetting to bump into my shoulders as he did. What a nuisance. The world doesn't revolve around you, Dylan.

"I'll speak with him later. He's just upset over everything that occurred." Nick gently patted my back and beckoned me to the table.

"...Silas, how are you?" I asked after minutes of awkward silence amongst us. It was probably their first time eating without the entire group. He looked up with furrowed brows.

"I'm fine. W-why do you ask?" he stuttered. "Nic-" I felt a kick on my foot and immediately got the message. I shook my head with a smile. "It's nothing." I faced Nick afterward. Silas and Ethan were already engaged in their own conversation. "How are you holding up?" I asked quietly.

"I'm fine," was all he muttered before finishing his lunch in silence.

"Why is Dylan so rough with Ethel?" Ethan stabbed his noodles as he stared at the doors Dylan had disappeared through. "Beats me," I muttered through gritted teeth.

After that incident in the car, I started to question how Ethel put up with Dylan every day. "Have you figured out why you're in his body yet?" I rested my head on my palm. "Nope." I popped the p. That reminded me of when Dylan had called Ethel, Ethan in the car. I figured I should tell them about it. "Maybe I have a clue..."

"What is it?" Silas leaned closer. "I don't know why...but Dylan addressed me, Ethel as Ethan on our way to school. Pretty ominous if you ask me." they exchanged glances.

"Does Ethel have any records of him changing his name?" I lifted my head in realization. It was plausible.