Chapter 1: Introduction
The cold air hit her face as Paige Thompson burst out of the double doors, jogging to a stop at the bleachers. She glanced around the near-empty gym, kicking her shoes off onto the wooden bench and walking backwards, her steps parallel to the hard line painted across the gym floor.
"Hey, gonna get this done pretty soon, yeah?" asked Coach Sanders, peering over the clipboard in his hands.
"Sure," Paige replied, glancing behind her.
"I just wanted to get a few more stretches in before rehearsal starts. No big deal, right?"
"Right," Coach Sanders grunted, still engrossed in his clipboard.
Paige sauntered over to the far side of the gym, throwing her arms up over her head and arcing her back into a stretch. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, her chest rising and falling with the motion.
Behind her, the gym door creaked, and she heard the sound of sneakers squeaking against the floor.
Turning her head, she caught a glimpse of Connor Stevens, the school's resident computer nerd, walking over to the corner of the gym. He placed a bag on the floor and pulled out a large, ornate mirror. Paige rolled her eyes, turning back to her stretches.
But as she bent over, a sudden flash of light filled the entire gym, and she felt herself falling, the world spinning around her. Stumbling forward, she reached out her arms, desperate for something to hold onto, but her fingers only grasped at cold air.
And then, just as abruptly as it had started, the world came to a stop, and Paige found herself in a different place.
As she opened her eyes, her surroundings came into focus. The polished hardwood floors were still there, but the banners with team logos were gone. Instead, she found herself staring at a familiar set of brown hair, curly and disheveled. And as she followed the hair up, she realized that she was now looking in the mirror.
But it wasn't her own reflection staring back at her.
Instead, it was the unmistakable face of Connor Stevens. Paige's mind reeled as she took in the sight before her.
"What the fuck?" she muttered, reaching up to touch her face. Her fingers traced over the smooth skin, feeling the curve of her cheekbones, the bridge of her nose. It was all there, but it was different. It was wrong.
She spun around, looking for any sign of the mirror, but it was gone. In its place, there was only an empty corner of the gym.
Paige's mind was racing as she tried to make sense of what was happening. She couldn't believe it – she was in Connor Stevens's body. It was a fucking nightmare.
She heard a noise behind her and turned to see Connor, looking just as shocked and confused as she was. His eyes widened as they took in her body, and Paige felt a wave of disgust wash over her.
"What the fuck is going on?" Connor shouted, his voice trembling.
"What did you do to me? How did you do this?"
Paige could feel her temper rising. She didn't have time for this. She had a game to win, and being stuck in this body wasn't going to help her.
"I didn't do anything," she snapped. "But I'm not going to stand here and talk about it with you. I have to get to practice."
She turned and started to walk away, but Connor's voice stopped her.
"Wait!" he called out. "What about me?
I can't just go out there looking like this," Connor protested, gesturing to his own body.
Paige turned back to him, her eyes narrowing.
"You think I want to go out there looking like this?" she demanded, gesturing to her own body. "Believe me, this is not how I imagined my night going."
Connor opened his mouth to speak, but Paige cut him off.
"Look, I don't know how this happened, and I don't know how to fix it," she said.