Baby-hands Daniel has become so different over the past few days. He doesn’t have baby hands anymore for starters. His hands are nice, complemented by long and slender fingers. His once short and stout frame has become more elongated. His shoulders are broader and he has dark wavy hair now. 

People whisper about him, although not all of the whispers are compliments. 

“He’s changed so much.” Kiera says admiringly, leaning in close to Wendy. Wendy holds her phone up to her lips in both hands, attempting to conceal their conversation; although we’re supposed to be focusing on the movie documentary of the war of 1812. Mr. Hayes the history teacher doesn’t seem to mind the whispering. He’s too engulfed in the presenters' opinions of the controversy surrounding the start of the war.

“He’s hardly recognizable anymore...It’s unsettling to change that much.” Wendy adds, her eyes focused on Daniel’s profile view. 

“I never noticed how nice his eyes were until now though…” Kiera says, not hearing Wendy. Kiera giggles shyly at her own comment, pleased by Daniel’s appearance. “He’s so insecure.” Carl mutters, so the girls don’t hear him. He picks at the corner of his worksheet that lies on his desk, jealousy reads across his face.

The bell rings and everyone gets ready to leave for lunch. Mr. Hayes rewinds the tape by 2 minutes to ensure no one misses a single detail of the war of 1812, during the rush to leave for lunch. We will be seeing several familiar scenes to recap during our next class.

--------------

“I thought you said it was nothing. But if you’re interested, why don’t you just ask them what’s up? They’re all in the came culty circle anyway” Sammy says to me, after I recapped what had happened in history last period. We are on our way to the lunchroom; but Sammy is already chewing on a cheese stick.

“Culty is a bit- I mean it’s definitely suspicious! Besides, there’s this weird vibe about the people around us...” I say, feeling myself spiral deeper into my thoughts about our school’s morphing student body. Sammy isn’t looking at me. Her eyes wander around the halls aimlessly. Sammy’s brain works quickly and our conversation from yesterday doesn’t interest her anymore, but she humors me anyway. She barely registers the mystery I’ve blown up in my mind, but I continue. 

“Can you feel it? The way everyone is complimenting and noticing each other’s glowups.” I say, looking around the busy halls as if my peers were meat-suit wearing aliens. Referencing her words from yesterday with finger quotes.

“They sidestep and divert questions about how they changed their features. Everyone is giving ridiculous and vague explanations. Even getting mad when pressed! All I know is... there is no way I’m putting my head out there like that.” 

Sammy looks at me, evaluating how serious I am. She decides to refocus her attention for my sake, with a sigh. “Changes on this scale don’t get unnoticed. This isn’t the first time you were the last to know something, if we’re being real here. Just that... it might be something people aren’t willing to share yet! They want to own what they have until the secret is out and they have to come clean. It’s interesting, isn’t it? How everyone is so uncomfortable. It’s exciting.” Sammy smiles with an intensity in her eyes. Maybe she isn’t as uninterested as I thought.

We look around the lunchroom and see Leon scrolling through his phone, listening to music. He had a free period before lunch and saved us a table. He could have gone home to relax, but instead he stays at school so we can have lunch together. This is only one reason why he’s such a great friend.

We scuttle over to him and throw our bags onto the bench. We decided yesterday at his house that we would make and swap lunches today in a competition he affectionately termed, ‘who is best girl?’ “You’re including yourself in that, are you?” Sammy smirks. Leon’s affinity for subcultures drew us into a world of terminology based on tropes and cliches. The phrase ‘best girl,’ has become somewhat of a running joke in our circle of three. “Well the competition isn’t that stiff.” He says looking at the two of us. I laugh, none of us are very good at cooking. Up until this point, my mom has always made my lunches and I know this is true for the other two as well.

Leon pulls out his earbuds, rolling the cord neatly around his phone and lays his phone face down on the table. He is the first to pull out his lunchbox, excited for the lunch swap. “I made goat and dried plum curry with rice.” He says, lifting the lid to unveil a shiny, dark purple curry on a bed of white rice. It smells sweet and savory and my mouth starts to salivate in response. I swallow, trying not to concede in defeat so early in the competition, before I get the chance to showcase my mediocre meal. 

“Wow you managed to keep it in great condition the whole day.” Sammy says, her eyes focused on the gorgeous display. 

“Yeah I kept my bag huddled to my body since stepping foot out my front door.” Leon laughs at the memory.

Sammy pulls out a taco bowl mix with tortilla chips on the side, “I opted for something that would be fine jostled in my bag.” Out of the three of us, she lives the farthest from the school with the most uncomfortable trek. So I know she’s being honest. Although I wonder if she was counting on my vote by making my favorite food.

I look down at my own creation, embarrassed to think we were at all in the same league. “Wow, even without planning we all brought different stuff!” I say, stalling a bit before I’m expected to pull out my own lunch. Conversation doesn’t pick up and I’m worried my attempt was transparent. I reach into my bag and pull out veggie spring rolls. I made them last night, and didn’t account for how hard the wraps would become in the fridge. I pull out a peanut sauce in a small container. The only thing that would make my lunch, which visually could be described as a cold, dry, and crunchy eating experience; bearable.

We all share our lunches. Even Sammy conceded to Leon’s overwhelming victory. My wraps are unpleasant but not unpalatable I thought, until I notice my friends being uncharacteristically quiet and polite.

We’re picking off the last few bites of each other’s meals when Leon leans in close, motioning for us to do the same. Sammy and I lean in to listen. “Do you remember what we were talking about yesterday Joanna?” Leon asks, staring at me. I blink, confused by the sudden line of questioning but nod. I haven’t been thinking about much else to be honest. 

“Did you look into it?” Leon follows up. I shake my head in reply. It hadn’t even occurred to me to look up this phenomenon, because I had thought it was an isolated case occurring only in our school. I mentally chastise myself knowing this isn’t the case if Leon is bringing it up, and how I should have spent all of the 2 seconds it would take to research this; rather than lose sleep over it like I have been.

Leon pulls out his earbuds from its dock, and pushes the wrapped cord off his screen. He glides his phone in between the space the three of us create. “I saw this yesterday.” Leon says, navigating through the news app to get to the article. A video is linked and he presses play.

“A new app is sweeping the nation! Early investors are profiting hugely from the success and popularity of Switch! The app combines a unique patented technology in the biotech sphere, with user friendly display options in the hopes to bring about positivity! The app’s creators released an official statement upon the unveiling: ‘Trade hair with your friends! Try on different noses! How about trading eyes? Blue, Green, Brown, Hazel, you can try them all! Designed for people to be more empathetic for others, because we’re missing that right now. Let’s learn first hand the experiences of our peers!’ So far the app has been met with overall excitement. As of watching this broadcast, the app has reached international markets, and we’re all excited to see how this App will landmark itself into history. Back to you Jack.”

The anchor ends the announcement and the story switches to the local news. So far the app is being treated as sensationalized news. On par with a grizzly bear that caught a flying slice of bread, or a panda in captivity giving birth to twins. That’s probably why I haven’t heard of it. That, and it does sound a bit gimmicky for real life. I reach for my phone and search for the app in the app store, 10 million downloads in the first day.