A Leap of Faith -Closed-

[Waverly]

“I'll have you know that being a vegetarian is a responsible choice of diet. Which is more than what you can say about meat diets that do nothing but inflict harm upon animals, people and the entire freaking planet!” Anka threw back at Michael, clearly triggered by his and Sarah's discussion. Not that she was around to hear the answer, for suddenly she dragged out of the room by her cousin.


Anka now found herself in a situation where Mindy was sort of scolding her. Anka tried to calm herself down, but things were spinning way out of control for her. How was she supposed to keep her cool when she was in this stranger's body, and being picked on by the teenagers, and being scolded at, and constantly having to worry about having to eat meat? Simply put, she lost all and any footing in the situation. Which was why she did what she did next...


“Det är ta mig fan en riktigt jävla Freaky Friday! Ok?! Jag har ingen aning om var jag är, om vem jag är, eller om jag någonsin kommer bli mig själv igen! Det är som en jävla mardröm som aldrig tar slut!” She shouted as her gaze grew blurry from the tears that started to gather in her eyes. She leaned back against the wall, and leaned her head back to look up into the ceiling, forcing herself not to cry from all the emotions that had just exploded from her.

Spoiler

“It's a really fucking Freaky Friday! Ok?! I have no idea where I am, who I am, or if I'll ever become myself again! It's all like a damned nightmare that never ends!”

With her hands cupped over her face she spoke up again:
“I'm sorry, you're right, I-... Something is messing with my head today, and I'm not handling it very well. To be honest I'm having a terrible day today, and I know you guys really tried your best to make it a good birthday and all, but I'm just... I'm just not... Listen, I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be right with you...” Her voice was stammering and stuttering, clearly she was having a hard time to phrase herself or know what to say. Without waiting for a reply she started to slowly walk towards the stairs, heading for the same bathroom she had been in before, not knowing if there was one closer downstairs or not. This is not good.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

When did Ben learn a second language? And what language even is it?  Glaring hard at Ben, Mindy knew her cousin was not intelligent enough to make up his own or to learn a made up language from somewhere else. And he had never shown any knowledge of a second language before. Is this something I should just let slide? Maybe allow it to pass? Ask what it was he said? Whatever it was, he sounded mad and an angry Ben was scary. He was so difficult to actually make mad. Of course there was the teasing anger and the jokes he would use to get back at people but he was so often easy going that when he become truly angry it became a dangerous situation very quickly. Not that Ben would ever harm anyone on purpose, but accidents happened. 


Watching Ben fall apart was like watching a stone wall you thought would never fall down begin to crumble. She'd never seen her cousin this upset before, and she began to wonder what it was he had dreamt about to being this bothered by it. "Yeah, okay." She said, feeling a little bad because Ben was upset. Even if it wasn't entirely her fault, she hated seeing Ben unhappy. 


Mindy watched Ben walk away for a long moment and then wondered why she was just standing there. She ran over to the man, threw her arms around his middle, and hugged him tight. "M' sorry Ben." She mumbled into his back. "Whatever's wrong, I'm here for you okay? If you need to talk or anything I'm here." She promised, turning her head to the side so she wasn't speaking directly into the fabric. "Don't shut me out, though. I can't help if you don't talk to me." She gave him a squeeze that was surprisingly strong for someone of her size and then pulled away. 


"You should probably pull yourself together, though. You know how sad your mom would be if you just disappeared when she worked so hard on everything..." Mindy said, unconsciously taking the lead as she pulled away and walking towards the bathroom as she gazed at Ben. Because of course she knew the place well enough to walk backwards, focus on Ben, and still get to where she was going. "And if Michael or Joseph see you close to tears you'll never live it down." 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

The hug from Mindy actually offered Anka some comfort, it was nice to feel someone embracing her. Though Mindy was squeezing hard, Anka couldn't but notice how this body was handling the pressure in another way than her own body weould, she had to admit that it felt a bit awkward being the taller and bigger party in a hug. Usually she was the smaller one. Unless she hugged kid of course, which wasn't really something that happened very often.

Comforted or not, the hug was still sort of awkward. For even though Mindy was the only person around that Anka had some sort of relation to, they had still only spent half a day together, fixing a fence and feeding chickens. So Anka didn't quite know how to react in the situation. She had no idea what to say, so instead she just awkwardly patted Mindy's back almost as if she was trying to comfort her all of sudden. That was till they started for the bathroom again.


“Mindy... I'm not trying to shut you out or anything, but I'm not sure I can talk about what's going on right now. It's... I don't even know what it is, and I am sure talking won't help much.” She said with a long drawn-out sigh as they walked up the stairs.


“But I guess I'll give it a try to get my act together again, just give me a couple of minutes alone, ok? Tell the others I'm putting on some ma... That I'm... taking a leak.” Awkward! She said, trying to buy herself a few well-needed minutes of solitude in the privacy of the bathroom. She was surprised at how honest she was starting to become, not at all making the same effort to play the part of Ben as she'd been earlier this day, but perhaps the break would give her enough energy to get back on track? After all, just moments ago she'd actually felt happy and grateful for the surprise party, you know, up until the meat-traps-guns-and-dead-bunnies-part that was the presents.


As she reached the bathroom door she turned to Mindy. “I'll just be a minute. Why don't you entertain the others till I'm back, hmm? I know that'll be an easy task for you, right?” She said with a faint smile appearing on her face, hoping that Mindy would appreciate the compliment. “And if they put out any food, make sure there's no meat on my plate. Seriously.”


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Since when has there been a moment Ben couldn't talk to me? Mindy froze up as a new thought struck her mind. Is he Gay?! That was one topic they never really touched on. Romance, and Ben's lack of it. Like Mindy knew that he had had girlfriends in the past and every now and then he would flirt but not as seriously as he used to. Maybe it wasn't a terrible stretch to think that her cousin was interested in men. And of course he wouldn't want to tell her. The information could very well break their family apart. At the very least it would break his mother's heart. Well that would explain some of it... what if his hunting and fishing and stuff is just an act to try and be manly and throw everyone off, but really on the inside he's an animal hugging sap?! The idea seemed just a little far fetched... and yet it was also entirely believable for the girl. 


He was totally going to say makeup. Oh my god, Ben's Gay!! Okay, so Mindy still wasn't entirely certain on this new theory and yet... what guy would put on makeup? "Yeah, okay." Mindy replied, though. She kept her tone and her expression neutral. Almost stonelike in the way it was set. 


"I'm sure they're entertaining themselves, Ben. But whatever... I'll go make sure they don't kill one another." Mindy said with a shrug, pausing when Ben brought up the 'no meat' thing. "Yeah, alright Ben. I'll make sure you're taken care of." She promised. And she meant it. She headed back towards the kitchen, greeted with many pairs of expectant eyes. "Ben isn't feeling all that well so he's in the bathroom right now. Might be awhile. Might not. He said not to wait for him." Mindy said with a nonchalant tone. Ben's mother looked a little concerned, but mostly people just returned to whatever they had been doing before Mindy came in. 


The lower story bathroom was much roomier then the upstairs bathroom. It had a mirror on the door and one behind a large sink set into warm brown counters. White and blue tile lined the floor and up the wall near the very large bath tub. The tub itself was white porcelain, had clawed feed, and was only a bathtub. No shower hookups. There was a bar of soap and a bottle of bubble soap on one corner of the tub, along with a back scrubber and sponge. The tub was at the far side of the room with the sink on the right and toilet on the left. 4 people could fit without bumping elbows in the space and that was without anyone in the tub which could fit two grown adults pretty comfortably. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Anka closed and locked the door behind her, this time not having any trouble figuring out how the lock worked. She walked straight for the toiled and sat down on it, without raising the lid. She leaned forward and rested her head in the palms of her hands, panted heavily, almost as if she had been running for a long while. Quite apparently it was exhausting keeping these charades up for a whole day. Or well, the charade itself wasn't hard, she didn't mind pretending to be Ben all that much, but she wasn't able to disconnect herself. Like the bunny thing, why was she unable to forget about that for just a few minutes? Why did I have to make a scene? I this even real? Who am I really?


Questions like that kept appearing in her mind as she tried to calm down for the next few minutes. She didn't find any answers though. The only thing she could say for sure was that she probably wasn't dreaming, because if she was, this sure was a vivid dream. No, it couldn't be a dream, it was all to real. Besides, she'd never had a dream about having to pee without waking up to actually visit the bathroom in a hurry!


She flushed and walked up to the sink to wash her hands. Her reflection caught her attention, just like it had when first she saw it this morning. There was no denying it, she was a man. She was Ben. Just as last time she leaned in closer to look at her face, then turned around to look at her entire self in the larger mirror on the door.


“He's actually... I mean... I'm actually pretty good-looking.” She said to herself, and slid her hand under her shirt to feel the muscles on her body. This Ben was pretty ripped actually, without being as ridiculously defined as one of those silly macho gym-fanatics that lived on protein powder and bananas. “Wonder if I've got a girldfriend?” For some reason she spoke in English instead of Swedish even though no one was around. She sighed at herself for being silly enough to consider her own attractiveness in this body, and even more so for having talked aloud to herself about it in a language that wasn't her native one. Anka, you're acting crazy. I'm better off with those people than on my own apparently. Better get back out before I go insane, or before his mother get's worried.


She drew a deep breath, nodded at her own reflection in the mirror and readied herself to go back outside. Once she was outside of the bathroom she didn't head directly back to the others in the kitchen but allowed herself some time to inspect the number of photographs she had passed earlier this morning. See, after the session in front of the mirror, she'd decided to find out more about Ben. Like, if she was supposed to be him, it was about time she started doing her homework. Besides, who knew for how long this would last? Maybe she would be stuck in this body forever!


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

The pictures, though not an exact chronological story, did at least explain some minor things. Each child of the family had some kind of baby or toddler picture, and then from there it was a myriad of different events. There were plenty of pictures of Ben's siblings, but just as many of him. Pictures of him and Mindy covered in mud and grinning broadly, obviously at the bank of some river. He was with his youngest siblings at the zoo, grinning in front of an elephant that looked extremely bored. Pictures of baseball games - both the children in the games or at the games. It was quite apparent that baseball was a large part of the family. And that Ben was no stranger to dirt. There was a picture of Ben proudly holding a huge catch -his face appearing around 13 or 14- and then another a few years later with a deer at his feet obviously previously shot. The wall was a collage of memories. Not just of Ben's but of everyone in the family.

In the other room, though things had quieted after Ben's departure the noise had picked up once again. Ben's family wasn't really known to be unhappy or drug down for long. Mindy was helping put away excess food while the younger ones enjoyed second helpings of cake. Ben's gifts had been stacked on a table in the corner and everyone seemed to be settling into a fairly pleasant evening buzz. The adults were heading to the living room to watch some evening news while the kids began to disperse either to play outside in the last rays of sunlight or to go do something quietly that wouldn't involve being around others.

Waverly

 

[Waverly]

She allowed herself some time to watch the photos, trying her best see if she could actually remember anything. But she drew nothing but blanks, it was all to clear that whatever past Ben had lived, she'd not been there to see it with him. But other than, yet again, stating to herself that her mind was in the body of a stranger, what could she gather from looking at the pictures? Not more than that Ben was into hunting and that he had always been very close to his cousin Mindy. And perhaps that he likes baseball a lot.

She caught herself smiling at the picture of the two cousins covered in mud. It was a cute photograph, and she could totally picture how it all had happened – two playful children realizing the joys of throwing themselves into the dirt without minding the consequences. It was something about it that felt lost on herself, lost on grown up people. When was the last time I was covered in mud? She thought without coming up with an answer. Had she actually ever been? Probably sometime as a kid, but she couldn't actually recall a time when it ever had happened. Perhaps it never had happened after all. Growing up in Stockholm was clean, but it lacked some of the more adventurous aspects of life, such as the one depicted on the photograph in question.

She sighed and started walking again. Upon entering the kitchen she went straight for the table and sat down, resisting the urge to help Mindy out with the leftovers and dishes. Usually Anka was quite helpful (well, at home. In the dorm she was something of a slob), but she figured that it was unlikely that Ben was the kind of guy to help out with such things on his birthay. All prejudice of course, but still most likely in her opinion.

“So, now I'm twenty.” She said and drummed a little on the table with her index fingers in an attempt to be.... like a guy? “Does that age come with any perks? Like being allowed to drink in restaurants and bars, or driving or something like that?” She asked, not because she didn't know the answer, in fact she knew quite well that the American legal drinking age was quite high at 21 and that kids could get drivers permits as early as 16, so no, she asked because she wanted to see how the land lay, and get a chance to learn a little more about Ben and his family's idea of drinking. Perhaps this question could trigger some kind of reaction?

 

[Waverly]

((And I might be wrong about those ages, so feel free to correct me if I am wrong xD))

 

[Waverly]

RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Having been intent on her task, Mindy jumped at the sudden voice before turning to smirk at Ben. She continued scraping food off dishes into smaller containers while Ben spoke and then snickered when he had finished asking his question. "You already have your license, smart one. Driving has been a thing for you since you were a baby pretty much. And you know as well as I that you're not legally supposed to drink until you're 21... granted our wonderful Uncle will let us get away with a beer every now and then." She mused, her tone dropping so that Ben's mother wouldn't overhear.

"Why? Are you in a hurry to get out there and drink? Maybe get laid?" Mindy teased, moving to Ben's side and nudging his shoulder before going to begin washing dishes. She filled the sink with hot water, adding soap that it also filled with bubbles. She swiped a handful and moved to smear it across Ben's face with a broad grin.

"You know, it really has been too long since you've had a girlfriend. Maybe you should go to a bar or something. I bet you could pass for 21 if you tried hard. You're big and scary enough."

Waverly
((You're right about the ages Wave ))

 

[Waverly]

Anka gave away a snickering laugh and leaned back in her chair while she used her fingers to comb her hair out of her face. ”Yeah, yeah, I know... It's just one of those years that really feels inbetween, know what I mean? Feels like twenty should be a big deal somehow, fine and even number as it is.” She sighed with a faint smile. ”At any rate I'm allowed to legally buy alcohol in Sweden, at least that's something isn't it?”

She sat up straight at the mention of getting laid, not having girlfriends and going to a bar. Suddenly loosing any of the cool she had been pretending to have in her new attempt of acting like, what she supposed was, Ben.

“I suppose we could go to a bar, I'd like that. I mean, I wouldn't... You know, it's not that I... You know, I'm not sure I would be looking to score or anything. But it could be fun to have a few drinks.” She said with a ton of awkwardness to her voice as she was uncomfortably aware at how curious she suddenly had become about the thought of getting laid now that she inhabited a mans body. But in the end she wouldn't try something like it out, and certainly not today. There were too many factors ruling such a crazy decision out anyway: Firstly, she wasn't interested in women, only slightly bicurious. And secondly, this body didn't quite belong to her (so far she had treated her new private parts carefully and not really explored anything, all out of respect for their actual owner). And lastly, there was the fact that she had actually just been dumped by her boyfriend, like, not that it felt like an important thing right now, but it would probably mess with her mind if she got intimate with anyone. So the short answer to the question about getting laid was a loud and clear nope. However, getting a drink or two could probably help her get some kind of relaxation, something which she clearly felt she needed after a day such as this.

“Where do you suggest we go? Know anyplace where they don't really bother looking at people's ID?” She asked.

RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

It was great seeing Ben being more like Ben and it had Mindy giggling, even if his cocky behavior usually got on her nerves. "Why would you know anything about Sweden? Plan on moving there without telling me?" She demanded, hands on her hips as her tiny frame towered over Ben. Merely in spirit because even sitting down, if Ben was sitting up straight he was still taller then Mindy. She was giving him a hard time of course, but the idea of him leaving without telling her did upset her.

"Typical. You never want to score. You're such an old fashioned romantic." Mindy sighed. "I swear a lot of your problems would be solved if you just found a nice girl to take to bed once or twice." She teased, smirking as she shook her head.

"Yeah Ben, I know of the only place in town." Mindy said with a laugh. "And they know you're not of age so... well we're kind of stuck there. But they might give us a few drinks for trying. Besides, with the whole Tim thing the town takes pity on us. Worse comes to worse we can get my dad to buy some." She said with a shrug. "And then you and I can go drink out by the river or something since you're decidedly against getting laid. Come on Ben, let's go." Heedless of the fact her hands were still dripping from water and soap thanks to washing dishes she grabbed Ben's wrist and proceeded to 'drag' him out towards where she was hoping she could steal her dad away to get them some beer.

((And unless you want to reply we can end here. And if you do want to reply, that's cool too but this is my best attempt at putting an end scene here XD))

 

[Waverly]

((That works very well as an end for this scene! I'll see if I can get a post up in a while to begin the next scene))

 

[Waverly]

29th of February, 2016 - Pizza Dinner at Hannah's

The last day of February had ended; somewhere behind a thin veil of clouds the sun had already made its way down below the horizon and as such left the town of Uppsala in a bluish and cold kind of twilight. With rosy cheeks and with a slight shiver, the three student girls was heading home after their day at the university. It had been a long and strange day; first the lecture, then the most awkward lunch ever, and finally a long three hours in the library. A feeling of relief inhabited the air when they finally arrived to Hannah's apartment downtown Uppsala.

It was a nice, modern, and good-looking apartment that lay on the ground floor. It consisted of three rooms (aside from the kitchen and bathrooms of course). Theo's room was directly to the left once you got inside, and if you wanted to visit Hannah's room you had to venture trough the living room first. Now, the two siblings didn't actually own the apartment, it really belonged to their grandmother who had been bedridden in some sort of coma-like state for well over a year. When the old woman had been moved to a nursing home her grandchildren had claimed the apartment, and they'd already made it their own by replacing furniture, adding their own wall-decorations, and so on.

“I fucking hate mondays...” complained Hannah and took her usual seat on the office chair in front of the desktop computer in her room. The room was full of comicbooks and videogames, and each and every shelf was inhabited by figurines and plushy toys from various animés and mangas. There was an impressive sound system hooked up to the even more impressive computer. She turned the machine on and turned around while she waited for the Windows 10 loading screen to pass. “Though, one thing I wonder, Anka, is if you're going to that corridor crawl that John is throwing back at your place or not. I mean, we decided not to go, but it sounded on John as if you were actually going. So... What's the plan?” She asked as she rummaged through her drawers to find a cable she needed to hook up her, usually, wireless mouse to a USB-port for charging.

Danielle lay herself down in Hannah's bed and picked up one of Hannah's many obscure manga pockets and started reading (well, looking at the pictures more like, she didn't know one word japaneese). She'd been a bit irritated today, and pretty much refused speaking much English at all. “Kan vi beställa pizza istället? Jag vet inte om jag orkar baka någon själv.” She said with a almost sour tone.

Spoiler

"Can we order pizza instead? I'm not sure I can be bothered making one myself."

“I don't care. What do you think, birthday girl?” Hannah said and turned to look at Anka, awaiting an answer for both questions.

RubyRose