Chapter 1 Part 1: Girl Ran Towards The Starting Point.

“Is there Anything Strange?”

I woke up. It felt like a normal morning. A bit sluggish, but no pain.

“I feel weak.”

My voice sounded strange. High-pitched. A girl’s voice.

“Wow…”

Hebrum, holding a document, said, “Your physical structure is the same as the subject. Your voice will be too.”

I touched my throat and nodded. My white hair fell into my eyes.

I brushed it away. Hebrum tossed me clothes and an ID card.

“As per the contract, nothing changes. You’ll stay in the staff quarters after work.”

Not going home was a minor inconvenience. It was only for a week. I didn’t have any pets. My newspaper would pile up.

The clothes were my usual uniform, just smaller.

I changed. The undergarments felt… different.

I put on the light blue gown and the ID card.

“How do I look?”

“Not bad. Why not just live like this?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

I summoned my power. A blue flame flickered, sizzling the air.

“Any problems with your abilities?”

Hebrum asked. Something felt off.

“It’s… subtle.”

I faced my palms towards each other. Summoned my power.

Blue sparks flickered between my hands.

Crackle!

“It’s slow.”

It lacked the usual precision. A delayed response. Like lag in a game.

“Anything else?”

I shook my hands, scattering blue sparks. Moved my arms and legs. Walked. Jumped. Nothing felt physically wrong.

“Nothing besides the power lag.”

“Hmm…”

Hebrum stroked his chin. From this height, I noticed an extra fold in his chin. I hadn’t seen it before.

“Do I start now?”

I was ready. The shorter legs were inconvenient. The walk to the girl’s room felt longer.

I sat in the usual chair. My dangling legs felt strange. I ignored it. I’d get used to it.

The girl sat motionless.

I watched her through the glass. She didn’t react, even though she could see me.

I waved.

My reflection waved back. A pale girl in the glass. The same as the girl on the other side. The awkward smile was definitely mine.

It felt strange. Seeing her, seeing myself, like this. Like looking at a caged animal. A pang of guilt hit me.

I yawned. Still boring. I played with my longer hair. Still boring.

I grabbed a book. It felt heavy. Too heavy to hold comfortably.

I opened it on my lap and started reading. The texture of the paper was comforting. The smell of old paper was pleasant. I loved old books. Especially ones I enjoyed.

Knock, knock

The knocking on the glass broke my concentration.

I closed the book. The white-haired girl was gone. A young man stood there. Ramonax. He took the girl for her experiments.

I pressed the button on the desk. The microphone activated.

“Is that… Jeff?”

I reached for the microphone.

“Yes.”

“Wow.”

He was surprised. Understandably. Seeing me, looking like the girl he escorted every day.

“What happened?”

I sighed. It was hard to explain. My childish voice seemed to amuse him. He laughed.

“Don’t laugh.”

“Sorry. Nice voice, though.”

“Have you never heard her voice?” I asked. He spoke as if it was the first time.

“Only crying when she first arrived. She stopped eventually. Never said anything else.”

I nodded.

“Gotta go. Maybe lunch later?”

He left.

I thought. Ramonax worked here before me. The girl was here before me. She never spoke. Would she speak now, just because I looked like her?

My reflection in the glass frowned. Maybe that’s how she would look, if she expressed emotions.

I touched my face. The frown disappeared. The interruption was over. I opened my book again.

Reading with my head bent was uncomfortable. The desk was too high. Everything was uncomfortable.

The girl returned, exhausted. No injuries, just tired. She’d probably fall asleep soon.

Normally, I’d just watch her. But something felt different.

I picked up the microphone.

“Hello?”

Her eyes opened. Blank. She looked at me.

I panicked. I grabbed the file on the desk. It was the first time I’d spoken to her in this body. It felt so natural, I’d forgotten to speak to her before.

She reacted to my voice, but nothing more. She didn’t answer my questions. Just stared.

She was supposed to be tired, but she just stared. At me. Directly at me. Not just looking vaguely ahead, like before. This was different. Intense. Uncomfortable.

I held up the book, shielding my face. It was too heavy. I put it down.

Beep, beep!

The small clock on the desk beeped. Lunchtime. I hadn’t eaten breakfast. I was suddenly starving.

“I’m going to get lunch, okay?”

I said to the girl, still staring. Her eyes blinked slowly.

I put down the microphone. Pressed the button. Silence.

I waved at the girl and left.

The girl had a captivating quality. So did I, apparently. The staff in the cafeteria stared. Whispered.

“Strange, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“Just… seeing you like that, Jeff.”

“Hmm.”

I put my hands in my pockets and looked around. They stared like I was an exotic animal.

“I can see why.”

A girl, identical to the test subject, eating in the cafeteria. I’d stare too.

I ignored them and ordered my usual: pork cutlet.

“How long will this last?” Ramonax asked.

“Supposedly a week,” I said, sitting down. The contract said a week, but nothing was certain.

“Probably won’t be long.”

“Any problems?”

“Just the height difference. The table is uncomfortable. And the longer walks.”

We talked as I eyed my pork cutlet. It looked huge. Much bigger than usual. I was drooling.

I stabbed it with my fork. The crispy breading smelled delicious.

“You like pork cutlets that much?”

“You’re talkative today.”

I ignored him and stuffed my mouth. The crunchy texture, the tender meat, the sweet and sour sauce… Bliss.

“Delicious.”

I’d taken a normal bite, but my smaller mouth was overflowing. I carefully chewed and swallowed, cheeks bulging.