“You should go sit with her,” Milo whispered.
“Maybe I should,” I mumbled. I was pretty sure our substitute teacher was asleep and I could sit anywhere I wanted, but the real dilemma was whether Kayla wanted me there. She had actually glanced back at me a couple times and I had had to quickly look back at the movie so she wouldn’t think I was staring at her. But I still didn’t have the confidence to make that move, and I didn’t want to make things worse for her.
“She looks so sad and lonely,” Milo observed, resting his chin in his hand. “If you don’t sit next to her, I will.”
“Okay, I’m going, I’m going,” I said. I started to scoot my chair back, but at that moment, Kayla stood up and walked out of the room.
*****
It usually only took me about 20 minutes to clean the display cases in the main hallway after school, but I’d already been there for an hour and I still wasn’t finished. I just couldn’t focus with all the thoughts I had swimming around in my head. There was Kayla, of course. She had never come back to chemistry class and she didn’t show up later in world cultures either. I didn’t think she’d miss that class since our presentation on Armenia was only two days away, even though there really wasn’t much else to do to prepare for it. She just didn’t seem like the person to ditch school, but then again, she had been through a lot lately.
But then there was my mom. She had just called to let me know she would have to stay on her business trip a few extra days. She had never been gone this long before, and she had sounded a little frantic on the phone. I thought about the way she had reacted when I told her about the window solicitor, and then I started thinking about the dart in the weight room and the pole almost falling on me at the homecoming game. I had almost dismissed those events before, but now I wondered if something was going on. I remembered what a shock it had been when my father left, and I really hoped that my mom wasn’t about to disappear as well.
I was so consumed in my thoughts that I didn’t notice people coming down the hallway until they were right behind me.
“Hey Frog, are you going to be a janitor for the rest of your life, or do you think you could make a living as the world’s biggest loser?”
I turned around to face Wyatt and two guys from the football team. “I don’t know, Wyatt,” I replied casually. “The competition for world’s biggest loser might be pretty tough, especially with you in the running.”
Wyatt sneered. “Very funny. But we’ll see who’s laughing once I’m finished with you.”
I should have been scared. But oddly enough, I felt really calm. “Well, it’s good you brought your friends, because one on one didn’t go very well for you the other night.”
“Please, you got lucky,” Wyatt scoffed. “You wouldn’t have stood a chance against me if my hands weren’t... occupied.”
That’s when I snapped. I could tolerate a lot of things, but gloating about sexual assault wasn’t one of them. I rushed at him and managed to punch him in the chin before the other two guys got a hold of me. I strained against them as they wrestled me into the display case, and I must have had a lot of adrenaline because it took them a while to get me in there. Finally, they shut the door and put a bar through the handles, locking me in the enclosed space. Wyatt smiled menacingly as he pulled out his phone and took a picture of me, then they all laughed and ran off.
Chapter Nineteen
Kayla
I stared up at the ceiling in my bedroom, noticing all the patches where the paint didn’t quite match. I considered getting out of my bed for about the tenth time, but decided against it. My mom was at the diner, and I just didn’t want to do anything. I should skip school more often, I thought. It was incredibly freeing to just drop all of my responsibilities and do nothing. I had missed the rest of school, a student government meeting, and volleyball practice, and I didn’t care. I knew at some point I would snap out of my indifference, but at the moment I just wanted to revel in it.
I glanced over at my nightstand and saw the charm bracelet I had found the other night. I picked it up and let my thoughts wander to Frog. Chemistry lab had been particularly frustrating. Not only because Miranda and Wyatt were getting on my nerves, but also because I had spent half of the time wishing Frog would come talk to me and the other half of the time glad that he didn’t. Maybe Miranda’s warnings were affecting me too much. Maybe I was afraid that if I was openly friends with Frog that I would lose some kind of status. It was stupid, and yet, I couldn’t deny that my pride was keeping me from interacting with him more.
My phone pinged with a social media notification and I picked it up to see what it was. The minute I saw the image I sat straight up. In one of the school groups, Wyatt had posted a picture of Frog locked in a display case at school. The caption read: A frog stuck in a tank.
Seething, I jumped out of bed, grabbed the keys to my truck and drove back to the school. When I got to the display case, Frog was leaning against the side of it, dozing off. I smiled at how he could be so relaxed in such a stressful situation. I tapped lightly on the glass. His eyes flew open and he jerked backward, hitting his head on a baseball trophy. He blinked several times before finally focusing on me, giving me a sheepish smile.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to wake the wild animals?” He joked.
With some effort I removed the bar and opened the door, allowing Frog to stumble out.
“Thank you so much,” he said, stretching his legs. “Do you know how frustrating it is not to be able to sit?”
I shook my head. “How long were you in there?”
“A couple hours. At first I thought I’d try to break the glass, but someone would probably make me pay for it. Plus, I didn’t want shards of glass messing up my stunning good looks,” he said playfully, waving his hand in front of his face.
I rolled my eyes at his self depreciating humor. “Were you just going to stay there until school tomorrow morning?”
“No. I knew Mr. Zonkowski would be here at 9:00 to lock everything up. I figured he’d find me then.” He took a deep breath. “But I’m very grateful that you cut my stay in the display case short by a few hours.”
“It must have been awful.”
He shrugged. “It was actually pretty spacious compared to all the lockers I’ve been stuffed in.”
I laughed. He had to be the most resilient person I knew to joke about all his misfortunes like that. “So, Wyatt did this?” I asked.
Frog nodded. “He didn’t do it alone, though. It took three of them to get me in here, which I thought was kind of funny.”
“He’s probably a little scared of you after what you did to him the other night.” I flinched. I couldn’t mention the events of the homecoming dance without stirring up feelings of panic and helplessness.
“Yeah. I guess all those martial arts classes finally paid off.”
I bit my lip. There was something I had been considering ever since that night, but I was a little hesitant to ask. “Do you think you could teach me that move?”
He raised his eyebrows. “The one I used on Wyatt?”
Suddenly, I felt stupid. I looked at the floor. “Yeah. I just don’t want anything like that to ever happen again.”
“Of course I’ll teach you,” Frog replied. “You want to learn it right now?”
I looked up, relived. “Sure.”
He positioned himself in front of me and studied me until he had apparently figured out how to proceed.
“Okay. You’re going to grab me under the armpits.”
I did as he instructed and he yelped and jumped back.
“What?” I exclaimed. “What did I do?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, his face turning bright red. “I’m just really ticklish.” He stepped back toward me. “Let’s do it again and I’ll try to be a man about it.”
I snorted and grabbed him again, careful to keep my fingers away from his armpits. He winced for a moment, then took a breath and continued.
&
nbsp; “Now wrap your arms around me and step behind me so that our backs are pressed together.”
Again, I followed his directions and was surprised that he smelled so nice. “Okay, now what?”
“Bend over slowly so that you lift me off the floor.”
I bent down and held Frog on my back for a few moments. “Wow,” I grunted, “you’re really heavy.”
“So you’re saying I’m fat?” He called out.
I burst out laughing and it weakened me, so that I collapsed on the floor with Frog on top of me. He quickly rolled off.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, still giggling a little bit.
“Sorry I made you laugh.”
“Never apologize for that.”
He smiled and I was caught off guard. Something sparked in me, and it was more than just friendly feelings. I studied Frog. He definitely wasn’t good looking, but he was kind and funny and extremely talented, and that somehow made him really attractive and... charming.
“Is everything alright?” Frog asked, looking a little self conscious.
“Yes,” I replied, quickly getting to my feet and trying to shake off the feelings. “Let’s try it again.”
Frog nodded. “Okay. This time bend over all the way so that you flip me off your back and on to the floor.”
I was a little doubtful that I could get that outcome, but I went through the movements and to my surprise, I was able to catapult Frog right off of my back.
“Great job!” He exclaimed from the floor, grinning broadly.
“Thanks.” I extended my hand to help him get up, he took it and stood, and suddenly we were extremely close together. I felt the spark again, and I raised my head to look Frog in the eyes. He peered back at me with an intensity I’d never experienced before.
“Kayla, I...”
My body seemed to act of its own accord. My hand reached up around Frog’s neck and pulled him toward me, and then I kissed him. It was just a simple kiss, but it was more charged, more passionate than any kiss I’d ever had. I stepped back, a little shocked at what I had just done. Frog just stared at me. He seemed to be frozen.
“I should probably get home,” I muttered.
Frog continued to stare at me, but he gave an almost imperceptible nod.
I turned and walked quickly out of the school, trying to make sense of my actions and the emotions that were coursing through my body.
Chapter Twenty
Frog
Wow.
Wow.
Kayla Morrison had just kissed me.
I probably stood there in the hallway for half an hour before I gained the presence of mind to move my feet. In a daze, I got my stuff and walked out to the parking lot. I don’t know how I managed to drive home without getting into a wreck. I was so consumed with thoughts of Kayla and her lips and her closeness. I couldn’t think of anything else, and I didn’t want to. I walked into my house, went up to my bedroom, and fell on my bed.
I couldn’t stop smiling. I tried not to think about how stupid I had acted after it had happened or what it meant or why she did it or what this might mean for the future, I just concentrated on that one, singular moment when she had pulled me to her and kissed me. Those few seconds replayed over and over in my mind until I fell asleep.
Several hours later, I woke up in severe pain. Every part of my body hurt, and I felt like I was going to implode. It seemed like I had a temperature of a thousand degrees, so I stripped off my clothes to relieve a little bit of the heat. But the effort of doing that was so strenuous that I collapsed back on my bed, unable to move. When a girl kisses you it’s supposed to make you feel amazing, I thought, not like you want to die. I moaned and tried putting my body in multiple positions, but nothing alleviated the pain. I wondered if there had been some kind of toxic mold in the display case that was attacking my systems. Finally, the aching became so fierce that I passed out.
*****
Something was buzzing. A plane? No, it was closer than that. A fly? No, it was more systematic. I opened my eyes and squinted at the bright sunlight coming through my window. Everything felt sore and my head was a little foggy, but I also felt refreshed, which I assumed was a result of my body purging whatever had been ailing me. I heard the buzzing again and saw that it was coming from my phone next to me on the bed. I picked it up and the first thing I noticed was that it said it was Wednesday afternoon. I was shocked. Had I really been out for almost two days? I must have been because I had 17 missed calls and a bunch of text messages. The most recent message was from Kayla.
WHERE ARE YOU?
A dozen emotions rushed through me. Her kiss was still at the forefront of my mind, but now I was starting to wonder what was going to happen next. Did she really like me or had she just spontaneously kissed me in the moment? Did she text me because she was mad at me or because she was concerned about me? I started to text her back, but then I froze.
My hands were... bigger.
I quickly sat up, looked down, and saw massive pectorals. Okay, maybe massive was an exaggeration, but I was used to seeing next to nothing, so needless to say, these were a big shock. I jumped out of bed, stumbled to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. My jaw dropped.
Whoa.
I was staring back at an underwear model. Except somehow that underwear model was me, because he was doing everything I did. I was completely unrecognizable. I guess my eyes and lips were the same, but now they looked like they actually belonged on my face, which was broader and had slightly pronounced cheekbones and a strong jawline. My hair was thick and smooth and was swept perfectly to the side, and my skin was completely clear and devoid of any pimples or scarring.
And then there was my body. Unusually broad shoulders led into muscular arms that framed the aforementioned massive pectorals. From there, my chest tapered down to the kind of washboard abs you only see in fitness magazines. A sculpted butt and legs completed the impossibility of the image before me. I kept thinking I was hallucinating, but when I felt my biceps, quads and stomach, it was all solid muscle.
I didn’t know how to react, so I laughed. Except now when I laughed, I looked like a confident, ripped teenage boy instead of a geeky idiot. I shook my head. Either this was a very real dream or a really awesome prank. In any case, I needed some answers. I ran back into my room, grabbed my phone and called my mom.
“Frederick! Finally! Why haven’t you been returning my calls? I’ve been so worried about you! Did you get my messages?”
“Mom,” I said, flinching. Even my voice sounded different. “Something happened.”
I could hear her suck in a breath on the other end. “What?” She asked frantically. “What is it?”
“I, um, look... different.”
To my surprise, she groaned. “You forgot to take your pills, didn’t you?”
I thought back to the other night. Kayla had kissed me. I had been a bit overwhelmed. “Um, yeah.”
My mom sighed. “I shouldn’t have left.”
I was becoming more and more confused. “Should I take my pills now?”
“No, it’s too late if you’ve already changed.”
“Changed?”
“And it was probably about time for this to happen anyway. The Jumerum were closing in...”
“Jumerum? Mom, what are you talking about?”
“Listen, Frederick, I’m really sorry. I don’t have time to talk to you about it right now, but I will be home as soon as I can, and I’ll explain everything then.”
“But mom-”
“Until I get home, I need you to promise me you won’t leave the house.”
“Are you serious?”
“Frederick, promise me.” She sounded desperate.
“Yeah, okay.”
“Thank you. I’ll be home soon. I can’t wait to see you.”
The call ended and I sat down on my bed. My mind was spinning with a hundred questions. The more I thought about the conversation I
had had with my mom, the angrier I became. I had just magically turned into a hunky man-boy, how in the world did she not have time to talk about it? I had clearly been kept in the dark about something, and I didn’t like it. And what was I supposed to do now? Just wait around like a caged animal until she showed up?
I looked at my phone again and started going through all of Kayla’s texts.
On Tuesday morning she wrote: Hey, are you okay? I didn’t see you in chem lab.
A few hours later: Could you call me when you can? I want to talk about our presentation.
Then: Frog, if what I did the other night offended you, I apologize, but we still need to work through a few things for our project. Please call me.
I smiled. The thought of being offended by her kissing me was ludicrous, and yet, she had gone there. I went to the messages she had sent that morning.
Frog, are you sick? Are you going to be here today? Our world cultures presentation is in three hours.
And finally: WHERE ARE YOU?
I gulped and looked at the time. We were supposed to present in world cultures class in 25 minutes. I had just promised my mom I wouldn’t leave the house, but I knew I should be there for Kayla, even if I didn’t look like myself. I was still a little bewildered from everything that had happened, and I didn’t quite work out all the implications, but I really wanted to see Kayla, and a small part of me wanted her to see me.
I’ll just run to the school and give her a quick message and then I can come right back home, I rationalized. I don’t know why I didn’t just call or text, but like I said, I wasn’t really thinking straight. I ran to my closet to get dressed and stopped. Here was another obstacle. I didn’t know if any of my clothes were going to fit over all this new bulk. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants that barely fit over my buttocks, and then I put on one of the largest shirts I owned. It stretched tight across my chest and seemed to cling to every muscle. I glanced in the mirror. The clothes were ridiculous, but somehow, I still looked great. This is so weird, I thought. I shook my head again and went out to my car.
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