“Please come this way,” Kath said, and we all walked through the same door as Mr Matthews. It looked much like the offices where I worked. There was a desk with a computer and printer sitting on it. Positioned next to it in a t-shape was a bigger table with a few chairs dotted around. Mr Matthews sat down and Kath pulled up a chair opposite him. Dan sat round the other side next to Mr Matthews, so I pulled out the chair next to Kath.
Kath cleared her throat and slid some sheets of paper across the table towards Mr Matthews. He retrieved a pair of glasses from his pocket and placed them across the bridge of his nose, before scanning the paperwork in front of him. I used this opportunity to give Kath a slight nudge and pointed towards my tooth. She looked confused for a moment, so I curled my tongue towards my top tooth to give her a hint about the lipstick on hers. I saw recognition dawn on her face just as Mr Matthews spoke.
I looked across to see him peering over the top of his glasses in my direction.
“Miss Reynolds, is something the matter?”
I shot a look at Dan, and saw a smile playing on his lips.
“Um, no...”
“Good. Let’s carry on then shall we?”
I nodded in my most humble manner.
“We already have some information on you,” he said in his robot tone. He pushed the glasses back up his nose and scanned the papers in front of him. “After extensively researching your background it has been confirmed that you are indeed a Random Soul Protector. I just need to clarify some details about how you first found out you could switch into other people.”
I smiled at him and nodded, but I knew he wouldn’t reciprocate.
“When was the first time you switched into someone else’s body?”
“Erm, just a few days ago.”
“And how many times have you actually switched since finding out?”
“Twi...”
Too late, I noticed Dan frowning at me. I was so nervous I’d forgotten he wanted to answer the questions.
“Just the once,” he cut in quickly.
Mr Matthews looked at Dan and his eyes narrowed. Then he looked back at me.
“Please describe what happened immediately before and during the switch.”
I glanced at Dan for help, but he didn’t make eye contact and his face remained blank.
“I, err, it happened by accident. I was a bit shocked to be honest,” I said laughing nervously. Kath and Dan smiled politely, but Mr Matthews remained tight-lipped. I swallowed hard and carried on.
“I was out with my friends and one of them, Lydia, got proposed to by her boyfriend. Well I got up to hug her, and then I felt a bit dizzy.”
I stopped for a moment, but Mr Matthews said nothing. He was staring at me and when the silence became awkward, I carried on.
“It seems silly now, but at first I thought there were two of me and the shock made me pass out. Then, after I came round, I looked in a mirror and saw that I’d somehow switched into her body.”
“And before the switch with this Lydia, you were wishing you were actually her?” Mr Matthews took his glasses off and placed them on the desk, his eyes stayed fixed on me during the process.
I flicked my eyes towards Dan, and then back to Mr Matthews.
“Well, not really, it was just a silly, spur of the moment thing.”
Mr Matthews sighed. “It’s not something you can deny Miss Reynolds. In order to switch you have to wholeheartedly wish you were the other person. It’s different when you know you’re an SP, because you want to switch for a genuine reason. But for a Random who has never switched before, there must have been no other reason than genuinely wanting to be that person.”
I felt ashamed and looked down at the table. Out the corner of my eye I saw Dan watching me.
“I guess I did want to be her,” I said in a small voice.
“And you stayed switched for approximately how long?”
I was about to answer ‘fifteen minutes,’ but Dan jumped in before me.
“It was about nine hours.”
“I need Miss Matthews to answer the questions herself, Daniel.”
Dan frowned and squeezed his lips together.
Mr Matthews looked back at me expectantly.
“Um, yes. About nine hours.” I crossed my fingers under the table.
“And that was when Dan found you, and enforced a switch-back?”
I looked at Dan for clues. He nodded his head discreetly.
“Yes.”
“And this was definitely the only time you’ve ever switched.”
Trying to ignore the uneasy feeling inside, I nodded slowly.
Mr Matthews’ eyes still did not leave my face. His expression was stern and I had no idea if I’d made a mess out of the interview or not.
“Miss Reynolds, you are forgiven for the first switch as you had no idea what was happening, but I must make you aware that you must never, under any circumstance, switch with another person unless it is solely for their good. Have I made myself quite clear?”
“Yes, Mr Matthews.”
“Right, well everything seems to be in order, so now you must fill in the registration form and sign the Soul Protector Code, and then you may leave.”
I pursed my lips and exhaled a long, silent breath.
I looked at the piece of paper Kath had placed in-between us, but it was all in gobbledygook.
Kath laughed at my confused face.
“Don’t worry, love, I’m going to decode it for you. It’s just in case the wrong people ever get their hands on it. We have to keep our identities confidential.”
She slid it into a metal frame, with a glass sheet on the top, and clipped the sides together. There was an attachment on the bottom with a calculator set-up, and I watched as she punched several digits into it. She handed it to me and I was amazed to see a document appear in perfect English. I scanned over the words. There was a declaration stating that I would abide to the Soul Protector code of conduct, broken down into a) You hereby agree to only switch for less than eight hours at a time, and b) You hereby agree to switch only for the greater good of the other person. Underneath, there was a whole load of terms and conditions in small print, but as I wasn’t actually planning on switching, none of it was going to affect me. I nodded at Kath, and she withdrew the sheet of paper from the holder. I signed my name on the dotted line, and laid the pen on the table.
Mr Matthews pushed his chair back and stood up.
“Daniel, Gracie,” he said nodding his head, and then walked out the door without another word. Dan stood up, so I did the same.
The whole place gave me an uneasy feeling. I couldn’t believe I was a part of this scary new world. The only thing I was grateful for was meeting Dan. They could keep the rest of it.
“Right, see you later, Kathy. Look after those glasses,” said Dan.
“Bye, you two. Don’t be strangers,” she said, giving us a wide grin. I noticed the lipstick was still visible on her front tooth.
I was relieved we were leaving. As we walked back out through the Operations area, I kept my head turned from the Switch Enforcement Chamber, and focussed on the other side of the room. We walked through the screen door back into the main area, and I was drawn to a large statue against the far wall. It was so imposing; I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it on the way in. I walked over towards it to get a better look.
Lying on the plinth was a fallen soldier in an old-fashioned British Army uniform. He was wearing what looked like a tin hat, making me think he belonged to the Second World War. Next to him was a woman on her knees. I imagined she was meant to be his widow. She was cradling a baby in her arms and the expression on her face was pure anguish. Behind the woman and child was a faceless person, arms outstretched to encircle them, but without touching.
I looked closer to see how this person fitted into the scene. I couldn’t work out why the other faces had been given such fine detail, but this one had been left blank. I looked back at the widow and the b
aby, and it hit me. The other person was one of them… one of us, helping the grieving widow during her time of need. It was such a powerful image, it brought a lump to my throat and my eyes started to sting.
I turned back and took a good look at the people in the Office, from the computer bods to the monitors going out on patrol. Every single person was abiding by the code, working, directly or indirectly, for one reason, to help people during their time of need. How many others had the chance to make so much difference to someone else’s life? How many lives had been saved because a Soul Protector had given them a valuable chink of light during their darkest days? I hugged myself, as goose pimples formed on my arms.
But all the time that Soul Protectors were helping the vulnerable, the very gift that enabled them was tempting the weak to abuse it. The minority as usual, were spoiling things for the majority. The controls here had to be strong. Things could get out of hand very quickly without them. I had been wrong. This wasn’t a bad place, this was an amazing place.
I looked up and noticed Dan was watching me. I quickly blinked away fresh tears that were threatening to fall, and walked back over to join him.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
I nodded, and followed him back through the glass screen door.
~~~
CHAPTER 9
.
Meeting Emily
.
I only managed to relax when we were seated in the car and Dan was pulling out of the underground car park. I unclenched my jaw and took some deep breaths which made Dan glance in my direction. My boots were kicked off and I’d drawn my feet up onto the leather seat, hugging my knees to my chest.
“Hey, are you okay? That was pretty intense.”
I looked over and nodded, but I could tell my smile wasn’t fooling him.
It was bad enough that the Office left me mentally drained, but another fear gnawing away at me was that Dan didn’t need to be with me anymore. We were headed back in the direction of my flat and I wondered if he was planning on saying his final goodbye as soon as he’d dropped me off. I really didn’t want to be on my own after that experience, and I didn’t like thought of never seeing Dan again.
He began fiddling with some buttons on his steering wheel and a few seconds later a tune I didn’t recognise filtered through the speakers. I caught Dan’s eye and a smile played on his lips as he reached his arm in my direction. For a brief moment I thought he was about to put his hand on me. I held my breath in anticipation, and let it out again as he detoured towards the heating buttons.
“That should make you feel a bit better,” he said, before placing his hand back on the steering wheel. The warmth creeping through my seat was a small consolation.
“What do you do at this Elevate, Gracie?” he asked, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.
“I’m an Admin Assistant.”
“Uh-huh. But what does that mean? What do you actually do?”
“Well, nothing grand. I’m the general dogsbody really. I run around for my supervisor doing all the stuff she doesn’t want to do.”
Dan pulled a face. “And you enjoy it?”
“Not really. I get to do a bit of writing, which I love, but the majority of my work is getting Camille coffee, or taking her dry-cleaning into town.”
“So maybe it’s time to look for something new?”
“Aha, I have a get out plan. I’ve had an interview with Don, the big boss, to be a full-time writer. They’ve already published a few of my features and I got the impression the interview was just a formality, so fingers crossed…”
Dan nodded slowly. “I wish you luck then, if you’re sure that’s what you really want.”
I got the impression it wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear.
We sat not talking for a couple of miles, listening to the music. I was extremely aware of every movement Dan made; his fingers tapping on the steering wheel in time to the beat, the way he smiled and gave a small shake of his head when a white van driver cut him up, and how he kept rubbing his hand over the faint stubble on his chin, as if he was deep in thought. As one track finished and a new one began playing a big smile spread across his face.
“Oh yes, great tune,” he said, tapping the volume increase button on the steering wheel. “This track just happens to be one of my guilty pleasures.”
I recognised the opening notes but couldn’t place the song. As the singer’s voice began to float out, Dan launched into the vocals, drowning out the sound of the artist.
“I gotta take a little time… a little time to think things over…”
I looked at him in disbelief, sucking in my cheeks to stop me from laughing out loud.
“I better read between the lines… in case I need it when I'm older… oooh woah-oh-oh…”
So Dan Sullivan wasn’t perfect after all. He might look that way, but appearances can be very deceptive. As he crooned at the top of his lungs, it became obvious he was tone-deaf. He looked across and gave me a wink. And he knows it. I smiled to myself. He’s rubbish at singing and it doesn’t bother him one bit.
I’d recognised the tune by then. It was a Foreigner number my mum used to play. After I’d recovered from hearing Dan’s singing voice for the first time, the saying ‘if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em,’ came to mind.
“Now this mountain I must climb… feels like the world upon my shoulders... Through the clouds I see love shine… it keeps me warm as life grows colder…”
I started using the glove compartment as my drums, and sung along, matching Dan in volume but hopefully more in tune than him.
“In my life… there's been heartache and pain. I don't know if I can face it again… Can't stop now, I've travelled so far, to change this lonely li-ife…”
Every time I looked at Dan I had to stifle a giggle. He was still going for it and as we approached the end of the song, we belted out the final chorus with wild abandon.
“I wanna know what love is… I want you to show me. I wanna feel what love is… I know you can show me….”
As the music finished, I had a massive smile plastered on my face.
Dan decreased the volume and grinned at me. “I haven’t heard it in ages, but it still hits the spot.”
“Yeah, that was great,” I agreed. It felt good to completely let go like that. I think it must have relieved some of the pent up pressure I’d been holding onto. And I had a feeling it might become one of my favourite tunes after that.
“Listen, Gracie, no worries if you’re not up to it, but how do you feel about going for a quick drink. There’s a good pub I know on the way to yours, and I think you could do with some après Office chill-out time.”
I focussed on keeping my features neutral, while I mock-considered if I fancied going or not.
“Erm, yeah, I guess we could go for a quick drink.”
“A quick drink it is then.”
~
The pub was in a tiny hamlet, but you could tell by the car park it was popular. By the time we entered The Red Lion, I was feeling a lot better. I still wasn’t sure if this really was just a quick drink and a chat to calm me down, or if it was going to be the start of something better.
The pub was packed and as we squeezed our way from the door over to the bar, I breathed in the warm, damp air. There was a strange mixture of smells wafting around; aftershave and perfumes competed with body odour and beer to create a unique blend that made me feel a bit queasy. A few years back we would have been in a fug of cigarette smoke, and though Lydia, Kerry and I always moaned about ‘fag hair’ afterwards, at least it masked the smell of some of the clientele.
When we first entered, I noticed everyone was staring in our direction. It was as if we didn’t belong in such a local pub. But when I realised the looks were mostly from the ladies, the penny dropped. One larger lady practically thrust her breasts, which were losing the battle to stay inside her two-sizes-too-small top, right in Dan’s face. She smiled seductively at Dan as she squeezed past him. He smi
led at her and then shot me a small, tight, ‘help’ smile as he tried to put distance between himself and the offending bosoms. It was a relief to make it to the bar.
We made our way over to a quiet area at one end. There was a solitary stool vacant. Dan offered it to me and I tried to climb aboard elegantly, before gratefully plonking myself down on it. Dan stood next to me, placing our drinks order.
As he spoke to the barman, I stole sideways glances at him. It gave me butterflies to watch him, and I wasn’t the only person who found him charming. The barman was laughing at whatever Dan had just said, and I could tell he’d won him over too. I bet when Dan was at school, he was the cool guy that everyone wanted to be friends with, I thought. That was until they heard him sing of course.
I thought back to my own school days and the coolest boy in our year, Chris Wiseman. He was tall, sporty and good-looking, but unfortunately he knew it. And knowing it ruined him because it made him cocky and arrogant. Lydia went out with Chris on and off in the past, but I think deep down they were too much alike for it to ever really work.
I picked up the glass of wine Dan passed me and took a small sip. At the same time the girl next to me lost her footing and her elbow came into contact with me, nudging my arm and making me spill some of it. She spun round to face me, a look of horror on her face. She was similar in height to me, with short blonde hair.
“I-I-m so sorry... It was an accident. Are you alright?” she stuttered, frightened blue eyes darting between me and the guy she was standing next to.
“Hey, it’s no problem. Don’t worry about it,” I said, smiling to put her at ease. I turned back to Dan eager to give him my undivided attention, but we were interrupted by a booming voice.
“For God’s sake Emily, you are such an embarrassment! This is why I don’t bring you out much.”
I turned to see if the man behind the voice was joking. He was about five foot six, with short dark hair and a goatee beard. His face was red and he’d narrowed his eyes. He caught my eye and his face softened.
“She’s spilt your drink all over you, hasn’t she? I’m so sorry. Here, let me buy you another one.”
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