1:03 AM
Akondo, still in Freddy's body, lay on the bed inside Freddy's house. Beside him, Freddy's girlfriend was asleep.
He opened his eyes and sat up, feeling a mix of confusion and disbelief.
"Did I… did I really just have… did I actually just have sex with her? I didn't mean to, but she practically pushed me into it. I had to act like him, right?" Akondo thought, feeling the weight of his actions. He still couldn't believe he'd gone through with it. "What am I even doing? I'm not myself… literally." He put his hand to his forehead, overwhelmed.
The woman stirred, sat up beside him, and looked at him with sleepy confusion. "What's wrong with you, babe? Why were you acting so weird?"
Akondo looked at her, still dazed. "Huh?"
She frowned. "Since when do you say 'huh'? Say what's wrong with you, clearly."
"What should I even say? I wasn't exactly in control here. I've never done something like that, but this guy clearly has. Of course, she'd notice something off." Akondo thought. He stood up, scrambling to find a response.
Finally, he said, "I just… wasn't feeling well after I went out to check where that scream was coming from."
"Yeah, yeah, that's why I told you not to go out," she muttered, yawning. "Now come back to bed."
"Uh, I'm just gonna get some water," he replied, heading out of the room.
In the kitchen, he poured himself a glass and took a long drink, thinking hard. "I need a way to stay safe if things go south… can't let anyone catch on."
---
The Next Day – 7:01 AM
At Seren's house, her alarm buzzed, and she groggily reached for her phone. She noticed a message from Akondo and felt a flutter of hope. "Maybe he's apologizing," she thought, a small smile on her face.
But as she opened the message, her heart sank. The text read: "Never come in front of me again. Live your own life."
Her smile faded, and in frustration, she threw her phone down. "Fine then, if that's what he wants! Let's see how well he does without me."
Later, during breakfast with her family, her father, mother, and older sister noticed her quiet mood.
"Seren? You look a bit down," her sister asked, concerned.
"No, it's nothing… Hey, could you drop me at school today?" Seren asked her sister.
"Why? Aren't you going with Akondo?" her sister replied, surprised.
"His mom passed away two days ago, so he might not be going to school," her father chimed in.
"Oh… I didn't know that," her sister said, looking a little taken aback.
"You're rarely home after work, so you probably missed the news," their mother said.
"Right… makes sense. Sure, I'll drop you," her sister replied, giving Seren a reassuring look.
---
In the car, Seren sat quietly, gazing out the window. Her sister glanced at her and asked, "What's really going on?"
Seren sighed. "Ever since Akondo's mom died, he's been acting strange. Now he's even told me not to show my face to him ever again."
Her sister gripped the steering wheel, her eyes narrowing. "He told you that? Alright, I'll go kick his ass for breaking my little sister's heart."
"No, don't… I think I should respect his wishes. If he doesn't want me around, I'll just… keep my distance," Seren replied, trying to sound calm.
Her sister smiled softly. "Look, things like this happen in relationships. Don't stress too much. If you think he doesn't want you, maybe try to be sure first. But if it's clear he's shutting you out, remember you deserve someone who appreciates you."
The car pulled up in front of the school, and Seren gave her sister a small nod, grabbing her bag and heading inside.
Once in class, she found a spot in the middle row, rested her head on her bag, and tried to drown out her thoughts.
Time passed. Suddenly, the classroom door opened, and a teacher entered before the bell rang, calling out, "Attention, students!"
Seren looked up, noticing the person standing beside the teacher. It was Ren, dressed in the school uniform.
"Wait… is that the Prince of Valloria? What is he doing here?" Seren thought, her eyes widening in shock.
The teacher addressed the class. "He'll be joining us for the year. Please introduce yourself."
Ren stood with perfect posture, his presence calm yet commanding. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Ren Alfray, but feel free to call me Ren. I'll be completing my senior year here with all of you. I know it's a bit late to be transferring in the final year, but I hope we can all be friends."
A murmur swept through the room, students whispering excitedly.
"He's so handsome!" one girl gushed.
"Way more handsome than Akondo," another agreed.
"Seriously, he looks better than anyone we've ever seen—even movie stars!" a third chimed in.
One of the boys, pushing up his glasses, spoke up hesitantly. "Are… are you the prince of Valloria? I think I read about you in an article."
Ren smiled politely. "Yes, I am the prince. But please, I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that. I left my country to get away from all the royal treatment. I just want to be treated like everyone else here."
"Wow, he's really the prince? Unbelievable," a girl said, awestruck.
In the back, a group of boys whispered among themselves. "Maybe we can befriend him and, you know… make use of those royal connections," one of them chuckled.
The teacher cleared his throat and pointed to an empty desk near the window. "Ren, you can take the last seat by the window."
"Thank you, sir," Ren replied graciously as the teacher left.
As Ren walked to his seat, he passed Seren's desk. She glanced at him, thinking, "That explains everything…"
Ren caught her gaze for a moment and thought, "What a coincidence. That boy with her that night had a black soul… This might be more interesting than I expected."
As he settled into his seat, a few students eagerly gathered around him, striking up conversation. Ren responded warmly, his composed demeanor only fueling their fascination.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, a car was speeding down a road. The body belonged to Freddy, but the soul inside Freddy's body was Akondo.
Akondo leaned back in the driver's seat and sped up. "I still haven't returned to my body… I have no idea how or when it'll happen, but I'm sticking to my plan.".
He glanced at Freddy's phone resting on the passenger seat. "I'm not sure if leaving this body would kill him or not. But if Freddy does make it back to his body, I'll set up a message telling him to 'Go back home.' Hopefully, he'll just go there, none the wiser. If he doesn't… well, he'll die, and no one will connect it to me."
Akondo thought through his scheme in his head. "I'm far enough from my own house now that no one should suspect any connection to me…" He glanced at the phone again, thinking, "But if I set anything incriminating, like a suspicious wallpaper, it could leave a clue. If the police find his phone, they might trace it back to me. No, that's too risky…"
Akondo concentrated on not making any mistakes as he listened to the GPS. "I have to think of every possibility. If my speculation is right then two people died because of me...my mother, right before my eyes, and the hot dog vendor after I in his body took me to the hospital. If Freddy dies, people are going to start putting the pieces together. They'll want to know what he was doing last night, and that could lead them to me… I can't let that happen..I just have to get through this."
Finally he reached a busy hughway. "Good, "he thought. "If I wake up in my body here, Freddy's car will crash and it'll seem to be just a regular accident but… am I really in control of this body switch? I guess not. "
As he so wondered, however, he had the most awful pain cut across his breast. "What the..It feels like the pain, like the last two time when my body swap had happen. Am i going back to my body or something.?
His vision blurred, and then, as if he'd blinked, Akondo found himself back in his own bed at home. He looked around, disoriented but relieved. "What the hell… I'm really back."
With Akondo's soul no longer in control, Freddy's body was left vacant. The car veered off the road and crashed into a roadside barrier. The collision was vicious; the barrier ripped right through the car and punctured the body of Freddy before the car came to a twisted stop amidst a crowd of shocked onlookers.
.
.
.
It was noon at school, and Seren sat by the field ; some students were playing badminton. She was leaning against a tree in the shade, with earbuds in her ears, scrolling through her phone.
From afar, Ren noticed her and approached her slowly. He stopped beside her and clear his throat softly. "Excuse me, sorry to bother you. Mind if I sit here?"
Ren had been expecting her to be the same girl from hospital.
Seren looked up, seemingly a tad surprised to see him. "Oh…its alright. " she says, smiling, gesturing to a seat beside her.
Ren sat down next to her and made a good looking about the premises before he commented. "You are the girl from the hospital. Right? Ah, sorry for having to clarify that."
She beamed at him. "Yep, that is me.".
"Glad to see you remember," Ren said with a faint smile. "I wasn't sure if you would."
"Of course, I remember. Thank you for helping us back then," Seren replied.
"Oh, I didn't do much," Ren said humbly.
"You and your… brother, right? You seemed to be in some trouble, so I thought I'd lend a hand."
Seren shook her head gently. "No, that's actually Akon, my boyfriend.
"Ah… I'm sorry, I thought…" Ren trailed off, leaving his sentence hanging in the air, somewhat surprised.
"It's okay," Seren said, getting to her feet.
Ren glanced up at her and felt a faint stiffness. "How's your boyfriend now?" he ventured.
She hesitated before answering, and he could hear the slightest tinge of sorrow there. "He's… well. Absolutely well, without me of course. "
Ren nodded slowly, choosing his next words carefully. "I don't mean to pry, but… if you're comfortable sharing, what happened to him that day? He was screaming thats why I asked . "
Seren raised an eyebrow, wondering about his interest. After a moment, she turned to him. "His mother died recently, so he was going through a tough time. He's been… distant. If you're really curious, you can ask him yourself once he's back at school," she said coolly. "But please, don't ask me anything more about him."
Ren nodded quickly. "Right, of course. I didn't mean to overstep," he apologized.
Without another word, Seren walked away, leaving Ren to watch her retreating figure.
Once she was out of earshot, he muttered under his breath, his voice dropping to a low tone. "Fine. I'll just find out myself anyways "
[ To be continued ]