The coffee machine was humming early in the morning. It was just after eight o'clock. My breasts were practically swaying back and forth. The sensation was still new, yet I was already getting used to it, after all, I had Lina's memories in my head.
The smell of coffee hit my nose just like the pizza had yesterday. I had missed it, too. In general, I missed my whole life and my body. I was satisfied with that as well.
For a long time, I wondered who I could approach. I needed someone familiar with my case. Someone I knew and who had a connection to the college. Sophie was a better fit. She was a safe option, since I could also take over her body to observe and confront the suspects. I didn't have to wait long, because at two in the afternoon I had to be back at the hospital.
Knowing Sophie as I did—and I knew her well—she would usually be at a bistro across from the school right now. I mean, double period of PE and then double period of art, who needs that? Probably only me, but I knew I could count on her and didn't hesitate for a second. After I finished my coffee, I parked the Polo near the bistro.
I gathered my things and went inside, where I could see her right away. In the small crowd, I saw her with a large coffee at her computer, already summarizing for the exam or studying for another one. I also bought myself a second coffee that morning before sitting down across from her. She stared at me, confused.
"Excuse me!" she began, as she wanted to be alone. Especially since she didn't know who I was.
"I have something important to tell you," I decided to address her directly, cutting her off. "Whether you believe me or not, but it's me. Noah," I continued. She froze, not knowing what to say. An unknown woman sat across from her, claiming to be a friend.
"I think you have the wrong person," she dismissed me, looking at me questioningly. I knew I had to convince her.
"Do you remember back then, when we sat in the park late into the night?" I looked into her eyes, which still gave her away.
"We kissed under the starry sky back then," I told her, as she blushed.
"Who told you that?" she asked, embarrassed.
"And do you remember what we promised each other?" I asked, before continuing, "that we would finish college together." After a short pause, I asked if she believed that I was Noah. She still denied it, saying I could have told anyone about those events.
"Alright," I had to admit, "then you surely remember that I let you copy my answer in the history exam last semester, the one about what followed the French Revolution." Sophie turned pale.
"He would never tell anyone that," she murmured, still unable to believe I hadn't forgotten. "Noah," she looked deep into my eyes. "Is it really you?" she wanted to know. I nodded.
"What happened to you? Why are you in this woman's body?" she whispered to me softly. The room was still half empty, so no one would be disturbed. I told her that I had been attacked by Marco, Celia, and Julius, and then woke up in my head and could take over other bodies. "I knew it!" she said when she heard the names. I went on to say that I was now trying to find out why Marco, Celia, and Julius had beaten me so badly I ended up in the hospital.
"And for that you need my body?" she quickly read between the lines. I nodded. She gave me that uncertain look.
"Sophie, please. I need to know what happened. I need to know why," I pleaded quietly. She looked into my eyes and knew I meant it.
"Alright, I'll give you my body. But I want you to give it back unharmed!" she insisted, and I agreed, explaining the process to her: fluctuating values, the trance, then the body takeover. Sophie was amazed: "That's really interesting!" Then she hypothesized that I was tuning my brain frequency to those around me. After all, I had to control them and access their memories.
"The body?" she pointed to the woman who was of childbearing age. "She was a nurse who worked there. Her name is Lina," I told her. Sophie found it interesting and asked many more questions, like whether I could access her memories. I couldn't answer many of her questions, but we agreed she would come by this evening so I could try to take over her body.
At noon I returned to the hospital. Everything I knew, I could use. I knew everything about Lina: her passwords, her fears, even her first kiss and when she first had sex. I went to the changing room and opened the locker.
Slowly, I undressed and looked down at my body. She was young, but not that young anymore, as she already had wrinkles on her face and the first strands of hair were white. She was single, with neither boyfriend nor husband. Her breasts were about the same size. I found Lina beautiful, her body beautiful, everything about her was wonderful. It would be an honor to keep taking over her body.
I went to the counter and greeted Lina's colleague. Then I saw Silke. "Are you feeling better?" she asked.
"Yes, much better, I was able to relax enough," I replied.
"Lina, can you check on number one? His wounds need to be changed," said Nora, the nurse from the first shift.
"Sure," I assured her. "Right after I deal with the patient in number three," I replied as she was already on her way.
I took the file with a clipboard to my room, where I saw my own body again. It was lying there, my eyes closed, and I wondered how I could return to my body. The machines kept beeping. I spontaneously decided to try something. I closed my eyes and thought about my body. It didn't take long before I felt myself being pulled out of Lina's body, as if two fingers had plucked me away. I landed back on the stable floor and knew I was back in my head.
It didn't take long before I could move freely again. My eyes opened and I watched Lina's reaction on the monitors. She blinked several times before continuing to write down my values. Not so spectacular, if you ask me. But at least now I could take over Lina's body without her noticing anything.