It was a bright, busy afternoon on campus as Devin wandered across the university quad, eyes scanning the rows of booths set up for welcome week. Even though this was technically his first year at college, Devin felt out of place. Not because of the usual nerves that come with being a freshman—but because of the body he now inhabited.
Since the Great Shift hit halfway through his senior year of high school, Devin had been living in the body of his older sister, Emily. He wasn’t alone, of course—everyone had been swapped. Some into strangers, others into family. Devin hadn’t spoken much about it since arriving on campus, keeping to himself and trying to blend in. Still, the awkwardness of adjusting to college life as a girl gnawed at him.
“Hey,” a cheerful voice called out, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Devin turned to see a girl in a powder blue ribbed sweater, long brown hair gleaming in the sun, and a bright, easy smile stretched across her face. “You’re new, right?” she asked, holding a clipboard of her own.
“Uh, yeah,” Devin replied cautiously.
“I’m Alan,” she said, offering a hand. “Well, I used to be Alan. This—” she motioned to her body with a grin, “—is my sister Ashley. You shifted too, huh?”
Devin blinked, startled. “Wait… you’re in your sister’s body?”
Alan nodded. “You too, I’m guessing?”
Devin slowly nodded back. “Yeah. Emily.”
Alan’s smile widened. “Knew it. You’ve got that ‘trying to figure out how to be your sister without tripping over yourself’ look. I’ve been there. I’m actually the president of BOTS, Brothers of the Shift, here on campus. It’s a support group for guys like us who got swapped into their siblings during the shift.”
Alan held up the clipboard. “We meet once a week, talk about the weirdness of all this, help each other out. You’re not alone in this, man—or, well, you know what I mean.”
Devin cracked a smile for the first time all afternoon. “Yeah. I think I’d like to sign up.”
“Welcome to BOTS,” Alan said, scribbling his name down. “Trust me—this place makes everything feel a little more normal.”
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