Swapping bodies with family members

Jeff Cobble was thankful to finally be home. It had been a long day. But as he turned the doorknob and stepped inside, he felt all the stress and anxiety leave him. It was almost dinner time, and what he felt now more than anything else was hungry. He just wanted to microwave some leftovers and crash on the living room couch.

Normally, that wouldn’t have been an option. His parents were sticklers about always eating the evening meal at the dinner table with the whole family, or at least, the family that still lived at home. But his mom and dad were on an anniversary cruise and wouldn’t be back until sometime next week. Until then, it was just him and his oldest sister, Abby.

Jeff had three older siblings. The oldest was his brother, Andrew, who was seen as the golden child. He had become the successful one, with a lucrative job, trophy wife, large home, and lots of expensive toys.

Abby was born a year after Andrew. She had been the smart one, and had been on track to be just as successful as Andrew, if not more so. But she had been swept up in a torrid love affair that led to an ill advised marriage. To no one’s surprise, it ended in divorce, and Abby found herself adrift without any educational or job prospects. Her life had stalled, and her parents had allowed her to see refuge back at home until she could get back on her feet.

Jeff’s other sister, Jenny, was still in college, and having the time of her life. She still had two years to go, but she was making the most of them. She loved to party, which her sorority did plenty of.

That left Jeff, who was seen by everyone as the baby of the family, a fact they reminded him of constantly. He had recently turned eighteen and wanted to be seen as an adult, but knew it was unlikely to ever happen. He was a senior in high school, and everything was currently going his way. He got good grades, was popular, had a part time job, and best of all, had a smoking hot redhead named Heather for a girlfriend. In his social circle, he was seen as the man, envied by classmates and peers. But at home, he was the baby, the runt, the one who got told what to do whenever an older sibling was around.

Jeff pulled out leftover meatloaf and stuck it in the microwave. He heard his sister call from somewhere in their house, “Is that you brat?”

Brat was Abby’s affectionate nickname for him. She said it was because their parents let Jeff get away with anything and everything. Jeff disagreed, he’d gotten in trouble plenty with them, but that wouldn’t ever stop Abby from calling him that.

“It’s me!” Jeff yelled back. “Just got home. You want me to microwave you anything?”

He heard a muffled response as his sister moved through the house. It was a big house. It had to be to hold all six of them. It wasn’t a mansion, and they had to double up if they all came home for holidays or special occasions, but it suited their needs. Instead of asking her to repeat herself, Jeff waited, assuming she was making her way to the kitchen.