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Switch Mitchell’s - Chapter 9
🕑 Added 2023-10-26 13:24:05 +0000 UTCOTHER CHAPTERS | ALL STORY LIST
Three-thirty and school was finally over for the day. Mitchell stood at his sister’s locker, putting away her notes and books, and preparing to go home. It would feel so good to be home; his feet ached after spending all day in these heels. He couldn’t wait to finally be able to take them off. Mitchell reflected on what an amazing day it had been.
He couldn’t walk ten feet without someone wanting to stop and talk to him! At first, he was incredibly nervous, absolutely positive that someone would realize he wasn’t Michelle. But he soon realized, they only wanted to talk about their weekend, or next weekend, or parties coming up. He quickly found that all he had to say was, “That is like, so totally amazing!” or “No way! Really?” to keep the conversation rolling.
And if they asked him about something Michelle should know but he didn’t, he just did his “Clueless Michelle” act. The most surprising thing was, that Mitchell found he actually liked all the attention. Girls he’d only looked at from afar now wanted to be his best friend; guys who would never have spoken to him before shyly approached him, nervously seeking his approval. Even a conversation with Brian Brentwood which began incredibly awkwardly ended by giving Mitchell endless amusement.
He had such control over that guy; Brian would roll over and bark if Mitchell told him to! Michelle’s life was actually, totally amazing. Too bad it all had to end. Well, after Michelle got back from her all-day rugby tournament. Mitchell smiled as he thought about Michelle’s day. He hoped it hadn’t been too painful for her.
Painful yes, but not too painful. Mitchell closed the locker and tried unsuccessfully to suppress a giggle. “Michelle, are you ready to go?” someone said from behind Mitchell. He turned and saw a group of four kids standing behind him. Mitchell recognized them as kids he had gone to school with for years, but neither he nor Michelle had had much to do with them in recent years. Shanna, Madison, Mark, and Eddy hung out with a totally different crowd, mostly music students.
Mitchell was a musician as well but had always taken private lessons outside of school. Michelle had taken some singing lessons but was no musician. Mitchell couldn’t figure out what this group wanted from him from Michelle. “Ready to go?” Mitchell stalled. “Um, yeah, I’m ready to go. It’s three thirty, and I’m going home now.” “Going home?” said Mark as if annoyed. “You were supposed to bring everything here.
We agreed so we could leave directly from school.” “She did bring everything,” said Madison. “I saw you put it in your locker Friday.” “Right,” said Mitchell, opening Michelle’s locker and looking for something, whatever it was. “Here it is,” said Madison, reaching past him and grabbing a shopping bag down from a hook.
“Okay, let’s go!” “Okay,” said Mitchell slowly. “You guys go, do, whatever, with the bag. I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Michelle,” said Eddy. “You do know, it’s tonight, don’t you?” “It is?” said Mitchell. “Oh, for,” said Mark, trying hard not to swear. “Michelle, you know it’s tonight! I mean, you can be ditzy, but you can’t have forgotten!” “She didn’t forget,” Shanna defended him. “Look, Michelle, you wrote it on your calendar.” Mitchell looked at the calendar, taped to the inside of Michelle’s locker. “PD, that’s Picture Day, we already did that”
“Below that,” said Shanna. “S-Y-T-Y-A-B,” Mitchell read the letters slowly, trying to think what they might mean. His mouth dropped open when the realization hit him. “Let me see that bag!” he said, grabbing the shopping bag away from Madison. Inside he found a couple strips of cloth, a plunging push-up bra, low-rise bikini panties, and a pair of boots.
“It’s your costume,” said Madison. “Oh, no,” said Mitchell. Michelle grabbed the ball as it came rolling toward her. As she started to run, she looked quickly to see where the other players were. No one was even close! Michelle took off at top speed, heading toward the opposite goal line. Only a few yards to go, yes, she was going to make it! Michelle took one last look around and… her legs were pulled out from under her.
The ball bounced out of her hands, and suddenly two dozen players were stampeding in her general vicinity. Michelle covered her head until the stampede moved on. The tournament consisted of four games, all to be played in a single day, against the other regional high schools. The tournament was held every year, and the local university allowed the schools the use their fields for the event.
The first two games were terrifying for Michelle. Sent out into a muddy field, with 29 guys, all running, tackling, and generally acting insane by any rational measure Michelle was frightened beyond belief. But the more she played, the more she was able to make sense of what was going on. What seemed at first to be simple, random, violent outbursts actually followed a few simple rules. Rules that the right player could exploit.
Well into their third game, everyone was tiring, and the pace had visibly slowed. Except for Michelle. Michelle weighed half as much as any other player on the field, a distinct disadvantage in most situations. But in this case, it meant she could run twice as long as any other player. Michelle stood, determined to retrieve the ball, and chased into the midst of the action.
The ball was on the ground; one of her teammates grabbed it and tossed it to her. Without hesitation, Michelle headed straight for the goal line. As she passed between the goal posts she slid, touching the ball to the ground. Michelle had scored! As her team surrounded her, Michelle was jubilant. She was filthy, soaking wet, bruised, and aching, yet she had never been so excited or happy before in her life.
SYTYAB, it could only stand for one thing. And it all made sense now. The music students, the costume, and all the secrets Michelle kept, Mitchell had never even suspected this – Michelle was in a rock band! SYTYAB So You Think You’re a Band. It had been advertised on the local radio station for weeks; the popular TV show was coming to town, looking for bands to participate as contestants. Amateur bands were being auditioned all across North America.
The best bands would go to Los Angeles in June, where they would compete to be in the top ten. Then the top ten would play off against each other over the summer, one being voted off every week by the viewers. So that was why Mitchell now found himself in the school’s music room, wearing a pair of white ultra-short short-shorts, a paisley wrap-blouse with three-quarter sleeves, a push-up bra and low-rise panties, and cute little white stiletto ankle boots.
“Stop fooling around, Michelle!” said Mark. “We’re going to be late, and we won’t get a second chance!” “No, I can’t!” said Mitchell. “I can’t go out, dressed like this! Why am I the only one dressed this way?” “We’re dressed like musicians,” said Shanna. “Musicians wear street clothes. You’re dressed like a lead singer. Michelle, why are you so upset? You chose this costume yourself.” “Hey, I don’t care how you dress,” said Eddy. “Just so long as you remember the lyrics.”
“The lyrics!” cried Mitchell, suddenly realizing he had no idea what song they were going to play. “Um, does anyone have a copy of the lyrics I could look over?” “Michelle, you know the song!” yelled Mark. “Let’s just go already!” “Mark, can’t you see she’s nervous?” said Madison as she opened her guitar case. “You’re not helping by getting angry.
Here, Michelle, here’s my copy.” Mitchell took the page and began reading, “So it’s Saturday night, and you’re…” He’d never heard this song in his life. “Could someone, like, play a bit of the melody for me?” “Enough, let’s go!” said Mark, but Shanna walked over to the piano and played the first few lines of the song. Mitchell tried singing his part.
So it’s Saturday night, and you’re all alone, You’ll never find this girl, waiting by the phone, Mitchell was awful. He had never taken singing lessons in his life. Not only that, but he couldn’t sing in Michelle’s voice. Maybe if he had a week to practice singing as a girl, and then a couple years of lessons, he might be able to pass for an alto.
But as it was he couldn’t hit a single note. Mitchell was the worst female vocalist of all time. “What was that?” yelled Mark. “That was horrible!” “Mark!” scolded Madison. “Leave her alone. It’s just nerves.” “I don’t know,” said Mitchell, coughing to get his Michelle voice back. “Maybe I’m getting a cold.
I don’t think I can go.” Unbelievable,” said Mark. “You’re bailing on us, at the last minute! We should never have let you join the band.” “No, no way,” said Eddy. “She’s in the band because she’s good. Michelle, you can do this. I wrote this song just for you, for your voice. You know you can do this! You’re going to be awesome.” “Let’s get a drink in the hallway, for your throat,” suggested Shanna. The group picked up their instruments and left the music room, Mitchell with them in his teeny shorts, plunging top, and stiletto ankle boots. This was bad. This was unbelievably bad.
Mitchell walked through the hallways like a prisoner taken to the gallows - in his sister’s underwear. Fortunately, the hallways were nearly empty; most of the students had already left. There were very few people around to notice his utter humiliation. But unless he thought of something soon, he would appear on national TV dressed like this, then reveal himself as a guy when he tried to sing. The band walked out of the school, into the parking lot, up to Eddy’s van.
As the others placed their instruments into the back, Mitchell looked around the lot. He didn’t know what he was looking for, he didn’t have a plan, he was just looking, desperately. Then he saw something that gave him some small hope. “Guys, I’ll be right back!” he called as he ran as fast as he could across the parking lot in his stiletto boots. Mitchell caught up to Steve at the exit, knocking on the window of his car. Steve looked up in surprise, then rolled down the window. “Steve,” said Mitchell as he tried to catch his breath. “I need you to do something for me.” “Michelle, hi,” said Steve.
“Look, about last night, I thought I saw this cat in the road” “Will you just shut up for once in your life?” said Mitchell in exasperation. “I’m in real trouble here, and I need your help.” “Michelle,” said Steve. “I know, you’re confused about your feelings for me. You made that pretty clear last night. I’m thinking, maybe we need to back off for a while. Think about where this relationship is going, you know?” She was dealing with an imbecile.
“Steve, I need one thing from you. You do this, and we can start over. All is forgiven, flowers will bloom, birds will sing, blah blah blah, okay?” “Will you go out with me Friday night?” Mitchell rolled his eyes. “Yes! Friday night, you and me, flocks of doves, skyrockets, I’m yours.” “Okay,” agreed Steve. “What is it you need?” “Mitchell is at the university stadium, in a rugby tournament,” explained Mitchell. “I need you to pick him up right away, and get him to the old Ford Theatre, downtown, ASAP. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Mitch, University stadium, old Ford Theatre, no problem,” said Steve. “Michelle, get in, we’ve got to go!” The band had driven up beside Steve’s car, and Madison was holding the door open for him. “ASAP!” Mitchell called to Steve as Madison helped him into the van. “You look great, by the way,” called Steve. “I like your shorts.” “What a putz,” said Mitchell under his breath. “Mitchell, over here!” Michelle looked up as she exited the change room to see Steve, waving at her from down the hall. The two met halfway in between.
“Hey, I saw most of your last game,” Steve told her. “You were great!” “Hey, thanks,” said Michelle. “I noticed we had one fan in the stands. So what brought you way out here?” Steve led Michelle through the stadium, toward the parking lot. “I thought you might like a ride home. Also, your sister asked me to pick you up. She seemed really anxious to see you for some reason.” “Ha! I bet she did,” said Michelle knowingly. “I think I really blew it with her last night,” said Steve seriously. “
Really?” said Michelle. “It didn’t look that way to me,” she told him while trying to suppress a laugh. “Oh, in the restaurant, everything was fine. Fantastic, better than I ever imagined. But after, she was suddenly cold distant, and sarcastic. You know how she is.” “Yeah,” said Michelle, slightly embarrassed. “I know.” “She said she’d go out with me again if I picked you up, but I don’t think she meant it. I had my chance last night, and I blew it.
Mitch, I know I know a lot about your sister, but I really do have feelings for her. She’s just so bright, and beautiful, I love the way she lights up a room just by entering…” “Have you ever thought, maybe you could just tell her those things?” “No way,” said Steve morosely. “I couldn’t stand the rejection.” Michelle looked at Steve, in a way she had never looked at Steve before. I mean, he was Steve. Except, there was something attractive about this Steve.
He had let down his guard and left himself vulnerable. Normally Michelle would pounce for the kill if anyone made that mistake. Except for this time, she just wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be okay. Michelle smiled. “Try talking to her tomorrow. I bet things may just have changed by then.” “Thanks, Mitch,” said Steve. “Hey, maybe I could talk to her tonight?” “Not tonight,” said Michelle quickly. “She won’t be ready to see you yet.
You better just take me home and I’ll talk to her.” “Oh, she’s not at your place,” Steve told her. “She wants to meet you at the old Ford Theatre.” “What the?” said Michelle. “What kind of game is he playing – is she playing now? Why can’t that idiot just go home?” “Search me,” said Steve. “She was heading down there with Madison and some others in a van.” Michelle’s blood turned to ice in her veins. “No! Not tonight, tell me it isn’t tonight!
Oh crap, it’s tonight. What time is it? Come on, we’ve got to move!” Michelle ran toward Steve’s car, with Steve close behind. As she sprinted between two parked cars into an aisle, she nearly collided with a small group of people. Michelle darted between Jerry and his friends without looking up. Jerry continued walking for a few paces before recognition struck. “Freak!” he roared, then turned to chase Michelle. “Oh, no, not you again,” said Michelle. She barely had time to jump into Steve’s car and shut the door before Jerry was on her.
As he reached for the door handle, she snapped down the lock. Michelle rolled down the window a half-inch and said, “What do you want from me?” “What do I want?” asked Jerry. “I want to kill you, you little freak!” he yelled at the spittle-flecked window. “Just drive. Drive!” Michelle told Steve. Steve started the car and pulled out. “Back to my car!” Jerry told Gordy and Danno. “Coach says we can’t miss practice tonight” Danno reminded him.
“That doesn’t matter!” Jerry bellowed. “We’re going to catch that freak!” Mitchell and the others had been waiting anxiously for what seemed like hours. First outside the theatre on the street, now in the theatre lobby for the past half-hour. There must have been hundreds of bands auditioning. Mitchell’s band had been given a ticket with the number, “One, zero, seven, five,” called out the stagehand. “Band number one, zero, seven, five, you’re up.” Mark pointed to the ticket that Mitchell was trying to hide. “That’s us.
Hey, that’s us!” The stagehand led them to the back, just off the main stage. “Singers?” he asked. Eddy and Shanna raised their hands. Mark shoved Mitchell forward when he did nothing. The stagehand picked up a headset from a table of headsets and demonstrated it to Mitchell. “Each of you, pick up a headset and place it over your head like this. Push the wire down the back of your shirt, attach the wire to the transmitter like this, attach the transmitter to the back of your pants, flip the switch to ‘On’ when you’re ready, got it?”
Eddy and Shanna nodded, then picked up a headset each. “Musicians,” continued the stagehand. “There’s a drum set, guitars, and keyboards set up on stage.” “We brought our own guitars,” said Madison. Mitchell could hear the judges finishing up with the current band on stage. It sounded like they didn’t make it. “There are amplifiers on stage for you to plug into. Okay, you’re on.” The band made their way onto the stage, as the previous band left.
Mark headed for the drum set, Shanna for a keyboard, Eddy and Madison found amps to plug into, and Mitchell stood in the middle, looking hopelessly lost. “Alright.” The first of the three judges (the British one) finished writing and looked up from the desk. “What is the name of your group?” Everyone looked at Mitchell, who simply stood with his mouth open. “Shards of Glass!” Mark called out to him.
Mitchell turned on his microphone and repeated, “Shards of Glass.” “Fabulous,” said the British judge without enthusiasm. “How long have you been together?” Mitchell had no idea but would do anything to keep from singing. Clueless Michelle would just have to take over. “Oh, a while, I guess. Like, maybe, two years?” Madison gave him an odd look. “More? Less? Most of us have known each other since grade school, anyway, so really” Steve raced down the street. “I think we may have lost them,” he said. “I doubt it, they were right behind us
at the last corner,” Michelle responded. “That’s the theatre up ahead, just drop me by the back door.” “Who are those guys?” asked Steve for the third time. “I wish I knew,” Michelle replied. Steve pulled up to the back of the theatre. There was still a fairly long line of bands along the sidewalk, but no Mitchell.
