Chapter 25

I arrived at the Guild meeting out of breath with a minute to spare. Morgan gave me a knowing smirk. Embarrassed, I responded with a sheepish wave as I took my seat.

As Antonio banged the gavel to start the meeting, Jasmine raised her hand.

“Jasmine?” Antonio said.

“Motion to postpone old business and start with new business.”

“Seconded,” Gabriel added.

“All those in favor?” Antonio asked, to a chorus of ‘ayes.’

“Motion passes,” Antonio announced. “We’ll start with New Business before getting into Old. What do we have for New Business?” He glanced at Jasmine.

Jasmine stood up. “I’ve started dating Lauren. I’d like to date her as my exclusive girlfriend.”

There were some happy cheers from the group.

“It’s about damn time,” Morgan said.

“Procedure calls that we need to confirm with J,” Antonio said.

“I’m J and I see no problem with that,” Daniel remarked.

“Whatever happened to anonymity?” Antonio complained.

Gabriel sighed in annoyance, “Can’t we just have a little fun for a change and chill with the formality?”

“Yeah, only a few of us have swapped since last week’s reset,” Daniel added. “We all know who we are.”

“You put me in charge to bring order to chaos,” Antonio reminded the group.

Gabriel chuckled, “Since I’m Robert, can we suspend Robert's Rules of Order?”

“Well, you’re not Robert anymore are you?” Antonio shot back with a smirk.

“Let’s just get on with it,” Jasmine said.

“OK, then. Back to our formality,” Antonio said, opening up his bag. “Let me get some paper—”

“I move to allow Jasmine to exclusively date Lauren by unanimous consent,” Daniel stated.

I saw an opportunity to participate in our casual mutiny of Antonio. “Seconded,” I said, smiling.

Antonio chuckled and shrugged his shoulders and closed his bag. “Motion passes. Congrats, Jasmine.”

Jasmine smiled, blushed, then sat back down.

“Other new business?” Antonio asked.

Daniel stood up. “Things with Kristy are going well. Move for Daniel to exclusively date her.”

Antonio chuckled again. “Y’all have been busy this week.”

“Seconded,” Jasmine said.

I smiled. I’m truly happy for Daniel. I’d spent my entire adolescence hopelessly single, but in the weeks since being in the Guild, both Daniel and I had found someone we really clicked with. That realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Maybe I was never meant to be Daniel. I was meant to be someone else. I don’t feel like Daniel anymore, so I’m not going to stand in the way of this happiness. I like Kristy for him. But she’s not Kaylee. Kaylee. God, I can’t wait to see her again. My hand grazed against my thigh under the table and memories from this afternoon resurfaced.

“D?” Antonio said, breaking my reverie. He was looking around, pretending I could’ve been in anyone but Sydney. Everyone else was staring directly at me.

“Oh, sorry,” I said. “What was that?”

“You have to be OK with Daniel and Kristy.”

“Right,” I said, remembering what we were talking about. How is that worded - oh, right. “I’m D and I endorse this. I move to allow Daniel to exclusively date Kristy by unanimous consent.” 

As I said that, it occurred to me I should do the same thing with Kaylee. Of course, I don’t want it to be the same. Jasmine and Daniel’s relationships with Lauren and Kristy will be treated like Antonio’s relationship with James. Therefore mine - or rather Sydney’s relationship with Kaylee would be similar. Kaylee will be dating Sydney - and only Sydney. That means - I took a long swallow - when I’m not Sydney I’ll have to watch as someone else is dating my girlfriend.

“Seconded,” Gabriel added.

“Motion passes,” Antonio announced. “Congrats, Daniel. Other new business?”

I had to bring up Kaylee. And I had to bring up my desire to exclusively date her. I stood up with a big smile on my face. “I have another relationship to add.”

“Seriously?” Antonio asked. “Sorry. That was unprofessional of the chair… Sydney, you have the floor.”

“I’ve started dating this girl from the coffee shop I go to. Kaylee.”

“Kaylee’s a cutie you guys,” Morgan chimed in. “You are all gonna love her!”

“I’m so happy for you,” Jasmine said. “Sydney’s been single for a long time.”

Daniel announced, “Move to allow Sydney to exclusively date Kaylee by—” 

“Wait!” I interrupted. Everyone looked at me. “I want to date Kaylee. Me. D. Not Sydney.” I cringed at how selfish that sounded.

There was silence as everyone looked around at each other.

“We haven’t done it that way before,” Antonio said, scratching his head.

“How would that work exactly?” Morgan asked. “Kaylee dates six different people?”

“Yeah - like James - but reversed,” I explained.

“Does that mean…” Antonio surmised, “that Kaylee knows about us?”

“She does,” I admitted.

Antonio groaned in judgement.

“Oh, Antonio, don’t you dare,” Gabriel admonished. “You were allowed to tell James.” 

“I know, I know,” Antonio replied. “Do you trust Kaylee? How long have you known her?”

“I do,” I asserted. “Two weeks.”

“A whole two weeks,” Antonio echoed, rolling his eyes.

“Kaylee’s cool,” Gabriel said. “I can vouch for her too.”

“The problem with Kaylee dating D and not Sydney,” Morgan argued, “is what happens if D is Jasmine or Daniel? We just voted to take them off the market.”

I was about to say, “Then I won’t be Jasmine or Daniel anymore,” but realized that would cause more drama. “If I’m someone not single, I’ll just abstain from doing anything with Kaylee that would constitute cheating.”

“And if Lauren, Kristy, or James asks, ‘Who is this Kaylee you’re hanging out with?’” Morgan probed a little deeper.

“Then I’ll explain she’s just a friend,” I responded. “Kaylee would understand the arrangement. I can even introduce them all.”

“I dunno, D,” Morgan expressed her doubt.

“I don’t want to say no,” Antonio said. “D obviously likes Kaylee. But Morgan brings up valid concerns. Anyone have other thoughts?”

“I can predict what happens if only Sydney can date Kaylee,” Jasmine said.

“I know,” Morgan replied. “I’m thinking that too. I just want to make sure we all know what we’re getting into.”

“How about we allow this on a trial basis?” Gabriel suggested.

There were nods.

“But D has to swap with everyone and be with Kaylee for them to prove they can both handle this,” Morgan added.

I bit my lip at that last suggestion. I didn’t necessarily like it, but at the same time that is what I was asking for.

“Let’s bring this to a vote,” Jasmine suggested.

“Alright, all for allowing D to date Kaylee regardless—”

Gabriel interrupted, “Motion for unanimous—”

“No!” Antonio responded sharply. “I want everyone to vote. Raise your hands for allowing D to date Kaylee regardless of body on a trial basis. The term of the trial is that D has to spend time with Kaylee in all six bodies.”

Everyone raised their hands.

“Motion passes,” Antonio announced. “Any other new business?”

Silence.

“Moving on to Old Business. Aiden and Ella. When we last tabled this discussion we were stuck on whether or not to ask them if they want to switch back.”

“I think we were stuck on how to ask them,” Morgan corrected.

“I have an idea,” Daniel offered. “I’ve been thinking about this since last week. We need to ask them, but we don’t want to out ourselves. How about an anonymous note?”

“If it’s anonymous, how do they reply?” Gabriel asked.

“They reply in public. In code. Something only we’d recognize, but anyone else would ignore.”

We all listened.

“Imagine we slip them a note,” Daniel continued. “If you want to swap back - do this inconspicuous thing in public that only we’d notice.”

“What kind of inconspicuous message do you have in mind?” Jasmine asked.

“Scribbling on a wall in a bathroom stall?” Gabriel suggested.

“Configuring furniture in the student union?” Morgan proposed.

“How about an email from an anonymous account,” I countered.

“I was thinking about a coded system of flyers on a bulletin board, but Sydney’s idea is more practical.” Daniel said.

“A burner email address,” Jasmine nodded. “I dig it.”

“I like it,” Morgan said. “It satisfies all of my concerns.”

“Except one,” Antonio interjected. “What if Aiden and Ella want different things?”

“You mean if one wants to swap back but the other doesn’t?” Morgan asked.

I hung my head, deeply ashamed over the mess I’d created.

“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” Daniel countered. “What other choice do we have?”

After a few seconds of nods from the group, Antonio asked, “All in favor of this anonymous email plan, say ‘aye’?”

“Aye,” everyone said.

“Nays?”

Nobody.

“Plan passes. Let’s not waste any more time on getting this done - it’s already been two weeks since Halloween. Who wants to write the email?”

“I’ll write it,” I volunteered, eager for the opportunity to fix my mistake.

“Great,” Antonio confirmed. “Is there any other business?”

Nobody responded. 

“Anyone want to swap before we leave?” he asked.

Daniel raised his hand. “I’d like to go back to Gabe now.”

“Sure,” Gabriel replied.

“I’m open to swapping with anyone,” Morgan offered.

Jasmine shook her head.

Morgan looked at me. 

I answered, “Well, I have to be everyone as part of my trial, so I may as well. I can still write the emails as Morgan.”

We all agreed.

“Meeting adjourned,” Antonio said, banging the gavel.

* * *

I haven’t been Morgan since Halloween. Being her was a homecoming of sorts. But I didn’t feel any different from being Sydney. Now that I knew that I preferred being a woman and that I was never meant to be Daniel, I was expecting more with each new swap. More epiphanies. Some kind of sign as to what kind of woman I should be. But there wasn’t any. What does that mean? If anything?

After swapping, I immediately texted Kaylee the news. That I, as D, am allowed to date her regardless of whose body I’m in. And that I was going to be Morgan for a little bit. She had to work Sunday night, so we agreed to meet up Monday afternoon.

The next thing I did with my time as Morgan was compose the emails to Aiden and Ella. I felt responsible for the whole situation, and I needed to be part of the solution.

I created a new Yahoo email address, using the ISBN of romance novel Kaylee and I will be reading. I also got Aiden and Ella’s email addresses. Campus email addresses aren’t public, but with both of them being active in their Greek organizations, it was fairly easy to find their personal email addresses.

I rewrote the draft several times, making corrections, before finally reading it one last time:

From: D1250841003@yahoo.com
BCC: DeltaPiThella@gmail.com, KappaPres2024@gmail.com

We know what happened to you on Halloween.

We know that you and your friend swapped bodies.

We know these past two weeks have been difficult for you.

We have the power to swap you back into your original bodies, but only if you agree to it. Please reply and let us know whether or not you would prefer to be returned to your original body.

As you can imagine, because of this powerful ability, we must remain anonymous. Do not attempt to find us.

I clicked send.

Around 11 PM, I got a call from Kaylee.

“Hello?” I answered, laying down on my bed with a big smile on my face.

“Heeeeeey cutie,” she said.

“Are you just saying that because I’m Morgan now?” I joked.

“Well, you’re cute as Sydney too. So your text said you’re allowed to date me as D rather than Sydney. How does that work?”

“Well, it’s a trial. During which, I will swap into all six of us and me and you will hang out. We need to prove that we can do it without affecting the lives of the Guild members who aren’t single.”

“How long is this trial?”

“It’s not a matter of time. I need to be all six people with you. I decided to not delay and Morgan was available. They want me to prove that we can make this work.”

“Make what work? Our relationship? I never had to ask permission to date anyone before.”

“Well I’m not just one person. And three of the six Guild members aren’t single. I have to prove that we can still date while being all six Guild members.”

“If you say so.”

She sounded skeptical, so I changed the subject. “How was work?”

Kaylee sighed. “They had me waiting tables again. It sucks because I’m not 21 yet, I can’t serve alcohol, and some patrons tip less because of it. So, I make server wages, but with lower tips.”

“That sucks.”

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too. When are you working tomorrow?”

“My shift doesn’t start until six. When do you get off class?”

“Early.”

“Can I come over tomorrow before work?”

“Absolutely. Do you remember where I live?”

“R drove me that night, but I remember. Will Jasmine be home?”

“Nope. We’ll have the apartment all to ourselves.”

“We’d be alone? By ourselves? Oh my, what could we possibly do to pass the time?” she teased.

We both giggled.

“Then it’s a date,” I announced.

“I can’t wait… Morgan.”

* * *

I awoke on Monday morning to find there were no replies from either E or A2. I imagine they’re doing their due diligence to try to figure out who I am and whether my email is legit.

All morning, I daydreamed about Kaylee. This must’ve been the longest we’ve been apart in days. She texted me to tell me that she'll be over around 2 PM. So now I found myself counting down the hours.

When I finally got home, I made sure our apartment was tidy. I was actually grateful the weekly Lauren rendezvous was no more, as I could replace that slot in my schedule with Kaylee’s visit.

Right on time, there was a knock at the door.

I opened it for Kaylee.

She stepped through the door, standing close and smiling. “Hi!”

“Hi,” I said, as we slowly kissed each other.

She giggled. “This is crazy. I’m kissing Morgan.”

I giggled with her. Yes, it is crazy.

“Wanna know what’s crazier?” Kaylee teased.

“What?”

“I can kinda tell that it’s you in there.”

“Really?”

“The way you look at me. You glow. It sends warm feelings through me.”

“How does the real Morgan look at you?”

“Was that the real M Saturday night?”

“Yes, she was.”

“Umm… she looked at me all cocky and ready to pounce.”

“She was disappointed that I wanted to keep you all to myself.”

“I can believe that. Will… umm… she be upset if we… fool around?”

I giggled. “She’d be jealous, but I think she’d be more upset if we didn’t.”

Kaylee smirked. “Well, I would sure hate to disappoint Morgan.” She wrapped her arms around me and we tumbled onto the couch without our lips parting.

* * *

My next swap was going to be Antonio, but he said he had some important business to attend to on Tuesday afternoon. That meant I remained Morgan for another day.

On Tuesday evening, I got an email response from A2. 

“Who are you?” was all it said. 

I shook my head. Of course Aiden wouldn’t follow directions. “A friend,” I replied.

“Tell me who this is!!” he responded a few minutes later. 

I didn’t respond, frustrated that he wasn’t following directions and telling me if he wanted to swap back.

An hour later, one from E showed up. “We don’t know who you are, but we’re going to report you to the authorities for this awful prank!”

I closed my email program. They can’t really track me can they? Regardless, their nastiness earned them another day before I responded to either of them. 

I had more important things to attend to. Like the message from Antonio. 

“I’m ready when you are. Tonight or tomorrow morning?” he asked.

I responded, “Tonight is fine.”

“I’ll be right over,” he replied.

Ten minutes later he was at my apartment door.

“Hey, Antonio,” I greeted him.

“Hey, Morgan,” he smiled. “How’s things been going?”

“Not so great, to be honest. Aiden and Ella are being difficult.”

“Yeah, I predicted that. They’re pissed. And we waited three weeks before talking to them.”

“What should I do?”

“Keep reaching out to them. We can’t keep them like this.”

Guilt swelled up in me, “Antonio- I’m sorry again.”

He held up his hand. “It’s in the past. And you’ve served your time. It goes to show you why we have these rules. It sucks it had to happen again.”

“It’s happened before?” I asked, surprised.

“Before my time,” he frowned. “Jackson and Cherry were going around swapping with people to take tests for them. They waited to swap a few of them back until panic set in and there were threats to expose the Guild.”

“They- don’t sound like nice people.”

“Power corrupts. The original members were a close-knit D&D group. They hated each other when I showed up. It was important that S, G, and R recognized that and decided we needed rules and order.”

I nodded in silence. I really screwed up. Sure, I’d served my sentence, but that didn’t make the guilt go away. I just hope that Aiden and Ella come around to accepting my help. 

“Ready to swap?” he asked.

“I am,” I said, holding up the stone.

* * *

That night, I tried to take A’s advice and I made another effort to reach out to Aiden and Ella.

“I am a friend and I want to help you. Threatening me will not get any of us anywhere.”

I put them out of my mind and crawled into bed with the lesbian romance novel.

* * *

Wednesday was going to be a big test. I was Antonio, with plans to hang out with Kaylee after Guild study group. Not only that, I was going to introduce her to James.

To say I was a nervous wreck was an understatement. I told James about my trial run with a girlfriend who was tied to D and not my body. It was his idea to meet her. I agreed because it was easier to introduce Kaylee to James than to either Lauren or Kristy.

Of course, James being James meant that he wanted to put on his usual big production. We were both in the common kitchenette down the hall from my room. A bolognese sauce was simmering on the stove top and I was quickly cleaning up from all of the cooking prep. Various neighbors kept poking their head in to see what the aroma was.

A part of me wondered if James was jealous of Kaylee.

“Look at you,” my boyfriend said, “Tony, you’re so nervous.” 

“I’m not nervous.”

“You’re wiping the pattern off that plate.”

I looked down at the dish I was scrubbing. Was I scrubbing the same plate this whole time? I rinsed it and put it into the drying rack. “Well, it's not everyday you introduce your new girlfriend to your boyfriend.”

“You’re afraid I’m going to chase her away.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are a terrible liar, D.”

Before I knew it, Kaylee was texting me that she was here. “I’ll see you in the room.” I left the kitchenette and went down to the lobby to let her in.

This was the first time Kaylee met Antonio so when I opened the door for her I had to tell her it was me. “Hi, Kaylee.”

She cocked her head. “Antonio?”

“That’s me!” I winked, holding the door for her as she walked inside.

“You’re taller than I imagined.”

“For once, right,” I chuckled. “I feel like you tower over me when I’m Sydney.”

“So how’s this work?” she asked me as we walked toward my dorm room. “You’re a gay male, right?”

“Antonio is. But on the inside, I’m still D. My sexuality hasn’t changed.”

“But you have a boyfriend.”

“Antonio has a boyfriend,” I clarified. “His name is James. And he’s eager to meet you.”

“But you’re Antonio.”

I nodded. “Today.”

“So, your boyfriend - James. I’m eager to meet him too. Does this make us a temporary polycule while you’re Antonio?”

“Oh.. I… uh. I never thought of it that way.”

“It’s OK. This is new ground for both of us.”

I opened my dorm room door and let Kaylee walk in, following behind her. James was already setting up the food on my desk and dresser. “James, this is Kaylee.”

“Kaylee!” James exulted.

“Hi—” Kaylee started to say, before James pulled her into a bear hug.

“Didn’t D tell you? We hug around here.”

“I'm pleased to meet you,” she squeaked out.

“I’ve prepared an exquisite dinner for us. For appetizers, I made a nice garden salad and prosciutto-wrapped apple slices. For an entrée, we have pasta - rigatoni with my homemade bolognese sauce - and a side of butter garlic bread. As for refreshments, some cabernet sauvignon. The cab will bring out all of those flavors.”

“Fancy,” Kaylee gushed. “I didn’t know D’s boyfriend was such a talented chef.”

I wanted to correct her by having her call me Antonio, but I let it pass. “Shall we?” I asked, motioning to my desk, which was covered with a linen tablecloth. I escorted her and pulled out a chair for her.

“Thank you,” she said, sitting down.

When I sat down, James poured the red wine into each of our plastic wine glasses. He lifted it up, raising it towards the center of us. “To new friends.”

“To new friends,” Kaylee and I echoed, tapping against each other’s glasses.

James sat down and we started serving ourselves.

“So Kaylee,” James began. “Tell me more about you. Do you go to school?”

“Well, I’m not in college. I’m an aspiring author. I work at an Italian restaurant. Sometimes hosting, sometimes waiting tables.”

“I did not know you worked at an Italian restaurant,” he said, frowning at me. “I would’ve made a different cuisine."

“Oh, no, James,” she said, circling her fork above the food. “This is awesome. So much tastier than the bland red stuff my restaurant puts on their overcooked pasta.”

James beamed at the compliment. “You’re an aspiring author, huh? I happen to know a certain someone who is an avid reader.”

Both sets of eyes fell on me.

“I happen to know someone too,” she giggled.

“So,” James said in a serious tone, leaning in and waving his fork menacingly. “What are your intentions with my boyfriend?”

I nearly choked on my food. I’d gone over this with him, and his sudden jealousy made me second guess this whole thing.

Kaylee set her fork down and looked directly at James. “I’m going to steal him from you.”

James dropped his fork onto his plate and wiped his mouth with his napkin before tossing it at her. “Bitch.”

There was a moment of what felt like interminable silence before both Kaylee and James broke into grins and started cackling.

“I like you, Kaylee,” James said, picking his fork back up. “You’re going to get along nicely with everyone. A sense of humor is key in this wonderful, yet somehow messed-up, situation.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said.

“You guys had me,” I admitted.

“D, you’re so cute when you get flustered,” Kaylee remarked. 

“No matter what body you’re in,” James added.

“I’m glad you’re both getting a laugh at my expense,” I said, my eyes wide, a mock pout upon my face.

“You need to torture him at least once a day,” James said to Kaylee.

“Oh, I promise,” she agreed with a devious smile.

I rolled my eyes.

“Speaking of… odd relationships,” Kaylee said to James. “What’s it like dating six people?”

I chuckled and took a sip of my wine. “Guys, I’m right here.”

“Shh,” James said. “Let the girlfriends chat. It’s interesting, but technically I’m only dating one person - Antonio. It’s just that there are six different interpretations of Antonio, all trying to be the same. I am more interested in your relationships. You’re also dating six people.”

“Well, I’m dating D. There’s only one D.”

“Have you noticed D is different when they’re in a different body?”

I took another sip as I expected Kaylee to say, “No.”

“Yeah,” she said.

I nearly spit out my wine. “What?”

“You’re different when you’re Jasmine or Morgan - or even now as Antonio,” she explained.

“I am? I’m not trying to be.”

“It’s not a bad thing, I find it endearing. You’re more confident when you’re Morgan or Jasmine than you are when you’re Sydney.”

“Interesting,” James added. “I see things from the other direction. I find each of them acts just a little differently, D is more chaste than some of the others, but he’s still pretty adorable. So back to your original question. Me dating six versions of Tony wasn’t the plan. When A first joined the Guild he tried to dump me,” James admitted.

“Really?” Kaylee said, leaning on her hands. “What reason did he give?”

“Well, he said he loved me but didn’t want to hold me back.”

“And what did you say?”

“I said, “Tony, you ain’t holding me back. I’m an adult and I can make my own bad relationship decisions. I think what he was really worried about was that he would be spending time as five other people, and that he couldn’t devote the time needed to our relationship. He wouldn’t be able to properly role-play them while in a committed relationship with me. I get it.”

“I mean - that makes sense. How did you two not break up?”

“I think what neither of us expected was that the other five would work so relentlessly to pick up his slack.”

“Do you get jealous of him?”

James nodded. “Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“I mean- I did at first. But I told myself I have such a unique relationship, that I should treat it as such. This is a blessing and I feel love for these six people and I know deep down they feel the same for me.”

“Don’t you worry that they’re just role-playing that love?”

“No,” he said confidently. “Because they’re not. I can see it in their eyes. Occasionally when I interact with Jasmine or Morgan or Sydney or hell - even Gabe on the rare occasion I run into him - they treat me like they’re still Tony.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“Sorry, D, we’ll change the subject,” James said to me with a smirk that matched Kaylee’s.

“Thanks,” I said, taking another sip of wine. I chuckled. As I watched them enjoy each other’s company I started to relax. All of that stressing out for nothing.

* * *

After James left, Kaylee and I cuddled on the couch holding hands. There was a good silence for a few minutes. Despite talking about other things since dinner, I felt that Kaylee and James’s dinner conversation lingered.

Kaylee whispered to me. “D, am I holding you back?”

“What? Don’t be silly - no.”

“Sorry. Antonio.” she sighed, “I mean- look at me. I haven’t called you by your body’s name - the name I’m supposed to use - all evening.”

“It’s OK to call me D. And no, you’re not holding me back.”

“But you’ve got this awesome opportunity here. You can live six lives. I feel like I’m getting in the way of that.”

“That would be true if I was only allowed to date you as Sydney. Then I’d only be her, just so I could be with you. But now I can be with you as any of them.”

“Not really,” she disagreed. “For example, I can’t be with you right now. I mean… not intimately. I just met your boyfriend. If we were intimate now, wouldn’t that be like cheating on him?”

“I assured the rest of the Guild that you and I can handle this situation. I believe in us.”

“I believe in us too. I’m just worried about you.”

“Don’t worry about me.” I smiled. “I’m good as long as you’re around.” I wanted to kiss her, but she kept me at a distance. She wasn’t going to let me kiss her as Antonio.

* * *

When Kaylee left for the evening, I checked my anonymous email account. There was an email from E.

“Stop emailing us and leave us alone!” it read.

I considered her use of the word “us”. That implies they’re talking to each other and sharing our correspondences. At this point I really had no other choice but to leave them alone. I did have a suspicion they’d reach out to me when they were ready to take my offer seriously.