TRADING PLACES

It was Monday morning. I woke up and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. As I grabbed the mirror to open the medicine cabinet, I looked at my reflection in horror. I looked exactly like my brother! I ran to his room and pushed open the door. There he was, or rather there I was, lying in his bed.

“Jordan! What happened?” I yelled. He sleepily opened his eyes. He opened them wider when he saw me, or rather him, staring back.

“What? What’s going on?” He looked down at himself. “Charlie, why did you steal my body?”

“Hey! Why do you think this is my fault?” Then I had an idea. Just the evening before, I had been thinking with a bit of jealousy about Jordan’s ability to play goalie on the soccer team. I was rubbing a metal pan in the sink and wishing I could be him for just one day. I never thought it would actually happen.

“Jordan,” I said. “It sounds silly, but last night while I was doing dishes, I was washing this new pan that Mom bought. While I was rubbing it, I was wishing I could be you. It must have worked. It must be a magic pan, like in that story about rubbing a magic lamp and a genie granting you wishes.”

“I guess so.” He looked skeptical. “That’s really strange. Do you remember what the pan looked like?”

“Sure. It’s big and shiny with a blue metal lid.”

“If that’s the case, I am going to volunteer to wash dishes before we go to school and see if I can get myself back again.” With that, he hurried downstairs to the kitchen.