Chapter 2I Was Slapped by the School Bully, Only to Swap Bodies with Her the Next Second

The Beating Continued Like a Storm of Blows

I tried to explain through the pain that the money was mine, earned from working part-time jobs.

But of course, my mom didn’t believe me.

She’d rather trust my lazy, good-for-nothing brother than me.

I don’t know how long it went on, but eventually, she stopped. She took all my money and told me to get up and cook dinner.

Dragging my bruised body, I forced myself to finish the chores—cooking, cleaning, laundry—before I finally sat down to do my homework.

By the time I finished one set of assignments, it was already 1 a.m.

I stared at the two identical stacks of homework on my desk—my own and Maya Summers’.

The events of the day replayed in my mind, and I couldn’t help it anymore. For the first time, I wrote my name on the completed assignment meant for her.

As soon as I did it, my heart pounded with fear. But… there was also a thrill, a spark of vengeance.

The feeling didn’t last long.

A few seconds later, I sighed, picked up the second set of blank worksheets, and started working again.

At some point, exhaustion overtook me. I must’ve fallen asleep at my desk because the next thing I knew, my alarm was blaring.

6:30 a.m.

Panic surged through me as I realized several pages of Maya’s homework were still blank.

If she found out I hadn’t finished, I was dead.

I grabbed my pen to start writing, but before I could, the door burst open.

My brother stood there, arms crossed, barking, “Hurry up and make breakfast! I’m starving!”

Behind him, my mom’s dark, angry face loomed.

Under their suffocating pressure, I had no choice but to drop everything and head to the kitchen.

By the time I finished cooking and cleaning up after them, there wasn’t a second left to spare.

I stuffed my things into my bag and sprinted to school, barely avoiding being late.

When I entered the classroom, Maya was already glaring at me.

“You’re late. What took you so long?” she snapped.

Before I could answer, she demanded, “Where’s my homework?”

Instinctively, I clutched my bag to my chest, stammering as I hesitated to hand it over.

Her eyes narrowed. Without another word, she yanked my bag out of my hands and rifled through it.

When she pulled out her unfinished worksheets, her expression darkened into something terrifying.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I paid you, and this is what I get?”

She waved the papers in the air, then slapped me across the face, hard.

Grabbing a fistful of my hair, she forced me to look at her.

“Ashley, I didn’t know you had the guts to pull something like this.”

The searing pain in my scalp brought tears to my eyes, but I couldn’t stop them from falling.

The classroom fell silent as everyone turned to watch.

From the back of the room, a few boys started jeering.

“Get her, Maya! Teach her a lesson!”

“Yeah, slap her again!”

Fueled by their encouragement, Maya’s fury grew. She hit me two more times, each slap harder than the last.

Her sidekick, Rainie, joined in by grabbing my homework and ripping it to shreds.

I sat there, frozen, as sunlight streamed through the windows.

The warmth of the sun felt mocking against the icy chill inside me.

This wasn’t just a classroom anymore—it was a living hell.

Images of the past few months flashed through my mind:

The money I’d worked so hard to save, stolen by my mother. Her baseless accusations. The bruises on my body.

I knew she didn’t actually believe I was a thief. She just needed an excuse to take what was mine and claim it as hers.

The thought ignited something inside me—a fire that burned hotter and brighter with every passing second.

Before I knew it, I shoved Maya away with all my strength.

She stumbled backward, her face twisting with shock.

At the same time, I saw Rainie raising her hand to slap me again.

I braced myself, squeezing my eyes shut. But the blow never came.

Instead, I heard a sharp cry of pain.

Opening my eyes, I saw something that made my blood run cold.

I was sitting on the ground, but Maya—Maya was clutching her face, looking terrified.

Even stranger, she was wearing my clothes.

And… she looked exactly like me.

I glanced down at myself and froze.

The short skirt Maya had been wearing earlier was now on me.

Rainie rushed to my side, concern etched across her face.

“Maya, are you okay?!”

Maya?

Wait…

What the hell just happened?