Clarissa stumbled her way to work; a half-drank iced coffee in her left hand, her ID card in the other. She swiped her card at the scanner of the employee entrance to Swap Tech Inc., Westboost Branch. She shut the door behind her and took another sip of her coffee. “Good morning!” A chipper voice rang in her ears, someone with far too much energy for 8 in the morning. Clarissa turned over to see a tall, muscular man wearing a white tank top and black gym shorts. Around his neck was a specialized lanyard that read “Controller: Jill. Body: Vince.” Clarissa looked at him, standing eye to eye with him. “Already swapping around today? You know we’re not supposed to use the tech for personal reasons.” Clarissa said to Jill.  Jill laughed. “Relax. We still have time before we open. Let me have my fun.” She flexed her muscles at Clarissa. “You like?” “I’d like them better if I didn’t know whose body that was and what I’ve seen done with it.” She shook the intrusive thoughts out of her mind. “Anyways, if you’re in there, where’s Vince? He better not have gone out for a joy ride.” “Relax! He’s in the employee lounge. Everything’s all good. Take a chill pill!” Jill said as she patted Clarissa on the shoulder. “Hey, easy! Watch Vince’s strength!” Clarissa groaned, trying to make sure her coffee stayed upright. Jill let go and Clarissa readjusted her clothes and glasses. “Sorry!” Jill chuckled, the mannerisms very much contrasting with the bodybuilder body she was in. “Just get so excited in the mornings! Come on, you know this.” “Yeah, I know that. I’m just not used to you being able to hug with the power of Vince.” Clarissa made her way towards the employee lounge, with Jill following her behind. The two entered into the lounge, only to be greeted by a Vince in a Jill’s body wearing only her bra, panties and the lanyard, admiring themselves in the mirror. “Ugh, really man? In here? We eat in here, dude.” Vince turned around and smiled at Clarissa. “Morning Clarissa. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the skin you’re in.” “Dude, our business is entirely built on the premise that people DON’T want to be themselves,” Clarissa said as she opened up her locker and put away her personal belongings. She took out her blue uniform coat and put it on, adjusting her name tag. “You two better swap back soon before we open up.” “Man, ruining all the fun,” Vince said as he walked over and gave Clarissa a hug. “Why do you always have to be such a party pooper? Come on. Join us for some swapping fun!” “Ugh, Vince. I told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times already. The Swap Technicians can’t be just using the technology willy-nilly. Unlike you Rentals, we have a responsibility to use this tech properly and manage it. And you’re ignoring me,” Clarissa said, sighing as she took another sip of her coffee as she watched Vince go back to admiring himself in the mirror. “Come on. We’re about to open up soon, so swap back now.” “Fine. Let Captain Clarissa Killjoy take over,” Vince complained as he got dressed into the standard white uniform. “Come zip me up?” he said in a flirty tone. “Fine.” Clarissa said as she put down her coffee. She walked over and zipped up the uniform firmly. “Come on.”  She picked up her coffee and led Vince and Jill to the Rental Machine room. Jill and Vincent took their places on the machine while Clarissa headed over to the control panel. She put in the proper sequence and there was a bright flash of light from the machine. There was a soft whirring sound as the machine cooled down. Jill and Vince stepped out from the machine and stretched. Their lanyards now had names that properly matched with their bodies. “It was fun while it lasted!” Jill said as she patted Vince on the back. “Yeah, but leave it to Clarissa to ruin the fun,” Vince said as he stuck his tongue out over at Clarissa. “Hey! You keep that shit up, and I’ll make sure you’re first when we get someone over 60.” Clarissa glared at Vince, never breaking eye contact as she sipped her coffee. Vince raised his hands up defensively. “Now, get over to the Display Room. We’re opening soon.” Vince rolled his eyes, but he and Jill walked out of the room. Clarissa sighed as she sat back in her chair and rubbed her temples. She attempted to take another sip of her coffee, only to find herself disappointed that she had drunk it all already. With a sigh, she tossed it into the trash can and stood up. “I swear, the two of them are going to be the death of me somehow.” She typed a few things into the control panel, resetting it so that it can be used again for next time. She looked down at her watch and sighed again before standing up. She made her way through the short maze of hallways before arriving at the front desk, taking her spot at desk number 4. Clarissa looked over at her other coworkers; Leon and Tambry were already preparing their paperwork for today and Pierre still had yet to show up today. “Hey Clarissa!” Leon shouted over from desk number 2, catching her attention. “Tambry and I got a bit of a bet. Think Pierre will be here before or after we open up?” Clarissa rolled her eyes. “Oh lighten up a little, Clarissa,” Tambry said as she arranged her flowers on her desk. “I’ve got 20 on him being late. Leon’s got 30 on him being early. What do you say?” Clarissa sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Fine. How about 15 on him being late?” “Give the guy a little benefit of the doubt. He’s only been late three times,” Leon said as he put some papers on a clipboard. He booted up his computer and adjusted the cameras to get the best view at the Display Room. “Yeah, three times this week,” Tambry said with an exasperated huff. “And it’s Thursday.” “Well, he’s got about sixty seconds to show up before we get your money, Leon,” Clarissa said as she finished up preparing her desk and looking at her watch. She turned her attention to the store front, only to frown at the sight. “Oh great. She’s back. Is it the 15th already?” Standing outside of the store front, peering into the window, was an older woman, about in her mid-forties. She wore her usual purple puffy coat, which contrasted her thin frame and bony cheeks. “Whose turn is it?” Clarissa said as she looked over at her co-workers, only to frown as she saw the two of them with their fingers to their noses. “Jerks.” She looked down at her watch and sighed. “Alright, well, just a few more seconds of bliss.”  As the seconds ticked by, Clarissa dreaded having to deal with this repeat customer. A few more customers lined up behind the woman in the purple coat. Clarissa felt the caffeine starting to kick in. She put on her best face and took a deep breath, preparing herself mentally. “And it’s time. Pay up Leon!” Tambry said with a chuckle as she got up, keys in her hand. She opened up the front door and quickly made her way back to her desk before the older woman barrelled into her.  “Good morning!” The three workers said in unison. “Welcome to Swap Tech Inc.!” “Ahem!” Clarissa said as she turned to the woman in the purple coat and waved her hand. “Mrs. Relton, I can help you today.” The woman in the purple coat quickly made her way over to Clarissa’s desk and put down her credit card. “Hello dearie. Is he here today?” Clarissa nodded. “Yes, Vince is currently available to be rented.” “Great great,” Mrs. Relton said, barely giving Clarissa any time to finish her sentence. “Well, you know what I want. Chop chop.” She clapped her hands together to further emphasize her point. “Yes Mrs. Relton.” Clarissa took the card and swiped it, plugging in Mrs. Relton’s information into the computer. After a few seconds of typing, she put a tablet down in front of Mrs. Relton. “Really dear? Can’t we make this any quicker?” Mrs. Relton said, her heels tapping on the tile ground. “You know that it’s company policy,” Clarissa said, enjoying the little bit of annoyance that she got to give Mrs. Relton. “The rules of Body Renting. Firstly, you are personally responsible for all crimes and misdemeanors performed during the rental period. If you agree, please sign below.” “Yes yes, just hurry up!” Mrs. Relton said as she scribbled down something close to a signature on the tablet and moved to the next screen. “Secondly, you agree to share all personal information that may be required for a daily activity. If you agree, please sign below.” “Hurry up!” Mrs. Relton said as she wrote even faster now. “Thirdly, you will pay for any damages done to the Rental Body. If you agree, please-” Clarissa didn’t even finish this time before Mrs. Relton signed and moved to the next screen. “If I didn’t know any better, you’re just trying to stall for time,” Mrs. Relton said as she tapped her foot even faster. “Fourth, the rental period is at most 24 hours. You will be notified by the lanyard of when your time is up. Refusal to return within the designated time will be considered an-” “An offense and then the law gets involved. I know, I know,” Mrs. Relton said, rushing through signing the screen. “And finally, you agree to always wear the lanyard. Removal of such while in a Rental Body is considered a federal offense and you will be penalized to the fullest extent of the law.” Mrs. Relton signed the last screen with just a simple swipe, not even bothering to make it look like her signature. Clarissa reached behind the desk and put the lanyard onto Mrs. Relton. “With that out of the way, please follow me.” She leaned into an intercom and pressed the button. “Vince, you are being rented. Please report to the Rental Room. I repeat, Vince, please report to the Rental Room.” Clarissa stood up from her desk and lead Mrs. Relton through the hallways, trying her best to ignore the constant yammering and nitpicks from Mrs. Relton. As they walked, she passed by Pierre, fumbling with his uniform. “You know you’re late, right?” Clarissa said. “Yeah! Traffic was a nightmare!” Pierre said as he rushed by. “Hello Mrs. Relton.” “Less chatter, more swapping,” Mrs. Relton said as she pushed Clarissa along. “Easy easy,” Clarissa said with a sigh. After a short walk, they arrived at the room. “Please, step this way into the-” Clarissa was stopped as Mrs. Relton held her hand up in front of Clarissa’s face. “I know what I’m doing. Quit with the talking and hurry up with the swapping.” Mrs. Relton made her way to her side of the machine and stepped inside. A few moments later, Vince entered the room, a huge smile on his face. “Alright, first chosen of the day. Who is the lucky one who gets to be Vince?” He looked around for the renter, only to see Clarissa rubbing her temples. “Oh no.” His smile instantly was dashed away as he looked at the machine to see Mrs. Relton. “Yep. It’s the 15th again,” Clarissa said with a sigh as she opened up the chamber for Vince. “Come on. Get inside.” Vince reluctantly got into the chamber, but held the door open. “Do I have to?” He tried to make his eyes as big as possible to win over Clarissa. “I mean, come on. Why do I have to do this? Why can’t she pick George or Brutus? Hell, I bet we could get her a great deal with Oscar.” “Because she paid for you, Vince. Now get in there,” Clarissa said, not swayed by Vince’s words. She pried his hands off the door and forced him inside. With a heavy sigh, she made her way over to the control panel. She pushed in the proper sequence and there was a bright flash of light. As the machine hissed and came to a stop, the two doors of the machine opened up. First out was Mrs. Relton in Vince’s, who looked down and flexed a few of the muscles. “Always keeping yourself in tiptop shape, Vince. Just the way I like it.” Following after was Vince in Mrs. Relton’s body, who just kinda groaned. “Just try not to overdo it like you did last time. I was still sore for days after you were done.” “Oh, I’ll bring it back. Don’t you worry.” She reached over and gently pinched her body’s butt, causing Vince to yelp a little. “That wasn’t what I was concerned about,” Vince said as he rubbed his ass. “The swap was successful. You have the body for a limit of 24 hours,” Clarissa said as she walked over to them. “Now then, I’ll escort you out.” She turned over to Vince. “And you can head back to the Rental quarters.” “Oh hush off. I can walk myself out just fine. See you tomorrow,” Mrs. Relton said as she walked out of the room, leaving Clarissa behind and waving back to Vince. Vince groaned as he trudged his way back the way that he entered the room.  Clarissa rubbed her temples again as she watched Mrs. Relton leave the room. “Yeah, it’s kinda against company policy, but sure. Whatever.” She walked back over to the control panel and reset the machine. Almost on instinct, she reached over to where she normally puts her coffee down, but as she grasped the air, she was reminded that she had already drank it when she was dealing with Vince and Jill. “Maybe there’s still a little bit more left. Just a drop or two.” As she walked over to the trash can, she tilted her head in surprise. The rest of the trash was still in there, but her coffee cup was missing. “That’s weird. Where did it go?” Clarissa said as she sorted through the trash, still unable to find the cup. “Nope, it’s not here. Strange.” She exited the room and tried to put the weirdness aside. She returned back to the lobby, seeing the line of customers. Most of them were looking at the Display Room, trying to determine who they wanted to swap with. Thankfully, Pierre was at his desk, so at least they weren’t short staffed today. With a final deep breath to push out the thought of her missing coffee, Clarissa put her smile on and headed back to her desk to help out the next customer. The rest of the day went by fairly normally, though a little more stressful as she had to hear Vince complaining every now and then with Mrs. Relton’s body. It made eating her General Tso’s chicken for lunch so stressful, she couldn’t even finish the whole thing. Several hours later, it was time to close the front doors, which Pierre did happily. “Another successful day, another successful pay,” he said as he sat back at his desk. “Speaking of pay, you still owe me, Leon,” Clarissa said as she filed away the last of her paperwork. “I thought you’d have forgotten about that,” Leon groaned, but he pulled the money out of his wallet and handed it over to Clarissa. “You won’t get so lucky next time. Anyways, I’m out for the night. I guess I won’t be getting myself dessert tonight.” With that, he headed back into the hallway to the employee lounge.  “Well, it all depends on if Pierre gets here on time, right?” Tambry said with a chuckle as she fanned herself with the money Leon gave her. “I told you, I couldn’t help it. I was stuck at a light. People just kept coming at me,” Pierre said, exhausted as he slumped into his chair. He slowly got up from his desk and stretched. “I think I’m gonna head home too. Good night you two.” He headed back the hallways and disappeared from sight. “Night, Pierre,” Clarissa said as she turned to Tambry. “You both just had to stick me with Mrs. Relton today, huh?” “Oh come on. I handled her last time and you won the rock paper scissors the month before that. We paid our dues,” Tambry said as she put away the last of her paperwork and logged off the computer. She got up from her chair and Clarissa shortly followed after her. “Well yeah, I know that,” Clarissa said as she rolled her eyes. “I just hate having to bite that bullet.” “Look, she’s a paying customer and she ‘technically’ doesn’t break any of our rules.” Tambry put heavy emphasis on the air quotes around technically. The two of them walked into the employee lounge and started to put away their uniforms into their lockers. “Well, anywho, guess who got themselves a date at Panda Panda?” “Seriously? Good for you,” Clarissa said as she neatly patted her uniform and hung it on a hanger, as opposed to Tambry who just sorta hung it up on a hook. “I’d love for someone to take me there.” “Well maybe you can once you make room by taking that stick out of your ass,” Tambry snickered as she shut her locker. “Oh ha ha,” Clarissa said as she grabbed her personal belongings and rolled her eyes. “Very funny.” “Lighten up a little, Clarissa. Have a little fun, let loose. Enjoy life. I know I’m going to and thanks to Leon, I can get myself a dessert.” Tambry left the employee lounge, humming happily to herself. “Lighten up a little. Have some fun. Let loose a little,” Clarissa said to herself mockingly. “I know how to lighten up. I can be loose. I’m fun.” She crossed her arms. “Fun enough to take to Panda Panda.” A quick realization came to her mind. “Oh! Right, I still have food.” Clarissa made her way over to the fridge, only to be shocked to find that her food was missing. “What the hell? Who jacked my chicken?” She shuffled around the food that was in there, hoping to find it, but it wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She made her way over to the trash to sort through it in case someone had accidentally thrown it away, but it wasn’t there either. “What the hell is going on? Great, guess I’m ordering out today.” She walked out of the employee lounge in a huff, but something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye in the lobby. Clarissa walked over to Pierre’s desk, noticing all the files that still weren’t put away. “That’s weird. Pierre’s a bit of a worrywart, so why would he leave this stuff out.” She shrugged to herself. “Well, he won’t mind me putting it away. Keep him out of trouble.” Clarissa spent about half an hour putting away all of Pierre’s files before she was satisfied with the little clean-up job that she did. Clarissa made her way through the halls, but right as she was about to leave, another thing caught her eye. There was a strange light coming from the utility closet. Cautiously, she approached and opened up the door. To her surprise, the floor had been opened up. “Shit. Someone’s in the basement. Did Tambry not close the door properly?” She grabbed a nearby mop and slowly made her way down the stairs. There was the hum of electricity in the air and the sound of bubbling liquids. The stairs were covered in a brilliant teal blue light, coming from a large machine down in the center of the room the stairs lead to. “What the-?” Clarissa reflexively exclaimed as she saw Pierre at the machine, typing away. She tried to cover her mouth, but Pierre looked up at her. “Shit!” Pierre said as he realized he was discovered. He quickly scrambled to cover up what he was doing, only ending up knocking over an empty iced coffee cup and a half-eaten container of General Tso’s chicken. “”Pierre! What the hell are you doing down in the Rent Clone Room? Wait a minute, is… is that my food?” Clarissa made her way down the stairs more, still gripping the mop tightly and keeping it aimed at Pierre. “I… I… I’m sorry!” Pierre fell to his knees and bowed, tears streaming down his face. “Pierre, what’s going on? Why do you have my food? Wait, were you trying to clone me? What the hell?” Clarissa said, holding the edge of the mop close to Pierre. However, Pierre just continued to blubber. She rolled her eyes and tapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, Pierre. Talk to me. What’s going on?” Pierre slowly got to his feet and wiped his face with his sleeve. “I’m sorry Clarissa. I… I was trying to clone you for a Rental.” “Why would you do that? You didn’t ask me about any of this, so there’s issue one. Secondly, Clone Rentals are a one-way swap. You’d be stuck that way!” “Well maybe I want to!” Pierre shouted, still trying to fight back tears, though these weren’t from being afraid, but from being exhausted. Seeing this, Clarissa gently lowered her mop. “I’m so tired of being frickin’ useless Pierre! Always late! Always being a wuss! I’m so sick of being me that I’d rather be anyone else!” “And you chose me?” Clarissa said, a mix of concerned and flattered. “I mean, of course,” Pierre said as he gestured to her. “Look at you! You’re tall. You’ve got gorgeous red hair. You’re brave. Who wouldn’t want to be you?” Pierre sat down on the ground. “I just… I wanna get relief from being me, even if it’s just for a bit.” Clarissa was at a loss for words. On one hand, she was incredibly weirded out about this whole situation; but on the other hand, she couldn’t help but sympathize with Pierre. Her mind thought back to the conversation she had earlier with Vince. With a heavy sigh, she extended her hand out to him. “Delete all the stuff you have on me off the computer and come with me. Don’t dilly-dally or I’m reporting you.” Pierre gave her a confused look, but quickly got to his feet and went to the computer. He deleted all the files on Clarissa and followed her as she led him up the stairs. They closed the entrance to the basement and began to walk towards the Rental Room. “Come on. Get in.” Clarissa said as she pulled Pierre towards one of the doors on the machine. “What are you doing?” Pierre asked as Clarissa gestured for him to get into the machine. “Look, if you don’t want me to report you, just do what I say.” Pierre nodded and got into the machine. With a heavy sigh, Clarissa headed over to the control panel. She typed in the commands for the machine, but made sure that it was on a delay. A delay long enough for her to get into the other side of the machine. She rushed over and quickly shut the door once she was inside. There was a blinding light that filled the room, and then the gentle hum of the machine cooling down. Clarissa fumbled a bit as she reached around for the handle. It took a few tries, as this was her first time inside, but she managed to open it up. She coughed a bit and took a deep breath, feeling the air filling up Pierre’s lungs. She turned over and saw Pierre step out of the machine in her body. “Clarissa, what did you do?” Pierre asked as he looked down and around at himself. “Oh wow. Is that what I sound like to people? Huh, I thought my voice was a little higher pitched,” Clarissa said as she sighed and looked at her body from top to bottom. “Come on. You know what this machine is. You know exactly what I did.” Pierre looked at the machine, then to Clarissa, and then rushed over to the large mirror in the room to examine himself in Clarissa’s body. “I can’t believe it. I’m you! I’m beautiful! I’m tall! I’m strong!” He looked over Clarissa’s hands, switching between the palms and the backs of them. He laughed, hearing himself laugh in Clarissa’s voice. He turned himself around a couple times, examining Clarissa’s body from all angles that he could. “And how do you feel?” Clarissa said as she walked over to him. “I feel incredible!” He lifted up Clarissa with ease, thanks to Clarissa’s body’s strength. “I feel like I can do anything!” He set down Clarissa and took a couple deep breaths. “Is this how you feel every day? This is fantastic!” “I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Clarissa said as she couldn’t help but smile at watching Pierre enjoy her body. “Hey,” Pierre said as he tugged a bit on the zipper of Clarissa’s top. “May I?” Clarissa rolled her eyes a little but nodded. “Alright, go ahead.” Pierre cheered and unzipped the top, showing off her bra and toned stomach. “Whoa. Incredible.” “Thanks,” Clarissa said as she coughed a bit to remind him who the original owner was. “No, thank you!” Pierre said as he lifted up Clarissa again. In the heat of the moment, Pierre pulled Clarissa closed and kissed her on his lips. Clarissa’s eyes went wide in surprise, but the rush of the moment overtook her. She pulled Pierre in close and returned the kiss. As if on instinct, her tongue wiggled out of her lips and met with her body’s lips. It was a strange experience, kissing her own body, but exciting and thrilling at the same time. The kiss only lasted for a few moments before Pierre’s eyes shot open wide and he quickly separated the two of them. “Shit! I’m so sorry!” Pierre said as he quickly wiped his lips. “I just got so caught up in everything.” He ran his fingers through his hair as he breathed heavily. “I just felt so confident and so excited that I just…” “Decided to kiss yourself?” Clarissa said with a bit of a smug face. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I… Why am I so sorry? I should be confident! I should be proud! I should be better!” Pierre sat down on the ground, his expression sullen and his mood sunk. “So, why aren’t I?” Clarissa took a seat down next to Pierre. “You’re a smart guy. Tell me. Why do you think that you’re not?” “Because…” Pierre turned and looked at the machine. He gave a heavy sigh and hung his head back. The machine only swaps bodies. It doesn’t do anything about the mind that’s inside. Despite the body that I’m in…” “You’re still you,” Clarissa said as she finished his sentence.  The two of them sat in silence for a bit before Clarissa broke it. “You know what your problem is, Pierre?” Pierre looked over at her and shook his head. “You keep having these self-fulfilling prophecies that you’re gonna screw up, so it just comes true.” Pierre sunk a little further into himself, raising up his knees and huddling into himself. “But, right now, you’re me. So tell me, Pierre, what would I do in this situation?” Pierre sniffled a little. “I don’t know. What would you do?” “I’d believe in you. That, with a little help and guidance, you can be and do better.” “You… believe in me?” “Of course,” Clarissa said, giving him a wide smile and standing up. She stretched out her hand to Pierre. “Besides, I’m Pierre right now and I believe in you. You’ve got potential to be a really great guy, even while being yourself. So if Pierre can believe in Pierre, then so can Pierre.” She chuckled a little at her silly little sentence.  Pierre cracked a smile in response as well. “Thank you, Clarissa.” Pierre reluctantly took Clarissa’s hand and stood back up. “I guess we should swap back, huh?” Pierre started to walk towards the machine, but Clarissa grabbed his hand and held him back. “Well, maybe not necessarily just yet,” Clarissa said, a sly little grin appearing on her face. “Tambry suggested that I try loosening up a little and, well,” she said as she wiggled her arms around. “This body feels pretty loose. I wouldn’t quite mind being in it for a little longer.” “Really?” Pierre said, surprised. “Yeah,” Clarissa said with a nod. She pulled Pierre close to her. “Besides, someone took and knocked over my leftovers.” She reached back and pulled out Pierre’s wallet from his back pocket. “So, I believe someone owes me a dinner.” “But, I thought Swap Techs can’t just use this technology willy-nilly,” Pierre said with a bit of a happy chuckle. Clarissa shrugged and smiled at him. “I’m off the clock, so right now, I’m not currently a Swap Tech.” “So, where did you want to go for dinner?” “I’m thinking Panda Panda. Always wanted someone to take me. And who better to take me there than myself?”