WebNovels

Chapter 16 - Episode 15: We Were Ourselves

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*Episode 15: We Were Ourselves*

The tower was silent again.

No strange lights. No eerie hums. Just wind, old wood, and three teenagers breathing in disbelief. I looked at my hands—my real hands—and smiled. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt like me again. Maya Grace.

Luna stood a few feet away, stretching her arms like she hadn't been in her own skin for weeks. "Okay… this is weird," she muttered, brushing her hair back. "But I'm definitely me again."

I laughed. "You sound like you."

She looked over at me and grinned. "And you sound like you. Finally."

Ajax clapped once. "Well, congrats, body swappers. You survived Freakie Friday."

We all stared at him, then burst out laughing. It was the first real laugh we'd shared since this madness began. The kind that bubbles out when tension finally breaks, and everything heavy lifts off your chest.

"Okay, I have to ask," I said, brushing dust off my jeans. "How do you know all this stuff, Ajax?"

He looked sheepish. "Let's just say I read a lot of weird books and… something like this happened in my family once. But I never told anyone."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Guess we're the weird kids now, huh?"

"Speak for yourself," I said, nudging her playfully.

After the ritual, everything changed—but in the best way.

The next morning at school, Luna was back to walking the halls with her usual confidence. But something was different. She wasn't cold or fake. She smiled more. Said hi to people. Even helped someone pick up their books. It was like her soul had softened a little—like the experience gave her something real to hold onto.

As for me, I started doing things I was too scared to before—like joining the art club, showing my drawings, and speaking up in class. I wasn't just the quiet girl anymore. I was *me*—and that felt powerful.

People noticed. Teachers. Friends. Even our parents sensed something had shifted.

And Ajax? Well, we started sitting with him at lunch.

He pretended like it annoyed him, but we could tell he liked the company. Over time, we became real friends—not just weird classmates who shared a secret, but a little trio of misfits who had lived through something no one else would ever believe.

Sometimes, we'd look at each other and smile like we had our own language. Because we did.

We never told anyone else what really happened. Not even our families. It was ours—our Freakie Friday, our journey, our lesson.

And in the end, we didn't just get our bodies back. We got something more important.

We got a second chance.

A chance to be honest, to let go, to grow. A chance to fix what we thought was broken—not just with ourselves, but with each other.

Luna once said, "If I give up my rep, maybe I can finally be me."

She did. And she *is*.

And me? I stopped being afraid of standing out. Of owning who I am.

Because now, we're not pretending.

We're not trapped.

We're *ourselves*.

And that's more than magic—it's freedom.

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