As Kai walked into the school, he realized that despite knowing his schedule, he did not know how to get to his classes.
Or why he was going to these classes.
Honestly, Kai had no idea why he was attending school at all!
Perhaps it was boredom. Perhaps it was curiosity. Perhaps Kai just didn't care enough to try to go against the flow of this world. Regardless, Kai continued to search for the classes he was supposed to be attending.
In one hallway and out the next, by the end of what would've been his lunch hour, Kai found a door that somehow felt more familiar than the rest.
He grabbed the handle of the door and froze for a second, surprised by the coolness of the metal.
Following his feet to where they seemed to want to go, he took a seat at the leftmost desk in the third row from the whiteboard.
There were a couple students sitting in the front right corner of the room, huddled around some sort of gaming device.
'What an odd idea, letting children play games during their learning hours.'
Kai sat there, wondering what sort of parents would allow such a thing, until the door opened once again and a blonde woman walked in carrying a laptop.
He could've sworn he saw surprise flash across her face when she saw him, but when he looked up to check, he only saw a stern glare aimed towards the desk in the front of the room.
He continued sitting and observing until a loud dinging noise drew him out of his thoughts once again.
The doors to the room squeaked open once again, and a flood of teenagers poured out.
Soon enough the desks were full.
A slightly korean looking girl with red highlights in her hair took the seat to his right. She opened up her textbook and glared at it with an intensity that made Kai shiver.
Kai looked over at her, and just continued to drink in the sounds and smells around him.
The other students were loud, but he could appreciate how each individual had a unique ring to their voice. This world that felt so familiar had so many unexpected pleasures to offer.
The individuality between humans, the way they seemed to interact, and their backwards inventions.
Kai continued to sit there, staring off into space, enjoying watching beings he felt to be below him.
Why he felt this way, he had no idea. One's internal biases are hard to notice in their own thoughts. Things just are the way they are, are they not?
"...y! Hey! What the hell are you lookin at!?" Wow, that girl seated next to him was loud. And she was also staring intently at him.
Kai blinked.
"Are you talking to me?"
"Who else, dummy!?"
Kai turned his head away, having no desire to continue this conversation. Considering the girl's ensuing silence, the feeling was mutual.
He sat there in silence, observing social norms until the bell rang once again.
The blonde woman then stepped up to the front of the classroom and began to speak.
"Alright, class, today we're going to be learning abo…"
~~~~
Kyle woke up in a dimly lit room, tied to a chair, with a red emergency exit sign as the only source of light.
A blonde woman carrying a laptop walked out of the darkness, her high heeled shoes clacking on the floor.
The echoes filled Kyle with just one feeling. Dread.
The woman came to a sudden halt, opening her laptop. Kyle winced as she opened her mouth to speak.
"You are a mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell. Let's learn a little bit more about how you work!"
The woman placed her laptop on a desk that had appeared from seemingly nothing, before click-clacking her way over to Kyle with the most unsettling grin.
She reached out her hand, grabbing a scalpel from the empty void.
Thirty three minutes later, Kyle woke up bound to a chair, in an empty black void, with only a blinking red lightbulb to illuminate the emptiness ahead.
~~~~
By the end of science class, Kai had a headache from all the flashes of knowledge that flooded in.
Each slide of the presentation brought back memories he was certain were not his own. Alleles and genetics, hormones and puberty, nucleolus' and DNA.
[THE MITOCHONDRIA. IS THE POWERHOUSE. OF THE CELL.]
Kai wasn't sure why that last one was ingrained so strongly in him, but he knew there was no way he'd ever forget it.
All of this information seemed equally pressing, and he was quite overwhelmed.
He left his body on autopilot as he zoned out, trying to let any of this information sink in before he went through the process all over again.
Halfway through his 6th hour english class, Kai's teacher noticed something was off. They were in a group activity, yet the normally troublesome student was silent.
"Kyle, are you feeling alright? Do you need to go see the nurse?"
"Nah, Ms. Delaney… I'm… ah… fine."
Kyle did his best to maintain his composure throughout this, but with everything forcing it's way into his consciousness, the outside world sounded like it was miles away. Focusing his eyes on objects was hard, and processing sentences spoken by those around him was harder. He didn't protest when a hand on his shoulder began to guide him to the exit.
Ms. Delaney helped Kai stumble to the infirmary and checked him in.
'Kyle Whitaker, huh? Interesting…'
As he entered the room, he noticed a sad excuse for a bench masquerading as a bed near the corner.
Taking a seat, he soon realized it would be near impossible to make himself comfortable, so he gave up before closing his eyes.
[LogaNAShleighEMITOCHondriAISTHEPowERhOUsEofTheCELlNUCLeIspORTsFoOtbALlSCheDUleSaNDcLAssRoOmSaNDlIfeAnDsTUfFaNDCOaChIsPRettYCoOLanDAInSLeYBroKEUpWiTHMeAndIMNoTSAdABoutiTATalL]
Kai's processing of foreign information was interrupted once again by the bell signaling the beginning of the final classes of the day. With a groan, he rolled over to continue before realizing his splitting headache was now somewhat manageable.
'Whatever that was, I never want to do that again.'
Despite his mental complaints, Kai had learned much about the life his host had lived before he took over.
Kyle Whitaker, Age 18
Starting Quarterback for the Mountain View High football team. Best friends with Logan Harler. Recently dumped by his girlfriend Becca.
Before his eviction, Kyle was convinced Becca had dumped him because he was a prick, but Kai was not so sure.
Yes, Kyle had been a terrible human, but Becca seemed to be the type to dump just about anyone for a good laugh.
Kai also was able to decode the names and faces of Kyle's family members, and most importantly, his class schedule.
Despite all of this success, though, Kai was only certain of one thing.
'I will not be acting like this disgusting, immature man-child any time in my existence. Ever.'
And so his course was set.
Instead of pretending to be someone else, Kai unwittingly chose to be himself, whoever that may be.
Pulled out of his thoughts once again by the bell ringing, Kai waited in the parent pickup line for his ride away from the prison known as school, ready to return to what would be the trickiest setting yet. Family time in his very own home.