Chapter 1

A poor, overweight girl mustered the courage to confess her feelings to the school's most popular boy, only to be rejected.

He claimed that he only had eyes for me, the campus beauty queen.

Fuming, she insisted that my status came only from being born into the right circumstances, claiming she could surpass me if given my advantages.

Then the impossible happened—our souls ended up in each other's bodies.

*****

I woke up as Bonnie Sampson—the overweight, lazy, failing girl I'd always avoided.

The reflection staring back at me was so horrifying that I nearly cried.

Dandruff flakes drifted from my oily hair every time I moved. My pimpled face was so round that my eyes looked squished, with three distinct chins wobbling beneath them. My waist had more rolls than a bakery.

I'd always been proud of my looks. Seeing this disgusting version of myself actually made me gag.

"Bonnie, skip school if you're not feeling well," Lydia Sampson, Bonnie's mother, called out, her voice warm with concern. "There's fried chicken in the kitchen, plus waffles, doughnuts, and milk. Have them if you get hungry. I'm heading out for work."

When I heard the door close, I finally stepped out of the room.

The living room was smaller than my old walk-in closet, but surprisingly tidy.

I'd been in the same class as Bonnie for three years, so I knew her family situation well enough.

Her mom worked as a cleaner, and her dad was a bus driver. They weren't rich by any means, but they got by.

Yet in our private school where tuition ran 40 thousand dollars a year, Bonnie's family stood out as clearly the poorest.

The fact that her parents scraped together the tuition said everything about how much they loved her.

When hunger hit, I headed to the kitchen, where I found doughnuts, waffles, milk, and a heap of greasy fried chicken on the table.

I usually avoided fatty junk like this to stay in shape.

But some old instinct kicked in—I was practically drooling over the fried chicken. Before I knew it, my hand shot out and grabbed a huge drumstick.

As I brought it to my mouth, I caught sight of my chubby reflection in the window and immediately put the drumstick down.

I couldn't stop thinking about the worst-case scenario—I might be trapped in Bonnie's body forever, forced to live the rest of my life this way.

I'd always maintained strict discipline about my appearance, and accepting this undisciplined body long-term was unthinkable.

I gulped down the milk while ignoring my growling stomach, grabbed my backpack, and walked out the door.

At that exact moment, the door across from mine opened to reveal someone I recognized immediately.

It was Charlie Saunders from the neighboring class—one of those guys who used to follow me around like a lovesick puppy.

"Fat cow," he sneered, looking at me with such disgust that I almost thought I was covered in garbage.

I frowned, remembering how he'd always pretended to be kind and cheerful in front of others. Now, the hypocrisy turned my stomach.

"So what if I'm fat? Your fridge isn't missing anything," I retorted.

"Actually, my mom brought your family groceries this morning. Feel free to return them if you're so tough," he shot back with a smirk.

His words left me completely tongue-tied.

"Move it, fat cow. You smell like a fast food joint," Charlie said as he shoved past me and stomped down the stairs.

Rubbing my aching shoulder, I followed him down the steps.

Back in my own body, I was in great shape—I could breeze through a two-mile run without even getting winded.

But now, just descending three flights left me breathless, my heart pounding so hard that I needed to stop and recover.

As soon as I entered the school grounds, I overheard students buzzing with gossip.

"Huge news! The school's golden girl actually confessed to the school heartthrob, and they're holding hands."

"No way. She rejected him every time before!"

"I saw it with my own eyes. She pulled him aside, told him she liked him, and even initiated holding hands."

My face flushed hot with anger as I realized what Bonnie had done while inhabiting my body.

I used to be Miranda Jenkins, the girl everyone called the school beauty queen. And the school heartthrob was none other than Felix Lynn.

Felix had movie-star looks, was the basketball team's MVP, and could out-dance anyone at school. The only thing he couldn't do was pass a test to save his life.

He made sure the whole school knew he had a crush on me, but I never felt a thing for him.

I was the classic overachiever, always coming in second in our school. My future was already planned—I would attend a top business school and then return home immediately to take over the family company.

The permanent first-place holder was Jerome Garcia—a straight-A genius who made perfect scores look easy and left the rest of us in the dust.

Jerome wore his hair slightly long, with those refined gold-rimmed glasses that gave him a smart-but-sexy look. Tall and perfectly put together, he had this untouchable aura about him.

Unlike Felix, who loved being in the spotlight, Jerome moved through school like a ghost, completely focused on his books and nothing else.

The girls all wrote him off as just another boring nerd, but I couldn't help wondering what kind of face was hidden under that unkempt hair.

The thing was, we weren't in any of the same classes. All I really knew about him was that he consistently outscored me on every test.