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think he was a stalker .
    “ I don ’ t know, JD. You ’ re pretty banged up. ”
    “ Please, mom. I ’ m tough, I can do it. ” Max flexed his muscles , as pitiful as the y were. He had his work cut out for him.
    Mel laughed. “ I think the car accident knocked a few screws loose. I ’ ve never seen you this independent before— turnin g down pain meds, volunteering to take a taxi, and actually wanting to go to school. You ’ re like a whole new person. ”
    You have no idea . Max smiled and finished eating his Jell-O .
    **
    T o Max ’ s disappointment , the doctor didn ’ t release him until five days later . By Monday, he thought for sure he ’ d lose his mind if he had to eat one more bland meal or sleep one more night on the hard plastic covered mattress. When not outlining a workout routine for JD, he spent his time obsessing over seeing Emma. His mother had to work all but one of the days, so most of his time was spent alone. . . thinking . . . worrying.
    His body grew stiff from the lack of activity , and he decided to add a stretching routine to loosen himself up . Only the nurse came in , putting the kibosh on his plans. “ You may walk the corridors, Mr. Miller, but there will be no bending and stooping. With a head injury like yours, you could faint. ”
    Max decided she was a bit on the dramatic side , and as soon as she left his room, he got up and started stretching again. Almost immediately, he toppled over and landed on his butt. He stuck to walking after that.
    Five-thirty that evening , Mel borrowed a car from a coworker and brought him home during her dinner break.
    “ Here, sweetie, a welcome home present. ” She handed Max a plastic Wal-Mart bag. Inside was a six pack of underwear and a toothbrush. “ While I was loading some manure for a customer yesterday, a strong impression came over me that it was time to get you some new underwear and a toothbrush. We ird , huh? ”
    Gabe. Max sent a silent thank you to Gabe. He hadn ’ t even thought about having to wear JD ’ s underwear or use his toothbrush. He may be in JD ’ s body, but the thought of sharing his underwear grossed him out.
    Mel gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and dashed back to work. Tim was off with his buddies , so Max had the place to himself for a few hours. He carefully picked up the trash spread across the living room, not wanting to become dizzy again. The place was even filthier than the day Gabe showed it to him on the monitor. Exhausted by the time he ’ d finished , Max took a shower .
    JD ’ s clothes fit loose ly . After being in the hospital for almost two weeks, he must have lost some weight, though he still carried an extra thirty around, Max guessed. He stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. Used to seeing his own cut, fit body , Max cringed at the flabby reflection gawking back at him . He had work to do, that ’ s for sure. What struck Max the most was the energy he needed to just carry JD ’ s form around. His o wn body felt graceful , strong . JD ’ s felt clumsy and awkward.
    He got dressed and gathered up a pen and paper and began outlining his plan to whip JD into shape. Mel didn ’ t return at nine, but that was okay with Max. He was achy , tired and in enough pain to warrant taking a pain pill the doctor had sent home with him, after which he crawled into JD ’ s bed. Although lumpy and hard, Max fell asleep instantly.
    Sometime during the night, Max heard voices—one male, one female, arguing. Through the fog of the pain pill, Max couldn ’ t make out what they argu ed about. After a few minutes, he fell asleep again and didn ’ t wake until the alarm clock buzzed at seven the next morning. He dressed in the cleanest clothes he could find.
    “ I ’ ll be d oing laundry today after school, ” he murmured as he brushed his teeth. He rinsed his mouth and re adjusted himself in his new underwear. “ Tighty-whiteys. Seriously, who still wears tighty-whiteys? ”
    The living room he