We sat in front of the principal's desk. Karyn, Joseph and me in between them. We waited for the principal to say somehting.
"My dear friends, you can't imagine how glad I am that our school could participate in this very special student exchange program... I'm sure that both you and our students are going to get greatly enriched by the experience!"
"What is he talking about?!" I couldn't help but think "How the hell are we supposed to get enriched taking a place of little girls?!"
What I didn't know at that time was that this exchange was to be truly... educational.
"Before we start the program" he continued "I'd like to describe the girls to you so you know exactly what to expect form your stay here."
"Firstly they are cousins so you should see each other pretty often even outside of the school. Now, let me begin with the youngest one. Emily - she exchanges with you Karyn - is a lovely child. Just like a lot girls her age she loves ponies and because her family is really wealthy she actually got one. She visits it three times a week so be prepared to spend some time with horses!"
Karyn turning to me and whispered "Great, now I have to deal with what this little spoiled brat has to deal with. I mean, how old can she be in the kindergarten? 4? 5? God, I'm already tired of this shit..."
"Joseph, you are going to be exchanged with Jennifer." continued the principal "The thing you have to mind is that Jen is a bit... Let's say that she's got quite a big appetite for a child. Her parents don't want her as... pudgy as she is now, so she has to follow a special diet, ok?"
This time it was Joseph who turned to me to comment.
"I don't know how this has anything to do with the exchange." he said "Will I have to eat the same as the fatty? That is just stupid!"
The principal now looked at me so I tried to pretend I'm paying a great attention to what he was saying.
"As for your exchange partner Jon" the principal smiled "Our little Ashley is a real gem in this school. She is a top student in almost every subject. Also, she does dancing and gymnastics and she is the country's top when it comes to flexibility. There's just one problem. She is sometimes bullied by her peers, mostly by other girls. That's because she is sort of... more mature than the rest of them. And I don't mean only mentally... Anyway, you'll know what I mean when you see her."
"So what?" I thought "Basically he meant my exchange partner is a jailbait, envied by her girlfriends. Great. Now how does it change anything?"
The principal looked once more at each one of us taking some kind of metal box from his desk. He opened it. Inside, shiny, there was a bid red button with a white '1' on it.
"All right." he said after a short pause "Now you know the basics, so we can start. You see? That's what I love about this exchange program - a chance to truly understand the others life!"
I felt something was wrong as he put his finger on the button.
"Phase 1: the body trade!"
He pressed it.
