The students of Mr. Wallace's first-period history class shuffled in to find that, instead of their normal history teacher, there was a substitute.
Once they had settled in their seats, the teacher began the day. "I'm Mrs. Mannheim, and since I've never seen this class before, I'm going to need to take roll. So will all of you say "Here" when I call your name?" Saronda shifted in her seat, uncomfortably perceiving how her proportions had changed.
She picked up the roster and began reading names in a familiar name and response routine. "James Adler". Sounds familiar, Saronda thought.
"Tanisha Ames." Huh, I remember a Tammy Ames, but...not dat. She looked around at the room and noticed just how...black it was.
"Joey Avila." Joey still looked vaguely Hispanic, though she never had anything to do with him.
"Shaquandra Barnes." Saronda's head turned. Wait, is dat Sheila Barnes? She was on the cheer team though she might have been one of the worst performers.
"Jackie Berry." Another one the same.
"Keisha Black." She did remember Karyn, who was the complete opposite of her and a total loser, but she was still surprised at the new name.
"Da'Quan Bryant." Wait what? She turned around and looked at the boy, who had a short haircut and athletic build. Is dat... A look of realization crept across her face. In her old world, that was David Bryant. Everyone in this world had already been black. Yo dis world is fucked up. And it occurred to her that she was alone.
More unfamiliar names complemented the list, including Keisha Casey, Sapphire Levine, and a few others where the first name had definitely changed. At least all da last names are da same, she thought. But she realized something. Nobody would believe her memories of an alternate reality.
Except, that is, LaShawndra Jones. But an encounter with her would have to wait.
Given that there was a substitute teacher, history class was pretty much a breeze: it was a packet of a few worksheets to fill the time.
When the bell rang, however, a new and different dread faced her. She'd have to handle the hallways. And after that, an important math test.
