The following morning Jon awoke and clambered out of bed. He made his way downstairs where his mom was rushing around sorting out breakfast, her fluffy dressing gown flapping wildly as she darted about. Mikey was complaining they run out of his favourite sugary cereal, and Zoe was sitting at the table with her usual sullen demeanour. His dad brushed past him, grabbed a slice of toast and turned to his wife.
“Can’t stick around Linda” he said as he gave her the quickest peck on the cheek, “gotta get a move on, it’s a real busy one today” he added as he headed to leave.
“Can you at least hold on and help find something for Mikey!” Linda said loudly.
“Sorry honey” his dad said, “I really need to go!” He added with a shrug and with that he was gone. Jon’s mom made an exasperated noise and turned back to the counter.
“Guess I’ll just make the breakfasts, and everyone’s lunches then!” She grumbled to herself, “and then I’ll do the school run, the grocery shopping, the tidying, everything by myself as usual!”. Jon could tell she was getting stressed out and didn’t want to be around for the usual explosive rant that always followed.
“Um, I think I’ll skip breakfast and grab a quick shower” he said meekly. His mom glanced over at him. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and then she resumed her muttering before turning back to the counter. Jon quickly retreated back upstairs and to his room. He quickly stripped down to his boxers and hurried into the bathroom. He turned the shower on and stepped under the water. He allowed the hot water to fall over him for a few moments before beginning his usual washing ritual. Shampoo, rinse, body wash, rinse, and out. He switched the water off and wrapped his towel around his waist. By the time he left the bathroom the noise downstairs had finished. Thankfully he’d missed mom’s explosion. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked back to his room. He opened the door and yelped in surprise.
“Ok Jon” Linda said from her seat on his bed, “I’ve had enough” she added.
“I haven’t done anything though” Jon protested.
“Nobody has!” Linda snapped, “that’s why I’ve got so much on my plate! I need a break so I’m tapping out!” She said, looking expectantly at him.
“Sorry?” Jon asked feeling confused.
“I said I’m tapping out. You can take over for a bit” she replied. What she did next took Jon completely by surprise. She reached up to her forehead and grabbed her hair. In one movement she removed what was apparently a wig, revealing another shorter hairstyle underneath. One Jon recognised as his own. She got to her feet and thrust the wig into his hands.
“I’ll go get an outfit sorted for you, you’ve got five minutes to dry yourself off then come to my room” she said sternly, before striding out the room. Jon blinked in confusion for a few seconds, then quickly reached for the stone.
“I wish I knew what was happening” he said quietly, there was a bright flash and suddenly a load of knowledge appeared in his brain.
Tapping out was apparently something he and his mother did regularly when they needed a break from their lives. One would tap out to the other, and they would essentially swap lives. They would dress as each other, act like each other, and for some reason, providing they kept ‘in character’ nobody ever really noticed. The wig was a recent addition, apparently by Jon’s request, as he found it easier to stay in character if he looked more like Linda.
“Oh man,” he mumbled, “what have I done!”
