The bad news: No free movie. But...
Well, apparently a bunch of other people were on the same email list as Kate for those free passes, and by the time we got to Copley Place (ptui!), they were all gone. There wasn't much of anything playing there that neither of us had seen or was particularly interested in, so we started wandering.

One of the stores closest to the theater is a Brentano's, and the front display lured me in like a moth to a flame. I know, I've been pretty tightly focused on the whole "not being in my own body" thing, but how did I miss a new Tom Clancy book coming out? I've only been Michelle for a month; shouldn't there have been "Coming Soon" posters, or some internet buzz, or something, before that? Was it all just hiding behind the Harry Potter stuff or something? Anyway, I was grinning like a fool when I picked up "The Teeth Of The Tiger" and didn't even look at the inside of the dust jacket. Kate thought that was kind of weird, but, hey, if you trust the author and know you're going to buy his stuff, why not jump in cold, especially for a suspense story?

Kate didn't get her own copy, saying her stack at home was plenty tall enough already (though she was tempted by the new Ben Franklin biography). We did some window-shopping after I paid for my hardcover, demonstrating that Kate has better taste in music, books, small appliances, and women's clothes than I do. Can't tell you about her taste in lingeree, since she refused to go into that store with me. I told her that was silly, since she's really pretty and I'd totally go for her if I were a guy, but no dice.

(Apparently, there wasn't an irony-obsessed God listening when I said it this time, since I'm still in Michelle's body)

Anyway, we got some Chinese in the food court after seeing that Barnes & Noble had a lower price on "Teeth Of The Tiger" than I'd paid at the other end of the mall. Now, here's the really interesting thing - Kate made a comment about how surprised she was that we got on so well.

"Why," I asked, "because I'm just the receptionist?"

"Well, there's that, I guess - don't take this the wrong way, but you're way too smart for that job."

I mumbled something about not having the money for college which she seemed to buy. But, anyway, she said, that wasn't it:

"When you first started working at BioSoft, you were sort of standoffish, is all. You just sort of gave off this attitude that the job was beneath you, and that you weren't planning to hang around for long. It was kind of surprising, since Rick had said you were so nice during your interview. I guess it might have been some sort of new job jitters, but it just seemed weird - I mean, you're new in town, right?"

Well, I had lived here for five years plus, but "Michelle" appears to have just moved in in July, which is what I told her.

"Right. I'd just thought, someone new in town would be looking to make friends, which you kinda weren't. Then, after a couple weeks, it's like you became a new person. You started remembering names, got yourself a boyfriend, and just having opinions about things. Or at least sharing them. It's cool, though - I like having someone to talk about foreign movies with."

Then I started teasing her about how come, if she liked foreign movies so much, she wasn't going to the Hong Kong stuff with Jen and I, and the conversation drifted.

But I did learn something important, I think - this swap wasn't random. Michelle was planning to swap with someone, and when she found someone moving to a new city (where no-one would say I was acting strangely) the next day, she pounced.

Now I have to wonder, does she really plan to swap back? The letter said she does, but I wonder.

-Martin
- posted 11:58 AM - - (archive use only)