The R.A.I.D. and the Mild Mannered School Teacher

Watching the children play, Adam saw several kids form a game of tag. They were laughing and giggling as they ran around. There were innocent kids doing nothing but having fun. They looked like a bunch of boys, but one might have been a girl, as his hair was a bit longer than the rest. Not that it mattered.

Adam had forgotten what it felt like to have so much fun just playing. He longed to remember how it was to enjoy himself so much. Now that he was older, things were so much more complicated. He had to consider the feelings of others. He just couldn't let himself go.

Adam used the R.A.I.D. to join the game. The R.A.I.D. was a magical device that looked like a cross between a T.V. remote and a cell phone what could swap traits between two or more people. He had the small body of one of the participants. But Adam wasn't having as much fun as he felt he should. To feel that he was really part of the game, he had to swap personalities with one of the children. That did the trick.

The problem was that with his little body, he couldn't carry the device. It didn't fit into his little pockets anymore. With his immature personality, he didn't see any problem with simply hiding the device and pick it up later. Finding a suitable hiding place, Adam turned off the R.A.I.D. and joined the game.

In the end, he was having so much fun that he forgot all about it. As the days passed, Adam forgot all about the device.

When another child found the R.A.I.D. he snatched it up and kept it hidden from his mother. This it wasn't until the child got to school that he decided to turn on the device.

In Mr. Findley's class, the child took the device out and pressed the button to activate it. Luke (Mr. Finley) is a fit six feet tall man. He is 25 years old with a medium build and medium brown hair., He mostly wearings contacts although might wear his glasses depending upon how he is feeling.

He is very sociable with an outgoing personality who relates well with his students. He prefers to teach the younger grades and likes to make his classes fun. His classes are unruly on occasion as he feels he should be stricter with his classes. He hasn't taught for very long and enjoys his work immensely.

Mr. Luke Findley seeing one of his students, (who should have been too young to be carrying a smartphone like that) confiscated the phone before the phone could be fully activated.

"I'll give this to your mother at the end of the day," Luke chided him.

Luke planned on talking to the child's mother about phones at school. Regardless, he put it in his desk.

The child didn't want his mother to know about the device. He was sure he would get into trouble, So when class ended, the child wouldn't have brought up getting back his device. Besides, he had forgotten all about it by then.

Luke discovered the device in his desk after all the students had gone. he picked it up and heard the device announce...

HELLO NEW USER AND WELCOME TO R.A.I.D (Reality Altering Interface Device) this app allows you to swap certain things with others based on the modes on the screen you will see after this one it is pretty simple to use simply aim the camera at someone and press one of the buttons and then a menu will appear allowing you to be more specific with your swap please enjoy R.A.I.D.

"What was that?" Luke thought. It was hard to believe that he was imagining when he heard when Luke was still hearing the instructions of how the R.A.I.D. worked. He was becoming an expert on every feature of the device as he held it in his hand. he knew every feature the device had as well as how to use it flawlessly. It was becoming as if he had been using the device for years even though he hadn't actually used the device one.

"No way should a little boy have a device like this," Luke reasoned. "It was too powerful for most people, let alone a little boy. He could get into real trouble with it. It would be best if he kept it." The problem was that the boy would be asking for the device back tomorrow. Luke couldn't let that happen. "But how can I prevent that?" The fact was that either the kid had to go or he had to go. It wasn't right to make the kid disappear (from class) he would have to go.

There were several teachers that taught second grade in his school, but only two were men. Luke and Mr. Jordan Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler didn't have the best schedule, but Luke didn't want to swap with a woman. This would be his first swap and even though he knew what should happen there was some doubt. It would be best to swap with a man so that he didn't end up getting more than the teacher's schedule or some other problem.

Before the students arrived, Luke sought out Jordan to make the swap. Luke tried to convince himself that this wouldn't be any big deal. He was just changing his assignment. He would still be teaching second grade. He would still be at the same school. Presumably, he would still have the same parking space. He would just be teaching a different group of kids in a different classroom. "NO BIG DEAL!" Where they the best kids in the school? "NO" But he wasn't doing this to screw another teacher out of the best kids. He was doing it to simply hide.

After a short time looking, Jordan was in sight. Luke took out the device, aimed it at Jordan, and selected the appropriate option. Luke knew exactly what to 'press' to get the result he wanted. It was very intuitive. When it was over, nothing seemed to have changed. Luke walked to his new classroom.

When he looked around, he found that it had been decorated to his own liking. There are the desk tables in the middle of the room arranged in a row, two students at each desk (always one boy and one girl). There's a reading area. It's called the reading area, but it is really just a big rug for the students to sit upon. In the corner, there is a couch and a rocking chair. Luke had added his own personal touch or stuffed animals that he had purchased himself. There's a semi-circle table in another area for kids to work at. Most teachers had a room set up like this, but Luke recognized his own personal style.

On the walls, were posters with class rules, math facts, and student art. Luke remembered selected these from those provided by the school. IT looked like his former room. The excellent homework and tests were hung where he would have put them. Everything was the same except for the students who would be arriving soon.

The room looked as if he was the one who set it up. Luke didn't expect that, but he should have. Luke looked in the drawer where he usually kept his administrative papers (such as attendance and the usual crap that the administration handed out) and it was there. They were even signed with his signature although the students were different.

He knew every kid in his new classroom. He knew he hadn't met most of them, but he knew them anyway. This was his class now. Could he remember his old class? "YES" He could remember them like he remembered classes in years past. But these kids were his students now.

Looking over his classroom as he was taking their attendance, Luke knew every kid as if he was been teaching them for many months and the students knew him. There was Katherine Liu, everyone called her Kitty, who was a lovely girl always willing to please. Jessica Berndle who was very friendly and fun-loving. Kurt Dean was big for a second grader and used that fact to cause mischief in the second grade. Luke could name each student and what they were like.

Luke wrote on the blackboard the aim of the lesson and the homework for tomorrow as well as what he expected the class to do as soon as they entered the room. Luke was sure this class would be as smooth as his former class.

Once his room was set up as he needed it, Luke waited by the door ready to greet his new students as he had greeted his former students. There was only a few minutes before the beginning of classes and the students would be arriving.

Luke knew the best kids would come first, then those without many friends, those with friends would come as a group and the ones who could be trouble would be last. That's the way it was in all classes.

The bell rang and the students entered the building. Luke knew that in only one minute, maybe two the kids would be at his door. Luke posed by the door with his hands balled into fists on his hips. He stood to his full height and waited for the kids to come. He felt like a man with literal superpowers. Due to the R.I.A.D. he was a man with superpowers. He could have the size and strength of an 800-pound gorilla if he wanted. Even with such powers no one would be afraid of him or think him out of place. If that wasn't superpowers, Luke didn't know what was. before the students arrived, Luke wondered if he swapped with a bird, could he actually fly.

Luke was brought out of his daydreaming when the first student approached his door. "Hey, Teddy! How are you on this fine day?" Luke said as the first student entered the room. It was Ted Woodbine one of the best kids, Luke knew.

"Hi Mr. Findley," the kid says cheerily as he walked to the closet to put his jacket away.

Luke wished he had time to talk to the students and see what they thought of him, but the next student was already arriving and he had to greet them all.

One by one, all the students entered his classroom. They took their seats, saw the work that was required of them, and began. They seemed well drilled in the procedures that Luke demanded. Luke wondered if they had always been this way or they had been changed by the swap that Luke made with Jordan.

He was in as much control of this class as he was of his own. usually, he didn't need to say anything to get a student back to work, a stern look would usually do just as well. Luke tried to keep his actions low- key. That was best. Besides if he started hot, where would he go when the 'shit hit the fan?'

Luke taught as he usually did, all was as he expected. The first 'test' of the R.A.I.D. was a complete success. The world had adjusted to his change and nothing went wrong. Luke assumed that all his interactions with the device would go just as smoothly. The device was well made and had many safeguards according to the instructions he remembered. (The safeguards there were inserted into his mind by the device itself.)

Pretty soon it was recess and a time for Luke to be with other teachers. As far as the teachers were concerned, nothing had changed at all. He was still just a second-grade teacher and everyone treated him exactly as before. The little banter he had with the other teachers seemed perfectly natural to him. Luke also made sure to talk to Jordan to see if he noticed anything different. It didn't seem like he did, but he didn't want to press the point.

That was the first test. The second test was when Luke saw students from his former class. None seemed to recognize him. Not even his 'favorite' students. The one with who he thought he had a rapport.

Luke didn't use the device for the rest of the day. He didn't use the device for the rest of the week actually.

But eventually, when Luke was sure that the device could be used benignly, he decided to have a little fun with the device. The device told him that no one would question any of the changes to reality. Luke decided to check it out. He needed something that would prove the point, but not make him look like a fool if it didn't work as advertised.

It was hard to decide what to try. He could swap his hair with one of the girls and see if anyone would notice. That wasn't as bad as swapping clothes, but it was still too obvious. People would think he was strange if he had the hairstyle of a young girl...or even an adult woman. He needed something no so obvious. Something that he could check out without sticking it into people's faces.

"What if I swap my...with one of my students." That is what Luke thought to himself. He just couldn't fit in the blank. Most things were either too obvious or too subtle. He couldn't swap his intelligence or personality with a student in his class. That would be nuts. besides, how would he keep his job if he gave up either of those things? Then it hit him like a thunderbolt. "What if I swap my name with one of the girls in the class." He would have to use a girl's name. That would be different enough. Plus it would have to be a girl's name so it would be distinctive. Something a man would never have. Then all Luke would have to do is get into a conversation with someone (one of the teachers) and see what they called him. He wouldn't have to instigate it. It would just come up in conversation.

The next question was to swap his entire name or just his first name? Luke didn't think it matters much so why not do the whole name thing.

The next day before class, Luke got in early to see who had the best name, which meant a name that was sufficiently girly. Luke decided upon Kitty Liu. This worked perfectly as Luke was neither a Kitty nor of Asian descent. Luke waited for his opportunity to use the device upon Kitty.

For a short moment, Luke had a pang of conscience. He was going to take something from a little girl. But Luke decided that it wasn't bad. The girl would never know it was gone and she would get it back very soon. He wouldn't keep her name for more than a few hours; a day at the most.

When the bell indicating the start of the day rang, Luke was nervous. Even more nervous than he was before. This time he was doing a swap on a child. That made it seem different somehow. Luke couldn't especially let Kitty see the device. He had to do it without her seeing anything. His best opportunity was when the kids were at work doing the opening assignment while he was doing the attendance.

His heart was beating hard while the kids entered. He was going to swap something with his student. Something very personal to both of them. He had to be careful, all he wanted was her name. Not her entire identity. Not her home and family. Luke's head was down feigning doing the attendance. He already had the device out hidden behind his desk so none of his students could see. His eyes were perusing the classroom. He was looking for his opportunity to use it.

Several times, he raised the R.A.I.D. a bit but then chickened out when he thought one of his students was about to look up. Finally, he decided to go for it. He quickly raised the device so it was barely over the desk and selected Kitty. His hand was shaking as he pushed the button.

It was a miracle that Luke's aim was true and that he selected Kitty as intended. Luke didn't feel any different after the swap. When he thought of his name, he knew it should be Luke. But was it Kitty now? He wasn't sure. He couldn't ask the students what's my name. The best way would be to select Kitty when she wanted to answer a question.