Soul Protector by Amanda Leigh Cowley Page B

mouth.” His voice was calm and
reassuring. “Now I want you to think of a black spot and imagine it
slowly growing and filling your mind.”
    I looked at Dan and nodded. I
closed my mouth, taking in a deep breath through my nose. I had
only known Dan for a couple of days, but I already trusted him with
my life.
    I breathed out through my
mouth, closed my eyes and pictured a black spot. I focussed on it
getting bigger like Dan had instructed, until there wasn’t room for
anything else. All the time I focussed on breathing slowly and
deeply, in through my nose and out through my mouth.
    The next thing I was aware of
was a tug at the skin of my temples as Kath pulled the sticky pads
off. I quickly lifted my hair from behind my ears, and smoothed it
back into place.
    “There, all done,” she said
breezily.
    I looked towards Mr Matthews to
see if he was satisfied, but he was already disappearing through
the door he had come out of.
    “Please come this way,” Kath
said, and we all walked through the same door as Mr Matthews. It
looked much like the offices where I worked. There was a desk with
a computer and printer sitting on it. Positioned next to it in a
t-shape was a bigger table with a few chairs dotted around. Mr
Matthews sat down and Kath pulled up a chair opposite him. Dan sat
round the other side next to Mr Matthews, so I pulled out the chair
next to Kath.
    Kath cleared her throat and
slid some sheets of paper across the table towards Mr Matthews. He
retrieved a pair of glasses from his pocket and placed them across
the bridge of his nose, before scanning the paperwork in front of
him. I used this opportunity to give Kath a slight nudge and
pointed towards my tooth. She looked confused for a moment, so I
curled my tongue towards my top tooth to give her a hint about the
lipstick on hers. I saw recognition dawn on her face just as Mr
Matthews spoke.
    I looked across to see him
peering over the top of his glasses in my direction.
    “Miss Reynolds, is something
the matter?”
    I shot a look at Dan, and saw a
smile playing on his lips.
    “Um, no...”
    “Good. Let’s carry on then
shall we?”
    I nodded in my most humble
manner.
    “We already have some
information on you,” he said in his robot tone. He pushed the
glasses back up his nose and scanned the papers in front of him.
“After extensively researching your background it has been
confirmed that you are indeed a Random Soul Protector. I just need
to clarify some details about how you first found out you could
switch into other people.”
    I smiled at him and nodded, but
I knew he wouldn’t reciprocate.
    “When was the first time you
switched into someone else’s body?”
    “Erm, just a few days ago.”
    “And how many times have you
actually switched since finding out?”
    “Twi...”
    Too late, I noticed Dan
frowning at me. I was so nervous I’d forgotten he wanted to answer
the questions.
    “Just the once,” he cut in
quickly.
    Mr Matthews looked at Dan and
his eyes narrowed. Then he looked back at me.
    “Please describe what happened
immediately before and during the switch.”
    I glanced at Dan for help, but
he didn’t make eye contact and his face remained blank.
    “I, err, it happened by
accident. I was a bit shocked to be honest,” I said laughing
nervously. Kath and Dan smiled politely, but Mr Matthews remained
tight-lipped. I swallowed hard and carried on.
    “I was out with my friends and
one of them, Lydia, got proposed to by her boyfriend. Well I got up
to hug her, and then I felt a bit dizzy.”
    I stopped for a moment, but Mr
Matthews said nothing. He was staring at me and when the silence
became awkward, I carried on.
    “It seems silly now, but at
first I thought there were two of me and the shock made me pass
out. Then, after I came round, I looked in a mirror and saw that
I’d somehow switched into her body.”
    “And before the switch with
this Lydia, you were wishing you were actually her?” Mr Matthews
took his glasses