Being different doesn't make you an outsider, it makes you unique and makes you stand out while looking into an unchanged world ~ Ayjee Grogan

          Bennett Wenmore was like every other person who was born in the last two decades, he walked and talked and ran and jumped. He learned and made friend--the last bit somewhat harder. He was just missing more. It was common to see people swinging a mechanical arm at their sides or walking with a bio-mechanical leg. In his case he moved with a fully customized bio-mechanical body; the workings even extending up into his brain and face.

          Bennett--most often called 'Ben'--went to a school for the disabled, ever since 2040 the category of disabled was more intense, now everyone was born with a 2020-type disability. The 2040+ disabilities were as in a disability extending from the usual missing piece. He wasn't technically grouped in the category of disabled since his 'usual missing piece' was his entire body. He went there for his mandatory intense healthcare. His bio-mechanic body grew with him but had to be updated every six months so it would stay in sync with his brain. On top of that he had to be on a monitor 24/7 that monitors his vitals and the synthetic blood ratio. Without the intense care he could experience major setbacks in growth and physical and mental health.

          Now, in 2064, Bennett was of age 16 and still going strong. His life consists of his mother, father, sister and his best friend, Douglas, who was also 16. Douglas was a frail fellow. He lived in the Physical & Mental Health Center--which Bennett visited often. Douglas had a bio-mechanic left leg but his body was warped in curious places. He had a case of autism, slight PTSD--from his mother's death five years before and recently developed a psychotic disorder. Bennett's family disliked him being a friend of a psychotically disordered person but he was one of the most caring people alive. 

          As of this day, Bennett was in the presence of the troubled Douglas. The warped figure sat lopsided in his electronic chair. Douglas reached over and made his play on the checkers board.

          Douglas and Bennett's favorite past-time was checkers--well it was Douglas' anyways. He was a checker extraordinaire. Bennett made his play and Douglas instantly came back by taking three of his pieces; one of them a king. Douglas smiled at his friend, "Loser." he booed. The 'o' sound of his word was elongated--and the whole word said was a low pitch.

          "I don't think it's fair." Bennett pouted.

          "No... good." Douglas laughed. He slid his eyes to a woman walking towards them, "Douglas... has to... treat... wo-man."

          Douglas had a twisted sense of humor. Occasionally he would joke about sexual matters and--during his phases of being mental--harassment. At these times--when he goes mental--Bennett would be separated from his friend for a total of two hours after he exits the phase. Douglas also spoke in 3rd person due to his autism.

         Bennett waved good-bye to the wheel-chair bound boy and watched as his nurse wheeled him away. He stood up slowly--double-checking his mini-monitor--and placed his hand on his chest as his heart-rate spiked briefly. Sudden movement made that happen frequently, which is why he was limited to slower movements.

          His parents were waiting for him--now coming towards him--from the other side of the room. Since Douglas was diagnosed with Mental Illness they escorted Bennett when he went to go see him. When they got to him they immediately started helping him. His mom--Bonnie--pulled his long hair out of one of his mechanical joints. "Your getting this cut." she said. His dad--Roger--was checking his vitals on the small screen that was set in the upper-arm of his bio-mechanical body.

          Bonnie wasn't joking about getting a haircut. Bennett didn't--couldn't--put up a big resistance, he just chose his own cut. He had gotten a Mohawk--having the middle part cut lower. The bare sides of his head displayed the wiring that weaved inline with his skull. The hairstyle gave Bennett a sense of confidence.

          He had gotten his hair cut by an AI robot. He always did, everyone else wasn't as gentle and they were cruel. Bennett preferred low-functioning artificial intelligence. They didn't tease him or give him weird looks. The more recent AI's functioned like a mirrored version of a live human--not exactly the same but close enough with slight dysfunctions.

          It seemed he lived in a world of cruelty. Everyone was missing something but it seemed they all had the same mindset--if you're missing more than one limb, you're wrong. When he was younger he used to get worked up at their reactions and almost always ended in the hospital. This process was quickly deteriorated when he got worked up enough for his heart to skip eight beats--double the usual pause.

          As he stepped outside multiple heads turned to him and their facial expressions twisted. He did his best to ignore the faces and smile at them. When he got in the car he heard someone yell out to him, "FREAK!"

          'Freak' was the most common name he was called but it stabbed.  He knew the raw definition was something or someone with an abnormal quality but it was the way they said it. As they drove Roger inquired about how he was feeling. He attempted to laugh it off but his father could see through him easily.

          "If the world had no people that were different, life would be boring." Roger said.

          His dad had turned the rear-view mirror so that he could look at him through it. "You know that right?" He fixed his eyes on him through the mirror.

          "How could I not?" Bennett laughed. His father had been reciting that same line for as long as he could remember.

          And then his father mentioned the dreaded inevitable--school. "When you start this school year, I want you to make friends, yeah?"

          "I don't know. My condition makes people reel and tend to make them want to get away from me. Just a comment." Bennett coughed at the last sentence. His heart had spiked again and went down. His parents didn't even look back, the spiking was so common they didn't see it as a problem.

          "Good thing you go to a school for disabled, right?" Bonnie asked.

          "Even among them I'm seen as an anomaly." Bennet breathed.

          "You're just like everyone else."

          "Except I'm a head."

          Once they got to their house Bennett was already tiring. When his brain started going faster than his body he's get sleepy within five to seven hours of no sleep. His parents helped him out and helped him onto the couch in the living room. He heard his mom set an appointment for a body upgrade.

          On the first day of school he awoke to a fresh feeling. He repeatedly lifted his right arm and realized the regular weight of the monitor was gone. He looked up at his surroundings. Nearby were his usual two doctors--Dr. Morgan and Dr. Lewis--peering at a vitals screen. He was in his own bed and he couldn't see his parents anywhere.

          "He's awake." Dr. Morgan realized.

          "How are you feeling?" she asked.

          "Okay. Refreshed." Bennett looked around--confused. If he had been upgraded then he shouldn't have had to be but into general anesthesia, which he could feel flushing out of his brain system. He looked down at his body and realized that it was replaced, but... different--very different. 

          "It's the newest design. Custom-made by the best." Dr. Lewis said proudly.

          "How long have I been out?" The last time Bennett's body had been fully replaced is when he was six and had broken it--a painful memory.

          "Five days."

          "Five days... five days." He repeated, "Today's school!" he realized, the doctors nodding confirmed his theory.

          "Two hours until you have to leave." Dr. Morgan informed.

          "Where's my monitor?" Bennett asked.

          "It's set into the body. Left arm." Dr. Lewis said as he removed the feeding tube that entered from the base of his throat.

          The body was a sleek silver and black. It smoothed together as if it were a human body made of metal. The joints were made of balls of metal put together to make a easily move-able joint. The monitor was on the left arm, neatly in line with the arm. It had everything a normal male body would--they even added the male genitalia.

          "You'll still need your usual care, this is simply an upgrade to the physical appearance." Dr. Lewis said.

          Bennett's parents walked into the room. "How are you feeling Ben?" His mom asked.

          "Okay, seeing that I've just got a body swap."

          "That way you get a new start this year." His dad approved.

          Bennett's parents dropped him off at school, they didn't walk him in because they were late for work. He took a deep breath then walked in. At first no-one gave him any long looks. The technological design on the bare sides of his head got attention first, then his silver hands--his two silver hands.

          Some of the children were in wheelchairs or using walkers. Many of them were walking themselves and showed no apparent signs that they were physically disabled. Beeping of multiple monitor machines echoed around the halls ominously. He walked among them--a stranger--silently. Some followed him with their eyes. One boy kept making eye-contact with him repeatedly. He touched around his eyes but found nothing out of the ordinary.

          He found his storage unit all the way at the end of the line--the one he had been using since he was in the 2nd grade. A boy named Dennis--had a hip dysfunction--used to have the unit next to his but had been transferred to a mental facility two continents away. In this age many people were diagnosed with mental disabilities. It was actually rare to find someone that was 100% healthy--physically or mentally.

          Bennett found his new unit neighbor was a girl his age. She had bright blue eyes that contrasted against her dark, flawless skin. He extremely curly hair was worn wild and she wore bright colors that matched her eyes and commented--like her eyes--her skin.

          At first she ignored him--and he her--and did her business. Bennett did his best to avert attention but eventually--like always--her eyes started lingering on him. Except she didn't look at him the same way. She didn't look at him with disgust or mockery, her expression held simply curiosity.

          "Hi. I'm Donella." she greeted.

          "Bennett." He said.

          Bennett was bewildered by this sudden show of kindness. The girl was still peering into his eyes. "Is there something on my face?" he asked quickly.

          "Your eyes are nice." She averted her eyes.

          Bennett hadn't actually seen his eyes after the switch so the comment confused him. "Why eyes?" he breathed, "Excuse me." he said and walked off.

          When he got into the bathroom he went to the mirror and examined his eyes. They were laced with technology and they were indeed curious. As he looked around the enhancements whirled to accommodate the movement. He leaned forward and touched one of his metal finger to his eye. It felt the same as his own eyes without the enhancement.

          "May I see all the students in the Announcement Hall? 15 minutes." Came a voice on the PA

          Bennett jumped and heard his monitor on his arm beep with the spiking of his vitals. He left the bathroom and went back to his unit. Donella was not there anymore but her unit was open. He reached over and closed it before closing his own and walking down the emptying hall and into the Announcement Hall.

          The Announcement Hall was full of grunts and coughs--not uncommon among the disabled. On the front stage there was a woman--Mrs. McNelly--who was tuning a microphone. She had been the director at the school for nearly two decades. Bennett looked over at the Mental section of the bleachers. Multiple teachers were going around situating them, slowly explaining why they had to sit. One of the students were kicking a staff member, who ignored the child's kicking and continued to soothe him.

          "Welcome everyone to the School for the Mentally and Physically Disabled." Mrs. McNelly's voice pulled my conscience back to her. "This year is going to be the best year yet! Because we have the best students, we have dedicated students--"

          Bennett faded her voice out of his head. He had memorized this speech already from the other ten times he heard it--and he would be hearing it four more times until he graduates from the 15th grade. His eyes scanned the crowds until he found what he was looking for--luckily in the preferred place--Donella in the Physical section. It wasn't that he didn't like people who were mentally disabled--Douglass was--he just preferred that Donella wasn't for some unknown reason.

          He shook himself out of his thoughts as Mrs. McNelly closed her speech. The Physically disabled children left first and the school-day proceeded. Most of the day was spent doing introductions and reviews schedules and books--no major schoolwork yet.

          During lunch Bennett called his parents. His father picked up his phone. In this specific school the students were allowed to carry phones due to their special conditions. The allowance was passed when, eight years ago, a child said they need to speak to their parents and during the walk to the principal's office he collapsed.

          "Everything okay Ben?" Came Roger's voice.

          "Yeah. I may have made a friend. Well I talked to her once this morning." Bennett said.

          He could almost hear his father's smile. "That's great! Wait until your mother hears!"

          "I've got to go before I miss lunch."

          Bennett was standing in the middle of the cafeteria, hunting for a seat. His father said goodbye and he hung up. He saw Donella with another girl at a far back table. The curly headed girl beckoned him over. He grinned and walked over.

          "This is Charmin."

          The first thing Bennett thought was: 'Tissue'. "Hi, I'm Bennett."

          The girl looked at him for an extended period of time, unlike Donella, Charmin stared at him without honest curiosity. She looked at him with slight mockery. "Hi Bennett."

          "She's my sister." Donella added.

          Bennett sat on the other side of the table--next to Donella. As he walked around he heard Charmin whisper, "What's up with the eyes?"

          "I was born with only a head, organs, nerves and veins." Bennett said.

          If he was going to be breaking through no-friend casing he might as well take everything that comes with the package. Charmin hiccuped over her food as she contained a snort. Donella looked back and forth timidly.

          The three of them whipped their head around as multiple children screamed then the cafeteria went quiet. The staff began crowding around the middle of the cafeteria then Donella and Ben gasped as Charmin's hiccups flourished into full body seizes. The girl continued jerking and then fell dead-weight.

          Ben looked around the cafeteria and watched as multiple children experienced seizures.