The Body Swap (Completed ✔️)

24 // "Have You Heard of Pretty Privilige?"

24.

After the meeting with the society, Nathan wanted to go out and celebrate Blessing's success. Even though Nathan himself spoke affluently and thoroughly on Blessing's behalf, much to the members surprise, he was excited that they didn't seem to suspect anything amiss. However, Blessing didn't seem as perky as he which dampened his cheery mood which was becoming a lot harder to come by,

"I know exactly where we should go," Nathan states as they're walking back to their halls from campus. With the help of Lana, they'd figured the local hot spots the notorious group of boys would be and he was almost certain that they wouldn't be in the club they were going to tonight,

"Nathan, I don't think it's as clear cut as that! I happen to know all their names and what Islam is all about and they were giving you some proper funny looks," Blessing explains exacerbated at Nathan's enthusiasm. She can see clearly the confused baffled looks when Nathan opened his mouth and the words tumbled out of her own mouth with ease and flow. They would occasionally glance at her expecting some input but none came apart from the occasional mumble, "besides I swear you don't drink-," Blessing begins but is cut off,

"-that much! Listen, I know it's bad but I do bend the rules from time to time. What catholic have you met who hasn't done drugs, had sex and drunk excessively. A small minority I'm sure," Nathan explains smugly. Rolling the eyes, Blessing remains quiet as she watches her own little self skipping gaily and even smiling at passersby. They enter the block and bound up the stairs and stand in the middle of the hallway ready to part ways,

"I'll come and help you find something to wear," Blessing says in a strained tone but Nathan shakes the head explaining that Lana would help him. Sighing heavily, Blessing nods her head, her optimism diminishing by the day at the prospect of remaining in Nathan's body. It excites to take daily trips to the gym and lift heavy weights immediately that would take her months to even consider, and the view from Nathan's height was quite enjoyable but she missed most of all being around her own friends. Nathan seemed to be so easily moulding into her friends that a slight pang of jealousy has been growing in the stomach.

Blessing knows why Nathan seems to be finding it easier to be her than she be him and it was purely down to the fact that he would do his research on the Black Lives Matter Movement and occasionally venture in the intersectional aspects of feminism. Yet, with all this research, he couldn't be bothered to care enough to stress about whether someone would ask him questions on important issues that Blessing is passionate about. He would saunter around blasé and nostalgic and generally be himself.

That's what was bothering Blessing so much. He was being himself but if Blessing tries to be herself she knows she'll be caught. Nathan expressed that his boys, to politely explain, would be too dumb to notice any difference aside from the fact that he wasn't praying as religiously. When Nathan commented that he was watching Dear White People on Netflix of his own accord, the heart leapt for joy which was quickly diminished when he explained he'd fallen asleep halfway through the second episode,

"Blessing, you know I'm having trouble sleeping at night with all these dark shadows and dreams," he explained half-asleep the next day which deeply angered Blessing. Inhaling deeply, Blessing tells herself that Nathan is correct -lord forbid she repeats that statement again- that she knows a lot more than she believes and she should try a little less and be herself a little more. Turning on the heel, Blessing opens the door to Nathan's flat and finds one of the flatmates in the kitchen rifling through the fridge.

She rarely sees this certain individual, who's name always escapes her, as he's always holed up in his room and there have been numerous times where her and Nathan's friends have tried coaxing him out to no avail. Feeling a little sorry for him, Blessing asks if he would like to come out with the boys and her but he shakes his head timidly. Furrowing the brow, Blessing mentions that he never seems to want come out,

"To be honest, it's not you guys, it's me. I mean, why on earth would a scrawny little thing like me go out with buff boys like you -no homo," he explains. Blessing resists the urge to roll the eyes at the last part of his sentence and she gazes at him. She's sure she's seen him around campus however like he stated, he wasn't enough to grab her attention. He was tall, lanky, pale with mousy brown hair and dark brown eyes which weren't outstanding features but it certainly didn't mean he was ugly,

"Anyway, no girl would ever look at me and every time I say something they give me some dirty look or laugh," he continues and Blessing's facial expression falls,

"What do you mean? We don't always go out to pull bo- girls, sometimes we just want to have a good time," Blessing explains catching herself,

"Yes, you guys have the option to go out and not pull girls because you know you can anytime, any day," he explains shutting the fridge door, "I mean, I don't think you have but have you heard of pretty privilege?" Narrowing the eyes, Blessing shakes the head and decides to pull out a seat and sit down. This is the longest conversation she's had with this individual,

"Let me give you a classic example. You know Blessing, the fit black girl across the hall. She's fucking fit and she knows it and so does everyone on campus. How many boys want to sleep with her and be friends with her?-" Blessing straightens and is about to open her mouth to interject but the individual raises his hand to silence her,

"I remember I was at Nando's and she was whining to her friend about how she didn't have enough money to buy some halloumi or something and the customer behind her bought it for her. Just like that. She just smiled and said thank you and the guy went back in line," he shrugs. Narrowing the eyes further, Blessing attempts to ruffle through her memory box but she can neither remember the individual at the scene or the customer offering to buy me the halloumi,

"And do you know what he said to his friend? He said she's too pretty to be sad about some halloumi," the individual sighs heavily and shrugs his shoulders, "and to be honest I am not a part of this privilege and it makes me insecure so I prefer to just stay out of situations similar to that....but thanks for the invite," he explains as he leaves the kitchen. As the door shuts, Blessing realises she didn't find out his name. 

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