Welcome To My Nightmare

Shelly dreaded going to school more and more. She was getting picked on by a group of girls, which included her former best friend and the mean girl vibe was getting worse every day.
It didn't used to be this way; she wasn't always the class pariah.
The girls that picked on her weren't the prettiest, richest or most well-connected in school.
They were just the meanest.
Once upon a time she and Nancy, her former best friend, were thicker than thieves. Then Nancy drifted into friendships with the other girls.
There wasn't a moment when Nancy told her she didn't want her as a friend anymore, it was less of a ghosting and more of a quiet quitting of their friendship.
Frustratingly, to stick the knife in, Nancy didn't insult Shelly like the others but she didn't defend her either. And the fact that they were close friends was like a distant memory that Nancy never revisited.
High school was now like a mental torture chamber: Daily insults about Shelly's appearance punctuated her day: the girls would sometimes gather in the hallway and some of them would shoot her mental daggers through their eyes while they cackled like evil hens.
A girl named Tiffany was the ringleader, and she and Nancy were practically besties.
Lunchtime was the worst, even the few friends she had left had long drifted to other tables. 11th grade was getting to be a living hell.
Shelly was in the cafeteria one day, picking at her lunch when she noticed someone standing before her.
"I'm Elaine, I'm new here; can I sit with you?"
Shelly gestured for her to take a seat.
She noticed Elaine had kind of a geeky retro look, with outdated clothes and big glasses.
She dreaded when the witchy wolf pack would start taking Elaine mentally apart.
Shelly informed Elaine about her bullies and how she was dumped by her best friend, Nancy. She also told Elaine to watch her back as they would no doubt start harassing her, as she was new and was seen talking to Shelly.
Elaine shook her head in denial after being informed of this. "I'll be fine," she said confidently.
She then informed Shelly of a quirky bookstore she had visited and asked if they could meet there on Saturday. She said yes and they arranged a time.
Saturday came and Shelly arrived at the bookstore at the appointed time. She decided to browse while waiting.
There was something about these kinds of stores that were always so appealing; Shelly visited these types of shops as a child and had forgotten how fun they could be. They always smelled good like incense and were filled with cool, unique things and weird books you didn't realize could exist.
One of these books, simply called "Magic" pulled Shelly's interest.
It was a shiny purple book with a star on it.
Before she knew it, she had half the book read. It was full of inspirational ideas, spells, and interesting little stories. She decided to purchase it as a reference book.
It was way past the time they were supposed to meet and Elaine still hadn't shown.
She didn't have Elaine's phone number but waited awhile longer for her to show.
She never showed.
Shelly bought the book and brought it home. She finished the rest of it that evening and when she came to the last page it simply said,"Close Your Eyes."
She did, and next saw a bright fairy creature in her mind's eye. It spoke, saying, "On Monday you will be Tiffany and she will be you."
The rest of the weekend, Shelly thought about what the fairy said.
Monday, Shelly woke up as herself as usual, relieved. She got dressed and went to school.
As she walked into the hall, she decided to run into the bathroom to brush her hair. In that moment, she changed into Tiffany.
and Tiffany, who had just walked in, changed into her.
The rest of the day Shelly avoided a shocked Tiffany and took great delight in playing the part of a nicer Tiffany, except for a moment when she gleefully insulted all her "friends" outfits. Tiffany, as being suddenly Shelly, wondered if she was having a psychotic break.
At lunch, Tiffany as Shelly tried to sit with the rest of girls but they pushed her tray off the table and laughed.
In that moment, flashes of moments and feelings, Shelly's feelings, went through her mind and body.
Shelly as Tiffany breezed past her with her tray and whispered "Welcome to My Nightmare, I Think You're Gonna Like It."
Tiffany as Shelly tried to hold it together as best she could the rest of the day, but she was now really doubting her sanity.
Magically, in the school parking lot after the last bell rang and when no one else was looking, they were switched back.
Shelly looked as Tiffany slid into her car, breathing a huge, shaky sigh of relief.
Shelly laughed and headed to her own car.
That night, the fairy visited again and said she and Tiffany would remember that day, but no one else would.
After that, everything changed for Shelly. She got great new friends and enjoyed the rest of her high school life. Her self-esteem soared and it was like a burden was lifted.
But she never saw Elaine again.