Jon sat there, realizing what she'd just heard. There was no way to reverse the effects, the nurse had said. Her changes wouldn't wear off after time, and her immune system now blocked her from getting infected again. Therefore, there was no way for her to change forms again. She was stuck. Stuck as a cat-girl. For the rest of her life.
Or was she? Jon was tearing up, on the verge of a hysterical breakdown, when she remembered the stone. Fishing around in the pockets of her now-oversized pants, she panicked for a moment when she couldn't find it. Wait, she remembered, I left it on my dresser, didn't I?
"Jon," the nurse said, "in light of this, do you still want to skip on the gender-identity portion of the paperwork?"
"I...um...let me think about it," Jon said. She was relieved beyond words. She wasn't stuck after all, she'd just have to live through a day of school this way!
"Well," the nurse replied, "I guess that's it for you two, then. Jon, I'd like you to take this pamphlet. It's a basic run-down on female health for people in your situation; basically just an instruction manual for your new plumbing. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask me, okay?"
Jon forced a smile as she accepted the pamphlet. "Um, yeah," she said. "But Karyn can help me with that, right?"
Karyn nodded.
"Good," the nurse said. "If you two have things under control, you can go back to class now."
Jon and Karyn nodded and thanked her and then rushed out of the nurse's office.
Out in the hall, Karyn turned to Jon. "What was all that about?" she asked. "One minute you're about to lose it and the next you're smiling and nodding your way through the 'welcome to femininity' speech?"
"I just remembered the stone," Jon said. "I'd forgotten about it. It's on my dresser at home; all I have to do is get through today okay and I can solve my problem. And yours too, if you want."
Karyn nodded. "Really," she said, "I think you ought to be stuck that way for a few months, just for starting this whole mess. But you're right, we can fix this later today. Until then, if there's anything you can't figure out, let me know, okay?"
Jon nodded, and the two headed off to class.
