"Thanks, Jon." Karyn said, with a smile. "I'm glad I could finally tell you."
There was an awkward pause. "So, what's it been like being a girl for the past four years?" Jon finally asked.
"Not too bad." Karyn replied. "But I still miss being a boy. At least these days people don't freak out on girls liking the same things boys do the way they did when our grandparents were kids. I can still play soccer, even if I have to play on the girls' team now. But it's not quite the same, you know."
Jon nodded. "It must have been tough for you."
Karyn smiled. "It's better now that I could tell you about it."
Jon thought back to his grandfather, who had sent him the wishing stone in the first place. He nodded to Karyn.
"Karyn ... can I call you Karyn? Or should I call you Karl?" Jon asked.
"It doesn't matter. Either way." Karyn replied. "But you shouldn't call me Karl in front of anyone else. If anyone at school knew I used to be a boy, things would get so much worse."
Jon nodded. "Anyway, I'm wondering a lot of things. Why were you saying your big boobs and blonde hair came from using magic lipstick? I remember you holding the wishing stone, saying that you wished you had blonde hair and big boobs, and there they were. I don't remember any lipstick."
"I don't remember any wishing stone." Karyn replied. "First, you told me about the magic lipstick your grandfather sent you that grants wishes. Then you put it on and wished a stick was blue. When you couldn't turn it back to its former color, we knew the wishes couldn't be reversed. Or at least not reversed easily. And then you gave it to me, and..."
"Something's wrong here." Jon realized. "It'd make sense if I wished the wishing stone was a tube of magic lipstick, but I don't remember making such a wish. I'm sure I would if I did. And if someone else did, why would I remember the wishing stone when you don't?"
"I don't know. This is getting weird." Karyn said. "What do you remember?"
"I remember coming home, setting the wishing stone aside in my drawer, and going to sleep. And that's the last I saw of the stone." Jon replied.
"Are you sure you don't remember anything else? Dreams or anything?" Karyn asked. "We're dealing with magical powers here, so anything's possible."
"Wait a minute. I dreamed that someone was saying ... something. It was like overhearing a conversation going on in another room. I heard someone saying something but I can't be sure what they were saying ... you know, the wall or the door muffles their words."
"So someone could have snuck into your room and changed your wishing stone into lipstick?" Karyn asked. "But who could have done such a thing? And why? I thought we were the only ones who knew about the lipstick... the stone ... or whatever it is. Aside from your grandfather."
"Hold on there. Don't go jumping to conclusions." Jon said. "We don't even know if he's still alive, remember? And if he is, and somehow found a way back here, I don't know why he'd do this."
There was another pause before Karyn spoke up. "Whatever happened, we've still got this magic lipstick. And one of us putting it on is the only way we're going to be able to make wishes."
Jon nodded slowly.
"So, now what do we do?" Karyn asked.
"I don't know." Jon asked. "Maybe a better question is what we do first. We can start after school."
School was more or less an ordinary day. They did their classes, overheard Sarah McMillan calling a few of the less popular students unpleasant names, and Steve 'The Stud' Farber was still trying to impress the ladies.
After school, Jon and Karyn walked down the sidewalk toward home. "Okay, what do we do first?" Karyn asked.
"I don't know. We've spent the whole day not talking about ... everything." Jon said. "Between the magic lipstick, and then finding out you used to be a boy before drinking from some magic pond you found somewhere in the woods, I don't know where to begin."
There was a pause before one of them spoke to make a decision.
