Joni and her friends didn't really need to stay out of school that day, but they took the day off anyway. Might as well get something good out of all that shit that Zoe and her friends put them through.
When Joni finally got home, the first thing she heard was a commotion coming from upstairs. What the hell? It sounded like her brother Nick going off on her little brother Clark. She knew that they occasionally got into a fight with each other, but this time it almost sounded nuclear.
Joni's mother Tiffany walked into the house from behind her and when she heard the commotion, she didn't just stand around wondering what was going on. She immediately headed up the stairs.
"What is going on up here?" she demanded to know.
Nick, Clark, and Alice all turned towards her and just froze.
"Well?" Tiffany asked, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at the three of them.
From behind her, they saw Nick's Goth sister Joni.
"That's who you replaced," Clark whispered to Nick, who looked at him incredulously. "That's Jon," he whispered, nodding towards Joni.
Could it really be that Nick's sister Joni was this Jon person Clark was talking about? Then it dawned on him. Jon ... Joni. It couldn't just be a coincidence, could it? Nick threatened Clark pretty good. He was sure that he wasn't lying. But if what Clark was saying was true ... then that meant that this Jon person became like whoever Nick's sister was before all this started, and then the girl Nick used to be became what he was now. This was definitely a complicated situation. But without the stone, what could any of them do about it?
Joni noticed that Clark and Nick were talking about her, which made her a little ticked off. "What are you two saying about me? Spit it out."
But Nick and Clark didn't want to. This situation was already too strange and complicated as it was. They didn't want to tell anyone about the wishing stone and the wishes until they absolutely needed to.
"Nothing," Clark said.
Joni groaned and rolled her eyes. "Whatever." Then she walked into her room and shut the door.
"You should show Joni a little more sympathy. After what she and her friends were put through ..."
"Put through?" Nick asked. He and Clark had no idea what she was talking about. They were so preoccupied looking for the stone that they had totally missed that their sister was arrested.
Tiffany sighed. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you about it, didn't I? Joni and her friends were arrested. But it was all a mistake. Someone set them up."
"Who?" Alice asked.
"A girl named Zoe," Tiffany said.
Clark's eyes went wide at the mention of that name. "That's who Joni replaced," he whispered to Nick.
"What was that?" Tiffany asked.
"Nothing," Clark said.
"You know, I think we may need to get to school soon," Nick said.
Tiffany rose an eyebrow. It was time to get to school, but why was Nick so eager? She shook her head. What difference did it make? "Okay, but don't you two fight anymore, okay? It might upset your sister and she doesn't need you to aggravate her."
Joni heard what her mom said through the door and smiled. It was nice to hear her mom bending backwards to accommodate her, even though it probably wouldn't last. Still, it felt good to have things her way and being able to get away with it.
She heard her mom walk down the stairs and she was about to turn away from the door, but then she stopped when she overheard the voices of Nick, Alice, and Clark. She didn't exactly understand what they were talking about, but she heard them mention her name, someone named Jon, and Zoe, that slut that set her and her friends up. But Clark said that Zoe was a Goth? That didn't make any sense. Maybe she heard it wrong. What exactly were they talking about? She briefly thought about opening the door and grilling them with questions, but then she figured that eavesdropping was the better course. This way, she didn't have to worry about them lying to her.
Joni pressed her ear up to the door and listened.
