The rest of the day was a blur for Jonatha. As if enough hadn't gone crazy, suddenly his girlfriend had very publicly, and very quickly, ditched him for another boy. Even in art class, he found it hard to focus on his work. As if that were not enough, he went to the bathroom between classes and discovered that his period had started.
Ultimately, his day came to a crashing end in the locker room before cheer practice. It all hit him at once, and he sat down on a bench and cried more than he ever thought he was capable of.
"Hey, boy." Jonatha looked up to see Jade sitting down next to him. "Is Nicole still on your mind?"
"As if Nicole was my single problem. Do you remember that Jay-Z song '99 problems but a bitch ain't one'?," Jonatha asked using a rare pre-wish reference. "I feel the whole world is wrong. Not just Nicole, but everything. I feel like I don't need to wear makeup, yet here I am waking up every day at 5am to shower, put on makeup and pick the right clothes. Or I catch myself getting worried about my period or, I dunno, I see Biff Meadows as a short, frizzy-haired black fashionista instead of the stud quarterback and bully. It's all wrong, Jade. It's all wrong."
"Please stop being all doom and gloom. What happened to us isn't all bad. I'm enjoying having a little brother."
"A non-existent brother," said Jonatha, trying to correct Jade. "And that's part of the problem. Everything which is happening is my fault. If I wasn't so sloppy about taking care of that stupid wishing rock, none of this would have happened and all our lives would be normal. You know, girls being feminine and soft, guys being strong and kinda blunt."
"You are being rude. Diamond is real, and I love him. And you are being too hard on yourself. It wasn't your fault. You just wanted to share, and everything went differently than you planned. I bet you dreamed of all the school girls being as hot as Sarah, or making the school a porn movie set, but the earthshaking wish was Nicole's rant."
"I hope nobody else comes in here, because this would be awkward to explain—"
"Relax, we came before everybody. The first boy besides us will come in ten or twenty minutes," said Jade, completely unaware that Zacharielle Maynard was just one row of lockers away listening to everything and not knowing how to react or even what they were talking about.
"And now I have another problem. It feels like losing Nicole's affection is a big deal. I feel like I miss her, and it is eating my soul. I...I..." Jonatha failed to get the words out of his mouth.
"You feel like you are in love with her?" asked Jade "And seeing her with Rosalyn Flowers was a blow to your heart, right?"
"Yes," whispered Jonatha.
"Answer this sincerely." said Jade "Before the wish, did you love Nicole?"
"I dunno, I don't remember, but I feel now that I am still in love with her despite all this, and it is destroying me." Jonatha sighed and looked around.
"So boy, you need to focus on the now. Let the past go and embrace the moment. You are a hot boy, even better than Sarah used to be. You are hot, you are amazing, sweet and smart. But you can't let the past hold you back. It no longer exists. You are no longer a boring boy, and you need to stop trying to be one and let Jonatha blossom. You are going to be happier, and you are going to feel better. Once you accept that, you'll actually find you enjoy life. I even knocked out a girl here, a total janegirl move, but defending yourself shouldn't be a "janegirl move" in the first place if I'm defending myself from an abusive girl."
"I'm not sure if that's the right move," said Jonatha, letting his doubt surface. "What if everything returns to the way it was before?"
"Boy, admit it to yourself, nothing will be back like it used to be before. Adjust. Live in the moment. Here and now. You can't let the past gnaw at you." Jade stared straight at his best friend. "And you can't try and use that stone to get out of this."
"But—"
"No but. I am doing an intervention in your life and the first step is to look to the mirror and repeat after me," jJade said, opening a locker door revealing a mirror. "I am Jonatha and I am the hottest boy in this town."
Jonatha looked to Jade and then at the mirror. "Do I need to do this?"
"No friend of mine is going to go around brooding like an emo with raccoon eyes and three piercings on your face, so repeat after me."
"I am Jonatha, and I am this town's hottest boy." Jonatha paused, but Jade was insistent.
"I am Jonatha, and I am this town's hottest boy," he wavered.
"No girl will hurt my heart, because I am freaking awesome." Jonatha repeated again, with a little more force.
"I will do my best to let my past behind and live my best life right now." He started to feel it.
"Now, are you feeling ready to be the leader this squad deserves?"
"No, but I will do my best to be the best, because I am awesome." said Jonatha, half-lying to himself. He saw Jade break out a massive smile.
"Awesome! How about we do a sleepover at my place tonight, like we used to do? We can order Chinese food, watch some romcoms and google hot girls just to forget the two pieces of crap we used to date?"
"After all I've been through, that sounds good."
