"Hey Jonatha, time to wake up."
A voice shook Jonatha Gibson free from his slumber. He opened his eyes to see Maddie standing next to the bed, looking down at him. He smiled and walked away, leaving Jonatha to get up.
He looked around, his mouth open in shock. The bedroom he went to sleep in last night now had two beds, one with a large carved "M" hanging above it and the other—his—with a "J" on the wall.
As he looked toward the mirrored closet door, he realized that his wish hadn't just changed Maddie; it had changed him. He was slightly shorter and he had a new eye color. Makes sense, I'm as much Maddie's twin as he is mine. It was a lot to take in, but deep down, Jonatha knew all of this was worth it. He opened the closet to pick out an outfit, noticing that while all his clothes were still there, there were a bunch of new outfits, presumably ones Maddie had picked out, and that the entire wardrobe seemed just a bit more boyish than what he was used to.
Getting ready was much the same, except he had to do it side by side with his twin, and that made everything feel like a bit more of a scramble. Getting dressed made him aware that he'd grown a cup size, presumably to match Maddie. He heard a knock at the door.
"Hey boys, hurry up!" Zoe's husky voice called from the other side of the bathroom.
"One minute!" Maddie yelled out, the two of them moving as fast as they could to vacate the room so Zoe could get dressed. Once they scrambled out, they went downstairs, where they were greeted by their parents—both of them—with Mikelle already having gone to elementary school.
"Good morning!" Mina flashed a smile in the kitchen. "I made you one of your favorite things because you're going to state!" Already on a plate and ready to eat was a special breakfast: a ricotta cheese, mushroom and Italian sausage omelet.
"Dad, you don't need to give us special attention. We went and almost won. All we did was practice to get there," Maddie commented.
"Hold the celebrations for state, Dad," Jonatha added, finding it hard to believe he was talking to his father.
"Enjoying your food?" Mom chimed in.
"Yeah, this is really good," the twins replied almost simultaneously.
"Jinx!" Maddie giggled, smiling at Jonatha.
Jonatha felt a lightness in his heart—like this was almost a typical morning, but in a positive way. "Any plans for after school and practice, bro?"
Maddie spent a couple of seconds thinking. "I dunno. I'm not with Shan anymore since I discovered she cheated on me with Erika."
"I know," Jonatha said, sighing. "How about we hang with Jade at the mall?"
"Good idea." Maddie stood up, taking his plate and the empty glass of orange juice and taking them to the sink.
"Thank you, darling." Dad gave Maddie a hug.
"Thank you, Dad," Jonatha added as he copied what his brother did.
"Time to go or we're gonna miss the bus!" Maddie quickly grabbed his backpack.
"Are you not forgetting something?" Mom called out as her son was near the door.
"Oopsie," Maddie yelled back, returning to kiss his mother's face.
On the bus, all Jonatha could think about was how different things were. It was wholesome. It was complete. Can't imagine what Maddie's home life was like before this.
Maddie looked like he was in his element. He sat close to Brianna and they talked all the way to school. Jonatha also noted that some girls flirted with Maddie, he masterfully dodged all his suitors. But what he wasn't expecting was that he would get just as much attention. He instinctually smiled back at a very handsome girl, who Jonatha recognized but didn't know. Is she in the drama club or the band? he thought.
The flirting came to an end when Jade got aboard at the next stop. "Morning, blonde head," he greeted Jonatha as he adjusted himself in the seat. "How's life with a twin brother?"
"It's...like we live on Full House or something. It's really good," Jonatha replied. "Not sure if you catch my drift, but it's the only thing I could think of to describe it."
"Great, so the wish worked better than you expected!" Jade smiled and handed Jonatha one of his earbuds.
"And how about you and your new boo?" Jonatha asked, noticing Jade was calmer than before.
"We're fine," Jade said, trying hard not to show how happy he was.
"Any plans for a next date?" Jonatha showed some curiosity about his best friend's life.
"Not yet. Right now, we need to focus on outdoing each other. But..." Jade smiled widely. "Look at you! Jonatha Gibson chit-chatting about my relationship and not feeling jealous that my love will steal me from you!"Jade kept talking, even though he'd already hit play on his phone and music was pumping out.
"You never were afraid to lose me to my former girlfriends," Jonatha rebutted.
