Then Jon heard something behind him. Some instinct warned him not to make any sudden moves, but he did manage to look towards the hall mirror. In back of him was a ferocious-looking tiger! The creature had been utterly silent, which meant it was trying to sneak up on him.
There was something to eat in the house, all right. He was in the house. And he was something to eat for the tiger.
Jon realized he could be dead in the next few seconds if he didn't fix it, fast. "I wish that the house had something to eat in it because there is a large pepperoni pizza on the kitchen table, and otherwise it's exactly how I want it to be."
Jon blinked. Then, glancing at the mirror again, he saw the tiger was gone. Sniffing around, he could smell a fresh pepperoni pizza coming from the kitchen! Jon walked into the kitchen, cut himself a slice, and started eating. It was delicious! Too bad it wasn't pepperoni and mushroom.
Only... Jon bit into a piece of mushroom. He was sure it was pepperoni only. Something was strange.
Then it occurred to him. The house is how he wanted it to be. The pizza was in the house, and he wanted the pizza to have mushrooms on it, so it did. He tried to imagine eating a pizza without mushrooms again, but he didn't really want it to happen. But then Jon got frustrated, and he really did want the pizza to change so he could finish his test. Finally, the mushrooms disappeared from the pizza.
Experimentally, he tried it on a window. And indeed, the moment he wanted the window open, it instantly became open.
Hmm, he thought. I'd really like for Mom to come in here and put the rest of the pizza in the refrigerator.
And just as he had desired, his mother came in and put the pizza away without saying a word. Now that had possibilities. It was better than the stone because it could be reversed, but it was also more prone to accidents and it only worked inside the house (he guessed).
And at least it was better than being eaten by a tiger. Jon decided that enough was enough and didn't try to make any more wishes. He returned to his room to play some video games--he had always wanted a copy of Side Story Gaiden, and of course one was there waiting for him.
And later....
