"Well. I suppose we could wish whether to go to the fair with that crowd or not," Jon pondered aloud. "But I'm more worried about keeping this wish plain and simple, so it can only mean one thing. If it's open to interpretation, the interpretation we want probably won't be the one we get."
"What's with this we business all of a sudden? Your wish isn't going to affect me, is it?" Karyn wanted to know.
"No, Karyn; I'm not even mentioning you in this wish. I meant we in the sense that we're discussing the wish and we've been invited to the fair."
"You know, if it turns out that this artifact, rather than the stone, made you part girl, then maybe you can use the stone to restore yourself," Karyn suggested.
"Good point! OK then, this is clearly the best option. I'm gonna do it!" Jon decided, then he gently held the stone and carefully read the wish just as he'd formulated it.
"Has anything changed?" Karyn asked after both friends had waited a few moments.
"No, except that the reason for me being half girl should be different now. Look there, on my dresser. See that brochure about the Indian exhibit at the museum? It wasn't there before. There was no Indian exhibit at the museum last week. They had something about Siberian earthworms and global warming."
"Does teh brochure say anything about the spooky artifact?" Karen wondered aloud. "Like, does it have a list of all its supposed powers, or does it mention any aftereffects?"
"No, but it changed me into a half-girl. That's all I need to know," said Jon.
"Zoe! How long are you going to sit in that bathroom?" Jon's mother yelled out in the hallway.
"Does Zoe really take that long with her Goth makeup?" Karen asked Jon. "It doesn't seem very elaborate."
"Actually, I think she jerks off in there," Jon confided. "I don't know what else could take thirty or forty-five minutes. It's a nuisance sometimes."
"Zoe, hurry up!" Jon's mother urged again."
"Oh, yes! Yes!" Zoe replied, and then for no reason Jon felt himself start to morph. It felt for a moment as if his male parts were back, then for a moment he seemed to have breasts, then he was taller, shorter, and back to his regular height. His skin rapidly changed color a few times, then the process accelerated! With changes rapidly pulsing through his body, Jon finally lost his balance and fell onto his bed. Karyn joined him a moment later.
"You're not going to believe this," Jon announced after the changes had stopped and he'd looked himself over.
"Very funny. I thought you said this wasn't going to affect me," Karyn stated in a confused and angry voice.
