Meanwhile, Jess roamed the school until she found Karyn.
"Did you find the stone?" Her friend asked.
"There's good news and bad news. Good news is yes, I found it. Bad news: Kevin's got it."
"Kevin? Kevin Greene from our grade?"
"Yep. And he used it to turn me into a girl."
"A girl? But you've always been a girl, Jess."
Jess gave her an incredulous look. "Wishing stone, remember?"
Karyn paled. "Oh, right. Whoah, that's really freaky. I only remember you as Jess. All the way from when we were little girls. So, I take it you heard the wish? Or did he want you to notice?"
"I heard the wish, but it didn't seem like it mattered to him if I heard or not. Somehow, I don't think he's trying to be malicious."
This earned a stare from Karyn. "Not malicious? He just rewrote your whole life! How can you say he's not being malicious?"
"I I think he likes me." Jess ducked her head. "He sort of asked me out on a date. With the stone, he could've just wished me into accepting, but instead he asked. Besides that, he said he'd give me the stone back afterward."
Suddenly, she squeezed her eyes shut. "Ah, who am I kidding? I need to get that stone back no matter what! I don't even know why I agreed to this date in the first place when I could've just tried grabbing the stone then and there. What's wrong with me!?"
Karyn peered closely at her, making her redden in embarrassment. Slowly, she smiled. "I can take a guess. You're attracted to him, aren't you. Our little wallflower Jessie's finally coming out of her shell."
Jess glared at her. "Karyn, there's a very dangerous magical artifact capable of destroying life as we know it floating around. This isn't the time for teasing. And don't call me Jessie."
Unperturbed by her friend's indignation, Karyn giggled. "Sorry, Jess. I know it must be so weird for you if you used to be a boy, but I can't help it. To me, you're still my best girlfriend who's never fallen for any guys that I know of. Seeing you experience your first crush is just too precious."
"I don't have a crush on Kevin!" Jess stomped her foot, not noticing how girlish it made her look. "Anyway, it's not a serious date. We're just getting pizza after school. And I'm only doing this to get the stone back."
The other girl remained silent. She knew when to stop pushing. Nevertheless, she could not hide the twinkle of amusement in her eye.
