Zoe was eating breakfast with her mother and Jon, who had become a girl, but who everyone believed should be one anyway.
A boy ran into the room, crying.
"What's wrong, dear?" asked his mother.
"I woke up and I was like this! Mom, I'm a boy now!"
"Of course you're a boy, Mikey," said his mother. "How could you possibly turn into anything else?"
"I'm a girl!" said Mikey. "And my name's Marie!"
Jon thought. Mikey had always been her little brother Mikey, right? But if the stone could really change history, maybe Mikey was telling the truth. Maybe... maybe Zoe was even telling the truth about Jon. It didn't fit, did it, Jon being called Jon. Not a lot of girls are called that. She had been told it was a mistake on the birth certificate, but what if the stone had just invented that explanation?
"M... maybe you should listen to him?" said Jon.
"Come on, Jon," said her mother. "It's just a prank."
"Yeah," said Zoe. "Mikey must have been listening to us yesterday and she decided to make up a story like that."
"I didn't make up no story!" said Mikey. "You did this to me, Zoe!"
"I did what?" said Zoe.
Mikey realized that there was no way he could do anything except make his mother think he was nuts. "I hate you!" he said and ran off.
"Zoe," said her mother, "you didn't do anything, did you?"
"I just turned her from a girl to a guy," replied Zoe. "That's what she says, anyway."
"She?" wondered Jon.
Thinking quickly, Zoe said "If he's going to call himself a girl, we may as well say 'she'. Can I talk to you in private, Jon?"
"Fine," she replied.
"You must have gotten the stone," said Jon. "And you used it on Mikey so all of us think he's always been Mikey."
"Are you sure?" asked Zoe.
"No, but I can answer this in a moment. I can get the stone and ask it. You know, you are such a bitch."
"Really, Jon? What did I do to you?"
Jon thought it over. "You say I'm a boy, but you also said you didn't do it. Okay, you never really did anything to me, but you yelled and laughed at me."
"I did because it's funny. Go ahead and ask your stone about Mikey, and about yourself too. Or if you don't want to, just wait until this evening when all your clothes change into guy's clothes and you'll see. Then you can come asking me for help in changing back."
"Zoe, why would I want to change back? Boys are great, but I don't want to be one."
Zoe said "You're not Mikey. You really shouldn't be saying that--it's so stupid."
"I'm going to go," said Jon. Zoe shut up, and Jon hesitantly went to her room and wished that she'd know all the wishes made in the last 24 hours. Of course, Zoe was right. Jon really was a boy--but she couldn't bear the idea of becoming one now. It didn't feel natural. Mikey was really a girl, and only Zoe could reverse that wish. And now Zoe could use the rock whenever she wanted.
"Zoe," said Jon. "I need your help...."
Meanwhile, Mikey was going to school, and...
