Meanwhile, Jennifer found herself in an alley. Pretty much as helpless as any pre-teen. "I wish I was home," she said.
Nothing happened, of course. Then she was startled by hearing a tune come from her bag. It was some cutesy thing she didn't recognize, but it was definitely the ringing of a cell phone. We're ten and we have cell phones? she thought. Probably only allowed to call certain numbers.
"Hello?" she said.
"Hello. It's me. Your... sister, I suppose. Boy, I really messed this one up. I think you have to come home because when we were Jon we swallowed the stone."
Jennifer barely recognized the voice. "What?" she replied. "I don't have a younger... Oh, of course. Josephine. I guess I really do have a sister. Am a sister... am two sisters. So what do you mean?"
"We swallowed the stone and then got split up. We can't make wishes when there's only one of us around--that's only half the stone. We have to be together is my guess."
Then Jennifer heard her mother's voice in the background. "What are you doing?"
"Mom, it's okay, it's just Jennifer."
"I told you this phone is for emergencies!"
"It is an emergency, she is lost! You have to find her, Mom!" Josephine thought it was pretty good as an example of trying to act like a complaining 10 year old. She couldn't have done better herself. But while parents tend to get worried about 10 year olds, they also tend not to treat everything they say seriously.
"Oh," heard Jennifer. "You've decided not to call me Mommy, finally. Give me that." There were some sounds of the phone rubbing against something and Jon's mother was on the line. "Where are you?" she said, near panic in her voice.
"I'm in an alley near Zoe's school." Jennifer decided to make a test: "I wish you'd tell me how to get back."
It didn't work. The wishes didn't work when the two girls were near each other over the telephone.
"Do you know how to get to the school?"
"Yes, Mom."
"Walk over there and I'll pick you up. But don't ever let me hear this happening again. You're to come straight home like your sister did!"
"Yes, Mom."
"I want you to call me when you get there. So help me, if you get lost again...."
Jennifer waited by the school. Yeah, she was helpless, but it really wasn't that dangerous. She just has to wait for her mother to arrive. Hopefully "Josephine" would be with her and Jennifer could immediately make a wish. It would be dangerous to be together and face the possibility of others making wishes as well. Maybe there was a way to limit the wishes or to change back.
Soon her mother's car pulled up. She imagined all sorts of possibilities of things going wrong, but everything seemed right so far. Her mother was there, along with her sister/other self. "Get in," said her mother.
She opened the door and sat down in the back seat of the car next to her sister, then said "I w...." Of course, Josephine had the same plan in mind and was also about to make a wish. The two both stopped and tried again; this time Jennifer started her wish first and Josephine just let her. "I wish...."
