Jon had hoped to focus on his classes to get through the morning, but that was next to impossible thanks to the constant buzzing from his phone in his pocket. He only left it on because he was still hoping to hear from Karyn, but she hadn't responded to him at all. Instead every five minutes, it seemed, it was another text from 'Ashley.' Inane gossip, emojis, and worst of all: the selfies.
The first he was making some dumb pouty face and rolling his eyes, with a cat-ear filter and the message:
class is soooo boring 😹
Then came one with a kissy face and a wink. Then another with the cat filter and another message:
ugh derek sits right behind me and wont stop staring 😤
he knows im with u tho 😽
That was the last straw. He had to get some answers and try to figure out a way to fix this. He quickly excused himself to the restroom without even waiting for permission. Whatever, class was almost over and Mrs. Williams was a pushover. He was already cursing the fact that he'd left the stone at home after all the initial confusion. But maybe that wasn't the solution. It had gotten him into this mess, after all.
He made his way through the empty halls towards the computer lab. If he could get on the internet and learn more about this so-called "nanite storm" maybe he could come up with a solution, even if it required a wish. He rounded the corner outside the lab and nearly ran face-first into somebody coming the other way.
"Oh hey Jon, what's up?" It was Tim Brant, one of Jon's friends.
"Hey Tim. Um... just heading to the computer lab for some... uh, research... for a paper."
"Nice. Hey I heard you and Ashley are officially a thing! That's crazy, I always assumed she was just into jocks like Sarah is."
"Ok... about that. Do you really not see anything out of the ordinary here?"
"No way man! It's so weird that you're dating the co-head cheerleader and one of the two hottest girls at this school. Guess that means there's hope for all the guys like us though!"
"No I meant - " Before Jon could finish a familiar voice called from down the hall.
"There you are babe!" sure enough it was Jon's dad, strutting down the hallway and beaming with excitement. "Why didn't you answer my texts? Did that bitch Mrs. Williams spring like another pop quiz on you?"
"Uh... yep." Was the only response Jon could muster. He came up and wrapped both his arms around Jon's arm, pulling him close.
"I ditched class early so I could catch you on the way to lunch, but it looks like you had the same idea! You are, like, the sweetest guy ever!"
"Well I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," Tim said with a wink.
"Wait, Tim! Hang on a second! Just... just look." He looked over at Jon. "I need you to look and honestly tell me if anything is wrong here."
Tim looked up and down at Jon, then at Ashley, where his eyes lingered a bit longer. He felt his dad clutch his arm tighter in response. "Nope. Everything's fine. What are you talking about.?"
"Yeah baby," his dad said, "What's the matter?"
Jon ignored him and kept talking to Tim. "Come on, Tim. I need you to tell me who this really is," he said gesturing to his dad, looking more confused.
"Jon, calm down. Everything's fine!"
"No, everything is not fine!" He couldn't contain himself anymore. Things were just too crazy. "This. Is. Not. Ashley. Ashley isn't real!"
"W-what? What do you mean Jon," his dad said with a confused whimper.
"Listen, Ashley- I mean Dad! Jeeze! You're not a cheerleader. You're not Sarah's twin sister. You're not my girlfriend! You're a man, you're 43 years old, and you're my dad! Your name is Roger Madison!" He pulled his arm from his dad's embrace and put his hands on the man's shoulders. "Dad! Snap out of it! I need you to remember who you are, please!!"
Ashley just looked confused, scared, and hurt. Tears started welling up in his eyes. "I... I don't understand Jon. I thought you liked me!" his voice was quivering with emotion now. "If you didn't you could've just said so, instead of, like, calling me ugly to my face!" Tears started flowing as Ashley melted into a full-on ugly cry. "Sarah was right. You are a loser! Don't ever talk to me again!" He dashed off, the clicking heels drowned out by intermittent sobs. Jon looked back to Tim, who suddenly seemed very angry.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Jon?!"
"I wasn't trying to hurt his feelings, I just-"
"No, not that! You couldn't just let it go, could you? Don't you remember the first rule they taught us about the nanites?" as Tim spoke, Jon seemed to notice a slight shimmer in the air, like on a really hot day. "Rule one is don't ever draw attention to the Altered! It's like poking a hornet's nest!"
"So I was just supposed to sit around and let my dad act like my clingy girlfriend?!"
"Yes! That's how it works," Now Jon thought he could see faint sparks behind Tim's head, but Tim didn't seem to notice. "At least until the Nanite Techs show up to fix things. Otherwise things can spiral out of control! Besides, we all know there's worse things than acting like a girly cheerleader. Acting like a girly cheerleader. Acting like a girly cheerleader. Girly cheerleader. Girly cheerleader. Girly ch-"
"Tim what are you doing?!" Jon interrupted, but Tim kept speaking like a broken record. He kept repeating that phrase, over and over as the sparks and ripples around his head seemed to grow in intensity. Then with a bright flash he suddenly stopped. He was frozen in place, staring straight ahead.
Another flash, and his face was suddenly covered in makeup - pink lipstick, glittery eyeshadow. Sort of like...
~FLASH~ Tim's t-shirt was replaced by a tight white halter top.
~FLASH~ His jeans were now a tight pink miniskirt.
~FLASH~ His tennis shoes became a pair of white, four-inch pumps.
~FLASH~ Tim started moving again, and Jon's jaw dropped for about the third time that day. He was now dressed identically to Sarah and Ashley.
"Ohmygawd, Jon!" Tim said, "I can't believe you were such an asshole to my sister! Wait up Ash!" Tim dashed down the hall, not missing a step in his new footwear.
Jon just stood there dumbfounded, as the bell for lunch rang. What was he going to do now? And where the hell was Karyn?
