Explaining the cloning to Mom and Dad was less confusing than either Jon or Jonnie had expected, partly because of the wish about the bed, whose side effect was that their parents were expecting Jon to use the machine.
This day was Jon's turn to use the stone. After pocketing it, he and Jonnie looked at the cloning machine for a way to keep people from using it. It would be a real problem if Zoe or anyone else came into the room and used the machine, especially considering how wide a variety of things it could do.
Jon explained, "I don't want us to come home and find five of us dressed in skimpy costumes and forced to pleasure our little brother sexually. Ahh, here's the password setting."
Jonnie replied, "He's a kid. He isn't going to make a clone sexual any more than he'd make wishes having to do with sex... but you're right, there are other things he could do that neither of us wants."
Jon pulled up a menu item and then typed in a password, explaining that it was the word "magic stone" followed by the number of kills Jon had gotten in the first video game last night.
"All right, class," explained the homeroom teacher. "Jon Madison used his cloning machine the other day and made us a new student, Jonnie. Please stand, Jonnie...."
Jonnie, who had picked a seat right next to Jon, stood up next to him, and after a little while, sat down again. This would certainly start the rumors going, thought Jon. Some of those rumors might even be right.
The first class after homeroom was high school physics. It went on like a typical class; the only difference for Jon was that he wasn't used to seeing himself with breasts taking notes at the next desk over, in an exact duplicate of his notebook (which he had wished up so she'd have copies of all past notes).
The next... was gym class. Having something to dress in was fine. Actually doing it... meant Jon went to the boy's locker room and Jonnie to the girls'.
"You really made a clone?" asked Jon's friend Joseph. "That's great! She looks like you, though. A lot like you. She needs longer hair."
"She's like me," explained Jon. "She likes the same hair as me."
"But she has a reason to have long hair that you don't--it'd look a lot better on her than on you."
"Don't bother," said Jon. "She thinks like me."
"Exactly like you? Down to the last detail?"
"There's one difference. She likes me."
"What do you mean 'like'? Are you and her going out or something?" Jon's silence was all Joseph needed to figure it out. "You and her ''are'' going out. Go ahead, deny it."
"Why would I deny it?"
"Man, you're lucky, you can just make a girlfriend who understands everything about you. Can I borrow your machine?"
"No. But I'll do you a favor. Write down on a piece of paper exactly what kind of clone you want me to make. Then have your Mom and Dad tell mine that it's okay. Then I'll think about it. It's easy to get into trouble with a cloning machine."
"I see. You don't want the army getting it and making a few thousand of the same soldier. Or some pimp making a dozen prostitutes."
Jon gaped.
"You know," he said, "I didn't even think of that."
Jonnie walked towards the locker room with her gym clothes (newly bought) and absentmindedly picked the boys' side.
The excited chatter of "Ooh, it's Jon's clone" and "Shes a girl" quickly convinced her of her mistake and she went into the other locker room.
Where Karyn was.
"Uhh, hello Karyn, I'm sure you heard. I'm a clone and I'm a girl, so I really do belong in here..." She felt more out of place than she was letting on.
"Really," replied Karyn. "I can't believe Jon would just use the cloning machine and make someone like you! Oh, sorry, Jon... nie, it's not your fault, I shouldn't be upset at you."
"Er, thanks, Karyn," she replied.
"Did he tell you about the stone?" whispered Karyn.
"I already know about the stone!" replied Jonnie.
"Now let me see those breasts."
"Why? Do you want to see their size? We didn't wish anything, it's just the size I happened to get. Come on Karyn, you've never seen me naked."
"I want to see with my own eyes that you're a girl. You look so much like my friend...."
"Karyn, remember almost ten years ago, when we first met and I said let's be friends? Let's be friends, all right?"
"But if you're Jon's clone, that wasn't you... Okay, we're friends, Jonnie. Best girlfriends."
Jonnie grinned. "That's better, Karyn. Except for the 'girl' part."
"I just don't understand why Jon wants a clone to begin with." An idea seemed to enter her face. "No, I'm beginning to figure it out. There's one reason a guy would make an opposite sex clone. Emphasis on the 'sex'. Oooh, Jon, you're no different than every other guy...."
"I'm not a slave, Karyn! And Jon and I are very close."
"I'll bet. Do you like other guys or just him?"
"Just him. Karyn, it's how we wished it. It doesn't bother me."
"You didn't wish anything, he did."
"We have an agreement. Anything in our common memories is 'we'. Karyn, I think you and me would be better off if you just treat both of us like you did when there was one of us. Neither of us want to change anything with you. I know it'll have to be a little different just by being two of us, but we don't want to break up any friendships. Okay?"
"Umm... okay. Just one thing, Jonnie, watch out for Sarah."
"Why?"
"You're a new girl in school. Even if you think just like Jon, even if your face is Jon's only smoother, you're still a new girl in school. Girls have this thing of trying to figure out where you belong."
"Everyone has that," said Jonnie.
"Usually she just ignores me. But I don't know if she's going to ignore you. Maybe you can even get on her good side, though I doubt it, unless you stop hanging around with me and Jon and join the cheerleaders."
