The two versions of Sarah McMillan were happy that they had managed to pull a trick on Jon and his clone. Jon had no idea what was going on, and they got their wishes. Which of course were for more wishes, but Sarah was never quite as stupid as people thought, nor was her younger double. Their first order of business was not to turn Jon into a slutty she-male, or to become literal queen of the school. They approached the whole thing as carefully as writing an essay for a college application.
Meanwhile, Jon, Jonnie, and Karyn were all gathered together in Jon's room.
"I'm glad that's over," said Jon. "What was with her, anyway? It's the way the stone works, it always alters memories. It's not like I deliberately tried to change Sarah's memories on purpose. Except now, of course."
"Never ask 'what's with Sarah,' said Karyn. "It's pointless. Anyway, what about that wish you were all worried about? Jonnie, I mean?"
"Oh, that," said Jonnie. "I had reason to be worried."
"Really?" asked Karyn. "Look, clone or no clone, you're my friend, both of you. You can talk to me."
"I'm not sure about this," said Jonnie. "I mean, well... this really does have to be private. Very private. If I gets out we'll have no choice but to start using mind control."
Karyn waited for Jonnie to speak, but Jonnie seemed to be waiting for her. Finally Karyn said "Oh, sure. I'll keep quiet."
"I'm pregnant," said Jonnie.
"What? How can you be?"
"It's easy," said Jonnie. "When two people get together..."
"But how could you do this? I know you two have been having sex, and I try not to think about it, but still... pregnant? Don't you take precautions?"
Jon explained, "Er, Karyn, we figured that since we had the stone, if Jonnie did get pregnant we could use the stone to fix it."
"And now you are," said Karyn.
"And now we can use the stone to fix it," said Jonnie. "Now that I think about it it sort of creeps me out. I mean, just about everyone expects to be a parent someday, but having the baby inside me? Not a way to be a father. Not to mention that we haven't even graduated from high school yet."
"Hey, I'm the father," said Jon. "You're the mother."
"I feel like the father," said Jonnie. "Breasts or no breasts."
"You can't be parents now," said Karyn.
"We can," said Jonnie.
"You're in high school," said Karyn. "Okay, college come September, but still. You know, being a teenage mother isn't the most glamorous position in the world. It's a big responsibility. You can't just snap your fingers and wish that..."
Both Jon and Jonnie looked at her. Then Jonnie spoke. "We can, Karyn. The magic stone changes everything, and I mean everything. If I want to wish that the baby's diapers magically change themselves, that food magically feeds it, and it never gets sick or has an accident, I can. If I want to wish I'm in two places at once, so I can take care of it and still go to classes, I can. We can wish up a robot maid or..."
"You never liked that idea," said Karyn.
"I didn't like forcing a person to be a maid. A robot isn't a person, at least if I wish for the right kind of robot, and this isn't for a maid-fetish anyway. Not that there's anything wrong with that."
"And if you really want to go all out," said Karyn, "you could wish that the baby grow up instantly. Or wish it into the future so that you don't have to take care of it until after one of you has a job. Heck, why don't you just wish that you're grownups with a job right now?"
"I want to graduate and go to college," said Jon, "but it is always possible."
"The magic diapers sound better," said Karyn. "And even that's funny. It's like, you're cheating. A baby's supposed to be both a joy and a burden at the same time and having one is a big life-changing decision. You want to use wishes so that it doesn't change your life much at all. You're cheating your way out of the burden part."
"It's not a fable," said Jonnie. "There's no moral to be learned. The stone grants wishes, it doesn't teach lessons. Sure, it's cheating. The stone lets us do things that nobody I know except Grandpa could ever do. If Mom or Dad or you or one of us was dying, I'd wish them healthy, and that's cheating. I mean people being mortal is a burden, right? Or look at something small. I miss a bus and decide to teleport home instead. Is that cheating because I can make a mistake and not be burdened by the consequences?"
"I don't see why you don't just teleport everywhere all the time, but I suppose you have a point. So what did you decide to do?"
"Nothing, yet," said Jonnie. "All that hasty decisions do is make it more likely a wish will get messed up somehow. It's enough of a life-changing decision that we need more than an hour."
