It had been a weird month. Jon hadn't noticed it at first, the change in his mother had been subtle. An odd look in the morning, as if she was appraising him in a way she normally didn't. Then, after a few days, there had been the comments.
"Oh," she'd say, disappointment in her voice, "Is that what you're wearing today?"
"Yeah," Jon would reply, unsure of what his mother was getting at. He would look down and see a version of his normal attire. Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, nothing special, "Why? Is something wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing, I just..." and her voice would trail off, continuing in an inner voice rather than out loud.
A week after Jon had noticed her odd behaviour, she brought out the shoes. Jon was planning on heading to school early that day to meet up with Karyn, maybe make plans on what kind of wish they should make next. The unfortunate incident that stuck Karyn with the blonde hair and big breasts had given the pair a bit of a scare, and neither had breached the subject of the wishing rock since. When Jon went to leave, though, he found that his trusty pair of sneakers, the ones he left at the front door, were missing.
"Oh those old things?" Jon's mother had said, reaching into the closet and pulling out a shoe box, "I threw those ratty shoes in the garbage. I'm not sending my son to school wearing rags."
"They weren't rags," Jon whined, "They were my favourite shoes! What am I supposed to wear to school?"
She smiled a knowing smile, then handed him the shoebox. "I took care of that already."
Jon opened the box and was shocked to see the new shoes. They were purple-polka-dot canvas high-tops with a pink bow on top. Sure, they were in his size, but there was no way he would have ever imagined wearing something like this.
They were girl shoes.
"They're going to be just perfect," his mother continued, pride in his voice, "I got a great deal on them, and they're exactly your size!"
Jon didn't know what to say. He stared at the shoes, then at his mother, then back at the shoes. His sister, Zoe, came stomping down the stairs from her bedroom, garbed in black, as usual. Her style was so intense, so aggressive, as was her attitude. He missed the days when he and Zoe could hang out, when they were more than siblings, but they were friends as well. These days she'd been more and more withdrawn, less the Zoe he knew growing up, more a stranger, an angry stranger.
"Morning mom," she mumbled as she passed Jon and his mother in the hallway, heading toward the door, "Morning Jon. Nice shoes."
Jon listened for it, but it wasn't there. No sarcasm, no irony, no eye roll. Nothing. Zoe had genuinely thought that the shoes were nice. Was there something he was missing? Was this some kind of joke? A prank?
He didn't have time to figure it out. Jon didn't want to be late, so he threw the shoes on (they were remarkably comfortable) and headed out the door, planning on skipping out at lunch to buy a new pair.
Not wanting to be late for meeting Karyn, Jon started off at a jog. He knew he'd have to slow down after a block or two, not being in the best shape, but it would at least save a little time. After his second block, though, Jon found that he wasn't as winded as he thought, so he pushed on. Maybe it was the breakfast he had eaten, but he was full of energy! The entire way to school, Jon didn't slow down once! He'd built up a bit of a sweat, but nothing like he'd expect. And his new shoes felt great!
Not that he was planning on keeping them, he reminded himself.
"Hey Jon," Karyn said, already waiting for him at the school, "Nice shoes! Are they new?"
"Um, yeah, my mom bought them. I think it's some kind of prank or something."
"Prank? Well, whatever the prank, when it's over, make sure you get to keep the shoes. They look awesome on you! They give you a whole cool-tough-guy look."
Jon didn't know what to say. Was Karyn in on the prank? Her compliment seemed genuine, and the way she was looking at him, with admiration, attraction, maybe a little bit of lust, he could get used to that.
"Maybe I'll keep them, just until I see where the prank is heading," he said, eliciting a grin from Karyn.
Over the next week, though, it got worse.
