Jon grabbed his stone and made a hasty wish: "I wish I knew why my hair was this color!"
A few blocks away, Karyn found herself mumbling subconsciously. "My hair is this color because I wished it would be like Sarah's." Of course, she already knew that. But repeating it out loud gave her pause. Her hair was blonde because she'd wished it that way. She had done it to herself. Her own actions. Whatever results, good or bad, this was hers, Karyn's, and she decided she would take ownership of the decision.
On Jon's end, however, nothing happened. "Why didn't that work? I wish I looked like I did when I woke up this morning!"
Karyn was just finishing getting dressed as the wish was made, but as she tugged the hem of her sweater down over her hips, it suddenly disappeared. Karyn found herself back in her pajamas. She looked at herself in the mirror, wondering what happened, but her new thoughts, her decision to be confident in her new self, gave her pause. She examined the person in the mirror closely, intent on learning all about her.
Jon was furious. What was going on? Was his stone broken? He was going to give it one last try, but he needed to make sure this was a well-worded wish.
Karyn tried, hard, to appreciate the new image she projected into the mirror. But the more she looked, the more it made her think of Sarah McMillan, the more it made her uneasy. What could she do? This was her decision, she knew she'd have to live with it, but how? Karyn looked over at the stone, the one she thought she'd wished on yesterday (but was really one of the Alternate Stones), and had an idea.
Jon held his own stone in his hand tightly, knowing exactly what he would say. "I wish I would look exactly as I remember."
Simultaneously, Karyn made her own wish. "I wish I was comfortable with looking like Sarah McMillan."
The two wishes mixed and swirled and worked their ways to their appropriate targets.
Karyn's appearance couldn't be changed because of her previous wish, so to ensure she would look as she remembered, her memories began to shift. Her thoughts began to change. "Why have I been focusing on my hair so much today? It's the same stylish blonde it's always been." She shrugged, and went back to getting dressed for school.
Meanwhile, Jon's memories were getting a re-write of their own. "Ugh!" He threw the stone at his pillow in frustration. "Why can't I get rid of this short red hair? Why can't I give myself blonde hair like Sarah's?" He wiped bitterly at the wet spots forming at his eyes. "Karyn's wish worked, why won't mine?"
