As they waited for the bus, Jon absentmindedly fingered the stone, trying to figure how to fix their problems, when they were joined by his goth sister Zoë. She, in fine form, wore all black. Her jet-black hair matched her jet-black make-up, which, in turn, matched her jet-black clothes. She liked black.
"Hi sweetie!" Jon's mom gave her daughter an affectionate hug as all three of them waited at the bus stop. Outside of an audible groan, there was no reaction from Zoë. The fact that her mother was coming to school with them, seemingly a student, didn't surprise her at all. This made Jon wonder how the misfiring stone had changed the world to make this adjustment.
The bus pulled up, squealing slightly as it came to a stop, indicating the wearing of the brake pads. The long doors thumped open and the two Madison children and their mother climbed the stairs. Immediately Jon noticed a change. The bus was bigger, wider. Not only was there more legroom for all the seats, but there was room for three people to sit per seat now. The Jon's mom chose an empty seat and pulled her kids down to sit with her.
Peppered throughout the bus were other mothers, each in similar clothes to their kids, each seemingly eager to get to school. There was plenty of din, kids and mother gossiping and giggling. As the now full bus pulled away from the curb and headed for the school, Jon looked at his sister who had her arms fully crossed in front of her and noticed that she was talking.
"I mean, God! You don't have to hug me every minute, mom! You are so embarrassing! All these kids saw us at the bus stop, and now I'll never live it down!" She kept her voice low so as to not be heard by the other passengers.
"Zoë, sweetheart, calm down. It was just a little hug, and I don't see what the big deal is."
"It IS a big deal!" Zoë let her voice rise, just a bit, "If people saw us hugging the whole school would be talking about it for weeks. I have a reputation!"
"Well, I don't care about reputations," Mrs. Madison echoed Zoë's posture, crossing her arms firmly under her breasts, "All I care about is my family. You have a very special place in my heart, Zoë, and I wish you'd be more affectionate with me!" The last part came out quite sulkily, but Jon didn't notice.
What he did notice were the next words out of his mouth, "I wish you'd be more affectionate with me!" The stone flashed, and when his eyes cleared he saw his that he and his mother had changed seats, his mother at the window and he next to Zoë. Zoë's hand was resting on his thigh, slowly rubbing and making it's way up toward his crotch. Her head was resting on his shoulder, something he knew she would never do unbidden.
There was a sweet sigh of satisfaction that escaped Zoë's lips as she lifted her head, turned towards Jon and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for sitting next to me Jonnie," she sighed again, "I wish we could sit next to each other all day."
"I wish we could sit next to each other all day," Jon parroted. The stone flashed again. When his eyes cleared he saw that his sister had aged; some of the baby fat on her cheeks had faded away and he was sure she was taller. Her breasts had grown as well, to a size almost to match their mother's. She was the same age as he was, he now realized.
It was then that Jon clued into what was going on: each wish he had heard anyone else make since that morning he had made himself. It was as if he had no control over himself, perfectly mimicking each wish that was spoken near him.
Ignoring the delicate hand of his sibling that was rubbing higher up on his thigh than he cared to think about, Jon quickly unzipped his backpack and threw the stone deep inside. No way was he going to head into the school holding onto that thing. It was bad enough that his mother now attended school with him, he now wore skirts and his sister (who was now his age, and he guessed, in his classes) was VERY affectionate. He knew what a boiling pot of angst high school could be and could only imagine the wishes he'd overhear during the day.
Zoë's hand brushed up against his penis, causing it to stiffen slightly (an obvious effect in his denim skirt). He slapped her hand away and she giggled. He tried to ignore the look of longing she was giving him as the bus pulled up to the school and he noticed that Karyn was waiting for him at their stop, arms crossed, looking quite impatient. A sense of dread filled him as he realized what she would want.
