Two teenagers like Jon Gibson and Karyn Black do not become such close friends without their parents becoming familiar with each other, as well. And, as luck would have it, the adults of the Gibson and Black families happened to enjoy each other's company almost as much as their children did. So it was not a surprise when Jon and Karyn entered the Gibson household that afternoon to find Linda Gibson sitting on the living room sofa with Bethany Black, each woman with a teacup in her hand.
What was a surprise, however, was the fact that Bethany Black's hair was now a bright, shiny blonde, to match her daughter's. And it was longer than either teen remembered, as well. Styled differently. It was still definitely Karyn's mother, but the subtle changes caused the teenagers to miss a step as they headed for the stairs.
"Are you kids alright?" A seemingly normal response to the light commotion from Karyn's mother, but there was something off about the intonation.
"Yeah, we're fine, Mom." Karyn didn't even turn her head to respond, she just kept pushing Jon forwards, while the mothers gave each other looks that functioned as shorthand for "teenagers, what are ya gonna do?"
But once Jon and Karyn were safely behind a closed bedroom door, the floodgates opened.
"Your mom!"
"My mom!"
"She has--"
"Her hair is just like mine!"
"Well, it's a little different."
"Semantics. But did you hear how she talks???"
"Yeah, she almost sounds like--"
"Don't say it."
"But she does! She sounds like Sarah McMillan!"
"Ugh, this is the worst!"
The two friends laughed a stress-relieving laugh.
"What are we going to do?" Karyn asked her friend.
"I don't know," Jon shrugged. "Should we do anything? Maybe whatever we do will make things worse. Maybe it's not really that bad. What if we give things some time just to see how we handle it. Maybe we'll decide it's okay this way. Maybe we'll come up with a plan after some time."
Karyn thought about that for a moment. "Okay, that makes sense, I guess."
Jon smirked, trying to lighten the mood. "Besides, it's kind of funny, your mom and my mom sitting there together, but your mom's basically Sarah McMillan."
"She's not! She's just... acting a little ditzy."
"She totally is! And if your mom is becoming like Sarah McMillan, I almost wish my mom was becoming more like Biff Meadows."
The stone flashed.
"Shit!"
"Oh no."
"Goddammit!"
"Oh, Jon, I'm so--"
"Why do I even have this thing?"
"Maybe if we give things some time?"
"I wish this stone was invisible and that nobody could ever find it!"
Another flash.
The teenagers were silent.
There wasn't anything in Jon's hand.
