The first order of business was to wipe everyone's memory of the incident. It really wouldn't do to have Sarah and friends go after him again. He was still in class wearing a fake pregnancy belly, though. Just like the first day, people assumed it was a bet, or a class project, or him being a wise guy. After an hour of this, Jon folded his arms, leaned his head down, and quietly whispered some more wishes. The first was that regardless of what any adults at the school thought, he wouldn't be punished in any way for having it. The second was a wish that the belly was at home and nobody would find it until he got back.
It was a relief to Jon to not be wearing the wishing belly. It was made for girls and looked stupid on a guy, even if it did grant magical powers. And once he wished it back home, nobody even remembered that he had ever brought it. Biff was still wearing his empathy belly for the rest of the class period and looked absurdly pregnant. The teacher who Jon prevented from punishing him had no problems threatening Biff with punishment... and Biff couldn't even remember why he had it on. Jon had wiped his memory--and even if he hadn't, Jon had just changed reality so that he hadn't brought the wishing belly to school and so never did anything to Biff. The wish that gave Biff his belly was now a dangling wish, an effect with no cause.
The day would have been fine if his mother hadn't called him in to the living room that night.
"Yeah, Mom?" he said.
"Jon, what in the world is that thing you have?"
"Um, what thing?" replied Jon, pretending ignorance.
"Don't get smart with me," she replied. "Come on now." She walked towards Jon's room, barging in with Jon behind her. Walking right up to the wishing empathy belly, she picked it up and shook it at Jon. "This. What is it?"
"It looks like... I don't know," said Jon.
"I know you were wearing it the other day," she replied. "I don't know what you're doing, but this isn't normal. Breasts? Pregnancy? I'm not sure if you're trying to make fun of women or if you think you'd be better off as one, but either way this has got to stop."
"Let me explain!"
"This had better be good," she said.
Jon reached for the belly. His mother didn't hold on to it. Of course, she didn't think he could do anything with it.
"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you, but it's an inheritance from Grandpa." Jon took off his shirt and started to put on the belly as his mother watched. "He said he found this magic incense... you burn it and say a spell and it creates something that grants nearly unlimited power. He messed it up... or rather it sort of worked. So I have a wishing empathy belly."
Jon crossed his fingers as he finished putting the belly and falsies on. It may have been a tiny bit bigger this time, another day or week or whatever older, but it wasn't yet old enough to make him pregnant, fortunately. It was just a realistic-looking set of fakes.
"You're talking nonsense."
"I wish you don't think it's nonsense."
"You're still... maybe it does make some sense. Dad always had this strange thing about him--he really could have found some magic. Sorry I doubted you, Jon, okay? Just one thing, Jon, could you wish him back? I know you can do anything with that wishing belly."
"I can't. It has a range limit. He died far away from here."
"Okay, can you make it so I quit smoking? And get us some money? A million dollars or so."
"The bank computers aren't in the range limit either. I wish Mom would quit smoking."
"What limit does it have?"
"It's limited to a certain range, pretty much. And I have to wear it to use it. And when I put it on or leave it on it gets older and if it gets too old I become pregnant. I need to take it off now because it could do that any moment now...."
