Jon rubbed his head, stood up, and said "Would you please go away? It's none of your business."
The bluff failed, of course, People were talking and a crowd was beginning to gather. One person muttered that he saw something similar in a movie. Then Alan approached, wide-eyed, saying "Jon? How is this possible?" He leaned close and whispered something to Jon. Some of the bystanders wondered if Jon and Alan had shared the secret, but the secret they had shared was different: the stone. "Was this a bad wish?"
"Sort of," replied Jon. "And please don't whisper. People will talk. More than they already are."
"I'm going to get the coach." said one of the bystanders.
"Wait, no---" replied Jon.
"I don't get it," said Jon's friend Joseph. "You look and sound exactly like a boy. If you hadn't landed exactly as you did nobody would have even noticed anything. Where are your breasts? Have you been taking hormones?"
"I don't take hormones," said Jon. "How could you even think of asking such a thing?" 'He' began to put his pants on.
"Are you a lesbian?"
"I'm a straight guy. Do I look like a lesbian?"
"Then you're transgendered. That's what they call it, right?"
"How many times do you run into a transgendered person who looks exactly like the sex they say they are anyway, by complete chance?" In truth, Jon didn't know. Keeping secret prevented him from telling anyone that he was technically a girl, so it was hard to discuss it with either lesbians or the transgendered. But it was a reasonable guess.
"Some people can pass," said Joseph. "Right?"
"Fine. I 'pass'. Or I would if everyone could just keep quiet. Please?" Jon muttered, "I bet that won't work."
It may or may not have worked, but at that point the coach came into view. The older man looked at Jon and said "Kids. Worst prank I've seen."
"Tell him to take off his pants," said one of the guys.
"No," replied the coach. "It's ridiculous that Jon could be a girl. Oh, fine. Jon, pull your pants down, and if you have balls, there's someone here who I need to talk to."
Jon didn't pull down his pants. He reached into them and touched the stone. "I wish that nobody saw me in a position that reveals I'm female."
Nothing happened, of course, since that would make the situation un-interesting, reversing a wish. The coach, meanwhile, was puzzled by Jon's remark and said "What? You almost make it sound like that's the truth, Jon."
"I wish that until the end of the school year, I am a boy."
Again, nothing happened. It would have contradicted Karyn McMillan's wish, but Jon thought that that was because it would have made the situation un-interesting again.
Finally, Jon wished....
