Now, as all of this was going on, as Karyn was easing herself into life as a cheerleader, as Jon was doing his homework at Sarah's desk, Sarah had her own afternoon to attend to. And she was spending it in the Gibson home. In what had, until recently, been Jon Gibson's bedroom.
Sarah sat upon his bed, in a pair of baggy jeans with a loose-fitting sweater. The sweater was pink, but it was a pale pink. A homely pink. Not the bright bubblegum pink that Sarah usually wore. She looked comfortable. She felt comfortable.
And she was entirely pleased with the vacation from herself that she'd set up here.
Nobody was fully replacing her. She'd split aspects of her life between Jon and Karyn, and in turn she had adopted those aspects which had been displaced from them. She was no longer friends with the popular girls, and no longer felt the need to be catty towards anyone. She was no longer a cheerleader. She'd traded her stylish wardrobe for a comfortable one. And she'd traded her giant mansion for a humble little single-family home, her rich family for a middle-class one.
And while she was looking forward to gathering the pieces of her real life back to her, while she knew that this was only temporary, the change of pace felt so relaxing. It was a good thing Jon had gotten that magic stone, and it was a good thing that Karyn had used her first wish, indirectly, on Sarah. She wouldn't have been able to "strike first," but as long as no bodily harm occurs, the rules of magic are incredibly broad regarding what qualifies as "justified revenge." And letting them live parts of her own life? Not a witch's council in the world would consider this a harsh punishment.
Sarah flopped backwards, letting her body fall onto Jon's thin blanket, onto his inflexible spring mattress. He didn't even have memory foam! It was so deliciously normal. Yeah, Sarah could keep this up for a bit.
