The girl who until recently had been Jason Alder stumbled through the hallways in a daze. She had just had the unthinkable happen to her, and nobody even noticed! No one took any notice of the diminutive Japanese girl who hadn't even been a student here that morning; nobody seemed to know or care where Jason had got to. It made her feel frightened, the first time she could ever recall being scared outside of her home.
Only it wasn't her home anymore, was it? If Fletcher was telling the truth, then as far as the rest of the world was concerned, her home was at the Hayashi house. Jason would have been glad to be rid of his father, but as Moroiko she couldn't help but dread the prospect of life as someone's daughter. Even if she could accept this body, which she was sure she couldn't, how would Otou-san and Okaa-san treat her? Would they try and make her act like a girl?
...holy shit, did she just...? Yes, yes she had. She'd just mentally referred to them as "father" and "mother," in Japanese. Which she had not known a word of this morning. But more disconcerting than the fact that she'd suddenly obtained a functional (although not especially fluent) knowledge of a foreign language, or the fact that she used it casually enough to have it pop up in her thought processes, was the fact that she'd thought of Mr. and Mrs. Hayashi as her father and mother. Granted, David Alder was far from a worthy contender for the title, but he was her father, right? How much about her mind, her self, had been changed?
She didn't know. The fact that she was even able to tell the difference was a bit of a comfort, but still, she ws downright scared. She picked up the pace on her aimless wandering, wishing that she were her stocky 6'3" self again; the way all the other students towered over her made her vulnerable, which made her move faster, until she was nearly running. She trotted through the halls, not knowing where to go or what to do, and not even entirely sure of who she was anymore, until she rounded a corner and walked smack into someone else.
It nearly gave her a heart attack. She looked up, wide-eyed, right into the face of one of the teachers. "Good Lord," he said, frowning, "watch where you're-!" His expression softened when he saw her face. "Um, are you all right?" he asked. "Let me see...Miss Hayashi, right? Moroiko?"
She said nothing, still trembling from the fear-induced adrenaline rush. Normally, Jason would have told him to fuck off and shoved him aside, but right now it was all she could do to keep her hyperventilation under control. And...it was the first time in a very long time that she could remember someone showing concern for her. Fear, wariness, hostility, those were all things she knew how to deal with, but this just left her dumbfounded.
"Say," the teacher said, "don't I have you for English next? Why don't you come with me; it's almost time for class." He turned to go and motioned for her to accompany him. Confused, scared, and unsure of what to do, Moroiko followed.
Jon's legs were aching. And sweating. He was never doing this again as long as he lived. Ms. Fletcher had certainly taken her sweet time about straightening up Room 21, but at long last, she had left; he'd heard her footsteps echo down the hallway until they'd faded out. He was safe.
Slowly but surely, Jon backed himself down the duct until he reached the grate he'd entered through. He swung his legs down into the comparatively cool basement air, and the rest of him followed shortly. He was a bit wobbly in the knees, but he was standing safe and sound on the floor again.
And she was standing right in front of him.
Jon yelped in surprise and prepared to bolt, but Ms. Fletcher smiled. "Don't worry, you're not on the list," she said. "I imagine you heard me just fine when I said that I'm only dealing with the kids who are seriously harming others."
Jon nodded, frozen in fear. Why hadn't he brought the stone to school with him?
"I'm not even going to tell you not to tell anyone," she continued. "By all means, spread the word, if you want. I won't do anything to you. But you might get diagnosed with Capgras syndrome, so I wouldn't recommend it. Karyn would probably believe you, though."
"Wh-what do you want with me?" Jon sputtered. Ms. Fletcher chuckled. "Jeez, kid, chill out!" she said. "I told you, I'm not going to do anything to you! I just want to talk about your stone."
"You know...?"
She laughed outright at that. "There's really no way I could not know," she said. "Ancient magicians like the ones who made your stone were not what you'd call nuanced. All they really knew was how to pair x cause with y effect. Voodoo programming in a more literal sense, really. Horribly inelegant."
Jon just stared at her. She nodded. "Right, sorry, I'm speaking jargon again. Let's put it this way: each time you used that thing, I could've sensed it from the county line. You're just lucky I'm the only person around here who's tuned in on that channel, so to speak."
Jon was beginning to be irritated as well as terrified. "Wh-what are you saying?" he asked.
"Well, I actually haven't said it, yet," she replied. "But I just want to let you know that I'm going to be sealing access to your stone's powers. You've seen the potential fallout from even one accidental wish, and a minor and merely cosmetic one, at that. And you were just the observer; your friend has to live with it. I want to keep that sort of thing from happening again."
Now Jon was irritated. "You can't do that!" he snapped. She smiled. "Oh, you bet I can," she said. "I understand your frustration, but I'll tell you what: I'm not going to disenchant it, I'm just going to set it so that nobody van access its power. You have as much knowledge of the System as I did at your age, which is to say, none. It's entirely possible for you to figure out how to get in yourself. If you do that, you can give yourself permission to use it again, and I won't stop you."
"R-really?"
She nodded. "In my experience, learning the kinds of skills you'll need takes discipline and builds character. By the time you figure it out, I think you'll be mature enough to handle that power responsibly. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a class to teach. Happy hacking." She turned and left the room.
