Jon waited. Nothing happened. Maybe it's happening to someone else, thought Jon. He hadn't wished that something interesting would happen to him. I suppose that someone else could have something interesting happen to them. I may never even know what had happened.
Just then, Jon heard his mom call up, "Are you ready yet, Jon? It's time to go to the hospital!"
He put the rock in his pocket, startled, but deciding to go with the flow. I could wish to know what's going on but that's no fun, he thought, hurrying downstairs. His whole family was waiting for him, and all eyes were more or less on him. They all looked at him with shock, or awe. The ride to the hospital was a short, silent one; in such a small town there wasn't that far to travel to get anywhere, really.
Jon tried to keep down the quivering anticipation, but he couldn't sit still for more than a minute, and his mind was rushing from subject to disjointed subject. He tripped as he got out of the car, and Zoe made a snide comment but he wasn't listening. "Jon Madison, for the Procedure," his mom said, placing a powerful emphasis on the word.
The attendant nodded, typing rapidly. "A nurse will be here to assist you, please wait in the lobby," she intoned.
They all sat down, and Zoe said, "You're so lucky, Jon. I wish I were old enough to turn into a hefemme."
He looked at her in shock. "What?"
"I know," she continued. "It's so cool you're going to be a real shemale and I wanna be a hefemme. Goth guys in dresses are so hot and I wanna be one. Only a couple of months and I can!" Zoe grinned.
Jon breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. Luckily they all thought he was shocked about her, not himself. "Jon Madison?" someone called out, and he got up, walking toward the voice. His family followed him, but the nurse turned them away. "I'm sorry, but we'll be starting the Procedure immediately. Second door on the right, sir," she said to Jon, and led him to the room, an ordinary hospital room.
He smelled gas the moment he stepped in, and had enough time to sit comfortably on the table before he passed out.
