After Zoe was gone, Jon's mother muttered "How the fuck did she end up like that?" Then she turned to Jon and said "At least you didn't end up being a freak like your sister, Jon. All that pink makes me want to vomit."
His mother used to really like the color pink, much to the annoyance of Zoe. But now, things seemed to be reversed.
Jon looked over at his little brother. "So, uh ... anything special happening today, Mikey?"
Mikey looked up from his breakfast and gave Jon the middle finger. "Yeah, but it's none of your fucking business." Then he stood up from the table and stomped off. It was clear now that Mikey was wearing black boots instead of his usual gray sneakers.
Jon turned back to his mom and saw a look of appreciation on her face. "If only Zoe could be like that," she said.
Seriously? Jon thought.
She took another sip of her coffee, then stood up from the table herself. When she turned towards Jon, she saw that he hadn't even touched his breakfast. "Jon, are you gonna fucking eat that or what?"
"Uh ... I'm not really all that hungry," he said, pushing the plate away.
His mother suddenly looked more perturbed than she was when Zoe was at the table. "What the fuck do you mean you're not hungry? And why the fuck are you talking like that?" she asked. She must have meant why wasn't he cussing like her and Mikey. "You're not becoming more like Zoe are you?"
"Fuck no," he said, hoping it was enough. He only used that type of language when he was angry, not in normal conversations.
"Well, good. I don't want any more fucking freaks in this family. It's bad enough we have one."
Jon stood up from the table and walked back upstairs to his room, leaving his mother to clean up. So far, he wasn't sure that he liked things in this new reality. But he was a little curious to see how everything else was different.
Should he try to reverse his "something interesting" wish? Or should he explore this new reality and just do it later?
