Jon's mom poked her head past his bedroom door. "Jon honey, are you ready for school? The bus will be here any minute."
Shit, he still had to go to school. Well, at least he'd be able to get away from his weird family for a bit. He grabbed his backpack off the floor.
"Sure mom."
She frowned, giving his outfit a disapproving look. "Are you sure you want to be going around dressed like that?"
Jon sighed. Did she really expect him to put on a cheerleader outfit like hers? This was too absurd.
"Yeah mom, I think I'll be fine," he said, moving past her and down the hallway. Downstairs, his father was checking himself out in the hallway mirror, adjusting his short shorts. Jon rushed past him and out the front door, trying not to notice the feminine finger-wave he gave.
Roger Madison sighed softly, and saw his wife coming down the stairs a short time later. She looked deflated.
"I'm worried about him," she told her husband. "It's like he doesn't care about the uniform at all. I thought we tried to raise him right. Am I a bad mother?"
"Now now, Linda," Roger said as he embraced her. The fringe of their uniform vests tickled against his stomach as he hugged her. "We do the best we can. I'm sure it's just a phase."
"I hope you're right."
"He'll come around. I just hope he doesn't get in trouble at school. I know how strict they were about the dress code in our day." He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Well, I've got to get going to work. We've got a lot of new choreography to learn today."
Jon made his way to the bus stop, going over everything that had happened, and everything Flarg-Nop had told him. They'd taken his stone. He should have been furious, but for some reason was having a hard time mustering those emotions. They said that he could control reality, but were they controlling him?
Jon waited at the corner, hoping his brain wouldn't trigger any more strangeness. Maybe school would keep him focused. The idea of focus, however, quickly evaporated when he saw Karyn walking towards the bus stop.
Though "walking" may not have been the most accurate. It was more of a strut - graceful, confident, and rhythmic. Made all the more noticeable by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader uniform she wore. Just like Jon's family.
Her eyes went wide when she saw Jon standing there, and she quickened her pace.
"Jon! What the hell are you wearing!?" she said.
"Um. Jeans. And a t-shirt."
She rolled her eyes. "I don't believe this. Are you trying to make some sort of statement? You could get in a lot of trouble."
Karyn's behavior was really throwing Jon for a loop. She never had mentioned his choice of clothing before. He really didn't want to have it out with her right now, so it was a bit of a relief when the bus arrived shortly after. Seeing Karyn's state of dress, however, made Jon nervous for what he was about to see.
Sure enough, stepping onto the bus, every single person was wearing the exact same uniform. Jon was stunned. Had his subconscious really done this to everybody? The looks that everyone on the bus gave him in return seemed equally surprised. Some gasped, some sat silently, others laughed. All of them judged. The bus driver wasn't sure whether to let him board, but finally let him find an empty seat near the back.
Karyn waited a while to climb aboard. She was obviously trying to distance herself from Jon. Instead, she took a seat next to Leonard Drullers. The two of them began whispering to each other, occasionally glancing back to Jon.
The bus finally pulled up to school, and Jon was absolutely gobsmacked by what he saw. It was a sea of booty shorts, star spangled belts, flimsy blue blouses, and knee-high white boots. As everybody left the bus, Jon noticed groups of people falling into step, taking up formations like it was a natural thing to do.
Jon ran to catch up to Leonard and Karyn who were near the back of a large pack. They scowled at him.
"Jeeze Jon," Leonard said, "Are you trying to pull some kind of prank? I didn't think you were that much of a rebel."
"Yeah," Karyn said, as the line all brought their hands to their hips, walking with her arms akimbo. "You've got to be sweating in that getup, too."
Jon followed the line inside, where the sound of incessant chatter was now accompanied by the ruffling of pom-pons and clicking of boot heels. He was still getting some nasty and confused stares. He was about to try to reason with Karyn when a voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Jon Madison, please report to the principal's office. Jon Madison, please report to the principal's office."
"Oh Jon, I'm so sorry." Karyn said. "I hope Principal Messler goes easy on you."
Jon wasn't sure what to say. The line of students sashayed away, and Jon turned and headed towards the office. Was this really happening?
