"I expect you to do your own homework while helping out the girls. From what I've been told Sarah has been getting better grades than ever, and her mom tells me she raves about you being the main reason. I don't know what you're doing as her tutor, but I am proud when you get that kind of praise." Stephanie said after several minutes of awkward silence in the car.
"Uh, thank you. I'm just trying to do the best I can." Jon responded. The textbooks he'd found and stuffed into his backpack told him he was taking several AP courses. With Stephanie being a stricter mom he wasn't surprised he was pushing himself, but he had no idea how he'd manage these classes. For now he was stuck in this life, and with it came expectations he knew he wasn't ready for.
"Jon, you're the man of the house now." Stephanie took a more serious tone. "Melissa and Christine will be going back to college soon too. I know you think I'm easier on them, but they've always been so goal oriented. They needed guidance, but you need a push sometimes. I count on you to be a role model for Mikey, and look out for Mallory."
"I'm the man of the house now?" Jon parroted back. Had something happened to the dad of their family? He wasn't sure if he had the same dad now, but the way Stephanie talked he was out of the picture for some reason.
"I don't want to talk about him right now, okay?" Stephanie spoke loudly. She turned to see Jon shocked and nervous. She let out a sigh. "Look, I worry about you. You've got a bright future, but you need discipline. I don't think you'll become the man you can be with Tiffany distracting you. I don't trust her alone in the same room as you."
Jon blushed as he recalled what had happened that afternoon. Stephanie wasn't far off in her thinking. He wondered if some of her experience living Tiffany's life made her more wary of the original's behavior. Tiffany had some differences from her original self, and he still wasn't sure to what extent. She wasn't just some shameless slut like he thought, at least not now.
"I've been trying to figure some things out. I made a mistake recently, and I'm doing what I can to deal with it without making things worse. I know I've got some more growing up to do." Stephanie smiled at the strength of Jon's words. He wasn't saying what he thought she wanted to hear. He was finally speaking with conviction.
"The first step to improvement is admitting you've made a mistake. I want you to come to me with any problems you have." Stephanie really looked like a mom to Jon in that moment. Not the surly goth girl, or the distant pregnant girl Samantha had tried reaching out to. This was a woman who'd lived through more experiences, and clearly loved her family. She was a bit of a tiger mom, but it was nice seeing her like this.
"Thanks, m-mom." Jon still had a little trouble calling her that, but like Julie that was who she was right now. She could be for several days to come at the least. He knew he needed to get comfortable with it for now.
"But don't expect your phone back until tomorrow morning." Stephanie narrowed her eyes, quickly switching back to the stern mom he was learning to deal with.
"Yeah, that's fair." Jon's head sank. If Linda was still his mom she'd have probably done at least the same if he did what he had this afternoon too. He hated being out in the dark on changes, but he hoped he'd be able to deal with things for the night and look up as much as he could in the morning.
The silence returned for a while as Jon tried thinking of his next step. He knew little about his family now, other than names, Mikey was still his brother, and something was going on with his dad. It struck him that he didn't know where the stone was at the moment. His house had been different, and his family was Vietnamese now. Did he even inherit the stone?
"I've been thinking about grandpa recently. Can you tell me about him?" Jon asked.
"I know his death hit you hard." Stephanie's eyes took a distant look. "He was a kind man, but the adventurous kind that could never stay in one place. He brought your grandma and me here to make a better life in his home country for us after they had me. I really miss him too."
"Mom, did grandpa-?" Jon tried asking, but Stephanie interrupted him.
"We can talk about it later Jon." She was stopping the car. Evidentally they had arrived at the Kim's house.
They got out to find an Asian couple standing out front in dress casual attire.
"I'm sorry for being late." Jon said as he appoached, hoping to get some points back with Stephanie by taking responsibility without her saying anything.
"We were very worried young man. Sarah insisted we wait on calling someone else though." The mother had her arms crossed and her eyes were boring a hole through Jon.
"I'll, uh, have to thank her for vouching for me." Jon nervously chuckled.
"Hi Jon!" An excited high pitched voice called from the door of the house.
'That must be Sarah.' Jon thought to himself. He wondered if maybe it wasn't the McMillan one, but Sarah Taylor after leaving her life as a nurse. It was hard picturing the cheerleader as this cute but nerdy looking young Asian girl. Her black hair bounced girlishly as she ran down the path and gave him a hug. She looked up, and he saw her glasses and braces. No doubt if the original her knew he'd changed her into this, inadvertantly or not, she'd kill him. She was absolutely the kind of girl the original would bully.
"I learned a new violin solo! Would you want to hear me practice?" Sarah asked hopefully.
"I'll pick you up in a few hours Jon. Behave yourself." Stephanie instructed as she got back in her car.
"You know our rules Jon. Make sure they finish the rest of their homework." The mother, who Jon thought he may recognize but wasn't sure, told him in a tone that made Stephanie seem lenient.
"Honey, we're already running behind. We need to go now." The father said. The couple got in their own car and pulled out of the driveway.
"Let's go Jon!" Sarah grabbed his hand, and he could see her cheeks flare red. Jon followed her lead, unsure how his night would go.
