As the day progressed Jon thought of who he wanted to ensure was there that afternoon for the potential swap. Things weren't guaranteed to shift in his favor, but he hoped the people he cared about would be in better lives. He knew that meant somebody else would be put into the lives they left, and he felt horrible condemning them to that fate, but for his own sanity he wanted people he cared about to be better off. With the weekend coming there was a good chance a smaller number of people would be changed. The stone seemed to involve as many people as it could, but he could never be sure. Less people at the school would naturally mean fewer swaps.
He already had Karyn guaranteed to be at the school. If things went well his maneuvering would have Zoe and Athena on campus for a change too. On his short list he wanted to help Samantha, Zelda and Linda.
As long as Samantha stayed on school grounds most ways the wish could be interpreted would cause her to swap. She had come into his life and made such an impact. He wanted her to be happy as much as he did many of the people he had known for years.
Zelda would be difficult, if impossible to get back to the school. At least that's what Jon thought. She should still be in Mrs. Getherd's life since she was recovering from giving birth when the Thursday swap happened. The real problem was the ripple effects. He'd thought of how some families seemed to get more members. He hadn't seen any with less himself, but it made sense for that to be the case. He wondered if he could find one of her children and convince them to get her there, but that case felt like a long shot.
Linda, his former mom, had apparently escaped the swap the previous day. He still wasn't sure what his relationship with her was now. Nadine implied they were close behind closed doors. Even if they had some kind of secret friendship having his mom demean him and others wasn't something he wanted to see.
"Hey Nadine. Hey Jon!" Tiffany greeted them just after home room ended. She gave Jon a hug before kissing him on the cheek.
"You two talked about this didn't you? Or do you have fun mocking us who are single?" Nadine sighed as she looked at the display.
"I don't know what you mean Nadine. Isn't it natural for people dating to show how much they love each other? And I have a lot of love to give Jon." Tiffany giggled, and Jon was happy to see Nadine start laughing with her. He was glad they seemed to be on friendly enough terms.
"We have a problem Tiffany." Jon said, and began explaining the blackmail plot.
"We have to do something! My mom will kill me if any of those pictures get out. Your mom would probably never let me see you again." Tiffany was on the verge of tears.
"I've set up a meeting with them. They want us both there, so I'll need you with me at 3:45 this afternoon." Jon explained.
"Okay, I guess we just pay the ransom and hope for the best?" Tiffany still seemed unsure.
"Your mom will be there as backup." Jon knew he shouldn't keep Karyn's involvement out.
"No, we can't do that! Why would my mom be there?" Tiffany's panic had increased several levels.
"She was going to help me get my phone back and make sure Athena didn't do anything sneaky. We may have to let her know. I'm sure she'll understand if we explain what happened." Jon did his best to reassure her, holding her close and stroking her long black hair.
"Tiffany, I know this doesn't make you happy, but Jon has a point. Blackmail is serious business, and there is no guarantee they'll hand over everything when you pay the ransom. They may want to keep you on the hook to bleed you out. Barb is probably counting on you not wanting to get your mom involved. In this case you do need some adult support." Nadine calmly explained. Jon was beyond thankful for her assistance.
"Alright, as long as we can make sure nothing gets out to the public. I don't want to lose you Jon."
Jon knew it was a forgone conclusion that she'd lose him that afternoon. Still, he needed to remedy the situation as best he could. Not everything carried over into the new lives people got, but he didn't want the blackmail to become something his next girlfriend had to deal with. There was a possibility someone with a mindset different from Tiffany wouldn't have sent him the pictures anyway. In the end the important thing was that everyone was in place.
"Mallory wants to help too, but I don't want Barb to get suspicious during the meeting. We can't have it appear too many of our friends know." Jon had put a lot of thought into things. It would all be ruined if Athena fled before the swap. He just needed to keep her there until then, and it was his victory. The stone could always come into play in a desperate situation, but he wanted to limit using it.
"I'll work with Mallory and Ms. Wilmingham. We just need to be spread out enough that Barb and her mom don't catch on." Nadine offered.
Jon remembered the old Nadine who complained about the sin and vice of the world. He wasn't sure who she'd been the past couple days, but he was happy for her friendship now.
With some details in place they agreed to try meeting with Tiffany's mom at lunch to go over everything. Tiffany texted her to give her some details at Jon's instruction, and she agreed to the meeting.
That done Jon continued with his day. There were a greater number of people that he didn't recognize. The variety of ethicities in the school seemed to be greater, which could account for it. More than that there seemed to be more faces he couldn't quite recognize. He wondered how many females in town had been wrapped up in his wish now.
As Jon walked into his next class he recognized Carly as Mrs. Mcgill. She was around the same age as her mom had been the day before. Evidently she hadn't shed the weight of her life as a Brewer. She was very fat with a colossal ass bouncing and swaying as she was writing something on the board.
There were others in the class he thought he recognized, but couldn't be sure. Being without his app to help matters was more of a detriment than he'd thought it would be.
As he considered making a wish when he found some alone time he noticed Linda walk in. She looked his way, and gave him a sincere smile. It didn't last long, just enough for him to see before she turned away. The mystery of their new relationship was something he had to find out. It was eating away at his mind not kowing why a McMillan would be his secret friend.
