Jenny had to admit, this van was pretty cool. Even aside from cool mini-elevator built into it for Michelle's wheelchair, it was enormous and roomy like no car she'd ever been in; there was almost enough room for the adults to stand up, and there was a little table in one corner of the back. Still, coolness aside, Jenny wasn't the kind of person who could enjoy a car ride in and of itself, and after everybody had gotten settled in and underway, she started looking for things to fill the couple hours it would take for them to get up to the lake.
Once she'd explored all the neat little things the van had to offer, she sat down in back with Michelle and her older sister. Jennifer was the oldest of the Madison children, and like Michelle, had been a boy until she'd undergone a mysterious, unexplained transformation. Now, according to Michelle, the only other person who remembered them as boys was Jennifer's friend Karyn, who was also along for the trip. Even their parents thought that they'd always been what they were now. Jenny wondered if that was better or worse than having everyone realize you'd changed, like Becky had to deal with.
Once the introductions had been made and the level of background noise in the van prevented Mr. and Mrs. Madison from overhearing, the topic turned to the sisters' sudden and mysterious transformations. Jennifer, it seemed, was handling it better than Michelle, at least in part because she was a normal human girl instead of a mermaid, but she seemed concerned about exactly what it was that changed them and whether it had affected anything else. Michelle, for her part, was more distressed at being a girl and having no legs. Karyn seemed happy to have Jennifer as a female friend, but it sounded like she missed the old Jon as well.
They kept talking about it for a while; Michelle accidentally alluded to Jenny's familiarity with mysterious changes once, but gave away no details, and Jennifer and Karyn didn't press the issue. Jenny was happy that they were so easy to get along with; even Zoe, the middle sister, was more tuned-out than the grouch she'd initially seemed like. They talked a little while longer, and then Jenny and Michelle turned on their Gameboys and started on a two-player game, which lasted them most of the rest of the trip.
It was early evening, and Jason had spent most of the day ignoring the events of that morning. He'd been gaming and watching cartoons for most of the time, but he had stopped for a couple moments to think about what he should do. As a last resort, he could tell his mom when she got home; maybe she could take him to the doctor and see if this was some kind of rare but fixable condition. But he didn't want to tell anybody if he didn't have to; this was so crazy, he could barely believe it.
Before his mother, he'd rather tell Becky; at least she already didn't think much of him, and if Jason's hunch was correct, she might actually know what this was about. But by the time he'd worked up the nerve to call the Connelys' house, it seemed like they'd taken the phone off the hook. He'd have to try again some other time. He thought of calling Andrew, since he seemed to know what the deal was with Becky, but he liked that idea even less than telling his mom.
Jason looked at the clock. His mom would be home before long. Hoping that he'd either been imagining things or it had just somehow gone away, he unzipped his pants and pulled down his underwear. No, it was still there, and his parts were still gone. He sighed as he zipped back up. What was going to happen to him? Was this what had happened to Becky? Was he going to turn into a girl, too? Or would he just be a guy with the wrong parts?
He didn't know, but he really didn't want to find out. Jason desperately hoped there was a way out of this.
