They didn't say much for a while after that, but with Becky along to provide encouragement, Jason returned to his Internet search with renewed energy. Unfortunately, that didn't change the fact that there just didn't seem to be any useful information out there. Pretty much everything on transformation spells that wasn't written by wannabe "Wiccans" was written by people who liked to get high and pretend like their trip was an actual, physical change. Finally, hungry and mentally exhausted, they broke off the search to have lunch.
There wasn't much on hand, and they wound up just making instant ramen. After they had finished eating, Jason just sat there, stirring his fork around in the leftover broth, wearing a glum expression that Becky knew all too well.
"I know, it's frustrating," she said. "I guess I can't really tell you not to be discouraged, but even if this whole Internet search is a bust, there might be other things we can check into. There might be someone who knows about real, actual magic, if we can just find them."
Jason moaned. "But what if we can't? I mean, you were looking for months, right? And you didn't find anything, or you wouldn't be like this!"
Becky shrugged. "Well, the truth is, we only really looked for about a month, and we never really looked into any 'real' magicians or witches or anything, because my parents didn't want us to get involved with whatever they might be into. Really, by that point pretty much everybody but me had come to terms with the idea."
Jason brightened, if only slightly. "So you didn't try everything?" he asked.
Becky shook her head. "Not even close. But...well, eventually we reached a point where we decided that it wasn't worth all the trouble. You and your mom might find the same thing."
Jason frowned. "No! I don't even get how you could do that! You don't even know what might happen if you stay this way! What if you start...what if you start acting all girly, or wearing makeup or dresses? What if you start liking boys?"
"Makeup?" Becky asked, her eyes widening. "Oh, so that's why you were staring at me yesterday!" She giggled as Jason nodded sheepishly. "Listen," she said, "I don't wear makeup, or even want to. That was just something I was trying to make Laura and Ellen happy. I haven't turned all girly, so there's no reason to think you will, either." She hesitated for a moment, then continued, half-muttering to herself. "But...I do like boys, I guess."
Jason stared, stunned by what he had just heard. It fit what he had seen between her and Andrew, but he desperately wanted not to believe it. If she wound up liking boys, and the same that happened to him had happened to her...
Becky saw the terror in his face and rushed to try and offer some comfort. "Uh, it might not be the same for you!" she stammered. "I mean, um, my mom and dad, for example! They still like each other, and he still looks pretty much like a man and she looks like a woman, even though they're switched around! Maybe it's different from person to person! And that's only if you can't figure out how to change back, anyway!"
It was a small shred of comfort, but it was enough for Jason to calm down, a bit. He wondered in the back of his mind whether liking girls after being turned into a girl would mean he was gay, but he was able to shrug it off as not important; after all, he was going to find a way to change back, right? And besides, it would still be better than liking boys! So he'd just have to make sure to keep liking girls. He didn't know how to control that, but there just had to be a way...
The afternoon passed with no further progress in the search. Mrs. Gerard arrived home from work, and Becky excused herself to head back to her own home. Jason gave his mom a brief summary of the afternoon, but left out the stuff about Becky liking boys.
Becky arrived home to find an older girl standing on her doorstep. She was on the tall side, slender but not lanky, and looked to be in her late teens. She turned and looked down at Becky. "Are you Ben-uh, Becky Connelly?" Becky nodded, and the girl smiled. "J...Jennifer Madison. I've got something I need to talk to you about."
