The magic that had worked between Jennifer and Sam had been a curious one. Some of the changes were direct swaps, but many more were alterations to reality that happened as a result of the exchange. A good example would be Jennifer's success as a mock trial lawyer; Sarah wasn't particularly academically oriented and never pursued that extracurricular, but the new Jennifer, equipped with Sarah's confidence, had. These were the changes that Jennifer had been discovering that morning as she and her sister pulled out of their long driveway in her new purple Tesla. Her second wish gave her the overview of what had been exchanged, but all the knock on effects, like Zoey's new appearance, were still surprising her.
"You doing okay sis? You seem a bit quiet today," Zoe asked, her voice full of concern. Jennifer was still shaken to suddenly have a caring sibling in Zoe, as opposed to the rebellious angry goth she'd been, but she couldn't deny she was a bit touched by it.
"I'm fine, just slept a little funny. What's been going on with you? Anything interesting going on today?" Jennifer was both deflecting and fishing for more information on the new Zoe.
"If you're sure." Zoe replied, clearly not fully convinced her sister was fine, but not choosing to press the issue. "Today's pretty chill, no tests today unless Ms. Nakahara decides to give us a pop quiz in Japanese," Zoe scrunched her nose up at that. Jen chuckled, apparently Ms. Nakahara was notoriously strict in any reality. "Then of course volleyball practice after school, and after that I think Lexi and I might go check out that new Tarantino flick. You?"
Jennifer had to focus to not swerve off the road at the reveal that Zoe was apparently a volleyball player in this new world, considering the girl had been firmly against organized sports in her old world. Her association with Alexis Star was also surprising, as the old Zoe had hated the somewhat preppy girl. Realizing she'd been asked a question, Jennifer fumbled out a response. "Yeah, it's a pretty low key day for me too. Nothing big in class. Probably going to hang out with Karyn this afternoon. After practice of course!" Jennifer hurried to add as she remembered she was now the cheer captain. Images of countless moves, poses and routines filled her mind as she thought about it, apparently a part of the direct transfer.
Zoe hummed in ascent and reached up from the backseat to flip on the car's sound system, which she'd paired to her phone. (Jennifer still wasn't sure why Zoe'd chosen the backseat rather than the passenger) The bubblegum pop sound that came out was nothing like the bands Zoe used to see at the Snake Pit but Jennifer couldn't say she hated it, even if her musical tastes seemed unaffected by the wish and she still preferred ska and jazz. Eventually they neared Karyn's house and Jennifer pulled to a stop as she spotted her friend, waiting in the driveway.
Jennifer's jaw literally dropped. Karyn looked gorgeous; nothing about her body had changed but the way she presented herself certainly had. Gone were the tomboy clothes and bulky jumper, and they were replaced by a stunning green summer dress and short white kitten heels. Her long red hair cascaded in waves down her back, evidently more styled than she'd bothered to in Jennifer's memory of the old reality. Karyn waved happily at Jenn, and dashed up to the car, tossing her backpack in the seat beside Zoe, before getting in the passenger seat. Before Jen had a chance to say hello, Karyn crawled part way over the center console and pulled a bewildered Jennifer into a deep kiss.
"Ew, Jennifer kiss your girlfriend on your own time, we need to get to school."
"Oh shush, you're just jealous of your big sis, Zee." Karyn shot back mischievously, before settling back into her own seat.
Jennifer's thoughts echoed with one word. Girlfriend?
MEANWHILE
Across town, someone had woken up to a much less pleasant morning. Sarah McMillan had gone to sleep in a kingsized bed with a plush mattress and woken up on a twin bed with a bad set of springs. She blearily turned off the tinny rap music blaring from the old phone by her bed and stumbled out of the bed. She looked around at the tiny room filled with basketball memorabilia and dirty clothes. Had she gone home with some guy last night? She looked around and took in her new male form with mounting horror before screaming. The first day of Sam McMillan's life had begun, and it was not a pleasant one.
