If Jennifer had been shocked by the changes she experienced before arriving at school, she was absolutely floored by what she saw once she got there. She'd parked right next to the school, all of the sport's captains got reserved spots and her purple Tesla slid right into the cheer captain spot that used to hold Sarah's pink Corvette. Zoe had given her a quick hug before dashing off to meet her friends before homeroom. Walking into school was entirely different from what she was used to. First of all, while she usually walked in with Karyn, this was the first time she'd done it holding hands with the lovely redhead. Secondly, where Jon had been fairly anonymous, everyone seemed to know Jennifer. She lost count of the number of people who stopped to say hey as she and Karyn made their way to homeroom with Ms. Nakahara. Then there was the way people looked at her; countless boys and a few girls stared at her with obvious attraction and Karyn clutched her hand a bit possessively. In general the majority of students seemed to like and admire her, she was the queen of the school.
Where Sarah had ruled like a tyrant with an iron fist, it seemed Jennifer was a benevolent monarch and she breathed a sigh of relief that no one seemed afraid of her. She'd been worried she was a bully in this new reality like Sarah had been. The only group looking at her with what she thought was animosity were the Goths led by Athena, and they tended to hate everyone. She was taken from her thoughts by bubbly Amber Levine dashing up and pulling her into a hug.
"Oh my gosh, Jen! It's so good to see you! Paris was great, but I really missed you over the break." Amber talked excitedly. "And Karyn, you are absolutely rocking that dress! Jen's certainly a lucky lady."
Karyn smirked at that, "I dunno, I'd say I'm pretty lucky too." She slid her arm around Jennifer's waist. "Purple is definitely her color." Jennifer smiled widely at that, feeling a foreign sense of pride at her appearance, and subtly puffed out her chest, her breasts straining slightly against the expensive mulberry silk blouse. "It's good to see you too, Ambs," Jennifer decided to use the nickname she'd heard other cheerleaders use for the girl, who seemed to be one of her best friends in this world. That was weird in of itself as she'd only ever had one best friend before, and she was now her girlfriend. "We'll have to hang and catch up soon."
Amber nodded enthusiastically at that. "Totally, maybe I can talk to Biffie and the four of us can double this Friday?" Jennifer nodded dumbly, shocked that she socialized with Biff. "Fabulous! We'll figure out the details during practice! Oops, almost time for homeroom, see you later, Captain!" Amber then dashed off the other way down the hall. Jennifer felt giddy at the interaction. Amber was a really positive person and it was so nice having her as a friend.
Jen and Karyn made their way somewhat quickly to Ms. Nakahara's room, passing Headmistress Marianne Lafayette lecturing Jay Duncan over something. (Lake Valley Academy was a charter school with higher paid teachers than the typical school, and a headmistress instead of a principal.) Ms. Lafayette was generally liked by the student populace, but, with her over 6' in height, she could quickly become intimidating when she wanted to. The statuesque woman really seemed peeved by whatever Jay had done, so Jen and Karyn hurried by to avoid being caught in the crossfire, missing a flash of white light as they ducked into the classroom.
It seemed they still sat next to each other, although at the front of the room rather than the back. It still felt odd to have so many bags to put down, her purse, her backpack and her cheer bag that Zoe had had to remind her to grab that morning. Even odder, someone quickly took the seats on either side of Karyn and Jen and leaned into talk.
"Hey gang, how was everyone's break?" Madison Sakura Kingsley, who sat next to Jen, asked. The half-Japanese girl was the sister of the local star newscaster, Yuki Kingsley, and looked like a blonde version of her famous sister. She took after her sister in another way, being the editor of the school paper and president of the yearbook club. She was dressed stylishly as ever, in a strappy white top, red platform heels, and skinny jeans, that Jennifer realized she could instantly recognize the brands of. As far as Jennifer knew, she wasn't close with Sarah in the previous reality, but they ran in the same social circles.
"Mine was good! We went out to the cove." Karyn answered easily. "But I'm excited to get back and prep for the show. After a week, I'm worried everyone will be dropping lines at rehearsal." Jennifer blinked at, apparently Karyn participated in theatre now. Jon's friend had talked about wanting to try out in the old world but ended up deciding to blow it off. Jennifer now wondered if that had been due to confidence issues.
"Like you aren't always off book after like a week," Elizabeth Callahan added in her crisp English accent. Elizabeth was the daughter of bankers who'd moved to Lake Valley two years ago. She was wearing frilly white blouse and a matching little navy jacket and skirt, along with black heels. She had quickly become the star of the school's swim team after arriving. She'd also fallen in with the popular crowd, dating Geoff Stevens, the vice-captain of the basketball team under Steve Farber. Although, Jennifer wasn't entirely sure if that was still the case, as she hadn't been friends with Elizabeth in that world as she was now. She hoped it wasn't the case; Biff Meadows she could maybe manage, but she really didn't want to be expected to hang out with Steve Farber or his buddies.
"And you Jen?" Madison inquired.
"Mostly fine. I missed you guys" Jennifer began and found that it was true. She'd been missing friends like this all her life. "Um, My grand dad passed away so that sort of put a damper on the week." Unfortunately even with the magic of the stone, that was as true in this world as the old one. However, in the old world where Jon would have quietly dealt with the pain himself, pushing it down. Here she immediately found herself pulled into a group hug with the other three girls, an overwhelming warmth bursting in her chest.
(Jennifer isn't inherently aware of the cascading effects of her wish. Madison existed in the previous reality but was Jackie's sister, not Yuki's and not Biracial. The wish made Yuki's mother married to Jackie's father.)
