Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, lunchlady Enid Parkes sighed in frustration. She was tired of the low quality of the supplies she and the rest of the cafeteria staff had to work with. The stereotype of school cafeteria food being bad was the subject of jokes back when she was in high school, and she didn't really want to perpetuate that stereotype if she could help it.
She looked at the coin she had picked up on the counter when she arrived with the rest of the staff. "It says 'Good for one wish'." she said, reading it aloud as she held it. "Well, I wish this cafeteria had the supplies needed to make high-quality food that's the envy of all other schools in the county."
The coin disappeared in her hand as soon as she finished the sentence. And then one of her staffers spoke. "Enid, you're not going to believe this."
Enid turned, and saw that the cafeteria's supplies had clearly undergone a major upgrade. The place was now capable of cooking and storing food good enough to be served in the country's finest restaurants. "That wish you just made somehow came true."
Enid was surprised and amazed at what she was seeing. "I don't know how it happened. But I'm not complaining." she said. "I think we can have this place more than ready to go by lunchtime."
She smiled. She knew the students who usually complained were in for a pleasant surprise.
Outside the school, Jon was meeting with Starla Stanfield and the Taylor twins. "So you had this coin that said 'good for one wish'. And it vanished after you made that wish?" Jon asked.
"I guess it did." Starla said. "I can't find it anywhere. And I was sure I still had it a minute ago."
"This is weird." Sarah Taylor said. "I mean, it's nice to have a Performing Arts Center near the school, but this is just..."
"Very weird. I thought wishing coins were just in fairy tales." Jennifer Taylor finished.
The geeks who had overheard the wish (Jay Duncan, Kyla Leeson, Leonard Drullers, and Walter Smukmeyer) approached. "How did you do this?" Kyla asked. "I mean, wishes don't come true like that. Not in real life."
"Scientifically speaking, this whole thing seems extremely unlikely." Jay added. "To the point where I'd call it absurd. And yet..."
"Here we are." Leonard finished. "We're looking at something that didn't exist a few minutes ago, but here it is."
"I've read books about this." Walter said. "But I never thought I'd see it happen."
The school's other Sarah, head cheerleader Sarah McMillan, approached followed by Tiffany Sanders and Melissa Smith. "This is just crazy. The drama club makes a wish, and now we've got this new building taking up space. We used to use that field for cheerleading practice, and now..."
"Don't ask me." Starla said, for once in her life nervous about the attention she was getting. "I don't know how it happened. It was an accident. I didn't know that coin was for real."
It was then that three others from Sarah McMillan's cheerleading squad arrived. One was the brunette Nicole Tiller, who was smart but had a low tolerance for rude behavior. The second was Amber Levine, a well-meaning if sometimes coming across as a bit naive sort, and the third was Allison Wright, the only black cheerleader on the squad.
"Sarah, are we still on for cheerleading practice?" Amber asked.
"We checked the weather forecast on the way here." Allison said. "It doesn't look like it's going to rain today, so we shouldn't need to practice indoors if we don't want to."
"You know Sarah." Nicole said. "It's only been a few months, but she's still excited about that new Performing Arts Center."
Sarah then turned to the newcomers. "What do you mean a few months?" she asked. "That place wasn't here even a few minutes ago!"
"Of course it was, silly." Amber said, with a giggle. "They, like, finished building it three months ago."
Jon turned to Karyn, and the two of them shared knowing glances. Apparently, this wishing coin worked in a manner very similar to the stone. Though Jon wasn't going to let anyone else know about the stone, and he was sure Karyn wasn't about to mention it either.
"What are you talking about?" Starla interjected. "This place didn't exist three months ago. It only turned up now because I wished we had a Performing Arts Center."
"That makes no sense." Nicole said.
"Normally, I'd be inclined to agree with you," said Jay. "But I saw it happen. Starla is right. She made a wish, and we all heard it. The next thing we knew, there's a new building near the school where an empty field used to be."
"But that's impossible." Allison said. "Don't you remember? Starla and her friends from the Drama Club wanted a Performing Arts center next door to the school, but they didn't have enough money to build one. So they roped in you and others from the geek crowd, and the cheerleaders as well. Sarah got help from her dad to help finance construction of it, and Tiffany and Melissa got help from their parents."
"In fact, you're all co-owners of that Performing Arts center." Nicole said. "I can't believe you'd forget something like that."
"WHAT?!?" Jay, Kyla, Leonard, Sarah McMillan, the Taylor Twins, and Starla said almost in unison. They were followed by similar statements from Tiffany and Melissa.
"It sounds to me like someone's given you selective amnesia." Nicole said. "Just to refresh your memory, here's how it worked out. This Performing Arts Center is co-owned by twelve people. These would be Starla Stanfield, Jennifer Taylor, and Sarah Taylor from the drama club, along with Sarah McMillan, Tiffany Sanders, Melissa Smith, Jay Duncan, Kyla Leeson, Leonard Drullers, Walter Smukmeyer, Jon Gibson, and Karyn Black."
"WHAT?!?" Karyn asked. She and Jon exchanged glances.
"The Wishing Coin altered reality." Jon blurted out. "Everyone who heard the wish was counted as being part of the 'we' in Starla's wish. She wished 'we' had a Performing Arts Center."
"So that's why we're co-owners of it even if it doesn't make sense?" Kyla asked.
"It's the magic wish that doesn't make sense to me." Allison said. "Look, all of you had reasons for wanting this place to be built. The Drama club wanted another place for music and theatre outside the school building, the Geeks wanted a place for their little conventions and showings of classic fantasy and sci-fi movies, and the cheerleaders wanted another indoor place to practice just in case it rained and the school gym was being used by the basketball team or something."
"And what about us?" Karyn asked.
"You're just patrons of the arts who wanted a part of it." Allison explained.
"Look, this wish altered reality." Jon said. "Everyone who didn't hear the wish thinks the Performing Arts Center was built three months ago. But we heard the wish, and we don't remember it existing before today."
"That's just, too weird." Amber said.
"I'm with Allison." Nicole said. "It doesn't make any sense that any of you would forget this. I remember clearly having to walk past all the construction vehicles as they broke ground and poured cement and paved the parking lot. I remember having cheerleading practice in that building just last week when it rained. And you, and you, and you were there." She pointed at Sarah McMillan, Tiffany Sanders, and Melissa Smith, all of whom looked back at her with surprise.
"There's no place like home." Leonard said, jokingly.
"Okay, I made a Wizard of Oz reference. I didn't mean to. It's the theatre crowd rubbing off on me, I guess." Nicole said. "The point is, I have a hard time believing your story about a magic wish creating this building just a few minutes ago. If this is a joke, it's not very funny."
Sarah McMillan spoke up. "Enough already! We can talk about this later. We've got to get to class, and then after classes we can talk about this."
"She's right. We don't want to be late." Tiffany said.
"I can't wait for lunch." Leonard said. "We're spoiled by having the best food in any school." Jay, Kyla, and Walter just nodded as if that statement was not unusual at all, and headed inside the school.
Sarah McMillan, Tiffany Sanders, and Melissa Smith entered the school, followed by Nicole Tiller, Amber Levine, and Allison Wright, who looked at their fellow cheerleaders with an air of concern. This left Jon and Karyn with Starla and the Taylor Twins.
Starla turned to Jon. "So you're saying only people who heard the wish know the Arts Center wasn't here yesterday?"
"I'm pretty sure that's how it works." Jon said. "How else do you explain what just happened?"
"Scary." Jennifer Taylor said. "To think a wishing coin could alter reality like that."
"At least there was only one coin, and it's gone now." Sarah Taylor added. "I mean, it could have been a lot worse."
"Starla, I think we should just play along with the people who weren't there when you made the wish." Jennifer said. "I know we don't remember collaborating with the others, but everyone thinks we're co-owners of this place. Let's not talk about the wish anymore, okay?"
Starla sighed. She turned to look at the Performing Arts Center. "I'd love to go in there and see what we've got in there. But they're right. We'll be late for class if we stay out here talking."
With that, Starla and the Taylor Twins entered the school. Jon and Karyn soon followed.
Jon was wondering about Leonard's remark about the cafeteria having the best food. He also felt something different about his backpack, as if there was something else in it.
But that could wait until he was inside.
