"I've gotta get home, Jon," Karyn said. "But maybe in a few hours we can meet at the mall food court? Maybe grab a corndog from The Doggie Stand?"
"Sure."
She waved at him, then left his house. Jon returned to his bedroom. After his confrontation with Zoe and her friends, he began to think that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to swap them. He may have had some good intentions, but it didn't turn out the way he wanted. And every time he hit a snag, he had to use the stone to change reality a little more. A simple wish had turned into a complicated one. He even started to think that swapping the geeks and the jocks wasn't such a great thing either.
Of course, he was just thinking about all of this. He still believed that he did the right thing. Illumination and enlightenment were gifts, not curses. Yes, he was sure that he did the right thing.
But, that thing he did with Steve and Athena, that was probably not the best thing to do. He gave them a way out, but that wish was made purely out of fun and not enlightenment. Jon vowed to be responsible when he took possession of the stone. With Steve and Athena, he had overstepped his bounds.
The doorbell rang, breaking him out of his thoughts. Thinking it must have been Karyn coming back because she forgot something, Jon opened the door.
It was Steve Farber. And he looked pissed.
He grabbed Jon's shirt and pushed him against the wall. "You did this to me."
"Listen. Steve. I mean, Athena. I can explain," Jon said.
"No explanations." He brought up his fist, meaning to punch Jon, but Jon squirmed away and ran upstairs to his room. Unfortunately, Steve was more physically fit than Jon and was able to keep close to him as they both ran.
Once in his bedroom, Jon made a dash for the stone, swiping it up with his hand. Then Steve tackled him, bringing him down to the floor, hard.
"Is that it? A magic stone?" He grabbed for it, trying to take it from Jon. "Give it to me!"
"No!"
"Because of this stone, all my friends are ditzy airheads. They're at the mall right now buying shoes! Shoes!"
"I just wanted to make the transition easier for them!" Jon shouted, still pulling on the stone.
"We didn't want to be popular in the first place! What gives you the right?!" Steve yelled back, pulling harder on the stone, then falling backwards against the wall.
Jon sat up, looking down at his hand. The stone wasn't there. He looked up at Steve with wide eyes. "All I did was swap your personalities. You still have your own memories. You're all still yourselves," Jon pleaded.
"No," Steve said, standing up with the stone. "We're not still ourselves. We're different."
"Listen, you can't reverse what happened. The stone won't let you."
Steve smiled. "I know that. I used to be a witch, you know."
"Then, what do you want the stone for?" Jon asked, curious, but also more frightened.
Steve crouched down in front of Jon and smiled more. "Revenge."
