Jon initially thought to show Karyn this new stone by wishing she was there, but he realized that that might not be the best way to go about this. What if she changed on the way over? The thought frightened him.
Instead, he decided, he'd walk to Karyn's place. He walked out a few minutes later, not having noticed anything else that was different—yet. He'd walked to Karyn's place alone dozens of times, but this time, he was unsteady on his feet. Looking down, he saw that his fairly practical shoes had become a short pair of glossy white high heels. No wonder. He tried to continue on for another block before he heard a loud crack. He took one step and found that one of the shoes had broken.
Teetering on the short heels was already impractical, but the broken shoe made walking impossible. Undoing the straps and freeing his feet, Jon noticed his toenails were now sporting a coat of polish from the wish, but he didn't have time to focus as he noticed Biff's car coming down the street. Magic or not, there was no way Jon would let himself be caught out in public in this outfit.
He beat a hasty retreat home, not noticing he was tiptoeing after taking the shoes off. He felt like he'd dodged a bullet already.
"Hey Mom?" he asked once he got inside.
"What's up, sweetie?"
"Could you give me a ride to Karyn's place? Gimme a minute." He wasn't sure if he should mention the broken heel. Was this normal to them now?
"Actually, I'm a little busy right now, but maybe later?"
Jon sighed and walked back to his room, finding that he owned more shoes now than he ever had before: more heels, sandals, and—to his relief—some more sensible-looking flats. He dropped the broken heel and its match on the floor and slipped on a pair of green flats. He clutched the new stone again, almost out of habit.
"I wish my mom had time to give me a ride to Karyn's."
The familiar flash. A few seconds later, he heard her voice coming through the bedroom door.
"Jon dear, time to go for the sleepover!"
Sleepover!? Jon paused for a second before realizing he needed to answer. "Hang on!" He rushed out the door only to see his mother standing there.
"Did you forget your purse again? Come on."
Purse!? Jon looked back in his room. There it was, hanging from a hook near the door. He grabbed it and slipped it over his shoulder like it was second nature and walked out to the car.
