At last, something sprang to mind. Her bullies were big, strong and male. They were all a year or two ahead of her. They made advances on her, and she felt like they did not understand what it was like to be weak.
Not Jason Maas, a beefy offensive lineman who used his sheer size to get in the way of anyone who wanted to take him down.
Not the wrestler Thomas Parks, state champion at the 172 lb weight class last year.
Not Matthew Colby, the star wide receiver who felt that catching 32 touchdowns last season and being well on his way to 20 or 25 Division I offers made the school his personal harem.
But getting rid of them would just make more guys to take their place, Keisha realized as she began to formulate her wish. Victor Hills High School had 3,000 students, half of them guys.
So she began to build a wish that would change the world where she spent seven hours a day learning as she reached for the stone in her backpack.
"I wish that Victor Hills High School was all girls. I wish that masculinity was considered evil within its walls, and I wish that it would be an accepting place for all sorts of girls."
The stone flashed for a second in warm heat, then faded to room temperature and receded back into the bag.
Meanwhile, the small world inside Keisha Casey's high school bus was about to change in the most unexpected way...
