Karyn breathed a sigh of relief as the bell rang, signaling the end of the last class before lunch. She stood, stretching a bit as she did, then bent down to grab her bag. She was halfway through the action when the easy, automatic part that seemed to help her make her way through this new life broke away, panic gripping her for a moment. She could count the number of times she had worn a dress to school in the original reality since middle school on one hand. She had that brief moment that she was doing it wrong, that someone would be able to sneak a peek.
She glanced down and checked, relying on her new knowledge and familiarity with these sorts of clothes to reassure herself that she was fine. Her knees were together, she had bent right to prevent anyone from seeing anything that they weren't meant to. She stood and made her way to the door of the classroom and ducked out. She wasn't even sure why she had decided to wear the thing today. It had felt normal in the moment, donning the pink dress. It was so different from how she normally dressed.
Ms. Holloway's work, she was sure. Or the stone's. However the hell any of that stuff really worked. Jon's wish maybe made Ms. Holloway, but then she acted and... it was all a big headache to think about. Pretty much everything about the stone had turned out to be a headache, honestly. From her own stupid wish that had taken her hair and upped her bra size to Jon's dumb wish. It was only really the fact that she had fucked up the first time she laid hands on the stone that kept her from ripping into Jen over it.
If it weren't for the fact that the stone was their best chance at some hope of normalcy she would have insisted that Jen throw the damn thing away. Or wish it away, since just tossing it meant someone else could find and use it. The idea of that was horrifying on a level she didn't really want to grapple with. There was enough magical bullshit taking up her brainspace.
She wandered the halls until she spotted Jen at their usual meeting spot. Hers and Jon's, anyway. She looked her best friend over as she approached. The girl who wore tight jeans and a top that showed off her chest didn't really bare much resemblance to the boy that Karyn had known for so long. Well, she did in a 'family resemblance' type of way. She looked a lot like Zoe but a few years older. And Zoe, of course, looked a lot like their mom. No, she looked like a Madison. But the way she carried herself, the little mannerisms. They all screamed girl, and it didn't fit with Karyn's mental image of Jon at all.
Not that the same couldn't be said of her at this point, she was sure. Wearing dresses and being on the cheer team and going out with Mike... which stirred up different thoughts altogether. Mike wasn't the type of guy she had ever seen herself dating. A jock, the type of guy who hung out with Biff Meadows and Steve Farber. She had always pictured herself with Jon, honestly. She had spent years waiting on him to ask her out. But he never had. She had flopped between being sure he liked her that way and then being sure he didn't so many times that she couldn't possibly have kept count. That had been part of what had led to her making that stupid wish. Seeing Jon steal glances at Sarah, knowing for sure he was into her and knowing he was despite what a bitch she had been...
And then she had been proven right again when she played her part in this whole cheer thing. She was willing to mess up so many people's lives. It made Karyn's blood boil a bit to think of, even now. Even knowing that it was probably all set up by the stone and Ms. Holloway. Even having those fucking dreams that made her remember this Karyn's memories with Sarah, making her feel as close to her as she felt to Jen, and knowing-
"Karyn? You okay?" Karyn looked up and saw Jen. She was no longer leaning against the wall like she had been, but was approaching. She was way more expressive than Jon had ever been, concern clear on her face. If you had been this easy to read before maybe I wouldn't have made that dumb wish.
"I'm fine," Karyn said. "Just... thinking about how messed up everything has gotten."
Jen didn't seem to fully buy it, but after a moment she nodded. "Yeah, I get that..." She took another moment, glancing up and down the hall. When she seemed content that no one was close enough, she leaned closer to Karyn. "You wanted to talk about something this morning. I doubt we'll have much of a chance once we get to lunch."
"Yeah, I did," Karyn said. She refocused, centered herself. "Last night, after Mike and I got dinner, we got to my place and saw my brother was there. We went in and we were hanging out with them and it felt... nice. Normal. Almost ideal, if that makes sense?"
Jen took a moment to digest that, and in that moment she looked more like Jon than she normally did since the change. Finally, she nodded. "That makes sense, I guess. We knew Holloway's magic is messing with us, making us remember things and slip into these roles. I had this dream last night..."
Karyn's eyes widened. "You had dreams last night too?" she asked. "Like, memories? Cause I had a dream that you me and Sarah were getting ready for a dance..." Jen looked spooked as Karyn said that, but nodded.
"Yeah, it was like we were back in elementary school, meeting up and playing with each other. When I woke up I knew for sure it was a memory. The only question is whether Ms. Holloway is doing this actively or if it's all part of the original magic she used."
"This is really scary, Jen."
"It is." Jen looked up and Karyn followed her gaze. The doors to the cafeteria were just ahead of them. They both knew enough of their new lives to know that they were expected to sit with the popular kids. Some o the other changed cheerleaders would be there as well. "We'll talk more about it later, okay?"
"Sure," Karyn said, unable to shake the bad feeling that was stirred up by the brief conversation. The idea that their minds were being messed with, that they would become so different. If it was scary for her she couldn't imagine what it was like for the former boys. Hell, even Nadine was more outright different than Karyn was. Her whole belief system was different, twisted to make her more okay with... how she was now.
Together, they entered the cafeteria and were met with a whirlwind of activity. People saying hello, chatting with them while they got their lunches. Chris hurried to Jen's side and Mike made his way to Karyn. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in.
"Kar, guess what?"
Karyn smiled, looking up at Mike. "What?"
"I passed my history quiz. I got a C!" Mike said. He sounded so proud that Karyn couldn't help but smile even wider. She knew, even before all of this, that Mike wasn't the brightest guy around. And, even though he hung out with Biff and Steve-
Biff and Steve who she now had memories of being not nearly as bad as she remembered from her old reality. Memories of them all hanging out for years, them being cool and not at all showing the dickish side that the old Karyn and Jon had seen for years. Which just made her more confused and all of this shit way more confusing.
Still, Mike hadn't ever been mean, really, just kind of a follower. But Karyn, in this new reality, had been helping him study since they had gotten together. "That's awesome, babe." The words came to her so easily. "We should celebrate tonight."
"I was gonna say that," Mike said, leaning down and kissing her. She kissed back, enjoying the feeling. He wasn't the brightest guy, but he was a good kisser. They went to get their lunches and Karyn could see Jen with Chris up ahead. He had his arm wrapped around her, and she looked as comfortable like that as Karyn felt. It left a different sort of bad feeling in her chest. She knew that, in this reality, Chris had asked Jen out. Was there something to that? Had Jon been passive enough that Karyn would have needed to be the one to initiate things?
Either way, it didn't matter. They'd figure out some way back to normal and then she could wonder about those questions. And in the meantime she could take some enjoyment out of the good things that had come about as a result of this mess.
