Nicole woke up at 6:30, which was later than she was used to. Half an hour later, in fact. With no need to put on makeup or fuss with an outfit, getting ready in the morning was easy. No wonder boys, I mean girls, can do this so fast, she thought as she brushed her teeth. There's almost nothing to do! She was starting to appreciate not having as much to do in the morning and taking advantage by sleeping later. Before the wish, she would have to have gotten dressed after choosing what to wear, not to mention doing her hair and makeup.
Now, however, all she had to do was throw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. This morning, she wore the same top as yesterday, something that she would never have considered before her wish.
She made it downstairs in record time and was able to join her family for breakfast. Her mom was already sitting at the table wearing a suit and tie, reading the newspaper. She looked up when Nicole entered the room.
“Hey daughter,” Carrol said, greeting her. Nicole mumbled “Morning” in response as her mom went back to her paper.
The way people greeted each other sometimes was still a bit awkward for Nicole. She realized that her mom had just greeted her the same way a father would his son in her old world.
Nicole shook her head and sat down next to her younger sister, Britt. Britt was somewhat her opposite. Instead of being into sports like Nicole was, Britt preferred to spend her time watching and critiquing movies. She even had her own YouTube channel dedicated to this passion. This surprised Nicole, because it seemed that their mom was really into sports; while it appeared that she had tried to encourage both of her daughters to follow in her footsteps, only Nicole had taken interest.
“Morning sweetie,” Nicole’s dad said as he joined the family at the table, having made himself a bowl of muesli. Cassy was a social worker who spent most of his time assisting others and following up on cases.
Once everyone was seated at the table, Nicole’s mom put down her paper and started eating.
“Hey, Nicole. I was talking to the head coach yesterday, and it sounds like the DIAA have come to a decision in regards to Tuesday’s game.”
“Oh, that was awful.” Nicole’s dad commented. “I don’t know why you girls fight all the time,” he said, shaking his head.
“It’s what girls do, honey.” Carrol patted her husband gently on the shoulder. “Anyway, I think that they’re going to be making an announcement today at school, so keep an eye out.”
Nicole nodded. “Thanks, mom.” It made sense. These things usually took a few days to decide, and since mom was an assistant baseball coach when she wasn't an accountant, she got to hear about these things before anyone else.
“It doesn’t sound good. I have no idea what the verdict is, but... We looked bad all across the region for that." Her tone of voice expressed a lot of worry as to what might come down.
That morning, school seemed to breeze by. First period gym class was primarily stretching exercises, and second period economics was a series of supply and demand curves.
It was right at the end of economics class that the intercom chimed throughout Lake Point High School.
"Will the girls' basketball team please report to the front office at the beginning of next period? That's the girls' basketball team to the front office next period, thank you," an older man with what would be considered a pleasant masculine voice intoned.
Nicole's heart sank at the announcement. "Here it comes."
As Erin Lindell filed through the Mount Valley High School hallways on her way to the athletic office, she couldn't even look around her.
Freaks, freaks, freaks, everyone's a freak. She looked down at her decidedly flat chest. I don't even want to speak because my voice is ugly. This was the second full day of, what for her, had been hell.
Sometimes, normality seemed only a few paces away, but as she approached it, it vanished like a mirage. At other times, like when she was in the locker room for practice, she was painfully aware of how everyone had changed.
In some cases, those changes were drastic. She had been close with her mom, who now was out of the family picture completely, and the stepmom that this world had given her was kind of rude. Some of her friends just didn't even exist, especially Sym Anderson, who almost nobody could remember at all. That Karyn girl didn't even come close to her. Not even not having periods any longer could compensate for what she'd lost.
What sort of freak show am I living in? This isn't a dream. This is the third day. Let it stop!
In two rooms some nine miles apart, two principals were reading identical letters out loud.
"Dear School Administration,
After reviewing the game film supplied to us of Tuesday night's brawl between Lake Point High School and Mount Valley High School, the Disciplinary Council of the Dandridge Interscholastic Athletic Association, in special session, has determined that the following sanctions shall be applied:
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Lake Point and Mount Valley High Schools shall both forfeit the remaining games of the current high school basketball season, with Tuesday night's contest declared a double forfeit. Both Lake Point and Mount Valley shall be ineligible for the upcoming state tournament.
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The players involved in the altercation, which is to say all players on both teams, shall complete an in-person seminar on sportsmanship, to be held at a date in the near future in Seattle.
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We ask that both teams meet in person, this afternoon, to resolve their differences and come away from this incident as changed, and hopefully better, young women.
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The Disciplinary Council urges that, for this rivalry matchup, additional security be provided, as it is apparent that additional security may have prevented the escalation of this incident to include fans and other spectators.
We appreciate your cooperation in this matter."
The news went over like a lead balloon. Mount Valley had been on track to make the state playoffs. Lake Point, in taking a double forfeit, had lost a home game for the first time in a long time. A season, that with a state tournament bid might have gone a couple more weeks, had come to the most abrupt of conclusions. In both rooms, long faces and stunned silence prevailed.
After a moment of slow processing, Erin Lindell's bubbling cauldron finally boiled over.
"Those freaks beat us every time in their house, and to make things worse, THEY TURNED US INTO FREAKS! That brawl started it all, and LOOK AT US!" Her voice growled and could be heard from down the hallway. "And guess who started it?" She glared at Ash. "YOU DID!" Erin rushed for Ash, hoping to use her strength to slam her to the ground. "THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THAT SHOVE!"
The other teammates, slowly realizing what Erin wanted to do, rushed to break up the fight. Shan Jackson hurried to restrain Erin with all her quarterback strength. Meg Williams stepped in to separate Erin from Ash. A bench player named Dani Lamoureux talked to Erin.
"We know what happened on Tuesday night, Erin. You cannot blame Ash for that! Blame the world we once visited once a year and that we now live in! I have no doubt we would beat them handily if we played them right now! We're the better team, and we know it!"
Karyn Anderson, who was still out of sorts, looked on. She couldn't place it still, but something had been wrong ever since the brawl. She wondered if the meeting later would provide any clarity for her.
Ash, safely away from Erin, thought again. She's not going insane, she reminded herself. Reality, after all, is on the fritz.
"...W...what does this mean?" Sam Gomez volunteered to break the ice.
"Well, the season is over," Lake Point's athletic director, a middle-aged woman named Ell Barnett, answered. "Clearly, the DIAA found that what happened on Tuesday night sunk to a level low enough to end both teams' seasons. We would have had to forfeit at least one game for not having any available players, that should have been a given."
"Are you going to appeal?" Mel Smith said.
"...They don't want to hear an appeal. It's not worth going to court. And even if we were to appeal, we would still be unable to make state," explained the principal, Deb Casey, who had spent her whole career running schools. "That other forfeit would still be on us."
"I never thought my season would end this way," Kyla Leeson sighed. "Not in a million years."
Nicole looked around. I started all of this, somehow... She wondered if, maybe somewhere down the road, a girl was freaking out about things after hearing this admittedly devastating news. She reached into her purse, pulled out a small rock deep at the bottom, and clutching it, whispered softly, "I wish that those who are freaking out about everything would be more adaptable."
As Ash walked back to her third-period class from the meeting that broke the disappointing news, she saw someone in the hallway whose face she managed to recognize.
It was one of the Mount Valley High cheerleaders, though she had recognized the person's face from their past on the football team. Not like Matt, or Maddie, Carlyle was anyone she knew in depth, but every face in a new place was jarring, in a way that amazed her every time. She'd had to catch up on who so many people were, and of course, there were new people in this world that didn't map to anybody from the old one.
"Hey Maddie," Ash said.
"Oh hey Ash," Maddie said. Ash could tell he was faking his friendliness. He seemed kind of timid, like he had something he was actively trying to hide. As Maddie turned down another corridor to head back to his class, Ash noticed something. A distinct waddle, an uneven and wobbly nature to his step. That's odd for a cheerleader, she thought. Did he hurt his ankle or something? She looked again, not seeing anything wrong.
Then it occurred to Ash that there might be another reason for whatever troubled Maddie—one that made her stop and think.
He might be pregnant.
