Jon lays on the couch in the living room reading a computer magazine. Since Sarah's first wish the magazines had suddenly appeared littered around the house. At first Jon didn't think much of it, but one of them caught her eye, and now she found herself consuming the media with an almost hungry fervor. It was just so interesting; An entire technological world to discover. She could practically feel her synapses making connections in her brain, expanding her thought and understanding. It was also pretty important to her because apparently her computer class was actually a teachers aid position and she was expected to help other students in the lab and grade psuedo code. When she realized that her heart leapt in fear. She didn't want to be found out so soon, but fortunately the teacher had a master sheet for her to grade from, so she didn't actually need to know any code yet.
"Agatha Marie Gibson!" Jon's blood ran cold and he sat up suddenly.
"You heard what the orthodontist said." Her mom tapped her foot impatiently. "I tried to give you some time to let you put it on yourself, but it's 4:00pm now and you're just sitting there."
"Mom... I was jusht... I wanted to read a little while longer." She knew it was a lame excuse even as it came out of her mouth.
"Don't give me that! You can read and wear your headgear the same time." She huffs. "You know I don't like bringing up money in this house, but you're 18 years old. You know this isn't cheap, so you're going to do it right, exactly like the orthodontist said."
Jon's mom stared at her as she remained sitting on the couch. "Go, you know where it is!" Jon scurried to her feet, then reluctantly retrieved the contraption from the bathroom. She stood perfectly still as she gazed into the mirror. This brand new face already brought her enough confusion and heartache. She could barely stand to look at the strangely familiar feminine face in the mirror, and the body was just as bad. In a way, she was thankful that she had such a frumpy baggy style. It let her hide in her clothes and forget the reality of her new body. Sure, she had to wear a bra, and everything was so much taller now, and she pee'd sitting down, but she had still been able to deal with everything so well by ignoring her body and keeping busy.
She distracted herself by trying to figure out a solution to these demented wishes, or doing schoolwork, or losing herself in video games, but there was something about the braces, and now the headgear, that just demanded her constant attention. No matter how much fun she was having in a game. No matter how much she hid behind her clothes. Even when she was reading the magazine, it still seemed prominent in her mind and imminently strange to her confused mouth and tongue. It probably had to do with Sarah's wish for her to never get used to it. That was also probably why eating lunch today was even harder than getting down the frozen yogurt on day one. She sighed. At this rate she was going to lose a lot of weight.
She met the eyes of the girl in the mirror and held the gaze. Her eyes may have told her that this is who she was now, but in spite of everything her mind still reeled and rejected that truth. She broke eye contact with a shudder and turned her attention to the facebow. She held it. Inspected it. played with the little safety pin styled lock. Anything to delay the inevitable.
Jon's mom appeared at the door. "And before I forget, We need to turn your expander too." She bustled in through the doorway and began to rummage around Jon's orthodontic kit, then instructed Jon. "Tilt your head back, open up." Jon obliged, and she felt metal clicking against metal on the roof of her mouth while her mom held her forehead. One second later she felt pressure spider webbing across her mouth and behind her nose, then her mom let go.
"Ow..." Jon said, while rubbing her cheeks.
"Now listen. I know you don't want to hear it, but you better take care of this when I'm at work. I have today off, so I can keep after you, but after this you have to be responsible. You're almost an adult now, so you need to be keeping up with this stuff."
Jon just nodded. "Yesh ma'am." Inside she wondered if it should even matter to her. Wouldn't they be coming off as soon as they could wish it back? Or... what if they never found a way to wish it back? Jon shuddered and tried not to entertain that thought.
"And make sure you bring it to Montanna's after the game. You heard what they said 14 hours every day. It's bad enough that you're not going to be wearing it at the game."
Jon responded. "Oh... well, I'm not going, so that's not a problem."
Jon's mom furrowed her brow and put a hand on her hip. "Sweetie, I know it sucks. I totally get it, but don't let something like this keep you from going out and socializing with your friends. You're only in highschool once." She gives Jon's shoulder a squeeze, then steps back out the door.
Jon shook her head at the misinterpretation and wondered if she should just tell her mom the truth... But of course, unless Sarah approved her wish, she'd just look crazy when she tried to explain the power of the stone.
With another sigh, and a glance at the device, she opened her mouth wide. She slipped the smaller bow into her mouth and felt around as she slipped in one side, then the other, and then began fingering the locks... She fiddled around with the tension wire in her cheek until she "Click!" got one side and "Click!" got the other side. It was in... She tossed the tension band around her neck, letting it settle comfortably beneath her hair, then attached the first little holes to the outer bow. She glanced in the mirror and immediately turned bright red. She looked like the subject of an alien experiment. She ran her finger along the outer bow, then shook her head and returned to the couch to loose herself in the magazine until Karen arrived.
