Sarah sat in her first period class with her arms crossed. Already the discomfort had put her in an elevated state of attention, and her eyes kept flitting across the class expecting to see the stares or jeers of her fellow classmates. Biff knew, and if Biff knew that meant others knew as well. If other knew, they would make fun of her. It was that simple. She suddenly turned her attention to a pair of girls laughing in the corner. They were both gazing into their phone, but for a moment Sarah had perceived that they were laughing HER. No one does that. No one makes fun of Sarah McMillen! But maybe in this new world they do...
She took a deep breath and turned her attention to the board as the teacher began the days lecture, yet she always kept one eye open for anybody who would dared to mock her. By third period she felt positively rife with exhausted paranoia. She felt aware and critical of her every move. She felt ready to snap at anyone as she simply assumed that she'd be the target of someones insults eventually. Was this what it meant to be self conscious? She scoffed at herself and berated her sensitive emotions and skittish behavior... Which only served to make it worse.
She was about to ditch class again when she spotted the girl, the freshman, Zoe Gibson. Sarah took a few deep breaths and attempted to clear her mind from the chaos she felt storming on the inside. This was her chance. She had to play it cool and be convincing. She had spent much of the first three classes figuring out the most convincing lie. Apparently in this reality Karen and Aggie and she were friends, and, thanks to the wishes, Zoe would remember it as such. She had to use that against her.
Sarah summoned her usual confidence and walked towards the darkly clad girl.
Zoe saw her coming, and tensed up in response. Sarah always seemed like a nice enough girl to her. She had gone through a difficult struggle in coming out as trans so young, and Zoe always felt a certain commiseration with her. They were both outcasts in their own way, and even when Sarah joined the cheer team that bond still remained. If Marie and Karen hadn't told her about the wishing stone, and if she hadn't seen its effects first hand when her sister became the school mascot, and in Karen turning into a transsexual, she would have continued on feeling that closeness with the girl. Unfortunately her sister Marie was once her brother Jon.
It was a mess that was only compounded by the fact that the three had always been close friends. Marie, Karen, and Sarah had been tight during jr.high. As far as Zoe could recall. It was only through their friendship that Sarah, then Tyler, had the confidence to come out and pursue who she really was! Zoe wondered if they were still friends in the previous reality, but dismissed the thought as absurd. Of course they were. Still, she recalled the first time she heard a wish. Why were Marie and Sarah fighting? Why had Sarah wish something so terrible against her sister/brother, and Karen? What happened between them to ruin their friendship? She shook her head. It was all confusing. Sarah was supposed to be the enemy, but Zoe still held out hope that Sarah, Marie, and Karen would make up and be close friends once more, just like from jr.high...
"Zoe!" The girl declared kindly.
"Hey Sarah..."
"Zoe, I... I know this isn't the best time, but I really need to talk to you. Can you come with me?"
Zoe might have turned her down if it weren't break, but she nodded her head and soon the girls were standing out by the cafeteria on ramp. It was a common spot for smokers and those ditching class, and fortunately it was vacant for the pair to have some privacy.
"Zoe... This is going to sound crazy, but there's something your sister hasn't told you. Something important."
Zoe shook her head. "Actually, I think I know exactly what this is about." She stuck out her chin in defiance. "You turned Marie into the school mascot!"
Sarah paused, unsure for a moment, not expecting Zoe to have known. "I... Yeah. I did." Sarah stated, thinking on her feet. "But that was only because I wanted her close again. We used to be best friends, and then she and Karen... They used that stone on me. I wasn't always like this."
Zoe glanced around hesitantly. "Sarah... They said they had never used it on you..."
Sarah looked indignant. "W-what? They said that? Zoe, we had a fight and in response Aggie gave me braces and Karen turned me into a transsexual!"
Zoe holds up her hands while shaking her head. "That's not what they said at all."
Sarah held her breath as she listened. The next sentence could make or break her lie. "They said that Marie used to be a boy, and Karen was actually born a girl. They said that you did that to them! I heard the wish over Karen myself."
She didn't know the full story! She could still pull this off! Sarah puts on a pained expression. "That's not what I wanted Zoe... After our fight. They wouldn't turn me back!"
Zoe gazes at Sarah intently. "What do you mean?"
"Zoe... I wasn't always transsexual. That's what they did to me, all over some stupid fight. I thought they were being irresponsible with their wishes. They kept changing people at school, and you, and Karen was just using it to improve her own looks. It was irresponsible and dangerous."
Zoe's look turned from intense to confused.
Sarah doubles down on her emotion. "I had to get the stone, so I wished that I had to approve wishes, and I wished that Karen and Jon had to experience what they did to me until they changed me back!"
"I don't believe you..."
Sarah nodded "It's true! Don't you remember jr.high cheer squad? I even helped recruit you!" Sarah bit her tongue as she waited for Zoe to take the bait.
Zoe shook her head. "Marie, or Jon, or whoever would never do that to me! I would never be a cheerleader!"
Sarah sighed."You were the best Zoe... A shoe-in for cheer captain, but Jon thought it'd be funny if you were some loner goth instead."
The girl looked distraught as her eyes flitted around. "I... I don't want to be a cheerleader. How could I have ever wanted that?"
Sarah tried to calm her. "Shhh... Zoe, it's ok... Listen, I can make it all right. I just need you to let me make a wish on the stone."
Zoe flitted her eyes up. "I don't want to change! This is who I am!" She fidgeted fearfully, her fear overpowering her suspicion and logical thinking.
Sarah shook her head. "Of course not, and I wouldn't think of changing you, but this isn't who I am, and I need your help to fix it."
Zoe settled down a little, and turned to twisting a ring on her finger. "I... I don't know about that Sarah... You're asking me to backstab my sister..."
"She's not your sister Zoe. She's your brother, and HE changed you without your permission."
"This is too confusing. I can't do it Sarah, this is too much."
Sarah holds up her hands in an effort to placate her. "Then you make the wishes... If there's anything you don't like, then just don't make the wish. But please Zoe. I want to be a girl again. It's been so long... And of course I'll change them back as soon as I'm back to normal. I'll even approve any of your wishes, as long as they aren't irresponsible like Jon's and Karen's."
Zoe paused, Her eyes danced to Sarah, and then to the ground, and then back to Karen. She could hear her own hearbeat in her ear. Could this be true? Could it be that her sister, her best friend, was just some boy who thought it was funny to change who she was? And to change other people too? That didn't sound like Marie, but she had to remind herself that the girl named Marie was actually this 'Jon' that she knew nothing about. Maybe she could try to fix them both like this. Maybe she could bring a resolution to this fight. And maybe, just maybe, she could get a wish out of it too.
She nodded quickly. "Ok... I... I'll think about it. I guess it's ok as long as I'm the one making the wishes..."
Sarah squeals gleefully and hugs the smaller girl. "Thank you so much Zoe! You're a life saver."
Zoe returns the hug with one arm and just nods.
The girls exchange numbers, and part ways. As they go, only one of them is wearing a smile.
