The next morning, Jenny Gibson woke up, unironically, like a new woman. Her bedroom was something that would have been completely unfamiliar to her the day before, but it fit the new person that she now was. And she fit the room, as well.
Without knowing it, Jenny hopped out of bed at precisely the same moment as Sarah McMillan did a few miles away. And she followed precisely the same morning routine as Sarah McMillan did. And while she picked a different outfit for herself today (Sarah's was a belted tunic with leggings, Jenny's was a swishy skirt and a baby tee), she descended her staircase into the kitchen at precisely the same time.
But here, paths diverged. Sarah, an only child, ate her breakfast with only her parents. But when Jenny entered the kitchen, her sister and brother were there. And, alongside Jenny's sister Zoe, was Zoe's boyfriend, Trevor.
A tingle built up inside of Jenny, and suffused itself throughout her body. Time to claim territory.
The girl swished her way over to the breakfast table, swinging around Trevor as she went, and marking him with a sly kiss on the cheek.
"Hey!" Zoe cried. "Get your own boyfriend!"
Trevor only blushed, dumbstruck.
"I've got my own boyfriend," Timmy's face flashed in Jenny's mind for a moment. "But I think maybe your boyfriend likes me better."
Jenny let out a self-assured laugh while her sister fumed. The older girl carried herself with a defiant confidence that nothing seemed to penetrate.
A few minutes later, she was out the door and on her way to school. On her way to a very familiar wall.
Karyn's face fell in shock as she saw who was there to greet her at her usual meeting space. She wasn't expecting Jon, not after that wish in the locker room the day before, but she wasn't expecting anyone at all. Why was Jenny meeting her here?
"Jenny," she choked. "What are you doing here?"
Jenny brought a hand to her chest in mock offense. "Why, I'm here to meet you, silly." She curled her face into a sneer. "I'm your best friend."
"How can you say that?" Karyn demanded. "After what you did to me yesterday, after what you said to me yesterday? Even if there was a shred of Jon left in--" Karyn's face went pale.
"I know, I know," Sarah sighed as she approached the other two girls. "What am I doing here? Well, of course I'm here. I'm your best friend!"
Karyn's anger got a second wind. "You are NOT my best--"
"Hold on a moment," Sarah held up a finger, and that seemed to stop Karyn in her tracks. "Who else is your friend? Can you name me a single person who is even a friend of yours, let alone your best friend? Anyone who isn't me or Jenny?"
Karyn was about to answer, but her throat ran dry. A lump formed in her stomach. Who were her friends? She knew she'd had friends other than Jon. But she couldn't think of their names. She couldn't see their faces. There was only one person who came to mind who even remotely fit the category in question.
"M-" Karyn choked. Was she really about to say this? "M-my mom."
A peal of pitying laughter roared from the mouths of the two girls before her.
"No, no, no," Jenny corrected Karyn. "Your mom isn't your best friend. We are."
"That's right," Sarah joined in. "Who else besides your best friends would have enough respect for you to make sure you know that you will never be pretty, no matter how hard you try?"
"And who else besides your best friends," Jenny added, "know you well enough to make sure that you're told that you're being dumb whenever you say something dumb?"
"Who else besides your best friends," Sarah gave a slight menace, "care about you enough to make sure you understand that nobody will ever love you."
Karyn turned to bury her face in the wall and began sobbing.
"Well, come on girls," Sarah announced as she turned towards the school. "We don't want to be late for class."
Jenny hooked her arm into Sarah's, and the two began to walk. "Come along, Karyn," the former boy called.
Karyn, for her part, was not planning to follow. But she looked up to watch them leave, and she saw their two identical behinds, swinging in perfect unison. Back and forth, back and forth. Karyn's attention narrowed. The world around her seemed to fade away. Her mind slowed, and she found herself drawn in to following the twin metronomes before her. Back and forth, back and forth.
Karyn wasn't sure when she'd started walking, but she found herself maintaining about five feet of distance from the girls before her. Keeping pace with them, but staying behind. Back and forth, back and forth. Thoughts emptied from Karyn's head. Where was she going? Where had she come from? What had she been doing? Back and forth, back and forth. Follow the movements of the tunic top and the swishy skirt.
A face appeared in the darkness, floating above the girls, talking down to Karyn. Sarah's face, talking down to Karyn. "You shouldn't have made that wish to try and mess with me, Karyn."
Beside it, Jenny's face appeared, as well. "After all," Jenny's voice spoke directly to Karyn's soul. "How is that any way to treat your best friends?"
