Karyn reached into the hat, her fingers trembling slightly after watching Jon split into four identical girls. She gave a nervous laugh.
“Okay, my turn. But if I pull something awful, I swear I’m making you undo it, Jon.”
All four Jons smirked, their voices overlapping in perfect chorus. “Rules are rules. Just draw.”
Rolling her eyes, she pulled the first slip. “Male teen.”
Her face fell. “Oh, come on, really? Of all the—”
Then she felt it. A twisting deep inside, like every nerve was being rewired at once. She gasped and clutched at her chest as her voice cracked. Her sweater sagged oddly, her frame narrowing, reshaping. Within seconds, the girl Karyn had been was gone, and in her place stood a scrawny but undeniably cute fourteen-year-old boy, his messy blond hair falling into his eyes.
Karyn stared down at himself in shock. His hands shook as he tugged at the hem of his sweater, then lower, over jeans that suddenly fit differently. “Oh my god. I’m a guy. Like… a guy.” He swallowed hard, his voice now distinctly masculine, still high but breaking in places. “This is super weird. I have guy parts.”
All four Jons watched, wide-eyed for a moment—then burst into mischievous grins.
“Well,” one of them said, brushing her now long hair back with theatrical flair, “at least you’re cute.”
Karyn’s head snapped up, his cheeks burning. “Wait—what? You think I’m—?”
Another Jon leaned in closer, smiling slyly. “What can I say? I think our bodies are into guys. And right now… that’s you.”
Karyn’s pulse spiked. He opened his mouth to protest, but the words died when two of the Jons suddenly wrapped their arms around him in a playful hug.
“Relax,” one of them whispered against his ear. “It’s fine.”
“You’re cute,” the other added with a wink. “Be our boyfriend for the week. That way no other guy tries to mess with us.”
Karyn stiffened, his brain screaming this is insane while his body betrayed him, warmth surging through him in response to their closeness. His hands trembled as the other two Jons casually grabbed them, linking fingers like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Come on,” they said in unison, tugging him gently toward the school building. “Class won’t wait.”
Karyn stumbled forward, surrounded on all sides by four versions of Jon that were now achingly pretty girls. His heart hammered in his chest. His body wanted to melt into it, to let himself be pulled along, but inside he wanted to scream.
“Oh god,” he whispered under his breath, his voice cracking. “Help me.”
And just like that, the bell rang. A new day of school had begun.
