On the way over, Jon wasn't sure how he was going to fit all of these girls in his house, let alone how he was going to host an after-party. But he was certain that the magic would figure something out. That was, until he arrived and found it to be the same humble 4-bedroom on the same simple 1/8-acre lot that he'd lived in for his entire life. A sense of nervousness rang in his newly-expanded chest as he walked, barefoot and bikini'd, up his own driveway and opened his front door.
"Are you all ready for the after-party?" Jon's mom, Linda, beamed as he entered. Jon didn't even question how she knew about it, he was just relieved that he wouldn't be on his own for this. "Follow me to the basement!" she called to the girls gathered behind Jon.
The basement? Since when did they have a basement? But, nothing else to do, Jon followed his mom into the house, past the kitchen, and through the living room. His sister Zoe was there, dressed all in black as she sat on the sofa and made a crochet doll. But she spared a moment to put down her work and fire off a middle finger at Jon, which he returned in kind. At least some things never changed.
But what did change was the far wall of the living room, which now contained a door that had never been there. Jon's mom opened it up, revealing a carpeted staircase down into a basement that had also never been there. And when she got to the bottom, she flicked a switch and...
It was massive. Bright lights illuminated absolutely every corner of a room that had to extend out into the neighbors' lots. There were rows and rows of garment racks, bursting with outfits and costumes in every possible color. There were side-rooms for changing. One entire wall was lined with mirrors and lights and makeup tables. There were five separate photo stations, each staffed with a professional photographer. Because, of course, a world-class model like Jon apparently now was would have her own photo studio in her own physics-defying basement.
And as the last group of teenagers exited out the bottom of the stairs, an instinct took over Jon's body, just like the one that pulled him off of the sofa at Sarah's house, and he gave a little twirl that separated him from the main group of girls and landed him front-and-center for everyone to see.
"We've got make up, we've got costumes, we've got changing rooms, we have photographers!" he declared. "Everyone, have at it!"
And with the loudest cheer of the night, the girls all stampeded to their station of choice. It was like Taylor Swift had just announced she was running for president. Every girl's face was aglow.
Aside from Sarah McMillan's, which was sulking by the stairs. Well, hers and Zoe Gibson's, who had just descended on her own.
"Hey Mom," she called. "Can I join?"
"This is Jon's party," Linda chided her daughter as she waved to catch her son's attention, "you have to ask him."
"Oh no," Sarah said a little more loudly than she'd intended. "I'm not taking part in this thing if that gremlin is joining."
"Sarah!" Linda spoke with much greater familiarity than she ever had before. Sarah guessed that if Jon was now friends with Sarah's mom, then Jon's mom might just have a closer relationship with Sarah, as well. "That wasn't nice, apologize to Zoe."
But Sarah didn't do that, as a light bulb went off in her head. "Hey Amber, come over her a second."
Both Jon and Amber approached the staircase as each answered their respective beckon. Of course Jon was going to invite Zoe to the party. The two had their sibling scuffles, but they had always cared for one another, and Jon didn't think his recent career change would make any difference in that. If anything, Jon was almost looking forward to seeing this new side of Zoe. Jon had never exactly been a social butterfly, but Zoe deliberately distanced herself from most of her peers. Seeing her just having fun with these party guests, Jon wanted to know what that version of Zoe was like.
So he was about to extend a hand, and an invitation, to his little sister, when Amber arrived beside Sarah.
"What did you need, Sarah?"
"Oh, I just wanted to know what it's like for you, being an only child and all."
Amber wrinkled her brow. "Sarah, you're an only child, too. Why do you need me to tell you what it's like?"
"Never mind," an evil grin wrapped itself around Sarah's face as Jon blinked, and could no longer see his sister.
"Where's Zoe?" Jon asked his mom, dreading the answer he was about to receive.
"Who's Zoe? Is she one of your guests? I don't think I've met a Zoe tonight."
Bile rose in Jon's throat. He wanted to call off the party. He needed to call off the party.
But he couldn't. That would mean being a worse hostess than Sarah. Good hostesses don't kick everyone out when they've just arrived. The words wouldn't leave his lips.
But the vomit would.
Jon didn't know if there was a bathroom in this new basement that hadn't existed an hour before, but he knew where the one on the ground floor was. So he booked it up the stairs, holding his gut the whole way, and found the downstairs bathroom, and he found the toilet, and he gracefully held back his own shimmering hair as the entire contents of his stomach exited at once.
"Jon, are you okay?" Linda had followed him up the stairs.
Jon just let out a groan. Zoe was gone. Was she dead? Jon didn't know, but she was gone. Her own mother didn't remember her. That stone, that horrible stone, had removed her from existence.
"I'm going to end the party and send everyone home," Linda said with some finality.
Jon remained silent. If he wasn't the one ending the party, then he wasn't the one being a bad hostess. Somehow that made sense to him, and he was too grateful for the reprieve to question it.
So he asked his mother to close the bathroom door behind her, and he sat his mostly-exposed behind on the cold tile floor, and he cried relentless, mournful tears until his house was entirely empty of guests.
And as he walked through his empty home, up the stairs and to his room, he re-played the moment in his head. Re-heard the exchange of words between Sarah and Amber. And a realization occurred to him: Sarah had done it on purpose. Sarah had intended to get rid of Zoe.
Every ounce of anger that Jon felt towards the stone was now re-directed towards a new target. And he knew what he was going to do.
