English class returned to tedium. Jon kept fidgeting, trying to get comfortable rather than trying to pay attention. The cheer top and skirt didn't fit his anatomy, which was not something that he'd be admitting to anyone to anytime soon. Not only would that be embarrassing to admit, but it was also sort of dangerous until this curse was resolved. He was certain that any of the girls around would know exactly what he needed to make the outfit perfectly match.
The long hair was also not something he was used to, and there was a lot of it, all of a sudden. The scrunchie and knowing how to put his hair up helped, but it didn't get rid of the hair's weight and presence. It didn't feel bad. It was sort of dramatic, in a way that Jon wasn't sure was entirely his own opinion. The swish felt good.
Twenty minutes before the end of the class, as she was wont to do, Mrs. Kline broke the class into groups again, to discuss whatever it was they were discussing and get started on the homework that they probably had. Jon was not on top of his game today, for obvious reasons. He was in a group with Steve, Reagan , and Amber. A dangerous group under regular circumstances, but today, Jon was extra on guard.
This distraction meant he couldn't drag the others into actually doing the assignment the way he normally would, but none of the group noticed. Reagan and Amber were too busy talking about an upcoming party.
"Everyone is going to be there." Reagan stated with confidence. "Sarah said her daddy is handing the catering, so it's going to be amazing just for the food, if nothing else."
"Are you going, Jon?" Amber asked.
Jon shrugged. "Eh, parties like that never really interest me."
Now, normally, the dynamic would be that Reagan would be talking about something popular, and Amber would ask Jon about it, then use it as a way to twist the knife about his social standing. Somehow, it hurt each time, even though he knew it was coming. But he had a rebuttal today, since he and Karyn were dating now, and a Saturday night with a date certainly trumped whatever dig Amber was about to drop. But neither of them realized that there was a third player in this race.
"OMG, Jon! This is the biggest party our class is going to have. You need to be excited about it, even if you do go." The was a beat as Jon's stomach sank. Jon almost mouthed the words with her, but that would probably be noticed even though her actions weren't going to be.
"Here, copy off of me!" Reagan pulled a big pink sparkle from her forehead and pushed it into Jon's. He felt the foreign thought sort of nestle in and make itself comfortable. He thought about the party again, and he felt his pulse quicken. She was right, it was going to be amazing. How was he so meh on it before? That didn't make any sense. He HAD to be at this party. His eyes flicked to Amber, who was frowning the frown of someone who's clever insult was interrupted.
Even though he wanted to go, Reagan's declaration that "everyone" was going to be there was hyperbole. There were people who were in, and people who were not. And Jon, for some reason, had been relegated to the latter category. There was no way he was going to be able to go to the most amazing party ever. Not normally. But luckily, Jon had a secret weapon that had technically never backfired. He hadn't really tried to gain something he wanted from it. It was all fixing problems that had been caused by accidental triggers. Not a backfire. And getting to this party was absolutely the priority.
"I'd love to go, Reagan." Jon said, feigning sadness. Well, suppressing his smirk and letting the despair of potentially not going come to the fore. Same thing. "But I'd need to be invited by Sarah, and that hasn't happened."
"Yeah, you do need Sarah to invite you. I've got you though, copy off of me!" And Reagan reached to her phone, surprisingly, and with a quick gesture, Jon's phone chimed in a magical tone that he'd not heard before. He checked the lock screen to see that he did indeed have a message from Sarah, so presumably, that was the invitation. Perfect.
He thanked Reagan as the bell rang and everyone dispersed.
