Jennifer entered her house with a big smile on her face, still feeling butterflies in her stomach from the kiss she and Karyn just had. She lightly touched her lips and let out a little sigh. "By god, girl - you have it soooooo bad for her." She thought to herself and slipped out of her boots, changing into warm slippers as she walked into living room.
The living room seemed to be occupied as TV was on and Jennifer could see her sister sitting on the couch watching some kind of TV series. Zoe turned her head towards Jennifer and smirked "Hello, sis." She grinned "How was your day?" She asked in overly innocent voice from her spot on the couch.
Jennifer raised her eyebrow a bit at her sister's tone, but just inwardly shrugged at it and greeted Zoe back. "Hey, sis." She smiled "And it was great, all things considered."
Zoe grinned "Well, duh. You got to put miss bitchy pants on the spot and then got to have a date with your girlfriend." She grinned "I saw you two kiss through the window. It was like out of fairy tale~" She teased.
Jennifer blushed "Thing with Sarah was not that big. And I and Karyn did not have a date..." She paused as blush grew a bit "Well, technically not, but maybe it was kinda a date. We did go to arcade..."
Zoe giggled "That totally sounds like a date. Jeez, you have it bad for her." She shook her head a bit "But I am happy for you."
Jennifer smiled and joined Zoe on the couch, giving her sister a brief hug "Thanks, sis." She said with a smile "So, what were you up to whole day?"
Zoe smiled at a hug and hugged back. "You are welcome." She then shrugged "Nothing much. After returning home, having a shower and changing clothes I did my homework and have been mostly idling." She grinned "By the way - you are a school hero for what you did to Sarah. Everyone talks about it." She grinned.
Jennifer sighed and rolled her eyes "I did not do that to be a hero or something. She just ruined a moment and pissed me off, honestly. It was not that cool, I bet everyone will forget whole thing by end of the week."
Zoe grinned "I would not bet on that." She took her laptop from the coffee table and opened it up. Quickly she opened Youtube and then pressed on one of recently viewed videos. The video was titled 'Spoiled princess - OWNED' and Jennifer could see herself in the video spilling orange juice over Sarah's head and talking her down. Video was obviously filmed with a phone and was not that great quality, but everything could be seen and heard clearly considering that no-one else was making a sound except Jennifer.
Jennifer covered her face with her hands and groaned loudly, slumping on the couch. "I can't believe someone filmed that... Oh god, I wish there was a hole in ground I could crawl into and hide..." She could really not believe it.
Zoe giggled "Oh, don't be so dramatic, sis. It is not that bad. It will take a while for someone to forget this, though." She grins "I already downloaded it to keep as good memory for later."
Jennifer groaned again.
Zoe chuckled a bit and turned off video, closing her laptop again. "Sorry sis, but in town like ours this kind of thing is kinda a big deal. Especially considering who you did that to." She smiled "I am sure eventually the buzz will settle. You will have one interesting week, though."
Jennifer sighed "I would rather have a calm week." She said and shook her head. "I should have walked away from it."
Zoe shrugged "Maybe, but I am glad you did not. What you did, sis, was brave. No-one else had guts to say something like that to that bitch even though a lot of people were bullied by her and her clique. I am glad it was my sister who finally stood up against it and told her what everyone were thinking but were too afraid to say." She said and hugged Jennifer. "I am really proud of you."
Jennifer smiled a little "Thanks, sis." She sighed "Think I will go to my room and do my own homework. Do you know when others come back?"
Zoe shrugged "Jacob is already in his room, probably playing some games. Mom texted that she will be back on time for dinner and dad said he should be back on time too."
Jennifer nodded "Okays. Think I will be in my room till dinner, so if you want to do something in an hour or so after I finish my homework, let me know."
Zoe nodded "Will do, sis."
Jennifer then rose from the couch and walked to her room.
Jennifer closed her notebooks after finishing her homework and rubbed her eyes a bit. She glanced at her phone. Her parents will return soon but she still had some time to relax. She cracked her neck a bit and stood up from her chair, walking to her bed. She laid down on the bed and looked at the ceiling, thinking.
A day was soon coming to the end and she could hardly believe that yesterday she used to be a boy named Jon. The thought about that life was less and less frequent in her mind as day went on and by now it indeed seemed that the life she used to have was not hers anymore. And truly - it wasn't. She now was Jennifer Madison, girlfriend of Karyn Black and a witch in training. Jon was now just a memory. Thinking about that life, about differences it had with this one, about if she was worth this happiness created by magic, thinking if she was worth this miracle of the second life - all of that was just weighting her down. All of those thoughts just made her second guess everything good what was happening in this life and she did not want to do that anymore. A lot of that guilt and doubt she left in that park where she told Karyn about the old reality, but still some remained.
And as she was laying down on her bed Jennifer chose to leave all of her doubts and questions behind her. She chose to bravely step in this new life and do everything in her power to protect the happiness she had in it. With a small sad smile on her face she looked at the ceiling and closed her eyes briefly.
"Goodbye, Jon." She whispered softly and made peace with her new self. Jon will live on as some part of her, but she was now Jennifer. And she was different person.
Opening her eyes again Jennifer smiled to herself. She felt that the weight on her shoulders vanished completely. She felt lighter and better - almost as if she was newly born. The feeling made her smile a bit brighter and rise from her bed. She thought for a few moments on what to do now and then remembered something she has not checked yet.
Her inheritance from grandpa.
Jennifer decided that now was as good time as any to check on that and walked towards her closet. She walked inside and knelt in the corner, next to a secret compartment she knew quite well. Opening it she took out a small jewelry box and a letter. Jennifer took both in her hands and closed compartment shut.
She walked to her bed and sat on the edge, setting the box to a side and then opened the letter first, starting to read it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Jennifer,
If you are reading this, it means I have passed on. Do not mourn my leaving; although we shall no longer be able to spend time together, know that wherever I am I will treasure the memories of our time together forever. I don't believe that death is the end - I am sure that it is just a start of next great adventure in a place beyond. As such, I ask you to not be sad, my dear friend, and have your own great adventures in life, knowing that while I cannot join you - I will support you from beyond.
The ring you will find inside the box that came with this letter is a family heirloom. It has been in our family for generations and have saved me from some tricky situations. I leave it in your care as my final gift to you. You are my favorite granddaughter and a friend, as such I trust that you will keep it safe.
I know that what I will write next may sound fantastic, but I assure you that I am completely honest and write only the truth.
This ring is magic.
Some of the vague legends and lore that was passed down our family line suggest that it has many powerful abilities, but I know of only one. While wearing the ring, if you are ever put in situation of great distress or danger the magic of the ring will activate and protect you from harm. It is powerful protective charm and I hope it will serve to protect you well in my stead.
As far as I can tell the ring is old. Very old. The alloy it had been made from is unknown and the gem itself seems to be extremely special. I often caught myself gazing into the gem and seeing various lights shift and flow under it's surface. Yet the moment I would snap out of the daze it would seem completely ordinary. There is not much else I could tell you about the ring except a name it apparently was called at some point in the past - Nerdiser.
I hope this ring will be enough of a gift for all the birthdays I am going to miss. Be well, be happy and know that I will always love you, Jennifer.
Your friend forever,
Grandpa
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jennifer smiled sadly, brushing off a little tear that was threatening to escape her eyes and folded the letter nicely, putting it back in the envelope. "Thank you, grandpa." She said softly and looked at the jewelry box. Taking out a small silver key from her keychain she unlocked the box and opened it, revealing her grandpa's gift.
The ring rested on a black cloth inside the box, the red gem in it catching light from the room and almost glowing. It seemed to be made from cool silver-like metal with expertly inlaid red gem. Jennifer gently took it with her fingers. The metal felt cool to the touch, but not unpleasantly - the gem itself was smooth and really pretty - they way it caught light as she moved it suggested that something was inside it but she could not tell what. Overall the ring was truly beautiful.
Jennifer thought a bit if to put it on or not and decided to put it on. It was a gift of protection and she was sure her grandpa meant for her to wear it. To honor his memory she decided to do just that and slipped it on her right hand's index finger. It fit there beautifully and did not seem too big or two small - it was actually a perfect fit. Jennifer smiled a bit and admired it for a few moments then she heard a knock on the door.
"Sis, dinner is soon!" She heard Zoe's voice.
"Coming!" Jennifer shouted back and after putting letter and box into one of the drawers left the room.
After washing her hands Jennifer went downstairs and into the kitchen, joining her family for a dinner. Everyone were besides the table already and were just waiting for her to join. Jennifer's mother Linda smiled warmly at her daughter "Hey, sweetie. Sit, I will get you some food." She said and rose from her seat briefly to fill Jennifer's plate.
Jennifer's father smiled at his daughter as well "Hey, angel." He then grinned "Though from what I heard today you were a bit of a little devil towards a certain blonde cheerleader."
Jennifer groaned "God, does whole town know that already?"
Jacob grinned "It was a big talk in my class during breaks. And we are in another school. So I would say it is safe bet that yes, sis."
Her mother giggled "I think that not whole town, but the link for that video did circulate quite quickly." She said as she sat down. Everyone started to eat slowly, chatting between bites. "I think you did a right thing, though maybe spilling juice was a bit too much." She chuckled "Nonetheless I am proud of you." She sighed a bit. "Reminded me of a time then I slapped this uptight hussy for spilling drink on me during a prom. Remember that, dear?" She looked at Adam.
Jennifer's father chuckled "How could I forget? I ran after you as you stormed out. The rest of the night after that was pretty great as I recall." He said with a grin and Jacob and Zoe scrunched their noses a bit while Jennifer just smirked slightly.
"Ewww. Did not need to hear that, dad." Zoe said. She then tried to divert the topic. "By the way - that is really beautiful ring you got there, sis. Where did you get it?"
Jennifer smiled sadly "Grandpa left it for me."
At that mention everyone on the table got silent for a few moments. Jennifer's mom broke the silence "We should probably get the things he left us from the attic soon. I am sure he would have wished for them to be put to use, not gather dust there." She said softly.
Jennifer nodded "Maybe during weekend? I up to help."
Jacob offered his own help "Me too."
Everyone else agreed as well. Dinner was silent for a bit more, before Jennifer's father broke it. "By the way, Jennifer - how was that talk about part time job at mall? Think you were supposed to go there today, no?"
Jennifer nodded "Yeah, I went there with Karyn after school. It actually went well. Miss Helia accepted both me and Karyn. We will work there every day after school for couple hours. Mostly we will organize her inventory and sometimes stand behind counter and serve customers. Pay is not much, but hey - extra pocket money never hurts."
Jennifer's mother smiled "That sounds nice, sweetie. I am sure extra experience will serve well when you get a full time job in the future. Maybe you could invite your boss for dinner sometime? I think we all would like to meet her."
Jennifer thought for a moment "I will ask... but I don't promise anything."
The rest of the dinner went by calmly as the family chatted between themselves with smiles on their faces.
After dinner Jennifer spent some time reading in her bedroom and was now preparing to go to sleep. As she slipped under covers after washing herself she heard a voice of her girlfriend in her mind.
"Testing. Testing. One. Two. Three. Jen, can you hear me?"" Karyn's voice could be heard through their pactio link.
Jennifer chuckled a bit and replied. "Yes, Karyn - I can hear you."
She could almost feel Karyn grinning in the other end of the link "This is sooooo cool." She paused. "So, what are you doing?"
Jennifer rolled her eyes "About to go to sleep. You?"
"Likewise. Just wanted to wish you good night." Karyn's voice sounded.
Jennifer giggled "I see. Goodnight, Karyn. Sweet dreams."
She could hear Karyn's reply "Goodnight, Jen. Sweet dreams."
With that Jennifer got comfortable on her bed and closed her eyes. With a smile of her face she soon fell asleep.
