Now attired in very feminine clothing, Jon and Karen went downstairs and slipped into Jon's car. Jon was slightly surprised to find that even the car was now different - it had changed from a black Toyota sedan to a sporty, powder blue VW Jetta. Except for the color, exactly like the yellow one Karen drove.
"So Jon," Karen said as she primped over her make-up in the visor mirror (something Jon couldn't ever remember seeing her do before), "First off, I thought if you weren't in earshot of the wish, you wouldn't even know anything had changed. So how come we can remember the way we used to be?"
"I dunno," Jon replied. "Maybe it's because I'm, like, the owner of the rock or something, y'know?" Jon had pulled the car to a stop at a red light and was absently fussing with those new long blonde tresses in the rear view. "Wow," he remarked, "I gotta get a cut and style soon. I mean, look at this!"
"I think it looks kinda kicky," Karen replied with a smile.
"But it takes like a hour to get it ready in the morning and - omigosh! See, that's what I mean! See, it's changing me slowly - you too, y'know! We gotta get home and undo this!"
"Yeah, okay," Karen replied. "But how? I mean, the rock can't teven undo its own wishes."
"I know, but we gotta think of something, or I'll wind up 100% girl!"
"Would that be so bad? I mean, lots of folks are girls. I'm a girl."
"Yeah, but I'm supposed to be a boy. And at the rate I'm going, I'll not only be acting like a girl, I'm liable to forget I was ever a boy to begin with, y'know?"
"Bummer."
"I gotta figure out - omigosh! Karen, look!"
"What?!?"
"It's Birchman's! They're having a big sale!"
"Ooooooh!" Karen squealed in delight. "They've got the most excellent set of pumps there - the kinds that'll make the guys roll over and beg!"
"Come on, then!" Jon exclaimed, swerving the car into a nearby space. "We cannot let this get away!" After one last quick check of their make-up, Jon and Karen each grabbed purses they hadn't had minutes before and ran breathlessly into the store.
"Omigosh! I can't believe we spent three whole hours in Birchman's! What a kickin' sale that was!"
"I know!" Karen giggled. "Gaw, my folks are gonna freak when they see what I spent there!"
"Mine too," her friend giggled back. "But it was, y'know, worth it! We got some totally slamming threads!"
"Oh yeah!" Karen laughed. "Hey, looks like your mom left you a note."
"Yeah. Let's see - 'Gone to the store, back later, have a sandwich, love Mom."
"Great! We've got the house to ourselves."
"Yeah. Hey, I better go check that rock thingy out." The two of them raced upstairs and into a room that was considerably more feminine than it had been that morning. Posters of Brittney Spears and Cindy Margolis were gone, replaced by those of Ricky Martin and Tyson Beckford. The walls were a pale lemon yellow, and the bed was neatly made and covered in a frilly cover. Strangely, neither of them noticed.
"It's right where I left it," Joni said with relief. "Hey, do you remember why we were so worried to begin with?"
Karen thought for a second. "I think we were afraid your mom would get hold of it or something."
"Shyeah, right," Joni scoffed. "Why d'you think I keep the place so neat? I don't want her snooping through my stuff!"
"Well, it looks like everything's okay," Karen said. "So we can go down and watch that Brad Pitt movie again?"
"Yum! Yes!" Joni said enthusiastically. "But first..."
"Let's try on our new stuff!" they shrieked. Then, both girls dissolved into a fit of giggles as they proceded to do just that.
