A Wish Unwanted – Part 16
by Limbo’s Mistress.

I sat upright on the bed, my heart leaping into my throat as I cursed myself for not screening the call. While I harbored no delusions that I could avoid the Ice Queen forever, I was at least hoping to get another whole day of freedom before her return.

“Jen,” I said, trying to shake off the heavy thoughts that had been occupying my mind and get my head back into the game. “Uh, how’s Michigan?”

“Spare me the small talk, Davenport,” she snapped. “I’ve been calling you and Stevens all day. Neither of you obviously felt obligated to call me back. Fortunately, Melissa was more than happy to talk to me. Guess she’s hoping to garner a little extra credit with me.” She laughed. “Could be a new co-captain in the near future.”

“I don’t care about that, and you know it.”

“No, I guess you probably don’t. Isn’t stopping you from living it up, is it? Amazing how easily you fall back into your old habits.”

I arched a brow in response. “What old habits?”

She paused for a second, as if mulling over her response. “Being a completely worthless pain in my ass.”

I sighed. “Is this a social call, Jennifer? Or are you calling because you know someone used the stone and you want to know what changed?”

“That was the purpose of my call at eight this morning,” she said, sounding extremely pissed off. “However, I have already figured out most of what has been altered. Seems your little boy toy is not yours any more. Not that I would be complaining if I were you. Geoffrey seems to be more … rugged. I bet he could get a girl’s motor really running hot.”

I clenched my jaw. On top of everything else, I didn’t need to go down the imaginary yellow brick road leading to the place where I began to wonder if Geoff was as talented with his mouth as Lee.

“He’s yours if you want him,” I said, doing my best to sound disinterested in the topic.

“I’m good, thanks. It’s this Peter McDonald that has my curiosity piqued. Melissa mentioned Chad and Sarah were having a spat. When I inquired as to the nature of it, hoping it was over you, she mentioned that Strand had taken a break from Jacob’s party last night to gobble on this Peter’s knob.” She laughed that arrogant laugh again, making me want to kick her between the legs, too. “What did he do, wish her to be a total slut?”

“He made himself irresistible to the females at our school. All of them. The backwards effect is the reason why Miss LaCroix is in prison, rather than teaching French.”

“Really?” Another malicious giggle. “I mean, I’m sorry to hear about that.”

“I hate you,” I spat. “As bad as I thought you were before I used the stone, you’re actually so much worse.”

“Is that so? Well, let me clue you in on this little factoid, Samantha.” I could hear the sneer as she feminized my former self’s name. “I’m only what other people have made me.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“We are all products of our past. The stone doesn’t really change what we are.”

“Oh, so you were an evil, heartless bitch before you made your wish?” I laughed humorlessly. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Close. I became what I am because of other people. All the stone did was give me the ability to even the scales.”

I didn’t respond immediately. Instead, I tried to piece together her boasts. She obviously used the wishing stone to make herself better than everyone else. But, if I could take half of what she said at face value, she didn’t do it strictly to boost her popularity. She did it out of revenge. A shudder ran through me as that thought segued into another.

When she used her wish to lift herself up, it forced someone else down.

“Who did you wish with?” I asked. Perhaps if I knew with whom she’d made her pact, I could figure out exactly what they’d changed.

“None of your business,” she said, in a venomous tone.

“Then we have nothing further to discuss,” I said, making my own voice flat.

“That’s what you think. However, I’m more than happy to postpone our chat until we see each other on Friday.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but then decided that the best way to end the conversation, and piss her off to no end, was to simply move my thumb over the “end” button and hang up on her.

I honestly expected her to call right back. Either because she felt the need to rail at me about cutting her off or else was stupid enough to think that we’d accidentally been disconnected. Grumbling, I tossed the phone onto my pillow and flopped back onto the bed.

Even though I would have rated the conversation with Jen to be just short of a dumpster fire, I had to admit that it did wonders for breaking me out of my mental sudoku about what to do with Geoff and Lee. I would make the smart choice and listen to my mom.

By not overthinking it.

At dinner, I managed to field all of Daddy’s questions about my day without breaking down or turning into a mumbling mess. Mom tensed up at first, but I gave her a little smile and a nod to let her know I was feeling somewhat better since our talk. Fortunately, as soon as dinner was over, Daddy quickly helped mom clear the table, then retreated to the living room so he could catch the last half of the baseball playoff game.

While the two of us wrapped up leftovers and loaded the dishwasher, Mom cut her eyes over at me.

“Crisis averted?” she asked.

I nodded. “For the moment. I think you were right that I need to just step back, completely evaluate everything with regards to Lee and Geoff, then make a decision.”

She smiled. “Just as long as you remember that you have four choices in total.”

“Four?”

She held up a finger, the tip covered in soapy suds. “You can decide to stay with Geoff.” She raised another finger. “You can decide to go for Lee.” Another finger, this one less sudsy ascended. “You can decide to date someone who is neither of those two.” A final digit went up. “Or you can decide to date no one.”

I smirked. “I’m the co-captain of the cheer team, Mom. I have to be dating someone.”

She arched a brow. “Oh, is that a new rule for being a Raiderette? Because I certainly don’t remember it during my tenure in the red and black uniform.”

I blinked, suddenly remembering that my parents had both attended Benson High back in the day. Given how my mother looked now, I found it more than easy to assume she would have been one of the Elite during her final two years there.

Sam hadn’t given it a second thought. However, it was a fair bet that Penny and her mom would have talked about it. More than once, even.

Luckily, she had turned back to sink while speaking, which meant she didn’t get to see the shocked look on my face. Nor the recovery that turned it into a small grin.

“No? Then it’s probably just another one of Jen’s stupid made-up rules.”

She sighed. “Are you two fighting again? I swear, you and Jennifer Winters have been at each other’s throat since you were in middle school.”

I shrugged, turning around to put several plates into the lower rack of the dishwasher. Jen and Sam had attended the same middle school, true. However, I don’t think I even knew who she was back then. It wasn’t until we got to high school, and her relentless campaign against me started, that I noticed her. Guess both of us being girls now had resulted in our mutual dislike starting earlier.

“Not really fighting,” I said, looking over at her. “Just differing ideologies.”

She nodded skeptically. “Differing ideologies?” she asked, arching a brow.

I nodded with mock enthusiasm. “Yep. See, I think she’s a total bitch, but she doesn’t believe it.”

“Penelope Jean,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s not a very nice thing to say.” Then she smirked. “Even if it is true.”

After everything from dinner had been put away and cleaned, I returned to my room and worked on French and British Lit. Mr. Andrews almost never gave us any homework, and there was no such thing as homework for Phys. Ed.

I only managed about thirty minutes of French. Every time I tried memorizing, or translating, a phrase, the voice I kept hearing in my head was Miss LaCroix’s. Eventually I simply gave up and moved on to the assignment from Mr. Eastman.

Chapters one through four of “Emma” by Jane Austin.

I moved from the desk to my bed with the book. At first, I found the prose to be slightly tedious, but as I moved through the chapters, I began to feel a connection with the characters, particularly Jane.

Just as I was reaching the end of the assigned reading, my phone rang again. Putting the book aside, I picked it up and saw that it was Charlie.

“Hey,” I said as I answered. “Sorry about bailing on you guys today.”

“It’s fine,” he replied. “Really. I could tell you were really upset. I’m just surprised you didn’t take off sooner.”

“I should have just sucked it up and stuck around. Did you guys figure anything else out?”

“Not really,” he said, sighing. “After you bolted, Geoff sort of just moped. I guess because of what you said. Then Tabitha said something asinine to him, so he left. Which pissed Tracy off, so she took that moment to give Tabitha a world of shit about the effects of their wish.”

“Jesus,” I breathed. “And you stuck around for all of that?”

“Not by choice. I just had the feeling that, without me there to referee, those two would end up killing each other.”

“I’ll put my money on Tracy any day,” I said, unable to hold in a small laugh. “Jen called me this evening.”

“Oh? Let me guess. She’s all in a twist because things are happening here and she’s not around to be in charge?”

“Something like that,” I said. “I tried to get her to tell me about her wish. But she wasn’t having any of it. Oh! She also tried to blow off her bitchy nature by saying that she was only that way because of other people. Can you imagine being so vain that you can’t even take ownership of being a complete bitch?”

“Would you?” he asked.

“Well, first of all, I wouldn’t be so damned mean to people. However, if I was, I would definitely own it. If you’re going to act like the evil queen, you should at least have the stones to wear the crown.”

“I think I liked you better when you did all your cackling over grid maps and dice,” he said.

“Don’t worry,” I promised. “I plan to only use my abilities for good. Not evil.”

“Tell that to my halfling sorcerer you dropped a dragon on.”

The memory of that session made me giggle. “The warning on the tomb was perfectly clear. Not my fault you decided to open the door anyway.”

“It was clear to anyone who could read Primordial. Sansa the Majestic didn’t have that particular skill.”

We both laughed at his comment and then I heard him sigh.

“Can I say something without you freaking out?”

“No promises.” I replied.

“You seem to be really settled in. After just a couple of days. It’s a little scary.”

I laughed. “Me? What about you? Are you saying you’re not getting the hang of Charlie’s life?”

“Yes and no,” he said, the tone in his voice turning serious. “It’s slowly growing on me, but I keep having to remind myself that I’m now a guy. How I sit and move sometimes comes off as very effeminate. If not for the fact that people know it’d make you mad, I think they’d be spreading rumors that I was gay.”

“Well, take it from a former guy, you’re doing just fine. If I didn’t know you weren’t born that way, I’d swear you were.”

“Thanks, Sam.”

“Welcome, Cindy.”

We spoke for another ten minutes or so, then I heard Charlie’s mom call for him to come take out the trash. After we said our goodbyes, I went down the hall to take a shower and brush my teeth. When I was done, I spent a good ten minutes examining myself in the mirror. Well, smiling, actually.

I kept trying to duplicate the smile I’d seen plastered all over Penny’s face in those birthday photos. Especially the one she’d been wearing while holding Geoff’s hand. However, every attempt looked totally fake or forced. As if the expression had been one born of such complete happiness that it was impossible to replicate under different conditions.

There was no doubt that the girl in those pictures had really been ecstatic in Geoff’s presence. Had I worn that same smile when I had been with Lee? I wanted to say yes. Unequivocally. However, I couldn’t.

Lee had made me smile lots of times, no question about that fact. But without visual confirmation, I couldn’t be completely sure any of them had looked like the one Geoff brought out in that alternate Penny.

I shook the two boys from my thoughts. Or at least tried to. Back in my room, I slipped into a clean pair of sleep shorts, navy blue this time, and tossed on an oversized t-shirt with a faded Atari logo on the front.

My closet got a momentary glance, but the stress of the day had teamed up with the scalding spray of the shower to sap every ounce of my energy. I decided I’d make a decision about my wardrobe in the morning.

Climbing into bed, I flipped off the light, and promptly passed out.

I awoke feeling groggy and irritable. My dreams had been jumbled, absurd, and disturbing, but I really couldn’t remember a whole lot of the details. I knew Jen had played a big part in them. As had Geoff.

Seems I couldn’t get a break from either of them, even in sleep.

I debated just taking the day off. The idea of not having to deal with adoring masses, bickering stone-users, or my romantic entanglements was totally appealing. Unfortunately, mom wouldn’t go for it. She would know exactly why I was trying to avoid school, and would remind me that I was a big girl now. One who couldn’t just run away from her problems.

Oh, mom. If you only knew.

Sighing, I threw back the covers and forced myself to get up. For about fifteen minutes, I stood in the doorway of the open closet, mentally chastising myself for not having already picked something to wear. I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned at the rows of clothing before me.

As if a stern enough look would make the right outfit magically leap off the hanger.

Part of me suggested that I totally dress down. Ratty jeans and a dorky t-shirt. Since I was currently wearing one featuring a vintage game company, surely Penny still had others. Left over from her more-nerdy days. If not, I knew I could simply call Charlie and have him either run one over or bring with him so I could change at school.

A grin formed on my face at the thought of the look on people’s faces as Pee-Jay Davenport strolled down the hall in ripped jeans and a faded Blue Sun tee. It would be a seriously marked change from her usual, ultra-stylish attire.

The grin quickly vanished, however, the second I realized that no one would care. No matter what I wore, or how I looked, everyone would still want me. Because, as Cinderella once discovered, magic trumps wardrobe.

I finally accepted the fact that I was going to have to finally make a decision or just go to school in my sleep clothes. Stomping my foot, I reached out and pulled down a dark burgundy sweater dress with a crew neck and long sleeves. Turning to the left, I held the outfit against my body and looked at my reflection.

The hem of the dress fell to just above my knees and the first thought that went through my still sleepy brain was that the dark red color really made my green eyes pop and paired well with my dark brown hair.

The second thought that popped in to replace the admiration of how the dress looked was the idle wonder if Lee would think it looked good on me. Or maybe Geoff?

I froze, staring incredulously at the girl looking back at me. Was she that confused about what she wanted? Really that torn between two boys? I mean, it was bad enough how quickly Penny’s feelings for Lee had overrun my former male sensibilities. Yeah, he was handsome and kind and funny. Not to mention that superior tongue action. When we’d been together, it had been all too easy to forget that I’d ever been that dorky, friendless guy.

As for Geoff, I kept telling myself that any appearance he made in my thoughts was only because of the wish he’d made. Adamant that whatever feelings I might experience weren’t real. They were just something the magic had done to me.

I stared at the dress in my hands again. Now I doubted if I really wanted to wear it. Despite the fact that I found it completely gorgeous and knew it would look great on me.

“Penelope!” Mom called from downstairs. “Are you awake?”

Sighing, I walked over to the bedroom door and opened it. “Yes! Just getting dressed.”

“Okay. I’m leaving early for a meeting before the office opens,” she replied. “I put some coffee in your thermos and baked fresh cinnamon rolls. Have a good day.”

“You too,” I said, waiting until I heard the front door open and close before shutting my own.

I resigned myself to just going with my original selection and styled my hair and did my makeup. I had just slipped into a pair of black panties when my phone rang. It was Sarah.

“Hey, Peej,” she said when I answered. “Are you almost ready? I wanted to get to school a bit earlier than usual today.”

“Still getting dressed,” I said, switching the phone to speaker mode so I could put it down and rummage around for a pair of tights. “I didn’t sleep too well last night so I’m running a bit slow this morning.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll pick you up then. See you in about ten.” Then she hung up before I could protest.

When the other Raiderette knocked on the back door and opened it to step inside, I was already in the kitchen, finishing one of the fresh pastries. In addition to the sweater dress and tights, I’d picked out a pair of knee-high black suede boots with a two-inch heel.

The funny thing was that I had put on the boots, bounced down the stair, and moved back and forth across the kitchen floor at least a dozen times before I suddenly became cognizant of the fact that I wasn’t stumbling or tottering in the elevated footwear at all.

I wondered if I could slap on a pair of stilettos and dance flawlessly. I was pretty sure Penny could. Which meant I could, too.

“Hey, girl,” Sarah said as she closed the door behind her.

“Hey,” I responded, gesturing at the steaming carafe and plate of rolls on the counter. “Help yourself.”

She shook her head, then walked over to sit down at the table. “I didn’t see your mom’s car. Has she already left for work?”

I nodded, plopping down across from her with a nearly finished mug of java in my hand.

“I think she was meeting with the P.A.s and other doctors before the office opened.”

She nodded, a small frown forming on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, reaching for her hand. “Is it Chad?”

She shook her head, drawing her hand back before I could touch it. “No. It’s not Chad.”

I put the mug down, then moved both of my hands down to my lap. Sam might be an almost completely idiot about girls and girlish feelings, but even a glass-less Velma could see the writing on my best friend’s face. She was hurting … because of me.

Who knew this body came with that infamous of superpowers, woman’s intuition.

“Sarah,” I said in a soft voice. “What did I do?” When she tilted her head, I shrugged. “You’re mad at me. Or disappointed, maybe. All I know is that you’re unhappy and it’s due to something I’ve done.”

She sighed. “You … .” Then she stopped bit down on her lower lip, as if arranging the words in her mind before continuing. “Am I still your best friend?”

I blinked, my mouth dropping open for a second. Then I closed it and nodded emphatically. “Yes, you are. Why?”

“You pretty much blew me off a Jacob’s party.” She held up her hand. “Yes, I know you claim it was because Charlie wanted your advice about how to get Tracy to like him. Or something. But that doesn’t explain why Tabitha was with you three.”

“Well,” I said as I scrambled for an explanation that didn’t make me sound like a candidate for one of those cute white jackets with sleeves that tied in the back. “Tabitha …”

She shook her head. “No. Please don’t lie. If you’d rather hang out with Tabs, Charlie, and Tracy, just say so.”

“What are you talking about? You’re my best friend,” I insisted. “I just needed to … talk to the three of them at the party. Alone. It was private stuff I really can’t share with anyone.”

She shrugged. “That might make sense. You know, if the four of you hadn’t also met yesterday in the Clubhouse. With Geoff.” She shook her head. “The same Geoff that, according to Mark, you broke up with at lunch yesterday.”

“I didn’t break up with Geoff,” I countered. “I … we … just decided to take a bit of a break. Cool things down a bit.”

“Cool things down? Give me a break, Pee-Jay.” She looked like she was about to roll her eyes, then changed her mind. “You’ve been drooling over Geoffrey Barnes since the beginning of junior year. If not for the fact that he was dating that skank from Central at the time, you would have jumped him then.”

Ever find yourself in an absurd situation and wonder “could this possibly get any more messed up”? That’s where I was the moment the words came out of Sarah’s mouth.

Thanks to Invidia’s magic rock, Penny hadn’t drooled over Lee for years, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Instead, her attraction had been directed at Geoff, with the two of them actually entering into a serious relationship several months ago. I suddenly found myself thankful that my new beau didn’t have any more memories about our being together than I did. There would be absolutely no chance of bluffing my way through that field of landmines.

“Are you really in love with Charlie?” she asked, staring me right in the face.

I started to laugh, then stopped when I saw she wasn’t joking. In love … with Charlie? No, I could honestly say I was not in love with my former female best friend who now sported face stubble and dangly man-bits.

Sam also hadn’t been in love with Cindy. Once upon a time, I thought I was. Now, having a more concrete frame of reference, I knew what I’d felt was infatuation. Cindy had been pretty, slightly nerdy, and enjoyed being around me. All the qualifications required to draw in the attraction of a dorky, unpopular boy.

“No,” I said, keeping my voice even. “I am not in love with Charlie.” I sat back in my chair.

“Then tell me what’s going on with you. I mean, sneaking off to be alone with Geoff, I totally understand. It’s not the first time you two have done that. But some stupid hush-hush rendezvous with Charlie and Tracy Mallory? Including Tabitha?” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make any sense. Throw in the fact that you’re not telling me anything makes me think you’re mad at me or something. You’ve never shut me out of anything, Peej.”

I tried to give her a conciliatory expression. Something to indicate that I understood why she was upset, but also indicate that she shouldn’t take it personally.

“I don’t tell you ever…”

“You called me thirty minutes after you lost your virginity.”

Oh. Okay. Uh, wow. Guess Penny and Sarah really are the best of friends. Like, seriously. I’m not a hundred percent sure Sam would have shared such news with Cindy. You know, if he’d actually managed to have sex. Hell, I’m not even twenty-five percent sure he would.

“Sarah,” I said, grasping for something. Anything.

I swallowed, wincing inside as I saw the look in her eyes. The pain in them. The hurt of believed betrayal. No matter what I tried to use as an excuse, she would see it exactly as that. An excuse. She might nod and agree with me, verbally. But then she would know that I was capable of lying right to her face. Our friendship would never recover from it.

I stared into her eyes, feeling my skin tingle with anxiety. Two second later, I crumbled.

“Okay,” I said, holding up both hands in mock surrender. “I’ll tell you everything. What’s going on with me and Geoff. As well as with Charlie, Tracy, and Jen.”

“Jen?” she asked, wrinkling her brow. “What does she have to do with it?”

“More than you would think,” I said. “However, I have two stipulations before I say anything.”

She nodded way too eagerly. If I asked for her pinkie finger as payment, she would probably leap up and rush to the ornate cutting block on the counter behind her.

“Of course. Name them.”

I sighed. “The first is that you’ll have to wait until after practice today.” When her face fell, I waved my hand in the air between us. “It’s a lot to discuss and take in. We don’t have time this morning, and I’m not about to try talking to you about it during third period. Once practice is over, we’ll come back here, and I’ll spill everything.”

“Why your house?” she asked, arching a brow. “Why not at school after practice? Or at a coffee shop? We could try that new one over off Kearny Drive.”

“Because, you’re my ride today. What I’m going to tell you is probably going to result in you thinking that I’m either completely insane, or being just a total cunt. Either way, I’d just as soon not have to call my mom or Uber home.”

“I wouldn’t ditch you, Peej. No matter what you said.”

The smile that formed on my face didn’t do a damned thing to lift my spirits. “Better hold off on making that solemn vow until you hear what I have to say.”

We left the house and went to school. Along the way, Sarah tried to get me to dish more information on the cooldown between me and Geoff. She kept couching the questions as being focused just on how sudden it all seemed. However, I knew she was actually trying to get me to provide her a bit more of a peek behind my mysterious curtain than I’d given her in my kitchen.

When we pulled into the parking lot, I glanced out my window just in time to see Lee climbing out of his Mustang. Despite having lost some of his bulk due to no longer being on the football team, he still managed to fill out a pair of jeans rather nicely. Especially in the rear.

“What?” Sarah asked, twisting her head around to try to see out of my side.

“What is what?” I asked.

“You just made a humming sound.”

“I did?” I hadn’t even been aware of having made any noise at all. “Like humming a song?”

She shook her head. “No, it was the CB hum.”

“CB?”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously? The Cute Boy hum?”

I stared at her as if I wasn’t sure if she were teasing me or not. “Cute Boy hum?”

“Yes. Come on, Peej. I know you’ve only had eyes for Geoff for months, but I know you haven’t forgotten the Cute Boy hum. You were the one who named it.”

Of course I was. A special, identifiable sound to indicate when Penny, or any of her friends apparently, was looking at an attractive boy. How nice.

Except, I’d made it while ogling Lee.

“Yes, Sarah, I know the Cute Boy hum. However, that’s not the sound I made. Mine was more of a ‘I’m happy’ hum.”

“Say what you like, Peej. I know the CB Hum when I hear it.”

I conceded the point. Mainly because I knew there was a damned good possibility that I had made the CB Hum. While staring at Lee Taylor’s ass.

Sarah and I went inside together for once. Apparently Chad had a dentist appointment this morning and probably wouldn’t be at school until second period. We parted ways just after passing through the doors, and I headed toward my locker.

As I walked along, I noticed that the greetings and hellos I was becoming accustomed to were interlaced with the occasional hushed whisper and surprised stare. The first couple of times didn’t bother me. However, by the time I got to my locker and was on my way to homeroom, I was starting to get seriously annoyed.

Four doors down from Mrs. Thomas’s room, I paused and spun around to look at a pair of junior girls who had smiled at me as they passed, but immediately began to gossip at a barely conceivable level. When they discovered I’d stopped to face them, they both turned red and shot up, ramrod straight.

“Okay,” I said, trying to not scream at them. Because, you know, I wasn’t Jen Winters. “What’s going on? Everyone keeps looking at me and whispering to each other.” I looked down at myself, ran one hand across the front of the burgundy dress, then looked back up at them. “Is it what I’m wearing? Is my hair a mess? What?”

The both shook their heads in unison. “No, Pee-Jay. Nothing like that.”

“Then tell me what it is.”

The one on the left, a cute redhead with a long ponytail and a smattering of freckles across her nose, glanced at her friend for a second, then looked at me.

“Everyone is wondering what Geoff Barnes did to make you dump him.”

The pixie-cut blonde next to her nodded. “Did he cheat on you? I mean, I know that’s completely insane, but it’s all we can come up with. You two were so perfect together.”

I balled my hands into tiny fists. Dammit, Geoff! Thanks for the stupid wish.

Though, I knew I should be more angry with Invidia than with Geoff. It was her magic that was responsible for the seemingly ironclad relationship between me and the boy. The wishing stone had decreed that we were going to be romantically tied together, and it seemed as if it wasn’t going to just take my refusal lying down.

“Geoff and I did not break up,” I said, glowering a bit. This caused the two underclassmen to take a single step backward. “He did not cheat on me. I did not ‘dump’ him. So do me a favor and spread the word. I’d like to get off the Rumor Ride. Okay? Thanks.”

Then I whirled back around and marched to homeroom. Despite my best effort, okay my mediocre effort, I was unable to respond positively to anyone else I encountered.

When Candice saw me come into the room, she bolted upright in her seat and stared at me as if I’d entered the room while completely on fire. When I reached my desk, I looked down at her and shook my head.

“Geoff and I did not break up,” I said.

Her eyes softened and she nodded. “That’s what I told Tabs. But she insisted that the two of you had this big massive blowout and decided to end the fairy tale.” She beamed a happy smile at me. “I’m glad to know she was wrong.”

Tabitha. Of course. Just wait until practice, ma souer. That big mouth of yours is going to lead to a whole bunch of extra work for you.

As the morning announcements began, I pulled out my phone and tapped on the contact icon next to Geoff’s name. Well, not his name, per se. Because it would seem that the love-struck version of Penny Who Never Was had changed his contact identification to “My Heart”.

I thought I might throw up.

The messaging app opened, and I had just put my thumbs over the keyboard to send him a scathing text about the fact that his idiotic wish was still biting me in the ass, when I accidentally read the last one he sent. It was from the previous morning. The timestamp at the corner indicated that it had been sent around the time that reality was changed.

“Hey, babe. Gotta see Coach C this morning. Catch you at lunch. Love you.”

I probably should have rolled my eyes and snorted with derision at the lameness of the text. Or something like that. Instead, I read the one right above it.

“Had a great time tonight. Hope your mom wasn’t too mad. I love you!”

My mouth went dry. Like, Mongolian Desert level of dryness. No. No. No. Stop reading this! It’s fiction, all fiction. Geoff Barnes didn’t send you these texts. These sentiments. They were nothing more than the static creations of the wish. Just … props. Set dressing. Just something to fill in the fine details so the new reality could run smoother.

That’s all they were and nothing more. They certainly weren’t the emotions of the arrogant, very forward, boy who slobbered all over me while fondling my ass in front of our friends.

My friends!

Dammit, Penny’s friends!

I almost stood up in the middle of the quiet room with the intention of screaming at the top of my lungs as I hurled the traitorous device in my hand against the nearest wall.

Instead, I did the stupid thing. I continued to read.

There were thousands of them. Averaging about fifty a day. Everything you might think possible for two people to send in an electronic message outside of any face-to-face conversations that might arise between a couple who managed to spend several hours each day together.

Little jokes about something that had happened in one of his classes. Complaints about the coach acting like a tyrant. Random musings about which part of my body was his favorite that day. Or hour.

Interestingly enough, my ass and boobs didn’t get anywhere close to the top mentions. Though it seemed my eyes and my nose were vying for first place.

It wasn’t until I had rolled backward through time to the beginning of October that I noticed I was smiling. In a flash, I yanked the expression from my face, and turned off my phone.

As I stared at the screen at the far end of the room, I couldn’t hear a single word either of the people on it said. My heart was being way too fast.

When the bell rang, I took me a moment to shake off my stupor. Too many thoughts and arguments taking place between my ears. Candice tapped me on the shoulder when I stood up. I turned around to look at her.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I should have known better than to take Tabs’ claim at face value. It was just … you had ditched practice to go home without telling any of us. It was so out of character that believing you were upset about Geoff made a kind of sense.”

I shrugged, walking with her toward the door. “To be honest, Candice, things with Geoff and I are … strained. But it’s totally on me and we’re trying to work through it. You know?

She nodded. “Yeah. So people going around sharing that you two broke up isn’t really helping either of you, is it?”

I smiled. “No, it’s not.”

“I’ll start making sure that everyone knows the rumor is crap.”

Except, what if it isn’t?

“Thanks,” I said. “I really appreciated it. I’m sure Geoff will, too.”

When I got into French, Sarah spun around to look at me before my butt could even touch the seat. I held up my hand the second she opened her mouth and shook my head.

“No, I’m not going to tell you earlier than we agreed.” When her posture didn’t change, I continued. “Yes, I’ve heard that word is getting around that Geoff and I broke up. Candice is doing damage control and putting out fires.”

“So, you guys are back together?”

I shrugged. “Right now, as far as everyone else is concerned, we had a little couples’ spat, but are still together. I’d rather not have to deal with the buzz about the death of my love life until I actually put it into the ground.”

She nodded. “Good point. I’ll do what I can to help as well.”

Mr. Tate returned our quizzes from the previous day. Amazingly enough, I managed to squeak by with a C-minus. Far below my average, but at least it was still a passing grade. The note at the top caught my eye.

“You can do better than this. - Mr. T.”

History was actually not as bad as usual. Probably because Mr. Andrews was out sick and the sub sitting behind the desk didn’t really want to do much in the way of teaching. The second the bell had rung, she told us to work independently on whatever historical event we’d been studying. Then she plopped down in her chair and started scrolling across her phone.

I pulled “Emma” out and resumed reading from where I had paused the night before. The story tried to hold every ounce of my attention, but couldn’t quite snare it all. There was too much about my new beau that occupied my brain.

I nearly opened Geoff’s past messages again almost twenty or more times. Fortunately, I somehow found the willpower to resist. Unfortunately, I couldn’t scrub my memories of the ones I had already seen.

Geoff loved me. Sure, it was a fake Geoff that professed his love, repeatedly, to a fake Penny. However, that didn’t change the way the words tugged at my heart. If I’d been rendered oblivious to the changes, if previously using the stone hadn’t granted me mental immunity to the changes, I would very likely be an extremely happy girl.

Taking the myriad of messages from a purely non-subjective viewpoint, it would reveal a connection between two people that was of the depth and intensity as anything written by a poet. And it wasn’t just Geoff typing sweet nothings to Pee-Jay. She, too, had responded with just as much saccharine drivel as she received.

The girl was head over heels when it came to Geoff.

Maybe you would be, too, the voice in my head whispered. You gave Lee a chance based on a magically-birthed movie date, and a day’s worth of follow-up phone logs. The Geoff you saw in the palm of your hand seemed way more into you than Mr. Taylor.

I put my head down on my desk, trying not to groan. Why couldn’t mom have just told me what to do? Why did everything in this girl’s life have to be so damned difficult?

The device sitting in the bag next to my feet buzzed twice. A message.

I leaned down, retrieved the phone, and looked at the screen. Geoff. Why was I not surprised? Guess he’d got the third degree about our fractured romance, as well. Part of me felt like he completely and totally deserved it.

Sighing softly, I opened the app and scrolled back down the list to the most recently received.

“Can we meet next period? I really need to talk to you.”

I stared at the words for five or so minutes, reading them over and over until I was sure they were permanently etched into my visual cortex. Then I sent my reply.

“At the boulder from yesterday.”

A second later, he sent his reply. “So long as you don’t try crushing my nuts again.”

An unbidden smile formed on my face. Growling, I wiped it away and typed on the screen. “No promises.”

The bell rang and the sub was out the door before any of the students. I stuck Jane Austin back in my bag, slipped my phone into the side pocket, then headed out the door to see what had Geoff’s panties all in a twist.

Emerging into the hallway, I heard someone call my name. I turned around with a smile worthy of a pageant, and waved at them. When I turned back in the direction I was walking, I slammed into someone and my knees buckled.

A pair of arms, grabbed me at my elbows and managed to keep me from busting my ass in the middle of the crowded hallway. Releasing the breath I didn’t realize I was holding, I brought my gaze up to the person who’d save me.

“Thanks,” I began. “That was … ”

Lee Taylor’s blue eyes stared directly into my own. The look in them was pure relief.

“Close,” he finished for me. “Yeah, sorry about that, Pee-Jay. I’m just glad I was fast enough to catch you. Then gave me a smile that sent a bolt of lightning surging through my chest.

Just kill me now.