Family Swap: Jon Meets "Annie"

*The only requirement was that Jon have a new sister every day. So wherever he went, he would have one.* But where would Jon go now? He had no idea where his new house was. Or even if he still lived in a house. What if he lived in an apartment and needed a security code to get in? Even if he knocked on the door of his old house - Tiffany's house now - and got her to tell him where he lived - how weird would that be? - she probably wouldn't know the security code. What if he had to spend the night outside ... homeless? What if he didn't get his old house back at 3:47 tomorrow? What if nothing was ever the same again? Jon couldn't remember the exact wording of his wish just two days ago, but he did recall that he hadn't said anything about restoring the status quo. *Shit,* thought Jon as he wandered the streets of Lake Point. At least they hadn't changed. Unlike Linda and Zoe. *I destroyed my family forever.* He dreaded seeing them from time to time in whatever roles they'd be stuck in as of Monday afternoon. For the rest of their lives ... *No, wait.* Jon realized he could use the stone to restore his family next week. And even his old address. Assuming the stone was still wherever he lived now. Or that he had even inherited the stone in the current reality. What if someone had it now? Even if Jon could find who that person was, could he convince them to change Linda and Zoe back? With so many questions on his mind, Jon was oblivious to the lights at a crosswalk. He missed his chance to cross. That mistake was preferable to walking into traffic. While waiting for the lights to change so he could cross, Jon pulled his phone out of his pocket. He realized his arm wasn't pale and freckled anymore. It was hairless and tanned. "Oh no," Jon said to himself. He turned on his phone - the same model as before - opened its camera app, and pressed the selfie button so he could see himself on its screen. "Himself" wasn't quite the right word. An Asian face on the screen gasped back at Jon. For a moment Jon thought someone must have been FaceTiming him. But the stranger's clothes, hairstyle, and facial proportions were Jon's. And the stranger was on the same street Jon was. *That's me,* thought Jon. He never expected his wish to turn him Asian. He thought only girls' races would be affected. Like how Yuki and Melony became Taylor twins on Wednesday. Then he learned that women could change too. Like his last mother Julie who had been born Puerto Rican. Or Mrs. Getherd - Angela, not Zelda - who had become a Black Washington. *So why not me?* Jon asked himself. If he could become ginger yesterday after getting a new mother, why couldn't he become Asian after ... Jon suddenly remembered where his Wednesday mother was at 3:47. The PTA meeting. On campus. A fragment of Jon's wish that was still in his memory haunted him: *"... all the girls at my high school ..."* ... which would include Julie Madison! As well as Tiffany Morse. Jon shuddered. It was so easy to think of Tiffany as his principal. Of Julie as his mother. Linda was no relation to him now. Worse yet, she was openly hostile to him. Her words to Coach Sarah Barry still stung: "It's hard to believe she and Jon are related." *Were* related now. The wish insured that Jon would have a new sister every day. Susan Madison was someone else's sister as of ... Jon had lost track of time. The sun was going to set soon. Where was he going to go? He wandered into a McDonald's. He had a little money. Barely enough to buy dinner if he had to. He settled for a drink and took a seat by a window, looking out and seeing girls he didn't recognize from a distance. Maybe if he were closer to them, he might have had a chance to guess who they used to be. Jon flipped through the photos on his phone, hoping at least one of them had a picture of his current home. Lots of indoor shots with Asians. His new family, he supposed. And photos of some tropical Asian country. He must have visited that place - his new ancestral homeland? - in the recent past of his Thursday life. What country was it? Signs there were in the alphabet but with lots of diacritics. So not China, Japan, or Korea. Jon wished he were better at Asian geography. He didn't have the stone to make that wish come true, but he did have an app that he had wished up. He opened Palimpsest and typed "Jon Madison," the name he had until this afternoon. An entry for "Jon Nguyen (Nguyễn Quân Lãng)" appeared. *I'm ... Vietnamese!?* Jon hoped he didn't have to speak Vietnamese. If his mother didn't change again - if he couldn't get the stone back - he might be Vietnamese for the rest of his life! Not that there was anything wrong with being Vietnamese, but ... "Jon!" A girl's voice. Jon turned around to see its source - a freshman like Susan Madison. But this girl was Asian like him. "Guess what!" *I wish I could guess who you are,* thought Jon. "Uh ..." "I'm gonna be Annie!" "Who?" asked Jon. "Oh yeah, the musical ..." He had seen something about auditions posted in the hallway at school. Musicals weren't his thing. "Isn't that neat?" asked the girl. "Especially 'cause I don't even look like Annie except for being little? I'm gonna wear a curly red wig and get freckles painted on my face." Jon couldn't muster a sound. Not even an "uh." "Come on, Jon! Aren't you happy for me?" "Y-yeah." Jon had to force the word out of his mouth. "What's wrong with you, Jon?" "I wanna go home," blurted Jon. "Then let's go, bro!" The girl took him by the hand. Jon held his drink in his other hand. He could finish it at ... home, wherever that was. He breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn't have to search for his new home. His new little sister would take him there. Unfortunately, he forgot to bring his phone with him. The device remained on a table at McDonald's. The Palimpsest app was still open on its screen when a text message from "Dad" appeared. Until now, Jon and his siblings had been raised by single mothers. Jon's original father was still alive but pretty much out of his life now. Why was Jon's new father Nguyễn Niên Kiệt texting him?