Blind to everything around, the shame of what had happened propelling her to run faster, Jodie didn't slow down until she was streets away from the department store. Sniffing as she began to walk, she spotted a park that seemed familiar, though she wasn't sure if it was so because of who she'd become or who she used to be. Entering the municipal area, she headed toward a playground set she knew the location of and sitting down on one of the swings, she didn't bother pumping her legs to make it go as she instead stared morosely at the ground.
Everything that had happened, her loss of the Amulet of Zulo, what it meant for her and Nathan, the transformation both of them were undergoing, all of it ate at her as she thought, "This is all my fault," and wishing she'd never seen the necklace, that it had been left where it'd been found, she kicked at the dirt below the swing.
Leg too short to reach that far, she huffed, "Stupid little boy body," as she slid off the swing and wandered to the play-set were she climbed up into a portion of it and sat with her back to a series of moveable pieces that made up a large tick-tack-toe game.
Content to sit there all day, she knew that sooner or later she'd have to go find Nathan, explain what'd happened, and from there either accept their fate, or figure out a way to find the necklace. But, not ready to do that, Jodie decided that she wanted for the moment to simply sit, take a moment and not deal with any of her problems. Looking down at the clothes she had on, she wondered why none of them had had any tags on them, and after a minute or so concluded that the most likely explanation for it was because they were her clothes to begin with. Confused by this, she began to wonder if the world was somehow rewriting itself around her and Nathan as they transformed, something she found she couldn't recall if she'd already considered, but felt certain that the answer was a definite yes. Wanting to know what other changes had happened, yet scared to find out, Jodie forced herself to get up.
She knew what she had to do, but found she was hesitant to do so as it didn't seem like it'd be easy to accomplish. Thinking, "No time like the present," she walked over to the slide.
Back down on the ground, she tried to walk across the park in a determined manner. Finding it was difficult to do so when she was unsure of herself and what she had to do, as well being stuck in a body she was still coming to terms was hers for the time being, she exited the park. Looking both ways, finding herself scared by the prospect that she was lost, she realised she wasn't and a voice from her consciousness telling her which way to go, she turned and started to walk. Heading back in the direction of what she was sure was the department store, she'd only gone a couple blocks before it came to her that she was headed in the wrong way. Wondering where it was she was going, sure it wasn't toward her grandmama's place, she stopped, re-orientated herself, and was about begin again when saw a minivan turn onto the street she was on, and slowed as it approached her.
Her first instinct was to run from stranger danger, which she understood was a lesson she'd been taught, but was unsure which life she'd learned it in. But as the same sense that'd guided her also assured her this was no stranger, she watched at the vehicle stopped and a woman got out, crying out, "When school called and said you hadn't arrived, I knew it was a bad idea to let you walk to school by yourself."
What the woman said didn't at first register with Jodie. Instead, her first reaction was that the woman was somehow Nathan, as she was covered in a white fur with black spots, had human hands, a tail with white fur sticking out the back of her pants, floppy ears much like Jodie's, and a canine muzzle. Seeing this person that was a mix of human and dog, Jodie wondered when Nathan had fully transformed, then asked herself where he'd gotten the minivan, before it finally it hit home what the woman had said as reality seemed to slow down before returning to its normal rhythm.
Confused, unsure about a lot things, including who this woman was, it came to her that, somehow, she was now her mom. Finding herself swept up in a hug, Jodie listened as the woman said, "Joseph Ivan Puskaric, are you all right? Did you get turned around?" before she told her, "I suppose it's a good thing you forgot your backpack and I came to look for," then asked, "How about I give you a ride to school today, and maybe you can try again tomorrow? Or, better yet, you can ride your bike to school tomorrow?" among a number of other things.
Overwhelmed by all that was going on, the most Jodie could do was allow herself to be lead to the minivan. Buckled in a booster seat in the back, a child's backpack with superheroes printed on it on the bench next to her, she struggled to come to terms with the fact that, along with her seven year old boy body she also had a boy's name and that the woman getting in the driver's seat was somehow now her mother. Wanting to tell the her that her name was Judith Ann Marie Kacic, that everyone called her Jodie, she found she couldn't bring herself to do so. Listening as her mom asked, "Are you all right?" Jodie affirmed that she was even as she wondered if this woman was now her mother, what had happened to her old mother.
"Has reality altered so much, have I changed so much, I need to be given a new life?" Jodie wondered as her mom put the minivan in gear and pulled away from the curb.
Perplexed, she found she had no answer. Understanding it was mostly because she had no frame of reference to take from, she also kenned that it was because, unless she applied some of it to an imaginary setting, her younger mind couldn't fathom it too much, as a lot of it was simply too big for her to grasp. Worried by this, that she'd have no choice but to accept that she was now Joseph, which her mind assured her was her name and that she often went by Joe, she looked at the woman in the driver's seat. Seeing someone who her mind assured her was her mother, as well as someone who was both canine and human, Jodie speculated on whether this was what she was turning into, and that it wasn't as she feared and that she'd soon find herself transformed into a puppy.
"Of course, if this the outcome, that I become something like her, it might mean that when I find the Amulet of Zulo, I’ll have an easier time changing myself back," she reasoned as the minivan slowed and realising that they'd gone only a few blocks, she looked to her around
What was clearly an elementary school catching her attention, it came to her that she was expected to attend as she reached for the backpack. From the front seat, her mom told her, “Have a good day, Joe,” as she did this, and opening the sliding door, Jodie was about to climb out when her mom asked, "Do you want me to pick you up after school?"
With a quick shake of her head, Jodie responded, "No. I think I'll try again," feeling that if she could walk home by herself, it'd give her more time by herself to figure out what to do, as she saw that if she had to attend school, she probably be too busy with her classes and stuff.
"Okay," her mom answer before she said, "Have a good day at school, sweetie."
Door pulled shut, Jodie watched her mother drive away and for a split second she considered that maybe she should try to skip and go find Nathan. But, not sure where exactly she was, nor where he was, she resigned herself to the fact that she have to go to school as a seven year old boy. Turning to face the building, the strap of her backpack gripped tight as she held it in front of her, she wondered who her teacher was. A name coming to her, Miss Jankie, she was about to start toward the school when a weird notion came to her. Cocking her head, she asked herself how she was supposed to go back to being Jodie if not only did she not have the necklace, but that the world around her seemed to have changed so that she was now Joe. Finding this upsetting, puzzling, she started toward the school, kicking at her pack as she went, wondering what she was going to do and if Nathan was having any problems like what she was, as well if he'd noticed that reality had changed, and seemed to continue to do so as transformation went on.