"The only way to know for certain is to give it one more test. And please, no more little brothers. Two of them is enough, thank you very much," said Nancy.
"Test it on who or what, and in what way will we know we've succeeded?"
"I already have someone in mind for you to try it out on, but it'll have to be at lunch, cause I really have to get Johnny back to the bathroom and then back to the FCS class he's supposed to be in."
"Wait you didn't just make that up?"
"Nope, the teacher's having every class practicing babysitting with actual kids, and Johnny's one of the kids," said Nancy.
"You know, I think I've got FCS next... I'll take Johnny to the bathroom and then to class for you," said Doug as he saw Johnny continue to fidget around in his seat.
"Thank you! I've got gym, and if I wait any longer I'll be late getting there. See you at lunch!" said Nancy with a quick peck on his cheek and hurrying down to pry her cellphone out of Johnny's hands, causing him to whine as she then said Doug would take him to class and she turned and left the empty classroom stuffing her phone in her bag just as Doug managed to stand right next to the rather innocent looking Johnny Page. Johnny looked up at Doug nervously before saying, "I have to go to the bathroom,"
Doug tousled Johnny's hair and said, "don't worry it's on the way to class, and I have to go myself." This seemed to calm Johnny's worried face, and so they set off.
FCS class went rather easily. Since Doug and Johnny showed up together, the teacher took it as an excuse to pair the two of them together--apparently she had had issues with Johnny in the past period not playacting his role well enough with the kids he'd been assigned all that well. Johnny was supposed to pretend to be one of a five different kid personalities to test a set of partners on how to deal with him as a babysitter assigned to look after him.
One scenario involved the kitchen portion of the FCS classroom where the elementary school kid was told to run around pulling pots and pans out and generally bang them together and the challenge was for the high school student pair to figure out how to get the kid to stop without striking or threatening the kid.
The second scenario involved the front half of the FCS classroom which had been turned into an elementary school kid's dream pillow fort tent situation. The challenge being the kid is hidden away in their pillow fort tent, to convince them to come out again without hitting or threatening, but also without taking down their tent.
The third scenario involved the back half of the FCS classroom which had a table with settings laid out. The elementary school kid was instructed to pick at their food and to refuse to eat, and the two high school students were to figure out how to get the kid to eat without violence or threat of violence.
The fourth scenario involved sitting by the door, next to the opened first aid box. There the elementary school kid was instructed to cry and be scared that they injured something on their arm--which the high school students were to calm the kid down, clean, address the wound and then bandage the wound. Again without any violence or threat of it.
Last but not least the fifth scenario was out in the hallway where the elementary aged kid was told to try and run as far and as fast as they could and the class pair were to try and corral the kid--again no violence or threats.
Paired with each of the elementary schoolers was a class minder, which Doug had just become for Johnny, who was set to be at station four. Doug noticed as he helped Johnny throughout the class and different pairs that were to try and wrap a bandage around an imaginary wound on Johnny's arm which he was supposed to flail around in pain, that Johnny would have to go probably at least twice in an hour's time. Deciding to help Johnny a bit, especially considering that he hadn't had to go to the bathroom when he'd been humiliated, only being accused of such for a nervous trigger leg that kept tapping to let out his nervous energy, Doug decided to try and fix one issue at least.
"I wish Johnny's bladder from this point forward was normal for his age," said Doug as he touched the coin in his pocket. He felt the coin quiver and then suddenly Johnny's nervous "have to go" energy calmed down immediately. He had thrown in a bit of wording which he would check with Nancy later to see if it had had the effect he'd wanted.
Johnny was good for the rest of class, and seemed to be having fun like the rest of his borrowed classmates for the FCS class. He even stole a few stares at the pretty girl his new age at the picky eater station.
"So, do you like Izzy?" asked Doug as he helped Johnny out of the bandages between groups.
Johnny blushed, and looked as he kicked his feet off the stool he sat on and grabbed the edge of the seat with his hands. Deciding to have a little fun, Doug bent down on one knee so he could whisper more easily in Johnny's ear as he finished rolling up the ACE bandage.
"Well, don't say anything, but every time you look away, she's stared over here at you," lied Doug. Izzy, the girl with straight long brown hair kept so by a pink hair band that matched the pink sundress she wore had no inclination to look over the entire time Doug had been here. If anything, Izzy had stared outside more than she had at anyone in the room, as though she couldn't wait to get outside and play.
It was then that class was over and Doug said he had to move on to his next class, leaving Johnny to be looked after by the teacher and her aide with the other Elementary aged kids.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully until lunch when Doug met with Nancy and Johnny at a table in the back corner.
"I don't know what's changed, but the teacher has said since you watched Johnny he hasn't had to go to the bathroom once the rest of the morning," said Nancy.
"You're welcome," said Doug.
"Did you cast another wish?" asked Nancy.
"I did, and I experimented with the wording--I wished for him to have a normal bladder for a kid his age, starting now and moving forward," said Doug.
"Well look at you using the present participle and future tense... good to know that that didn't automatically erase my memory."
"I think that's what we have to take into account when we wish for things moving forward--to be specific in our language and our intentions. Because I don't think either of us want any more unintended consequences."
"We still have to test it though, and I have the perfect mark. Look over there," said Nancy as she pulled her plastic spoon from her yogurt cup and pointed towards one of the cafeteria aides hovering at the edge of the cafeteria, talking with a teacher. It was Old Mrs. Ludoffski, who was past retirement age, and yet she still made breakfast and lunch for every student who wanted it as she had for many years. Doug's older principal self knew that this was partly due to Social Security no longer going as far as it once did, and the other part that no student knew was that she love cooking and preparing food for children--and being that she had no grandchildren or great-grandchildren of her own, she'd adopted the school's populace as her own so to speak. She had an old sour look on her wrinkled face. Her white hair was neatly pull back and under her hairnet. She was short and dumpy looking, having more in common with a tanker. Had she worn a bandana over her head instead of a hairnet, she would have easily passed for a caricature of Baba Yaga.
"What about her?" asked Doug.
"Well, I was wondering what she looked like when she was... say, our age? Is that neutral enough a question to ask? I don't want to influence your wish making either way," said Nancy.
"Well, let's see what my subconscious thinks--I wish Mrs. Ludoffski was 17," said Doug, and he felt the coin quiver in his pocket.
"What are you two talking about?" asked Johnny, who'd been so quiet the whole time that both Doug and Nancy had forgotten he was right there.
"Nothing, uhh... why don't you tell me about uhh..." started Nancy, to try and distract Johnny from the transformation about to take place.