Amy arrived at Lina's around four-thirty. Another friend, Jessica, was there as well. "I thought we could have a sleep-over tonight," Lina explained. "We haven't done it in a while." Since the next day was Saturday, Amy didn't mind the idea. They hung out for a little while before the three of them went a few blocks to Amy's house to get her belongings.
As they trucked a sleeping bag and extra clothes back to Lina's, Lina asked about Amy's horns. "Now there's a story!" she giggled, and told her the entire affair with Mrs. Henderson.
"No way!" Lina laughed. "Can't say she didn't have it coming. If there was anyone you could have changed in front of, you made the right choice."
"What are you talking about?" Jessica asked. Amy hadn't made any attempt to keep her from listening in.
"What does Amy have that other girls don't?" Lina quizzed her.
Jessica seemed to be taking her time to think about it. "Well, I guess nobody else looks kinda like a cow, but I don't see why anyone would freak out about it."
"Well, somebody did," Amy snickered, still playing back the scene in her head. She was scared at the time, but looking back it seemed like she was watching a comedy show. New scenes flashed in her mind about crazy Mrs. Henderson telling everyone that one of her students is a devil, and everyone else dismissing her like she was crazy.
"There's a store downtown," Lina explained, "That sells magic things. Amy accidentally got this magic circle sealed into her back that's slowly changing her into a cow." She turned to Amy, her voice more stern, "And it's something she should look into before she changes all the way."
They were walking up Lina's porch now. Amy scoffed. "Oh, relax! I'll be fine. If you want, I'll go to the store tomorrow."
"That's crazy," Jessica said. "You're putting me on."
"Serious," Amy said. "You just think this is all fine because there's a special protective spell that it's casting." She pulled up her shirt just enough to reveal the emblem on her back. "See?" Jessica scrunched her nose at the tattoo. "Okay, we'll prove it. We'll be together all night, right? I'll probably change before tomorrow morning, and when I do you'll be there to see it. That'll break the protection spell. That's how Lina and Mrs. Henderson can see the true me and know it isn't normal."
Jessica still looked as if Amy had two heads, and they dropped the subject in favor of deciding what to do for dinner. Through the rest of the afternoon, they ordered Chinese and talked about boys. Lina brought up Geoffrey, which made Amy blush. Then they traded stories about crazy Mrs. Henderson. Amy was hoping the incident with her wouldn't cause problems next week in school, and clung to the idea that nobody would believe her. Night had fallen and they were setting up their sleeping bags when something happened.