Unlike the two days before, Jenny couldn't feel anything change at that moment. That was at least a relief to her. But it wasn't much consolation, considering she now had to be cautious about what people said around her. She wasn't even sure if she could say any of those words safely-- but she certainly wasn't going to press her luck.
Reluctantly, she got dressed. Each day that passed, she was dreading having to go to school more and more.
And then, it hit her. There was a loophole. The fortune had specified that she had to actually hear the words for the effects to be felt. Jenny rushed into the bathroom and searched the cabinet until she found what she was looking for: her salvation, in the form of a pair of earplugs. She put them in her ears, and, satisfied that they adequately cancelled all the sound around her, congratulated herself. "Heh. I'm smart. That creep Kyle isn't going to get me this time." Of course, she could no longer hear anything now, regardless of whether it actually triggered one of the actions specified in the fortune or not-- but she was confident she could fake her way through this. How hard could it be? All she had to do was smile and nod.
When Susan and Katie pulled up to her house, Jenny grabbed her backpack and got in the car, waving and saying "Hello" as if nothing were wrong. And they seemed to buy it, too-- they turned to each other and started talking for several minutes, pacified by her nodding and smiling, and it looked like Jenny might actually pull it off.
About halfway through the ride, though, something went wrong. Katie turned to her and appeared to ask her something, to which Jenny simply nodded and added a spoken "Yes" to give the act more authenticity. But whatever it was Katie had just asked, it apparently wasn't a simple yes-or-no question. And it didn't take Jenny long before she realized she was caught.
"Shit," thought Jenny to herself. There was no getting around it. Out came the earplugs, and into the backpack they went.
"So that's why you've been so quiet this whole time," said Katie. "What's with the earplugs?"
"Sorry," said Jenny, quickly thinking up an excuse. "I sleep better with these. I guess I forgot to take them out this morning."
"No problem," said Katie. "I was just asking what your plans for the weekend were. If you're not busy, I was thinking we could hang out at the mall."
"Um... I'm not sure...," answered Jenny. "Can you get back to me about that later?"
"Sure, no problem," nodded Katie.
And just like that, they were at school already, pulling into the parking lot. Miraculously, Jenny had gotten through the ride without any incident. She silently thanked providence that she had made it. She was feeling pretty good about her chances of getting through the day.
But when Jenny, Susan and Katie walked into the school, however, the good feelings suddenly disappeared. As they filed through the door into the hallways, who should Jenny bump into (quite literally) but Kyle Perkins.
"You!" shouted Jenny, flying into a rage.
"Well, hello, Jennifer," said Kyle smugly, smirking at his handiwork. "What a coincidence, bumping into you like this. This ought to be fun..."