Dinner passed, in Brian's opinion, awfully slow and afterward he couldn't wait to try the necklace. During the course of the meal, he noted that Brenda remained silent and when his aunt Cheryl commented on it, Brenda muttered about being tired, not feeling the best and that she would probably just go to bed early tonight. When he had finished, he asked to be excused, but was told that he would just have to wait, as tonight was his turn to help with the dishes.
When he had done with that, Brian found that he still could do anything with the amulet as his father wanted to make sure he had done his homework and insisted upon going over it once he finished it. By the time Brian was actually able to get away to look at the amulet, it was nine o'clock and his cousin had gone to bed.
Frustrated and upset, a fear that he might be stuck as a boy for the rest of his life, he returned to his room and once again sat down in front of his computer, this time knowing what he was searching for as he typed the information into the computer. When he found the information of Amulet of Zulo, he began to read, taking in as much as he could, noting with particular interest that it would only work once every twelve hours and would not work under certain conditions, including if the subject was pregnant, which he knew Brenda wasn't so figured he didn't have to worry about that.
The sound of his mother asking him if he was getting ready for bed interrupted his searching and clicking off the computer he replied, "Yeah," and figuring that he won't be able to try and undo what has happened until about three in the morning, he collected what he needed for his evening shower and started to get ready for bed.
Half an hour later, lying on his bed, staring up at the darkened ceiling, Brian thought about all that happened, doubt working its way in as he wondered if maybe this was some type of hoax or if he was going crazy.
"I mean," he thought. "How many people actually turn into something else, especially when coming in contact with some amulet?"
Unsure how he could possibly answer this, he slipped his hand underneath his pillow and touched the necklace, confirming that it was still there and hadn't vanished like the online sites he had found said that it often did. Taking his hand out from underneath his pillow, Brian let his mind wander, thinking of how he missed being a girl, how it was impossible that he had ever been a girl and some of the pains that he had when he had been a girl.
Telling himself, "It will all be over in the morning," he rolled over on his side and stared out into his darkened bedroom, lying like that before he drifted off to sleep hours later.
In the morning, Brian awoke to the sound of his alarm clock going off and hastily shutting it off, he reached underneath his pillow, searching for the Amulet of Zulo. Finding it was still were he left it, he snatched it up and headed out of his room and down the hallway, listening for any sounds that would tell him if anybody else was up.
When he reached Brenda's room, he knocked and after a moment, a sleepy voice called out, "What is it?"
"May I come in?" Brian asked, and then added, "It's urgent," feeling that it was as he gripped the necklace so tightly, it would probably leave a temporary imprint in his hand later.
The voice of Brenda called out, "Whatever," and opening the door, Brian let himself in.
"I have the answer to our problem," he announced as he headed for his cousin's bed and sitting down, he opened his hand fully and showed her the amulet.
Gazing at the trinket, she eventually asked, "And this will do what?"
Sighing in frustration, Brian told her, "It should undo whatever it was that happened last night. For it was what caused us to become one another when I, or you, or somebody, whatever, found it and..."
He faltered, unsure exactly how it was the medallion worked and glancing at Brenda, hoping that she would have an idea, he was disappointed to see that she clearly did not know. Something she back up by asking, "And what then? Are we supposed to say something?"
"I don't know," Brian answered. "I didn't get that far in my research," and handing the amulet over to his cousin, their hands touching each other briefly as the medallion transferred from one person to the other, he stood and began walking back and forth, searching for some answer, hating the fact that he had not fully done the research before bothering his cousin.
"Brian?" Brenda called out, interrupting his thoughts. "Brian? Is something different about your hair?"
Stopping, Brian thought, "My hair?" and looking about, he spotted the mirror that Brenda kept hanging on the back of her bedroom door.
As he headed toward it, a weird sensation began to form inside his abdomen and groin, making him think that if he could feel a flower unfolding its petals this was what it would feel like. Peering into the reflective device, he nearly cried out in shock and joy as he saw that his hair was nearly down to his shoulders and that his face had already started to take on a feminine appearance.
Glancing back at his cousin, who was starting to look more like a boy then a girl, he said, "Somehow it's working," as she said almost the same thing.
Moments passed, most of those Brian spent before the mirror, watching the transformation take places and when he had finally become a Brenda again, he sighed and commented, "It feels good to be me again," and turning to look at Brian, who was back to his original self, she added, "And I swear, I'll try to go a little easier on you from now on."
From where he sat on Brenda's bed, still wearing the pants and shirt he had put on something after coming home from school, Brian smiled and told her, "Me too," and looking down at the amulet, he added, "Do you want this thing?"
Shaking her head, Brenda headed for her dresser, saying as she did, "You can keep it. Or get rid of it. Whichever you want."
A nod from Brian as he stood and started to leave, but stopped and glanced down, remembering what he was wearing. Looking back at his cousin, he told her, "I'll return these clothes in a minute," but noted she did not appear to hear him as she was busy going through the top drawer.
Heading back to his room, glad that he was his old self again, and that his father and mother weren't up yet as they would have a fit if they caught him wearing Brenda's clothes, Brian thought about dumping the amulet into the trash, or even back down the storm drain that his cousin had tossed it down the previous evening. Instead, he placed it in the top drawer of his desk and began to get ready for school, dropping the clothes he slept in on the bed instead of returning them to Brenda right away, his mind on other matters at the moment.