Since things were shaping up for the better, that naturally meant something had to go wrong.

It all started Tuesday morning when Genesis was leaving her Homeroom class with Mr. Aaron and heading to her Physics class. She was passing some of the lockers when she saw Ramona and Modesty being approached by a boy. At first Genesis didn't recognize him, but then she realized it was Adam Severson-the guy who'd snuck that note into Genesis' underwear drawer during Ramona's party! She involuntarily glared at him, wishing she could go up and punch him.

"What-oh, hi Genesis!" Adam said when he saw Genesis.

"Hey," Genesis said venomously. "I got your note. No, I'm not interested." Not even bothering to wait for a response, she turned and left Adam behind. A part of her kind of regretted not advocating for herself like that when Wallace tried to hit on her, but whatever. It wasn't a big deal.

Or so she thought.

***

Two periods later, Genesis was in her English class when another girl named Janie came up to her. "Hey Genesis," said Janie, "Are you really lesbian?"

"What? No!" said Genesis. "Where'd you hear that?"

"I overheard someone talking about it," said Janie. "And then I realized, Charlotte Shetty was your date to Homecoming."

"It wasn't a date. We were just friends."

"Well...okay," said Janie.

At first, Genesis shrugged it off as just another weird thing, but then at the end of class, she bumped into Greg Bingham. "Oh...hi," he said awkwardly. Glancing at Genesis' tank top, he blurted out "Nice shirt."

"Thanks."

Greg grinned. "I know you're lesbian, but..."

"What? No, I'm not lesbian," said Genesis. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

To Genesis' horror, Greg Bingham was not the last person who thought she was lesbian. For the rest of the day, people kept coming up and asking if she was really homosexual. Even when she went through the hallways, people started to shy away from her as if she'd tested positive for COVID. "What the hell is happening?" Genesis said to herself. Where had this lesbian rumor started, and who had started it?

Genesis got her answer at the end of the school day. She was going out to meet Ramona at her car when she came across Charlotte talking to Harry Carson. "Genesis!" said Charlotte.

"Charlotte!" said Genesis. "Have you heard the rumors?"

"Yes, I have," said Charlotte. "Everyone thinks you're secretly a lesbian."

"I'm not," said Genesis. "Do people think you're lesbian too, because you went to Homecoming with me?"

"Some people, yes," said Charlotte. "But I'm straight."

"I was just asking her about it," said Harry. "I heard it in Third Period today, but I didn't know if it was true."

"Where'd you hear it from?"

"Adam Severson."

Genesis' jaw dropped. "What?"

"Yeah. Apparently he was talking to your stepsister this morning, and she told him you were lesbian. He seemed pretty sad, because he'd had a crush on you for months."

"No..." Genesis couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd thought she'd mended fences with Ramona. After they'd opened up to each other about their respective traumas, she thought the days of Ramona trying to sabotage her were over. But then she had to go and backstab her by spreading a bogus rumor about her.

"Listen, I don't really believe it," Harry said quickly. He saw the look in Genesis' eye, and he didn't want to make her even angrier. "Charlotte told me she wasn't lesbian, and you weren't lesbian, so-"

"Excuse me a minute," said Genesis.

"Genesis, wait!" said Charlotte. She got up and followed Genesis as she stormed off to go find her stepsister. Fortunately (or unfortunately?), Ramona was right where Genesis expected-waiting out by her car.

"Hey..." Ramona started to say, but trailed off when she saw how livid Genesis was. "Uh...Genesis?"

"Ramona," Genesis said through clenched teeth. Somehow she felt even angrier than she'd felt during her fight with Ramona after the Homecoming football game. "Do you have any idea what you've put me through today?"

"Genesis, I'm sorry," said Ramona. "I didn't mean for that to happen-"

"You went and told Adam that I was lesbian, and then he started going around spreading the rumor. And now everyone's treating me like I'm some kind of freak!"

"Genesis, please!" Ramona defended. "I can explain-"

"No, you can't! I know what I need to know!" Genesis screamed. "You've been pretending to be nice to me for weeks now, but now you decide to bring me down again! I'm a social outcast now because of you!"

"For heaven's sake!" said Ramona. "I was trying to throw Adam off your scent! He was talking to me because he wanted to see if he could find a way to get you to like him back. I told him he was wasting his time, I told him you weren't interested, but he wouldn't listen. So I told him you were lesbian because I thought that would make him lose interest."

By now, Genesis was so angry she could hardly speak. "So you lied," she said. "You lied and made me look bad. I cannot believe you, Ramona. Right when I thought you were gonna change, you showed your true colors."

"I'm sorry!" Ramona repeated. "Maybe if we talk to someone, maybe it'll help..."

"I don't need your 'help!'" said Genesis. "I don't care what my dad says. You, Ramona Dunby, are NOT my sister. You're still just a self-centered, heartless, life-ruining bitch. Wait, scratch that. Bitch is not the right word. You...you're a..." She said what was perhaps the most insulting word in the English language, right up there with the F-bomb. When she said it, Charlotte gasped in alarm. The word will not be repeated here, but any well-versed reader should get the idea.

Genesis half-expected Ramona to start screaming back at her. But instead, she wilted in shock and hurt. "Genesis..."

"Don't talk to me. We are done!" And with that, Genesis turned and stormed off. She didn't care how far away her house was from the school. She was NOT going to be riding in the car with the world's worst person. No. No fucking way. And in any case, home wasn't her true destination anyway. She was heading somewhere a little more...important.

***

Okay, Genesis told herself. This is it. She should be back by now, so get a grip. Just go up to her and tell her what happened, and then maybe-just maybe-she'll change you back and fix all this.

Heart hammering, Genesis entered the mall and made a beeline for the bookstore. Cassy had said Mirna would be out of town for two weeks, but that two weeks was up now. Surely Mirna would be back to work at the mall bookstore. But when Genesis rounded the corner, she got a nasty surprise. In front of the bookstore, a group of paramedics were loading a person onto a stretcher. When Genesis looked closer, she realized it was Mirna!

"Get out of the way!" Genesis said as she rushed through the crowd of people in the mall. She ran up to the side of the stretcher, hoping that Mirna was still conscious.

"Excuse me!" one of the paramedics said when he saw Genesis. "What are you doing?"

"I know her!" Genesis said, nodding at Mirna. "What happened to her?"

"There was a robber who came into the store and pulled a gun on her," said the paramedic. "When she refused to give him the money from the register, he shot her before she could do anything else."

"What?" Genesis' heart sank. Mirna was a witch, wasn't she? Couldn't she have used her magic to protect herself from an armed robber? Like, she could've made his gun disappear, or turn him into a mouse, or something?

"We think we're losing her," said another paramedic. Indeed, the front of Mirna's shirt was drenched in blood. "But if we-"

Genesis ignored him and bent down before Mirna. "Mirna," said Genesis. "Speak to me!"

Mirna weakly looked up at Genesis. "Genesis?" she asked.

"Mirna, you have to change me back right now."

"Still eager to be a man again, are you?" said Mirna. "Cassy told me you felt like you'd learned your lesson. It seems now that that is not so..."

"You don't understand!" said Genesis. "My bitch of a stepsister just started a rumor at school, and now everyone thinks I'm a lesbian freak! You have got to reset everything to how it was before! It's gone way too far at this point!"

"G-Genesis," Mirna said with what seemed like the last of her energy. "Come closer. What I'm about to tell you...it's very important."

Genesis leaned in to hear what Mirna had to say. Mirna tried to form her final set of words, but it was no use. Her voice quickly went silent, and she stopped breathing. Genesis looked her right in the eyes, and saw that the light had left them. Mirna was dead.

"No," Genesis gasped. For the first time that day, she was at a complete loss for words. Mirna was the one who'd turned her into a girl with the promise that she'd eventually change her back. But now that she was dead, and her magic apparently didn't die with her, Gene's transformation into Genesis would be permanent. There would be no going back to her old life. She'd be stuck as a girl for the rest of her days. Everything that had gone wrong since her transformation-the boys catcalling her, her ruined reputation at school, and her rivalry with Ramona being worse than ever-could no longer be undone. Genesis now had a very miserable life ahead of her.

"Sorry, Miss," one of the paramedics said, shaking his head slowly. "It's too late."

"I know," said Genesis. Already, tears were forming in her eyes. "I know..."

To be continued...