The Magic Tunnel (Ending #3)

"Hey, Beth," her girl friend whispered, "where have you been? Did you get lost in this awful dark and dirty basement or something? Mr. Wilkins sent me down here to get you. I wish he had sent one of the boys. But it is the girls' side of the school …"
Bobby the girl waited for an answer.
"Bobby," he began.
"Who's Bobby? Beth, did you meet someone down here?"
"Uh...No." Bobby..er-Beth said. Boy, Bobby sure looks weird as a girl, he, er, she thought, squinting to see in the dim light. She tried to take it slowly, to think of a way to get away so she could think. "Uh, I'm just…ah...confused. Can we go, now?" Beth's friend looked at her as if she were a blue Martian. "Okay," She said hesitantly. "You okay, Beth?" This new Bobby was awfully persistent!
"I'm fine. I just need some air."
"Okay …" They started walking. "Isn't this gross basement disgusting?" Big vocabulary, Beth thought. No matter what she was, she thought, Bobby still talked like her old self.
"Actually..." Beth struggled to think of something.
"Oh, never mind. We're here." Beth looked over and saw that the Bobby-girl had led them to the classroom.
"Ah, ladies. So you finally made it," said an almost familiar voice. Beth looked up and gasped. Oh no! What Beth saw wasn't Mrs. Wilkins! In her place stood a man with slacks, a white shirt and tie, and a mustache. "So what was she up to, Susan?" He asked the girl who had accompanied Beth.
"She just had a little dizzy spell." Susan replied.
"Oh? Are you alright?" he asked Beth.
Suddenly Beth had an idea. "Well, I do have a really bad headache..." She replied, rubbing her temples, hoping her plan would work.
He placed his hand on her forehead. "You are a little warm." Yes! Billy's old face always got hot when something happened. "Well, if you need to, you can go lie down in the nurse's office." Even better. "Jerry, would you take her?"
"Okay." Oh, great. Jerry had to be Jill, of all people. The one who had sat giggling behind Bobby before all of this happened. In fact, everyone was transformed! Beth looked in amazement around the class. Everyone was the opposite gender! "Hellooo..." Jerry said. Everyone laughed. Beth started walking out, Jerry followed. Beth slipped on the way out and fell. She landed her side.
"Oh!" She yelped.
"Are you okay?" Jerry asked, half laughing. " Yeah, I'm fine..." Beth wasn't worried about her side. She had landed on the side with the rock in it. She reached in her pocket and felt it. It was still pretty warm. And getting warmer as she was holding it! "Yow!" It got a little too warm. Suddenly she had an idea. Duh. There it was, right in her face! "Of course!" She cried.
Jerry, who had been jabbering away, fell silent. "Of course what?"
"Nothing. I have to go!" She ran away, forgetting about Jerry. She got to the girls locker room, and started walking down the dark hall. "Please let it be here.......Ah-ha!" She hurried to the door. "Oh! It's locked!" She started to get frantic. I know, she thought. I'll kick it in! No... that might attract attention. She felt her hair. Yes! There was a bobby pin in it. She always had a small cow lick by her ear, even as Billy. Carefully she worked it around in the lock until she heard a small *click*. She opened the door and went inside. Wait a minute. She thought. Do I really want to go back to being a boy? So far I haven't done anything. She felt in her pocket. Uh-oh. The rock was gone! She looked around. There it was! She hurried to get it. It seemed to have a connection with this whole thing. She looked up. There was her teacher, with a stern look on his face!
"And what are you doing down here?" he demanded.
"Uh--I-- well-" She stuttered. "I'm afraid that doesn't cut it." he said. "is this what your after?" He pointed to the rock at his feet. She nodded meekly. He picked it up, and, without a word, walked up the stairs and went to the doors leading out. "I want you parents to come for a parent teacher conference today." He said, looking outside.
"Okay." She said quietly. She had seen this kind of thing in Mrs. Wilkins, but never toward Billy. The rest of the day flew by. As Beth trudged outside, she knew she was doomed. She finally got home, and wasn't too surprised to see her parents and little brother had changed, too. She told them about the conference and waited for the lecture. It came and went. Her parents went to school. They came home with the rock her teacher had took.
"That's it, young lady," they said. "You're grounded!" And with that, they threw the rock outside, into a field of rocks by their house! Oh, well. Being a girl could be kind of fun.......

THE END ???

zballLike this ending ??? It was written by Julie Singleton !!!

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