(Author's Note: I'm assuming that in her grandfather's letter it was supposed to say "I wish", instead of "I believe".)
As soon as Zoe got home, she carefully hid the talisman in her secret hiding spot, far underneath her bed. She figured it was the one place her mom might not look, if she ever came in her room at all. But it was better to be safe than sorry.
Ever since her grandfather's "death", her mother seemed extremely concerned that she might get depressed (or at least, more than normal) and do something stupid, so she began snooping.
She figured that she would head out to the Spiked Pit, a Goth club just outside town. Her and her friends (Athena and Zelda) went there frequently, and usually without their parents' permission. She began to wonder if Athena would even show up, considering her new "look". If it happened to Zoe, she knew she wouldn't go out like that. At least not until she could do something about the hair. Athena looked absolutely terrible with blond hair.
Zoe's mother was worried about her daughter. After her grandfather's funeral, she had become quite sullen and uncommunicative, even more than usual. She didn't like to invade her privacy, but she felt she had to check up on her to make sure she didn't do anything she would regret in a fit of grief. At least that inheritance she got seemed to lift her spirits.
She wondered what that inheritance was. In fact, she was nearly dying of curiosity. Her daughter didn't want to tell her, but she was going to find out anyway. What Zoe never suspected was that she knew her secret hiding place. Moms always know these things, she thought. That secluded area under the bed was a clever spot and would have fooled nearly everyone except a mother. Mostly, she kept harmless things there, like her gothic magazines, so she never confronted her about it. Now her patience would pay off and she would get some real dirt.
As soon as she heard the door close, she went up to Zoe's room and reached under the bed.
A jewel? Why the heck is she so secretive about a jewel? she thought, as she held the talisman in her hand.
At that moment, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Oh. Hi, Mrs. Gibson. I was just looking for Zoe." It was her daughter's friend Athena.
"She went out. But she didn't tell me where." That's one thing she definitely didn't like about her daughter. She never told her where she was going or when she'd be back, which made her worry about her daughter, probably more than she should have.
"That's okay." That Athena girl sounded so solemn. Was she always like that? "I think I know where she's going."
"Oh? Can you tell me ..." Athena hung up on her. "Hmph. No manners," she said bitterly, as she put the phone down.
In her hand, she still held the talisman, as she said "I wish ..."
