Unbeknownst to Jon, the very thing he created was watching him intently as to see what sort of things the man who wished it into existence might find interesting. Jon, on the other hand, got up feeling extremely groggy and failed to notice the absence of the stone or the pair of eyes now glued to his person. He just walked into the bathroom and splashed water on his face to wake himself up, still distraught over making a dumb wish that could have done so many things. He knew he had to tell Karyn about it eventually, but the whole prospect that she might not even be of any help to him scared him.
“Why’d I have to go and make an absent minded wish?” Jon complained as he looked himself in the mirror. Disheveled hair with cowlicks every which way, eyes that tell of a sleepless night, an expression that appears to be lost. It’s no wonder he woke up feeling so awful, he must have not gotten any sleep at all. “What was I thinking,” He mumbled to himself as he left the bathroom, only to bump into his sister Zoe.
“Watch it!” She spat.
Jon sighed, “Sorry, wasn’t really paying attention.”
Concerned flashed in her eyes for a brief moment as she looked him over, before she huffed and spun towards the bathroom, “Whatever.” She said slamming the door none too gently.
“Zoe,” Their mother called from downstairs, “what have I told you about slamming doors?”
Zoe opened the bathroom door slightly, “I know!” She said before closing it gently this time.
Jon just shook his head. Another typical morning, though he briefly wondered what it would be like if they were a closer family. The idea interested him, but he didn’t know if he liked the idea of his sister suddenly being friendly towards him and his mother. He just wanted them to get along better. Would that be interesting enough? Jon blanked as the strange words filtered through, yet quickly ignored them. No, definitely not interesting enough.
He walked downstairs where his mother was cooking and found Mikey already up and sitting at the table. “Good morning.” He mumbled as he joined his younger brother.
“Goodness, Jon.” His mother said, “You look terrible. Did you not sleep last night.”
He shook his head, “I’m fine, mom. Just seemed to be restless is all.”
“Well you need to take care of yourself.” She said as she brought in breakfast, “Here, I decided to make you something today, since tomorrow is the first day I’ll have to work full time a my job.”
Jon nodded understandingly. He knew that ever since grandpa died that his mother had a rough time dealing with the aftermath. Surprisingly enough they did kind of rely on his expeditions for that little extra cash he always made from them. It wasn’t that they weren’t well off with his dad working full time, it just meant that they had little money to spend outside of necessities without that small influx of cash that used to be handed down to them. Jon knew it was hard on his mother to have to take up work again, but there was part of him that found it satisfying to be the man of the house while his parents weren’t around. Almost interesting enough to warrant a change.
Jon paused his thoughts as he ate his meal. It felt as though something strange was happening to him, though he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
Zoe stomped down the stairs in that moment, much to mother’s dismay. She forced a strained smile at her daughter, “Honey, I think you’ve made your point already. Why don’t you just calmly sit at the table with us?”
As always, Zoe reluctantly complied and quietly made her way to her usual seat next to their mother. “Why do you have to work?” She asked almost mumbling the question as she picked at her food.
“I thought we’d been over this.” Linda had a serious calm to her voice. “If you want to continue being a goth and dressing up like that, I have to work to get us that money.”
“But why can’t Jon do that?”
Linda placed a hand on Zoe’s. “Sweetie, he’s not going to be willing to lend you money at every juncture that you need it. Plus, if he did get a job, it would be for his own benefit more than yours.” She paused as she rubbed her daughter’s back, “If you honestly want to earn your own money, consider doing work yourself. While you may not be old enough to get a real job, try doing things around the house.” She smiled. “I would certainly pay you for your services.”
Zoe sulked, but began eating, not wanting to take the conversation any further.
“Jon.” She turned to face him. “I also want you to know that you’re in charge of the house while both your father and I are away.” Hesitance crept onto her face.
Jon could read what she was too afraid to say. “It’s alright mom, I don’t want to upset or disappoint you, so you can count on me to keep things in relative order.”
“No parties.” She stated firmly.
He nodded, “Yes, I understand.” Though that would be interes-- No, it really wouldn’t. It would only make his parents mad at him. He finished the rest of his breakfast and got up, “Alright, I should get going now.” He stated while grabbing his things, “I promised to meet with Karyn before school.”
His mother nodded, “Take care.”
“I will.” He called back as he stepped outside into the first interesting day he would have.
