Behind a high dune, beyond a line of leafy shrubs, between the parking lot and a stand of palm trees, was a small pavilion, covering picnic tables made out of recycled plastic. The girl with the necklace dragged her identical counterpart here, away from other ears, other eyes.
"Okay, clearly we both know that something is up, and clearly we should both work together." There was a familiar cockiness to the other girl's cadence. "I'm Athena DeVries, or at least I was last week. Who were you last week?"
"Athena! Of course!" Jon cried, ecstatic that she'd almost certainly found an ally, "You're Zoe's friend, right? I am, well, I was her brother Jon."
A wave of familiarity passed over Athena, followed by a wave of relief. She didn't know Jon well, but he wasn't a stranger. Any port in a storm, and she'd somehow stumbled upon a port she'd been to before.
"How do you remember the way things used to be?" Jon interrupted Athena's thoughts. "Nobody else seems to."
Athena paused. Should she reveal her secret? Well, if Jon wasn't an ally, she'd be done for in any case, so Athena decided it couldn't be considered a risk.
"This pendant," Athena pointed to the necklace hanging on her chest, "it contains powerful wards that protect the wearer from outside magic. The fact that it was only able to block some minor affects of whatever's going on, means that there is some extremely potent magic somewhere in town. How do you remember?"
Jon could feel some embarrassment rising within her, and she almost let it win: it was just Athena there, it's not like it would affect her social standing. But no, there wasn't any reason to be ashamed, so Jon stifled that instinct.
"I was the target." Jon puffed out her chest. "Sarah wanted to make my life miserable, so she excluded me from the initial wish."
"What do you mean wish?"
"Oh, Sarah has a magical wishing rock." Jon said this almost dismissively, "It used to be mine, but she took it from me."
"And you haven't tried to take it back?"
"I..." Jon's newfound self-confidence faltered, eyes avoiding Athena's gaze, before she regained her composure and stood up straight. "I don't want to take it."
Athena's necklace glowed. "I see," she said, "that's part of the magic too. And if you were the target, she'd have her defenses up for you anyway. But I wasn't the target."
Jon was becoming uncomfortable again. "I don't think I follow where you're going."
"Don't worry, Jon. Just sit your cute little but down here and leave everything to me." And with that, the girl with the necklace disappeared through the palm trees and over the dune.
