"I - I guess I'll meet you at your house later," Karen reluctantly said. "I've still got classes, and I don't want to get in the way here." And I don't want to sit around and watch you act like a cheerleader, she thought to herself.
"Great! Just come on by after, ummm, about 8:00 or so, 'kay. The restaurant should be pretty empty by then, and Mom prolly won't mind you just going on up if I'm out late with the other girls or whatever."
"Okay, I'll - wait. Um, 'restaurant'?"
"Uh-huh. You know, the one mom opened in the house? It's going super!"
"Right. Uh, Jon, where's the rock?"
"The what? Oh, ummmm... I dunno. It's probably back in my room or something."
"'Probably'?"
"I guess. Aw, don't worry, sweetie, it hasn't done anything funny so far - well, except for your hair and boobs, yah? Oh, here come Whitnee and EmmyAnn, I gotta go! See ya tonight!" And Jonnie planted a girlishly enthusiatic kiss on Karen's cheek and ran off with her fellow squad members.
Karen mind reeled as she got back to her car for the trip to school. Did he do this? Or did his mom get hold of that rock? Why is it I don't seem affected but they do? How are we gonna fix this? And is Jon even going to want me to fix it?
A couple of hours later, Elaine (Jon/Jonnie's Mom) took a break. The breakfast rush was over, so she left the restaurant in the hands of the staff and went upstairs.
She uttered an exasperated sigh as she saw Jonnie's robe crumpled on the bathroom floor. Her daughter might be the prettiest, perkiest cheerleader in the whole state, but Jonnie could be a real messy girl sometimes. As Elaine tossed the robe into the hamper, she saw something fall out.
Must be some kind of decorative stone, she decided. Probably one of her boyfriends gave it to her. Smiling and shaking her head, she stuck it in her apron pocket and went back downstairs.
