Zoe idly tossed the small reddish stone into the air, snatching it out of mid-fall with a sure hand and then tossing it back up again. Her dark brown eyes admired the way the highly polished surface captured and reflected back the candlelight which filled the room. Her mind was alive with thousands of ideas and not all of them were very nice. This stone was ultimate power and it was about to change her entire life forever.
"I wish my hair was naturally jet black," Zoe considered for a second, "And long too. Down to the middle of my back and with one silvery gray stripe through it. I wish for that."
Instantly, Zoe's wish was granted, just as she knew it would be. She had been experimenting with the stone in various ways over the last few days. Nothing major, just small wishes so far; walking around money, putting a few people at school (teachers and students) in their place, making the mirror in her room a magic mirror, and things like that.
Zoe turned to the mirror, a smile playing on her lips. That had been her third wish, after the money and a rash of angry, red acne across Sarah McMillan's face. She was pretty happy about how it had turned out.
"Mirror, show me where Athena is now," Zoe intoned in a voice full of adolescent solemnity, "I command it!"
The mirror briefly clouded over as if a stormy sky was flowing beneath its surface and when it cleared it showed not Zoe's reflection, but an image her friend, Athena, as if she were being surveiled by a camera somewhat above and to the right. Zoe was still pretty amazed at how well it worked and the mirror didn't require her to have the stone or make a wish each time she wanted to check up on someone.
Athena was laying on her bed in a tee shirt and underwear in her room at her house a few blocks away. She was smoking a cigarette and flipping through a magazine. Zoe was briefly jealous that Athena's mother let her smoke until she remembered that with the stone she could have whatever she wanted, including a more compliant mother of her own.
"Closer, mirror," Zoe murmurred, "I want to see what she is reading."
The glass shimmered again and the view was from over Athena's shoulder now. The mirror was quite intuitive when it came to understanding Zoe's commands. Athena's magazine of choice was something called Cenotaph. Zoe smirked and rolled her eyes.
Cenotaph was this crappy, trendy, poorly Photoshopped rag put out by some guys that couldn't make it in LA. Lots of gossip about street artists and interviews with people in the black metal scene. All that, plus bad poetry and pen and ink drawings that looked like they came out of someone's highschool notebook! Zoe smirked. Everyone in their crew at school ragged on it so it was pretty funny to find her best friend reading a copy at home where she thought no one could see her.
Zoe assumed a thoughtful expression, but spoiled the whole effect by biting the corner of her lower lip. She had plans for the stone, big plans, but she needed to let someone in on the gag. It wouldn't be as much fun if everyone thought things had always been the way she wanted to make them. It would be a lonely tour on the world stage without some - - roadies to tote her stuff.
Athena was probably the best choice amongst all her friends to share knowledge of the stone. Probably not its power though. Zoe would be glad to make some wishes for Athena on her behalf, but she figured it was probably a good idea to not let anyone else touch this thing. In fact, it was probably time to wish up a better hiding place for it than the hollowed out space she had made inside a spare Complete Works of Poe she had laying around.
"I wish the shadow cast by any candle on this vanity opens a portal which I can put things into and get them back at will," Zoe nodded. That seemed pretty good. Thing was, if she left the stone here when she told Athena about it how would she prove it?
That meant she would have to whip up some kind of suitably impressive demonstration prior to heading over there. Zoe eagerly rubbed the stone back and forth with her thumb. She could see how power like this could be addicting. This would have to be the last wish for a little bit, a wish that Athena could notice, proof of her newfound power, but something permanent, something handy, something cool...
