Because Mr. Redding had slowed him down, Ronald had to rush to PE to get changed into his gym clothes. He considered leaving the rock in his locker, but he ended up slipping it into his pocket. He didn't want to risk it somehow being taken. He also didn't want to make a careless wish to hide the rock.
Ronald barely made it to role call before the bell rang. A couple of feet away, Nichole sat idly playing with her dark brown hair. She was athletic and had toned muscles from cheerleading. Her face was pretty and her expression bored. She wasn't haughty or conceited like most cheerleaders at the school, as she was kind to most people around her and even stopped extreme cases of bullying. Nichole turned as she noticed Ronald's eyes on her. Ronald turned away blushing. A cheerleader; how was he going to get close to her.
"Okay, class," Mr. Garner, the PE teacher, said, "split into pairs and start practicing passing to each other the volleyball. Try to get with someone you haven't partnered with before."
Ronald glanced at Nichole again; Nichole was looking at him too. Their eyes met. She wasn't blushing, but she seemed a little confused. Ronald sighed; it's now or never. He walked over to Nichole and asked, "Would you mind partnering up?"
"Umm, sure, why not," she replied. "Like, I'll have to warn you, I'm like totally terrible at volleyball."
"It's okay, I'm not very good either," Ronald said, turning away as he stifled a groan. Cheerleader talk. It was one of his pet peeves. He wondered why the stone chose a cheerleader. Sure they were hot, but the rock could make anybody hot. His little sister always spoke that way and it annoyed the heck out of him. He didn't know how to hold a conversation when half of the words spoken were filler words.
Suddenly, Ronald felt a little hand on his wrist and begin to pull him along. "Come on Ron," a tiny voice said. "Let's go play." A 12-year-old girl with long dark hair looked at him expectantly. She almost looked like . . .
"Nichole?!"
The young girl placed her hands on her hips and pouted. "You like promised you would you know play with me."
"Ronald," Mr. Garner said. "I know you gained permission to bring your step-sister here, but make sure you take care of her."
Little step-sister? Ronald thought. Did Dad get remarried? The stone all of a sudden changed a bit more than was expected.
