Karyn, Jon and their 'new' friend Sarah were still talking when the bell rung. They hadn't meant to spend all lunch break with her, but they were so caught up in their conversation they didn't see time pass. "I guess we better head to class now." Karyn said. She wanted to be sure she wasn't late again after this morning.
"Sure," Sarah responded, "You two want to do something after class?"
"Well..." Jon hesitated, "Karyn and I have to do something after class. We might not be able to..."
"Don't worry, I understand." Sarah interrupted, "It's about what you won't tell me about, right?"
Jon and Karyn stayed silent. Karyn felt bad for keeping the stone secret, especially as she had learnt to appreciate the new Sarah during lunchtime. She suspected Jon felt the same.
"It's alright." Sarah continued with a smile. "You promised to tell me tomorrow and I won't bother you until then."
"Thank you for understanding, Sarah."
"But if you don't, I will harass you so much you'll wish I wasn't your friend!" Sarah said like she was joking, but Karyn could tell she would really do it if they didn't tell her.
Jon laughed nervously. "Wish you weren't our friend... Right... We would never do that..."
It dawned on Karyn they might not see the new Sarah again after now if they wished her away after school. And she did want to see her again, as weird as it seemed.
"I know, Jon. I don't want us not to be friends either!" Karyn felt even worse after hearing Sarah say that. She was feeling like she was betraying her, thinking about erasing her existence just like that. Sarah looked at her watch. "We'd better go now. Class will begin soon and I was already late this morning..."
"Yeah..." Karyn responded, looking at the floor. She couldn't look at Sarah knowing what they might do to her.
Sarah looked at her a moment. She opened her mouth as if to say something, hesitated, and simply sighed. She was struggling not to ask questions before the next day. Finally, she simply said with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry. I'm sure whatever it is that's bothering you, it'll be alright." She waited a few seconds but Karyn's head stayed down. She sighed again. "I really need to go now, but remember you can always call me if you need to talk, even if it's late. You too Jon!" She began walking away, "See you two tomorrow!"
Jon and Karyn stayed here silent a moment. They knew they were going to be late but they didn't care. They looked at each other and, without talking, they were able to see they were thinking the same thing...
They didn't want the new Sarah to go away.
