Karyn frantically picked up the phone.
"Jon?!"
There was no answer. Instead, there was a rustling sound, like something was rubbing against the phone. After a second, Karyn could hear muffled voices.
"...totally love your outfit." Karyn recognized the voice, but couldn't quite place it. It was one of the girls from school. "You're going to drive the guys crazy."
"That's the idea, Booke honey," said two voices in unison. "The schoolgirl look is the oldest trick in the book. It plays on their fantasies. And it gets me what I want." Karyn didn't have to guess at who owned those voices. Instantly the nightmare returned. A part of her had hoped that they would've switched back today, something Jon's mom had said... hadn't she?
"You're going to make Biff drool!" Brooke said.
"Sweetheart, he's already drooling. I swear, he is such a caveman sometimes... but those abs..." Jon and Sarah trailed off, followed by a trio of giggles.
"I heard you two got ambushed at Lookout Point by that loser... what's her name?"
"Karyn. Poor girl. It's kind of sad really. She doesn't have a life of her own, so she has to follow around people like us just to feel special. I might take pity on her, if she showed some initiative with her looks. I mean, like, would it kill her to get a manicure once in a while? Or a tan?"
"Probably," Brooke retorted, "She's so pale!" This time there was outright laughter. Karyn was hurt, hearing Jon say things like that about her. It hurt her even more knowing that she was the one responsible for it.
A rattling noise came through the phone, as though it were being bounced around inside a bag. "Where's my lip gloss?" Jon and Sarah asked. More rattling. "Shit!" they said, then the line clicked dead. Karyn slumped back onto her bed, then looked over at the stone. She had to do something. There was no way this could get worse. She had to wish for something.
