"I wish you'd be more affectionate with me!" Jon said. The stone flashed, and when his eyes cleared he saw that he and his mother had changed seats, his mother at the window and he next to Zoe. Zoe's hand was resting on his thigh, slowly rubbing and making it's way up toward his crotch. Her head was resting on his shoulder, something he knew she would never do unbidden.
It was then that Jon understood what was going on: each wish he had heard anyone else make since that morning, he had made himself. It was as if he had no control over himself, perfectly mimicking each wish that was spoken near him.
Ignoring the delicate hand of his sibling that was rubbing higher up on his thigh than he cared to think about, Jon quickly unzipped his backpack and threw the stone deep inside. No way was he going to head into the school holding onto that thing. It was bad enough that his mother now attended school with him, that he now wore skirts and that his sister was very affectionate towards him. He knew what a boiling pot of angst high school could be and could only imagine the wishes he'd overhear during the day.
There was a sweet sigh of satisfaction that escaped Zoe's lips as she lifted her head, turned towards Jon and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for sitting next to me Jonnie." She sighed again. "I wish we could sit next to each other all day."
Jon cringed at that, but then felt relieved that he had put the stone away before she said it. Who knew what a wish like that could have done?
"Zoe," her mother interjected. "Now don't let me catch you skipping your classes to sit in on Jon's today. Remember what we talked about."
"Yes, Mom," she said, rolling her eyes, then stared adoringly at her brother as the bus pulled in front of their school. The doors opened and everyone filed out.
On the way out, he grabbed the stone from his backpack, wondering if maybe he could intentionally make a wish himself. He hoped that repeating other people's wishes wasn't the only way to make wishes. Just a few seconds after he took the stone out, however, someone ran by and took his backpack! It happened so fast, he didn't see who snatched it.
He looked down at the stone in his hand and realized that anyone could make a wish right now and he would be forced to repeat it. The only place he could safely put the stone was his locker (since his skirt had no pockets). He had hoped that he could make it there before any more damage could be done, but his hopes were dashed, as one of the other students made a wish as soon as he stepped onto the school lawn. It was ...
