"Are you alright?" the old man asked, shaking Nicole awake.
She groaned, then her eyes fluttered before finally opening all the way up. "What ... what happened?" she asked, seeming a bit groggy.
"I think you passed out. Do you normally have fainting spells?"
"Fainting spells? No. I mean, I don't think so." She turned and looked at the clock sitting on her desk. It said 2:35 PM. She was out for that long?
"As I said before, I wondered if you could give me some specifications," the old man said.
"Huh? For what?"
"For how you want me to proceed, when conditioning Dan Steinman."
"Oh," she said, getting a little flustered. "I ... I'm so sorry, but I think I've changed my mind."
"Really?" the old man asked, trying to sound surprised.
"Yes. I know I've paid you already for your services, but I ... I don't need them anymore. I've decided to keep my current job. My work load is far too heavy as it is. I don't want to have a position that I can't handle."
"So, I won't be conditioning Dan Steinman?"
"I'm so sorry." She thought for a moment, then looked back at the old man. "Is there any way that I can make it up to you? I know I've wasted your time and I feel horrible about it."
"Well, for one, I'd like to keep the money you gave me in advance."
Nicole looked a little unsure.
"It's the least you can do."
"Okay ... fine."
"Then it's settled," he said, with a smile. "You know, if you'd like, I could stop by here tomorrow and visit. Would you like that?"
She grinned. "That would be fine. I look forward to it."
The old man nodded, grabbed his briefcase, then left her office.
"It's about time," Jon said. He was waiting outside the school for Karyn.
"You didn't have to wait for me, Jon," she said. "If it's that important to use the stone, you should have just gone home and used it."
"It is important. But I want to do this together. That is why I showed you the stone in the first place, you know."
Karyn smiled. "Well, let's go, then," she said, and the two teens headed off to Jon's house.
