They walked to the bus stop a few blocks away, slowly, taking in the sights they'd seen before and just the feeling of being free, of doing something just because they wanted to, without having to ask permission.
By the time they got to the bus stop, they had both forgotten about the rock and the wish, still reveling in the overall feeling of the experience. Ten minutes later, when the bus came, they had barely taken two steps on before they were stopped. "Shouldn't you boys be in school?" The driver stuck his arm out and grabbed the seat adjacent to him in a clear "don't pass" gesture.
John stuttered out a response. "We ... um ... we don't have school today."
The bus driver nodded. "Sure. Yeah. I forgot today was a holiday."
They both looked stunned. Had they really forgotten a holiday?! If so, why had everyone else been in class?
The driver continued, leaning in to whisper. "It's a bus driver's holiday, too, so I've gotta drop these people off and head home myself. Why don't you go back to your families?" With that, he pushed them both off of the bus, closed the door and drove off.
They just sat on the ground for a minute before realizing what had happened. Mikey yelled in outrage. "He lied to us 'cause we're kids!" After a good amount of grumbling, they got back up and started walking in the direction of downtown. They lived in a small city, so it wasn't difficult to navigate. But at various points, they were being stopped or redirected or questioned about why they were out. About an hour later, they finally reached the place they wanted to get to: a nice-looking movie theater with deceptive names that made them giggle.
John presented the money he had saved from his allowance and announced their desire to see one of the movies: a horror movie on the surface, but one with the funniest "forbidden" second meanings to the name. The attendant just stared at them for a moment before smiling. "Sorry, kids, but you're too young to see this movie. It's not what it sounds like."
The boys sighed, wondering what they could do to fix this situation. "Mikey, the rock!"
Mikey was about to dig the rock out of his pocket, as the attendant laughed. "Sorry, kids. We don't take rocks either. Just take your money and go home, okay?"
But they didn't. Instead, Mikey made a wish. "I wish we were allowed to see X-rated movies. Aardvark." The rock glowed and ...
