"... from couch-potato-dom," the boy said.
"Anything of interest to report while I was away?" the girl asked.
"My grandfather died," the boy stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh, Jon. I'm so sorry. I know you were close. What happened? He wasn't all that old, was he? I thought he was off on one of his expeditions just a few months ago."
So that's his name. Jon, Jim thought, then listened some more.
"Heart attack, apparently."
"You don't seem overly upset," the girl said.
Jon took a deep breath. "That's because I'm not convinced he's actually dead."
"I presume we're not talking adolescent denial here," the girl said. "I mean, how can they diagnose a heart attack with no body?"
"Oh, there was a body. I'm just not sure it was him."
"Um ... then what makes you think ..." the girl started, obviously somewhat bewildered.
"This," Jon interrupted.
Jim discreetly peered up towards the two high school kids and saw Jon holding up a box. It was fairly unimpressive, about one inch by four and an inch deep, made of plain dark wood, with a few obscure markings carved into it.
"What is it?" the girl asked, intrigued.
"It's my inheritance."
Jim watched some more, as Jon opened the box and took out a piece of paper and ... a stone? It was slightly metallic, rather like hematite, but with a reddish hue to its surface, rounded, flattish and about an inch across.
"Read the note," Jon said.
Unfortunately, the girl didn't read it out loud, so Jim didn't know what it said. But soon, it wouldn't matter, because they were about to discuss it.
"Is this a wind up? Because it's not funny if it is," the girl said, before there was a pause. "You can't be serious. If this note is real, your grandfather faked his own death or something similar and has left you a magic Inca stone which grants wishes."
This definitely grabbed Jim's attention. A magic stone that grants wishes? If she got her hands on that stone, maybe she could change herself back to normal and maybe even get back home!
"Yep," Jon said.
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"Yep," Jon said again.
"Not a chance. I mean, I'm as open minded ..." The girl continued talking, but Jim had moved away from the wall at this point. She had heard enough. Now she just needed to come up with a plan to get that stone.
