Nadine was a nervous wreck today; the letter from her grandfather had tilted her entire world on its axis. She knew her grandpa was a pious man, so trusted his assurance that the stone was an instrument of god, but she was still a bundle of nerves trying to figure out what He wanted her to do with it. It didn't help that she was still paranoid that people would notice she'd made herself three inches taller as she entered the doors of Lake Valley Academy. She stepped to the side as the cheer captain, Jennifer Gibson, and her girlfriend, Karyn Black, walked in behind her. The two were holding hands as they walked past, doubtless making their way to fornicate in the gym or something, Nadine guessed. Words of condemnation for their lecherous lifestyle burned on her lips but she bit her tongue. For one, Headmistress Mari Lafayette was standing nearby and she'd already gotten a strike for expressing her opinions on homosexuality earlier in the semester. For another, a small voice in the back of her mind wasn't contemptuous of Karyn and Jennifer's relationship, it was jealous.
Nadine had long ago been taught to box up and crush feelings that did not align with His word by her parents and pastor. So she did her best to drown out the voice insisting that there wasn't anything wrong with a freer sort of love. After all, wasn't Jesus all about love? Nadine shook these thoughts off the best she could and hurried to her first class, Physics. She was glad science class was relatively low-key this semester, as last year when she'd had biology, her mother had made her bring in pamphlet's disputing the evolution curriculum that was taught. Nadine did her duty, but if she were honest, she enjoyed instead being able to fade into the background like she was this year in Physics.
However apparently today was going to be an unusual day as Mr. Fitzpatrick had an announcement before class began.
"Students, I'd like you welcome Petal Greengrass, who's family moved here over the break. She'll be joining us in class from today forward, so I hope you all make her feel welcome. Petal, why don't you take a seat by Nadine?"
The girl that entered was a tall willowy auburn haired girl, dressed in a bohemian fashion. She wore a long flowing skirt embossed with various flower designs, a loose beige top and big sunglasses perched atop her head. Something about her instantly entranced Nadine and that fascination didn't go away. As the day continued it turned out the girl had the same schedule as Nadine, and the christian girl found herself staring and listening to the girl through the whole day. She learned Petal's parents were both essentially hippies, embracing the counterculture and encouraging their children to as well. Her father was a successful poet, and her mother sold cannabis baked goods. Nadine knew she should be repulsed by the idea of the devil's weed, but she found herself inexplicably drawn to this girl.
Everything about Petal was so ... Free. She spoke without fear of what others would think, she laughed clearly and without self consciousness. She seemed to get on with everyone she talked to, but Nadine got the overwhelming sense that Petal wouldn't care if people didn't like her. Not out of snobbishness, but rather out of a complete sense of self assurance. The stories Petal told were entrancing too. She talked about backpacking in Asia, attending circus camp in France, ice fishing in Canada. The only trips Nadine ever went on were Mission Trips, and they weren't for fun, they were to work. It seemed wherever Petal was she immersed herself in new and unique experiences, eagerly learning about the world around her, while Nadine lived a sheltered life, confined to a singular world view.
It was as she was leaving for the day, and she saw bright and breezy Petal begin to zip away from the school on her motorbike that Nadine muttered five words she never would have if she wasn't allowing a bit of her repressed self to slip through, and the previous wish instructing the stone to create reversals of fortune wasn't still in effect.
"I wish I had that."
