"I never expected to say this to you," confessed Zelda. "But thanks."
A kind word had made Athena's day. A break from her routine of abuse and neglect. She had to pause to find the right words. "You're ... welcome."
Zelda waved goodbye to her. Who knew I'd ever connect with Athena? Maybe we'd be friends if things had been different ... and I can make them different. With the stone.
She walked straight to the Madisons' house, not pausing to take a detour to her own house to drop off her backpack. Her sense of mission enabled her to ignore the weight of her textbooks.
She checked the garage. Empty. Mrs. Madison and the kids were going to be gone for hours. More than enough time to get in and out.
She found the spare key hidden in the usual place. She knew she wasn't supposed to use it ... yet she felt that she had to. This was an emergency, after all. One requiring the rewriting of reality.
The last time she used the stone, it had made her blonde and buxom like Karyn. Trivial compared to what she was about to do.
She inserted the key into the front door without a twinge of guilt. She wanted Jon so badly. Enough to justify breaking and entering.
Zelda made her way into Jon's bedroom, quickly searching the usual spots he his things. Unfortunately her search came up short. She became more desperate, searching more thouroughly, but still nothing.
"Damn it. Of course Jon would be vareful with it, but why'd he have to be smart about this now?" She asked aloud, remembering how he had let her accidently wish for big boobs and blonde hair. "Ok, at least I'm not on a time limit. I'll come back tonight and sneak in through the window like usual." She said, remembering how she and Jon usually got around his mom knowing she was coming over. "I'll convince him to bring out the stone, and make sure he doesn't hear my wish."
With that Zelda straightened up Jon's room, heading back out the garage and toward her house. It would still be a while before Jon and his family came back, and she'd need to make sure Mrs. Madison wouldn't know she was there. She just hoped that old hag wasn't poisoning Jon against her, and he didn't listen if she tried.
