I opened the door and went upstairs. I could hear my mother in the kitchen, but luckily she didn't have the stone with her, as I spotted it sitting on my bed. It was sitting next to its box, along with a bunch of other stuff that my mother obviously expected me to put away neater. To my relief, my grandfather's letter was still folded up inside. With luck, my mother had made her wish without realizing what the stone was.
If she made a wish at all. I went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. Same face, same hair, same height. I was still a boy; it would have been gross if my mother had somehow turned me into a girl. Would I be able to tell what had changed if I stared at my reflection long enough? I still didn't completely understand my grandfather's letter. I was going to have to ask Karyn for advice. And I would have to hurry before she started her classes.
I ran down the stairs, a lot louder than I went up them. "Hello? Who's there?" my mother yelled from the kitchen.
"It's just me, mom," I yelled back. "I, uh, forgot one of my books."
"Jon? Is that you? You sound li-" I didn't hear the rest as I slammed the door and sped off to Karyn's school as fast as I could.
"Hey Jon-boy," Karyn said to me with a smile after I met her in the same place as yesterday. She reached down and ruffled my hair. "Did you bring the stone?"
"Yeah." I patted the front pocket of my jeans. I was glad I had confided in Karyn about the stone. I didn't want to tell my friends at school, because they'd do something stupid with it. But I didn't want to talk to an adult either, because they would probably just take it away. But I could trust Karyn. My babysitter always treated me like someone her age instead of someone who was actually ten years younger than her. "I left it at home at first, but I ran back to get it. I was afraid she made a wish on me or something."
"Hmm." Karyn idly twisted a strand of her long blonde hair around a finger as she thought. She didn't like what the stone did to her yesterday, but I though she looked pretty with her new hair. "If I understand your grandfather's letter, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference if someone makes a wish on you and you don't hear it. You were probably just being paranoid. Um, over-thinking it," she added when she saw my confused look. "Still, it doesn't hurt to check. Wish that-"
The morning bell rang, and Karyn sighed. "I have to go to class, and you better get to school too, young man," she said as she pointed to my elementary school across the street. "Listen. Your mother called me last night. She's going to be gone this evening with your older sister Zoe, so I'll be babysitting you again. Meet me here when your classes are done, and I'll walk you home. Then we can do all the wishing you want, okay?"
