Karyn was already at the door when Jon arrived. Her parents were out for an evening walk, so they'd be alone for a little while.
"So what happened?" Karyn asked. "How the hell did Sarah get the stone?"
"She conned me. Came over and made some excuse about Mr. James' history test and I-" Jon paused when he noticed something odd with Karyn's hands. "Karyn, did you paint your nails?" Karyn never painted her nails, but now it looked like she'd had a professional manicure. Although the blue wasn't such an unusual color for her.
"Yeah," she said, "I thought it was a cute shade. What do you think?"
"Uh, okay I guess. So what do you think we should do about the stone."
Karyn looked at the clock. "It's getting late. And it's not like we can just go over to her house and ask for it. She knows we're going to try to get it back, but she's holding all the cards. Anything we try she could just make a wish to stop it."
John sighed. "You're probably right. Let's wait until school tomorrow. It's risky, but I don't think there's anything else we can do right now."
"Yeah. Besides, everything seems normal so far. She'd probably just use it to get more stuff for herself."
Jon laughed, "Yeah, I guess so. Still, I can't stand the idea of her with that kind of power, you know?"
"I know. But we should get some shuteye. Then we can get up early, catch up with Sarah before first bell."
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."
Jon walked briskly the four blocks to his house, a bit calmer. But the worry still weighed on him. What kind of things might Sarah be planning? He tried to push those thoughts aside. Worrying wouldn't get the stone back any sooner.
Jon walked in and saw his father in the kitchen grabbing a beer from the fridge.
"Hey Jon, how was the study session?"
Jon paused, briefly forgetting the excuse he'd made up.
"Uh, good. Good. I think we're both ready for the test tomorrow."
"Great. I told you that stuff pays off."
"Yeah," Jon was about to turn and head up to his room, when he saw his dad open the can of beer. On his fingernails was the same pale, glossy blue he'd seen on Karyn's. The panic creeped back in.
"Dad... uh... w-what's with your fingernails?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I thought it was a cute shade. A nice change from the usual red or pink, you know? What do you think?"
"Dad, since when do you paint your nails?"
"Since forever. Geez son, you can be such a dweeb sometimes." Jon's dad laughed and went into the living room to watch Sportscenter.
Jon trudged up the stairs, went into his room, and buried his head in his hands. Something was definitely going on...
