"Oh, hey Jon. Cute shoes."
Jon was stunned for a moment. That was probably the first time she'd complimented him, and on his shoes no less. He looked down at his hot pink toenails under the straps of his wedge sandals and smiled.
"Uh, thanks, I guess," Jon replied, not quite sure what else to say
"You have really good taste," Sarah said as she pointed to her own, identical shoes and pedicure. Jon was speechless. Sarah would never let anyone get away with copying her looks - he'd seen her start catfights over it. Here he was wearing the exact same shoes as her, and she was complimenting his taste. Maybe he'd been wrong about her...
"So are you going to stand there on the stoop all day or are you going to come in?" Jon realized he'd been standing at Sarah's door for several minutes. He blushed as she led him inside to the living room. This was his first time inside the McMillan home. He knew they were well off, but he had to say he was surprised. The furniture, the decor, even the smell was all really nice. It made his own home seem, well, shabby.
"Karyn sent you here, didn't she," Sarah accused, as they both sat on the leather couch in the living room. As Sarah crossed her legs, Jon noticed just how tan they were. He was definitely going to need to get a bit of sun later today.
"Not exactly. It was my idea. I know you took my stone."
Sarah barely reacted, as though she knew Jon was going to say that.
"Wait here," she said. She got up and went upstairs for a few minutes. She returned carrying a familiar wooden box with intricate carvings. "Here," she said, "I know I shouldn't have just taken it. I just saw you using it yesterday, and I had to know what it was all about. You understand, don't you?"
Of course Jon understood. Who wouldn't be fascinated by such amazing power? And it's not like she could've just asked... Karyn would have thrown a hissy fit.
"I had a feeling you'd be reasonable about this," Jon said. "I think I've misjudged you, Sarah."
"That's okay. I get it a lot. It's easy to see someone who's pretty, popular, and successful and think they're a bad person. It's called jealousy."
"You're so right. I can't believe I didn't think of it that way before."
"You could learn a lot from the popular crowd, Jon. In fact, why don't you join the girls and I for lunch tomorrow?"
Jon paused a moment. "Well, I normally eat with Karyn. It's about the only time we get to hang out during the school day."
"That's okay," she said, as her tone became somewhat condescending, "Some people have trouble moving up the social ladder. It's hard to let go of something when you don't realize it's trash."
"I'll think about it, though," Jon said, not wanting to feel cast out. She was just starting to let him into her realm, and he didn't want to jeopardize that.
"Good, I'll save a seat for you."
Jon smiled and stood up. "I should head home, I've got homework."
"Mr. Wood?"
"Ugh, yeah. I never thought world history could be so boring."
"I know, right? And he's such a perv too."
"No way!"
"Totes. He had me sit in the front row just so he could check out my legs every day.
"Ew, gross!!" Jon said, then giggled. The two said their goodbyes and Jon was soon walking home with a smile on his face. This had worked out way better than he'd hoped... Sarah gave him his stone back without even a second thought, and they even had some decent conversation! He was totally wrong about her. After walking about a block, though, Jon stopped in his tracks.
This wasn't right. Something was way wrong here. He'd just had a good time... with Sarah. The closest thing he ever had to an enemy. And he'd seen her bad side plenty of times before. Was she manipulating him? Maybe. But maybe she had a change of heart? That's not impossible. And she gave the stone back, so clearly she's not evil. Jon pulled a compact from his Louis Vuitton purse and checked his makeup. Impeccable, as always. Maybe he should sit with Sarah at lunch, he wondered. She might have some good advice. Karyn never even wore makeup. Still, he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
Jon decided he'd have to give this whole situation some more thought, so he kept walking.
