Book

          The Magic Stone

                                                                                        By K. Suzanne Harlow 

Pete was sitting on the couch one, head in his hand, wondering what to do with his day. “Why don’t you help me in the kitchen?” asked his mom. Kitchen, thought Pete that is the last place he wanted to be.

 He decided to look for an adventure outside. He strolled through the porch and outside into their backyard. He surveyed the swing set but it wasn’t the same without a friend to share it and Dave his best of best buddies was out shopping for new school clothes with his mom. A much worse fate, Pete decided, than being bored.

Past his yard was a trail through the trees that led to a shallow stream. Frogs could be found down there and Pete decided to go searching for some. As he got to the waters edge, he squatted down and sat real still watching the water trickle over and around some rocks and pebbles and sand. He patiently waited and waited but he didn’t see a single frog.

He decided he would work on his target practice instead. He leaned over and plucked a cold, wet rock out of the stream. Sitting back on the heals of his feet, he picked his target, a slightly smaller stone in the middle of the stream but directly in front of him. Holding the rock up in front of his face, he squinted one eye tightly shut aiming, tossed the rock and plunk it missed sinking back down to the sandy bottom of the stream. “Bummer” he thought. He leaned over and grabbed another rock. This time it hit the stone with a satisfying smack.

Next, he decided to aim for a large rock but further down the stream. He needed to work on distance now, he surmised. He aimed, brought his hand back to his face, gave a gentle toss but it only went halfway before it settled in the water with a dull swoosh. As a wave of defeat washed over him, he could hear his father saying, “think Pete, you need to think things through.” His father would be proud as Pete decided to do just that. A slightly larger rock would go further with just a touch more power in it. Of course, this required more skill and standing up was a better option. He aimed, brought his hand back and it cracked with a resounding thud into the target. His heart filled with triumph for not only did he hit the large stone, but it broke in two.

As he stared at the rock, he was startled to see a light coming out of one half of it. This called for a much more detailed inspection. Water saturated his shoes and socks as he grabbed the illuminated half out of the middle of the stream. Looking into it he was amazed to see what looked like a mini movie. He blinked several times to clear his eyes but the movie kept going. It was a woman baking cookies…. Wait it was his mom baking his favorite cookies, chocolate chip. Could this be true? Chocolate Chips were his favorite. He tucked the precious rock into his pants pocket and raced up the path.

 The delicious aroma of freshly baked cookies met him at the porch door. As his shoes squeaked across the kitchen floor, his mother gave him a reproachful look. She was about to chastise him, but the joy on his face at the sight of the warm gooey cookies coming out of the oven made her think twice.

Why didn’t you tell me, you were making these, Pete cried out. “I asked you if you wanted to help me in the kitchen, but you turned down my offer”, she said softly. The soft cookies filled his mouth with delight. Don’t eat them all; I am sure you want to share them with Dave, she said. You are right, he said, turning to go upstairs to his bedroom. “I am”, she said in surpise tone. The cookies were good but the rock was even more fascinating.

 Wow! He had read about crystal balls, but a real live magic rock was almost more than he could stand. He couldn’t wait to show Dave. He sat down next to his bed resting his back on the sideboard. As he looked into the rock, he saw Dave, but but but he wasn’t shopping with his mom, he was talking and laughing with Joey. Joey, a panic feeling of fear surged this his veins. Why did Dave lie to him? Was Joey Dave’s new best friend and he hadn’t gotten around to telling him?

Fear suddenly changed to anger. Well, I will show them first. If Joey were going to be Dave’s new best friend then he would have a new best friend too. Who would his be? Andrew no, he sometimes liked to pick his nose and that was embarrassing. Susie, no, obviously a girl can’t be his best friend. John, yes, there wasn’t anything wrong with John. John would be his new best friend.

As he sat there holding the stone, thinking of John, the scene in the rock changed. John was sitting on a couch watching television. Interesting, he thought. David would be very impressed. As he thought of Dave, the scene changed yet again. It returned to Dave and Joey walking through the mall, laughing and having what appeared to be a very good time. So, Dave was at the mall but with Joey, odd he thought. He doesn’t like going to the mall. He must really like Joey to go to the mall with him, he thought, as a wave of sadness washed over him.

The next day on the school bus, he sat next to John and pretended like he didn’t even see Dave when he got on the bus. Normally, he saved a seat for Dave, but not anymore. Pete was so busy talking to John he missed the look of hurt in Dave’s eyes.

 John at first seemed surprised by Pete’s attention but soon they were discussing Mrs. Wirt and the ridiculous amount of homework she gave. Mid-afternoon, Pete went into the bathroom alone to view his rock. He pulled his precious stone out of his pocket to see what it was playing. Dave and Joey were on the playground huddled together. Dave was showing Joey a remote control car still in the box. “Anger and hurt” filled Pete’s heart. What, he always showed him his newest toys first. What did he do, to make Dave change his mind about being HIS best friend?

Pete felt defeated; he sat on the toilet a long, long time pondering the situation. After many minutes past the bathroom door slowly opened. It was John, “Pete? Pete are you in here?” Yes, he mumbled. Good, John said with relief. Mrs. Wirt has been looking for you. She was getting worried.

Pete tried to cheer himself up. At least John missed him. Unfortunately, John wasn’t Dave. It would take time to get used to the change in friends.

He slowly left the bathroom and went back to class. He couldn’t believe his eyes. There was a banner up saying “Happy Birthday Pete”; his mother was there with a huge plate of his favorite cookies, and on the table a wrapped box the exact size and shape as the remote control car he saw in the stone.

But my birthday is 5 days away. We know, said Mrs. Wirt, but Dave wanted to surprise you with a party at school. We decided early would increase the chances of surprising you.  Dave enlisted Joey’s help to create the banner and they even went shopping with his mom to find you just the right present.

Now everything made sense. Pete felt very ashamed for his behavior. He gave Dave a big hug and said he was the best friend in the entire world. Everyone in the class got a chance to have one of Pete’s favorite cookies. It was turning out to be a fine day.

After school, Pete walked back into the woods to the stream.

In a few minutes, he was catching up to Dave, John and Joey to take turns using his new remote control car, but he had something else to do first.

 He found the other half of the magic stone wedged up against some leaves and sticks on the edge of the stream. When he matched them up they instantly sealed together and it looked like you average everyday rock again. Pete then stepped back and with all of his strength tossed it way down the stream.

 He learned a lesson that week; sometimes it is best not to “see” everything for it might not be as it appears.