Free Reckoning by Molly M. Hall

chemistry final. I don’t see Lovell again. Apparently, he is busy doing…whatever it is you do in an empty house.
    Dad takes me out driving during the afternoon and everything goes perfectly. I even manage to parallel park on the first try. He confirms what my mom hinted at earlier, and promises that I can schedule the driving test for my license next week.
    Now I just have to work on getting the Jeep.
    Rachel drops by on Sunday, full of new design ideas after her visit to the gem and jewelry show. Her newest obsession is crystals and their metaphysical properties. She is totally into it, raving about healing energies and mystical properties, and a lot of other things I’m not really following.
    “What do you think of this?” she asks, holding up a drawing of a three-strand necklace. She sits cross-legged on my bed, wearing skinny jeans, wedge sandals, a sparkly purple t-shirt and a long, red scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. “The first strand will have a small, oval moonstone which is the Goddess Stone. It connects with the feminine and the energy and power of the moon. The second strand will have a lapis crystal, which is this gorgeous deep blue. Lapis opens your consciousness to give you deeper insights into the mysteries of life. I think with some silver filigree around it, it’ll be awesome. And the last strand is kyanite, which is this really beautiful soft, silvery blue. It’ll be wrapped in sterling silver, maybe accented with small amethyst beads.”
    I look at her and smile. The supposed powers of the stones are a little far-fetched for me, but her design is really beautiful. “I think it’s gorgeous, Rach,” I reply honestly. “I could never think of anything like that.”
    “Thanks.” She smiles and lays the drawing on the bed, studying it while chewing on her thumbnail.
    “So what’s kyanite’s magical property?” I ask, teasingly. “Does it make you leap tall buildings in a single bound?”
    “No, smart-ass. It opens energy pathways. Cool, huh?”
    “Yeah, totally,” I agree.
    She tosses her pencil at me and I laugh, tossing it back.
    “So how was your weekend?” Rachel asks, stretching out to lie on her stomach.
    I decide not to tell her about Friday night, because I’ll probably just sound paranoid and pathetic. So I simply tell her my new neighbor has moved in, adding that he’s a little weird, and leave it at that.
    “You probably just need to get to know him,” she says, flipping through the pages of a gem catalog. “Everybody’s weird when you first meet them.”
    “I don’t know. I think this guy’s just weird. Period .” I stretch across the end of the bed, blowing on the new coat of pale pink polish I’ve just applied to my fingernails.
    “Oh, I almost forgot!” Rachel exclaims. She springs up and grabs her messenger bag, rummaging through the pockets. “Here. I got this for you.” She extends her hand, something green and shiny clasped between her fingers.
    My eyes widen in surprise. “What is it?” I sit up and take it from her. A polished heart-shaped stone rests in the palm of my hand. It is about two inches wide and shimmers with feathery layers of deep green and silver. I tip my hand back and forth, and the pattern shifts, changing with the angle of the light. It’s almost as though gossamer wings are trapped within the stone.
    “Rachel! It’s beautiful!”
    She smiles. “I knew you’d like it. I got it at the jewelry show. I saw it and, for some reason, thought of you. Think of it as an early birthday present.”
    “Thank you! I love it.” I jumped up and hug her. “What kind of stone is it?”
    “It’s seraphinite. I don’t know too much about it, but the dealer told me the name comes from the Greek Seraphim. Which is like the highest order of angels, or something.”
    “That is so awesome,” I murmur.
    “It’s supposed to help you connect with the angelic realm. And bring you along in your evolution.”
    “My evolution? So,