The Vanishing Stone Read Free Page A

wake up in the morning! I know you don’t have school, but that doesn’t mean you get to sleep in, nor not eat a healthy breakfast, for that matter. Get dressed and come down. The counselor will be here at nine. After you talk to her for an hour, it will be time to start some chores.” Helga turned and headed down the stairs. “Oh great,” sighed Nikoleta. “Today isn’t going to go well.”
                    She dressed quickly in a long sleeve black shirt with a pair of red lips on it, another pair of ripped jeans, and she put on her make up a tad bit--and only a tad--lighter that day. She came down the stairs to the first floor and she ran into Carlita, “I like your makeup better today, Nikki. Now you're not a witch.” She giggled and kept running up the stairs. Nikoleta turned and yelled back, “Thank you Carli, I wouldn’t want to cast any spells or ride on my broom today.” The house was chaotic with girls getting ready for school, as it was every week day morning. Helga and Misty were setting the table and putting dishes of food on the two long dining room tables. There was sausage, scrambled eggs, buttered toast, waffles, and orange juice. Nikoleta wondered how in the world someone could afford food for all the girls and how it all fit into only one fridge. Nikoleta decided to sit next to the baby and help her eat. The baby was nine months old and her name was Kun. Her parents were killed in a car accident a few months before and that’s how she ended up there.
                     Helga put a few bites of eggs and sausage into a bowl for Kun and a sippy cup of milk onto her high chair tray. Kun immediately started munching on her goodies. Brenda brought Nikoleta her plate and sat down next to her. “What's up BB?” Nikoleta asked. BB was the nickname for Brenda Bobbins. She was the only ten year old. “Oh, nothing. I started reading a book yesterday," BB stated. “Oh, really? What book?” Nikoleta asked her over enthusiastically. “I don’t know, some book about wizards," BB shrugged. “Alrighty then," Nikoleta smiled. All the girls were done with breakfast and Misty yelled for all the girls to put their dishes in the sink. Nikoleta volunteered to take BB's and the baby's dishes to the sink so BB could grab her school things. Nikoleta heard a shout, “Nikoleta are you ready? Your counselor will be here in a few minutes. Pick a place where you want to talk!” Helga shouted from the living room. “Yes, Ma'am!” Nikoleta rolled her eyes.
                      All the girls were now gone and off to school. The only ones left were Kun and Lucia, the three-year-old. Helga put cartoons on for them while she finished cleaning up the kitchen. Where do I want to talk about my personal feelings with a complete stranger? Nikoleta mumbled to herself. She didn’t really want to go to her room to do this. She didn’t want the kitchen either; too open. Finally, she decided on the back porch. There were a few white plastic chairs out there, plus the playground and a small garden that all the kids planted various vegetables in. It had lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, green beans and radishes growing. So, what on earth was she going to talk about? What was this person going to ask? She was nervous but at the same time felt like she shouldn’t be. Nikoleta let Helga know that she would be waiting on the back porch and then she went back out and sat down. There were fifteen minutes left until the person would be here and a long fifteen minutes they were.
                    The back door opened and out came Helga and a somewhat tall woman. She was wearing a purple button up shirt and a black blazer with a black skirt, black panty hose, and high heels that looked way too high for a counselor to be wearing. She had long, straight, black hair and green eyes.
                    “Nikki, this is Mrs. Metzger. She is your counselor, please be polite. I'll