• As soon as the door opened, a familiar face appeared. Abby couldn’t believe that she was seeing Sarah, her childhood friend. Sarah’s lovely face was adorned with glamorous make-up, and her slim body was wrapped in a sparkling red sequin dress. They both were surprised to see each other, and quickly found a spot in the large ballroom for two of them to sit without getting disturbed.

    Abby and Sarah were instantly drawn into nostalgia. Abby recalled the times they skipped school together to escape the boring history lesson. The times they were copying each other’s test so obviously, that they are caught by Mrs. Fernandez and was suspended from school for a five days. They recalled so much memories of their troubled times in high school, 25 years ago. Abby, the psychotic intelligent scientist, and Sarah, the pretty faced daring queen bee was the ultimate trouble-making couple in Marsh Academy.

    “So where do you work now, Abbs?” Sarah wondered, as Abby never explained any detail of her career.

    “Oh... Currently I’m working as an editor in a local magazine, Jewel.”

    Sarah was puzzled. She never expects Abby to work in a magazine. In high school, Abby always dreamt to become a scientist, or a FBI agent. A magazine editor never crosses her mind. Furthermore, she never heard of ‘Jewel’, the magazine Abby claimed to work in. It must be a strictly local magazine.

    “Yeah, The Jewel is confined to the people in my town. Moreover, we just created it last month. This business just started, and most people don’t know about it,” Abby explained.

    “Oh, that’s why. Maybe you should—“

    “Wait. Can I have a look on your necklace?” Abby interrupted.

    Sarah handed her pristine ruby necklace gladly to her. Abby examined it closely. It was blazing scarlet, one cm wide, and probably half cm thick. Its iridescence reflected light coming into it with a slight refraction. It was perfect.

    “This would be a perfect gem for my next magazine cover! Where do you get it?”

    Sarah was speechless for a moment. “I shouldn’t be telling this to anyone, but since you are my best friend, I think I can trust you”

    Sarah explains that she got that necklace the night after her birthday party. She and her husband were strolling along a quiet and lonely street, when they encountered a jewelry store with that necklace on display. Sarah felt an immediate crave for it, but her husband couldn’t afford it. Then Sarah, still wearing gloves from her party, impulsively grabbed a rock and threw it to the window. The window smashed into a million pieces, and she grabbed the red blazing necklace quickly. Panicking, she and her husband ran into the bushes, into a hidden shortcut, and escaped from the scene.

    Abby’s jaw dropped throughout the story. Her mind was in a thunderstorm that she had to sit and stare at the nothingness for a few moments.

    “Sarah Stoner…” she finally said. “ I’m really sorry. But I’m really not who I said I am…”