Page 7 of Stoney Gazes for Helpful Gorgons

"How did your meeting go yesterday? I never got a chance to ask you."

My mind strays back to the grief support session yesterday. Rhea seemed to be a bit more comfortable compared to the week before, but I can tell she's still got a way to go. Which is fair, I was probably just as much of a mess a month after Mum died. "It was fine."

"You know you can tell me more than that," Rupert responds, pushing some of the empty cups out of the way so he can sit down at the shared table.

I go to join him but don't put my mug down for fear of getting it sticky. "I know," I assure him. The reality is that it's just not easy to talk about with people who don't understand what I'm going through.

"And what about your other problem?"

I sigh and take a sip of my tea. "What about it?"

"Have you managed to shift yet?"

"No." I don't know why I told him about the fact I'm having trouble turning into stone. Maybe because he's a shifter himself, I thought he might be able to give me pointers. Unfortunately, it didn't help.

"Have you tried asking a witch for a potion to help?" he suggests, crunching on his toast with an open mouth.

Mum would have chastised him for his table manners.

"I've tried a potion. It didn't work."

"I really thought that would," he responds.

I shrug. "Nope."

"It's a shame you don't know a gorgon."

"A gorgon?" I echo.

"Yeah, then they could turn you into stone and your problem would be solved," he says off-handedly.

I stare at him. "Do you think that would work?"

"No idea. But it's a moot point if you don't have a gorgon to ask."

"True." Except that I do have a gorgon I could ask. It's a bit unorthodox and I have no idea how she'll react, but to some extent, it has to be worth a try, especially when the alternative is that I have no access to magic that was working perfectly fine until recently.

But I suppose there's nothing I can do about that except keep trying to access my gargoyle side.

"What if I did have a gorgon to ask?"

Rupert's surprise is written all over his face. "You do?"

"Maybe."

"I mean, what's the harm in asking? If they say no, you drop it, but if they say yes, maybe your problem will be solved and that can be one less thing for you to worry about. Exams are coming up, it might be good to have that off your plate."

"Hmm, true." I pull out my phone and go to my chat with Rhea. Is this something I can just message her about? We haven't really chatted much outside of the grief support group, and I don't want to intrude.

And maybe please could you try to turn me into stone is a question best asked face-to-face so she knows I'm asking seriously and it isn't some weird chat-up line.

My finger hovers over the send button for a second before I hit it. There's nothing wrong with asking if she wants to meet up, especially when I like her company. If it turns out that I don't think asking her is the right idea, then we can easily just talk about something else.

"Why are you staring at your phone so intensely?" Rupert pushes his plate away, empty save for a few crumbs.

"I'm asking the gorgon for help."

"Hopefully they give it."

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