Back to School

"Bye Mom!" Jon called out as he stepped over to the school bus, never noticing the odd lawn gnome in the neighbor's yard. *Now!* The Wanderer thought. Time slowed around everything but the Wanderer. He quickly changed back to his original form and ran over to Jon, where he detected the stone's magical signature, but once again he met with defeat as his hand was repelled with such force that he was catapulted just out of sight beyond Jon's house. Jon noticed an odd blur in his periphereal vision and turned, saw nothing, assumed it was a fly, and boarded into the schoolbus. The Wanderer watched, leaning against the house, panting. "This...is getting...ridiculous."