What? We were moving on? Thornton opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. But his mind wasn't clear yet! He'd tried to take the tactic of going through every stray thought he had, as if it was a to-do list, trying to clear it away.

But the list just kept getting longer!

Closing his eyes clearly wasn't going to work, but having them open while everyone stared into their crystals really wasn't going to work either.

Shimmying, he swung his head under the table, letting the cloth separate him from the rest of the class, his legs poking out and resting on the cushion.

He stared at the grain at the bottom of the table, trying to focus his mind on the patterns there as a way to clear his mind of other things. Staring at them, his vision began to go fuzzy and he felt his mind clearing up, as the grain patterns to look like images: musical instruments, trees, animals... Smiling, Thornton knew what he had to do.

He slipped back out from under the table and sat cross-legged on his cushion, rubbing his hands together intently. He looked at the crystal ball, and allowed his eyes to remain unfocused, his vision a bit blurred... hoping he'd see something.

But what was he supposed to be looking for?