Megan and her genie made it to the mall just before noon. She had to admit, it was kind of weird to see him in normal clothes. She tried not to stare, but it was surprisingly kind of hard. She just couldn’t help but think how normal he looked – almost like a real person.
Of course, the arcade was on the far side of the mall, but Megan didn’t mind – it wasn’t like she was in a big hurry. They walked slowly from one end to the other, checking out the window displays as they went. The genie had a kind of wide-eyed look as they walked.
“Are you ok?” Megan asked him finally.
“What was that?” he asked, tearing his eyes away from a group of preschoolers running around the play area.
“You just seem pretty excited considering we haven’t actually done anything yet.”
“I’m just looking.” he shrugged. “I’ve never been to a place like this.”
“Really?” she asked. How could he have never been to a mall before?
“Most people wouldn’t take me here.” he told her flatly.
“I can see that.” she nodded.
The only reason she’d brought him along was because all her friends were still in school. She almost felt guilty about that, and she found herself vaguely wondering if maybe she should offer to take him out sometimes. But then, she’d already said he could go out when she wasn’t there, didn’t she?
“So what kinds of things do you like to do?” Megan asked without really thinking.
“What?” He stopped and turned to stare at her.
“Oh...” Megan started.
She was about to apologize to him; he probably didn’t have any hobbies, did he? But he didn’t seem to notice her sudden discomfort.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that before. At least, not in a long time.”
“So, I guess you’re not a big fan of video games then?” Megan tried not to get her hopes up on such a long shot.
“I don’t know – depends on the game, I guess.”
“Really? You know what those are?”
Megan had been trying to think of a way to explain the concept to someone who was probably way older than her great-grandparents. The idea had seemed pretty hopeless.
“Yeah. PlayStation, right?” he nodded. “Idiots wish for them.”
“Oh...”
“Well, one idiot.” he amended.
He seemed suddenly nervous, like he hadn’t actually meant to say that. He quickly added, “Not that everybody’s an idiot. Just some.”
“Well, that would be a dumb thing to wish for anyway.” Megan said, thinking. “I mean, why not just wish for a million dollars or something? Then use part of that to buy your own.”
The genie actually laughed. It was the first time he’d sounded even remotely happy about anything since she met him. Megan had to admit, it was surprisingly reassuring; at least it meant he could lighten up once in a while
“That’s what I’d do anyway.” she shrugged. “At least you get more out of it.”
“I would too.”
“Yeah?”
It never occurred to her that he might have an opinion on that kind of thing. Well, she guessed he did have to listen to a ton of bad wishes.
“So, what’s the worst wish you’ve ever heard?” she asked.
“It’s hard to say – there’ve been a lot.” He thought about it for a minute as they walked up to the glass doors of the arcade. “Probably having enough money for the car payment.” he said finally.
“Why wouldn’t you just wish to have the whole thing paid off? Or – again – the million dollars?” she asked, pulling the door open for them to walk through.
“Exactly.” he told her.
“You ever warn people about these wishes?” she asked. If she was about to do something really stupid, it’d be nice to know if he’d tell her or just let it happen.
“Not my job.” he told her. He must have seen the look on her face though, because he added, “Who would listen anyway?”
Megan shrugged; she guessed he did have a point. As they passed through the glass doors and into the arcade, Megan turned to him. “So what do you want to play first?”
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***
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Megan never would have thought in a million years she’d have fun with that genie. Actually, if asked she would have said he was immune to fun, but it hadn’t turned out that way at all. Maybe it was the fact that he seemed to be genuinely happy to do whatever she wanted to do. She hated to admit it, but it might have been even more fun than going with Ben.
As if on cue, she heard her phone go off. She checked the screen – Ben. Why was he calling? Was everything ok? Nervously she answered the phone.
“Megan? Where are you?” He sounded worried.
“I’m...out.” she said slowly.
“I thought you’d be home by now – it’s getting late.”
“It is?” What time was it?
Megan pulled the phone quickly away from her ear and checked the time. Almost 6:30 – he must already be home. Had she really been here that long?
“I’m so sorry – I’ll head home right now.”
“You don’t have to hurry.” Ben told her. “Are you out with friends?”
“Uh, yeah.” She glanced over at the genie. Close enough.
“Well, if you’re with your friends, you don’t have to come home right away.”
“No, it’s fine – I’ll leave right now.” Megan said, hanging up before Ben had time to say anything else. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t actually be in trouble, but she didn’t want him to start asking questions if she could help it.
“Come on – let’s go.”
She grabbed the genie’s hand and practically dragged him out the door. They hurried across the mall, making their way towards the exit.
“Is everything alright?” the genie asked, breaking into Megan’s thoughts.
“What? Yeah, fine.” Megan told him. “We just stayed a little longer than I meant to. But it’s ok – as long as we’re home before my parents, we’ll be fine.”
Megan turned and saw Mr. Lowell coming towards them. Great – that was just what she needed. Maybe if she kept her head down she could sneak on by him.
“Miss McGowen.” Mr. Lowell said somewhat neutrally.
“Hi, Mr. Lowell.” Megan said, slowly raising her head to look him in the eye.
“I didn’t see you in class today.” he told her.
“Yeah, sorry.” Megan said.
But she didn’t sound all that sorry – what did it really matter? They all loved her at school anyway.
“I hope you weren’t sick.” Mr. Lowell narrowed his eyes at her for a minute. “At any rate, you seem to be feeling better now.”
It was only then that Megan noticed his tone. Wait – could she actually be getting in trouble?
“Yeah, I am – thanks.”
Megan found herself furrowing her brows and slouching, doing her best to look like she was getting over some sort of illness. Mr. Lowell didn’t look impressed.
“...Do I need to bring a note tomorrow?” she asked finally.
“I think that’s a good idea.” Mr. Lowell told her.
When he left, Megan looked over at the genie. He’d been standing there quietly, watching the whole thing.
“What was that about?” she asked. “I thought all the teachers loved me.”
“Of course. At school.” he said, breaking into that obnoxious grin of his.
“What?”
As she stared at him, all the goodwill he’d built up over the course of the day started to slowly fade away.
“Remember? You wished for all the kids to think you were great, and for everyone to love you at school.”
“What’s that mean? That teachers like me, but only when we’re at school?”
“Exactly.” he grinned. “Outside of school, you’re no different from any other student as far as teachers go.”
“Well, that would have been good to know.” she mumbled.
Megan stayed up late that night, forging a note from her mom to give to Mr. Lowell. She was so nervous, she’d almost made a wish for this whole thing to go away. But the genie looked so smug that she couldn’t bear to give him the satisfaction. So now she was going to get out of this the only way she could think of, and if it really didn’t work, she could always wish herself out of trouble then.
When Mr. Lowell walked into the room, Megan slowly pried herself out of her seat, note in hand. She just really hoped it looked more like something her mom might have written than something she’d scribbled out before she went to bed. And if she was really lucky, he wouldn’t recognize her handwriting.
“Mr. Lowell?” she asked cautiously.
“Ah! Miss McGowen.” he said when he saw her.
“I brought a note like you asked.” she said, holding the folded paper up for him to see.
“Oh, that’s alright.” he told her.
Megan wasn’t sure she heard him right.
“Really? You don’t need to see this?” she asked incredulously. She didn’t want to push her luck or anything, but she was having a hard time believing that’s what he really meant.
“Just don’t let it happen again.”
“Yes, sir.”
Megan slipped the note into her pocket and went back to her seat. She couldn’t believe she’d been so nervous about this! And Mr. Lowell didn’t even care that she’d ditched yesterday! But why? He’d seemed pretty annoyed when he saw her at the mall yesterday.
It wasn’t until class was more than half over that she finally remembered – her wish. Now that she was safely back in school, he liked her again. And to think she’d almost wasted a wish to get this whole thing to go away!
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