"So someone seems to be missing." Jen said at lunch. Megan followed her gaze across the room. Of course Jen would be the one to notice that Jake wasn't there.
"Yeah..." Megan sighed, looking down at the table.
"What's wrong?" Tara asked.
"I know what it is." Karen gave Megan a knowing smile. "You miss Jake."
"What?" Jen sputtered, nearly choking on her soda. "Tell me you don't."
"How did you even know he's not here?" Megan asked Karen, ignoring Jen. They hadn't had English yet, so it wasn't like she missed him in class.
"Because I'm a great friend and I notice these things."
"Uh-huh. Right."
Somehow, Megan had never thought of them as being close enough for Karen to make those kinds of observations. As if reading her mind, Karen just shrugged.
"And I was eavesdropping on them in line." she nodded in Greg's direction, not even sounding bad about it.
"Megan isn't missing Jake!" Jen announced confidently. She gave Megan a look as if daring her to contradict it. Megan glanced down at the table.
"You say that, but I had the same look when Eric went on vacation for a week last year." Karen told her knowingly.
"It was so pathetic." Danielle laughed at her. "I hope I never get like that."
"I know I never do!" Stacey announced triumphantly.
"That's 'cause your boyfriend sucks." Tara told her flatly.
"He does, doesn't he?" Stacey sighed. She looked almost disappointed for a second before shaking her head resolutely. "But even if he didn't, I still wouldn't act like Karen!"
"Well, excuse me for actually liking the guy I'm dating." Karen rolled her eyes. "Megan knows what I mean, don't you?"
"Uh..." Megan started.
What was she supposed to say? She couldn't deny it – everyone at school already thought she liked him. But there was no way she was going to admit it with Jen glaring at her from across the table like that.
"It's ok – you don't have to say anything. I know I'm right." Karen said confidently.
"Uh, yeah." Megan mumbled.
"I don't think it's really that serious." Jen shrugged. "One day missing from school isn't the end of the world, is it?"
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Jen might not have been particularly concerned about what happened to Jake initially, but even she had to wonder by Friday – the fourth day he was missing. She found Megan in the hall before science.
"So where is Jake?" she asked as she approached.
"Home." Megan said, shrugging. Jen was about the last person Megan wanted to discuss this with.
"That's probably for the best." Jen told her as they started walking towards class.
"I guess." Megan tried to keep her voice neutral, but Jen noticed her tone and stopped.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I just feel bad." Megan told her.
"Why?" Jen looked bewildered.
Megan took one look at her friend's face and started walking again. If Jen couldn't even understand why Megan would feel bad about all this, Megan really had nothing to say to her.
"Wait – Megan!" Jen hurried to catch up with her. "I'm confused here."
"Why?" Megan snapped.
Did she really hate Jake that much? Maybe Megan really shouldn't have listened to her about all this.
"Because if he's sitting at home, it's because you told him to stay there." Jen opened the door to the room as she continued. "Besides, if you feel so bad, just let him come back."
"Oh." Megan said.
She forgot that Jen didn't know what she'd done; maybe she'd been a little harsh. She sat down at the lab table, throwing her backpack on the floor.
"So why's he been home this whole week anyway?" Jen asked.
"Is he sick?" Greg interrupted, coming up behind Megan and nearly causing her to fall out of her chair.
"Uh, yeah." Megan said once she recovered.
"Sorry to sneak up on you like that." Greg said. He gave a kind of wolfish grin before turning serious again. "I tried to text him, but I didn't hear back."
"Yeah..." Megan wondered if Jake even got messages right now. After all, his phone operated on magic, didn't it?
"Did he ever get a chance to talk to you?" Greg asked before turning to dig through his backpack.
"About what?" Megan asked.
"He was all worried that you were mad at him or something."
"He was?" Megan tried not to sound too surprised.
"Yeah, he was actually asking my advice." Greg laughed, then looked over at Jen. "Sorry, but fair warning – I'm useless in how to apologize to girls."
"Yeah." Jen said vaguely. She waved her hand, like she had something much more important on her mind. "So what did he want to apologize for?"
"I don't know – something about Megan not trusting him." Greg shrugged. "Couldn't tell me why that was though – just said he had to fix it."
"He did?" Megan asked.
"Yeah. The whole thing was really weird – not like him at all." Greg said, turning his attention back to Megan. "But then he was sick the next day, so maybe it was because of whatever he caught."
The bell rang, and the three of them got out their books. Megan tried not to stare at the empty chair across from her.
"Maybe he really does like me." Megan whispered quietly to Jen.
She must have been louder than she thought because suddenly Greg was staring at her like she was crazy.
"Of course he likes you." he told her. "Even I know that."
"Wonder what his issue is then." Megan mumbled to herself.
"I think you make him nervous sometimes." As soon as he said it, he slapped his hand over his mouth and closed his eyes. "Great." he muttered.
"What?" Megan could hardly believe he just said that.
"Look, don't tell him I told you that – he'd kill me." Greg said.
"Ok – fine. But why would I make him nervous?"
"Most popular girl in school?" Greg asked. He glanced over at Jen. "No offense."
"But that doesn't make sense." Megan said automatically. Jake, of all people, would know exactly who she really was.
"Problem, Ms. McGowen?" Ms. Harle asked.
"No, ma'am."
Megan really missed the days when she could talk in class without being noticed.
"Good." Ms. Harle said. Then turning back to the class, "I'm still grading your tests, but they look good so far."
Megan wondered idly if she'd failed, or if her grade had been helpfully boosted here too.
"Now we're going to do an experiment like I told you last week. I'm going to pass out our equipment, and I don't want anyone touching a thing until I've finished giving instructions. Anyone who can't listen will be visiting the office. Understood?" Around the room, heads nodded up and down.
"Great." Then looking towards the back of the room, she said, "I need someone to help pass out beakers. Megan?"
"Oh, um...my leg kind of hurts." she lied.
It wasn't anything personal, she just really wasn't in the mood. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jen subtly pointing to Greg.
"Can Greg help?" she asked.
"Yeah, I can do it." Greg told Ms. Harle.
"Alright." she said. As soon as Greg was gone, Jen grinned.
"Nice." she said.
"Why did you want to get rid of Greg?" Megan asked, once he was safely up at the front of the room.
"So I can ask you what really happened."
"What?" Megan racked her brain, trying to figure out what Jen was talking about.
"I thought you just didn't want to see Jake for a day or two – but he's been gone four days now. And then you tell Greg he's sick? I didn't even think he could get sick." Jen told her.
Oh. This was about what she did to Jake. But what was Greg saying before he left? Megan nodded vaguely and Jen continued.
"And even if he did get sick, wouldn't his recovery time be just a matter of seconds?"
"Probably." Megan shrugged. But who really knew with genies anyway?
Megan saw the look on Jen's face, but she didn't bother to say anything else. This whole thing was bad enough to think about without having to actually say any of it out loud.
"Megan, come on." Jen pressed. "What happened?"
"I put him back in the bottle." Megan finally admitted. Jen looked completely underwhelmed.
"So? That's not so bad – it's where genies are supposed to be anyway, right?" she asked slowly. "So how long are you going to keep him there?"
"I don't know." Megan looked at Jen earnestly.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Jen asked. And for once, she actually looked kind of worried.
"I can't get it back open." Megan couldn't even disguise the desperation in her voice.
"How can you not get it open? What did you do?" Jen asked, dropping her voice to barely a whisper.
"Well...I mean..." Megan started lamely. It was embarrassing to even say out loud. "I told him to go back in there, then I shoved the cork down as hard as I could."
"So what – now he's stuck inside that bottle?"
Megan nodded miserably.
"What're you going to do?"
"I don't know." Megan whined pathetically.
"Well..." Jen said slowly. "Maybe it's for the best."
"What?"
Megan couldn't even begin to figure out what Jen was saying. They were talking about keeping one of their friends trapped somewhere for who knew how long!
"How could you even say that?" Megan asked. "I listened to you!"
"Well, I was trying to look out for you." Jen whispered back. She dropped her eyes to the table and added, "I'm sorry."
"...I know. It's ok." Megan said after a minute.
It really wasn't ok – not as long as Megan couldn't get Jake back. But at least Jen's apology made Megan feel a tiny bit less horrible.
"I just meant that...Well, maybe it's a blessing in disguise."
"How?" Megan asked incredulously.
"Well, hasn't he always messed up your wishes anyway?"
"Well, yeah, but..." Megan trailed off. How could she even begin to explain about all the times that Jake had helped her?
"Maybe this is just an easy way to get rid of him." Jen shrugged. "Think of it as a sign."
"I thought you liked him – besides, he's still your boyfriend's friend." What could she be thinking?
"I know. I just meant that I thought overall he'd been more trouble than he was worth. At least, that's the impression you've always given me the way you talk about him."
"Well..." Megan said slowly.
It was true that he'd done nothing but mess with her since the day she'd found him. But he'd also managed to do a lot of good – even if it wasn't always on purpose. He'd gotten her new friends, helped her pass junior year, and even saved her from falling off the second story of a building. That seemed to be above and beyond what he was required to do – especially the building part. So how could she just leave him now? But there didn't seem to be a way to explain all that to Jen.
"I just think he deserves better than to be stuck there for who knows how long." Megan said finally. "I mean, if you were there for weeks, or months, or maybe even years, I'd try to help you."
Jen thought about that for a moment. Megan wasn't sure what Jen was going to say, but she could see her friend's resolve weakening.
"I know he's helped us out a lot, but it's not like he's human or anything. Besides, he probably doesn't even mind." Even Jen didn't seem convinced by that argument.
"He does." Megan said flatly. Jen nodded, looking resigned.
"So what are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure." Megan told her. After all, wasn't that why she'd let her friend know about all this in the first place?
"Well, did you try a wine-opener?"
"What?"
"You know – a corkscrew." Jen said. "I mean, that's what my parents always use when they need to get a cork out."
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