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Chapter 1: The Wish
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I opened my eyes, glancing over at the alarm clock next to my bed. It was blaring, the red digits flashing; 6 AM. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. It was going to be a long time until summer returned.

School had started back up a few weeks before, causing me to hate life again. I was now in my senior year in high school, and it sucked so far. Just thinking about all of the projects and presentations we would have to do throughout the year gave me chills.

In case it wasn’t obvious, yes, I have a problem with speaking in front of groups of people. Sue me.

I sat up in bed, yawning. Scratching my head, I stood up and made my way to my dresser. Pulling open a drawer, I looked at myself in the mirror. I fixed my dark brown hair and looked at myself in my blue eyes. I didn’t find myself ugly, but I wouldn’t say I was the most attractive person in the world either. I wasn’t fat, and I wasn’t muscular, and I wasn’t a twig. I was just somewhat average.

I pulled out yet another video game shirt, this time being Fallout. I threw it on, and changed my pants. Opening my bedroom door, I passed my sister’s room and walked into the bathroom.

My sister, Lauren, was a year older than me. She wanted to go to college, but just hasn’t gotten to it yet. Don’t call me strange for saying this, but my sister got the better side of my parents genes. It’s okay to appreciate someone’s beauty without being attracted to them in that way, you know?

I masturbated everyday… sorry, strange transition. I was a virgin, but dreamed of having sex with a girl often. As a matter of fact, I would be one of those guys who thinks he has a crush on a girl, but who in reality is just attracted sexually to every girl in their school. Everyday I see a girl who I “like,” and then see another one, and another one…

I hopped in the shower, realizing I was dumb to have changed already. Turning on the shower, I let the warm water flow over me as something else flowed to my penis. I closed my eyes.

“Oh, yeah, Mikey… Fuck me!” Emma shouted, pushing her ass against my cock. I wasn’t so sure about anal, but she had insisted on it.

“Yeah, Mikey, cum in my tight little ass…”

As I came, I heard a knock on the door. “Mike, hurry up!” It was Lauren.

“Sorry, just a few more minutes.” I said, stepping out of the shower. I threw my clothes back on and walked to the sink.

I took out my toothbrush and started to brush my teeth. I must have gotten lost in my thoughts, as I heard another banging on the door. “C’mon, Mike, open up the door!” Lauren shouted at me. I spit the toothpaste out of my mouth and finished up. Opening up the door, Lauren pushed past me. “Finally.”

I held up my hands defensively. “God, sorry!” I walked over to my room and glanced at the clock; 6:30 AM. I had been in there for 30 minutes?! What happened? No wonder my gums hurt. I grabbed my backpack and headed downstairs. Opening up my fridge, I pulled out the milk, checking the label. Seeing that it wasn’t expired, I grabbed a box of cereal and a bowl and walked over to the table. I thought about the day. First period; Algebra III. Homework…? Yes.

Second period; Chemistry. Homework…? … Yes.

I sighed. I was in a pile of shit. Instead of doing homework at home, as the name implies, I always did it the hard way; by calculating how much time I’d have to give up throughout my school day to do it. I always would say, “You know what? I’m going to do my homework at home today.”

Obviously, that never happens.

In case you were curious, I actually didn’t do Chem yet. Most people take it in their sophomore year, sometimes even in their junior years. Our school has a little by of leeway though, and since only Biology and Chemistry are required, I decided to wait until senior year to take Chemistry. Biology in my freshman year pissed me off, of course.

I looked at the digital clock on the stove, the green digits blinking; 6:43.

I sighed again, realizing it was time to go to school. I called up to my parents, saying goodbye, and headed out the door. I honesty didn’t care enough about Lauren to wait for her to get downstairs before leaving. She was kind of a bitch, to say the least. I walked down the road to my bus stop, waiting for it to pull up to the corner like it always did, at 6:54 flat.

My life was somewhat boring. Everything on a timer. Wake up at this time, get downstairs at that time, walk out the door when the clock ticked over. Schedules can wreck a person. I wanted something to happen, you know? Some variety.

I shook my head, clearing it, as the bus pulled up the street. I turned my head around in time to see Lauren lightly jogging to catch the bus, taking her time knowing the driver can’t legally leave without her.

I walked onto the bus, and found a seat near the back that was empty. Nobody I knew lived in my neighborhood, so therefore, no one I knew rode my bus. I didn’t mind, though. I spent my bus rides doing the homework from the previous day.

I watched my sister sit down as the bus doors closed. She instantly started chatting up a storm with her friends.

I hated her friends. Imagine in a pet store, where there’s a bird cage with hundreds of birds in it. All of the birds are relatively quiet except for a small pocket of them, who constantly chirp a shrill sound at all times of the day. Can you picture it?

Those are my sisters friends.
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I stepped off of the bus, placing my math folder under my arm. Now, I had home room to do chemistry. Yaaaay. I thought sarcastically, stepping into the school.

Our school has a bag check line, presumably to keep some random psycho from shooting up the school. Which I greatly appreciate, as I’d rather not be shot and killed at school. That place is a grave enough already.

I spot one of my friends, Alex, in the bag check line. I had a few friends, but as my mom always said, “Quality over quantity.”

I knew she was right. Who wants hundreds of “friends,” who will turn on you when the slightest drama comes up, when you can have, say, 10 trustworthy, lifelong buddies? But I couldn’t help but sometimes wish I could get into that popular group. Maybe I could someday. Maybe a girl would actually have sex with me.

I shrugged it off, realizing Alex was waving me over to him. I passed through the metal detector and grabbed my backpack, before heading over to Alex. On my way over, I passed a girl who said hello to me. Realizing it was Emma, my cock began to harden again. I said hello back and made my way to him.

“Hey, Mike!” Alex said, high-fiving me as I approached.

“Hey, Alex, what’s up?” I replied, actually wanting to know. We continued to have a conversation until I noticed her.

Coming up behind Alex with a smile on her face was Isabella. I smiled when we made eye contact and waved. Alex dawned a look of confusion, but when he turned, he smirked. “Well, looks like I’ll be heading out.”

I said goodbye as he walked away and approached her. “Hey, Bella!” People rarely called her Isabella. Most people called her Bella, or maybe Izzy. The only person who’d ever often call her Isabella was her mother.

In case it wasn’t already obvious, Bella was one of my friends. Hell, she was my best friend.

I met her when I moved to this town back in second grade. All the kids there had acted like they didn’t care about me, except for a select few, including Bella. She and Alex, as well as the rest of my group of friends, brought me in and accepted me as one of them.

Pretty dramatic for second grade, huh?

Bella and I joke about how we were ugly kids, and my god, we were. No wonder no one talked to us but each other. I’m pretty sure I grew out of my ugly faze, but my god, Bella definitely did. It hit me around seventh grade. Bella was getting hot. And I was scared.

When we were kids, Alex and Bella and I, we all were great friends. We had a few girls in our friend group, like Veronica and Sydney. As our ages grew, however, they grew as well. Grew in the front and the back. These little girls from my childhood were becoming women, and when they realized it, they ditched our group to join the popular kids. To do the drugs and drink the alcohol and fuck each other, or whatever it is they do. When I realized how attractive Bella was becoming, I was terrified that I would lose my best friend in the world, but I had underestimated her loyalty. She never thought about leaving us. We were like a family. She’s been the one to stick with me this whole time. Hell, to stick with me, and our group of friends, when she had a front seat pass to the popularity show.

She brushed her black hair over her ear and high-fived me, just as Alex had. “Heya, Mikey!”

I smiled. Bella was by far my favorite part of school. Her jokes at lunch, her meeting me randomly in the halls, and her being put next to me in Chemistry. Her laugh was like music to my ears, and always brought a smile to my face. And, I mean, she was really nice to look at. Her deep blue eyes complemented her jet black hair…

If it isn’t obvious yet, yes, I have a bit of a crush on Bella. Only a bit though. That’d be too weird. Childhood friends don’t usually end up together. And I always had a crush on girls, usually several at once, so they never really meant anything.

“What’s up, Bella?” I said, crossing my arms. I always had felt nervous about talking to girls, but never Bella. She just felt like… one of the bros, however weird that sounds.

“Nothing really. You do that Chemistry homework?” She said raising an eyebrow.

I scoffed. “Of course not.”

She laughed and shrugged. “Yeah, same here. Homeroom it is, right?” She said, patting my arm as she walked past me to homeroom.

“Yeah, that’s right…” I murmured as she walked away.

As I headed towards my homeroom, I noticed Alex talking to our other friend, Kyle. I decided to make a detour.

Alex would be my second best friend, I would say. We hung out the most, if you don’t count Bella. We played Xbox together, went to movies together, did average friend things. I’m glad he was my pal, and hoped he stayed that way.

Kyle was a pretty good guy. He hung out with us at lunch and I sat in front of him in Algebra. He’s also quite funny, and gets a good laugh whenever he talks. Not the best grades, however.

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” I say, walking up between the two.

Kyle dips his head slightly. “Hey, Mike. Nothin’ much. Just can’t wait to get home.” He said, flicking a pencil up in the air and catching it.

We talked about how we were going to meet up on our Xbox’s after school and said our goodbyes. I walked away with Alex, since we were in the same homeroom, and chatted all the way. I didn’t really pay too much attention, though, as I was trying to recall what pages the Chemistry homework was on.
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I stepped into my first period classroom. Saying hello to my teacher, I took a seat in front of Kyle. “Hey, Kyle.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Hey, Mike. You do the homework?”

I sighed, reaching into my bag. “Y’know, you should really do the homework yourself sometime.” I said, handing him the homework.

He shrugged. “Sure, I’ll get right on that.” He said, copying down my work.

I sighed and looked around the room. I looked at all of the bitches and sluts in the classroom. You’d think there would be at least one good girl, but you’d be completely wrong. Girls wearing short shorts, and tight shirts, and open toed shoes…

Oh. Now would be the time to mention. I have a foot fetish. Always have, as long as I can remember. It’s mostly thanks to my early pubescent days, and to Bella. I never saw female skin at that time, so hanging out with Bella and seeing her normally covered feet bare caused me to associate them with sex. Imagine it like going home with a girl, as a friend, and she just takes her shirt and bra off. That’s what it’s like, more or less.

I couldn’t help but stare at this one girl’s toes. Her name was Nichole. She had blonde hair and brown eyes, and had beautiful feet. Her foot looked smooth, and the toes were long and skinny. I couldn’t help but stare. Her nails were painted black, my favorite, and they looked so sweet…

“Hey, what are you looking at?” I heard a voice say. I slowly looked up to see Nichole was staring at me, a disturbed look on her face. “You a foot freak or something?” This caused her little group of fucks to start laughing.

I brushed off the jab. I was used to it. We all were. It’s just what happens in schools. The popular kids make fun of the geeks in the open, and the geeks make fun of the populars in private.

To be fair, though, Nichole wasn’t actually wrong. But I wasn’t going to let them know that.

I scoffed, surprised at my confidence. “No, I thought I just saw a bug.”

The comment made Nichole flinch lightly, as if she feared there actually were a bug, but she didn’t budge. “Sure, I believe you.” She laughed. A boy behind her piped up.

“I bet you wish you could suck on your little girlfriends toes, huh, you freak?” This caused more giggling from the group, and I shook my head and looked away. It occurred to me that they were referring to Bella. She was beautiful and sweet and kind, but just because she was grouped with the non-popular kids, she was being berated. It was ironic, though, as 99% of the “popular guys” wouldn’t deserve to have ten minutes with a girl like Bella.

I turned to Kyle, who was shaking his head. “Don’t listen to ’em, Mikey. They’re just jealous you got the cute friend.” He laughed and went back to copying.

I chuckled, and agreed. I couldn’t help but look back to Nichole’s feet, though. What I’d do to have ten minutes with those…
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My next period, Chemistry, was the best part of my day. I got to see Bella, early on in the morning. It was my fill of Bella until I needed more during lunch.

Weird way to put it.

I sat at our bench in anticipation of seeing that black haired head walk through the doors. When she finally walked in, her eyes met mine and I couldn’t help but smile. I saw eyes turn to her when she stepped in, and the majority of them made their way to me. The guys that were looking at me had looks of somewhat hatred. I didn’t care though. I felt honored by the glares, actually. They were looking at me like this because I got to hang out with Bella, and they were jealous. I felt like a VIP or something.

“Heeeeey, Mikey!” Bella said as she slid into the chair next to mine. “What’s up?”

I smiled back, rubbing it in the faces of the guys across the room. “Nothing new. How about you?”

She smiled. “Same here, thanks for askin’!”

Class started, and we found out that today was a lab day. Sadly, I realized that the teacher wasn’t checking our homework, and Bella and I shared a silent giggle.

The Chemistry teacher was new this year. She just recently graduated from college, and was apparently only 24 years old. I figured that she told kids her age to show off, and take advantage of it before she got too old to answer the question. Maybe she thought her younger age would appeal to the kids, specifically the boys, and she’d become the “cool teacher.” Who knew, though.

Ms. Kennedy was extremely hot for a teacher. Nice body, little bit curvy, but had awesome tits and a beautiful ass. It was kind of small, but in a compact, sexy kind of way.

I decided I wasn’t going to get a boner next to Bella, so I looked away. We headed to the back of the room and started preparing for the experiment. Something about chemical bonding or something. Who knows.

The instructions said something about a test tube, so I walked to the cabinet to get one. I reached down to grab one and picked an alright one. As I stood up, however, I bumped into a kid behind me. I turned to see it was a girl named Elyse. I heard a crash and looked down to see glass shattered all over the floor. I looked back up at Elyse, who was scowling. “What the hell?!”

“Sorry, it was an accident!” I said, throwing my hands up and backing away.

“Seriously, watch where you’re going, you klutz!” Elyse yelled.

“Alright, alright, everyone calm down.” I turned to see that the voice talking was Ms. Kennedy. The look she gave me showed me that when she said everyone, she really just meant Elyse.

I slipped my way back to Bella. She was covering her mouth to stop herself from exploding into a fit of laughter. She pat me on the shoulder. “Nice work.”

I felt my face get red, and I laughed off her teasing. “Yeah, alright, alright…” I said, before getting back to our lab.
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The rest of my day went by relatively quickly. Before I realized it, I was on the bus and on my way home. I sighed, leaning my head on the window. I watched the trees go by as I pulled out my phone. An unread message was on the screen, from Bella.

“Get on your Xbox today…” I muttered to myself, deciphering her texting lingo.

I replied back to her, saying that I would, and put away my phone.

The feeling of honor passed over me again. This girl was talking to me, and not those douchebags.

Life was looking good.
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It happened about a week later.

I was stepping into the house with my sister right behind me, when we heard a muffled sniffle from the other room, followed by a sob. We gave each other a panicked look, and headed into the room the sounds were coming from. My parents room.

Our mom was sitting on the bed, her face in her hands. We asked her what was wrong, and she gave us the news of our life. I don’t really remember the conversation, or most of what happened after, but I remember hearing a few key points…

“Your father… car… hit him from the side… doesn’t look good…”

We rushed to the hospital and spent the whole day there. We didn’t go to school the next day, and spent it at the hospital. It was the first time my sister and I came together like that.

One day, our father told us that no matter what, he loved us. My sister remained silent, so I did the adult thing and told him everything would be okay.

He died about a week later. We were at home when we got the call.
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I opened my eyes and blinked the sleep out of them. I looked out of my window to see the sun bleeding through my blinds. I rubbed my eyes, sitting up. I looked at the clock; 6AM. I yawned, and stood up out of bed. This morning would be like any other. I’d get up and head out of my room, and go to the bathroom, maybe masturbate, then eat breakfast, and leave in time for the bus. After school, however, was a different story.

It had been about two months since my father passed. My now single mother had started to work longer hours, and being the official man of the house, I decided it was time for me to get a job. You know, to help out.

I told Bella before I even told my mom. Bella had been my counselor over the last two months, and she’d been there for me the whole time. When I told her I was getting a job to help my mom, she thought it was the “cutest thing ever.”

I stepped out of bed, and opened my door. I followed my schedule and before I knew it, I was at the bus stop. Sadly, Lauren had returned to semi-bitch, so she was still late for the bus. I hopped onboard, and sat down.

Today was my first day at my new job. My mom helped me find a decent paying job as an assistant to the owner of some little shop about 10 minutes from my house. Apparently, it sold things relating to magic and wizards and shit. Like playing cards and those magician hats and shit. I wasn’t really interested in that stuff, but it had decent pay.

I stepped off of my bus to see Bella was waiting in her new usual spot. She always waited for me by a post in the cement, and hugged me, probably just by second nature now, after the whole… event with my dad.

“Hey, Mikey!” She said, wrapping her arms around me. “Ready for your first day at your new job?”

I shrugged. “I guess I am. It doesn’t really matter, though. I’m going either way.”

Bella smiled. “I think it’s awesome. What you’re doing.”

I felt embarrassed. “Thanks, Bella.”

She smiled and turned towards the school. I followed, waiting for school to end and for my new life to begin.
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Before long, I was in my mother’s car, driving towards the shop I now was an employee in. I sighed, looking out the window. I didn’t even have to interview for the job, which somewhat felt shady. Just proves how uninterested people are in that magic stuff.

My mom stopped the car in front of the store. “Now, remember Mike, treat your manager with respect.” She said, fixing my shirt.

I sighed. “I understand, mom.” I said, thinking that the term manager was a bit unrealistic.

I stepped out of the car and looked at the front door of the building. It was two stories tall, and barely had any windows on it. It was directly between two other buildings, so they shared walls. Alcohol at the right, sex shop on the left. Great neighborhood, Mom.

I waved goodbye to my mother as she drove away and stepped towards the building.

Pushing open the door, I stepped into the building. A blast of cool air hit me, making me somewhat jump. I slowly looked around the shop, taking in my surroundings. Massive shelves lined the store, in an arrangement that reminded me of a library. As I walked, looking down the aisles, I saw many “magic” things. A section for decks of cards, magic balls, wands, top hats, capes. It was a magicians super store. There was a section that sold Ouija boards, and there was even one on display. I stayed away from that section. There was a corner that seemed to be an actual library. There were books that taught how to perform magic tricks, novels about murder mysteries and about dragons and castles. I found the varied choices for books confusing.

I was turning through the pages of the tutorial book, and reading about how to pull a rabbit out of a hat, when I heard a gravelly voice behind me. “You must be Michael.”

I spun on my heel to see an old woman, probably around the age of 60, maybe 70. She had a large nose, which was the first thing I noticed. She had jet black hair, but it was streaked with grey. She had an image of a witch. Fitting.

I realized I was staring at her. “I- uh- I… uh, yeah. I’m Michael.” I stuttered.

She raised an eyebrow. “I see… You can call me Ms. Hallewell.” She said, raising her hand.

I took it, shaking her hand. I didn’t want to disrespect her. Don’t want her casting a spell on me or something… I thought amusedly to myself.

Ms. Hallewell removed her hand from mine and started walking back down the aisle. Realizing I should be following, I fell into step behind her. She made her way to the counter, which was in the back of the store, and walked behind it. I stepped to the front of the counter.

Ms. Hallewell reached under the counter, pulling out a rag. “Alright, Michael. I already have a job for you. Take this and dust the shelves and products.” She said, handing me the cloth. “Expect to do this every week or so.”

I nodded quickly, taking the rag. I didn’t want to disappoint my boss already.

I stepped away from the counter, spinning the rag in my hands. Making my way to the farthest aisle, I began to think about how insane Ms. Hallewell was. Why should I wipe these shelves down? I think it would fit the theme of the shop to be dusty and old…

I shrugged to myself and continued dusting. Before long, I’d finished dusting most of the aisles. I was in the back corner of the store now, and I was dusting a table, when I noticed the staircase. For some reason, my eyes hadn’t acknowledged it, but it was definitely there. I frowned. “Hey, Ms. Hallewell?” I shouted, peering down an aisle. “Ms. Hallewell? Should I clean upstairs?”

My shouts were met with silence. Shrugging, I glanced up the staircase. At the top of the stairs was a landing, a dead end, but there was a single door on the right. I looked back down the aisle, making sure nobody saw me, and when the coast was clear, I quickly made my way up the stairs.

I don’t know why I felt nervous, even. Why should I? I’m an employee, I was bound to go up there at some point anyways.

I reached the top of the stairs. The wall in front of me was an off-white color, not at all matching the dark grey walls of the main floor. Turning to my right, I looked at the door. It was the same color as the wall. I placed my hand around the small brass handle, and twisted it.

The door swung open with a creak. I was worried Ms. Hallewell would hear me, but the fear passed. Again, why shouldn’t I be up here?

Stepping into the following room, a musky, dusty smell hit me. If it weren’t already obvious what I was looking at, the smell gave away that this was an attic. I walked slowly through the room. It was almost as open as the bottom floor. When I get more used to being an employee here, I should have Ms. Hallewell turn this floor into a second sales floor. This is a waste of space!

Scattered around the room was various boxes of items. One was full of stacks of playing cards, wrapped in plastic. Other boxes showed books upon books, just waiting to be read. There was probably as many items up here as there were down there!

I sighed, looking around some more. There were chests along one of the walls. I made my way over. Opening on of the trunks, I saw a magicians costume, along with a wand and a hat. The whole garb.

The other chest revealed the stereotypical clothing the magician’s assistant wore. You know, the pretty young girl the audience stares at so the magician can pull off his illusion right in front of them?

I lowered the lid of the chest. As I moved my arm, my elbow smacked a little too hard into a stack of boxes. The top box fell over and slammed into another box in the corner. I cringed as both boxes spilled out onto the floor, emptying their contents. Quickly, I picked up the items and checked for damages. Luckily, nothing seemed to be broken. That would have definitely come out of my paycheck!

As I was about to put the box from the corner back onto its stack, I had a strong urge to look into the other boxes. Before I could change my mind, I opened the lid of the box, and reached in. My hands brushed against fabric, and I felt a cover of a book. I felt my arm reach further into the box, and my fingers hit something cold. I gripped my fist around the cold, hard rod and pulled it out. As the object came out of the box, I realized I was holding the spout of a magic lamp. You know, one of those magic golden lamps that genies come out of?

I smirked to myself. Why doesn’t she sell these? I thought to myself, spinning the lamp around in my hands.

I rubbed my hand on the lamp, somewhat hoping a genie would actually come out. “Fuck, man. What’d I’d do for a couple wishes…”

It took me a couple of seconds to realize the lamp was vibrating. “Shit!” I said in a staccato voice. Instinctively, I threw the lamp. It smacked into the wall, and fell behind the boxes in the corner.

Holy shit… Is there an animal in there?! I thought, embarrassed with myself that I was shaking. After a second, I realized what was happening. I started laughing. “Oh, shit. It’s, like, a realistic one!” I said. It must vibrate when you rub it, or something. That’s really clever.

I was moving towards the box when I saw it. A small trail of smoke was drifting up from behind the boxes. “Oh, fuck!” I shouted. I stepped quickly backwards, causing myself to stumble and fall on my ass. I didn’t even acknowledge the pain, and scooted back farther. Did I just start a fire?! I was starting to panic. How did I start a fire?!

I finally realized I had to tell Ms. Hallewell. What a first day. I’ve been here for less than an hour, and I’ve already burned her store down. What the fuck was wrong with me?

Then it hit me. The smoke wasn’t grey, like it should be. It was blue.

My mouth dropped open. Why was it blue? I thought about it for a second. I scratched my head. Maybe she wasn’t selling it because it was a really detailed replica, that releases blue smoke.

Because that’d be fucking badass.

The smoke was building, and it didn’t seem like it was going to stop. It suddenly occurred to me that something odd was happening. Well, odder than what was already happening, at least. The smoke had stopped rising. It seemed like it was building, into somewhat of a cloud.

The cloud of blue smoke grew larger and larger. I was busy thinking of how in depth this technology was and was enjoying the show when the smoke trail disappeared. All that remained was the hovering blue cloud.

Before I could react, the blue cloud illuminated. The cloud seemed to glow now, as if there were a blue lightbulb in the middle of the cloud. How the fuck did they make this?! I was about to call for Ms. Hallewell when I heard a voice.

“What the hell was that for?”

I stopped. I looked back at the cloud.

“Well?” The voice said. When the voice spoke, the cloud seemed to pulse. The light grew faintly brighter at the word “well” before lowering back to the original brightness.

I was horrified at this technology.

“WHAT THE FUCK.” I said, not even shouting it. It was more like I had formed a mental illness and had started fumbling around my words.

“Yeah, yeah, just get on with it.” The light within the cloud pulsed with every syllable the voice spoke. It was almost as if the cloud was speaking.

“WHAT THE FUCK.” I repeated, seemingly all I could say.

“Christ, mate. Use your words.” I realized the voice was a male, with an English accent. The goddamned Brits made this thing.

I thought for a second. This thing seemed sentient. “Uh… uh, how did they make you?” I said, which must have sounded vague.

I was met with a few seconds of silence. “What the hell does that mean?” The voice said.

I stuttered. “Well… I mean, you’re like, an AI, right? One of those robots who have personalities?” I didn’t think artificial intelligence was so good yet.

It laughed. It fucking laughed. “No, god no!” It chuckled. “Of all the reactions I’ve heard, that’s the dumbest one yet!” It exploded into laughter.

I was horrified and intrigued. Maybe it was an AI… but it had become rogue? Could that even happen? Or did that just happen in movies?

Somehow building confidence, I spoke to it again. “Well, then, what are you?”

It scoffed. “Well, whadda ya think I am? I’m a fuckin’ genie, smart one!”

My confidence was gone, and so was my consciousness.
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I opened my eyes, slowly letting what little light was in the room into them. Memories of my dream hit me, and I laughed. Did I pass out or something?

As I sat up, an English voice welcomed me. “Wow, friend. Glad you’re up. I thought you kicked it!”

I slowly turned to see a glowing blue cloud in front of me. I gasped, and held up my arms. “Please… don’t hurt me… just tell me what you want?”

The cloud scoffed. “Bloody hell, mate. You hit your head one the way down? You rubbed me, remember?”

I put my face in my hands. “What the fuuuuuck…”

The voice rang in my ears. “Talk to me when you’re done crying.” It chuckled to itself.

I looked up. “So… are you really a genie?”

It scoffed again. “Did I stutter? Yes, I’m what you could call a genie.”

I slowly shook my head. This was surreal. A real fucking genie. Well, actually… maybe it was too surreal…

I laughed. I had to be dreaming. Lucid dreaming. This was awesome, now.

I decided to play along with my head. “Alright, then. If you’re a genie, I get wishes, right?”

The genie laughed. “Right into things, huh?” It sighed. “Yes, that’s right. Three wishes. You get to wish for whatever you want.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Anything I want?” I laughed. “Don’t you have those genie rules, or whatever?”

The genie laughed nervously. “Yeah, well, not really, no.”

I didn’t even care to ask. It wasn’t real, anyways. “So, how about… I ask for my dad back.” I couldn’t help but let a little hope and happiness come out with my flat voice when I said that. It’s not like I could actually bring my dad back, but maybe I could see him one last time… in a dream.

The genie inhaled through his metaphorical teeth. “No way, sorry kid. That’s my own personal rule. If your father is full out gone, passed away, I can’t bring him back. I don’t want to get on Death’s bad side.” He made a noise like he was shivering. “To think of taking his soul away…”

Figures.

I signed. “Alright… I don’t know what to do yet.” I thought for a second.

The genie sighed. “You don’t have tell me now. You can tell me tomorrow, if you’d like.” It sighed again. “I’ll be here, after all.”

I scoffed. Tomorrow? I won’t be having this dream tomorrow!

I thought for a moment. A thought crossed my head. My grandpa.

He was in the late stages of cancer, and wasn’t likely to make it. My mom losing her husband and father in the span of a few months…

I shivered. “Well… can I wish to cure cancer?”

The genie laughed. “First one to ask, surprisingly. Only thoughtful guy I’ve met, truly.” He cleared his inexistent throat. “Yes, you can.”

“Didn’t you just say you don’t steal from Death?” I said, wondering why my brain was coming up with a dream so in depth.

It chuckled. “I can’t steal from him what wasn’t his in the first place.”

I thought for a second. “Well, then, I wish that they could find the cure for cancer.”

The genie immediately responded. “Done.”

It occurred to me I’d wasted a wish. I should be wishing to fuck Kate Upton or something. How would curing cancer help in a dream?

I sighed. “So, is cancer cured now?”

It laughed. “Oh, no. The wish takes place when the clock turns midnight.”

Damn, brain.

I sighed. “Well, I’m ready for my next wish.” I said, a boner in my pants, already imagining Kate Upton’s toes in my mouth…

The genie scoffed. “Sorry, bud. No more today. Your three wishes are limited to one a night.”

I shook my head again. Fuck you, brain.

“Well, then see ya, Mr. Genie. I gotta get going.” I said, deciding there was probably still a way I could fuck Kate Upton before I woke up.

The genie laughed. “What, you don’t care to stay and have a chat?”

I laughed. “Nope, sorry. I have stuff to do.” Or rather someone to do.

It scoffed. “Alright, then. I guess I’ll talk to you later…” It said. I noticed the smoke had started drifting back down, back into the lamp behind the boxes.

I got up, ready to fuck someone. As I opened the door, I heard the voice behind me. “Hey, kid. I didn’t catch your name.”

I spun to see the cloud was almost gone. “Mike. My name is Mike.” I stepped through the door and closed it behind me. Walking down the stairs, I smirked. Not that it matters to you, anyways.
————————————————————————————-
The rest of my dream night went by quickly. My dream boss made me do dream jobs until my dream mom pulled up in her dream car. She drove me to my dream home and we ate dream dinner with my dream sister. Then I went to dream bed. It all felt so real.
————————————————————————————-
I woke up the next morning to screaming.

I jolted up in panic. Was there someone in the house?

After a second, I realized that the screaming was actually cheering. What’s going on?

I hopped out of bed, threw on some pants, and ran downstairs. When I turned the corner, I saw my sister on the phone and my mom crying. I was so confused.

“What’s happening?” I said, honestly not aware of what I’d done.

“They did it, Mikey.” My mom said through the sobs. When she saw my confused face, she continued. “They found the cure for cancer.”

A jolt of what felt like electricity shot through me, making my veins feel icy cold. I looked at the reporter on the TV. She was reporting with a smile on her face. “…those who just turned in, at about 12:02 this morning, scientists discovered a way to cure cancer. The cure will roll out soon for the general public…”

I sat down, stunned. Was I still dreaming?

No. I couldn’t be…

Maybe I was never dreaming.
————————————————————————————-
I stepped off of my bus. Walking towards the school, I felt as if all eyes were on me, although they obviously weren’t. I heard many conversations about how cancer had been cured, and little of anything else. I almost immediately saw Bella. She was beaming and walking straight towards me. She high-fived me when she reached me.

“You hear about the cancer thing, huh?” Bella said, still smiling.

Seeing her smile made me smile. “Yeah, I did! It’s awesome news!”

She laughed. “So how was work?”

We started to walk to the front door. “Oh, Bella… you don’t even know.”
————————————————————————————-
When school was over, I gave my bus driver a note from the school. Apparently it’s illegal to drop a kid off at a stop that isn’t his without a note. Or something. So luckily, my bus passes the magic shop, and I can just go straight there.

I thanked my bus driver, who waved goodbye, and headed to the front doors. Pushing them open, I felt that rush of cold air hit me again.

I walked up to the counter, causing Ms. Hallewell to look up. “Oh, hello, Michael.”

“Hi.” I said simply back. “I’m ready for a job, if you have anything.”

Ms. Hallewell didn’t even flinch. “No, nothing right now. You can explore, if you’d like.” She raised an eyebrow. “I’d look at the attic if you haven’t already.”

I felt nervous now. Did she know?

I shook off the feeling. “Alright… I’ll check it out.” I nodded and made my way to the staircase.

The steps creaked as I climbed them, and the door echoed them. The room was just as dark and dusty as I remembered it being in my “dream.”

I grabbed the box in the corner. Setting it on the floor, I pushed the other box aside. I saw it, then, sitting on its side on the floor.

I picked up the lamp, and rotated it in my hands. Sighing, I rubbed the side of it.

I was ready this time. The vibrating started, and I set it down on top of a box. The blue trail of smoke lifted into the air, forming the cloud, and the light appeared. The smoke was finally all contained in the cloud, and that voice came back.

“Glad you didn’t throw me this time, Mikey.” The voice chuckled.

I went straight to the questions. “So you’re actually real.”

It scoffed. “You think I was bluffing?”

I sighed. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Well, I assume you have questions, so ask away, I suppose.” It said, starting to float around the room.

I watched it float for a second, before continuing. “So, why are you here?”

“The owner found me and kept me here. Obviously.” It said.

I nodded. “Well, I’d assume so.” I put my hand on my chin. “And you’re sure you’re a genie? You don’t look like one.”

The cloud scoffed. “Damn, Walt. I bet you’ve watched Aladdin, right? All you children are shaped to see the genie from that shite movie. Well, that’s not how it works. We’re given a shape when we’re… created.”

I nodded slowly. “So, what, like a tiger or a tree or something.”

It chuckled. “Yeah, like that. And I got a fuckin’ cloud.” It scoffed. “One of the reasons I left.”

I paused. “Wait, you left?”

It continued. “Yeah, I left. The whole ‘genie society,’ we’ll call it. I didn’t think their rules were fair or important, so I went rogue.” It chuckled.

I nodded. I wanted to say it all made sense but it really didn’t. “So… why do you have an accent like that? Aren’t genies, like, e-“

“What, Egyptian?” The cloud said, before laughing. “Figures you’d say that. Again, you humans have it all wrong. I have an accent because I was mainly in Britain in my past. Helps the natives understand me, you know?”

I nodded again. “So, what’s your name?”

It scoffed. “I’d tell you my name, but you’d never pronounce it right. You humans never can.” It laughed at its own joke. “You can just call me ‘X.’ It’s the closest letter in your language that sounds like it.”

I shook my head. “Well, X, I don’t know what to say. I’m absolutely stunned.” I scratched my scalp.

The cloud was silent for a moment. “Is something wrong, kid?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know, man.” I laughed, shaking my head. “I’m being consoled by a genie. Jesus. Well, I don’t know, I talk to these people at school, and I have this friend named Bella. She’s amazing, and, well, I think I like her. I don’t know… uh, X. I feel like it’d be weird if I talked to her about it.” I laughed again. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

It grunted. “Hey, kid. I’m a good listener. All I can do, really.”

I nodded. “I don’t know, man. I just wish I could pause time sometimes, you know? So I can decide what I’m going to say next. So I don’t make a fool of myself.”

It spoke. “Done.”

I tilted my head and squinted. “What…?” It suddenly occurred to me what had just happened. “Did you… did you just use my other wish?”

“No. You used your other wish.” It chuckled.

I was silent. I finally spoke up. “What the fuck?”

X sounded defensive when he spoke. “Well, friend, you did say you wished it could happen.”

I shook my head. “Wow. Thanks, friend.” I said, turning and walking away.

“Hey! Don’t you want to know how to use it?” X said, seeping back into the lamp.

But I had stopped listening already.
————————————————————————————-
The next morning, I woke up and sat up in my bed. Anger continued to flow through me when I thought about how X had wasted my wish like that.

How was I supposed to pause time anyways? What would I do with a power like that?

I sighed, getting out of bed. I walked out of my bedroom, and towards the bathroom. I was startled when the door opened. Out walked my sister, naked, but covered with a bathroom towel. She laughed.

“Had to get ahead of you today.” She scoffed before heading to her room.

I sighed as I stepped into the bathroom. I don’t need this shit today.
————————————————————————————-
I stepped off of the bus, waiting for the day to be over already. I was waiting for Bella to appear like a dog waits at the front door when it hears its owners car. She would take my mind off of everything.

I finally saw her approaching me. She was wearing a cute little black skirt, and black flats. Relieved, I waved to her. She smiled, before hurrying up to meet me halfway.

“Hey, Mikey!” She said, lightly punching my shoulder.

I smiled, forgetting my problems. “What’s new Bella?”

She shrugged. “Not much to be honest…” She said, starting to zone off.

I scoffed. “Beeeellaa?” I said, clapping in her face playfully. She noticed, but pretended to be zoned out still.

I laughed. “Wow, really Bella? We’re gonna do this?” I said, snapping my fingers in her face a few times.

It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened. I couldn’t put my finger on it. When I had snapped, I’d heard complete silence after the first few, but the sound had returned after a few more. It had almost missed me completely.

I frowned, and Bella laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just got lost in your eyes.” She giggled, turning away.

I felt myself blush, but I wasn’t even paying attention fully. What had just happened? I slowly looked down at my hand. I placed my index finger on my thumb.

*SNAP*

Nothing.

*SNAP*

Nothing still. Was I going insane?

*SNAP*

I was struck with a wave of silence. It was the most insane thing I’d ever experienced. A loud schoolyard, full of screaming kids and revving bus engines, quiet in a split second. I looked up from my hand slowly, not knowing what to expect.

What I’d hoped wouldn’t happen was exactly what happened. I saw Bella, midstep, her skirt floating in a ruffled position. I slowly looked around. A kid getting off the bus was suspended in air, his left leg floating off of the ground. Birds in the sky were paused, their wings in varied positions. Someone must have dropped a pencil, as one was floating in midair in front of a frozen student, their face starting to look surprised. I took a step. I walked around, looking at the various students and faculty members suspended in time.

I couldn’t fucking believe it. I looked at the pencil. Reaching my hand out slowly, I placed my hand around it. I pulled on it and was met with some resistance. I pulled it towards me some and let go. It stopped in the position I had left it in. Imagine it like a magnet on a fridge. Put your hand on the magnet and slide it across the fridge; its kind of hard to move, you can rotate it and slide it, and it stays in the position you left it in. It was absurd. It was amazing.

I looked back at Bella. I walked up to her, and looked at her face. I had never done that before. It was so hard for me to make eye contact with Bella, not to mention any girl, for longer than a few seconds. I always got nervous and looked away. It made me feel uncomfortable. Bella was the opposite. She lived for eye contact. If she spoke to you, she was staring you in the eyes, even if you weren’t to her. And she had beautiful eyes.

Weird way to talk about a friend, I know, but like I said, I’d had a bit of a thing for her since I met her.

I looked into her pretty blue eyes and I felt nervous again. What if time paused, but the paused people can still see me in real time? What if they just can’t move? What if Bella was consciously staring back at me right now?

I panicked and was about to snap my fingers, when I stopped myself. What if time was really paused? If I restarted time right now, it would seem like I teleported to everyone else. That would be horrible.

I looked behind Bella and found where I had been standing, more or less. I stood behind her and looked at her back, about where I’d been standing. I was about to snap my fingers again, when a terrible lust passed over me. I looked down slowly, to Bella’s silky white legs. She looked so adorable in the black skirt… what was she wearing underneath…?

I could almost feel myself move, when I felt an intense wave of guilt. How could I think like that?! This is Bella! She’s so innocent, and sweet… I couldn’t do that.

Could I?

Before I made a mistake, I put my fingers together.

*SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP*

The sound of a shoe hitting the ground behind me signified the kid had stepped off the bus. The pencil hit next, followed by the tweets of birds overhead. I felt a shiver move through my body. What just happened?

I fell into step behind Bella, not thinking about what I could have just done to my best friend…

To Be Continued…

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