Three Wishes

“You can beam the car here, too?”

“No,” he said with a smile, but I can portal there and drive it back.”

Right. I nodded, and he walked across the parking lot to the Prius, climbed in, shut the door, and disappeared. Poof. Just the Prius remained.

Okay. I could handle jumping through space at will. I was a genie for crying out loud. I dealt with all kinds of weirdness on a regular basis.

Chapter Nine

By the time Leo got back with my car, I had finished off my drink and managed to eat my sandwich.

Now that I had my mind around how I’d gotten here, I was worried about being caught.

“Thanks, Leo,” I said as he handed me the keys.

“Are you back to normal?”

I nodded, dropping the keys in my purse. “Pretty much.”

“Let me grab some lunch and we’ll talk.”

When he got back with his tray, I didn’t even wait for him to sit before asking, “Am I going to get caught?”

Leo set his tray down and sat in the chair across from me. “No.” He shook his head. “You don’t need to worry. It’s all about the Techno Echo we talked about. The chance that they’ll have picked up on you is slim to none.”

Leaning forward with my elbows on the table, I said, “Okay. I think it’s time I learned more about the Techno Echo.”

Leo opened his straw and stuck it into his drink. “Basically things are going to blow up before long. The U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. and genies are polarizing into two camps. One wants genies to provide an alternative to magic monitoring, and one insists genies keep the new freedoms.”

At the Treaty of the Bermuda Triangle, we had agreed to be monitored and to work for the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. in exchange for some freedom. However, it was now the 21st century. Why should we be monitored when most Americans were not? Why should we be treated like criminals? They could wait until we caused trouble before monitoring us.

“But it’s only a matter of time before we reach the breaking point. Either there will be violence, or the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. will come up with a new system and we won’t know it until we’re caught. So, today I’m pretty sure we’re safe, but next week, maybe not.”

Yeah, so not worth the risk. I wouldn’t be using my newfound power. “Now I see why your dad thinks his arrest has to do with the movement. It’s a big deal, huh?”

“Yes. But I don’t want to ignore any possibilities.”

“So you just came from the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E.?”

He nodded, already chewing a bite of his burger.

“And you had no warning about the no visitor thing?’

“No.” He clenched his jaw. “It’s almost like they make this stuff up as they go along.”

“Should we split up and each take half the list?”

“Katie’s run out of leads on my dad’s past and the last few weeks. She’s going to take some of the list. If you’ll ride with me, we’ll do what we can. Then I’ll skip school tomorrow to do the rest.”

“I’m surprised you’ve bothered to go at all.”

He smiled. “I promised my dad, remember? Besides, I needed to meet you, and I don’t want to give the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. any excuses to mess with me. I missed two days when he was arrested. I can miss tomorrow. Skipping out for two straight weeks probably wouldn’t have worked.” He glanced down at my tray. “Keep eating. We have to hurry.”

I ate a couple more fries.

“Dad doesn’t like it when I eat in his car,” he said, looking sheepish.

“I eat fast,” I said trying to make him feel comfortable.

He finished his burger and ate two or three fries. “Done,” he said.

I stood. “Are drinks allowed?”

“Yeah.” He smiled at me. “Dad’s okay with that.”

Thank goodness. I grabbed my soft drink and dumped the rest of my tray at the trash.

“You’ve got my notebook ready?” I asked as we walked to the car.

“MapQuest's and everything,” he said, unlocking the passenger door for me.

Just like old times, I thought to myself. I buckled up and then grabbed the folder.

“Here we go again,” he said, backing out of the space.

We hit seven of the names on the list in two and a half hours. No Lexus.

“I should get back,” I admitted.

“Thanks for helping,” Leo said.

He pulled into the space next to my car at Wendy’s.

“So I won’t see you at school tomorrow?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, probably not.”

“Do you want me to help after school?”

“That would be great.” He looked at me, and I got lost in his blue eyes. “You’re the best, Jen.”

My heart thumped. If I just sat there, would he kiss me? I tried, but I just couldn’t risk looking like an idiot.

Heat rushed to my cheeks at the thought of him kissing me. I pretended to gaze out the window, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

When I turned back to dare a glance at him, he winked.

Oh, yeah. He noticed all right.

“See you tomorrow,” I said, opening the car door.

Mom stopped me in the foyer. “Hi, hon. You didn’t buy anything?”

“Huh?”

“At Target?” she said, with a pointed look at my hands which held no bags.

Uh. Oh. I’d never left Target without buying something. I searched my brain for something in my purse. “Just a Carmex,” I said, digging frantically in my purse to produce the evidence.

“Wow,” Mom said. “I don’t think you’ve ever spent that little.”

“Nothing really jumped out at me,” I said. Because I wasn’t anywhere near there, but whatever.

I must have been improving at this lying stuff. Unfortunately, I was too wired to stop searching my purse. I kept digging and knocked out the cell phone from Leo. It hit the floor with a loud smack.

Crap!

“Is that a phone?” Mom asked. “What happened to your new one?”

“It’s fine.” I squatted down to grab the phone. “This was Alex’s old one, and since she had my old one, she doesn’t need it anymore.” Please, please buy it.

She narrowed her eyes. “But you don’t need it either.”

“Of course not,” I said, trying to force a laugh and failing. “I just thought it was cool. I’d never seen a disposable phone. So I borrowed it to mess with it.”

Mom frowned and bit her lip.

“It’s just sort of interesting.”

&nb

sp; She nodded. “Have you finished your homework? Dad was hoping we could have movie night.”

I checked my watch. It was after six. “I need to hit the drums and finish my trig. Give me an hour.”

“See you at seven,” Mom said.

I dashed up to my room faster than ever before.

I hadn’t even broken a sweat on the drums when Mom showed up and told me to get my cell phone.

“Sorry, hon. I need you to take this genie visit.”

“Awww. I just started.”

“I know.” She handed me the phone. “It’s been a rough weekend.”

I put down my drumsticks, stood up, and pushed the button on the phone.

Next thing I knew, I was breathing strong antiseptic fumes in a hospital room. A middle aged Asian man lay on the bed, being monitored by several beeping machines. He had a large bandage covering his arm.

We were in the burn unit. I’d been here before.

Mr. Kim must have done something heroic to push him over the karma point threshold.

I walked over to his bedside. I wouldn’t need to mess with fog this time. The poor man would be groggy from all the pain medications.

“Mr. Kim,” I whispered.

He rolled his head from one side to the other.

“Sir,” I said. I carefully searched his shoulder to make sure he had no injuries there. Then I squeezed it and said his name again.

He finally opened his eyes.

“Mr. Kim,” I said softly. “If you could have three wishes, what would they be?”

With a dazed smile, he turned to look at me.

“Three wishes,” he mumbled.

“Yes, sir.”

“My wife and I want a child,” he said with a slight rasp.

“You will have that child,” I told him. “What else?”

“I want…a long life with my family… and a successful career… so that I may provide for them.”

“Thank you, Mr. Kim,” I said with a smile. “Go back to sleep.”

“How’d it go?” Mom asked when I stepped out of the pantry.