Three Wishes

“Fine,” I said. “I’m just tired.”

“You and Alex probably stayed up half the night.”

“Not that late.” I knew better than to complain about my homework. Mom would just tell me that I should have done it on Friday night.

“Chicken salad?” Mom asked.

I looked at the sandwiches on the counter. “That would be great.”

Mom handed me one. “Get your homework done and then come down and join us.”

I took a bite of the sandwich and nodded.

Monday morning came way too quickly. I’d never made it to movie night because of all the homework. I forced myself to get out of bed by promising I’d grab one of the iced coffees from the garage fridge. I hid them there disguised as vegetable juice.

Today I may actually blow their cover, because I was going to have to pop one open and chug it down before I managed to get dressed.

I headed downstairs. With two brothers, I had no choice but to sleep in a t-shirt and shorts. Like I was going to put on a robe every time I left my room. The last thing I needed was those perverts sending pics of me in a nightie to their friends.

When Sean was nine, I’d caught him selling my panties to his friends. My panties are worth way more than a dollar, trust me.

Mom sat at the kitchen table sipping her coffee when I went in.

“How late were you up doing that homework?” she asked.

“Two,” I admitted. “And yes, from now on I’ll do it Friday night.”

“You’re the one paying the price,” Mom said. “Headed out for your caffeine stash?”

“Yeah.”

“Better hurry. I think Sean’s almost through in the bathroom.”

Speeding my groggy pace, I opened the garage door and fetched an iced coffee. I’d found a brand of vegetable juice with exactly the right sized labels to cover the bottle.

Joining Mom at the table, I unscrewed the top and took a few long sips. My body kicked into gear as the cold bitter liquid hit my stomach. Much better.

“Hmm,” Mom said as she flipped through her agenda. “That’s odd.”

“What?”

Mom glanced at me before answering. “Nothing really. Just some irregularities with a hearing.”

She had to be talking about Leo’s dad. I struggled to sound barely interested. “What kind of hearing?”

“Sorry, Jen,” Mom said, patting my hand like I was a child. “I can’t really discuss it.”

“Mom, I think it’s time I started to learn more about the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. and what being a genie is really all about.”

Mom looked up at me through her square-framed glasses. “You don’t get to vote in the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. until you’re twenty-one, Jen. We have plenty of time.”

Yeah, as if that vote counted for anything. All we could do was elect delegates to The Summit. “You don’t think I’m old enough to know.”

She shook her head. “Of course, you’re old enough. I want you to know what’s going on. It’s just that you’re so busy, and to be honest, keeping you in the dark about some things is just safer.” Mom stared at me for a moment like she was trying to read my mind. “I really thought you were happier that way. When I’ve brought things up, you haven’t seemed all that interested.”

“Well, I’m interested now.”

“I see that,” Mom said with a nod. “I don’t even know where to begin. So much is going on right now. One thing I can do is let you read the public memos and official opinions as they are released. Even just that will probably keep you pretty busy. But like reading the newspaper keeps you up to date on current events in the real world, these releases will keep you on top of issues in the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E.”

“Can I start today?”

Mom nodded. “I’ll forward anything to your email that isn’t confidential.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

I finished off my iced coffee as I ran upstairs to get dressed. With any luck, I’d be able to ask my mother about the Techno Echo and Leo’s dad by tonight. I desperately needed to know what was really going on. But there was no way I could risk being caught with Leo now. He needed my help.

I yanked the hairbrush through my hair, scrubbed my face, brushed on some blush, and applied some lip gloss.

The mirror confirmed my suspicions. I looked tired and a little pathetic.

What better way to start the week?

I grumbled my way down the stairs, grabbed my backpack, and followed Ian to the car. Mondays totally sucked.

Ian made snarky comments all the way to school about my driving.

Now that I knew I could probably get away with turning him into a goat, at least for a little while, he really should be more careful.

I finally pulled into a space at school and put the car in park.

Today Leo wasn’t here. I didn’t even have him to look forward to.

After swinging my backpack onto my back, I slammed the car door, pocketed the car key, and headed into the school.

Mondays were always girl day at lunch. Kelsey, Maggie, and Bree sat with me and Alex instead of smooching on their boyfriends.

Alex and Bree beat me to our table. I set my chicken sandwich and chips down. Then I opened my can of diet cola.

“Bree has the coolest news,” Alex said.

Uh oh. Please don’t share the STD thing with me right here at lunch. I always hated pretending I didn’t know something. “Really?” I couldn’t look at Bree.

“I got us all tickets to Johnny’s Metal Chicken at the Fox in two weeks.”

“You are the best, Bree!” No STD talk, thank God. I loved those guys. “I’ll pay you tomorrow for mine.”

Bree grinned. “I love shows at the Fox. They’re so much more personal.”

“The amphitheater is too big, and we can never afford the good seats,” Alex griped.

I saw Kelsey and Maggie making their way across the cafeteria. “Do Kels and Maggie know?”

“Oh, yeah,” Bree said. “I saw them before class.”

“I don’t know if Kyle will come,” Maggie said as she joined us. “He thinks they’re throwbacks to the eighties.”

“Fine,” Bree said. “I’ll invite someone for Alex or Jen.”

“I don’t know if Jen needs the help,” Alex said with a smirk.

I glared at her.

The chorus of ooh’s carried over the cafeteria.

“I’ll tell you guys something in two weeks. Until then, I’m not sharing.”

“No fair,” Maggie said, pulling the lid off her yogurt. “We share everything with you.”

“Tell us,” Bree demanded.

“My life is dull compared to yours.” For the first time, my life was anything but dull. “Trust me.”

“Oh yeah, Alex,” Kelsey said. “I forgot to tell you that I’m sleeping over at your house on Thursday. Will you cover for me?”

Alex rolled her eyes. “I’m going to need an app to keep all this straight.”

“You know we’d all do it for you,” Bree said.

With a sigh, Alex opened her assignment journal and scribbled a note. “You’d better. Senior year, I’m calling all these in.”

Chapter Ten

When the day finally ended, I dashed to Ian’s locker to get him moving. He had apparently managed to catch the eye of Haley Anderson, one of the most popular seniors.

“C’mon, Ian. I need to get home.”

The disgustingly pretty blond smiled at me. “Oh, right. I forgot Ian had a sister.”

“You’re just going to have to wait, Jen. I’m talking.”

“Oh, no, Ian. Go ahead. I’ll see you at practice.”

With a flirtatious grin, she bounced away down the hall.

“She’s coming to your practice?”

Ian nodded, obviously pleased with himself.

I hated when they had groupies. The last couple of girls had wandered into the house to use the bathroom and then I’d caught them snooping around our house. Ian, Dylan, and Derek

had never attracted nice girls. Girls that I would actually like.

I highly doubted Haley had any interest in my stinky brother. She had the hots for Leo like everybody else.

“How many people is she bringing with her?”

Ian shrugged. “Who cares?”

Terrific. Now, I had to break into Mom’s office and dodge the Armpit Hostage bimbos.

“Was Leo at school today?” I asked trying desperately to sound nonchalant.

“Nah, but he’ll show for practice. He promised.”

Ian had no idea what Leo was going through. He was about to lose his father forever. And Ian thought his stupid band was so important.

Since Ian had bimbos coming, I couldn’t wait for practice to start before getting into Mom’s office. If the girls went wandering, the boys could decide to follow. The bimbos wouldn’t have a clue that I shouldn’t be in Mom’s office, but the guys would.

I dumped my backpack in the kitchen. Sean had gone home with a friend to work on a science project. Generally, his friend’s mother tolerated his presence for no more than two hours. So I had to hurry.