“Night,” Paxton said when the genie withdrew to her lamp home. He sighed and leaned back on his bed. She might have still been cold towards him, but at least he didn’t have to worry about finding her a place to stay in his room. It would have been a hassle to steal a sleeping bag from the garage without making his family suspicious, and he doubted he would have been able to sleep at all while knowing there was a girl in the room with him, even if she wasn’t human. So in the end, it was probably for the best that Mirajane rejected his offer this time.

He spent a short while getting ready for bed and then turned off the lights, climbing back on top of the mattress wearily. The weight of everything that had happened that day finally came crashing down on him. He had been publicly rejected by the most popular girl in school, he had gone to a creepy magic shop and found a real genie, and said genie didn’t seem to have granted his wish. In all, it had been a thoroughly exhausting day, so he had no trouble passing out that night.

--

Paxton went through his morning rituals with unusual haste. He wanted to get to school as quickly as he could to see if Mirajane’s claims were true and she actually did make him the best lacrosse player in the school. As the reveal grew closer, his cynicism was beginning to give way to hopefulness. He had to keep reminding himself that there was always a chance that the genie lied to him, but still, his optimism persisted. He finally had a chance to win Emily over at last, even if it was a slim one.

He stuffed Mirajane’s lamp into his backpack before he headed out the door. He wanted to keep her with him just in case she wasn’t being completely truthful. He also didn’t want to leave her in his room for someone else to find. In all of his confusion the day before, he had forgotten to ask if other people could summon her by rubbing the lamp. It would have been bad if one of his parents accidentally discovered the genie while he was away at school, so he decided to play it safe and bring her with him.

Paxton climbed into his car, dropping his bag into the front passenger seat, and headed out.

It was the jolt that woke her up. Mirajane's eyes flew open as the entire lamp received a shake, sending her an inch into the air and dropping her back onto her comfy bed. She sat up and waited a moment, but whatever had happened, it didn't seem as though Paxton was trying to summon her. So what is he doing? she wondered, stretching her arms up and over her head. With a snap of her fingers, a plate of pancakes and a glass of juice appeared before her, and she quickly dug into them. Even as bland as conjured food was, pancakes were still her favorite breakfast meal. Once they were all gone, she sighed contentedly, ready to start the day.

She still disliked serving humans, but the fact that she now had a master at least allowed her to leave the lamp from time to time; actually having a day to start was a wonderful thing for her.

With another stream of colorful smoke, she slid her way out of the lamp, recognizing at once that, though he was still beside her, Paxton and she were no longer in the boy's room. "Good morning, Master." She greeted him cooly and dutifully, her voice still giving no indication that she regarded him with anything other than disdain. However, it was just a little bit nicer a tone than before - her initial dislike had cooled in the night. She glanced around, noting that her lamp was now sealed within an odd pouch, made to be hung on a person's body (or so she guessed, judging by the two large strips on the back). Ah. That would explain the jolt. Upon further inspection - including phasing through the window and looking outside - she also realized that she was in one of the strange metal wheel-boxes that she'd seen up on the roof the previous night.

"If I may ask, just what exactly is this?" she asked, motioning to the wheel-box. "How can such a large metal box, even one with four wheels, move itself so quickly?" If asked, she would immediately deny it, but curiosity had always been one of her stronger aspects.

As he pulled out of his driveway, Paxton began sorting out what he would say to Emily White if his wish had come true. Unfortunately, it seemed like smooth words weren’t part of being a great lacrosse player because he couldn’t think of any good lines… or any lines at all. Maybe just asking her out again would suffice since he was supposedly the most talented player in the school? Emily didn’t seem like the type to care much about how she was asked, so long as the person who did the asking fit her high standards.

Paxton was so busy mulling this over that when Mirajane suddenly appeared beside him, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He swerved slightly, almost grazing the car on his left, and shot the other driver an apologetic look. The man just glared at him and muttered something to himself. Whatever he said, Paxton could guess the man wasn’t complimenting his driving skills. He looked away embarrassedly and slowed his car to let the man pass him. What a fine way to start off the morning.

He shot Mirajane a glare, but the genie seemed completely oblivious to his blunder, as she was busy exploring his car. Paxton bit his lip. He had been about to admonish her for startling him like that, but it really wasn’t her fault. She probably couldn’t tell where she was from inside the lamp, so she wouldn’t have known he was driving. Plus, he was the one who overreacted when she appeared beside him. He made a mental note to remember that she could leave her lamp without his summons.

“If I may ask, just what exactly is this?” Mirajane said suddenly. “How can such a large metal box, even one with four wheels, move itself so quickly?”

Paxton found himself smiling at her curiosity, “This ‘large metal box’ is called a car, and if I were to explain to you exactly how it works, we would be here for an hour or more. In a nutshell, though, it’s powered by an engine that uses gas and electricity. I control it from inside. There’re two pedals on the floor that I press with my foot to make the car stop or go, and I change the direction with this wheel.” He paused. He had no idea how long Mirajane had been sealed away in her lamp. From the sound of her question, she wasn’t familiar with cars at all, which would mean that she hadn’t seen daylight since before the twentieth century. He glanced at her a bit sheepishly, “Um, does that make any sense?”

Mirajane simply stared at him, wondering if he was trying to mess with her. However, as she continued to watch, his words seemed to prove true: the car moved, stopped, and turned on Paxton's command, each change defined by the slightest of motions. "Fascinating..." she said quietly. Then, still curious, she phased her head through the car itself and examined the large contraption that appeared to be making this "car" move. It was a very strange thing: a large hunk of metal with many whirling, whining, buzzing, and moving parts. She raised a hand toward it. Though she was still incorporeal, she could still sense heat, and it appeared that this machine heated and cooled itself, both at the same time. "Amazing!" she stated, finally coming back to rest above her lamp. "That such a thing can move by itself without the use of magic... Humans have come quite a long way."

She couldn't remember the last time she'd been out of her lamp. Actually, truth be told, "time" held very little meaning for her. As a genie, she was immortal, and unless someone wished her free, there in the lamp she would remain. So when a human actually summoned her, she took note of as many things as she could; for the days, weeks, and sometimes even months of service were but the briefest flashes of time to her. That was why she was always so curious: if she didn't take time to learn everything she could, entire centuries could pass by without her. It was truly a lonely life.

She sighed, shaking her head in an effort to rid herself of her depressing thoughts. To help, she decided to ask another question. "Where are you going, exactly?"

Paxton laughed when Mirajane phased through the dashboard of his car to take a look at the inner workings. Her childlike intrigue was amusing, but it was also nice to see someone who was interested in anything he owned. His car wasn’t fancy like the richer kids at his school; it was just a humble old Toyota with close to two hundred thousand miles on it. Nothing to brag about by any means. So, even if the genie was only fascinated because his was likely the first car she had ever seen, he still enjoyed watching her marvel over it.

After the initial novelty seemed to wear off, Mirajane turned back to him and asked, “Where are you going, exactly?”

“School,” Paxton answered simply. “You were the one who said to ‘see for myself,’ so that’s what I’m going to do. I also have regular classes and… some other things I have to do today.” Somehow, he didn’t feel comfortable sharing his attraction to Emily with the genie. She already seemed to think he was an idiot, and he didn’t want to encourage the idea. Of course, he didn’t think his crush was stupid. It was everyone else who continued to tell him it was pointless to keep chasing after her. He had a feeling that of he told Mirajane about Emily, she would just chastise him like all the others.

Arriving at the school, Paxton pulled into the parking lot and turned the key, shutting off the engine of his car. Before getting out, however, he turned to look at the genie skeptically. She claimed that she was only tangible when she sprouted legs, but how did he know this was true? He wasn’t sure if he could explain her away if someone saw her floating out of his backpack during class. He glanced up, meeting her eyes, “So… you are invisible when you’re like that, right? If someone saw you hovering over my shoulder, they might have a panic attack.”

"Of course," she answered, minorly annoyed by the question. "One of many things I can't do is lie to you." She knew. She'd tried with several previous humans; if she tried to tell a lie, the words simply refused to come. "I can't be detected by any human being but you. Assuming, of course, you keep the lamp to yourself." Some of her previous masters had thought it would be fun to share her with others. Joke was on them, of course; those few all suddenly found themselves without a genie. Pathetic.

As they approached the school, Mira couldn't help but smirk. She couldn't wait to see Paxton's reaction to the results of his wish. She'd promised him she'd undo the wish if he found she hadn't granted it. Well, Master, she thought to herself, I do look forward to the look on your face when you realize what you've done. Was it cruel of her? Maybe. No crueler, though, than when a human found a creature like her in bondage and never once considered that she might want out instead of wanting to grant their wishes. No, humans were only ever concerned with themselves: make me rich, make me famous, give me these things that I want. Nevermind what I or anyone else may wish for. Nevermind my needs, or the needs of others. Why should humans care about anything but their own selfishness?

She shook her head. It was a rant she frequently held with herself, though it did no good. Besides, she didn't have time to waste on it; Paxton was entering the building, and she could already tell that something had the people within stirred up. Time for the show.

Paxton nodded reluctantly at Mirajane’s explanation. He had no way to verify if the genie was telling him the truth, even when she said she couldn’t lie, but she sounded earnest enough. Besides, he didn’t have time to sit around and think it over. His first class started in less than twenty minutes and he still had to get his books from his locker. He also wanted to find Zach and ask him if anything had changed on the lacrosse team. He was curious to see how Mirajane might have granted his wish. Did she change everyone’s memories so he was always the best player in the school, or did no one else know it yet? Either way, he couldn’t wait to find out.

Paxton climbed out of his car and grabbed his backpack from the passenger seat, slinging one strap over his shoulder. He closed the door and locked it behind him, and then started walking to the school. As he got closer to the building, however, he began to take notice of Mirajane’s silence. It was strange, but it almost seemed like she was waiting for something. He wondered all too late if she knew something that he didn’t. The genie might not have been able to lie, but she could definitely keep her mouth shut if she wanted to.

Well, so long as Paxton got his wish, she could keep her little secrets to herself. He pulled the front door open and stepped inside the building. Instantly, he could tell that something was wrong. The hall was buzzing with gossip as the students walked with their friends. None of them sounded happy. He spotted Zach among the crowd and hurried over to him, “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Pax,” Zach turned to him, sounding surprised. “You haven’t heard? Something weird happened at the end of practice yesterday. We were scrimmaging and everything was going great, but then all of us started making amateur mistakes all of the sudden. I mean, it wasn’t just the new guys. It was like all of us forgot how to play.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Man, we have a game this Friday, too. Coach is furious.”

“Wow,” Paxton said in astonishment. “Um, I’ll be right back.” He pivoted on his heel and headed for the nearest empty classroom. Closing the door behind him, he dropped his backpack on a table and glared at Mirajane as she floated over it. “What did you do?” he hissed, trying to keep his voice low to avoid drawing the attention of anyone who might walk by.

It took every ounce of Mira's self-control not to burst out laughing as the muscular boy explained the situation to Paxton. When they were alone, however, and Paxton demanded to know what had happened, she finally lost it. "Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!" She laughed a moment, then managed to calm down - though a cheshire grin was still plastered to her face. "Why, whatever do you mean, Master?" she asked in mock innocence. "I simply granted your wish exactly as you worded it: you are now the single greatest lacrosse player at this entire school. Congratulations." Just to rub it in worse, she conjured two large party poppers that exploded into confetti and ribbons, all of which rained down on Paxton before disappearing a moment later.

Was it harsh? Probably. But so was her lot in life. Her grin turned into a smirk as she beheld Paxton's angry face. "I seem to recall us making a deal, Master. So, wouldn't you agree that I have fulfilled your wish to the letter?"

“I didn’t mean—” Paxton started and then stopped. His cheeks were flushed with anger and embarrassment. What was he supposed to do? She was right: In all technicality, the wish fulfilled exactly what he had asked for. She had just granted it a way that he hadn’t expected. Her haughty attitude wasn’t helping anything either. He let out his breath and rubbed his forehead, trying to calm himself down so he could think rationally. “Okay, fine. That was a cute little trick, but I want you to reverse it. Put things back the way they were before I made my wish.”

Of course he wanted to use all three wishes to try and woo Emily White, but it wasn’t fair to everyone else if he left them to suffer from the first one. He had to use the next wish to make things right. But what if the third wish turned out just as badly as the last? He would have no way to reverse it if something went wrong. He would have to take the time to think his final wish over and find a way to word it so that Mirajane couldn’t twist it into something undesirable.

Paxton suddenly recalled the note taped to the counter in the magic shop where he had originally found the lamp. It had said that ‘all magic comes with a price.’ At first he had just laughed it off as some catchy little gimmick to attract customers, but now he was finally starting to see just how true it was. He sighed. He should have just left the lamp and walked out of that store. It would have made his life a whole lot easier if he had.

“Do you make all your masters miserable?” Paxton sat down tiredly in a chair and drummed his fingers on the desk. “Or am I just special?”

Mira's cheshire grin returned. "Very well, but since I fulfilled it properly, I'm afraid you don't get that wish back." She snapped her fingers, and just like that, the magic was lifted. "The next time your lacrosse team attempts to play, they'll find all their skills are just as they were before... as are yours, of course." She smiled and leaned back in the air as though relaxing on an invisible recliner. In fact, she would have stayed that very way had Paxton not uttered those next few, dangerous words.

"Do you make all your masters miserable? Or am I just special?"

Oh no. Oh no no no no no no. He did not just say that.

"Miserable?" she repeated, rising back up to look at him again. "Miserable? I mess with you for one wish, and you claim I am making you miserable?!" Her voice was steadily rising as she spoke, ending with her almost shouting. Even the smoke behind her seemed to be getting more and more stirred up as she swooped down to his level and grabbed him by the shirt, forcing him to look her in the eyes - eyes that were currently very unpleasant to look at. "Listen here, you pathetic little twerp! I offered to give you three wishes. Three wishes! You can literally have anything your heart desires with just a word and a will, and you claim I am making you miserable?! You wanna know what miserable is, punk?! Let me tell you about 'miserable'!"

"Miserable is getting stuffed into an infinite black void with no one but your own reflection for company for centuries at a time! Miserable is living your entire life as a slave, never even able to see the sunlight unless you're collared and bound to a master to serve! Miserable is being promised time and time and time again that you would be wished free, free to live a life you've never known, a life you've only dared to dream you'd ever get to know in your wildest and most desperate of dreams, only to be told each and every last time that this pathetic human being - whom you're bound to without any say-so on your part - has decided to take that last wish back and use it on themselves! And then, after all the hoping and dreaming of what your life might be like, walking about on my own legs, moving and doing what I want to do for a change, I get sucked back into that gold-covered prison cell, only to wait to do the same thing over again!"

She jabbed a finger into his chest. "So the next time you dare tell me that I make you miserable, take a moment and consider the life you have, cuz at least you get to have one!" With that, she all but threw his shirt back at him and disappeared into her lamp. When she was inside, she let out a scream that seemed to shake the very darkness that surrounded her.

She knew what Paxton had meant, but she didn't care. She'd had that building up for hundreds of years now; it had just been waiting for an excuse to come out.

Paxton recoiled when Mirajane exploded at him and returned to her lamp. He had just been trying to make a casual joke. He hadn’t expected her to react so violently. Was being a genie really that bad? She was immortal and had the power to use magic! …But then, she also had to live by herself until someone found her lamp and let her out, and even then, she was forced to serve her master like a faithful pet. Huh. Looking at it like that, her life as a genie suddenly wasn’t so glamorous.

Paxton glanced at a clock on the wall and jumped abruptly to his feet. His first class started in two minutes! He had been so caught up in Mirajane’s shouting that he hadn’t noticed what time it was. He snatched his backpack and hurried to his first hour classroom so he wouldn’t be late.

--

Throughout the day, Paxton found it impossible to focus on his studies. His mind kept wandering back to the incident with the genie, which he still felt bad about. She had disappeared before he even had a chance to apologize to her, and she was probably still furious with him. So far, he was making a wonderful first impression. He just wished he had a way to make up for his inconsiderate words.

…But then, maybe there was a way.

After school ended, Paxton headed back to his house and went straight to his room, locking the door behind him. His parents were both at work and his sister was at softball practice —she was the only one in the Hall family with any talent for sports— but he didn’t want to take any chances. Once that was done, he retrieved Mirajane’s lamp from his backpack and set it on his desk, rubbing it to summon the genie. He waited a moment for her to appear, and then launched into his speech before she had a chance to yell at him again.

“First of all,” Paxton said hastily. “I want to say that I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean to offend you, and I wasn’t thinking. You have every right to be mad.” He paused for breath and went on more slowly. “I also wanted to make you an offer. I know you’re stuck to your lamp because you’re a genie, but since I’m not going to use my last wish anytime soon, how about we use the time to let you live a little? I mean, I can show you around and we can do stuff that normal people do every day. I know it’s not much compared to an eternity there,” he gestured at the lamp. “But it’s better than nothing, right? So, what do you say?”