Hey everyone! I had to write this short story for English class and it actually turned out better than I thought. The characters have no names only because (1) I was kinda lazy to make up names on the spot and (2) I didn’t think it’d matter whether or not they had names or not.

So, before I start babbling about how horrible I write (especially since I do), I’ll just let you all read. Hope you don’t hate it!

Disclaimer: The plot was created by me. The story was written by me. The whole thing is mine! So don’t steal please.

Once a Dream, Now a Nightmare

            Deep within history, beyond the clouds that shadow the sky, and past the vast oceans, there held a secret that was heavily hidden beyond that of human eyes, a wonder which everyone knew of yet had never believed. Without the stories passed on by mouth, we would not know of it, the story of the conniving genie and her precious lamp. The genie herself never thought of herself as bad; she just played by her own rules and her own hearing, meaning what she thought she heard is what stood. This genie had been passed through the hands of many people, leaving a little bit of trouble behind. Of the one that now had her, he had no clue. Of course, he didn’t even know she existed until the day destiny decided to bring the two together for as long as she desired.

            A third year college student never figured that buying an innocent lamp for his girlfriend would cause much harm. He was quite mistaken when he arrived at home to find that the lamp he had bought was far from normal. Walking into his apartment, he was not surprised to see the clutter of books and clothing all over the place. Casually, he threw the lamp onto his table. It rolled slowly off the table and landed on the ground with a small bang. Luckily for him, the impact wasn’t enough to break it. He turned around as soon as he heard the landing and rolled his eyes. Picking it up from the ground, he took his sleeve to rub off any implications of dust or ruin on the lamp. A few seconds later, the lamp started to shake and a female materialized in front of him. Shocked, he nearly dropped the lamp for a second time as he took in the female in front of him. Her brown hair was long and held in a high ponytail while her green eyes wandered around the room, taking in the surroundings.

            “Hmmm. . . Interesting place,” she said with a soft voice, still looking around. Her eyes landed on him and they sparkled with interest. “So you must be my newest master. I am your genie. Three wishes are what I give and after I leave. Those are the guidelines. Now any wishes?” she asked. He stared at her in disbelief. “And yes, I AM really a genie and NO you aren’t dreaming.”  With an eyebrow raised, he kept staring at her. “This is not a prank! Just make a wish already.” She had no time to spare; trouble was what she specialized in and that’s what she was going to do. First, she needed a wish.

            Her want to cause trouble though didn’t affect how fast the guy was processing all the information. Rolling her eyes, she looked back at his figure to see him still staring at her with wide eyes. Not wanting to waste any time strangling him, she took a look at her new ‘master’. “Okay. Lonely fellow with a girlfriend who doesn’t seem to be happy with him. Not doing well in school and suffers from indecisiveness.” She gave a snort as she kept taking in all the information she could about him. “Usually quiet and peaceful but tries to make himself visible to all the other people. Cares WAY too much for random people which leads him to waste much money.” She rolled her eyes once again as she added, “He’s such a stupid fool but what he does with his life is none of my business. . .”

            The student shook his head as he processed all the information in his head. Finally, the thought of a genie in his room wasn’t so crazy anymore. The first words that came out of his mouth were that of a wish. “I wish that my girlfriend could be happy.”

            Her eyes twinkled as she heard the wish. “As you wish,” she said, snapping her fingers. The two disappeared from the room to appear on an empty street. The male was ecstatic as he realized that his girlfriend wouldn’t be so grumpy. He had been going out with her for two weeks so far and she hadn’t seemed so happy for the last few days or so. Giving himself a mental pat on the back, he was proud to know that he actually realized this. Seconds passed and his girlfriend walked down the street. He grinned brightly and started to call her name until he noticed a male arm hanging onto hers.

            The sight was all too strange for him. He never expected her to be on someone else’s ARM. “Wait a minute. . . What’s she doing with him?” he asked the genie. He turned to see a face full of deceit and mischief.

            “You wished for her to be happy. She doesn’t HAVE to be happy with you.” The genie gave a devious smile, “She had been planning to break up with you anyway.” She snapped her fingers as they disappeared from the street and back into his apartment. “Another wish, master?”

            “Not just yet. . .” he mumbled as he entered his room, leaving the genie all by herself. Inside, he started to pace nervously, a habit he hadn’t gotten rid of yet. One wish so far got ruined through a loophole. He had to make sure she didn’t find a loophole again. After a bit of thinking, he plopped onto his bed, exasperated as his own misfortune. It was then that he realized he had more to worry about. “No! I have a final to worry about!” He buried his face into the pillow as he recalled that that exact afternoon he had a final to take. His want to save his wish fell and out of his mouth, he spoke softly, almost barely hearable. “I wish that I could pass this test without having to study.”

            The genie materialized in front of his face, with a little smile tugging on her lips. “Your wish is granted,” she said as she snapped her fingers.

He sat up from the bed quickly. “No wait!” he exclaimed but it was all too late for him for he disappeared from the room with the genie to find himself in his English room with his professor standing there. He looked around. “Wh-Where am I?” That was when he took notice of his teacher. “Professor?” She seemed to be acting odd as she sauntered over to him and started whispering sweet things into his ear while trying to get a kiss in. “Wh-What’s going on here? Why is my professor acting so strangely?” he stuttered, trying to get away from the teacher.

            “Well, you said you wanted to pass the test. You never said HOW you would pass it. And one of the pleasant options of passing is to seduce your professor!” she said with a cherry smile, acting completely opposite of her true personality.

            “Can-Can’t you stop this?” he panicked as he tried to fend the teacher’s hands from himself.

            “Well it was your wish. . . And unless you’d rather it not get passed, then I think you should go through with it. . .” she looked up at the ceiling, twirling her hair around her finger.

            “WHAT?” he exclaimed with much fury, a trait that he had never really revealed until she came into the picture. “I can’t just let my professor hit on me!” He gave the female a push and dashed out of the classroom, leaving behind a genie that just rolled her eyes.

            “And they wonder why I hate this job. Nobody ever appreciates what we do,” she huffed. Snapping her fingers, she disappeared from the room, leaving a bewildered professor behind in an empty classroom.

            “Well. . . I have the sudden urge to take a shower.” The professor muttered as she grabbed her bags and walked out the door, wondering what could have happened.

            The college boy, on the other hand, still had the memory lodged in his brain as he stormed away from the college grounds and towards the apartment he owned. He was furious with himself and furious with the genie. This was supposed to go WELL and ABSOLUTELY PERFECT not horrible and miserable like it was going now. His thoughts were halted by the sudden appearance of the genie. He scowled at her smiling face.

            “Last wish?” she asked sweetly, wanting to finish this job so she could return to her lamp and be passed onto her next master. That lamp was basically all she had and all she could survive with.

            He really didn’t want to make another wish; he didn’t want to go through more torture. First he lost his girlfriend and then his PROFESSOR hit on him. Who caused all this trouble? SHE DID. With that last thought echoing in his mind, he bellowed, all his anger focusing on the petite female that stood in front of him. “I wish you would just leave me alone and never come back!”

            The genie gave a smirk, a change from the sweet smile she had given him before. The switch in face features made him think that she had automatically assumed he would do that. “As you wish. . . MASTER.” With a snap of her fingers, she disappeared from thin air and he could have sworn that he had heard her say something before she left. The thought though was out of his mind as soon as he found that he was finally free, free from the torture she had put him through. Free from all the complications that built up from her schemes. He was just free! Treasuring his new found independence and a desire to go out and have fun, he did just that. He took his jacket and wallet and headed straight out the door, knowing that for once something during this one week would actually go well. With a slam of the door, the previous lamp that once held the genie was sent flying to the floor. It smashed into various pieces and when the boy came home the next day, he cleaned up the pieces without a thought of what the lamp might have caused for him.

            A passive week later, he was still having fun, struggling while in school too but still doing well during his life. He had just taken another exam and although he had studied furiously to pass it, he still felt that he hadn’t done too well. With a sigh, he crossed the street, making his way to his apartment. “Sometimes, I think I’m such an idiot for wasting that last wish. I wish I hadn’t wished her away. . .” he said to himself. With those words, a female materialized to his side and her familiar smirk was the first thing he saw.

            “Hey honey. I’m home!” She gave a wink as his eyes widened in shock. She added, “And this time I’m here to stay. Too bad honey I’m going to have a blast staying with you.” The broken pieces of the lamp started to glow brightly until the light faded away. A dream it started; a nightmare it ended.

The End

So the ending was kinda weird. I have to say that when I showed it to a couple of my friends, they didn’t understand it as well. I’ll tell everyone reading this how it goes just so you can understand. The genie stayed with him not because of his wish but because he had broken the lamp. The coincidence that she appeared at the same time was on purpose. She may have only been a genie but she could do much more than that and with those other powers, she also could tell the future (not too far ahead though). Anyway, the lamp was a means of her traveling from master to master and after the lamp broke, it meant she couldn’t transfer anymore and she was basically free from being a genie. I hope that explains it! Maybe someday I’ll write a prelude or a sequel. . . Depends on what all you readers think! So review with your opinions. I’d love to hear them! Bye for now!