else.
Mrs. Mashburn powered up her laptop and started explaining the project.
I felt such a rush of gratitude. Maybe I should do something nice for her. I was allowed to grant tiny little insignificant wishes. I could give Mrs. Mashburn a tiny wish, but I’d never know what she wished for. If her next wish wasn’t trivial, the grant wouldn’t work until the next trivial wish. I hadn’t granted any in a long time. Two years ago, I granted one for a girl in my class. The next thing I knew, the guy I had a huge crush on walked right up to her and asked her out.
It had been terrible, and I’d resigned never to make that mistake again.
Granting a wish for yourself in the mirror…Leo was nuts.
Of course, Mrs. Mashburn was awesome. And she wasn’t likely to wish for Leo to ask her out. Not that I had a crush on Leo. Because I didn’t.
Shaking off my errant thoughts, I went ahead and granted Mrs. Mashburn her next trivial wish. Then I hurriedly jotted down the notes to catch up.
The bell finally rang, and I crammed my notebook into my bag.
Johnson jumped up as usual, acting all hotshot, and started strutting for the door.
I saw Mrs. Mashburn give him a dirty look. It happened so fast, I almost thought I imagined it.
Until Johnson tripped over his own feet and smashed into the floor. My classmates laughed and pointed.
Mrs. Mashburn jumped back and covered her mouth.
She had totally wished for him to fall on his face!
I clamped my mouth shut as a peal of laughter escaped. I never would have guessed she was so vindictive.
The teacher rushed to help him up, but he shook off her help. “I got it,” he snapped.
Mrs. Mashburn stepped back.
I rushed out of the room before Mrs. Mashburn could realize that I was staring at her instead of Johnson.
I was dying to tell someone what had happened. But I couldn’t. I’d have to tell my mother later. But now that I was hiding things from her, I wasn’t sure I should seek her out for any one-on-one time.
I laughed as I walked down the hall, catching more than one curious look. Johnson had literally flown through the air for a second before crashing down on his face. And he so deserved it.
I needed to find Alex and beg her to cover for me tomorrow. I couldn’t risk my brother tagging along. I was so lucky Alex had forgiven me. She’d totally think that something was up with me and Leo.
Lying was not my thing. The whole genie mess really set me up for lying to my friends though. Either that or just be the weird girl who has no friends.
I shuddered. How could anyone survive without friends? Especially if their family was mostly irritating brothers.
Resigning myself to lie convincingly, I made my way to the locker to catch Alex.
She spotted me coming. “Wassup?”
“Are you kidding me? What’s with the hip hop speak?”
Alex laughed.
“I think you’re spending too much time with the boy's basketball team.” Some of them, mostly the white guys, thought they were Lil Wayne.
“You’re just jealous. Or you would be if you ever came to the games and saw the guys play.”
Uh-oh. We were already on the wrong track.
I rushed right into my scheme. “So I’m sneaking out on Saturday to meet Leo for lunch. Will you cover for me?”
“No way! He asked you to lunch?” Her earrings bobbed as she talked. “Like a date? He is so totally yummy. Wait a minute. Why aren’t you just telling your mother the truth?”
Moving closer to her, I said, “Um. Well, because we don’t want Ian to know, and I don’t want to deal with Mom yet. I mean. It’s probably just a one-time deal. Mom would probably worry for nothing.”
“Wow, Jen. I don’t think you’ve ever kept something from your mother before.”
Probably not. “Sure I have,” I lied. “Anyway, it’s no biggie. Can I say I’m hanging at your house?”
“Of course. But I want all the details.”
Great, now I’d have to make up some details. “Okay. You’ve got it.” I switched out my
Mrs. Mashburn powered up her laptop and started explaining the project.
I felt such a rush of gratitude. Maybe I should do something nice for her. I was allowed to grant tiny little insignificant wishes. I could give Mrs. Mashburn a tiny wish, but I’d never know what she wished for. If her next wish wasn’t trivial, the grant wouldn’t work until the next trivial wish. I hadn’t granted any in a long time. Two years ago, I granted one for a girl in my class. The next thing I knew, the guy I had a huge crush on walked right up to her and asked her out.
It had been terrible, and I’d resigned never to make that mistake again.
Granting a wish for yourself in the mirror…Leo was nuts.
Of course, Mrs. Mashburn was awesome. And she wasn’t likely to wish for Leo to ask her out. Not that I had a crush on Leo. Because I didn’t.
Shaking off my errant thoughts, I went ahead and granted Mrs. Mashburn her next trivial wish. Then I hurriedly jotted down the notes to catch up.
The bell finally rang, and I crammed my notebook into my bag.
Johnson jumped up as usual, acting all hotshot, and started strutting for the door.
I saw Mrs. Mashburn give him a dirty look. It happened so fast, I almost thought I imagined it.
Until Johnson tripped over his own feet and smashed into the floor. My classmates laughed and pointed.
Mrs. Mashburn jumped back and covered her mouth.
She had totally wished for him to fall on his face!
I clamped my mouth shut as a peal of laughter escaped. I never would have guessed she was so vindictive.
The teacher rushed to help him up, but he shook off her help. “I got it,” he snapped.
Mrs. Mashburn stepped back.
I rushed out of the room before Mrs. Mashburn could realize that I was staring at her instead of Johnson.
I was dying to tell someone what had happened. But I couldn’t. I’d have to tell my mother later. But now that I was hiding things from her, I wasn’t sure I should seek her out for any one-on-one time.
I laughed as I walked down the hall, catching more than one curious look. Johnson had literally flown through the air for a second before crashing down on his face. And he so deserved it.
I needed to find Alex and beg her to cover for me tomorrow. I couldn’t risk my brother tagging along. I was so lucky Alex had forgiven me. She’d totally think that something was up with me and Leo.
Lying was not my thing. The whole genie mess really set me up for lying to my friends though. Either that or just be the weird girl who has no friends.
I shuddered. How could anyone survive without friends? Especially if their family was mostly irritating brothers.
Resigning myself to lie convincingly, I made my way to the locker to catch Alex.
She spotted me coming. “Wassup?”
“Are you kidding me? What’s with the hip hop speak?”
Alex laughed.
“I think you’re spending too much time with the boy's basketball team.” Some of them, mostly the white guys, thought they were Lil Wayne.
“You’re just jealous. Or you would be if you ever came to the games and saw the guys play.”
Uh-oh. We were already on the wrong track.
I rushed right into my scheme. “So I’m sneaking out on Saturday to meet Leo for lunch. Will you cover for me?”
“No way! He asked you to lunch?” Her earrings bobbed as she talked. “Like a date? He is so totally yummy. Wait a minute. Why aren’t you just telling your mother the truth?”
Moving closer to her, I said, “Um. Well, because we don’t want Ian to know, and I don’t want to deal with Mom yet. I mean. It’s probably just a one-time deal. Mom would probably worry for nothing.”
“Wow, Jen. I don’t think you’ve ever kept something from your mother before.”
Probably not. “Sure I have,” I lied. “Anyway, it’s no biggie. Can I say I’m hanging at your house?”
“Of course. But I want all the details.”
Great, now I’d have to make up some details. “Okay. You’ve got it.” I switched out my
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