Be a Genie in Six Easy Steps Page 12

  “They’re coming!” howled Jason as four huge Slitherbots lumbered into sight through the hole in the wall.

  “Oh, Jess,” Colette gasped. “I’ve always wanted to believe in magic….” Her eyes widened. “You’re not tricking me? It’s really real?”

  “You’ll have the proof when those things blast us to bits,” Michael growled. “Now, rub the lamp!”

  The green, glutinous monsters stomped toward the garden wall.

  “Hurry!” cried Skribble from inside Milly’s schoolbag.

  “Colette?” Jess said urgently. “What’s your heart’s desire?”

  Colette rubbed the lamp hard. “I wish this craziness had never started,” she cried fervently, “and that things were back the way they were!”

  Milly blew out of the lamp in a blur of gold trousers and a strappy red top. Her turban was glittering with gold sequins, and her eyes were elaborately made up in gold and black to disguise her appearance. Jason gazed at her, seriously impressed—then yelled as the Slitherbots loomed up behind her.

  Milly turned to face them, unafraid. “As you wish it,” she boomed, in a voice that thundered up to the skies above, “so shall it be!”

  The Slitherbots defiantly lifted their slush guns to fire at her, at Colette—at all of them….

  And then they vanished.

  The garden was silent and peaceful once more. For a long moment, nobody moved. Then Jason slowly raised his head and started peering all around.

  “It’s okay,” Milly told him in a whisper that sounded like distant thunder. “They’ve gone.”

  Jess punched the air. “It’s over!”

  Michael turned to Milly and grinned. “You did it.”

  Milly looked like she might burst with happiness. “I couldn’t have done it without Colette!” she said, pirouetting as she shrank back into the lamp. “See you later, guys!” With that, she vanished down the brass spout.

  Michael gently took the lamp from Colette’s hands. “Say, ‘Genie be free,’” he told her.

  “Genie be free,” she repeated, parrot fashion. Colette was so deep in a daze she didn’t even notice as Milly burst out of the spout in her school uniform and flew right over a bush, landing in a noisy heap.

  Michael placed the lamp inside Milly’s schoolbag, next to the handbook. Then he handed the bag to Milly. “Stay here,” he murmured. “The less she knows the better, yeah?”

  “Okay,” sighed Milly. “I’ll wait with Skribble.”

  Colette was staring at the holes in the wall of her house. “The wish hasn’t worked completely. What will Mum and Dad say when—”

  “Give it a chance,” said Jess, putting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “That was quite a big wish you asked for.”

  Colette looked at her with wide eyes. “You’re, like, an expert at this, aren’t you?”

  Jess blushed. “Not really.”

  “None of us are,” sighed Michael.

  “Look!” Jason pointed at the side of the house. The holes in the wall were fading away to leave perfect brickwork in their place.

  Taking a deep, shaky breath, Colette headed toward the house. “Okay. Let’s go inside and check the place out.” She ran to the front door and pushed it open, Michael, Jess, and Jason following her.

  “The coat stand’s come back,” Jason noted. “That’s a good sign.”

  Just then, the door to Ollie’s room opened and he wandered out.

  “Ollie!” gasped Jason. “Where did you spring from?”

  “I live here, you idiot!” Ollie frowned. “And if you’ve come to hang out with me, tough. I’m busy.”

  “He didn’t come to see you, moron,” said Michael, taking an angry step toward Ollie. “However many cool games you might have.”

  Ollie scowled at his sister. “Keep your weirdo friends out of the lounge, Colette.” He yawned. “I want to go on the Ultra later and I’m not sharing.”

  “Thank goodness!” sighed Jason, and the others all shared knowing looks. Infuriated, Ollie slammed his door shut on them, and they burst into laughter.

  “Come on, Colette,” said Jess. “Let’s check your room.”

  Colette led the others into her bedroom. Everything was back to normal—the door, the bed, the fairy chimes, all perfectly in place.

  “Magic,” breathed Colette. “Proper magic.” She grinned at Jess. “It really exists!”

  Michael groaned. “Oh, you two aren’t going to start that again, are you? Come on, Jase. Let’s scope out the rest of the place. Make sure it really is Slitherbot-free.”

  “But it will be,” said Jason. “The magic will have worked.”

  “I still think we should go and check.” Michael jerked his head toward Colette and Jess and gave Jason a meaningful look. “Maybe start in the lounge?”

  Understanding dawned on Jason’s face. “Oh, yeah, yeah,” he said quickly. “We should definitely go and check.”

  Together, they went out, leaving Jess and Colette alone. Colette looked at the shelf of books about mermaids and unicorns and enchanted princesses.

  “It’s funny how I could never bear to throw those books away,” she said. “I guess I didn’t want to stop believing in magic.” She looked at Jess. “So what other magic have you done? Tell me about it!”

  Jess hesitated. But then she remembered that at sunset, as the worthy wish-maker, Colette would forget everything.

  And so Jess started talking. She told Colette about the handbook and about the adventures they’d had, about Jason getting stuck in the lamp, about the fuss with the food and the trip to London. Colette listened, wide-eyed.

  “Oh, wow,” she breathed. “It’s crazy; it’s so way out and…and ridiculous!”

  Jess smiled. “I suppose it is!”

  Colette smiled back. “You’re amazing, Jess. I’ve always wished I could have a friend who was more like me. I’ve got loads of mates but none of them would dare to talk about believing in magic in case they got laughed at. You’re way cool.”

  Jess was very pleased but also embarrassed. “Nah. You’ve got it wrong.” She pointed to a pair of strappy red sandals with killer heels by the dresser. “What’s way cool are those shoes!”

  They both laughed. “Do you want to try them on?” Colette offered.

  “Can I?” said Jess eagerly, slipping them onto her feet. They were a perfect fit.

  “I’ll never forget today.” Colette shook her head. “Never.”

  Jess felt a twinge of guilt. Oh, yes, you will, she thought.

  “Guess we’d better finish our homework now.” Colette went to the door. “From magic lamps and monsters to scattering light through prisms—what a comedown.” She paused. “Actually, maybe after all the excitement, it’ll be good to get back to something totally boring and normal!”

  Jess grinned and followed her toward the kitchen, but then she heard the sound of gunfire from the lounge.

  Heart thumping, she looked around the door—to find Jason and Michael sitting in front of the wall-mounted TV, yanking on joysticks and giving the fire buttons a good thumb pummeling. “What are you doing?” she exclaimed.

  Michael hit PAUSE and looked up innocently. “Just checking that no Slitherbots are going to come out of Ollie’s Ultra at us!”

  “Uh-huh.” Jess smiled wearily. “Very thorough.” Then she glanced out the window and realized that the sun was close to setting. When the book had done its work, would Colette remember that the two of them had talked at all, that she had shared her secret longing to believe in magic? Or would she just think Jess was a weirdo trying to steal her shoes?

  Leaving the boys to their game, Jess went into the kitchen. She sat down and stared nervously at her homework.

  “Are you okay?” Colette frowned. “You look…” She broke off as the last curve of the sun sank behind the hills, and put her hands to her forehead. “Oh! That’s funny, I…I was going to say…”

  Jess looked at her anxiously. “Colette?”

  “Sorry, my hea
d feels strange, all kinds of swirly…. Must be this dumb homework sending me to sleep!” Colette shook her head and sighed. “Don’t you wish, sometimes, that something really exciting would happen?”

  Jess almost burst into hysterical laughter. “Yeah…sometimes.” She heard the soft click of the front door opening as Michael and Jason slipped away into the night, and decided to risk it. “Sometimes I wish that something magical would happen. It would be fun to believe in magic…wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes,” said Colette. “It would be brilliant.”

  They grinned at each other. Jess got up. “I suppose I should be getting back home.”

  “Hey, my shoes look great on you,” Colette noticed. “You should have them.”

  Jess stared. “What? But I can’t just keep them! They’re much too expensive!”

  “They’re too tight on me.” Colette waved away her protests. “And I’ve got loads of other shoes. I’m glad you came around,” she went on as they walked into the hall. “I’ve really enjoyed it—just sitting and chatting….”

  Sitting and chatting! Jess had to hide her smile. “I’ve really enjoyed myself, too.” She paused. “Wait a sec. I think I left my other shoes in your room.”

  She hurried into Colette’s bedroom. The fairy wind chimes tinkled gently. Jess touched one of the little glass figures and smiled, remembering something else the book had said about the wish-maker.

  “He will surely come to know happiness,” she whispered. “Or she will, anyway.”

  Picking up her old shoes, she went back to the hall. She said good-bye to Colette, then turned and set off into the chilly evening. Her feet were a little cold in the sandals, but inside she felt warmer than she had for ages.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Jason, Michael, and Milly were waiting for Jess on the path.

  “Everything all right?” asked Jason.

  “Everything’s great,” Jess replied. “But now let’s get home.”

  “I wonder what the book says.” Milly reached into her bag as they set off along the avenue. “I’ve been dying to look.”

  She opened the book. Skribble was lurking near the front of Step One. “Is all well now, Milly?”

  “I think so.” Milly looked at Michael and wrinkled her nose. “But I have to say, it was very stinky in that lamp.”

  Michael blushed. “I was stuck inside for about seven hours. I was bursting! Where was I supposed to go?”

  “Gross!” wailed Jess as Jason sniggered.

  “You foolish youth,” Skribble chided. “Why did you not simply say the genie Time Twisting spell?”

  They looked blankly at him.

  Skribble tutted. “It is basic genie training! Some genies have to wait in their lamp for centuries before a wish-maker comes along. How d’you think they manage, eh?” He shook his head. “They utter the Time Twisting spell and it’s as if only a single moment has passed between their vanishing into the lamp and their next appearance.”

  Michael groaned. “Now he tells us!”

  “It was there in the introduction to the book all along,” Skribble railed, “if only you had taken the time to—”

  Jess was peering at the page in the introduction. “There are some words here…. ‘Time turn. Time twist—.’” She looked pointedly at Skribble. “The rest of the page has been nibbled away to nothing.”

  Skribble held dead still. “Don’t be preposterous, girl!” he snapped. “Why, the spell in its entirety is quite clearly spelled out…er…”

  “You ate that spell and didn’t even bother to tell us about it?” Michael’s eyes narrowed. “So all that time I was stuck in the lamp with my bladder about to explode, starving hungry, out of my mind with boredom—if I’d known the spell I could have switched myself off just…like…that?”

  Skribble fixed him with a haughty look. “You had simply to say: ‘Time turn. Time twist. Make the hours pass like this!’” He slapped his tail against the page and made a sound like a whip crack. “Although since you don’t possess a tail, you would have to click your fingers.” The bookworm puffed himself up to full, not-very-impressive height. “If you had only asked of my great wisdom…”

  “Worm!” Michael roared. “I’m really, really gonna squash you this time!” He lunged for the book as Skribble disappeared hastily inside its pages. Jason grabbed Michael around the waist to hold him back as Milly scampered away, holding the book out of reach.

  “It’s all right,” Milly said soothingly to the empty page. “Michael will calm down soon.”

  Then Jess gave a sudden gasp of alarm.

  Milly looked up and followed her gaze. Two people were hovering at the end of the avenue in the orange glow of a street lamp. The man was tall and skinny with smooth black hair, a razor-sharp moustache, and dark eyes. The woman beside him was slender and wore her black hair in a sleek bob.

  Milly felt her skin prickle. “It’s the people we saw in the junk shop!” she hissed.

  “What’re you going on about?” Michael frowned.

  “We’ll tell you later,” Jess whispered. Both the man and the woman were looking straight at them, and Jess had exactly the same creepy feeling as she’d had back in Junk and Disorderly. “Stop mucking around, you lot,” she said loudly, grabbing the handbook from Milly. “Give me my library book back and let’s go home.” She looked warningly at Michael and Jason and muttered, “Turn around and walk the other way. Act natural.”

  Michael and Jason looked very confused but did as she said.

  Jess hustled them toward a path that cut through to the next street. “Come on!” she urged. As soon as they were safely out of sight, she breathed out. “Phew!” She glanced around, half expecting to see the couple coming up behind them, but the path was clear.

  “What was all that about?” asked Jason, puzzled.

  “We saw that man and woman when we were buying the lamp,” Milly said, and she quickly told the boys what had happened in the junk shop. “They gave me a really creepy feeling. You should see their eyes. They’re all black and glittery!” She shivered.

  “Weird,” said Jason.

  Michael raised his eyebrows. “You three are the weird ones. What do you think those people are—zombies or something?” He put on a spooky voice and waved his arms over Jess’s head. “Whoooo!”

  “Stop it!” she said, slapping his hand away. “There’s something odd about them. There really is!”

  “I hope we don’t see them again.” Milly shivered. “Come on. Let’s go!”

  “Get the book open, then,” Michael said as soon as they got back to the den. “Let’s see what it says. If we’ve failed this step because I didn’t know that stupid Time Twisting spell…”

  “Let’s see….” Jess flicked through the pages.

  “There’s another picture!” Jason pointed out. “At the end of Step Four!” It showed Colette staring in wonder at her magically mended home.

  “What’s it say underneath?” said Michael, straining to read.

  The Verdict…

  And thus we see a noble end can be attained through unexpected means. A mistake, once recognized, can be undone so long as the spirit be pure enough and willing.

  You have passed Step Four.

  “YES!” Michael roared.

  “We did it!” Jason cried, grabbing hold of Milly and dancing around in a circle.

  Jess gave a happy smile and flung herself onto the sofa. “That was the scariest day of my life…. I can’t believe we all came out of it okay and we passed!”

  “Hang on,” Michael called. “Some more words here…”

  Jason took a look. The words were writing themselves across the page, in larger letters and darker ink. Almost like the book was shouting…

  AND YET!

  Unworthy are they who would seek to use the spirit and strife of others to achieve their own ends! Unworthy and fit to be PUNISHED.

  “What’s all that about?” Michael frowned.

  Jess’s smile looked a little le
ss certain. “I wish the book was easier to understand.”

  “Hey, Skribble might know what it means,” said Milly. “I wonder where he is. Skribble?” she called softly. No bookworm appeared.

  “I can hear him chomping away,” said Michael, flicking through to the back of the book. There was Skribble, eating furiously through some picture-filled pages. His cheeks were bulging and his little body looked chunkier than usual.

  “Skribble!” Milly said in surprise.

  “What are you doing?” asked Jason.

  Skribble swallowed a ball of paper so big it made his throat bulge to twice its normal size. “Don’t interrupt me when I’m eating! What manners you guttersnipes have.” The bookworm looked quite green, but pressed his face back down to the paper. “I must keep eating. Goodness knows what the book’s up to, showing such silly pictures…”

  “What are they pictures of?” Jess said, coming to see. “They’re not us.”

  Milly shook her head. The left-hand page showed two pictures—one of a king looking angry on a throne, and another of a large, fierce-looking genie with a long beard in a room full of books. He seemed to be shaking his fist at something on the right-hand page—but Skribble had chewed the right-hand page almost to nothing.

  “Appendix,” Jason said, reading some small print on the parchment above the first picture.

  “Appendix?” Milly echoed. “Don’t you have that taken out in the hospital?”

  Jason shook his head. “An appendix is also a collection of extra stuff at the end of a book. It can help you understand the main bit more fully.”

  “Maybe the book thinks there’s something we need to know,” said Jess. “Skribble, stop eating it and let us see.”

  “No!” Skribble screeched, throwing his body over the page as if trying to hide the pictures.

  Milly stared at him in astonishment. “Skribble! This might be important. Anyway, you shouldn’t eat so much so quickly; you’ll get a tummy ache—”

  “Cease your prattling, you ridiculous child!” Skribble pulled himself up to his full height, trembling all over. “How dare you address me like a mother does its baby? Leave me alone, d’you hear? Leave me alone!”