You Wish

Chapter 1 - Genies

It was rush hour in Contro City, and everything was hustle and bustle. Through the heavy traffic, a white minibus weaved in and out of its fellow road occupants, racing home before sundown. In the front passenger seat was a young man in his twenties sporting a flannelette, losing the effects of marijuana. Willis waved his hands frantically, his weed induced eyes hidden under the cover of dark Ray-Bans, and scruffy brown hair. 

"I can't believe you put a fucking taxi meter in this thing!" Willis pressed his finger against the meter illegally placed on the dash. 

David threw Willis a sharp glance, and then it was all eyes back on the road. "Willis you're just a spoiled little trust fund baby, as if money is even an issue with you! And I wouldn't have to have it there if my rich friends offered fuel money once in a while!" He ran his fingers roughly through his thick curly dark hair, a habit that he gained since quitting smoking.

"Oh, yeah, listen to you the Jewish accountant. How fucking original," Willis responded, arrogantly scoffing at the driver's usual business attire, it was always a suit and tie for David. 

David had his own place, sharing a unit to him was for teenagers; but he tried to visit whenever he could. Work was demanding and when he was not working he was looking for other ways to make money. 

Willis's other best friend, Arthur, poked his head between the front seats, peering at David through his thick-rimmed reading glasses, "David, I can recall a moment when you first received monopoly and how excited you were when you thought you had found money in a board game." Arthur's reading glasses and shaved head matched his cardigan. The shaved head was intended to give him more of a rough look, and it would have if it weren't for the glasses. 

"I was a fucking kid," David exhaled, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. 

Willis smiled at having Arthur join his side as usual, and for a struggling skinny magician, Arthur was a pretty cool guy. Willis just wished he would find a better interest than performing petty magic tricks. 

The car came to a halt at a set of traffic lights, and Willis turned around to face Arthur and Smoke sitting in the back. Unlike Arthur, Smoke could perform real magic - well kind of. He was a genie accidentally summoned by Willis, Arthur, and their dear friend Lily on one of their escapades. Relaxed and casual, nothing seemed to faze him, even the loss of his powers.

Despite being under the command of three humans, he actually enjoyed their company. Smoke attempted to pull off a natural human look equipped with his newly beloved leather hoodie provided by Willis; the benefits of now being friends with a spoiled brat. He appeared to be in his late thirties and he was certainly older than the humans, but no one knew his real age, or if he was ageing because he had a five-o'clock shadow that never seemed to get any thicker. 

"Smoke, I wish you could figure out how to get us out of here with magic already," Willis cracked, as he watched the meter spin.

Smoke lit a cigarette and took a draw, "Why don't you get amateur Arthur here to make the meter disappear?" He nodded at an offended Arthur. 

Armed with a squeegee and bucket, a homeless man in fatigues stumbled toward the minibus as tensions inside quickly escalated.

"Well at this point in time, his fake magic is better than your fucking real magic!" Willis snapped.

David directed everyone's attention to the oncoming window cleaner as he threw all of his loose change to the floor in a panic.

"This guy is going to kill someone!" He shouted, while the grotesque man began cleaning the windscreen.

Finally, the lights turned green and David flicked on the windscreen wipers, causing the window man to jump back as they screeched off.  Ultimately breaking free of the rat race, they took the off-ramp into the shady suburb they were forced to live in. The tires squealed as they drove under the sign with the name of their area printed on.