Genieology 101

Chapter Six

Jinn had left school by himself, saying he 'had some things to do.' Quite sketchy if you ask me, but I left him to it since he was granting my wishes and whatnot. Plus he pulled off the façade of being a normal high school student exceedingly well; the teachers and general female population loved him.

There wasn’t much to do at home, so once I finished microwaving my pizza rolls I headed upstairs to start on my English homework. A big test was coming up soon and I needed to be prepared for it. Everything seems a lot more interesting when you have work to do, and I soon realized I spent the better portion of the hour counting the number of books on my shelves (forty-seven), the number of posters on my walls (twenty-three), and the number of paperclips in my desk drawer (one hundred and two). So when I heard my phone vibrate in my pocket with a text message, I decided it was time to take a well-deserved break.

Taking the slightly cracked black phone out of my jeans, I checked my new message.

“Hey, it’s Jinn, are you still at home?”

How did he manage to grab hold of a phone? And did I even want to know where he got the money from? I decided not to stress myself out over it, after all stress wrinkles were a real thing. I typed back a quick reply, as the ‘take-five-minutes-to-reply’ rule seemed unnecessary with Jinn.

“Um yeah, why? Where are you?”

I heard a horn honk from outside my bedroom window, and peering out I noticed my mom’s car. In the split nanosecond it took for this to register however, a small part of me hoped that it was Jinn waiting outside.

Huh?

Again pushing my thoughts to the back of my head, I ran downstairs and outside into the cold night air, not even bothering to put shoes on. My mom wouldn’t honk unless it was an emergency, I figured. Reaching the roughed-up gray Sedan, I waited impatiently as my mom rolled down the window.

“Lexi, there’s been a bit of an issue…” my mom trailed off, a distant look in her bloodshot eyes. Old tears had left a path of evidence on her cheeks, which she quickly tried wiped away.

Momentarily stunned at the amount of emotion she was revealing, I took a hesitant step forward. “What happened?” I tentatively asked.

Her tear-streaked face gave me a sense of déjà vu as I remembered a very similar night years ago. The good thing about not having anyone besides my mom and Sierra to care about meant that I couldn’t be broken like that ever again.  I shivered, pulling my sweater closer to me and shifting from one foot to another as the cold night air nipped at my skin. My hair was dancing in the wind, and I tucked a few strands behind my ear as I waited nervously for a response.

“Get in the car, I’ll explain on the way,” my mom gave me a clipped reply, instantly going from vulnerable to closed-off. A complete 3.2 seconds, what a record.

“Um… okay?” I responded, unsure whether I should run back and actually grab a pair of shoes. Deciding that now was not the time, I jumped right in. I had a feeling that this was going to take a while, so I texted Sierra letting her know not to come over.

Jinn on the other hand finally responded, stressing me out with his vague reply.

“Remember how I said every wish has its consequences? You might want to prepare for a bit of a surprise.”

*     *     *

The silence in the car was unnerving as I impatiently waited for my mom to start explaining. I was fidgeting with my hands, squirming in my seat, and feeling like I might just collapse from the anxiety. I tried to gauge her expression through the yellow city lights filtering onto her face, but she kept it neutral.

After what seemed like an eternity, she spoke up, “I don’t know how to say this Lexi,” she sighed, sounding a lot older than she was. “You know your father was a great man, especially a great father to you, right?”

I nodded my head, even though she couldn’t see me. If this was about my dad, why did she make it seem like it was a bad thing? She probably talked to him based on this sudden little trip, but what could have made my mom let down her walls like that?

Taking a moment to draw in a deep breath, she continued, “I know this may sound crazy, believe me I do, but I had a dream about your dad earlier today.” She stopped at the red light and straightened out her pants, a habit of hers when she was feeling tense. “I talked to him, and I swear to god, it felt like he was right there with me. He told me a lot of things-” she broke off, a lone sob interrupting her sentence as she tried to control herself. Her shoulders shook with the effort, and I almost reached out to hold her. It wasn’t often that my mom showed this kind of emotion around me, and when it did happen, I froze up. Even as a kid I had trouble expressing my emotions, and I felt like a horrible daughter as she collected herself and began to speak again.

“When I woke up, I thought it was just another dream. But I had a weird hunch about this one, so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just imagining things, you know? So of course I checked out the place he told me about, and apparently what your dad said to me in my sleep was unfortunately true.” Her lips formed a thin line as she stared straight ahead. “I think it’ll be easier to show you what I mean.”

Again, I nodded in the dark, preparing for the worst. After driving for a few more minutes, she abruptly pulled over and stopped the car.

“Lexi, I want to warn you before we go on. I know you loved your father dearly, and I want to give you the choice of knowing the whole story now. If you don’t want to, I understand, I can turn back. Just know that there’s no turning back once you know.”

For what seemed like the hundredth time that night, I nodded my head. “I want to know the whole story.”

*     *     *

*Dun dun dun*

SO SO SO HAPPY WITH ALL THE RESPONSES SINCE MY LAST UPDATE! I love you guys so much holyy <3 Ten votes on my last chapter, and although it may not seem like much it meant a lot, thank you guys :) Also thanks to everyone who read my story, gave me feedback/ commented/ voted/ added it to their reading lists/ asked me to update, it really motivated me to get going with this chapter! And sorry about the short chapter, I had to write the whole thing in under two hours because I promised an update today..

Having said all that, I’ll let you know that it’s a lot of pressure writing something that you guys will like, even if only 2 of you make it this far :$ So tell me how I did, any feedback is great ;D

I’m only two weeks into school but I am exhausted. Four out of four courses I have this semester are needed for my university program (English, Biology, Exercise Science, Calculus & Vectors), so it’s been hectic trying to keep my grades up.. Did I mention I need a 90 average minimum to be considered? I’ve had four tests and an assignment this past week alone! Wth?! I’m only 17, I’m not ready for this kind of stress! I’ve got the rest of my adult life for that! Plus being a part of three councils and maintaining a (barely existent) social life is practically impossible jeeze. Sorry, tryna restrain myself from a full-blown rant.. (I ALSO DON’T HAVE ANY CLASSES WITH MY BEST FRIEND THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL) So what’s up with you guys? Please tell me I’m not the only one going insane over here.

If you liked this chapter, vote/comment/share/fan, I’ll love you to the moon and back. Aiming for ten votes this chapter ;D If everything goes as planned (meaning if I’m not failing my classes) I’ll probably update again in about two weeks, earlier if there are no big assignments due :) Thanks again! :D

Xoxo