Genie Come True

Grant Gallagher nervously pulled on the hanging string of his hoodie as he looked around him.  The antique store seemed like as if it had seen better days yet he was running out of options and his Mom was always a fan of antique trinkets.  Plus still being an intern at the publishing firm, he wasn’t exactly rolling in dough.

An old tune of the Everly Brothers Wake Up Little Susie, played in the background as he looked around, almost frantic to get something.  He really didn't have any time left and the package had to be sent by tomorrow to make it to his Mom on time for her birthday.

“Okay,” Grant said to himself as he looked around. He’d been there for more than twenty minutes and his lunch break was only fifteen more minutes. It would nearly take that long to get back to the office.  As he rubbed his forehead, a golden glint caught his eye.  

~~

"I'll take this, please." Grant pushed the golden lamp in front of the bored teenage boy currently reading a gaming magazine. 

The spiky haired boy barely gave the lamp a look before muttering twenty and burying himself back into the magazine. 

Taking out his old worn brown leather wallet, Grant took out a twenty and placed it on the counter. 

Not bothering to look, the boy slid the twenty towards him and waved Grant off. 

"Okay... um thanks." He said, his brown eyes unsure as he grabbed the lamp. "Have a good day." He said, still a little unsure, for some reason a part of him thought that the lamp had to have been worth more than a simple Benjamin. While putting his purchase into his old black leather satchel from his father, the teenager hmphed at him.  With one more look around the small shop, Grant left with the golden lamp in his possession. 

~~

"Have a good lunch?" One of his co-workers asked rather patronizingly. 

"Yeah," He said entering the elevator, not sure why Owen Rewes was talking to him.  For some reason, since he started interning at MagicStar Publishing, Rewes had been after him.  Always reminding him of his position and then ordering him on some tedious task that wasted his time and piled work on his desk. 

"See you then," Owen said grinning before heading the opposite direction. 

Two minutes later, Grant knew exactly why Owen had been grinning.  He had a stack of papers on his desk that was at least two feet tall. Jenna's editorial assistant was out of town due to a family function so a bright orange sticky note was on top telling him that it was due to Jenna by tomorrow morning for second review and editing.

Shoulders slumping, he listlessly let his satchel fall beside him. A small clank could be heard as it fell, but he didn't hear it as he was internally groaning that he would be working through the night.  And he would probably get nothing more than a please file this for me from the editors.  But that was life as an intern. 

Like a self-fulfilling prophecy,  the sun had long set and the moon was up high in the sky.  The full moon's brightness was his only company as it shined through the glass windows of the eighteenth floor.  Rolling his head back, Grant rubbed his eyes that literally felt like as if his retinas were burning from reading through the first rough drafts from someone who was apparently supposed to be their potential chance of the newest Fantasy sensation.  He made a face at the rumor.  He was already over a hundred pages in the drafts and he bet with his editing alone, the story would be cut down to maybe forty pages of actual substance.  Worst part, he was utterly bored editing it.  It certainly didn't seem promising so far.

"Come on Grant, only a few more pages to go then you can go home.  Order some Chinese..." He trailed off as he thought about Chinese, then his thoughts trailed back to the lamp.   

Looking around one more time, he sighed as he was the only one still in the office.  The others having gone home already. Knowing that, he grabbed his satchel, wanting to take out the lamp just to actually look at it this time.  His Mom was an odd collector of old things.  The more useless the better, his dad often said. And what was more useless than a golden colored lamp?  

Taking it out however, his eyes widened in horror at seeing the stray ink stains on it from being in his bag where several pens, pencils, markers, and other writing tools must've marked it. He always tried to remember to cap them, but sometimes he would forget one or two.

"Crap!" He yelled before shoving the lamp under his single desk lamp. He sighed in relief upon seeing that it wasn't all that scratched.  "You are an idiot," He muttered to himself as he took the end of his dark navy cotton shirt.

However as he began to rub the ink stains off with a little of spit polish, his brown eyes widened when an opaque mist began to come out of the lamp and surround him. 

"Holy-"  He didn't get to finish as he was leaning so far back in his swivel chair that he actually fell backwards, his head hitting the rough carpet below.

Just like that, Grant Gallagher blacked out to the surprise of his Genie who hovered over him, arms crossed as her home, her lamp, fell to the ground with a loud thud. Once again, probably shaking her furniture into a mess that she would have to fix again!

~~

Happy New Year's Everyone! 

This is my new story that I will concentrate on more once I finish up my Serendipitious Stories.  

Hope you enjoy it though!