Genie in a Bottle

Chapter 1

“I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have left early. I just felt a little—— out of the place,” Adam apologized to the tall-blond girl standing by the door of the cream-colored house with a sign on its side. The Vyalitsyna residence.

“Out of place? No! You just want my attention all on you. That’s what you really want,” Anne said accusingly, still upset about Adam leaving her birthday party so early without even letting her know.

Back on that day, Adam came to the party with his usual outfit, sweater with a vest over it, denim pants, combat boots and his dorky eyeglasses. He was completely out of place with people around him in tuxedos, suit and ties, girls in their chic dresses. As he stepped on that big door of the reserved restaurant, he just wanted to disappear. Gladly, Anne was waiting for him at the entrance, and she introduced him to her parents with their vigilant eyes moving from his head to toes. It was so uncomfortable for him but he tried to keep his composure for Anne, so she wouldn’t be disappointed at him. But as the party went on and Anne was nowhere to be found, he grew more and more mortified around these people with very watchful eyes. So, he looked for his girlfriend in every corner of the venue to say goodbye, however, he had no luck of finding her. Thus, he just decided to go without letting her know. He thought he would just call her and explain his side on why he left early. But when he dialed her number the next morning, all he got were screams and shouts.

“No! It’s not like that, you don’t understand,” Adam said calmly. He’s not the type to go shout at someone since he was raised placidly by his mother.

“What I don’t understand is why you left without letting me know,” Anne said.

“I told you. I was out of place. I don’t belong there. I’m——-.”

“Maybe then you should start dressing well,” Anne cut him off. “Until then, maybe you’d feel you belong,” she added before she slammed the door leaving Adam crushed and defeated.

He stepped down on the porch and looked once more at the big house behind him then finally walked away.

He lives by the sea with his mom. They weren’t the rich kind of people like Anne but they weren’t poor either. If there’s a scale, they’d be on the middle. His mom works at a store near their house while he attends college and works as a part time in a fast food chain. He’s a grade A student taking Architecture, a very hard-working guy. He got a few real friends. Jesse, Ryan and Mickey. They were all in the same classes and they formed a band as they all have passion for music. They sometimes join on the Battle of the Bands in their campus and even won twice in a row. Aside frombeing a known architect, being in the limelight is also one of Adam’s hundred dreams.

-

He was walking by the shore when his gaze fell on a bottle tinted in green half buried in the sand. Take it or ignore it was playing on his mind as he passed by it. But then a roll of paper on the inside caught his attention, so he picked it up and brushed the sand with his hands. He pulled the cork on its mouth to get the paper inside it. There was a message written on it.

I feel like I’ve been locked up tight for a century of lonely nights waiting for someone to release me. Rub the bottom of this bottle the right way with your palm for three seconds, and then put me down. Wait and see. You’ll get your three wishes coming in your way. Don’t believe me? It’s your loss. –X.

Adam barely believes in magic or anything like that so he just smirked as he rolled the paper and put it back inside the bottle. But he didn’t have the power to toss the bottle on the ocean or to bury it back in the sand. He got this odd feeling about it, so instead of leaving it, he took it with him. Once he got home, he put the bottle down on the table and started doing his chores. He cleaned the house, cooked lunch for himself since his mom is at the store. After lunch, he went on with his homework. He got to do a plate that is due on Monday. But he found it hard to do so, even though he’s the top student. His problem with Anne really got into his brain that he couldn’t even concentrate on finishing his plate.

Then his eyes caught the sight of the bottle sitting on the table. The words on it got stuck in his head. Three wishes, he thought. If he did what the letter told him to do and nothing happened, it would look like he’s such an idiot for believing such thing, but if something happened then, it would be so cool. He had nothing to lose if he tried anyway. So, he stood up from his seat and grabbed the bottle. He breathed hard and closed his eyes before doing what he should do. He rubbed the bottom of the bottle with his palm for three seconds. He didn’t know how the right way of rubbing it is, but he did anyway, and then put it back down on the table. He stared at it for seconds and nothing was happening. After a minute of waiting, he shook his head and believed that he was an idiot on waiting for something to happen. He got back to his plate and started drawing lines.

But then it happened…. There was glowing light coming inside the bottle and Adam was taken aback at the sight of it. He gripped the edge of the table and merely terrified at what’s happening. The bottle was shaking, and sparkles of lights were coming out from it. He was already on the floor moving away from it, when a white smoke came out from the bottle and with a blink of an eye, someone was standing across him. A petite girl with blond hair in curls and blue eyes. She was wearing a top wherein her belly was showing and a full length green skirt, barefoot. There’s an emerald colored gem on her forehead and gold bracelet jewelries. Her nails were also painted in gold. She was staring at him with one eyebrow raised.

“Wh—-what—-a—are—-yo—u?” Adam stuttered, shaking.

“Oh my God, you’re shaking,” the girl laughed. “Did I scare you?”

“No—- no!” Adam lied, standing up, raising his chin and steadying his breathing.

“Oh, it doesn’t seem like it. I’m a genie. My name is Christina,” she said, extending her arm for a hand shake. But before he could hold out his hand, he collapsed to the floor and passed out. Christina, the genie, just rolled her eyes. She moved to his side and checked his heartbeat. “Clearly, I scared you,” she whispered.

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A/N: 

Next part is on its way. :)