Genie in Charge

by Meredith Badger

  Lexie squeezed Aggi’s arm. ‘That’s very brave of you,’ she said. ‘We’d better hurry. Can you roll Lightning? Poppy and I will finish picking up the bottle fragments.’

  Aggi knelt down next to the carpet. ‘Lightning,’ she said in a soothing voice. ‘We have to go to the Stable Bottle now. If we don’t then Thunder will fall to pieces. And so will you.’

  One of Lightning’s corners twitched.

  ‘I’m going to come with you, though,’ Aggi continued. ‘That’s a promise.’ And this time when Aggi tried to roll her up, Lightning stayed still.

  Aggi stood up, holding the rug very carefully in her arms. ‘We’re ready,’ she announced.

  ‘Good,’ said Lexie, looking worried. ‘Poppy, link arms with Aggi. I’ll take her other arm and use my Location Lamp to get us all there. But hold on tight. Travelling this way can be a bit bumpy.’

  The journey back to the Genie Realm was very bumpy. Poppy held on tightly to Aggi’s arm, hoping all the while that Aggi was still holding onto Lightning. When Poppy felt the cool, smooth floor of the Stable Bottle beneath her feet, she opened her eyes in relief. Straight away she looked over to Thunder’s resting tube. He was still there, but Poppy felt sick at the big pile of tassels and wool strands beneath his tube.

  Aggi came up beside Poppy, still holding Lightning tightly in her arms. ‘Is this Thunder?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Poppy. ‘I just hope it’s not …’ She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if they were too late.

  ‘Let’s unroll Lightning,’ said Lexie. ‘So Thunder sees that she’s back.’

  Aggi quickly unrolled Lightning and Poppy removed Thunder from his resting tube. They laid the two rugs side by side.

  ‘Thunder, do you know who this is?’ asked Lexie.

  Poppy held her breath, waiting for Thunder to do something. But nothing happened. ‘Are we too late?’ Poppy said anxiously to Lexie.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ said Lexie, biting her lip. ‘He doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on.’

  Aggi cleared her throat, and then said hesitantly, ‘Maybe someone should ride around on Lightning for a bit? Thunder might recognise her then.’

  ‘That just might work,’ Lexie said thoughtfully. ‘Even though Lightning is very tired. But it’ll have to be you who rides her. She won’t fly for me or Poppy right now.’

  ‘Me?’ said Aggi, shocked. ‘But I can’t ride. Every time I try I fall off!’

  ‘That might not happen anymore,’ Poppy reminded her, ‘now that your ponytail is straight. And I’ll be right here to help.’

  ‘So will I,’ said Lexie. ‘Come on, Aggi. Let’s try it.’

  Aggi seemed to waver, but finally she nodded. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’ll do it.’

  Aggi sat cross-legged on Lightning, up the front with her hands near the tassels, just as Poppy had shown her. Then she patted Lightning and said, ‘Up!’

  Lightning didn’t move.

  Maybe Lightning is too exhausted to fly, worried Poppy. Or maybe Aggi was losing her genie-ness!

  ‘Try it again,’ urged Poppy.

  So Aggi did – and this time, as soon as she’d said ‘up’, Lightning began to rise. She continued to lift slowly until she was hovering level with Poppy’s shoulder.

  ‘You’re doing it! You’re doing it!’ said Poppy, dancing around.

  Aggi looked dazed, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.

  ‘You’re doing so well, Aggi,’ said Lexie. ‘Now, tell Lightning to go forward.’

  Aggi did as Lexie said and soon she was making a slow but very neat lap of the Genie High School stables.

  But even when Lightning had flown an entire lap, Thunder still didn’t move. He didn’t move during the second lap either – not so much as a twitch. Lightning started another lap, flying a little faster this time. Poppy could hardly bear to watch!

  Just as Aggi was completing her third lap, one of Thunder’s corners finally moved. It was such a tiny movement that Poppy wondered if it had been caused by the breeze as Lightning flew by. But when Lightning swished past, Thunder moved again.

  ‘He’s trying to fly!’ said Poppy, her voice squeaky with excitement. ‘Look!’

  Very slowly, Thunder began to rise up into the air. He hovered for a moment, like he was trying to remember how to fly, and then he began to follow behind Lightning. He was slow to start with – and very unsteady.

  ‘He’s too weak,’ said Poppy, her heart leaping to her mouth. ‘He’s going to fall!’

  Lightning suddenly swooped down to the ground and batted Aggi gently with one of her corners.

  ‘They’ve recognised each other at last,’ said Lexie, looking relieved. ‘Aggi, Lightning needs you to hop off. She wants to help Thunder fly.’

  Sure enough, the moment Aggi jumped off Lightning dashed after Thunder entwining her tassels with his. Then she set off at a gentle pace, towing Thunder behind. It was like she was teaching Thunder how to fly, all over again. Soon they were doing circuits together, high above Poppy and Aggi’s heads.

  ‘Thunder’s getting better,’ exclaimed Aggi. ‘Look!’

  Poppy could see what Aggi meant. Thunder’s colouring was growing stronger by the second and his coat looked thicker. Lightning also looked better. Her colour had returned along with her energy and strength. She let go of Thunder who was flying well on his own now and began whooshing around, making huge happy loops in the air – soaring up almost to the top of the bottle and then swooping back down to Thunder’s side.

  Then Poppy heard something clink in her bag. It was the pieces of Aggi’s bottle, wrapped in a scarf. She took them out and was shocked to find that the fragments were almost completely clear.

  Lexie had seen them too. ‘Now it’s time to fix the bottle,’ she said urgently.

  ‘Do you think you can do it, Lexie?’ asked Poppy anxiously.

  Lexie shook her head. ‘No, I can’t,’ she said. ‘Genies have to fix their own bottles. It’s impossible for anyone else to do it.’

  Poppy remembered how the pieces had pushed away from each other when she’d tried to fix the bottle earlier. But it seemed like such a big job for one small genie.

  ‘There are so many pieces, and fitting them together is like the most complicated jigsaw in the world,’ said Poppy.

  Her confidence was just beginning to slide away entirely when she heard a noise behind her. Aggi was standing right there, her eyes bright.

  ‘Complicated jigsaws are one thing I know all about,’ she said, smiling. And then, sitting cross-legged on the ground, Aggi began to sort through the pieces.

  For a long time Aggi looked at all the pieces, not actually fitting any of them together. Poppy wished she would start – the pieces had only the faintest tinge of colour now.

  Maybe it’s too hard, Poppy worried. Aggi was good at jigsaws, she knew that. But this wasn’t any normal jigsaw. The genie bottle was threedimensional for a start. And usually there was a picture to use as a guide. All Aggi had this time was the memory of how her bottle used to look. Then Poppy remembered something. She had Aggi’s picture of her bottle in her bag! She fished it out and placed it in front of Aggi.

  Aggi smiled and nodded. Then she reached out and picked up two pieces of glass. One was square and the other piece was triangular. Poppy groaned inwardly. They don’t match at all!

  But when Aggi pressed the two bits together there was a sound like water hitting a hot pan, and a little puff of silver sparks billowed into the air. Poppy gasped with surprise. The pieces stuck!

  A strange feeling bubbled up inside Poppy then. A happy, excited one. But there was another part to the feeling too. Poppy felt proud of Aggi. She couldn’t resist giving her a little pat on the back. ‘Looks like you were wrong when you said that being good at jigsaws wasn’t a useful skill for a genie,’ she said, with a teasing smile. ‘And I’m glad you were!’

  Two pink spots appeared on Aggi’s cheeks. ‘Thanks, Pops,’ she said, ‘but I haven’t f
inished yet.’

  ‘Exactly,’ said Lexie. ‘And time is running out. Aggi, you’ll have to work as fast as you can.’

  It was really hard for Poppy just to stand back and watch Aggi. She kept seeing pieces she was sure would fit together and her fingers itched to reach out and grab them. But when she moved – just the tiniest wriggle – Lexie shook her head. ‘Just let Aggi do it alone,’ she said quietly.

  So Poppy stopped trying to help and just watched, keeping herself as still as possible. The whole Stables Bottle felt very quiet – even the carpets had all stopped fluttering their tassels. It was as if they were watching Aggi too.

  Aggi didn’t seem to notice. She was focused on her task and her hands moved steadily over the broken pieces, selecting one after another and putting each of them into the correct place. Every time two pieces fused together there was another puff of stars. Steadily the shape of the bottle began to appear, looking exactly like it had in the drawing Aggi had made. Greeny-blue and curved with a long, tall neck, decorated with jewels around the outside.

  Finally, there was only one piece left – a big, solid piece tapered to a point at one end. Poppy frowned. ‘Where does that piece go?’ she said. The bottle already looked finished.

  ‘This is the stopper,’ said Aggi, and she slotted it into the bottle’s top.

  ‘Now it’s perfect,’ Poppy pronounced, feeling relieved. ‘So, Aggi can stay as a genie, right?’

  Lexie picked up the bottle, examining it carefully. ‘You’ve done a great job of fitting it all together,’ she said. ‘But it’s not quite finished yet. See how the cracks are still visible? That means it’s not permanently fixed.’

  Lexie held the bottle up and Poppy could see the web of fine cracks.

  ‘There’s one more thing you have to do to make it stay together forever,’ Lexie explained, turning to Aggi. ‘And it’s the most important step of all.’

  ‘What is it?’ asked Aggi, looking nervous.

  Lexie came and stood in front of Aggi, holding the bottle in front of her. ‘I’m going to ask you a question,’ she said. ‘You need to answer it completely honestly. If you don’t mean what you say, the bottle will just fall apart.’

  Aggi nodded again. ‘I understand.’

  Lexie leant forward. ‘Do you really want to be a genie?’ she asked. ‘I don’t just mean a little bit. Do you really want to be a genie, with every single bit of your heart?’

  Aggi looked at Lexie. Her face was serious. ‘I do want to be a genie,’ she said. ‘I want to stay at Genie High and learn to fly a magic carpet and live in my genie bottle and decorate it. I want to eat comet cakes and drink volcano shakes and go on the Big Flipper. I want to work at my flying and learn how to twist wishes. I want to do genie judo classes, or genie soccer, or genie yoga. Actually, I want to do all of those things. I want to do everything that genies do.’

  Lexie smiled. ‘You’re going to be a great genie, Aggi – I just know it.’

  Then Lexie’s smile broadened. ‘Look! Your genie bottle knows too.’

  Sure enough, the bottle had begun to glow a pale orange colour, like a candle had been lit inside it. The light grew steadily stronger and brighter, throwing out little golden beams that danced across the wall and floor of the stables. Poppy could feel warmth radiating from the bottle. There was a sound in the air too, high and sweet, like bells. Then the chimes began fading and the orange glow softened.

  The bottle was now completely smooth and the colour had returned too – even stronger and brighter than it was before.

  Lexie handed the bottle to Aggi and she clutched it like it was the most precious thing in the world, her face beaming.

  Poppy felt happy too. It was as if the glow from the bottle had somehow settled in her stomach, making her feel warm and good. ‘I’m so glad you’re going to stay as a genie, Aggi,’ she said happily. ‘I’m so proud of you!’

  ‘You should be proud of yourself too, Poppy,’ said Lexie. ‘You stuck with Aggi and you’re doing a great job as her mentor.’

  ‘I am?’ said Poppy. She wasn’t so sure she had been all that good – especially to start with.

  ‘You’re a fantastic mentor,’ Aggi piped up. ‘I wasn’t the easiest trainee but you kept trying. And you helped me sort out my flying problem. I think you’re probably the best mentor in the entire history of mentoring.’

  For a moment Poppy thought she might cry. ‘You do?’ she said. ‘Really?’

  ‘Of course I do,’ Aggi grinned.

  Poppy glowed. ‘Well, you’re the greatest trainee too, Aggi.’ And she meant every word.

  ‘You’ll get your genie-job wish for sure at graduation,’ said Aggi.

  Poppy felt her stomach do three loops in a row. In all the drama, she’d forgotten about that! Could Aggi be right? She really hoped so …

  Graduation Night, one month later

  Poppy stood in the glittery entrance of the Royal Palace Ballroom and smoothed down her graduation outfit, her bangles clinking like chimes. A strange feeling wormed its way inside Poppy, a sort of jittery, jangly one. When I leave here tonight, I’ll be a fully qualified genie, with a genie job of my own.

  But which job? Had she been a good enough mentor to get the job she really wanted – working in the stable – or would her wish be twisted into something else altogether?

  ‘Are you going in, Miss? Or are you going to spend graduation out here?’

  Poppy looked up. In front of her stood a genie butler. There was a little smile at the corner of his mouth. He was waiting by the entrance curtain, ready to usher Poppy into the ballroom. From the laughter and excited chatter drifting through the gap, Poppy could tell the celebration was already well underway.

  ‘I am going in … in a minute,’ said Poppy. She recognised the butler from the last time she’d been here – back when she was only a Stage One genie, hoping to pass her exam and be allowed to move on to Stage Two. That felt like ages ago, although in normie time it was less than twelve months. I guess that’s because so much has happened since then, thought Poppy. She’d learnt how to grant wishes and fly a magic carpet. She’d found out that she was a Golden genie. She’d finally mastered travelling between worlds and bottles without tripping (well, for most of the time). She’d gone Bottle Hopping through worlds more beautiful than she could have ever dreamt of, and she’d been a mentor.

  I’ve changed a lot since I first found came to the Genie Realm, thought Poppy. But one thing was still the same. Finding out that she was a genie was the best thing that had ever happened to her. And that won’t change, Poppy smiled to herself, even if I end up with the worst genie job in the world.

  Poppy nodded at the butler. ‘I’m ready now.’

  But just as the butler reached for the cord, the curtain was flung back. Someone rushed through and launched themselves at Poppy.

  ‘You’re finally here!’ said Aggi. ‘I thought maybe you’d decided not to graduate and keep helping me with carpet-flying instead.’

  Poppy laughed. ‘You don’t need me anymore,’ she said. ‘I saw you in that carpet race the other day. You and Lightning won by heaps!’

  ‘Maybe I don’t need so much help with flying these days,’ agreed Aggi, ‘but it’ll still be weird not having you around Genie High. I’ll miss you, Pops.’

  Poppy felt a pang. She would miss Aggi too. She couldn’t believe she’d once thought they had nothing in common. She definitely didn’t think that anymore. Aggi was very keen on flying now, and Poppy had become much more interested in jigsaws, too. You never knew, after all, when another genie bottle might need repairing.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Poppy. ‘I’ll still come and visit.’

  ‘You’d better!’ said Aggi, grabbing Poppy’s hand. ‘Let’s go into the ballroom. You won’t believe how amazing it is in there. I’m going to redecorate my bottle so that it looks just like it.’

  As they walked into the main ballroom, Poppy felt her nervousness blossom into an excited, tingly feeling ins
tead. Aggi was right. The ballroom looked incredible. Thousands of brightly coloured balloons floated overhead, twinkling in the light from the enormous chandelier suspended from the top of the bottle. Circling the chandelier was a large, glimmering banner with the words:

  Magic serving-carpets, weighed down with things to eat and drink, weaved their way expertly between the guests.

  Looking around the crowd, Poppy recognised several familiar faces. Zara was there, as well as Rose and Hazel, her friends from way back in Stage One. Poppy waved to them, thrilled that they were graduating too. Genie music filled the air and in the centre of the bottle a group of tweenies were dancing in the typical genie way – lots of spins and jumps and their feet never seeming to actually touch the ground. Two of the tweenies were dancing in a particularly crazy fashion, flinging their arms around and trying – but failing – to do backwards flips in time to the music. It was, of course, Jake and Nico.

  They came over as soon as they saw Poppy and Aggi, their faces red and sweaty. The boys each grabbed a purple fizzy drink from a passing carpet and gulped them down.

  ‘So have you guys worked out your graduation wish yet?’ said Nico, once he’d got his breath back.

  ‘I still reckon that Poppy will end up as a princess,’ said Jake teasingly. ‘Princess Poppy. It even sounds right, don’t you think?’

  Poppy felt a little bump of nerves. She definitely hadn’t changed her mind about what she wanted to be. And she’d been practising her graduation wish for weeks, trying to make it as clear as possible. But had she really been a good enough mentor? Aggi seemed to think so, but maybe that wasn’t enough. Maybe Poppy’s wish would be twisted after all.

  ‘Nah,’ she said hurriedly, wanting to change the subject. ‘What about you Jake?’

  ‘I still haven’t made up my mind,’ grinned Jake, ‘so I’m just going to wish for something fun and exciting and see what I get.’