Brick grinned as he spotted his quarry in a lonely corner of the mall. Jared was sitting playing a video game on his phone and eating a hot dog on a stick. He quietly walked around and came up behind Jared. He leaned in and took a bite of the hot dog on a stick. Jared turned. Brick grabbed the hot dog on a stick, and finished devouring it, before tossing it on Jared's table.
"Next time get mustard," Brick advised.
"Brick?" Jared said uncertainly. He hadn't expected to see his old high school bully at the University Mall. It hadn't occurred to Jared that Brick might go to the same college after high school.
"Yeah, in the flesh. Thanks for the hot dog, but I could use something more filling," Brick said rubbing the palm of his hand with his thumb, "Fork it over, Rich Boy." His voice had a menacing tone.
Jared looked glum, but reached in his pocket and opened his wallet. He handed Brick all the bills, and started to empty the change compartment.
"Keep the bus fare, you'll need it. Doubt your wimpy legs could carry you back to your dorm."
"Uh-if I were bigger than you, I-"
"Later, Jare." Brick said and turned his back.
Jared grabbed his food tray, and raised it, as if to throw at Brick, but he set it down, and stared angrily at it. Why had he given Brick all his money?
Brick had just turned the corner from the food court, and was surprised to see a glitzy new store. He had walked by there minutes earlier, and thought it looked vacant. He shook his head. Felt the wad of money in his pocket, and entered the store.
The clerk looked up, and beamed. A customer!
"Hello, sir, please come in, and have a look around."
"What sort of stuff do you sell?" Brick asked. He looked from the mannequin with the red and black leather bustier to the framed football jersey, then over at shelves covered with knickknacks and jewelry, and bottles and jars. Brick headed toward the back of the shop, and stepped into an alcove lined with shelves and tables covered with odds and ends.
"A little bit of everything. The store has something for everyone. I'm sure you'll find just what you deserve."
"Deserve, huh?" Brick asked, as he looked disgustedly at what was obviously a used jockstrap, and picked up an empty jar. He asked, "Killing jar? Used to use this to collect specimens when I was a scout." He unscrewed the lid, and looked inside the jar.
There was a swooshing noise , and Brick felt his arms, torso, butt, cock and balls, and legs sliding out of his clothing. Suddenly, he was naked inside the jar on the tabletop staring back at his empty clothing as it collapsed in a heap on the floor.
"I knew you'd find something," gushed the clerk, as he picked up the jar lid and began to screw it on the jar.
Brick screamed, but the clerk ignored him. He set the jar back on the shelf, and proceeded to rummage through Brick's clothing. The clerk extracted Brick's wallet, money and car keys. He took out Brick's driver's license, and waved the crystal on the chain around his neck over the license. The crystal glowed. Brick was shocked as the wimpy young man suddenly was the spitting image of Brick. His clothing no longer fit properly, and the clerk hurriedly changed into Brick's clothing and shoes.
"Malcolm," said the shopkeeper to the clerk now dressed as Brick, "Put that in the back. It needs to age a few centuries, or maybe milennia. An unfermented genie has no magic to speak of, and is worth practically nothing." Brick was freaking the middle aged old guy had looked at him naked in the jar as if he had been an insect. Brick pounded on the glass and screamed.
"Sure thing, boss. Then I'll drive his car to his gym, get a nice workout. And if anyone comes looking for him, they won't be coming anywhere near this store."
Malcolm picked up the jar containing Brick, but instead of heading straight to the back room, he walked over to the full-length mirror. He set the jar on the glass countertop, and proceeded to adjust his new clothes, and comb the hair on his new head. He grinned. He grabbed the car key, and headed out of the shop leaving Brick on the glass cabinet.
Jared headed out of the food court. He came around the corner, and saw the new shop. He lamented not having anything other than change in his pocket, but he figured he could still check it out.
He entered the shop. The bell rang. No one seemed to be about. He noticed the jar with a tiny figure inside it, and walked over to investigate.
"Malcolm?" the shopkeeper emerged from the back room.
Jared was staring into the jar in disbelief. The shopkeeper frowned.
"Malcolm was supposed to put that in the back to age. It's not supposed to be on the counter," he said. He left unsaid that no customers should be in the store unless the clerk was manning the counter. He glared at the old script sign over the backroom doorway, which read, "THE PATRON RECEIVES THE CUSTOM MOST DESERVETH." He may have been a wizard, but he was as much a prisoner of the shop as Malcolm or now Brick was. The store had materialized for this college kid for a reason.
"Damn, that looks just like Brick. How much is it? What is it? It looks like it's alive, but that's impossible."
The shopkeeper snorted, "Impossible?"
"Oh, I don't know. It's really not worth anything. It takes centuries in a bottle for a genie's magic to ferment, and this one was just bottled a little while ago. At best, he might be a masturbatory aid? Maybe worth a buck?" the old wizard shrugged.
"Lemme see," said Jared emptying out his change on the glass counter next to the jar.
"Oh, fuck no! This old dude is not selling my ass for pocket change to this dweeb!" screamed Brick furiously.
"Seventy-two, seventy-seven, and five and ten. That's 93 cents," he said pensively. Then he remembered he'd shoved the change from his hot dog on a stick into his pants pocket. He pulled it out, and announce, "Eleven cents more. That's a dollar and four cents. Oh, wait, the sales tax." He sounded crestfallen.
The old wizard reached into the bowl marked take a penny give a penny, and said, "That's just right." He grabbed the jar containing Brick, and shoved him into a brown paper bag. He handed Jared the bag, and a receipt stamped, "ALL SALES ARE FINAL."
"Have a good day!" the shopkeeper said, as Jared hurried out of the shop. He couldn't wait to get Brick home, and open the jar.