Alice was casually on her way to High School, she’d decided to take longer route than normal on her way there as she had a little extra time on her hands. She liked to take in the nature, passing by the grand park in the centre of town.
As she was about to turn the corner however, she noticed a slight glimmer on edge of the sidewalk. With her natural curiosity (and love of any/all things shiny) she bent down and picked it up.
A little dirty from being on the ground, Alice had found a beautiful gold ring. It was plain, but gave the impression of something with a rich history. Being the kind of person she was, she wanted to find the owner of the ring and return it to them. Sadly, she couldn’t find anyone frantically searching for a missing piece of jewellery, the most exciting thing she saw was some 14 year old kid freaking out across the road. She heavily doubted it was his.
Looking at the time on the clock-tower in the centre of town, she decided she’d return it after High-School on her way back home. Maybe she’d bring her friends with her!
She placed the ring next to her various other rings on her fingers and realised just how well it fit! It was like it was made her finger; not too tight, not too loose, the perfect Goldilocks ring.
Without wasting too much more time, she continued on her way to school.
Not long after, she finally made it to the front of the school. Surprisingly she was early, Alice was usually someone who’d arrive perfectly on time, meeting her friends at the entrance to hang out before homeroom.
Instead, she noticed one of her friends, Vanessa.
“Hey Nessa!!” Alice called,
Vanessa quickly turned around in surprise, relieved to see it was only Alice, “o-oh, hey Alice… what’re you doing here so early?” She asked, her hands behind her back fidgeting, almost like she was embarrassed to be caught at school so early,
“Oh I just got here a little early, it’s funny because I actually took the long route,” Alice explained, giggling at herself,
“R-right… well I was just…” Vanessa tried to explain, but clearly couldn’t come up with a decent excuse. Alice felt a little suspicious of why she was in so early.
“H-hey Vanessa…” A voice from behind spoke. Alice turned around to see the very tall, very handsome, and very nerdy Chase Norton,
“Chase?” Alice said,
“A-Alice!?” He said, shocked to see someone else,
The pieces were clicking in Alice’s mind. Vanessa always got in early, but never as early as Chase Norton. He’d usually be found in the library reading before everyone else arrived. It was no secret that Vanessa had a huge crush on Chase, arguably every student could appreciate just how handsome he was, even if his nerdy personality put them off. He was tall, his build was fairly nice, but his face stole the show. Even with his big glasses and messy afro, it was hard to miss. He didn’t have much of an interest in girls, mostly sticking to his books, comics, and video games. But once a girl discovered his secret online girlfriend, he’s had nothing but female attention, even from the most popular of girls. He tried his absolute hardest to avoid them all, and eventually they gave up on him… everyone except Vanessa, a girl he didn’t mind talking to. She definitely had a shot.
Vanessa on the other hand, despite being the biggest bookworm in school, was absolutely gorgeous! Like Chase, she took no interest in her looks, but clearly her cards had been dealt well as she had one of the prettiest faces in town! She also wore large glasses, her brown hair messy and all over the place. She wasn’t particularly excelling in any area of her body, but she was definitely not lacking anywhere. She had an average figure, but that didn’t mean ugly. In the rare occasion she couldn’t escape gym class, the rest of the girls were in awe at her figure, usually hidden behind her signature baggy sweaters and long skirts. She really was jaw-dropping. If either of them had the right attitude, they’d be model-material!
Alice realised she was in the way of a possible match-made-in-heaven, and quickly made up an excuse to escape,
“If you don’t mind, I have to use the bathroom…” she said, but unable to resist, she added, “have fun you two,” before quickly scurrying up the front steps and into the hall.
She could already feel the embarrassment from Vanessa, but chose not to look back.
She decided she probably should go to the bathroom anyway to avoid suspicion, plus she wanted to freshen herself up a little.
Almost 10 minutes later, Alice was looking at herself in the mirror, adding a little to her makeup. Looking at the mirrors, she couldn’t help but notice just how dirty they were. Didn’t this school have cleaners?
“I wish the cleaners would actually clean these bathrooms properly,” she said to herself.
Suddenly, as she continued to adjust her makeup, she noticed the mirrors getting a little less dirty. Weird, maybe something to do with the lights? In the reflection she could see everything behind her suddenly becoming brighter… cleaner!
She turned around suddenly, watching as the dirt and grime almost completely washed away! The deeper stains remained, but it looked like someone had clearly tried their best to clean it.
Alice thought she might be seeing things. She turned back to the mirror, looking at herself, “okay… my dress is blue…” she observed, “I wish my dress was cream coloured,” she said.
Almost as soon as she said it, she could see the hue of her dress shifting completely. Her mouth opened wide, watching as her the actual colour changed completely. The dress, now finished changing, was an amazing cream colour, the exact colour she loved! She couldn’t believe it,
“This… how?” She asked herself, then had an idea, “I-I wish I knew why I can make wishes,” she said.
Everything hit her. The ring, the kid, the old woman. Everything it’d been through. The ring was made for mischief, not for a higher purpose. It was made to have fun, for pleasure, for reward. She’d been lucky enough to find the ring, and she had all the power in the world. All she had to say was,
I wish…