I was surprised as someone new had rubbed my lamp. It had always felt as though there could be entire generations that would pass before some new traveler would come by and find me. Yet barely even a few weeks later, I emerged from the lamp to find myself in front of a new man staring wide-eyed at me. "I am the genie of the lamp," I declared as I exited the lamp.
"Woah..." the rather small man's mouth hung open as he scanned every inch of me. "It was real..."
However, another guy was standing next to him. "Yeah. Okay David," he said skeptically. "Looks totally real."
"No way Trevor! It is!" David declared pointing at me. Trevor looked up in my direction as that is where my master had pointed, but directly through me.
"Master," I said, drawing the man's attention to me. "No one other than you can see or hear me."
"Wait! Really?" David stared blankly.
I nodded, but Trevor interrupted. "Yes really! You got scammed! Alright? I don't know why you trusted those porn guys. Just cause you think they're hot doesn't mean that they always tell the truth."
"But-But it's not a scam. There's really a genie right here," David pointed at me again.
Trevor rolled his eyes. "Alright then. Make a wish," he said snidely.
"Okay! Fine!" David turned back to me. "So do I get like three wishes?" he asked.
"No, master," I smiled. "For the next 24 hours you are able to make as many wishes as you desire. However, after than time period is up, I'm afraid you won't be able to make any more."
"Ohh... Okay," David nodded, really trying to think of something. Choice paralysis must have been taking over as the sudden realization that he could make as many wishes as he desired made it feel impossible to even make one. Even without the knowledge that I could manipulate the wishes by adding or changing three of the words in it, he didn't know what to wish for.
"Well..." Trevor goaded. David continued to stay silent, thinking even harder. "Fuck man... I should have just crashed that party instead. If I'd known you were going to be such a bummer, I wouldn't have even bothered coming over."
"No! Wait! Please don't go! It's real. I swear!" David turned back to me. "I wish that I was big and strong like a bodybuilder."
The wish was pretty obvious. Even though David was really thinking about it, looking at his small stature, it was obvious that this would come up at some point in the next 24 hours. But I still had something I wanted to add.
"I wish that I was big and strong like a bodybuilder WITHOUT NEEDING STEROIDS."
Trevor stared at David. "You've got to be kidding me..." he muttered as he headed for the door.
David looked down at himself, just as confused. "What gives?" he turned to me.
"Master. Some wishes might take a little time activate. With such a large change it may be a while before you actually see the benefits," I said.
David let out an angry sigh. "Damn it... I wish Trevor would believe me..." he muttered.
I snickered.
"I wish Trevor would believe me NO MATTER WHAT," he muttered. "Wait! No!"
"I'm sorry master. The wish has already been granted," I said.
"Aww... Man. I didn't mean to actually wish that..." David said.
"Well, you could always try to unwish it. Or you could just as easily use it to your advantage," I suggested.
"Uhh... Uhh..." David paced around. But as Trevor was about to leave, he shouted, "Trevor! Wait."
"Why?" Trevor asked. "I'm going to Mark's party."
"Because I can get you in. Without Mark getting mad," David said.
Trevor's skepticism instantly evaporated. "Wait. Really?" he asked. "How?" then answered his own question, "with your genie?"
It took the nervous David a moment to gain the courage to speak. "Yeah," he forced out. A bit of a gasp overtook him as he followed up with, "Yeah. With my genie." He stared at Trevor, watching the other man not give any push back like he had before.
"Alright then. Let's go," Trevor smiled as he wrapped his arm around David.