“Make a wish, get 50% off!”
The sign hung above a small attraction on the pier for the last two days. Most ignored the little genie machine, but Beauregard Jameson was obsessed. The silly hand-held device was essentially a strength tester, but so far, Beau hadn’t seen a single person succeed. Men, women, children… all of them “failing” at getting a wish that they wanted. It was ridiculous. Regardless of the strength, there weren’t any winners.
Beau and his friend Kevin had finished their shift at the Cotton Candy stand and had enough fifteen minutes before their girlfriends’ shifts were over. Life at the county fair for the college freshman hired by Poekin Co. Amusements was boring. Same bullshit every day of the summer. Until this one evening in July...
"I’m gonna do it,” Kevin slurred. He’d been four drinks in during his shift, and his girlfriend Mere wouldn’t be off for another hour. Beau, who’d recently broken up with his boyfriend of two years, enjoyed watching his heterosexual best friend’s drunken breakdown.
“I wanna make a wish…” he said. And Beau watched as his best friend went up to the machine. Dozens had tried to make the toy work, but Beau hadn’t seen anyone succeed. Until today. Putting 25¢ into the machine, Kevin made his wish.
“I want $100 every day for the rest of my life!” he screamed into the ether. It was less a wish and more a prayer. But out of some random realm, a ticket spit out of the machine. It read a few simple lines.
“Wish granted. Include 50% off all sizes. Thank you for your wish!!”
That’s it. The stupid machine said nothing of note and spit out a fortune Kevin didn’t need. What, was he supposed to get a cheap t-shirt? Kevin was known for his bulging muscles, but it didn’t look like this wish-granting machine had any merch to offer.
Beau laughed out loud. His best friend had been insulted by a toy. Sure, Beau’d been through some tough times with his recent breakup with his boyfriend Campbell and being laid off a job he’d loved. But hey, a robot hadn’t given him a coupon for a crappy shirt!
“Fuck this. Cmon Beau. Your turn. Let’s see what your fortune is…”
Beau chuckled at his friend’s card. The machine seemed to finally work, though, so Beau made a quick wish for himself. “I wish I had a boyfriend better than Campbell ever was…”.
A ticket spit out of the machine, but Beau barely noticed. Kevin’s girlfriend Mere had arrived, bringing with her a handsome strange that Beau had seen around the festival. Beau took the ticket and shoved it into his pocket, ignoring whatever it said. If he’d checked, Beau would’ve read a cryptic phrase that would’ve opened many new problems for Beau’s life. But instead he just moved along, unaware his wish had been granted.
The night wound down, and Kevin had grown exhausted. Beau similarly had felt the pressure of a long day on the boardwalk and wanted some time to chill.
That night, both Beau and Kevin went to sleep. Neither realized they would wake up far different then they ever could’ve imagined…