A fast update, but I don't think you are complaining too much about it. This is a chapter that most of you have been waiting for in some fashion or form since the announcement of the Snow Ball. You wanted to know how Norm would react to the news of Amanda and Timmy going together. After all, the genie despises the boy, but he wants the girl to be happy. A nice confliction of his motives is certainly in order.
His intention to check on the girl before she left for class had completely failed. The genie's late night had resulted in him sleeping through most of the morning. By the time the movement of the lava lamp managed to overcome his deeply exhausted state enough to actually awaken him and capture his attention, Norm had found himself in Amanda's backpack and quite likely sitting in the middle of a math lesson. The dark-haired genie decided that he could take a little time to watch the gamblers in Los Vegas go broke and check out the tabloids while she finished school. Brittany Brittany's impromptu nap ended up on a number of different papers, just as he predicted, so he considered his earlier actions towards her an enjoyable success.
To make up for his continued absence, he decided to pick up a few chocolate chip cookies for both of them. Both he and the girl liked the snacks, so it would be rather enjoyable and he might be able to bribe the brunette child into describing Turner's date failure in great detail.
Arriving in her room with a gong, cookies fresh from the bakery, he casually greeted, "Hey, kid. Sorry I kept missing you, Shorty. I've been a little busy with…"
He trailed off, staring at the room now that he noticed the details of the surroundings. The normally empty space was filled with scattered clothes. Every outfit she owned, even if it wasn't actually that many, were draped across the floor or the bed. Amanda was holding a radioactive-yellow dress with a resigned expression on her face. Apparently he'd missed a few developments.
"Was there some kind of clothes explosion in here? Or is this your idea of redecorating?" Norm asked. "Because I'm not quite sure this is the look you should be going for. Maybe a little more 'ranch style' and a little less 'random style.' Want to tell me what you're up to?"
Her eyes glanced around the room, paused briefly on the ugly dress in her hands, and finally met his gaze. The brunette child slowly walked over to her bed and picked up the teddy bear. She held the toy tightly in her right hand while the dress dangled from her left. And she kept eye contact with the genie the entire time.
"It's a little complicated," she began slowly. "There's a dance for the older students tonight and Timmy couldn't find anyone to go with. And he really wanted someone to go with him to the dance so he wouldn't be embarrassed."
Norm carefully slid his sunglasses further, ensuring that his expression was concealed behind the reflective surfaces. He already knew of the boy's difficulties since he actually caused them, but a suspicion of an unexpected side effect of his actions was beginning to dawn on him.
"He really needed a date and, since I'm a girl, Timmy asked me to go as a favor," explained Amanda. "It isn't really an actual date or anything. I'm just going with him as a friend. That way, he won't have to go alone. And it's supposed to be fun. But the only nice and fancy clothes I have that I can wear is this."
She held up the neon yellow monstrosity again as the genie silently cursed himself for not predicting this outcome. He was an intelligent and experienced magical creature. He should have foreseen the possibility that Turner might choose a female friend to accompany him rather than go alone. The girl he loved might be going with another boy, but that didn't necessarily mean that the bucked-tooth loser would give up easily. Norm knew he was getting too sloppy. It was hard organizing revenge strategies while keeping his young master ignorant and safe from his actions.
"And I just know that it isn't as pretty or expensive as the other girls. What if the dress embarrasses him anyway?" the girl continued. "He might decides it was a bad idea to invite me." Then, in a quieter voice, she added, "Or that it was a bad idea to be my friend. I just can't compare with the other kids and I don't deserve this. I'm going to mess this up."
Trying to distract the child from this rather depressing train of thought, the genie handed her the cookie while placing the stuffed toy back on the bed and carefully observed, "School dances aren't really that big a deal, kid. This isn't that Cinderella fairy tale with a rich prince and a kingdom on the line. It is just supposed to be something fun. Turner won't be upset over an outfit. You don't have a lot of fashion choices, admittedly. But there has to be better options available than the yellow nightmare." He picked up a maroon t-shirt and frowned, "Does half of this stuff even fit you?"
"Mom usually buys my clothes at the second-hand store," she remarked, her eyes dropping to the floor momentarily as she took a small bite of the cookie. "She says she gets a discount if she buys the box of assorted girl's clothes and she doesn't have to spend all day looking at sizes or having me try stuff on. Some of it fits me and I can grow into the bigger clothes. Like the yellow dress almost fits me now."
That was it. His very limited patience with the girl's parents was now completely gone. They ignored her, destroyed any self-worth that the child might possess, and demonstrated a number of ways how little they cared about her. They couldn't even bother buying her clothes that fit. They simply bought used outfits in bulk and hoped that at least some were the correct size. It wasn't as if they lacked the funds; they simply couldn't bother to make the effort. She was left with an ill-fitting and hideous dress to attend a dance in, completely certain that something would destroy part of her meager happiness. And it was all due to those idiots who called themselves parents. They should be hurled into the sun and allowed to fry. The world wasn't fair, but this girl's life was definitely pushing it.
All thoughts of violence against Mr. and Mrs. Adams were quickly dismissed, however. Any ideas about vengeance, about how his intentions to make Turner suffer had been thwarted, fell aside as he stared at the brunette girl. She wasn't crying; he'd never actually seen the child in tears. She was, however, quite upset about how she would be seen at the Snow Ball, fearful of what the result of appearance might be, and resigned to her limited options. If he was still more concerned with making Turner suffer, the genie would have suggested she simply not go. It would keep her free of being in a situation that would make her uncomfortable and it would leave the bucked-tooth loser dateless. He could play chess with the girl while picturing Turner alone.
But he honestly couldn't care less about the boy at that moment. He wanted Amanda to be happy. She deserved to be happy. And nothing would interfere with that if he could help it. Everything else was of little importance in comparison. He came to a decision.
"Okay, Cinderella," Norm stated, taking the neon dress from the girl and tossed it aside. "If you want to go to the ball, you're going in style."
There was no excuse, no rationalizing away his actions as something more selfish. Games of chess could be explained as being entertaining for the genie after spending so many stretches of time in solitude. Pizza and other meals could be excused by pointing out he ate it too and suggesting that it was mostly for himself. Every action could be rationalized away as benefiting him in some manner, even if only to keep his odd hobby interesting. This was different. There was no reason for his actions except to make a certain brunette child smile.
This was complete proof that he cared for his young master. Far, far more than was likely smart. Denying it was impossible now. It had occurred slowly, but surely over time. He was absolutely attached to the kid to the point that his fellow genies would stare at him oddly if they ever found out. Not that he would ever tell them. But he could not even make the attempt to deny that he liked the sweet child. And, honestly, Norm didn't mind acknowledging that fact nearly as much as he once would have.
"What do you mean?" Amanda asked slowly, her eyes widening in confusion.
He didn't immediately respond to her question. He was thinking through his knowledge of fashion for this decade and rejecting the more mature options as inappropriate for the eight year old. He might not have a female's talent at it, but he could still manage to figure out the changing tastes in clothes of humanity. Finally, inspiration struck the genie and he snapped his fingers.
A soft gong produced a new outfit, one intended specifically for that girl and no one else. Amanda would never ask for such a thing and would not believe she deserved it. That was part of the reason why she was different than any other master and precisely why he would give it to her.
The magically-produced dress was a teal color that perfectly matched her usual turtleneck and bow in shade. The style was simple and elegant with slightly poofy sleeves. The fabric had a slight shimmer and sparkle to it that would work well with the less complicated and plain shape of the dress. It wasn't the type of outfit that the genie would expect to find on his dates, but it was pretty regardless.
As the girl stared down in amazement at the shimmering fabric that now enshrouded her, Norm nodded to himself thoughtfully. Turning his attention to her head, he snapped his fingers again.
With another gong, her straight hair arranged itself into a series of brown curls pulled back by her usual teal bow, now made of the same slightly-sparkling fabric as the dress. Make-up, while expected of teenage girls and young ladies of both the human and genie variety, would run the risk of making his master look like a child playing dress-up or simply foolish. Besides, matching the right colors and figuring out the application of the appropriate amounts of the substances were not really part of his expertise. It would be simpler to leave that alone. She really didn't need all that gloopy stuff anyway.
"And while glass slippers seem so impractical, considering how easy it would be to break them and cut your feet, I'm sure that I can devise a more sensible substitute that is less fragile," he stated. He quickly gonged up a small hand mirror, held it up so that she could see her reflection, and carefully asked, "Do you think this will embarrass Turner?"
Her eyes wide as she took in her altered appearance, the brunette child shook her head slowly. She didn't seem to be able to find her voice yet. Her half-eaten cookie was placed on the bed with awkward movements as her free hand delicately touched first the dress and then her styled hair.
Continuing with his questioning, Norm asked, "Do you like it?"
"It's… beautiful," she whispered. "I don't deserve…"
"Yes, you do," he interrupted. "You deserve to go to the dance and have fun with your friends. You deserve at least that much out of your life, kid. And I'm not sending you out in that blinding yellow, pathetic excuse for a dress. It was a crime against fashion and my eyesight." He snapped his fingers again and a pair of teal slippers with bows on top appeared on her feet with a gong. Still holding the mirror, he added softly, "This looks much better. And I don't just mean the outfit. You're going to impress a few people, kid."
She stared at both her reflection and the genie for a few moments. Then a smile began to form. It was a warm and friendly one, a smile that he was rather happy to see from the girl. The expression also held a tiny hint of confidence. That was something he'd never expected to see from her and made the entire thing worth it. He'd made the child feel special, something that her parents obviously never did and something she never viewed herself as.
"Thank you, Norm," smiled Amanda, touching the shimmering dress again. "Thank you so much."
Then, hesitating only a few seconds in indecision, the girl took a step forward and gave him a quick hug. It was clear from the stiffness of the child's grip that she still half-expected to be scolded for her forwardness. Mostly the genie was too shocked by her actions to react. He'd frozen when her arms wrapped around his waist, proving once again that he would never be able to predict Amanda's behavior since she wasn't like any other human he'd ever dealt with. Norm didn't have a great deal of experience, even after all the millennia of his life he'd spent on Earth, with being hugged by children. Actually, most types of friendly physical contact that didn't lead to more private activities were rather few and far between for him. Part of the unpopularity of his species and everything. People just don't go around hugging genies at random. Except for his little exception to every rule he knew, apparently.
As soon as Amanda completed her impromptu act of thanks, he arms and eyes dropped down uncertainly. She looked nervous, almost afraid to find out that she might have done something wrong. His stunned expression probably wasn't helping. He needed to say something before she lost that brief spark of confidence.
"Sorry, I'm not generally a big advocate of public displays of affection," he remarked, trying to add enough of a teasing tone so she would know he wasn't upset with the girl. "They aren't typically something I participate in." Changing the topic quickly, he asked, "Is Turner meeting you here or at school?"
"Here," she answered, her gaze meeting his again. "And he should be here soon." She briefly glanced at her teddy bear and the lava lamp before commenting, "I can't take those with me, right?"
Knowing that she felt some type of comfort from those items, Norm replied, "It would be a little weird dragging your backpack along. Don't worry too much. You'll be fine and you'll have a great time."
"Thanks," smiled the brunette child. "For everything."
Quietly, he responded, "Anytime, kid." Clearly his throat slightly, he added quickly, "I'll go keep an eye out for your date."
Vanishing from her room with a gong, the genie barely spared a thought for Turner and his failed revenge scheme. Instead, he kept seeing the smile on Amanda's face as she looked at the dress. Norm felt rather proud of her appearance and of the fact he'd managed to produce that reaction from the young girl. He also had the occasional moment where he came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be so bad if she gave him a hug again some time. After all, denying his affection for the child was too much effort and admitting that he truly liked her was far more enjoyable. Not that he planned to share that information anytime soon.
His suit on, Timmy gave himself a final look in the mirror to ensure that he looked presentable. Standing in his bedroom, the bucked-tooth boy was almost ready. He was missing a few articles, like his bow tie, but that would be dealt with soon enough. After all, his fairies would need somewhere to hide.
Poof was currently waking up from his nap. The infant would be up past his normal bedtime tonight because of the dance and it wouldn't be a good idea for his god-brother to get tired and cranky. So the small fairy had gone to sleep as soon as they arrived home. Cosmo was also just waking up from a nap. Technically he didn't need one, but the boy wasn't going to point that out to the green-haired fairy. If his godparent thought he also needed a nap to keep from getting cranky and crying, Timmy would let Cosmo snooze. But the pair was waking up now, watching him examine the suit.
Wanda was on a mission at the boy's request and he expected his godmother to return at any second. In fact, as if summoned by his thoughts, there was a poof of magic and the pink-haired fairy was floating in the room abruptly.
Timmy, smiling in greetings at her, asked, "Well?"
"Sport, I wish I could tell you that your suspicions were wrong, but…," she began before trailing off and shaking her head. "Amanda was trying to find something to wear to the dance, but wasn't having much luck. It didn't look like she had many options and she wasn't happy about it."
The boy nodded, halfway expecting this result. Parents who complain over their children having friends over and imaginary messes wouldn't be the type to get the daughter very many fancy outfits. But he already had a plan to fix that.
"Any of you familiar with the fairy tale of Cinderella?" Timmy remarked casually.
Cosmo raised his hand, "The one about the girl who did lots of cleaning, rode to a party in a piece of produce, and got married because she misplaced a highly-breakable piece of footwear?"
"That's the one," the brunet boy confirmed. "I was thinking we could recreate the story. Or at least part of it."
"You've got it," announced the green-haired fairy cheerfully, already raising his wand.
With a quick poof, a number of small rodents, a large pumpkin, and what looked like a pair of clear sneakers appeared on the boy's bed. The glass shoes, bumped by one of the mice, promptly fell off and broke. The other mice quickly converged on the gourd and began chewing. Even before the vermin started eating, Timmy could see a face carved into the pumpkin. Somehow, he wasn't surprised with his godfather's actions.
"Cosmo, I don't quite think that's what he had in mind," stated Wanda dryly. She raised her own wand and the glass shards, rodents, and the jack-o-lantern vanished with another poof. "Let's wait until Timmy finishes talking this time."
Her husband complained, "But… but I wanted to do the song that goes with the story. I just need to remember the words that I'm supposed to sing. Bingo bong beep? Bippy bomba boom? Billy Bobby Ben?"
Shaking her head slightly, the pink-haired fairy remarked, "Cosmo, I love you, but I really hope that Poof takes after me when it comes to brains when he grows up."
"And after me in looks, charm, and wish-granting?" he asked hopefully.
"Uh… Sure, let's go with that," she responded quickly.
"Poof poof?" asked the infant fairy.
"Guys, focus a minute," interrupted Timmy. "Can I continue?" When the trio of magical beings nodded, the boy explained, "I wasn't really focusing on the whole pumpkin carriages or glass slippers thing with my idea. The main part of this story we're copying is the whole 'fairy godmother shows up to help the girl go to the ball' set-up. Do you remember what we did for Tootie's birthday party?"
"You mean when you ignored her numerous invitations, she had a horrible day, and the power of guilt began to hit you so that you had to find a way to fix it?" summarized the green-haired fairy. "And she almost revealed our existence before you kissed her to distract her and Mr. Crocker was carried away by a helicopter?"
"Yes, that birthday party," the boy answered dryly. Continuing, he reminded, "I loaned her both of you so she could wish up her ideal party. Part of the problem in that case was that she wasn't warned about the rules first and I loaned both of you, meaning I couldn't do any damage control to keep Crocker at bay. I won't make the same mistakes this time. Cosmo and Poof can stay with me and Wanda can help Amanda. At least until the dance is over."
There was silence for a moment before the pink-haired fairy remarked, "I believe that might be one of your better plans. So I'll be playing the part of the fairy godmother in the story?"
"Well, you are one," her godson pointed out. "I can't think of anyone who would do a better job." Taking a deep breath, he announced, "I wish that Wanda would be Amanda's fairy godparent until the end of the Snow Ball."
Holding up wands and a rattle, the trio of fairies attempted to grant his request. Unfortunately, the sound produced wasn't the familiar poof, but was instead the equally familiar and less welcomed sound of a raspberry, pfft, that indicated a failed wish. It was a far too common problem, even if he was fairly knowledgeable of the more commonly-encountered rules.
Frowning slightly, Wanda glanced at her wand. She even shook it a little. It was clear that she full expected it to work and the boy was also a little confused at the lack of results.
Timmy closed his eyes in concentration, muttering, "Okay, I'm not trying to win a contest, interfering with true love, or even messing with any major holidays like Christmas again. So I would have to guess that the problem would be her qualifications."
"You can only loan your fairies to a child twice as miserable as you," she confirmed, still staring at her wand suspiciously.
Cosmo asked, "Does that mean Amanda is too cheerful?"
"As crazy as it sounds, it's the only thing that makes sense," the pink-haired fairy nodded. She looked towards Timmy, "Do you have any other ideas, Sport?"
The brunet boy shook his head, trying to figure out how in the world Amanda wasn't twice as miserable as him with her family and lack of fairies. And trying to help her in this situation was a little difficult if he couldn't loan her his fairies. It wasn't like he could just give her a dress or something without it seeming weird.
"I don't know," answered Timmy. "I'll try to figure out something when we get there."
Without another word, the fairies vanished from sight as a pink bowtie, a green watch, and a purple flower materialized. Giving himself a quick glance in the mirror to ensure his god-family was securely in place, the boy headed towards the door. His parents would likely comment on his appearance and wish him a good time at the dance, but his thoughts were busy trying to handle the problem of how to help the girl he was attending with.
It was beautiful. The dress shimmered slightly whenever the light touched it. She still couldn't believe that it was truly hers. That Norm made it just for her, repeatedly stating that she deserved it. It was so pretty. Amanda couldn't help thinking that the dress and hairdo was making her pretty. It was… nice.
She could clearly remember Grandma brushing out the girl's hair when she was younger. Every time, the woman would finish by pulling the child's hair back with a bow and kissing the top of her grandchild's head, telling her how pretty her little girl was. It always made Amanda smile and give her a hug.
Which was probably why she ended up giving the genie one. If she'd really thought about what she was doing, she would not have made such a risky gesture. But even though she instantly realized that it might be a bad idea to hug Norm, he didn't seem overly upset. A little uncomfortable, but not mad. She wouldn't do it again, however. Even if it felt so nice, she didn't want to make him uncomfortable.
Knowing it would be better to go wait outside rather than risk having her parents upset about having strange children ringing the doorbell, Amanda carefully pulled her door open a crack. The rest of the house was dark, meaning they were already gone. That meant she wouldn't have to deal with any awkward questions about the origin of the dress and whether she was wasting their hard-earned money on frivolous items. She knew she wasn't doing anything wrong in this case, but she wouldn't be able to explain properly and it would waste too much of Mom and Dad's time. They were busy people with busy lives and she wouldn't get in their way.
The ringing of the doorbell, a clear and forceful sound, pulled the child out of her thoughts. Amanda smiled slightly as she headed towards the front door. Between the idea of an evening with her friend, Timmy, at the dance and the beautiful and amazing dress that Norm gave her to wear, she couldn't wait to go and enjoy the Snow Ball.
Okay, I hope that this is what you were hoping for. The dance itself is on the horizon and I think there will still be a few surprises for those who are attending. So, tell me what you think. I always enjoy feedback. Thanks.