October 19

"No way!"

I laughed as Kellie stared back at me, wide-eyed. We were finally back at school, which didn't suffer too much damage from the hurricane, and we were sitting out in the courtyard before class began.

"No way!" Kellie repeated. "You're telling me that while I was sitting in my house, bored out of my mind, you were busy becoming the strongest genie in the world?!"

"Not yet," I admitted. "I just learned that eventually, I will be the strongest genie in the world, after Hadji that is. I'll have all these extra powers and get to make decisions and stuff."

"Wow," she sighed. "That is so cool. I wish I could be a genie too." She looked at me for a minute, then frowned and said, "Hello, I said 'I wish'. Do your thing!" She smiled and blinked at me jokingly.

"Ha ha," I said, rolling my eyes. "So not funny. If my parents ever found out you knew…"

"Relax, you know I'd never tell anyone."

"I know, but still…" I replied uneasily. It still freaked me out a little whenever she mentioned my being a genie. I was always paranoid that someone would overhear, and then it would all be over.

"Kids, you've got three minutes to get to your classes, or you'll all be late," a teacher shouted to everyone in the courtyard.

"Ugh, back to school again," I said as I got up from the grass and grabbed my schoolbag.

"Yeah, but at least now we'll find out when they're rescheduling homecoming," Kellie reminded me.

We headed off to our classrooms, and I managed to get to my seat in Algebra right as the bell rang.

"Hello again, class!" My teacher, Mr. Robinson said with a smile. "Have a good hurricane?"

We all rolled our eyes, but smiled. Mr. Robinson is so nice—he's pretty much everyone's favorite teacher. I may have given myself a little help in getting him instead of the other Algebra teacher, Mrs. Warwick, but that's a different story.

"Ok, so, we've got some announcements," said Mr. Robinson, reading the daily bulletin sheet. "There will be an important cheerleading meeting tomorrow after school…"

I frowned slightly. I never heard about any special meeting. Deciding it was probably just about some fundraiser or something, I made a little note in my planner to remind myself about it.

"Volleyball practice is cancelled until further notice, since the gym was partially damaged in the hurricane," Mr. Robinson continued. "And finally, the homecoming committee has decided that instead of having the homecoming dance and Halloween party on separate nights, the two events will be combined for a 'Halloween Homecoming.' They say you can come in a costume or formal wear, or both if you want."

I grinned at the news. Homecoming was going to be so much fun now! I looked over to where Anthony was sitting on the other side of the room. He caught my eye and smiled at me.

"Ok, so who remembers the Pythagorean Theorem?" Mr. Robinson asked suddenly, his voice interrupting my thoughts. "Ms. Nelson?" He smiled at me teasingly—he'd seen me daydreaming.

"A squared plus B squared equals C squared," I answered triumphantly.

"Correct again, Ms. Nelson," Mr. Robinson said. "Way to think on your toes."

Anthony laughed a little and smiled at me again. I just grinned and opened my notebook to write down today's lesson. School may be boring, but at least there was one benefit: Anthony was in four out of my six classes!

I got home from school at about 3:15 and opened the door to find my mom dusting by blink in the living room.

"Hi, I'm home!" I called to her. "Where are Dad and Eric?"

"Hello, Daughter," Mom said, smiling at me. "Your father is still at work, and your brother is playing at a friend's house. How was your day?"

"It was good," I replied, flopping down on the couch. "They rescheduled the Homecoming dance for Halloween night, so they're doing both events in one."

"What a wonderful idea!" my mom said, blinking to stop the duster. "Will you still want to wear the dress your grandmother made for you?"

"Of course—it's so pretty! I just thought maybe I could add a cute beaded mask to wear with it."

"That is a good idea. I will look for one when I go shopping in Baghdad tomorrow. Here, Daughter," she said, blinking up a plate with half a sandwich and some grapes on it. "You will need your strength for your first lesson with Hadji today."

"Thanks, Mom," I replied. "What do you think he's going to teach me?"

"Oh, I do not know," Mom said, sitting down beside me on the couch. "I would not think it would have much to do with magic yet, since your powers will not be any stronger until your birthday. Hadji said something about leadership and making the right decisions, did he not?"

"Yeah, but I don't really think I need to learn that stuff," I said, frowning. "I'm taking a leadership class at school, shouldn't that be enough?"

"Your school leadership class teaches you how to make the right decisions in the human world," Mom reminded me. "That may not always be easy, but being even partly in charge of the djinn world will be a much greater responsibility."

"Well, I still don't think I need it," I replied. "Here, I've finished my snack. I'm going to go do my homework. Can you tell me when it's time to change for my lesson?"

"Of course, Daughter. And please—try to keep an open mind about these lessons. I have a feeling they will be very beneficial to you, eventually."

"I will, Mom," I replied, heading up the stairs. But inside, I knew these lessons would be a waste of time. Until I need help with my stronger powers, what could they possibly have to teach me?