Chapter Two- Of Wishes and Djinns
A sudden, violent puff of smoke enveloped Jay.
He coughed, dropping the teapot and using both of his hands to wave it off. The smoke dissipated far too slowly, blocking Jay's vison. He shut his eyes, and took a couple of steps back. With a sudden misstep, Jay stumbled back against the hard ground.
His head spun with the impact. A shadow block the sun above him. "Mom? I'm. . . Fine. What the heck was in that teapot? It just exploded on-"
With eyes now open, he squinted at the figure above him. Jay quickly came to the conclusion that it was not his mother. He was certain his mother did not have four arms. And as far as he knew, she'd always had legs, not a bizarre cloud of dust as the bottom half of herself.
"Nadakhan, at your service."
The creature (Thing? Man?) bowed after stating its name, waiting patiently for Jay's reaction.
Jay pushed himself onto a sitting position then rubbed the back of his head. "Must have hit it harder than I thought. Ugh."
Through a couple more blinks and a lot more focus, Jay realized that the creature was directly connected to the teapot. "You . . . came from there?"
"Indeed. And I may now-"
"Whoa! Wait, I get it." Jay said. "You're a genie! A genie of the lamp! Like Aladdin, right? "
"Djinn. I am a Djinn. As portrayed in the Arabian Nights."
"Isn't it the same thing?"
"No," The Djinn seemed momentarily aggravated by the statement, but with a shake of his head, the charming smile was painted back upon his features. "Regardless. . .You may now ask me for three wishes, which I will grant gladly."
"So." Jay smiled. "Basically a genie."
With clenched teeth, Nadakhan leaned forward. "You could wish to know the difference between a Djinn and a Genie. I believe it might be helpful."
"No, no." Jay shook his head, innocently unaware of the Djinn's frustration. His mind ran through the nearly endless possibilities. If this really was real, and he was having a hard time believing it was, he had a precious chance to turn his life around.
But the more the possibilities grew, the more Jay realized it would be nearly impossible to dwindle everything he wanted down to three wishes.
"I. . ." Jay bit his lip. The first thing in his mind had been Cole. What wish would make his crush. . . become more than a crush? Should he wish for confidence? Charm? Or should he focus on making himself more attractive? Smarter?
For as long as he'd liked Cole, Jay realized he had absolutely no idea what the guy would actually look for in a significant other. Heck, He didn't even know if he liked guys at all!
"I don't know," Jay finally said, and the Djinn barely contained an annoyed growl. "I'll have to think about it. See, there's this guy I like. But I don't want to like, say I want something, and he is totally not into that kind of thing, you know? Then I would have ruined everything. . . I'm very good at ruining things. So I have to think this through."
"You could wish to know everything about him," The Djinn suggested, as Jay stood, reaching down to pick up the teapot. " Then you would be able to make the best decision."
Jay shook his head. "That's a little creepy."
"Why not wish for the confidence to ask what you need, then?"
That had been one of his ideas. The Djinn had a fair point. Besides, confidence couldn't possibly hurt. He definitely needed more of the stuff either way. Jay opened his mouth.
Then his phone rang loudly, blasting the rhythmic tune he'd chosen as Nya's ringtone.
"Oh. One uh- one second." He smiled apologetically at the Djinn, who was more annoyed than appeased, and answered the phone. "Hey Nya! What's up? Actually, I have something to tell you. Well I guess I could tell you tomorrow before school. So I could actually show you. So that maybe I'll know I'm not crazy. No you know what? Never mind. I am crazy. Possibly. I don't-"
Um. Jay? I called you. Maybe you could let me say what I need to say?
"Right! Sorry. What's up?"
This Friday? Kai set up their first concert. Kind of a "back-to-school" theme. He wants us to come. And we will. Then maybe you can talk to Coooole.
"Ah, uh- that's um." Jay felt his stomach bubbling, and he couldn't tell if it was nerves, excitement, or the simple mention of Cole's name.
I'm taking that as yes! Jay shook his head at the sound of Nya's cheery phrase.
"I didn't-"
The sudden silence in his ear let him know his friend had hung up. Jay pouted for a second, fidgeting with the phone before lowering it back into his pocket. His eyes remained unfocused for a moment, before finally settling back onto the Djinn.
"Right! You. A wish." Jay shook his head, trying to get his mind back in order. "What was I going to say?"
"You were going to wish for-"
"No, no. You know what? I think. . . Can I put this off? I mean, it's not like you've really got anywhere else to go." Jay tossed the teapot from one hand to another. "I'll get back to you on it. Now uh. . . Are you going to follow me around until I make the wishes or. . . Can I put you back on the teapot?"
With a not-so-soft growl, the Djinn reached forward, sliding the skull image on the trinket back out of place. In the blink of an eye, the Djinn's body disappeared.
Jay gave a soft whistle, staring at the rusted object.
The next morning, Jay couldn't stop thinking about the wishes.
Each minute of spare time he managed to scrape up before each of his classes began, Jay scrolled through different online articles, trying to accumulate as much information as he could about Djinns.
In Ninjago, the tales of Djinns hold many origins. Jay read, hunkered down in the back of his second period class. Cole sat two seats in front of him. A fact that was both distracting and sweet. Some claim the creatures to be made out of 'smokeless fire', bordering on the immortal range of supernatural creatures. Other stories, however, state that Djinns are very much human, and must eat and rest in order to keep themselves alive.
Djinns are always said to possess powers beyond comprehension, as they are able to accomplish anything, including reconstruction of specific timelines or bringing into reality what most would believe to be impossible.
He refrained from reading anything during lunch, suddenly unwilling to share the Djinn with Nya and Lloyd. For starters, Jay wasn't fully convinced he hadn't imagined the whole thing. Secondly, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear their thoughts and advice on the matter. Lloyd would most likely find a kind way to point out why relaying on magic would never work, while Nya would straight up state Jay was an idiot, and there were better ways to get what one wants.
After lunch, Jay avoided approaching his locker, in fear of creating another awkward moment between him and Cole. He would have more than enough chances to make a fool of himself come Friday.
Despite the fact that Djinns are regarded to have near god-like powers, there are certain limitations for what they can and cannot do. One may not use the powers of a Djinn to bring harm unto someone, and one may not use the powers to fabricate love.
"Well there goes the easy wish of making him fall for me," Jay muttered under his breath as he reached his final class of the day. He settled down as far from the front as usual, shrinking into himself as he continued to read.
In the many tales that Djinns appear in, they share a common personality. Djinns tend to enjoy deceit, taking advantage of the many meanings of words and twisting them in order to create a negative outcome. Some stories say that Djinns are simply jealous of the human race, or hold contempt because they can only use their powers on others, but never themselves. Other tales state that Djinns feed off of the souls of those who-
"Interesting topic to be researching." The voice jolted every bit of Jay's body, sending the phone sprawling out of his hand. He turned quickly, coming face to face with Lloyd's mother. She straightened up, giving Jay a warm smile. "Any particular reason for it?"
"Not, Not really, no." Jay shook his head. "Just curious, Mrs. Garmadon."
"Hmm. I'm sure I've got a book somewhere that talks about them. Specifically the Djinn tied to the 'Teapot of Tyrahn'. No one's ever found the actual artifact, but many ancient civilizations worshipped the object."
"Huh," Jay wondered if the teapot sitting in his backpack was the same one his teacher was speaking of. And he wondered what her reaction would be like if he were to show it off right then and there. "That's cool."
"If I come across it, I'll let you borrow it."
Jay forced a smile and gave a small nod of agreement.
"If you could wish for anything, what would you wish for?"
Jay asked the question to both Nya and Lloyd as they boarded the bus together. Nya frowned as she thought of an answer, but Lloyd was quick with his. "I'd wish for my parents to not work at my school. Or any school. I'd wish they hadn't decided to become teachers. Did you know that my dad almost became a cop? Now that would have been cool."
"I'd wish. . . To be the eldest sibling." Nya finally said. "Kai's so obnoxious sometimes, with his 'been there, done that' attitude. He's a year older than me. Just one. But he holds it over my head like there's no tomorrow."
"And what about you?" Lloyd asked Jay, as he settled on a seat. "What would you wish for?"
"And what's with the question?" Nya added.
"Just curious." Jay shrugged, clutching his backpack closer to his chest. He could feel the hard edges of the teapot against the blue fabric. "I. . . well I really don't know what I'd wish for, you know? There's so many things!"
"So many things wrong with your life, you mean?" Nya snickered.
"Ha-ha, very funny." Jay stuck his tongue out. "That's hurtful."
"I've got a wish for you. You could wish for something to happen at Friday's concert." Lloyd tried to give Jay a wink, which ended up looking more like a forced blink. "If you know what I mean."
"I could wish for you two to not embarrass me." Jay muttered. His cheeks reddened at the thought of Lloyd and Nya nudging him towards Cole. "That would be a really useful wish. It would take quite the load of my mind."
"Oh us?" Nya shared a secret look with Lloyd, before turning back to Jay with wide, innocent eyes.
"We would never, Jay." Lloyd said, with an angelic smile.
"We're your friends!"
"We would never do anything out of line."
"You know, maybe I won't go Friday." Jay pouted, crossing his arms and turning away from his friends.
"You have to." Nya poked her friend's side. "Jokes aside, Cole would be a good friend. This could be the last year you ever really get a chance to get to know him."
Nya's words rang with truth. Jay's stomach sunk.
"You'll probably regret it if you don't talk to him." Lloyd's voice was soft. "And whatever happens, we'll be here for you."
"I'll go, I'll go." Jay tried his best to sound annoyed, but his lips were widening into a smile. "But can you two please promise to behave? You know I will freak out, and run away if things get crazy. Don't even test me on that."
"I promise." Lloyd gave Jay a small salute.
"Okay, I promise." Nya echoed.
Jay sat atop one of the many piles of junk strewn about the yard.
If he squinted hard enough against the sun, he could see the vague silhouette of Ninjago city in the distance. The shapes of the tall buildings were always awe-inspiring, sending chills through his arms as he imagined living within that world. But today, Jay's focus was on something else.
He stared hard at the teapot in his hand.
On and off, Jay had thought about the wishes he could make. The possibilities still seemed endless, but with the couple of things he'd learned about Djinns, Jay could say that he felt far less confident about making a good decision.
Lloyd's words had stuck with him. Wishing for something to happen on Friday night. If something could tie Cole and Jay together for long enough, Jay would be able to trudge through the awkward phase and into. . . Well, into something other than shyly avoiding Cole for the rest of his life.
Jay took a deep breath, chest rising and shuddering as he tried to clear his mind. Then with a determined flick of his wrist, Jay flicked the panels of the teapot into position.
The puff of smoke wasn't as violent as it had been before, and Jay managed to keep his balance. He waited for it all to dissipate, eyes squinting at the Djinn before him. He gave the creature a smile, which was not returned.
"Have you at last, come to a decision on your wishes?"
"Kind of," Jay nodded. "It's got to do with this Friday. There's going to be a concert, and the guy I like is going to be there. . ."
Nadakhan listened with impatience.
"So I know what I want is based around that. . ." Jay talked, more to himself than the Djinn, knowing he would ultimately arrive at a conclusion. "But what, you know? There's so many things, and not many wishes."
"Many possibilities indeed." The Djinn's voice was softer than before, as he leaned closer. "But not many will come close to becoming a reality if this guy of yours does not know you are there."
"Oh, he'll know." Jay said, but his voice was unsure. Just because they'd had one conversation did not mean Cole was going to pick him out of a crowd. "Nya will probably try to introduce us."
"It is so hard to know what other people will do." The Djinn shook his head. "She could be preoccupied with other things."
"Well. . ."
"Wouldn't it be a shame to miss this opportunity to. . . bond with this guy?"
The Djinn hovered close now. Jay's mind spun quickly, pressured to come up with an idea.
"There might be a lot of people there." Nadakhan's voice was silky and persuasive. Jay's eyes shifted. "Easy to miss someone in the crowd."
"Okay, Okay! I wish for Cole notice me this Friday!" Jay finally spat out, eyes shut in a grimace.
In a mocking tone that made every part of the teen quake with nerves, the Djinn replied.
"Your wish, Is yours to keep."