“Heya, Rory!” Bryden places a cup of coffee atop Rory’s table with a grin. “I bought an iced caramel macchiato for you!”

Rory blinks, his gaze moving from the cup of coffee to Bryden. “Um, thanks? Why are you suddenly buying me coffee?”

“Why would I not?” Bryden wraps an arm around Rory. “We’re best buds, aren’t we, Rory?”

Rory tilts his head in confusion. “Uh, not really.”

“Aw, don’t be so humble. You’re lucky that I even came to the dining hall for you! I usually go out to eat rather than eat the nasty food over here.”

“Rory!” Nora comes over with a plate of food in her hands, but her smile falters when her eyes rest upon Bryden and she shoots him a glare.

Bryden shudders and turns to leave. “Uh, I’ll be going now. See you in class!” On his way out of the dining hall, he rubs the ring on his finger. “Psst, genie, did I do a good job?”

When the genie appears before him, his eyes are shut and his expression composed. But when his eyes open and he sees Bryden in front of him, he groans and crosses his arms. “Oh, it’s you again, disturbing my peace. It’s funny how I’ve been stuck in that ring bored out of my mind for over fifty years, itching to get out, but now I’ve never wished to stay in that ring more than any other time in my life.”

Bryden rolls his eyes. “Oh, come on. Do you hate me that much? Didn’t you see that good deed I did?”

The genie scoffs. “What good deed? Buying coffee for your roommate? That clearly wasn’t genuine. You’re just trying to act nice so that I can grant you your wishes.”

“Then what do you expect me to do, bro?” Bryden groans in frustration. “Are you just never going to grant me a wish?”

“I’ll grant you your wish—when you genuinely change.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Bryden dismisses with a wave of his hand. “Go back to your ring.”

The genie happily obliges, disappearing in an instant. When Bryden arrives at Marla’s and sees some pretty girls sitting in a booth, his eyes light up and he goes over there to flirt with them.

“Hey there, girls,” Bryden greets with a grin, gripping the red bench. “I’m Bryden Stalling. What are your names?”

One of the girls giggles and tucks a brown lock of hair behind her ear. “Oh, my name is Taylor.”

“I’m Denise,” says another girl.

“I’m Sasha.”

“Taylor, Denise, and Sasha.” Bryden points to each girl. “What beautiful names for beautiful girls.”

The girls giggle, and just when Bryden is about to continue wooing the girls, the genie shows up behind him and gags. 

“No, just… no.” The genie shakes his head. “What are you doing?”

Bryden ignores him and continues his conversation with the girls. “So do you girls go to Maystone? I haven’t seen you girls around before.”

“No, we don’t,” Taylor shakes her head. “We’re actually here on vacation. We graduated college two years ago.”

Ooh, girls who are older than me. Bryden rubs his palms together and grins even wider. “Oh? You girls are on vacation? Where do you girls live?”

“We came from California,” Sasha tells him.

“Really? California?” Bryden smirks. Hot girls from California? I’ve hit the jackpot this time!

“Yep!” Denise confirms. “Palm Springs to be specific. It’s so hot over there, even during the winter.”

“But it’s so much cooler over here,” Taylor adds. “The temperature is so nice here.”

“I don’t mean to pry, ladies, but do any of you currently have boyfriends?” Bryden cocks his head and grins mischievously. 

“Hmm, not that we know of,” Sasha replies, stroking her chin. “Why do you ask?”

Bryden chuckles and inches closer to the girls. “I was simply just curious if any of you girls would be interested in…” He pauses when the genie glares at him on the side. “Actually, ladies, would you mind if I go use the bathroom first?”

“Of course,” Denise insists.

“Wait for me, okay?” Bryden says on his way to the restroom. “Don’t leave before I come back!”

“Don’t worry, Bryden,” Taylor says with a smile. “We’ll wait for you.” The girls giggle and laugh with each other in the booth.

Bryden can’t help but have a dreamy expression plastered on his face. When he is inside a stall in the bathroom, he turns to the genie floating beside him and hisses, “Dude, what’s your problem?”

“Nothing. What are you talking about?” The genie crosses his arms. 

“You were giving me those weird eyes earlier,” Bryden tells him. “What did I do wrong?”

The genie sneers. “You don’t know what you did wrong? Fine, I’ll tell you. Why were you flirting with those girls when you broke up with your girlfriend just yesterday?”

“Oh, come on,” Bryden groans. “How’d you know about what happened with me and Nora?”

“Just because I was stuck in a ring doesn’t mean I cannot hear,” the genie answers sharply. “How can you go around dallying with girls when you’ve just broken up with a girl the day before?” 

“Is that why you’re so angry?” Bryden scoffs, placing a hand on his hip. “I already broke up with her. What’s wrong with me speaking to other girls?”

“What’s wrong is that you’ve never taken your relationships seriously,” the genie explains. “From the sound of things, you date a new person as soon as you dump someone. Doesn’t that mean you’ve never cared for any of the girls you’ve been with?”

“Come on, I’m twenty-two,” Bryden says. “It’s not that I don’t care. I’m still so young. Dating new people means new experiences. I shouldn’t have a serious relationship at such a young age, right?”

The genie grumbles. “You treat women like objects.”

“Oh, stop it. I do not objectify girls. Why do you act like I’m the worst person in the world? There are people out there that are even more terrible than me. They actually cheat on or even abuse their partner. Hey, you came from ancient China, right? People from that time were actually even worse! From harems to assassination attempts… and weren’t you the crown prince? Doesn’t that mean you were rich and powerful and greedy with multiple lovers?”

“Of course not. Just because I was a prince does not mean I was greedy and treated women poorly. I’ve never even touched a woman during my human life. Yes, you aren’t the most evil person in this world, but you aren’t the best person either.”

“Ugh, seriously? Don’t they say that nobody’s perfect?”

“You certainly aren’t trying,” the genie counters. “Through your actions, you’ve further affirmed my decision to not grant you any wishes for the time being.”

“Ugh, you’re so frustrating!” Bryden exclaims. “Some genie. I hate you!”

“Shh, we’re in a public place. You’re the only one who can see me, remember? Others will believe you to be crazy for shouting by yourself.” The genie smirks.

Bryden, knowing the genie’s right, grumbles and leaves the stall. “Just… go back to your ring.”

The genie obliges once again, and Bryden returns to the booth where the three girls from before are still sitting in.

“Sorry girls, but I have to leave for class soon,” Bryden tells them.

“Aww, so soon?” Taylor’s expression saddens at this. “But it’s so early.”

“Come on, stay for a little while longer,” Denise coaxes. “We’ll only be here for two more days.”

“Sorry, but I can’t,” Bryden insists, handing them a Post-it note. “But here’s my number, so call me when you have the chance.”   

The girls’ expressions brighten at this and they giggle when they gladly take the Post-it note. “Oh, we will.”

After purchasing a bagel and a latte, Bryden hurries out of the café, munching on his breakfast while heading back to the college building. I actually don’t have classes for another forty-five minutes. Screw that genie! What’s so wrong about speaking with some girls? Fine, if it means getting my three wishes, then I won’t flirt with or date any girls for the time being. I shall remain single before dating Jessica. If I had to choose between girls and money, I would gladly choose money.

In the halls of the college building, a group of boys rejoice as they discuss their weekend plans together.

“Aw, yes!” one boy exclaims. “This is going to be so much fun!”

“It’ll be cold, though,” another boy adds. “We’d better bundle up.”

“No worries! I’ll buy some nice and warm coffee for us!”

“Hey guys!” Bryden wraps an arm around one of the boys. “Excited for the game this Saturday? You guys bought me a ticket to that hockey game, right? You promised!”

“Uh…” The boys hesitate, some biting or pursing their lips.

“Hm? Why so quiet all of a sudden?” Bryden brings his arm back down and strokes his chin. “You were so excited about it just now. You didn’t forget to buy me a ticket, did you? You guys did say you would let me come as well since you guys owe me quite a bit of money.”

“Listen, Bryden,” one of the boys speaks up. “We sort of… well…”

“There were only five tickets left, for the five of us, so we couldn’t get a ticket for you,” another boy answers for him.

Bryden blinks and shrugs. “Oh, so that’s why? Well, that’s unfortunate. Why didn’t you guys just say so? You all stayed so still and quiet, almost like you actually didn’t want me to come. Oh, you guys are so silly!”

The boys stay silent, not uttering a single word.

“Well, maybe next time,” Bryden suggests with a grin. “I’d better head to class. See ya!” With that, he hops to his class with an air of indifference. “See that, genie? Look how popular I am. Those boys looked so sad that they couldn’t bring me along to the game.”

The genie simply laughs when he appears beside Bryden. “Goodness, you truly are ignorant. How can you not tell that those boys do not like you?”

“What are you talking about? Of course they like me. Everyone here wants to be my friend. Are you just jealous that I’m more popular than you were when you were a crown prince? I can only imagine how boring you must’ve been back then, not being able to attract a single woman.”

The genie sneers. “You wish.” I cannot wait for the day you find out the truth about your supposed “popularity.”