Bryden groans as he flips through the pages of the stacks and stacks of books he set on the table in the library. Unable to take it any longer, he slams his head against the table. “Ugh, this is torture.” 

The genie can’t help but laugh. “Goodness, Mr. Stalling. Are you really going through books about ethics?”

“Well, I have no choice, do I?” Bryden mumbles. “I can’t get any wishes unless I ‘become a better person.’”

“And you believe reading about ethics will help you to do so?” The genie continues to laugh. 

Bryden grumbles. “I saw it in a TV show once. About a girl who learns about ethics so she could go to heaven. It worked for her, apparently.”

The genie snickers. “You’re really putting yourself through this much just so I can grant you your wishes? Goodness, you really are desperate, aren’t you? My, my, how hilarious!”

Bryden shoots him a glare. “It’s your fault, anyway. Wanting me to be this perfect, compassionate, selfless person while thinking I’m like the worst person in the world! And now I have to put up with this crap to ‘become a better person.’” He brings his head back up and skims through a page of a book that is already open. “Ugh, I already have midterms coming up, and now I have to learn about moral philosophers? I don’t care about Aristotle or Socrates or Confucius.”

“Confucius was actually a great philosopher,” the genie praises. “He was China’s most famous philosopher, coming up with ideas and principles that made a great impact on Chinese civilization. You could learn a thing or two from him.”

“Don’t you see I’m trying?” Bryden groans. “Ugh, I hate this. Why’d you have to make me go through this?”

“Pardon me, but I have never once forced you to read about famous philosphers and ethics in order to grow as a person. You just need to demonstrate compassion, sympathy, and kindness, and I’ll gladly grant your wishes. You’re human, I’m sure you’re capable of doing that.”

“Whatever. I need to take a break before I go insane.” Bryden grips the table for support as he gets up. “Ugh, my neck hurts from all that crouching. I’m heading to Marla’s.”

When Bryden arrives at Marla’s, he notices a new girl in a black waistcoat and skirt collecting orders today. Long, wavy, dark locks of hair, wide, cheerful brown eyes… Bryden flushes as soon as he realizes who she is.

Oh my god, he thinks. Jessica Lin? Is she working at Marla’s now? Does that mean I’d have to talk to her everytime I order food here? Well, only on weekends I think, since we’d have class. Gosh, I’m overthinking this, aren’t I? Come on, Bryden. Look at that list of all the girls you’ve dated. You’ve always been confident, not flustered. You need to stay calm. This is your chance to get close with her.

“Uh… h-hey, Jessica,” Bryden stammers, face reddening. He clears his throat. “S-So… you work here now?”

“Oh, hey Bryden!” Jessica greets him with a smile. “Yes, I’ll be working here as a waitress part-time. All afternoon every weekend. I just started working here today.”

“Wow, that’s really cool.” As soon as these words leave his mouth, he instantly regrets it. That was so pathetic! “Wow, that’s really cool”? That’s so lame! You couldn’t have thought of something better to say?

Jessica chuckles, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You really think so?”

“Uh, y-yeah,” Bryden stutters, scratching the back of his head. “So… I guess I’ll be seeing you here whenever I come by?”

“If you come during my hours, then yes.”

“Hey, I’m ready to order,” someone from behind calls out to her. 

Jessica turns around and nods to the man before turning back to Bryden. “It was nice chatting with you, Bryden, but I have to continue working. Go sit down and I’ll come shortly if you’d like to order something.”

“O-Okay, I will!” Bryden hurries to a booth and sits down, heart pounding and palms sweating. After composing himself once more, he can’t help but stare at Jessica as she makes merry conversation with some customers while taking their orders. While doing so, he accidentally rubs his ring.

“No! No, no, no, no, no, no.” The genie vigorously shakes his head when he makes an appearance. “Do not even think about it. Even after expressing my dissent, you still go ahead chasing after yet another girl. My, my, I feel bad for that poor woman. She deserves much better than you.”

“Calm down!” Bryden hisses. “This is different. This is Jessica Lin, the girl that I’ve been in love with since I set foot on college grounds. Sure, I’ve dated and flirted with countless girls with confidence, but with Jessica… Well, she’s the only girl I’d never dare talk to carelessly. She’s the most popular girl on campus! She’s pretty, sweet, and smart… honestly, I have to admit it—she’s the only person here who’s actually out of my league! If I even have a remote chance of dating her, which I do, I have to treat her differently than I do other girls.”

“And I was correct,” the genie remarks. “You don’t deserve that woman. In fact, I believe a person like you doesn’t deserve any woman at all. Just forget the idea of courting her. If she’s as smart as you claim for her to be, she would know not to be with you.”

“Look, I’m not asking for your opinion,” Bryden retorts. “I just want to know if there’s any way that you can help me with impressing her. Maybe I could use a wish? Seriously, you can’t keep refusing me forever.”

The genie can’t help but laugh. “Did you already forget about all the rules I told you about? I cannot make someone fall in love with you or someone else. It would be immoral to toy with people’s emotions like that. And what makes you think I can’t keep refusing you forever? If you don’t try to improve yourself or demonstrate limited to no growth at all, you will receive absolutely no wishes, up until death.”

“I’m not asking you to make her fall in love with me. I’m sure she already does, anyway. I’m just asking for—”

“Goodness, you sure are quite the arrogant type. Now, who was it that came back to your bedroom with milk and food splattered over him? Due to an angry girlfriend? Who was it, hmm?”

Bryden growls, clenching his fists. “Don’t remind me about that again. I just wanted to—”

“Aww, is the supposedly cocky and confident Bryden Stalling too embarrassed that a girl poured a milkshake over his head?”

“Stop it!” Bryden snaps, his voice getting louder before he realizes he’s in public and lowers his voice once more. “All I wanted was to ask you for some advice on how to impress my crush. But if we can’t have a civil conversation, by all means go back to your ring!”

“Wow, you’re actually asking me for advice.” The genie crosses his arms and thinks for a moment. “Although I’ve never tried to court anyone in my human life, there were many women interested in me. I suppose my humility, grace, and kindness, in addition to an attractive profile and greath wealth, attracted many women. But I’m sure you don’t have any of that, so I would lose any inkling of hope you have.”

Bryden widens his eyes and gapes. “You—”

“Hi again, Bryden,” Jessica greets when she comes over to him, and the genie disappears in an instant. “Sorry for the wait. There was a huge group of people over there taking orders. I didn’t make you wait for too long, right?”

“N-No, of course not,” Bryden stammers with a wave of his hand. 

Jessica smiles, preparing her notepad and pen in her hands. “So what would you like to order?”

“Uh, um…” He hastily moves to open the menu. “Uh, I actually don’t know, heh. What would you recommend?”

“Hm? Well, I don’t come here often, so I wouldn’t know too much. You’re here for just a quick snack or treat, right? I did try the chocolate lava cake, and it tastes amazing. It may be too sweet for your taste though, since I have a huge sweet tooth.”

“Oh, nothing’s too sweet for me. Nobody has a bigger sweet tooth than me. One chocolate lava cake, please!”

Jessica blinks, then laughs. “Well, okay. One chocolate lava cake.” She heads to the kitchen. 

Bryden blushes and slaps himself on the face. Man, that was so pathetic! “Nothing’s too sweet for me”? What were you thinking, Bryden?

“That was pretty pathetic, huh.”

Bryden’s heart nearly jumps out of his chest when he falls over on the bench. “G-Genie? What are you doing? You nearly scared the life out of me! Don’t tell me you can read minds now.” He struggles to sit back up.

The genie laughs so hard that he has to place his hand over his belly. “Read minds? There’s no need for that. It’s obvious what you’re thinking with that look on your face.”

Bryden’s face reddens and he turns his head away. “L-Look. I-I know that was pretty bad, b-but…”

“Aww, look at you stuttering,” the genie teases. “So this is how the ‘campus player’ acts when he has a crush. How adorable, drained of all your confidence from a single girl.”

Bryden’s cheeks burn even hotter. “Sh-Shut up!”

After a while, Jessica returns with a plate of chocolate lava cake. “Here’s your chocolate lava cake. Enjoy!”

“Oh, uh, th-thanks,” Bryden manages to say while stumbling over his words. 

Jessica smiles and turns to leave, but pauses. “You come here pretty often, don’t you? I rarely see you in the dining hall.”

Just as he is about to dig into his dessert, at the sound of her voice, his attention immediately shifts back to her. “Uh… y-yeah, yeah. I-I’m not a big fan of the food there.”

“Yeah, the food isn’t that great,” she agrees. “But it’s too expensive for me to eat out every day. Do you have a part-time job that pays really well?”

“Oh, um… no.” For some reason, Bryden grows hot with shame. “My parents give me a lot of money in allowance, so…”

“Oh, how lucky!” Jessica nods and turns to leave. “Well, enjoy your cake.”

“W-Wait!” Bryden calls after her, stopping her steps. “So… do you think Marla’s has one more part-time position?”

“Oh?” Jessica raises an eyebrow. “You want to work at Marla’s?”

“W-Well, why not?” Bryden chuckles, scratching the back of his head.

“I thought your parents gave you plenty of money in allowance. Wouldn’t working here be a waste of your time?”

“No, of course not!” he insists. “My parents are annoyed at how much I spend each month, anyway. It’d be a great opportunity to make some extra money on my own without relying on them.”

“Hmm, I think that would be a good idea,” Jessica agrees. “I’ll ask my boss if we have another part-time position and let you know.”

“Okay! Thanks again, Jessica!” Bryden waves to her when she turns to leave.

“No problem!” She grins and waves back to him before finally leaving.

When she’s out of sight, Bryden grins and pumps his fists in the air. Yes! I might get to work at Marla’s with Jessica! For multiple hours, every weekend…

“Hmm, I guess that girl really is good for you, since she convinced you to do manual labor, which I’m sure you’ve never done in your life.”

This time, however, Bryden is prepared for the genie’s sudden appearance. “I’m sure you never did either, since you were born a pampered and privileged crown prince.”

The genie smiles. “Now that’s where you’re wrong, Mr. Stalling. Although I was born into royalty, I never once hesitated to help people in need, whether they be commonfolk or nobles. I always treated everyone around me with kindness and compassion.”

“Yeah, yeah, stop trying to brag. I know you’re just trying to rain on my parade.” Bryden takes a bite out of his cake, its warm, gooey sweetness filling his mouth. “Mmm, Jessica was right. This does taste amazing.” He stretches his arms and sighs with pleasure.

༻❁༺

“Aw man! That was such a good game! I wish I had been there to watch it.” Bryden laments as he watches the hockey game from his phone while lying in bed. “Wait…” He blinks, noticing something odd, and squints for a better look. “Hey, genie. Look at all these empty seats. Didn’t those boys say that the seats were all full?”

“Ah, what a great observation!” the genie remarks. “I didn’t know you were smart enough to notice such a detail. Great work. Wait…” He moves his hands to touch the screen. “What is this automation? A miniature television? And in color?”

“Hm? Oh, right, I forgot. You’re from ancient times. You’ve never encountered this type of technology before, have you?” 

“Well, the last time I granted someone a wish was during the ’70s, so I do have a fair understanding of certain parts of the modern day. However, there are still many things I’m seeing that I do not understand yet. Like that device you hold in your hands.”

Bryden waves his phone to the genie. “Well, this is a phone. Like you said, it’s like a miniature television. You can watch videos and shows on here, but you can also do so much more. You can call and text others from long distances.”

“Text?” The genie blinks, puzzled.

“Oh, you don’t know what texting is either, huh.” Bryden sighs, but scoots over with his phone in hand. “There’s so much you don’t know, so let me explain all about it!”

For a good amount of time, Bryden explains in depth about all the functions of his phone, but the genie only grows more and more bewildered and shocked.

“My goodness, so many advancements in modern technology in the last fifty years,” the genie remarks. “It’s shocking how so much can change within a short span of time.”

“Yep,” Bryden agrees, going back to his hockey game. “Pretty cool, huh.”

“What a game!” the commentator exclaims. “And to think that there are so many empty seats here! I bet all those fans at home regret not coming here in person for the game. If they knew there would be such an outcome, all the seats would have been full and all the tickets would have been sold out!”

Bryden’s face darkens at this. “Those boys… lied to me. But why? There’s no way they didn’t want me to come. I’m the most popular guy on campus—everyone loves me!”

The genie sighs. “Oh, Mr. Stalling. I’m truly sorry, but you had to find out one way or another.” He places both of his hands on Bryden’s shoulders and looks into his eyes. “Mr. Stalling, you are not popular. Not one bit.”