Let's take a look

"Come on," Ernest said. "Let's take a look at the town."

He reached down to help Jessica off the ground. Warily, she took his hand. Noticing that she did not instantly become horny was already a good sign.

Ernest led the way to his car and opened the passenger door. Jessica got in, and Ernest hopped behind the wheel. As the two of them quietly cruised Eastlake, everything seemed to be back to normal. Gardeners no longer fucked their employers, cars were no longer pulled over with savagely aroused people tearing each other's clothes off, and the radio news blared no accounts of catastrophic national mismanagement. It seemed like the worst of Ernest's terrible mistakes had worn off.

"I'm so relieved," Ernest said after a while. "It looked really bad out there."

Remembering the hell she had gone through at school, all Jess could do was nod. This power is extremely dangerous, she thought to herself. How do I protect myself? How do I protect everyone from it?

As they continued to drive aimlessly, Ernest eventually spoke up again. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Jess said, startling out of her reverie.

"I'm sorry for fucking up so badly. I thought I had things under control. But they're right: absolute power corrupts absolutely." Jessica remained quiet. "I mean, yeah, a lot of what happened was an accident, but I definitely did some things on purpose that I'm not proud of."

Jess thought to herself, Is he saying what I think he's saying?

"So maybe," Ernest ventured, "I need a break from this for a bit."

Trying to sound calm, the genie replied, "What do you mean?"

"I think I'm going to try to go a couple days without making a wish. There's no school tomorrow since I wished for a teacher workday, and then it's the weekend. I'm going to try to go until Monday with no wishes. Give myself a chance to think things over."

"Well, Master," Jess said. "I think that's a very good idea. I think we're in this together for the long run, but can we get some space for a few days?"

Ernest thought about that, trying not to let his feelings get hurt. "Sure, no problem," he said.

Ernest drove his genie home, and she hopped out of the car.

"Let's talk on Monday, OK?" she said through the open window.

"Yeah, OK," Ernest said. She went inside, and he drove away.

Can we make it that long?