Melody

After a few more minutes of fierce debate, Melody finally gave in.

"Fine! You win, Wil. I'll rub the frickin' lamp..." She kept grumbling under her breath even as she leaned down to carefully pick up the lamp in both hands. "Gonna wish for perfect tits of my own...bigger than yours...let's see how many boys walk right past me then!"

This close, she was unnerved to discover there was a low humming coming from the lamp at the edge of her hearing. Like the sound of a Tesla coil about to spark lightning. Melody stopped, her fingertips brushing against the gold. The hum intensified.

Seeing the hesitation, Willow decided to be a good friend and interject. "C'mon, don't pussy out now! Summon us a sexy genie to grant our wishes!"

Melody raised an eyebrow, eager to seize any distraction. "How do you know he'll be sexy? He could be a chubby blue guy with a long beard."

"Same way you know the genie is a he." Her friend shrugged. "Hell, the genie could have no gender or personality at all until we call them out."

With a shake of her head and a deep breath, Melody finally picked up the lamp. Finding it lighter than expected, she nearly hit herself in the face with it(again), and took a step back to keep balanced. She ignored the small snort of laughter from Willow.

The lamp was warm in her hands. Not in a supernatural way, just in the normal way a metal object would in the late August sunshine. It felt nice, almost relaxing. Melody enjoyed the sensation for several long seconds before she remembered this should be a momentous occasion, potentially world-changing.

"...Nothing's happening."

"You gotta rub it, Mel. Jeez, was this how you handled Connor after Prom?" Willow shook her head sorrowfully. "That poor boy."

"I'm ignoring you." Melody declared, and vigorously rubbed the lamp's spout up and down with her fist.

The lamp trembled in her grip, the faint sheen growing to a brilliant golden glow brighter than the sun above the two young women. There was a sense of release, of tension or pressure finally freed as the golden light was joined by billowing streams of mist the color of clouds heavy with rain.

The mist circled the yard once, twice, then on the third cycle, converged on the small blonde form of Melody with a subdued thunderclap.