Wish #1: I don't want to worry [Main story]

Johnny breathed deeply, taking a moment to consider the question. While he was still not convinced that he wasn't deep in the throes of a psychedelic experience, it seemed way too cool not to go along with. Friends had always told him that he worried too much, that he was his own worst enemy, that he overthought every decision. If this was really happening & she really was a genie, he had to make all three wishes count! With this in mind, Johnny relayed his fears to Jeannie.

"Wow, thank you! This is crazy." Johnny let out another deep breath. "So I definitely wanna do good with these wishes. Kind of a big responsibility, right? Do you have any wishing beginner's tips, or like... a wish FAQ?"

Jeannie laughed. "Nah, man, you just gotta follow your heart. And hey, no judgment if you wanna use all your wishes on yourself. You've probably noticed that nobody's ended poverty yet."

Johnny was alarmed by Jeannie's frankness, but had to admit that he was not really thinking about ending poverty, anyways. Her openness did stir an honesty in him, though, & he continued: "I guess I would want to wish something that would cover all my bases first. You know, work, school, bills, life... I wish I just didn't have to worry about anything."

There was a rush of wind, & Jeannie looked up from her phone. "What's that? 'Don't worry about anything,' right? You got it!" She waved one arm theatrically, a trail of sparks following her hand as it formed into a finger gun & pointed at Johnny.

"Pew! Pew, pew!" She mimed a few more imaginary bullets for good measure. "There. Now you won't worry about anything."

Johnny reflected for a moment, & found that it was true! Nothing bothered him. He didn't have a care in the world. It did dawn on him that it may not have actually been what he wished for, but for some reason it didn't seem like it would be a problem.

"Whoa, awesome! Thanks! So, I'm all good now? I don't have to worry about anything ever again?"

"Yep! You don't have any worries, cares, or earthly concerns." Jeannie had already reabsorbed herself in her phone game.

"That's so cool. So I don't have any car payments or rent or anything?"

Jeannie looked up from her phone. "What? Oh, no, those are still around. You just don't really freak out about them anymore. Or anything! A totally untroubled mind." She leaned over & ruffled his hair with a wink. "No inhibitions, either! So it's a great time to start asking that special lady to do the weird stuff."

Johnny nodded gravely. Logically, he recognized that Jeannie had taken away a vital survival mechanism, & that he would need to consciously focus on his problems if he ever wanted to solve them. On the other hand, he felt pretty good. Fantastic, even! It _did _seem like a good time to ask a special lady to do the weird stuff. Things would probably be fine, right?