Help! I'm a Teenage Genie!

It was Jessica Edward’s 18th birthday party, and anyone who was anyone at Eastlake High had flocked to her father’s lavish home for the house-party to end all house-parties. Captain of the cheerleading squad, from a wealthy family, the bubbly blonde’s perfect hourglass figure was the envy of every girl and the fantasy of every guy – Jess knew she was the ‘it’ girl of the school, and she reveled in the attention.

Her step-mom Stephanie had subtly arranged for her and Jess’s Dad to be conspicuously ‘away on business’ for a few days, leaving the teenager all the space she needed for her dream party. Stephanie's younger age compared to her Dad meant Jess adored her as something between an older sister and a mother - especially since she had been her 'mom' since Jess was 6 months old.

The usual decadence of her father’s expensive home was hidden somewhere behind celebratory banners, decorations and the sheer number of her classmates that were crowded inside.

Jason’s older brother had brought them beer and Cassie was playing music from the playlist Jess had spent two weeks carefully planning. The entire football team were in the garage, doing keg-stands and trying to set up a beer-pong table while members of Jess’s cheerleading squad would dart excitedly around them, giggling and laughing with red cups in their hands. Other cliques had grouped up room by room; talking, laughing, drinking, dancing and fumbling around in the throes of teenage delinquency.

It was around 11 pm when Chris, a member of the football team, called Jess out into the hallway to answer the front door. There was a ripple of nervous tension that someone might have called the cops... but when Jess opened it, there was no one there.

“Very funny Chris,” The blonde mumbled to herself with a scowl, glancing down the driveway for any sign of anyone that could’ve knocked. It took Jess a few moments before she looked down and spotted a small wooden box that had been left perfectly in the middle of the front step.

“Huh...?” Curious, she picked it up and brought it into the light of the hallway. The box was intricately carved, decorated with elaborate patterns that seemed to swirl and bend into each other. What caught her attention though was what was etched into the top – her name.

Was it a gift? Had someone just left it there for her and run away?

“Jess!” Tiffany, the leggy raven-haired cheerleader stumbled into the doorway, a red cup in her hand as she waved at her, “Brad wants to play beer pong with us, come on!”

The birthday girl glanced up from the little wooden box, “…In a minute Tiff…”

“Naw, come on! Please Jess?”

“In a minute,” she repeated, shaking the box in her friend’s direction, “I have to put this upstairs. I’ll catch up, ok?”

“Ok, but hurry! I’ll keep the boys warmed up for youuuu!” Tiffany winked, before she turned on her heel and disappeared towards the kitchen.

Jessica headed in the other direction, squeezing through people partying on the stairs and up towards the privacy of her bedroom.

"Unf... goddammit! Fuck trellises...!"

Kevin Scott hissed in pain as he clumsily climbed up the trellis on the side of Jessica Edwards' house. Athleticism didn't come easy to the scrawny nerd, and usually he would never be caught doing something like this. However, tonight was a special occasion: the head cheerleader was celebrating her 18th birthday with a party, and everyone who was anybody had been invited... which of course didn't include Kevin.

Nothing the popular kids did included Kevin; except the occasional shoving around by one of the football jocks, a look of disgust or pity from an attractive girl he was eyeing, or the rare attempt to get him to 'help' with a school project. Otherwise, he just got lost in the background, completely ignored by most people at his school. It bred a level of quiet resentment in him, one that he intended to unleash on the 'popular' kids tonight, now that they were all in one place. Nothing too terrible, of course: the stink bombs in his bag should be more than enough to ruin the party without causing any real harm. One could argue it was childish to do something like that just for not being invited to a party, but... they had it coming. Probably.

Kevin slowly opened the window and clambered through it, barely managing to avoid smacking his face against the ground as he tumbled into what looked like a girl's bedroom. It seemed like such a good plan when he first came up with it. Now that he was actually here though, having barely managed to get past even his first hurdle... well, now this all kind of seemed like way more effort and risk than it was worth. But dammit, he was already here, and he wasn't one to quit in the middle of a mission!

Besides, there was no way in hell he was going to make it back down that trellis without breaking his neck. He was too exhausted, and his arms and legs felt like they were on fire. Best to stick with the original plan: wait for a quiet moment, then slip out of the room and blend in with the crowd.

He just needed to take a moment to catch his breath and...

...He heard footsteps outside the door. Shit, someone was coming!

In full-on panic mode, Kevin shut the window, then scrambled into the half-open closet, sliding the door shut as quickly and quietly as he could. He leaned back against the soft clothes hanging behind him, barely managing to avoid tripping on a pair of heels. Regaining his footing, and fortunate enough not to make a sound, Kevin peeked out the slats of the door just in time to see Jessica Edwards herself entering the room.

Shutting the door and the sounds of the party behind it, the blonde girl turned on her bedside lamp and flopped onto her bed, her fingers running curiously over the little wooden box in her lap.

“Okay…?”

Around the edge of where her name was engraved on the lid were a series of ornate symbols that the cheerleader didn’t recognise, she’d never seen anything like it before. Giving it an experimental shake didn't make anything rattle inside. Frowning, she turned the box over in her hands until she found the little brass latch on the side and, curiosity getting the better of her, carefully pried it open...

Jess’s eyes grew wide as she stared at the contents.

Inside, firmly held in a velvet frame, was an elaborate gold ring, set with a large emerald that perfectly matched the green of Jessica’s eyes. It seemed to glow in the dull light of the room, sparkling against the light from her bedside lamp.

“What the-” Jess’s whispered gasp was interrupted by another voice, suddenly right beside her.

“It’s your binding.”

Jess leaped off of the bed, sending the ring box tumbling to the floor.

A scream caught in her throat as she stumbled away from the female figure that had just materialised seemingly out of thin-air right next to her. Panicked, the blonde clutched the wall to her back, trying to keep the bed between them as she stared in fright at the beautiful woman now standing in her bedroom, her statuesque body barely concealed behind the thinnest scraps of silk cloth and golden jewelry.

“What the fuck?” Jess shrieked, her eyes darting back and forth between the woman and the door. The woman had her hands out, like she was trying to calm and quiet her, her eyes equally as panicked as Jess’s.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you, but I don’t have much time now that you’ve opened the box… Please Jessica…”

“Who are you?! How did you… you just appeared!” Jess stammered. She felt dizzy, her voice trembling as her eyes met those of the barely-dressed woman staring back at her. The silks… the gold… she looked exotically dressed and under-dressed at the same time – her golden hair shimmering in the low light of the room.

“There’s no easy way for me to say this but, I’m your mother Jessica…”

The blonde cheerleader felt her heart skip a beat. Her immediate reaction was to shake her head in denial but she couldn’t help glance at the woman’s hair… her eyes… her skin… it was all too familiar…

“Mom? No… No, there’s no… there’s no way! My Mom left when I was a baby!” Jessica insisted, pointing an accusatory finger at the woman, “I don’t know who you are or how you got in my house but you have to leave! Or I’ll call the cops…!”

“I only have minutes,” her mother shook her head anxiously, stepping around the bed and picking up the dropped ring box, her bare feet silent against the plush carpet, “Please, you have to listen to me.”

“Listen to you? What the fuck is going on?” Jessica yelped with dubious scorn; her head swimming with fear, adrenaline, and a thousand other emotions that made it hard to process what was happening.

“I’m a genie.”

Jessica blinked, “Excuse me?”

“I’m a genie Jessica... and so are you.”