Sealed with a Wish by Rose David Page B

wish myself somewhere warm and cozy, like under Sean’s comforter.
    Ew, no. I did not just think that.
    “Right.” Mr. Lopez sighed. “Anyone else? Mr. Marshall, how about you?”
    I let out a quiet sigh of relief as the attention slid from me, to Devin Marshall. I turned to Natalie, already smirking about Mr. Lopez’s love of bullying, but froze.
    Natalie looked even more suspicious than before. She tilted her head at me, a question blaring from her eyes.
    For once, I was glad to be in Mr. Lopez’s class, where whispering meant an automatic detention. I could only shrug and look toward our teacher, whose strict policies suddenly didn’t seem so bad.
    #
    At the sound of the bell at the end of class, my chest tightened. On most days, I practically skipped out, but today, I dragged my feet as Nat and I filtered into the hallway with the rest of the students.
    Neither of us spoke, which shouldn’t have been a big deal. We didn’t usually have a giggle-fest on our way out the door, but Nat’s unspoken questions lingered on her face, filling the silence with an unfamiliar suspense.
    We usually parted with a casual, “See you at lunch,” but instead we lingered in the hallway.
    “What a jerk,” I said, trying to sound casual.
    Nat’s mouth curved into a small, tight smile. “Total Napoleon complex. Like, raging.”
    “Maybe we should get him some of those guy-shoes with the secret high-heels. You think it would help?”
    “Maybe. The heels would have to be pretty high,” Nat replied.
    We both laughed, and the tension between us popped like a soap bubble. Natalie’s smile relaxed into something more genuine, and I sighed. “Sorry if I’m being weird,” I said. “I guess the twenty-four-hour thing isn’t totally finished.”
    “It’s no big deal. I don’t know why I--”
    “Layla! Hey, there you are.” Nat and I both turned to meet a slightly winded Sean Fabry. “I’ve been looking all over,” he said. “I didn’t know where your locker was.”
    Nat’s mouth formed a little O as she stared, goggle-eyed, at Sean.
    He looked perfectly rested, like he hadn’t missed a wink of sleep. Seeing him so fresh-faced made the dark circles under my eyes throb with resentment.
    “Hey,” I said, loading as much warning as I could into that one syllable. I jerked my head toward Natalie, hoping Sean would catch my plea not to say any genie-related stuff.
    At that, he finally noticed the love struck, magenta-haired girl beside me. “Hey. You’re Natalie, right?”
    She bobbed her head, her eyes turning swimmy. If this went on for another second, I thought she might melt into a puddle right there in the middle of the hallway.
    “See you at lunch, Nat!” I said in my most cheerful voice. Then I grabbed Sean by the crook of his arm and stomped away. As we rounded the corner, I caught a glimpse of Natalie straining on her tiptoes to watch us, and my stomach lurched.
    When Sean and I ducked into the doorway of an empty classroom, I let him out of my death grip.
    “What was that for?” he said, rubbing his arm.
    It took an effort to keep my voice down as I replied, “You can not sneak up on me like that.”
    “‘Sneak up?’ I wasn’t hiding in your closet or something,” he said. “Besides, I have to talk to you. I’ve got a wish. I mean, I think I have one. I’m pretty sure.”
    “Do you, or don’t you?”
    “I do.” He took a deep breath. “I wish that--”
    “We can’t do it here!” I screeched.
    As I heard my voice bounce down the hallway, a heavy feeling poured over me, like gooey mud globbing against my body. It was the knee-wobbling, throat-clenching, palm-sweat-inducing sensation of every head swiveling in my direction.
    Awesome. If Sean hadn’t managed to tell the entire school that I was a genie, the least I could do was make them all think I was nuts.
    While my face had already turned a lovely shade of maroon, Sean’s only response was to stare at me, his brow furrowing.
    “It’s