Free Three Wishes by Deborah Kreiser

noticing your huge boobs, and, like every other guy at school, is totally coming on to you? I mean, whatever. He’s not being sweet .”
    â€œNo way. Besides, we’re just friends, Leia. Don’t be ridiculous!”
    â€œWhatever — might as well wake up and smell the coffee!”
    â€œOkay, thanks for the advice.” I’m getting angry now. First of all, she’s wrong. Second of all, is she implying my new body is the only possible reason a guy would be interested in me? “You know what? I’ll think about it. I’ve got to go to bed. See you in the morning.”
    â€œGoodnight. Genie, please don’t be mad,” she says, her voice full of regret.
    â€œGoodnight.” Click. I am mad, but I don’t want to get myself too wound up about it or I might have trouble falling asleep. She’s acting like she’s jealous or something. But it doesn’t make sense. Unlike me, Leia’s always been cute. She gets asked out all of the time, though she says no to almost every guy who tries.
    I nearly choke on my saliva as I inhale. How could I be so blind? Leia is jealous because she likes Joel . How perfect is this? I can use my wishes to get together two of my favorite people.

Chapter Seven

    If you wish to be loved, love. — Seneca

    When I pick up Leia in the morning, we both pretend like the previous night’s conversation didn’t happen and manage to keep things light. I figure if Leia doesn’t want me to know about her crush, I’m not going to make her talk about it. Instead, we discuss our weekend plans, and Leia reminds me about the study date I have planned with Pete tomorrow.
    I snort. “Like I could forget.” I’ve been trying not to dwell on it, because I know I’ll get freaked out. Of course, my outfit’s already picked out, and I drafted a list of talking points to make sure the conversation flows. I’m worried I’ll panic when we’re actually face-to-face.
    In the hallway between classes, I see Tori and ask her if she heard about Cornell.
    She makes a face and responds, “It’s the weirdest thing. Yeah, I got an acceptance letter. But it’s from Cornell College. I guess it’s somewhere in Iowa or Indiana or something?”
    I stare, stunned.
    â€œI know, right? I mean, I applied to Cornell University in New York. I have to straighten this all out.”
    I give a feeble laugh and say I’m sure she’ll hear soon from Cornell University. “You’re going to get in. I’m one hundred percent positive.”
    She smiles. “Thanks. See ya.”
    I curse myself as I walk to my next class, making a more explicit wish this time.
    Later, in English, Pete shouts across the room, “See you tomorrow, right? I’ll pick you up?” He walks over and tugs at the hem of my shirt, making it cling to my curves. I feel my cheeks heat up and look around to see if anyone has noticed. Joel catches my eye and raises his eyebrow. I raise mine right back to him. He shakes his head.
    Pete notices Joel’s reaction and makes a face in his direction as the late bell rings. Pete heads back to his seat, and I can’t help enjoying the view as he walks away. I settle into my desk. A part of me is bothered that after crushing on him for so long, it’s only after I’ve gotten these big boobs that he pays me any attention. But then, another part of me recognizes how I’m kind of being a hypocrite.
    My thoughts are so out of control right now. No wonder my mom said this is a lot of responsibility. I don’t know what it was like for her about twenty years ago, but I have on my mind, in no particular order:
    1. friends
    2. a love life (potentially!)
    3. school
    4. swimming
    5. college admissions (ten apps sent out last week!)
    6. new body
    7. oh yeah, becoming a GENIE!
    It is all giving me a mental overload. I need to talk to someone, and I think it’s going to