Free Three Wishes by Deborah Kreiser Page A

have to be Leia. Suddenly, I notice the room is silent, and my classmates are all peering at me, waiting. I realize I’ve been jotting down the full list of what’s going on in my life. I also realize my teacher asked me a question.
    Scrambling to cover my paper, I whisper super fast, “I wish I knew the answer.”
    â€œNext Friday, Ms. Hemenway,” I say, proving I was listening. “You were saying we’d have a midterm review session next Friday.” That was a close one.
    From across the room, Joel gives me another confused look, and for a moment I think I’ve given the wrong answer. But my teacher seems satisfied, so I shrug and go back to my musings, again resolving I would confess all to Leia.
    After school, in my car, I ask if she wants to hang out tonight.
    â€œYeah! Want to sleep over at my house?” she asks. I start to answer yes , but she interrupts with, “Oh, wait. I just remembered we’re going over to my grandparents’ tonight. It’s my Opa’s seventy-fifth birthday, so I can’t miss it. Sorry.”
    â€œNo, it’s fine,” I say.
    â€œHow about tomorrow night?”
    â€œWell, I’ll be studying with Pete in the afternoon, but after dinner…?”
    â€œWait. Don’t kill me. Luke and I are going to camp out to get that new video game tomorrow night.”
    â€œAre you crazy? It’s December. In New England.”
    â€œI know, I know, but you know how we are about classic sci-fi. Plus, it’s kind of a Hanukkah present for my parents, and I promised Luke. Hey! You could come with us!”
    â€œUh, no. Thanks. I love camping — when the temperatures are above freezing. I think I’ll pass. You know, for such a popular guy, your brother is kind of a geek.”
    She gently punches me in the shoulder, and I elbow her back. It’s an old line of teasing. I don’t know what it is about those movies that bond the Hirsch family, but whatever works for them. I make a face and shrug, and direct my attention back to the street. Leia’s still laughing as we approach her driveway. Getting out of the car, she leans her upper body back in to say, “I do want to have a sleepover. But how about a hike tomorrow morning instead?”
    â€œSure,” I answer.
    â€œThe forecast is calling for some snow, but you know we probably won’t get any,” she adds. “So, let’s plan to meet at the reserve at ten.” The White Oak Reserve has a little trail through a gorgeous wild area, which starts near the back of Leia’s property. We walked there a lot growing up, and it’s the perfect place to talk things out.
    I agree to the plan, “Now close the door! It’s wicked cold out,” I tell her, and she waves a final goodbye before slamming it shut and walking toward her house.
    At last it’s Friday, and I don’t have any homework due tomorrow. My mother’s diary must be in an indulgent mood, because it seems to have opened itself and is waiting for me on my bed when I get home from school.
    â€œWhat do you have for me tonight?” I say aloud, and am rewarded.

    As you know, your father and I were falling in love. He still did not know what I was, and I was afraid to tell him. Besides, I also had him in mind as my first master. Somehow, none of this was working out as I would have imagined.
    After all, it’s one thing to tell the man you’ve chosen as your master you can grant him three wishes, knowing he’ll forget all about you when they’ve been granted. It’s another thing to tell him you love him, you can grant him three wishes, and you never, ever want him to forget you. The bond we were forming had far transcended the professional master-genie relationship, and it broke the unspoken rules.
    I didn’t know what to do.
    I knew with every bit of myself I wanted Matt more than anything else in the world, and I was fairly certain he