Free Wishful Thinking by Amanda Ashby Page A

can just—”
    â€œHey, of course I’m not. I have Cheetos.” Harvey looked offended, while at the same time obviously remembering that he really
did
have his favorite snack food. He instantly started to rummage around in his bag and pulled out a slightly squished packet. “I was just trying to be helpful.”
    â€œAnd that’s very kind of you,” Sophie assured him while waving off his offer of a Cheeto (for which he looked heartily relieved). “But the thing is that I don’t need to practice anything because I’ve figured out a new plan,” Sophie confided while trying to resist the urge to grin, since, as far as she could tell, the idea that she’d come up with in her in math class (after she’d spent half an hour trying unsuccessfully to make her pencil lift off the table) was pretty much flawless.
    Not that she was really surprised; after all, her dad had always taught her that the secret to success was all in the planning, and that even a bad plan was better than no plan. Which meant that Sophie had been coming up with plans for most of her life. Sometimes they were just for basic things like how to get her Barbie doll out of her faux leather Barbie pants after being left in the sun all day, and others, like the one today, were a bit more serious. But the important thing was that her plan now meant that the situation was under control. That was also another reason why she knew that her dad would be coming back. Because he always had a plan.
    â€œWhat is it?” Kara squealed.
    â€œIt’s simple. The reason I don’t need to learn how to use my magic is because I’m not going to be a djinn anymore. I’m going to make him turn me back. I mean, we live in the twenty-first century; people can’t just go around turning innocent girls in djinns. And if that fails, I can always go to the Djinn Council that he was talking about. I doubt they’d be too happy to hear what he did.”
    â€œOh.” Kara didn’t look quite as excited as Sophie had expected her to. Instead, her friend chewed her lips for a moment before letting out a cautious cough. “The thing is, Sophie, he might not bother to come back for days. Or weeks even. . . and it’s not that I don’t want to paint you every day, because I totally don’t mind, it’s just, what happens when it rains? Or when you want a shower? Or. . . ” Kara trailed off, and Sophie looked at her friend in alarm, since her plan hadn’t taken that fact into account. Suddenly, she felt ill, but before she could say anything Harvey grinned.
    â€œActually, I’ve got an idea that might help,” he said, and both girls immediately turned to him.
    â€œYou do? What is it?” Kara demanded.
    â€œWell.” He shrugged as he paused from eating Cheetos. “I know I can’t paint skin like Kara can, and I definitely can’t try and convince a djinn to change his mind about something like Sophie can, but I sure can research the pants off stuff, so why don’t I just do some djinn research? Plus, when this djinn does turn up, it might give Sophie more to bargain with. Don’t forget that knowledge is power!”
    â€œHarvey, you’re a genius.” Kara gave him a spontaneous hug, and Sophie felt a surge of relief go racing through her. Then Kara began to bob her head up and down in excitement. “We can start now. Sophie’s mom is working late, and—”
    â€œAnd aren’t you going shopping with your mom this afternoon?” Sophie reminded her friend and then watched as Kara’s face fell.
    â€œOh, man. I totally forgot. She wants some help with Uncle Phil’s birthday present, but I never would’ve agreed if I’d known that Sophie was going to have an orange emergency. Should I tell her that something else has come up?”
    â€œDefinitely not.” Sophie and Harvey both shook their heads