Wishful Thinking by Amanda Ashby Page B

skin color. On one side was a small picture of Rufus the Furious, and on the other side it simply said to take half a capful once a day. Well, that sounded simple enough, and she carefully poured out the liquid that ended up being as red as the bottle. Perhaps that meant it would taste like strawberries?
    She took a tentative sip and pulled a face. Okay, so cancel the strawberry thing. It tasted more like old shoes and stinky socks. However, she forced herself to finish it off and then looked down at her arm.
    It was no longer orange.
    Like seriously.
    â€œIt worked.” She raced over to the mirror and stared at her face. Yes, the scattering of freckles was still there, not to mention the small bump on her nose, but the main thing was that she no longer looked like a special-edition orange M&M. “It really, really worked.”
    â€œWell, duh.” Malik rolled his eyes as he sat down on her bed and started to flick through an old copy of
Seventeen
that Kara had left behind. “Didn’t I say that being a djinn wasn’t so bad, but you were all
‘No, I’m eleven’
and
‘Argh, my life is over’
when really you were making a big deal about nothing.”
    â€œWell, I must admit that I’m feeling a bit more positive now that the orange is gone,” Sophie confessed as she continued to inspect her face.
    â€œThere you go.” Malik nodded supportively as he held the magazine closer to his face to get a better look at something. “And even better, you didn’t get any spots or horns, which, if you ask me, is a real bonus.”
    â€œWhat?” Sophie yelped as she immediately started to check her head for horns. “There are side effects? No one said anything about side effects.”
    â€œI wouldn’t call it them side effects, more like little tricks that Rufus sometimes likes to play. Before he was Rufus the Furious, he was actually Rufus the Crazy.” Malik gave a dismissive wave as he put the magazine away. “Anyway, the important thing is that it didn’t affect you that way.”
    â€œAnd he thinks that’s funny?” Sophie, who was finally convinced there were no horns, stopped patting her head. However, before she could say anything else, she heard the familiar rattle of a ten-year-old Toyota pulling into the driveway. She turned to Malik in panic. “My mom’s home. What should I do?”
    â€œEr, I would assume that you should do what you always do. Complain about homework, refuse to eat your Brussels sprouts, and moan about how early you have to go to bed. Why? What did you have in mind?”
    â€œI mean about the djinn thing?” Sophie gritted her teeth as she fanned her face to try to cool down. “Is there anything special I should do to hide it from her? I mean, it’s one thing to trick my teachers, but my mom never misses anything.”
    â€œOh, I see what you’re saying. You’re worried that you might suddenly start to levitate up in the air or turn your younger sister into a tow truck. Is that it?”
    â€œWell, I wasn’t before, but I am now.” Sophie gulped. “So could that happen?”
    â€œOf course not. You’re a djinn, not a psychopathic nutcase.” Malik rolled his eyes. “See, this is what I’m talking about. You really need to stop thinking that your life is going to be so different. Honestly, being a djinn is the most normal thing in the world, and most of the time you won’t even notice it. So why don’t you go downstairs and just act like you always do. And actually, while you’re down there, I don’t suppose you could rustle up any more of those Cheetos? Oh, and some chocolate-covered ants if you’ve got any. I love those things. . . ”
    For a moment Sophie paused before she realized that what he was saying made total sense. Okay, not the part about the chocolate-covered ants because, ewh. But everything else was