Be Careful What You Wish For

The next day was a clear, blue Wednesday morning, and when I woke up, I still felt the same as I did yesterday morning… Only this time, I realized I had magical superpowers; yesterday, I had no idea. Assuming that my powers were gone after I flushed that piece of paper down the toilet, my life was going to return to normal after all this. This was just a temporary thing, even if I’d already written in the diary with a pen. No more wishes for the time being. For now, whatever I wished for, I’d type it onto my Google Docs.

So far, nothing unusual happened while I was getting dressed. I was able to shower, brush my teeth, get dressed and do my hair, just like I always did every morning for school. 

As I was making my way down to the kitchen, I got a text from Grandma, which read: Hi there, Lia Bear. I forgot to let you know during our phone call yesterday, but whenever you write down the words “I wish” in your diary using a PEN, the wish is more likely to stay permanent. If you write using a pencil, then the wish is only temporary. In conclusion, if you write “I wish” at any time in your diary, the wish will become permanently true if it’s written with a pen. Which is why I recommend writing with a PENCIL instead, and all your wishes will only be temporary. But other than that, consider the greatest life lesson that’s also a cliche: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. Love you, Dear.

I groaned as I read the message. Another lesson learned again. Somehow, I just knew that writing simple words like “I wish” were more likely to make my wishes come true… If they were written with a pen, they’d become permanent. Too bad I didn’t have the diary with me now; Mom still had it, and just to avoid getting on her bad side, I wouldn’t dare try to sneak into her room to get it back from her. She’d notice that it was gone, so I had to be pretty subtle about her giving it back to me voluntarily… As long as I went a whole day without zapping anyone or displaying other unique powers.

I went down to the kitchen, where everyone was getting ready for breakfast, and Mom was getting ready to head over to school so that she and I could make our meeting with Mr. Harvey. I had my mask with me, as I always did, but I wasn’t going to ride on the bus with Nikki and the others if I was getting a ride with Mom to school to the principal’s office. So, for this morning, I didn’t need to worry about catching the bus. Nikki knew this already when I told her about our meeting this morning at Harvey’s office, so she was going to be alone on the bus this morning without me.

When it soon came time for Jackson, Caroline and I to board our buses, and for Erik and Justin to make it to work, Mom and I went out to the van so that we could head to school. I put my backpack on the back seat of the car and sat in the front seat with Mom as she began making her way to the school. During the ride, she said, “So… Have you considered trying to sneak your diary back from me?” That was the very first thing she’d said to me all morning since we first woke up. “And be honest with me. I can tell when you’re lying.” She gave me a small, knowing smile.

I sighed, realizing I had no other choice. “Yes, I thought about it, Mom. But like Grandma said, I have the option to write with a pencil and erase everything that I wrote afterward. If I write with a pen, the wish becomes permanent, and that may or may not be such a good thing.”

“Doesn’t sound like a good thing, Alia.” She shook her head. “Whatever you write with, it doesn’t sound good. I don’t like the idea of you having a magical diary. That sounds dangerous to me. So, it’s still in my possession until I can learn the outcome of this meeting with Mr. Harvey, and I can be rest assured that I won’t lose my job over a stupid choice that you made. You’ll get your book back when you’ve earned my trust, and right now, you haven’t earned it yet. I know it’s a little harsh and I’m sorry about that, but this is me putting my foot down with the excessive coddling from your grandmother. I’ll have a talk with her later today about it. You’re not her child; you’re mine. I don’t do excessive coddling of my children.”

Mom was generally a nice person, but I knew that she also had her limits. It’s true; she was pretty strict with us, but not that strict. She learned to wear the pants in the family after losing our father and when she eventually married Erik. She wanted to show that she and Erik were equal partners when it came to raising us and taking control of the household. So, she wasn’t just the submissive type, that’s for sure.

“Where’s the diary now?” I asked. I was curious; I wasn’t trying to set her off.

“At home, still in my drawer. Untouched, don’t worry,” she added with a smile. “I think you know me pretty well enough to understand that I’d never invade your personal privacy like that.”

“Yeah, I know.” I smiled.

After we arrived at the school’s parking lot, Mom took her mask out of her purse and asked me to take mine out as well. “Yeah, you’ll need to put it on once we get inside.”

Soon, we got out of the car, put our masks on, and I got my backpack and my purse. Mom got her purse and her bag that she put all her English lesson plans in, then we made our way inside. We did the usual routine of taking a quick COVID test at the nurse’s office–students and staff alike–then she and I made our way to Mr. Harvey’s office. A minute or two later, Jesse came in, so now it was the four of us.

“Good morning,” Mr. Harvey said politely as he got up to shut the door, then returned to his seat, facing the three of us. “I’m glad to have you all here with me this morning, Mrs. Van Detter,” he turned to Mom, then faced me, “Miss Newhart”, and to Jesse, “Mr. Harmon.”

Then he faced me. “Miss Newhart, I’ve gotten plenty of phone calls from the Harmons yesterday about what you did to Jesse. I want to know if you can explain to me how that bizarre thing occurred, and if you have any control over it.”

I glanced at Mom, as if trying to get her to help me answer, and she nodded in approval, basically telling me I could do it. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing or risk having her lose her job. “Uh…” I cleared my throat. “It seems like I may have accidentally zapped Jesse. I know, it’s a weird explanation, but it’s true. I wanted to slap him, but somehow I ended up zapping him instead.” Then I turned to Jesse. “Again, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Alia,” he said with a smile that seemed forced. I knew that deep down, he was still a little hurt by what I did to him. Not just physically but emotionally, too. I never considered myself to be the type of person who’d harm him like that. It just came from nowhere because of the diary, and I had no control over it because I wrote that stupid entry down with a pen instead of a pencil. If it’d been written with a pencil, I guarantee you, I wouldn’t have those superpowers now.

Mr. Harvey gave me an incredulous look. “So, you admit that you wanted to commit a violent act by slapping someone at school. Is that correct, Miss Newhart?”

“Y-yes.” I nodded.

“If I’m being honest with you, slapping him would’ve been a much better option… At a more private location that isn’t in the school hallways or anywhere on the school’s premises. So, there’s no excuse for that behavior, Alia. None at all.” He had a serious expression on his face, which showed that he meant business. “As for the zapping part… How do you explain that? And please give me a logical explanation, or your mother here will be terminated.”

Mom’s expression turned to surprise, and I quickly spoke up. “I have a magical diary,” I blurted out, unable to control the words as they came out of my mouth, just like that.

Jesse and Mr. Harvey gave me glances that were a combination of surprise and disbelief. Mr. Harvey took his glasses off temporarily and placed them on his desk. “You have a what now?”

“A magical diary,” I repeated. “I-I got it pretty recently on my 17th birthday during the break. My grandma ordered it for me on Amazon, and it was shipped to my house. I was so excited to have it because it came with a lock, and I started writing in it, not knowing that it’s actually ‘magical.’ You know, it has the ability to make my wishes come true whenever I write in it, using a pen or a pencil. And the words ‘I wish’ make them come true.” I smiled nervously as Mr. Harvey glared at me, obviously not buying a single word of what I just said. Jesse was just speechless, looking as if he was trying to process everything as well.

“Yeah, so I may have written down that I wished I had some supernatural abilities to deal with people who annoy me, such as Carla and Scarlett, as well as other kids here at school.” I chuckled nervously when I added, “And I may have written down that I wished I had the ability to zap people who get on my nerves, and…” I cleared my throat, glancing at Jesse. “Jesse just happened to be one of those people who got on my nerves…” Then I took a deep breath before saying the last part out loud. “And then I zapped him. Just like that.” I did my best to stop smiling because I knew it wasn’t really funny what I did to Jesse. He could’ve been more seriously hurt than he was, and if given the opportunity, he and his family would’ve either pressed charges against me or tried to sue me.

Mr. Harvey was still glaring at me, staring me down, when Mom said, “Mr. Harvey, it’s true. As crazy as it sounds, it’s the absolute truth. Alia’s grandmother–my mother–gave her a new diary for her birthday this past weekend, only this one comes with a lock. So, no one other than Alia is able to access it, which is unfortunate. But I have it with me now, and Alia has promised me that she won’t try to get it back or write anything else in it that may come true. I can assure you of this, Mr. Harvey. As long as the diary is with me, I will make sure that it’s completely out of Alia’s possession so that she doesn’t make anything strange happen with it. So, this is just as much of my responsibility as it is hers.”

“Okay.” Mr. Harvey sighed, as if he was taking some time to process everything we just told him. Even Jesse was dumbstruck. He mouthed at me, A magic diary? I nodded in response.

Mr. Harvey asked Mom, “Where is this diary now?”

“At home, in my room,” Mom replied. “Locked away in one of my drawers so that Alia won’t be able to touch it. I don’t trust her with it right now, so I’m doing my due diligence to make sure that nothing else gets out of control today.”

“Smart thinking.” Mr. Harvey smiled. “I was never going to fire you, Elise, just understand that.”

“Thank you.” Mom gave a sigh of relief.

“But as for you, young lady…” He scowled at me. “I believe we can all control our thoughts as much as we can control what we write down on paper. Words hurt, no matter where they’re coming from: whether you speak them, write them down, or think about them… Words can hurt. You need to be mindful of that, Miss Newhart. I won’t allow another incident like this to take place. How can I be certain that these, uh… Superpowers of yours are completely gone?”

That’s the thing; there’s no way to tell. So far, I hadn’t done anything unusual yet, but it didn’t mean that my powers weren’t there anymore. “I don’t know, Mr. Harvey.” I shrugged. “I’m being honest. I didn’t zap anyone this morning, and that’s a good thing, so I’m hoping it means that the powers are gone.”

“I don’t think so.” Mom shook her head. “You said that you wrote that down in pen. If you write something down with a pen, the wish becomes permanent. That’s what you told me, Alia. So, I think you still have this ability to zap other people if you wanted to.”

“Okay, but Mom, I told you that I ripped out the paper yesterday and flushed it down the toilet.”

She scoffed. “And I’m supposed to believe that is helpful enough to remove your powers completely?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t believe it, Alia. You still have those powers. Just because you haven’t done anything unusual or zapped anyone else yet, doesn’t mean you won’t. You have the power to, so I know you’ll be able to do it at any time whenever someone sets you off, just like Jesse set you off yesterday. I’m worried about you. This isn’t a good thing. That diary needs to go. You don’t need it, Alia. I’ll talk to your grandmother. You can either get a normal, regular diary, or that diary goes in the garbage. You don’t need it. Nope. End of discussion.”

I was about to say something when Mr. Harvey cut in. “So, whatever Alia writes in the diary comes true, correct?”

“Yes,” Mom said as she and I nodded. “When she writes with a pen, the wish stays permanent. So, I can only imagine living the rest of my life with these superpowers,” she added with a chuckle, perhaps as a snide remark to me. “But if it’s written with a pencil, the wish lasts only temporarily. I know it’s unusual, but believe me, I had no idea that my mother was going to get her this type of diary for her birthday. I apologize again.”

“No need to apologize anymore, Elise,” Mr. Harvey assured her. “I just told you that I had no intention of firing you, now or ever, haven’t I? Anyway…” He cleared his throat as he faced me. “You need to stay in complete control of your actions, your words, and your emotions. You must especially be in utter control of your emotions. If you let even the slightest thing set you off, then you’re at risk of harming others around you with merely your bare hands, just like you harmed Mr. Harmon right here. That’s not good, Miss Newhart. That’s awful, and I will not allow such evil to take place on my school property. If this happens again, Alia, you will be facing harsh discipline such as detention, temporary suspension, or the biggest one of all: expulsion. Remember this as your first of three warnings. No, actually… Let’s make that five warnings. You get five strikes, Alia, and your mother here will keep you accountable. I’m being generous enough to give you four more chances after this, and if you fail to comply with each warning, I’m done. You’re out of Demarest High School for good.”

“She understands, Mr. Harvey.” Mom spoke for me, then glared at me. “She will not let this happen again, and I will keep my eye on her. That I can assure you of.”

“Thank you again, Elise.” Mr. Harvey shook hands with her, then with me and Jesse as we began making our way out of his office.

Mom shut the door after her when we left Mr. Harvey’s office. She turned to me and said, “You better keep yourself accountable. You’re lucky that he didn’t fire my ass, but yours is on the line, so you better get a hold of yourself while you’re here at school and conduct yourself as a professional student. This is why I said you shouldn’t let anyone provoke you. Now get to Homeroom, and I’ll see you when I see you.” She left before I had a chance to say anything else.