The flight
Layla
"Grandma, seriously? Why are there so many sandwiches? The flight doesn't even take two hours!" My grandma wasn't really listening to me as she stuffed the rest of the food into my backpack. Meanwhile, my cousins were running wild around the airport, and Mervat—my best friend and cousin—was crying while her mother comforted her. She simply couldn't bear the thought of being apart from me for a few months! What chaos!
You could say I’m sort of the heart of our big family. My father has one sister and three brothers, and my mother has two sisters and a brother. My parents come from the same area, so they’ve known each other since childhood—just like their families.
I have twenty cousins, ranging in age from two to twenty-five. I’m twenty and, by far, the most popular one in the family.
Why? Because I’m a sweet, nice person... No, no, don’t get me wrong. Because I’m quite a handful. That’s right—you heard me. I’m a free spirit and can’t stand being cooped up for even a single day! And that always gets me into trouble.
My father has totally spoiled me, since I’m an only child. My mother tries to be strict with me but always gives in eventually. That’s mainly because my grandparents are always keeping an eye on her.
I love helping others, and that’s my "only weakness"—though, of course, that’s not true. I’m not perfect. For instance, I’m very sociable and talkative, and I can’t keep a secret—except for the lie that I want to study pharmacy.
I’ve been kicked out of school twice for getting into fights with some mean girls—after ripping their hair out. When I was sixteen, I almost started a fire in a shopping mall because I insisted my little cousin be allowed to keep her helium balloon. While I was arguing with the security guard about children's rights—and threatening to sue the mall if he so much as touched the balloon—it suddenly slipped from my grasp and floated straight up to the ceiling right in front of us. It exploded when it hit a hot lightbulb, and a spark ignited a fireball—an unexpected and pretty stupid surprise.
The police filed a report. I was banned from the mall for three months. My mother punished me by confining me to my room for two weeks during summer vacation.
"That was harsh, even for me!"
"Please, Jackson, just be quiet!"
Dear invisible audience, I have something very important to share with you—a secret I’ve kept until now!
When I was a child, I found a strange lamp with a silly genie named Jackson inside. That wasn't his real name, of course. He called himself that because he liked Michael Jackson!
He can't even grant me the three wishes I'm entitled to because he was basically banished from the world of the djinns! And I can't let him go until he gives in to my wishes.
I’ve been in this limbo state since I was ten. The most important thing is that no one finds out; otherwise, we’ll be in huge trouble with his realm—yes, both of us!
He’s been a real burden to me ever since!
"Hey! That’s not nice, Cookies! You can always count on me."
I sighed softly and rolled my eyes as I looked out the airplane window. I tried not to draw attention to myself while chatting with the small, chubby guy sitting next to me by the window. It was obvious he was totally high from a hand-rolled joint!
He can transform into only two different forms. The first is a tiny, fleshy man—barely five centimeters tall. The second is a small desert fox. It might be cute, but it definitely doesn't count as a pet!
What bothers me most, though, is having to break the connection whenever I want to keep my thoughts to myself.
"I’m not a meatball! That’s really mean. You should try one sometime to relax a bit. You have no idea what you’re missing out on..."
"..."
I finally landed an internship! I’ll be working for a well-known company in Dubai for six months. My main task will be creating illustrations.
My professor put me in touch with an acquaintance, but the truth is, I’m the top student in my year at the academy.
After graduating from high school, I received a scholarship for the gifted. My mother wanted me to become a pharmacist like her, or at least a doctor. Yuck—never!
For a whole year, I pretended to my family that I was studying pharmacy, while in reality, I was enrolled at an art college. My father was my accomplice; he simply couldn't deny me anything.
When my mother found out, she was so shocked she couldn't get a word out. I grabbed my stuff and hightailed it to my grandparents' place. In the end, there was nothing she could do. It was too late to change anything anyway. So, to be honest? The world deserved to know about my talent.
I giggled like crazy.
"There you go again, you arrogant brat, you show-off!"
"Can someone explain to me why this little thing is still hanging around here?"
"You can't let me go—you’ve forgotten that again. Besides, I’m irreplaceable!"
I turned slowly toward him and said through gritted teeth, "You know, I asked an imam, and he assured me he could burn any jinn. But out of pity, I didn't do it. So just shut up!"
His little face turned chalk-white, and he didn't say a word for a while.
"Jackson, I’m sorry, okay? It just slipped out, and you know I didn't mean it."
He didn't answer right away. I heard sounds like the hissing of a pressure cooker, and after a few minutes, he burst into hysterical laughter. "I totally played you—you just can't live without me!"
I felt like punching him, but the woman over on the plane was staring at me in confusion. She probably thought I was crazy and talking to myself. "I’d better keep my mouth shut!" “Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in Dubai shortly…”
Fortunately, the company driver was already at the airport, and I recognized him immediately because they had sent me a profile photo. He was Indian and spoke only English. That wasn’t a problem for me, but when he saw my luggage, he started grumbling, and I could barely understand him.
“He’s probably cursing in Hindi or something. You’ve practically brought half your room with you.”
I ignored Jackson, who had by now transformed into a desert fox and was sitting in a suitable travel crate.
On the way to the small apartment, I took a look at Dubai. It’s truly incredible what everything looks like from a distance. What a huge city!
I had been abroad a few times before, as my family is quite wealthy and we were able to travel to various cities around the world.
I had never been to Asia or Australia, but I had visited North America, South America, and Europe. I had even been to Russia when the Olympic Games were held there. My dad was into events like that.
