*****
Benji was so keyed up he couldn’t sleep. For one thing, he wasn’t in trouble. For another, Grandpa was actually teaching him about magic and dragons and stuff. That was more than he ever hoped for. Maybe Grandpa Lee was more interesting than Benji thought.
Last night, Benji was the star of the show (and what a show!). It was actually fun presenting Marvin to the others. Sarah and Tyler just thought they dreamed weird things, while Benji’s experience was tangible, corporeal, and sentient. He would trade mysterious treks through the tree line for solid proof any day.
Grandpa didn’t even scold him. When Tyler and Sarah went up to bed, Benji thought he was in for it, but, surprisingly, Grandpa gave him no reprimands. He asked a lot of questions of both Marvin and Benji, but didn’t criticize. Instead, he explained the whole master-genie thing to Benji.
According to Grandpa Lee, whoever released the genie from its lamp was the master of the genie. That meant, so long as Marvin didn’t go back in his lamp and then get released by someone else, Benji was Marvin’s master.
At Grandpa’s insistence, Benji granted Marvin the ability to move freely and generally do what he wanted. Unless, of course, the genie was given a direct order by Benji, that is. Benji was far from unaware of the power he held over Marvin. He liked his genie friend, but he couldn’t help feeling smug over the control he now wielded. Naturally, Grandpa gave him the with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility speech. Benji found he didn’t mind, though.
After Grandpa fixed Marvin’s mobility problems, he gave each of them two books (one huge, the other tiny) and a map. This map showed the mountains and valleys more clearly. It wasn’t hand drawn like the stolen one. Uncle Matt made them on his computer. He was always updating them, whether anything changed or not, he had a drawer in his desk filled with them. The map Benji stole was actually twenty-five years out of date.
Aunt Rachel came back soon after that. She insisted on giving Marvin a room of his own. It was odd, not having Marvin stay with him anymore, but at least Benji got to keep the lamp. Marvin still had to obey him, if he gave a direct order, but he could roam at will now. Of course, Aunt Rachel also assigned Marvin the task of helping out with household chores. Benji didn’t think Marvin minded much. He actually seemed to relish being treated like a human. It probably made him feel better about his lack of wish-granting powers.
With these thoughts churning about in his head, Benji tossed and turned all night until he finally gave up on sleep. It was barely light out when he jumped up from bed, hastily dressed and ran down the hall. He threw open the door closest to the stairwell and stared into a closet. Oops.
He tried the door on the opposite side of the hall, banging it open loudly. Benji was pleased to discover this one exposed the bedroom he sought.
“Good morning!” Benji called out mockingly. No answer. On closer inspection, Benji saw Marvin’s blue form was an unmoving lump on the bed. He considered letting the genie sleep, but he was too impatient and excited. Besides, Marvin was the only person in the house Benji could confide in.
Benji walked up to the bed and leaned low. “I said,” deep breath, “GOOD MORNING!” he shouted right in Marvin’s ear. The genie leapt out of the bed, practically to the ceiling, and almost knocked heads with Benji in the process.
Apparently Marvin slept in his glasses. Benji never noticed before. Come to think of it, this was the first time Benji had ever seen Marvin actually sleeping. The genie’s black framed glasses were nearly vertical on his scowling blue face. “What,” he grunted, “are you doing in here?!” Marvin’s blue face was set in a peevish façade as he straightened his glasses.
“Duh,” Benji said, making himself comfortable at the foot of the bed. “I’m waking you up.”
“I deduced as much,” Marvin complained, “but do you mind telling me why?”
“I’m technically still you’re master,” Benji informed him. “I don’t have to explain anything if I don’t want to.” He was only half-joking.
“I am almost certain,” said Marvin, “that the reason you, O Master, are in this room is because you wish to tell me something.”
“Was that sarcasm?” Benji asked. Marvin just raised a dark blue eyebrow in Benji’s direction.
“I couldn’t sleep,” explained Benji. “I’m too worked up over Grandpa taking us to the village.”
“No,” Marvin interrupted with a yawn. “He’s taking you to the village. I’m not allowed to go, remember?”
“Sorry,” Benji said, not really sorry at all. “I forgot.” Grandpa didn’t want anyone else to know Marvin was allowed to stay at the house. He said it would set some kind of precedent and then they’d have leprechauns and yetis in all the guest rooms. Benji didn’t think that would be so bad, but that was just his opinion. “Come on, anyway,” Benji cajoled impatiently. “Let’s get down to breakfast.” He grabbed Marvin’s arm and dragged him towards the door.
“But I don’t eat!” Marvin protested. Benji ignored him and finally Marvin gave in, muttering all the way to the kitchen.
Downstairs, only Aunt Rachel was up. She stopped her cooking for a moment to great Marvin and Benji, but then resumed it, beating scrambled eggs in a bowl. It was then that Marvin pointed out the excursion to the village wasn’t supposed to be until after lunch. That meant by getting up early, Benji was actually prolonging his wait. Benji stared at his grinning friend with a frown. Marvin was right. It was going to be a long time until noon.