Paxton nodded reluctantly at Mirajane’s explanation. He had no way to verify if the genie was telling him the truth, even when she said she couldn’t lie, but she sounded earnest enough. Besides, he didn’t have time to sit around and think it over. His first class started in less than twenty minutes and he still had to get his books from his locker. He also wanted to find Zach and ask him if anything had changed on the lacrosse team. He was curious to see how Mirajane might have granted his wish. Did she change everyone’s memories so he was always the best player in the school, or did no one else know it yet? Either way, he couldn’t wait to find out.

Paxton climbed out of his car and grabbed his backpack from the passenger seat, slinging one strap over his shoulder. He closed the door and locked it behind him, and then started walking to the school. As he got closer to the building, however, he began to take notice of Mirajane’s silence. It was strange, but it almost seemed like she was waiting for something. He wondered all too late if she knew something that he didn’t. The genie might not have been able to lie, but she could definitely keep her mouth shut if she wanted to.

Well, so long as Paxton got his wish, she could keep her little secrets to herself. He pulled the front door open and stepped inside the building. Instantly, he could tell that something was wrong. The hall was buzzing with gossip as the students walked with their friends. None of them sounded happy. He spotted Zach among the crowd and hurried over to him, “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Pax,” Zach turned to him, sounding surprised. “You haven’t heard? Something weird happened at the end of practice yesterday. We were scrimmaging and everything was going great, but then all of us started making amateur mistakes all of the sudden. I mean, it wasn’t just the new guys. It was like [i]all[/i] of us forgot how to play.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Man, we have a game this Friday, too. Coach is furious.”

“Wow,” Paxton said in astonishment. “Um, I’ll be right back.” He pivoted on his heel and headed for the nearest empty classroom. Closing the door behind him, he dropped his backpack on a table and glared at Mirajane as she floated over it. “What did you [i]do[/i]?” he hissed, trying to keep his voice low to avoid drawing the attention of anyone who might walk by.