Paxton recoiled when Mirajane exploded at him and returned to her lamp. He had just been trying to make a casual joke. He hadn’t expected her to react so violently. Was being a genie really that bad? She was immortal and had the power to use magic! …But then, she also had to live by herself until someone found her lamp and let her out, and even then, she was forced to serve her master like a faithful pet. Huh. Looking at it like that, her life as a genie suddenly wasn’t so glamorous.

Paxton glanced at a clock on the wall and jumped abruptly to his feet. His first class started in two minutes! He had been so caught up in Mirajane’s shouting that he hadn’t noticed what time it was. He snatched his backpack and hurried to his first hour classroom so he wouldn’t be late.

--

Throughout the day, Paxton found it impossible to focus on his studies. His mind kept wandering back to the incident with the genie, which he still felt bad about. She had disappeared before he even had a chance to apologize to her, and she was probably still furious with him. So far, he was making a wonderful first impression. He just wished he had a way to make up for his inconsiderate words.

…But then, maybe there [i]was[/i] a way.

After school ended, Paxton headed back to his house and went straight to his room, locking the door behind him. His parents were both at work and his sister was at softball practice —she was the only one in the Hall family with any talent for sports— but he didn’t want to take any chances. Once that was done, he retrieved Mirajane’s lamp from his backpack and set it on his desk, rubbing it to summon the genie. He waited a moment for her to appear, and then launched into his speech before she had a chance to yell at him again.

“First of all,” Paxton said hastily. “I want to say that I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean to offend you, and I wasn’t thinking. You have every right to be mad.” He paused for breath and went on more slowly. “I also wanted to make you an offer. I know you’re stuck to your lamp because you’re a genie, but since I’m not going to use my last wish anytime soon, how about we use the time to let you live a little? I mean, I can show you around and we can do stuff that normal people do every day. I know it’s not much compared to an eternity there,” he gestured at the lamp. “But it’s better than nothing, right? So, what do you say?”