Double Trouble (6 page)

“No, I know what to do,” Ali said, sneezing again. She was so cold, she was ready to try desperate measures. “I want my third wish. I wish for something to make me warm and dry.”

Genie clapped. “I know just the thing,” she said excitedly. “My friend Ray will do the trick! I knew him at Genie School.”

“No, Genie,” Ali gasped. “Not
another
genie.” One was more than enough!

But it was too late. Genie had already snapped her fingers and was frowning in concentration as she cast her spell.

Ali's bedroom windows flew open and cold air streamed in.

“Genie, you're supposed to be warming me up,” Ali complained, trying to pull her quilt around her “Close the windows!”

“Just a minute.” Genie ran over to the window and peered out “Oh, look! Here's Ray”

Ali watched in amazement as a puff of
bright yellow smoke whirled into the room. With a loud
whoosh!
, something that looked the same size and shape as Ali's bedside rug swept through the window and skidded to a halt above Ali's desk It was a flying carpet, golden yellow with orange and red stripes!

Sitting cross-legged on the carpet was a round-faced, smiling genie. He wore a gold vest, an orange hat, and baggy yellow pants. In his arms he carried something wrapped in a silky golden cloth.

“Ray!” Genie waved in delight. “It's been ages since I've seen you.”

“Hi, Genie,” Ray called down, peering over the edge of the carpet. “Is it okay to land?”

“Sure, go ahead,” Genie said.

Ali stared as Ray guided the carpet down from the ceiling. It settled lightly on the floor and Ray stood up, revealing dazzling slippers with long, curled-over toes. He was taller than Genie, and very tan.

'This is Ali, my lord and master,” Genie
said excitedly, pointing to Ali on the bed. “Ali, this is Ray, an old friend of mine. He sells flying carpets.”

“I'm very pleased to meet you, Ali,” Ray said cheerily, bowing low with an elegant wave of his hand. “I am honored indeed to meet Little Genie's lord and master.” He glanced at Genie with a grin. “There were times at Genie School when even her closest friends doubted that this happy day would come!”

“Hi,” Ali said, still shivering. Was this really what she had wished for? She didn't have a clue how Ray was going to warm her up!

“Ray was the coolest cat in class when we were learning how to fly magic carpets,” Genie explained. “I was
hopeless.
I
kept crashing, and in the end our teacher, Mr. Abracadabra, would only let me use a doormat”.

Ray proudly tapped his carpet with his toe. “I'm flying the latest model now,” he told her “This is the R-60, the most expensive carpet I have in the shop. Top speed 140 miles per hour, and it never overturns, not even in the strongest wind.”

“Really?” Genie, looked very impressed and bent down to stroke the gold fringe.

Ray yawned hugely. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I was refueling in the Sahara when you called, and I've got jet lag. What did you want me fon Genie?”

Quickly Genie explained what had happened.

“In that case, ladies, it's lucky I've brought my sunlamp.” With a flourish, Ray unwrapped the object in his arms. It looked a bit like the reading lamp on Ali's desk, except that it was a shiny golden color. Ray put it down on the desk and pointed it in Ali's direction.

“A sunlamp?” Ali said. “Well, that seems like a good idea.”

“This will warm you up in no time,” Ray promised.

“You can plug it in under the desk,” Ali said, feeling another giant sneeze tickling her nose. She hoped he would hurry up.

Ray shook his head. “It doesn't need to be plugged in,” he said, waving his hand in front of the lamp. “It's magic!”

“Like my Lava lamp,” Genie added. She
sat cross-legged on Ray's carpet and smiled encouragingly at Ali.

Ali watched as the giant lightbulb inside the lamp began to glow. The light was very bright, but soon Ali felt a deliciously warm beam coming from it. She lay down on the bed and shut her eyes as the heat soaked into her and dried her clothes.

“So how's the flying carpet business these days, Ray?” Genie asked.

“Not bad at ail,” answered Ray. “I sell a lot of these R-60s. It doesn't just go up and down, you know. Oh no, you've got 360-degree movement; and it can even do loop-the-loops. You have to hang on tight, though.”

“That's bookin'!” Genie said. She
turned to Ali. “How are you feeling?”

“Great,” Ali replied with her eyes still closed. “It's like I'm lying on a beach!” She opened her eyes and sat up. She was warm and dry all over “Thanks very much,” she said, grinning at Ray.

“No problem,” he said, giving her another sweeping bow.

“You can turn the lamp off now, if you like,” Ali added.

“Actually, the lamp's part of your wish, so it has to stay on until all the sand runs through the hourglass,” Genie explained cheerfully. “Ray has to stay too.”

Ali's heart sank. She'd managed to keep one genie hidden from her family so fan but it was going to be much more difficult with two!

Just then she heard the front door open and close downstairs. There was the sound of voices in the hall.

“That's Dad talking to Gran,” Ali gasped. “He just got home from work Genie, you'd better go downstairs.” Her tummy rumbled loudly, and she realized she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast “And would you bring me something to eat?”

“Sure,” Genie promised. “Just give me five minutes.” She hurried over to the door and went downstairs.

Ray yawned again. “Do you mind if I have a nap?” he asked Ali. “I'm really tired”

Ali shook her head. “Of course not.” She scrambled down the quilt onto the
floor and went over to look at Ray's carpet. A pattern of round yellow suns was woven along the orange and red stripes, and the soft, floaty fringes were made of gold thread. “Is It very difficult to learn how to fly a carpet?” Ali asked curiously.

“Not really,” Ray replied. “You just have to practice. I could give you a great deal, if you like,” He frowned thoughtfully. “If you're a beginner, I'd recommend the R-20. It comes in red or green, fringe extra, and it's guaranteed for a hundred hours of flying time. It doesn't do loop-the-loops, so you'll be quite safe. Just keep away from trees and tall buildings while you're practicing.”

For a moment Ali was tempted. Her
own flying carpet! It would be great. “Well…” she began.

“Okay you've twisted my arm,” Ray said quickly. “Seeing as you're a friend of Little Genie's, I can give you fifty percent off. Only fifteen gold coins. That's a real bargain.”

Reluctantly Ali shook her head. “I'd
never
be able to keep it a secret from my family,” she said. “People around here just don't have flying carpets.”

Ray's eyes gleamed. “Really? Maybe I should think about opening a shop!”

Ali laughed. Having a shop selling flying carpets in Cocoa Beach would be great! She bet Tiffany Andrews could talk her parents, into getting her an R-60 in no time.

Ray yawned again. “On the other hand, I'm not sure I like the weather here too much. Let me know if you change your mind,” he said, curling up on the carpet. “You won't get a better deal than that on the R-20.” And in five minutes he was fast asleep.

Ali admired the patterns on his carpet for a bit longer Then she glanced at the door Where was Little Genie? She was
starving
.

Half an hour passed. Then an hour. Ali was still hungry, and there was no sign of Little Genie. Ray was still asleep, but every now and then he muttered things like,
“The R-40's a good family model, plenty of space for the kids; it's even got a Snakes and Ladders board woven into the
pattern to keep them quiet on those long journeys
….”

Ali started to feel very bored. She was too small to read a book or put some music on her CD player Ray's lamp was still shining brightly on her desk, and the room was beginning to feel uncomfortably warm. She had just decided to have a nap to forget about her rumbling tummy when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Sorry I took so long” Little Genie puffed, bursting into the, room. “We all ate dinner, and then I offered to dry all the dishes so Jake could have some playtime. He told me it was my turn”

“What?” Ali said, frowning. “That's not true!”

Genie shrugged. “After that, your dad and Jake did homework, and since I didn't have any, your mom and Gran and I watched this “TV show about these people who live on the same street who keep having arguments with each other”

“That's
Sunshine Street,”
Ali sighed. It was her favorite show, and now she'd missed itThen a thought struck her “But isn't the TV broken?”

“Your mom fixed it,” Genie said. “She said it was the fuse. Anyway, look”-She held out a plate. “I brought you a cheese sandwich.”

Ali was too small? to hold the whole sandwich, so Genie broke off a tiny corner and handed it to her By the time Ali had finished the piece, she was full!

“Ray can finish the rest,” Genie said. She yawned. “I think lit go to bed.”

“You won't be able to get into your lamp, though, will you?” Ali pointed out. “Not while you're being me.”

“That's okay,” Genie said. “I can sleep in your bed.”

“But what about me?” Ali asked. She glanced over at Genie's Lava lamp on her desk “Hey, can I sleep in there?”

“No, sorry” Genie apologized. “You don't have the right magic to get into my lamp. But you can sleep on my—sorry, your—pillow, if you like.”

“Okay,” Ali said, feeling a bit disappointed. She'd been looking forward to seeing what was inside Genie's lamp!

Ali settled down on the pillow.
Meanwhile, Genie put on a pair of Ali's pajamas.

“What are we going to do about
that?”
said Ali, pointing at Ray's lamp. It was dark outside now, and the glow seemed even brighter “Can't we wrap it up in something?”

“That won't work,” Genie muttered sleepily, getting into bed and snuggling down. “It's a magic lamp. You can't stop it once it's shining.”

Ali looked down at Ray, who was still curled up on his carpet. The light didn't seem to be bothering him at all—he was obviously used to it!

“But how are we going to get to sleep?” Ali grumbled, squinting.

Genie mumbled something, and then
she began to snore very gently. She was asleep already, Ali thought glumly. She jumped as Genie rolled over If she wasn't careful, Genie might squash her!

Ali curled up in a ball and put her hands over her eyes; She was just drifting off tq sleep when footsteps on the landing made her jump so she almost fell off the pillow. Genie woke too and sat up, blinking and yawning.

“Ali?” Mom called from downstairs. She sounded annoyed “It's really late. Why have you still got your light on?”

Ali gasped. “Quick, Genie, do something.”

“S-sorry, Mom,” Genie stammered. She was still half asleep and rubbing her eyes. “I just had to put the light on to, um, do something?”

“What?” Mom asked.

“I can't remember.” Genie yawned.

The light of Ray's lamp was shining under the gap at the bottom of the
bedroom door; Ali's sweatpants were lying across the bottom of the bed where Genie had left them. Quickly Ali scrambled across the quilt. Her feet sank in with every step. It felt like she was walking across a giant snowdrift. Grabbing the sweatpants' waistband string, she climbed down to the floor as if she was climbing down a rope in the school gym. Puffing and panting, she pulled and pulled untill finally the sweatpants slithered onto the floor with a soft thud. Then she started dragging them toward the door.