Chapter 27 - Temptation

Nicole

The cops called me again Saturday morning to let me know they still haven’t found anything.  I was getting pissed and frustrated. If I was going to get to the bottom of this genie business, I felt I was going to need to go to where it all started. Late Saturday morning, I did just that. I stood at the street in front of Greek Row, the area on campus where all of the fraternities and sororities built their elaborate and exclusive houses.

I’ve been here a few times outside of my own rush week. Many of the fraternities and sororities were big into community service and school spirit, which is why I rushed in the first place. I was eager for a sisterhood of good people so I could prove to my parents I wasn’t worthless. It worked out in the end as I found two lifelong sisters in Alexis and Madison. After the incident, I tried to avoid running into the sorority I rushed and Tau Kappa.

I walked along Greek Row seeing signs for charity events, and parties. I saw a sign for voting for Student Body President - but it was for Josh’s opponent. A part of me wanted to accidentally knock it over, but that might get Josh in trouble.

I came to a bunch of sorority girls sitting at a table, in front of a Blood-mobile. On cue, one of the girls jogged up to me. She wasn’t wearing a bra and her breasts jiggled up and down. I’m not sure if that was by design or not, but it worked and she got my attention. 

“Hi! Would you like to give blood today?” she cheerfully asked.

Honestly, I think I lost enough blood on Halloween so donating blood was likely not in my best interest. “No, not today,” I said, “Maybe another time.” As she was about to turn away, I decided I could her ask for information. I asked. “Hey, I’m looking for the Tau Kappa house.”

She had a disgusted look on her face. “Oh.” she said. “Those guys. they’re in the far back corner.” she said, pointing off in the distance..

“What can you tell me about them?” I asked.

“Well, we try not to talk bad about other greek houses.”

“So it’s bad?”

“Let’s just say they don’t have the greatest reputation on campus - even amongst other greek organizations.”

“I understand.” I replied. With constantly being in the news about sexual assaults, it's a wonder TK is even still allowed on campus. I’m sure they’re giving the other Greek house’s a bad name. “Thank you.” I told the sorority girl. She smiled and returned to her sisters.

I walked in the general direction where she said the TK house would be. Sure enough, I found it. It was very much like the other houses in Greek Row in elegance and stature, but wasn’t nearly as cheerful. I bet the school paid for landscaping and cosmetic work, but unlike the other houses that were oozing school pride, and community service, this house was missing all of that and was rather plain.

I walked up to the steps. Hiding in the shadows was random beer bottles and trash. I knocked on the door.

A guy slightly younger than me opened the door. “Yo, what’s up?” he said.

“I’m looking for information about Brandon Flynn.” I announced..

“I don’t know that name. I don’t think he lives here.” he replied, as he started to close the door,

“It may have been a few years ago.” I quickly said before he shut the door on me.

He turned his head into the house. “Yo did we have a “Brandon Flynn” in the frat a few years ago.”

I heard a faint “yes” from within the house.

“I guess we did.” he said.

“I was wondering if I could talk to whoever remembers him?” I said.

He looked back into the house, nodded and then opened the door for me to let me in.

As I stepped inside I instantly remembered I had been here before. Freshman year. The mixer that started this all. The house looked different in the daylight, with no party going on, and obviously no cleaning crew.

The invisible voice from earlier walked up to me “I’m Damon”. He held out his hand and I shook it. He was actually good looking. Not like his stoner door-man. He had that All American boyish thing going on for him. I bet he has lots of friends and a girlfriend. “I’ve been a part of TK for 4 years.”

“Hi, I’m… Victor” I said, smiling back at him.

“Hi Victor.” Damon said, smiling at me. I bet this guy will be a politician one day. “So what would you like to know?” 

“Brandon Flynn. How long was he with TK?” I asked.

“Brandon was a member of the brotherhood before I got here,” he replied. “I think he was in his second year when I first rushed.”

“So he lived here?”

“No.” Damon replied. “We don’t have space for all of the brothers. Rooms go to seniority and brothers in good standing. Brandon Flynn had neither of those things.”

“Is that why he’s no longer a brother? Was he kicked out?”

“Well, this was a number of years ago. He was older than me, so I imagine he would’ve graduated by now, but he was kicked out for stealing from us.”

“What did he steal?” I asked innocently.

He looked at me and gave a smirk. “Something personal to the fraternity.”

Damon started walking casually through the house. Naturally I followed him. We walked by a wall of photographs of young professional looking college men. 

I wanted to keep our conversation casual, so I asked “Are these your members?”

“They’re alumni,” he said. “Not just any alumni. Successful alumni.” The photos all looked recent, so many of the men in those pictures looked rather young.

“Obviously you know the president of the University.” he said, pointing at one photo.

“Oh really?” I said. “He was a TK?”

“Yup. Class of 2002.” 

Now I know why TK hasn’t been kicked off campus. 

He continued, “Then you know our state Governor and his Lieutenant Governor. Both Class of 2005. He’s the youngest governor ever to get elected to the office.”

“They’re TK too?” I said. “I never knew that.” Something in the back of my head was telling me to leave. Leave now. This is bigger than I imagined.

“We have pride in our alumni,” he continued.

I simply nodded. A little bit of jealousy perhaps. A part of me - the part that rushed that sorority does wish things had turned out differently.

“Walk with me, Victor” he said as we moved to another room of the house, I followed him. “That’s a nasty shiner you’ve got there”

“Oh, right” I said “My black eye.” Great, I forgot to cover it with makeup this morning. I hope Damon doesn’t think any less of me. 

“Did Brandon give that to you?”

“How did you know?”

“A guess. So is that why your interest in Brandon?”

“Yes.” I said. “We’ve had a few run-ins. He was my um.. Freshman year roommate.”

He stopped and sat down on a couch in an empty parlor. “Sit” he said, and I did. “You're a handsome guy, Victor.” he said.

I turned red in embarrassment. Did he really think I was attractive? Even with this black eye? I brushed some of my hair behind my ears.

“Girlfriend?” he asked.

“No.” I replied. “I um.. am single right now. I just got out of a relationship.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” he said he looked into my eyes. 

Wow he’s got amazing chocolate eyes. I couldn’t help but smile back. 

“Victor” he said.

“Hmm?” I smiled back. I may have batted my lashes. He was so cute. I wonder if I had stayed in the sorority would I be dating someone like this? Maybe I’d be dating Damon himself. My stomach fluttered at that idea. 

“Why are you really here?” he said, not breaking eye contact. “I told the cops everything I know about Brandon a few days ago.”

“I um.. know about the Genie.” I heard myself say. Wait. No. Why did I just tell him that?

“I figured you did.” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper. His voice was hypnotic. Something is wrong. I should leave. “You know he blamed it on you right?” Damon said.

“Me?” I asked.

“Yes. He said his roommate broke the lamp.”

“I broke the lamp?” I idly questioned.

“I didn’t necessarily believe that though. You’re a good dude, Victor”

“I am, ain't I?” 

“Sadly since the lamp is gone, I’m the last one who has this ability,” he said.

“What ability?” I asked.

“The ability to get anything I want from anyone,” he said. “To get anyone to give me the information I want. To follow me.”

“Damon,” I giggled. “You don’t need magic to do that.” Did I just giggle?

“It was the tradition, that it would be our first wish once we were inducted into TK. Until that asshole former roommate of yours stole the lamp and lost the genie.”

I found my index finger tracing his fingers that were on his lap.

He smiled at me and was silent. His words echoed in my head. Wait. This is wrong. What’s going on?

Suddenly the spell was broken like lifted fog. I was sitting on the couch holding hands with this guy I just met. I noticed I had an erection. I let go of him and jumped off the couch with a startle.

Damon laughed. “That never gets old. My younger brothers are so jealous.”

I was angry. I was humiliated. “How far were you going to take that?” 

“Well, I’m not gay.” he said. “I was wondering how far you were going to go. I was curious how far you were going to go to get the answers you wanted.”

“That was sick,” I said. “What if I was a girl?”

He raised his eyebrow and smiled at the thought. 

“No.” I said, repulsed. “I have to go.”

“But you’re not going to tell anyone about us.” he said looking in my eyes again.

I felt a rush of pleasure again. “I’m not going to tell anyone about you” I parroted. 

I shook my head. “Stop that!”

“You’re too cute, Victor” he said.

Am I really cute? I shook my head again. I have to get out of here. I feel like a mouse that is cornered by a cat. Damon is toying with me. What’s worse is a part of me is enjoying getting played with. I’m flustered and turned on. And I’m frightened.

I wanted more details about the genie. But it was far too dangerous to be here. If past TK members had murdered Courtney’s former body, what would they do to me?

I turned around and walked through the house and out the door as quickly as I could. 

“Bye Victor!” I heard Damon say.

I was starting to hyperventilate. I didn’t look back. I kept walking down Greek Row to get as far away from the TK house as I could. 

* * *

I didn’t stop until I got to my apartment. I was frantically pacing my apartment doing breathing exercises when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around and put the attacker into an arm-bar.

“Owww” Tyler screamed in pain.

“Tyler!” I said, releasing them. “Never sneak up on me like that!’

They took a stop back and rubbed their shoulder

A paranoid thought passed through my mind. Is this really Tyler? Could Damon disguise himself?

“What do you want?” I said, keeping my guard up.

They looked at me confused. “Nicole told me about what happened. I wanted to come check up on you. Maybe invite you out for beer and wings or... something. I don't know what your interests are. You mentioned a few things Wednesday night I wanted to.. umm.. talk about.”

So far their story checks out.

“If you’re up for it.” they finished.

“I’m not really a beer and wings kinda....” I paused. “Girl.”

“That's cool,” Tyler said. “Nicole wasn’t either last year. We used to always go out to-”

“Jenny’s” we both said simultaneously.

“Yeah” I said. “We can grab lunch. I just need to text Lexi real quick.”

“Take your time.” they said. “I can drive - I’m parked right over there.”

I looked around for signs that TK followed me. Then I saw Tyler’s car sitting right there in the parking lot. Sure enough, that was Tyler’s beat up car that I’ve ridden in many times. So now I’m convinced this is the real Tyler, and not a Damon mind trick, I can relax. 

I pulled out my phone and started a group text to Lexi and Mads. “I went to the TK house. Stay away from them. Very dangerous. The older members have an ability to put people under some sort of spell.”

I turned to Tyler. “Let’s go.” As I got into Tyler’s car, I did one last look around to make sure TK didn’t follow me home.

* * *

As we were driving to Jenny’s, Madison was the first to call me.

“Hello?” I answered.

“You went there?” Madison angrily said.

“Yeah.” I said. “I had to find out the deal with Brandon.”

“Nicole, that was dangerous. Something could’ve happened to you.”

“Yeah.” I said. “You’re right in hindsight. Listen, I can’t really talk right now about it. I’m with Tyler. He’s taking me to lunch... They! I’m sorry, Ty.”

“It’s OK,” Tyler replied.

“Tyler?” she said. “Jesus Nicole, what are you doing?”

“Mads, I'm OK. I’ll talk later.” I hung up.

“Did you meet Madison through PRIDE?” Tyler asked.

“Yeah” I replied. I had to remind myself that I’m not Nicole, and I’m pretending to be Victor. “She was also in my art class a few semesters back.”

We pulled into Jenny’s parking lot and we both walked into the cafe. The host escorted us to a booth next to the window.

“That was some move you pulled on me.” Tyler said. “My arm still hurts.”

“I’m sorry about that,” I replied. “I’ve been taking martial arts for the past 2 months. There was a class on self-defense.”

“I get why you’re on edge,” they said. “When Nicole told me what happened after the party I was shocked.”

I internally cringed at his use of my name to describe Vicky.

“That must’ve been so scary.” they added.

“It was,” I admitted. “What else did… Nicole… tell you?”

“That it was the same guy from the other week. Lexi’s ex. Your former roommate. It sounds like he’s unhinged.”

“Very much so,” I replied. I paused for a moment. The events of this morning at the TK house are fresh in my mind. I think Tyler deserves to know some of what’s going on. Even if he doesn’t know the full truth. “Tyler - I think we’re all in danger.”

“All?”

“Yes. My friends. Nicole’s friends. Brandon is a sick individual and hasn’t been caught by the authorities yet. And his brothers - are just as dangerous.”

Tyler looked lost in thought, trying to process what I just told them.

The waitress interrupted our conversation and took our orders. Tyler ordered a soda and a Rueben. I ordered bottled water and an Avocado and Tomato salad.

“That’s one of Nicole’s favorites.” Tyler mentioned. “Although she hasn’t ordered it in a while.”

“What’s her new favorite?” I asked. I shouldn’t have asked. I didn’t really want to know.

“There’s a spicy chicken sandwich she’s been getting. I’ve had it. The sauce is excellent”

Right. Chicken. Gag. I wonder if I should ask what they thought about their girlfriend’s sudden change in diet.

“So maybe I’ll help take your mind off of that Brandon character.” Tyler offered.

“Sure,” I said. It was almost like old times. I would be worried about something, and Tyler would swoop in to help me take my mind off of it.

“Tell me more about what we kinda talked about at the party.” Tyler said. “I’m assuming our mutual friends told you I’m non-binary since you used my correct pronouns earlier. I wanted you to know this is a safe space with me.”

Tyler is so sweet. He’s always been like this. Always empathetic. I missed him. “Well.” I started. “I am.. a woman.” I wanted to tell him I’m not just any woman. I’m Nicole, his girlfriend, trapped in this body.

“How long have you felt that way?”

“Since I was born.” I replied without hesitation.

“That’s awesome you knew so early. I didn’t start having these feelings until I was maybe a pre-teen. I don’t remember the moment I knew, but when visiting my aunt one summer I got a chance to crossdress. When the summer was over, I knew without a doubt I wasn’t cis. I came out as non-binary to a few people at first. My Aunt, My parents. Close high school friends. When I got to college I joined PRIDE and met Madison. Through Madison I met Nicole and Alexis. Back then I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be masucline, feminine, both, or neither. So I defaulted as maculine to just get through my freshman year.”

I had never heard this story before. I feel like Tyler has been hiding this from me for a long time. Likely because I never accepted his feminine side.

“I… only came out to Nicole recently.” their voice started to trail off. “Because of reasons.”

I had an opportunity here to dig into what Tyler really thought about me, like I did with Kayla. But it felt wrong. I don’t think I was in the right emotional space to hear Tyler talk about me like that.

“If you’ve known all along, what’s stopping you from transitioning?” Tyler said, before I could ask anything else. “You could’ve done hormone blockers before puberty.”

Crap, the lies are unraveling. “I wasn’t in a good place.” I said, echoing stories I’ve read. “And now… well I don’t know if I want to make any permanent changes,” I replied. It’s true. If I started transitioning, Vicky would flipout

“Transition isn’t only a medical transition. You can socially transition too. Just changing your name and pronouns is a transition.”

That didn’t occur to me. “Really?”

“Really.” they repeated confidently.

“Well, I’ve told the girls - Lexi, Mads and Vi- Nicole my pronouns.”

Tyler smiled at me. I couldn’t help but smile back. He was waiting for me to speak.

“And they are?” they said.

“Oh right” I replied “She, her, hers.”

“Awesome,” Tyler replied. “This is my friend Victor, she’s a great person.” they said to nobody in particular.

I giggled at Tyler using the wrong name. They didn’t know that, but how could they? Our eyes met for a moment. I felt the nostalgia hit me. I remember our first date. The first time we had sex. Those wonderful eyes were always a constant.

Then Tyler looked away. Of course. I’m a guy. Tyler’s currently dating Vicky. It’s not like I could get Tyler to dump Vicky for me right? Right?

Our food came and we started eating.

“Sorry for bringing it back up.” Tyler said, swallowing their food. “About this guy Brandon. Do you think we should leave town?”

I shrugged while chewing my salad. “Maybe.”

“I’ve been meaning to take Nicole home to meet my parents.” they said.

I put my fork down. That sentence just hit me like a ton of bricks. What? Now? I’ve been begging and pleading for you to take me home to meet your parents for over a year and now you’re taking Vicky? Breath. Ignore it, Nicole.

“I was going to surprise her.” Tyler continued. 

Tyler please stop talking about Vicky.

“She’s going to be so excited. Next weekend. We’ll get out of here. Away from Brandon. I can do something romantic for her. That was an excellent idea, Victor.”

Tyler couldn’t see the anger and jealousy building up in me. I saw the smile on his face. The same smile he’d give me after we spent hours making out. Did he show this smile after making out with Vicky? After having sex with Vicky? I found myself bending the plastic fork in my hand. I wanted to lash out at Vicky. She stole my boyfriend. I can stop this right now. I can tell him the truth and blow Vicky’s world up. 

I needed to change the topic before I did or said something I’d regret. “What do you do for fun Tyler?”

“I play video games in my spare time. I also make costumes.”

Both of those things involved Vicky, and I wanted to steer the conversation away from her. “How about classes?”

“I’m a Computer Science major,” they replied. “Classes are going great for me. I’m on track to graduate in the spring.”

“That’s awesome, Tyler” I said.

* * *

I made sure we spent the rest of lunch talking about classes. I almost tripped up and told them I was a marketing major, but managed to fake my way through talking about art classes. 

When Tyler dropped me off back at my apartment, Madison was waiting for me outside my door.

“Hey Mads” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“I was concerned.” she said. “I wanted to make sure you were OK.”

“I'm fine.” I said “It was scary. I wasn’t in control of myself. Thankfully I was able to break through whatever spell he had on me and run away.”

“We should bring Lexi into this” she said. “I’ll give her a call to come over.”

I nodded and opened my apartment door and let us both in.

“You were with Tyler?” she asked.

“Yeah.’ I responded. “They wanted to talk about their experience being non-binary. They offered me a safe space to talk about my own gender issues.”

“That’s actually great,” she said. “I was worried it was something else.”

“Like what?” I inquired.

“Tyler is your ex-boyfriend.”

“He’s not an ex” I retorted. “He’s my current boyfriend.”

Madison was silent and had a look of disapprovement on her face. Or was it disappointment?

“I had these thoughts,” I told her. “Of breaking Tyler and Vicky up.”

“Nicole, no.”

“I was jealous. I want him back. I thought maybe Tyler might be into me as I am right now. They’re non-binary. So it’s not a far leap of logic to suggest that… maybe… they… they could be into... transwomen.”

She shook her head. “Don’t break them up. It's not right.”

“I mean, It’s not like you haven’t tried to break us up in the past.”

Madison looked insulted. “Whoa, Whoa” she said. “I never tried to break you up. I was supportive of you. I made sure Tyler treated you right. I made sure you both were dating for the right reasons. You weren’t. I was upset about that. But I never tried to break you up.”

I was silent.

“This isn’t like you.” Madison continued. “The Nicole I love is caring and empathetic and patient.”

“I wanted to lash out. To hurt Vicky. Mads, is there something wrong with me? Am I a bad person?”

“You’re not a bad person,” she said, holding onto my arms. “You’re having a rough time. And we’ll get through it. You have me and Lexi at your side. Always.”

“I’m turning into my father,” I said. “When things didn’t go his way he sabotaged friendships, business relationships. He got fired for his temper.”

“You are not your father.” Madison said. “That man is worthless.”

“He called me worthless. I was always his worthless daughter. He would always show his disappointment in not having a son.”

“You are nothing like him. You are compassionate. You are one of the best friends I have ever had.”

“I’ve been so selfish, Mads.”

“It’s because you never had anyone looking out for you. Not even your parents. But you have friends now. We have each other’s backs. Over the years, you have done so many selfless things for me and Lexi. I know you care for us.”

I was silent for a moment. She’s right, I need to stop being selfish, and trust my friends. “Tyler’s happier with Vicky right?”

Madison was silent. She knew the answer but didn’t want to say it.

“Tyler is my ex isn’t he?”

She nodded.

A tear rolled down my face and Madison pulled me into a hug. The dam broke and I cried into her shoulder.

* * *

For the next hour, I lounged around the apartment with Madison. She put on some trashy TV for me to watch to take my mind off of things. We were sitting on the couch together. I was holding Madison’s hand, leaning into her.

My mind kept drifting back to Damon. I felt dirty. “I need to take a shower” I announced to Madison. 

She nodded and I made my way to the bathroom. I took off my shirt and jeans and I looked at the mirror and saw my male reflection. I hated it. All of this hair covering my body. This isn’t me.

I had an idea. I opened a drawer and found an electric razor.

“Madison,” I announced. “Can I get some help?”

“Sure” she said, walking towards me. She noticed me wearing just boxers and averted her eyes.

“I want this body hair off.” I announced. “This is my life, I’m going to transition as I see fit.”

She smiled and nodded in approval.

I used the razor and trimmed down my chest, arm and leg hair. Madison helped get the areas I couldn’t reach. When my body hair was short enough, I grabbed the shaving cream and razor and went into the shower. 

I used the face shaving cream I had and got a new blade for the razor. I’ve been shaving my legs twice a week during the warmer months since I was a teenager. While I knew what I was doing, this body’s terrain was unknown to me. I’ve also never in my life had to shave my chest and arms. That was an interesting experience. But I took my time.

When I was done my new body was smooth like I remember my old body being. A little bigger and more muscular, but I felt the euphoria of treating this body as my own.

I put on a clean pair of boxer shorts and walked out to Madison. She stood and saw the new hairless me. She put her hands on my hairless chest and looked me in the eyes.

“Hi Nicole” she said lovingly. It was such a simple phrase. She was telling me that she saw me, and only me. She didn’t care about the male shell I was in. I saw her eyes glance down to my lips and I leaned down and kissed her.

She kissed me back and embraced me. For a whole minute we stood in my living room - me in nothing but boxers - making out until I felt my member announce its presence upon her hip.

“Settle down girl” she said “Lexi should be over in a few minutes.”

With that, I ran to my room and quickly put on cargo shorts and a t-shirt. I returned to the couch with Madison and she put her hand on my smooth leg.

A minute later there was a knock at the door. It must be Lexi. “Come in.” I said.

Lexi and Vicky walked in

“What’s she doing here?” I said, jumping up from the couch.

“I invited her.” Madison replied. “It concerns her too.”

“Listen Nicole” Vicky said “I’m sorry-”

“I don’t want to hear it.” I said. “You betrayed-”

“Wait - did you shave my legs?” she interrupted. “My arms?”

“You’re treating my body as your own, I might as well do the same.” I retorted.

“Ladies, stop it,” Lexi firmly raised her voice. “We have bigger issues.”

Both Vicky and myself pouted. Madison dragged me back to sit on the couch with her.

“Now Nicole,” Madison said, “Please tell us about this morning.”

“As you know, I went to the TK house this morning to investigate Brandon” I started. “I talked to this guy Damon who knew Brandon from their time together. Damon had this… power over me. I found myself flirting with him.”

“Is that the same power Brandon had over me?” Lexi asked.

“I think so.” I replied. “It felt like - like he was able to turn me on - just by smiling.”

“Like doing stuff for him would bring you pleasure” Vicky chimed in.

“Like it didn’t matter if you were a lesbian.” Madison added, “because flirting with him felt so good.”

“Yes.” I said. “All of that.”

I looked around. We’ve all been under that same spell.

“When I was Brandon’s roommate,” Vicky said. “At first I thought it was just the excitement of being in college - of just having a roommate. I went out of my way to make sure he was happy. He would praise me - and I’d get turned on. I thought nothing of it. I thought maybe it was just my hormones doing crazy things.”

Lexi nodded. “Every time I’d do something for him, I felt... sexual gratification.”

“When I first met him,” Madison said. “I hung onto every word he said. I could listen to him talk forever.”

The look of shame passed over all of us.

“Damon said that Brandon blamed Victor - for the lamp getting broken” I said.

“What?” Vicky said. “That’s crazy. I didn’t break the-” She paused for a second. “No. It can’t be. That shity lamp was a genie lamp?”

“Vic, What happened?” Lexi asked.

“Well, Brandon asked me to clean our dorm room,” VIcky started. “Looking back - I was clearly under this spell. I hate cleaning!”

Lexi nodded with a smirk.

“Well, this one time,” Vicky continued. “I accidentally knocked into an old 70’s style kerosene lamp. It wobbled and I tried to catch it but it crashed to the floor and shattered. I was at first worried I spilled a flammable liquid on the rug. Thankfully the lamp was empty. But Brandon was livid. I think that is when he trashed our place.”

“What did you do with the pieces of the lamp?” Madison asked.

“Well after Brandon had his temper tantrum I realized how awful of a situation I was in. I cleaned up the mess. I think I threw the shards of glass away. That’s when I put in for a new roommate.”

“What happens to a genie when the lamp is broken?” Lexi asked.

“I have no clue” I chimed in.

“Maybe they find another vessel?” Madison said..

“Look at you - you’re the one who hates magic” Lexi chuckled.

“If you assume genies and lamps are real” Madison said. “it makes logical sense that the genie - being tied to the lamp - has to find a new one.”

“So the genie could be in any vessel” I said.

“So we’re back to square one,” Vicky said. “Looking for some magic artifact that could hold a genie”

“Not just any artifact - any household item” Lexi said.

I could hear sighs from around the room. “That’s not all I learned,” I said. “They have very powerful alumni. The university president. The state government. From what I learned from Damon, all TK's who graduated in the early 2000 until the lamp was broken had their first wish be this power over people.”

“Are the rest of the TK’s a threat to us?” Vicky asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t tell Damon about the body swap. All he knows is I’m looking for Brandon because he beat me up. But-” I shook my head. “I admitted I knew about the genie. I wasn’t going to bring it up - but he managed to pull that out of me. And I offered it willingly with no resistance.”

The room was silent for a moment as well let that sink in.

“Just cause we know about the genie doesn’t mean we have it.” Lexi said.

“We need to be vigilant. Look over our shoulders.” I said.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Eventually Lexi offered up a bottle of wine to calm our nerves. Madison did her best to bring up girl talk. 

I wanted to ask Vicky about her dad’s internship offer, but I couldn't bring myself to have a friendly conversation with her just yet. We didn’t say a single word to each other the rest of the evening.

Finally everyone left my apartment for the evening. I was alone. I locked the door and secured the security latch. I sat in my bed, paranoid, listening to the faintest sound, but all I could hear were cars and off campus Saturday night parties.