Genie High School

by Meredith Badger

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Copyright Page

  Which sort of school would you rather attend?

  A: One where you learn algebra, or

  B: One where you learn levitation?

  If you’re anything like Poppy Miller, you’d pick B, right? And like Poppy, you’d probably rather learn how to fly a magic carpet than learn to spell ‘fluorescent’, or say ‘the dog is on the table’ in German.

  But here’s one major difference between you and Poppy Miller. Poppy is a genie, and you … well, I’m guessing you’re probably not. This means you have no choice but to go to a normal school, or ‘normie’ school as genies call it. But Poppy is a tweenie genie, which means she’s supposed to go to a genie high school.

  Did you notice we said supposed to go? That’s because even though Poppy passed her Stage One genie training two weeks ago, she still hadn’t started Stage Two at Genie High. She had to wait, and the time was going very slowly. Genies aren’t known for their patience at the best of times, and when they’re waiting for something really exciting to start, it drives them crazy!

  All Poppy knew was that she’d soon be summoned to start the second part of her training. But she had no idea when or even how this summoning would occur.

  This is why when the doorbell rang during breakfast one morning, Poppy’s heart immediately leapt into her mouth. Was this what she’d been waiting for?

  Poppy wanted to race to the door straight away. But she knew she had to stay calm, because she didn’t want to make her family suspicious. You see, no-one in Poppy’s family knew that she was really a genie. Not her mum, not her dad and definitely not her older sister Astrid.

  In fact, until recently, Poppy herself hadn’t known anything about her genie-ness. She’d always considered herself to be the most normal, ordinary girl around. She had nice (but normal) straight brown hair and nice (but ordinary) brown eyes. She wasn’t tall, but she wasn’t short. She wasn’t top of her class, but she wasn’t at the bottom either. The only thing that was at all unusual about Poppy Miller was that she could squeeze into small spaces and touch her nose with her tongue.

  See what we’re getting at? Poppy was average. Totally average.

  So when a genie appeared on her twelfth birthday and told Poppy that she had something called the ‘Genie Gene’… well, let’s just say it wasn’t until Poppy found herself actually inside her very own genie bottle that she believed any of it was true.

  The morning the doorbell rang seemed like any other morning in the Miller household. The only thing slightly different was that Poppy’s dad was away on a work trip, so her mum was rushing around even more frantically than usual. Astrid was bragging about how she’d topped her class in a recent test, and Poppy was staring at her crusts, wondering how she could possibly get out of eating them. (Like all genies, Poppy hated crusts.)

  When the doorbell rang, everyone stared at each other. ‘Who on earth could that be?’ said Poppy’s mum.

  ‘I’ll go and check,’ said Poppy, jumping up. She sneaked a couple of crusts into her pocket and deposited them in the pot plant near the front door. Her heart was pounding loudly as she turned the doorhandle. Who would be behind it?

  But when the door swung back, there was no-one there at all. Oh, thought Poppy, horribly disappointed.

  Then she spotted a star-speckled envelope on the front doormat, addressed to her mum and dad. Poppy picked it up, noticing with a little thrill how the address seemed to shimmer and glitter in the sunlight.

  That’s genie ink, realised Poppy as she hurried back to the kitchen.

  ‘It’s a letter,’ Poppy said, handing it to her mother as casually as she could.

  Her mum put it down and kept rushing around. ‘Thanks, Poppy. I’ll open it later.’

  Poppy frowned. She didn’t want to wait!

  Luckily, Astrid was just as curious as Poppy. ‘Open it now, Mum,’ she begged. ‘It’s probably about something I’ve won.’

  Poppy rolled her eyes. But annoying as Astrid was, her request did the trick.

  ‘All right, then,’ smiled their mum, reaching for the letter. But as she read, her smile faded and was replaced by a look of astonishment.

  ‘What does it say?’ asked Astrid, almost falling off her seat with impatience.

  Mrs Miller laid the letter down on the kitchen table. ‘I think,’ she said, ‘you should read it for yourselves.’

  Astrid snatched the letter up and read it out loud.

  Astrid slammed the letter down. ‘Part of this letter is missing,’ she declared. ‘The part where it says it’s all a big fat joke.’

  Poppy examined the letter and smiled. Astrid was almost right. Only part of the letter was visible to normie eyes. But Poppy, with her special genie vision, was able to read the secret lines written between the other ones.

  A warm glow washed over Poppy when she saw the signature. Lexie had been her Stage One genie trainer. She also happened to be a member of the Genie Royal Family and was known to most genies as Princess Alexandria. But to Poppy, she would always just be Lexie.

  Poppy’s mum leant over and hugged her. ‘Sweetheart,’ she said. ‘I’m so proud!’

  ‘Umm, thanks,’ said Poppy, feeling a little embarrassed. She couldn’t quite believe her mum had fallen for the letter.

  Astrid, however, was not so convinced. ‘It’s just a stupid trick,’ she kept muttering. ‘It has to be.’

  Just then, the doorbell rang again. ‘I’ll get it!’ Poppy practically sang.

  Standing on the front doorstep was a kindlooking and also very ordinary-looking lady. But Poppy noticed something familiar about those deep green eyes. And wasn’t her ponytail a little too high for an ordinary person?

  ‘Lexie?’ whispered Poppy.

  Lexie winked. ‘Just let me do the talking,’ she instructed quietly. ‘I’ve brought something that will help us gloss over any problems.’

  ‘Who is it, love?’ asked Poppy’s mum, appearing in the doorway.

  ‘Good morning, Mrs Miller. I am a teacher from Poppy’s new school,’ said Lexie, shaking hands. ‘You must be so proud of your clever daughter.’

  ‘She has two daughters,’ said Astrid, joining the group. ‘One of them has a whole shelf full of trophies, while the other has none.’

  ‘Our school is perfectly equipped to bring out your daughter’s true potential,’ Lexie said, ignoring Astrid. ‘And we’d like her to start straight away. She can come with me now.’

  ‘I’ll come too,’ said Mrs Miller. ‘I’m dying to see the school.’

  Poppy froze. If her mum came along, she’d guess straight away that the scholarship was not to any ordinary school! But Lexie didn’t seem at all concerned. She pulled out what looked like a tub of lip balm from her bag and dabbed some shimmering gloss onto her lips.

  ‘That’s really not necessary, Mrs Miller,’ she said, with a dazzling smile. ‘You’ve already seen it, remember?’

  As Lexie spoke, the minty smell of the lip gloss filled the air, and a vague expression came over Mrs Miller’s face. ‘Oh, yes,’ she said. ‘I just forgot.’

  ‘I thought so,’ smiled Lexie. Then she put her hand on Poppy’s shoulder. ‘Come along, dear. We’ve a busy day ahead of us.’

  Poppy nodded. ‘See you, Mum,’ she said, kissing her still-dazzled mother goodbye.

  Astrid scowled. ‘There’s been a m
istake,’ she insisted. ‘A massive one.’

  ‘No mistake,’ said Lexie firmly. ‘Hurry up, Poppy. We don’t want to be late.’

  ‘See ya, Astrid,’ Poppy said, blowing a cheeky kiss to her sister. ‘Have fun at school!’

  Lexie led Poppy briskly out the front gate. Then, the moment they were out of sight of the house, Lexie turned to her and said, ‘Is your bedroom window open?’

  ‘I think so,’ replied Poppy. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because we need to sneak back in there and get your things for Genie High,’ Lexie said with a grin.

  ‘But my room is upstairs,’ Poppy pointed out.

  Lexie opened her eyes wide. ‘Poppy Miller! Have you forgotten how to levitate?’

  Poppy blushed. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I just forgot that I could!

  ’ Lexie and Poppy sneaked around through the back gate of the house and crept up until they were right underneath Poppy’s window. Then they sat down cross-legged.

  Poppy relaxed and closed her eyes. She had found levitation very difficult at first, but now she knew how to keep her mind empty of all thoughts except those that would help her float upwards. Today she thought about seagulls with kites attached to their wings. Sure enough, she soon felt the strange rising feeling in her tummy that meant she was floating upwards.

  ‘That’s enough, Poppy!’ Lexie whispered. She suddenly sounded far away.

  Poppy opened her eyes to find herself hovering in front of her bedroom window. She grinned. Even though she was used to levitation now, it was still a thrill. And it was great fun floating into her bedroom through the window. Poppy really hoped her mum wouldn’t choose that moment to walk into her room. She would certainly get a big shock if she did!

  Lexie floated in behind her a moment later. Then she pulled something out of her bag and handed it to Poppy. ‘Here’s your Genie High uniform,’ she said.

  Poppy looked at it, surprised. It looked – well, it looked like a normie school uniform. ‘Are you sure this is right?’ she asked doubtfully. ‘I want to look like the other students.’

  Lexie smiled. ‘Trust me, OK?’ she said. ‘Now, get changed and gather up the rest of your things.’

  Once Poppy had the uniform on, she grabbed her red tweenie backpack and her Location Lamp.

  Location Lamps are how genies travel from one bottle to another. You see, genie bottles aren’t all gathered in one place. They’re scattered throughout the normie world, hidden in the back of cupboards and the darkest corners of garden sheds. You might even have a genie bottle or two in your own house.

  Poppy’s mind whirled with excitement. She had so many questions. What would Genie High be like? How many new tweenies would there be, and would she know any of them? Poppy had done her Stage One training with a group of tweenies – Rose, Hazel and Jake. She hoped they’d be there too.

  But right then, there was no time to ask questions. Poppy knew her mum might walk in at any minute. ‘OK, I’m ready,’ Poppy announced, a little breathlessly.

  Lexie looked at her with one eyebrow raised. ‘Are you sure you haven’t forgotten something?’ she asked, a small smile at the corner of her mouth.

  Poppy looked around. ‘I don’t think so …’

  Then one of the tassels from the old rug she was standing on brushed against her ankle. To anyone else, it might’ve looked like it had been blown by a breeze from the open window. But Poppy knew better. She bent down and scooped the rug up. ‘Sorry, Rocket,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to forget you!’

  The carpet waved one of its corners in a way that couldn’t possibly have been caused by the wind.

  ‘His name is Rocket?’ chuckled Lexie.

  Poppy grinned. ‘Well, he’s almost like a pet to me,’ she explained as she carefully folded up the carpet and put it in her bag, ‘so he needed a name. And he’s very fast.’

  Lexie nodded. ‘I understand,’ she said. ‘Don’t forget he used to be my carpet. I called him Speedster, but Rocket suits him better.’

  Lexie had given the magic carpet to Poppy when she’d passed her Stage One training. It was kind of a gift for being a Golden genie. Poppy knew being Golden was a great honour, but she wasn’t really sure what it meant. Lexie had said that she showed lots of promise – more than the average tweenie. But Poppy felt so normal! Still, she loved having a magic carpet of her own. And she couldn’t wait to get to Genie High so she could ride it around at top speed and learn stunts.

  ‘Let’s get going now,’ said Lexie. ‘Where’s your genie bottle?’

  ‘It’s under my bed,’ said Poppy, crouching down to reach it. She knew it was very important to hide your genie bottle so that a normie didn’t accidentally find it. Poppy felt around under the bed until her hand found something smooth and cold. Even in the gloom she could see the green glass of her genie bottle shining mysteriously.

  Poppy unplugged the stopper and the faint smell of cinnamon wafted from it. She shivered with excitement. Finally, she was about to start Genie High!

  Lexie linked her arm through Poppy’s. ‘Ready?’

  Poppy nodded, and positioned one foot over the opening of the genie bottle. ‘Definitely.’

  The trick to squeezing into a genie bottle is to imagine yourself turning into something that can be poured – like water or sand – in through the bottle’s narrow opening. Of course, you have to be a genie, too. The first time Poppy did it, it had felt very strange – like she’d been drinking lemonade while going down a swirly slide. The worst bit was when the journey ended and she fell over.

  But I’m more experienced now, she reminded herself. She’d been in and out of her genie bottle every day while she’d waited to start Genie High School, and most of the time she landed on her feet.

  Poppy closed her eyes and thought watery thoughts. As she started to flow into the bottle, everything started spinning and the floor dropped away. Then Poppy began whooshing through the darkness – up, down, even sideways.

  Suddenly the whooshing stopped and Poppy landed. Flat on her face!

  ‘Nice landing, Teeny Weeny,’ said a familiar voice. ‘It’s good to see that being a Golden genie hasn’t changed you!’

  Poppy half-groaned, half-laughed. She sat up and saw a boy her age standing there grinning. ‘Hi, Jake,’ she said. She was really glad to see him, although she wouldn’t tell him that. Jake was quite confident enough already! ‘What are you doing in my genie bottle?’

  ‘I asked him to meet us here,’ said Lexie, appearing beside her. Lexie’s ‘teacher’ disguise had disappeared and she was now dressed in her usual funky genie clothes. ‘I thought it’d be nice if we went to Genie High together.’

  Poppy looked around excitedly. ‘Are Rose and Hazel here too?’ she asked. She was dying to see her other tweenie friends.

  ‘I’m sorry, Poppy,’ said Lexie, shaking her head. ‘Rose and Hazel are going to a different school to you and Jake. Stage One tweenie classes are always split up to make sure you meet new people. But you can catch up with them outside of school, of course.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Poppy, disappointed. She’d been looking forward to starting Genie High with all her friends.

  ‘Don’t worry, Teeny,’ said Jake. ‘You’ve got me at least. And once everyone knows that you’re a Golden genie, you’ll be the most popular student in the school.’

  Poppy’s tummy did a strange flip. She hadn’t thought about everyone knowing. ‘Um, Jake?’ she said, biting her lip. ‘Can you not tell everyone about the Golden stuff? I don’t want to everyone to treat me differently.’

  ‘But that’s so boring,’ Jake complained. ‘You should be proud of being Golden.’

  ‘I am proud,’ said Poppy. ‘It’s just …’ It was hard to explain. I’m just so used to being normal, she thought. And the idea of everyone treating her like she was ‘special’ made her feel weird.

  ‘So, do you two want to stand around here and chat, or would you like to see Genie High?’ said Lexie, raising an eyebrow.

  ‘I’m r
eady!’ said Poppy quickly.

  ‘Me too!’ said Jake.

  Lexie smiled. ‘I thought you might be. Then it’s time for me to give you these.’ She handed them each a sleek, silver gadget.

  ‘Is it a mobile phone?’ asked Poppy. Even Astrid didn’t have one of those yet!

  ‘No, it’s a Dial-Up Device,’ Lexie explained. ‘You’ll use it to find your way around Genie High.’ She turned on the device and showed them a screen with a long list on it – Ruby Bottle, Sapphire Bottle, Tuckshop Bottle, Turquoise Bottle. ‘These bottles are all part of your school. You just find the place you need to go in the menu and click “send”. The Dial-Up will take you there automatically. And you’ll find it much more comfortable than using the Location Lamp, Poppy,’ she added.

  Poppy grinned. ‘Thank goodness for that!’

  ‘The Dial-Up has lots of other functions too,’ said Lexie, ‘but you’ll discover those as you go along.’

  ‘Excuse me, Oh Most Wondrous Tweenie,’ said a small voice.

  Poppy looked around. ‘Who said that?’ she asked.

  ‘Your Dial-Up Device,’ explained Lexie, laughing. ‘It’s set to the “ultra-polite” voice profile.’

  Poppy picked up her Dial-Up. A small, friendly digital face had appeared on the screen. ‘Hi,’ she said, feeling quite odd talking to a phone rather than into one. ‘Er, what’s up?’

  ‘I don’t mean to interrupt as I know you’re really busy,’ said the Dial-Up, ‘but you’re due at the Genie High Entrance Bottle in one minute. If that’s OK.’

  ‘Same goes for you, boofhead,’ chipped in Jake’s Dial-Up. ‘And how about brushing your hair for once?’

  Jake frowned. ‘What voice profile is that?’

  ‘Cheeky, I’d say,’ said Lexie. ‘You can change it later, but now it’s time to go. Press send at the top right of the screen. It’ll take you straight to the Entrance Bottle.’

  Poppy pressed the button and squeezed her eyes shut. Next stop, Genie High!