a quarrel or two

"Memories!?" I all but gawk at Cal, at a volume that manages to capture the attention of a few people close to us. I cower in embarassment for a brief moment, but my focus is still on Cal.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," he mutters under his breath. "Or maybe they're flashes of something. It's not like a witch cast a spell on you right?"

"What?" I respond, looking at him like he has two heads.

He looks a little grim, but shakes his head yes before continuing to speak. "I mean, at least that's what I think this might be," he says, tapping his chin in thought. "The passing out, the high pitched sound, the fact that you saw something."

"How could they possibly be my memories?" I inquired, my eyebrows raised to the roof. "I don't have any recollection of any of it."

"I never said they were your memories, per se," Cal comments while rolling his eyes. "I merely meant that you are the ones who have them, and therefore they belong to you now."

I blink a few times at him, feeling my head spin even more and more. "Do you mean to tell me," I start off, leaning in so that my voice is just above a murmur, "that I'm experiencing someone else's memories right now?"

There's a small tug in my chest when my mind processes that possibility. I mean, sure, the whole experience felt like quite the bizarre whirlwind; but something about that vision or dream or whatever it was resonated with me. I felt panicked, but in a way, I also felt... safe?

Were the people holding me in the trance - the ones who called me their daughter - talking about someone else? But what about when the woman called me Speck?

Was that just a crazy coincidence...?

Cal waits for a small moment, seemingly in a small trance of his own. But before I can even call on his attention, he locks eyes with me again before shrugging and saying, "Welcome to the world of magic, kiddo. There's a lot of shenanigans happening here."

And then he gives me a crooked smile. One filled with both humour and... worry? I don't know; but that sure as hell isn't the cocky smirk he likes giving me.

That's it? I have the weirdest dream known to man - after passing out randomly, nonetheless - and that's all he has to say to me? I mean, out here in the real world, something like that would constitute as some type of medical emergency.

I know I haven't fully described the details of what I saw and heard and felt, but this should be enough for him to figure out something right? He is the expert in all this mystical stuff, after all. And I want freaking answers this!

"How is this even possible, then?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady. At least it's still low enough for no one else to pay us attention again. "Whose memories are these? Why am I getting them? Why did I see your precious Selene in them?"

"Do you think I know?" Cal all but hisses in response, leaning forward too. "I don't have a damn idea what's happening right now, Kiama. I haven't since last night. Everything that you find strange about all this is even more perplexing to me."

"But you're the damn genie!" I yap back, using a very lame comeback as my defense. "This should be you forte! You spoke a pretty good game yesterday, and now all of a sudden, you're clueless?"

"My forte? You mean sizzling touches, ungranted wishes and freaking memory replays?" Cal asks, blue eyes wide and agitated. "Look, as professional as you might think I am, dear Kiki, I can assure you that none of this is normal for me either. In case you forgot that lovely part of my little exposition: I've been trapped in your dumb necklace for literally years, and the one thing I knew how to do best is suddenly impossible for me to accomplish."

"Oh, I hardly think you're a professional," I scoff in response, ignoring how mean he sounded when he said my nickname. Everyone calls me that - why do I hate it when he uses it? "What, with your unnecessary comments and annoying demeanour and your stupid face!"

"Stupid face? Really? Are you freaking twelve?" Cal says, looking at me like I'm a bratty child. Which I might be looking like with my arms crossed and my lips forming a slight pout, but that's not the point. "As much as you want to be rid of me, I most certainly want to be rid of you. Two times that, actually."

"Oh yeah?" I reply through gritted teeth, clenching my jaw so hard that I'm surprised my teeth don't crack. "Well then you'll be happy to hear that I'm now reconsidering my wish. Yeah, the moment your powers return or whatever, I'll make sure to wish that you're gone!"

"Have you not been listening to a word I've been saying?" Cal cuts me short, fists clenched. "Genies can't be the cause of their own demise."

"Then I wish that Jaeun never got me this stupid necklace so that I didn't have to be stuck with you for 24 hours," I retort, not missing a beat. "Heck, I might even take a coin and go wish for it at the damn Fountain myself!'

"Uhm, is everything okay here?" someone asks, breaking up this argument that Cal and I have managed to get ourselves into.

I take a few quick breaths, realizing just how close Cal and I have leaned over the table. I can practically count the number of eyelashes he has, that's how close he is to me.

His nostrils seemed to be flared, a clear indicator that he isn't as chilled in demeanour now as he was before I went to the restroom. There's a type of fire in his azure eyes, like he was more than fuelled for a fight before the interruption.

His dark brows are furrowed as well, accentuating a sense of frustration. It causes lines to etch across his smooth forehead, even though the fringe of his fake brown-do hangs lazily over it.

And his gaze is fixed on me. Angry, but still, fixed on me. Every speck of blue is focused on the muddy pools of my own irises, telling me something that I can't really decipher. Not right now, anyway.

But they do shine in a way that makes me think that there's something more to this gaze than just an annoyed genie in an argument with his Holder. I don't even know if he even had arguments with his previous Holders before...

And with that flashing thought, I realize that we've been staring at each other for the past five seconds. Basically unblinking. Well, more like glaring, actually.

Yeah, glaring because I'm mad at him. I'm super mad at him and I wasn't just hyperfixating on his eyes or anything.

"Uh, yeah...?" I say, clearing my throat and immediately pulling back in my seat. A quick glance to my left lets me know that it's Tristan, the waiter from earlier, that's standing next to us now. There's a puzzled look on his face, like he was solved to ask a Rubix cube that only has half the little cubes coloured in.

"Perfectly fine," Cal says, leaning back as well. But he doesn't look as composed as he sounds this time. In fact, he seems to be avoiding eye contact with me and the waiter by looking at the cake in front of me. The forgotten piece of carrot cake that Cal definitely stole few bites of. "I, uh, think we'll have the bill now, please."

Tristan looks from me to Cal, then back before nodding and walking away. I feel my heart beat in my chest, more so because if how socially anxious I've suddenly become in a manner of seconds - you know, given that this is a public restaurant and I was essentially whisper-fighting with a thousand year old genie.

I drum my fingers in the table, mimicking Cal's earlier pattern as we sit in a beat of silence. I want to break it, to say something snarky or to maybe discuss what else happened when I fainted in front of the bathroom.

Instead, I went with the impulsive - and way more childish, "You're still paying, mean-face."

*

"My legs are freaking killing me," Cal whines for the millionth time this afternoon. I ignore him, as per usual, and continue walking down the sidewalk to out next stop.

"That's not my problem," I mutter under my breath. I glance over my shoulder to see Cal short on my heels, much like he was this morning, only way slower this time round. "I thoughts genies aren't supposed to get tired."

"You clearly know nothing about genies," Cal huffs, crossing his arms over his chest midwalk. "Seriously, someone needs to give you like a crash course or something."

"As long as it's anyone but you, I'd be down," I reply, looking back at him with a fake smile. "Bet I'd pass that class with flying colours."

"Seeing as this is the fourth antique store that were going to, I'm going out on a limb and saying no, you wouldn't," comes the ever-snarky Cal, having reverted fully back to his sassy self the moment we left the restaurant.

I roll my eyes, choosing not to reply this time. Although, what he says is unfortunately true. Upon my earlier suggestion, the two of us have been antique store hunting, asking staff member after staff member of they had this necklace in stock until a tall, cute gentlemen with a bunny smile purchased it.

Cal provided the description, not me, by the way. Either way, it's been a pretty exhausting half an hour so far, and the fact that Cal and I fought in the restaurant doesn't help a bit.

At first we walked in silence, both of us refusing to even glance at one another, but here we are - Cal providing sarcastic and snippy replies, me ignoring most of them.

"You're the one who said we needed to find the damn antique store this was from," I say eventually, stopping in my tracks to give him a very unimpressed look. "And if I can walk around after almost loosing my knees yesterday, then I think you'll be just fine."

"First off, I said to ask Jaeun where it's from, not to walk around guessing, stubborn-head," he replies, sticking his tongue out when he calls me the childish nickname. "And secondly, don't compare my poor pain to your blatant clumsiness of last night. You're the one who took off running the moment the alarm went off - it's not my fault you fell."

"I was running because the alarm could've gotten us into trouble," I say, glaring at him. "I don't know about you, but I don't feel like being scolded by the Dorm Warden."

"You mean you would've been scolded," Cal says smugly, tilting his head to the side a bit. "I'm not really a student here, remember?"

"Yeah, well as long as you're stuck with me, you're going to have pretend like your life depends on it, genie," I answer, still looking very cross. "And speaking of, you better hurry up because I have class in the next hour or so."

"Ooh, look at the pinky pie getting all strict and calling me genie," Cal teases, taking a small step closer to pinch my cheek. I naturally swat his hand away, but for some reason, my cheeks still warm up a bit.

"Ew, stop it," I say, scrunching my nose in distaste. I refuse to be called that just because my hair is pink. "Could you just shut up and let us get to the next store, please."

"Whatever you say, Mimi," he says, still talking in that teasing tone of his. I narrow my eyes up at his blue gaze, and once again, they hold mine.

But my eyes are the only ones filled with some irritation right now. He's looking at me like...like I don't even know what.

There's a subtle gleam in his eyes, like he's privy to some secret joke that only he understands. It's infuriating, the way he maintains that teasing tone, especially since we've already had a conversation about how serious this all is. As if I didn't just tell him about seeing Selene a half hour ago.

Still though, a part of me can't help but wonder if he's concealing something else under this expression of his. The way his nose scrunched to mimick my little quirk, the smooth skin around his cheeks, and his strong jaw sometimes clenched and sometimes not.

Kiama, why are you paying such close attention to the genie's face!? Focus, come on!

Cal leans back a little, a small and satisfied smile playing on his lips. It's as if he read my mind or something, the way he winks and starts walking past me. I'm left briefly frozen, trying to wrap my head around that. Weren't we just fighting a second ago? What's happening right now?

Ugh, that doesn't even matter. What matters is getting to the right damn antigue store so that Cal can inspect the place for any other magic items. I don't know what it will help when he does find other objects, but I'm hoping that it'll help explain these weird visions and voices I've been experiencing.

Perhaps these visions are the reason why Cal and I can't touch, and the reason he can't grant my wish. But that still begs the question of how I got them in the first place. Could it be from my prolonged wearing of the necklace?

I mean, because of this stupid Holder's rule, I even had to sleep in it last night. And it's a good thing I'm a deep sleeper, or else the sensation of metal against my neck would've annoyed the hell out of me.

Instead I have a walking, talking smug genie - looks like I didn't win in either front anyway.

My mind flashes back to the stranger I bumped into yesterday, as well as the hold that seeped from my arm last night. They looked like the same thing, at first glance; but what if I was imagining it? What if the sunlight really did just hit the poor man's face at an off angle, causing his eyes to shine.

But the sun was to the back of him, not the front or the side...

Moreover, this gold substance that I witnessed in my dream - it can't be the same thing, can it? There was so much of it in my vision, like the man who controlled it made it or something.

"Finally, we're here," Cal says, stopping in front of the fourth antique store around campus. I look up at the sign, reading Ling's Ancient Antiques.

"Fourth time's the charm," I mutter under my breath walking up to him and opening the door.

"Sure," Cal sarcastically agrees. "That's why four leave clovers exist, right?"

There's a little bell that dings when we walk in, and the first thing that I notice is how dimly lit the store is. If anything, it's such a contrast to the bright sun shining outside that one might just thing that we're entering a horror dimension or something.

To my surprise, though, I hear Cal wince at something. I obviously turn around to see where the danger is, but as it turns out, he's just pulling a face at the sight before him.

His nose is all wrinkled up and it seems like he's trying to hide his disgust or something.

Well, look who's being a diva.

"Oh, hi guys!" comes a voice from somewhere beside us. "Didn't see you folks there."

Someone comes in from the back, sporting a rainbow smiley faced mini dress and light brown hair styled in the most sophisticated high pony tail ever. Seriously, it's even putting my pretty pink hair to shame - in fact, I didn't really have time to tie it this morning. Both Cal and I look at the person approaching us, I gasp.

And not just any small gasp either - a humongous one that let all the people in the world know that I just gasped. Cal glances at me with an eyebrow raised, and the person who was approaching us stands still momentarily.

When she sees my face, her eyes go a little wide as well. Because standing before me is none other than Lee Jaeri.

My brother's girlfriend.

***