The next day, we went sightseeing. Around eight that night, my cell phone rang.
It was my grandmother's accountant. When I got my first check for my book I asked him to invest it for me, along with some money I'd inherited from my father. The day after he invested it in a promising company, I laughingly told him to "sell my shares when I hit a billion, put it all in the bank, and call me." I was joking. I never dreamed I would make a billion dollars.
"Faith, I've done has you instructed," he told me. "I sold 3/4's of your shares and put the money in the bank. A Swiss Bank account, as a matter of fact."
"what ae you talking about?"
"The company hit a billion yesterday. 1.5, actually. I spent all day selling your shares. You now have nearly $2 billion in the bank."
I merely stared at my cell phone, in total shock. $2 billion. More money than I'd ever dreamed of.
Then I screamed. "Oh, thank you, thank you," I gushed into the phone. "When can I start spending the money?"
"I e-mailed you everything you need to know. At ten tomorrow morning, a Mr. Davidson of Lloyd's of London, will be stopping by, with all of the paperwork you need to fill out. Once it's filled out, you can start spending your money."
After hanging up, I stared at my friends. "Wish number two has come true," I told them, very calmed and composed.
"What do you mean?" Niki asked.
"Well," and I began to grin, "I just found out my investment paid off."
"How much?" Di inquired.
"$1.5 billion. But selling my shares brought it up. I now have nearly $2 billion dollars."
With my first words, their mouths dropped open. They stared at me in shock. Two billion dollars meant we wouldn't have to work. We didn't even have to go to college, if we didn't want to. We could do what we always dreamed about doing.
Most people wouldn't want to share a fortune that big with anyone, even their best friends. But I'm not most people. The most important things in my life are my friends. And I couldn't imagine not sharing my wealth with them.
After a few minutes, Niki and Di got over their shock. We bounced around the room, happy beyond belief.
"We don't have to go back to the US Thursday," Niki exclaimed. "We can stay in England longer."
"No, we can stay in Europe," I said. "We can go to France, Spain, Italy. Cruise the Mediterranean. Get designer clothes." I stopped in my tracks. "We can get dresses that cost more than all our other clothes put together."
Niki, Di, and I looked at each other and screamed again.Part 5
Around ten, when we clamed down enough, I pulled out the lamp.
"I love this thing," I said. "It was the best day of my life, finding this." I softly rubbed the lamp.
The smoke billowed out. "You called?" the genii asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just meant to polish the lamp," I explained. "Thank you for making our wishes come true."
The genii stared at me, puzzled. "Your wish is my command."
"Still, thank you. Like you told us before, you're not required to give us any wishes, since slavery doesn't exist."
"That is true, but you woke me from my sleep and freed me from the lamp. Now I can come and go as I please."
I stared at the genii. He had the dark looks of an Arabic sheik. But his eyes captured my interest. They were large and dark. Oh so dark. Like twin pools of black obsidian. And they were so mournful. "But you're still not free, are you?"
"No, milady, I'm not," he sighed. His voice was that of a winds breath, echoing through a canyon. So sad. I made my decision then.
Looking at Niki and Di, I picked the lamp up. "I want to change our last wish. Instead of helping us find our true loves, I free you from the power of the lamp, oh great genii."
He stared at me, aghast. Then her smiled. "Call me Zurvan." He bowed once, then disappeared. His voice came back to us. "Oh noblest of people, milady, call on me when you need me, and there I'll be. And because of the greatness of your heart, willing to sacrifice happiness for another, your true love will be found for you. For all of you. The noblest of humans deserve it."Part 6
Monday, Mr. Davidson came to visit me. Then Niki, Di, and I went shopping. We made arrangements to stay in England longer, and decided to spend the rest of the summer touring Europe.
Tuesday came. Niki and Di were bouncing around the room. They were so happy to be going to the concert. I was excited, yet also nervous. Could I hide my feelings for JC from him? I wondered. I hoped so.
The concert began at eight . We had front row seats. For Sisqo's performance, halfway through the concert, we were all dancing. Niki and Di had been dancing for the previous performers, but we really got into Sisqo's performance.
After the concert, we went backstage. The first person we ran into was Lance.
"Hi Lance," Niki said.
"Hello," Lance replied. "You beautiful ladies are?"
"I'm Niki Simpson," Niki told him.
"Di Richards," from Di.
"Faith Armand," I replied.
Lance grinned. "Where have you been? I've been trying to catch you online, but you're never on. What are you three doing here?"
"We were in the South Seas," Niki told him. "I won a contest for tickets to the concert, all expenses paid trip to England, and a few other things."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"We just found out last week, while we were in the South Seas, so I was too busy to tell you."
"Lance," Joey said, coming up behind him. "Quit hogging the beautiful women."
Lance drew Niki and Di forward. "Hey, guys, Niki, Di, and Faith have come to visit us."
Everyone who had performed was in the Green Room. Lance introduced us, saving Sisqo for last.
The three of us wrapped our arms around Sisqo, not letting him go.
"I'm loved," he said, grinning. He looked around at the others. "Way more than y’all."
"You don't love us?" Lance asked Niki.
"Nope. We love Sisqo."
Everyone laughed.
Sisqo and a few of the others had to leave an hour later, so we couldn't spend lots of time with him. Once he left, Lance and Niki began to talk, as did Di and Nick Carter. JC and I talked.
The next day, Lance and Niki went to lunch. Di and Nick went to the movies. JC came to the hotel to bug me.
They left two days after the concert, heading for Spain. Niki, Di, and I followed a day later.
We were staying at the same hotel. Lance and Niki, and Nick and Di went on another date. Chris, Justin, Joey, and JC came to my room to bug me.
We ended up playing Truth or Dare. I was dared to first give JC a blow job, then, on another dare, to fuck him. I never backed down form an dare, so we ended up having sex. I lost my virginity.
The guys left before Niki and Di returned, still laughing over the fact that I actually fucked JC.
Niki and Di returned at one, dead tired, so they didn't find out about JC and me until the next day. I told them over breakfast.
"You did what?" Niki exclaimed.
"I had sex with JC," I replied.
"You aren't even dating him, and you fucked him?" Di asked.
"It was a dare."
Niki and Di groaned. Just then someone knocked on the door. I answered it. JC stood there, a huge bouquet of roses in his hand.
He handed them to me. "Will you go out with me?"
"Yes," I told him, smiling, beyond happy.Part 7
JC and I both confessed things that night. I told him I'd had a crush on him for the past few months. He said he had a crush on me and was planning on telling me the next time we chatted. We began dating that night.
A year passed. Niki and LAnce were engaged. Nick was planning on proposing to Di the day after Niki and Lance's wedding, which was in September.
They were married in December.
JC proposed to me on Christmas Eve.It's been two years since I found the lamp. Two wonderful, glorious years. My best friends and I have everything we want - good friends, true love, and the careers we want. Those three wishes changed our lives, and we love it. None of us have anyregrets about anything.
The End