Chapter Text
Luz Noceda kicked open the door that led to the basement of the old antique shop, and carefully began to descend the stairs while carrying the box of things that had not been able to be sold, so that new knick knacks could be placed on the shelves in their place
“Careful kid, the third step is a little loose ... ." The owner of the store, Eda, shouted from the building’s first floor “I don't need you falling and breaking your leg!!!!”
Luz rolled her eyes, “THAT WAS ONE TIME!!!!” She shouted back
She carefully reached the landing and began to search the small area, looking for a place to discard the box and get back up to the sales room where she could help. It was at that moment that she noticed the small latch on the back wall…..how had she not seen that before?
She placed the box down and walked over and looked more closely at the latch, and saw the outline of what appeared to be a small cupboard outlining the wood around it. Her curiosity peaked, and she decided to see if she could open it. She wondered if there were hidden items inside, or maybe skeletons that Eda did not want to be discovered.
With her luck, it was most likely going to be skeletons. She thought to herself
Much to her surprise the door opened without much hassle and Luz peered into the small pace within. She let out a sigh of relief when saw only a small leather trunk sitting in the center. Grabbing one of the handles on its side she pulled it out into the dimly lit space, noticing the slight layer of dust that covered its surface. It must have been in there for quite some time.
Lifting the lid, she stared inside and frowned when all she was a bronze oil lamp resting atop an old blanket. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the brass seemed somewhat tarnished, but otherwise the item seemed to be in great condition.
Then, the idea struck her.
She could take it home tonight and polish it and bring it back the next day so that Eda could sell it! She glanced around and noticed the old backpack resting in a crate, grabbing the lamp she threw it into the bag and hurried back up the stairs, skipping the third step as to not fall flat one her face
The rest of the afternoon was pretty quiet, as Luz dusted some of the items of the shelves and swept the floor before she needed to head home. She could have gone straight to her house after school, but she didn’t like being alone at home, she really enjoyed hanging out with Eda seeing as most of the kids at school avoided her like the plague.
Eda seemed to like the teen girl’s eccentricities, or at least tolerated them which was good enough for her. So, spending time at the store was comforting to her.
After having dinner with her mom, she went to her room to do her homework for the night and go to bed soon after. She was at her desk, going over the last of the math problems that she needed to solve, scribbling down the equation of the notebook paper she finally leaned back in her chair and looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand
It was 8:42
She had fifteen minutes left before it was her designated bedtime, and then she remembered the task that she wanted to do. If she worked quickly, maybe she could get it done before she hit the hay. She grabbed the bookbag she had brought home and stored under her bed, and fished out the lamp along with the polish and cloth she had picked up at the dollar store on the way home and hurried back to her chair.
She lowered into the seat, and poured some of the polish onto the cloth and began to work at the bronze surface.
Then all hell broke loose
A purple smoke began to emanate from the lamp’s chimney, and began to flood the room, Luz’s eyes went wide.
What the hell was going on with this thing?
She scurried out of her chair and hurried over to the window as fast as she could, pulling it up and grabbing one of the magazines on her bookshelves and began to fan at the cloud of thick haze flooding her room
She did not want her mom to think that she set of fireworks off indoors…..again
After what seemed like an eternity, but really was only two minutes of nonstop panic-fanning could Luz mostly see clearly again. She let out a sigh of relief at the weirdness being over, and decided not to mess with the lamp anymore for the rest of the night and go straight to bed
She turned from the window, and nearly screamed at the girl sitting in the chair
She appeared to be about Luz’s age, and was staring at Luz intently. Her eyes were golden and her skin was pale, abnormally so. She was wearing a sequin purple vest, which had no sleeves which showed her bare arms being only covered by the gold bands upon her wrists. The vest stopped several inches below her chest, showing off her midriff. Covering her legs was a pair of harem pants in the same shade as her vest. A red sash was tied around them, serving as a belt. Covering her feet was a pair of pointed shoes made out of some sort of golden fabric that appeared to be slip-ons. Her hair was a greenish hue and covered her ears, which Luz could swear appeared to be pointed
Luz instinctively grabbed the old baseball bat leaning against the wall near her, and raised it in defense. Her eye’s not letting the intruder out of her sight.
“WHO ARE YOU?” Luz snarled, keeping her voice low, hoping her mom wouldn’t come to check up on her
“My name is Amity….” the girl said, standing from the chair, walking towards her. “I am the Genie of the lamp….”
Luz stepped back as the girl approached her, unaware of her intentions
What happened next was not what she expected
The girl knelt down, bowing her head and let out her intention
“What is my new master’s first wish?”
Luz blinked. Then blinked again to make sure she had heard this girl right
“WHAT THE FU……………….” Luz whispered