Alaina perched on a low wall that surrounded Sebastian's school. It was where she had appeared upon entering the mortal world because it was where he was. She figured that it was a good turn of events, since the school was where the fake side of him came out the most.

She had been on her way to find him when she got a bit distracted with enjoying the beautiful day. Where she came from, all the weather was a result of magic. Although it didn't dim the sunlight or take the wetness out of the rain, it was nice to experience something that came naturally. The air seemed crisper, the clouds fluffier, and she was loath to leave it behind to go inside. Eventually her sense of duty came to the surface though, and she reluctantly climbed to her feet.

The inside of the building wasn't as dismal as she had been expecting, but it wasn't as vibrant as her school, either. The walls were painted a shade of off white, and the classrooms all looked about the same. The only rooms with any character were the lunchroom and the library.

Sebastian was in one of the boring classrooms, scribbling down notes as the teacher at the blackboard droned on. Making sure that no one could see her, Alaina crossed to his side, perching on the edge of his desk. His pencil stopped moving for the barest second and she knew that he had sensed her presence. It was a good sign that their relationship would be a strong one.

Since there was nothing else she could do until he left school, she moved from his side to the window. She could put the time to good use by making a battle plan. There were several things that needed to happen before she could actually begin her work and it would be best if they all happened soon.

First of all, a genie could not reveal themselves until they had already formed a bond with the mortal with whom they were going to be dealing. It didn't have to be anything verbal, just some sort of physical connection. A handshake, a helping hand after tripping, or a hug would work in creating a tie between them.

Alaina doubted Sebastian would deal well with a strange girl hugging him, so that was out. He wasn't clumsy enough to trip of his own accord and she couldn't do it to him on purpose, either. Genies were supposed to help their clients, and doing anything that might cause them injury, even just a skinned knee, was a big no-no. It was doubtful fate would intervene on her behalf and cause someone else to trip him, either.

That left either the handshake or another idea altogether. She thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a reason to shake his hand. She began thinking of another way to accomplish her goal, knowing that it might take quite some time.

Alaina was pulled from her thoughts at the approach of one of Sebastian's classmates. The girl leaned towards the window and peered outside. Following her gaze, Alaina guessed that she was looking at the group of people gathered on an athletic field in the distance. Stretching a little further, probably to get a better view, the girl rested her forehead against the glass. Her breath clouded the area right in front of her mouth and she swiped at it with the side of her hand to clear her field of vision.

About to turn away, Alaina froze at the action. She had just come up with the perfect solution to her connection problem. Turning to the girl who had given her the sudden burst of inspiration, she waved a hand beside her shoulder. The girl smiled as she felt the flood of thankfulness that Alaina had sent her way. She frowned a moment later, most likely wondering where the good feeling had come from.

Alaina spent the rest of the period grinning to herself and impatiently glaring at the clock as it ticked away the last class of the day. By the time the bell rang, she was more than ready to spring into action. Sebastian, however, wasn't cooperating with her. He slowly gathered his things and was the last person to leave the room. The same thing happened at his locker, as he traded one textbook for another and collected his book bag and coat.

He finally headed for the doors as Alaina danced excitedly by his side, still invisible to mortal eyes. Only when they were more than halfway between the school and his house did she dash ahead of him to arrange the necessary items for the linking process. Hurriedly setting up, Alaina then had to wait for Sebastian to draw near.

She watched closely as he paused at the sight of the small silver mirror lying in his path. She could almost hear his thoughts as he debated what to do. When he took a step forward, it looked like he might pass by and leave it on the ground. Not yet willing to give up on her plan, Alaina redirected one of the fading afternoon rays to glint off the surface and hopefully recapture his attention. It worked, and she grinned as Sebastian bent to pick up her treasured possession. There was only one thing left for him to do before the ceremony would be complete and she could get to work.

She waited with bated breath as he studied the mirror. He frowned a bit, and she knew he was taking in the fogginess of the reflection. His free hand lifted from his side and he rubbed at the surface with his sleeve in an attempt to clean it.

A silent shout of triumph sent a couple of birds soaring from the tree over their heads and even Sebastian looked up curiously. Alaina barely noticed as she continued rejoicing. Her plan had worked; she was already feeling a tie forming between them. As she had hoped, Sebastian's voluntary interaction with one of her dearest belongings had been enough to do the trick.

The next step in the process was to show herself to him and begin working out the wishes. While she didn't really want to waste any more time, Alaina had to admit that the middle of a public street was not the ideal place for such revelations. She decided to wait until they got to his house where she could deal with him dealing with her in private.

Sebastian had returned to looking at the mirror and she knew he was debating what action to take. His thoughts were now almost as clear to her as her own were. He didn't want to leave the mirror where someone might steal it, but he also didn't want to move it in case its owner came looking for it.

While she could easily deal with either choice that he made, what Alaina couldn't deal with was the time wasted waiting for him to decide. Giving him a gentle shove with her mind, she watched in satisfaction as he slid her mirror into his pocket before starting to walk again.

The house Sebastian lived in with his parents looked pretty much like every other house on the block. It was painted a pale blue with a gray roof and black shutters. The front lawn was neatly mown and there were flowerbeds, barren at the moment, lining the walk. A bike leaned against the side of the garage, obviously belonging to Sebastian. There were no cars in the drive, so Alaina assumed his parents had yet to arrive home.

As soon as he entered the house, Sebastian tossed his coat onto a rack by the door. With his bag still slung over his shoulder, he bounded up the nearby staircase two steps at a time. After taking a deep breath, Alaina followed along behind him.

His bedroom was as ordinary as his house, a bit cluttered but not horrifically messy. The bookcase was crammed to overflowing with everything from books to models, and his desk wasn't in much better shape. Clothes pooled out of the closet and his bed was unmade.

Sebastian disappeared into the bathroom and Alaina, not about to follow, continued to look around. The walls were painted a medium shade of green, a good sign that that was a favorite color of his. His collection of books leaned heavily towards science fiction with a few non-fiction ones thrown in. The presence of a comfortable chair right beside the bookcase hinted that he enjoyed spending a good amount of time reading.

He didn't have any posters tacked up for her to study, but he did have a nice sized collection of cds on a stand by his stereo. Shifting back to her normal form, Alaina began flipping through them, looking for any that were familiar from her lessons and what she had overheard older students talking about. She was so absorbed in reading the titles that she never heard the door open behind her. Her first clue that something was up came when Sebastian's voice reached her ears.

"Who are you?"

Alaina froze, then slowly returned the cd she was holding to its place on the stand. She swallowed before affixing a bright smile to her face as she turned to face her glowering client.

"Hello, Sebastian." She took in his damp hair and the new outfit he was wearing and guessed he had taken a shower. That observation helped her exactly not at all as he continued staring at her and repeated his question, adding another onto the end for good measure.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

Sighing, Alaina silently scolded herself for becoming distracted enough to let such a situation arise. She had planned to appear to him in a much more exciting way, one that would help give credence to her claim of being a genie. She had even considered the classic puff of smoke from the mirror if he had handled it again in the right time frame. But now she was stuck explaining everything to someone who was already thinking of her as either a lunatic or a stalker, and quite possibly a bit of both.

"My name is Alaina," she told him, getting the easy answer out of the way first. The second half was a bit more difficult, even after she decided to go with the completely straightforward method. "I'm a genie, and I'm here to help you."

An incredulous look flowed across his face immediately, making her cringe. "I'm sorry. I couldn't possibly have heard you right. I thought you just said that you're a genie." He laughed, although there wasn't much humor in the sound. "Funny, isn't it?"

"That's exactly what I said."

She could tell from his reaction that he knew that but had been hoping she would take it back. When she didn't, he straightened to his full height against the bathroom door. "Look, I don't know how you got in here or what you want, but I think that you should leave."

"I can’t do that, Sebastian. I'm here to help you and I can't go until I've done that." She kept her voice soft and slow, hoping to calm him down a little. It didn't work.

"This isn't funny, you know. And it's a crime to come into another's persons house uninvited." His eyes darted towards the door and she knew he was weighing his chances of making it out before she could catch up with him. The thought of Sebastian, who was more than twice her size, running away from her brought a smile to her lips. Taking into consideration the fact that he didn't believe she was genie, what did he think she could do to him? On the other hand, he obviously thought she was unbalanced, and that could make her dangerous.

While a small part of her wanted to enjoy being thought of as dangerous, the bigger part didn't like seeing him in such an uncomfortable position. She struggled to think of a way to both prove her claim and help put him at ease. Her mind went immediately to her final exam and the small retreat she had created before Yersa's lesson on creating a feeling instead of a location. She didn't think that Sebastian would particularly enjoy a feeling being forced on him at the moment, so she decided that the lake, while the wrong solution for the test, might just be right for the problem she was facing at the moment.

She had to close her eyes to be able to concentrate, but soon the sound of gentle waves reached her ears and she sighed in relief. When she gathered her courage enough to open her eyes, she saw that Sebastian was closer to her than before, a byproduct of bringing him with her through her personal magic and not via his request. As he looked around with wide eyes, his knees seemed to buckle, sending him to the grass with a soft thud.

Alaina moved closer, kneeling by his side. When he looked at her, she smiled in what she hoped was an encouraging and reassuring way. "I know that this is a hard thing for you to understand, but I swear that I'm telling the truth. See?" She lifted her hands and motioned to the little island where they sat. "You know that you were just in your room, and now you're not. Who else but a genie would have been able to bring you to a place like this the way that I did?"

While she hadn't expected him to suddenly believe her claim, neither had she expected what he did next. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out. He then raised one hand, almost like he was asking permission to speak. Before she could say anything, however, his eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted dead away at her feet.

Looking down at his sprawled form, Alaina sighed. "This is going to be harder than I thought."