That day began like any other. Zane overslept and got his feet tangled in his covers as he tried to stand, which resulted in him landing unceremoniously in a pile upon the floor. "Just another typical morning," he moaned to himself as he stood and made his way to the bathroom, only to find that he was out of toothpaste. He went downstairs and wound up burning a breakfast that he never got a chance to eat because his kitchen chair had broken the moment had had tried to sit. Throughout all of these mishaps, he tried to remain cool, calm, and collected.

The day slowly moved on toward the one thing he had been looking forward to for awhile -- a nice dinner at a new restaurant with his friends. Knowing his luck, he left early and managed to stub his toe on his steps as he hurried along. To his surprise, he actually arrived on time and was ready to sit down and eat when he realized that there was a hole in his pocket and all of his Neopoints had fallen out along the way. His friends offered to pay for his meal and let him pay them back later, but Zane didn't want to do that. "I'll hurry right back," he said as he excused himself to run home.

The trip didn't take long, but he was covered in mud by the time he arrived, as he had tripped and fallen in a puddle along the way. Now he not only needed Neopoints, but a fresh change of clothes, too. He grabbed the doorknob to open his door, only to find it was tightly locked. He now remembered being sure to lock all of his doors before leaving, and the key had undoubtedly fallen out along with his Neopoints.

Frustration welled up inside the Skeith, and he grabbed a rock from the yard. He threw it at the door, intending to break the glass so that he could reach through and unlock the door from the inside, but his aim was off. Instead of breaking the glass, the rock bounced off the wooden part of the door and hit Zane in the head. He went down hard as his frustration grew. With a roar, he grabbed a large, strangely smooth rock and threw it with all of his might. This time it broke through the glass with a satisfying crash. With a strange smile upon his face, Zane reached through -- careful not to cut his arm -- and unlocked the door.

As he stepped inside, he looked for the large rock, but only found a cluster of round, smooth pebbles at the base of the stairs. As he was wondering how the rocks had split so neatly, a peculiar smoke began to rise from the pebbles and take shape...

"Greetings, young Skeith," the genie said. His voice was loud, yet calm, and it almost seemed like it was coming from everywhere. The genie opened one of his eyes and continued. "For freeing me from the lamp, I shall grant you one wish."

A wish? Zane thought for a while what he could wish for, but the obvious choice came to him almost immediately. He'd always wanted to get rid of his bad luck, and now was his chance! All he had to do was say the magic words and it would be gone forever! It almost seemed too good to be true...

Zane's eyes lit up with resolve and the genie, seeing this, allowed himself to smirk lightly. Zane took a deep breath and said, "I wish--"

"Ah ah ah!" the genie interrupted, holding out his index finger and wagging it in front of Zane. "You might want to think about what you say for a little while longer. You have no idea how many times Neopians haven't thought out their wishes correctly and the results proved to be... unsatisfactory." The genie gave a mischevous smirk as he thought of those unfortunate Neopets. "I recommend that you sleep on it, think it over, and then come to me with your wish."

Zane frowned in thought. The genie was right! Zane only had one chance to get rid of his horrible luck, and he couldn't afford to mess this up like he had everything else in his life. "Alright, I understand. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

The genie nodded and folded his arms again. "Once you've prepared yourself to make the wish, summon me." With that said, he turned into a shapeless smoke cloud that receded back into the small pebbles that were on the floor. The pebbles shook and glowed with the same blue hue as the Wocky, and then skittered across the floor as they reunited with each other and retook the form of the rock that Zane had used to break the window. He bent down and picked it up, examining the rock for a moment. He found that it looked just like an average rock, except for its unnaturally smooth texture. He then wondered how he, the unluckiest Skeith alive, could have come across such a rare and magical item...

He didn't get to ponder this for very long before, suddenly, his front door was kicked down by a large boot. "FREEZE!" an aggressive voice yelled out.

Zane nearly dropped the enchanted rock when he saw that the authorities had broken down his door and aimed several weapons at his person. He quickly and discreetly shoved the magical rock into his pants pocket before throwing his hands in the air in alarm. "Wha-what's going on?"

"Don't play dumb; several witnesses saw you break into this home, and now you're under arrest, thief!"

"No, you've got it all wrong! This is my house -- I live here! I lost my keys and I really needed to get in!" The frightened Skeith pleaded with the officer, but the Lupe didn't look convinced.

"Nice try, crook. Now, put your hands behind your head and get on the floor!"

Zane slowly did as he said and felt the cool metal surface of the handcuffs as they were locked around his wrists. "Just my luck..."

The near-silent comment was just enough for the Lupe to hear. "Oh, so you've done this sort of thing before, have you?" the officer huffed at him. "Well, it looks like we have our first jewel thief suspect, Ross."

"Now, don't go jumping to any conclusions, Archer. This isn't the first time you've accused someone just for breaking a window."

Zane twisted his head to see the source of this new voice. He hadn't noticed her come into his house, but now he saw a pretty yellow Gelert walking behind them with a smug look on her face. She had a few weapons on her, but none seemed to be at the ready. Maybe she can help me out of this! Zane thought semi-hopefully. She seems nice enough. He was about to say something along the lines of "I'm innocent, please believe me!" when the Lupe cut him off with a response to the Gelert.

"Aw, come on, Ross... you have to admit that other guy was suspicious!"

"Yeah, maybe if he wasn't being paid to demolish that house. Face it, you have a tendency to jump to conclusions. This guy may have been breaking into a house -- that may or may not be his -- but that doesn't mean he's ever robbed a jewel store." Ross smirked at the Lupe's lack of response after that. She seemed to be enjoying his discomfort, in fact, until she noticed Zane staring at her.

She frowned at him indignantly. "What are you staring at, Skeith?"

"Uh," Zane started, but was cut off again by someone shouting.

"HEY! Hey, Zane!" The Skeith twisted his head around to see one of his friends running toward them. The Kougra skidded to a halt in front of the officers and stared in shock at his friend for a moment before talking. "Wow, Zane, I knew your luck was bad, but... how did you manage to get arrested?!? I thought you were just going home to get some money?"

Zane smiled at his friend in relief. Now he could set things straight and clear his head to think about his wish. "Hey, Marco. I was, but my keys fell out of my pocket, too, and I had to break my window to get inside. Can you tell these guys I'm not a crook?"

Marco took a moment to answer, then he burst out laughing. "This isn't funny, Marco!" Zane exclaimed at the Kougra's sudden outburst.

"Yes. It is!" Marco laughed. "Y-you've gotten yourself arrested... for breaking into your own house!!!" He was on the ground now, shaking from laughter. The two officers were staring at him in shock.

"And, who might you be, sir?" the Gelert, Ross, exclaimed, finally composing herself.

Marco managed to stop himself laughing and stood up, hiccuping slightly. "I-I'm Marco, Zane's best friend. We and some other friends w-were going out to that new restaurant nearby and he, uh, forgot his money and went back home to get it. I was just coming to look for him when I saw you g-guys." The last word came out mostly as a hiccup and he grinned, earning a glare from the unlucky Skeith...

Zane slouched his shoulders, allowing his body to go limp in the authorities' arms. Marco and Archer stumbled back in alarm, though Ross didn't react quite as surprised.

"I need water!" Zane grumbled irritably. "I'm thirsty, I... I'm not feeling well!"

"Hmm," Ross hummed. The Gelert tried to hoist Zane back up to his feet, but the Skeith resisted. "I think he may be coming down with a case of NeoMonia. We'll have to take him to the hospital before he goes anywhere else." She cast a look at Archer, expecting the Lupe to contradict her, but he silently nodded in agreement.

Marco's smirk faded slightly, as he was beginning to pity the Skeith, but his lower lip quivered uncontrollably as he reminded himself of the comedic nature of Zane's predicament. Before long, Marco was laughing hysterically again, clutching his stomach as he dismissed himself from the conversation.

"Alright, come on," Ross said, hoisting Zane to his feet with Archer's assistance. "We need to get you to the hospital..."

Ross and Archer held onto his arms and steered him toward the hospital. Once he was just outside of the hospital, Archer unlocked the handcuffs. As Zane rubbed his chafed wrists, Ross turned to Archer.

"I'll take care of him now. You go on ahead and... 'look for suspects.'" Ross said with a snicker. Archer growled in the back of his throat but he went on his way. Zane felt relieved to see him go; he knew Ross would understand him.

Ross pushed him through the big double doors of the hospital. She steered Zane into the emergency ward and spoke with a purple Uni nurse. The nurse smiled at Zane and said, "NeoMonia, huh? Well, that's a shame. Don't worry," she cooed as she led him to his room, "I can fix you right up."

It was at this moment that Zane suddenly realized he needed to think up some excuse as to why he wasn't sick. "Um, nurse..." he mumbled, trying to think of something.

"Here we are!" the Uni said cheerfully as she opened a solid wooden door and pushed Zane into a room. "Now, the first thing we need to do is decontaminate those clothes."

"No! Wait--" Zane protested, but before he could say anything, the Uni had pulled his muddy t-shirt from him. She then slipped a cold hospital gown over his head and took his shirt and pants away.

"I'll be back in just a moment," she called as she left the room. "Just lie down there and I'll be back in a jiffy!" Zane groaned and slumped into the bed helplessly. This would have been a lot easier if the nurse hadn't taken away his clothes. How in the world was he going to summon the genie now?...

No, this was Zane's best opportunity to get out of this mess, and he was going to take it. Even if it didn't work, he was certain that Ross would understand this situation more than Archer would. His main focus now, though, was getting back to the genie.

Upon leaving the bed, the Skeith went over to the door and opened it slightly. He then poked his head out a bit and looked around.

There were a few doctors and nurses walking through the halls, as well as a few other patients in the same medical gowns that he was in. He didn't see the Uni nurse, but he could see Ross at the end of the hallway. The Gelert's back was to his room; it looked like she was at a counter, talking to one of the other doctors.

Maybe my luck is finally changing... Zane thought, then quickly shook the notion out of his head. He didn't want to jinx himself. Still, this was his best shot.

Opening the door the rest of the way, Zane tried to act as naturally as he could while entering the hallway and heading toward the opposite corner. If his clothes were being sent to decontamination, then they would most likely be put in with the laundry. At such a large facility like the hospital, the laundry was probably in the basement.

Still trying to act as nonchalantly as he could, Zane turned the corner and then took a sigh of relief. This hallway looked to be the same as the other one, with a collection of doors. There were two things that caught his attention, however. The first was one of the hospital orderlies near a very large laundry chute at the wall, who was tossing some dirty clothes down it. The second thing he noticed was that there was a sign on the ceiling near one of the doors that signified it led to the staircase.

So, that's where I need to go... he thought to himself.

Once he took his next step, however, a loud series of alarms rang out through the hospital...

Zane started to run through the laundry, attempting to find his clothes, but he wasn't successful. Within a matter of seconds, some guards appeared next to the door.

"Hey, you! Stop!" one of them said.

Zane didn't stop, however -- he was still looking for his clothes. After searching a bit more, he found them. Finally! I just need to find the stone, now... he thought to himself.

"Don't touch those clothes! You'll contaminate them!"

"What?!? But I'm not even sick!" he said and grabbed the clothes in his arms, causing the rock to fall to the floor and inadvertently summoning the genie. "I just wish you would leave me alone!"

Zane didn't see the genie when he started to...

He was absolutely surprised when he heard the voice from behind him then boom, "Alright, then I shall carry out your most cherished care, your most precious single desire. Let it be done."

Zane, wide-eyed, realized immediately what must have happened. "NO!" the Skeith shouted passionately as he quickly turned around.

It was too late, though. The genie had already cast his global vex.

Zane yelled at the genie, to no avail. Walking up, he tried to shake the mysterious floating Wocky; his hands just went right through the genie's magical essence.

The genie was wholly unperturbed, acting as though Zane wasn't even there. "Well, time to live life free," he proclaimed before disappearing into the air.

The Skeith gaped, and then he ran around the hospital like mad, yelling at others and attempting to get their attention.

His efforts were fruitless.

He came upon Ross talking to the Uni nurse, where he stood in front of her and exclaimed, "I'm the jewel thief! I'm not sick! Arrest me!" Ross just stared through him, as though he were empty air. She then went back to talking to the nurse.

"We've formally released Zane," the Uni commented. "We can't find him, and frankly do not care of his whereabouts."

"Yep, we've taken him off our suspect list. We need not interrupt his affairs any longer," Ross returned.

So, that was it then. He was off the hook.

But everyone disregarded him...

Running toward Marco's Neohome, he saw the Kougra outside doing yard work.

"Marco!" he shouted to his companion.

Marco took a brief glance at him and continued what he was doing.

With an exasperated sigh and the sinking of his head, Zane sat down on the sidewalk and took in the situation. What exactly had he said to the genie? He wanted everyone in Neopia to leave him alone, right? And "leave him alone" they certainly did. No one in Neopia, for as long as this spell was in effect, would think anything of him at all.

He then raised his head up and stared straight ahead; a thought had struck him. "No one in Neopia, for as long as this spell is in effect, will think anything of me at all," he reiterated aloud.

He had to go to Kreludor...

The answer came quickly, and Zane was a little surprised that it had taken him so long: he could just walk aboard any old flight to the moon. No one would spare him more than an uninterested passing glance.

With newly-found determination, Zane began to march to Neopia Central. He tripped three times along the way and, for the first time in his life, was not followed by a chorus of laughter.

Thankfully for the Skeith, Kreludor's victory in the Altador Cup meant that the moon had gained in popularity as a tourist attraction. There were far more trips both outgoing and incoming than there would have been even a year ago.

With hardly a passing glance from the Grundo pilots, Zane fit himself with a Skeith-sized space suit and took a seat with the other tourists.

"Visitors, this is your captain speaking. Please remain strapped in your seats at all times. If at any point you feel ill, there is a bag located beneath each of the seats. Enjoy your flight."

The ship began to vibrate and, with a sudden roar from the engines, Zane felt the vessel leave Neopia and him take closer and closer to figuring out this whole mess.

Once the ship had landed on Kreludor, a voice came over the loudspeaker and announced that it was safe to stand. As Zane joined the queue to disembark, a firm hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder. Zane glanced up to see a stern-looking Grundo glaring down at him. "And where do you think you're going, sonny? Or, let me guess, you just misplaced your ticket somewhere during the flight..."

"Save it for the cops," the Grundo said, grabbing his upper arm and starting to drag him away. "You're gonna get it, sonny, sneaking onto the flight like that..."

He led the unfortunate Skeith out of the terminal, outside, so that they were standing in the middle of a busy Kreludan street. "Stand here," the Grundo called over his shoulder. "They'll come for you at any minute."

"But wait!" Zane yelled back. "Where are you going?"

"I'm not missing out on my doughnut break, sonny, no matter how many stowaways I find onboard!"

He was gone, leaving Zane to stand on the side of the street by himself. The passing Kreludan pedestrians glanced briefly at him, but didn't speak; his space suit was getting hotter and stuffier by the second. He was miserable, that was the only way to put it, and to top it off, it didn't seem as though his bad luck would end anytime soon. Not when his near-future consisted of being taken away by cops and thrown behind bars for climbing onboard a flight without a ticket.

Then, in a sudden fit of rage, he lifted one foot and brought it down, as hard as he could, stomping on a nearby rock. It disintegrated into dust at his foot, and he moved onto another one, smashing all the moon rocks into piles of ashy-grey powder.

He was so caught up in his anger that he didn't even notice how one of them split into smooth little pebbles, a small cloud of smoke forming around it.

"Hey!"

Zane paused mid-stomp to turn and look at where that familiar voice was coming from.

"What's a genie got to do to get some sleep around here?" the genie from before snapped, crossing his arms. "What are you doing, waking me up like this? You already got your wish!"

Zane backed away from the livid genie, though the genie just followed.

"You're never happy, are you?" he yelled, now only inches from Zane's face. "First complaining about your 'rotten luck,' when you could just change all that by being a little bit more careful! Losing your Neopoints? Breaking your chairs? If you could just patch your pants every now and then and fix up your chairs, then you could avoid all that!"

The genie stopped yelling and, with a huge frown, turned away from Zane. "Just make your wish and let me go."

The Skeith sighed. "You're right, genie."

"I know I'm right," the genie said tiredly.

"I'll go home and fix everything in my house and sew up my clothes... I wish for the cops to send me home," Zane said. "That they don't detain me, and instead put me on the next flight to Neopia."

There was a puff of smoke, and the genie was gone.

Zane had gotten home in time for dinner, but instead of eating, he set about making repairs to his house. He screwed the cabinet door that had fallen on his head last Tuesday back onto its hinges. He then sewed up all of the holes in his clothes -- and he had a lot of them. Finally, he replaced the glass in the broken window.

The little pile of pebbles was still on the floor. He scooped it up and left the pebbles on the windowsill...

The End