A Genie for Jake Ch. 02

"Jake is that you?" Jake heard behind him. He turned to see Eleanor looking up at him. It was kind of strange to have to look down to talk to her because they used to be really close in height, now he towered over her by at least five inches. Jake realized that he really must look quite different. He always wore baggy clothes so when he wished to be taller they still fit but now everything was more form fitting, showing off his new arm, chest, and leg muscles like never before. In essence he still looked the same but truth be told most people never really paid him any attention.

"Oh hey Ellie, how're you?" he asked her. He could hear the people behind him whispering his name back and forth so he guessed other people had also started to recognize him as well. Over the last couple of years he had done his best not to garner to much attention to himself so being the center of attention was something completely new to Jake. He decided it wasn't too bad but he still preferred the background to the forefront.

"Wh-What happened to you?" Ellie stuttered, then blushed at her bluntness.

"Yeah, I know it's weird right. I think I had a sudden growth spurt last night. My mom's family is pretty tall so I was expecting it to happen sooner or later." Jake lied.

"That's not the only thing that grew last night." Kira giggled just loud enough for Ellie and Jake to hear her. Jake blushed deeply while Ellie turned to look at Kira as if just remembering she was there. She looked at Jake questioningly but before he got a chance to answer a teacher had stepped in the hallway.

"Ok students one minute to class starts so hurry or you'll be late. If you're late too many times you won't be able to exempt your finals." the teacher said. All of a sudden the hallway was a flurry of movement, with everyone trying to get to class. At Jake's school if a student had an A average and had missed no more then five days as well as less than five late slips then they could exempt their finals and graduate early.

"I'll talk to you later." yelled Ellie as she made her way to her class and away from the couple. With her gone Ellie and Jake turned back around and went to his locker. When they got to the locker Jake started grabbing the things he would need, mainly just pencils and paper because he didn't have any textbook besides the one for his biology course.

"I hope I didn't embarrass you back there." Kira said to Jake. He was kind of embarrassed but didn't really mind. He always thought that moms, dads, siblings, and girlfriends always said things to embarrass you. It was just a part of life that he'd been missing out on before Kira arrived. Well Nancy embarrassed him all the time just not at his school.

"Well you did kind of embarrass me," he told her and saw a worried look cross her face, " but don't worry about it. Besides you felt like saying it so obviously you got a kick out of it and it doesn't bother me much. So whenever you feel like saying something like that you're free to do it." Jake instructed her. Kira looked around really quickly and seeing the hallway empty proceeded to give Jake a small kiss, which quickly evolved into a full on tongue wrestling make out session. The sound of a teacher clearing their throat broke the duo apart however and they made their way to their first period home economics class.

Even though it was called home ec. It was really just a cooking class. Since he lived alone Jake had taken a liking to cooking so he didn't hesitate to take the class every year. Each year the dishes got more complicated and fun to make and now at four years in there were only about fifteen students taking the class. Sixteen now that Kira was there. Running to the class Jake briefly reflected on how much the class had changed in the four years he'd been taking it. The first year there were a ton of students. Most of the girls thought it would be an easy "A" while the guys just figured it would be a good class to meet women. Over the course of the next couple of years the number of male students had dropped until Jake was the only one.

Jake and Kira managed to make it to class just before the bell rung which surprised Jake. The teacher earlier had said that there was only one minute to class started and that was about two minutes ago. Maybe the school clock was off a bit because the clock on his phone did say 8:12 while the one hanging up in the room said 8:10. Jake walked in the room and went to his seat and Kira sat next to him. Due to the small class size most of the students had their own work area where they could prepare meals and listen to the teacher talk.

Hearing the bell ring the teacher, Ms. Magellan, looked up and started to take the roll. Since there were only fifteen student she has taken to just counting heads instead of calling actual names so when she counted sixteen students she did a double check. She spotted two unfamiliar students towards the back and told them to come up to the front.

When Jake heard Ms. Magellan call him and Kira to the front he was immediately worried. When they made it to the front of the class the teacher informed them that they couldn't just come into her class and sit where ever they pleased. Jake realized that Ms. Magellan didn't recognize him so he spoke up.

"Ms. Magellan it's me, Jake Hunter," he said and then pointed to Kira,"and this is Kira Baron she just came here today and should be on your roll-sheet." Jake had tugged on Kira's Irish first name and had given her a matching last name. Jake looked over at Kira and saw she had a warm smile on her face, which was her way of showing that she approved of the last name he'd given her. After checking the roll on her computer and confirming that Kira was indeed in her class Ms Magellan sent them back to their seats, but not before commenting on how different Jake looked.

As they walked back to their seats Jake could hear the whispering start up. Jake was the only guy in the class so naturally all of the girls knew who he was, even if only buy name. When he came in earlier they had assumed some guy was trying to skip so they didn't say anything and waited for the teacher to chew him and the girl he was with out. When they realized it was Jake they were all stunned at the transformation. While some of them had always thought he was cute, now he was borderline gorgeous. Tall, tan, and apparently buff he had garnered the attention of more then a few of the girls in his class. Then there was the girl he was with. She was tall as well with long red hair and a wonderful figure. The girls were reluctant to admit it but they knew she was gorgeous. From the way she hung on to Jake they knew that something was up between the two and were determined to find out what.

With the student matter resolved Ms. Magellan proceeded to tell the class what they would be doing that day, which basically amounted to nothing. Since they were all seniors and this was their last year she had decided to throw a party for them. They all had good grades and over the last couple of years she had come to like the group. With the school year dwindling down, only a week before graduation, she had decided to do something special.

"I sense a little jealousy from the girl to the right of us." Kira thought to Jake while the teacher spieled about how she'd ordered pizza and had baked this and that for the party. Jake wasn't really surprised. Kira was absolutely stunning so some girls were bound to be jealous of her.

"You're beautiful Kira, of course some girls would be jealous of you." he thought back to her.

"No not jealous of the way I look. The girl next to us is jealous that I'm with you." she shot back. Jake knew where everyone sat so he knew that the girl that Kira was referring to was Monica Campbell. She was one of the popular cheerleaders but was nice and very down to earth. Over the course of highschool she and Jake had shared about eight classes, four being home ec. and the other being random core classes. She was always nice to Jake and he had to admit that he thought of her from time to time. She wasn't exactly a friend but when Jake looked back on his highschool life she would be someone he remembered. She had never given any inkling that she might have liked Jake so the news kind of threw him for a loop.

"Do you want her Master?" Kira asked him. Jake knew Kira wouldn't mind if he did, hell based on his preferences she'd probably want to join in. But he knew it couldn't be. Monica was a nice girl who would want a nice relationship with a nice guy. That was something that Jake couldn't provide her. He had no doubt that they would go well together it's just the fact that he had Kira, so he couldn't and wouldn't throw her to the wayside to pursue a relationship with Monica. A sentiment he relayed to Kira. Kira smiled widely at him. Even though she as a genie would not feel displeasure at being cast aside she was still enjoying her time with Jake and hoped that he wouldn't do away with her.

"Alright class that's pretty much it. You guys can just hang out until the pizza and stuff arrives, talk amongst yourselves or whatever. But NO cellphones." Ms. Magellan instructed as the class burst into motion. As expected all the girls rushed to Jake's table to get the scoop on him and the new girl in their class. Jake was bombarded with a series of questions coming from all direction and scaling various topics. How he got so tall, what his relationship was with Kira, how did they meet, things like that. After confirming that they were going out the girls wanted to know how they'd met. Jake told them the story about meeting Kira in California when he was visiting his grandma. The problem was they wanted to know details and Jake was stumped. Luckily Kira stepped in.

"Oh it was magical how we met. You see I'm and orphan and I was out with the other kids one day during the summer. School was out and the younger kids were antsy to go play so we took them down to the local park. Jake was there shooting around a basketball." Kira started.

"I immediately thought he was cute, so I sat and watched him from the swings. Some of the kids were playing basketball but they didn't want to let one of the other kids play because they said he was too short. Jake saw and invited the kid to play with him."

"Now as cute as Jake was I couldn't let Timmy talk to strangers, so I went to get him. Besides Timmy has a penchant for causing trouble-"

"Hey!! No he doesn't Timmy is a great kid." Jake interrupted. He was enjoying the little tale Kira was telling so he decided to input every now and again. Kira smiled over at him and the other girls turned to look at him as well.

"You're just saying that because you and Timmy both got into so much trouble together that summer." Kira shot back and then turned back to the girls "Really Jake and Timmy must have pulled about fifty pranks that summer. They are SUCH troublemakers. But as I was saying I went over there and told Timmy that he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. He told me he had introduced himself to Jake so they weren't strangers anymore. Long story short they conned me into playing with them. Me and Timmy versus Jake."

"After a while of playing we had to head back to the home. Jake stopped me before I left and asked me for my number. You should have seen him, he was so shy. Luckily for me some of us older kids were given cellphones, but I was reluctant to give him my number. Some of the other boys who lived around town knew I was an orphan and I was often teased at school and not many guys wanted to get near me. I feared that Jake didn't know I was an orphan and he thought Timmy was my brother who I'd taken to the park. Still in the end I asked him for his number instead, and it was the best decision of my life. Jake didn't care that I was an orphan or anything and he got along great with the younger kids. You know most guys don't make it to eighteen in orphanages, most are either adopted or they go to the military so it was nice for the kids to have an older man to hang around with."

"Me and Jake hung out all summer and I was waiting for him to ask me out but he never did. So one day I came out and asked him why he hadn't asked me out. He told me that he was leaving at the end of the summer to come back here and he didn't want to tie me down."

"Hey you're beautiful. I knew there were probably lots of guys who wanted to be with you and plus I didn't know if you felt the same way about me that I felt about you." Jake interrupted again.

"You see what I have to deal with girls. He terribly book smart but as naive as a newborn." Kira commented which caused some of the girls to giggle. "I politely told Jake that if he didn't ask me out I was going to kill him. Seeing as how he's still here I guess you all know how that ended. Around last week a wildfire got out of hand and the group home as well as the school I was attending went up in flames. I'm over eighteen so legally the orphanage couldn't take me with them when they moved to a new house across town. I didn't have anywhere to go. Jake being the sweetie that he is, called me when he saw that the fire was close to the home on the news. When I told him everyone was alright he was so relieved. He asked when I was going to the new home and I told him I couldn't and why and he didn't hesitate to say I could stay with him. At first I was worried because well I had never met his parents and how could he explain taking in an orphan, but he talked me into it, got me enrolled here, and now we get to graduate together. It's really more than I could've hoped for when we met that day in the park."

By the time Kira got through talking all the girls were looking at him wide eyed. Jake blushed a little which caused the girls to giggle again. Around that time the pizzas showed up and the teacher set them out along with the other goodies she had made. Everyone dispersed to fix this or that which left Jake and Kira alone to talk.

"Well that certainly raised everyone's opinion about you. Not that it was low to begin with but still." Kira thought to him with a shrug.

"I know but I feel kinda bad lying about something like this." he confided to her. He was having a tough time period because Jake hardly ever lied. He could count on his fingers the number of times he lied and it always turned out bad in the end. He knew it was necessary this time but he still was reluctant.

Seeing his worry Kira reached over and latched onto his arm. When he looked down she told him, " Relax. You know we had to do it and if it helps I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that you would've done everything I said you did if you had the chance." After fixing a plate for the both of them Jake returned to his table to find it overrun with girls as they talked excitedly with Kira. He was happy to see her socializing and getting along with people on her own. Jake handed her her food as he sat down and watched as she started to eat the different things for the first time. It was amazing that she was able to keep up a conversation with the girls at the table while talking to him in his head about all the fun she was having. For the most part Jake just sat there enjoying himself and listening to the girls talk. All to soon the period was over and they all had to part ways for their next classes.

Jake being on the outskirts of the social scene wasn't aware of just how fast and meticulous the gossip system was. By third period it seemed like the whole school had heard about how he and Kira met and knew everything about their relationship. Many guys commented about how he was living with "a hot chick" while some of the girls looked at him with the same eyes he'd seen earlier. Even a teacher made a joke about how he hoped Jake's grades didn't drop because of after school... "activities" was the word used but everyone knew what was implied. After a little light hearted hazing and joking the school pretty much got on with the normal routine. He went to his second period art class, took his test in third and chilled during his fourth period "free period" . He hadn't gotten a chance to speak to Ellie again all day but he doubted she was avoiding him or anything. It's not like they talked much during school anyway. He knew she would probably grill him at work tomorrow though. As Jake and Kira settled into his car for the drive home Jake asked her how she felt about her first day of school.

"It was awesome! I mean so many people everywhere and they're so friendly. I thought it would be bad but it was a lot of fun." Kira gushed.

"Well it's to be expected. You're good looking, new, and it's close to the end of the year. Even if someone was mean to you everyone would just ignore them. The only possible reason someone wouldn't like you would be because they don't like me and as far as I know I don't have anyone like that." Jake told her.

"Well regardless the reason, it was great." Kira whispered as she yawned and sat back in her seat. She dozed lightly, drained from her first day of school. ______

When Jake pulled up to his house he saw Nancy's car in her driveway. That meant that she probably didn't have to work today so Jake decided to go over and introduce Kira. It would be better to do it now then have to worry about it later, and besides if Nancy fell for their story it was a good chance it would fool Jake's grandma as well. Waking Kira he told her the plan and could immediately see that she was worried. Kira was indeed worried. Nancy was the closet thing Jake had to a mother, what if she didn't like Kira? She immediately started to fix herself in the mirror and cursed herself for falling asleep and mussing her hair. Jake reached over and put a hand on her shoulder which stopped her flurry of movement.

"Relax Kira." he told her," I'm sure Nancy will love you. Think about it like this, you're specifically built to my taste right, and today a whole bunch of random people liked you just fine. Why wouldn't someone as close to me as Nancy not like you just as much if not more?" Grabbing Kira's hand he pulled her from the car before she could rebuttal and trotted her up to Nancy's door. Jake knocked on the door while Kira waited with baited breath.

Nancy opened the door and saw two people she didn't recognize standing on her porch. With a shrug she closed the door in their faces. It was her off day and she didn't feel like dealing with some sale people or random peddlers. She thought the boy looked familiar though. Kind of like what she pictured Jake would look like if he was taller. Now that she thought about it he looked remarkably like Jake but it couldn't be him, right? With slight reluctance she opened the door back and saw the man smiling down at her.

Jake was smiling down at Nancy with barely concealed amusement. He could see the shock go past her face as recognition of who he was came to her.

"Don't I get a hug Nance?" he asked her with a smile and scooped her in his arms before she had a chance to reply. Nancy gasped as Jake took her into her arms. When had he gotten so tall? And why did he feel so strong?

"Let me go you spoiled brat!" Nancy exclaimed as she fought from his grip." Honestly you want a hug every time you see me, aren't you getting a little too old for that? You're not a kid anymore." She told Jake.

"Well if I'm not a kid anymore then why haven't you started dating?" he asked her. Nancy had told Jake that she would start back dating when she was confident he was old enough to fully look after himself.

"Yeah that ah be the day! Plus how can I start dating when you don't even date? I have to make sure you're a functioning member of society before I can ever worry about dating myself." Nancy shot back. She knew that Jake didn't have a girlfriend so obviously she was safe for awhile. Honestly she didn't know why she hadn't start back dating but she always felt like she was betraying Jake when she thought about going out with another guy.