Yes master, p.5
Yes, Master, page 5
“I did not overcook the peppers! They are supposed to have some char on them!” Vila’s voice started to go up in volume.
“There is no way I will listen to you tell me how to cook anything! You would lick the black marks off a grill grate if you had the choice! Bleh!” Andi’s voice started to go up, as well. Vila picked up a tortilla and started to pull her arm back over her shoulder.
Now, I had some fun food fights in my day, but none of them included things like salsa and guacamole. I had a sneaking suspicion that would be a lot harder to clean up, so I decided to intervene.
“Ladies, everything about this fajita is absolutely fantastic. From the guacamole to the char on the peppers, I could not have a better fajita, so be proud of yourselves. Both of you!” I cajoled gently.
The two of them looked at me and then looked back at each other. “Okay,” they said simultaneously and smiled. The table was silent for a few minutes while we ate. Vila was the first one to set her fajita down.
“You said that the golf course was pretty?” she asked.
I put my fajita down, swallowed the bite I had just taken, and looked up at her.
“It is beautiful. The one we're going to tomorrow is attached to a country club, and they keep the entire estate in pristine condition,” I explained.
“Ooo, a country club! That sounds fancy!” Andi joined in.
“It is very fancy and very expensive. You have to make multiple six figures just to become a member,” I told them. I had been to the club a couple of times for various work functions and had always admired the prestige it offered. I had expected the members to be haughty and rude but was pleasantly surprised each time I was there. Everyone was polite and conversational and a lot more interesting than I expected. Just as I caught myself thinking about how great it would be to have the resources to become a member, I realized there was a possibility I could have the resources to become a member. I looked from Vila to Andi.
“What is it?” Vila asked me.
“I'm sure people have asked you to grant wishes about money before. But it was also one of the things that you didn't sound very keen on granting when you were first telling me about your abilities. Why is that?” Of course, I knew that money could cause people to do crazy things, but for someone who just wanted to be comfortable, how bad could a wish like that be?
“Money wishes just tend not to work out well,” Andi started. “For example, there was a tradesman that we once knew and he--”
“Andi,” Vila cut her off. “How about we just show him?” She looked over at me, a questioning expression on her face.
“Sure, I’m down,” I answered her unspoken question.
Vila looked back at Andi, who nodded in her direction. They both reached over, and each took hold of one of my hands.
“Close your eyes,” Vila instructed.
I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair. A couple of moments passed before I noticed my hands started to feel cooler. The chill began to climb up my arms. I opened one eye to look at the girls and make sure that what I was feeling was supposed to be happening. Vila waved her fingers at my face, and I snapped it shut again. When the chill reached my shoulders, I started to see a faint blue light even though my eyes were closed. The light continued to get brighter until there was a sudden flash, and I found myself standing in front of a local bank, a genie on either side of me.
It was hot out, and people were passing the three of us on the sidewalk, hurrying off to their busy lives. There was a giant digital billboard at the top of the bank building that showed the temperature being eighty-three degrees. I recognized that billboard. It is the one that told me what time it was the day I was trying to get home early. There was no time on it right then, however. The bank doors we're opening and closing as customers walked in and out. Of all the people surrounding us, not a single one seemed to see us. I looked over at Andi, then to Vila.
“How did we get here?” I puzzled.
“We aren't here,” Andi whispered in my ear. “You are safe in your chair, in your dining room, in your apartment.”
“No way!” I burst out. “Is there anything the two of you can't do? This feels so real!” Vila and Andi chuckled.
“Indeed, there is very little that we can't do,” Vila informed me. “Now, let's get going.”
“Going where?” I asked her. She held her arm out towards the bank building.
“In there, silly,” she replied. “We have to rob the bank.” Her tone was completely matter-of-fact.
“We can't rob a bank!” I studied Vila’s face to see if I had missed some undertone of sarcasm. I turned my head and looked at Andi. “We can’t rob a bank!” I repeated.
“Of course, we can,” Andi told me with the same tone Vila had used. I felt like I was missing the punchline of a bad joke.
“How else do you think you would get your money?” Vila asked me.
“Well, not like this!” I couldn't believe how serious the two of them were.
“Why not?” Andi chimed in.
“Because it's illegal, for one thing!” I replied exasperated. “And, and, and we’ll get caught!” I instantly felt a little guilty for being more concerned about getting caught robbing a bank than I was with the actual moral issue of robbing a bank.
“No way that we will get caught!” Andi responded. “Don't forget, you have magic on your side!” She smiled innocently.
“But it’s wrong!” My voice got louder.
“Why?” Vila piped up.
“Well, because it just is!” I could not believe that neither of them had an issue with the crime they were suggesting we commit.
“Okay, take a deep breath, Bennett. Listen to me,” Andi started. She nodded her head towards a sticker on the bank door window. “See that sign over there? It says all of the money in the bank is federally insured. Nobody who does business with the bank will suffer a loss. You get your money, everyone else gets their money replaced, and the world moves on.”
I just stared at her, trying to figure out a rebuttal. She did have a point. In the long run, everyone would end up with money. While I was thinking about it, Vila started getting antsy.
“Okay, now that we have all that straightened out, let's get in there and get to grabbing some cash!” She sounded cheery and excited suddenly. Andi leaned back and looked at Vila behind my back.
“No, we should just flit right into the vault and right back out. Easy peasy,” Andi told her.
“No,” Vila corrected her. “It is better to do bank drawers and the vault. There is no use only taking part of what we can. That would be practically a wasted trip.”
“Vila, the bank tellers may not be able to see us, but they will be able to see their drawers opening and closing. What are you thinking?!” Andi scolded Vila.
“I am thinking that robbing a bank isn't something you get to do every day, and we should make the most of it plus we would walk out with a bigger haul and make Bennett that much richer!” Vila countered.
“You are such a little adrenaline junkie! You always have been! You make all your decisions off the cuff without thinking things through!” Andi started yelling.
“And you are just a goody-two-shoes who doesn't want to get her skirt dirty or have any fun, ever!” Vila crossed her arms at Andi.
“I don't know what you're talking about! I’m all about fun! You are the dud! If you can't see reason, Bennett will decide!” Andi huffed.
Both girls whipped their heads towards me at the same time. I felt like I would get whiplash from the intensity of their gazes.
“Whoa, now! Let's just calm down. I am not looking to be Rockefeller. Enough money to live comfortably and play comfortably is all I need, so let's just go to the vault and get the hell outta here!”
I couldn't believe what I heard myself say. I had just agreed to rob a bank! Furthermore, I had decided on a plan of how to do it! Vila scowled at Andi. Andy responded by sticking her tongue out at Vila, then each of them placed a hand on my shoulders, and before I could blink, we were inside the bank vault.
The room was cold, and everything was made of steel. A chill ran up my spine as I inhaled the faint scent of bleach. Never before had I felt like I was in such a sterile environment. I started spinning around in circles, sure that somebody would walk in at any moment. My heart started racing in my chest, and I felt sweat beginning to bead up on my forehead. The overhead lights were glaring down at me, making it hard to focus on any one thing. I had the overwhelming urge to shout for help, which made absolutely no sense at all being that I was the one robbing the bank!
A moment before I was sure that a full-on panic attack was coming, Andi ran her hand from my shoulder down to my hand and took hold of it. She squeezed lightly, reached up and turned my head to look at her. There was a light in her eyes that was sparkling with adventure, and I instantly felt calm again.
“That's better,” she said as I regained my composure. “How about we make you a rich man?” she quipped mischievously.
“How?” I realized that although we were surrounded by money, I was the only one with pockets, and they weren't going to hold enough to make me rich. I reached down and turned my pockets inside out and looked back up at Andi.
“Oh, no worries. Here you go!” Vila stepped in front of Andi and dramatically waved her hand in the air and snapped her fingers. Then the three of us were holding huge canvas bags. I was impressed. And then I was surprised at myself for being more impressed by the insta-bag trick than by the actual getting into the vault part of things.
Andi, not wanting to be outdone by her counterpart, stepped back, held both her arms out wide at her sides, and spun around in a circle. It reminded me of an old television show introduction where a little girl was running in a field and started spinning circles to soak up the sunshine. When Andi stopped, I heard the clicking of all of the locks in the room. Drawers began popping out, and doors to small money storage areas started to open. Suddenly I was standing in a room that no longer felt like a sterile steel trap but a treasure trove. Money was showing everywhere. There were stacks of bundled cash, piles of coins, and loose hundred-dollar bills all around me. It was exhilarating.
“Now that is more like it!” Vila shouted. “Good job, Andi!”
“Oh my god, shhh!” I whispered as loud as I could at Vila.
“Nobody can hear us, Bennett,” Villa explained. “Time to get your cash!” she kissed me on the cheek quickly and then bounced over to a nearby shelf. She held her bag open with one hand and started scooping bundles of money into it. Andi began to going from drawer to drawer, emptying the contents into her bag.
“You are missing out on all the fun by just standing there watching,” Andi called back to me over her shoulder. I glanced down at the bag in my hands and headed to one of the open cabinets. I felt the adrenaline start to flow with each handful of money I put into my bag. The more I put in, the faster I tried to put more in. In less than a minute, my entire bag was stuffed to overflowing. I stood up and looked around, not quite knowing what to do now that I didn't have any room for more money. Andi was walking to a different drawer when she saw me staring around.
“Need another bag?” she inquired.
“Umm, sure!” I hadn't considered the possibility of having another bag. Andi snapped her fingers, and I was holding another bag.
“Hey, Bennett!” Vila shouted over to me from across the vault. I looked in her direction just in time to see her throw two armfuls of cash in the air. The bills scattered and started twisting and spinning as they fell over the three of us. “Making it rain! Isn't that what you're supposed to say when you're covered in cash?” she hollered playfully.
“Hell yeah, it is!” I responded. I moved to the nearest cupboard full of cash and grabbed an armful. I threw it in the air just as she had and bathed in it as it fell over me. Just being surrounded by that much money made me feel powerful in a way I never had before.
“Wee!” Vila squealed as she ran through the falling cash. Andi joined her. The two of them started running circles around me as I moved from locker to locker, throwing money in the air. At some point, both of them had traded their legs for trails of blue and purple mist. They breezed by any cash lying on the floor, whipping it into the air with their mist. It got to the point where it felt like there was more money in the air than there could possibly be left in the drawers and cabinets. The room no longer smelled sterile. It smelled like freedom. I closed my eyes and stood still, feeling the bills bounce off me as they floated down. When I opened my eyes again, I saw the last of the cash fall. The girls switched back to their legs and touched down on the floor. Both of them were laughing with childlike glee. They sauntered over and stood in front of me with huge smiles on their faces.
“Do you have enough money? Or, would you like another bag?” Vila asked me with her fingers poised to snap. I gazed around the room and saw six bags filled to overflowing.
“I think these six will be just fine,” I laughed.
“Alright!” She clapped her hands together and ran over to her bags. She picked them up and threw one over each shoulder. “Let's be going then!” Andi picked up her bags as well. It wasn't until I reached down to lift mine that I appreciated how strong the two of them must have been. From having felt the weight of them on me earlier, I was convinced that they were carrying bags that weighed more than they did! The three of us met in the middle of the room, and I looked around one last time as I felt them put their hands on my shoulders again.
“Wait! Wait! What about this mess?” I felt a small pang of guilt for leaving it for somebody else to clean up. Then, once again, I was surprised at myself. I was robbing a bank, and yet my concern was about somebody having to sweep up cash.
“Not a problem,” Andi replied. She held her hand up in front of her face and blew across her palm. A delicate gust of wind wound through the room, kicking the cash up from the floor. Before my eyes, the bills rearranged themselves and fit neatly back into the cabinets and drawers they had come from.
“I know a lot of people that would pay the amount of money we have in these sacks to have the ability to do that!” I told Andi, laughing. She tipped her head to the side and shrugged her shoulders.
“It would have come in handy back when I was a girl living in a huge castle,” she responded.
“Like you ever cleaned,” Vila teased her.
“Not a day in my life, thank goodness!” The two of them fell into a fit of giggles. I was enjoying the lightheartedness of the three of us standing together in the room when I felt the girls squeeze my shoulders. Before I had time to blink, we were standing in the entryway of a mansion. A tan marble floor stretched out on all sides of us. Vila and Andi dropped their bags of money with a thud.
“Wow! Look at this!” they said in unison.
“Nice digs, Bennett,” Vila cooed over at me while she observed her surroundings.
“What do you mean? This isn't my house,” I replied.
“It's close enough for now,” Andi chimed in. “We put it together out of things we found in your mind that you like.”
“Really? Even I didn’t know that I would ever want a tan marble floor!” I told them.
I started looking around me. There was a large staircase with a slight bend in it that wound up to a loft so large I couldn't see the whole thing from where I was standing. I pointed up the stairs and looked at the girls.
“Now, a loft is definitely more me!” I looked behind the staircase and saw two sets of doors. I started to walk towards them when the loud peal of the doorbell rang through the entryway, and I froze. The girls had said that this was my house, but it most certainly didn't feel like it yet, and having just robbed a bank, regardless of how fun it turned out to be, I was on edge about being caught.
Vila and Andi skipped over to the door and stood on either side of it.
“That must be lunch!” Vila said happily.
“Lunch? Why would that be lunch?” I slowly turned around and headed towards them.
“Well, you are hungry, aren't you?” she asked me. I had not thought about food in quite some time, but at that very moment, my stomach growled at me.
“Yeah, I guess I am hungry, but I didn't order anything. We have only been here for less than a minute!” I still was not sure if I should answer the door.
“In your new life, you order lunch every day so that you don't have to waste time cooking it,” Andi informed me. “Go ahead and answer the door. You'll see!”
I slowly walked to the door and jumped when the doorbell rang again. I reached for the handle and paused just long enough to look at the girls. If they got me through robbing a bank, I figured I could trust them to get me through lunch. I pulled the heavy oak door open. Sunshine and heat from the outside world rushed into the house and standing in front of me was a young girl holding two boxes.
“Hello, Mr. Anders,” she greeted me.
“Hi, Kayla,” I responded. I whipped my head towards Andi. Somehow I had known the girl’s name.
“Here you go,” Kayla said as she held out the boxes in her hand. “Just how you like it.”
I reached out and took the boxes from her. Andi and Vila stepped in and took them from me. As if on autopilot, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a money clip. I peeled off a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to Kayla. I noticed a look of relief on her face, which I found a little odd.
“Everything okay?” I asked her. She immediately looked at the ground.
“It's just that you are always so nice. Things have been so tough lately, and I really appreciate your kindness,” she whispered in a shaky voice.
“What's going on that has been so hard?” I prodded. She seemed way too young to have that kind of weight on her shoulders.
“My parents finally had to give up on saving the house, and soon, the restaurant will be closing as well,” she answered.
“How did that happen?” I wasn't sure where all the questions were coming from, but I kept asking.
“The bank robbery, of course,” she replied, tipping her head up at me with a surprised look on her face. My heart jumped. Did this girl know that I had just robbed a bank? I felt my face start to get hot, and my hands shook a little. I swallowed over a large lump in my throat and tried to act a natural.
