The Christmas Genie Read Online Free Page B

know,” Mrs. Walters said. “I think that might cost a lot more.”
    â€œThen forget it,” Christopher said. “That’s the car I want. A Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. That car rocks.”
    â€œWe can’t drive for, like, five years anyway,” said Ella. “Why should we want a car?”
    â€œYeah, what’s the point of wishing for something if you have to wait years to get it?” Olivia said.
    â€œBecause cars are cool,” said David.
    â€œI don’t even like cars,” said Hannah. “Cars cause global warming. Especially those sports cars and SUVs.”
    â€œOh, here we go,” said Logan. “Save-the-world time.”
    â€œWe’re not wishing for a car!” Abigail said. “We’re wishing for a million dollars. Or forty thousand, anyway. You can buy whatever you want with your share.”
    â€œHey, would we have to pay taxes on that money?” asked Ella.
    â€œBy law, I gotta report all wishes to the Internal Revenue Service,” said Genie Bob. “So the answer to your question is yeah.”
    â€œHow much taxes would we have to pay on a million bucks, Mrs. Walters?” asked Josh.
    â€œGee, I’m not sure,” Mrs. Walters said. “Teachers don’t make that kind of money! I would guess it would be around thirty-five percent.”
    I didn’t have to take out my calculator. Thirty-five percent of a million is 350,000.
    â€œWhat!?” said William. “Three hundred fifty thousand bucks in
taxes
? That’s not fair!”
    I took out my calculator again. If you take 350,000 away from 1,000,000, it leaves 650,000. And if you divide that by 25 kids in the class, it comes to 26,000.
    â€œHey,” I told everybody, “our forty grand just turned into twenty-six grand.”
    â€œForget it,” Christopher said. “It’s not worth it. Let’s wish for something else.”
    â€œYeah, something you don’t have to pay taxes on,” said Anthony.
    Mrs. Walters pulled another index card out of the bowl.

WISH #3:
I WISH I HAD A TRUCK FULL OF CANDY.
    â€œNow you’re talkin’ my language!” William jumped up and shouted. Mrs. Walters told him to sit down and be quiet.
    â€œThat one was mine,” Matthew said. “Just think about it. A truck full of Kit Kats, 3 Musketeers, Twix, Hershey bars, Crunch, Tootsie Rolls—”
    â€œThat would be cool,” said David.
    â€œI don’t particularly like chocolate,” said Elizabeth.
    â€œWhat?” Logan asked. “Are you brain-damaged? Everybody likes chocolate.”
    â€œLogan!” said Mrs. Walters.
    â€œWell, I don’t,” said Elizabeth. “I try to eat healthy.”
    â€œIf we had a truck full of candy,” said Mia the wet blanket, “some of it might reach its expiration date before we had the chance to eat it.”
    â€œSo we would eat it really fast,” suggested Ethan. “Problem solved.”
    â€œIf we ate it really fast we’d get sick,” Mia said.
    â€œAnd fat,” said Elizabeth. “You know, obesity is a major problem in this country. Diabetes too.”
    â€œCandy rots your teeth,” Alyssa added.
    â€œNot if you brush frequently,” Ella said.
    â€œMaybe wishing for a truck full of candyisn’t the smartest idea,” said Olivia.
    â€œWhat is the problem with you people?” Matthew shouted. “Candy is the best thing in the world! What else would anyone want? I wish I had a magic candy machine that never ran out of candy, and you didn’t even have to put money into it to get the candy out.”
    â€œY’know, it’s not like it’s such a big deal getting candy,” said Ella. “You can just go to any supermarket or 7-Eleven and get a candy bar for less than a dollar. I think we should wish for something that we
can’t
get.”
    â€œGood point, Ella,” Mrs. Walters