My Five Wishes
By: Emma H


January 29, 2015 was the day of my 16th birthday. But, this 16th birthday wasn’t a normal 16th birthday.

It all started with my present. I sat on my chair facing the kitchen table. There, sitting right in front of me, was a gift, probably the size of a toaster. The present was wrapped in polka-dot print paper with an abnormally large bow that was silver and glittery. I’d say it probably was the most beautifully wrapped gift I’d ever seen. My mom was standing on the other side of me with the biggest grin on her face. I looked at it for about a minute, waiting for my mom to tell me I could open it, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I finally busted and asked with the most excited voice, “Can I open the present!”
She smiled and said yes with a hint of laughter in her voice. I stood up from my chair and slowly put my hands on the paper. Then I placed my hand on the corner of the paper and ripped it with as much force as I could possibly use. Finally, after taking all of the paper off, I looked to see what was left. I slowly glanced at the object sitting on the kitchen table. My eyes widened to twice their normal size. There, sitting on the kitchen table, was a box. But the box was not an ordinary box. It was a glittery, bright, neon box. I got so excited my heart started to beat as fast as a cheetah. I put my hand on top of the lid and slid it off. There, right in front of my eyes, was a pair of shoes. Just like the box and wrapping paper, the shoes were glittery and sparkly.
“They’re so beautiful!” I said.
My mom smiled and said, “They’re not only glittery shoes, they’re glittery wishing shoes!”
Then she told me I would get five wishes and I would have them until I used them all up! Now that was the icing on the cake!
“But there’s a catch,” my mom told me. “You have to be wearing the shoes in order for the wishes to work.”
Then I thanked her and said I loved the shoes. It was 7:10 a.m. and it was time to go. I put on the shoes, got my backpack, and hopped in the car. When I got to school I walked to my locker and started thinking of a wish that would be good to begin the day. Then the dreaded bully, Mark, came over to my locker and said, “Hey Sophie, love your shoes! Not!” Then he walked away laughing. I was always bullied, and no one really liked me. There standing right in front of my locker, a wish hit me. Then I thought, “I should wish to be popular.” I had always dreamed of this. I got my supplies out of my locker and quietly wished to become popular. The room got blurry and it looked like it was spinning for approximately five seconds.
The bell rang and I started to walk to my first hour class. Nothing was happening, and I started to lose faith in my five wishes.
A couple minutes later, I got to class and sat down at my desk. A whole group of the popular girls gathered around my desk and sat down right next to me.
“Hey Sophie, I heard it was your 16th birthday,” one of the girls said.
“What did you get?” one of the other girls asked.
I smiled, believing it worked, and told them I got the shoes I was wearing. They all grinned with delight and one of the girls said, “They’re beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I replied. I was so ecstatic! Finally, I could get everything I wanted. During lunch I sat down at an empty table, and in seconds it filled up with girls crowding around me, giving me compliments. It was the greatest and most wonderful moment of my life.
It was almost the end of lunch when I decided I wanted to make another wish. I thought about what I should wish for. I was already popular, so I wouldn’t wish to get friends. Then I realized what I should wish for. I would wish to become rich. I stood up with my glittery shoes and said, “I wish to become rich.” Everything became dizzy for approximately five seconds. Then everything was back to normal. I reached in my pocket to pull out what I thought was my ID card, but instead of it being that, it was a credit card.
Hours passed and I waited for the second school would be let out. Then I heard the bell ring and it was time to go shopping! I was so excited and I couldn’t wait for shopping time, but then I thought of a major problem. I didn’t have my driver’s license or a car! I stood up from my chair and wished for my driver’s license. I walked to the car dealer to buy my car. When I got there I looked at the crowded lot of cars and, because I had all the money in the world, I could buy any car I wanted. I was looking around when I spotted the bright sparkly convertible. Now that was the car I wanted! I walked into the office and told them I wanted to buy that car. I was so excited I could barely stand still. In a matter of seconds I had the keys in my hand and was sitting in the front seat of my car. Then I put the key in the slot and turned on the ignition. I pushed on the pedal and then I was off. This was the most fantastic car I had ever driven in my life.
When I got to the mall, I quickly walked into the jewelry store and got a 50-karet diamond. Then I went to the dress store and got 50 glamorous dresses: 10 pink, 10 white, 10 blue, 10 sparkly, and 10 lime green. After that I went to the shoe store. I got 50 pairs of shoes to match my 50 dresses. I was having the time of my life. I only had three hours until I had to be home, so I decided to get a manicure and pedicure. I walked into the nail salon, sat on a chair and placed my feet in warm water. This was the first time I had ever gotten a mani and pedi. I loved it. I decided to get a French manicure on my finger and toenails. I was having such a great time I decided to wish for more things. I sat down at the cafeteria table and started feeling lonely sitting there alone. Then I thought of a brilliant-beyond-brilliant idea. I would wish to become famous. I stood up from my chair and you can guess what I said. The room stared to get blurry and I felt dizzy. When I was finally out of my dizzy state, I woke up to a photographer taking my picture. Everyone popular always said that the paparazzi was annoying, but I loved it. I was getting so much attention! After about 15 minutes there was a huge crowd of people circled around me taking my picture. They were overwhelming me with questions.
“Where are you going tonight? Are you dating anyone? Who are you wearing? What did you get for your 16th birthday?”
I only was prepared to tell them what I was wearing. Of course I would never tell them anything about the wishing shoes. I was the only person who needed to know about them. After about five minutes I didn’t enjoy being popular. Everyone started following me everywhere I went. It felt like I had no privacy and I could never get away from a crowd of people. I always had to make sure I didn’t do anything wrong or weird because, of course, everyone the next day everyone would say, “Oh look what she did.” For the first time after getting my five wishes I didn’t like my life. In fact, I hated my new life! I missed my old life. I missed being Sophie. Now I didn’t feel like Sophie. Now, I felt like a Paris Hilton, or a Madonna. Not me!
I still had one wish to wish, and I didn’t know what to use it on. I felt I really needed to take time and think this through. I thought about my old life. Even though I was not the popular girl at my school, I was happy and loved. Now I was busy signing autographs and I never had anytime to spend with my family. One thing I knew for sure was life was short. I definitely didn’t want to waste it. After putting a lot if time and thought into this wish, I decided to wish for my old life back. I knew many people might have thought that was the most stupid thing you could ever wish for, but I knew it was the right wish for me. I stood up from my chair and said, “I wish for my old life back.” The room started to spin and it started to get blurry. After about five seconds, everything was back to normal. Then all of the paparazzi gave me a weird stare like, who is this girl we’re taking pictures of? Most people might be sad about not being popular, or rich, or famous, but I liked it, and for the first time I was glad to say I am Sophie Ann Smith!