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Still Careful What You Wish For	By : shikiblade Category: G through L > Goosebump Series Views: 4950 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Goosebumps franchise, characters or plot points mentioned or resembling original works from the series, etc. No money is made from this publication.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Chapter Six
As soon as I spoke there was another red flash, and then Mum, Dad and Rhys stood up and walked out the door.
“I wasn’t being literal!” I called after them. They didn’t seem to hear me. My bleeding nose had stopped and I ran to the widow. It seemed that Clarissa, wherever she was, took my words a little too seriously. Not only had my family stepped outside for a stroll, but everyone was coming out of their houses and walking off down the street. It looked like a modern scene of the Exodus.
I stood in the window as I watched everyone wander off down the road. I saw a number of school mates go by, and their family as well. I had no idea where they were off to, and I left them to it. How bad could it get? I decided that I wanted some aspirin for my oncoming headache and then I sat on the couch and promptly nodded off to sleep.

When I woke up it was dark. Everything was silent and the only light came from the street outside. I stretched and turned on the lights. It dawned on me that no one had come home from my wished hike. I looked out the window and saw that, to what was now a growing panic, no one had. The houses were dark and there was no sign of life anywhere. I ran out the front door and grabbed my bike. I rode off in the direction everyone had headed, and then followed the street around. My night was slowly getting freakier, because it seemed an exodus had really happened. No animals, no people, no signs of life anywhere. Even cars sat on the side of the road still running, with doors open and the passengers gone. Bikes lay in the street and even a few briefcases on the ground when I rode deeper into town. This wasn’t good at all.
“Oh, geez Jerry, what have you done?” I asked myself. There was no way of knowing which way everyone had gone, but there was nothing at all in the way of life in the town either.
“Clarissa?” I called out loudly, seeing as no one was going to think me weird.
There was no response. I put my hand down my shirt and pulled out the crystal she had given me.
“I wish for things to go back to the way they were,” I said to it.
Nothing happened. All three wishes were spent. The Exodus I had created was here to stay.

After riding around town looking for anything, anyone or even a hint of life, I still found the place deserted.
Then I had an idea. Clarissa had given me the full address of where she was going last. I had to go and look there, and hope for some sign of tracking her down. Still on my bike, I peddled as hard and as fast as I could down the darkened streets, with the streetlights reflecting eerily on the shadowed and darkened streets.
I reached Knight Street, turned onto it and peddled down the road. 239 was a good distance down, but I kept going. I passed the kindergarten, and further down a primary school, and then a roundabout. Finally, the 200’s were starting on the letterboxes.
When I got to 239 I got off my bike and ran up the front stairs to the door. It was a rather old house built out of weatherboards, and I thumped on the door.
“Clarissa?” I yelled out. No answer.
Hesitating on manners for a moment, I then realized the owners weren’t going to notice if I had a quick look around and borrowed a glass for some water. Inside, the place was pretty clean and I looked around for any sign of Clarissa. There was nothing among the papers on the counter or in a desk. After a long search and trying to keep things neat, I gave up and went to the kitchen and searched for the glasses instead. I found them, got some water and skulled it down.
Hoping that whatever divine forces out there would forgive the rather unusual situation, I made a peanut butter sandwich. I was just putting the bread back in the fridge when I found what I wanted. It was a business card.
Clarissa the Crystal Woman
All Crystals, All the time.
No address, but a telephone number.
Bypassing any remaining guilt for sponging off this otherwise decent family, I picked up the phone and dialed. The phone rang three times and then disconnected. I tried again and this time it didn’t even connect. What the hell was this? I decided I’d give it a bit of time, so I went back outside and went to pick up my bike when I heard the cry of a raven. When I turned to look at the noise, because I certainly wasn’t expecting it, I saw Clarissa standing under a streetlight and waving at me.
“There you are,” I said with relief as I ran over to her.
“You only have to call once Jerry,” she explained as if she had said it to me before.
“What a mess!” I blurted out with complete disregard to what she had said.
“I know you aren’t happy, although you have to admit it was amusing.” Clarissa had a small smile on her face and her eyes were shining with humor. I had no words to say as my jaw went up and down in an effort to find some.
“I know you aren’t happy with your wish, so I will undo this one and allow you one more. Just remember to be careful what you wish for,” Clarissa said.
“I wish…” I began with an overwhelming of anger and frustration.
“Not now,” Clarissa interrupted me. I stopped and realized what was on the tip of my tongue wasn’t a good idea. “Go home and rest. I’ll be along when you’re ready.”
I sighed in both relief and frustration, but I knew she was right. I needed to phrase this one right and remember I could be stuck to undo it again. I nodded and walked across the street for my bike. When I picked it up and turned around, Clarissa was gone.

It was well after midnight when I noticed people walking down the street and returning to their homes. When Mum, Dad and Rhys walked in, they looked exhausted.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
“For a hike,” Dad said flatly. “We’re going to bed.”
“Me too,” Rhys said. He sounded worse than after any sports event he had participated in. I watched them all trudge slowly upstairs like a small herd of zombies and disappear into their rooms. The wish seemed to be undone. I heard cars driving down the street and people were coming and going past the house.
Feeling relieved, I turned back to the dining room table where I had been sat for a few hours trying to work out what my last wish would be. I had written down several iterations, and ditched them all. I even did a small writing project just to clear my head.
Finally, I had an answer. I stood up to go and call Clarissa’s number on the phone.
“What is your wish?” Clarissa asked as I stepped into the lounge. I jumped and let out a small yelp of surprise.
“How did…?” I started, but then shook my head. “Never mind,” I finished.
“Have you got this worked out?” Clarissa asked, sounding excited with anticipation.
“I do,” I answered. I took a deep breath and Clarissa seemed to brace herself. “I wish that Daniel and I could settle all our differences peacefully and become friends,” I said.
“Are you sure?” Clarissa asked.
“I don’t want him to think I’m the greatest or anything. I would just rather he is my friend rather than my enemy,”
Clarissa seemed to understand and she nodded. She then reached into her bag and pulled out her crystal ball. It glowed red again and it reflected in her eyes. Her face seemed to become more youthful in the weird light. The crystal balls’ light then faded and Clarissa returned it to her bag. She then took out a card and passed it to me.
“In case you ever need me,” she offered.
“What would I need you for?” I asked as I read over the card. Clarissa didn’t answer, she’d gone.

The next morning I slept in. I didn’t really want to face the world today. Yesterday had been bad enough and I wasn’t exactly sure what people would remember, or if my family would even put two and two together and work out their untimely hike to whoop whoop had been exactly as I had asked it of them.
Finally, there was a knock at the door.
“Jerry? Are you okay in there?” It was Rhys.
“I’m fine,” I called out from under my blankets. I heard the door open as he came in.
“It is nearly noon. Time to get up,” he said politely.
“Does that mean lunch is nearly ready?”
“Not for a while. Mum is just worried.” I felt him sit on my bed next to the lump that was me under the blanket.
“Well, wake me when it’s dinner time.” I felt him put an arm around my shoulders.
“Are you still upset about the fight you had with Daniel yesterday?” Rhys asked.
“What do you remember?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“You got in a fight, gave a botched excuse and the day went on as usual. I can’t recall a lot of it though for some reason.”
That was a good start.
“So mum and dad are’t angry?” I asked.
“No, just wondering if the chess champ is coming out of hibernation today.” I pulled the sheets off my head and sat up slightly. Rhys kept his arm around me. He was a pain of a brother; however he was still awesome to spend time with in moments like these. I hoped we’d always be like this.
“I’m just thinking through the past week. It has been a bit weird,” I explained.
“Well, tomorrow is another week and you have a math test,” Rhys reminded me. I didn’t need that!
“Want to study together?” I asked.
“Sure,” Rhys said. He got off the bed and went to the door. “I’ll see you downstairs when you’re ready,” and with that he was gone.
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Still Careful What You Wish For