The Wish

Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to Lucasfilms, not me. The only thing that's mine is the OC (and really, if they want her they can have her too.) I don't make any money from this nonsense.

Chapter 1

The bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the summer. I grabbed my bag, already packed and set to go, and swung it onto my shoulder as I stood, following my classmates as they pressed eagerly toward the door. Once the crowding had thinned out I slipped into the hallway, humming a snatch of a song I'd heard on the radio recently. An interminable two minutes later I was finally out in the parking lot. I looked around until I spotted my friend Carly's car.

Her parents were fairly rich, so she got to drive their cast-off Lexus whenever they bought a new one. It may not have been the newest model, but it was still a sweet ride. I would be totally jealous, but she wasn't stuck up about it at all, and she gave me a ride almost every day since the best vehicle my parents could afford to get me was a bicycle.

Okay, maybe I was a little jealous.

I slid into the front seat and dropped my backpack between my feet. "Free at last," I joked.

She smiled, looking over her shoulder as she backed out carefully. "I didn't get a chance to ask you earlier," she said. "Did your parents decide if you could come over to the beach house this summer?"

I grinned. "Yup. I finally broke them down. I'm heading over tomorrow morning."

She beamed at my proclamation. "I can't wait! This is going to be the best summer ever!" She stopped, her attention drawn to driving, then resumed conversation once we were safely on the highway. "Do you want a ride over tomorrow?"

"Nah, it's not that far. I'll ride my bike—that way I'll have it around in case I want it."

She nodded. "Smart."

We drove in silence, Carly fiddling with the radio in an attempt to find some good music.

"So how did classes go for you this year?"

"Well, history's always a struggle," I said, grimacing. "I think I managed to scrape a B- out of it. If not, well, good thing I won't be home when the report cards come in the mail."

She laughed at that, looking happy and carefree, and I remembered that she'd been concerned about her own grades.

"How about you? Algebra, wasn't it, you were worried about?"

She got very quiet for a moment, long enough for me to feel bad that I'd asked. "I passed."

"That's great," I enthused, my reaction more chipper than I'd intended in my surprise. I had been sure she was going to say she'd failed.

She didn't respond for several seconds, then said slowly, as though the words were being wrung from her, "I wouldn't have passed if it weren't for a wish."

Now that just seemed crazy. Carly wasn't one for mystic mumbo-jumbo. "I don't understand."

She dug one-handed in her purse and pulled out something that looked like a tiny, withered-up hand. "One of my dad's friends gave it to him. He said that it would grant you a wish, just one. But you had to be careful about what you wished for. Of course, my dad didn't believe it, but I was desperate. You know I've been studying my butt off, and I was still failing. I figured it was worth a try."

She turned to glance at me, her face abruptly turning radiant. "And it worked! I can see you don't believe me," she added with a knowing smile. She hesitated, then pushed the strange object into my hands. "Here, you should try it. Wish for a boyfriend or something," she suggested, grinning wickedly.

"I can't take this," I protested, trying to give it back. "Isn't it your dad's anyway?"

"Oh, come on. He only took it to be polite. I want you to have it," she said. "You're my best friend."

That quieted me down. A few years ago, there had been a strange incident in her family. Her mom had disappeared, and everyone figured her dad had done it. Pretty much all of her "friends" disappeared overnight. I was the only person to stay beside her and help her through the uncertainty and turmoil. About two weeks later, her mom had gotten away from the crazy guy who had kidnapped her, her dad was cleared, and all her old friends began to trickle back. But she never forgot that I had stood by her.

"Besides," she was saying, "you don't really need help with school or anything. You could just wish for something impossible and see if it really works." She smirked at me. "That would appeal to your scientific mind, wouldn't it?"

I gave her a rueful smile in return. "You know me too well." I tucked the freaky little talisman into the top pouch of my backpack. "Fine, I'll take it. I'll let you know what happens, too." I shrugged. "I know how hard you were studying. I don't think you needed the help to pass."

"We'll see," she said serenely. "So how are you planning to bring all your summer clothes on your bike?"

I opened my mouth and paused. I hadn't thought that far ahead, to be honest, since my parents had only made the final decision last night. After they agreed that I could go, I'd spent more time than I should have packing, staying up late to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.

She looked at me with a twinkle in her eye as she stopped the car in front of my house. "You've already packed, haven't you?"

I nodded mutely, not sure if I wanted to tell her that I'd looked at my suitcase in satisfaction and checked my bike's tires and brakes without ever realizing the problem.

"Just throw your suitcase in the trunk now, dummy. I'll bring it with me and meet you there."

I threw myself across the console to give her a spontaneous hug. "You sell yourself way short, Carly. You're a lot smarter than I am!"

She laughed and hugged me back. "You've got the book smarts, and I've got the street smarts," she said, quoting our old joke.

I grinned as I hopped out of the car and ran inside to get my suitcase.

*~.

I savored the feel of the wind streaming through my hair as I pedaled my bicycle down the country road. I wasn't the biggest fan of exercise, but the feeling of freedom, almost of flying, when pedaling full-out was worth the burn in my thighs.

Plus, I thought, I want to look good in my swimsuit this summer. Maybe I should do this sort of thing more often.

I breathed the fresh, clean air, and my mind wandered to the idea of the "wish" waiting for me. Something impossible, eh? I ran through possibilities, discarded some, compared others. By the time I got to the Kavichsky family summer home, I had an idea.

I left my bike leaning against the porch railing and knocked on the door. Carly opened it and hugged me.

"How was your ride?" she asked as she led me into the house.

"Pretty nice. Good thing it didn't rain today or I'd be scrambling around trying to come up with another plan."

"Thinking ahead really isn't your strong suit, is it?" She opened a door into a beautiful bedroom. "This one's all yours."

I looked around in wonder as I stepped in. Carly made to leave, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her in after me, shutting the door behind me.

"What's up?" she asked, curiosity simmering behind her eyes.

I was still wearing a backpack with all my toiletries and a few changes of clothes, so I slipped it off and set it on the floor as I went to sit on the bed.

"I was thinking about that wishing thing you gave me."

Her eyes lit with excitement. "Have you decided what to wish for?"

"I think so," I said, feeling nervous. "I wanted to know what you think."

"Let's hear it."

I took a deep breath. "Well, you know how I'm a huge Star Wars nerd, right?"

She nodded, grinning.

"Well, I didn't tell you because I'm totally embarrassed about it, but I've got a crush on one of the characters."

She laughed lightly at that. "Ellie, you are so adorable."

I dropped my eyes, my face warm. "Yeah, well, his name is Thrawn, and he's super smart and badass, and, well, really hot." I looked back up at her, my chagrin quickly shoved out by my excitement. "But he gets killed in the books. I want to see if I can save him."

She gave me a sly look. "And maybe in return for saving his life, he'll make out with you!"

My blush returned full force. "Well, I wouldn't complain," I mumbled.

She laughed in delight. "I think that's brilliant," she said. "And rather impossible, too." She ran off and returned with a notepad and pen. "Let's just make sure you get it right, now. We don't need you fumbling it and ending up stuck there."

Together we hashed out the details, finally coming up with a short list of conditions.

-Travel to the Star Wars universe

-Set in motion the events necessary to prevent Thrawn from dying as written in The Last Command

-Return to Earth in a timely fashion (three months or less)

We both looked it over one last time and declared it good. Carly so obviously believed it would work that I almost didn't want to do it now, didn't want to see the disappointment on her face when nothing happened.

Oh well, we're gonna have a great summer together. She'll forget all about it soon enough.

I took a deep breath, holding the piece of paper with my cues in one hand and digging out the weird talisman from my bag with the other. I glanced at Carly, who made a "get on with it" gesture.

"I wish," I said slowly, "that I could travel to the Star Wars galaxy, set in motion the events necessary to prevent Thrawn from dying the way he does in The Last Command, and return home—to Earth," I clarified hastily, "within three months or less."

For a long second, Carly and I just stared at each other, waiting. Just when I decided it hadn't worked, there was a soft sound like a gust of air. Our heads turned as one to the corner of the room, where a roiling sphere of cloudy darkness taller than me had popped into existence.

I felt all the blood drain out of my face. No way.

Carly gave a muted shriek of excitement. "It worked," she hissed.

"Yeah," I said, stunned. She poked me, startling me out of my reverie.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go!"

I grabbed my backpack, glad I had been prepared for an overnight stay, then glanced back at my friend. "Will you be all right all summer without me?"

She waved her hands to shoo me, grinning. "Only if you tell me everything. And I mean everything. Don't worry, I'll hide your bike and cover for you."

I ran back to give her a quick squeeze. "You're the best friend ever. Wish me luck."

"Only the good kind," she said, and I stepped into the roiling, stormy mass.