Little boy Johnny was a 10 year old boy living with his parents. They lived in a little townhouse that was the perfect size for them. Johnny was an only child but his mom was expecting another child soon. He could not wait until his mom had a baby so he could finally be a big bother. They didn’t know if she was having a boy or girl, but Johnny secretly hoped that it was a boy so he could have a brother to play with.


Being that he was an only child, Johnny often got bored. On top of that, he had just recently been separated from his best friend, Scotty, when he moved a few months ago. Scotty’s dad got a new job so they had to move across the country and Johnny was still trying to get used to the fact that his best friend was so far away. Johnny was very sad because he didn’t have his best friend to play with anymore. He often had to find something to do and entertain himself.


One day, Johnny was really bored. He was getting very sad that he didn’t have anyone to play with. All he wanted was to have his best friend Scotty back. He was racking his brain trying to figure out something to do. He didn’t want to watch television, or play video games, or read. It got boring for him to sit for too long. He didn’t want to go outside and ride his bike because he was getting sick of that too. His dad always worked so he didn’t have anyone to play ball with either. After thinking and thinking of things to do, an idea popped into his mind. It was a random idea but it began to get him curious. Johnny had just remembered that they had an attic and nobody ever went up there. Then the mischievous side of him started to spark.


Up to the attic Johnny went. Maybe he’d find something to do up there. As he was digging around in the attic, he came across a box. Not just any old card board box either.
This box was an ancient box. It almost looked like it could be a treasure chest. Even though it was dusty and old, it still had a little unique shine to it. Where did this box come from? Maybe it was somebody’s that used to live here before them. That was besides the fact though. Johnny was itching to open it up and see what was in it.


There were three things. A paintbrush, a phone charger, and a champagne glass. The champagne glass had a heart and he could tell it was old because there were holes in it. He wasn’t very amazed with the items in the box. Just as he was about to close it back up, he saw a blur come out of the champagne glass. “Hmm…that’s weird.” Johnny thought to himself.
Then he saw blur again and realized what it was.it was like the genie in a bottle except this one was a genie in a champagne glass.
“This box is full of weird surprises young man. Can’t say that I didn’t warn you…” said the Genie.
“Are you the kind of genie that grants little kids their wishes?!” Johnny asked, getting a little bit too excited.
To Johnny’s disappointment the Genie answered him and said, “I’m so old I’ve run out of wishes. Sorry little guy. But I’ll tell you one thing that I want you to remember. Some words of advice I guess you could say because I’ve turned into a Genie of Advice.”
“Okay, what is it?” asked Johnny.
“Life is like an old box in the attic, you never know what you’re going to get.” answered the genie.
Johnny was a little bit confused at what this was supposed to mean but before he could ask, the genie disappeared. He hated to see him go. Then he decided to see what the paintbrush and the phone charger were all about.

He picked up the paintbrush and brushed it on the wall to get the dust off. When he brushed it, it made this weird but cool design. It was a magic brush! “Well this is cool!” Johnny thought. So he took the brush and decided to make the attic look interesting. Every time he brushed, a different design would come out. Once it was sparkles and stars, the next it was rainbows and clouds, then there was a colorful one that made it look like he took paint and splattered it on the wall. Having a little bit too much fun with it, he painted the walls, the floor, and even the other boxes that were in the attic. This was an exciting way to spend his time. Johnny was definitely keeping the brush for himself to see what other magic it could do!

Johnny had almost forgotten about the phone charger that still sat in the box. That was until it all of a sudden started wiggling like a snake! He started to freak out because first, the genie from the champagne glass came and disappeared only saying a few words. Then the magic brush and now his wiggling phone charger?? When he tried to pick it up, the phone charger hissed at him. Johnny jumped a bit but still wanted to pick it up and look at it. He tried a second time to grab it, and the phone charger wrapped around his wrist and squeezed hard. Johnny felt like his blood circulation was going to get cut off. He started to panic. How to get this off of him he did not know! He shook his arm, hoping that would help. It didn’t. Then he ripped it off with his other hand and it finally let go. He threw the charger back in the box, grabbed his paintbrush and shut the lid as fast as he could.
Maybe the genie was right about what he said. Life was full of weird surprises. Now he was really getting scared about this. He probably would have never touched the box if he knew what was going to happen.
Before anything else weird could happen, his mom called him down for lunch. Weird that so much can happen in so little time! Johnny put the box back where he found it and just before he shut the attic door and went downstairs; he heard a voice that said, “What happens in the attic stays in the attic.”