Soul Mirror

One day, one of my ex-best friends was mad at her grandmother and said she needed a soul mirror, I asked what that was and she told me it shows a person's true self. So I took the idea and twisted it.

Chapter 1

I didn’t know what’s worse. Detention for something I didn’t do or sitting right beside the boy who put me in detention. It wasn’t fair at all! But that’s what they say. Life isn’t fair. Especially mine.

“Hey Peters!” Jordan whispered in my ear. My anger had boiled to a point where if it were a cartoon, smoke would have cascaded out of my ears. I ignored him but he persisted as to call my name. Eventually I caved in and spoke to him.

“What Jordan?” I whispered loudly, not giving the chubby boy any direct eye contact. He farted and laughed in his annoying way. That was exactly why I got in trouble for during social studies. We were discussing “World War I” and Jordan had blasted the pants cannon. But Mr. Quay had thought it was me. Like heck it wasn't!

“Ms. Peters!” What’s with everyone calling me by my last name? What’s wrong with saying Anna? I take that back. A lot is wrong with the name “Anna”.

“If you need to pass gas go out in the hallway!” he had said it furiously.

“But it wasn’t"” Jordan had let out another blaster. So now I’m in this situation.

I stared at the clock every five seconds. I mean seriously…how slow can time actually progress? Ms. Fayette walked in. I had this deep frown. Everything about her upsets me to this very day. She wore something that was out of GQ; the female version or something.

“You are dis"” before she could finish her sentence I left quickly. I took a quick glance at Breon. He was a serious stalker and I could not stand him. There’s a thick line between friendly and stalker. He had crossed that line like an illegal immigrant from Mexico to the United States. Why the heck was he in the hallway at this hour (well only an hour after school ended is still pretty late; 5 o’clock)?

“Hi" ”

“Bye Breon!” I didn’t mean to be rude but I was on the edge of my sanity. I was pretty good at keeping my cool but...everyone has their breaking point. I felt as if something or someone was watching me. And it wasn’t Breon.

I turn around to find an empty hallway. It’s fall and soon to be winter. It was going to be dark outside any minute now. I sighed and kept walking. But I had a sense that someone was following me. Something that would not leave. But I turned in a three hundred sixty-degree spin several times. But nothing was ever there. Curiosity had soon blossomed into fear. If I was being stalked then...Lord knows what. My mom’s car was parked right outside. I looked back again. If there was someone there than they couldn’t follow me all the way home by foot. Hopefully.

 

 

I felt a rush of cold air as I walked into the Gym. I was only barely fourteen, but I had enough sense to know that high school was another word for where bad people go. Like that juvenile detention center. Or prison.

After listening to my music on my phone I had gotten bored. Alison walked over to me in her oversized coat. I couldn’t tell if she was sad or angry. But as usual she wasn’t in a very good mood.

But unlike usual she sat and stared at me for a few seconds. Then she looked down at her hands. “Hi!” she said excitedly. I was first very confused.

Her change of mood was so sudden. But maybe she was just faking it. Or even worse, hiding her feelings from me. I didn’t like my best friend not telling me things any more than, say, a very bad grade. But my thoughts had ended. The thing was that she had spoken to me. That was better for her than usual.

“Hi! Why are you so happy all of a sudden?” I asked her.

Her expression changed. “Is there a law against being moody? Well excuse me! Call the police then!”

I giggled at what she said and she stopped. I shook my head and moved on. “So why were you, like, later than usual?”

She sighed. “Since it’s raining outside, I had to get a ride instead of walking. Besides,” she paused as if to think of the right words to say, “I’m not late. You’re just early, Peters.” Even though calling me by my last name annoyed me Alison easily got away with it.

As my friends slowly entered into the Gym, I had gotten less and less bored. Alison had given me a book to borrow called “Vampire’s Moon.” Carmen had shared an amazingly funny anecdote about some muffin her brother stole. Diana shared her iPod with me. I was finally feeling happy.  Probably for the last time that day. We walked to our lockers and then the very first period of the day. The beginning, yet ending (of all happiness) of the day.

 

 

My bus ride was short as usual. I sat by myself into the window. Then, my guy friend (and a friend ONLY) Alfred sat by me. His friend, Matthew, was absent today.

“What’s up Anna?” now that someone had actually said my first name I wasn’t liking it too well. Let’s just stick with Peters. Or like some nickname. But to tell you the truth all my names suck. My middle name, Madison (ok I guess), my last name, my first name, my nicknames Ann (short for Anna) and Annabelle (full length of my name). Either way I just couldn’t win at all.

It was becoming dark outside. I sensed something and a rush had come over me. I swished my brown hair in Alfred’s face by accident.

“Uh…excuse you, Anna!” Alfred said. When he didn’t smile I rolled my eyes and quietly said, “Sorry.” Without any eye contact.

The sensation returned. My body became tingly. My senses seem to blur. It was as if I was slowly losing my ability to do basic actions. The rain outside became one big blob of a scene. It looked as if blue and gray watercolors were spilled over the scene. Things faded to black.

 

I am in a room. There is no one in here. The lights are off. I take slow, light steps trying to find my ability to walk. I push my arms out as if to find the walls. But nothing is there.

It’s as if the pitch-black room was infinite as in without end. I could tell that someone was near. I could feel as if I was being watched again. That exact same sensation that I experienced after my detention.

“Anata tamashii. Tamashii kagami…”

            I can still not see anything, but I can clearly hear that this was Alison’s voice. But how can she be here? Wherever here is. She had spoken to me in Japanese before but I never really understood until she translated it. Light beams from a source north of me. Then the light source slowly forms a shape. A rectangle to be exact.

The figure slowly lowers. Somehow it continues to shine without a light source. I try to look away from the light source but around me it is still dark. The light from the rectangle simply turned the pitch black surrounding to a very dark gray. It’s as if there is nothing in the room. As if nothing else actually existed. Floating, standing on something that was not there.

A frame starts to come into view surrounding the lighted rectangle. I cannot believe my eyes. A mirror is in front of me.

Something is shaking me.

Anna!

It starts to shake harder.

Anna!

“Anna! If you don’t listen to me I’m gonna smack the stupid outta you!” Alfred threatened.

My senses had slowly come back to me. This was my stop. I felt a little disillusioned and my body seemed to have its own mind. I walked toward the exit. I walked into my house. Memories of my day had poured back into my mind. I have math homework and reading class was hilarious.

But another thought occurred. Did I really have that dream or whatever it was? I had turned the dream or whatever over and over in my mind. What did it possibly mean? Some mirror that was summoning me. The sensation of someone…

“What do you want for dinner?” my aunt asked. “I’m preparing some ribs and baked beans.”

“That’d be good. I’ll eat whatever you’re preparing.” I answered politely. I was deep in thought but it didn’t matter at the moment anymore. My cousin raced over to me. He and his mother were on vacation. By vacation, I mean my house.

“I don’t like your hair,” he giggled in a gay fashion and ran away in his dumb spider-man pajamas. If I had it my way I would have thrown him out the window by now. I laughed at the thought and resumed my work on my math assignment that was due on Thursday.

But the little booger, called Nathan, had come back. “I hate your face, too.” He exclaimed but this time he had made a mistake. He didn’t run away. This gave me time to make my own mistake. Reply to his stupidity.

“Do you know what the Easter Bunny does to little boys who aren’t nice?” he vigorously shook his head left and right.

“He comes and chops little kids like yours’ head off!” I said it completely giddy, with a smile. Like those little kids advertising those band-aids. But Nathan started to cry. It started with that deep frown and then a “ewwwhhhh” that developed into a cry. Why? Why must this stuff happen to me?

I grabbed him and hugged him. “It’s okay I was just lying about it.” He paused and was mute.

“So you lied to me!?” he broke out into more tears. He said he hated things about me but then he cried when I treated him bad. Seriously, though. He can believe in the Easter Bunny but not the Golden Rule? Now do you see my predicament? Throwing him out the window is not a mere temptation. Now it’s an option. One I wish I could seriously consider.

 

My sleep came earlier than usual. I looked at the clock: 8:39. Why did I feel so sleepy? That entire day of freak Nathan can really tire you! I roll over just to close my eyes. The television seemed to slowly become more and more quiet. The lights had mentally dimmed. Everything around me blurred and I lost my senses again. This time it was no illusion. Just a peaceful sleep.  Or so I had hoped.

Chapter 2

The mirror is in front of me. I look down at my shoes. How did I get here? But the mirror is still in its place. Silent and mysterious. But something lies within it. Something very dark. Not dark as in evil. But dark as in depressed, like feelings that are bottled up and eventually explode.

A shadow appears. It forms slowly in a fading-like way. Then my mirror image appears. I’m wearing a skirt. I have my hair in the ponytail. No make-up yet, no defects. I have some cute, little tennis shoes.

Then she smiles even though I do not. I open my mouth to gasp but no sound is escaping from my lips. And another person slowly forms. The person is like my twin. Exactly like me but she just oozed a different aura and vibe. She is a little angrier looking a little tougher, too. She’s wearing mostly dark purple. Her hair is completely out and make-up is smeared on her face. Just eye shadow and dark lipstick. It wasn’t gothic but it’s as if she was hanging around one too much.

Then I notice something on her face. It’s thick and dark red. Blood. It was smeared slightly and she looks as if she knows I’m looking at her bloody cheek. She smiles. This time more evil and scary. I was alone in a dark room. Fear had consumed me. Then she starts to laugh. And fades away very slowly.

“So did you hear about Simone Lione? She’s locked up in jail!”

“Like seriously every five weeks I swear she’s convicted of some"” I turned my radio alarm clock off. It was eight o’clock and the bus would be there in just about an hour. My dad had apparently already left the house. And my mom had probably been left. So I was left with “The Booger” and his mother.

I walked into my bathroom understanding that I had awhile before I would need to go to my bus stop. My bathroom counter was neatly organized. After slapping on my uniform, I put on a little of bit of perfume (no one needs an overdose). It was a gift. And all gifts should at some point be used. I adjusted my silver and black headband. Beauty wasn’t something I enjoyed to indulge myself in. It was for mindless girls who need make-up and glitter to cover the ugly. The type on the inside. I frowned in the mirror and walked out to face my idiot of a cousin. 

I was expecting him to run at me and said he hated something about me. He ran down the stairs and stopped by me. There was a great fear in his eyes. Not “I saw something” fear, but “I’m anticipating the worst” fear.

“Good morning…” he mumbled and turned to the direction of the kitchen. He looked back at me and barely smiled. His tooth was missing…

Gosh! It was a lie! A small white lie to scare the pants off of him. Or at least swirl him into a spiraling depression. Ok. Forget I ever said that. Well he deserves to have his head-

“Time for breakfast!” shouted my aunt. She came out of the kitchen with biscuits and bacon. Alison calls them “Double B Breakfast” because they both begin with “b” and they are her favorite breakfast foods.

I decided that there was no time for slow consuming. The bus was going to arrive in about ten minutes now. And buses can either been late or early. On time is stupid for a bus. Or just unknown at the least or foreign.

I walk outside after quickly grabbing my lunch bag that I rarely use. I look out at the neighborhood. It was surrounded my loads of trees. But the trees were becoming bare with fall coming to its peak. Anytime now the sun would become its yellow. Right now I’d say it was a light orange surrounded by purple, pink, and indigo sky. Was it just me or were a sunrise and a sunset pretty much the same scenic view? Only the aftermath can be contrasted fairly.

Alfred and a couple of other people in my neighborhood taking this bus, soon eventually arrived.

“Did you do your math homework?” Matthew asked me. I shook my head and looked away. We didn’t really talk too often. We weren’t too much of friends on any level to tell you the truth.

The bus finally arrives to carry us to a destination with a few stops along the way. I decided to sit in the middle. The front is too goody-goody and the back is filled with future (and current) juvenile delinquents. There’s a limit to being a misbehaved child, you know? At least in an open minded society. My neighborhood is dangerous. Very.

We hit a couple of bumps and potholes that causes me to jump in my seat. Not voluntarily, making the jumps awkward.

I walk out of the bus to meet my friends who already have arrived such as Julie.

“Hi, Julie!”

“Hey, Ann.” She spoke lazily, as if she didn’t want to say anything. Or it could have simply been she was sleepy. Sleep can really get the best of a person. Especially with sleep filled with the confusions of dreams. Especially ones merged into reality.

“Oh shoot!” I exclaimed out loud. I had forgotten to look up what those words meant. I pulled out my phone, which had Internet on it.

I got every translation;

Anata: You, you’re, and your

Tamashii: Soul

Kagami: Name for mirror

It was translated into “your soul…soul mirror”. That didn’t make any sense. “I’ll ask Alison when she gets here,” I thought. She knew Japanese and would be able to translate it for me.

But when she got here she had translated it into the exact same message. I had no luck in finding out what any of this meant.

“It was what you told me in a dream once. It felt so real. There was this mirror and…” I explained to her in the most detail that my brain would allow me to remember. I even told her what I saw and the questions I even had.

“Dreams that are realistic or have a specific topic and/or message are tied to emotions and such. This dream is more mysterious. Dreams like this are ones that repeat, possibly giving more information every time. This is something that even I can’t explain.” Alison responded.

Although her response helped, it also gave me more questions. Besides the basic; what does this dream mean? And why am I having this dream? I also developed the questions what is a soul mirror? And what does it have to do with me?

But I had no further time to ponder the unknown. We moved from the Gym and started towards first period. Reading, for me.

 

“Who wants to read chapter three?” Mrs. Junes asked.

Ugh!

If you could die of boredom teachers would, like, be convicted of murder. Almost every single one of them. But then so would parents, adult figures, and even other kids. But that’d mean a lot of people would die. This was way too serious with so many bad consequences.

Carmen was in all of my classes except third period. I would at least get to stick this awful day out with her. But in my next class even Carmen’s warm, bright face couldn’t enlighten me.

“Hey, Peters!” Jordan shouted at me and waved as we entered the room. This was hell. No way could I have a peaceful day with him sitting beside me.

“Can’t you just leave me alone?” It was a command. At least that’s how I meant to say it.

“Whatever!” he said in a girly way. His amusement was my horror. The sooner it class ended…the better. We studied the culture of Africa. That just screamed boring.

Carmen leaned over and asked me a question, “I can’t find the first one. Do you know what Europeans first arrived in Africa?” She was referring to the worksheet.

“I think it was the Dutch or Portuguese. I’ll help you look.” I offered. I flipped through pages, eventually ending on four hundred sixty nine.

“Found it! It was the Dutch.” I whispered not needing to. Carmen nodded thanks and we continued our work not bothering each other too much more. Soon Mr. Quay asked us for our papers. I hadn’t completed number ten but half the kids had barely pasted number four.

My gaze was on the clock. Ten more minutes. My teacher had just assigned us homework on doing a section assessment. I wrote this down in my agenda book and soon as the bell ring I left. Mr. Quay may be a little crazy but he let us leave as soon as the bell rang.

My next class was Art, which wouldn’t be too difficult. By that I just mean work was. Sure I couldn’t draw a straight line but who cares. Nobody’s perfect!

I had first lunch today. This meant I would have lunch with Carmen and Alison because she has first lunch with her reading class.

I entered the doors with Carmen. Alison was already sitting down. Her class was always the first to enter for some reason. She got up from her random table as soon as she caught sight of us. She walked with Carmen and me to a table. Alison always had her lunch and Carmen as well. Thanks to my thinking we just sat down and talked. Alison was the first to speak.

“You guys should have been in math class. We were laughing like crazy! Mrs. Gritter had left the room for a few minutes. My class purposely went berserk!” I love the way Alison enjoyed saying weird things, without fear of being called uncool. “David had smacked his hands on the wall and even accidently tore down a math poster. When she came back she told us that she heard us in the hallway especially Mercedes and looked at the wall. She was like ‘who knocked over and tore my poster’. The class literally yelled ‘DAVID!’ it was hilarious! I laughed like crazy when we all convinced the teacher that Cameron had erased the board like he did once but this time he didn’t even get up! It was the best time.”

I swallowed my piece of chicken and held my mouth while laughing to prevent coughing my chicken up. “Wow that sounds interesting!” I decided to respond. Carmen blinked.

“Your class sounds…wow…” Carmen apparently was flabbergasted at Alison’s anecdote.

Just then Alfred sat by us.

“Alison.” He frowned.

“Alfred.” She looked at what she was eating and threw it away. “Lost my appetite,” she told me with a sideways smile.

It wasn’t that they didn’t like each other. I mean they couldn’t have. They didn’t really know each other. But they just weren’t good friends.

“Why can’t you two just like each other? I mean, come on! Be friends!” I almost yelled to get my voice heard through the cafeteria noise.

“Maybe they’re more than that…” Carmen lifted her eyebrows suggestively several times and then laughed. I couldn’t help but to laugh also.

Alison and Alfred simultaneously turned toward one another and frowned deeper. As Alison would say they ‘frowned so hard it’d give you permanent wrinkles’.

“No!” they chorused at the same time.

 I knew they weren’t mad at Carmen, but her comment disturbed them. But unlike usual before they were able to start to insult one another pointlessly, I was going to speak.

“So what class are you in?”

“Science.”

“Reading.” Alison quickly said after Alfred. They had a short temper at the moment.

“Don’t use that tone with me!” I snapped. I couldn’t keep a straight face. It was hard to be serious sometimes. But I saw Alison loosen up a little.

“Are you trying to be…assertive.” She merely laughed at the thought. “You’re funny my baka tomodachi!” she said faintly. Alison had used this term before. It meant ‘stupid friend’. Any other person would have taken this as an insult. But to me it was a rather nice thing that she had said.

Then all the noise around me faded slowly. The sight around me started to drip and bleed like water on a still wet, painted canvas. “Anna? Are you…” but the sound stopped and everything around me became black.

A mirror in front of me still reflects the girl who was nowhere near who I am. “This is a soul mirror,” she smiles. “You are looking into your soul. Find it in reality. Or it will find you…” Although the words seem harmless the last few seem like a warning. A dangerous one.

“Anna!” Carmen shouted in my ear.

At first I was shocked and alarmed. My ear rang from Carmen’s yell. I was breathing heavily with panic. The memories rushed back into my head. The heavy breathing stopped and my pulse returned to normal.

“Sorry…just…” I snuck a glance at Alison. She smiled and nodded, knowing what was probably happening. We resumed lunch in silent wonder and worry.

 

 

 I got home with a joy that I didn’t have any homework assigned. I lay in my bed and tried my best not to think of that dream, those words, and especially that warning. I recalled the last few days before the dreaming occurred. At any time had I bumped my head? Had I in any way hurt myself physically or mentally to the point of unstableness? I was denying being in denial.

I passed the time with listening to my blue iPod. There was this hit song by Blue Painter (don’t ask) called “Deny No More”. It’s this song about her trying to get over her break-up, best friendship ending, and grandpa dying. But of course through the whole song she’s just basically in denial of every single event in her life. I-r-o-n-i-c.

I looked out the window when I heard the sounds of sirens. Loud sirens. Ones that were on ambulances. But the sounds soon faded and the distraction quickly ended. I sighed and turned toward my necklace an aunt had once given me. It was an “A” in the center of a heart. On the back of the metal heart was an inscription reading, “Those who believe are those whose dreams become reality.” It was a saying by an anonymous person. With sayings like that I’d make mine as famous as humanly possible.

My father entered the room. “Dinner, sweetie!” he told me with a really wide smile.

I returned the smile, got up, and washed my hands.

I rushed downstairs to find my aunt, dad, mom, and cousin. I blinked several times to brush away the awkward tension in the air. I had no reason why but there was this heavy aura in the room. When I glanced at my cousin while sitting down he had a poker face. He was either oblivious to any emotion or just didn’t know how to react.

“Ann, dear,” my aunt started. “My house is being foreclosed. I am currently homeless. We will be here for the next few weeks or possibly months.” She said it straight as forwardly as possible.

I didn’t know how to react either. Then it dawned on me the severity of this situation. I in no way would ever want to be damned with the responsibility of my cousin for months. Months on end. With “The Booger”! This was going to be an easy decision. This was no good news. All my relatives looked at me expectedly; my aunt cocked her head as well.

“I’m sorry to hear that. But we’d be happy to keep you here.” I said what an adult would say in that situation. My mother was smiling an amusing smile. She was optimistic and could always find a silver lining in every cloud. And this was one big cloud.

We continued to eat in silence. I could no longer bear the knife-cutting tension and refused to sit at that table any longer. I ate the last spoon of my dinner, went to the sink, and dashed my way right out of there.

It was only five-thirty p.m. but due to the season, it was almost midnight dark outside. But I didn’t care what time it was or how dark it was. I was going to take a walk. It was something I did once in a while to escape the reality called my life.

“I’m going for walk, mom.” I shouted down the hallway a few minutes later.

She rushed out of her bedroom. “It’s a little late, Anna, you should probably wait until tomorrow,” she tried to convince.

I gave her a pleading look and then “The Booger” entered and stuck his tongue at me. He turned his head toward me mother. His mischievous smile became a guilty frown. He ran away.

My mother had just opened her mind to my situation. She closed her eyes and let out a defeated breath. “Don’t be gone too long, Anna!”

I smiled.

I pulled a small dark blue jacket with silver stripes over my pink kitty cat shirt. I pulled on some long jeans and my Sketchers tennis shoes.  I ran out the door with an emergency mini umbrella.

Down the block and back should satisfy my misery. I looked up at the moon and imagined that everyone in the world was invisible to its beauty. Only ones who truly appreciated its company could witness it and talk about it like a famous singer they saw at some concert.

Then a dark aura came around me. It took me a while to realize I even had the ability to feel and/or read auras. It was like a mix between a smell and a feeling. It wrapped around my mind. It was cold and sent a shiver down my neck. It whispered words into my head.

“Death is easy. Turn back from your doom called ‘destiny’!”

The voice sounded older than me. But it was not very deep or adult-like. It was an older teenage voice. Around seventeen through nineteen years old. But the person was too young to be evil. Then my mind momentarily in visions Hilary McCullen. If some fifteen year old at my school can be evil I’m pretty sure an older person can.

Then the girl appeared in front of me. It wasn’t the girl in the mirror but she was just as scary to me. I wasn’t sure if I should be scared or angry. I didn’t know why I’d be angry. Maybe because I was thinking that I was delusional. I even closed my eyes, pinched myself, and even clicked my heels three times just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. This all just felt too real to be a dream. It was a sense of reality.

She has this lavender purple hair, the color you would see on those flowers. She wore a long-sleeved, long flowing off-black dress. It was a v-neck. Her face was covered in shadows. My breath was stuck in my throat when I discovered the blood on her left cheek and on her one bare leg. She smiled.

“I am not your enemy. But I am someone you should fear. I am here to warn you of your further knowledge you will soon be able to possess.” It was that same voice in my head.

“What is she talking about,” I think.

“Your mind is interesting to read. You have unwittingly been able to use the power to shield demons such as me from your thoughts. But your mind shields are not yet strong enough,” The word ‘demon’ instilled deep fear in me. I take a few steps back.

“As I said ‘I am not your enemy’. But if you wish to know you are the guardian of the soul mirror.” There were those words again. What is a soul mirror?

She frowned deep and ugly. It was filled with hate and anger. “I am NOT to speak of the soul mirror. But for your own good STAY AWAY from the soul mirror.” She warned. I caught a glimpse of her midnight blue eyes. There was more than anger and hate. There was fear.

Chapter 3

I woke up in my bed. I was instantly startled. I know I wasn’t dreaming. How could I have been imagining? I spot my mom sitting cross-legged on the floor. She must’ve carried me. She always sits in the position she was in on the floor when she’s carried me…

She looks at me with a desperate sparkle in her eyes. “You had fainted in the street. You had been gone too long and I…” she stops. Her worry and explanation made me guilty. Guilt had slowly built as I realized she had pajamas. My bus would be here soon. I took a glance at my mother and mentally told her ‘sorry’. She smiled faintly as if receiving the message.

Instead of following me into the kitchen, she stayed where she was.

 

 

I even arrived at school tired. I look at Alison as she walks through the doors. She turns her head sideways, completely. “What? No vigorous ‘hi?’” I can tell she was trying to amuse me a little, but it didn’t.

But when she just stood over me silently. Like my mother…”I’m fine really. I’m just a little tired.” I tried to smile. But Alison was smart. Actually she’s the only one in our “clique” taking honors classes and made straight a’s multiple times in a row. I know she’s not taking my act. With a bite of her lip, she reluctantly sat down and talked about this new song she’s heard by Blue Painter called “5 minutes”. She even let me hear it on her iPod.

In five minutes I could die

In five minutes you can make me cry

Taken apart by faith and hope

In five minutes I could’ve wrote-

A love song or one of freedom in it

But I’ve only got five minutes

Those were the only lyrics I remembered and they were of the repetitive chorus. But I never really understood the lyrics. It meant that so much could change in so little time and that the creation of a better life can only be done with in a longer time span. After a couple of songs the bell rings. The next thing I know I’m being told to stay awake in Reading. But soon I disobey my teacher. So tired…so very tired…

The mirror stands in front of me again. As if mocking. I see me in only I look way girlier. I’m taller and I actually have b***s. But that’s in the mirror. Not as I stand. But I realize as I look down I cannot see my own body. Only my reflection. My false reflection.

I am tired of standing, helpless and curious. I reach out my hand. But nothing is there. My arm, that is. I still reach out to “touch” the frame. Even though I can’t see my arm I feel my hands brush against the silver, crafted frame. I then reach out toward the glass, slowly. But then my arm and hand appear. And I hear my voice. I gasp loudly as I sink right through the cold, liquid glass.

 

 

I’m still screaming when I realize I’m in the hallway. I looked around with the shock of reality.

Alison brushes past me. “Come on, or we’ll be late for second period!” Her glasses were now pink with glittery stars. Not black. Her clothes were hot pink and her jeans had glitter stars. These were things she loved. Pink, glitter, and stars. Yet, her wardrobe never allowed them. How did she become a totally different person is such a short amount of time. Wasn’t I asleep…?

“Anna, if you don’t get your white butt to french class…” she looks at me. “Nice shoes by the way.” I glace at my outfit. My b***s are bigger. I have on silver and blue striped shirt and black skinny jeans. I’m taller too. I can almost see Alison eye to eye.

“Since when did I have French, second period? Since when did we have classes together?” I look at my schedule, which is so conveniently placed, on my binder front.

It has all HONORS naming beside each class. What? Alison pulls me into French class with Carmen. Madame Reynolds stood in front of the class. We never had any classes together and I never had honors classes. What’s going on? Why is everything so much more complicated? What changed? Am I actually still…sleeping? I was falling off the edge of insanity. I was questioning every realistic thing that was different right now.

“Bonjour!” Madame Reynolds asks.

And that’s when everything turned black and I lost conscious.

The nurse stared at me. She is no longer plump but is now skinny and has long hair. I blink in surprise. I look down at myself. Still have that outfit I was in on.

“You fainted. You must have had some anxious reaction or something.” She walks away. Curiosity feeds away at me. I must investigate why everything is so different again.

I get up and tell the nurse I’m fine. She just stares at me as I hastily rush out the door. It’s my lunchtime. I go to the cafeteria. Almost everyone I’ve ever known looks different. Some taller, some skinnier, some prettier. All these people were the same as their former selves. But they were better. They looked like someone they wanted to be. It was…unrealistic.

I sit with Diana who has long hair now that stops right above her waist. When I sit down she smiles and is texting.

“Who are you texting?” I ask.

“Robert Pattinson!” she responded. At first I was thinking a few things;

1.    She was lying to me. Obsession much! (Not that I wasn’t guilty)

2.    She seriously thought she was but it’s really some phony (she might call me jealous)

3.    She’s joking and just smiling. She always wanted to date him. (Everything is all twisty now!)

“Sure. Of course!” she smiled at my pleasant response. I knew she thought I didn’t believe her. Carmen just got out of line (she came late because she had to finish an assignment). She was acne free. Just like Alison now was when she sat on my right. They were perfect. Flawless. We all were.

This isn’t normal. This is right…

That guardian girl with the midnight blue eyes appeared all of a sudden. She faded into the seat right across from me…

“That’s because this is not your world. I told you to stay away. And now you’re stuck. Forever. One way in. No way out.” She smiles cruelly.

Chapter 4

My breath caught in my throat. I blinked and swallowed. She, it, couldn’t be serious. Maybe somebody else knew her.

“Carmen, do you know her?” I directly pointed to her and where she was sitting. Carmen laughed almost immediately.

“Billy Bob?” she laughed. I gawked at Carmen. Billy Bob is what Alison called all imaginary friends who she didn’t know the name of. Regardless of the gender (hence the fact that I said “her” and Carmen still said Billy Bob). Of course, the people really didn’t have imaginary friends, but they sure were good actors. Basically, Carmen was implying that there was no one there. And that chilled my bones.

“W-why can’t she s-see you?” I stuttered; saying it quietly since Carmen couldn’t see her. My jaw was literally shaking. It was dysfunctional.

She laughed. It was mocking and cruel. That made me angry. For a moment, Alison looked up from her book. It was something about this girl whose best friend turned into a vampire, her long adventure to save her best friend, and the danger of going into another realm.  And Alison was into it. I was shocked she looked up. Directly at her.

“Who are you?” Alison asked softly.

She laughs once more. “I am Tsukiko,” she looks at Alison. “Do you know what that means?”

Alison is at first shocked. Then she opens her mouth to say, “Japanese name meaning moon child.” She let a breath out. “Usually given to children who love to be out at night. In tales it’d be given to children who had possessed powers of or from the moon. Or just the night in general. Some were rather dark or evil due to the fact that the moon is associated with the night.”

Tsukiko nodded with the smirk gone. “Impressive. What’s more impressive is that you can see the demonic undead. You can see me. You’re a vampire as well.” I look at Alison on that last sentence.

“How did you…? The undead know everything.” Alison lifts a knowing eyebrow. She smiles, showing a pair of crisp, sharp fangs.

“I’ve always wanted to meet an undead one. I’ve met witches, wizards, and other vamps. But never a member of the demonic undead. You guys have the power of any of the supernatural creatures. All I can do is read minds and I have other vampire powers.” Those last few things were of what Alison always wanted to be. To do.

“What’s with all of this? Why is everything so much more different?”

“You went into the Soul Mirror. The soul mirror contains the soul of all the people. In the Soul Mirror world all people are who they would want to be. All insecurities, all flaws vanish. And you become who you really are or want to be actually. It’s quite nice really. Seeing everyone for who they actually want to be. You mortals,” she looks at Alison, “well in the real world there are only mortals, are quite amusing. With your flaws and worthless attempts to cover-up all that is real. People that are supernatural only exist in the Soul Mirror and in the world of the strange undead.

But basically the sad thing is, once you get sucked in you can’t get out. No one has got stuck in this place since 1895. I’ve been living for centuries, and I always haunt the people with your curiosity to keep them away. But some such as you are stubborn or simply don’t heed my warning. There is one person who got in just two decades ago. I said the last person stuck was in 1895. She got out but was very disturbed by reality and she returned. Eternally. She’s still here, eternally living a life perfectly who she wants to be. I believe her name was Sandra. She should be about twenty-eight now.”

Alison stared at me. Her eyes were glassy as if moist. “Anna? You’re the Anna from the ‘Real World’. There were always myths about how this world isn’t the real one. There’s another one. Without those people there would be no us. If they all die, we all die. So where’s the real,” she glances at me, “this world Anna?

We both turn to Tsukiko. “She’s taken Anna’s place. Each in the other’s shoes. When you came in, she was pushed out. So no one really knows that you’re missing. They may think you’re a little different, but nonetheless…” she smiles and fades away.

Alison immediately looks at me once again. “You’re a Realistic.” She whispers. She laughs softly. “An actual Realistic.” Giggles follow her words. “Actual Realistic.”

 

 

I try my best to consume all of the information I’ve received. I walk in my house. It’s bigger and when I walk in my mother and father are in there. Together. Happy. They got a divorce. No way in the world would they be together, happy.

But then I realize that this isn’t my world. Everything is different supposedly. But now it seems that everything was just opposite and fantasy-like. I’m sure anyone would concur.

“Anna, you have a private message in the mail. I’ll leave it on your desk in your room.” My mother shouted. It was probably something for academics, since I was just so obviously smart in this world.

I’m about to take out my books when I realize my book bag is empty. In this world, no homework is assigned. Nobody likes it and truthfully teachers don’t even want to give any.  I just sigh and then start laughing at my own stupidity.

“Th-this is good. This is good. This is great.” I spoke my words choppily. I was sucked in a state of momentary laughter. I was soon over it.  I walked up to my room. I had a big room and my closet was huge.

 Definitely a PLUS. All of these things are just so great. Why on Earth would I want to…? I become scared when I can’t finish that mental sentence. Leave.

That one word gave me so many thoughts and questions. Tsukiko practically answered most. Ugh! This was difficult. But while I was there, I thought I should at least live it up and live it out. After all, this is a world where things are perfect. This probably means no conflict; maybe even gas prices are down to, like, a dollar. I’m not even old enough to have a driver’s license though. Let alone worry about gas prices. I wonder if “Claire’s” has discounts. I wonder if everything in the world is one dollar. I always wanted that.

I mentally scowl at myself for my petty, girly wants. It was so stupid and worthless. I can’t believe I could ever forget about which things actually mattered. I had read too many books, watched too many movies, and played too many games with similar story lines.

A character goes into a perfect world only to find out that everything is not as it seems. Or she or he doesn’t really want what they think they did. And some are really corny. It ends up it was just a dream. Even though this world wasn’t exactly real, I was not dreaming. And not even someone as psycho as I could come up with such a fantasy. I can’t even write a story. Let alone create something on a scale this dramatic.

A lay across my bed. The pillow is so soft it seems literally stuffed with feathers. The mattress is just as good to lie on. I try to think of good things and not the problems that I would soon be facing. How did that saying go? “Don’t put off what you can do today, for tomorrow.” I can see how much that would relate to my current situation. But it’s not like anything could really go wrong. Darn! I jinxed it! Prepare for the worst.

 

 

I wake up on a Friday. It’s already nine o’clock! I was late.

“No. You’re really not.” Tsukiko laughed at my ignorance once more. I was getting very angry with her. I forgot she could read my mind and instantly calmed.

“Ugh! Why are you here? You’ve caused enough trouble.” She frowned disgustingly. I automatically make a mental note. Don’t antagonize the enemy or whatever Tsukiko actually is to me.

“Yeah. You really shouldn’t. Not if you want to stay alive, at least. But Ms. Impatience, school doesn’t start until ten thirty.” I’m still not finding how that’s good. “It’s only takes you ten minutes to get there. It can’t really take you a whole one hour and twenty minutes to get dressed and otherwise prepared.” She rolled her eyes.

I gave up. Sometimes you just can’t win. And that’s just that. Acceptance. I’ve heard Alison say that acceptance is the first step in recovering from whatever traumatizing event. I walk downstairs quickly.

 

 

I was still stuck on Tsukiko stuff. But I brushed it a side as Alison sat by me once again in the Gym where the ninth and tenth graders waited.

“Buddy!” she shouted with a fake, droopy smile plastered on her face. It was a weird greeting but it was nice. She had on a more punk rock outfit today. Only all the purple was hot pink. And all that would be black was a cotton candy pink. And her eye shadow, hair bow, belt, and shows were showered in gems and glitter.

I closed my eyes for an unnatural period of time. I had to get used to these images and appearances. At least until I leave. I shuddered at the thought once again.

“Friend!” I yell just to soften my personal mood. She grins at me and rolls her eyes.

“You’re very bad at pretending. You might as well stamp, ‘I don’t want to talk to Alison Perkins on your forehead’.” Even though she means this as a sign that she’s “hurt” she smirks the whole time. Her head held high and confidence radiating from her face. Or maybe that’s just the light shining from her perfectly smooth face. Too perfectly smooth.

“That’s not true Alison It’s just that"”

“You don’t want to talk.”

“I’m just reflecting. You just kinda made me lose my train of thought there.”

“Since when did you think?” I don’t know if she meant that to hurt or as a small uplifting joke. I couldn’t read the poker face she had on. So I just suspected it was the second one. Or, rather, hoped it was the second one. If it was not…then I may not like the real Alison for whom she really was. Or maybe the real Alison was slowly becoming better. So this Alison was foul. Everything was a different atmosphere. Maybe the fake Anna was doing one hell of a bad job being me. That was not something I wanted. That made me worry (again!) too much about my whole staying here and when do I leave.

I release a deep breath. Thank God that just a few minutes later the bell rings. Saved. Or at least, postponed.

So I got used to seeing Alison in all of my classes. But as hours past I still have that thought in the back of my mind. I have to leave. I have to leave. Eventually I put.

During Art class, period four, I look at Alison draw a vampire and a witch. She was practically good at everything. But trust me this isn’t just the Alison here. That’s my Alison too. She turns toward me and squints then whispers,

“You should probably make that head on your demon a little smaller. And lengthen the dress yet show some skin on the arms and chest.” She waited for a minute, looking at me erasing my thick, unsteady lines. “You’re welcome.” She mutters under her breath and then returns to her perfect composition. 

Then I feel an aura embrace my senses. It was strangely yellow. It had a scent of those types of rose flowers that if you don’t keep in water would become as dead as 80’s fashions. But it was lined with a depression you could feel miles away. An aura-reader or not.

Tsukiko fades in, in a rather liberated position. She was sitting down with her legs stretched out, her hands behind her firmly on the table, and her head angled toward the ceiling. Until she fully formed (on the art table) and turned her head in my direction. A mischievous grin found its way to her face. I really started to think that was a look she had pre-decided to give to me every time she was in my presence.

I had once again realized that Alison and I were the only ones who can see her when everyone just sat completely unaware of some demon of the undead just perched among our creature drawings.

I knew she could read minds so I spoke to her with it. Even though they couldn’t see or hear her they could see and hear me. It’ll look weird to talk to air.

Why are you here? Haunting me or stalking me?

“Stalking? Do you not remember my words? I am your guardian. Well Soul Mirror wise.” She spoke aloud because nobody except Alison and I could hear her.

I just sat nonchalantly.

“It’s ok. I’m this awful with everyone. Just especially with you!” she looked at the ceiling again as if were being able to see through it, to the sky. “You exert stubbornness. But at the same time an appealing persistence.”

That’s supposed to make me special? I forgot she could hear my thoughts until she answered.

“Yes. Dumbness.” She went right along on her stare.

You two are so much like sisters it’s as if you two have known each other your whole lives. Gosh!

I knew that wasn’t me. And Tsukiko had momentarily looked disorientated by the confusion. We both moved our gaze toward Ali.

What!? You guys think you’re the only ones who can communicate with the mind. Demon and Realistic.

I rolled my eyes. And to briefly think, I had something over Alison.

Well you thought wrong. And I prefer the name, Ali!

Yeah. Sure. Anyway…onto lunch time…

Carmen is now in a long flowing floral dress. It’s silky and see through. But her body is wrapped in black under garments. The flowers were dark blue, purple, and off-white. She wore black make-up (just eye liner) against her pale beige skin.

She stares at Alison. She has on a hot pink sleeveless half shirt. She has this mega short skirt that shows her upper legs (not yet her butt, thankfully) that is the same color as the shirt. She has boots up to her knees. These are the same color pink with glitter stars (matching her glitter star belt).

“Nice hair,” Carmen finally spoke. Alison had her hair in one ponytail with a glitter star as a bow. She had a few dark brown hair strands out in front, dyed pink. I was wondering why their outfits were so exquisite.

“The Principal sent out a private letter a few nights ago.” Alison said, reading my mind. So that was what that was.

“What was it about?” I asked out loud this time.

Carmen looks left and right, and then cautiously speaks in a whisper. “They’re, as in the board of supernatural education, going to open a school in the After Lands.” Carmen said first.

“The After Lands is a land, kinda of like a separate dimension made solely and only known by creatures and human people with creature-like powers.” Alison, helpfully, added.

“They’ve invited special intellectuals of our creatures to participate in a new school in the After Land. We’re dressed up for interview, today. Isn’t this amazing? Since the Regulars here know nothing about it, their memories of us will be permanently washed. Not that this is a problem. We’re a pretty small,”

“And close.” Alison input.

“Clique, err, group of friends.”  Carmen finishes. “You have gotten one right? What type of creature are you, now that we can freely express it since we all know we are a creature?”

“An aura-reader and ghost-talker.” I said it slowly and confused. I knew of my powers, not of my creature-type.

“It’d be totally cool if you had a make-over now. Totally drab, bad dress, dress this person to impress!” Carmen said her spell. She must’ve been a witch or something.

My clothes disappeared to give way to little black sparkles covering my personal sections. I got a pair of long jeans that were dark blue. Then a “V” cut, strapless blue and silver striped shirt.

“A Supernatural Sorcerer.” Tsukiko voice was heard before her body appears. I was tremendously irritated with her unpredictable visits. I tried to brush it off and ask Carmen,

“Can you see the undead?” I directly pointed to where Tsukiko sat. Right next to Carmen.

“No, but since I’m a witch I can create a spell to. A lot of words have been said; help me to see the undead.” A dark purple flash of light surrounded the outline of Tsukiko. It slowly moved toward her center. This must be a fading effect in which Carmen starts to see Tsukiko.

“Wow!”

“If I must repeat, Anna’s a Supernatural Sorcerer. And to save Alison some breath, she’s a vampire. Knowledge a very scarcely spread thing.”

Is she evil? It was Carmen’s voice, inside her head. She didn’t know we could hear her.

“Yes.” Alison and I chimed in unison.

“Barely.” Tsukiko said lazily as if she didn’t want to say it but had too. For the first time ever I saw slight weakness in her eyes and a slight flinch at the question. But it disappeared rather quickly.

“This undead demon had been stalking me ever since she appeared. Maybe even before. The one I thought was there after and before detention. With Jordan. Who by the way, it wayyy thinner here.”

“He was fat!?” Carmen asked.

“I know how you feel. Jordan here is, like, anorexic now.” I added.

Surrounded in laughter, I almost forgot a stare that Tsukiko gave me. Her eyes were depressed and her stare was intense. But when I met those eyes she looked away. She climbed up on the table. She formed the same position she did in my art class. Tsukiko looks up at the sky and faded ever so slowly away.

 

 

“Excuse this announcement,” a monotone voice said through the speakers in the ceiling.

“Will the students Alison Perkins, Carla Stevens, Carmen Penning, Anna Peters, and Natalie Vancouver report to the guidance office? Thank you.” A loud, static click occurred after the announcement was made. Alison, Carmen, and I rushed out of Reading class.

All five of us simultaneously enter the guidance office. The middle-aged tanned woman didn’t even look up when we entered her small, hot, and stuffy room. Just a door and a desk.

“Back door.” She says in the same monotone voice.

We all exchange looks at each other and Alison decided she would be the one to open the door. We walked in.

“It’s just a storage closet.” Natalie said with a small laugh.

“I know right. So lame.” Carla added.

Alison put her fingers to her lips and said shhh. “You here that. It’s a wind.”

Eventually we all heard it. Even I did. All of a sudden a huge, gaping hole appeared in the wall behind us, opposite of the door. It whirled with a thousand rainbow colors.

“We jump in?” I ask. The winds were so fierce I almost lost my voice trying to make sure they heard what I was saying. Alison obviously heard me though because she was the one to respond.

Alison answered loudly, “I have a feeling we all have to jump in at the same time. I think that once someone enters it closes. GO!”

We all flew into the portal and when I looked behind me, the portal is small enough to show a doorknob being swallowed by rainbow swirls.

We end up in a long hallway with two doors. One at the end. One to our left near the middle. There was a very dim light on the ceiling in the middle of the hallway. But it’s so dark up there, that for all we knew the ceiling was nonexistent. And it just disappears into nothingness. But hey. This is a magical land. The After Lands, at that.

The walls were a dark, ugly blue and the doors were a dark, ugly brown. The door swung open but no one came out.

“Did the door just…” Carla said slowly. I could sense a strange aura from everyone (even me) except Carmen and Alison. They were basically fearless.

“Carmen Penning?” a voice called. It was deep but a young male. Those type who get into their puberty way too soon.

I was the second to last to go and was afraid to go in. It was a Wizard-like woman. She looked like that type of mother who although middle-aged, was quite young looking. In appearance and at heart.

I little nametag read; ‘Supernatural Sorcerer Division Principal’. My first thought was, “how did all that fit on a name tag?”

An amused laugh comes from the woman’s lips. “It wasn’t hard. Just a little…sorcerer magic is all. I’m Mrs. Samuel. I’ll ask you a few questions.” She sits back to examine me a little more in detail.

“And your aura is purple. Don’t be scared or nervous. I don’t bite. That’s the vampires’ job.” Even though it was a joke she didn’t laugh, just wore a thin smile.

“What’s your name?” she asked. The next few minutes were questions of who I was and my educational information.

“So, when did you first discover your powers?” She blinked as she quietly waited for my answer. I knew she could read my mind and I put up my mind shields. I thought about clouds covering the sun, shirts covering scars, things that covered others.  That’s what a mind shield is, in my theory. A barrier keeping out people.

But I decide to tell the truth. For two reasons. One, she could just have enough power to bust through my mind shields. Two, the truth will set you free.

“Five days ago.”

She nods. Mrs. Samuel closes her eyes and motions her hands to wave out the door. I rush out, thinking that this is a signal to leave. Then, Natalie went in. Before entering she whispers, “Pray for me,” in a singsong voice. We all nervously giggled and waited until she returned.

Natalie came out with this thin grin. “Did you guys have Ms. Ernest?” I shook my head and the other girls said no.

“It probably depended on our powers and what not. Carla and you have elements, earth and fire. The rest of us are vampire, a witch, and a sorcerer; an exact species.” Carmen stated.

“True! That’s just what I was thinking. None of us are the same species or power holders so…we may not see each other too often.” Alison added.

“Is it true, this is a boarding school?” Carla turned to me. I shrugged and everyone else was silent. But trust me. Alison’s very good at breaking those.

“That’d be nice. Staying where you learn. If your class is five minutes away, you can wake up, like, thirty minutes before class starts. Instead of an hour prior!” Alison said with increasing enthusiasm.

We didn’t know what to do. Our meeting was over. And there oh-so-obviously were no portals anywhere. It’s only the door up the long hallway. Carla starts to walk forward. The rest of us just stare. That’s when she turned back to look at the rest of us, her eyes pleading to follow.

Alison ran to catch up with her. I debate following. When everyone has gone I was still standing there. My feet seemed glue to the floor. I looked behind me. I sighed, rolling my eyes at the unnecessary paranoia.

When we walk down the hall. Nonexistent lights shone from the ceiling that still bore darkness.

It doesn’t even have a light source. Where the fudge do these things even come from? How does all of this happen?

“Oh, wow. Now you can add paranoid to your personality list. The second most negative thing I could say about you. The first is stubborn. Maybe you’ll go into a state of stubborn paranoia. But I’m pretty sure you’ll soon discover that slowly going crazy is only your first problem. Or rather. It’s not much of problem at all compared to your…future…predicaments.” Tsukiko appeared and faded with a smirk, right as her words of a somewhat warning stopped.

I don’t have time to worry about what she just said to me. Because we’re already at the door. Alison opened it and it looked like outer space. Even a realistic moon. But we jumped. Right then curiosity ruled over caution.

Chapter 5

 You know how in space you just float endlessly. Because one, there’s no known area that space just…stops. And two, no gravity, nothing to keep you…down.

“So…” Carmen drifted off of her words.

“No they didn’t!” Natalie said. I wasn’t completely sure of what they (whomever they were) didn’t do (do what?).

“I don’t think they’d really leave us floating in space. Seriously. Five kids. At that girls just left floating in space. It’s not only just illegal. It’s wrong.” Alison pointed out arrogantly.

Everyone turned at her bold statement.

“Well it’s true. I don’t just mean me, I mean you guys too. I’m not that much into myself.”

I faked laughed and Carla commented.

“I never knew you were so great at lying.” Carla falsely praised. “You’re just so good at SO many other things. I would have never guessed you were good at something negative.” She added sarcastically.

Then this loud hard WHOOSH! sound occurs. It’s like a meteor shooting through space at five hundred miles per hour. But I was off. Way off!

We all turn around, struggling against the lack of gravity to witness a portal. But not just any portal. Apparently, in this world if it’s average or predictable, it’s not worth mentioning. 

The portal was, this time, a swirl of so many shades of green. Like a rainforest canopy. Just without the sky and it had a twist rapidly swirling.

“We have to catch that?” I asked. I quickly regretted it, replaying the words in my head.

I suspected sarcasm. But they girls were so fumed at the dumb statement they all shouted “YES!” The shouting didn’t hurt me because their concentration was focused on the oncoming portal.

“Now!” Carla shouted. We all jumped into the gaping portal.

 

 

All I saw around me was a blanket of darkness. I reached out to touch what was still dark. I wanted to tear away from it as if it was just something simply covering my eyes…

“Open your eyes, dummy!” I heard Alison command. I opened the soft skin over my eyes. How could I possibly not even know they were closed?

“Did you miss me?” The voice was of something that was so similar I could touch it, yet so far, it was painful trying to remember.

“Does Tsukiko"”

I yelled. It was loud, sharp, and desperately loud. I opened my eyes that I was again unknowledgeable to the fact they were even closed. When I do open my eyes I witness the girls and even Tsukiko staring at me. Most were shocked. Tsukiko stares with alarm and then a condescending smile.

“I’m tired of you always appearing out of nowhere! It annoys me and I hate you with your disrespectful smiles and remarks! I hate you period! I can’t stand my current paranoia! I can’t stand this life!” I yelled. My screams echoed off the doors off the small back, storage room. So I ran.

And I ran, and I ran, and I ran some more. Then I almost collapsed on the ground. I, unfortunately, fell on some gravel. It scraped my face. All the wind was knocked out of me due to the impact. I felt like letting my emotions run. I could’ve cried like Alison or screamed like Diana. Instead I decided to lay there in my own pity. I pulled the little pieces of energy I have left to turn me over to face the sky.

It swirled at first, slowly. But as I closed my eyes and breathe deeply everything stopped momentarily. Alison looked over me when I opened my eyes. She had tears falling from the tip of her nose.

I was worried. She spoke with her mind, chocked by her tears. I’m worried she’s going to have an anxiety attack or an emotional breakdown. For some reason she seems more...true than the Anna that lived here…

She forgot I was listening because she said “she” instead of you. She cared so much for me. Just like the real Alison. Who I was really starting to miss at the moment...

It might be best that I just leave.

Alison’s tear dropped down her face to the edge of her lip. Unlike the real Alison she doesn’t catch it with her tongue, hoping no one will see it. She just smiled and lets the tear take its journey to the ground. Like rain from the eyes.

But maybe a few days at the academy wouldn’t hurt.

Alison smiled so big; it became fifty percent of her actual face. She outstretched a friendly arm. My pain quickly melted. And Alison’s aura became a gold so bright it looked more like bright yellow. The type that looks like a glowing sun that if you stare at it too long it’ll blind you.

As she pulled me, she soon held me within a hug. An embrace that was loose. Alison’s (well THE Alison) used to hug me tight. To the point where it hurt but I still loved the fact that she cared. The warmth of her hug eventually wore off and we unbundled.

Maybe it’s just me but this Alison was getting nicer and happier. Over the amount of the days she seemed to be cheerier and cheerier. There was a point where I couldn’t even look at her directly. Her aura was too bright. She, actually no one, had the ability to change auras but still she persisted to feel down or sad. It only made the sunshine shining from her outline become a bright gold. Gold is a little duller. Not necessarily darker.

Here, the last day of school took place in October. The school year starts at the beginning of the year itself. It makes me cry when I realize that I’ll probably missed Christmas. But here there is no Christmas; someone must want it that way.  Otherwise it wouldn’t have occurred. That was weird. You’d think everyone would love Christmas.

“For the last day of school,” Our first period teacher, Ms. Venus started, “We will design a good bye card to our best friends. Of course for most of us it’s just leaving for the summer. Jamie will pass out the papers. And Danny will pass out color pencils and markets or each table.”

Ms. Venus had golden hair that was cut into a bob that stopped at her shoulders. She always wore pastels, easily pulled off, thanks to her gender. I’ve known her for just a little less than half a month yet I knew so much. All thanks to my mind reading ability. She was a single, depressed woman. She was middle aged and although had low income, she seemed happy. Her depression was secret. Every now and again she sneaked a frown and a pill. I felt really bad for her, for days her aura’s been a red. This was a mixture of fear and anger, in this case. I want to know what. It has to do with a husband she once had…his name was Julius Venus…he held an importance to…

I wrote a great goodbye to the Alison of this world. I planned to give it to her when I finally leave this world. It talks about what the real Alison and I have been doing for years. And how I’ll miss her. But I don’t get to sign my name. “Anna…” I turned toward Diana who is coloring a teddy bear pretty roughly. It has the words “Janice” written in a heart the bear is holding. Everyone was quietly talking and going along with their business.

Mrs. Venus stood up in front of the class and announced, “The last bell of the day should sound in about” glance at watch, “five seconds. So pack up because you have a great winter ahead of-” the bell cuts her off before she could say “you”. Though, no one really cared. 

I ran out also, eager to get home and I couldn’t believe I was actually going a little more than three months without returning. Nevertheless, I thought that this wouldn’t be too bad. So I’d miss school. Second quarter is not only the shortest quarter of the year; it had a break in both November and December. Plus, the Anna that was here was very smart. She was everything I wanted to be. Only with my clothes and trying to fit into my life.

Alison caught up with me at my locker. In this world, I don’t have to rush out to catch the bus. I never did like the bus. It’s all because of an incident in elementary school. I waited five hours and no one ever came causing me having to literally walk fifteen minutes to my house. I haven’t missed a bus since the incident. Alison walked all the time and in this world she lived in my neighborhood, so she said.

“Mrs. Beck’s class was so frustrating and our French teacher was a little stupid with all her unnecessary yelling.” Alison complained. Either our teacher was on her period or was having one bad emotional breakdown. Then again…same difference.

I looked at the watch that I all of a sudden had. Then Tsukiko appeared. Just my luck!

She cautiously looked at me. But without direct eye contact she said, “So. Are you…okay?” she said it with a slight hesitation. Her voice was softer and she seemed guilty. I tried not to worry and just figured that she was the reason she had caused my sudden outburst. This was only partially true. Although all those things I said antagonized her and were directed at her, in a way I had one of those “I’m angry at the world,” or “I’m angry at the pain in my life,” type anger. A type that’ll exert a muddy forest green aura.

I almost forgot she asked the question. I was deep in thought about what I was going to say. Such a simple question with such a complicated answer.

“Fine, actually. Thanks for asking.” I looked at Alison. A smile snuck onto her face. It wasn’t of amusement. It was more of the power of knowing something. Like when you’re in math class and for some reason you really did get a problem right on teat really tough quiz.

When I sneak a look at Tsukiko, I observe that there is a deep cut on her left cheek. It’s farther away from me so I barely notice the dark red smudge below the cut. My eyes widen. I am over whelmed with sudden terror and nervousness.

But when she turned to look at me, I stared at some flowers planted in a neighbor’s yard. I tried to put up my mind shields and this time instead of thinking of barriers I thought of protection and safety. This must’ve been strong because neither Alison nor Tsukiko looked at me or tried to communicate with me through thoughts.

When I reached the house that I thought was mine my “parents” had tears in their eyes. But they were smiling. Is it just me, or is this an expression that can me oh so many emotions. But it seemed sincere (the smile that is). My mother rushed up to me and hugged me tightly.

“Sweetie! You’ve been accepted into an academy for intelligent students. It’s a boarding school. Do you want to go?” She said all that in one breath. I had to blink a couple of times, unnaturally, in order to digest all of that information correctly.

They obviously didn’t know I had powers. Well, technically this place didn’t exist. Err…it did but not scientifically…well…whatever. You get it! So in a way I didn’t have magical powers.

“Yes, I do want to go. I believe it’s free and it starts January fifth.” I thought they might have questioned how I knew so much. But instead my father came up to me and asked me a question I’ve always wanted to be asked.

“What do you want for dinner?” my heart did summersaults. It beat within my chest with such power it shot a deep drumbeat throughout my veins.

“Milkshake. Peach, hold the bananas. Hamburgers, lettuce iceberg not salad. And French fries, the crinkle ones from Food-Lion not Wal-Mart!” it may seem like some cheap meal that’s not even worth a McDonald’s menu, but trust me. Our blender makes the best shakes and smoothies. And the hamburger-French fry combination is CLASSIC!

“Alison, honey, you can sleep over tonight right? Maybe even have some of those crinkle fries.” Alison flipped her Blackberry up and texted her mother. Instantly it beeped.

Alison’s smile turned into a smirk that slipped to the left as a small curve of her lips. “I guess I can Mrs. Peters.” When she said those words, something happened.

My body became tingly and all thoughts stopped processing. I had a short memory of the past. Mostly just of Jordan. His oversized belly telling me things in detention. Then it stops. The sensation and the memory. The next thing I know, I have no recollection of Jordan or detention. As the image faded so did my memorization of the event.

I look around, unconscious of what I was looking for. I shrug and stop thinking for a moment.

 

 

“Truth or Dare?”  I asked with earnest eyes. Alison squeezed her lips and shifted her eyes upward.

“Hmmm….truth.” she finally decided after a burning few seconds. I didn’t expect her to pick truth. The Alison in the real world would’ve pick dare, she hates spilling the truth. I guess the real Alison likes to communicate her feeling causing her to be more open to the world. Or more importantly, me.

“Why do you look at me sometimes with this distant longing stare?” she blinks at my question.

“I…don’t know…”

“Oh come on!”

“No, I actually don’t know.” She looks at me with that same look. She squints realizes she must’ve made it. “I really don’t know why.” She whispers.

I’m done with this game and we start to talk in a language with both knew. This was of course, French.

“Comment allez-vous?” Alison asks. How are you?

“Je ne sais pas,” I answer, with a nod and half smile. I don’t know.

“Eh bien…La vie est compliqué!” she gives a thumbs up and sticks out her tongue. Well…life is complicated.

“Wow! Your French is good!” I compliment. “I mean votre français est bon!” I giggle and then I burst into full on laughter when Alison sighs in false disapproval.

“Merci, Merci.” She looks at her hands and drags her palms along the floor. She looks up slyly to stare at me with that star. But I quickly look away and pretend like I didn’t see her gaze at me.

 

 

I wake up with the sun just peaking over the horizon. Its red glaze seems to cut through my reluctant eyelids.

“Anna…” the voice was pitchy and weak, as if they had just woken up as well and really didn’t want to call out my name. It repeated my name.

Then something hit me. It was soft, like a pillow or something. But it was like an earthquake impact due to my sleepiness. “Five more minutes.” I begged to the unknown person.

Alison laughed. Five more minutes wasn’t even a full sentence yet it evoked laughter. Alison. One book I will never be able to clearly read. Like those scriptures in French or Spanish class. Even though you got an “A” it doesn’t necessarily mean you understand what, “Primero, tengo la clase de ingles de la manana.” means. Just has something to do with English class.

I get up with my light pink tank top and lime green pants on. I stare at Alison on the floor and resist the urge to kick her. For about a minute. I lift my leg and tap her on her lower back. She at first sits so still I would think she was dead if I had no sense (although that, my friend is still in question).

I look at her body and wish she would just rise up off the floor.

Her body lifts. She looks like it’s against her will and her arms just hang, limp. She rises to the point where her sides are completely touching the slanted ceiling. I gasp at her body. Alison wakes and looks around frantically. She manages to turn around and glances at me with narrow eyes.

“Anna! Put me down!” she yells; a mix of anger and frustration. I just remained gawking at something that I unwittingly controlled. The problem was I didn’t know how to put her down. Or correction; I couldn’t think of what to do to put her down.

She finally calms down enough to realize I’m not aware that I couldn’t make a person rise-or anything move without physical force for that matter. Telekinesis.

“You don’t even know how to get me down. You weren’t even sentient that I was doing this because of you.” She said more to herself than to me.

I race across the room to physically pull her down. Sarcasm caked her voice when she said,

“Yes! You can’t physically put me in this position, but you can physically take me out of this position. If you used telekinesis to put me like this, then use telekinesis to take me out. Now imagine me landing on something-”

She rushes towards the ground in a large whoosh of air. “SOFT! So that I could go down easily and smooth!” she said after a few seconds of rubbing her right hip. Truthfully, I thought of her just shutting up rather than going down…

But then my mind starts to wander. Why does she know about these things? Or rather how? She doesn’t have these powers but holds so much knowledge of…well everything.

“I know these things because since I was nine I realized I was a little, different.” This must’ve been when the original Alison first yearned to be a vampire. “So I studied the mythical and the supposedly real, which turned out to be just that, real, facts, characteristics, powers, and so on, on the different type of creatures, magical beings, and super powered regulars. Studying these creatures gave me insight onto all the creatures. The ones that I matched the most were of vampire and of the witch. I was soon declared vampire when I…well let’s just say my friend’s cat…died.” Alison told.

 I had first just thought about the last sentence. Um, yeah. She sucked the blood out of a friend’s cat. That’s so wrong, yet, so... moral. In a way, you can’t help how you were born (or…err…formed). And then the information on her independent studies sunk in. She spent years of her life just trying to figure out who she really was and who the people around her actually were. Then finally the part that I realized that I didn’t ask her about it aloud, I had this “dumb butt” feeling about me. Thanks a lot mind shields. Then again, I haven’t put those things up in hours. A day or so even. I should’ve expected something like this. I’m so stupid with my powers!

“Not stupid. Just a little lazy, wild, and naive is all.” Alison says after taking up all her stuff and goes to change.

“Right.” I blink lazily at her slight insult of my control over something newly discovered. “Yeah, ok. I know.” I just rolled my eyes and started to fix my bed covers.

My mother looks at my father and smiles with one of those “I love you” smiles. My stomach rolls over, very queasy with the thought of one of those adult romances. It’s so nasty when adults love. It’s all so disgusting and awful to look at. And I’ve read the summary of those adult romance novels. I mean, these things are so dramatic it’d make Shakespeare blush. Or at least include more tragedy and less comedy. If there was any. In all the plays I’ve had to read of Shakespeare, I found none the slightest bit amusing.

I just stare at the bacon, withered and hard. I look back towards my parents. I’m supposed to eat that. It was partly because it looked hideous and partly because the lovey dovey crap was still instilled in my mind. My father must’ve read my mind. Well, not literally.

“No. You don’t have to eat that, dear. My mother was not paying any attention what so ever to the bacon. So your bacon is sadly dead, hon.” My father explains.

Yes, that explains it dad. She wasn’t paying attention because…ewww! I just stare back from the bacon to my parents. I decide not to comment on that. I walk down the hallway and run down the stairs.

“Alison and I are going to the community park. Be back at one or so.” I had then realized it was only ten and I technically said I’m leaving for three hours. But, who cares. I needed to do some things or at least research information. Just not yet sure what…

Alison looks at me with eyes saying, “let’s go”. We exit the door and close it, memorizing leaving-the-house rules.

Then Tsukiko appears at the corner of our neighborhood. She doesn’t seem aware of our existence and is concealed deep within her own thoughts. Her aura had differed. It’s not that murky pink color. I have no clue what that color meant. But all the other ones were either obvious or could be easily deciphered.

But now it’s a weird looking brown. Brown…brown….is she felling earthy. I really couldn’t understand what brown stood for either. But I really didn’t wanna think about it. Her aura smelled of false sugar. Like those things that say it tastes like sugar but it’s not really sugar. It’s…fake. My curiosity pushed its way from my brain to my lips.

“Hey, you said you studied creatures and their powers.  Was there any book on Supernatural Sorcerers?” I asked. I paused to let her answer but she just looked at the sky. Hello! Do you think there’s an answer in the sky?

“There is one or two I believe. Located down at Letcherson’s Library. It has a vast collection. It’s alphabetized by topic. Such as ‘myths’, ‘disorders’, ‘drawings’, etcetera. But luckily, for us, mythical creatures have their, our, own section. As in a section for ‘vampires’, ‘witches’, and so on.”

I nod, taking in the information slowly. I processed each of my possibilities. “Well, let’s go to the library now. Don’t you have a broom or something?” I regret it right when it leaves the conservation of my mouth.

She stops swinging on the swings and looks at me (it would have been an over-the-glasses look if this Alison had glasses). Her face screams, “That’s so offensive!” She twists her head to the side and releases a heavy, forced sigh.

“For one thing, I’m a vampire. Not some witch! I don’t have a frikin’ broom!” after slightly yelling she breathes slowly through her nose.

“I’m sorry. I lost control there.” Ya think! “But I can teleport you. Us.” She blinks and turns her head back with some faraway stare. I blinked and just waited, to make sure she was finished. No need to anger her any further than she was already upset. Um…MY BAD! Gosh. But I’m pretty sure mistaking supernatural species is uncommon. I mean. Isn’t it true that supernatural always have a bigger attitude? Or just some how has the ability to get angry easily/heavily.

She got up and walked over to me. She took another deep breath and stuck out her hands beyond her outstretched arms. Alison’s hands were faced palm up, probably purposely.

“Get up and lay your arms out as so. Step back so that your arms are completely outstretched.” I did as she directed.

“Now, Close your eyes and think of nothing.” I see her trying, as my eyes are wide open.

“How am I supposed to think of nothing? I mean if I try to think of nothing, won’t I be thinking of something. Like think of blackness, that’s something. Isn’t nothing just something when it comes to thinking?” I was confused at my own words and really was thinking those sentences up as I went along, actually. Alison at first looks confused but shortly returns to her sigh. The one that says, “you’ll never learn” or “you’re hopeless.”

“Think of the calmest place you can imagine, I should have put it. A beach with calm water, no wind, no sounds. Just the most tranquil and/or quiet and calm place you could ever imagine. The magic, you can say, is all done by me. But the thoughts of the person you transport must be clear or they can interfere. You think of something that’s not calm, tranquil, and quiet than we can end up in Lord knows where.” Despite her frustration with me she said that rather serenely. It was surprising. She was one good actress.

But I thought of this one beach I went to when I was five. It was rather “tranquil” and whatever other adjectives she used. 

I opened my eyes, prepared to ask whether we has transported. But I didn’t need to. We were already at the library. And by the way that Alison was already yards away, I thought that I must’ve been closing my eyes with my hands out, stupidly, in a library, by myself.

“Wait for me!” I said loudly. But I put my hands over my mouth. When I stop, I expected someone to say “Shhh!” but there is no librarian at the desk. I looked around as if trying to find someone to tell me to quiet down. When I think about it, this library was quite old and vacant. It was a ghost town in there. And Alison and I were the only source of life. Even the fish tank was dead. There was no fish or light (or water for that matter!).

I scan the aisles of the library, halfway lost, searching for nothing specific.

I found thousands of books surprisingly organized in a way that amazed me. Some sections had their own organization form. It could be by color, author, topic, and even age of books. It would have bore me if I was in my world, but this was simply…amazing.

“Anna?” she whispered. I had no clue why. This place was emptier than churches on weekdays. She gestured to follow her and left without my consent.

She went all the way to the end of a shelf, lined with books of rainbow colors. They must’ve got really got creative with the supernatural creature books. She pulled out a blue one. It was sky blue, of course. But its color was dulled by collective bits of dust.

“‘The Supernatural Sorcerers Book’. This is one of the few existing on this species.” She looks up and hands me the book. “It’s quite rare. Your type actually. Although the most common I believe are witches/warlocks. I’m not sure why.” She looks around and stops her eyes at a low, flat, and square wooden table.

“Let’s sit.” I say just because I wanted to say it before she could. Alison rolls her eyes, momentarily irritated again, and sits down with me.

I flip through the book, saving the real search for later. I learn history and many “did you knows?” throughout. According to this, the first Supernatural Sorcerer was discovered in 1689. But the real first person they are not one hundred percent sure of because supernatural sorcerers are the most reluctant to give up their identities. Our powers include communication with the dead, telepathic powers (such as telekinesis), and the powers to see auras and read minds. But through my search I forget that I was looking for auras. I go to the index and I find one aura page. But it just explains what auras are and what auras consist of in perspective to the sorcerer.

I close it in obvious aggravation. Alison just stares knowing my problem before I am able to speak it.

“Well. I’ll look for the other book. But there’s only three in existence. That’s one. The other was burned by some witch who had this thing against Supernatural Sorcerers. The other…could be anywhere in the world.” She warned and was off to find the book.

Great! How would I ever find out about these auras? You could say classes but to tell you the truth, if an ancient library and an all-knowing vampire can’t tell you information, I doubt a school’s educational system can.

Alison came back empty handed. This was expected, but of course…a girl could hope, right?

Then it occurred to me. A brilliant idea revealed itself.

“You can transport us!” I said overly excited. The confusion on her face gave way that she was either repulsed or actually confused.

“How? I can’t just transport on thoughts!” she blinks at me and then her eyes grow wide. It’s as if she actually got it.

“You mean location transportation!” I didn’t know what that meant but that sounded like that was it. “I can’t do that. That’s for highly skilled supernatural creatures. I don’t have the type of power. It takes multiple people at the least…”

What location transportation meant was actually signified as when you think of a very specific object or person. Imagine it and configure it and then you are transported to the place the object or person actually is at the time being. Little did I know… this was for high-leveled people.

“We could combine our powers,” I suggest desperately. Alison was skeptical of this idea but my eyes gently pleaded.

“Ok. But I warn you it won’t work.” She stops her nagging long enough to tell me the directions. “This is more of a job on your part since you are contributing with your powers. Not think of the object. The book I remember is HUGE, a swampy, ugly green, and had this golden, dusty lock on it. It’s a picture of a lock, actually. In big whitish-green colors the cover reads ‘Informational Guide on Supernatural Sorcerers’. Imagine this with all your might. Breathe deeply and slowly. Close your eyes. Imagine the book with surrounding white. A-k-a the book on a white background.” Alison stops talking to get me into the mood.

When I open my eyes, the scene around me is swirling. Although everything looks like it’s moving, I stay still and close my eyes again. I needed this to work. I open my eyes and find myself in an unfamiliar place.

All I know is that I’m completely surrounded by darkness (or blind…).

Chapter 6

I look around thinking the worst. Was I stuck in some black hole? Or a warp in time? Or even worse…was I stuck in whatever place alone?

“Al-Alison?” I stammer, asking her name rather than calling it. “A-Alison,” I repeat. But I hear silence. Then a stream of light shines from my left.

As my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness, my mind grabs the fact that it’s a flashlight. Connected to a girl that I know. Alison. But my mouth has obviously not caught up with my brain, because I stammer in the dark once again calling her name. The beam of light moves in a direction toward me.

“The book is in this cave.” She says immediately. I can tell she really wants to leave. There’s something quite unmoving about this place. I could feel it too, deep within my bones. It was a sensation, not a smell, sound, or taste. But a feeling.

“Hold my hand. Believe it or not I can see in the dark because vampires have the eyes of bats,” true, “and they are nocturnal. So they have night vision.” She outstretched her hand and touched mine in the complete darkness.

After a few yards into the cave I could see Alison’s outline and some bacteria glowing on the sides of the walls.

Eventually my foot stumbles over something. I was walking so comfortably that it completely caught me off guard and I fell. Unfortunately, I brought Alison down with me. However, she got up immediately and grabbed the object that I stumbled over. It must’ve been important; at least she thought it was. And boy was she right!

“The book!” her exclamation echoed off the walls and she pulled me as she ran out into the light. Once we exited, a portal had opened. And we were sucked into so violently our hair and clothes flipped up and we almost dropped the book.

But when the spinning, and wind sensation ended I opened my eyes.

Alison stood before me with the book. We were back into the library only someone was there. I could sense an aura so strong it was BLEEDING its way around me. Wrapping around my mind, taking control of my senses.

“Someone’s here,” I whisper close to Alison’s ear. She nodded and scooted down. Alison looked left and right to see if the person is around or close enough to view.

Should we go and find the person? I asked telepathically.

Yes. I wish I could turn invisible thought. Neither of our powers allow it, sadly. She answered.

So we carefully scan the aisles full of books, dictionaries, atlases, encyclopedias and more. I was worried that the gaps in the bookshelf could give way and that he or she would notice me too. 

The aura was giving off a blue color. A deep type of blue. The one you would see at a beautiful ocean at night, maybe during a storm in the raging seas. Royal blue was of new opportunities and with the streaks of metallic silver thrown in; they were also open to ideas.

I was deep in thought that I realized Alison was pulling me hard enough to rip my skin off.

The person’s coming! She mentally shouts. I cringe. Shouting in thoughts causes headaches and migraines. It’s like pain’s tearing through your head from your temples to the back of your skull. It’s unbearable.

My hesitation caused the figure to come around our aisle. It was a man. One of those men who are extremely perfect. Too perfect. Yet at the same time, genuine. His hair was on top of his head and (of course) perfectly cut. He glasses were thin and propped correctly upon his (perfect) nose. And NO one has a perfect nose. Imaginary world or not. Noses are like, the center of a human’s imperfection. His body was muscle yet not steroidish.

He looked over his glasses at me; immediate smile. I force a polite smile.

He inches closer and sticks out his hand toward. I instantly think right hand and shake him with my right hand. He moves it up and down. And, unsurprisingly, I pull back my hand first.

“My name is Samuel Simon, but if we ever meet again,” I hope we will, his mind said, “then you can call me ‘Double S’ or more appropriately, Mr. Simon. Simply right?” his smiles, bearing the sight of prefect teeth. Not just perfect, but white. Not just white but annoying. There’s something very off about this guy. He’s that type that tries to hard, seemingly perfect, and does anything to get what he wants. I made a mental note to stay away from this dude.

“Anna.” I whisper. I turn to Alison, expecting her to introduce herself. But her curiosity, as usual, overrides her manners.

“Why are you here? Mr. Simon.” She asks boldly. I know she didn’t mean to come off audacious or imprudent but she wasn’t acting like she knew otherwise.

Mr. Simon just laughed lightly as if he was amused at Alison’s words. Alison’s anger starts to rise. She doesn’t like people thinking of her as “cute” or a “naïve, amusing girl.” She conveys this to a form of disrespect. Her muddied red aura flares into spikes. I placed my hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. She looks back at me. And she cools. Returning to a calmer colored aura. A regular blue. Just the type on a crayola crayon and a color pencil. Not sky-blue, not green-blue, but blue.

“I’m a soon to be teacher at a…” I could feel the hesitation. So I probed his thoughts. He was a Supernatural Sorcerer. And was gonna teach a class…at the same school I was gonna be attending next month.

Alison turned her head toward me and grinned. She must’ve read his thoughts as well.

“You’re a Supernatural Sorcerer, aren’t you?” she asked straightforwardly. He blinked awkwardly. I could see his discomfort transform himself from perfect to completely insecure.

“It’s okay, we are too.” I speak up, trying to convince him to reveal himself. Just tell us. I plead with my mind also thinking that with his age he’d be professional enough to have the ability to read minds.

“We already know the answer. So…don’t lie.” Alison smiled. If I didn’t know of her five-year rule (she doesn’t allow herself to like guys more than five years older or five years younger than her), I would believe she was flirting because her smile at the end of that sentence was rather playful.

“Yes. The powers of a vamp and a fellow sorcerer. Such ample power in such little bodies.” Hopefully, he meant his stature in relation to us.

“That still doesn’t answer my question though.” Alison persists, her eyes in arrogant slits.

“I’m here to find the few books that exist on Supernatural Sorcerers.” He says. He eyes toward the book I forgot Alison even had.

She looks at him, daring him to ask.

“That’s the rarest copy. Only one left in existence; how did you find it?” Silence. I blocked my mind shields so he couldn’t find out. Something tells me that I couldn’t trust him too much and I didn’t wanna give information to an (almost) total stranger.

Alison turns toward me, closes her eyes, and holds her hands out. Palms up. I suppress a laugh desperately trying to escape out of my throat. She was actually going to leave him here without a response. But I went along with it anyway. For two reasons; one, I found this situation to be amusing, two, and I can’t transport back myself so if she left without me and didn’t come back (which she would do (hopefully))…

I close my eyes and think of a beach. One that’s quiet and has a marvelous looking sunset. The next thing I know, I felt like I was spinning wildly, but refused to break my concentration and open my eyes. Then it just stopped. So suddenly, it almost hurt me.

 

The sound of rain is the first thing I heard. Since I heard it first I imagined it and saw it within my head clearly. I heard it, felt it, and tasted it. But then I literally felt it. My body is pounded with buckets full of water. It soaked my bed and me until I got up. I opened my eyes wide and blinked multiple times in a row in order to make sure I wasn’t just imagining this.

My bed was damp and my pajamas were clinging to my body. The cold sensation was awful. So I could manifest, too.  Great.

Manifesting was a part of telepathy and of course I would inherit it as a power. Ugh!

So I realized that I couldn’t think of something too vividly. At least not with all those senses being tied into it. The only thing worse than having uncontrollable powers is having uncontrollable powers that can come into effect at anytime. What if my dreams start to become reality? Those movies can give me some scary dreams, you know?

The panic faded as I stopped long enough to turn over my situation again and again in my mind. I wouldn’t be here for a long time so who cares.

Tsukiko looked at me. She sat on my dresser. Her purple hair draped over her bathing suit. I was tempted to ask questions but this was my first day of school. But my clock says 7:30 and I know school doesn’t even start until 10:00 today.

My suitcases lined the walls of my bedroom. I had a suitcase for every different thing; pajamas, clothes (in separate suitcase by season), electronics, books, and two book bags full of school supplies I might need. I sighed, in my cool, slowly drying pajamas.

“Any reason to torture me before I even get to boarding school.” It was supposed to be a joke, one to enlighten the mood even. But it came out a deadly serious. Tsukiko just smiled, obviously unfazed regardless.

“Yeah. Of course. You could say it’s a part of my job in a way.” Tsukiko teased. I rolled my eyes at that. As far as I was concerned, her job was to direct me and to guide me. She was doing more abuse and stalking if you’ ask me. I didn’t even bother to shield my thoughts from her.

I waited for her to keep talking and yet simultaneously went on with my business. Then, I paused, coming to a shocking realization.

I looked at Tsukiko, once more. It was as if I was looking for something. I wasn’t sure what. Yet, I’m not completely sure what I was looking at. What was she the answer to anyway? I swallow my pride to ask a question that I was burned to simply ask.

“Are you gonna stay with me?” I blurted the words. I refused to look Tsukiko in the eyes. For just a moment, her amusing smiling eyes become scared and dishonest. I also could’ve sworn that a tear had fallen down her cheek. When I blinked, though, it vanished.

I knew I would never forgive myself if I drove her away. I didn’t want to admit it, but in this world she was the only thing supplying knowledge. Besides Alison who could only tell me stuff about supernatural creatures…

 “Kesshite.” She says softly. I squint at her. I groan loudly in complete frustration.

“YOU KNOW I CAN NOT SPEAK JAPANESE!” I yell so loud my notebook falls off my dresser. I feel my body cool down. When I get mad I literally become warm and turn almost red. I decided to do some deep breathing and avoid looking at her or anything else by closing my eyes.

“It means never.” She says indifferent. It was if Tsukiko had become numb or worse; emotionless all together.

 

 

I take my seven suitcases and my book bags on my back and shoulder down the steps. I glanced at the load I was carrying. I was being extremely unrealistic.

When I looked at my watch I sighed. It was already 9:50. How did dressing up and such take that long of time? My outfit was a blue and pink striped shirt and some jean shorts with flip-flops. Earrings and other jewelry were placed here and there. Ok. I get it. I’m being totally over glamorous with such a simple outfit. I looked at Tsukiko and pretended that none of the things that we just said took place.

“Are you able to,” I stop mid-sentence. Tsukiko was an all-powerful undead being. Saying she wasn’t able to do something (or questioning her ability) was like an insult. So I cut the bull.

“Can you transport me to my dorm?” I ruffled through my jean pocket and opened a neatly folded document. It’s ‘Dorm Room Number 2-D; Building #4’.” I read directly off the paper.

She shakes her head in a fake disapproval. Tsukiko inches toward me and put her hand on my shoulders.

Every suitcase around me turns completely white and then disappears in a flash of white light. Then I disappeared in a hole of white swirls. I was immediately in another place.

 

 

The hallway I ended up in was long and at its end turned both left and right. The walls were painted all seven colors of the rainbow. But due to the fact that it was completely detailed (no colors overlapped and no white was showing) told me magic could have been used. Why spend months in development went you can just conjure up a school in less than ten seconds?

The door in front of me read in a bright blue plaque ‘2-D’. When I stared left it read; 2-E, it must increase, in letter, the further down the hallway.

I internally debated whether or not to knock on the door. If no one was inside…I wasn’t even completely sure if I had a roommate or not!

But I knocked anyway. It couldn’t hurt me. Then a note (which weirdly formed out of nowhere) floated in mid-air. It read in neat handwriting;

Dear Students,

You must be able to open the door to your new dorms using your specific powers. Vampire, Witch, whatever you are there is a way that you can use your power. A hint is that, depending on your creature, you can either OPEN the locked door or somehow TRANSPORT in side.

Good luck,

Your Headmistress, Mrs. S. Morrison

 

I lifted an eyebrow and shook my head at the note. Wow, they really wanted us to practice our magic. That’s some deep commitment. The thing is, I really don’t feel like using my brain to figure it out or my magic. Can’t the door just open?

Just use your telekinesis to work the lock and then open the door, stupid!

It was Tsukiko’s voice in my head. I was sidetracked at the crisis of opening the door that I momentarily didn’t have the time to become angry with Tsukiko for penetrating my thoughts.

I concentrated on the door. I imagined it opening, the knob twisting, and the crack in the door bringing an aroma of my favorite scent. Citrus.

Then I smelt it. Citrus fruits’ scent surrounded my nose and was so strong that I could’ve sworn I actually smelt it.

I opened my eyes to witness my door opened to a crack. I opened my door to witness a room. The room was beyond belief.

It was two times larger than a rich person’s bedroom. It had a sky blue ceiling, midnight blue sidewalls, and a fuzzy dull blue carpet. I could totally see the monochromatic blue theme. There was a white bunk bed in the upper left corner of the room. There was white matching furniture. They had an exotic blue lamp and lava lamp as well. Another dresser on the side of the room closer to the door had a really expensive looking computer. It was blue, as well. The room was blue and white, making me imagine the tropical Caribbean Sea with white, soft foam. All of it…except a girl with long light brown hair in an orange matching tank top and skirt. She had her legs criss-crossed and two empty vases; each filled with sticks that burned at the ends. Smoke was exerting from them. It was the thick, strong citrus smell I had imagined. Did I conjure up this scene as well as the burning citrus sticks? Or is it a coincidence that this person was burning my favorite scent in my new room?

She opened her eyes as if merely sensing my presence. Her eyes widened. She smiled immediately.

“That’s where the suitcases are from. I was wondering how they just got here!”

She’s one perky chick! But her clothes are rather stylish. I should really ask where she gets those…

“Yeah! I’m known to be perky. And these clothes are from Smith’s Gallery. It sells everything relative to or about art. There’s even some amazing patterns and styles section dedicated to clothes and modern fashions.” She answered my thoughts. I mentally slapped myself.

They most likely paired us with roommates of our same powers and species. Of course she’d be able to read my mind.

“Don’t put yourself down I make that mistake all of the time.” She gets up and shakes my hand softly. She smelled like peaches and her hand was softened by lotion.

“My name is Janice. Some people call me January because that’s my birth month and not to mention that Janice is an old, worn-out name.” she explained.

I decided to perk-up and just go on with the already built conversation.

“Hi January, I’m Anna! Did you get a schedule? I heard the schedule was in the dorm. But I wasn’t aware I’d have a roommate because I never looked at the letter. So I’m assuming we have every class together?” I asked curious to know what classes I was going to have.

“Yes!” January nodded turning around to rummage to one of her two suitcases.

She hands me a piece of crumpled paper. When I unfolded it, I found that we only had four classes. One for every hour. 

One class for four different things; Language (such as names and terms of the species’ magic and exchange, this is equivalent to English Class), History (this included the historical events of a specific species’ past happening), Practice (this is the actual doing of the magic, kind of like science, it’s completely hands-on), and Social Economics (this involved no economics what so ever. This class was on socializing with other species similar to that of your kind).

I blinked and handed her back the paper.

“But right now, we have a meeting in the auditorium in,” January looked at her watch, “about two minutes. Shall we get there?”

“I thought we couldn’t transport?” I said it as a question, clearly confused on the subject. Alison couldn’t have been lying. And she sure did seem to be sure of her knowledge.

She laughed halfway at my ignorance.

“We’re not transporting silly. I never said anything about that.” She looked at the door. It opened in about two seconds.

“Elevator? Steps?” she asked.

“Steps!” we agreed.

The auditorium was cleverly named “Aura Auditorium”. I guess each place was named after a power or specific species, (wait until you see the “Sorcerer Science Lab” and the “Fang Faculty Room”!). The auditorium was huge. It was so big an ample amount of chairs were placed. Enough to fit about one thousand people approximately. I saw almost all of them filled except two beside Alison and a girl beside her.

The girl beside her had long black hair. It was in an ultra-curly ponytail. She had light blue streaks in her hair. She wore so much blue that it blinded my thought of any other color. Alison wore a short sleeve hot pink shirt with a black short vest and pink skinny jeans that had a silver sparkly belt (matching her shoes of course). Her friend was smaller in body size. She had on a light blue dress with an open white shoulder sweater than stopped above the stomach when buttoned. Not to mention the weird pairing with blue Nikes. I never knew you could get that brand of shoe in that color.

The girl smiles, revealing small fangs.

“Hi, I’m Lauren.” She turned to Alison. “I believe this was the ‘Anna’ girl you were talking about.” I blushed at her comment and remembered to talk about Alison talking about me to people I haven’t even met. 

I nodded politely. “Yup! This is my roommate, Janice.” I gestured toward the hippie-looking girl dressed in orange who only proved my point by showing a peace sign rather than a friendly wave.

“Call me January, please.” She stretched out her hand to Alison who shook it gracefully and then Lauren who took the hand and squeezed it, suddenly shy. I sat beside Alison and January beside me.

This woman with a Black blazer and a black pencil skirt stood up and stepped up to the microphone. I expected this to be “S. Morrison”. But she was not, I realized, when she started to speak to the students. It took me forever to realize this was a girl’s only school.

“Good Morning, students and teachers alike,

“I am here to greet and welcome you all to this elite school for supernatural creatures!” Hands clap around the whole auditorium. I clap just to be polite but secretly I would rather this little introduction to simply be over so I could go to class and get this experience experienced!

“For those who do not know me, I am the vice principal of this school. My name is Danielle Terrance…” her preppy voice and smile, I ignored after a minute or two. I spotted Carmen just two rows ahead of me. She coincidently looked behind her and waved at me. There was an empty seat behind me and gestured toward the chair. Carmen smiled slyly and her body slowly faded in a yellow sparkle and ended up behind me.

January looked behind her, startled. I had forgotten to do a little introduction.

“Oh, this is my very good friend Carmen. She’s a witch. And I mean it with the ‘w’.” January laughed lightly obviously getting the joke there.

“Yeah. I sure do hope so. I love that dress, by the way.” She complimented on Carmen’s dress. Carmen was wearing those quite often. It must’ve been a witch thing. It was a long, flowing deep purple dress. The upper torso part was that of a tunic; its sleeves flowing out.

She smiled at the compliment.

“Thanks a lot. It’s very traditional to wear dresses in the witch culture. Isn’t that right, Supernatural Species Expert?” we all looked at Alison. It wasn’t me and Carmen knew neither January or Lauren.

“Right. Found it in the extremely popular ‘Species with their Cultural and Historical Fashions’ Book. It’s famous pretty much all over the globe. Of course it would appeal to humans as well; so in depth with their fashion and wearing.” She explained thoroughly.

 “Students, this is the most important part of my little speech here. Then you can head to your classes.

“There are a few rules with your magic. Rule Number One: Do not use your magic and/or psychic abilities for malicious reasons. But I’m sure none of you would use your magic for that reason.” Her fake smile at that moment seemed plastic. That sentence also caused a few of the girls to burst into giggles that meant, “Yeah…right…” which I agreed with as well. This was a school. There’s a bad girl bound to appear sooner or later.

“Rule Number Two: Never go out on campus or explore the school without adult permission and supervisor. Ever!” She really stresses the ever"so much it stings somehow.

I few girls flinched at this, clearly startled by the strict seriousness of this rule. I could understand. When I looked around"I mean really look around"I observe that the size and the architecture of this establishment was exquisite. It could bring on the curiosity of the most conservative person. There were numerous rooms, floors, and places like this always had that door. The door that’s in every new place. In some cases, it’s in your own house! It’s the door that had one or both of these two qualities; it’s never opened and/or you’ve never noticed it until you started to snoop around.

“So this is the end of our little session. Now there are five of every subject per species. So, can someone inform me on how many species are here? Teacher species representatives?” The species representatives stood up; each said their species’ name.

“Vampire.”

“Supernatural Sorcerer.”

“Elements; water fire, air, and earth.”

“Witch.”

“Morpher.” My eyebrow lifted up at that one. I’ve never really heard that species before.

Tsukiko’s voice whispered in my head. There were no chairs open and some people would actually be able to see her besides me so she couldn’t risk trying to say these things to me in person, face-to-face.

A Morpher is a strange creature. But at the same time it takes a complicated use of energy. Some have literally died trying to master their powers. These are creatures that are able to morph. There are levels of mutation; person imitation, object imitation, and the one only for really advanced Morpher they can imitate anything they see in less than five seconds. ANYTHING! It’s really amazing. But, to tell you the truth, I’m good just being one of the demonic undead…

Her voice began to fade very slowly towards the end of that last sentence. I nod, blindly, knowing that even if she could see me somehow (as in from an unknown spot) I was darn sure I couldn’t see her.

Those were the five groups of students here. When everyone started to get up and teachers moved out, I snapped back to reality. Everyone was moving and bustling. I turned to January expecting the letter in her hand but instead she was frantically looking for the crumpled piece of paper.

She looked at me with guilt buried deep within her eyes. I had automatically known that she left it upstairs.

“January! Did you leave it upstairs?” But before she could answer I kept talking, momentarily overcome with hot anger, “We have five minutes to get to class AND our dorm is on the top floor while our first class is on the first. We are gonna be so late!”

We were already rushing to the steps over crowded with bunches of other Supernatural Sorcerer girls. I tried to politely bust through the students but it was no use. I ended up tearing through the crowd quite impolitely.

When we finally get to our room I’m the first to find the paper. It was put beside the lamp. Now that I think of it, she did put it there. I feel incredibly stupid to have forgotten that.   

I looked at the homeroom class;

“Period 1: Language: Room 746”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7

I enter the room late. The aura around the classroom is varied. The auras ranged from clear red (passionate) to pastels (sensitivity) to soft blue (peacefulness). The mixes of different color almost blinded me. It hurt my eyes but I had to put that aside.

All of these different people staring at me were something that I just couldn’t take. I started to shake a little; vibrate even. The thing that scared me the most were that these were all Supernatural Sorcerers meaning that they could read my mind. They could see, taste, feel, hear, and possibly smell my fear.

January must’ve sensed this at some point and decided to speak. I apparently wasn’t going to any time soon.

“I’m Janice Frankston and this is…um…Anna Peterson. We’re here in this class. I mean we have this class, now.” She said more confidently than her aura was actually showing. Some of the girls snickered, some whispered, some (those who exerted a dark gold aura) kept heading their paper for whatever they were doing.

Then I saw him. Mr. Simon! He was so not in front of me right now. I’m imagining this! You’re delusional Anna this can’t be happening to you! Mr. Simon uncrossed his legs and stood up more straight. He moved his glasses up his face in a sophisticated way. This dude was giving me an uneasy feeling. I also held an instinct that he was some major B.S. It was freaky that I’ve met him accidently before and now he was my teacher.

“Well. Why are you late to my class?” he stared directly at me, even though I’m one hundred percent sure he didn’t expect me to be the one or respond. I swallow my fear and decided to speak up.

“Janice, please address her as January,” January stared at me with big eyes warning me not to do that. It was slight disrespect to give an order to an elder. Especially one regarding someone else.

“Had left our schedule in our room. We didn’t know that after the little assembly we’d have to go straight to class. We apologize for our miscalculations Mr. Simon.” I swallowed at the last part of that sentence. He never did introduce himself to me. I was afraid the class might be curious of how I knew his name.

He sighs as if overwhelmed. As if!

“Just take a seat at the table in the back please.” When January and I turned to walk to the back table I rolled my eyes. Now he was just being superior and fake to me. I don’t give a hoot how “good” he looks. He’s not charming this Supernatural Sorcerer any day of the week!

The table is the only one left. But it’s occupied by two twins.

“I’m Renée.” Says the one with blonde hair.

“I’m Rachel.” Says the other girl who’s brunette. I examine their facial structure, height, and speech closely. The only thing that truly differentiates them is their hair color. Renée. Rachel. Renée. Rachel. Renée. Rachel. I repeatedly say the lines hoping that I don’t forget them if we’re going to be staying here for a while.

“I guess you kinda got our names just a few seconds a go, eh?” January asked even though it was really just a plain statement.

“Ladies stop talking.” He chimed in after January’s statement.

But Rachel resumed talking.

“You guys know how to talk in your mind while blocking other people out?” they all nodded except for me.

“I’m kind of new with my powers.” I whisper as well.

“Just look at all the people you want to talk to and think of them positively,” we exchange looks around the square table, “then think of borders blocking out everyone else except your chosen people. Now, speak only with your mind. Any speech at this point can break the borders.” The last sentence was sent through our minds.

I nod in comprehension.

Wow, this is so cool. I look around at all the other girls and at Mr. Simon. None of them are looking at us with strange or mischievous faces.

This actually works as well! I shouted telepathically.

Although this is my second time doing it, it still amazes me. I mean the fact that you can lock people in and block people out. January smiled at the twins and then nodded vigorously at me.

Renée broke her silence. You know what guys? This Mr. Simon really creeps me out. There’s something so…OFF about this guy.

I know right! Rachel readily agreed. Not to mention his bad attitude. So NOT cool.

I think so too. I thought it was just me. I mean his aura is red. He either has anger or his inability to forgive.

We turned to a nonchalant January. She simply shrugged.

I just thought that he had some issues. But I didn’t think so far as to believe he’s mental or what I think you all are implying.

And we’re implying…Renée lead off curiosity driving her suspicions that January was negatively thinking of us now.

I mean you guys act like he’s some evil demonic undead. Those last few words from January shock me. It made me think only of one person. Tsukiko. She seemed to disappear and reappear at the weirdest moments.

What’s wrong with the demonic undead. I mean, I know it sounds evil but are they all necessarily evil though? I asked. I panicked at that point. Was I hanging out with someone evil or could have the ability and desire to do something bad to me? Like kill me.

Most of the demonic undead are known to be evil. They turn their back on you and are selfish. They are pretty much every negative adjective that you could possibly think of. Less than one percent is good and/or perfectly pure. They are deceivers and by no means NEVER trust one. They usually exert a rather dishonest and immature aura. You know…dark and murky pink!?

They all turned toward me thinking that I had received the information and would run with it. Instead, I used that information and repeatedly tortured myself with it. I kept thinking back to Tsukiko. She may have been stalking me and her condescending tone was rather hard to deal with, I have to admit; she’s helped me more than anyone else in the past few weeks in this alternate world.

But I went through the class quite smoothly. Since we were in the back we were the first to leave. It turns out that Rachel and Renée had every other class with us (First and Third; Language and Practice).

 

 

Practice was one interesting (positively and negatively) class. Maybe it’s because we got to use telepathy and other powers the most, in a more free way.

“Now find a partner, one that you not’s your roommate.” Mrs. Carets directed. I automatically went past January"sneaking a smile along the way"to Rachel. Her aura was bright metallic silver. She was obviously eager.

“Wow! You’re really ready and wanting to do this.” I smiled and tilted my head slightly.

She shook her head in a defeated sigh.

“You read my aura!” she exclaimed over the rising chatter among the students.

I lifted my eyebrows. “What kinda phrase…? I guess you read my mind would be too cliché since we actually can read each other’s minds.” I self-explained.

“Si, senorita slowness.” I stuck my tongue out at her and glanced at Mrs. Carets for further direction.

“Does everyone have a partner?” her rhetorical question received many nods from the girls.

“Ok. So each of you is going to ask the person five questions of your own choice. But you must ask the person using your mind only. Try to single into that one person and block out all other people.” Soon pairs of girls were silently facing each other with the funniest expression. Probably in a silent attempt to make the other cave into laughing.

“Start!” Mrs. Carets said with wide eyes and an “uh-duh”-smile.

I squinted at Rachel. But her smile wasn’t hysterical, it was impish.

How about we hold the questioning section for later. I mean, I already know you enough. Anything else would be WAYYY to personal to ask you through mind. At least, uncomfortable with you.

Well, let’s talk about teachers. We all have similar thoughts on Mr. Simon.

Speaking of him, how did you already know his name? When she sees my nervous expression and wide eyes she says (not ask),

You didn’t think anyone noticed.

Well, if you must know….she nodded, I met him accidently in a library. I found the, I hesitated wondering if I could tell her and trust her, rarest book on Supernatural Sorcerer’s to find out some information.

Wow! You found that?

Well, my friend kinda transported us to a secret place. And yes…I’m NOT gonna tell you where. But we found it and when we came back, Mr. Attitude was there. So upon meeting him, he seemed to really want my book and do anything to get it.

Rachel nodded and her mind was springing questions on what were his motives and why was he like that.

But anyway, I said, eager to change the subject, how is your second period teacher?

Rachel’s expression frowned was deep and made her small, pretty features become mutated and ugly. It was clear that Rachel was already forming negative feelings toward them.

My teacher is Ms. Qualloway. She has the longest black hair and the sharpest, most evil green eyes. To make it worse, I hate the color green. Her high cheekbones make her look good but she has the tongue and teeth of a snake. No lie! She’s always hissing when we do something wrong. Some kids in that class talk too much or play roughly but no need to hiss.

I shook my head. So we have a snake Supernatural Sorcerer teacher. I needed to have a placebo because Rachel was steaming with rage and hate. I was worried for her because her aura was red and lashing out slowly turning black…

My second period teacher was Mrs. Gossip. She had short bobbed brown hair and the kindest hazel eyes. Her aura is almost always exerting a happy color. It makes her seem so open and-

“Ok now stop!” Mrs. Carets literally interrupted my thoughts and I felt as if the cooling of the room bore into my skin reaching my bones. I guess when your barrier’s broken your feeling returns. I was so focused on our telepathic conversation that the feeling of my physical form was put on hold. Or dysfunctional.

“Get out a piece of paper and write five things you learned about your partner.” She instructed. Rachel threw me a “we-might-have-wanted-to-do-the-assignment” look. But I mentally smiled. I had learned more about Rachel then she believed.

1.    Rachel doesn’t like her second period teacher

2.   She doesn’t like the color green

3.    She’s rather curious (maybe even nosy!)

4.   She’s quite observant

5.    Has a friend named Anna Peters

Numbers one and two were directly stated while the others were inferred and made from my turnover of our little conversation. My only worry was that she didn’t have anything to write about me. You’d think she’d have analyzing skills.

“Now, fold the paper and give it to any girl you haven’t talked to.” Mrs. Carets gave the final instructions. She must’ve seen how easily some of us had mental conversation and narrowed the details of whom you would interact with.

I walk over to a girl with black hair and a thick purple streak for her bang. She wore all black; a black half shirt and mini skirt. Her arms and legs were covered in thick dark fishnets. Her eyeliner was so abundant that I couldn’t tell where her eyeliner ended and where her black eye shadow started.

I didn’t know what to say and didn’t want to offend her so I just greeted her, stating my name as well.

“Hi, I’m"”

I know who you are. Her thoughts echoed in my mind. I’d find it best to not be seen talking to you. This paper is from that hippie chick in orange. Her voice was low with a sharp edge that screamed ‘get away’!

Her aura was black with streaks of muddied red. I didn’t want to bother with her. But I forgot to turn before rolling my eyes.

She squinted at me and twisted her mouth in obvious disguise. I read her mind and heard her name.

 Forever.

“Dumbass.” I didn’t even lower my voice. One part of me wanted her to hear me. A very small part of me. 

Then an electrical sensation came in the back of my head. It soon bloomed into pain. A pain so sharp and strong, I fell to the ground. It ripped through my skull to my temples to my eyes. I was in such forceful pain; I would have died just to make it stop.

By then, a large crowd had gathered around me and gasps and screams of terror shot all around. Suddenly, it stopped. The pain and the sensation had subsided.

I was in an after shocked state and I was reluctant to open my eyes. So I closed them hoping that I wouldn’t be woken to the nightmare I experienced called reality.

 

 

The walls around me and everything else are blue. I soon figured out that this was my dorm room. I had also grabbed the understanding of what had happened in third period. This made me get up with full alertness.

I also looked at January who was cross-legged on the floor. Just like my mother. A sense of déjà-vu tore through me. My mother…the real world. I had forgotten about that as quickly as my mother. But the memorization confusion was washed away as I reminisced of that period.

Tsukiko appeared in the corner of the room. It wasn’t a usual fade; it was a complete “appearing out of nowhere” situation.

She rushed over to me and grabbed my shoulders. Tsukiko looked at January and January left immediately.

At first she hugged me then started to cry softly. She stared into my eyes and opened her hollow mouth and didn’t speak at all. So I decided to speak first. My voice was like static when I spoke.

“What, what happened?” Her tears were making my chest feel a little damp. But I decided not to mind and stroked her hair softly. It felt like silk. Not even silk hair, but like the fabric itself. What kind of demon looked so marvelous and said things so bitterly yet…had the ability to care and love for a person who she’s only known for less than three months.

 “She s-sent waves of pain to y-your mind.” She said in between swallows of silent tears. I watched the liquid globes fall to her chin in immense sadness.

Forever.

“Forever.” I spoke with such hatred that I felt guilty afterwards.

“It’s my fault. But she shouldn’t have used her powers that way. I’ve never felt so much pain. Not even my fifth grade crush liking my best friend heartache can compare to the massive pain that ripped through my skull fast and furiously.” I continued to lie down in my bed and just have her read my mind for the rest of the explanation.

Tsukiko rested her head on my chest and fell into a snore less sleep.

 

 

It’s the first Saturday of the week and I am pressed not to wake up before ten o’clock. But when I do get up I see January with her eyes closed tight, obviously concentrating.

With a “pop” sound, a window with blue and white polka dot drapes appears. I blink to make sure this was really happening. But of course, this was a “magical” world were anything and everything was possible.

“Why in the world would they build dorms with no windows anyway?” I think out loud.

“Oh. There are.” January started. “They’re located on the other side of the building.” Knowing that the building was huge in size I could imagine that a whole bunch of people were sleeping in windowless dorms these nights. It kind of scared me to know that I’ve never realized that the window wasn’t there or rather “missing” before this incident.

When I pull the drapes back, way too eager to see the scorching sunlight, I witness something. It was something I wasn’t disappointed at nor satisfied with.

It was dark. Like the night peak darkness. Not a cloud or star in the sky. It was a clear dark blue. Almost black…

“It’s ten twenty three a.m. Why the heck is the sky this dark?” I asked impatiently.

“I-I don’t know.” She sounded like she was hiding something. I tried to read her mind but only one thought hovered. It was her grandfather. He had died a long time ago. But what does any of that have to deal with the fact that it’s dark when the sun is supposed to be blazing warm?

I needed answers. Tsukiko was my first choice but something told me that I couldn’t find her only she could locate ­me. So, my next choice was Alison. If only I knew where she was.

I had decided I had to send her a telepathic message but make sure no one else hears it. I bind shields but think of Alison busting through the gates of shielding so she would be allowed.

Why is the sky so dark in the After Lands?

I relax my fists hoping that the message had been sent. This is way less difficult than texting; I don’t see why I didn’t just I.M. her.

I soon realized that I wanted to use my powers. All of this would soon fade away into nothing later anyhow. So who was I to care so heavily?

I see January on the bed. Her back is turned to the room and her face was towards the wall. She was in yellow pajama shorts (they looked like underwear) and a silky pajama tank top. Her hair was in a messy ponytail with a bright yellow bow. I felt so guilty that I had somehow awakened something. Very dark. Very old. And very scary.

I felt a strong tingly sensation like when one of your fingers haven’t moved in a while because it’s about to become cold and lifeless. Only this was a weird sensation through my whole body. Then my vision blurred and when I tried to look at my feet and arms they were fading until all of me had completely disappeared into a bright flash of nothingness.

I had my eyes closed so tightly I could feel the tension cause pain. I fell through the air and I couldn’t tell that I was falling because air was rushing by my skin and enveloped me harshly in my pores. Then my back hit something smooth, yet hard. My back arched from impact. I groaned in pain.

Alison stood over me with a light pink gown.

“About time you got here. Ever since I heard your message I was practically shaking with all my power to get you here. So how you been?” she said the last sentence with improper English.

I got up and stood up.

“WHY DID YOU"” she placed her warm forefinger on my dry lips. Her free hand pointed to a sleeping Lauren with her thumb.

“Why did you send me here? You couldn’t just transport to my room and then come back?” I whispered angrily.

Alison gave a defeated sigh.

“Just tell me why you need my help. It’s Saturday and there is NO TV in the After Lands. Plus it’s always dark of course…” her voice trailed off in deep thinking.

I held my breath when I asked the question. “Why is it always dark here? In the sky?” I asked boldly.

“It’s a very long story. But I’ll shorten it for you. So, sit, please.” She motioned to the top bunk bed. In some rooms it was single twins but in others it’s a bunk bed.

“About five years ago, a cold war broke out. The After Lands were first home to the used to be happy, peaceful undead demons. It was their world but when their population started to become a minority, fear rose. One day, the rumor of war had spread. The other supernatural creatures soon believed that the undead demons would one day attack them, randomly. This news also spread through the Regular Regions; the regions we were in where humans existed. Of course, they were oblivious of the situation or the creatures’ mere existence.

So they gathered almost every supernatural creature that was male and above the age of seventeen and they planned a sneak-attack on the undead demons. But, the thing was, the demons never had planned anything.  But the demons did indeed back lash. They decided to kill thousands upon hundreds of thousands of supernatural creatures. One of those demons that were killed though was the famous Harold Angst. He was the only demon who had never committed murder; he was unawakened. Undead demons, though peaceful, up till that point; it was a tradition to kill someone or something. So a fly or mosquito would even do it. But Harold, he just couldn’t find it in his heart to kill anything.

So the sky is dark to signify the reign of the demons here.”

“Harold Angst, eh? I gotta go. Can you transport me back?” I pleaded.

“You’re exactly on the other side of the building. Just walk down the right hall and keep going until you see your hallway. It’s a pretty long passage, but your skinny legs need some muscle.” She tapped my legs and smiled with a “thumbs up”.

I rolled my eyes and left the room almost immediately.

The hallway was dimly lit and had no doors on either side. It was thin like a bridge. I tapped my foot hard on the carpet and instead of a creak or thump it was an echo sound. As if there was nothing under it.

I try to manifest a wood carving knife (I was almost one hundred percent sure there was wood beneath the carpet at least).

Feeling it’s curved handle, as opposed to it sharp blade. I use all of my senses except taste and smell. They just didn’t help in conjuring it up.

I open my eyes to find a carving knife in the crease of my palm. I kneeled down and touch the carpet trying to find the thinnest part. When I reached it I pointed the knife downward and created a hole only small enough for my eye to rest upon.

When I laid my body down on the floor and looked through the whole I saw a large abyss. Its cave walls were blue due to the darkness. Its abyss was like a black portal. One that any would be quite unfortunate to fall through; endlessly drifting through a hopeless darkness.

Omigosh! Are these bridges made thinly over an abyss? Why in the world...

I ran through the long hallway ending up at a door that opened automatically when I got there.

“J-January? Do you know who Harold Angst is?” she burst into uncontrollable tears right in front of me.

She hugged me as if I was the one feeling hurt. But that’s when I started to tie two and two together. That was her grandfather.

“He died when I was-”

“Nine.” We said simultaneously.

That’s when I thought about how he was the only one who never killed anything…Tsukiko!?

Had she killed anything yet? If not, what did she plan on killing? Would she kill…me?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8

I don’t know how I survived a whole week and two days with Mr. Simon. Even worse, he gave us a project. It was one of those all about me projects. The dumb part was you had to manifest the whole thing. I mean, I can’t complain. No one can; not a single one of us like doing work but this was stupid and meaningless.

But I was fourteen he was…older…meaning he had “authority” over me. 

Forever brushes against my shoulder hard. She didn’t look back with an evil stare today. Her act was getting old and my patience was getting thin. She was plucking a nerve I was just not ok with.

“Your assignments are due tomorrow and I expect…” I didn’t pay attention to Mr. Simon’s words. Truthfully speaking, they meant nothing to me. Really. How many times can you hear the same phrases and things? I mean it makes everything adults say sound so…cliché!

Renée flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and took out her Sidekick.

Right when she closed it my cell beeped. Since when did I even I have a cell phone. I remember packing it. Not so much bringing it to class.

When Mr. Simon wasn’t looking I snuck a peak;

Did you do that lame assignment? I’m good with my powers but I’m awful at manifesting! L

I shook my head and texted a reply;

Of course I did. I don’t need any reason for Mr. Simon to hold anything against me. And just have your sister manifest it. I mean. It’s not like it’s handwriting he’ll never know the difference! ;)

I closed my phone and pretended like I was writing something. I looked up at where Mr. Simon was writing on the board that our project was due tomorrow.

Forever caught my eye. She held up a silver chrome folder with paper inside. I knew what it was instantly.

My project!

I stood up instinctively then sat down and blushed. Everyone was staring at me when I got up and stared warily at Forever. But I didn’t care. I could just…manifest another one. And then I realized something. I couldn’t. I had to think of every word, which took me two days to imagine. I had one night. Ugh!

I had to get it back soon. When I looked at Forever again she was smiling and I realized something she wasn’t wearing any make-up on her face and her hair was out and without streaks. I widened my eyes. She was so beautiful. Why would she cover that up with make-up? Then I shook my head. She must’ve somehow manipulated my thoughts for a moment. She was going to be evil, forever (no pun intended).

This was war.

It seemed like hours before the bell rang. The anxiety ate me alive. And quite slowly. Rachel, Renée, and January shared worried looks. They all knew that I was having a problem.

The bell sounded like sparkles when a witch cast a spell. It wasn’t the usual ring of a regular school.

I got up and pushed my chair in so fast it seemed to all be one fluid motion. I could’ve sworn I even blurred. But when I try to find Forever, she is nowhere in sight. There were two scary things about this. She was far from the door and it was impossible to run that fast to the door. And two, Supernatural Sorcerers couldn’t transport themselves.

So I improvise.

“Renée, Rachel, is Forever in your next class?”

“Nope.” They chorused. I had no way to track her.

“But with my cell phone I can hack into the school’s computer and find out her schedule.” In a matter of clicking buttons, Renee had gotten into the system.

“It’s Mr. Picket’s class.” Renée announced.

“Anyone of you skip?” I turned to the only person I know willing to skip. And she knew exactly who she was.

“Like I wanna be in Ms. Qualloway’s class.” Renée responded.

 

 

I walked in Mr. Picket’s class very nervous. We had already planned out what we would say but we both knew that he believing it would be a potential problem. Truthfully, I was more afraid of Forever looking at me.

“We’ve been sent by a teacher to finish our class work.” Renée said confidently.

Mr. Picket was a short, slightly chubby man who was going bald.

“Sit,” he motioned toward right behind Forever. I was half unlucky and half lucky.

“What was your excuse?” Forever asked without even looking at us. “I mean it was obvious why you came. I didn’t have to read your mind.”

“Stomach ache.” I said boldly, telling the truth. Regardless of how much I wanted to wet my pants, I wasn’t going to let her see (well since she was turned around, sense) my fear and let her phase me mentally.

“I simply didn’t go.” Renée laughed throughout the short sentence.

“Bad, much? So you want your little report?” Forever asked softly.

“Well. Duh! I mean why-”

“It’s in the stone wall. On the upper court side of the building. It’s near the vampire part of the school. The stone wall is easiest to get through during the full moon’s peak.” She instructed.

It was so detailed that I almost believed she was lying. I mean it could be just a wild goose chase. So I try to make sure it isn’t by reading her mind but when I do I feel trapped and frozen within the dark depth of her memories. It was so disturbing I closed my eyes. But I was in her mind, my eyes were already closed.

Everything is black and I see something. A different world is upon me. It’s Forever as a young child. She’s hiding in a dark closet. She hears the screams of her parents as they are being killed. Blood shreds through the closet’s opening.

She covers her mouth to keep from screaming and then crying any louder. She lies down until the murderers have left her house. Forever cries herself to sleep and her Grandmother takes her out in her arms…

Then another scene flashes her first day of 6^th grade. Girls are making fun of her and snickering while boys are calling her ugly. She’s never been to this school, yet people are resenting her for no reason. Forever is scared and cries everyday.

Her tears merge into my own and…

I wake up from the scene with burning tears spilling out of my eyes. I wipe my eyes in attempt to not see anyone see me this way.

“Forever…” I whispered with deep concern.

She turns to me with tears a mirror image of mine.

I shook Renee. “We have to go, now. We…um…have our information. Let’s go.” I got up quickly and almost dragged Renee along with me.

“We’re finished and allowed to return to class.” I didn’t give the man three seconds before I leave and Renee almost ran just to be able to catch up with me. When she grasped my arm she turned me around.

“W-what happened? What did you see?” she asked.

“Forever. Her childhood it was…disturbing. It was so frightening.” I started to shake from shock. I needed to go. Escape from something, but I didn’t know what, yet.

But I knew I couldn’t afford an excuse to get into second period late. So I decided to explore the school with Renee until the third period.

“This school is so…mysterious. It’s huge and it’s like exploring every nook and cranny could take years. But look at all these color schemes. There are monochromatic dorm rooms. The hallways have complementary color schemes. And have you seen the façade of the school?  It had two Greek goddesses on the sides on the front step; Aphrodite, symbolizing love-”

“Or lack of. I mean…no boys!” Renée interrupted but then silenced to let me continue.

“And Artemis symbolizing strength and harmony.”

“Wasn’t she a virgin and fought to be her whole life?” Renée asked.

“Well yes but I guess that’s the other part of us. I mean. Not forever but, you get it right. We can fight for anything and still win. Back to my original evaluation. This place is more valuable than any art showcase in Paris, France.” I persisted.

Then the sparkle sound rang across the halls. As girls filled the hollow hallways we soon walked to return to our third period. January, Rachel, and a few other girls were at the door as well. It was so casual the way we just stepped in line with the other girls that it seemed as if nothing had happened last period; no painful recognition or harmful interrogation.

“So how’d the operation go?” January whispered as if any of the other girls were listening. They seemed to be laughing and smiling in deep conversation.

“It was nice. I’ll explain later in the dorm. And you can text Rachel later.” I said.

Rachel twisted her head.

“Don’t even pretend like I’m able to contact you!” I said in defense. I could easily have saw that Renée was more of my friend and Rachel was closer to January. Renée and Rachel shared a dorm and have known one another their whole life. There was no need to be best friends with one another at this point.

Rachel shook her head and walked into class as the door flew open with Mrs. Carets greeting us with that brilliant, welcoming smile.

 

“Alison?” I ask. I had followed the long, thin hallway. Now, that I had known what was underneath my feet as I walked, I walked so slowly that it took me years to walk across the many yards of the floorboards.

“What? Do you know what time it is? Well! Just in case you don’t it’s midnight!” she whispered angrily. She went to her small nightstand to get her contacts. Alison put her hand on her hips and stared at me. Her stare was so harsh it seemed to burn right through my skin.

“The full moon is up and…” I explained the rest of the story and my situation.

“So. You want me to go on a possible goose chase, hunt, whatever? At night? By myself?” Alison asked.

I knew we didn’t have much time. That is, if Forever had told the truth. But I didn’t have time to think about that too deeply. We didn’t have time.

“Please­"”

“We’ll need all black and flashlights!” Alison smiled instantly.

In a snap of her fingers we were dressed in black materials and a flashlight grasped firmly in our hands. Those magical classes are really paying off. But I didn’t have any moment to stop and compliment her.

As we raced down the stairs I had realized that we didn’t make a sound. I looked at my feet and realized I wasn’t even touching the steps. I was going so fast...that must be how I was able to do difficult things in such swift motions and how Forever was able to so easily escape.

We were in the main hallway that was several yards across and seemingly a mile long. Alison and I turned left and right unable to think of how to leave quietly. Most people would say that there are doors on each end of the hall and classrooms with a back down that would leave out…just take one!

“But they may all have traps, alarms, or security guards. I mean, with a school like this I’m sure it would be high security.” I finished my thoughts aloud.

Alison grabbed my hands and held them to her stomach.

“That’s why you have me.” She closed her eyes and she faded slowly but I could still feel her grasp even when she completely disappears. I feel my body become lighter in weight as I slowly disfigure.

“I can move through walls. If it sets off an alarm we can easily be transferred to our dorm room.” Alison said. I could tell she was using her full voice but it came out as a whisper. Our current state must somehow affect our output senses.

Knowing where the other one was was an instinct. Though she was invisible, I could tell where she was.

She pulled me to a wall and I closed my eyes and braced for impact. Even though I could see it and hear it, my mind just wouldn’t believe that I could walk through a wall. My logic was over shadowing my trust in Alison.

When I open my eyes I see that I’m on the outside of the wall.

“This one wall is stretched for hundreds of yards so let’s split up. You go left and I’ll go right. Split!” I was slowly re-materializing making my hand go roughly across the wall face.

The stonewall is open and I’ve noticed that every single crack and edge was awkwardly filled with the silver, white glow of moonlight. Everything else was as well covered with the pure glow. No shadow could be seen for yards. Not even our own existed (which was partially because we were invisible but still inhumanly impossible).

Then there was a crack, one that was unnatural. It was large, but not rough and cracked looking, as if from erosion or nature. It was a thin, perfect crack.

My mind held back, but my instincts told me to reach into the crack and retrieve whatever was inside.

I reached into the wall and although three of my fingers barely fit it was enough to grasp the thin document. I pulled out the silver chrome folder and looked at the name. It was mind. Thank goodness!

“Alison I found it!” so excited it took a lot of energy to try and hold back my voice. I had to remember that we weren’t supposed to be out at this time of night. Then again the only reason I know its day is because of this watch that I’ve been wearing ever since the first of school.

She ran over to me and nodded with approval.

“Ok, let’s go"”

“What do we have here?” a man voice said behind me. My body almost shut down. My eyes started to burn, my pores started to create sweat, and my mouth didn’t let air equally flow through my body. I was so scared, so frightened. And not because it was a male’s voice. But of whom that voice belonged to; Mr. Simon.

Alison swung around, unfazed by the voice.

“Mr. Simon? What are you doing here?” she said. I could tell that she cared and her aura was that of a person who was slightly taken a bit off, but she was not fearful to a point because she didn’t know he worked here.

“I am a teacher here. And as far as my eyes can see you are a student.” I wanted to punch him in the face so hard it’d be permanently deformed.

“And Ms. Peters, why are you out here?” he said it so calmly. Not a calm like “calm and peaceful” but calm as in “I’ve busted you and now I’m going to enjoy your painful downfall”. Or maybe that was just in my head.

“Did you not hear"?”

“I did. But this is for a great cause! This is for your stupid class.” I was so full of anger I could see my aura lash out in a muddied red. My rude words had taken him off guard.

“This is an assignment for your class. You should be happy I even took the time to do it!” I threw it at his stomach. Too bad it only weighed a few ounces. I would’ve really liked to throw a brick at his skull…

That’s when he showed emotion. It was none other than anger.

“Young lady! I will indeed turn you in. And you can forget an ‘A’ on your report.” He almost yelled. Forget the ‘A’, I thought humorously in spite of the situation; I was aiming for a ‘B’.

I rolled my eyes. I was caught in such anguish that I just wanted him to feel pain. So much hurt, so many tears. My mind was becoming so evil. And that’s when I felt the power. I wanted to hurt him so much. Then, Mr. Simon went to the ground and scrunched into a ball. He was looking in such pain that I released all of my own pain.

“Stop!” it was Tsukiko’s voice. She held me from behind.

“You’re using mind"”

I ran inside and grabbed Alison’s hand. I needed to escape. This situation, that person, and this world. Everything was spinning and my mind was caught in huge confusion.

Alison stared at me. She narrowed her eyes with a weird smirk.

“What was that? Are you crazy? I mean I’m brave and a little bold but I’m not crazy! He’s your teacher isn’t he?” Her question was more of a statement (more than I would give credit for) or just a rhetorical one.

“He’s something that just irks me; he rubs me the wrong way. His repetitive coolness and fake attitude. At least he doesn’t know you that well.” I look left and right. When I close my eyes I see Tsukiko’s eyes. Tears are spilling from them slowly.

When I open my eyes, I’m in my dorm.

Alison must have transported me when I closed my eyes believing that I was ready to leave.

January is sleeping and rolls over. Her eyes gradually open, like new, wet butterfly wings, to reveal hazel eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but I put my fingers to my lips to say, “don’t speak”.

I eased into my bed as if keeping alive the illusion that I was sneaking in without noise.

I rested with the shock of reality blasting through my veins. I was going to be in trouble. This could’ve meant a meet in with the principal or worse. Expulsion. My body and mind released all tension when I resumed the thought that this world would long be left behind when I leave.

I relaxed on the thin, cool sheets of the mattress and looked out our new found window. The moon was setting and my eyes should’ve been closed. But instead my eyes descended with the moon rather than with the sun.

 

 

I note was placed on my nightstand. It was pretty early and I surprised even myself at the time: 6: 28.

But when I gripped the note I looked at the writing and instantly knew. Mr. Simon. I simply giggled at the fact that last night I let this messed up wacko get the best of me. I was in heavy madness;

You have a “meeting” with the Principal at twelve thirty-five in Room 300. I expect you not to be late. You are already in enough trouble.

I rolled my eyes. In the depths of my head I wish he could see me. I moved over and smelled a citrus scent. I lazily turned my head to witness January burning her scented sticks. The smoke was rising from the tips and their ends were burning with a neon orange glow.

Her aura had returned to its normal blue waves. I rubbed my eyes and set my alarm clock for twelve thirty this afternoon.

“What are you doing so early?” I asked with an answer right in front of me.

“I’m burning scents. They say scents such as citrus calm an area and/or a mood. I am meditating. This room needs calming ever since the encounter with my grandfather’s death, I’ve realized that I am not cleansed, you know? I’m…”

“Stuck.” I finished for her, “and in my opinion that’s perfectly OK. There are some things people just can’t get over. And death is one thing that getting over just isn’t an option. It’s impossible.”

“Well, we hippies believe the African saying ‘hakuna matata’ no worries. And cleansing is an obvious step towards saving.”

“Or over shadowing what’s really the issue.” I said intrepidly. January needed the truth. Even if it had to be slapped in her face for her to understand.

I walked into the bathroom and took my normal thirty minutes to prepare. I wore no make-up but I applied lotion and powder to my face.

I thought about going back to sleep but I became conscious that I needed some information. Only I had no idea how to get to it.

I thought about Forever really intensely. Then a Room Number appeared in my mind. Room 3-D, right across from my own dorm room. I opened the door; not giving a care if slamming the door disturbed January’s “cleansing”.

I held my fist up to the door and before my knuckles meet the solid wood I remembered. I let out a sigh at my own stupidity. Open the door using telekinesis. I did as my mind instructed itself to. When the door swung open to a minor three inches I find a room.

This room is draped in black and purple (like a black eye was smeared over the whole area of the room). The walls and furniture were all an off black. Everything else, the sheets, covers, lamps, light bulbs, and personal items, were purple.

“I was waiting for you.” Her voice is surprisingly soothing and soft. She put down her magazine and sat on the bed towards me.

“So you can see the future now?” I said sarcastically.

“Just as much as you can see the past.” She retorted. I didn’t have a comeback for that so I just cut to the chase.

“What was the point of telling me where it was? And even more in complete detail?” I asked.

She looked at the ceiling as if pondering the answer. Then looked at the watch strapped on her wrist as if she had all the time in the world. I don’t know if Forever sensed my irritation or just mentally decided if this was the time that she could speak.

“I like messing with people.” She simply answered. “And there’s something special between you and me.”

I was grossed out at the thought. What did she mean? Is she…

“No. Not like that.” She said amused at my judgment of her sexual orientation. “But, you have a gift. If you reach deeply enough into minds than you can see their past.” There was an awkward silence. I had seen the most disturbing and deadly part of someone ever and she knew it.

“And if I go deep enough into people’s minds, I can see their future. And no. I know what you’re thinking, no pun intended, I haven’t seen yours and I don’t plan to. I’m sure I’m not in it.” Then I thought about my future. Away from here. What was Forever like in the real world; where only logic and imagination of these creatures exists?

“Well why did you tell me to do it at the peak of the moon?”

“You wouldn’t believe me, really!” Forever chimed in with me as if sensing my question and knowing the answer was something she didn’t want to admit (or knew I wouldn’t believe).

“Yes. I promise I will.” I inched closer to her looking her in the eye. She was literally just two centimeters taller than me. I blushed being as close as I got. I held out my pinky and reached for hers and held it tightly.

“Pinky promise.” I whispered softly and looked away after her eye locking.

“No, I don’t have plans to seduce you! You seriously need to work on those mind shields. But did you notice that at the moon’s peak, no corner was dark, no creature, item, or thing made a single shadow or had darkness. In the darkness, the undead demon’s hide. And they prey sometimes on other creatures.” She looks at her feet. “It was to protect you.” She finally stated.

I nodded, fighting the urge to say “really”.  I was going to believe her. We hooked pinkies!

“I guess I can leave now.”

“You don’t have to.” I look at her and smile. Then I remember what I had to do at twelve thirty. I instantaneously got mad at her for sending me there where I got in trouble. Then remember that she cared (maybe too deeply for my liking) but nonetheless…she cared.

“I kinda got busted by Mr. Simon.”

“That jackass! You shouldn’t worry. You’ll be okay. I have a feeling you’ll learn some things thanks to this ‘meeting’.” She winked and I could tell she saw a bit of my future.

“Hey, why are you up so early? It’s only barely past seven o’clock in the morning.” I ask out of pure curiosity.

“When I was living in the regions outside the After Land, I was always up with the moon, with the exception of school of course, and down with the sun up. But here, the moon is always up. So, I kind of am as well.”

   “Don’t you sleep?” I sat on the bed beside her.

“Yes. But I usually just fall asleep sometimes in the strangest place. Try third period for one.” Her smile turns into a laugh.

 I nod and slowly leave, almost sad to have to.

Chapter 9

“She’s in a meeting. She’ll be available shortly.” Mr. Simon said the moment I walked into principal’s office. I disregarded him and sat on a chair by the door.

Believe it or not, I was almost…excited to meet who this person was. It was like the mask on the face of destiny. Or something as nearly poetic as such.

Who are you S. Morrison?

Then I saw a girl walk out. It was a girl who left with a certificate. I could tell she was a witch because of her dress. It was flowing and sparkly with the glitter creating a tie-dye pattern of stars and hearts. She turned around and I realized it was Carmen. Carmen waved happily and pointed to her certificate. It read; “Most Improved Witch”. Carmen was smart to begin with, so she couldn’t have learned that much in that little time. Or maybe she pretended to know nothing and then her knowledge, true knowledge, was shown. Just like “Caramel Carmen”.

 The door was open and before Mr. Simon, with his brown hair and stupid square glasses, could utter any words of approval for me to go in, I did.

The room was as small as the one that I and the other girls went through to get to the interview for this school. It had four walls. On the wall opposite of the door there was a window that was roughly twenty-four by twenty-four inches. It wasn’t covered with blinds, drapes, and the glass was so thin I could break through it. There was a brown leather chair and in front of it a mahogany wooden desk was a matching leather chair that’s a bit longer and wider in size.

The chair is turned around and a very young women. The plaque in front of her read; Sandra Morrison.

When she sees me I think of me being the average human (being a realistic as Alison and Tsukiko referred to). I was going to get out. I repeated that this world was yet to be of existence to me.

Her mouth gapes open (like watching your football team boyfriend kiss the head cheerleader thing). I was so embarrassed. Was there something in my teeth? Am I wearing a bad outfit? Is it even at me?

Then she blinked several times as if to make sure she wasn’t witnessing, whatever it was.

“M-Mr. Simon. I’m, I’m going to ask you to please leave.” Mr. Simon left as if his life depended on it (or his job…).

“You’re a realistic aren’t you?” then she rolled her eyes and smiled. “Of course you are. What other world would you be talking about? Sorry if it’s rude to read your mind but you…you came through the Soul Mirror.” I could tell it was a question but the way she said it, it was totally a statement.

“Sandra?” I asked. She nodded.

“How do you know my name? I mean besides the plaque. You said it like…like it was familiar to you.” She said the words so eager they flowed though her mouth as if a river of water to an ocean.

“Tsukiko told me about you. Since I was here. You know she gave what you would call ‘background information’.” I did the quotes with my fingers on background information. Sandra, Mrs. Morrison, I didn’t know how to address her, smiled at the Tsukiko part.

“Tsukiko was my only real friend here. I mean, all of my friends, people who I thought were my friends in the real world, were total jerks. So I decided to stay here. I couldn’t branch out in the real world like I could here. It was so depressing. The only person who cared in real life and they did here were my parents. But as stupid as it sounds, I didn’t want people more than twice my age, even if they were my parents, to be my best friends. I couldn’t live my life like that. I know it sounds wrong to you. It seems as if you would do a lot to go back. I mean, you’re so dependent on going back that you really couldn’t care less about how much trouble you get in. But remember, your history follows your counterpart. If you escape...” She sipped her coffee.

“Well that’s what I wanted to ask this Sandra person, you, anyway. How did you leave?” I asked. It was straightforward but I said it softly and formed the last sentence like a question so it took away the boldness.

“I wrote it down somewhere, but what I did was I went on a quest for Julius Venus. He created the Soul Mirror.”

I smiled so wide it could’ve alarmed Sandra. Julius Venus was Ms. Venus’s “husband” in this world. I guess you might as well stay in the world you’ve made. I thought about sprinting up and leaving but realized what I originally came here for.

“What about my punishment?” I asked hoping she doesn’t really give me one.

"It’s dismissed. Tell no one. Just smile and leave with Mr. Simon.” Ms. Morrison winked.

I nodded and did as she instructed when I left the room. Mr. Simon gaped at me when I walked out with an arrogant grin. I forgot to totally make it seem as if I didn’t get let off so easily.

I race up the steps and go to Forever’s room. She lifts her eyebrows and tilts her head.

“Well…?”

“It went wonderful. It’s probably because we have something in common.” Forever scrunched her eyebrows at that.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m a…am a realistic.” Forever opened her mouth wide and repeated the same motions that Ms. Morrison/Sandra did.

“Wow! Those exist?” Even though she sounded astonished there was some familiarity in her voice. Her eyes held a sparkle and seemed to be glazed in tears that wouldn’t be pushed out. We both step into her room and sit on her bed.

“Pretty much.” I responded.

“I can’t believe it! An actual Realistic is here. But isn’t that bad? I mean, don’t you know that the longer you stay here the less memory you have of your past life. And if all your memories fade you’re bound here regardless. But do you know what’s weird? With all the information they have on Realistics, which any of us barely believe in, they don’t know how they get here. Or why this world was created and by whom.” She didn’t look directly at me and I knew she was hiding something. I wondered how she knew so much but dismissed the fact and kept talking.

“I have answers to those.” I go on explaining how I got here, Tsukiko, and the Julius Venus that I’m currently trying to locate.

“You know what? That man served in the war. He survived, of course being the only human who ever fought in a war of creatures. He’s quite infamous though. Not many people like an outsider knowing all about our…powers.” She spat out the last word as if it didn’t fit but was all she could find. “Well, abilities.”

“You can locate anybody in this library. But you probably can’t get there.” Forever fills me in.

“Why not?”

“It’s in the outer regions and this school has a very strong shield around it. You can’t even get out using vampire teleportation. You’d need special permission from the head mistress herself.”

We both smiled. This would be easy. But I had to wait. I’d had enough trouble, meetings, and just plain conflicts enough in this school. I had to leave and I had to leave soon.

I stood up and left.

“Wait.” She grabbed my arm and kissed me on the cheek. “I’m sorry.” I wasn’t sure if she was saying that for the kiss or for this situation.

“Don’t be.” I didn’t know myself which one I was giving her permission to get away with.

I ran to January when the door opened.

“What happened?”  January asked.

“I won’t go into any detail but let’s just say I don’t think it’ll show up on my record.” I teased.

She rolled her eyes. “There were no consequences? No anything!?” she exclaimed. January just couldn’t believe anything I was saying. Then I thought of something. Something kind of crazy. Forever helped me. And I had to go thank her…

I raced out the room without even an “I’ll be back”. Forever of course was at the door.

“Thank you! If you didn’t send me to Ms. Morrison then…then I wouldn’t have ever got the information I needed to leave.” I hugged her and she started to cry.

I looked up at her beautiful, clean, make-up free face. It was engulfed in tears.

“There’s something I need to tell you…” she started right after her tears held an end. She sat on the bed and I knew I’d have to listen for while.

 

“How did you get here?” I asked looking at Forever’s eyes.

“The Soul Mirror. I knew about it. But for me there was never a Tsukiko.” That would explain why Tsukiko would have never mentioned her. “I got here about three months ago. I used what’s called a back door. I had these dreams of a better place, a better time, a better me because my life sucked! And one day I just never woke up. I guess all those wishes to be me became a reality. Or this one. I ended up in the Soul Mirror though a quote on quote ‘back door’.” She explained.

“And you’ve inspired me to face the world. The…the real world. I’m going to live as the real me. Not the gothic, freak one. But just…me. The one I am to you.” She twisted her head toward the wall. Around her the room was filled with Britney Spears posters and Justin Timberlake’s signed microphone.

“This is you.” I get up at move around. Although the things are out of her original though-to-be character, I knew that this was her. By the way she smiled when everything appeared.

“You know they dated right?”

“I know they should have totally stayed together. I mean they were perfect.”

I shook my head. This was a period in my life where I shouldn’t have been discussing pop culture with a newfound friend.

“We need an agenda.”

“Easy.” Forever manifested glasses and put them up to her eyes from her nose. She manifested pen and paper and went to her nightstand and handed it to me.

1.     Find Julius Venus; Ask how to escape the Soul Mirror

2.     Follow directions as said; even if it’s a totally dangerous adventure

3.     Keep trying and keep contact after we escape!

I nodded at the crazy second part of step number two.

“Now! We have a plan and step one could be quite hard. We know where to find information on where to find him…but those shields sound pretty serious to me.”

“I say tomorrow. I don’t care about any of my classes but I can see what’ll happen in Practice so that if we need our powers in our escape them we can harness them to the point where we can defeat or do whatever. I want to leave as soon as possible now. And you kind of need to. The memory thing doesn’t affect me because I went through the back door. It sort of excludes me from…you know…memory loss and being forever bound.”

“Of course! I’ll ask special permission tonight and even if it’s not granted we will find a way.”

“We start tomorrow. I’ll pack for the both of us. Since we’ll need to travel a lot and we can’t transport"”

“Alison! She’s a vampire that’ll do anything to help me. And they can transport.” I said excitedly. Forever’s face seemed to fall slightly and I wasn’t sure why but then it lit up as if catching itself within its own mistake.

“So we’ll take her too. She’s brave and amazing! Of course she’ll go. No doubts necessary.” I coaxed her. I knew she had doubt but I didn’t have a shadow of.

 

 

I let Alison transport herself to my room. This time I had to make an attempt to be quite. I didn’t need January asking questions or independently doing an investigation. Alison arrived on time, at midnight, and we did what was necessary to go into Forever’s room.

“You don’t live here so I gave all my stuff that didn’t really belong to me to the ‘Unneeded’ Donation at the school. Simple as that. Did you get permission?” Forever turned towards me.

I nodded and we all walked down the steps into Ms. Morrison’s, who walked out in a silk black dress (and I had no idea why), office.

We followed her out and she held her hands out in front and above her. She closed her eyes and went into a mode. It was like January's meditation. Soft and quite. We all watched her and then a red shield appeared. An opening occurred like a door. It was a small opening like a neatly made crack in the shield but enough for us to go through. Ms. Morrison nodded and held one of her arms to the opening as if to tell us to proceed. We do so and head out into the woods.

Chapter 10

I crouched down below a low, willow tree.

“We know where we need to be transported?” I asked Alison but Forever answered.

“First we’ll have to get off school grounds. We’ll have to get through this forest first, obviously.” She looks in front of her. “Looks like we’ll just need to be transported out. Alison?” she stared at her and Alison closed her eyes and held out her palms. One to her left and the other to her right. Forever must’ve done this before because she did exactly what she needed to in order to be transported.

I felt the now familiar rush of air and then when everything around me seems to still and die.

Forever, Alison, and I were on the edge of a cliff. The cliff was like a peninsula of the forest. Unlike the forest, it was bare and full of dust. I heard Alison cough once or twice as Forever’s eyes welled up. When the dust clouds around us calmed Alison was the first to kneel over. I heard her gasp as she looked down and went to investigate for myself.

Beyond the cliff was the abyss. It was the same that I’d seen earlier. I guess it went from under the school to around the, or under the, forest. There were gasps and wide eyes among the three of us.

The abyss was wide and looked deep because it was dark.

“We didn’t come here for the abyss anyway. Forever, just describe the library or give me the name and I can transport us there. Simple as that.” Alison put on a smile so instant it seemed unrealistic.

“Richardson Mores Library.” Forever simply spoke the words as if they were nothing more or nothing less.

This time things seemed still for a long time with no rush of air. When I opened one eye, afraid that opening my eyes completely would alter the process, and saw that we hadn’t moved an inch in any direction. Traveling into the abyss would be more progress than the slowness that we were experiencing.

Alison looked at her hands and realized also the situation. Then my eyes noticed something. Her red-orange (strong and confidence in power) aura was seeping into the abyss. The glitter and pink or what she wore started to disappear and became our school colors of white and khaki slowly.

I gasped.

“Your aura is seeping into the abyss and you’re changing!” I pointed out.

“That means my powers are being sucked out of me by the abyss.” Alison informed us.

“Looks like we don’t have time to stick around.” Forever shouted, because a whoosh sound from the abyss’s fierce wind that was building threatened to drown out her words. We ran on the outside of the edge.

It was cool but strangely we were sweating. I could see our aura’s dancing around one another; joining because of the similarity of each other, gray. We were deep into fear. It consumed our entire being and our minds wondered.

An abyss that spread for miles was draining, “sucking” rather, our powers or changing us somehow. The only way we could do something would be on school grounds. But we couldn’t return to school. It would feel like turning out back on the mission. It had become that important, that epic to our lives.

Maybe we could do in on the edge of the forest. Alison spoke with her mind. She was too tired to speak.

We move there and try again. The transportation is hesitant but it works.

I open my eyes slowly and witness the library. It’s small. Very small. It’s only a tad bigger than the level in my house my room is on!

The outside is made up of old brownish bricks. There were a few green steps that led to the big metal door, which seemed to swallow the library’s façade. Well at least big in comparison to the building itself. There was a top part of the building that juts out from the front. It was colored the same pastel green as the steps. It read in rusted metal letters “Richardson Mores Library”. It was more like “Richdon Mors Librar” because some letters were missing. The place was so old that I was afraid the door would be locked or rusted off.

“We have to walk into that?” Alison asked knowing the answered. She groaned.

“Well it was shut down because people started to abuse the information. But technically. It was never torn down. No one really knows why, though.” Forever said in response.

“This would be a really great place for Target!” I shook my head, freaked out by the words I had spoken. How off topic… “But we have no time to waste. Let’s go.” I said to all of them. We marched simultaneously to the front doors.

The handles were barely there and the crusty door handle was nothing as I attempted to open it. It pulled open with a sound that was only of an old door open. The air was cooling yet dry. It was stale and dead as well but no one was there. Still very cautious we walked quietly throughout.

“This place has every person in this Land in here. Organized by last name.” Alison openly examined the many bookshelves.

“Anna, search for the information then tell Alison so she can transport us there. I’ll be on the lookout. Even if this library is nearly a century old we don’t need to bump into anyone else.” Forever instructed.

“Like you guys did with Mr. Jack"”

“We can start now,” I interrupted Forever.

I scanned the aisle that read “V”. There were many “V” last names, to my dismay. The shelf seemed to extend for yards and yards. But at some point I reached a “VEN”. When I got to Venus, about ten whole minutes had passed. Even worse, there were tens of Venus’s around.

“Julius Venus!” I whispered in awesome glee. I had found it! But I had to mentally tame my excitement and just deliver the information as soon as possible. No way was I going to fail in doing my part in this mission.

I raced over Alison and showed her the file. She looked through the papers to find out when the last residence of this man was.

“Oh my gosh! He lives, or at least last lived, on the very edge of the whole world. It’s in the South Pole. And during this season the sun is always down because it’s approaching winter now.” Alison informed.

“I’ve had enough eternal darkness believe it or not!” Forever conquered with Alison’s hidden dismay with the location’s setting.

“Perfect! All we have to do is move, err…transport, to the South Pole. Trust me I’m no more or less happy about this location than the rest of you but I need to go home now. I…I feel like Dorothy right now, you know? And Julius…this man is ‘The Wiz’. But I know this isn’t a dream and clicking my heels…well I’ve tried that once here. It didn’t exactly work. We need to do whatever it takes to get me, and Forever as well, home.” I lectured.

Alison nodded solemnly and Forever simply grinned at my bravery and connection to the world.

“This place is very unmoving. Can we at least go outside? It’s like someone’s watching me.” Alison said that and another weird sense of déjà vu slashed through me. After detention…Tsukiko. As quickly as I remembered it, it faded away without a trace of the memory in my mind.

Despite the weird confusion I said, “Ok, let’s go.”

Before my mind is aware of where we are, my skin broke out in goose bumps. It was so cold and I wasn’t prepared. I thought of warm clothes and the thin fingers of coldness not reaching us.

In a flash we all wore heavy-set coats and stylish (yet warm) boots.

“Okay, who manifested?” Alison broke out in a smile. Forever shook her head.

“Not me, I would never manifest this coat. I really like the cold, a jacket would be better.” She resisted the temptation to say thanks.

We started walking as the snow almost blinded us.

It’s a blizzard! I thought to myself. We have no sense of direction, anyway. How can someone live in these conditions?

When our walking slowed to trudge, I realized it was time for a major reality check. We were getting nowhere and sincerely, we had no idea where we were going exactly.

Out of pure anxiety I yelled over the roar of the snow, “Where was he last located again?” I asked.

Alison had to go on her knees to withhold herself in one place. The snow was quickly becoming overbearing and would knock anyone off their feet. She ruffled through the files to find his last known area. Alison knew that she couldn’t waste her voice against the howling winds that stirred the snow.

It says South Point Cave.

Forever scrunched up her face in intense confusion.

What’s that!? I see snow for miles and miles. They must mean the southernmost point in South Pole. This is Antarctica. It goes north on both ends technically.

That means it’s the middle. Alison pointed out more to herself than the rest of us. I transported us in the middle so it should be anywhere around us at this point.

 We all stood in a triangle, backs to one another. Forever looked left and right as I did and Alison walked a few feet in each direction. Nothing. There had to be a way to make this snow stop.

“Can we make the snow stop?” I asked. Even through the raging winds they heard me. Neither forever nor Alison knew immediately and thought for a long moment. My faith and hope were starting to run out.

“Well our powers include moving things. Do think the two of us could have the power to move something?” Forever stated.

“Well you gave me a major migraine that killed me. I’m sure we’ll do fine.” I encouraged the idea. Better one (more) than none.

“I can contribute my powers! Like in transporting. You don’t hold my hand just because you’re being transported as well. It’s also because practically your power is used to transport. I mean, I’m a level two vampire; not level five, the highest. I can’t transfer you all on my own. Especially from the United States to Antarctica.” Alison said trying to be helpful. Forever’s face remained solemn and I nodded. The more, the better.

I joined hands with the other girls and concentrated on the snow moving. Me being able to move it and it going away. It was more like a wish, rather than me trying to actually want to move it. I still had doubt in the back of mind. I had to convince myself that I could be able to do things. Use this magic, practice sorcerer powers, all of it; I’d be able to do.

Then I felt nothing. Not a breeze, not a feeling, the cold air didn’t even touch my skin.

Forever half smiled at me. She put her thumbs up. We had done it. But we definitely had no time to stop whatsoever.

I manifested a compass and handed it to Alison.

“It might be in the exact middle. Think about it really hard. You have to want IT.” I advise. I said it so seriously; their faces look as if I’ve instilled the fear of God within them both.

Or maybe it was the awkward realization. I sounded really mad (or rather pissed) and I bet that I looked irritated.

They closed their eyes but before they could really focus I saw something. It looked like a thick, dark arc. It was clearly a cave-like figure. It had a lure to it. Something such as an attraction; and if it brings irony, I would say a magnetic attraction. I had to go to it. I didn’t regard the others and was completely wiped of the thought that either of them was with me prior.

I pointed, almost mindlessly to the object.

“What are you"”Forever walked next to me and stared at the arc.

“Omigosh!? Is that...”

“South Point Cave. I think so. Let’s go.” Alison raced toward it. I shook my head and raced toward it along with the girls.

The cave hovered above us at about forty-five feet.

“That’s one big a*s cave.” I punched Forever in the shoulder.

“Stop cursing!” I demanded.

“You know we have to go in that, right. Guys we have to find Julius.” Alison grabs my hand and I swore I saw Forever twitch but I ignored it and put my hands in my pockets.

The cave seemed to go on for hours just looking at it. But I knew we had to try. We walked slowly at first unaware of the depth. As we walked further, the temperature rose as well. I even remember stripping my coat and gloves off.  It got really dark and I manifested a flashlight.

“Something tells me we’re going to need this.” I flashed my light where I figured where Forever and Alison would be. There was no one there and I almost gasped. I tried to stay calm and frantically moved around my flashlight.

“F-Forever? Alison?” I tried to make my voice sound strong and confident just in case anyone else heard me. But it sounded cracked, like a boy’s going through puberty.

I knew Alison walked fast so I wasn’t surprised when only Forever answered.

“I think I can hear your voice in front of me. Turn around!” I looked Forever straight in the face with the flashlight. She covered her face and lowered the light. Great! I’ve found one person.

“Where’s Alison?” I asked. Most of me knew she didn’t know, but I was desperate; wanting to get information from wherever I could get it.

  Forever shrugged and tried to hide the fact that she didn’t care. I started to get really angry. But I decided to hide my anger. For Alison. I sighed and continued walking.

I’m going to find Alison.

Then I saw a bat fly above me. I shrieked loudly and almost felt flat on my butt. It was stubborn and refused to go away. I screamed and suddenly the flashlight fell out my hand. I was confused in the black darkness and my fear of the bat was dimming my coordination.  I finally fell and, fortunately (or at least I think fortunately), on the flashlight. My hands felt desperately for the switch and the light flashed.

I flashed it upon Alison. Then it hit me. Like a slap at the face of my stupidity. Vampires, bats, the ends were tying together. Duh, of course it was Alison. Well. That’s what I thought until I heard Alison tell me,

“There’s a bat above your head, Anna!” she exclaimed pointing.

“I thought that was you!” I admitted frantically, backing up.

“If that wasn’t you than were did you come from?” Forever said. I didn’t know if she was irritated that she got lost or irritated that she came back. I could tell that there was anger within her. It as growing. I smelt spices (probably exerting from her red aura that I failed to see, thanks to the lighting) and they were getting strong. They were almost overwhelming.

“Let’s just say I blacked out. I don’t know but all of a sudden I passed out. There’s something very wrong in this cave. No need to sound like a Spiderman copycat but my vampire senses are, uh, tingling. There’s something very dark and evil nearby.” She explained herself.

I fought (another) urge to say or even think that she just might be sensing Forever’s fury the way I sensed auras. But that only explained her disappearance. I decided to speak on my other wonder.

“But I have one more question. Why is a bat here?” I asked.

“Because it’s a cave.” Forever attempted to answer. I fought another urge to say ‘Duh’. Man, I must have some intense self-control.

“But it’s Antarctica. A bat can’t simply live in these conditions no matter how advanced.” Even Alison dim face was baffled. I, myself, had no clue how that could be here. It was unnatural, unheard of, and against all the science Mrs. Field taught us in ninth grade that it was an interesting thing.

“W-we have more important things to find in here.” Forever broke the eerie silence.

As soon as the conversation was over, the bat silently left. I knew this because I saw it leave with my flashlight, careful not to once again come in contact with it.

Then I smelt these scents. One that was so distinct that I almost cringed at the thought that it was so. Blood. And it was aged. As if something had been dead for at least three days.

We (assuming I wasn’t the only one that smelled it) all thought it was just an unimportant creature. But when my flashlight rose to the figure I almost fainted.

“Oh God, tell me this isn’t"”

“Julius Venus.” We all chimed. And when it was said I knew it was the truth.

“He can’t die. He’s our only way out.” Forever got right beside me and our auras mixed with similar despair and hopelessness.

Alison went up to him, obviously fearless (and with a high tolerance for disgust), and examined him.

“How did he die?” I asked the question, my voice barely above a whisper.

She examined some more. Alison barely touched him because blood seemed to cover his whole skin area, which was just his head and hands. It was cold and he probably couldn’t risk getting hypothermia.

“There are no stab or gun shot wounds. But with all this blood it’s nearly impossible he died natural or even by his own hands with no wounds. He’s literally bleeding from every pore. Like sweaty blood or something.” She paused as if realizing something. “He was killed by dark magic. Something that only certain wizards, unawakened undead demons possess and highly powerful undead demons.”

“Perfect something else about undead demons I don’t know.” I scoffed. The sarcasm was there to hide my true fear of never being able to leave. And the possible reason that I was in the area of homicide. That would explain the funny feeling of evil and darkness.

But the bat was still a complete wonder…

“Unawakened is a term to describe undead demons that haven’t killed anyone. Harold Angst would have been called an unawakened undead demon. As we all know, it’s very rare to remain that way for a long time"”

“D****t.” I whispered angrily. I cried. My suspicions of who were reeling and my number my suspect was someone who I haven’t seen for a while.

Tsukiko.

 

 

“Do you really think it’s her?” Alison said as astonished as me.

“Well she is unawakened…” Forever led on, even though she never really saw her before. I had filled them in on how she hadn’t killed anybody. Or so I thought not.

Then a shadowy figure appeared. We were all surprised to see Tsukiko. But what was different was that she looked surprised as well.

“I had sensed your disappearance and transported to your location.” She looked around. “It doesn’t look as if you disappeared to anywhere you weren’t already. Where? Where did you go, Anna?” She asked.

“Antarctica.” I said coldly. Tsukiko’s face was blank. There was no emotion and for the first time ever her aura was invisible. Everyone had an aura and the fact that hers was at a lost angered me all the more. My fatal ignorance to not see what was in front of me.

“I went to find Julius. Julius Venus.” I stared her right in the eye. “And he’s dead. Did you know that? He was our only way out and he’s dead.” I was trying to make her feel guilty by not hiding the hurt and irritation in my voice, and admit she killed him. But even if she did, that would leave a lot of unanswered questions. Questions that I’m not completely sure she would have willingly answered.

Her face remained blank. There was nothing there but then she faded. I ran up to her faded figure and I barely grasped her and then I blacked-out.

 

Tsukiko’s totally refigured body was below mine. She looked up and was totally amazed.

“I’m transporting. How can you come with me just by holding on?” She became angry and fearful within her eyes.

“Why? Why did you kill him!” I yelled. My anguish had risen to the surface. This person, this demon, that I thought I knew murdered my chance. My one chance to get out of this place.

“There’s something, some things, you don’t need to know.” The darkness we were in seemed to last forever. Like the day dreams I had of the soul mirror.

Then we settled on purple ground. It was dark outside (of course) and the ground looked a deep purple. There was no moon tonight, yet strangely there was something illuminating the scene around us. Something natural. But my sight still grew familiar to the darkness and I became so furious that my red aura wrapped around my body and lashed out. That’s when I noticed what was beside me. The purple rock was apart of the abyss. That’s also when I got the sense to look up. The school bridge connecting hallways and building were above us. I didn’t know which was less safe; being beside an abyss or being above one. Either way, when you get knocked in…it’s going to hurt when and if you hit the ground.

She just looked at me. I wasn’t sure if she was going to apologize or stay there. But it didn’t matter because my emotions started to get the best of me.

“Why!? If you had to kill anybody why him!” I screamed. I heard faint footsteps get louder and I knew that it was Forever and Alison.

Alison had this death stare glance and Forever looked so angry that her face seemed twisted. Her features became ugly but I wasn’t about to tell her that. Besides, I was particially choking on tears. Burning water streamed down my face.

But she didn’t have regret, sadness, or guilt. It was an emotion that none of us could afford to have right now.

Anger.

All was still then. The crickets stopped making nose the wind stilled and it seemed like we were in a dead caught silence. We would never hear noise again.

All hell broke loose.

Wind slowly swirled around Tsukiko. It completely cosumed her aura and made it invisible again. It was around her in a tornado form coloumn of air. I stepped back inch by inch, me and Alison. But Forever seemed frozen in place. All of a sudden it started to rain so hard that I sware it hurt. The rocks rumbled across the ground as if walking. The ground wasn’t stable like a soft earthquake.

Then something very awful happened.

Fire formed around us and it appeared out of nowhere. Even more weird than that the rain wasn’t making it go away.

“She’s calling upon the elements!” Alison shouted at me.

I didn’t even care about what that meant. This heatless fire, wetless rain, coldless air, and motioned rock was overwhelming. All of our emotions was piling on to Tsukiko’s “use of forces”. Out of all those magical books I read I think these types of emotions and that type of power could only create dark energy. I had to stop this.

Or atleast weaken the tension.

I grabbed Forever’s hand. She almost gasped but I saw her instently calm with a now bluish aura. Alison’s anger was even easier to calm because she wasn’t directly angry. It seems she was vicariously angry from Forever and I. I guess that was kind of bad on our part. Our dark energy was so powerful it had literally transferred to someone else. But this was no time to be feeling guilty. That was just another negative emotion that we’d have to stop and take control over.

We all joined hands and calmed. Now, if we could have vicarious anger I knew we could share vicarious calmnesss. The thing was…I wasn’t that calm. The scene around us was literally hectic. Something out of some extreme action cartoon.

Are we trying to stop it? Alison asked.

I had completely forgotten about that telepathic gift everyone here shared.

If I told you my intentions it would take away from what I’m trying to do. But to answer your question, no. I’m not. So much for a swift explanation.

When I realized we were all serene I let go. I almost smiled when I realized we had come far. But now we needed answers. And we needed these answers now.

“Tell me! Tell me why you did this!” I yelled over the roar of fire and the pound of rain.

“He, he stopped you from leaving and I can’t let you go!” Tsukiko said with desperation and the surprise of tears.

I didn’t know what to say. I was...speechless.

“I couldn’t let you leave! You are the only person that actually ever cared about me.” Well, I couldn’t say she was lying. “I thought you hated me at first which they all do. But you…you started to care more after awhile and we built a relationship. Of course, it was just platonic and I appreciated that.” Ok, now I was getting confused. “Tell me why do you want to leave after all the things we’ve shared. The short memories they are. But we could extend them. You can stay longer and live here. I can give you anything you want! Everyone loves you here and you have amazing friends. You wouldn’t believe the oppurtunities. You have powers and you can’t die. In the real world you have no control over anything really and dying is rather easy there. How in the world could you just leave me, I mean all of this, for that drab, awful world where you grew up in.” Slap to the face much? “This place is just so much better. Imagine the possibilities. The things you could do, the people you could meet, and the world around you. Forget this boarding school we can live anywhere in the world together. I mean I may be an awakened undead demon but I would never do anything to harm you. I sware! All you need to do is remain in this world. All you want, all you need, you can have. Most importantly I can be your friend when you need one. You can have someone to cry, smile, and laugh with. All we need is each other.” She said it so calmly and straight regardless of the fact that her tears were spilling rivers out of her eyes.

I blinked. I was taking all the things she was saying. And I got it. I had finally got.

This has nothing to do with my happiness"not really. She had never had a friend. She had become so desperate for companionship or more deeply…some compassion, love. Without it she would be starved of one thing you can never go without. She wanted to keep me here for mostly a selfish reason. But I had to agree, staying here had had its own benefits and I even considered them for a moment. But I couldn’t live here because this was an illusion. Or rather, I was living in a fantasy here. I had everything I wanted. That was the exact thing that pushed me away. How long could I live in a lie that was bordered with suffering and hatred? This wasn’t about me. This was never about me. I remembered when she first explained the Soul Mirror to me in the cafeteria. She said, “You mortals, are quite amusing. With your flaws and worthless attempts to cover-up all that is real.” Well she was right. And I wasn’t going to be one of those mortals.

“I must leave because this is all a lie. Some lie made up by a man who’s dream was made into reality. But this dream is just a cover up of the truth. And I believe that the truth is way more important than any fantasy that I want to live out is.” I explain. I turn towards Alison.

I close my eyes and imagine the note. The note that I wrote to Alison saying goodbye. It manifested it in my hand and I touched the blue and red paper in my hand one last time. I gave it to her and she put it to her heart.

Thank you, Anna. I’ll never forget who you really really are.

I smile. I won’t either Alison. And I hope the real Alison would show her real real self.

Then Tsukiko stepped in front of me. It was her first movement ever since she got a grip on the elements. Then all was silent. All I saw was Tsukiko holding me. In that moment I felt genuinely sorry for her. I was almost guilty as well. But I knew this was best. She needed love really bad, I had to admit. But…she needed it from someone who could give it to her. I just could’nt give her what she wanted. And I don’t know who’s fault that was. It was just meant to be that way. And I was going to make sure it happened the way it destined to be.

“Why are you blocking me from the abyss?” I asked.

“I though you were leav"” she stopped her words short and I could tell she was mentally punishing herself for saying that.

And she was right to, I guess. She had released precious information. Too bad it took me awhile to realize that myself.

“Why in the world would we jump into the abyss?” Forever spoke the words for me. I would have spoken but my mouth didn’t allow me that luxury at the moment.

She stood and then turned to run.

“No!” Alison moved so fast, she seemed to be invisible while she ran.

She grabbed Tsukiko and pursuited in an interrogation.

“Answer us now!” even though she was the one with the upper hand I could tell that there was some fear in her eyes. But she was doing this for me. Not in an impressive way, but in an “I’m-doing-this-for-you-because-I’m-your-friend” way.

But Alison didn’t realize that Tsukiko could transport on command.

In a fading flash they disappeared. I tensed, aware of my surrondings suddendly.

I looked at Forever and she lifted a brow.

“What now?” she asked softly.

I looked at this abyss and noticed a thin line. It was shining, clear, and reflective…like…

Like a mirror.

“We jump!” I responded.

“What!? Why?” Forever was as confused as me in math class. I could tell she was ready to grab my shoulders and shake me. I knew that I sounded borderline crazy but I needed her to honestly believe me.

“Look over the edge.” 

Forever took a step and inched forward toward the purpled rocked edge. At the rate she was getting their I’d be a grandmother by time she looked. She glanced back and I nodded in her reassurance. Her eyes widened as I predicted they would.

“It looks like the surface of the Soul Miror. But it couldn’t be…”

“But is it! This is our way out! We just have to believe!” That part sounded corny and cliché but I couldn’t help it. My excitement had gotten a little out of hand but it didn’t matter. We were going to leave!

Forever smiled and looked into my eyes with tears that seemed like pure diamonds of emotion rolling down her face. I decide to cry with her feeling almost as emotional as her. 

“What about Alison?” I could tell she was mostly pretending to care. She was merely softened by tears at the moment. This was overwhelming.  When I didn’t answer, she went on.

“You know how long I’ve been here? Three months!” She told me again. I remembered back to our conversation after she had gotten me in trouble when searching for my report.

“And now…it’s time to kiss the place goodbye.”

“How do we know when to we’ll get to the bottom?”

“We’ll just know.” I actually didn’t have an answer for once and improvised.

I hold her hand and we avoid the typical jump. Instead we sstand on the edge and tilt back.

Till this day I never remember falling. I just remember…

Waking up in the dark room with the Soul Mirror in front of me.

Chapter 11

“Where are…” Forever sighs. It was that sigh saying she was frustrated.

“I can’t believe we’re here! We’re at the place where we came in. When I came in I was in my neighborhood wishing and hoping…” I had a feeling she wasn’t going to be finishing any of this sentences. But this was a conversation I felt we could carry on until we figured out something.

“I came when I slipped through. I was at…” it took a while for me to appropiately remember, “I was in Reading class, first period. I felt so tired…” the recognition came back to me.

“Sounds very interesting. I mean reading class. That’s just…the most interesting class!” Her voice oozed sarcastism.

So we’re in a dream. And we have to wake-up.

I had totally forgot that I didn’t have powers anymore and sighed. “We’re in a dream right now and we have to get awake.” I repeated aloud.

I turned to her in the dark room for the first time. I barely could tell the outline of her body. Her aura was gone. Or, I guess I couldn’t see it. There were no smells or weird senses that felt like weird vibrations.

“But the thing is someone has taken our place. Our opposites have to be asleep and they have to be to get back here. I guess we just have to hope us being here fixes things automatically. We just have to wait and I know I’ve been saying this wayyy too often lately, but we just have to believe. Or hope. Whichever one you feel is more powerful…” I stopped talking when I realized that babbling on wasn’t making anything happen.

“So when do we wake up from this nightmare"”

 

 

I felt like everything around me was distant. Until I remembered everything that happened over the past few months. And now…it all comes back so fast it hurts. Not to remember but to have it all rush forward.

I turned around half-expecting to see Forever.

“A-Anna?” She spoke the words as if she didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Forever.” I said it so naturally that it rolled off the tongue. “Didn’t you say you were last in your neighborhood?”

Her voice became familiar again and she spoke as strongly as before.

“Yup. And I wasn’t lying. My house is right there.” She pointed at the bright red house with brown porch and roof. It was about three floors high and I saw it everyday. Because I got a convient view through my window.

“What high school do you go to?” I asked. It was way to weird that this girl had been living by me the whole time and I never saw her. Then again, I couldn’t blame her. There was no reason why I never really was involved with anybody from my neighborhood except the, like, five people who went to my school.

“Monroe Sketcher High School. It opens at like ten o’clock.” That explains why I’ve never seen her. “Besides that I barely leave the house. I only had two friends. One of them ditched me for the popular girls and the other one moved to Canada last year. So I never had to leave. No dog to walk, no friends to see. My parents literally went berserk thinking that I needed to get out and how did they say, ‘live my life’. But with friends gone and my parents working late I had nothing to really live for.” She looked off in the distance going over eveyrthing she was talking about. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

When I first saw her I thought she was from heaven’s opposite. But now I know that there was a deeper side to all that. It was like Tsukiko…only less desperate and I’m sure that she wasn’t going to force me to stay wherever the heck she wants me too.

“Wanna come to my house?” I asked. I had literally pulled the question out of nowhere. It was getting dark outside too. It was only six o’clock but this was winter.

“Yeah, sure. My parents aren’t home yet.”

We walked to the door and their was a note on it. I recognized my mother’s handwriting.

As we told you earlier, we’re in Los Angeles for our Wedding Anniversary. We left our Spaghetti in the fridgerator and there are some macaroni packs in over the stove. I don’t know when you’ll be home from your party with Cassie but the key is under the mat. We love you.

Love, Your Mother and Father

“Great. So I guess that means we’re both home alone. Well alone at your house. Who’s Cassie?” Forever asked straightforwardly.

I thought about my old life and soon remembered.

“Cassie is this really mean girl. Why would she be hanging out with me? And even more importantly why would she invite me to her party? The other Anna must be really mean. Does that mean that I really am?” I was talking to myself near the end but still stared at Forever in hope that she would respond.

“No. I think this experience is so going to change us. I may even wanna transfer to your school.” Forever smiled playfully when I opened the door.

“That’s borderline stalking.” I said sarcastically.

Forever laughed and crashed on my couch. “Anything to eat?” she asked. Was that really the first thing you ask when you come in one of your new friends’ houses? “Where’s the food?”

“Yeah I’ll get the macaroni.” She shot up and said,

“I’ll come with! That’s my favorite food.” I smiled to my self and walked into the kitchen. The familiar old smell of grapefruit filled the air. No smell of citrus. I breifly remembered January and wondered where she lived.

Forever was so eager to grab it that when she saw it she almost knocked me over.

“Dang!” I said still was smiling until all the lights turned off except the two upstairs.

The power’s out? How can that be!? There’s no storm.

“It’s weird to have it out on one level. We should totally take advantage though of the lights we do have. Your room?” She said it as a question but just walked along without my permission.

I’m sure it was pretty obvious on which one was my room. It had the blue and silver striped walls, the twin sized bed (with the heart bed sheets), and the cheesy pop singers and boy-band posters. I guess my room was bigger than average. It was the size I’d say of an average living room.

 But it definetly didn’t have Tsukiko.

And I could’ve sworn that I was hallucinating. Because nothing could prepare me for her face. It was so cold, so dark, so scary that I wanted to run. Run very far away.

“You think that you could just leave? Now I’ll just have to do this by force.” Her smile was fake and evil. This was the closest encounter to the devil I had ever got. She was dressed in all black now and her hair was a deep purple.

“You didn’t think you could just escape me? Did you?” I was frozen. Her words had froze me in place and I couldn’t think straight. Or crooked for that matter. Because I couldn’t think of anything. I couldn’t even remember my name. Wasn’t that a sign of basic hysteria?

She was in front of me in no time. And the lava lamp beside me exploded. I fell to dodge the heated glass. I heard Forever screamed and I had totally forgotten that she was in the room.

“Forever!” I grabbed her shoulders and raced towards a locked door.

“Come on! A door is always unlockable from the inside!” Then the whole door knob flew out the door. It hit me hard in the stomach and I felt as if the air inside me was knocked out. For a brief moment I couldn’t breathe anymore. Forever managed to push her hand through the hole in the door, made by the missing knob.

I got up knowing that any moment, Tsukiko could hurt me. Forever tried to open the door as if her life depended on it. It kind of did though.

“This would be a great time to have powers!” I shouted as if there was noise. But strangely enough it was silent. Way too silent. Maybe our pursuerer had forgotten about us. As if! I took my chances and looked behind me. There was no one there. Why did that somehow make me feel even worse not being able to see her?

My adreneline was rushing and decided to kick the door open. Oh Jesus, how was I going to explain this all to my mother?

I ran faster than I ever had. I thought about screaming but I didn’t want to alarm anyone. You’d think it would be weird to not want anyone else’s help. But the thing is I didn’t think anyone deserved to get hurt like us.

Forever stopped a few yards behind me. We had run into a nature trail park and there was no way we would be safe unless we ran. But she couldn’t go on. I risked running back and she almost collasped with her hands firm on her knees.

“Stop! We need to…we need to…find out where she is! I know it sounds impossible but we have to.” She finally caught up with her breath and spoke in fluid sentences. “There’s no way we can just keep running! We need to face her. Maybe not fight her because we’re almost sure to lose.” Well so much for optimism. “But, we need to do something. We can’t live our lives in fear. And as crazy as it sounds, only we, or you, can help her. Tsukiko needs closure. And that closure won’t be given if we run.”

I looked at the faint, thin outline of the moon. Forever was right. And as much as I really didn’t want to face Tsukiko, nothing was going to get better.

Immediately going along with Forever in my speech I said, “First, we need to find her. She can transport herself anywhere at anytime.” Forever’s eyes widened.

“A-Anna. Behind you!” She literally had to force the two words. I watched enough movies to know that that was a signal that the “bad guy” (Tsukiko) was behind me. I dropped low and spun around with a kick. This would be a nice time to have invested in those second grade karate lessons.

But I was more amazed at the fact that I made her stumble. Almost. I was literally dealing with a demon. Hurting her would be like trying to cut wood. With a butterknife. The thing was Tsukiko had stopped her earlier “let’s-talk-about-it” and her persuasion. She was in for the kill, this time. When Tsukiko charged at me with some life I had finally grasped the level of danger I was in.

Forever came up behind me with a superman fly above my head and literally tackled Tsukiko.

“How…do…we…send her back to where she came from?” Forever asked. She was grunting and I knew Tsukiko could easily overpower Forever at any moment now. Darn my abilities as a slow thinker.

I tried to remember everything about undead demons. From the unawakenings, to the history. But nothing came out. Until I remembered what I had to do for Tsukiko. I had to set her free. She was bound somehow. Bounds by the lack of compassion and the lack of love. There was no time to search the neighborhood to find her a new companion. I had to kill her.

Murder. Homicide. You see it on tv all the time. But when you commit it or are a victim of, it’s so much more different. Mentally ill people said they killed to either set people free or because voices told them to. I’m ninety percent sure I wasn’t mentally ill so I knew I had to. But how? How do you kill something that’s already dead?

Forever was flung past my right.

“Think fast Peters.” I started to think aloud. That’s the only way I could also concentrate on Tsukiko trying to take my life. Oh yeah, that would set me free!

 I moved to the right just in time. She sliced some hair pieces near my ear. That hair took years for me to grow. I don’t have fast folicles!

“Ok I could burn her or like put a steak to her heart.”

“Come one, Peters! This is not a vampire! This is a freakin’ undead demon!” I punched her in her stomach with a uppercut. Of course it barely damaged her. She almost looked stronger from it.

“Um.” I got hit in the ankle and I literally had to hop away. Forever tried to punch her from behind but Tsukiko knew. This was a good chance to kick her.

I lifted my leg and hit her in her neck. I had watched the health planet once or twice and there was an important nerve or something in the neck that when hit, could either cause paralyzation or some other possibly permanent damage.

“Exorcism!” I yelled as Tsuikko fell backwards.

“Doesn’t that take the spirit out of creatures?” Forever asked.

I didn’t think of that. “Purification! We need to set her soul free. So. Do you see any holy water or baptism around?” I said it sarcastically. In spite of this situation I managed to be sarcastic.

“We need spells"”

“We don’t have powers!” Forever yelled and threw a punch that actually hit my hip instead!

“Freak that. If this spiritual being can live here than I’m sure we can manage some purification spell!” I became angry. I knew my fighting would become hasty and wild along with my emotions.

“So what language do we use?” I wondered if that was a word then I felt intense pain.

“French! That’s the one our teacher told us helps against demons!” Forever shouted.

Tsukiko managed a cut below my knee. It was bleeding and the metal sliced my skin and I couldn’t support my leg. But I finally decided on my own that French would be best. She flew through the air with a crying harsh yell and I was reading to explode with energy.

“Libérer son esprit et l'âme en dehors des limites du mal.” I shouted. It meant free her mind and soul from beyond the limits of evil.

“Libérer son esprit et l'âme en dehors des limites du mal.” Forever said individually.

Then we both shouted it.

“Libérer son esprit et l'âme en dehors des limites du mal!” Looks like those French classes were paying off.

Then she did something that I really wished I hadn’t witnessed for any day in my life.

Tsukiko rose into the air out of her eyes and mouth, white light poured through and her skin turned black and fell to the ground. That part was the worst.

Then her skin and clothes vanished. It wasn't a fade but more of a disintegration. This pure white mist and possible aura enveloped the whole trail and sight around us. It was brighter now than it was when the sun was at its peak.

“Thank you! For releasing my soul.” Then this figure appeared within the thick white mist. It was Tsukiko. Only Tsukiko looked different.

Her hair was brown and didn’t come past her shoulders. It was also curly and not straight as it was before. She didn’t wear her normal long dresses or short mini skirts but she wore jeans with a colorful cami. And her eyes weren’t full of negative emotions. They were filled with joy and were now a hazel color. Wings sprouted from her back and she raised up to the skies. She embraced the clouds and flew to the moon.

Forever turned to me and I couldn’t help but to break into a smile.

“That all did not just happen to us.” Forever narrowed her eyes.

“You’re right! This is all an hallucination.” I laughed lightly. “We’re just dreaming.” We walked back to my house and the door wasn’t broken and when I raced up stairs my blue and yellow lava lamp was fixed.

“Did we like turn back time or something?” I thought out loud.

“No. Otherwise we would go back to the day all of this started or something as cliché as that. Or at least the time of day would change.” Forever responded laying on my bed.

“So things were just…fixed. The natural balance of things are right! So what did this experience teach us?” I begin to think about all those books where people want things and they learn a lesson from it. So what exactly was ours.

“You need love?” Forever attempted.

“Nah. I don’t think any of this is nearly intimate.”

“Maybe it’s curiousity killed the cat, and for me, be careful what you wish for.”

“Well I know one thing.” I turned on the TV and decided to watch Spongebob. “Never mess with an undead demon!” We both laughed at that.

 

Author's Note

This has been floating around for over a year so I've re-read this a few times. If grammatical errors exist ignore them. The beginning starts of kind of slow and some of it unnecessary but as it goes on it gets MUCH better.

Reviews

[Sarah J. Mendonca]

I kind of wish the chapters were split, reading something this long and adding comments made me lose my place a lot.

The story starts with a lot of complaing, making the main character less likeable initally. You need to draw readers in with something that makes them want to follow the character.

[Key The bard]

Rather one of the best stories I have read on this site. You she continued to write. And you had me laughing so hard at the end, why not watch sponge bob after going through that. Welll done. Full marks