eric glanced at jess, the student council president, next to him. she had bags under her eyes and frizzy, unkempt. eric guessed that to be because of a party. across from her sat john, a somewhat chubby and tall guy with blonde hair combed to one side. to johns left was Emma, a skinny black-haired girl who was currently vaping. they obviously weren't supposed to do that (especially not as members of the student council), but Emma's parents were rich and helped fund all the extravagant shit our school does so jess decreed that we just never tell anyone. jess would make an outstanding politician.
if eric was being honest with himself, he really didnt like being a part of the student council. it was either wasting 5 hours on a weekend helping set up a school dance or being ignored at the meetings cause he spoke too softly. the other two payed more attention to Emma's ideas than his, and she was ripping carts every fucking meeting!
"alright, that's all for today." jess's voice was tired, and it seemed to be infectious as eric noticed johns eyelids blink closed longer than they should've.
Emma sighed and brought her vape up again but hesitated before putting back in her pocket. yesterday she'd said she was trying to quit. was that the 5 time this year she'd said that?
john pushed his glasses up and grimaced, the frames sticking to his greasy nose like glue.
"why's the last dance gotta be so long man?" he said in a groan
jess smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood. "c'mon guys, last one of the year. we can get through this!" she wasn't very convincing, too tired to force a excited tone.
emma scoffed, furrowing her brow, "easy to say when your not gonna be there"
john narrowed his eyes, and i also couldn't help but resent jess a bit. this was gonna be the longest one yet, and while they were slaving away in the gymnasium, jess was gonna be on a beach somewhere. jess also did most of the work, so this last dance might not go so well. maybe he should give jess some credit.
jess's smile dropped, "c'mon, you know id be there if i could!"
i felt almost bad for jess, so i decided to take her side on this.
i sucked in some air and spoke to her her while smiling, "it's fine je-"
but before i could say anything jess cut me off, clapping her hands together, "oh right, i almost forgot," she got up and walked over to the bookshelf on the wall, her hands shifting delicately through boxes, "i have something for you guys"
i sunk into my chair as Emma smirked, revealing her pink braces, which he had heard her complain about many times. apparently her mom told her doctor to give her pink ones because she thought Emma would like them. Emma did not like them.
"what, a farewell gift for ditching us?"
jess's face curled into a frown as she turned around quickly, bumping into the dilapidated mirror in the corner. it seemed to quiver at her touch.
"could you not Emma? I'm the only one who has done any work on the other dances, you guys can pull your thumbs out of your ass for one fucking dance"
john was starting to sweat, sensing what was about to come. they never listened to me when they weren't angry so i wasn't about to get involved now. however, i noticed something strange in the corner
the mirror jess had bumped into was rippling, waves rolling across the surface roughly like someone had punched the middle of a water bowl. reflective, rippling silver hit the bounds of the mirror and was shot back into the middle where it coalesced into rhythmic spires.
that... didnt seem safe.
but it was hypnotic. eric felt his gaze glued to the mirror, trying to find meaning in the ripples. maybe...maybe he should just take a peek. no harm in one look, right?
"-well maybe if you weren't such a depraved, stupid whore-!"
Emma's arm accidentally slapped him, jostling him from his trance. jess took a step backward in astonishment at Emma's words, bumping into the mirror again. the force of the waves multiplied. eric decided that now was not the time to stay silent. he raised his voice in an attempt to get there attention
"guys!"
however, neither side seemed to notice him, Emma's finger pointing just as proudly at jess as it was a moments ago
"i don't wanna hear anything from the bitch who goes to every party that ever happens. tryna get knocked up or something?"
jess's face flushed in anger as she took a step forward
"how dare you-"
"GUYS"
Emma and jess both stopped, turning to look at john, his face contorted in a panicked look. they both gave him a frustrated expression, clearly not happy at him interrupting their shit slinging contest.
but before either of them could rebuke, he pointed to jess's left.
"what's up with the mirror?"
jess and Emma both turned to look at what eric had been staring at for a solid minute. jess's eyes widened as she stepped back.
but it was too late
the mirror had only been growing even more violent since jess had bumped into it a second time. now the waves were crashing with enough force to send them a foot high. then, with one violent shudder, the dam burst an the liquid silver suddenly froze, then was shattered into a thousand pieces across the floor, still retaining it's strange shape.
but before Emma could scream, a massive grey arm shot through the mirror. it was big enough to fill the corner of the room as it scratched at the walls rapidly, it's 7 fingers all ending in terribly long and black nails. it's 3 joints twisted and curved right, the muscle bulging before shooting towards jess and slamming her into the wall, blood shooting from her mouth as she heaved air out of her lungs. it's dirty and crooked fingers curled around her, encasing her in its palm as it dug into the wall.
then, in one violent motion the arm pulled her back into the mirror, the wind whistling at it's sheer speed. the shattered silver on the floor shimmer and floated into the air before flying back into the mirrors surface, once again forming a smooth flat surface. and then it was quiet, except for the noise of paper and books falling to the floor.
as the last paper fell to the ground, john stood up. his face was somehow paler than usual as his legs shook. her brought a trembling hand up to his glasses and pushed them up against his nose.
...and then he fell down, out cold.
Emma and eric stared at him laid out on the floor. Emma shakily reached into her pocket and pulled out her vape, but her trembling hands causing her to drop it on the table.
"fuck!"
she grabbed it again and successfully brought it to her mouth. vapor blew out of her mouth. her hands stopped shaking as much, the nicotine soothing her trembling arms.
eric stared at her, his face adorned by the same neutral expression it always was.
"...does this mean we cancel the next dance?"
Emma turned to him as an incredulous expression appeared on her face, her mouth open in suprise.
"eric, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
eric shiver as he splashed cold water on his face, the front part of his short brown hair sticking to his forehead. he wiped the freezing liquid from his eyes, blinking away the moisture as he fully opened his eyes and stared at his own reflection.
...since when did he have eyebags? didnt want people thinking Emma had rubbed off on him too much. he sighed and turned the sink back on, freezing water falling into his cupped palms again.
the talk with the principal happened 3 days after the incident, and it hadn't gone like he thought it would. his first thought was that he wouldn't believe them, and maybe he'd be angry at them for messing with him.
but after eric had finished describing what happened, the principal finally looked up from his paperwork, saving eric from the blinding view of the mans bald head. the old man stared directly at eric through his round frame glasses. his eyes seemed sad, a slight regretful frown forming on his face. but they weren't angry or confused like eric had thought they would be.
"...hmm. i will look into this further." his curiosity was laid on thick. the principal was not good at lying.
he leaned forward, resting his flabby and thick neck on his clasped together hands.
"but i ask that you please not tell any other students about this, and do not pursue this matter anymore. it will only cause panic to others and stress to yourself" his grouchy voice rung out, scratching the command into erics ear.
Emma scoffed and was about to remark snidely, but was silenced by the principals eyes burning into her skull.
he frowned, "i mean it. there will be consequences if mention this too anyone, even for you Emma"
the gloomy girl nodded, fidgeting with her beanie nervously.
he made a shooing motion with his hands, "now go"
john practically bolted for the door, not even saying a word to us or the principal. as soon as we walked away from the windows of the principals room, Emma fumbled for her cart. eric supposed there was no harm in it, it was long into the night and everyone had left the school building. walking around empty halls after experiencing...that was pretty stressful. so much so that eric wondered if he should ask for a hit. he pushed the thought down, and instead wondered why the principals room had to be so far away from the main entrance.
eric stopped, staring at the bathroom sign. Emma noticed and stopped. she tilted her head curiously. "you staying or something?"
eric shook his head, "nah, i just gotta uh, use the bathroom. you go ahead"
she nodded her head, "ok"
as she walked away, eric thought heard her mumble, "weirdo," but he wasn't sure
he sighed and opened the bathroom door, bringing him out of the memory as cold water slashed his face
their school was quite rich, mostly because of Emma's dad funding it, which meant that for a high school bathroom, it was pretty clean.
...except for the shit stain next to the urinal, but that was better than most school bathrooms. eric sighed. he had barely gotten any sleep for 3 nights, and the long sink that went across the entire wall was looking pretty comfy right now...
but erics moment of bliss was broken as he heard a crash. he whipped around towards the mirror, expecting a gray hand to be there.
but there was nothing. the mirror was untouched, and nothing else seemed off. he rubbed his eyes but saw the same scene. he needed sleep, badly. his heart rate being this high couldn't be good for his health.
eric turned on the sink and filled his cupped hands up with cold tap water for a third time. he leaned down and threw the water into his face, stinging the already chilled skin. he winced and began to wipe his eyes, expecting to see only his tired face once again
but in the corner of the mirror was jess, standing by the door. she looked bad, her frizzy hair now coated in grease with eyes wide and bloodshot. her once prim eyeliner was now staining her face, following the path of her tears. she had no injuries, but she was far from fine.
erics head shot behind him, expecting to see her at the door.
but she was not there. he flicked his head back and forth between the mirror and door again, only seeing her in the reflection.
"jess? is...is that you?" he called cautiously. how was she here, and why did she look so fucked up? his heart rate quickened.
jess's face curled upwards a bit, a lightly maddened expression dusting her face. but then it contorted into a frown, tears forming in her eyes again.
"e-eric? oh, I'm so glad your here. i-i missed you and the others!"
eric's voice was concerned. "jess, are you ok?"
at his words, jess's frown deepened and the tears stopped. she looked at him angrily, her eyes shining with a craven frenzy.
"no, I'm not. I'm not because it should have been you. i-it wanted you, but it grabbed me instead," her hands trembled, a fresh hot tear rolling down her face.
"it didn't like that," she shook her head "no, it was angry. it was angry at me for being where you should have been"
her pupils shrunk as she looked down at her shaking hands, her face contorting into a pained expression. eric stepped back, his heart pounding in his chest
"it...it ruined me, eric" her expression was horrified, the unknown loss weighing on her mind, "it took from me something i will never get back"
eric's mouth gaped open. it wanted him? and what did jess mean by "ruined"?
jess rattled on, ignoring his expression.
"it showed me an ocean of silver that encased the world. it held me in its depths and let it's children feast on what made me a human. it...it should have been you"
she raised a shaky finger to point at him, her face drawn taut in a desperate and angry sneer, "you did this to me eric"
she stepped towards him, knocking eric out of his stupor as he stepped back"
"jess let's-let's think about this," eric raised his hands as a peace sign, "your not making any sense"
she scoffed and started to giggle. "oh, i am making plenty of sense, eric" she smiled, madness seeping through her dirty grin that revealed silver dripping through her teeth, "if i could just show you what i saw..."
eric felt his heart hammering in his chest, her last words causing his legs to tense. he glanced towards the door, now visible as jess continued walking towards him. she followed his gaze, a flash of realization flickering in her eyes. but it was too late
eric always thought he was rather fast. as it turns out, he was correct. jess realized his intention and lunged at him a with maddened fury burning deep in her eyes. eric dashed past her small frame and pulled the door open
jess shrieked, horrific and desperate, "GET BACK HERE", but it was too late.
eric shot through the door and slammed it behind him, his chest heaving and heart pounding. he felt her knock on the door as she wailed and cried.
"don't leave me here, i don't want to be alone. eric, please..."
but eric was no longer listening. he peeled himself off the door shot down the hall, almost tripping as his balance threatened to cave under the desperate propulsion of his legs. he ran and ran, his lungs burning and head pounding as sweat cascaded down his face, neck, and back. he didnt slow down as the front doors grew closer, slamming through them and falling to his knees. he gagged as vomit came up, coating the pavement and splattering on his jeans
but still, something felt off. her looked to all sides, expecting to see an arm pop out of somewhere, or see jess lunge at him from the entrance. nothing was off. and then he looked up.
from his office on the second floor, the principal looked directly at eric, his expression unreadable. even after being spotted, the principal continued to stare at eric, their eyes locking. eric thought he saw regret and shame, the same feelings the principal had earlier. then the principal turned away, closing his blinds and ending the confrontation.
eric's gut knotted up, threatening to spill out of his stomach. the principal knew. eric got up, vomit smearing on his shoes as he staggered towards his car. he didn't know how, but the principal knew about the mirror, about the arm. he probably knew what jess had been talking about too.
finding the door to his car, eric pulled it open and fell inside. he locked the door and curled up into his seat. a sob escaped his mouth.
maybe quitting the school council wasn't such a bad idea after all.
