OC Oneshots

4

OC: Jinx Hershall
Fandom: My own original universe
Species: Human

Every part of me hurts.

My head is spinning, and I can't see how many fingers my mother is holding up. It takes me a long time to realize I fell down the stairs again.

"It's her godsforsaken luck," I hear a foggy voice say, although I don't register who it is or process what the phrase means.

My vision returns, slowly. The pain in my head subsides to a dull throb. Nothing too horrible.

"Clumsy me," I say. "Oops."

Everything comes rushing back. I tripped and fell down the stairs and hit my head. That's all it was. I sit up.

"Jinx?" My mother says, putting a cautious hand on my leg. She's sitting next to me, looking at me like she always does: like I'm a person with a disease that isn't contagious but that she's still afraid of catching.

I'm used to it by now. Everyone looks at me like that. Just like all the other Mirrorbreakers.

Seven years of bad luck. That was how long it was supposed to last. My parents had forgotten the exact date, but I remembered it. I remembered the mirror shattering, the trembling of my hands that were still small at the time, my immediate panic at the Curse that I knew was befalling me. And I remembered that the seventh year should have ended a month ago.

My bad luck should have run out a month ago.

But the symbol, the tattooed crack down one side of my face, still Marks me as a Mirrorbreaker, and someone people need to avoid. It was supposed to fade when the seven years ended. It should be gone by now, only visible as a faint scar to those who are really looking for it. But it's not.

I'm starting to think that I'm not just cursed by the mirror, but by Haerthia, the goddess of luck, herself.

I get up.

"You need to see someone," Mom protests.

"I'm fine," I insist, and then immediately trip over the bottom step as I start to climb back up the stairs.

"You're not fine," Mom says, crossing her arms.

"Yes I am," I say, and it's true. The trip just barely was just another bit of bad luck. It wasn't a result of my brain not working right. "It's just my luck."

Mom sighs.

Just my luck. It's my catchphrase at this point.

I climb the stairs without incident and go up to my room. I can't remember what I was trying to go down the stairs for.

Mom lets out a huff and walks away. I can practically hear what she's thinking: teenagers. They won't accept help from anyone, even if they need it.

I smirk to myself, because it's true.

My head is still throbbing, but it's not getting any worse. I take that to be a good sign, but if it continues, I'll take a Tylenol later.

I sit at my window. Cars and hovercraft whiz by on the transparent layers of streets. The main road, on the ground, is full of people, even though it's late at night. The buildings surrounding me, some of them anchored to the ground, some of them hovering high above it and only accessible by the Layer Roads, are brightly lit. Every window planter is overgrown with clover, their owners hoping to score a shamrock. Flags, dark green shamrock over a gold-outlined purple cross on a mint green field, hang from many buildings. The city is chaos, but there is a method to the madness that everyone who lives in the Fortuna Archipelago understands.

I'm cursed, I decide. Why the gods decided to do it to me, I don't know. But what I do know is that I'm cursed, and it sucks.

If I really look hard, I can see my reflection in the window. I have orangey-red hair and freckles all over my face and arms. My eyes are green. Lucky green, which is kind of ironic considering my situation. The Mark of the Mirrorbreakers still runs down my right cheek, a black, ink-looking image of a crack. I trace it with my finger. It tingles slightly to the touch.

For a split second, I see a different image. It's still me, still with that horrible Mark. But I'm wearing green robes, and a golden circlet with an emerald shamrock gem crowns my head. Then I blink, and it's gone.

I growl at the window. It's its own mirror, of sorts.

I pass the image off as the lights and banners outside tricking my eyes.

Then I turn away from the window, close the curtains, and go to bed.

~~~

Behold
One of my many book ideas

-Indigo