𝓣𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓽𝓸𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝔂 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 4

'Gillian. We need you back at FTRS. We have some new students and we would be very grateful if you were willing to show them around,' Miri says from the mirror attached to the wall behind the ticket counter.

'Miri? Can anyone else show the group around? I'm with my family right now,' Gillian pleads, letting go of her siblings' hands.

'No, I'm sorry Gillian. There's been an incident and it needs to be you. I'm sorry, but we need you right now.'

'Fine. I'll be there in 15 minutes. Tell my friends that I'll see them soon.'

Gillian's siblings groan in disappointment, each folding their arms and frowning. They know what happens next. Gillian always chooses to help other people instead of spending time relaxing. That's just the way she was.

'I'm sorry guys, can we hang out later? I'll get you popcorn and you can still watch the performance, I just really need to go right now.' The look on Gillian's face was apologetic, but it was clear that she had made up her mind and no amount of persuasion was going to change her decision.

'No, it's fine. I didn't really want to see this performance anyway. A few of my friends said that it was pretty bad. We can choose a different show to watch some other time, let's just go home,' Trixie says, turning away from her sister.

'Trixie, it's okay, I can buy you the tickets. You were excited about this.'

'I wasn't excited about the show, I was excited about you. That doesn't matter anymore though. I'm going home. Felix, Han, and Hamish can stay if they want.'

Trixie marches towards the door, not bothering to say goodbye to any of her siblings. She doesn't look back, but if she did she might have seen the hurt look on Gillian's face. If she had looked back, she might have stayed to say goodbye and hug her sister. But she didn't, so she didn't.

[If this were a movie or a TV show, this would be the part where the main character would start singing a song about wishing to be different than the way they are. Unfortunately, this is not a movie or a TV show.]

Gillian looks down at the ground, frowning and shaking her head. She hadn't meant to upset her sister, but she did. Was she supposed to say no and just leave the new students to explore on their own? She couldn't have done that. It wouldn't have been fair to them. Although, this wasn't fair to her siblings.

'I really am sorry guys. I promise that I'll make it up to you. We'll get ice cream, see another play, go to the park, and then finish the day by going to a restaurant for dinner. When I have time, I swear I'll set it all up and we'll do all of it when I get to take a break from school again,' she says. Her voice cracks as she says the last words. Her brothers exchange glances, not completely believing her, but wanting to nonetheless.

'Okay Gilly. You go ahead back to FTRS. We'll walk home on our own and we'll message you later. Happy birthday,' Felix says, hugging his sister tightly.

'I'm sorry.'

'It's fine. Just go do your assignment and you'll be back in a few weeks to spend the day with us. It's no big deal.'

Gillian's brothers took turns hugging her and wishing her a happy birthday before she started on her way to get back to FTRS. As soon as she got in a carriage, her head started to spin and she couldn't seem to think straight. She was alone in the carriage so she couldn't ask anyone to help her and she couldn't find her voice to ask the carriage driver to stop.

The world seemed to spin faster and faster, streaks of black and bursts of color filling her vision every few seconds. Gillian tried to stand up, hoping that it would help somehow, but that only resulted in her landing on the floor, unable to stand back up again. She reached for a mirror that she kept in her belt, but it slips from her hand and shatters. The pieces of the mirror start glowing and shaking, seeming to vibrate out of nowhere.

Gillian would have found this strange, if she'd been conscious for it.