Mirror Mirror

Its Been A Year

When I had awoken I felt strange, I quickly looked at my hand and it was thankfully there. This was strange and confusing, the mirror wasn't a mirror, it was some weird door, or something. I felt as though I was actually there, as though my arm did get stuck in the mirror, I felt like I had actually pushed my hand through the mirrors glass face, as though I did graze it's black, smooth, pine frame.
"Al, Alex! Come on, are you ready? You'll be late for practice!" I heard my mother shout from downstairs. I grabbed my soccer bag and placed the note, that I had dropped on the floor, onto my bed. I left my room while staring blankly at the note, I came running down the stairs and through the door.
"Are you alright Al? You seem a bit shaken." My mother looked at me through the car mirror. I looked at her quickly but then I looked away, I didn't want to tell her about the note I found, I felt like it would startle her, and I didn't want her to worry.
"I'm fine, can we just go now, I don't want to be late." I didn't say anything else for the rest of the car ride, I kept thinking of my dream, why was it different today? Did the note have something to do with it? Who left the note? I didn't know what to think. Over and over in my head these questions replayed. When my mother and I got to the soccer field she dropped me off and left. My mom never really stayed to watch my soccer practice, my dad was always the sporty one but he disappeared. I got out of the car and headed down to the field, coach Morning and the girls were stretching already, I sat at the bench and grabbed out my water bottle, I placed it next to My bag.
"Sherman! Get over here, practice has started, no slacking!" Coach Morning shouted out to me. I ran over to the group of girls and coach Morning, practice seemed to go on for hours on end, all I wanted to do was sleep when I got home, but that's what I was afraid of.
"Nice practice girls, tomorrow is Friday so you have off but don't forget to do warm ups every day! Now go hit the showers." Coach Morning yelled.
"Hey Al, whatcha' doing?" Sarah Ralph, my enemie, the girl who had everything but a heart.
"I'm just packing up my things, no need for your incompetence today, thanks." Often I found myself to be pretty cocky toward Sarah, though I guess it's only because she doesn't like me.
"Excuse me? You little-"
"Save it Sarah." I grabbed my bag and headed out the door, I saw my mom waiting for me in the parking lot. I ran over to her and got in the car. I hit my leg on the end of The door and I didn't notice it before but I must have gotten hit in the leg earlier, I had a huge bruise on my lower leg. When I got home I had ran up to my bedroom to look for the note, but it wasn't on my bed, I checked under my bed, around my desk, in my closet, I checked everywhere for the note but it disappeared. I was confused and needed to rest, I swung my body onto my bed, it was now 7 and I was ready to sleep. I closed my eyes and then I opened them, I was at the end of the hill. I ran fast up the hill but when I got to the top, something was a miss, the mirror wasn't leaning against the old dead tree, it wasn't anywhere! I fell to the ground, I wondered where it had gone, why did it leave when I was so close to discovering it's secret? I heard my alarm, I was awake again, I had gotten up and ran to the bathroom, I looked in the mirror. The questions played over and over once more, then I heard my mother downstairs. I crept close to the stair well so that I could listen but my mother and James would not see me.
"Today marks an exact year since Rob's disappearance. I still remember the horrid state in which the company had become. When Rob disappeared reporters and police were always around, wanting a story, wanting my little traumatized girl to confront the incident. I still blame myself, if I hadn't left for that conference in Vegas, maybe Rob would still be here."
"Mrs. Sherman, you should not blame yourself for what had become of Mr. Sherman's fate." James comforted my mother.
"Thank you James. I must go to awaken Al." My mother began to come up the stairs, I ran back to my room, I quickly shut the door behind me and began to get into my uniform. I grabbed my school bag and opened the door, I walked past my mother and went straight to the kitchen, there laid a plate with eggs, bacon, sausage and toast. I ate my breakfast quickly and headed for the door, but then my mother stopped me.
"Al, are you doing ok?" My mother held my wrist in her grip. I nodded.
"Of coarse, why wouldn't I be." I tugged my wrist out of her grip and went out the door, James had followed and opened the car door. I had acted as though I had forgotten that today, March 25th, was an exact year from which my father had disappeared, but I hadn't, I could never. I was very close to my father, he was my dad after all, a guider, a best friend, someone I could rely on always and what I thought would be forever. Now a days I seem to forget his appearance, my mom went through a stage and she took all of his pictures down and put them in storage, even a year later she still cannot look at his face.
"Mrs. Alex, we've arrived at school." James opened the car door, the shine of the sunlight hit my eyes as I looked out toward the building. Tommy was at the door waiting again, I looked at James and gave him a quick nod and he did so back, I then walked toward Tommy.
"Hey, your a little earlier than usual today, did something happen?" Tommy asked.
"Well it's been exactly one year today." I said as I looked at the ground. Tommy looked over at me.
"Are you ok?" He stopped us both.
"Yea, I mean it's been a year after all." I shook my head and put on a smile, me and Tommy stopped at my locker again, I had found something in my locker.
"Dear Alex Sherman,
It's been a year already? You must have a lot of questions for yourself, and for that mirror. This is a final warning, if you dare to seek the mirror, the mirror will not hide, nor shall the dangers that lurk behind the smooth black pine, and the shining glass face.
-mirror"
I dropped everything, Tommy stood there looking at me with startling looks.
"Al? Al!?" Tommy called out to me but the world around me seemed so quiet, I stared at the note, "mirror," who is mirror, what is mirror? So many questions, so many secrets, so much that it is breath taking. Then suddenly I felt a strong shaking on my shoulders, it was Tommy. I shook my head and threw the not into my locker.
"What the heck Al?! What's wrong, you just froze up and stared at that piece of paper?!" Tommy yelled.
"I-I just read something surprising is all. Ive got to get to class, see you at lunch." I ran to my home room. Through out the school day I seemed to only be half alive, and half dead. At lunch I sat with Tommy and his other friends and just then, Sarah came to the table.
"Hey so Al I heard that today was the year anniversary of your dads mysterious disappearance! Weren't you a witness or something?" Sarah had stood next to my chair at the lunch table.
"Yes. It is." I didn't look at Sarah, I did not want to give her the joy of seeing me cry, I looked at the table blankly. Sarah giggled slightly, Tommy gave her a rotten look.
"Don't you have some children to cook into a stew witch?" Tommy smirked.
" I prefer tears from a cow first." Sarah chuckled at her own joke, she then had someone give her a long black trench coat, she slowly put it on while saying, "Hey Al, remember this, oh no look I'm a scared guy in a black jacket!" Sarah laughed. I slowly looked at her and then I had remembered something, that day I saw a man in a long black coat, he came to the house and he had disappeared along with my father. Ever since I saw him I could not look at a black coat that represents the one of the man. I screamed at Sarah with now words, just a shout of terror. Sarah backed away in fright, everything became quiet. After that principal McDuff let me go home early and when I got there I ran to my room, slamming the door behind me. I sat on my bed sobbing for a while, I wanted my father, I needed to remember what happened.
"Al?" My mother knocked, "there was a package for you, I put it against your wall." My mother spoke to me so softly that it seemed like she would break me if she spoke louder. I sniffled and sat up, I looked over to my wall near the door, a long and wide brown box. I hadn't remembered ordering anything and I do not remember telling anyone to drop anything off to me. It had no return address, it just said "to Mrs. Alex Sherman" in fancy letters. I cut open the big box and placed it on my bed, there was another box inside of it, the box was a glossed black pine case, when I opened it there was a red silk lining and a red silk flap, I lifted the flap and stood there in shock. I backed up against the wall so hard that one of my portraits fell, it was the mirror, the black pine mirror from my dream.