In Her Shoes

Chapter 10: Changes...

Screaming.  

Screaming. 

Still screaming. Wow I have a lot of air in my lungs. I wondered when I'd turn blue and pass out like they did in the cartoons. 

"Quiet up there!" My dad shouts. 

How rude.  

"HELLO? I'm about to crash into a tree and die! You'd be screaming, too idiot! Geez." I turn back over on my side and pull the covers over my head. Some people have no consideration for other peoples de....

Then it hit me.. I placed my arms out on both sides of me. There was part of a mattress under each arm. I rolled onto my back and slapped both hands to my face that was still under the blanket. 

Blanket? 

No fucking way....

I leaped out of bed. "Dad! Dad! I had the worse nightmare and whoa"-where was that annoying congested sound coming from? I rubbed my throat. Well, I was screaming a lot in that nightmare. I hoped I hadn't lost my voice. "Dad!" I called again. "Let me tell you about tits crazy nightmare! I was headed home and this crazy witch bi"-- 

"Jessica Jane Sanders, your mother and I are trying to sleep and we both have work in the morning. Go to bed. We warned you about watching that scary movie by yourself. Now goodnight." Huh. Dad sounds funny too. Maybe we're both catching something. And did he really just call me Jessica? Wow the dude must be tired. 

And tmi. "Your mother and I"? Yuck. I thought Chelsie was away in San Fran for one of her dopey art shows. Why is she back so fast? Whatever.  

I'm so happy I nearly literally skip back to bed, feeling lighter than ever. Something's different about my room. I yawned as I tried to decipher the difference, and in doing so realize I've yet to brush my teeth. Still feeling thankful, and with no one to witness my lack of manliness, I skip to the bathroom. 

The bathroom was different; smaller. Had Dad remodeled the bathroom, too? But there was no walk in shower with it's personal steamer or no king sized tub. Even the mirror was different. And who was that dorky looking girl looking back at me with a disgusted and confused expression?  

"Who the hell are you?" we asked each other at the same time. But I didn't hear her voice... "Are you mocking me?" we both said again. "Seriously dude, who the hell are you and what're doing in my house? How did you break through the security system ya little dweeb!? DAAD!!!" 

Wait.....there was something vaguely familiar about this girl...she was squinting at me the same time I was squinting at her. And why was she inside my mirror...? 

No.  

There was no way. 

This wasn't me. I had dark brown curly hair that was thick and looked red in the sunlight. I had strong cheek bones and a soft ivory skin complexion that had not one visible pore, not one pimple, zit, blackhead or any other imperfection that most teens this age had. My teeth were perfectly straight and white and my nose was all but too perfect for my face. My lashes were thick and curly and often girls said they were jealous of them.  

This person was not me.  

For starters she was a chick. But not even a hot one. She had dark brown hair that waved unevenly, was frizzy and cut in what I guess was supposed to be a bob.  

Her skin was pale and chalky and had a forehead was invaded with inflamed pimples. Her pores were the size of pennies, and as if it couldn't get any worse she had braces. The main thing that made her being me even a remote possibility was that we had the same dark, dark green eyes with hints of brown around the edges.... 

"This definitely can't be me.." The hideous stranger and I mumbled at the same time in horror as we backed against the wall. I was hot! This girl was literally not, as cliche as it sounds. 

One second I was trying to analyze this dweeb that was scrutinizing me at the same time in the mirror, and the next second the witch was standing in her place. 

I jumped back and let out a small little squeal. I didn't keep screaming this time. My dad was downstairs. And I was sure if he came running up to the sound of my screams the witch bitch would disappear and my dad would punch me for pulling another "so-called" late night prank while him and his new wife are trying to sleep.

"You're right you know," the witch said calmly, "if you scream your dad will walk to your room and see Jessica Jane Sanders talking to her mirror."  

"Why are you calling me that...?" I asked warily. The little muscle that I had tensed instantly, once again the hairs on my arms stood at attention and shivers started trailing down my spine. 

"Well it's your name, you silly girl," she answered mockingly. 

Girl? 

Hell no. 

I know Shenise had made some crude remark about her having a penise, and though I admittedly didn't consider her a female, I was clearly a male. Clearly. There was nothing feminine about me. She was crossing lines. 

"Let me get to the point," she spoke before I could come up with something insulting to say back to her. "Your name is Jessica Jane Sanders. Everything that you had, you have no longer. You will walk in the shoes of every type of person you have judged"- 

"I don't judge anybody!" I whined cutting her off. Ugh. that squeaky congested kept coming out of my mouth. I tried to clear my throat. 

The witch rolled her eyes. "We've had this conversation before," she snaps irritably. "And just to help you keep track..." she tossed something at me that somehow came through the mirror and instinctively I caught it. I opened my palm and there was the tiniest little brown speck in the center of it that was literally half the size of a pinto bean.  

"A speck?" I spat sarcastically. "You want me to keep track of my so-called awful behavior by watching a brown speck? What's it gonna do? Hatch out my own personal Jimmeny Cricket that'll shake his finger whenever I tell a lie?" 

"Its a seed you moronic twit!" she snapped irritably, clearly not amused by my sarcasm. "Put it in a pot and it will grow into a tree that's in full bloom. The longer it takes for you to mend your ways, the more the tree will die. And once it dies....say goodbye to the life you once knew..."  

I was about to respond when she started laughing again, or should I say cackling. I looked down at the seed again trying to come up with some quick bargain; maybe give me five months- no that's too long in this wretched body-two weeks at the most and if I cant "change" or whatever throw in the flag and try this trick on someone else.

I looked back to the mirror to explain my bargain but the witch was gone, and the dweeby dark haired girl was standing there staring back at me with a panicked and pleading expression. And as if things couldn't get worse....there were about two and a half of her.... 

Oh no...I think I need glasses, too..... 

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Sorry this chapter is so short. Just an intro of how things are gonna be for a while in the book ;) don't forget to stay tuned, comment and vote! 

Thanks for reading :)