Through Their Eyes

Part 5

Later that night, before she went to bed, Ella was pondering the antique shop and the weird lady named Lindsey. Was she a witch? A sorcerer? Or just a lady who had no idea of the geode's powers? Could the geode really posses those powers? Ella stared at the electric blue crystal and thought. Why don't I just try to sleep and think tomorrow. After all it is Saturday... I could stay in bed as long as I want! She laid down and slowly drifted off.

She dreamed again, this time about that chubby eighth grade girl. She saw a man who was tall, heavy, and menacing step towards her. She shrunk back, but not of her own accord, mortified. The figure of a tall woman with dark hair behind him spit out the words like poison. What words, Ella couldn't tell. She only heard the man's howl and felt the sting of his cupped palm against her cheek. She clutched her cheek and cried silently. The man turned to his wife and said something too low for Ella to hear. The woman nodded and stepped into the light. Ella gasped- Lindsey! The lady from the antique shop smiled a cruel, heartless smile and balled up her fists. Ella braced her cheek for the impact, only the fist hit her hard in the stomach- and she woke with a start.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Ella sat up, touched her cheek where it still stung, and realized how heavily she was breathing. She looked at the clock- 12:45. She laid back down and drifted off.

When she dreamed for the second time, it was about her future. But it was only a year or two from now and she seemed to be in control of what happened. So she walked to her locker and spun the lock.

Right to 39.

Left to 42.

Right again to 01.

That should do it. She tugged on the lock- to no avail. Ella re-entered the combination and yanked hard.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and spun around. Macky was wearing all pastel colors and her hair was bleach blonde with dirty blonde highlights. It was curled into perfect ringlets that framed her face. Around her eyes she wore turquoise liner and soft pink shadow. She wore a turquoise top under a baby pink cardigan with light yellow flowers. There was a poofy turquoise and pink skirt with an underlayer of light yellow tulle. Macky sported turquoise Toms on her feet and a light pink, yellow, and turquoise anklet around her ankle. As Ella took this all in, Macky faced her and said that this was her sister's locker and asked Ella what she was doing by it. It wasn't the usual warmth Ella heard in Macky's voice, though. It was something else. Anger? Hatred? Pity? Maybe. Ella couldn't tell. But all that mattered was- wait, Macky didn't have a sister!

"Macky, wha-" she was cut off by the stranger in pastel.

"Macky is a thing of the past. I'm Kenzie now." she declared as if she was royalty.

"... Okay... Kenzie, what are you talking about? You and I both know you don't have a sister." Kenzie stared. If this were a comic book, there would be a big red question mark floating above her head right now, Ella thought.

"Do I even know you?" Kenzie looked behind her at two girls both wearing pastel and, Ella noted, a light pink, yellow, and turquoise anklet around their ankles. "Do we know her, Pippa? Ann?" The girls looked to Kenzie as though asking permission to speak. Like she WAS royalty. Kenzie nodded at Pippa.

Pippa spoke quietly. "Well, we were friends with her last year..."

Kenzie looked at Ann and nodded. Ann also spoke quietly. "No, Kenzie, I don't believe we do."

Kenzie spun, flipping her sweet smelling hair in Ella's face and strutted away. Ann glared at Ella and unsuccessfully tried to flip her straight hair like Kenzie. Pippa gave Ella a sorry look and slowly turned around.

Ella tried to keep the hurt look from her face, but it wouldn't stay away. Her own best friends, turning on her like that? Very uncharacteristic of them.

The girls got only a few feet away before Pippa turned around and walked back over to Ella. She just stared for what seemed like ages, making Ella start to feel squeamish.

Then Pippa's perfect nostrils flared. Her gorgeous blue eyes seemed to grow bigger as they turned black, as though her pupils were taking over. Her face seemed to stretch and her body was contorting itself into something. What, Ella didn't know. She waited and tried not to look at the painful writhing going on, but it was hard to look away. Pippa violently seized up, and her limbs seemed to grow smaller. Finally Ella was able to turn away. As soon as she hear the squirming stop, she turned back around to see none other than Lindsey.

"This is what you'll cause." The woman hissed. "This is what your life will become. You're an outcast. Criminal in their minds. Stop what you do and keep your peaceful life. Don't, and your life becomes thissss....."

Ella woke back up. 9:00.