Mirror Mirror

Chapter 10

~Next Morning~

The Easter holidays had ended, and Riley had to go back to school, a loud, obnoxious, crap school at that. But it wasn't the usual things bringing her down, it was having to face Harvey, Brigitte, everyone in fact. She couldn't stand to put a smile on her face for a whole day, even though she and many other people were broken inside. She now couldn't tell whether someone was putting and a fake smile or was genuinely happy.

Riley woke up at 7:00am, trapped in the school routine again. She got dressed at 7:10, trapped in the school routine again. She went downstairs to eat breakfast at 7:15, trapped in the school routine again. She brushed her teeth at 7:25, trapped in the school routine again. She got her bag ready at 7:30, trapped in the school routine again. She went back into the kitchen to say goodbye to her mum at 7:40, trapped in the school routine again. She opened the cupboard, took out her new antidepressants, and popped one into her mouth, something new in her school routine. And would stay there for at least 3 months.

She got to school at 8:05, just in time to wait for Brigitte outside her form. How she longed for her best friend again. They barely saw each other during the holidays, and Riley didn't think she could stand it any longer. Riley spotted her friend almost instantly. But stopped walking. There were people around Brigitte. People who weren't usually there, but Riley recognised with  surprise. Ethan, Emily, Kim, Ashley, Dobby, Tom and Dylan were all there. Riley didn't understand why, but they were. Riley almost hoped they hadn't seen her, but a voice made her turn around.
"Riley, hey"
"Hey Harvey" Riley said to the boy standing now in front of her "do you understand what is going on? With all your friends being here I mean"
"There is an assembly today" Harvey said, but realised soon enough that Riley still didn't understand "for Max, they are here to watch"
"Oh"
"Yeah" They shared a shy smile before Harvey's old friends called him over. Riley trailed behind him then settled herself next to Brigitte. She watched whilst they exchanged hugs and stories. Memories flashed  about here and there, all in an attempt to make what happened less painful.
"Oh hey guys, you look a bit sad" a mock voice said from above them, Natasha. "Harvey, you look like you could kill yourself at any minute. Oh, too soon?" She giggled but stopped once Brigitte stood up.
"Shut your face right now you little shit" said Brigitte looking down at her. Her smile was wiped off her face and instead replaced with a scowl.
"D'want beef? French tart" the hell? Thought Riley
"I'm a vegetarian, so I'll pass. Thinking of it, I don't want anything to do with you either, you cow." Brigitte received one last look from Natasha before she turned and left.
"Thanks" muttered Harvey
"No problem, you ok?" Brigitte asked, but got nothing in response.
"Harvey, are you ok?" Riley tried now, but she looked down to see him crying. He shook his head, got up and walked off.
The bell rang to snap them all back into reality. "Well, we'll be off" said Emily, waving goodbye. They all left, leaving just Riley and Brigitte.
Riley turned to face her "See you in assembly"
"See you in assembly"

Riley made her way in with her form, in a supposedly neat line. It looked more like a rebellion, with teachers shouting and pupils kicking, people being pushed around whilst others tried to sneak into other lines. Soon enough though, they were all in the hall and sitting down. On the row in front of her, Riley saw Ethan and Kim and to the right there was Tom, Emily, Ashley and Dobby. In the isle, Dylan was arguing with a teacher, trying to sit next to the rest of the group. The teacher was having none of it "You are going to sit at the back. You arrive late to assembly, you sit wherever's left."
"But I'm Ma-"
"I don't care who you are, you are sitting at the back."
As Riley watched Dylan make his way through all the rows, she felt Harvey sit next to her. She turned to say hi, but someone at the front started speaking.
"As I'm sure all of you will have heard, something terrible happened at a recent school trip." It was Mr Yoon, who worked at the office "We lost a pupil, a very high achieving, dedicated, loved pupil at that. Max Mills died in his sleep the first night after taking an overdose. It was truly horrific, a moment which will stay in our miss forever." You weren't even there, you don't know anything. "He had many people who loved him very much, friends, family. Many happy memories were made, he could bring smiles to peoples faces at any time, at any place. There are so many things people will remember Max for, and I would love for you to recall any of them. Oh yeah, as if you would know any, let's see how you pull this one off. "But mental health is something that affects our society greatly" what?!?
"But what about YouTube videos?" Riley heard Ethan whisper in disbelief.
"One out of four people will be affected by mental health in their lifetime" Yoon continued. Riley couldn't believe it, they weren't going to say anything else on the matter.
"But what about cricket matches?" Ethan whispered again
"It affects mostly teenagers" that had been the end of Max's speech. He died and only got two minutes of praise.
"But what about Gravity Force?" Ethan was on the verge of tears
"Social media does not help the case in hand"
Unbelievable Riley thought
"But what about our friendship?"
"Ethan could you please shut up" snapped a teacher.
"We need to be responsible" Yoon's voice was now background noise
That was his breaking point "I just miss him so much" and Riley watched as Ethan started crying.
"I said will you be quiet!"
That was it, Riley stood up to face her "You little bitch"
Yoon now directed his words to Riley "Watch your language young lady"
"Oh yeah, sorry. Thou little bitch." Riley was now fuming. "A boy kills himself and you have the audacity to treat people like this. You don't even think twice to take this situation and twist it for your benefit! You think it's a disgrace for someone to cry for him, but the disgrace here is that you think you can walk in here as if you are a peacekeeper, a saviour to all of us, and speak this bull that means nothing to you. Empty word these are! Empty words." And at that, Riley walked out of the hall, not caring about the one thousand faces looking straight at her.