The Mirror Key

Chapter 1: Don't Go To the Bathroom

Chapter 1: Don’t Go To the Bathroom

Wisps of blue.

She stared at the blue smoke. It seemed to be curling into a spiral, its tendrils swaying to an unheard song. It was beautiful, but at the same time, it gave off a vibe of something… ethereal.

It was almost as if it had come to life, beckoning her to come closer; promises of fulfilled dreams and infinite possibilities swirling through the haunting silence.

‘I swear I’ve seen this before,’ she mumbled to herself, watching the blue smoke dance, its beauty tempting her to touch it. But before she could act on her thoughts, she heard a child’s voice right beside her.

“Look at the blue lights!” the kid said excitedly, her eyes wide with glee. “They’re so pretty!” The little girl turned to her. “Don’t you think so, A-”

“Who the heck starts a story with Once upon a time?”

Xanthe blinked in confusion, her train of thought dissipating. “Huh?” She quickly took note of her surroundings. She was in the public library, and her school bag was placed on a table.

“I mean, come on! We aren’t kids anymore!” The girl beside Xanthe grumbled. She was flipping through a book. “That line is way overused.”

“Jeez, Forsythia, what’s got you wound up?” Xanthe asked.

Forsythia promptly shut the book in her hands. “A book report. Apparently Mrs. Laine wants us to write about our favourite fairy tales. What are we, second graders?”

Xanthe furrowed her brows. “And you’re mad because…?”

“Gah! I don’t know!” The blonde said, exasperated. She massaged her temples. “It’s just… the amount of school work they’ve given us is too much.”

Forsythia didn’t notice the way Xanthe rolled her eyes. The blonde was still drowning in her melodrama. Xanthe studied her as Forsythia continued on with her tirade against school work.

Forsythia Drake was, to put it simply, a contradicting stereotype. She was a blue-eyed blonde, yet she was near the top of her class. She wasn’t dumb like others would initially think (Xanthe actually had nothing against blondes- even she sometimes thought of dying her hair into a golden shade in exchange for her dark locks). Forsythia wore librarian-like glasses- the small, square types, and she had braces- yet those never stopped her from being well-liked (Xanthe had no idea how those two ideas connected- that was just how it worked in the high school).

But come one! Xanthe eyed Forsythia with envy. She’s a freaking cheerleader, too!

That girl broke almost every possible stereotype you could think of.

But Xanthe Arcene, on the other hand…

She wasn’t a wallflower, per se, but in school, she was akin to a ghost. She was the type of girl who could easily join a group conversation without seeming like an intruder, yet she just as easily disappeared from the inner circle without anyone noticing. She slid from clique to clique, having laughs and making acquaintances, yet she never left a lasting impression, her companions never minding when they realized she was gone. That was just how it worked.

And she didn’t really care. She was a bit of a laid back spirit, really. Nothing could affect her, and her patience was quite remarkable.

But with that being said, she was getting a bit annoyed with Forsythia’s monologue.