This ain't a diary, this is a - mirror?

Chapter 24: Photoshop is Boring... and I Want to Set the School on Fire

{{ Dear Mirror,

I'm in IT and... yeah, I know, it's probably not a good habit to write in class, but I'm bored and tired. Basically no one's done, so, might as well get some writing done.

This morning, I got breakfast without Elena because she had to clean up... something. Evan - the guy who can apparently change the temperature of a room - got mad because I looked at him for a second. I mean, he literally was sitting opposite me. What did he expect?

Vivian also came over just before we were about to... uh, fight. She somehow managed to calm him down and I told her about my power because she asked. Yeah, normal stuff.

So, first lesson was DT, which apparently means something that I don't remember. Or know. Either one. It was boring... the only interesting thing that happened was that the teacher, Ms Derin, suddenly went 'rage dragon mode' when Oscar apparently said something rude and she transformed into a dragon. It's not like one of those normal dragons, though: she had no legs and wings and feathers. Yeah, pretty weird. And Oscar still looks like he's been jumpscared or something.

IT's boring... We're doing Photoshop, which is really boring and difficult. Sigh... I hate school.

Hey! Photoshop isn't boring.

I nearly forgot you existed.

Well, thanks.

You're welcome. Can you set the school on fire so that I won't have to suffer through this?

I can... but no.

That was a joke.

If you say so.

Well, is there anything else you can do so I won't have to suffer?

It's not suffering, it's learning.

'Learning', you say. Well, it's suffering in my standards, so there. Well, if you're not going to do anything helpful, at least... uh, say something useful?

I don't know what's useful in your terms, but... uh, Vivian has the power to absorb electricity and expel it?

Well... That was random. But... huh, now that I think about it, she never did tell me what her power was.

Ha! See, now that was useful.

But why would I care? I mean, I'd find out in the end...

But you don't know that.

Well...

See? I've wasted five minutes of your lesson. You should get back to learning.

But there's nothing to do! I - }}

"Alright, class," Mr Pix announced, "Once you've done that, I'd like you to spend the rest of your lesson looking at the first few Photoshop tutorials on the school page. If you have any questions, please ask me."

Samantha scowled at the open page and quietly scribbled out, {{ Was that you? }} When nothing appeared, she sighed and closed the book.

"Talking to your friend again?" Elena questioned as she opened up the school page.

"Yeah," Samantha sighed, "Though they're not really my friend. They're rather... annoying, actually. And I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but every time they... want me to stop talking to them, something weird or, well, something happens! Like how Mr Pix just started talking - that happened, too. Here, I'll show you."

She opened her diary to the page she had been writing on and pushed it over to Elena. Elena quickly read over the text and shrugged. "Maybe it is just coincidence. I don't... well, believe that they can control our lives. No offence to your power."

"Nah, I don't believe them too." Samantha sighed. "But sometimes, it feels too coincidental to be... well, coincidence."

"Well... I don't really know about that. Maybe they secretly can see into the future or something?"

"Uh... perhaps." Samantha looked back at her diary and closed it once again. "They said they weren't... a dog, though. I think."

"Maybe they're a cat. Or a deer. Or something else," Elena offered.

"I... I guess that's an option," Samantha replied, turning back to her computer. "Well, I guess talking about them won't get us anywhere. I'll ask them if I remember... but first, let's get on with work before Mr Pix yells at us or something."

"If he even can speak in a loud voice in the first place," Elena joked, earning a small chuckle from Samantha.

---

"Class dismissed," Mr Pix announced after the bell rang. "I hope you enjoyed our first lesson of IT."

Samantha packed her computer into her bag, taking care to not drop it, and zipped it up. "Do you want to go to the cafeteria for snack?" She asked Elena as they exited the classroom.

"Sounds great," Elena said, nodding. "I'd rather eat something warm after that bland granola bar."

The two made their way to the cafeteria, chatting quietly.

"Did you know Abbey's in my DT class?" Samantha remarked. "She didn't say anything to me though, which is... good. I'm not looking forward to spending the rest of my DT lessons with her."

"Aw, I feel bad for you," Elena said, sighing. "Riley's in my Design Technology class and she keeps on glaring at me. I swear, she's probably going to trip me or something within the next few lessons."

"So that's what it means? Design Technology?" Samantha said, half distracted. "Ah, Riley? I hope you doesn't. If she does, well, she's going to get the butt kicking of a lifetime. I mean, look at how you, you know, dealt with them!"

Elena chuckled. "Thanks for putting so much faith in me." Her eyes lit up as they entered the cafeteria. "Waffle fries!" She immediately sprinted off to join the line of students. Samantha hurried after her to catch up, calling, "Wait for me!"

They finally reached the start of the line and walked away with their plates of waffle fries. "Oh man, these are delish," Elena said through a full mouth. She swallowed and wiped her mouth with a tissue. "Mm."

"I haven't had these in ages," Samantha sighed happily. "They remind me of, uh, Astra. When she would make these to give out during charity fund raising stuff and she would give some to me."

"She sounds like a nice person," Elena said, nodding. "She's your, uh, sister, right?"

"Yeah." Samantha gave Elena a faint smile. "Though, speaking of her... I wonder how she's gotten up to. I haven't heard from her in a while."

"Maybe she's just busy with schoolwork," Elena offered. "Maybe you can meet up during the weekends when you guys are less busy?"

"Maybe," Samantha echoed. "Anyways, do you want to sit down somewhere?" She scanned the cafeteria for an empty seat.

"Sure," Elena said, looking around as well. "Hey, there's Sharon and Luna! No sign of Zeph, though..."

"Zeph?" Samantha smirked. "I didn't realise you had a nickname for him."

"I mean, his friends call him that," Elena amended smoothly. "And I assume we're friends, so...?"

"If you say so." Samantha started to trot towards Sharon and Luna. "Come on, before someone else takes those seats."