Mirror, Mirror (Book 2)

Chapter 28: Early and Tired

On the next morning, Oliver had woken up with a piercing headache and a perfectly healed ankle. His brown hair flopped to the side of his face, as Oliver struggles to lift himself up and look around.

Squinting, Oliver saw blurred images of untided bunk beds, dirty laundry, and wooden flooring. The smell of sweaty socks and underwear cleared his thoughts as he realized that he was in the boys' cabin, resting his wound.

But as his vision adjust, so was the sight of Oliver's clothes as he wore the same black t-shirt, jeans, and gray socks from last night. His black sneakers, however, were somewhere underneath his bunk bed.

After a morning stretch, Oliver puts on his shoes, ties the laces, and lifts himself up when he spotted three ghosts to his left.

The first has a face disfigured by burns, the second had a fractured leg, and the third was blind. All of them hovered around him like lions surveying their prey.

"You okay?" Clarissa asked, peering down at his face.

Oliver nodded as he wiped the tiredness from his eyes.

"Yeah," he replied, yawning. "what happened while I was out?

Haley Derek sighed, "we heard people saying that you have been attacked by an animal or something."

"Or something," Clarissa added. "believe it or not, those bullies helped you get back to health."

"Really?" a surprised Oliver inquired.

The three ghosts nodded.

Oliver was a little confused as to why they saved him, but he felt grateful for helping him recover from his injuries. Maybe after everything goes back to normal, Oliver would thank them for their kindness.

Until he remembered Amelia.

"Where's Amelia?" asked Oliver.

"She went to look for some details about the fire." answered Haley. "she called your mom for some old newspaper clippings and novels related to the incident."

"What about my classmates, Jake, and Ms. Fern?" he implied. "Are they okay, too?"

The ghosts looked at one another hesitantly, before Clarissa spoke up: "well, yes and no."

Oliver grimaced. "Yes and no?"

"Your class is okay, but Ms. Something left at midnight and she never returned."

"What?" Oliver cried. "Ms. Fern disappeared?"

"Or ran away," Clarissa added. "depends on how you see it."  

The other two ghosts looked at her.

"What?" she cried. "That's what I heard!"

"Shut up, Clarissa." Haley Derek moaned.

"You shut up," Clarissa shot back.

"Both of you need to shut up," Jessica groaned.

Motivated, Oliver rolls out of bed and tries to get changed when the pain came slithering back on his ankle. But in spite of the complication, Oliver put his two feet on the cold floor and gets up for a few seconds, when an invisible force pushes him down.

"The fuck?" Oliver wailed.

"You are not moving another step!" Jessica insisted.

"I have to," Oliver urged. "Ms. Fern is out there somewhere and it's all my fault." 

"It wasn't your fault," Haley Derek replied solemnly. "we were the ones who pushed you to get us out of here." 

"I was the one who caused the hail storm," he says glumly.