Mirror Imagery

Pop Goes The Weasel

"Oh shoot...."

The call.

No one wanted that.

You see, in our world, the government reigns supreme over everyone. They control you. Your thoughts. Your actions. Get too out of hand and well uh... Pop goes the weasel.

My parents didn't get a call. So it must've been her brother or her parents who it was about.

"Oh Mercury...." Her eyes were sullen and her breath shaky, she seemed more a mess than I did.

"I don't know what to do! What if the-they-"

"It's okay... I know it's hard." I put my hand on her shoulder before she basically collapsed on her knees, me rushing to get down on her level.

I hugged her. I didn't know exactly what was happening but I had a good guess. Her brother never really conformed to the government's ideals.

"They're going to take him and Jared! Take them away a-and-"

"I know.. I'm so sorry..." I didn't want her to say it. I know that talking about what they do directly can often make the pain worse.

The wind blew our lavender hair to our left and covered one of my eyes. I was glad. She didn't need to know I was starting to cry.

"A-Andrew I don't think I can do this..." Mercury's shaky voice trailed off near the end.

"No. You can do it. I know you can. You have to be strong. For Nick. I know you can do it. I'm right here with you." I brushed a tear away from the eye not covered by hair before it started to pool.

Mercury nodded. We didn't say anything after that.

***

My bag was strung over my shoulder. The sound of my house-keys clicking together rattled through the morning fog. I was on my way to school, but I was taking my time.

I liked the fog, breeze, and slight drizzle. This kind of weather calmed me. Besides, I had too much to think about anywho.

Mercury probably wouldn't be at school because of Nick.

Nick was Mercury's older brother. He was seventeen and had dull pink eyes, and white hair with cyan streaks. He never conformed to any ideals. His idea of fun was going around with his mirror, Jared, picking up friends and girls, partying and drinking, and getting high. He didn't care too much for anything at all. Except for Mercury that is.

Nick was super protective of her. Until we were fifteen he insisted on walking her wherever she went to meet me, and trained her in self-defense. He would threaten people who were mean to her, and apparently I was the only boy allowed over. Not because of her parents, but because the last one that was there ended up beaten up.

In a way I guess I was jealous of that. I mean, pardon my french but my brother didn't really give a shit about me. Not that he really was bad to me either though, he just didn't care. 

Time flies when you're having fun.

Before I realized it, I had reached the gates to my school. Taking a deep breath, I started walking faster towards the entrance. Nobody was outside. That was strange, usually there was at least a few there.

The front of the school was all bricks with occasional windows and doors. They had lots of plants and trees but it didn't really help to distract from the fact that our school's bricks were painted a disgusting shade of brownish-grey. 

Years ago the beautification club had painted it a grey-silvery colour but over time dust, dirt, gum, and other random artifacts that had probably been there for at least five years accumulated. For the first few years they cleaned it, but then those beautification beans got lazy and gave up.

At least the inside was nice. Not. It was basically a breeding ground for spiders, roaches, and bacteria. Not to mention the people. I cannot tell you how many times I've walked into the bathrooms and heard kissing noises. Disgusting.

If you can't tell already I hate that place with a passion. I would've rather swallowed a live rat than go there. 

But I did. I went. I didn't fake sick. I dealt with it. I didn't know why I did it at the time, but looking back it's quite obvious. There are two reasons.

One. My brother got stellar grades so I was expected to as well. Nothing like good ol' sibling rivalry. 

Two. Mercury. She was my Mirror, I had to go so that she wouldn't be alone. If I did I'd feel terrible for the rest of my life.

You see, two Mirrors' bond is stronger than anything you could imagine. It's not like a relationship, it can't be undone. It's not like family, you can't be jealous or shun them. It's destined from in your genes. If your Mirror has amber eyes, surprise surprise, you do too. It's a blood bond. It's literally impossible for you to hate them if you don't hate yourself. If you hate yourself, you hate them too. Sure, you can get mad, but you always come back around like a boomerang. 

And then there are the more magical parts of it. If your Mirror feels very intense pain or emotions, you do too. If they die, you feel it. It's quite sad really. That's how my father died. It was too much for him to handle. 

But there are good parts. My personal favourite is that if your Mirror is singing, that song instantly gets stuck in your head. I cannot tell you how many times I've gotten the Gummy Bear Song stuck in Mercury's head.

Mercury. Mercury wasn't at school. School!

I had completely walked passed my class. I had to run to it to make it before the bell. What a way to start my day. My horrible, hideous day.