Mirror Image

Chapter 3

"What kind of teacher gives homework on the first day?" She sat at the dinning room table with a plate of half eaten pasta in front of her.

"I don't have any homework! What's homework?" Maggie, who just had her first day of first grade giggled.

"It's when you do math, at home." Bella poked her fork at a pile of green beans.

Maggie crinkled up her nose. "Why would any one want to do that?"

Bella sighed. There was no use in explaining. "I better go start it if I want to finish before midnight."

"Bella you need to eat." Her mom said it in a very passive-aggressive tone, and it scared Bella. Her mom only used it when she was serious, serious and upset.

So Bella sat and she ate, even though she felt like vomiting.

She didn't bother with her homework, she only wrote a few sentences for her English assignment, and only finished half of her math equations. Her science worksheet sat untouched in her backpack and her current event for social studies was very un-current in Bella's mind.

She feel asleep around 9, she was still wearing her jean shorts,and she hadn't even rubbed the makeup off her face.

She woke up around three A.M. A shiver spiraled down her spine. It all felt wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. She went into the small bathroom and rubbed her smeared makeup off. She slipped into an old tee shirt, one of the only things her father left them, and an old pair of pajama shorts. Instead of lying back down she stood in front of her mirror.

Bella saw the cracks in the corner for the first time that night. She stood on her tip toes and ran her fingers along the shattering glass. A large chunk of glass fell.

Break a mirror and you get seven year of bad luck, right? But what if you weren't the one to break it? What if you only were trying to clean up the shattered pieces?

Bella felt warm droplets dripping down her face. She lifted a hand up and whipped her checks.

Why am I crying? It wasn't even my mirror.

She dove back into her bed, a sick feeling was twisting inside her gut. What ever it was, she didn't like it.

If she were to turn on a light, she would have noticed that the first droplet on her check, had been blood.

She woke up at 7:00 sharp. she quickly ran a brush through her messy curls and quickly applied makeup. She was still shaken from the night before, she barely had any idea of what happened. Whatever it was, it was gone now. She woke up feeling fully rested and energized, even though she probably got a total of five hours of sleep the night before. The feeling in her stomach was gone.

Upon arriving to her locker, Dean smiled t her.

"Bella!" He chirped. "Hi!"

"Hi." She smiled.

"So, uh, I was wondering if you were doing anything Friday night?" He looked hopeful.

"I don't really have any plans."

Shit shit shit shit shit shit.

"I was, um, wondering, if maybe you, uh, wanted to hang out?" He grabbed a note book from his locker.

No thank you.

"Uh sure, I'd love to." Her brain said run, but her heart said smile.

Deans eyes lit up. "Okay! I'll text you later? Probably should get your number first. But wow that's great. Do you like dinner- wait no of course you do, but like maybe you'd want to get some with me? Uh I, gee that's great." He rambled.

Bella laughed. She gave him her phone number and the walked their separate ways to class.

What the hell am I doing?

Why would he want to go on a date with me? He's like the most popular boy in school, and I'm... Well I'm a loser. A freak.

She barely paid attention in any of her classes. At lunch she sat with Liv and Hannah (Hannah's boy-toy was not to be found so all of Hannah's attention was on Liv and Bella).

"So what do you guys think of Dean Warren?" Bella tried to work it into their conversation casually, but failed.

"Oh why?" Hannah flicked her eyebrows up. "Do you have a thing for him?"

"Oh, um," Bella struggled to think of an answer.

"Because he's a total hottie." Hannah picked at her nail polish.

"Yeah and he's 'taken' by Ashley Gorden." Liv rolled her eyes.

"He is?" Bella tensed up.

"Relax, I'm only kidding. She's been trying to date him since freshmen year though. Gee Bella why do you care?"

"He... He, uh, asked me on a date?' Bella ate a bite of her sandwich.

"No. Way. Seriously?" Hannah stared at her.

"Uh yeah."

"Are you going?" Liv asked.

"Yeah." Bella shrugged.

"Well, watch out for Ashley. She'll kill you. Literally."

After the final bell rang Bella headed to her locker. She stopped dead in her tracks, Ashley stood in front of Bella's locker.

Bella blinked. She rubbed her eyes.

No this can't be happening.

In front of her locker Ashley stood, her arms around Dead, their mouths together.

"Who's Ashley kissing now?" Hannah snickered. After a minute Bella heard her curse under her breath. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry."

"They deserve each other." Bella whispered.

"Bella-"

"Stop! Just... It's okay. What would a guy like him even want with me? I mean I'm a freak. It was probably just a joke." Ashley and Dean parted, neither had noticed Bella.

"I've got to go." Bella pushed past Hannah and stared to her locker.

Both Dean and Ashley had already left. Bella quickly pulled books into her bag and ran outside.

The second she stepped inside her room, her phone buzzed. She didn't have to look at it to know it was Dean.

"Hello." She said softly.

"Hey Bella." He smiled.

"Dean, about Friday night, I- look something came up."

"Oh..."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Maybe another night?"

"You don't have to do this." She whispered.

"Do what?"

"Date me. I'm weird. I know it was a joke. Look I just don't have time to date anyone. You should date Ashley. You both looked pretty happy today."

"Shit."

"Bye Dean." She hung up.

Then she cried. She buried her face in her blankets and cried. She cried herself dry. She didn't go down stairs when her mom called her down for dinner. At about midnight, she looked up at the broken mirror hanging on her wall. She walked over to it.

She looked at her blurry reflection. Her makeup was smeared and her hair was a mess. She leaned forward and rested her head on the glass.

She took a deep breath, then she kicked the mirror. She knocked out more of the broken glass on to the floor. She fell down, and the glass crushed beneath her feet. Her hands were a bloody mess from hitting against the shattered mirror. All of a sudden she felt dizzy. She couldn't stand. Bella collapsed onto the flood, just as the mirror began to glow.