Mirror

Romantic Date

Kya had been gone when I got up in the morning and I smiled to myself thinking about her getting all dolled up to meet her boyfriend before school. They had probably skipped their first class to drink coffee together in the stairwell and if that wasn't romantic, I didn't know what was.

"Did you change your mind?" Camy asked, derailing my thoughts about Kya and reminding me that I had a full day of school to get through.

"No, I'm not going to skip," I replied.

Camy shrugged, though it didn't say "Suit yourself" so much as "Fine, suffer alone." I rolled my eyes at her. Her gaze drifted passed my shoulder and she suddenly stood a little taller, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

I chuckled. "Whose caught your eye?" I asked, barely finishing the question before realizing it was Tyreek, who had altered the trajectory of his path upon catching sight of me. I wilted.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked.

Camy nudged me with her elbow. When I looked at her she gave me a proud smile. "Who's this?" she asked.

"A friend," I replied, emphasizing the second word and, ignoring the uncomfortable flutter in my chest, turned on Tyreek. "Cleaning? Need something?"

Tyreek smiled, apparently amused by my dismissive attitude. "Yes and yes, actually." I waited for him to explain, but he glanced at Camy, smiled at her, and then looked back at me. "We'll talk later." He grinned when I narrowed my eyes at him and left with a wave.

"How old is he?" Camy asked, calling my attention back to her.

"I don't know, like seventeen."

"I've underestimated you, Litty." she said, her eyes following Tyreek as he walked away. I scoffed. "No? No interest? Maybe I'll invite him to the mall instead then," she mused.

"Good luck," I said, shaking my head at her. "He's dedicated to someone else." Camy giggled as if that was hardly important.

Tyreek was leaning up against the wall just outside my first period classroom when I came out.

"You needed help with something," I reminded him with a friendly smile, waiting for the anxious flutters to kick in.

"Yeah, it's really quite simple. Well, the first part is. I have a job at the mall later today."

"Really?" I wasn't sure I liked where this was going.

"Yeah, it's just another cleaning job, but I think it would go quicker with two people. A jewelry store was broken into. Lots of glass. It will probably only take a half hour to complete, though."

"You want me to help you clean the mall?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not a janitor. Am I even allowed to help?" Absentmindedly, I touched my chest. The flutters were missing.

"Yeah, but the real reason is the river behind it. I'm not entirely sure, but I want to take a look at it."

"Not entirely sure about what? You must know something about it if you want to take look at it."

"Okay, so I think it has something to do with Mirror. I think it might be a place of connection. You know, where Mirror and Earth are close?"