Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall.....

My New Friend

The weekend flew by as swiftly as the wind. As Monday approached, I came to a decision. That morning, I walked over my mirror and whispered, "Arista." My reflection morphed into her face, and she flew out of the mirror. She settles in front of me. "So, have you made up your mind?", she asked. I nodded. "Yep. I did. And I decided.....I'll do it." "Really?", Arista asked. "Yeah, when Autumn comes for me again, I want to be ready. And I'll need you for me to be ready." Arista claps her hands. "Yay! I knew you'd see things my way", she says and flies to my closet. "Your way? What do you mean?" She turns to face me. "Well, you know I want what's best for you", she says. "And my way is best, don't you agree?" I stand there but I find myself nodding. "Good, I'm going to go inside of you now, ready?" I step back. "Yeah, I'm ready", I say. "Just hold perfectly still", she says and zooms towards me. I shut my eyes tight, afraid it might hurt. A few seconds later, I open my eyes. Arista was gone. "Arista? Arista, where did you go?" "I'm inside you, like I said", Arista's voice said. I looked in my full length mirror. My bedhead and pajamas were still on me. Then I could see them melting away. Where my pajamas used to be, there was a dark blue jean shorts, leather black tank top, high heeled zip up black boots, and my hair was down and shiny. I had a nameplate necklace, silver hoop earrings, and a mercury-colored manicure. 

"Do you like it?", Arista said. "Um, it looks nice Arista", I say, turning to get a better look. "But it's a little skimpy, don't you think?" "Trust me, it looks just fine", she says. "Everyone at your school will be looking at you today." I imagined that. Everyone at school looking and talking about how nice my outfit was. It would be perfect. "Right. Let's go", I said. I grabbed my things and as I turned to leave, my shoulder bumped against the mirror. It swayed and fell off the nail. "ARIELLE!", Arista screams. I turn and catch the mirror right before it crashes to the floor. "You okay?", I ask Arista. "I'm fine", she replies. "I didn't mean to scare you but, you cannot let that mirror break." Weird, I think to myself. I wonder what she means by that.....

When I drive up to school, Angel is the first person I see. I park my car and rush out to greet him. He holds me tightly before leading me inside. I can hear Arista's voice ringing in my head. "Do you see Autumn?", she asks. I look around. "No, with any luck she decided to stay home", I whisper very silently, so no one else could hear. Angel stops by his locker. "That's a killer outfit by the way", he says, opening his locker door. "Oh, thanks", I say, looking down. It felt a bit drafty because my shorts were very short. But I did get a lot of attention. Girls came by and complimented my boots and even asked me where they could get them. Luckily, I had Arista with me, so I knew exactly what to say. Then Autumn and her minions came strutting down the hall. It was clear that by the way she was walking, she wanted to rebound from her embarrassing crying scene on Friday. I snickered and whispered to the girls, who looked at her and laughed. Autumn's head whipped in our direction. Actually, my direction.

"What the fuck are you laughing at, loser?", she said loudly. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Then they looked at me to see what I was going to say. The old me would have walked away from a scene like this. But the old me was gone. And for once I was going to stand up for myself.

"Oh, nothing. I was just remembering how you cried to your daddy when I stole your man."

Everyone oohed and laughed and clapped. But Autumn wasn't finished. Her face caught on fire. "I'm gonna make you cry if you don't shut your big mouth", she spat at me. "You can dress like a slut if you want, but I still run this school." All eyes were back on me again. "Oh, so you say I dress like a slut?", I asked. "Says the girl who wears fake ass Barbie doll clothes all the time. Do you still play with Barbie dolls, Autumn?" The guys whooped and cheered. Autumn's eyes darted back and forth, and I could tell she was thinking of a comeback. "Well at least I don't pose as a try-hard wannabe that wears cute clothes just to impress everyone. Like, who do you have to impress?" She broke out into laughter and her minions high fived her. There were also a few titters, but not many. Then I knew it. I knew how to get Autumn. I've heard her secrets, and I was ready to spill them.

 "Hm, well at least I don't wear big girl diapers at bedtime."

Autumn froze. Everyone froze. But I wasn't done. I continued. "Wasn't it fifth grade when you told Iliana that your mommy said that little Autumn had bladder issues?" Everyone gasped. Autumn didn't move. Instead her face turned a bright shade of pink. "Do you still wet the bed at night Autumn?", I said in my best baby voice. "Do you have to wear diapers at school too? So you don't pee yourself every time you see Angel?" Everyone then broke out into laughter, even Angel. Autumn shot a death glare at Iliana, who looked down to avoid Autumn's gaze. Autumn wouldn't give up though. "Well, at least I'm not a nerd!", she shouts. "At least I'm not someone who hides in the shadows and fantasizes about a life they can never have!" I just stared at her. Everyone did. We were all thinking the same thing. Compared to my burn, hers was lame. So I decided to finish this battle once and for all.

"Oh, poor Autumn. It's pretty clear that you're threatened by me. But you shouldn't be. Because, well, I don't have plastic boobs like you."

When I said that, it seemed that everyone stopped moving, stopped breathing. But I was having too much fun, so I kept going. "It was tenth grade, right? When you told Janice you wanted to have boobs just like your great aunty." Everyone was still frozen. "So you stole your great aunty's bra and told daddy to pay for your boob surgery and make your boobs look just like great aunt Myra's."

A few seconds later, the entire hallway and a few other students who had been watching erupted in laughter. Seriously, I have never heard so much laughter in all my life. Angel stumbled over to me, holding his sides from laughing so hard. "Good one babe", he said. "I've waited years for that." Meanwhile, everyone was pointing at Autumn and laughing still. "Plastic boobs", David hooted. "Real stylin' Autumn! Your great aunt Myra must be so proud!" That just made everyone laugh harder. Autumn turned to me, tears streaming down her face. "I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!!!", she shrieked and raced out an open door, her minions huffing as they tried to keep up with her. 

But I didn't care. I had won. For the first time ever, I had beaten Autumn at her own game. It felt so delicious, walking down the hall, getting high fived by everyone, being told that I was amazing. It felt like heaven. Me and Angel stopped by my locker. "I got to get to class babe, but I'll see you later at lunch okay?" I give him a kiss and told him goodbye as I get my things from my locker. "That was so cool!", Arista said. I smile and whisper, "I know, and I didn't even need your help! I just had to remember all the conversations I had overheard Autumn tell her minions over the years, and channel a little sass into them." I could feel Arista nodding. "Yeah, but I'll stay here if you need my help later on", she replies. I shut my locker and walk towards my class when I heard a voice behind me. 

"Hey, that was a really awesome thing you did", a voice said behind me. I turned. A light skinned, pretty girl with straight black hair was leaning against my locker, smiling at me. "Oh, you mean that thing with Autumn? It was nothing really. Autumn just needs to learn to be more quiet when she's spilling secrets." She nods. "I'm Heidi", she says, walking over to me. "I'm Arielle", I say.

"I know who you are."

"You do?"

"Yeah, almost everyone here does now."

"Really?"

"Yep. They used to know you as the nerd who got her ass beat by Autumn all the time. But now they know you for the reverse reason."

"That's cool. I was just so tired of putting up with Autumn's bullshit all the time. She thinks she can do whatever she wants, and that she can control everybody." 

"Right? She humiliates and torments and just picks on everyone. Even me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But now I feel that with you, Autumn's reign of terror could be over faster than we thought."

"That's what I'm hoping."

"Yeah.....so do you want to come over by my place tonight?"

"Your place?"

"Yeah, I'm having a party. My parents are on vacation, so they pretty much let me do what I want."

"Um, that'd be cool. I'd have to see if my parents would let me go."

"Well, if they do, call me."

She scribbles something on a piece of paper and hands it to me. It was her number. "Well, see you around Ari." And she leaves. Wow, my first party. I just roasted Autumn, and I get invited to a party and make a new friend. Ths day just got a whole lot sweeter.