Twin Reflection

Chapter 3 - Willow

Willow woke to the sound of her alarm ringing in her ears. For once she didn't want to get out of bed, she wished she didn't have to face her classmates and was dreading what she may find in her locker. Yesterday, when she was getting her things from her locker at break, she found a short note, written on a bright orange sticky note in a sparkly purple pen. It said "Willow. We saw what you did the other day, you freak. Don't come near us..." The notes continued to appear in her locker every time she went to get her things, she had a good idea of who had sent them but tried not to let it bother her. She didn't really understand what they meantbut assumed they were probably just winding her up.

She had slept badly and her head was throbbing, but she did feel better than she had yesterday afternoon. She dragged herself out of bed and towards the bathroom that she shared with her sister, grabbing a bottle of shampoo from her Ella's extremely large collection she had a quick shower and by the time she was dressed it was 7:10. Surprised by how long it had taken her, she quickly ran to Ella's room and banged on the door, without waiting for a reply she went downstairs and grabbed some toast on her way out of the door.

Willow walked slowly towards school as she was still tired due to her sleepless night. When she reached the school gates she realised that she only had 10 minutes before form started, Katie would be waiting for her as she usually arrived 20 minutes before school. As she reached for her phone in her blazer pocket she realised that she had forgotten her school bag. It took her a moment to register that she would need to go back for it as it contained her History homework and her science books, which she would be needing today. Turning around, she ran back towards the main road, knowing she would be likely to run into Ella on her way. As she rounded the corner she felt her head spin and was forced to stop as the pavement swam before her eyes. Steadying herself on a nearby lamppost she decided she had to sit down as her vision was clouded over. She vaguely heard footsteps running towards her and someone shouting her name as she lost consciousness.

Waking up seconds later, she blinked as she saw her sister's anxious face in front of her.

"Willow, Willow! I just saw you collapse, shall I call mum, or the ambulance, or some one?" Willow looked startled, it took her a moment to remember what had happened. Ella looked panicked and drained as she reached out to help her up.

Willow sat up, clutching onto her sister's hand, her back was hurting and she still felt lightheaded as she attempted to stand up.

"I, I'm fine," she mumbled, "I just need to get my school bag."

"I don't think you're up to school, you need to go home and rest," Ella replied firmly, "Do you want me to walk with you?"

Willow shook her head, "No, you go to school, you will be late if you come with me," she smiled weakly, "I'll be fine"

Ella returned the smile, grateful to her sister, "Well make sure you text me when you get home, and I'll let mum know that you are on your way."

Willow glanced over at her shoulder as she headed home. She hadn't expected Ella to be so worried about her. As she reached home, her mother rushed out in her work clothes to meet her, "Are you alright Willow," she asked leading her inside.

Willow didn't complain as her mum took her into the living room, "Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Her mum asked. Willow knew she was a bit worried, Willow didn't miss school often.

Willow shook her head, "No thanks Mum, I just want to go to bed,"

"That's fine, I'm afraid I can't stay home with you Willow," her mum said as she stood at Willow's bedroom door, "I've got an important meeting at work and I'm really busy, but if you need anything give me a call. It must be that bug that is going around, I heard Ella grumbling last night about a headache."

Willow sighed as the door shut behind her mum, she didn't know what to do, she had finished all of her homework already. She took out her phone and texted Ella to say that she was back home and texted Katie to let her know that she wouldn't be in school today, meaning that she couldn't go to Katie's after school. She enjoyed going to Katie's, she was her best friend and even though they were both very different they got along well. She had been friends with Katie since they were 4, they had played and grown up together. They had been sadly brought closer by the death of Katie's mum, and since then Willow had always been there to help her when she struggled to find someone to speak to or just needed a friend.

She felt dizzy as she walked over to her desk, and steadied herself on the bookshelf. She looked out at the cloudy sky and sighed, maybe her sister didn't know about the notes she had found in her locker yesterday. As she walked over to her desk she thought about what her mum had said. Maybe she had caught the flu from someone at school, although when she had had the flu before it was more of a headache and a high temperature. However she didn't really feel like she had a temperature at all.

She slumped down onto her bed and wriggled under the covers. She picked up the book she was reading from her bedside table and began to read. As she finished the page her eyes began to droop, so she put the book away and turned onto her side and let herself fall into a deep sleep.