Josie hated staring at the ghost in the mirror.
Quite literally, she was staring at a ghost in the mirror; Or, more so, her figure in a half-transparent form. Thanks to her earlier performance in her biological magic exercise, she was left with the consequences of letting herself get distracted by Penelope's gossiping groupies, making her say the wrong version of an invisibility spell. Even though she had realized her error the second the words left her lips, it was too late for her to do anything to stop it from working it's magic; To her horror, the spell that should have made her completely invisible instead made her only semi-invisible, causing a ghost-like effect on her body. As she had walked back to her room, with her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, she had been mocked mercilessly by the other students in the hallways. The snide comments, the ill-willed laughter, and the wide-eyed stares Josie could take; The worst part, however, was that she had to pass Penelope and her group of minions to get to her room. Hearing the chorus of teasing and Penelope's laughter was enough to make Josie wish she had become invisible; Josie was relieved when she reached her bedroom door, shutting their laughter outside of it once she'd slammed it shut behind her.
Luckily, the spell only lasted for an hour after Josie had cast it. Josie was relieved that she wouldn't have to spend the rest of eternity looking like she had come back from the afterlife, but she was mortified to face the other students, knowing they were unlikely to let her live the mistake down. She stayed locked within her room for the rest of the day, unwilling to let herself be humiliated any further. Her grades were sure to take a hit, yes, but Josie couldn't find it within herself to care. She was tired- tired of being mocked, tired of being laughed at, and- most importantly- tired of Penelope Park and her league of gossiping, merciless, evil henchwomen. Josie pulled the covers over her head, closing her eyes to take a well deserved- and much needed- rest. Anything that they had to say to her, Josie decided, could wait until the morning.
Josie woke up later that evening to a knocking at the door. Josie groaned, turning over to face the wall opposite of it. There were only a handful of people that would come to check on Josie, and they knew when- and when not- their company was desired. If she ignored it, the person was likely to give up and walk away. At least, that is what Josie had assumed; But when the knocking became louder- and more rapid- it became impossible for Josie to ignore. She reluctantly rose from the bed, walking over to the door and pulling it open cautiously. To her surprise, standing in front of her wasn't Hope, or Mg, or her dad, or any of the people Josie would expect to knock at her door. Instead, there stood Penelope Park- stilled dressed in her school uniform, looking at Josie with what she could only describe as genuine concern. Josie could feel her cheeks flush pink, especially as Penelope took in the sight of Josie's star-printed pajama pants, and the frown on her face turned to a smirk. "Cute pants.", she commented, laughing as Josie blushed harder at the remark. Josie paused, unsure of what to say in the girl's presence. Fortunately for her, Penelope spoke before Josie had to force herself to. "Well, aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked, eyebrow raised in question, and her arms folded loosely across her chest. Josie stepped aside reluctantly, allowing Penelope to enter the room.
Having Penelope in a space that was so sacredly hers was a weird experience for Josie. Having the person who had tormented her, day in and day out, standing in the middle of all the things that made Josie feel warm and safe, and at home; It made her feel uneasy where she stood, watching Penelope take in the environment around her. After a few painstaking moments, Josie grew impatient, eager to be left alone once again. "Is there something you came here for in particular, Penelope?", Josie snapped, tapping her foot on the hardwood floor. "I've had a rough day, and I'm not really in the mood to play your games." Penelope chuckled softly, turning around to face Josie. "Yeah, I heard about your Casper impersonation.", she joked, backing down when she saw the angry look on Josie's face. "Don't worry about it; Tomorrow someone will blow up something during a potions class, or something equally as stupid, and they'll forget all about why they were laughing at you in the first place. You're not the first person to fuck up a spell." Josie shook her head, glaring at Penelope angrily. "That's what you don't get, Penelope; I'm not like you or any of the other students in this school; I don't have the room to make mistakes.", she explained with exasperation. "I'm the headmaster's daughter, the teacher's pet, the girl who doesn't belong here cause she doesn't even have her own magic. Me screwing up one simple spell is just yet another thing that they'll use against me- another thing that you and your posse will tease me about when you get bored." When Josie gained enough bravery to look up at Penelope, the infamous smirk that the girl was so well known for had vanished, her features downcast in sympathy of Josie's frustration. "So, honestly Penelope, I don't know why you're here, pretending that you care; You're no different from all the people that laughed at me today. So, if you would kindly leave and go back to whatever it was you were doing before your conscience decided to make an appearance, I'd greatly appreciate it."
Penelope opened her mouth to say something- to defend or to ridicule Josie was not sure- but she took one look at Josie's demeanor and decided against it. She walked wordlessly to the door, following Josie's wishes and making her exit, before she turned around to face Josie one last time. "You don't have to be perfect, Josie. No one is.", she admitted, her voice as shaky and unsure as Josie had ever heard it. "No matter how much we want to be." Josie wanted to pry further into Penelope's remark- to peel away at the layers and find the truth hidden underneath her words- but Penelope disappeared before Josie could even think to stop her. Once again, Josie was left alone, trying to figure out the enigma that was Penelope Park. The more she thought about all the things that she did know about the youngest future leader of the Park coven, Josie realized more and more that she didn't know much for sure about Penelope at all.
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This Love (Calling My Name)
Fanfiction"My, my, my Josie; Don't you know that it is rude not to acknowledge someone when they are talking to you?", Penelope scolded in a brash tone that succeeded in capturing Josie's full attention. "There- that's much better. Wouldn't want anyone thinki...
