In Your Shadow ✓

Chapter 53

Looking around the bathroom, Mia made sure she was alone before she walked up to one of the sinks. She put her bag down, then turned the tap on and covered her hand in soap.

"Hi there," she heard a high voice, which made her jump slightly.

Mia turned her head to the left. "Oh... Hello, Myrtle."

The ghost floated closer to her. "Nice seeing you here, it's been a while. How are you?"

She washed her hands silently, then turned to face her. "I suppose I'm doing fine. What about you?"

Myrtle smiled. "Just like usual. Now tell me... How are you really? I can tell that something's on your mind, you know."

Frowning, Mia glanced over at her reflection. "Does my hair look good like this? I curled it, but I'm not sure... Maybe I shouldn't have."

"Well," Myrtle started floating around to get a better look at it, "I think you look beautiful. Something looks different on your face too."

"Yeah... I put some eyeliner on," she said quietly. "Should I wash it off before class?"

"Mia, I've never seen you doubt your appearance," Myrtle furrowed her eyebrows at her. "What's going on?"

She looked down at her perfectly neat tie but pretended to fix it anyway. "I – I'm kind of... conflicted, I guess. I don't know if I – never mind."

Myrtle pouted. "You can tell me. You know you can."

Biting down on her lower lip, Mia took a small, golden bottle out of her bag and sprayed her neck. "It's just... Do you know anything about a girl named Clarice?" She blurted out.

The ghost opened her mouth to answer, but Mia put her hand up, stopping her.

"Actually, even if you do, I don't want to know," she put the bottle away frustratedly. "Why would I? My period must be arriving soon because I'm acting stupid. There's no other explanation. He said no to her anyway –"

"He?" Myrtle's eyes widened.

Mia put her bag's strap over her shoulder. "It doesn't matter. I do not care. This is ridiculous, maybe I should just start ignoring him –"

"Are you talking about –"

"I mean, have you seen him?" Mia interrupted her, crossing her arms across her chest. "His hair is always a mess, he can never tie his tie properly, plus he's a real pain in the ass, like, he's literally so annoying and immature, and he's not even that good-looking, I mean, I definitely have better taste than this! Not to even mention the things that he's done in the past! I know we're technically friends now, but still... Ugh, I should have left him out to freeze, since when do I care about him?!"

Myrtle blinked. "Uh... Well... If you're still curious, I did hear something about a Clarice," she said slowly, making Mia's eyes widen.

"Okay... elaborate, please."

She started floating around lazily. "You see, there were these two Gryffindor girls in my bathroom, and they were talking about a Clarice... They used the word 'asexual', but I'm not really sure what that means..."

Mia raised one of her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Do you know?"

The brunette hummed. "Thanks, Myrtle. I should go now, class is starting in a few minutes."

"Aw, that's a shame," she lowered her head. "What do you have?"

"Potions," Mia answered casually.