“Kiari! Get your lazy butt out of bed!” I heard my mother’s impatient voice call out from downstairs.
I turned over in my bed and pulled the covers over my head, blocking out the few rays of sun that had managed to creep through the blinds. “Five more minutes,” I mumbled, my voice muffled by the blanket. I reached around the bed, keeping my eyes closed. Finally my hand closed around what I had been looking for. I pulled the small purple teddy bear towards me, and smiled as I hugged it tightly.
My smile turned into a frown when the blanket was pulled off of me, letting the cold air close around me, making me shiver. “Hey!” I grumbled and looked up at my mother’s disapproving face. She stood with one hand on her hip, while the other was holding my baby blue blanket. I scowled at her, and was only answered with a scowl she gave of her own.
“Get up,” she said as she folded the blanket and placed it on the edge of the bed. She stood up and placed a folded bundle of clothing – which I guessed was my uniform - on my desk, “And get dressed. Or you’re going to be late for school.” I groaned as she closed the door behind her, and forced myself to sit up on the bed.
I rubbed my arms to try and warm them up and walked over to grab my uniform off the desk. “Great, why couldn’t it still be Sunday?” I complained to no one in particular, but I could swear I heard a laugh. I looked around the room, but there was no one there, at least, no one I could see. Freaked out, I quickly pulled the long green T-shirt I had worn to bed over my head, and got dressed in my boring, dreary uniform. A white button up shirt, with a grey skirt, a grey ribbon that was tied around your neck, and a grey blazer type thing. I pulled my wild hair into two ponytails on the side of my head, and tied them both up with grey ribbons.
I walked over to the mirror that was nailed into my wall. It was big enough for me to see what I looked like from the waist up. What I saw when I looked into the mirror wasn’t what I was expecting at all. It was me, I was sure of that. But, it didn’t look like me at all. My normally light brown hair had turned silver. My eyes, which were normally an emerald green, were a brilliant gold. My skin was pale, like snow. I blinked. And, well, my boobs didn’t look all that bad either. Shakily, I reached out towards the mirror. Just I was about to ouch the cool glass, the image changed. My hair was black, and my eyes… they were a deep crimson, like fresh blood. But that hadn’t been what had scared me. It was what I felt when I looked into those eyes. Fear, despair, pain… and pure evil. And then, my reflection smiled, a smile that sent chills down my spine. And I knew for a fact that I wasn’t smiling back.
I let out a soft shriek and ran towards my bedroom door. I flung it open, and practically jumped to the bottom of the stairs. “Mama!” I cried out as I reached the kitchen, flinging myself into my mother’s arms.
“What is it sweetie?” my mother’s voice became soothing, but I could tell she was a little surprised at the use of the word ‘mama’. I hadn’t called her that for years.
My head shot up, “What do you mean wha-” I cut off when I caught sight of my reflection in a pot that was hanging on the wall. It was back to normal. She looked at me confused, and I shook my head, “Nothing.”
She looked like she wanted to say something, but the look I gave her made her sigh in defeat, “Alright, whatever.” I let out a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding. I walked to the front door and slipped my – you guessed it – grey socks and shoes on. Just as I was about to walk out of the door, my mother tapped my shoulder. When I turned around to look at her, she held a small black box out to me. “Happy 15th Birthday,” she smiled as I took it from her and began to examine it.
“Thanks,” I smiled and hugged her tightly. “I’ll open it on my way to school.” She nodded, and I waved just before I walked out the door. I heard a meowing sound, and looked down to see my little orange tabby plodding up to me. “Hey gorgeous,” I cooed as I reached to scratch her under the chin. She hissed as I was about to touch her, and ran off. “That was weird,” I commented as I watched her jump over the fence. I shrugged and continued walking.
I wasn’t looking where I was going, and bumped into someone. “Oh sorry,” I started. I realised it was an extremely good looking guy. He looked about 16. His black hair was long, but not crazy long, done up in some sort of ponytail you’d imagine on some kind of olden day knight from before they invented haircuts. His bangs slightly covered his eyes, which were a warm brown. He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. “Hi, I’m Kiari,” I introduced myself before I realised what I was doing.
His eyes narrowed as he looked me over. “You,” he whispered to himself.
“Me?” I cocked my head slightly and I swore he glared at me. I looked down, and noticed that I dropped the box my mother had given me.
The guy followed my gaze, and bent down to pick it up. “Here,” he held it out to me, and I hesitantly grabbed it. For a second, I forgot he was watching me, and opened the little box. Inside was a dodgy looking black ring, with weird looking words engraved on it. The guy grabbed my arm that was holding the box, and stared at the ring. “Give it to me.”
“I… what?” Was this guy crazy?
“I said, give it to me,” he told me again, never taking his eyes off the ring.
I pulled my arm out of his grasp, and shook my head, “No way.” I ran before he had a chance to grab me again.
