Merrie-Beth claps her hands, "Slow down, rock star, no fixing the world's problems before 10:00 a.m. it's bad for the teenage brain."
I throw my head back and laugh. No one can make me laugh like she can. "We're going to change the world one day, Mer, girls rule the world, you know."
Merrie-Beth nods her head. "Yeah, we do! Well, at least we should. Here's my class, kid, I'll catch you at lunch." I hand her the excuse Mrs. Lopez wrote for her, we fist bump, and she goes inside her room.
Mr. Woods winds up grumbling only a little bit about my being late. He is in a perfect mood for some reason. He lets us talk amongst ourselves for most of the class. Guess he is excited for the beginning of summer, too.
On my way to lunch I notice the two guys dressed in black from this morning and my run last night. The Cowboy and The Hulk. They look tense, like shit is about to hit the fan.
Faking a smile and nodding at them I walk into the lunchroom. My heart drops as I open up the familiar set of double doors, because my nightmare comes flooding back to me. I don’t know what it means but here’s to ending the school year with a bang.
Chapter 3
Never in my Wildest Dreams
My family has some explaining to do, that is all.?
-Arabella?
Maybe it's just a coincidence that Hulk and Cowboy are now standing behind me in the taco line. Stranger things have happened, right? I've had plenty of dreams that have never come true. Its possible last night's nightmare, nothing more.
I search for Merrie-Beth, but she is nowhere in sight. She suddenly appears out of nowhere, pinching me, making me scream. My scream made Cowboy and Hulk seem even more intense.
"Really?!" I scoff.
"Yup, it's Taco Day. Anything can happen on Taco Day." She laughs.
"Smut Slut." I reply with a middle finger salute.
"Beyotch." I laugh, because Merrie-Beth hardly ever cusses, it's cute really.
We both giggle. "Mer, I have to work after school, but do you want to come spend the night afterward?" I ask.
"Of course. I'll rent some movies. Horror or Romance?" She inquires.
"Horror, in honor of my English serial stalker." I whisper dramatically.
She puts her hand over her heart and quotes a messed-up version of Shakespeare. "Ethan. Ethan. Wherefore art thou, serial stalker, Ethan?"
Nice. I swallow my sarcastic response when my stomach gives an angry growl. Feels like the line isn’t moving at all. Looking over at the full-length mirror behind where the lunchroom ladies serve our food makes me nervous. I've always thought it was unusual that a mirror was placed there, but as far as I know it's always been that way.
Out of nowhere a bright glowing light appears from within the top right-hand corner of the mirror. Closing my eyes and shaking my head does nothing to fix my vision. My eyes widen as the light takes over every inch of the glass.
I turn towards Merrie-Beth to make sure I'm not crazy, but her gaze is glued to the light show. Cowboy and Hulk can see it, too. "You can see the light, right? Please, tell me you can." Needing confirmation, I whisper to her.
"Yes, and we don't do drugs, so that's real." Merrie-Beth whispers back.
"Yeah, wish it wasn't though." I’m taking deep breaths, slowly in and out now.
"What in the world is going on?" She whispers under breath, just as astonished as I am.
Glancing around the room, I'm shocked that no one else has noticed it. My dream is now running on a constant loop inside my brain. Ugly mirrors were a part of the sequence. I'vehad dreams come true before, but when they turn into reality things are usually slightly different, however the people and places always remain the same. A gnawing sensation creeps down deep in my belly. This isn't good.
Merrie-Beth taps me on the arm making me look at her. Instead of meeting my gaze, her full attention is on the mirror and her pink lip-glossed lips are wide open. Now whether her reaction is because she's horrified or just plain surprised I have no idea. She points in the direction of the mirror. My panicked stare follows in the direction her finger is pointing.
A mental breakdown is slowly building up and is threatening to surface because I know my eyes won't ever unsee any of this. The bright light has vanished and has been replaced by a thick sinister fog. Can fog even be described as sinister? The only answer is yes, because only something malevolent could have created this. The men will come soon and knowing that is like a punch to my gut, because my dreams never lie.
My mind begs me to run, but my inner warrior keeps my stubborn feet planted firm on the ground. Merrie-Beth is afraid and is frozen in place. Moving in front of her, I get in a fight stance no time like the present to show the enemies that are coming what kind of damage I can cause. Both Hulk and Cowboy come to stand beside us, one on either side. They casually keep their weapons pointed at the ground so as not to cause a scene before it is time. That's my confirmation that they are members of the Watch. It’s comforting, but also not, because now we are not alone.
