Beyond the Mirror

My mom was quietly reading a magazine when I burst through the front door, disturbing the silence. My clothes were disheveled and I was covered in silly string and frosting. She took in my appearance with alarm. "Eimelee-" she began, but before she even had a chance to inquire I shouted,

"I'm never going back to that school ever again! What a nice welcoming gift they had for me." I gestured to the frosting crown caked into my chestnut brown hair and she frowned.

"I'm sorry Eimelee, but you're going to have to go back. It's the only high school in the city."

"Well it wouldn't be the only high school if you hadn't forced me to move away to this stupid little podunk town, away from Anthony..." Anthony was my only friend back in my old town, Albridge. He and I were inseperable, helping each other deal with the cruelty of the high school social scene. No matter what someone had said to me, or done to me, Anthony could help me forget about them. At the mention of Anthony a flicker of pity flashed across her face, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"You know I had no control over this. Your father's job was relocated, so we had to move. Don't you think I miss Albridge too? We are just going to have to make the best of it. You'll make new friends." The look on her face said otherwise. Her eyes travelled to the floor, where I had accidentally trod frosting into the plush new carpet. "How about I come with you tomorrow and we can talk to the principal about this "welcoming gift" you've recieved."

"Oh yeah, have mommy fight my battles for me and tattle to the principal. Why not just make things simple and tattoo "loser" on my forehead! God you've ruined my life!" I turned on my heel, taking care to grind the frosting further into the carpet as I did so and dashed up the stairs to my room.

As soon as the door closed I stripped off my soiled clothes, leaving them in a heap on the floor. I snagged a towel from the laundry basket and opened the side door that led to my personal bathroom. It may have been my own personal bathroom, but it wasn't fancy. White walls, white tiles, with a toilet, a sink and a glass shower stall in one corner. I stepped into the warm, inviting spray and let it run down my body, tinted green and blue from the frosting. As I watched the colorful water swirl its way down the drain, the emotions I had held inside until that very moment burst out of me, and tears ran down my face to mingle with the spray. The bits of dissolving silly string and frosting reminded me how I came to be in this situation...

I had just entered the cafeteria on my first day of school, and so far things weren't too shabby. I found my first three classes without incident, and like every other student right now, I was on the quest for food. I scanned the cafeteria for a friendly face, who knows, maybe someone nice will let me sit with them and the day won't be a total waste. I put off my search for a friend and followed the throng of noisy, eager students that was leading toward the lunch line, directly under this catwalk that led up to the second floor. Everything was fine until I was under the catwalk. Suddenly I was bombarded from two sides by an unidentifiable assailants with silly string. Having been through this before, I instictively put my arms up to shield my face, which was my first fatal mistake. With my arms in front of my face, I couldn't see the other two jerks mobilizing on the catwalk above me. Finally the *ssholes with the silly string stepped off, and I thought my humiliation was over. A smug voice from above me called out,

"Say Cheese!" I looked up of course, just in time to get an entire industrial sized bucket of frosting they hijacked from the cafeteria kitchens dumped all over me. Too shocked to speak, I just stood there, covered in the sticky goo. A flash went off, followed by another one, and soon the whole cafeteria was laughing at me. It was too much. I was used to being tormented at school. It's been happening since I was in first grade. But I had never had to endure such rudeness and cruelty all by myself. Anthony was usually there to tell them what d*ckheads they were, but he was across the country from me, just waking up for school. I glanced up through the rainbow that coated my bangs, they had lowered a banner over the side of the catwalk that read, "Welcome to Steilacom High School Newbie!" The laughter was deafening now, and with tears streaming down my face I fled the cafeteria, hoping that I would never have to return.

The water was running clear by now, and I pulled myself together and stepped out of the shower. I towel dried my hair and then wrapped the towel around me like a protective blanket. As I passed the mirror I took in my disheveled appearance. My hazel eyes were red and puffy from crying, and I took care to pick out a bit of silly string that was still stubbornly attached to my earlobe. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into my room.

My room was my haven, the only place I felt safe anymore. A queen sized bed with lime green covers dominated the center of the room. There was a desk in one corner with my computer and some various knick knacks. My bookshelf sat next to the desk, crammed full of murder mysteries and fantasy novels. My easel sat in the opposite corner, an unfinished painting of Anthony and I sat upon it, begging to be finished. I wasn't in the mood. Various other paintings I had completed over the years covered the walls, adding a much needed personal touch. But my favorite part of the room was my vanity. It sat against the wall opposite of the foot of the bed. It didn't seem to fit with all the other furniture, so my eye was always drawn to it. It had belonged to my great great grandmother, and after she passed away it was passed down to her daughter. As you may have guessed, it has been passed from daughter to daughter ever since, and now it was mine. It's dominating feature was a huge oval mirror, surrounded in a fancy silver filigry made to look like vines of ivy twining around the edges.

I dressed quickly in a pair of purple fluffy pajama pants and a white tank top, wanting to be comfortable after such a tough day. I took a seat in front of my vanity and picked up my favorite picture of Anthony and me. It had been taken last summer, at the lake down the street from my old house. Anthony's strong protective arms surrounded me from behind, and we both had smiles on our faces. I looked into his ocean blue eyes and felt a pang of loneliness. I thought about how much I missed him, and how miserable I was without him. I thought about calling him, but he goes to a private school, and the rules about cell phones are pretty strict.

"Oh Anthony, I miss you so much. Life is even more unbearable without you. Can you believe that the kids at school dumped a whole bucket of frosting on me today? Yeah, they are d*ckheads..." When I realized how pathetic I sounded, talking to a picture, I broke down again. A tear fell from my cheek and landed on the picture with a plop. I squeezed my eyes shut, mad at myself for being so pathetic. I looked at myself in the mirror, an angry glare on my face.

"I hate you! You're stupid, you're ugly, and you're weak! I HATE YOU!" through my veil of tears, it seemed like the mirrors surface was rippling, almost like the surface of a pond. I squeezed my eyes shut again and tried to stop crying.

"I just wish that I didn't have to be alone. I wish I had someone to talk to, anyone really. As long as they don't throw frosting at me." I took a few deep breaths and opened my eyes again, and when I saw someone looking back at me through the mirror, I screamed. I must have startled him, because he began screaming too. I backed away from the mirror and he did the same. When he moved back, I could see some of the room that he was in behind him. On the other side of the wall behind my vanity was nothing but air, so I figured it couldn't be a trick.

"Who are you!?" I demanded.

"I'm Tristan," the boy said, "Who are you?!" he seemed just as confused as I was. I studied him for a moment before I replied. He had the most beautiful icy blue eyes I had ever seen, better than even Anthony's. His hair was wavy, thick, brown and long, giving him an exotic, foreign appearance. It was then that I noticed the clothes he was wearing. From what I could see of him, he was wearing a leather tunic with little studs of metal imbedded in it. The front had some sort of emblem, an eagle in blue and silver. He had gauntlets of chainmail on his hands, with matching emblems to his tunic. It almost looked like he came from a different time period, like the middle ages or something. He couldn't be older than 17 or 18.

"My name is Eimelee. How did you get into my mirror?" He studied me, much in the way I had studied him.

"I...I...uh don't know. I could ask you the same question milady." He began to pace back and forth in front of the mirror, and when he got to the edges I lost sight of him for a second. "Hmmm, I've scryed in the mirror before, but I've never been able to use it to talk to anyone, how curious..."

"You mean that you don't know how this happened either? Great." I thought to myself. I thought about a question I could ask him that would help us, but it took me a while to come up with something.

"So, um, Tristan did you say it was? Where are you, exactly? I mean you can't possibly be literally in my mirror right?" I took a hesitant glance around the side, just to make sure he wasn't standing just on the other side. He stopped pacing and came back to sit down in front of the mirror, and I did the same.

"What do you mean where am I? Where else would I be? I'm in Avalar, the province of Summervale, and it is the Year of our Emperor 327." My mind was racing. "Avalar? Summervale? I don't think those places exist here. And it's definitely not the year 327." Tristan broke into my thoughts.

"What about you? Where, are you?" I was kind of at a loss. What do you say to a person who shows up in your vanity mirror without provocation?

"Well, I am on the planet Earth, the Country of The United States of America, the state, or provice of Oregon, and the year is 2007." The more I explained the more alarmed his face got.

"Do you mean to tell me, you are one of the survivors?!" Now I was confused. What did he mean by survivors? Thankfully, he answered this question before I could ask it.

"Long ago, my ancestors lived in another world, a place they called "Earth" like you say. But a terrible sickness began killing the people, so in an attempt to preserve our people, Conall the White, a very powerful wizard created portals that led into a new world that he had created for us, Avalar. We couldn't take everyone because so many were sick, and after the last healthy person was taken to the other side, he sealed the portals, or destroyed them. No one has been able to go back since." This was a lot of information for me to absorb. But I tried to understand anyway.

"So what your telling me, is that some white wizard hundreds of years ago created a world where his people could escape from this sickness, and that somehow, we have reopened one of those portals?" Tristan nodded.

"That's the only plausible explanation I can come up with."

"So how did we open up the mirror?" Tristan shook his head, unsure. "Okay. Well, what were you doing when I showed up in the mirror?" Tristan thought for a moment.

"I was scrying. You know where you look into a glass or a body of water and have visions? Well, I was practicing, like I do every day, when I heard something. It was you. You were angry, and I could hear screams, I got a little excited, because it was the first time I'd been able to hear the things I can see. I tried to pinpoint the where it was coming from, and I guess I succeeded. You came into focus, and you were crying. Then you looked up at me and screamed. Since I thought you couldn't see me, I screamed too. What about you? Why were you so upset?"

I turned my face away from him, ashamed. "I was just so angry. It was my first day at a new school, you do have schools in Avalar right?" Tristan laughed. It was a deep hearty laugh that made his eyes twinkle and my stomach flutter. "Of course. Why else do you think I would be practicing my seer abilities?"

"Seer abilities?" I questioned. Tristan was surprised.

"You know, seer abilities. Magic? The ability to read minds, see visions, tell the future. It's only one type of magic we use here in Avalar." Now it was my turn to be surprised.

"You can do magic?! Like "real" magic?!" Tristan laughed again, and it made my stomach flutter once more, stronger this time. He brought a gloved hand up to the mirror where I could see it, and removed his gauntlet. He snapped his fingers and muttered something in a language I couldn't understand and a flame burst to life in the palm of his hand. Wow, this guy was beautiful, funny, smart and can do magic! This guy is definitely a keeper, if only he didn't live in another world.

"But enough about me. You said you were angry, and it was your first lesson in school today..."

"No no, not my first lesson, my first day at a NEW school. Here on Earth nobody uses magic, so we have to learn about normal boring stuff. You know, history, literature, math." I made a yucky face. "Well it was lunchtime, and these jerks sprayed me down with silly string and frosting." Tristan looked confused.

"I get the frosting, but what is this "silly string"?"

"It's a sticky goo that can be sprayed out of a can. Trust me it sucks. So they sprayed me down with silly string and frosting, so I was a mess. I just went home. I had to move here last week, and I had to leave my only friend behind..." A look of pity flashed over Tristans face.

"Well I'll be your friend. I know what it is like to leave a friend behind. You seem awfully nice though, even if you can't use magic. I'd love to talk to you again." Suddenly I heard a pounding noise come out of the mirror, and Tristan's face changed to an expression of horror. He whirled around to look at the door behind him, and you heard an evil sounding voice bellow through it.

"What are you doing up here boy! I heard voices! You not practicing like I told you to?!" Tristan looked frightened, but he turned to me.

"I have to go, that's my uncle. Say my name to the mirror if you want to talk. Maybe it will work again. Goodbye for now Eimelee! I'll see you again!"

"Tristan wait, what if it-" but he must have broken the connection he had with the mirror, because the surface of the mirror swirled and he was gone. I sat there in silence for a moment, wondering if I would ever see him again, or if it had been some kind of crazy dream.