by West, Shay
“Sweet!” Alex clapped her hands. While many teenagers would have balked at their summer being taken over by work, Alex enjoyed being in the stores, unpacking the new merchandise, dressing the mannequins, interacting with the customers.
When it came time to say goodnight, Alex was the one on the verge of tears as she hugged her aunt. She had helped them when they had been in real trouble, and she hadn’t asked for anything in return. She had bought Alex clothes, given her a job, listened when she rehearsed her lines, cheered at her performances.
“Don’t be strangers. C.C. misses you already,” Karen said.
“Tell her we miss her too. Maybe we can have dinner at your place next weekend?” Patricia suggested.
“Sounds good! See you tomorrow,” Karen said as she walked out the door.
“Bye, Aunt Karen!” Alex shouted as Karen got into the car.
As she got ready for bed, she decided to try forcing her reflection to change again. She stood in front of her wall-length bathroom mirror and tried with her eyes closed, eyes open, and eyes squinted, all to no avail. All she got were the beginnings of a headache and more frustrated than when she started.
Maybe I need to just relax. She grabbed a small hand-held mirror and climbed into bed. After a few minutes of adjusting her comforter and fluffing her pillow to get it just right, she finally settled down and held the mirror in her lap.
Her chest rose and fell in deep even breaths. She tried to focus her mind on Scotland and Sean. Am I supposed to focus on him or just Scotland? Or do I need to focus on a girl from 20th century Scotland? Alex ground her teeth in frustration. She had no idea what she was supposed to do, and the questions that plagued her mind kept her from being able to focus on anything.
Alex spotted her iPod sitting on her desk and wondered if maybe listening to music might help her to focus. She leaned out of bed, reaching as far as she could to the night table and grabbed the iPod by the earbuds.
She put the player on shuffle and lay back with the mirror in her lap again. She kept her eyes closed until her breathing seemed regular. Alex opened her eyes and tried to focus on 20th century Scotland. She figured that would be the best thing to do, since focusing on Sean might bring his image and she couldn’t switch places with a boy. At least, I don’t think so!
Suddenly, her reflection in the mirror started to waver and shimmer, like the heat waves on a long stretch of highway. She sat up and as quick as that, the image solidified and it was only her familiar face staring back, hazel eyes wide, mouth open in astonishment.
I did it! Her heart beat so fast she feared it would burst from her chest. She wanted a glass of water; her mouth was so dry it felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Alex laid the mirror down and wiped her sweaty palms on her comforter. I’m gonna try again.
Alex decided to try it without the iPod. She took out the earbuds and placed the player on the bed next to her. She took a deep breath and grabbed the mirror again. It took quite a bit longer than before to quiet her galloping heart. Once her heart was beating at as normal a pace as she could hope for, she focused her thoughts on Scotland, throwing in an occasional blip for Sean.
As before, the reflection shimmered and shifted, Alex’s face becoming less substantial as the seconds passed. Alex forced her mind to stay focused so she didn’t lose the connection. Her own reflection was slowly replaced with that of a girl with brown hair cut into a cute bob, a nose that looked too big for her face, and bland brown eyes.
The girl’s eyes widened in shock and her mouth moved quickly, as though she were speaking to someone close by. Her face disappeared from view. Alex brought the mirror closer and was disappointed to find her own face staring back.
Her disappointment didn’t last long. She glanced at the clock and bit her lip. It was after ten at night. One of the rules associated with the phone was no calls past nine. Alex was so tempted to text Jennifer but the thought of losing her phone privileges kept her from pushing the buttons.
She got out of bed and sat down at the computer desk, quietly starting the laptop. There was a chance Jennifer was online and Alex’s mom never said anything about being on the computer past a certain time. She knew she was pushing things but as long as her mom didn’t catch her, then nothing would happen. There’s no way I could just go to sleep without telling her about this!
The computer seemed to take forever to boot up. Once it was ready, Alex hurriedly clicked on the internet icon and bounced in the chair waiting for her Facebook page to load. She went directly to her chat and opened it up, scrolling through the dozens of names until she saw what she was looking for: Jennifer MacDonald.
Alex clicked Jennifer’s name and typed in her message so quickly that she had to backtrack and correct her horrendous misspellings. Finally, she hit send, and bit her nails waiting for Jennifer to reply back.
Although it was only a few seconds, Alex let out her breath as though she’d been waiting for an hour. Jennifer wanted to know every detail about what Alex had seen and how she had made the image change. Alex typed as fast as she could, smiling a little as she pictured Jennifer writing down each word in her time travel journal.
Jennifer told Alex not to try to travel until she could be there. Alex asked her why that was important. Jennifer typed that she wanted to be there to watch over Alex and write down everything. Alex teased her about becoming a paranormal researcher. Jennifer informed her that it was more like a physics experiment.
The girls chatted about a good day for Alex to try to travel and decided that Wednesday afternoon would be their best chance. Alex’s mom had to work and Jennifer was free that afternoon. They agreed to meet after lunch.
Alex said goodnight and closed the computer. It was close to eleven o’clock and she was tired. She went to her bed and picked up the mirror, holding it in front of her face. She emptied her mind of everything but 20th century Scotland and smiled when she saw the image begin to shift. Alex couldn’t help but feel proud that she had learned to force her reflection to change. And yet she knew that didn’t mean she was ready to begin traveling. She hadn’t yet tried to touch the mirror. What if I touch solid glass?
She also needed to find out if she could somehow travel into the other girl without touching the mirror. Alex sighed. The tasks seemed impossible. You made the mirror change didn’t you? Alex rolled her eyes as Sean’s logical voice sounded in her mind. But she had to admit the voice was right. She had figured out how to make the reflection change. And I’ll figure out how to do the other stuff too.
With that resolve fresh in her mind, Alex climbed into bed, thinking of these new developments and wishing Sean lived in her time.
CHAPTER 14
ALEX SPENT THE NEXT few days trying to focus on the rehearsals for Wicked and keep an eye out for eavesdroppers, since Jennifer couldn’t stop talking about Alex’s trip back to Egypt. She brought up the subject every chance she got, and didn’t care if there was anyone within earshot or not. Alex bounced between being glad to have someone she could confide in about this strange ability, and terror that someone would overhear them and she would soon be sent to “talk to someone” about her obvious psychosis.
“Keep your voice down!” Alex said for the hundredth time. She glanced nervously behind her, but the girl sitting there was too involved in practicing her lines to pay attention.
“Oh, she can’t hear us. Sorry, Alex, but I just can’t wait until this afternoon to talk about this! I mean, this is huge!”
Alex groaned and half-listened, half-watched while Jennifer gushed about Alex’s success in forcing the reflection to change at will. She had to admit she was dying for rehearsals to finish so they could go grab lunch and head back to her house where they could talk in private.
“All right, everyone! Great job today! Remember, dress rehearsals are Friday and Sunday. Make sure to spread the word about opening night next Friday! Let’s get some butts in the seats!”
Alex and Jennifer laughed along with the rest of the students
. It was hard not to get caught up in Mr. Reardon’s enthusiasm.
The girls ran out to Jennifer’s car, a gold Pontiac Grand Am she called Trixie. Even with the sunshade blocking most of the sun, the inside of the car felt like it was about eight hundred degrees.
“Get the windows down, quick!” Alex said breathlessly as her body cried out for even the slightest breeze.
“Where you wanna go for lunch?”
Alex knew by Jennifer’s expression that she hoped Alex said a drive-thru so that they could take their lunch to Alex’s house. Eating inside somewhere meant having to be too careful about what they said and the possibility of being overheard.
“Let’s do Sonic. I’m craving a chili dog,” Alex said.
“Good idea!” Jennifer hit the gas and sped out of the parking lot.
Alex wondered if Jennifer’s parents had ever actually ridden with their daughter in the car after she had gotten her driver’s license. The Pontiac had a lot of power and Jennifer loved to prove it by racing people. Alex was surprised her lead-footed friend hadn’t been nailed with several speeding tickets.
Jennifer was driving so fast through the parking lot of the Sonic that she almost drove right past the speaker. Alex laughed as Jennifer cursed and backed up so she could shout their order to the voice on the other end of the speaker. She spoke so fast the first time that the poor guy had to ask her to repeat herself.
“It’s alright, Jenn! We have all afternoon, just the two of us. No parents, no other students. But this is gonna take forever if you have to repeat our order like a hundred times.”
Jennifer rolled her eyes and leaned out the window, speaking in a sarcastically slow voice. “Better?” she asked sweetly.
Alex merely sat in the passenger seat and kept her mouth closed. It would be too easy for this situation to escalate into another fight and she didn’t want to fight with her best friend again. While they waited, Jennifer grabbed her phone, fingers moving expertly over the keys.
“Who ya texting?”
“James.”
Alex bit her lip, unsure of how to continue. She didn’t want to get in the middle of things but she also wanted to warn her friend against being too clingy and needy. She thought for a moment before speaking. “I’m surprised he texts. I’m lucky to get Drake to send me three words.”
“I just bug him till he answers.”
“How long does that usually take?”
“Depends on how often I call and text,” Jennifer said, fingers still clicking away on the keyboard. “How often do you talk to Drake?”
Alex shrugged. “Maybe a couple times a week. We chat every so often too but it’s not like we talk every day. It’s not like we’re married or anything.”
“Only a couple times a week? How do you keep tabs on him then?”
“Keep tabs? What do you mean?”
“You know, making sure he is where he says he is, and not out with some other girl.”
Alex laughed. “You sound totally paranoid, Jenn! Unless he gets caught doing something wrong, then you don’t have any reason not to trust him. Besides, don’t all the magazines warn against pestering a guy when you first start dating?”
Jennifer’s fingers stopped their frantic movements and her face reddened. “I’m not pestering him. Just keeping in touch is all.” She frowned and laid the phone in her lap. “Do you think I’m pestering him?”
“If you text him multiple times a day, then he may feel like you’re pestering him.” Alex tried to sound nonchalant. “Seems like maybe playing hard to get might work better.”
“Hard to get...” Jennifer trailed off, obviously deep in thought.
Alex crossed her fingers that Jennifer would chill out with the calling and texting. It was obvious that James liked her or else he would have just dumped her, and Alex was not willing to choose between her best friend and her new boyfriend if James did get tired of Jennifer’s constant messaging. She smiled when she saw Jennifer place her phone back in her purse without sending the text message.
After snatching the bags from the guy at the drive-thru window, Jennifer hit the gas and sped to Alex’s house. Alex sipped her drink and tried not to pay attention to the speed at which they were passing other vehicles on the road.
Alex yelped as Jennifer screamed into the driveway and slammed on the brakes, forcing her body forward. The seat belt cut into her chest and hips. “Ooof! Warn me when you’re gonna do that, will ya?”
“Hurry up!” Jennifer yelled as she jumped from the car. She reached in and snagged her purse, the notebook, and the food from the console.
As they walked toward the house, Alex still couldn’t quite believe it was theirs. She never in a million years thought she would ever live in such a nice house. When she thought of her room and own personal bathroom, her chest tightened and she had to bite on her cheek to keep from squealing in delight. With Jenn’s nerves, she’d probably have a heart attack if I screamed right now.
Alex turned on the central air conditioning. The temperatures topped out at one hundred and one degrees and the inside of the house felt as though it was at least eighty. The girls grabbed two TV trays and headed to Alex’s room.
Jennifer turned on Alex’s laptop while Alex passed out lunch. Alex’s stomach was doing cartwheels and she found that her appetite had waned since leaving rehearsals. She watched Jennifer wolf down her burger and fries and tried to forget about her special gift, and hoped she could force the mirror’s reflection to change at will.
Alex tried to ignore Jennifer while she forced herself to eat. She tried to convince herself it was because she needed to eat but she knew the real reason; she was scared to try to force her reflection to change while Jennifer was there.
When she couldn’t put it off any longer, Alex went to the bathroom to retrieve her hand-held mirror. Jennifer was sitting cross-legged on the bed, hair thrown up in a messy bun, hunched over the notebook.
Alex sat in the computer chair and tried to clear her mind. She was fully aware of Jennifer staring at her, waiting for God only knew what. Twinkling lights? A roaring wind rushing through the room? Her head exploding?
When she opened her eyes she wasn’t surprised to find her own face staring back at her.
“Is it working?”
“Nope. I only see myself.” Alex sighed, shrugged her shoulders, and tilted her neck from side to side, trying to loosen the knots forming there. She wanted so badly to be able to force the reflection to change at will, and to try traveling back through time on her own terms rather than when compelled to.
“Try again.”
Alex let her breath out and tried to ignore Jennifer’s presence. She took deep, even breaths, until she felt as though she was about to drift off. She opened her eyes and stared at the mirror, focusing her thoughts on Scotland.
Alex’s eyes widened when the image shifted to the same girl with the short hair. The girl’s mouth was open in a silent wail of terror and her face quickly disappeared from view.
“Dang it! She ran away!”
Jennifer gave a small squeak of terror. “Geez, Alex! Don’t do that...” Her eyes widened when she realized what Alex had said moments before. “You did it? I didn’t see anything other than you staring at the mirror.”
“Just for a second. The girl ran off. How am I supposed to switch places if she runs away?”
“Tell me how you did it! I gotta write this down!”
Alex spent the next several minutes trying to explain how she cleared her mind, then focused her thoughts. She was eager to try again, and to see if she could actually switch places with the girl this time.
“Are you sure you wanna do that? I mean, maybe you should practice making the image change first till you get it down,” Jennifer said nervously.
“I don’t have time to perfect each stage. That guy is still out there and it’s only a matter of time before he decides to mess with the past again. The more I can find out about what I do, and the tricks of the trade, the sooner I
can beat him so I can actually be normal.”
“Even if you stop going back in time, Alex, I’m sorry to say, you’ll never be normal,” Jennifer teased.
Alex looked for something to throw at Jennifer. “You’re one to talk!”
After a fit of giggles, Alex decided that maybe jumping into traveling wasn’t such a great idea. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll practice the reflection change more. But I am gonna have to try to switch places soon. I want to be rid of this evil bastard once and for all.”
CHAPTER 15
“IF THIS GIRL has powers you don’t even know about, maybe we should consider giving up,” Drifter said.
“Giving up? Are you mad? We’re not giving up!” Master snarled as he spun around. “You will continue to follow orders or I’ll bury you. Understand?”
Drifter saluted, habit forcing his hand to move to his temple. His belly was tied in knots and he feared he would soon vomit right there on the floor. What if she knows how to kill a traveler? Drifter shook himself mentally. Don’t be ridiculous! If she knew that, she’d have killed me rather than allow me to get back to my body.
“I want you to try again. And this time, I want you to succeed in killing this damn girl! I have waited too long for this to give up.”
Drifter nodded. “Do you think it’s possible she has found a Master?”
“Anything is possible. Is it likely? No. I managed to kill most of them.”
“Why don’t you come back in time with me and help me kill this girl? If you did it to kill the Masters, then surely you can do it again?”
Master poked his finger in Drifter’s chest. “How dare you question me? I’ve been far too lenient with you. Consider your leave for this weekend cancelled. Now get out of my sight.”
Drifter bit his tongue, knowing full well that any more words now would only make things worse. He stormed out of Master’s office with no particular destination in mind. His shift didn’t start for hours yet. He was too angry to sit in his room and watch television. I need to shoot something.