Friday, December 09, 2005

The New Girl, Chapter 15

Okay, so now the official school term's over, and I'm technically no longer a student. Of course the change won't really set in till after my graduation ceremony in March and when I "step into the industry" and all (before March hopefully), but that's it. I have ceased to become a student after six years in SRK Salak South, five years in SMK Taman Desa, and three years in The One Academy.
A time will come soon for the soppy teary-eyed recollections, but today we go on with the show while waiting for the nostalgia to set in. Updating's been slow, and I thank you for all your infinite patience, but today's chapter is the one that's gonna make it all worthwhile. For Chapter 15, ladies and gentlemen, is where the shockingest of all developments so far and what will ultimately become the focal point of the story is revealed. Read on. =)

May could swear she had never in her life felt so tired after a good night's sleep. She tried to get up, but her muscles just refused to let her. Never mind. The ceiling was worth a minute's stare.
Yesterday sure had been one heck of a day. After almost an hour of searching for Jean - who was inexplicably nowhere to be found in the secret garden - she came back so drained that she just took a shower, went straight to bed, and didn't wake up till dinner time. She tried calling her house after dinner but nobody picked up the phone. Nearly the entirety of the night was spent reassuring herself that Jean was okay and pondering various possibilities of where she could've gone.
She might be awfully strange, but she's still my friend.
"May!" her mother rapped the door. "You're not still sleeping, are you?"
"Uhh...just getting dressed. I'll be downstairs in a minute."
"Okay, better be quick. You're running late."
May sat up, stretched, and did the first thing she always did in the morning - look in the mirror.
A mirror is at most times one of the most useful things around, but it has the potential to be the most terrifying as well. The trouble with mirrors is that they cannot fail. You must see your own self in it, and nothing else. A million times you look, and a million times it must be your own face gazing back at you. Should there be anything else, you know that you're in deep trouble. This was one of the very rare moments when the mirror failed May.
It wasn't her face. It resembled hers very much, but it most definitely wasn't. The features were more defined, the skin a darker and duller tone, and her ears and nose had grown somewhat larger. It was the face of a 30-year old woman. What made it even more scary was that it was a 30-year old her.
With trembling hands she pinched her cheek. The reflection pinched its cheek as well. Oh, Lord.
"M-mom...?" she scrambled her voice out of her throat. There wasn't much difference, barring the slightly more mature tone you can't describe. "Mom!"
She felt herself. Crap. She'd become a few inches taller and...well, wider.
"What is it, dear?"
"Come in!"
Her mother burst into the room anxiously. "Oh my..." She took one look at May, barely able to keep herself from collapsing.

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