I stared at the mirror in front of me. It was neither clean nor dirty. But it was just enough to see my reflection. What made it weirder were my mismatched eyes. Mom told me that I have heterochromia. It was some kind of genetic disease wherein one person's eye color was different than the other. My right eye had an intense shade of gray, while my left had a bluish hue. And there were times that it had an intense blue color. But honestly, it was kind of annoying. Mostly when other kids stared at them. I don't like getting stared at. It was downright rude. But my mom would always tell me they were beautiful. As if that encouragement would work on me. It would have really been easy for me to agree, except that it made me look like a freak.
I dried my dark tufts of hair that goes out wildly as if I just had rolled out of bed. Getting my hair done was never my favorite part of the day. I would always try to comb and fix it. But a few minutes later, it would always find its way to being messy. It's another annoying thing about me. I had mismatched eyes and messy dark hair. At least I'm used to it. And so were the people around me. It's a good thing they never really took notice of it. What they would usually notice is my pale skin. To the point that I'm often mistaken as sick. My mom would just tell me that I got it from my dad, whom I never met. Don't ask.
"Nikki!" Mom called me. Her voice was surprisingly soothing despite her urging me to move faster. I quickly put on my denim jeans and a plain black shirt that fit my thin body frame. I wasn't really awfully thin. But I wasn't stocky either. It was slim in a way that I was still physically fit. A little bit similar to a swimmer's body, only scrawnier. At least I could run faster than most of my classmates. I guess I could boast myself in that. "Faster, or you'll be late for school!"
"I'm coming, mom!" I yelled back. Then I ran down the stairs and grabbed my backpack on my way out. "Bye, mom! I'll be back in the afternoon."
Just in time, the bus arrived in front of our house. I quickly climbed aboard and sat down beside my two best friends—Otis Chase and Phineas Smith. The three of us exchanged glances and grins as we started to chat. We all met back in the second grade when Otis was bullying Phineas, and I stepped in to stop him.
It was the first fist fight I have ever gotten myself into. And it certainly won't be the last. Otis was rash, but I was determined to protect the helpless kid. Boys will be boys, I guessed. A few battle scars shouldn't be a big deal. Years later, we ended up being an inseparable trio.
"Nikki, did you do that homework? It was pretty hard." Otis exclaimed. "I really wish our teacher would at least give us a breather. She's been keeping at it for weeks! At least cut us some slack! I mean, we're just in sixth grade."
"Yep. I did." I replied. "Although I'm not sure if I answered it correctly."
"Since when haven't you been so sure?" Phineas butted in. "You're the smartest kid in class. I don't think I'll ever beat you in that."
"He's right." Otis agreed and crossed his arms. His wavy brown hair was as almost as messy as mine. But he looked so much better because his crystal blue eyes would complement it. Otis may not be as smart as me, but he has a way with words. He's one of those kids with puppy dog eyes that were utterly irresistible. "Now, may I copy your homework, please?"
Phineas just laughed as I quickly looked away, trying to look annoyed but failed. Otis was my best friend. Can't turn him down. I'm going to make sure that Otis would pass the class with flying colors. Just like Phineas and I. I brought out my notebook from my backpack with the slightest bit of reluctance. "Here you go."
Otis grabbed it like a rabid dog and quickly pulled out his own notebook. Phineas, who was by the window, stared outside. The wind blew his red hair as the light shone on his freckles. He had pale skin like me. Only mine was worse. His sea-green eyes would always look deeply into me as if he was constantly sending a hidden meaning. Other kids would often tease him as ginger, but he was used to it. Phineas was always bullied, but it didn't bother him. Besides, Otis would make sure they would step no further. And if they do, things would not end well.
"You know, Otis." Phineas started. "I have no idea how you do it, but you sure make it an easy task to copy from Nikki. I don't think it's wise to always copy from someone."
"Oh, come on, Phineas. Don't be a killjoy." Otis frowned. "I'm his best bud! Nikki will make sure I don't fail. Right, Nikki? He loves me that much!"
I just shook his head in disbelief. Otis may be a slacker, but he's smart in his own way. He's more of a street-smart guy and would always end up having the right friends whenever we get ourselves into trouble. One time, a ninth-grader tried to bully us. But Otis called for his eleventh grader friend to scare him away. For some reason, he always gets to save the day. It also added some bad-boy impression on him. But I knew that Otis is someone whom I could always depend on.
The bus arrived at school, and the students went out of their way to push each other. It was a typical morning routine for all of them. Everyone quickly went to their respective classrooms and waited for the bell to ring. I had a separate class from my two best friends that day. But it didn't bother me much. I'm used to being alone most of the time.
On my way to my next class, I bumped into someone. It was a girl with a weird outfit. She somehow didn't exactly fit in. Another loner like me, perhaps. I gazed upon her, and the girl looked away. Her skin was cold and pale. Eyes sunken and dark bags underneath them. Her pupils were dark and empty. A bit glassy even. And it wasn't normal. Not at all.
"Sorry." It was almost a hiss. The hair on my back stood up. There was something different with the girl. Even the air around her was sort of different. It was cold and damp. "I'll be back on my way."
"Wait." I spoke with all of the courage I could muster. "Are you lost?"
"Sort of." The girl chirped. She kept looking down her feet. "Have you seen Miss Schwartz?"
"What? I believe we don't have someone like that in the faculty." Weird questions, I thought. "I would've taken notice if there's a teacher here with a name like that."
"Are you sure?" The girl sounded more confused. "But I just talked to her yesterday! She's a sixth-grade teacher. You're not from middle school, are you?"
"Huh? No." The conversation became more confusing. "Wait. Let me help you look for her."
"Don't trouble yourself. I'll be on my way." She snapped and walked past me. But when I turned around, she was gone. I took a step back and looked around to make sure that she wasn't just hiding.
Right, your typical weird stuff in Madburrow Elementary School. Phineas told me one time that such things happen from time in this place. I shrugged it off and went to class. But as expected, my mind was fixated on that weird encounter.