Curse of 9 Lives

The bathroom mirror greeted Aya with its usual nonchalance. It was just a piece of glass, after all. Still, today, it had almost a mocking ring: "Look at you—masterpiece of chaos," it seemed to say. Aya rolled her eyes and splashed more water onto her face, longing to feel that jolt of wakefulness. The coolness hit her, refreshing like the splash of reality through a haze of fatigue.

She picks up her toothbrush, which looked as though it had seen better days—perhaps dating back to the last ice age—and finds herself slightly bent and weary. As Aya does a few strokes with it, she gazes somewhat absently at a paper wall, a chaotic array of posters and reminders spread across its surface. She was bracing herself for a math test tomorrow. Just what she needed: the looming headache of numbers swirling in her mind.

With her mouth brimming with toothpaste, she attempts to gather her thoughts. "Focus on the positives," she reminds herself. "At least I'm not being chased by a bear." The very idea sends her imagination spiraling; she pictures a bear crashing through her bedroom door, tossing her textbooks about like confetti. "Now that would certainly add an unexpected twist to my morning," she chuckles softly to herself, rinsing out the remnants of toothpaste.

She quickly washes off and heads back to her room. Now, the sunbeams pour in, and her room—the mess that is her life—looks like a war zone: clothes are scattered like fallen soldiers, and her desk is a miniature explosion of papers and snacks—but she wouldn't have it any other way. This glorious mess is her haven. She can't help but grin at the memory of her mother's lectures on "keeping a clean space." Oh, the irony.

Getting dressed becomes a mini-adventure. She flings clothes aside, searching for something that doesn't say, "I just rolled out of bed." Finally, she settles on a cozy hooded sweatshirt and jeans. Simple. Casual. Perfect for blending into the background. As she gazes into the mirror once more, a spark of confidence ignites inside of her. "Not bad for a Tuesday," she whispers as she tidies her hair.

Finally ready, she grabs her backpack. But then—coffee! An essential part of her ritual. She rushes to the kitchen. The smell of freshly brewed coffee fills the air, and for a moment, everything is just right. Just as she's about to pour herself a cup, her little brother, Max, darts in like a rocket. "Can I have some?" he begs, his eyes wide and innocent.

Aya looks at him steadily. "You're six! You don't need coffee! You need … cereal!" Max gives her that look—the one that says, "Cereal? Really?" She laughs and hands him a bowl instead. "Okay, fine, but no more than two marshmallows." He beams at her with a little impish grin that makes her heart swell.

One last check of the clock, and Aya flings open the door and her backpack dances onto her back. Today will be a lot like every other day. Still, maybe—just maybe—it will have a little surprise in store for her, for life is full of twists and turns one could never have anticipated, even if they do usually involve bears or little brothers stealing your coffee.

Time went by as days turned to weeks Aya,Lio, Mia and their team selected an environment that was full of creativity and could be regarded as chaotic. Every chance that they got, they were both spending with each other, writing their superhero comic "The Late Comet" which had become a joy to both of them. Leo took their basic concept and turned it into bright funny pages of the show. However, there was tension; a sort of pre-existent tension or pressure in the air.

Aya grew aware that the drawings Leo made turned into horror themes. Instead of a happy-go-lucky hero they wanted him to depict scenes of destruction. There were got up characters with large frowns and sneers as if they were going to gobble up the whole page. "What's happening, Leo?" she said, one day, scanning through the set of the most recent drawings. "This is not the Late Comet that I can recognize," 

He looked up, surprised. "Oh, it's nothing. Trying to shake the monotony a bit." However, his eyes did not tell the same story as his lips. They quickly returned their glance of a familiar deep-seated emotion to Aya – fear? Frustration? He knew she wanted to quiz her, get more out of her. But she also didn't to want to run him off either. "Listen, if you ever felt like sharing…" she didn't know how to continue the conversation properly. 

Aya striding briskly home through the streets she knows all too well, she has her school bag on her back. The morning breeze is cool, while the sky has changed to pinks, oranges as the sun moves up the horizon. She walked past some neighbors taking their dogs out for a walk and the only thing which could be heard were the birds singing.

While walking she notices few of her school going classmates also walking in the same direction toward the school. There's Noah, the kid in her chem class she barely talked to outside the occasional lab partner, and Mei, breathing Maximum TRL, always with some new juicy piece of information. Aya tips them a nod as she move away from them with her mind focusing on her forgotten history test.

"Great," she mutters. "How about another test I am not even ready for."

At this time as she is thinking about the next examination a familiar voice rings from behind her.

"Aya! Wait up!" 

Aya turns around and sees her best friend Nia trying to run to join the/companies. Nia's hair is cut short, black, and her bright grin is just as big, and free as always, with each returned stomping step she takes.

"Hello, Nia," Aya returns as she talks to Nia while the a corner of her lips tugging into the faintest of smiles.

"Coming at you on today's history test?" Nia asks, and she says it in a playful voice.

Aya groans. You see, I haven't even looked at my notes to say my piece. Last night, instead of studying I had the following to report, 'I did not study at all last night.'

"You'll do fine! 'Oh you always do,' Nia answers smiling and teasing the latter with elbow jab. "But, I'm still gonna study a little after school, though." Sometimes you have to make an appointment to meet the other, so I decided to ask her to meet in the library simply to go over the material.

Aya put it into some consideration for few seconds. "Yeah, I guess. I'll meet you there."

Nia grins. "See you there! "And don't forget your lunch either!' she reminds them before joining up with a group of friends who were waiting by the school gates.

Aya saw her friend go into the crowd and she just looked around swirling her head. 

"Always so full of energy…" Aya merely responded to herself while walking; she started moving again after saying something to herself.

The school day proceeds as expected: normal teachers, normal classes, normal interactions with her classmates. Aya goes to math, English and chemistry and though she struggles to keep focused, her mind is always drifting to the history test, but she pulls through the day with little issue.

On her break, Aya takes a seat, with Nia and some other of their friends in the courtyard out of the sun and the fresh cut grass vapours.

Aya opens her bag and pulls out her notes, "I'm not ready for this test, I'm so not ready for this test."

Nia, the optimist has laughed. "Don't worry! I'll help you out. We're practically the same level in history anyway, besides."

Aya rolls her eyes. "That's what you always say. I scrape by with a passing grade, but then you ace it.

Nia hands her a packet of notes, "You still pass, that's what matters." "And you do better than you think." You just get too stressed."

Nia's pep talk makes Aya laugh, but Aya takes the notes. "Okay, okay. I'll try to relax."

The bell rings and Aya shoves the notes back in her bag and follows Nia down the hallway.

In between school, and in front of TV, the weight of the day begins to constrict at the shoulders of Aya. She is hungry but her stomach growls reminding her she hasn't eaten much since breakfast, but she is looking forward to getting home and relaxing before she starts her homework.

Back she walks, down the familiar path, picking up a small bag of chips and a bottle of water from the corner store. It is a little indulgent that helps to unwind after a long day.

Her younger brother Ren is at the kitchen table already, still stuck to his comic book when she gets home. Aya walks in and he looks up briefly.

But later that same night, after dinner Aya goes to her room and completes her homework. There's a half empty cup of tea on her desk, along with textbooks and papers. Outside her window, the familiar, soothing hum of the streetlights outside drift in; low hum.

She does her math problems and her mind occasionally wonders what strange rumors she's heard about the old library building at the edge of town. A bit earlier, Nia had mentioned it to me, how people said it was haunted. The idea now lingers as just another silly story, but Aya had brushed it off.

"Will that be okay, Aya," Nia asks, "you should've asked Nia more about that." She wonders if it's true, but dismisses it quickly. She tells herself there's no such thing as ghosts. She's probably just tired.

It hits her as she finishes her homework and closes her books. Something is out of place, like a brief feeling of déjà vu. When she looks around her room, everything is normal.

Just tired, she thinks. That's all it is.

Aya sighs and crawls under the covers of her bed. She draws her blanket up into her chin and closes her eyes.

She whispers to herself that 'just another normal day'.

"Hey, how was school?" His eyes still fixed on the page, Ren asks.

Aya shrugs in response, "Fine." "Same old stuff. How about you? Get through your homework?"

Ren makes a face. "Barely. I'll finish it later. I've got to read this first."

Her mother is making dinner in the kitchen, and Aya laughs and heads to it. She takes her things down and sits at the table. "What's for dinner, Mom?"

Her mother smiles and looks up. "Spaghetti. Your favorite."

The ideal of comfort food lifts Aya's spirits, and grins. "Thanks, Mom. That sounds perfect."

The eat, they sit, and they talk and Aya feels a brief moment of peace, one thing she's always treasured. The mundane routine of family life has something comforting about it.