Mirror in the Forest: Book One

by B. Groves

  “Well, didn’t you and Alex tell me to lighten up?” Jessica shot back, wanting Tessa to eat her words.

  Tessa put a finger to her chin and said, “Yeah, but I didn’t think this much.”

  “Then you only have yourselves to blame,” Jessica answered with a smirk.

  Tessa frowned in retrospect, and Jessica knew she had no argument.

  “Are you sure you want to do that? The rest of Mandy’s friends are on the team,” Tessa pointed out after a moment.

  “There’s a great reason,” Jessica answered, with a slight grin.

  Tessa nodded, but Jessica could see the doubt still plastered over her features.

  “What? If I don’t make the team, then no harm done, right?”

  “I guess so,” Tessa said quietly.

  “Tessa, I think it would be a great send off for me,” Jessica said seriously. "Besides, it'll finally get my folks off my back too."

  Tessa turned and smiled slightly at Jessica, knowing she was defeated. “You’re right, and we did tell you to lighten up.”

  Suddenly, Tessa punched Jessica in the arm and started laughing.

  Jessica’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Owww! What was that for?”

  “You haven’t told me about your date yet, you jerk,” Tessa said, still laughing. However, that’s how close Jessica and Tessa had always been, and Jessica smiled back.

  Jessica had to think of a good answer. How did she want to put this?

  She had been after Danny Davenport for years, and now she realized she didn’t really care for him at all. She was starting to develop bigger and better plans that went beyond a mere high school crush.

  Jessica shrugged. “We went to that new Italian place, went to see a movie, and then went to Lookout Ridge to make out for a while.”

  Tessa raised her dark eyebrows, and then took Jessica aside. They had some time before they had to go back to class.

  “That was it?” Tessa asked, baffled by Jessica’s reaction.

  “That was it,” Jessica responded, already bored about Danny.

  Tessa scoffed a little, and said, “Jessica, you have been after him for years. Now, he is practically falling all over you, and you seem like you’re not enjoying it.”

  Jessica shook her head. “Let’s keep this between us. I like him. He is very sweet, and kept apologizing for the party, but it’s just not enough for me anymore.”

  Tessa flinched. Jessica knew she could not believe what she was hearing.

  “Is it the Sheriff?” Tessa knew her all too well.

  Jessica looked around and could see the hallways beginning to empty. She didn’t really know how to explain it.

  “No. Well…..I wouldn’t mind going out with him, but I want to move on to bigger things than just dating a guy now,” Jessica said with a shrug.

  “So, are you going to dump him?” Tessa asked.

  “Not right now, but I don’t know how much longer,” Jessica answered starting to walk towards her class.

  “Jessica….if you don’t like him…it’s….it’s not fair to string him along like that,” Tessa argued as they walked.

  Jessica shrugged again. “I will decide soon on what I’m going to do.”

  Jessica then waved goodbye to a very perplexed Tessa, and entered her next class.

  Jessica did have a nice date with Danny; there was no denying that. He insisted on paying for both the dinner and the movie, though Jessica offered a few times.

  Then when they went to the lookout, they found out from some other classmates that went to the homecoming dance that it was boring, so they left.

  Of course Mandy Cooper had still been crowned homecoming queen along with the quarterback for the football team, Scott Gilmore, who happened to be Mandy’s ex-boyfriend or something. Apparently, he had cried on stage when he accepted her crown for her. Jessica knew Mandy wasn’t as well liked as she thought she was, and people started to leave after that, even though she hadn’t been there. It had been hearsay.

  Throughout the course of dinner, movie, and Lookout Ridge, Jessica felt absolutely no connection to Danny. He had been the perfect gentleman and said he wanted to make up for that night at the party, but Jessica found herself wishing to be elsewhere. A certain Sheriff came to mind, though she tried to remind herself that she didn’t need a boyfriend to feel whole.

  Jessica, still lost in thought, sat down in class.

  She looked over her test score for English and sighed. It was a perfect A+, but she was absolutely uninterested right now.

  She wondered why she was so restless, and wondered what she could do to fix it.

  Now that Mandy Cooper was out of the way, nothing seemed challenging anymore.

  Now that she had Danny Davenport with her, it was still not a challenge.

  She scolded herself, because she knew she was becoming greedy. Those gifts had been perfect so far; however, she was craving more. She couldn’t help it.

  Her conscience kept telling her to walk away from The Spirit of the Mirror, and live her quiet life, but now that she had a taste of what kind of power she had; it changed everything.

  She almost cringed when Danny gave her a kiss goodbye when school was over.

  She told him she would be busy doing something for her mom that night, and she would talk to him the next day.

  Mary came and picked her up waving to Danny as Jessica got into the car.

  Jessica knew something was wrong with her mom as they drove away from school.

  “What’s the matter?” Jessica asked, concerned.

  Mary growled a little in frustration, and hit the steering wheel lightly with her fist.

  “I tore that house apart this morning, and could not find Grandma’s necklace,” she answered, almost in tears.

  Jessica froze, trying to hide her guilt, and plastered a sympathetic look on her face instead.

  “I’m sorry Mom. How about another set of eyes? I will try to look again, and when Dad gets back he can help too,” Jessica said, soothingly. Jessica had absolutely no intention of looking around. She already knew where the necklace was located.

  Mary wiped her eyes and said, “Thank you, sweetheart. I would really appreciate it.”

  “Of course, Mom,” Jessica said, turning to her mother in comfort, even though she knew it was phony.

  “I wonder if I wore it to work, and a patient pulled it off by mistake or it broke off somehow,” Mary said lost in thought.

  “Maybe you should ask around tonight,” Jessica said with a slight smile.

  “I will do that. Anyway, how was school today?” Mary asked, blinking back more tears.

  Jessica was relieved she changed the subject.

  “Got an A on mid-terms for English, and the rest should be a breeze,” Jessica said, trying to cheer her up.

  “Great!” Mary said, lightening up a little.

  “Thank you. Mom, I have a question,” Jessica said after a moment.

  “Shoot.”

  “Was basketball hard to play?”

  Mary turned and looked at Jessica sharply, and Jessica almost cried out as Mary almost went off the road.

  “Jeez Mom, sorry I asked,” Jessica said, while Mary straightened the car. Mary had many trophies from when she was a forward in basketball back when she attended high school. The Mountain Lions had won a championship during Mary’s junior year.

  Mary sat there for a moment, and tried to gather her thoughts. Jessica thought she had a weird look in her eye, but couldn’t tell what the emotion was.

  “I’m sorry, but you detest sports,” Mary said surprised.

  Jessica knew she had to play this right, so she wouldn’t give anything away to her mother.

  “I know I said that in the past, but you told me you wanted me to have a good year, and Danny has gotten me interested. No harm in trying right?”

  Mary’s lips curved down while she thought it over.

  “I don’t see why not. If you don’t make it, then you don’t make it. I am j
ust shocked at this turn of attitude,” she said, looking over at Jessica with a slight frown.

  Jessica felt the tug of a smile at her lips. It wasn’t genuine, however, she was trying hard to make it look like it was.

  “Well, do I have your support?” Jessica asked, trying to turn the tables on her mother.

  “Sure you do! I will go over strategies with you, and we can watch some pro-games on TV,” Mary replied, but Jessica could still see the doubts in her eyes.

  Jessica leaned back into the seat, feeling content how she was able to explain away everything with her mother.

  She only had to do one thing, and that was to get that dagger somehow or another.

  She knew Sara Miller would start opening at later hours, because of Christmas coming up, and Jessica had to make sure that no one saw her in case she had to end up stealing it, most of all Sara Miller.

  She took a deep breath. She was still having doubts about the gift request from The Spirit, but if she wanted her next wish granted, it had to be done.

  Mary still had a strange look on her face the rest of the drive home, but didn’t say anything, which Jessica was grateful for.

  “Everyone is asking me questions about these changes, and I’m afraid I’m going to run out of excuses soon,” Jessica said to The Spirit after her mother left for work for the night.

  The Spirit of the Mirror nodded in understanding, and said, “That is to be expected. Do you have enough answers for now?”

  Jessica considered the Spirit’s question. Did she? How could she even think that people wouldn’t talk? She was a mousy, shy girl blooming into a confident young woman almost overnight. How could people not question that kind of change within such a short time span?

  “I think that I’ve covered everything so far. I offered to try to find my Mom’s necklace, and keep pushing back on everyone about joining basketball, using my Mom and Dad as an answer,” Jessica said as she looked up to The Spirit of the Mirror.

  The Spirit walked around the little wooded area, and Jessica was enjoying the colors of fall surrounding her. The mixture of red, gold, and yellow surrounding her made Jessica feel like she was in another world.

  A slight, cool breeze blew through her hair, and filled her nostrils with the smells of falling leaves, wood, and she thought she caught a whiff of snow coming off the mountain.

  Fall was her favorite time of the year, followed closely by spring, which was a sign of renewal for Jessica. Although, her own personal renewal would be happening during the winter this year, and after that a whole new world would be opening many opportunities for her.

  “Jessica, this is all so small in comparison of what you are capable of. Do not worry for those who question your changes, they will soon be obsolete in your life,” The Spirit said, seemingly reading her mind.

  Jessica thought about it, and knew The Spirit of the Mirror was right. Very soon she would be going after her dream school, and after she went off to college then everything will be forgotten.

  “Have you come up with a plan to obtain the dagger for me?” The Spirit suddenly asked.

  Jessica put her head in her hands, groaning. She could not come up with a good plan, no matter how much she tried.

  “I….I have gone over it many times, and it is just impossible,” she said.

  The Spirit stood there, but Jessica could not see any reaction in his face. She wondered what he was thinking, and felt like she was a disappointment to him. He had helped her through so much, and now there was something she could not do to return the favor.

  Then his reflective face turned upwards into a grin that almost made Jessica flinch. She had never seen that look before. It was almost…...evil. It happened so fast, that she thought she imagined it.

  “Nothing is impossible. There is nothing in this world that cannot be conquered or obtained by necessary means, and Mandy Cooper is proof of that,” the Spirit advised, making Jessica relax a little.

  “Yes, but that didn’t involve me directly, did it?”

  “That was your wish,” The Spirit reminded her.

  “No. I just wanted her embarrassed about something,” Jessica said, still trying to deny how horrific Mandy’s accident was.

  “Are you sure about that, Jessica?”

  Jessica groaned again. The Spirit could see right through her emotions.

  Finally, she looked up at him and admitted, “No, it was more than that.”

  “Then I have no doubt that you will obtain the dagger for your next wish,” The Spirit said.

  Jessica rose from the ground and wiped the dirt and debris from her jeans.

  She suddenly looked at The Spirit in question.

  “Are you just my guardian angel or have your helped other kids like me in the past?” She asked. She had been meaning to ask him for a while.

  The Spirit smiled. “I am there for those who need me, and when they are satisfied, I move onto to the next.”

  “How did you know I needed you?”

  “Only you had to realize that. You could have walked away at any time.”

  “I don’t like riddles,” Jessica said, knowing full well there was no riddle needing to be solved.

  The Spirit’s reflective eyebrows lifted in amusement. “No riddle. I heard your call for help. You may not have thought you needed me, but you did.”

  Chapter 19

  Jessica’s mom had been called into work all week. Mary was a combination of upset and happy about it.

  “These nurses need to get their acts together,” Mary said with a sigh as she dressed for work.

  “On the bright side, it will give us a better Christmas,” Mary commented after thinking it over.

  Jessica was happy she was gone most of the week. Her dad would be home Friday night, and Jessica had access to his pickup truck.

  “We could go visit Grandma and Grandpa in the spring before I leave for college,” Jessica said to her mom.

  Mary nodded enthusiastically. “Maybe after you’re off to college your Father and I should move to Florida. I am getting sick of this weather.”

  Mary hated leaving Jessica alone, but Jessica reassured her mother she would be fine, and would invite Tessa to stay with her a couple of nights.

  Don had taught Jessica how to use his handgun and rifle when she had been old enough to stay in the house alone while Mary worked, and Don was called away on business projects. Jessica never minded having the house to herself. She always felt all grown up when her parents trusted her enough to not have babysitters anymore after she turned fifteen.

  Now Jessica sat on the side of the road, and looked over Sara Miller’s antique store.

  Sara’s Vintage House

  Sara Miller was a woman in her early fifties. She was an older hippie type whose husband was killed in the early stages of Vietnam. When that happened people said Sara went a little crazy. She became a big name in the anti-war movement for the rest of the Vietnam War after her husband’s death, traveling the country, and speaking to anyone who would listen.

  Mary said that Sara took a lot of drugs to dull the pain of what happened to her husband, and never remarried. She eventually got sober, and moved to Leon’s Crossing opening the store in the mid-seventies. She had a daughter who was living in Arizona with her new family. Jessica could not recall her daughter’s name.

  Sara’s sister Stella would help her run the store when she was in town. Stella lived in Seattle, but came to visit often. Jessica remembered meeting her once, and had not seen Stella around for a while.

  She was eccentric, but the people in town seemed to love her, and Sara loved them back.

  Somehow, Sara was always able to get unique, and hard to find goods to sell in her store. No one knew how she did it, but was known to travel the country and the world to find them.

  The thing that worried Jessica was that she was not that far from the Sheriff’s office, and if she was caught stealing the dagger then it was all over for her, and she could kiss her top college choices goo
dbye.

  Jessica pulled around the block, and would park away from the store, and somehow make her escape if she needed to do that. Jessica had driven the truck around about an hour to plan her route if something went wrong.

  She thought about recruiting help, but knew none of her friends would go for it. She was alone in this, and it was up to her to make more changes to her life.