by Mimi McCoy
“No!” she cried. But it was too late. Emma was pulling her into the mirror.
Chapter Sixteen
As Anna’s hand slid through the mirror and into Emma’s world, she felt a coldness that seeped all the way into her bones. The mirror rippled like the surface of a pond into which she would plunge and lose herself forever. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear someone screaming. Or was she herself screaming? In her terror and confusion, Anna couldn’t tell.
And then, suddenly, two arms grasped her around the waist and began to pull her backward, away from Emma. For a split second, Anna thought she saw an angel reflected in the mirror. A golden angel with … glasses?
Then she recognized the face. It was Dory in her sun costume, her face painted gold, a halo of golden beams sprouting from her headband like rays of sunshine.
“No!” Dory yelled, tugging at Anna with all her might. “You can’t have her!”
For a moment, Anna thought her arm would be wrenched out of its socket as Emma fought to hold on to her. But Dory was surprisingly strong for her size. At last she managed to tear Anna from Emma’s grip.
In the mirror, Anna saw Emma rear back, her face twisted with greed and fury. As Emma lunged again, Anna snatched the chain out of the stunned Kima’s hand. She swung it against the mirror with all her might.
There was an earsplitting crash of breaking glass, then an enraged scream that shook Anna to her core.
And then, nothing.
In the silence that followed, the girls stared at each other.
“Is she gone?” Dory finally managed to squeak.
With the toe of her sneaker, Anna nudged the shards of glass on the tile floor. “I think so.”
Behind her she heard a small groan. Anna turned in time to see Jessamyn’s eyes roll back in her head … right before she crumpled to the floor.
Kima and Lauren glanced between Anna and their fallen comrade. Then they opened the door and ran.
“Nice friends,” Dory said with a snort. She looked down at Jessamyn. “What do you say? Should we leave her here?”
“Part of me wants to say yes.” Anna sighed. “But that would make me just like her. Besides,” she added with a little smile, “I just gave her the scare of her life, didn’t I? I want to rub it in a little.”
“What I don’t understand is, where were you hiding?” Anna asked Dory a short time later.
They were sitting in the hallway outside the gym. Behind them, the dance was still going. Every once in a while the door would open, and they would hear a blast of music.
“I followed you into the bathroom,” Anna went on. “I wanted to warn you about Emma. But when I got there, it was like you’d vanished into thin air!”
Dory shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. You couldn’t have followed me, because I followed you. I saw Jessamyn and those girls go into the bathroom behind you. I was afraid they might try something. I didn’t know Emma would be there, too.”
Anna twisted a loose piece of hair around one finger. “But then how —?” She broke off as she realized. “It was Emma. She disguised herself as you to fool me. And then she hid in the mirror. She was always in the mirror.”
That’s why I always felt like I was being watched, Anna thought. The mirror was her way of spying on me.
“You really did see something in the mirror that day you fainted in the bathroom, didn’t you?” Dory asked.
Anna nodded. She remembered the day of her initiation with the Jackals. She’d called on a spirit in the mirror. But it was Emma who’d answered the call.
“I think that old mirror was some kind of portal,” Anna said. “Emma must have realized that she’d never be able to have me all to herself here. So she tried to take me into her world.”
“You know earlier today, how you asked me if I remembered Emma?” Dory said. “I did remember her. I just couldn’t believe what you were saying.”
Anna shrugged. She didn’t blame Dory. She’d had trouble believing it herself.
“I was afraid of her when we were little,” Dory confessed. “She used to pinch me behind your back. I couldn’t even see her then, but I knew she was there.”
“She was jealous of you,” Anna told her. “She wanted to be my only friend. That’s why she pushed you down the stairs. That time you broke your arm.”
Dory’s eyes widened. “So it did happen! I thought …”
“I know,” Anna said, nodding. “You thought it couldn’t be true.”
“After I broke my arm, you stopped talking about Emma,” Dory explained. “I remember I mentioned her once, and you told me, ‘She’s imaginary, Dory.’ It was like she’d never existed. So after a while, I started to believe I’d imagined the whole thing.”
“I must have thought she’d go away if I ignored her,” Anna said. “But she didn’t really go away. She was there the whole time, just waiting for the chance to come back again.”
Dory rubbed her broken collarbone thoughtfully. “I read somewhere about evil spirits that will latch on to a person. You know, kind of like a guardian angel, but bad. Do you think that’s what Emma was?”
Anna was silent. She’d been wondering about that. Was Emma an evil spirit — or something Anna had accidentally wished into existence? Anna didn’t know. What she did know was that Emma was drawn to her. She fed off Anna’s own meanness, insecurity, and doubt. And if that was the case, how could Anna be sure she wouldn’t come back?
Because I won’t let her, Anna promised herself. I know her now, and I’ll never let her back.
“I don’t want to think about Emma anymore,” Anna said firmly. “It’s Halloween, and I’m — I’m … oh no, I’m so busted!” She checked her watch. She’d been gone for over two hours. Her parents would surely have discovered she was missing by now.
She explained to Dory how she’d snuck out the window. “I’m dead meat,” she groaned. “What am I going to tell them?”
“I could go with you, if you want,” Dory offered. “I’ll tell them I had an emergency, and I needed your help. It’s sort of true.”
Anna shook her head. “It wouldn’t matter. I’m still going to be grounded for the rest of my natural-born life. But,” she added, “I appreciate the thought.”
“Well,” Dory said, standing up and dusting off the seat of her costume, “if you’re going to be grounded for the rest of your natural-born life, you might as well get in one last dance.”
“I really should get home,” Anna said.
“Come on, one song,” Dory said. “Then you can be grounded for as long as you like. Besides, I want you to meet my new friends. You’ll like them.” She held out her hand to Anna.
“Okay,” Anna agreed, taking it. “One song.” She let herself be pulled to her feet. But she didn’t let go of her friend’s hand right away.
“Thanks, Dory,” she said, giving it a squeeze.
“No problem,” said Dory. “Besides, I owed you one.”
Anna was surprised. “For what?”
“Well, for one thing,” Dory said, smiling, “if it weren’t for you, I’d be standing here with a scrub brush on my head.”
Epilogue
“Three more days to Thanksgiving!” Anna crowed. “I cannot wait!”
It was a Monday, just after fourth period. Anna, Dory, Melody, and Kate had gathered at Anna’s locker before they made their way to the cafeteria for lunch.
“I had no idea you liked turkey so much,” Melody teased.
“Who cares about turkey?” she replied. “I’m looking forward to the taste of freedom.”
Her friends laughed. They all knew that Thanksgiving was the day Anna would officially be ungrounded.
“So, what should we do on Anna’s first weekend back among the living?” Dory asked the group.
“We could go to a movie,” suggested Melody.
“Better yet, we could make a movie!” Dory exclaimed. “Hester and Harold are dying to start acting again.”
“I say we go
to the mall and buy Anna a new mirror for her locker,” said Kate, who’d been checking her hair in the one on Anna’s locker door. “This one stinks.”
“I don’t care what we do,” Anna said, “as long as it’s fun.”
Just then, she noticed Benny Riveras coming down the hall on crutches. He seemed to be making his way right toward her. Anna suddenly felt nervous. Benny had returned to school a few weeks before, but he’d avoided her. Anna hadn’t spoken to him since the day after his accident.
He slowly made his way over to them. “Hi, Anna,” he said shyly.
“Hey, Benny.” Anna was surprised and pleased. She didn’t think Benny was ever going to talk to her again.
Benny glanced uncomfortably at the other girls, and Anna caught his meaning. She turned to her friends. “I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute. Save me a seat, okay?”
Dory, Melody, and Kate left, shooting her winking looks, which she ignored. “So, how’s your leg?” she asked Benny when they were gone.
“Getting better every day,” he told her. “Doctor says I might even be back on skates by January.” He shifted on his crutches. “So, listen, I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a long time. I wanted to apologize.”
“You want to apologize?” Anna was startled. “What for?”
“For what I said the day you came to visit me, after the accident,” Benny told her. “They say sometimes after you hit your head, you can imagine all kinds of crazy things.”
Anna bit her lip. “Well, it wasn’t that crazy —”
“Are you kidding? I must have sounded like a lunatic,” Benny insisted. “Anyway, I want to make it up to you. How about a slice at Moxie after school?”
Anna’s heart skipped a beat. He was asking her out again — and this time it was on purpose. For a second she wondered if there was some way she could go. Maybe she could make up some excuse? Or sneak out?
Anna shook her head. She was done with sneaking. “I can’t,” she told Benny regretfully. “I have a ton of homework. And I’m sort of grounded right now.”
“Really? What for?” Benny asked.
Anna sighed. “It’s kind of a long story. But,” she added quickly, “I’d love to go to Moxie another time.”
“Really?” Benny let out a sigh of relief. “I was afraid you’d hate me, after what I said.”
Anna shook her head. “Not a chance.”
The hall had mostly cleared out. Everyone was already in the cafeteria. “Walk with me to lunch?” Benny asked.
“Yeah, hold on. Let me just get my lunch money.” Anna reached into her backpack and pulled out a few bills from a zippered pocket. As she turned to close her locker, she caught a sight of her reflection in the mirror on the door.
For a split second, her reflection seemed to waver, and Anna thought she glimpsed two silver eyes watching her.
That’s right, Emma, she thought. Eat your heart out. Then she slammed the door shut.
BITE INTO THE NEXT POISON APPLE,
IF YOU DARE …
HERE’S A SPINE-TINGLING SNEAK PEEK!
Hannah was alone in her new room, unpacking her things. She had just finished arranging her shoes in the closet when she felt a sudden chill. Goosebumps swept up her arms, and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. She was sure someone was watching her. Hannah whipped around. Sure enough, Madison stood in the doorway, arms crossed and a nasty scowl on her face.
“Dinner’s ready,” she snapped at Hannah. Then she sauntered casually into the room. She picked up a black cat figurine Hannah had placed on the dresser. Madison turned it over in her hand and gave it a tiny toss into the air. Hannah gasped as Madison caught the figurine easily with a mean little laugh. She placed it back on the dresser, not very gently.
“I heard about your cat,” Madison said, her eyes narrowing. “That’s too bad.” It didn’t sound like she thought it was too terrible, though. In fact, Hannah thought Madison sounded almost gleeful.
Madison took a step closer.
“Let’s get a few things straight around here,” she said menacingly. “See that door over there?” She gestured over her shoulder.
Hannah nodded.
“That’s the door to my bathroom,” Madison explained. “My mom said I have to let you use it, too.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “But since the only way in is through this room or my bedroom, you’d better remember to unlock my door when you’re done in there,” Madison continued. “Because if you lock me out of my own bathroom, I will not be happy.”
“Okay, fine,” Hannah squeaked softly. “Can we go eat dinner now?”
“One more thing,” Madison said. “If you ever touch even a drop of my shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, or anything else in there, you will be sorry. See you later, sis.”
And with that, Madison turned and strode out of the room. Talk about an evil stepsister! Hannah thought. It was as if Madison had been taking lessons from Cinderella’s tormentors.
After a painfully awkward dinner of meat loaf and green-bean casserole (not exactly Hannah’s favorites), Hannah was eager to go to bed. She didn’t think the day could get any worse, and the sooner she fell asleep, the sooner the day would be over.
Even though it was only 8:30, Hannah pulled on her pajamas, grabbed her toothbrush, and headed for the bathroom. She jiggled the doorknob but it didn’t budge, so she tried knocking. There was no answer. Hannah flopped down on her bed to wait. As soon as she did, her phone chimed. It was a text from Paisley.
wanna skype?
OMG! yes! logging on now.
Hannah quickly booted up her computer and logged in to the video chat program. She accepted the incoming call from Paisley, and her best friend’s face filled the computer screen.
“Hey!” Paisley waved at her friend. “How’s the new place?”
Hannah moved her head so Paisley could see the room behind her. “See for yourself.”
“Um, nice posters,” Paisley joked. “I didn’t realize you were so into basketball. Are you going out for the team?”
“Ha, ha.” Hannah stuck out her tongue at Paisley. “Today hasn’t been the best day of my life, that’s for sure.”
“Oh, no! What happened?” Paisley asked, her brow furrowed with concern.
“Well, first Icky ran out of the house while my mom and I were trying to get him into his crate.”
Paisley gasped. “That is totally tragic! But you got him back, right?”
“I don’t know,” Hannah replied glumly. “Hopefully he’s back at my mom’s by now, but he was still missing when I left. He runs off every now and then, but he never stays out overnight. My mom’s going to bring him here tomorrow on her way to the airport.”
“I’m so sorry, Hannah.” Paisley spread her arms out wide. “Virtual hug!”
“Thanks,” Hannah replied softly. “Things didn’t get much better after that. Madison’s been, well, Madison. And you probably can’t see out the window behind me, but you’ll never guess what you can see from my bedroom.”
Paisley shook her head. “You’re right — I have no idea.”
Hannah lowered her voice. “It’s the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery!”
“Oh, that is creepy!” Paisley replied with a shudder. “You’ve heard the stories they tell about that place, right?”
Hannah nodded. “Yeah, but they’re all pretty silly. And it’s not like I actually know anyone who’s ever been haunted, and I’ve lived around here for twelve years.”
“Well …” Paisley began hesitantly and then paused. “There is one story about a ghost cat. I don’t want to freak you out, though.”
Hannah had heard of the ghost cat before, but she couldn’t remember the details. She could tell Paisley knew the story and wanted to tell her, though. Paisley tended to believe in all of the Sleepy Hollow legends way more than Hannah did.
“No, it’s okay,” Hannah replied gamely. “You’d better tell me. I’d rather be prepared than surprised when a ghost shows up on the front porch.”
“Okay, you asked for it,” Paisley warned, but Hannah could tell her friend was thrilled to be playing the role of storyteller. “So, the legend is that there was a little girl who lived in Sleepy Hollow in, like, the eighteen hundreds. She had this little black cat that followed her around everywhere. Then one day, she and the cat both disappeared. It was, like, poof, they were gone!
“They were missing for days, until some townspeople found the girl’s dead body in the Hudson. No one ever saw the cat again, though — well, at least not alive.”
Paisley shuddered and lowered her voice dramatically. Even though Hannah knew it was just a story, she felt chills shoot up her spine. The wind outside rustled the leaves of the trees in the yard, and a cool breeze wafted through the window. Hannah glanced over her shoulder at the window involuntarily, but there was nothing there.
“You sure are good at telling ghost stories, Pais,” Hannah said with a nervous laugh.
“And I’m not even done yet!” Paisley continued, her voice a hushed whisper. “The little girl was buried in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery. Supposedly, the ghost of the cat still haunts her grave. Some of the townspeople think the cat had something to do with the girl’s drowning. And this is the craziest part — you know my aunt Suzie and my cousin Clark, who live in Stamford?”
Hannah nodded.
“Well, before I was born, they lived in Sleepy Hollow, probably pretty close to your dad’s house. I know it was near the cemetery. Anyway, one day the basement of their house totally flooded — and there hadn’t even been a rainstorm!”
Paisley paused dramatically again, and Hannah laughed.
“Maybe one of the pipes had burst,” Hannah pointed out. “That happened in my mom’s house a few years ago, and it definitely wasn’t because of a ghost.”
“Well, that’s what they thought at first,” Paisley said ominously. “But you’ll never guess what they found floating in the water in the basement.”
