Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Back on my twelfth birthday, my friends and I had discovered a mirror in my attic. It wasn't any ordinary mirror, but a magical one. One that possessed the power of invisibility, while also serving as a gateway of sorts to a mirrored version of our own universe.

The mirror was awesome, but its potential was also extremely dangerous. We all had to be cautious in regards to the mirror and its power. Speaking from experience, this mirror had the power to change your way of life... or ultimately ruin it.

I opened my eyes to the sound of my bedside alarm clock beeping next to my head continuously. Feeling a bit groggy, I turned to face my digital clock and saw that the time was currently 6:31 AM.

I knew what today was. It was the day after Labor Day – the first day of school. And for me, that meant I would be entering seventh grade.

I reached over with my hand and pressed down upon the alarm button, which brought the beeping to a stop. I then let out a yawn, rolled out of bed and stretched my arms.

I made my way out of my room and went down the hall to the bathroom to take a quick shower. After that, I got dressed and made my way downstairs to the kitchen, where Mom and Dad had already gathered.

“Good morning, Max,” Dad said, smiling in my direction alongside Mom, as Whitey looked up at me from his food bowl. “Ready for your big day?”

I rolled my eyes as I took my seat. “Ready as I'll ever be.”

“I'm so excited for you,” Mom said, as she set a plate of freshly-made blueberry pancakes down on the table in front of me.

“Thanks,” I said, as I pierced a pancake with my fork. “These look great!”

After I had eaten my first pancake, Lefty entered the kitchen, and was greeted by my parents in a similar manner to which they had done for me.

“Hey, Max,” Lefty said, as he sat in the seat across from me.

“Looking forward to your first day of grade five?” I asked.

“You bet,” Lefty replied, as he picked up his fork and stabbed a pancake. “I can't remember... who was your homeroom teacher that year?”

“Mrs. Dartmouth.”

Lefty smirked. “Oh, yeah! Doesn't everyone call her Mrs. Fartmouth?”

“Only if they want detention,” I said. “You'd better learn to control yourself if you're in her class. Seriously. Besides, she's pretty friendly. If you actually behave.”

“I get it,” Lefty said. “I get it. Guess you don't know anything about who your teachers are gonna be this year, do you?”

I haven't got a clue,” I said, shaking my head.

In our district, elementary school begins with kindergarten and ends with grade six. As a seventh grader, I would be attending middle school this year. While Lefty would be going into grade five, it was also going to be his first ever year at school without me. And on that note, this would also be my first year in quite a while without him around.

In previous years, I would've loved to not have my brother go to the same school as me. It wasn't that I didn't love the guy. It was just that Lefty got on my nerves constantly. But not anymore. Not after our experience with the mirror. And now that we were mature enough to finally appreciate each other, we wouldn't be going to school together this year.

It was weird. After all the chaos that the mirror had exposed me to, you'd think that going to a new school would be a walk in the park. But it wasn't. Deep down, I had butterflies in my stomach. And as much as I didn't want to have to deal with them, actually going to school was the only surefire way to get rid of them.

Once breakfast was finished, Lefty and I went upstairs to freshen up. After doing so, I went into my bedroom and picked up my brand new backpack. Black with blue trim, my parents had gotten it for me while I had been away at camp. A set of brand new school supplies had already been packed inside the main pouch. The letter M was also monogrammed upon the back.

Lefty, however, did not receive a new bag, as his old bag was still in pretty good shape. I knew he was jealous, but our parents said that my bag was a gift for starting a new school. Lefty did get a new set of school supplies, at least. As I encountered Lefty in the hallway, I could tell that his eyes were fixated on my new bag.

“You all set to go soon?” I asked.

“Just about,” Lefty said, as he and I proceeded to walk down the stairs.

“Part of me wishes that I could stay at your school another year,” I said, as I stopped in front of the mirror in the front hall.

“Seriously?” Lefty asked.

“A little bit,” I replied, running my hand through my hair as I looked into the mirror. I wanted to make sure that my hair was absolutely smooth.

“Your hair's fine, Max,” Lefty said. “And so is Xam's, if you really think about it.”

“I'll never forget him,” I said, turning to face Lefty. “But strangely, it feels like he can't seem to remember any of us.”

“Don't remind me,” Lefty said. “Forget I said anything.”

“But it's weird. There's been two times where we've made peace with our reflections. But the next time they make their way back through the mirror, they're back to their usual, problematic selves. It almost feels as though they can't learn to accept us, and that they'll just keep on forgetting.”

Lefty sighed. “Look, I'm just glad my biggest problem right now are first day jitters.”

“You boys will be careful, won't you?” Dad asked, as he walked up to where Lefty and I were standing.

“Careful?” I asked, secretly hoping that he hadn't been eavesdropping on Lefty and myself. “What are you talking about?”

“Your mother and I are just concerned. You never know who's out there.”

“George, don't scare the boys,” Mom said, stepping into the front hall. “They've got enough on their plate today as it is.”

“I know,” Dad said. “But there's something out there that worries me. You remember that Van Dell kid from the camp, don't you? They never did find him.”

Now that Dad had mentioned him, I tried hard to not think about Jason too much.

“That was one isolated incident,” Mom said. “Poor kid. Anyway, our boys know what they're doing. They'll be careful. Won't you?”

“Yeah, Mom,” Lefty said.

“We will,” I said.

“Have a great first day, you two,” Dad said.

“We'll see you boys later,” Mom said, as I proceeded to open the front door.

“Bye Mom!” Lefty said. “Bye Dad! Bye Whitey!”

“Bye!” I called, as Lefty and I stepped out onto the front porch and I shut the door behind us.

Lefty groaned as he and I walked down the front steps. “Did Dad really have to bring up Jason? The last thing I need right now is a reminder on how the mirror basically wiped him off the face of the Earth.”

“Lefty, don't take it to heart,” I said, as he and I cut across our front lawn. “Dad and Mom don't know what really happened. Most people don't.”

“You don't even know for sure,” Lefty said.

“Can we drop it?” I asked, as Lefty and I made our way up and onto the Lathams' porch. “Seriously.”

“I get it,” Lefty said, as I pressed the Lathams' doorbell.

A few seconds after the doorbell could be heard ringing from inside the house, the front door opened up. Standing before us were Stella and Caroline.

“Hey guys,” Caroline said.

“How are you?” Stella asked, smiling at me.

“Pretty good,” I replied. “You two ready to go?”

“Yeah, we're ready,” Caroline replied.

The four of us walked down the Lathams' front path and then turned onto the sidewalk. We all talked about our new schools and the upcoming year that was in store for all of us. Not only were Stella and Caroline attending new schools, but they had also transferred to a new district. I was going to a new school myself, but at least I was already familiar with the area. Lefty had it the easiest out of all of us – he was still going to the same school.

After we had walked for only a few blocks, our group came to a stop at the corner of a four-way intersection. Caroline waved us off as she crossed in one direction, while Lefty, Stella and I crossed the other way.

A few blocks later, our group had reached another corner. Normally, this was were I had turned to go to my previous school. But now, I had to continue off in a different direction.

“Looks like this is it,” I said, turning to face Lefty.

Lefty nodded. “Yeah. Hope your new school is good.”

“Same to you. If you ever run into Mrs. Kennedy, tell her I say hi.”

“Will do,” Lefty said, as he turned to head off in one direction. “See ya later!”

“Bye!” Stella called, as she and I walked off in a different direction.

After walking for several more minutes, Stella and I had reached the front yard of our new school. I had passed by the building countless times throughout my life. However, I had only been inside of it once - when my parents had applied for me to go there at the end of the previous school year.

Many kids were loitering about on the front lawn of the school. I looked around at the small crowd and studied it. There were a few familiar faces that I immediately recognized. Some were from my grade, while others had been in the grade ahead of me, and were now eighth graders themselves. Although there were only two grades at this school, it amalgamated students from several neighboring elementary schools.

Among the gathering of kids, I was quick to spot my other friends, who were standing next to a picnic table that was already occupied by several other kids.

Zack waved at me as soon as the two of us made eye contact, and I proceeded to walk towards him, Erin and April.

“There you guys are!” Zack said.

“We made it,” Stella said.

“About time, too,” April said. “We've still got to find out which homeroom we're all in.”

“Where's that?” I asked.

“It's posted in the front hall,” Erin replied. “We were waiting for you two to get here, so that we could all find out together as a group. We might as well go inside now and check.”

The five of us all entered the building through the front door, where we stepped into the main hall of the school. A large trophy case stood across from the entrance, while hallways branched off to both the right and the left. On the wall next to the trophy case was a long bulletin board, where several lists of names had been posted. Many other kids were already looking up their names on the lists.

“This is just like camp,” Zack said, as our group worked our way to the front of the crowd, where we were able to seek out our names on the list.

I took a moment to locate my name. As I expected, last names were listed first. I scrolled ahead to the Ts, and soon found my name - Thompson, Maxwell.

“Here I am,” I said. “I'm in Mrs. Lloyd's class. Room 205.”

“Really?” Erin asked, taking a look at where my name had been posted. “Well, I'm in Mr. Ballard's class.”

“Me too,” April added.

“I got Mrs. Brown,” Zack said.

“Same here,” Stella said, looking over at where her own name had been posted.

“Wait...” I muttered, as my brain took a moment to process everything. “You mean, you four are split between two classes? And I'm alone?”

“Looks like it,” Erin said. “But, this is just homeroom.”

“Yeah,” April said. “There's still a chance that some of us might have other classes together.”

I sighed. “This is camp all over again! Except that time, I was literally in the wrong cabin! It was a mistake, but still!”

Zack chuckled. “This sucks! Oh wait, maybe you are in the wrong class. Maybe Mrs. Lloyd teaches Grade 8, and you can tell the office to transfer you to Mrs. Brown's class.”

I rolled my eyes. “I seriously hope that this school isn't that stupid.”

“We'd better get moving,” Stella said. “The last thing I want is to be late on the first day.”

The five of us walked down the hall to a stairwell, where we came to a stop. Erin and April continued down the hall, while I ascended the stairs with Zack and Stella to the second floor of the school.

“Look's like our room's this way,” Stella said, looking down the hallway.

“Mine must be down there,” I said, looking towards the opposite direction.

“Well, I guess we'll see you later,” Zack said.

“Yeah,” Stella said. “Good luck!”

“You too,” I said, splitting off from my friends as I ventured down the hall by myself. If I was being completely honest, I felt as though I was the one who needed good luck far more than any of my friends.

I soon found Room 205. As with most of the other classrooms, the door was wide open. I entered the classroom, where Mrs. Lloyd was already sitting at her desk. Many of my fellow classmates were already sitting around the room at various desks. Already I could tell that this classroom was a bit bigger than the ones at my previous school had been, as it seemed to contain even more desks than what I was used to.

“Come on in!” Mrs. Lloyd said. A middle-aged woman dressed in black with thin-framed glasses, Mrs. Lloyd greeted me with a smile.

“Hello,” I said, glancing at the message that had been written on the blackboard behind Mrs. Lloyd:

Welcome!

Mrs. Lloyd – Grade 7

At least this confirmed that I was in the correct grade.

“What's your name?” Mrs. Lloyd asked, glancing at her attendance list.

“Max Thompson,” I replied.

“Ah, yes. Please, take a seat.”

I walked to a desk that was towards the back of the room. I had wanted one that was next to the windows, but all of the desks that were adjacent to that side had already been taken by other students. I instead opted to sit at a desk that was one row away from the windows.

“Hey!” the boy who was sitting by the window next to me said, turning to face me.

“Oh, hey there,” I replied. Studying the other boy, I recognized his face – I had definitely seen this kid before.

“You're Max, right?” the boy asked.

“Yeah, that's me. What's your name, again?”

“I'm Rex.”

Now it hit me. This Rex fellow had gone to the same school as me. But he and I had never been in the same class before. I didn't know him very well. But at least he wasn't a complete stranger.

“I've seen you around before,” Rex said. “Hey, Mallory!”

The girl who was seated at the desk in front of Rex turned to look back at him. She looked vaguely familiar, sporting long, dark, permed hair, and wore silver hooped earrings.

“It's him, isn't it?” Mallory asked, as the school bell abruptly rang. I wanted to know what Rex and Mallory were so hung up on, but now wasn't the time.

“Good morning, class!” Mrs. Lloyd announced from the front of the room. “My name is Mrs. Lloyd. I look forward to teaching all of you this year, and I hope that all of you are just as willing to learn. Why don't we start by going around the room, saying your name, and telling everyone what you did over the course of the summer.”

Everyone in the class took turns introducing themselves, then briefly mentioned what they had been up to during summer break. Once we had finished, Mrs. Lloyd proceeded to pass everyone their timetables, each of which had a student's classes listed for an entire week.

Mrs. Lloyd then pulled a novel out from her desk and began to read it to the class. She told us to pay attention, as there would be a quiz regarding the novel at the end of the week.

Eventually, the second period bell rang. As it did, every kid in my class got up and filed out through the door into the hallway, where more students were coming out of other classrooms. According to my schedule, I was supposed to have math class next period. However, today instead there was an orientation assembly in the auditorium, which Mrs. Lloyd led our class to.

“Hey, Max,” Rex said, as he and Mallory sidled up next to me as our class walked down the hall. “You live on Meadowview Street, don't you?”

I bit down on my lip, unsure as to why Rex was questioning me as to where I lived.

“Yeah,” I replied. “What about it?”

“Didn't some guy named Evander live next door to you?”

I rolled my eyes. I didn't exactly want to know where this conversation was going, but I hung in there.

“Yeah. Mr. Evander and his wife. Do you know them?”

Rex shook his head. “Hardly. But I heard that they moved out, just because Mr. Evander thought that his house was... get this... haunted!”

“Yeah, it's a pretty wild story,” I said, not wanting to clue anybody in as to what the haunting actually was.

“That's so peculiar,” Mallory said. “Imagine selling your home and moving away, just because you think it's haunted.”

“Yeah, it's pretty silly,” I said. “Maybe he was just nuts.”

Rex blew a raspberry. “I dunno. Nobody just moves because they think that their house is haunted.”

Mallory nodded. “No kidding. That sounds like the plot to some B-movie. Not real life.”

“And you live right next door to him, too,” Rex said. “Tell me, do you think that there could be a ghost lurking around your house?”

“Don't be ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head. “Mr. Evander just had a fright. It was probably an animal in the bushes or something. Obviously he had to have greatly exaggerated whatever really happened.”

“But to blame it on a ghost?” Mallory asked. “That's just... dumb!”

“And then the next guy who moved in there... he died after only three days!” Rex stated.

“He was old!” I exclaimed, not wanting to delve into the truth about Angus Reller.

“There's something funky going on around where you live, Max,” Rex said, as we all filed into the auditorium. “And I want to find out what it is."

Rex and Mallory both went down one of the rows of seats, probably to locate some of their other friends.

The assembly itself wasn't very interesting. It was mostly just the principal going over a few basic things, as well as faculty introducing themselves. Either way, at least I got out of having to attend an actual class.

A little while later, it was lunch time. I discovered my locker, put my books away, then went down to the cafeteria for lunch.

Due to it being the first day of school, Mom had given me some money to buy lunch with. I wasn't the biggest fan of school cafeteria food, and while I could have gone to a local fast food joint for lunch, I wanted to take it easy today. The school was serving pizza, so I picked up a slice with pepperoni, green pepper and mushroom, along with a carton of milk and a fruit cup.

“Max!” Zack called, once I had stepped out of the food line with my tray. “Over here!”

I walked over to a nearby table, where Zack was waving at me, accompanied by Erin, April and Stella. All of them were already seated with their meals.

“Hey guys,” I said, sitting down next to Stella. “How was your morning?”

“It was all right,” Stella replied, as I bit into my pizza. It wasn't too bad, but it was no delivery pizza.

“How bout you, Max?” April asked. “How was your morning?”

Still chewing on my pizza, I held up my hand. Just as I swallowed the food that was in my mouth, Rex and Mallory both walked up to where I was sitting, each of them holding a tray of food.

“Oh, hey Rex,” I said. “Mallory.”

“Oh, it's you guys,” Erin said, likely recalling the two from our previous school. “Uh... how are you two?”

“We're not here to chitchat,” Rex said.

“Yeah, we're gonna cut to the chase,” Mallory said, eyeing Stella. “You're Stella, yes? And you moved here recently, didn't you?”

Stella's eyes lit up. “I did. Uh... where'd you hear that?”

“Some kids mentioned it during the assembly,” Rex replied. You and Max are neighbors, right? On Meadowview Street?”

I sighed, sensing that I could tell what Rex was leading up to.

“Yeah, what about it?” Stella asked.

“So it is you!” Mallory said. “We heard about Mr. Evander, as well as the guy who died in his house after being there only three days!”

Stella let out a groan, if only because she didn't think too highly of anyone speaking ill of her late grandfather.

“Look,” Stella said. “Whatever happened at my house in the past... that was just bad luck, okay? My house isn't haunted! And there's certainly no ghost there.”

Zack chuckled at Stella's remark. The only ghost that could have scared Mr. Evander had been... well... himself.

“Either Mr. Evander has gone senile, or there really is a ghost.” Rex said.

“Clearly the story's been twisted,” April said.

“Yeah,” Zack said. “And if you're really convinced that there's a ghost, why don't you let Scooby-Doo deal with it?”

“Listen!” Mallory blurted. “There's been some really weird stuff that's happened lately. There was some kid at a summer camp who went missing, somehow. It was on the news! And nobody knows how it even happened!”

“Yeah... that was something else entirely,” Erin said, denying that there was a connection between the two situations. “But there's no need to conflate the two.”

“Whatever,” Rex said, shaking his head. “But listen, Stella. Your house definitely seems ominous. It's like some kind of weirdness magnet or something.”

“It's just a building!” I cried. “I've lived next door to that house my entire life. There's nothing overtly strange about it. What happened there was just a coincidence. It could've happened at any house.”

“Yeah, well I still don't like it,” Mallory said.

“Me neither,” Rex said. “Come on, Mal. Let's go find a table that isn't so... weird.”

“Good riddance,” Stella said, as Rex and Mallory walked off.

“Yeah, who needs them?” April stated. “Some people will use anything as an excuse to put others down.”

“Even if it's... kinda true?” I asked, speaking under my breath.

“Who cares? Zack asked. “All that stuff's in the past. They can't prove anything.”

“Yeah, and once the novelty wears off, those two will stop obsessing over Stella's house,” Erin said.

I smirked. “Hopefully, they don't come up with some other dumb reason to be annoying. You want me to turn invisible and prank them?”

Stella shook her head. “No. They're already high-strung. It'll just fuel their argument further.”

The rest of the school day actually went by fairly smoothly. During lunch, my friends and I had compared our schedules. It turned out that even though I didn't share a homeroom with any of them, we did have some classes that overlapped with one another. My first afternoon period was with Erin, while for the second, I was with Zack.

Eventually school had let out for the day. Upon leaving the building, Zack and I loitered around the front entrance of the building, where many other kids had opted to hang out. We were soon joined by Erin and April. Together, the four of us then waited around for Stella.

“There's Stella,” April said, pointing towards Stella as she walked out through the front door of the school.

The four of us waved at Stella until we caught her attention, and she walked over to where we were standing. She did not appear to look too happy, and was frowning with her head bent down.

“Hey, Stella,” I said. “Are you okay?”

“Is something bothering you?” Erin asked.

Stella sighed. “It's Rex and Mallory. Those jerks are going around, trying to convince everybody that I live in a cursed house.”

I let out a deep breath. “Stella, don't let them get to you.”

“It's not them I'm upset about. It's everybody else who's accepting what they're saying about me as fact. They're giving me a bad first impression to the other kids, and I haven't even done anything!”

“It can't be that bad,” Zack said. “Back when we were in second grade, this girl Rachel threw up in the middle of class one day.”

“Oh, I remember her,” Erin said. “Everyone teased her for weeks. Poor kid.”

“This isn't helping!” Stella huffed.

“The point is, everyone got over it eventually. There's only so much teasing people can dish out before it gets boring. And everyone in class saw Rachel throwing up. Nobody here actually saw what went on at your house. Except for us, of course.”

“Maybe so. But why do they have to make such a big deal over where I live?

“Zack's got a point,” I said. “They'll stop caring after a while. Let's just go home for now. We've all had a big day. We deserve some time to kick back and unwind.”

The five of us all headed back towards our homes, splitting off from one another as we reached our respective streets. Once Stella and I were back on Meadowview Street, we both went in to our own houses.

I was thankful that I didn't have much in the way of homework today. I had heard from Erin and Stella's older siblings that homework only seemed to get more plentiful and harder with each passing year. Based on my previous years in school, they were likely correct.

I also have Little League on Saturdays, which will continue to keep me occupied. Additionally, while we're not a very religious household, my Mom's side of the family is Jewish. She wants me to have a bar mitzvah, so I also need to prepare myself for that in time for my thirteenth birthday.

When I spoke to Lefty later, I found out that he was in fact in Mrs. Dartmouth's class this year. And to nobody's surprise, his friends were with him. Lucky guy.

The following day during homeroom, Rex and Mallory mostly kept to themselves. I thought for sure that they were going to bombard me with questions regarding my house and Stella's house and possibly our entire street. But instead, they seemed to show no real interest in me whatsoever.

Eventually it was lunch time. I met up with my friends and we all sat down at a table together. Today I had brought a lunch from home – egg salad sandwich. It wasn't everyday that I got to purchase my lunch. But my Mom's sandwiches were perfectly fine.

As my friends and I ate our lunches, Mallory walked up to our table. Standing with her were two other girls.

“Oh, hey there, girls,” Mallory said, smiling as she looked around the table at our group.

Stella let out a sigh. “What do you want?”

“All I said was hello. No need to get so defensive.”

The two girls who were with Mallory both chuckled.

“Can we help you with something?” April asked.

Mallory shook her head. “I don't need anybody's help. You see, I'm having a slumber party this Saturday. There's gonna be lots of food, games and more. And I'm inviting you.”

“Really?” Zack asked, lowering his brow.

Mallory's friends both laughed in unison.

“Nice try!” Mallory snapped. “This party is for girls only!”

“Well, that's actually nice of you to invite us,” Erin said.

Stella groaned. “Don't you get it? This party has to be a set up! Mallory wants me to come over just so that she can humiliate me in front of a bunch of other girls in her own home!”

“No way,” Mallory said. “We'd never do that. I mean it.”

“And why should I believe that?”

“Because you're not invited, Stella. This invitation is for Erin and April. Not you. Come on.”

Mallory walked away from our table, followed by her two friends.

Stella sighed. “What's her problem?.”

Erin placed a hand upon Stella's shoulder. “Don't let her get to you,” Erin said. “April and I wouldn't be caught dead at that party.”

“Yeah,” April said. “I'm sure she only invited us so that you'd feel jealous.”

“It's only a stupid party,” I said. “Life goes on. Besides, would you even want to go if Mallory did invite you?”

Stella shook her head. “No way. But I still don't like her attitude. Or Rex's.”

Even though I was starting some new classes, the rest of the day remained uneventful. I still felt bad for Stella. I was thankful that she still had me and our other friends, but I still wished that there was a way for her to be accepted by other kids as well. On the contrary, this had only been Stella's second day at school. I had a feeling that she would be accepted among most of her peers eventually.

The next day was Thursday. As we had done so the previous two days, Lefty and I met up with Stella and Caroline and we proceeded to head towards school as a group.

“Someone seems to be in a good mood,” I said, admiring the grin that Stella was wearing.

“Oh, Max,” Stella said. “I came up with a little plan that's sure to boost my confidence at school, whether it works or not.”

“What's that?” Lefty asked.

“We're having a little party of our own tomorrow night,” Caroline replied. “Stella and I are going to invite some girls over from our schools.”

“Really?” I asked. I was intrigued, despite blatantly knowing that it was my gender that was preventing me from being invited.

“Really. I want to show that my house isn't actually haunted. And get to know some of my classmates outside of school. It's a good icebreaker. My parents agreed and everything.”

“And what if the other girls refuse?” Lefty asked.

Stella chuckled. “Well, I'll just mock them. I'll say that they're too afraid. Rub it in their face.”

“I don't get it,” Caroline said. “Why are the kids at your school so hung up on this haunted house nonsense, anyway?”

“I'm not sure. You're lucky you're in high school. Kids there are more mature.”

“I'd say they're even more unhinged,” Caroline said, as she began to cross the street by herself and waved back at us. “See you later!”

Later on at lunch hour, I had sat down at a table in the cafeteria, along with Zack, Erin and April. For lunch, Mom had packed some leftover pasta from dinner last night. The cafeteria had a microwave for students to use, so I was able to heat up my meal.

“Guess who's having a party,” Stella said in a sing-song voice, smiling as she walked over to our table and sat down.

“You?” Erin asked.

“Tomorrow night. And you and April are invited.”

“Nice,” April said. “Let us know if there's anything we can bring.”

“Guess who else is gonna be there,” Stella said. “Mallory.”

“Mallory?” I muttered, nearly choking on the carbonated water that I had been drinking.

“I convinced her to come. What can I say. I'll prove to her first hand that there's nothing strange about my house. In return, she's invited me to her party.”

“Wow,” Erin said. “It's nice that she's willing to give you a chance.”

Stella nodded. “Yeah. And she said that if she enjoys herself, she'll consider inviting me to her party the following night.”

“Good for you,” I said. “Maybe she'll even convince Rex to lighten up if all goes well.”

The rest of Thursday went by fairly smoothly. At one point I had passed Rex in the hall. He stared at me for a split second, only to turn his head away immediately afterwards. I knew that he wasn't going to the party, but hopefully it would impress Mallory and get him off of my case, as well as Stella's.

Eventually, it was Friday. As much as I wanted to hang out with my friends, three of them would be at a party – next door to my own house. Additionally, I just wanted to get started on my homework and take it easy after a hectic week, so I opted to stay home.

Some time after dinner, I looked out the living room window in the direction of Stella's house. One girl was walking up the front path from a car that was parked out front, carrying a duffel bag. I knew that Caroline and their parents would be there, but I really hoped that nothing at this party would go wrong.

About an hour later, I had actually finished my homework, so I went downstairs, where Lefty was playing a video game on the TV in the living room.

“What happened to Zombie Brawl 2?” I asked, failing to recognize the game that was on the screen.

“That game?” Lefty asked. “I got tired of it. I lent it to Sean in exchange for Monster Apocalypse.”

“Is it any good?”

“Yeah, but I've beaten it before. And it's only one-player.”

“You want a snack?” I asked. “Maybe we can watch something instead.”

“Sure,” Lefty replied.

I headed into the kitchen. Just as I did so, Whitey, who was facing the back door, started to bark.

“Hey boy, what is it?” I asked, walking towards the back door while Whitey continued to bark, seemingly ignoring my presence.

I looked out through the glass of the sliding door, and could see Contessa standing on the edge of the porch, meowing fairly loudly.

“What's going on here?” Lefty asked, having walked up next to me. “What's her problem?”

“I dunno,” I replied, shaking my head. “She's probably just upset because the Lathams have a lot of people over. Maybe I can calm her down. Hold Whitey for me, okay?”

“Got it,” Lefty said, wrapping his fingers around Whitey's collar, while I slid the back door open.

I walked out onto the back porch and looked down at Contessa. The white cat stared up at me and continued to meow, but did not move from her spot.

“What is it, girl?” I asked, only to receive another meow in response. “It's okay. Nobody's gonna hurt you.”

Just as I finished speaking, Whitey barked again, prompting Contessa into folding her ears back.

“Shut up, Whitey,” Lefty said, as I walked back into the kitchen and slid the door closed. Whitey still continued to bark at Contessa, which made me consider locking him in the basement for a few minutes. After all, Dad had walked him just after dinner – he didn't need to go out again right now.

At that moment, the phone rang. Without a second thought, I proceeded to answer it.

“Hello?” I asked, holding the phone up to my head.

“Max?” came Erin's voice through the phone. I could faintly make out a Voltheads song that was playing in the background.

“Erin?” I asked, wondering why she was calling me now. Presumably, she was next door at Stella's party. “What is it?”

“I'm at Stella's now. Something weird is going on.”

“Weird?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

“It's April and I. Both of us can feel some weird sensation in our bodies. It's like we're both tingling. But the other girls seem to be fine.”

“Are you serious?”

“What is it?” Lefty asked. Turning to face him, I held up my hand and shook my head.

“Max!” Lefty griped.

“I don't know what it is,” Erin said. “But since it's just the two of us, I'm worried that it might have something to do with.. you know...”

“The mirror?” I asked.

Erin sighed. “I hope not. But we're worried that it might be.”

“Well, Lefty and I are fine at our house. Look, tomorrow we'll go over to Stella's and try to figure out whatever this is.”

“We're worried that this could be something serious. And what if it's gone by tomorrow? We won't even know what it was.”

“I can't come over now,” I said. “Not while this party's going on.”

“Please?” Erin asked. “This isn't a joke. You could sneak in undetected. We'll unlock the back door for you. Maybe there's something you can do to help.”

I let out a deep breath. “Okay. I'll be at the back porch in three minutes. But this better be serious.”

“It is. I swear.”

“Okay,” I said. “I believe you.”

I hung up the phone and turned to look at Lefty, who was staring at me in awe.

“What was that all about?” Lefty asked.

I relayed to my brother what Erin had said to me.

Man, that is strange,” Lefty said. “If it's true.”

“Yeah, and Erin wants me to go over there and check it out,” I said, as I walked into the front hall and proceeded to slip on my shoes.

“Can I come?” Lefty asked.

I squinted my eyes. “I'd rather you didn't. It's bad enough if one invisible boy is gonna be snooping around over there. And how are we supposed to find each other when there's gonna be girls all over the place, not to mention Mr. and Mrs. Latham?”

Lefty rolled his eyes. “I get it. I'll stay here.”

After slipping on my shoes, I envisioned my body fading away and allowed myself to turn invisible. I proceeded to open the front door and went outside. Now that the sun had almost set completely, the street had gotten considerably darker.

Knowing that nobody could see me, I went over to the Lathams' driveway and walked down it into their backyard. From there, I went up onto the porch and stopped in front of their back door. Similar to my own house, the Lathams' back door was a sliding one, which led into their kitchen. Now that I thought about it, the layout of their house wasn't too different from mine. I doubted they had a secret room in their attic, though.

The kitchen seemed empty, although I could hear some muffled voices coming from another part of the house. I reached forward with my invisible hand and grabbed the handle of the door, which I proceeded to slide open without issue – Erin had indeed unlocked it for me. I stepped into the kitchen and slid the door shut behind myself.

Now that I was inside the house, I could feel a weird sensation overwhelming my entire body. If I had to describe it, it was almost like getting a mild shock due to static electricity. It didn't hurt, but I could definitely sense that tingling feeling that Erin had mentioned.

I walked into the living room, where there must have been at least ten girls sitting around on the couches and chairs, while a few even sat on the floor. I could hear the song “Chaos Fusion" playing on the stereo, while a few of the girls helped themselves to bowls of chips that were on the coffee table.

Among the girls, I could make out Stella, Caroline, Erin, April and Mallory, plus a few other girls whom I recognized, and a few older ones I did not. I wasn't sure as to what I needed to do at this point. It wasn't like I was even supposed to be here. I couldn't ask anyone for help.

The feeling within me had only gotten stronger. I figured that this had something to do with the mirror, but what? There was no mirror in the Latham's house. At least, not a magical one.

Except that there had been - the replacement mirror that Angus had devised. It had been set up in the room that was now Stella's own bedroom. Except that it had been destroyed. There wasn't any possible way that it could return, right? Able to feel my heart pounding within my chest like a drum,

I went over to the stairs and slowly ascended them, making sure to not be too loud, lest the girls hear my footsteps. Once I reached the top of the stairs, I continued to walk very cautiously – Mr. and Mrs. Latham could easily be up in their bedroom and be able to hear me.

Practically walking on my tip-toes, I crept down the upstairs hall and over to Stella's room, where I slowly pushed the door open. Although the room was fairly dark inside, I didn't need to turn on the light to see that there was definitely no magical mirror standing in the center of the room.

I shook my head as I slowly closed the door and backed out into the hall. If the mirror wasn't here, where could it even be, if it was anywhere at all? It felt futile to even bother looking in any of the other rooms, at least as long as there were so many people in the house.

I made my way back to the stairs and proceeded to slowly creep down them.

“Stella!” Mallory cried. I looked down from the middle of the stairs and could see Mallory standing in the foyer. “I need to reapply my makeup, and somebody's in the bathroom!”

“Just use the upstairs bathroom,” Stella called from the other room.

Without a response, Mallory made a beeline towards the stairs. Her hand on the banister, she practically charged her way up.

I had already turned around and began to rush up towards the top of the stairs. Just after I had reached the second floor of the house, did Mallory crash into my back.

“Whoa!” I cried, immediately wishing I had kept my mouth shut. My back still stung a bit from the impact.

“WHAT WAS THAT?” Mallory hollered.

I stepped away from Mallory, just as she reached her hand out to where I had been standing.

“Mallory?” Stella asked from downstairs. “Are you okay?”

“There's a... g-g-g-ghost!” Mallory muttered, trying to feel around for my presence.

“For crying out loud...”

“I'M SERIOUS!” Mallory exclaimed, as she turned back around and proceeded to walk down the stairs. “There really is a ghost! I crashed into him! I felt him! I heard him!”

“You're crazy,” April said, as she and several other girls gathered around at the bottom of the stairs.

“Is everyone okay?” Mr. Latham asked, as he and Mrs. Latham came out of their bedroom and headed over to the stairs.

“Rex was right!” Mallory shouted. “This house really is haunted!”

“You serious?” one of the other girls asked.

“I ran into somebody! It's like they were invisible!”

“Mallory, there's nobody up here but the two of us.” Mrs. Latham said, looking at her husband.

Mallory shook her head. “I know what I did! And I've had enough of this stupid house! I'm outta here! I'm calling my dad. I want him to pick me up.”

“Mallory, calm down,” Stella said.

“I'm not calming down. I'm leaving, and I encourage the rest of you to do the same.”

“Nobody really believes her, do they?” Caroline asked.

“I do,” another girl replied. “She sounds serious.”

Most of the other girls seemed to believe Mallory's story, and they sounded as though they were interested in leaving as well. Once the way was clear, I headed back down the stairs and went out through the back door in the kitchen, making sure to remain undetected.

I felt awful about everything as I headed back to my driveway and hid behind Mom's car. I allowed myself to become visible again and made my way back inside my house, no longer sensing what I had over at Stella's house.

“Max, you okay?” Lefty asked, coming down the stairs from the second floor. “You look upset.”

I went ahead and told Lefty about what had happened while I was over at Stella's.

“That's... pretty bad,” Lefty said. “Mallory's really pissed off now, huh?”

“I'll say,” I replied. “I didn't mean for that to happen. I was stuck on the stairs! I couldn't get out of her way in time. Man, I wish Erin hadn't called me. But I did indeed sense something strange over there.”

“You didn't find the mirror, did you? I checked the attic while you were gone. But it wasn't there, either.”

“Thanks. But right now, I can't decide what's worse. Dealing with the weird feeling that was next door, or Mallory.”

A few minutes later, I looked out the living room window and watched as a car pulled up in front of the Lathams' house. A girl came running down the front path with her bag and got into the car, which then drove off. I continued to watch as several more cars pulled up and more girls each entered one.

A moment later the phone rang, and I answered it.

“Max,” Stella's voice said through the phone. She did not sound happy. “What did you do?”

“Stella, I'm sorry!” I replied. “Erin told me that she and April...”

“I know, I know! They told me what was going on. I said it was okay for her to tell you to come over. But how'd you let yourself get detected?”

“It was an accident.”

“Accident or not, Mallory convinced nearly everyone else to leave my party. Only Erin and April are still here. And they might go home anyways if they keep on feeling strange here.”

“Stella, I'm so sorry! I only wanted to help! But I wasn't able to find any leads on the mirror.”

Stella groaned. “Just forget it, Max. I'll talk to you some other time. Good night.”

Before I could deliver a response of my own, Stella hung up on me.

“This just doesn't add up,” I said, setting down the phone.

“So Stella's party was a bust?” Lefty asked.

“Looks like it. You said that the mirror wasn't up in the attic?”

Lefty shook his head.

“Well, I'm gonna go up and see for myself. You never know with that thing.”

I hurried up the stairs to the second floor, with Lefty following my lead. From there, I went up and into the attic. The boxes that were usually stacked in front of the door leading to the hidden room were currently scattered around in front of it – presumably Lefty had not bothered to put them back into position.

“It's not in there, Max,” Lefty said, as I walked through the attic and past the boxes that were haphazardly lying about on the floor. Choosing not to reply, I reached for the handle of the door to the hidden room and pulled it open.

Looking through the doorway, I saw that the hidden room was indeed empty.

“Guess it's really not here,” I said, as I closed the door and turned my head back to face Lefty.

“I told you it wasn't there,” Lefty said, as I proceeded to pick up a box and carried it in front of the door.

I sighed. “I wasn't doubting you. Honest. But after what happened over at Stella's, I needed to see this with my own eyes.”

Lefty helped me stack the rest of the boxes in front of the door. Together, the two of us headed downstairs.

After I had gotten ready for bed, I eventually found myself lying on my bed in the darkness, trying my best to fall asleep. However, between the strange feeling that my friends and I had experienced at Stella's, coupled with Mallory crashing into me, led to me tossing and turning in my bed for hours.

Once I finally fell asleep, I later awoke at some point after daybreak on Saturday morning. Turning to face my digital clock, I saw that the time was currently 8:22. Yawning, I crawled out of bed, grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

When I reached the bathroom, I could hear the shower running on the other side of the closed door, and presumed that Lefty was currently using it. Either way, I was feeling peckish and figured that I might as well grab some breakfast in the interim. It was the weekend – there was no rush for me to get to school.

I went downstairs and made some toast for myself for breakfast. Afterwards, the bathroom was free, so I went inside and proceeded to take a shower.

After my shower, I dried myself with my towel and wrapped it around my waist. As the exhaust fan had been on the entire time, the mirror was not fogged up in any way. I tussled my hair a bit as I reached for a comb and proceeded to look into the mirror at my reflection.

Although I had reached for the comb with one hand, my reflection did not. Instead, he was staring at me intently, and clearly not mimicking my every move.

I ceased reaching for the comb and cautiously drew my right arm back. Xam was glaring at me, having not reached his left arm out at all.

My mouth dropped open, but all that Xam could seemingly do was continue to frown at me in response.

“No way,” I gasped, watching as Xam did not move his lips in response.

Saying nothing, I bolted out of the bathroom and returned to my own bedroom. Looking into my dresser mirror, I could again see Xam frowning at me, still not adhering to my own movements.

Dreading what was even happening, I slowly backed out of my room and sped down the stairs to the living room, where Lefty was sitting on the couch, watching a cartoon on TV. As I stepped into the living room, Lefty turned to look at me, only for his mouth to suddenly droop open.

“Max?” Lefty asked, lowering his brow. “Why are you wearing nothing but a towel?”

I looked down past my exposed chest and could see that my towel was still wrapped around my waist.

“Lefty,” I muttered. “You have to see this! Please!”

“See what?” Lefty asked, as he held up the remote and shut off the TV.

“Just... come!” I exclaimed, barely able to form a complete sentence. “Please!”

“This better be good,” Lefty huffed, as he followed out into the front hall.

“It's not,” I said, directing my brother over to the mirror that hung on the wall before us.

Lefty and I both turned to look at the mirror, where Lefty's reflection was still behaving normally. However, Xam was frowning and pointing at both of us, despite the fact that I myself was barely moving. Lefty took a good look at Xam, then turned to look at me.

“No way,” Lefty gasped, as he turned back to look at Xam. “Why is this happening? And how?”

“I dunno,” I replied, shaking my head, even though Xam did not. “But there's no way it's not connected to what went on at Stella's.”

“What are we supposed to do?”

“How should I know?” I asked, feeling as the heart beating within my chest was growing more intense by the second. “We've gotta show the others.”

After getting dressed, Lefty and I called our friends and explained what happened. Most of them were a bit too busy to come over on such short notice,, but after everything we'd been through together, they took our word for it.

Stella had some free time, and she came over a few minutes later.

“Hey, Max,” Stella said, as I opened the front door for her and directed her into the house.

“Hey,” I said. “I'm really sorry about last night.”

“Max, I don't even want to think about it,” Stella said, holding up her hands at me. “What's this crazy thing you just had to show me?”

“Look!” Lefty said, pointing towards the mirror.

Lefty, Stella and I all turned to face the mirror. Although I was standing still, Xam had his face and palm of his hand pressed directly up against the other side of the glass. Conversely, the reflections belonging to Lefty and Stella weren't acting any differently compared to the real deal.

“Guys, what is it?” Stella asked.

I turned to look at Stella. “Don't you see it?”

“See what?”

“My reflection,”

“What about it?”

“Uh... it's moving on its own!”

Stella looked into the mirror, then quickly turned her head back towards me. “Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?”

“You don't see Xam acting strangely in there?” Lefty asked.

“Stella shook her head. Max's reflection looks normal to me.”

“You're... serious?” I asked.

“At least one of us is.”

“Stella,” I said, placing a hand upon her shoulder. “We're not kidding. My reflection really is moving around independently from me.”

“Then why can't I see it?” Stella asked.

“Wait!” Lefty exclaimed. “This sort of thing has happened before. Except my reflection was involved as well!”

“Yeah!” I cried. “Our reflections were acting weirdly, but the only ones who could tell were me, Lefty, Zack and Erin. April couldn't because she'd never passed through into the mirror realm. And not anyone else, like our parents. Just the four of us at that point.”

“You told me about that,” Stella said. “But how am I supposed to see any of this?”

“I'm not sure. April's been through the mirror since that point. And so have Sean, Chase and Warren.”

“So, Stella's the only one in our whole group who can't see what Xam is even doing?” Lefty asked.

“Looks like it,” I replied, as Xam pulled a finger out of his nostril and flicked a booger directly at the mirror. Thankfully, it didn't stick to the glass.

Stella sighed. “Great. Lotta good that does. You guys could be telling the truth, and I wouldn't even know it.”

Stella turned away from me and headed for the door.

“Stella...” I said, as Stella placed a hand upon the door knob.

“Max, how am I supposed to help you with this problem, if I can't so much as even see anything that might be off about your reflection, and the magic mirror isn't even here?”

“I... don't know,” I replied, looking down towards the floor.

“It's not that I don't believe you,” Stella said. “But between this and last night... I'm not in a very good mood right now, okay? I'll see you later.”

Saying nothing, I watched as Stella opened the front door, stepped outside, then closed it behind herself.

After lunch, Lefty headed off to the softball diamond to play in his little league game. My age bracket would be playing once his game was over, so some time after Lefty had gone, I proceeded to change into my softball uniform, grabbed my glove, then walked over to the diamond.

When I arrived at the softball diamond, the teams that were playing were currently in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the score was 8-5. The five belonged to the Gryphons, which was the team that me, Lefty and our friends all played on.

As I came around to the bleachers, I sat down just in time to watch as Sean swung the bat, only to miss the ball.

“Strike three!” the umpire called, as the catcher threw the ball back towards the pitcher. “You're out!”

I watched as Sean reluctantly walked away from home plate and passed the bat over to Lefty as they crossed paths.

“Max!” April called, as she approached me on the bleachers, along with Zack and Erin.

“Hey!” I said, as my friends sat down around me.

“So...” Zack began, “your reflection...”

“Yeah, he's acting up again. And I don't understand what's been causing all this weirdness since last night.”

“Show us,” April said, as she pulled her pocket mirror out from her handbag and opened it up in front of me.

I gazed into the glass of the tiny mirror, while my three friends squeezed in to try and get a look for themselves. Strangely, my reflection seemed to be copying me perfectly. I winked with my right eye, and my reflection followed suit with his left.

“I don't see the problem here,” Erin said.

“It really was moving earlier!” I exclaimed. “Ask Lefty when he's done. We're not making this up, I swear! I don't know why it's stopped.”

“Strike three!” the umpire shouted, as the other team's shortstop caught a fly ball that Lefty had hit. “That's the game!”

The players for the rival team, as well as the players on the other set of bleachers all cheered, while the Gryphons who were on the field all gathered around Coach Gordon.

“Poor guys,” Zack said. “That game wasn't even close.”

A moment later, Lefty, Sean, Chase and Warren all walked up to where I was sitting.

“Rough game, huh?” I asked.

“I couldn't think straight,” Warren said. “Not after what Lefty told us.”

“Me neither,” Lefty said.

“Xam's really back?” Chase asked.

“He was,” I said. “But we looked in April's mirror a moment ago, and my reflection seemed to be normal.”

Even though there wasn't much to prove, I proceeded to show Sean, Chase and Warren my normal reflection in the mirror, at least to assure them that he wasn't acting on his own.

Soon afterwards, my friends and I went down to where Coach Gordon and the rest of the Gryphons in our age bracket had all gathered by the dugout.

“You kids all ready?” Coach Gordon asked.

The other kids on our team all cheered enthusiastically. However, Zack, Erin, April and I all kind of kept quiet.

“Listen,” I said in a whisper to my friends, “don't let the situation get to you. Just focus on the game.”

“Play ball!” the umpire shouted.

Throughout the course of the game, I tried my best to not think about Xam and the strangeness that went on last night. But no matter how much I tried, I could not get my mind off of it. It also didn't help that Rex of all people was a player on the other team, and there was no good way to not look at him. Conversely, Rex seemed to constantly be giving dirty looks to my friends as the game progressed.

I barely got any hits the entire game, as did Zack, Erin and April. Needless to say that in the end, our team lost 9-7.

“It was a good effort,” Coach Gordon said, once the rest of the Gryphons and I had gathered around him. “But... unfortunately, that means we won't be going for ice cream afterwards.”

I sighed. Right now, ice cream was the least of my worries. Although it probably would have gotten my mind off of my problems for a few minutes, at least.

“What's the matter with you?” Rex asked, as he walked up to me. “Ha! You look like you've seen a ghost!”

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Look, something weird's definitely going on around here. Mal said she had to have run into a ghost at your neighbor's house last night! It sounds ridiculous, but she sounded so damn sure about it.”

“What's your point?” Zack asked.

“Just checkin' on you,” Rex said. “And when you're up to bat, try not to strike out so much. Seriously. Anyways, I gotta go. My team's getting ice cream.”

Rex shook his head as he turned around and walked back towards the dugout where his own team had gathered around.

“Don't take it so hard,” Coach Gordon said. “You'll do better next time. Everyone has a bad day now and then.”

I rolled my eyes. Coach Gordon had no idea what I had been going through.

Eventually, I went home. When I got inside, I could see through the mirror in the front hall that my reflection was still behaving normally. If I had to hazard a guess, whatever had happened earlier could have just been a strange phenomenon that had seemingly run its course.

For the rest of Saturday, as well as throughout Sunday, I made of habit of studying the mirrors in my house, just to make sure that there was nothing strange going on in regards to my reflection. From what I could tell, things seemed to have returned to normal. Alas, there was still the issue regarding the backlash from what happened to Mallory and myself at Stella's house.

On Monday morning, instead of going to school, Lefty and I had dental checkups. Our Mom works as a hygienist, and I've been a patient of hers ever since my baby teeth first grew in. Mom had to be at work before our appointments, so Lefty and I got to stay home for a bit longer than usual that morning.

When it was time to leave, Lefty and I took the bus to the commercial building where our Mom worked, then took an elevator up to her office.

Lefty's appointment was first, so I sat on a chair in the waiting room. There were a bunch of Marvel comics there for me to read - It was nice that my Mom was able to push for those to even be here.

“You were pretty good this time,” Mom said, as she and Lefty walked out of one of the operatories. “Just try to work on the back of your teeth a bit more.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lefty said, as he sat down in the chair next to me and grabbed a Hulk comic.

“Max, you can come in now,” Mom said. “I'll be with you in a moment.

Soon Mom had gotten to work on scaling my teeth. It didn't seem to matter how well I brushed, there was always some plaque that I just couldn't get out on my own. I hated having to sit still for so long while someone prodded around and scraped away at my teeth, even if that someone happened to be my own mother. The feeling was not pleasant.

Finally I was finished. Most patients typically received a new toothbrush at this point, along with some toothpaste and floss. But since Mom already got us all of that stuff for free, it was unnecessary.

“Good job, Max,” Mom said, as she walked into the waiting room with me to where Lefty was seated.

“That took forever,” Lefty said.

“We've got plenty of time,” I said, looking at the clock that was on the wall above the receptionist. “We don't have to be at school until after lunch.”

“Here you go,” Mom said, passing me a few bills. “You boys can buy your lunches today. I'll see you tonight.”

Lefty and I ended up getting burgers at a restaurant that was down the street from the dental practice. Once we had eaten, the two of us got on a bus that drove us back towards our neighborhood. Lefty got off at a stop that was near his school. A few stops later, it was my own turn to get off. From there, I proceeded to walk the rest of the way to school.

Once I had reached the school, I found my friends sitting at a picnic table out in the front. Given that lunch period only had a few minutes left, it was fair to assume that they too had eaten already.

“Hey guys,” I said, sitting down next to Stella. “Everything okay?”

“I guess so,” Stella said. “Some of the other kids are skeptical of me. But at the same time, some of them are skeptical of Mallory.”

“We chose to not go to her party,” Erin said, as April nodded in agreement.

“Glad to see that not everything's working out for her,” I said.

“Yeah,” Zack said. “I bet people will stop caring about all this craziness before long.”

The rest of the school day passed by smoothly. Having missed homeroom, I managed to not have to deal with Rex, Mallory, or any of their nagging. Once the day had ended, I picked up my homework assignments from my morning classes, then proceeded to head home.

Once I got home, I tossed off my backpack and proceeded to pet Whitey, who had come running up to me and had his front paws pressed up against my leg.

“Hey, buddy,” I said, as I began to scratch behind Whitey's ear.

Before I could continue, I could hear the sound of several footsteps behind me, running up to the closed front door. It almost sounded like a mob.

I turned around to face the front door, just as the lock clicked and the door swung open. Standing on the other side was Lefty, accompanied by Chase and Warren.

“Max!” Lefty exclaimed, as he stopped to catch his breath. “We've been trying to catch up with you!”

“I don't get it,” I said. “What's the matter?”

“It's Sean!” Warren exclaimed. “He's been missing since lunch period!”

“He's missing?” I asked, “What do you mean? This isn't a joke, is it?”

“No joke!” Chase blurted. “None of us have seen him since lunch!”

“Can nobody find him?”

“That's the worst part!” Lefty cried. “Everyone else, except for the three of us, is acting like he's still there!”

“Yeah,” Warren added. “They're treating him like he's some kind of imaginary friend. Except we're the only ones who can't see him!”

“You can't be serious,” I said.

“All the other kids and staff are acting like he's still here!” Chase said. “But he's not!”

I looked down at the faces of Lefty, Chase and Warren. They all appeared to be genuinely terrified.

“I don't know what's happening,” Lefty said, as he grasped my hand. “Sean's just... gone. If not for Chase and Warren, I'd think I was crazy.”

“You're not crazy,” I said. “At least I hope not. Look, why don't we just call Sean's house and see what's going on?”

“Max you need to see this for yourself. Maybe we ought to go to Sean's house and try to figure things out from there.”

“Okay,” I said. “Weird as this sounds, my heart is telling me to trust you. I guess I can't see you making up something this convoluted.”

I proceeded to walk with Lefty, Chase and Warren from my house and over a few blocks to Sean's house.

“So, what's the plan, exactly? I asked, as the four of us walked up the front path leading to Sean's front door.

“Well, it won't work unless we get someone else involved, like Sean's mom. But we shouldn't be able to notice him.”

“I'm gonna make myself invisible,” I said. “The less of a crowd there is, the better.

Looking around to make sure that there was nobody else nearby, I ducked behind the car that was parked in the driveway and made myself invisible, while Lefty, Chase and Warren went to the front door and rang the doorbell.

The front door opened up as I approached it, and Sean's mom was standing in the doorway.

“Hello boys," Sean's mom said. "Are you here to see Sean?”

“Yeah,” Chase replied, sounding a bit hesitant.

“Here he is,” Sean's mom said, even though I could not see Sean anywhere at all. Was he invisible?

Lefty, Chase and Warren all stared into the doorway of Sean's house. I myself was legitimately confused. Where was Sean?

“Did you not hear him?” Sean's mom said, looking down at Lefty and his friends.

“We... heard him,” Warren said, having spoken in a nervous tone.

“Actually, I think we'd better go,” Lefty said, nodding towards his friends. “We've got a lot of homework. Uh, come on, you two.”

“Yeah,” Chase said. “Bye.”

“But you just got here!” Sean's mom said.

“Another time,” Warren said, as he turned away and walked off with Lefty and Chase.

Once Sean's mom closed the door, I slipped behind the car in the driveway and made myself visible, then caught up with the others at the sidewalk.

“Wow,” I said, barely able to process what I had just witnessed. “That was pretty freaky.”

“It's not just her,” Lefty said, as we proceeded to walk down the sidewalk. “Everyone else at school was the same way!”

“So how come we can't see or hear Sean?” Warren asked.

“I couldn't tell you why,” I replied. “But it's gotta have something to do with the mirror, and the strangeness that's been going on lately.”

“So, is Sean here, or not?” Chase asked.

I shook my head. “I don't know. I don't understand this any better than the rest of you. You couldn't even touch him, could you?”

“Uh-uh,” Lefty replied. “We all passed through where everyone seemed to think Sean was when we tried. And weirdly, nobody else thought it was odd.”

“I see,” I replied, trying to piece everything together in my head. “If you want my two cents, it's that Sean may have indeed vanished from this world. And that there's some sort of illusion that's fooling nearly everybody else. Kinda like how most people couldn't tell that a reflection that made it to our world was backwards, like Righty or Angus.”

“But why?” Chase asked.

“To fool everyone, probably,” I said. “If a kid like Sean went missing, his family and the community would panic. This way, nobody can tell. We can, but that's because we've been through the mirror and can't be deceived by its power.”

“So how are we supposed to get Sean back?” Warren asked.

“I have no idea,” I replied. “We don't even know where Sean actually went, or how he could have gotten there. You said he just disappeared after lunch?”

“Yeah,” Lefty replied. “When we went back to class after lunch, Sean never showed up. And that's when everyone else started acting as though he was still there.”

“Let's all go back to my house,” I said. “We've gotta see if the mirror somehow came back.”

When our group arrived at my house, the four of us immediately went up to the attic. However, when we went into the hidden room, the mirror was still nowhere to be found. I then proceeded to call Zack, Erin, April and Stella and told them about Sean's disappearance, even though there was seemingly nothing that any of them could do to help.

After Chase and Warren went home, our family sat down for dinner together. As we ate, neither Lefty nor myself could not get our minds off the whole ordeal with Sean. As such the two of us both took a considerably long time to finish the broiled chicken and green beans that were on our plates.

After dinner, I forced myself to get through all of the homework that I had. Once I had finished, I brushed my teeth and climbed into bed, in spite of the fact that outside, the sun hadn't even gone down. Instead, I just laid in bed for several hours, unable to get my mind off of Sean and his whereabouts. Eventually, I closed my eyes and managed to fall asleep.

The following morning, Lefty and I met up with Stella and Caroline and began to walk to school together. Once Caroline split off towards her high school, Lefty sidled up between Stella and myself.

“Max,” Lefty began, “what should I do if Sean still isn't back when I get to school?”

I sighed. “Lefty, I really don't know. This whole situation has me stumped.”

“You guys really aren't kidding, are you?” Stella asked. “Do you think I can still see him?”

“It's possible,” Lefty said.

“But it'd just be an illusion to you, Stella” I said. “Maybe we can try to show Sean to you later. If we can find him, that is.”

“I just want him back. He disappeared, and we don't even know why.”

“I know. I'm worried about what happened to Sean. And I'm doubly worried that whatever happened to him might also happen to someone else.”

I eventually made it to homeroom with about one minute to spare before the first bell. However, as a result of not having gotten a good night's sleep, I sat down at my desk, folded my arms upon it and rested my head.

“What's the matter?” Rex asked, prompting me to turn my head up to face him and Mallory. “Did the ghost spook you last night?”

“He's not kidding,” Mallory said. “I definitely felt something at Stella's the other night. It could very well have been a ghost!”

“Imagine if it's the ghost of that dead guy? Or whatever scared Mr. Evander!”

“Would you two grow up already?” I asked. “This ghost sounds about as real as the monster that's under your bed.”

“That's not what this is,” Mallory said. “There's clearly something out there that we don't fully understand.”

“Yeah,” Rex said. “And we're definitely going to get to the bottom of it. One way or another.”