Sam trekked down the sidewalk in the direction the cat had disappeared to. He saw the cat concealed behind a bush in the forest and raced over to the forest.
"Ballard, come out," Sam said. The black cat crawled out from the bush and rubbed its body against Sam's legs, purring, before sitting down in front of him.
"Ballard, what are you doing here?" Sam asked. Ballard purred slightly in response.
"Okay, I guess that was a pretty stupid question," Sam admitted. "But still, you're supposed to be in the mirror."
Ballard meowed as a reply.
"What do you mean I'm supposed to be in the mirror?" Sam said, acting like he'd forgotten that he'd been absent from the mirror for at least two days.
Ballard meowed and then purred.
"I was with the Barrets," Sam responded. "They seem like a nice family when they're not talking about my powers…"
Ballard hissed, causing Sam to back up a bit.
"Hey, I didn't intentionally reveal my powers to them…" Sam said nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Janet just saw me using them and David saw me talking to Mirror Samson and…"
Ballard hissed once more.
"Hey, I want to go back home, but, well…" Sam trailed off. Ballard brought his head closer to Sam, waiting for an answer.
"I just want to stay with them!" Sam finished. Ballard rolled his blue eyes and meowed.
"I know it sounds lame, but I feel I need to help them," Sam confessed. "And that they could help me. I know it's only been about two days, but bare with me here."
Ballard shook his head in disappointment and purred.
"Fine, I don't care if you don't like it, just don't tell Bella or Mirror Bella," Sam ordered. "They'll explode if they find out about this."
Ballard scoffed and then slunk off into the forest and vanished without a trace. When he was certain the cat was gone, Sam bolted out of the forest and towards the fence where Janet was.
"Okay, Janet, I'm back and-" Sam paused when he saw that Janet wasn't there.
"Um, Janet?" He asked.
…..
"So, how's your big brother?" Brenda asked as she and Janet walked down the sidewalk of the city.
"Oh, he's okay," Janet replied. "I mean, he's not happy about going to school, but at least he didn't break his arm like I did."
"Yeah, I don't get why he doesn't like school," Brenda said. "It's one of the best places you could be, isn't it, Jane?"
"Wait, didn't you skip school?" Janet asked. "Well, sometimes school isn't important," Brenda replied casually.
The two girls entered a clothing shop. "You know, Janet, I've noticed that you don't have a lot of friends," Brenda said. "It's pretty sad, really."
"Oh, well it's not like that's a bad thing," Janet replied. Brenda picked out a few clothes.
"Oh, but it is a bad thing, Little Jane," Brenda responded without batting an eye. "What do you mean?" Janet asked nervously.
"You see, when you grow older, you find that friendship seems to be the glue holding society together," Brenda explained. "The more friends you have, the more popular you are."
"But what if popular isn't always the right thing?" Janet inquired. "Well, what is the right thing at the moment?" Brenda replied.
Janet didn't respond.
"You see, when you don't have friends, what does that say about you?" Brenda asked. Janet shrugged and shook her head.
"It means you're an outcast," She whispered in Janet's ear. Janet froze at the mention of it.
"When you have no friends, you're reduced to sitting in the dark corner behind all the other boys and girls," Brenda continued. "Nobody will notice you or like you."
"But I want to be liked," Janet said.
"And it will only get worse," Brenda said. "Then high school comes along, and popularity is the number one thing there. When you're not popular in high school, people will notice you."
"How is that worse?" Janet asked.
"They'll notice you by picking on you," Brenda said. "They'll tease you, write things on your locker, hit you…"
"No, I don't to get hit," Janet mumbled nervously.
"They'll get others to join in and make you miserable," Brenda said. Janet began biting her nails out of anxiety.
"And you'll have nobody to turn to," Brenda said. Janet sighed. "Well, how do I stop it?" She asked. "How do I get friends?"
"Oh, there's one way," Brenda said. "Try acting like the other kids."
Janet raised an eyebrow. "But my parents told me that you have to be unique," She said. "It's what makes you special."
Brenda shook her head. "Are you really going to listen to your parents your whole life?" She asked. "Are you a 'momma's girl'?"
"I am not a momma's girl!" Janet exclaimed, somewhat angry. "I don't have to listen to my parents to make up my mind."
Brenda smiled. "Very good, Little Jane," She said. "Well then, what do you suggest I do?" Janet asked.
"That's simple," Brenda said, holding up some fancy clothing. "Wear these."
Janet squinted her eyes. "Those things?" She asked. "What's so special about them?"
"It doesn't have to be special to be good," Brenda said. Janet shrugged and reached out to grab it, but Brenda held the clothes up in the air.
"Uh, uh, uh," Brenda said. "You owe me something,"
"What could I possibly owe you?" Janet asked. Brenda bent down and whispered in Janet's ear. Janet's eyes widened in shock.
"But, that's, uh…" Janet trailed off. "That's what?" Brenda asked. "Are you hiding something?"
"Definitely not," Janet lied. Brenda narrowed her eyes. "You're lying to me," She said. Janet shook her head.
"Oh, I know you're lying," Brenda said. "So, you're going to lie to the girl who wants to help you be popular?"
"No, I don't," Janet said uneasily.
"Well then, what are you waiting for?" Brenda asked. "You'll help me, and I'll help you. What's it going to be?"
Janet gulped. She suddenly realized how hard life was going to be.
…..
David had finally returned home after another tiresome day of school. He smiled as he swung the door open, only to be met with Sam pacing around the house.
"Um, where's Janet?" He asked. "I don't know," Sam said. "I told her to stay at the sidewalk while I went to do something, but when I came back, she was gone."
David narrowed his eyes.
"You brought my injured sister outside and left her like an old pair of shoes?" He questioned angrily. "What if she was kidnapped, or assaulted, or-"
"Hi guys," Janet said as she entered the house. David sighed with relief when he heard her familiar voice. However, his gladness turned to horror when he saw what she was wearing.
"What the-" David gasped. He then called out, "Mom! Dad! Get over here!"
Felix and Agatha came into the living room.
"What is it, son?" Agatha asked when she saw what Janet was wearing as well. "What the hell?" She asked. Felix covered his eyes as he saw what his daughter was wearing.
Janet was dressed in a rather big jacket and a very revealing shirt. She was wearing extremely short shorts that was a solid foot above her knees.
"Do you like them?" Janet asked cheerfully. "They were bought at the clothing shop."
David and his parents mouths hung open in shock, and then, in an instant, they all lunged at Janet and grabbed her shirt.
Soon, Janet's new clothes had been dumped in the garbage can and she was wearing her pink pyjamas. "Oh, come on, I didn't think they were that bad," Janet complained.
"Oh, they were bad!" Agatha snapped. "Those are something a teenager or something would wear!"
"Hey, Br- the girl said it would help me fit in," Janet said. She didn't want to tell them who it was for fear of what they would put Brenda through.
"What girl?" Felix asked. "I, uh, I can't say," Janet said, looking at her feet in discomfort.
"Young lady, you are grounded," Felix said. "We are very disappointed in you!" With that, Agatha and Felix stomped out of the room and slammed the door, leaving David, Sam, and Janet.
"It was Brenda, wasn't it," David said. "How did you know?" Janet asked. "Who else would dress you like a hooker?" David asked.
"Those are not hooker clothes," Janet argued. "And besides, a lot of girls dress like that."
"Girls OLDER than you!" David snapped. "You're eight, you're not supposed to dress like that? Why would she dress you in that?"
"She wanted to help me," Janet said. David and Sam stared at her.
"Help you?" He asked. "She would never help you unless she wanted to help herself in some way." Then, both boys gasped.
"Did she ask you anything?" Sam said nervously. "Well, maybe one question," Janet said. "What was it?" Sam asked, grabbing Janet's shoulders.
Janet didn't respond.
"Oh no, she didn't…" Sam said. Janet gulped as realization dawned upon her.
"She asked you how to identify a mirror person?" David asked, knowing that was the answer. Janet sighed, but didn't respond to either boys.
"She said she wanted to help me," Janet repeated, plopping down on bed. "I didn't know…"
"Brenda would never help you," Sam said, wracked with disappointment. "How could you fall for her lies like that?"
Janet turned her face to the other side of the bed and covered her eyes, filled with humiliation and despair. Suddenly, she realized how much of a fool she had been to trust her.