To Sharpen Your Reflection

Chapter One

"It's like I'm living in a wasteland

Of words I'm trying to say, 

But they don't come out right"

Wasteland - Verite

Mai

I dump my books on the desk, shoving my pencil case over a dirty drawing. "Okay everyone, seeing as it's third term, you should know how to get your books out by now, so don't take so long! Remember that if you fall asleep, you have detention at lunch today. If you don't do your work, detention for a week." Mr Parchen warns us grouchily, "We also have a new student, so welcome her with your best smiles!" My eyes are instantly drawn to the desk beside me that has never been occupied before, but is now taken up by a pretty girl with smooth black hair and chocolate skin. Her eyes are a soft black, somehow similar to my navy blue eyes. She will probably be the center of attention for a while, but fade into the background by the end of term. She looks over at me and smiles. I return her smile, and she leans closer. "Everyone is staring at me, and muttering to themselves. I wonder what they are plotting." The strange girl grins, her eyes laughing. "My name is Mai. Yours?" I introduce myself calmly, on the outside seeming as though I have ignored her previous statement, my mask in place. "Mine's Sabrina. What are your favourite things to do?" My mask seems not to have fazed Sabrina, even though it has made me alone, because no one would see through it, or understand it. "I like reading. How about you?" Sabrina smiles again, replying with, "I like watching TV, but reading is fun too. What books are you reading now?" Like I would tell her that. "Just rereading old books that I liked. What shows are you watching?" I meet Sabrina's gaze. Her eyes are smooth, too perfect, unlike my own, that are flecked with so many different shades of blue, but they are still similar somehow, "Your eyes are sharp, piercing. Is that why you sit alone? You see through everyone's masks, but have one of your own, a shield against the clashing swords. A cave in a storm." This is it. She'll say she can't be friends with someone so shielded, so cold. She'll ask Mr. Parchen if she can move desks, and I will be left alone again, alone to contend with the darkness that tears me up from within. "Are the shows interesting?" I decide to ignore her musings entirely. "Yes, they are. Are you from Japan? It's just your accent." Sabrina looks down at her work, "I don't mean to be racist, I'm just curious. I watch a lot of Japanese dramas. 'Good Morning Call' is particularly good so far." Before I can stop myself, I exclaim, "You like that show too?! It's so great! Uehara and Nao are the best match!" I clap my hand over my mouth, appalled with myself for losing control so easily. "I know, right! They're like, so perfect!" she shouts excitedly. She keeps going on about how great it was to find another fan, and how the story is so great, while I'm shushing her, grabbing her arm to stop her making big gestures, waiting for Mr. Parchen to come and give us detention, but he doesn't come. Not even when she quiets down, remembering the rules. We quickly get to doing our work, finishing it quickly, seeing it's pretty easy. "You never told me about whether you were Japanese or not. Are you?" Sabrina whispers. "I'm an exchange student from Tokyo, and I was always considered strange or different, as I have blue eyes. My parents shipped me off because they were unsettled by me. My eyes, mainly, but partially my manner." I whisper as impassively as one can whisper. She winces, but doesn't turn away as I expected. "My parents left me three years ago, with no note explaining that they had left or saying whether they were. I still haven't been able to figure out why they left." Sabrina looks down again, but this time not for embarrassment. I sigh. Both of our life stories are depressing. "I guess we'll just have to look out for each other. Outsiders should stick together." She looks surprised, and I know what she was thinking. She was thinking that I would shut her out because of her suffering. Blame her for it. "Friends?" She offered her hand. Without hesitation I took it, and shook. "Friends then. Through all the bad and all the good, through every trial and every hardship." I meet her brown eyes, half expecting her to flinch from this vow of friendship. "Through all the bad and all the good, through every trial and every hardship. Friends forever." she repeats, and her smiles reaches all the way to her eyes. After a brief pause, considering whether or not to open up to her, I return her smile, and feel an emotion that I haven't felt in a long time. Joy.

Author's Note

Hey guys! I am SO SO sorry that I posted this late (and about the short chapter). I'll try to post updates on time from now on, this chapter was just really hard to write for some reason. It took me really long to start writing, so I only had the weekend for writing a 1000 words. I'm not a very fast writer, but I'll update again this week, probably on the weekend, as I have two band performances tomorrow, and a day of debates on Friday, so I'll be practicing for those with all my spare time. If anyone is wondering why I am referring just to myself (Sapphire Blue), it's because I mostly wrote this chapter because Shareez didn't have any internet, and had no time at school. Also, the next chapter will be in Sabrina's POV, seeing as I had a late and short update. I won't always do different POVs for second updates, just in this case I felt like it. Hehe. Anyway, I hope that you liked this chapter, please remember to vote and comment!