"Ariel, you have three minutes till I walk out this door!" My mother called from the bottom of the stairwell.

"I'm getting there! Ow!" I yelped, accidentally poking myself in the eye with my mascara wand. "Ugh!" With a huff, I yanked one of my makeup remover wipes from the box and scrubbed away the mascara, which, was now right on the bridge of my nose. "Of course." I mumbled, covering up the now raw red spot on my nose with concealer. 

"Ya know, if you weren't such a klutz, that wouldn't be a problem." And there she was, right on cue. Leira.

I couldn't really describe where Leira came from, she was always just, well, there. There, as in, inside of my mirror. I know, I know, that's not possible. But yet here we are, and Leira is inside my mirror, making degrading comments about me. Quite the opposite of the magic mirror, who was much fairer than she. Ever since I was little she was there, and the older I've gotten the nastier she's become. She's my mirror twin, and I'm her victim. Cool, right? Not. 

She follows me wherever I go. Well, wherever I can see my reflection, that is. In the display cases in the school halls, my compact, even the steel shower head. Leira always complains in the shower because her face gets distorted in the circular shower head, so she can't see straight. I don't think there's that much she needs to see when we're in there anyway.

Leira was just a part of my life I couldn't get rid of. I've gotten used to her, though. When I was younger my parents tried everything to get me away from what they thought was an "unhealthy attachment to an imaginary friend", but eventually they just gave up and I grew up, soon realizing I couldn't talk to Leira in public. That's also when I learned no one else could see her.

"You know, if you weren't trapped in the mirror, I could really punch you in the face." I retorted. That was Leira's soft spot. The fact that she would never be able to walk a normal life like I could. In fact, that's probably why she has grown to hate me so much. I could do things that she couldn't and that's why she wants to make me suffer. Karma, I suppose.

My favorite part of my morning routine had arrived. The part where I got to close my makeup mirror with a triumphant slam, silencing Leira for a few brief seconds before I walked outside, where there was a giant mirror along the hall. As soon as I came into what I had dubbed the "reflection zone" of the mirror outside, I held my hand up, trying to silence Leira. Not that it worked.

"Don't even try." Leira whispered with a menacing smile. 

"Ariel, that's it! Call Josiah if you want a ride." My mother slammed the door and anger, and I sighed as the garage door shut. 

"Great." I took a deep breath in, and exhaled it slowly. With an expert hand, I whipped my phone out and called Josiah.

"Hey babe, what's up?" Josiah's deep voice always gave me butterflies, even when it was over the phone. "Wait, hold on." I stifled a laugh as Josiah attempted to cover the mouthpiece as he yelled at his brothers to shut up. "Okay, what did you want?"

"I need a ride..." My voice faltered at the end. Josiah had given me rides for half the school year, since I couldn't seem to get myself out the door and couldn't drive yet. The perks of having a junior boyfriend when you are a freshman are galactic. 

Josiah let out a long sigh, and I could almost see him rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. It probably didn't help that I lived on the other side of town. "Look, Ariel. This is the last time I can do this. Got it?" Before I could even answer Josiah hung up the phone. Not that it mattered, he always said it was the "last" time to do anything, but he always gave in. 

Smiling, I skipped into the kitchen and threw some random fruits and ice into my mom's blender, hoping it would taste good. "You know, kiwi and mangoes don't mix all that well." Leira remarked from the fridge. Her distorted figure made me spit out the water I was drinking and I howled with laughter. 

"You look ridiculous!" I chuckled, trying to stop my giggles.

"Well, I am your reflection." Leira shot me a deathly glare and faded away. Oh, that was the other thing about Leira. She just came and went when she pleased, as long as there was a place where I could see my reflection. Sometimes I could look in the mirror and she wasn't there! Ah, the miracles of life.

Just as my smoothie had blended to a perfect consistency, I heard Josiah's car pull up and him beep the horn, urging me to get out there. Carefully but quickly, I dumped my shake into a lidded cup and grabbed my bag. Josiah was waiting at the door and grabbed my bag from me, ushering me in the car as my flip-flops clacked on the asphalt. 

"You," Josiah pointed to me. "Are a pain in the neck." 

I smiled bitter-sweetly. "That's what I'm here for." 

Leira appeared in the rear view mirror. "Me too!" She exclaimed. I rolled my eyes as Josiah put the car in gear and pulled out of the driveway.