Kiran was never one for breaking rules, so he couldn't remember the last time he was sent to the Principal's office. He didn't even recognize it past its entrance. The secretary sat behind a large desk, never once looking up at anyone who came by. Kiran had taken a seat on one of the chairs, two away from Tweedle Dumb and 45, who had also been sent there following their stupid fight. On top of the severe back pain from before, Kiran was also sporting a pulsing black eye. He had managed to give the other two bruises, but not enough to make them suffer - or at least, not as much as he was. They glared at him, clenching their fists as if trying to threaten him further, but he pretended not to notice.

If he was about to get suspended, or expelled, he wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of knowing they got to him.

What would his parents say if he were to get expelled? He was supposed to keep himself in check, keep his head down until the year was over, then return to New York unscathed. What would they think of him now? He didn't want to burden them with his problems, not when his sister's condition was gradually worsening. Maybe he could give the Principal the wrong contact information, ask a friend to cover for him.

But the sad thing was that he had no friends left.

"Kiran Jones, Edwin Smithson and Bradford Hallburn - Principal Matthews will see the three of you now," the secretary said, still not looking up at them.

"Together?" Kiran asked. He didn't want them in the room when the Principal handed him his punishment.

"Yes, together. You can go right in. Hurry along. It's after-hours and we all want to go home."

***

It had been exactly one months, six days, five hours and twenty-three minutes since Leigh Brighton dyed her hair. The red had been a trademark of hers for seven years, so getting rid of it was like the end of an era. Keeping a calendar of the tragic yet totally necessary loss made perfect sense. She had also bought a new wardrobe - nothing expensive, though she did manage to find a bunch of designer stuff at her favourite vintage shop, ones that lined up well with her new circle of friends. She had of course lied to them about the purchase, telling them everything was brand new and one-of-a-kind.

It was a drastic change, but a change she felt she needed .Shedding her old look meant she was leaving her childhood and finally growing up. Getting a life. No longer spending every Saturday at home marathoning Veronica Mars.

The fact that Aiden Ryerson was her boyfriend was icing on the grown-up cake.

The only unfortunately thing in Leigh's otherwise perfect new life was the fact that Carter was missing. It was like she had left a giant, Carter-shaped hole in Leigh's heart - a hole that pinched Leigh's insides every time she saw Carter at school. But what was she supposed to do? Hold herself back forever? Deny herself growth, fun and popularity because Carter didn't want any of it?

No. She had lived in Carter's shadow for far too long. She didn't want to keep mourning the death of their friendship. What she wanted was to really move on. For good. Because if there was one thing she had learned last year, it was that sometimes you have to let it go.

"Hey, did you hear? Kiran Jones got suspended for fighting," Elena Trace told Leigh when they met up for lunch. They had decided, as always, to eat outside in the field. It had become their thing, for whenever the weather allowed it. Why be bothered with all the noise and irritation of the cafeteria when they could have an entire, beautiful field to themselves?

"What? Really?"

"Apparently him and these two other guys got into it over Carter," Elena explained.

"Yeah, right. Like anyone would fight over that gremlin," Ashton said, smirking. "More like the other two called her a whore, and Jones decided to be an idiot and start a fight."

The Carter-shaped hole in Leigh's heart pinched a little more, "She's not a whore."

Ashton's smirk seemed to grow, "Please. Who knows how many guys she's screwed? If that list is any indication, she's nasty. Probably full of STIs or STDs or whatever that shit is called."

"That list is fake. Who even started it? Probably some lonely nobody who thought it would be funny," Georgie Hudson chimed in.

 "I bet it was my brother," Silver Devlin, who had begun joining them for lunch every day, insisted. "He's been expelled twice before for pulling pranks and causing shit."

"Your brother's hot. Is he single?" Ashton asked.

"Sawyer's actually the one who told me about the fight. He said he was there when it happened, during detention," Elena said.

Ashton seemed annoyed that her question was ignored, "Again, is he single?"

"Why would Sawyer target Carter like that though? I mean sure, it's basically every girl in our grade, but Carter seems to have gotten it much worse." It still hurt Leigh whenever she saw Carter in pain. Was she a terrible person for not reaching out to Carter now? Don't be stupid. She's got Tala now. They're obviously best friends. She doesn't need you anymore, just like you don't need her. 

"My brother's a sick bastard. Who knows why he does anything? I'm his twin but I don't know a thing about him, other than the fact that he's absolutely crazy."

"Hey, bitches, is he single or what?" Ashton spoke, much louder than before.

"Why would you want to be with a guy like that?" Elena asked.

"Because any guy who hates Carter Vance as much as I do can't be all bad."

"It's funny... you hated Carter because you kept going on about how she stole Aiden. But that lasted only two seconds. Now that Aiden's with Leigh, and has been for months, you don't hate Leigh. In fact, you kiss her ass sometimes... yet you still totally hate Carter," Georgie said, then took a bite out of her sandwich.

"Yeah, well, some people transition better than others. And why would I hate the girl who made Carter's life miserable? We should all be kissing her ass, even if she does look like a muppet."

"I don't look like a muppet," Leigh mumbled, irritated. I should say something. I should tell them to stop talking about Carter. No. I shouldn't. She's not in my life anymore, and I shouldn't care.

"You look less like one now that you've dyed your hair. That red was disgusting on you. Now, back to my question... is Sawyer Devlin single?"

***

If the mirror in Carter's room could speak, it would probably tell her that reality is often distorted. Even if it might seem like everything was clear, there were always parts that were blurry, or distorted. Like a reflection. Maybe she could step through her mirror, into an opposite world where everything would make sense. Where she wasn't lonely. Where she would meet the man in white paper on a train, and he would promise her that everything would be okay.

"Are you done staring at yourself?" Tala asked as she flipped through a fashion magazine. She was sitting on Carter's bed, and they had spent the last hour going over Carter's options for extra-curricular activities.

"Have you ever noticed that you look different in every mirror? It's like... it's you, but variations of you. Like every mirror shows you something more, or something less."

"Whatever it is you've been smoking, you need to get off it."

"Shut up. I haven't been smoking anything. I just think that maybe I need to do something. Not an extra-curricular activity but like... something different. The more I stare at my reflection, the less I like where I am," Carter explained while examining the various imperfections on her face; the tiny mole near her right temple, the forever-healing scar below her right jaw, the two small pimples on her left cheek. People often said the scars you carry tell your story, but her story was meek and gnarled. She knew she probably wasn't making much sense, that she did sound rather high and confused. "Maybe I can leave. Go to another school."

"Running away from your problems isn't going to help."

"I don't see it as running away. I see it as a fresh start. And you're not one to talk. You literally slammed the door in Seth's face because you're scared of letting yourself like him."

"I'm not scared. I just don't want to allow myself to get all tangled up in a guy," Tala said, not once looking up from the magazine she was reading. "By the way, did you hear what happened with Kiran?"

"Damn it, Tala. I was about to get through an entire day without thinking about him. Thanks."

"Don't mention it, honey. Anyway, he got suspended," Tala informed, still not looking up. As if the news of Kiran getting suspended was not a big deal.

Carter whirled around a little too quickly, causing her to feel slightly light-headed. "Are you serious? Why?"

"Apparently it was over you. Some guys in detention, the one you skipped yesterday, said some nasty things about you, and he fought them. Or he tried. I heard he got his ass kicked."

"And you waited this long to tell me?" Carter hated herself for caring this much. She rushed to her cellphone, found Kiran's name in her contacts, and typed him a text asking if he was okay. Though just as she hit send, she regretted her action. Like Tala, Carter didn't want to get tangled up in a guy, especially if that guy was Kiran Jones. Not again. But then again, she wasn't heartless - or at least she tried not to be. Simply checking to see if he was okay wasn't a big deal. Was it?

A few seconds later, the three gray dots appeared on her messaging screen, telling her that he was already replying. She waited, staring at the dots as if her life depended on them. As if they measured the curves of her soul.