This is episode seven, ?Reflective Glass? of the Harven High series. If you haven?t read the previous episodes, I highly recommend reading them before reading this; otherwise you may be confused.

We stand there gazing out the opaque glass
Through the looking screen we this sight
A tale of suffering and pain delight
We stare closely with all our might
To see our reflections come to pass

"Who are you looking good for?" Shanda questioned Emily as the two of them stood in front of the mirror of the girl's bathroom. It?s already been two weeks since Emily broke up with her ex-boyfriend Ryan. He had been suspended for two weeks ever since he got into a fight at the dance. Jason, however still had one more week of suspension left to serve because of the fake entry he dropped in.
"I don't know," Emily slowly stated. With her right hand, she started tweaking her hairstyle, moving strands of hairs to different places and fluffing up random sections. After she was finished, she continued to stare at her new image in the mirror. It was very different from the hairstyle that she usually carried from a day-to-day basis.

"You're trying to make him jealous aren't you?" Shanda asked.
"Maybe I am," Emily answered plainly. Shanda shook her head, swaying from left to right. She obviously knew the answer to that question.
"Hey, do you hear something?" Shanda asked, hearing a series of heavy breathing coming from the set of stalls next to them.
"Oh Sally!" A deep voice moaned from within the stalls. Emily and Shanda both froze in silence, covering their mouth that now hung wide from the presence of a masculine voice. Both Emily and Shanda carefully tipped-toed near the stalls, wondering what was possibly inside.
"Shhh... Be quiet Jimmy they can hear you," A soft voice whispered from within the same stall. Both girls tried so hard to keep a straight face; it would only be a matter of seconds before one of them would erupt. Emily pointed towards the bathroom door and Emily and Shanda slowly walked out before causing a scene.

"What the hell was that?" Shanda shouted out loud as soon as they exited the girl's bathroom.
"That's gross. Why would somebody even consider such things?" Emily suggested with a sour expression on her face.
"That's why I make sure there's plenty of tissue on those toilet seats," Shanda assured her.
"I'm gonna go to class now," Emily said, changing the subject. She slowly turned away from the bathroom and started walking down the hallway.
"I guess I'll go to class too. Hate to be around when those two come out," Shanda agreed following closely behind Emily.
"Do you think Mrs. Graham will let me switch seats?" Emily asked.
"It's worth a try, but don't count on it," Shanda answered.

Emily and Shanda continued walking down the hallway until they both reached the art room. They both walked inside and stood next to their assigned canvas, which clearly indicated they were going to paint today. As expected, Mrs. Graham refused to change Emily?s seating arrangement and remained seated next to her ex-boyfriend Ryan. It was only a matter of time before he walked into the classroom. When he finally appeared, with ease he walked over to his assigned canvas, avoiding all contact with Emily whatsoever.

`Maybe, he really is over me. I must have dumped him good,? Emily thought to herself. Class soon started shortly afterwards, with Mrs. Graham giving the students directions on what to paint. Still Ryan remained unusually silent, isolating himself from the others around him.

Emily couldn't bear to be ignored. She wanted him to do something, at least glance at her and look at her new hairstyle; or even say some rude comment. She looked over and stared at him, as he played his little mind game with her. He pretended not to notice, holding the paintbrush firmly in his hand and filling up the canvas with an assortment of colors. Emily held her breath and probably asked the most the pathetic thing she could have said in this situation.

"Can I use your red paint? I'm all out." She said as confident as she could.
"Here," He answered, handing her the red paint like nothing had ever happened between the two of them. Emily bit her lip. She was dazed and confused. A part of her wished he had said something mean to her. She wanted to argue with him, make him feel jealous and miserable; however he was all too content with the situation.

"You know, the only reason I went out with you was because I felt sorry. You were so pathetic, I couldn't imagine saying no," Emily blurted out. A rush of adrenaline just shot right out of her. She couldn't believe she had just said that to him.
"That's okay. You weren't a good girlfriend to begin with," Ryan said smoothly, not even flinching at her statement.
"That's because I was your only girlfriend Ryan! You're a terrible kisser by the way. I?ve gotten better kisses from my neighbor's dog," Emily retorted.
"Hmm... It?s nice to know you really are a female dog," He said with ease. Emily's mouth hung wide open, she was speechless and out of comebacks. She stared at the ground, with both hands formed into fists. She wanted to attack him, but she couldn't, and even if she did she would get humiliated.

'Come on Emily. Think of a damn comeback,' She said to herself, but it was too late. Ryan was already refocused in his work. Even if she had said something, Ryan would probably have an even worse comeback waiting for her. She sighed inwardly, admitting to defeat. Lazily she grabbed her paintbrush and dipped it into the red paint. After smothering her brush with color, she stroked her brush against the empty canvas. She had already fallen greatly behind within the period and needed to catch up quickly.

The next several class periods swiftly zoomed by. Before long it was already lunchtime. The students all rushed out of the classrooms as soon as the bell rang. They eagerly ran down to the lunchroom hoping to get a good place in line, but it wasn't long before the line soon lengthened. Brendan found himself somewhere towards the end of the line standing next to Kenny.

"What?s for lunch today?" Kenny asked Brendan.
"I don't know. I always get salad," Brendan said slightly annoyed.
"Hold my spot in line. I'm going to go check," Kenny requested. Brendan sighed, and then nodded his head and watched Kenny slowly exit the long line. Shortly after, Kenny came back to the line, re-entering where he last stood.
"Today's special is pork burrito, refried beans, and Spanish rice. Sounds delicious," Kenny announced to him. Brendan couldn't help but laugh.
"It sounds more like Monday surprise to me," He disagreed.

"I guess just pizza and fries then," Kenny told him.
"Do you know how much salt they put in those fries and how much grease is in that pizza?" He questioned him.
"Brendan you're practically bones, get some fat on your bones," Kenny suggested.
"Whatever... Don't you feel the least bit guilty? Jason's still suspended because of you," He questioned, changing the subject about school lunches.
"A little, more relieved that I'm not in trouble," Kenny answered.
"It's your fault he's suspended. You're the dumb ass who came up with that stupid plan. And of all people, why did you tell Ryan?" Brendan continued to question him.
"I'm sorry I'm so damn stupid. Just drop it Brendan. It's done and over with. He'll be back next week," Kenny assured him.

Brendan remained silent, not saying another word for the duration of the time he stood in line. He was beginning to hate Kenny's guts. Then he wondered why he even sat at that lunch table in the first place. He only sat there because Jason did. He wasn't friends with any of the other guys nor did he like them. He only remained at that table for Kylie and the interesting conversations the guys always brought up. At last Brendan finally reached the service counter; he grabbed his salad from off the fridge and paid for his meal. He walked over to his usual lunch table, quickly noticing how empty it looked. The only one sitting there was Ben and surprisingly Emily. Trevor was always late to lunch and Kylie appeared whenever.

He carefully sat down in the chair; tension had already arisen the moment he looked up. He was seated across from Ben and next to Emily on his left hand side. He made little eye contact with them and instead focused on eating his meal. Within seconds, Kenny soon joined them taking his seat next to Ben. Only two more chairs remained on both opposite ends of the table.

"Emily, what are you doing here?" Kenny popped the question. Brendan smiled as the awkward silence was finally broken.
"I just thought I would sit here today. Ryan's back and he'll probably be sitting at my old table," Emily answered.
"Hey, you can sit here everyday. I don't mind," Kenny smiled, eyeing the prize that rested below her neckline. Emily rolled her eyes and gave him an "I don't think so" look.

"You're sitting in Kylie's seat," Brendan rudely pointed out.
"So... it's not like she can't sit somewhere else," Emily said a bit frustrated. Brendan closed his mouth, failing to object to her. Once again the awkward silence amongst the table reformed, leaving Brendan to chew on his watered down salad. He jammed the pieces of lettuce in his mouth, hoping Kylie would soon show up. And before long he saw her slowly approaching, only someone else was with her. He slumped down into his chair, already assuming that she would not sit at the table.

"Is that the table you keep talking about?" Angela asked, walking closely behind her.
"Yeah, but Emily's there. Let's sit somewhere else," Kylie suggested. The girls walked past the table leaving the boys disappointed. They sat down at the table across from Kylie's usual table, where Ryan usually sat.
"Who's the carrot top?" Angela pointed to the red headed kid sitting next to her.
"I don't know. I always see him sitting with them. Why don't you ask him?" Kylie answered.
"What's your name?" Angela curiously asked.
"Hi, I'm John," He answered with his voice nearly cracking. Angela rudely turned away and faced back towards Kylie.
"Damn, I can't believe it. Seriously, what makes her think she can take my seat?" Kylie complained.

"She's probably jealous, or she wants to piss everyone off. Her sitting there would get both you and Ryan mad," Angela stated.
"Sorry, if I?d known this would have happened I wouldn't have made you skip class," Kylie apologized.
"I felt like skipping anyways. Oh look, there he is," Angela stopped as Ryan stood in front of them.
"Why are you two sitting here?" He asked a bit puzzled. Both girls in unison pointed at Emily who looked fairly uncomfortable sitting at that table.
"I don't know what her deal is," Ryan said as he sat down in the chair next to Kylie.
"Me neither. She's got a lot of issues. She was pretty plain and simple at our school. I don't know why she just felt it was necessary to change. I guess its not working out," Kylie explained.

"Hi Ryan!" John said eagerly with a huge grin on his face. Ryan nodded, and then turned away from him, now facing the girls.
"If it makes you feel any better. I kinda feel sorry for you. I mean, you practically lost your friends over her and she wasn't even worth it," Kylie reassured him.
"Yeah, but enough about her... What brings you two here?" He asked, raising a left eyebrow at them.
"We wanted to sit with you Ryan," Angela began to tease in a flirty voice. The four of them all laughed, including John who pretended like he was a part of the conversation.
"Did I ever tell you I dated Brendan in the eighth grade?" Angela said causally.
"You dated Brendan?" Kylie immediately asked.
"Yeah, for like a week. I couldn't even get him to hold my hand. I nearly had to force a kiss on him. I felt bad, because it might have been his first kiss," Angela explained.
"I remember that. He tried to keep it a secret, but the whole grade knew about it," Ryan joined in.

"You still like him Kylie?" Angela joked.
"No! I never liked him! Seriously, the only one pathetic enough to date him is May. Besides, I have my sights on someone else," Kylie said angrily.
"Who? Him?" Angela asked, pointing at Ryan.
"Hell no! Sorry, didn't mean it like that Ryan," Kylie shouted, then lowered her voice.
"It's okay. I wouldn't date my ex's sister anyways," Ryan said coolly.
"Well I don't really like it. It's more of a curious obsession," Kylie continued on.
"Who?" Angela spat out.
"Ben Connor," She said sweetly.
"Who's Ben Connor?" Ryan, Angela, and John all asked.
"He's right over there in the light green shirt, right across from Brendan. He's really shy and quiet. I don't know a thing about him. I ask, but he won't tell me," Kylie explained.

"That's because you're so damn weird. I don't even know why I'm friends with you," Angela teased.
"Why don't you just stalk him?" Ryan suggested.
"Stalk him?" Kylie said a bit puzzled.
"I don't know, follow him home. Peak in his windows, dig for more info on him," Ryan explained, feeling a bit awkward to answer.
"I'm guessing you've done this before?" Angela asked.
"Actually it sounds like a fun idea. I might actually try it," Kylie agreed.
"Why the hell are you looking at me for? I'm not helping you," Angela refused.
"I can't stalk him alone," Kylie said a bit disappointed.
"Good luck with that," Ryan smirked. He grabbed his plate, got up slowly from his seat and walked over to the garbage can and threw out his food. Upon returning to the table the lunch monitor blew the whistle, dismissing everyone for lunch.

Ryan took his merry time strolling through the hallways to his last period of the day. He was actually quite surprised that no really said anything to him about the fight. He was expecting people to call him "wimp" for getting beat down, and then kicking the other person in the... area that hurts the most. Casually he walked into his English class and sat down in his familiar chair. John hadn't arrived yet, so Ryan leisurely sat back in his chair, enjoying what time he had before John would annoy him.

"Hey," A voice whispered to him. Alertly he sat up in his chair and searched the classroom from where the voice came from. Finally he noticed that the voice came from the girl who sat right next to him, he looked up at her with somewhat of a sour expression.
"Yeah," Ryan answered.
"Just wanted to give you a heads up about the kid you sit next to," The girl replied.
"John? What about him?" He asked a bit puzzled.

"I don't know. He's a little weird. Since you?ve been gone, all that kid talks about is you. It's a little creepy if you ask me. He says he's been doing all your homework and misses you sitting next to him," The girl explained. The girl pursed her lips together sealing it closed tight.

Before Ryan could even say anything, John had already entered the room and sat down. Ryan turned around, taking a brief glance at John. His front teeth stuck out, along with chapped lips that rested above and below. He then started to smile as he released a stack of papers and books from his arms. Ryan was in utter shock and speechless of what to even do. Then John began to speak, the saliva stuck to the roof of his mouth now swished all over and John said the most frightening words.

"When I become a sophomore, I wanna be just like you," John said like seven year old child.
"Ah uh" The girl next to him reacted, quite appalled. Ryan began to bite his lips. He didn't know what to say. The first option at the top of his head was to punch the kid right in the nose and then dig right into his face, giving him two black eyes. However, he couldn't. He didn't want to hurt John's feelings; the boy had grown emotionally attached to him.
'Do I tell him the truth or let this sick game continue on?' He said to himself.
"Um... John" Ryan started, but was interrupted by Ms. Beverly walking into the classroom. Ryan immediately brought his attention to the front of the room and listened to Ms. Beverly lecture. He kept quiet for the remainder of the hour and tried to endure sitting next to him.

Ryan survived and at last, the last bell ending the class period rung. John handed Ryan a huge stack of papers and books and merrily walked out of the classroom. Ryan got up from his chair and grabbed his belongings. He shoved what took John both arms, into his left arm. With his right hand he pushed in his chair and watched Brendan slowly exit the classroom.
"Hey, Brendan!" Ryan called out.
"Hi," He answered and continued walking, leaving Ryan behind in the classroom.
'Damn, what the hell did I do to him? Suddenly he hates me too,' Ryan said to himself. He took a deep breath, and then walked out of the classroom, ending his first day back.

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And now we return to Harven High?

Emily sluggishly walked up the stairs to the front doors of the school. The worst day of the week had just ended and Tuesday was her chance to pick up from her faults. She continued walking up the stairs, soon approaching the apple statue. She spotted Shanda sitting down on the bench, which was typical. She walked to the bench and sat down beside her.

"Girl what's wrong? You look pretty down," Shanda asked as Emily sat down.
"Nothing really. I don't know, the whole making Ryan jealous thing didn't work. He didn't seem to notice or care," Emily told her.
"Well at least you are seeing the real him. Forget him, he's already over you. Why aren't you? Emily there's guys out there probably dying to date you. You just gotta get your head of the gutter," Shanda suggested.

"I thought about maybe having a long distance relationship, with my ex-boyfriend Alex," Emily said slowly.
"Oh come on! You know those things don't work. The guy always ends up cheating on you," Shanda disagreed.
"Alex wouldn't cheat on me. I know him too well. I really miss him. I think we could somehow work it out," Emily explained.
"Whatever. Good luck with that," Shanda answered, showing some negativity in her tone.
"What's the matter, something troubling you?" Emily asked.
"I don't know. It's nothing really, just a little lonely. May's been kinda ignoring me lately. Just a mixture of things I guess," Shanda answered, looking off to the distance.
"Sounds complicated... At least you don't have a younger sister that's totally out to get you. I swear. She was sitting with Ryan yesterday at lunch. What the hell was that?" Emily complained.