Scarlett grabbed the mirror from her. "That's enough. Exposure to the mirror for too long can have side effects."
"I was part of the popular crowd," Sarah said, still shocked by it. "I was a fucking cheerleader."
Athena and Stephanie looked uneasily towards each other. How would this affect their friendship? While it was true that Sarah wasn't like that now, they would always know that she wasn't supposed to be their friend or even a Goth.
"Who at your school would want to turn a cheerleader into a Goth?" Scarlett asked Athena.
"Lots of people hate cheerleaders," Athena said. "I could see someone cursing a cheerleader to being a Goth. I've fantasized about it a few times. But I'm not stupid enough to play with that level of magic. I'm not advanced enough, and its too dangerous."
"And even the original Sarah's memories might not hold the key to who did this to her, if they did so from a distance," Scarlett said.
"Good. No way I'm letting you turn me into that bitch in the mirror, even if I am supposed to be her," Sarah said.
"Unless we find the source and reverse it, there's no point in restoring her. Everyone affected would remember only you, Sarah. But, even if we cannot reverse this," which Sarah hoped she couldn't, "we can't leave someone out there with this power if we can stop it. What if tomorrow they turn one of us into something new?"
"Can you give us something to protect ourselves outside? What if whoever it is comes after us?"
"Against magic that can change reality itself? That sort of ward you can't wear around your neck." She thought about it. "The best we could do is a pendant that, if reality changed, wouldn't change with it. It wouldn't be full protection, but you would subconsciously be prompted to return here, where I could help you remember." Scarlett lived above the shop, and until she found out what was going on, she wasn't sure she wanted to go out.
