Sarah had always gotten along better with her grandmother than she did with her own mother. It wasn’t that her mother was a bad mother. Just she was always at the office and when she got home she was exhausted. It was a similar thing with her father. Both her parents had leadership positions at the companies they worked at. And she certainly enjoyed the expensive taste it allowed her to have. But something about the corporate world had changed her mother. She began to hold herself with an indomitable, fortress-like air at all times. It was better when she was home but still. It was hard to approach her about things like the boy she had a crush on or whatever insignificant worries plagued her younger self. She didn’t even consider bringing the revelation that she was bisexual. That was never happening. At the time of the revelation, she wished she could go to her grandmother. But...Well...She couldn't.
She still wanted to take these worries to her because she was the opposite of her mother. The most approachable, friendly person she’d ever met. She had even caught her mother many times crying into the phone with her grandmother on the other end with the problem of the month, whether that was with work or her marriage. And afterward, she always noticed that her parents were happier. Once she’d even caught her mother and father crying one late night not into their phone but into her grandmother’s shoulders. It turned out her grandmother had driven the 2-hour drive to their town to comfort them in the middle of the night after her mother’s miscarriage.
Those were a rough couple of months. But as always with her grandmother around, things got better. Often better than they ever were before, somehow. Unfortunately, she never got to tell her about the girls she now had crushes on alongside the boys. Or how in high school she never really made any real friends, except maybe her fellow cheerleader Rachel. Or how she wanted to major in material science in college. These things no one knew, no one would ever know. Until at least she got out of this retched high school. In the meantime, she needed to hold on to the few things that kept her sane, her status, her “friends”, and bullying those two nitwits; Jon Gibson and Karyn whateverhernamewas.
Well, she did have one thing left of her grandmother. The thought bringing a soft smile to her face as she looked down on the silver chain bracelet, she had left to her. It felt old. It looked old, as if made before modern jewelry techniques were developed. It was a family heirloom that was passed down from generation to generation, and no one really remembered where it came from. It always made her feel more present, grounded somehow. Which was a strange feeling for an object to give and she hadn’t given it much thought until now. Her grandmother had told her it would help ward off “foreign magics” whatever that meant. Apparently, it was fallible and wasn’t 100% reliable but it was better than nothing. Or so her grandmother said. She had thought her grandmother was losing it at the time. But now, she wasn’t so sure.
At the start of the week, she started feeling pulses from the bracelet. Making her look around, and take in her surroundings. Initially, she ignored it. But then she noticed that a branch on the old elm tree that had fallen of in front of the school was blue. BLUE! She’d asked her groupies but was quickly laughed off. “The old elm always had a blue branch. It's part of the mythos of the school. Even in the school song. Everyone was devastated when it fell off.”
That had just left her feeling more confused than before. But she kept noticing things. Not always as obvious. Not always clear. Later that day she was walking down the hall and looked across and saw Karyn talking with Jon with her stupid blonde hair and too large boobs. She had scoffed. Sarah was the only one who could pull off that look and make it look good. But she hit a roadblock in her thoughts. Looked back at Karyn as she walked by. Something wasn’t right. Something with her hair and boobs. She figured this must have been what her grandmother was talking about. The bracelet being fallible. Still, she couldn’t figure what felt wrong. She thought about it for several days and finally gave up. Evidently, she would never figure out why she got that strange sense of déjà vu.
It happened again a few days later. She was walking down the hallway with her cronies, and she passed that nitwit Jon Gibson’s sister. She was still pretty obnoxious but a vast improvement over her brother. Despite her poor fashion choice. But something was off again as her bracelet pulsed.
“Hey, when did Zoe Gibson get so… hot?” Sarah asked.
“What are you a lesbian Sarah?” one of them shot back.
“N...no of course not. Just… she looks different.”
"You know we wouldn't mind if you're lesbian. You know that right?"
"Yeah I know. But I'm not. Okay." Sarah replied through gritted teeth.
“She doesn’t look any different to me. But you would notice. You’re always complaining about how you could never pull off any of those looks,” replied the one she could never remember the name of…Jessica? Jessie? J something. Not that it mattered.
“I would have remembered saying something like…” Sarah trailed off. It happened again. Like the tree branch. Or whatever was up with Karyn. She would get to the bottom of this. On her own. Not like any of the other cheerleaders were smart enough to figure anything out. Yes… She would solve this mystery. Give herself something to do at this bore of a school.
She pulled herself out of her thoughts, walking towards the entrance to her homeroom class. Gently fingering her grandmother's bracelet. She stopped this once she noticed what she was doing. Straightened herself out into a pose more suitable for the great Sarah McMillian and stepped into the classroom. Quickly making her way to her desk. Sitting down gracefully. She hated Mondays. She had to fight the temptation to rub her eyes. Knowing it would ruin her mascara.
Great those two dunderheads Karyn and Jon were late again. Sarah scoffed. She hated them. Ruining the school’s reputation. Or what reputation the school still had. Ugh.
“Jen Gibson?” the homeroom teacher asked, taking attendance. Pulling Sarah out of her daze. “Jen Gibson? Does anyone know if she will be here today?”
The teacher was promptly cut off as two girls barged through the homeroom door with little grace. She immediately recognized one as that dumpster fire of a girl Karyn. But the second…
“Don’t mark Jen Gibson or Karyn Black absent we’re here.” The new girl called. One of the more attractive girls Sarah had ever seen. Silky smooth shoulder-length hair which had a slight wave to it. Amber eyes. Kissable lips. Blouse showing the contour and just the top of her cleavage almost covered by a tight leather jacket that did nothing to conceal the girl’s to die for curves. All rounded out by a tight pair of jeans that showcased her incredible ass.
The new girl looked to Sarah, eyes narrowed. Sarah quickly looked away blushing. Sometimes she wished she was asexual, so she didn’t have to be attracted to these sycophants.
Wait
A
Minute
Jen Gibson? There wasn’t a Jen Gibson at their school. Did Jon have a sister she didn’t know about? She looked around the room and no one seemed to find it strange. Looking to her fellow cheerleaders she heard some mumbling about “They're always late” and similar admonishments.
She looked back at the new girl examining her again. There was something familiar about her. The tingling in her bracelet intensifying as if to encourage the thought. Then it all clicked. It didn’t quite make sense, but she knew it was true, somehow. It had to be her grandmother’s bracelet.
The girl who was too attractive for her own good, now sitting down babbling with Karyn was somehow Jon Gibson. She quickly looked away, hoping to not draw their attention. Getting a few strange looks from her cheerleaders until they went back to whatever pop culture magazine bullshit they were talking about.
Something was going on here. And she was the only one who noticed. And she was going to solve it… Somehow… she hadn’t worked that part out yet. But she would solve it. That was for sure.
