3: Elsy

The brightness of the sun almost blinded Ariana when she opened her eyes. "It's morning already?" she asked herself.

She sat up in her bed. Emily opened the door and smiled. "Good morning, Sweets," she said. "How are you feeling now?"

Ariana squinted her eyes. "What happened yesterday?" she asked her friend. Her head was feeling very fuzzy.

Emily said nothing. Instead, she went to the large bed and gave Ariana a big warm hug. "I'm just glad that you are alright," she muttered with a heavy voice.

This confused the redhead all the more. "What happened, Emily? Tell me," she said.

"Promise that you'll keep yourself together no matter what?" Emily said in a scared manner. In fact, she was scared, scared for the girl sitting opposite her.

"Um, sure. I promise," Ariana said reluctantly when she realized that the other girl was not going to say a word without her assurance.

Emily sighed heavily. "You went on a rampage after you heard the news," she said finally then quickly added, "But your mom was able to restrain you."

Ariana's throat ran dry. She did not need to rack her brain to remember the news that Emily was referring to but the thought of her going on a rampage was more disheartening. "How long did it last?" she asked as she stared at the rays of sunlight. She was too ashamed to look Emily in the eye.

"Not long, actually. This time, it took you a longer time to transform so your mom was able to put things under control before any major damage was done," she replied.

"I see," the redhead replied. "Do you now see why I take the bullying at school? Let this be a reminder to you of why I need those boys to bully me. It helps to keep me in check."

"That is just crazy, Ariana. If you could swallow your pride and approach your mother, then she might agree to teach you how to control your powers," Emily argued. "Letting those wild animals walk all over you will do nothing."

A nerve in Ariana snapped. "Do you think I haven't tried to ask that queen of evil to teach me?" she asked in annoyance. "You just sit down and think that just because I hate her, then I haven't tried to help myself."

"So you did ask her? Then what did she say?" Emily asked, refusing to believe that the other girl's mother would decide not to help her own daughter out.

"If you do not believe me, why don't you go downstairs and ask the bitch yourself?" she said. "Look, please don't get me angry this early morning. I need to get ready for school."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Today is Saturday, Ariana," she pointed out.

The other girl became alarmed. "How long was I asleep for?" she asked with a panicked look.

"Chill out. It was just a few hours, not days," Emily assured her and plopped herself on the bed beside her friend. "Didn't you know that yesterday was Friday?"

"I did not know, to be honest," Ariana replied. "I think I've been forgetting too many things recently."

"You always forget things, Sweets," Emily pointed out. "But yeah, you need to see a doctor because forgetting days of the week is dangerous. You aren't an old lady yet."

"Is that witch still here or has she gone to work?" Ariana asked as she put on her glasses to steady her vision a little.

"You know, you really have to learn how to respect your parents a little more," Emily said.

Ariana snorted. "I respect those who deserve it. I can't just throw my respect away to the dogs," she said and jumped out of bed, suddenly getting a burst of energy.

Emily rolled her eyes after her. "If you don't accord them some respect, I might stop visiting," Ariana heard the other girl say as she closed the door to the bathroom. She rolled her eyes because she knew that there was nothing in this world that could stop that stubborn brunette from coming to her house.

She took out her phone from the pocket of her shorts and went straight to her playlist. She found the song she was looking for: Monster by Eminem and Rihanna. As the song started, she internally wished that she could actually be friends with that monster in her.

She stared at herself in the big mirror opposite her. "I wish I could recognize you, but I don't," she told her reflection. "When will you come back, Ariana? I'm tired of being what you can't be. Pretending to be someone else is difficult."

She placed her face close to the mirror and just gazed at the skin. She held her hair and looked at it through the mirror. Emily was right, it was indeed turning purple. "I guess I should have seen it coming, huh," she said out loud.

"Ariana, I want you back but I'm also scared of what will happen upon your return," she said to the reflection. "I am afraid of the havoc you will wreck if I let you come back."

"So you mean you enjoy having mere humans turn you into a rag?" her reflection replied to her. Tears of joy and anger fell from the physical Ariana's eyes. She never thought the Inner Her would respond. She had been trying to get them to talk for weeks.

"I don't know. I know that it annoys you but I also know your abilities. I don't want anyone to die again, Ariana," the physical girl said.

"I will tell you again, my name is Elsy," the reflection said. "Again, this conversation will lead nowhere. I only wanted to honor your call in case you had anything meaningful to say to me."

"I just wanted to talk…Elsy," she said with a shaky voice. "Sometimes, I really need you here. I feel like I might go crazy soon."

The reflection smiled wickedly. "Just take that as your punishment for caging me," she said. "Sorry but there is not much I can do until you come to terms with yourself."

For a brief moment, Elsy showed herself in her true form before fading away.