Halfway through the day and Jessie still feels disjointed with reality. No matter what she does she can’t shake the fear left behind from the nightmare. Their screams still echo in her head. She pushes her lunch away, her appetite gone. If she is going to return to the happy feelings from yesterday she needs to shake this dream. Already she has lost some of the vibe by her jumpiness all morning, freaking out at the smallest noise. Maybe she is finally going crazy like her mother always suspected.

Jessie watches some of her classmates walk by, pointing at her and whispering. Another reason to get herself under control, the rumors were starting thanks to her episode this morning. She still can’t believe she had screamed when someone had tapped on her shoulder to pass papers forward. Ghosts can’t attack people - pranks yes, attack no. Which is why there is no reason for her to be so uptight from a stupid nightmare. She doesn’t want to be known as crazy or the witch girl here. All Jessie wants is a normal, peaceful life. She pulls her pants leg up wanting to check on her throbbing bruises. She still isn’t sure how she managed to hurt herself during the nightmare. The bruises almost seem to look like a dozen tiny handprints, or maybe that is the fear talking. It makes more sense that she just kicked a bed post when trying to wake herself up. Things from her dreams couldn’t actually harm her in real life.

She yawns, starting to feel her four am bike ride. Jessie had reached town by five exhausted. She stands up shuffling out of the lunchroom behind her classmates. Thankfully she hadn’t appeared out of place arriving at the diner at such an early hour. As she had sat in the diner she noticed that most of the town ate their breakfast there. She had watched all the people going in and out. Seeing almost every resident.

One person she never saw was the boy from her dream. Jessie is sure it’s someone she had seen lately. Friends appearing in dreams type of situation. Since there isn’t that many people in Solace she thinks it should be easy to spot him. Reality is much different than her hopes. Since most of her class now found her slightly different she is afraid to ask any of them about the strange boy. She’s on her own to piece this mystery back together. Proving to herself that she isn’t crazy. For some reason Jessie just can’t let it go. Something about the nightmare feels real, like when she slips into their world. If that is the case that means there is some truth to the red hands and the strange red creature. Maybe it is good that she hasn’t found the mystery boy. The idea of any of that nightmare being true makes her anxiety level rise.

Jessie jumps as someone coughs in the distance, pulling her out of her thoughts. She snaps back into reality. Focus. She doesn’t need another incident like this morning. The whispering of her classmates proves that they’re starting to wonder about her. Think. What is a good way to wake herself up and stay alert? She notices a bathroom sign out of the corner of her eye. Perfect. She slides out of the line and into the bathroom. Splashing some water on her face should keep her awake for the afternoon classes.

She slides her bag off her shoulder and she kicks it under the sink. As she turns on the water Jessie casts a glance at her reflection in the mirror. Besides the giant bags under her eyes she notices a piece of silver hair peeking through. Real attractive. She makes a note to go buy a box brown hair dye after school. Finally the water is turning from brown to a more normal color. She makes a mental note to check on that later to see if it’s actually safe to consume this water. She bends down and buries her face in the cold water. It feels soothing and her senses are returning to normal. It feels like she is finally able to shake off the last parts of the nightmare. There’s a scratching noise above her, like tiny nails on a chalkboard. Curious Jessie stops splashing water on her face and glances up. She doesn’t want a rat or something dropping on her head.

A reflection of a small child appears in the mirror, their face is covered by long black hair. Her head snaps around. Empty. No one’s there. Reluctantly she looks back at the mirror, afraid of the truth. The child stands motionless in the mirror. Her mouth goes dry. Keeping an eye on the mirror, Jessie reaches for the handles, shutting off the water. She wants no surprises. Jessie tries to keep her eyes on the mirror as she bends under the sink to grab her bag. The child darts forward, slamming her hands on the mirror. Shimmering red handprints paint the mirror. A squeak escapes her lips. Jessie stumbles backwards and out the door wanting to get far away from the bathroom.

The hallway has changed during her short trip to the bathroom. A dark cloud seems to have settled in much like the tunnel vision she got back in Wayport. Dozens of ghosts have moved inside the school. Just take deep breaths and focus on reality, Jessie tells herself. While this isn’t normal, there is no reason to let them torment her. If she ignores them, maybe they won’t notice and bother her. Jessie closes her eyes as she tries to count to ten in her head. The important part is to stay in control. As she starts to walk away from the bathroom she hears a loud cackle behind her. She can’t stop herself from running around the corner to her class.