Chapter 2: Yeah, I'm seeing things

"Are you sure that you want to live here, miss?" The cabman asked with a little worry, "this house is haunted, no one lives here."

"Great, now it is an haunted house."

"I own the house, sir, my older sister gave it to me. Thank you for your concern and goodbye." He understood the harshness in my tone. I opened the door and stepped out, breathing in the fresh air. The others joined me. The cabmen came out and helped us drop our things, we paid and sent them off.

I unlocked the door and opened it. The house looked seriously unkept, like no one had been in there for hundreds of years, but yet the house was still strong. The furniture didn't look any bit worn out.

"Nothing a little clean up won't do," Sage said buoyantly.

"Humph," Judith grunted, "I'm not cleaning anything, don't involve me."

"I'm so renting an apartment," Emy said to herself. I ignored them, even though the house did feel strange.

After dropping our bags in our rooms, we set off to work. We shared the chores between us and even forced Judith to clean with us. She might have screamed and nagged, and nagged, and nagged and whined and cried, but she did her part. In the morning, we arranged our clothes and the kitchen and was finally done by dust. We didn't realise we forgot to eat, Sage cooked for us. Then it was time to add the finishing touch to our disguise. That was learning how to use different accent and voice.

As you know, Sage was a blonde haired girl with golden brown eyes. You already know what she changed into. Her usual dress style was rebel punk and gothic vintage, but she bought a whole new style of clothes. Sporty chic and tomboyish style. I kept telling her it wasn't much difference to me, but she wouldn't listen, none of them ever listens!

Judith had always been the prom queen chic and vintage chic kind of girl, so it was hell getting her to switch to Gothic Victoria and punk. Judith had honey blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes, the reason she was called honey. Our hairstylist dyed her hair black and wore her coal black eye lens, said it made her look like someone else and she was right. Then she cut it into a neat asymmetric Bob with blunt tip fringe.

Emerald, the crazy witch dyed her hair emerald to match her eyes but wore almond shaped glasses. She normally had her hair in waves, but straightened it. Then she changed her flamboyant eye blinding colours to something simple and moderate, girl next door to be precise.

As for me, it's not like I had any particular style, I had always been the type to wear whatever comes into my head, anything at all. I, however, never dyed my hair or liked any other colour than my natural cinnamon and ginger crinkly hair. So the only thing I had to do was wear glasses over my steel blue eyes with Kelly green shade. I went for the only dress style I hadn't drifted to, boho-chic. And with a well sewed on ash blond wig, I was ready to go.

It was time to begin a new adventure.

I wish we didn't.

~~~

"Now, what should I wear?" Emy asked for the umpteenth time that morning. We were getting ready for classes, a week after we arrived at Willow Spring, "should I wear the blue button sheath dress? Or the green dotted dress?"

"For the two hundred and twenty forever time! Wear the sheath dress!" I shouted exasperatedly.

She whined and stomped her feet childishly, "but if I wear the blue, it wouldn't bring out my eyes, and I don't like dots…" She gasped and clapped her hands ecstatically, "I know! I'll find another one…"

"Not again," I whimpered, slamming my face on her bed. We had to do this, choose what Emerald would wear. She always found it difficult to pick an outfit to anywhere. Victoria and her personal stylist used to help her, but now, we were on our own. We all had to take turns in helping her decide for two hours.

"Now," I raised my head, she was holding up two dresses again, "should I wear the pink ruffled silk dress or the green ruffled skirt dress?"

"Green,"

"But won't I look like a glowworm with the green? You know my hair and eyes are green."

"But you said you wanted something to match your eyes!"

"Why can't I wear all the colours," she whined.

"Because in this school, you are Cheryl McCoy, not Emerald McCoy."

"Hey! Cheryl is my never use middle name!"

I sighed and turned to lay on my back, "that's the point, Emy, use a name that the internet doesn't recognise or something they won't remember."

"Oh, nevermind then."

"Are you going to wear the green or not?"

"I think I'll wear the pink," she struck her chin thoughtfully.

"Don't you dare change your mind," I threatened.

"I was going to ask about my bra this time, should I wear pink lace bra or strapless green? But again, I like blue and yellow so that's an option or even try another colours like peach, steel blue or fever…"

"Fever? That's a colour?"

"If you love colours like I do, you'd know that. Then again, what shoes should I wear? I say blue but what blue?" She headed to her shoes rank, "China blue, cyan blue, ocean blue, shark blue…"

"Eh?"

"Shark, like the colour of sharks." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Emy, there is no such thing as shark blue, even I know that a…"

"How about baby blue or bubblegum pink? Or maybe green and yet so many greens to pick from. Should I wear moss or hunter or… Oh my God! Why can't I wear all of them!" She shouted all of a sudden.

"Too much, Emy, too much."

"Hmm, should I carry my lucky white or dove grey bag or… Candy! You are not even helping!" She shrieked in annoyance.

"Please, universe, take my life," I sobbed, "and it's Juno, as in Juno."

"So, should I wear the peach or blue bra?" Emy asked like she didn't just hear me spit out my frustration. She was impossible to get to, impossible to annoy or even understand when to shut up. And to crown it all, I was going to attend to her for ten days.

I sighed and looked at her vanity mirror. I jolted to my knees immediately, my heart sank to my stomach. "What is it?" I looked at the mirror again, I must have been hallucinating.

"I…I… I thought I saw Victoria laughing in the mirror," I replied with a dry swallow of saliva. Emy hissed and continued talking. Yeah, I'm seeing things.