A strange kid stared back at him - not only younger but totally different looking. And not in a good way. Anthony was, or had been, a handsome young man with an athletic build that was the envy of a lot of other guys. The mirror was showing a scrawny, goofy-looking Tween with a mop of dirty blonde hair. Heavy brows jutted out over large, dull, pale-blue eyes and he had an upturned pug nose and crooked buck teeth. Maybe thirteen, the boy looked slow-witted and dirty. Anthony blinked and looked down to see that not just his hair and face needed washing. His jeans, sneakers, and shirt were now worn and filthy. He looked, and smelled, as if he had not bathed in many days, his hands stained brown and gray with filth caked under his fingernails.
This couldn't be him! It had to be some kind of weird trick! But even as he tried to believe that, Anthony felt thickness in his head. No! He struggled against the fog that blanketed his thoughts, getting confused. He shouldn't be here! This wasn't... Anthony peered into the mirror, trying to figure out what was wrong. He picked at his nose absently, then grinned and made a silly face at himself. Mirrors were sorta fun like that.
He looked around. This stall was clean. But there were a bunch of others that needed to be mucked. He was real good at mucking stalls. All the animals liked him, and he felt safe and comfortable with them. Not like being outside with people who were mean and called him names. He went back into the main stable so he could get back to work.