Janet was sitting sadly on a bench outside of the principals office, still fighting off her sniffles. She was so confused as to what had happened that she still couldn't fully understand. Her day had started out normally, with her mother dropping her off at Kindergarten. She played with her friends, learned about adding versus subtracting, and listened to her teacher's story.
While she was playing with her friends, she overheard a discussion from her teacher and the TA. Janet at first didn't;t understand, chalking it up to 'some big girl stuff' but as they continued, Janet started to understand. The TA was talking about a boy she had hooked up with the night before.
Janet's mind started to feel funny, and then it turned into a headache. She held her head as an impossible memory filled her head. She remembered a grown up kissing her at an ice rink. She was confused, as the only time she had gone to one was with her mommy and daddy, and she definitely wouldn't kiss a yucky boy.
She almost started to cry but the memory faded along with the headache. Her best friend Mary asked if she was okay, and Janet just lied and said that she needed to use the potty. After asking her teacher, the TA walked her down the hall to the little girl's room. She took a quick pee, still thinking about the weird memory she just remembered.
All that stopped as soon as she looked up into the mirror. She did not see her own reflection, but rather that of a grown up woman. Janet watched in awe. Janet's jaw dropped, and the woman did the same. Janet thought the woman looked a bit like her mommy, although a bit older and with bigger boobies. As the shock wore off, the lady faded away to reveal Janet's reflection again.
Shock turned to terror and Janet began bawling. The TA ran in to see what was wrong and Janet told her all about the 'ghost' that she had just seen. The TA didn't understand what Janet had seen, but figured her imagination in the somewhat dimly lit bathroom must have run wild. She took her to the Principal's office after Janet couldn't stop crying. The principal called Mrs. Megan Donaldson, and a couple minutes later she arrived to bring Janet home.
Megan arrived, and after a talk with the principal, walked outside to greet Janet, holding onto a fussy baby Steve. Janet looked up ashamed as Megan shook her head.
"What happened sweetie?" Megan asked, somewhat annoyed but in a soft tone as to be gentle with her daughter.
"I... saw something... scary." She replied, still sniffling.
"You sure this wasn't just to leave school early?" She asked.
Janet sadly shook her head no. Megan sighed, believing her sad child. Megan thanked the TA for her help and walked out with Janet in tow. Janet, meanwhile, still couldn't stop thinking about what she saw. She didn't know what was going on with her. She didn't understand so she just started to try and ignore it all.
The ride home was fairly silent. They both listened to music on the radio, as Janet sat silent. Megan began to believe Janet more and more. Usually she was your typical 5 year old, but she was acting very strange. They got home and immediately Janet went into the den. As she walked in, her eyes became drawn to the old book Steve was trying to play with the night before. For some reason, something was drawing her to it.
In the kitchen, baby Steve was babbling in a highchair while Megan talked on the phone with her husband Alan.
"Yeah Hon, I don't know what happened." Megan finished explaining.
"A ghost huh?" Alan said confused.
"Yeah, the TA said it might be overactive imagination. I thought it might've been her just lying to get out of school like she did in preschool. Ha! You remember that?" She chuckled.
"Sure do. Our little Janet has always been a smart cookie." Alan agreed.
"But this time, I don't know, it's different this time. She seems really shaken." Megan explained.
"Hm, well, we can talk to her when I get home tonight, alright?" Alan asked.
"Oh alright, love you baby." Megan replied.
"Love you too." Love you too he said as he hung up.
Megan laid back against the counter as she rubbed her hands against her face. She didn't know what to do. She hoped it was nothing but she worried as any mother would. The TA had explained to Megan how Janet had described it to her, and something about it was nagging at Megan. She thought on it, but couldn't place why the woman in the mirror's description sounded familiar. Her train of thought was interrupted, however, by an even fussier Steve.
"Aw, baby Steven, what's the matter baby boy?" Megan asked in her typical baby voice.
She sniffed Steve's diaper, but found no signs of a messy diaper. Since he had just eaten, she figured that he must have wanted to get out of his chair and play. She carried Steve into the den and placed Steve in his play pen. Steve fussed around by the ridge of it but Megan just laughed at the goofy child. She turned to see Janet eyeing the old book from the night before.
"Janet honey? Do you want to play with your baby brother?" She asked.
"Huh, what? Uh, okay mommy." Janet replied, leaving the book on the chair nearby. "Hi baby Steven!" Janet yelled, starting to cheer up.
Megan smiled as she walked away, hoping Janet would get over whatever happened before. Janet kept trying to attract Steve with his rattle, but Steve didn't pay it any attention. After a few minutes of struggling, he managed to stand, and began pointing behind Janet. Janet turned and realized he was pointing at the book that she had been drawn to before.
"The book? You want that Stevie?" She asked.
Steve continued to point and babble, so Janet decided to grab it. She had been drawn to it for some reason too, so she might as well take a look inside. She dragged the large book over to the playpen and sat down so that Steve could see it. He began to happily giggle which made Janet laugh with him. Janet opened the book, and a bright light suddenly erupted from the pages, once again changing the family, with only Steve somehow remaining aware... but how?