Miranda Watson was pretty. There was no doubt about that. Some people would say that she was too pretty for her own good with her bright, blue eyes and rosy red cheeks, never without make-up. Miranda is the kind of person who is only interested in fashion, make-up and boys. She'd never be seen with anyone else except Harriet and Anna, her two sidekicks and who she likes to call her best friends. Everybody knows she just uses them to get her own way.

Every lunchtime, she picks on at least one person for not being the stereotypical 'pretty'. Whether they wear a weird t-shirt or just have frizzy hair, Miranda always spots them and mentally torments them. As soon as she is back in the classroom though, it's back to polite, well-spoken Miranda. As she says, "You can't hate me just because I'm better than you." Well, everyone does.

Miranda's favourite place to pamper herself is in the lower-floor staff toilets, where a huge mirror with a golden border hangs above four wash basins. Only Miranda attempts to sneek into those toilets at 10:25 am every school day and never gets caught. Her two best friends, Harriet and Anna, thought she was mad. Not that it ever bothered Miranda, it was a simple ritual for her.

It was Thursday morning, the start of the school day. That meant double maths. Miranda hated double maths. Her teacher, Mrs. Lakely, always picked on her for talking out of turn when Miranda knew she wasn't doing anything wrong. Unfortunately for Miranda, today she was learning about long division. Fortunately, it was 10:25 am.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Lakely?"

"Yes Miranda." Her teacher said with a sigh.

"May I use the toilet please? It's urgent."

Miranda always pleaded with her teacher. It worked like a charm.

"It's always urgent, Miranda. However, you may use the toilet, as we're all due for a break I think."

"I'm sorry," Miranda was confused. "We never all get breaks, this is my time."

"Take 10 minutes, everyone." Mrs. Lakely said, ignoring Miranda's last comment.

There was a roar of chatter from the class while the students dispersed into the corridor. Miranda, still completely bemused by the situation, picked up her bag, ran into the corridor and down the stairs. Harriet and Anna knew where she was going, little did they know there was one other person who knew why Miranda was in such a rush.

A mysterious figure followed Miranda to the staff toilets the next day at 10:25 am sharp. This figure had been following her since the start of term, with no-one noticing anything out of the ordinary. The reason for this was that the mysterious figure was Miranda's history teacher, Ms. Chan-Li. A short, 40 year old Japanese lady and proud of her culture, Ms. Chan-Li was harmless. So, when Miranda saw her out of the corner of her eye at the entrance to the toilets, she didn't bat an eyelid and walked straight in.

In the toilets, Miranda's usual regime started. First, distractions. She made some noise with the toilet seat and the door of a toilet cubicle. Second, she creeped out of the cubicle making no sudden movements, stood in front of the golden-bordered mirror, opened her make-up bag and started powdering her nose.

Ms. Chan-Li was waiting for the opportune moment outside the toilets' entrance. As soon as Miranda started combing her hair, she would strike.

"Once she combs her hair over her eyes, that Daughter of Eve will see life from a different angle." Ms. Chan-Li muttered under her breath.

Back in the toilets, Miranda had just finished her make up. Next, the hair. She looked at the clock quietly ticking on the wall to the right of the mirror. It was 10:31. Miranda was due back in class in four minutes so she began to speed up. Her blonde, wavy hair sat on her shoulders in a messy clump. How could Miranda's hair look messy, of all people's?! She began to comb her hair with the red-toothed comb that her first love Brian gave to her.

At this moment, Ms. Chan-Li was slowly creeping into the toilets and she had her eyes locked on the girl who was too vain for her own good. Miranda didn't see her. The hairspray was preventing her from seeing anything but her own reflection. No sooner that Miranda had combed her hair over her eyes, Ms. Chan-Li began to whisper close to Miranda's left ear.

Daughter of Eve
Do what you will
Pretty or not
You never can tell.

Powdering your nose
And combing your hair
Your actions in this room
Will never disappear.

You will get what you deserve
Just wait and see
It's only a mirror
All is vanity.

Miranda was stuck. She couldn't move, she couldn't blink. Her body felt as light as a feather, like she didn't exist. Miranda tried to scream, but all that came out was a quiet wimper. The teacher stood Miranda upward and brushed the hair out of her face. She could feel something dripping down her cheeks, but was it tears or sweat?

Ms. Chan-Li said one more word. Just one. One word and Miranda was gone. No struggle, no noise, just one word.

Punish.

....and all that could be heard, was the quiet ticking of the clock on the wall, to the right of the mirror. 

Ms. Chan-Li looked into the mirror in front of her; the beautiful golden-bordered rectangular mirror and there was Miranda. She was hiding behind the toilet cubicle door with no make-up, silently sobbing to herself.

"Perfect." Ms.Chan-Li chuckled to herself and walked out of the toilets.

If you ever look in a mirror and see something move or even if you see a shadow not similar to your own; that's her. Miranda Watson - trapped in a mirror with no-one for company, apart from her own 'perfect' reflection. 

- By Jade Hunter