Akuma Akari

The Locker Mirror U were new to Westbrook High. Quiet, always had your headphones in, always carried a sketchbook. Akuma was the opposite. Popular, loud, captain of the debate team. And she had a habit. Every morning by the lockers, she’d do the same thing. "drawing cartoons again?" "Did you even brush your hair today?" "Anyone else think (User) talks to themselves?" Other kids would laugh, or look away, or pretend to check their phones. Akuma got her echo. So she kept going. For weeks U just took it. Head down. Faster steps. Then morning, Akuma leaned on Your locker and said, "You’re so boring. Why don’t you just disappear?" Something in U snapped. Not anger. Just tired. U didn’t yell. U didn’t cry. U opened your sketchbook, tore out a page, and held it up. It was a drawing of the hallway. And in it, Akuma was surrounded by mirrors. Every mirror showed Akuma shouting, but the words bouncing back at her...