Magical Girl Trixie

Diiiiiiing!

The loud sound of the bell rang throughout the halls and classrooms of Manehattan Middle School, signifying to the teachers that the period was over and for students to make their way to their next class. Luckily, I had managed to completely catch up with my notes in Mr. Fairweather's class despite my late start, but throughout his lecture, my mind raced around what Lulu had said to me as well as her fierce stares throughout class.

I had just barely been given the powers of a magical girl, but I didn't know if there were any rules regarding how I used them or even a sure way of how to transform. Would I need to use my powers already if Lulu tried to attack me? Would she try pulling me somewhere nobody would find us right as soon as I walked out of the classroom? Was she going to wait until after school when I would walk home, then try to murder me when I was somewhere secluded, like she tried to do that morning?

I had no idea what was going to happen to me, but I for sure knew that if I stayed in Mr. Fairweather's class any longer, not only would he suspect something, but he would probably also tell my mom about it. After a deep breath, I picked up my books, stood up from my desk and began walking towards the door, and just as I expected, Lulu was waiting in the hallway for me, wearing a large smile.

“Hey, Trixie! Why don't we walk to class together?” she said with fake jubilee.

“Umm… w-we don't have the same class next period.”

Suddenly, her demeanor changed, furrowing her eyebrows and descending her voice into a whisper. “I'm not going to ask you twice.”

I made a loud gulp, shaking fearfully in my kneecaps. “O-oh! That's right! I guess it's still in the same direction, isn't it? Yeah, l-let's go…”

I had no idea whether or not she was going to lead me out of the building entirely, but if she was still carrying that switchblade from earlier, I really wasn't in the best position to argue. Instead, though, she allowed me to lead her to my next class while she put on her fake smile, waving to all the popular kids she walked by until she finally had a chance to whisper in my ear.

“I have no idea what you pulled earlier or how you managed to sneak back into class, but I promise you, I am going to pay you back with interest for what you did. If you had just done what I said, this could have all been avoided, but because of the shit you pulled, I am going to make sure that your death is as painful and degrading as a human could possibly experience. Do you hear me? I will light a match, stick it up your cunt, and make sure it causes so much damage that you'll have your period through your mouth. You will die choking on your own ovaries, and all just because you felt like fucking with the wrong girl.”

I began shaking from the grotesque imagery but tried to hold my composure as the two of us walked past our classmates in the hallway. If I blew her cover before I even got to my next class, I knew that I would just end up being killed at one point or another. I had to stay strong, at least until she let me out of her sight, which probably wouldn't be until about two steps away from my math class. Finally, though, we made it to the entrance, and as I turned to get her approval to walk inside, she gave me another fake smile and waved goodbye.

“I'll see you later, Trixie!” she exclaimed happily, but as she turned, she said in a much more quiet voice, “Don't try running away.”

Hiding my fear as much as I could, I smiled and waved back as I walked into class, finally free from her grasp and getting a chance to catch my breath. I wanted to cry so bad, but I couldn't blow my cover. Not yet. There had to be something I could do! I couldn't keep living with this fear of death always hovering over my shoulder which could easily strike when I least expected it!

Bzzt, bzzzzzt!

Great. Somebody left their phone on. I personally didn't own a phone. I pleaded with my mom for her to get me one once, but, like any time I asked for my mom to buy me something, it didn't end so well. It wasn't always all bad, I guess. It meant I never had to worry about remembering to turn it off when I got to sch--

Bzzzzzt!

Wait! That was coming from me! Quickly, I remembered the magical phone that Dreamdrop had given me earlier, and as soon as I pulled it out, I saw three new messages from the magical girl herself.

“Heeeey! G&PT! This is Dreamdrop!”

“How did this morning go? Did you make it to class alright? Was Paradox nice to you?”

“Just tell me if you need anything! Remember, I'm here to help!”

Again, realizing that I was holding a phone in my hand in the middle of a class period, I stashed it away into my bag, looking around to make sure no one noticed. I was scared that it might go off again in the middle of class, but was struck paralyzed by the idea of pulling it out and having it confiscated while trying to figure out where the power button was. If a call home to my mom was bad enough as it was, getting a call from school about getting my phone confiscated would end in the most brutal beating I could imagine.

Fortunately, however, my phone didn't go off during class, and after a few minutes of suspiciously jittering in my seat, I was able to calm down and completely focus on the math lesson. Then, once class was over, I quickly ran into the girls’ bathroom, chose the nearest stall and sealed myself in, pulling out my phone and figuring out how to send a message back.

“Dreamdrop, I need your help! I might be in danger! That girl from earlier is back! I don't wanna die! Please! HELP ME!!”

I waited anxiously for a response, gauging how much time I had before I needed to get up and make my way towards class, but fortunately, Dreamdrop was quick at messaging me back.

“Whoa, that super crazy girl? Don't worry! Paradox and I will get you as soon as you're done with school! Stay safe until then, OK? We'll protect you. I promise.”

With a deep breath of relief, I put my phone back into my bag, stood up and began racing to my next class. I couldn't have met these girls at a more perfect time.

After school...

Even with Dreamdrop's words of encouragement, I couldn't stop the feelings of fear and anxiety shooting through my mind and body. What if they didn't know where to wait for me? What if Lulu found me first? What if they forgot?

My feet were shaking, and I literally felt like I was going to fall down and faint with each step I took as I made my way out of the school building. I was so scared that I was going to die. If anything, I just had to make it back home one more time to tell my mom just how much I loved her. With one more wobbly step, I had made my way out through the school's entrance and into the blinding light of the afternoon sun.

“Heeeyyy!!! Great and Powerful Trixie!”

My heart jumped. Just as soon as I exited the school building, I saw Dreamdrop and Paradox waving at me from the gates, both wearing their magical girl outfits and lookingrightatmeOHNO!! As quick as I could, I ran towards them with panic in my voice.

“A-a-are you sure it's OK for you to be dressed as magical girls right now?! We're in the middle of public!”

Rather than react the way I had imagined, though, they immediately began laughing hysterically like nobody would notice, and for some reason, nobody did notice. They just all walked by like there was nobody there.

“Paradox can create illusions, remember?” Dreamdrop said.

With a triumphant laugh, Paradox exclaimed, “That's right! They can't see or hear anything we say. As far as everyone else is concerned, we literally don't even exist!”

“So, you said you were having problems with that girl from this morning, right?”

“R-right,” I said sadly, looking down at my feet. “I think I made her pretty mad after what happened this morning.”

“You wouldn't happen to be talking about that suspicious-looking girl over there, would you?” Paradox asked, pointing behind me. Then as soon as I turned my head, I yelped in fear, reflexively hiding behind Dreamdrop for protection.

“Where did she go?!” Lulu asked incredulously, looking all around her for any trace of where I could be. Following behind her was a boy named Turf Field, a tall upper-classman whose size and athletic abilities made him a top prospect for major universities, despite only being a middle school student.

“You sure she went this way?” he asked.

“She must have! It's the quickest way back to her place! Of course the little bitch isn't going to make things easy on us. You know what to do when we find her, right?”

Turf Field laughed. “Hold her and don't let go, right?”

“Good. Come on. We'll find her eventually if we just follow her route home. She can't run away forever.”

The magical girls and I watched as the two of them unknowingly walked past us, and sure enough, they were walking in the exact direction of where I lived.

“Jeeze Louise,” Paradox said, putting her hands to her hips. “What's with that girl?”

“Well, you know how I met Trixie by saving her from someone trying to kill her?” Dreamdrop said. “I'm just saying that I maaaaaay have possibly kinda sorta used my magic to put her to sleep.”

“Yikes. You really poked the hornet's nest with that one.”

“Am…” I began with tears threatening to pour down my face again. “Am I gonna be OK?”

Then, with a reassuring smile on her face, Dreamdrop put her hand on my shoulder, leaned down to eye level and said, “You're going to be fine, Trixie. We'll protect you.”

“You know,” Paradox began, “it might be a good idea to follow them. It's not like we're not headed that way anyway, and maybe we can find out a little bit more about what she's trying to do while we're at it.”

“Good idea. Trixie, stay close by. Not only are we gonna get you home, but we're going to make sure these knuckleheads don't pick on you anymore.”

“O-OK.”

Easier said than done. As the three of us followed Lulu and Turf Field as they searched high and low on their way to my home, it became more and more obvious not only how desperate they were to find me, but how they knew every road or detour I would take to get home. They were really going to do everything in their power to make sure they tortured me to death.

“Where could that bitch have gone?!” Lulu asked herself angrily as she bit into her thumb. “I swear, she has some kind of trick up her sleeve.”

“What do you mean?” her accomplice asked.

“She has some way of sneaking in and out of situations without being caught. I don't know how she did it, but this morning she knocked me unconscious. Then, she snuck into class without anybody seeing her.”

“Maybe we should try again tomorrow when she leaves for school? Then we can corner her when she least expects it.”

“Fine, but you don't get to see my tits until after we kill her.”

“What?! But I went all this way already!”

“How about this?” Lulu then grabbed hold of Turf Field's shoulder and stood on the tips of her toes to plant a passionate kiss onto his lips. Before Turf Field could even reciprocate, though, she pulled herself off of him with her feet now flat on the floor. “Once we kill her, I'll go all the way with you. Think you can be patient now?”

“Works for me. No one will miss that girl anyway.”

As soon as they turned around and walked away, Paradox and Dreamdrop both cringed with disgust.

“That's terrible,” Paradox said.

“How can anyone even talk like that?” Dreamdrop chimed in.

“Hey, I have one more thing I'd like to ask you two,” I said before realizing how upfront I was being. “I-i-if that's OK with you two.”

“Hmm? Sure,” Paradox said. “What's up?”

“Well…” I was suddenly having a hard time getting out my words. Asking for favors was never something I was good at, and usually when I did, I just ended up getting on everyone's nerves. “I was wondering… if the two of you could help me learn how to be a magical girl some more. Like, maybe we could all earn brownie points together.”

“Ha! Is that all?” Dreamdrop asked boisterously. “Actually, I reeeeeally wanna see you use your magic again. The way you made those leaves fly around like that was soooo cool! I wanna see what else your levitation ability can do!”

Then, I suddenly realized that I would have to wait just a little bit longer.

“Actually,” I said, my voice beginning to trail off. “I just have to wait for my mom to go to work first. She doesn't know I'm a magical girl, after all.”

“Was this your mom you were talking about earlier who you said you loved with all your heart and would do anything in the world for?” Dreamdrop asked as she grabbed my hands and her eyes began to glow in anticipation.

“Yeah… Yeah, she is…”

The other two magical girls exchanged quizzical looks between each other. For being the most important person in the world to me, I definitely wasn't as enthusiastic about talking about her as they originally anticipated. With a long, awkward silence, the three of us traveled the short distance left to where I lived, and as I stood in front of my doorway, I began sweating bullets as I tried to think of what I could possibly say that would prepare them for what they were about to see.

Turning towards the girls, I said with a fake smile, “This is my house! Just… promise that no matter what happens, neither of you will do anything, OK?”

Sharing a nervous glance between each other, the two girls nodded in agreement, and with a long, deep breath, I opened the front door and led them into my house.

“Mooooom! I'm hoooome!”

“You're late,” she said, already dressed for work and messing with her phone. “What took you so long getting home? You weren't fooling around, were you?”

“N-no, mom. I just got a little side-tracked on my way home is all.”

“Side-tracked with wha--” Finally, looking up from her phone, her jaw dropped. Shoot! Could she see Paradox and Dreamdrop? Was her magic not working anymore? As I began to worry internally, though, I started to notice that she wasn't looking at anyone but me. “What. Happened.”

Her question was more of a demand than a statement, but quickly looking down, I realized that my clothes had been dirtied and ripped in my altercation with Lulu earlier that morning, and my face probably matched my outfit. “It's not what you think! I promise it's not what you think!”

Slowly, menacingly, she took one step after another towards me. “Have you been getting into fights? Is that why you're home so late?”

“No! It's not like that!”

“Don't you FUCKING LIE TO ME!” With as much force as she could, she slapped me across the face. Reflexively, Dreamdrop began to move in to save me, but she was quickly stopped by Paradox, who put her arm out in front of her just in the nick of time. “What kind of daughter have I been raising? What was the point of even trying if you were just going to disregard everything I ever taught you?!”

“No, mom! It happened this morning! I was on my way to school when--”

“It happened this morning?”

“Yes! That's what I've been trying to tell you!”

Suddenly, my mom dropped her phone to the floor in shock, freezing like a statue, and at that moment, I realized how terrible a mistake I had just made.

“You…” she started, being shocked into complete silence. “You mean… this entire day… you looked like this? You went to school… looking like this?”

“I-I-I'm sorry, mom! I'm sor--”

This time, my mom silenced me with a punch across my face, again leading to Paradox having to restrain Dreamdrop so that she wouldn't intervene. Then, picking me up by the neck, she slammed me into the wall, repeatedly punching me in the gut with every punch growing stronger and stronger. The wind was getting knocked out of me, but despite not being able to breathe, I still managed to gag with every blow she sent to my abdomen.

“YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!”

I wanted to reply, but all the air that I could pull into my lungs was being spent crying in pain. After several moment of not responding, she let go of my neck and dropped me to the floor, but while I leaned back against the wall, trying to breathe normally again, she drove her foot into my forehead, slamming the back of my head into the wall and leaving a small hole in the aftermath.

“Do you have any idea how badly this could have turned out? Imagine what would have happened if the school had thought that I did that to you. Do you want to be taken away from me? Do you never want to see me again?”

“No, mom! I love you so much! I never want to be taken away from you!”

“You'd better fucking remember that, because if they take you away, you're not going to be in a nice home like this. You'll be taken to a foster home, where you won't have any of the luxuries you have now. So why the fuck did you think it would be a good idea to go to school after that?”

“I-I-I don't know! I thought you would be mad if--”

“I'M PISSED!” Then, just for good measure, she sent another kick to my ribs, only this one wasn't nearly as hard as she leaned onto the wall above me, out of breath from her strenuous activities. “Listen, Trixie. I want you to do whatever you need to do to look presentable for school tomorrow. Wash your clothes, put on some makeup if you need to, I don't care. I'm going to work early today because someone decided to get sick without giving any notice. When I get home, I want you in bed with your homework done. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, mom. I promise.”

“Good girl. I'll see you when you get back from school tomorrow.” She then pulled herself together and began walking towards her purse beside the door.

“M-mom?”

“What?”

“C-can I hug you, just to prove how much I love you?”

My mom stopped dead in her tracks, not looking back and not looking forward. Then finally, after a few moments of excruciating silence, she said, “Not today, Trixie.” Once she said those words, she grabbed her purse, walked outside and closed the door behind her, leaving me on the floor with a tear running down my cheek.

“Wow!” Dreamdrop said, suddenly running over to embrace me. “What… What just happened?”

“Dreamdrop?” I said with a trembling lip.

“Yeah? What do you need?”

Words were hard to get out as another tear traveled down my face. While holding back my sobs as much as I could, I asked, “Can I transform into a magical girl now?”

Dreamdrop looked like she was about to cry herself, but instead, she wore the biggest, most supportive smile she could. “Yes, Trixie. You can be a magical girl now.”

Finally putting my hand to my knee and wobbling my way up, using the cracked wall behind me to support my aching back, I managed to completely pull myself together, standing tall and taking in a breath through my nose. Then, placing my hands to my heart, I summoned all the magical energy I had, feeling it swirl through every part of my body, entrancing me with a bright white light. Once the light faded, I was once again in my magical girl body, feeling a newfound strength and confidence that changed my demeanor completely.

“Nice seeing you again, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Paradox said with a smile. “What should we do first?”

Tilting my hat over my eyes, I cracked a smile. “Let's just see how great and powerful I really am.”