SOPHIE WALKED THROUGH a random stony hallway, staring numbly at the key in her hands. It had a small number three engraved on the flat end of it. A small part of her mind wandered. She couldn't fathom why the Headmaster would lie about Eli. Or why Wolfe would.

She felt so confused.

Someone was lying to her about Eli, but she couldn't figure out who. At first she thought it was the Headmaster. He had obviously lied to her about other things, so it would make sense. But he seemed emotional about Eli's death. Genuinely emotional.

Sophie strolled to a stop in front of an old stairwell. She frowned and stared at the key, her eyebrows crinkled.

On the back of the key, something else was engraved. It was like a small map of the campus. Several key points were highlighted: her brand new dormitory, the classrooms, and the Headmaster's office.

Even though she had already committed it to memory, she felt like she had turned down the wrong path. A part of her new that she hadn't. Her sense of direction seemed to have improved vastly.

She started up the weathered stone staircase. Dim lamps lined the wall beside her, providing a gentle glow. Sophie passed a window and then paused, and doubled back. Outside the castle darkness had settled. A slender crescent moon hung low in the sky, surrounded by stars. Sophie focused on the forest of trees beneath it. A small town sliced through leafy peaks, the glow of lights illuminating the trees.

Sophie focused harder. It startled her when she realized she could hear car horns and a mixture of other city-sounds from so far away.

Shaking her head, she returned to her quest. She bounded up the rest of the staircase, careful to ignore the other windows that spotted the walls. When she reached the top she found another very long hallway. Unlike the others, this one wasn't lined with stones.

A warm tanned carpet covered the floors. Swirls of paint covered the walls, in a very abstract, yet muted way. Several doors obstructed it. Sophie walked toward the first to her right. She wasn't surprised to find a simple 'one' carved into the dark wood.

It didn't take her much longer to find a door marked with the number three.

Sophie shoved the key inside the brass doorknob and twisted. The door creaked open, revealing a fairly large room. She inhaled. Cinnamon, mint; the scents of her childhood seemed to wash over her. Sophie stepped inside the room and flipped on a light.

The room was colored a soft pink, with hard wood flooring. A massive round rug covered the center of the floor, positioned mainly in front of her bed. Its white fluffy tuffs seemed to match the white accent pillows on the bed. The bed was tucked away in a corner. Her sheets were stretched over top, and her Naruto plush was centered in front of the mass of pillows.

Across from the bed sat a television stand, complete with a flat screen and several gaming consoles. A desk was positioned on the opposite side of the room. It was covered in notebooks, pens, pencils, and the sleek computer that had been given to her.

Sophie shook her head and shut the door behind her. The room reminded her a lot of the one she had had at home, not of the one she had shared with Tabatha.

She walked through an archway, into the bathroom. It was huge, complete with a glass front shower and stone-themed tub. Sophie found herself in front of the sink, staring into the elegant silver mirror that hung above it.

It was the first time she had seen herself since the change.

There was a difference that Sophie couldn't name. It was still her. The girl in the mirror had the same heart shaped face, the same eyes, the same bleached blonde colored hair. Her roots had started to grow in and show her natural color, a dark mahogany.

Sophie leaned in closer.

Her eyes looked rounder, her lashes fuller and longer...and perfectly symmetrical. It looked like she was already wearing makeup naturally. Her lips were rounder, plump, and a perfect rose color. She still had a soft dust of freckles around her nose, but her blackheads had cleared and her pores had shrunk.

There were so many other changes in her features as well. Sophie felt taller, and toned. Her nails were all the same length and squared, as if they were acrylic French-tips. Her breasts also felt larger, rounder, and perkier. Her stomach-pouch had all but vanished. 

The changes were all slight, and things that the normal human eye wouldn't be able to detect. All were designed to make her look perfect, too. Just like a doll. Like a living, breathing, Barbie doll.

She looked Victoria's Secret model-perfect, just like Aubrey.

Her hand lifted to her face and pulled at the skin on her cheek. It dragged her lower eyelid down, revealing a spider-web of light blue veins. She removed her hand and stepped back with a shudder.

"If only Tabatha could see me now," she whispered to herself.

Her thoughts were immediately flooded with Tabatha and the others. She missed them. She hadn't seen them since before the games, since before Alex and Eli had died. She wondered how Tabatha had taken the news. She wondered whether Tabatha even missed her or not.

Sophie walked back into the main room, distracted, and almost completely missed the person parked atop her bed. It took all of a second for her senses to alert her.

Her gaze darted toward the intruder, wide with surprise. Her mouth went dry as a shard of fear pierced her stomach.

Aubrey was staring blankly at the Naruto plush in her hands, her fingers gently stroking the character's blonde hair. Large dark bags tugged at the skin beneath her dull eyes.Those dead eyes shifted upward as Sophie entered the room. Aubrey swallowed hard, and attempted to smile. 

"Hi, Sophie," she greeted softly, her voice cracking.