I jumped when the door opened, snapping out of my gaze and throwing the magazine across the room.  Marta gave me an odd glance, walked over and picked up the flimsy—now ripped—booklet.  She plopped onto the bed next to me.

"Really, Kacie? Again?" She shook her head in disapointment as she flipped through the magazine.  "Where do you keep getting these?  I cancelled our subscription over a week ago."

"There are these, uh, things..."  I said, sarcasm oozing in my tone.  "They're called stores."

She rolled her eyes, and tossed the magazine into the trash. "Enough of this. Mark my word, Kacie Miller. No. More. MAGAZINES."

I sighed. "Fine."

"Promise?" She arched an eyebrow.

I crossed my fingers behind my back, and a smirk tugged at my lips. "Promise."

"Good." And, with that, she stormed out of the room, the sound of her footsteps fading down the hall.

I stood, and took about three feet to get to my vanity. I stared into the mirror, double-checking, even triple-checking all of my flaws.  I needed to convince myself that this was what needed to be done.

Who will you really be hurting, anyway? They deserve it.  After all they did to you...

Anger boiled inside me. "They will pay."  I hissed, slamming my fist onto the mahogany surface. 

They will pay...

~~

I changed into my gym clothes. I was the first one out of all the other girls to finish, as usual.

However, I waited at the door. I had watched my classmates differentiate overtime. I have always observed my environment very carefully—even the smallest detail would catch my eye, every time. From the switch of eyeliners, to the slight-trim haircut or extension added; you name it, I'll call it. 

I spun around and viewed my reflection in the shower tiles for a moment. Then I looked at the other girls.

How were they so beautiful, even when dressed in an ugly pair of shorts and a t-shirt?

I glanced down and noticed that my fists were white-knuckled. Calm down, Kacie, it's okay. Your time for revenge will come...

~~

Later that evening, I had reviewed the planning sheet.

Step 1 - fake an illness.

I could do that with ease. I'm a very persuasive, manipulative person. Plus, my mother was so busy with work, she probably wouldn't even know me well enough to be able to tell if I was faking it or not, anyway.

I drifted off to sleep, satisfied and ready for the day of revenge ahead of me.

~~

"M-Mom," I croaked groggily, squinting as she yanked the curtains open, the bright daylight nearly blinding me.

She was dressed in her formal business suit, every day, and I basically only ever saw her when she came in to wake me up, and give me a kiss goodnight. "Morn— Woah, what happened to you?"

"I feel so sick." I groaned, rubbing my head.

She went into the kitchen, got the thermometer, and took my temperature. "Aww, sweetie, you've got a fever. Stay home and get some rest, pumpkin."

"But I—"

"No 'buts', you're staying home.  Period."

"Alright. I love you, Mom."

"Love you too." She smiled. "I'll try and bring you some soup on my lunch break. Can I get you anything before my leaving?" She asked at the door.

"No, thank you, though." Perfect.

"Alright, bye sweetie."

"Bye."  I waited until I heard the garage door close, and the car pull out of the driveway, before jumping out of bed. 

I put on jeans and a hoodie, quickly brushed through my hair, then leaped out the window, my duffel bag in-hand.

I took a taxi to the sandwich shop on 5th Street. Rebecca would be there, just like she was every Wednesday, for lunch.

I saw her sitting alone at a table through the window.

I walked in casually, with the hope that she would notice me first.

But being the perfect girl she was, she was busy reading and doing work on her computer simultaneously, while still looking gorgeous, like she always did. She wore a plan gray tank-top, under a red flannel shirt, and a short black skirt with white slip on's.  Her hair was in a messy bun, and she appeared to be flawless—she wasn't even wearing makeup.

Step 2: take Rebecca.

I took a deep breath, and approached her.

She smiled at me. "Why weren't you at school?"

I gritted my teeth. Even her voice was mellifluous.

"Fever." I coughed. "But, I'm feeling a little better. Shh, don't tell."

She giggled. "I won't. What brings you here? Last time you talked to me, you said you hated the service here."

"I was just at the cafe down the street, and thought I'd stop in and say hi. I remember you said you liked the turkey sandwiches here?"

"Yup." She held up a ginormous sandwich for her being skinny girl. She took a bite, and still looked good doing it.

What can't she do?

Jealousy pondered inside me, but I kept it hidden. "Hey, you should come check out this super cute shop over here," I pointed behind me, aiming for the other side of the plaza. "Remember that lil' thrift store? They got a shipment of all these neat nick knacks—wanna come look?"

"Umm, I mean, I'd say no, because I'm working on some research for a paper, but I should probably start packing up to head back to school anyways." She put her laptop away, took a sip of her coffee, and wrapped the sandwich up.  "Do you want the rest of this?" She asked me.

"Oh, no thanks, I'm a vegetarian." I lied. I can't afford to be eating anything if I want to transform.

She grabbed her bag and stood. "Shall we go?"

"We shall."  I smiled politely, but on the inside, I was laughing hysterically.

When we got to the shop, I gasped. "Oh no, they closed it early today!"

"Aww, that's a shame." She said.

"Well, I could give you a ride to school, if you'd like. I know it's kind of far."

"No, that's okay. I like to walk."

"Are you sure? Come on, Beck.  One day with a little less exercise isn't gonna kill you."

She shrugged. "I guess not.  What's the hold up?"

We hopped into the car and I drove just past the school. A man had lent me the thing for the day—I just had to have it back in his driveway by midnight, tonight.

I glanced over and noticed Rebecca staring oddly at my visor. I looked up, and saw the ID of the man who gave me the car.

I cursed silently to myself. Never trust a guy on the streets in a town like this...

"Haha, that's my uncle's friend. He's on a plane right now, so he let me use his car for a few days." I scrambled up.

"Oh." She nodded, still seeming slightly suspicious. "And uh, I think you passed the school a few blocks ago."

I kept my eyes locked on the road. "Yeah, I just gotta make a quick stop first."

She went silent for a while.  After over a half hour of driving, she pulled out her phone.

"I'm very late." She said, blankly.

At the sight of a phone dialing app on her screen, I snatched the device out of her hands.

"What the—" Her eyes widened as I shoved a chloroform-filled rag in her face. She struggled for a few moments, and then sloped against the door into a deep sleep.

I smirked, and continued driving out on unfamiliar roads. Yet at the same time, it felt as if I knew the route like the back of my hand.

~~

We pulled into the abandoned farm estate, out in the middle of nowhere. I carefully lifted Rebecca out of the car, praying that she wouldn't wake before I could tie her up.

Luckily, she only stirred. Michael had heard me, and quickly ran out to help.

"She is gorgeous." He said, dreamily.

"Yes." I agreed.

We carried her into the building, and bound her to a chair.

She awakened, a look of horror written all over her face. She tried to scream, but it was muffled by the gag in her mouth.

"Sorry, honey." I said, trying not to laugh. The plan had gone just too perfectly. "Looks like you've lost, this time."

"MHHMMHEEEERFFMM!"

A grin spread across Michael's face. "Should I go get Alexa, now?" He asked me.

"Yes, please do. We only have so much time."

I sat on a wooden stool, and listened to the quiet sound of Rebecca's sweet, musical, cries as we sat in the darkness, miles from civilization.

~~

Michael burst through the door suddenly, panting.

"What took so long?" I demanded.

He was struggling to get the girl inside.

"I-I—" She tried to get away, but he managed to embrace her tightly. I got the rope and restrained her with Michael's assistance.

He let her go and she flew to the ground.

She sobbed uncontrollably. "I thought you loved me..."

"Sorry, babe. I love her."  He pointed to me, and wiggled his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes and pushed him away from me. "Just stick with the plan, k?"

"Yes ma'am."

I loomed over my two victims.

"Now, girls, do either of you have even the slightest idea why I brought you here?" I asked, dramatically.

They both shook their heads.

"You are both very kind, am I correct?"

They looked at each other, and then slowly nodded.

"What ever have two innocent girls done to deserve such punishment?"

Alexa cocked her head to the side in fear.

"Oh, yes. Thank you, smart child. This is nothing compared to what's to come..." I cackled with delight, twisting a knife in-between my fingers. "Maybe... This is simply a hidden camera show."

Their eyes glittered with hope.

I laughed. "Or maybe, I'm just insane... Who knows."

Michael glanced at me and tapped his wrist.

I needed to hurry. "But no, why I have brought you here is because you are both beautiful, girls..."

I paced back and forth around them. "You're smart, popular, and overall just perfect. You are everything I've ever wanted to be..." My voice trailed off, and a slight frown fell over my face.

"Which is why," I continued, ignoring my previous emotions. "Why I shall become you."

They glanced at Michael in confusion, then returned their attention back to me.

"Your lives will forever end, my darlings. My life will forever end, and we will merge together and live as one."

I walked over to the two, knelt down and whispered, "Except you two won't be living it..."

They stared at me in horror, and squirmed around like wild animals as Michael handed me my duffel bag.

The two kept at least one eye on the blade in my hands at all times—it amused me, how scared they were.

"And if anyone disobeys me, I'll make your death much more painful." I snickered. "But to determine who shall go first, we will play a game."

"A very fun game, it is, too." Michael chimed in, an evil look in his eyes as he approached the girls.

They looked absolutely petrified. It was hilarious.

"Rebecca goes first." I picked her up by her hair, and she yelped through the gag.

"Question one," I began. "What color does the sky look like when you're dead?"

I pulled the gag out of her mouth, and she trembled with fear as she whispered, "B-Blue?"

I made a loud, obnoxious noise to represent a buzzer. "WRONG! You'll be in hell, silly. There is no sky in the underworld."

Michael helped me hold onto her, small, delicate figure tight as we unbound her.

She pleaded, repeatedly, "Please! I don't wanna die!"

Alexa averted her eyes as we chained Rebecca to a table in the middle of the room—after removing her clothing.

"Better pay close attention, now,"  I yelled over to Alexa. "You're next..."  I sang that last word in a way she would never forget it.

Michael handed me a tool out of my bag. "Hold still, and maybe it will hurt less." Was the last thing I said before agonizing screams filled the room. I carefully cut the skin off her face, trying my best not to make her bleed, but it didn't work.

Oh well, it's washable.

I looked over her body to see if I wanted anything else. Alexa was going to get the real pain...

I took the dagger out of my back pocket and plunged it into Rebecca's stomach over and over, until blood spewed from her mouth. The light slowly drained from her eyes, until they closed, and I knew she was dead. Blood had gotten on my hands, but I simply wiped them off with a towel, and carried on.

Michael wrapped the body up and set it in the corner. It took both of our strengths to strap Alexa down. Her voice was shrill with fear and panic as she begged for mercy. "No no no! Don't do this! Please! I'll do anything!"

I clipped the grips on above and below her eyes and added the cord. The cord was attached to four bars on either side of the table. I cranked a handle to make it pull harder, and she shrieked as her entire eye was exposed. I reached inside the sockets and cut her nerve off, causing her to black out.

Michael scooped her eyes out and put them into a container. I dug my nails into Alexa's neck, and the blood drizzled down. I squeezed tighter and tighter until her breathing slowed to a stop.

I unattached her from the table and eye clips, then hopped onto it myself.

I grinned enormously with excitement, and allowed Michael to strap me in.

I took one last look around me; three lifeless bodies, one of them being extremely pale—but still beautiful—in the dim lighting. This third body had belonged to my real mother.

She was the first doll in our collection. I wasn't able to take the others when Michael and I moved locations. But we did this for each other. Michael always loved dolls, so I gave him gifts of life-sized ones. Now, I would become his new doll.

He put the eye removal device on me, and spooned out my eyes. Everything was black, and the empty, open holes sent shivers inside my head. For the first time in my life, I understood what it was like to be blind.

He filled the emptiness with Alexa's bright greenish-blue eyes, and I sat up.

After a gentle cleanse, Michael sewed Rebecca's face into mine. He did my makeup like a model would wear in a magazine.

He put the curly, brunette-colored wig on me—the one I had made out of my ex best-friend's hair.

Next, he helped me change into a long, teal dress. My mother's favorite dress. I had kept it on her corpse for three years now... But now she was wearing my favorite dress. This way, could each have a connection to each other, dead or alive.

Lastly, I stepped into the new high-heels, and stood.

When he told me I was ready, I didn't feel different. There was just something... missing. Other than my vision, of course.  But I felt beautiful, I really did. This is what I have wanted my whole life. I could finally be set at peace, knowing I had reached my goal.

"Kacie Rosalína Miller, you are beautiful."