Dimensions

Ashley looked out the window, listening to the radio. She was home alone on a Thursday night. Well, she always was, due to the fact that her parents were at work from early in the morning to late at night. A fierce storm was raging outside, the thunder almost blocking out the sad music. Just then, Ashley saw four figures on the street, illuminated by a lightning flash. She squinted, trying to look for the strange people through the darkness outside her window. Her search was interrupted by the sound of her front door opening. Ashley froze then tiptoed to the landing. There, in her foyer stood four girls who looked exactly like her. Then the world went black.

“Do you think she’s okay?”

“Eh, she’ll live.”

“I told you we should’ve drugged her!”

Ashley groaned, light burning her eyes underneath her eyelids. The voices hushed, waiting. She opened her eyes, flinching from the light. Over her stood three girls, all with features almost identical to hers. She scrambled back, her head hitting the headboard on her bed. Ashley groaned again, her head throbbing. A strong pair of hands steadied her, holding her still. After she gathered herself, she found enough courage to open her eyes. She studied the girls who were leaning over her. One had long hair that covered her face, and a worried expression. Another one had big round glasses and more defined freckles than Ashley. The last one had lots of piercings. Her half- shaved head was bleached, and she looked about seventeen. Yep, she was going crazy. There was no way these people were real. The long haired girl piped up in a soft voice.

“Are you okay?” She squeaked.

Ashley nodded, holding her head. The bleached haired girl turned to the girl with glasses.

“Go get a warm washcloth.” The girl scurried away, leaving Ashley with the two other girls. She finally found her voice and whispered, “Who are you?” The bleached girl who she now deemed Rebel Girl’s eyes darkened.

“Easy. We’re you.”

Ashley shouted “NO!” The same moment Rebel girl held her down tighter. She squirmed, trying to escape her grasp. “There’s no way I’m going crazy! I just want a normal life!” Rebel Girl gritted her teeth, and a different girl came into view. Yep, she resembled Ashley very closely too. She came out of her closet, with a disgusted look on her face. “Why don’t you have anything good to wear?” She asked Ashley. Rebel Girl shot a look at her, and she shrugged. She walked closer to her, giving Ashley a better look at her. Her mascara was running, and her crop top and short shorts were drenched. So was everyone else’s clothes, but she was the only one who cared about it. Ashley named this girl Pretty Girl, not because she was pretty, but because she looked like she spent two hours each morning putting on makeup. Pretty Girl went back into her closet, plucking hangers and looking at each of them for a long time, then making a face and throwing them on the floor. Rebel Girl turned her attention back to Ashley, her face serious. “We all woke up in a forest not far from here. We found your house because we lived in it in our own worlds.” Ashley’s face twisted. “Other worlds?” Rebel Girl nodded. “Parallel universes. Alternate Dimensions. Whatever.” “Why? How? When?” Ashley asked.

“Like hell I know. The only question I can answer is when. About two hours ago. We all have handled it unusually well, except for Valley Girl back there.” She gestured to the closet. “She keeps complaining about not good enough clothes and not seeing her boyfriend.” Rebel Girl rolled her eyes. The girl with glasses came back with a warm washcloth, pressing it to her forehead. “Go to sleep, Ashley. We’ll deal with this in the morning.” And so she sank into the warm embrace of dreams, where reality was a distant land, forgetting about the mess that was unraveling.

Ashley woke to voices arguing. She rubbed her eyes, sitting up. Rebel Girl was sitting backwards on a chair, facing Pretty Girl, who was perched on the end of her bed. The girl with long hair and who stuttered a lot was sitting crisscrossed, rocking back and forth. The girl with glasses was sitting at her desk, deep in thought. Rebel Girl saw Ashley and stopped talking. “Hey,” she said, standing up. Pretty Girl turned to her. “Oh hi- ummmmm… Ashley?” She said, uncertain. Ashley nodded, confused as to why it took so long to say her name. Rebel Girl seemed to read her mind. “Her name is Ashley too. So is mine. All of ours. So to stop all this confusion, we have nicknames for each other. I’m Venus. That’s Rose,” She said, gesturing to Pretty Girl. “That’s Lily,” She said, pointing to the girl with long hair. “And that’s Poppy.” She finished, waving her hand at the girl with glasses. “All of your nicknames are based on flowers?” Ashley asked. “Plants.” Venus replied. “Oh,” she whispered. Lily piped up. “Should you have a nickname?” Ashley nodded, then went deep into thought. “How about Iris? I’ve always liked that name, and I don’t think Ashley suits me very well.” Venus clapped her hands together. “Awesome. Now that we have all that figured out, we need to find out how to get back.”