Jacob (20) meets Patricia (32)

When it came down to it, Jacob wasn't entirely clear why coming here was a good idea. After all, a fair was a social event, and Jacob's social life was...nearly non-existent. A lot of classmates were friendly, sure, but close friends? The only one Jacob had was Kristy. They'd been in a lot of the same classes for years now, and they got along well.

...okay, that was a bit complicated by the fact Jacob had a crush on her. With her long curly hair, bright smile, and...uh...everything else, how could anyone not fall for her?

There was no chance she saw anything in Jacob, though. The only notable thing about Jacob was height, one of the tallest students in the English depart of the university. Otherwise, this was the kind of young adult who faded into the background easily. Not ugly or anything, as far as Jacob was aware, but...not interesting, either.

Kristy couldn't come to the fair, thanks to a last minute cram session for an midterm, which left Jacob wandering around with nothing to do. Jacob kept trying to stop from itching, the skin under Jacob's red hoodie feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Nothing new there. Jacob hadn't felt comfortable with that body in...Jacob stopped to think. Had there ever been a time it felt comfortable?

Ugh, that was depressing. Turning around a corner, Jacob spied something interesting: a Hall of Mirrors. Those had always seemed interesting in movies and TV shows, but there'd never been an opportunity for Jacob to see one in-person. It was free to enter, though as the doors closed behind Jacob, the ticket taker said, "Good luck in there, miss."

"Miss?" Jacob asked. Strange. It wasn't like it was hard to tell Jacob was a guy...right? And...why did hearing that make Jacob feel kind of happy? Why did playing the words over and over again make that uncomfortable feeling go away, just a little?

Strangely enough, this Hall of Mirror's wasn't like any Jacob had seen on television. It was less of a maze, since it was obvious where the mirrors were, just several different paths forward that were pretty obvious to figure out.

That wasn't the weird thing, though. The really weird thing was the reflections. Or rather, the lack of them. How was that happening? Some kind of optical illusion?

It was definitely eerie, so Jacob started heading down a path, hoping to find the exit soon. At least, until Jacob faced a slightly foggy mirror and saw someone reflected there. Finally, a mirror that worked

For a second, it seemed like it was Jacob's reflection. It was hard to see details, but the figure clearly had longer hair, and the build was different, even if their eye-lines matched up perfectly. As Jacob approached, so did the other person, matching the pace perfectly. Was this some kind of trick mirror, distorting things?

Then, the reflection stopped walking and started sprinting, something that immediately stunned Jacob. "That's...not how reflections work," Jacob said, numbly.

The confusion got worse when the figure hit the other side of the mirror, and cleanly came through to Jacob's side, still sprinting.

For a moment, Jacob could see this person in perfect detail. Clearly a bit older than Jacob, this was a woman, and she was...honestly very pretty. Dirty blonde hair pulled into long pigtails, and a casual fashion sense that made her look cute. It also made clear she was...um...well Jacob had multiple things in motion to see as she ran, to put it one way.

"Who...are you exactly?" Jacob asked, but the woman just kept running, and before Jacob could react, she reached where Jacob stood and smashed a fist into Jacob's face, sending the young adult skidding across the floor to slam into another mirror.

When Jacob finally looked up and saw her, now terrified of this utterly bewildering event, it was clear she was angry, huffing and puffing after she'd skidded to a stop. "I'm you, dumbass!" she shot back.