Happy Death Day: Fatal Loop

7

Waking up to "Without You" again, I silenced the alarm, feeling an unexpected calm.

Today, I resolved to do nothing, hoping that by midnight, a new day and a different tune would greet me.

The morning passed slowly without rehearsals or murder plans, filled with mundane routines. And as expected, the "Traveling Frog" mask arrived before lunch, destined for disposal once June 8th ended.

While applying lipstick, the sound of keys and the slamming door announced Casey's usual inconsiderate return.

Facing the mirror, I forced a smile, not too stiff, ready to face whatever Casey brought with her.

The clatter of keys against the glass coffee table echoed as I peered out from the bathroom.

"What's wrong?"

"I've been cursed!" Casey slumped onto the sofa, eyes rimmed red. "Just look at this!"

Her gesture was unnecessary; her once beautiful hair was now a patchy mess, shaved in parts, a stark contrast to its usual elegance.

"It must've been Zach while I was asleep!" she fumed. "That jerk! I give him the honor of my company for one night, and this is how he repays me?"

I leaned against the bathroom doorway, silently observing.

"But it's strange..." Casey pondered, confused. "You'd think cutting off this much hair would wake me up, but I felt nothing. And there wasn't a single cut hair in his bed, just a few long strands."

"Zach vehemently denies doing it, even swore on his life. How can someone be like this?" She shook her head in disbelief, retreating to her room amidst sounds of rummaging and complaints about a missing wig.

Back in the bathroom, I met my reflection's gaze, my smile no longer forced but genuinely joyous.

Casey's rant sparked a daring idea in me.

On the previous June 8th, after killing Casey, I impulsively cut off her hair, discarding it.

Today, her hair was inexplicably shorter.

If the effects of the previous cycle, like the cut hair, persisted into the next, did that imply the same for other physical changes?

Perhaps I had stumbled upon the key to truly ending Casey.

Yet, executing this plan might prove challenging on my own...