A taxi drew up outside Stanford University. Eduardo, Kylie, Roland and the driver got out. The driver then went to the back of the vehicle, and retrieved Garrett's wheelchair from the boot.
'Roland, this place is amazing!' said Kylie. 'There's pine trees on campus and everything!'
'Yeah, I guess,' said Roland.
'Nice cab drivers too,' said Garrett, rolling over to join them. 'Thanks, pal.'
'No problem,' said the cab driver. 'Who's paying?'
Roland pulled out his wallet and mooched over to the driver.
'Hey, you guys,' said Garrett, beckoning Eduardo and Kylie closer to him. 'Do you think Roland's been acting weird ever since we left?'
'Well,' said Kylie, 'perhaps a little.'
'Maybe he's possessed again,' said Eduardo.
'Too bad we can't check,' said Garrett. 'I'd have brought a PKE meter if I'd thought of it.'
'No you wouldn't,' said Kylie. 'There's no way you could have gotten it through security at Newark and San José. You would've probably gotten arrested and had to stay behind.'
'Somebody wanted to stay behind?' said Roland, appearing in their midst.
'No,' said Garrett. 'Don't jump to conclusions when you've only heard the end of a conversation, Rolster.'
'Sorry,' said Roland. 'It's just... it means a lot, you guys coming here with me. It's costing you time and money, and you didn't have to...'
'Where's all this coming from, Roland?' asked Kylie.
'I don't know,' said Roland. 'I guess I'm just feeling a little emotional. I mean, this could be the last time we do something like this.'
'I don't think so,' said Garrett. 'You're forgetting spring break.'
'Okay,' said Roland, 'but what about after that?'
'There's no point thinking that far ahead, Roland,' said Kylie. 'You haven't even found out if you really like this place yet. Let's go in and find your professor, shall we?'
'He's not my professor,' Roland said, somewhat sharply.
'Well,' said Kylie, 'you know what I mean. Come on.'
So saying, she pressed her hands to Roland's back and began pushing him towards the campus building, at the same time shooting a comical grimace over her shoulder at Eduardo and Garrett.
'Eddie,' said Garrett, chuckling, 'I don't know what it is you do, and I don't wanna know, but she's sure lightened up in the time you guys have been together.'
'Well, she wasn't just being funny,' said Eduardo. 'She was telling us not to follow them.'
'What? How come?'
'I guess she wants to have one of their heart-to-hearts.'
'Yeah, well,' said Garrett, 'that might not be a bad idea. You know what I'd tell him? If you really don't want to break up the group, don't go to Stanford!'
'Yeah?' said Eduardo. 'So does that mean you're planning to stick around after college?'
'I didn't say that,' said Garrett. 'But if I go anywhere, I won't get all emotional because I want us all to stay together. I mean, it's not like we're joined at the hip, right?'
'Give the guy a break,' said Eduardo. 'Some people get emotional when things change.'
'Yeah, okay,' said Garrett, 'but... things aren't gonna change that much, are they? I mean, if we end up going our separate ways... if we do... we'll still see each other sometimes, right?'
Eduardo gave him a look. 'Getting a little emotional yourself there, Gar?'
'No. I'm just saying... well, when it comes down to it, all Roland's really worrying about is geography.'
Meanwhile, back in New York, Kevin's class was having a geography lesson.
'In summary,' the teacher was saying, 'you are going to design and map out a city from scratch. Your report should contain full details of population, infrastructure, services, budget allocation and everything else we learned about in the weeks leading up to Christmas. See if you can organise yourselves into groups of three or four; otherwise I'll have to do it!'
Kevin heard the scraping of chairs on either side of him, and saw that he had been flanked by Lucy and Jandro. He grinned at them in turn; they grinned back at him.
'Oh dear,' the teacher said, 'it seems that Michael doesn't have a group. Which one of you gangs of three will take him?'
Michael looked over to where Ella was sitting with Catherine and Stephanie, both of whom were whispering to her harshly and physically restraining her from raising either of her hands. Kevin noticed this sequence of events, and frowned.
'Mrs Deeble?' he ventured. 'We'll take Michael.'
Kevin's group-mates did not take well to this idea. Lucy said, 'Oh, Kev!' in a strangled voice, and Jandro smacked him.
'Thank you, Kevin,' said Mrs Deeble. 'Michael, come and join this group, please.'
Michael mooched over to where Kevin, Lucy and Jandro were sitting, dragging his chair across the floor behind him.
'All right, now get to work,' Mrs Deeble ordered. 'I want a name and location for your city by the end of this lesson!'
'Can it be anywhere in the world, ma'am?' asked Lucy.
'Yes, it can, but I want it to be realistic, so if you choose somewhere too exotic then you'll have a lot of extra research to do!' said Mrs Deeble. 'Get on with it.'
The studious hum of quiet but intense group work quickly filled the classroom.
'I suppose you asked her that 'cause you want to put our city in China or something,' Michael said to Lucy. 'And I guess you two want to stick it in... El Salvador,' he added to Kevin and Jandro.
'Michael...' Lucy said, sounding strained and weary already.
'Let's just say it's on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States,' said Kevin. 'That's the easiest thing to do.'
'I didn't think you were the type to chase an easy A, Rivera,' said Michael.
'I'm not,' said Kevin, 'but I think this is the best way for us to produce a high quality project, if we stick with what we know.'
'You're right, Kev,' said Jandro. 'Let's do that.'
'Yeah, I agree,' said Lucy.
'Okay,' said Michael. 'Let's call it Conway City!'
'Well...' said Kevin. 'I guess that does have kind of a ring to it.'
'Yeah, that's fine by me,' said Jandro.
'But... yes, all right,' Lucy sighed. 'Now let's do some actual work, shall we?'
Roland and Kylie were sitting on semi-comfortable chairs in a room that contained a secretary sitting at a desk, a clock that read half-past eleven and a door labelled Professor Albright, Professor Solomon, Civil and Environmental Engineering. They sat in silence for a few moments, looking rather awkward.
'Nice office,' Kylie said at last. 'Well, it's a nice campus, isn't it? Don't you think it's nice, Roland?'
'You seem very taken with it,' said Roland. 'Are you thinking of coming here yourself?'
'I think it's too late for that,' said Kylie.
'No it's not. You'll probably be okay if you apply before the end of the month.'
'Yeah, well, I don't want to.'
'You don't?' said Roland, suddenly sounding very interested. 'Why not?'
'Because I'm happy in New York,' said Kylie, 'and I have enough possibilities there to think about.'
'So you definitely wouldn't consider leaving?'
'No, not right now. Not long-term, anyway.'
'Why? What's keeping you there?'
'Roland,' said Kylie, 'it sounds like maybe there's some ulterior motive to these questions. Is there anything you need to talk about?'
'I don't know,' said Roland. 'Professor Solomon's probably almost ready to see me.'
The secretary looked up, and said, 'Professor Solomon is unexpectedly busy this morning. He'll be with you as soon as he can.'
'Okay, thanks,' said Roland.
'Roland,' said Kylie, 'you know you can talk to me if you want to. But you don't have to, obviously.'
'No, I will,' Roland said with a sigh. 'The truth is, I want to finally come and get my doctorate here, after putting it off for two years. I mean, I think I do. But part of me is sort of hoping that today will change my mind, because I'm worried about what'll happen with T'Keyah.'
'Oh, I see,' said Kylie. 'I should've realised. She's staying in New York, right?'
'Yeah. She's been planning to get her doctorate at Albert Einstein College since she was a kid.'
'Have you talked to her about it?'
'Of course I have,' said Roland. 'She says she doesn't want me to stay behind because of her, or else I'll end up resenting her. And she's not going to follow me if I come here, for the same reason. But she doesn't want to split up either, so she says we can try a long-distance relationship, and see what we want to do when we're both done studying.'
'That sounds incredibly sensible,' said Kylie.
'Yeah?' said Roland. 'So you don't think I should stay with her?'
'It isn't what I think that matters.'
'But I want your opinion. As a friend. Please, Kylie.'
'Well...' Kylie began, looking uncomfortable. Then suddenly Professor Solomon's door opened, and the man himself appeared.
'I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, Roland,' he said. 'I've had to make so many phone calls about... well, you don't need to know that. Please, come through to my office.' He glanced at Kylie, and looked a little put out. 'And your friend...?'
'You don't need me for this, Roland,' said Kylie. 'I'll catch up with the others. Give one of us a call when you're done and we'll tell you where we are.'
'Okay,' said Roland, as Professor Solomon ushered him into his office.
'Nina,' said Professor Solomon, once Roland was out of sight, 'hold my calls, will you?'
'Even the drop-outs?' asked Nina.
'Especially the drop-outs!' said Solomon, in a low voice, leaning closer to Nina's desk. 'I'm trying to get the numbers back up here! So just keep quiet about it, will you?'
'Sorry,' Nina said insincerely, as Solomon disappeared into his office.
'You're experiencing a high drop-out rate?' Kylie said in surprise. 'But it's not drop-out season – people have usually made up their minds by now.'
'I know,' said Nina. 'It's weird, and it's not just freshmen either. People are dropping out with five months to graduation! Look, just between you and me, maybe your friend should know about it before he makes a decision.'
'Maybe,' said Kylie. 'I guess that depends on what the reason is.'
'Beats the hell outta me,' said Nina. 'But if I figure it out before you guys leave, I'll let you know.'
'I can't believe how much there is to do...' muttered Professor Solomon, rifling through an enormous quantity of papers on his desk while Roland sat patiently opposite him. 'I'm sorry, Roland – I seem to have mislaid your file. I'll have to get Nina to print you a new one. NINA!' he shouted, as he shot out of his chair and headed for the door.
Roland watched him over his shoulder, then turned back towards the desk.
'I've seen your file,' said a white-haired, bespectacled man who had appeared in the professor's chair. 'Roland Jackson, isn't it? Engineering major, straight-A student and Ghostbuster. I know all about you and your escapades, Roland. Your kind-hearted leadership is unimpressive.'
Roland stared at the figure, unable to think of anything to say.
'You might as well stay with your girlfriend,' the visitor went on, 'because you'll never cope with the work here. On the other hand, you might as well try, because your girlfriend clearly doesn't want to be with you anymore. She's just trying to let you down gently with all that long-distance relationship nonsense. And what else do you have to stay for, hmm? All your friends hate you!'
'Why do you say that?' Roland asked anxiously.
'They only want you when they can make use of you. Actually, this reminds me of a very good riddle. When they don't need you, they take you in, but when they want to use you, they throw you away. What does that make you?'
'Um...'
Just then, the door opened again and Professor Solomon came back in, clutching a small sheaf of papers. Roland turned to look at him as he made his way from the door to his now empty chair.
'So sorry... do apologise,' Solomon mumbled, as he settled down and began leafing through the files. 'Now then, Roland...'
The geography class was packing up as the clock on the wall above the teacher's desk rapidly approached three o'clock.
'You guys can come back to my place after school and work on the project 'til my mom gets home,' Michael suddenly announced to his group-mates, 'if you want...'
'Er... no thanks,' said Jandro. 'I, er... gotta go wash my dog.'
'And I'm, um... going shopping for a new dress,' said Lucy. 'Sorry.'
'What about you, Rivera?' said Michael, fixing Kevin with a glare. 'Are you going shopping for a new dress too?'
'No, I'm not,' said Kevin. 'Okay, Michael – I will come back to your place after school.'
Michael's expression softened, but he said no more. Jandro and Lucy both gave Kevin bewildered looks. He grinned back at them, and shrugged.
Kevin stood in Michael's small, cluttered kitchen with the telephone pressed to his ear.
'No, Mom, I'm only eight blocks away,' he was saying into the mouthpiece. 'Yeah, I'll see you in a couple of hours. We're doing homework. His name's Michael. Er... yeah, I guess he is. No, we won't go off on the subway and get into trouble, I promise – we'll be working at his kitchen table the whole time. Okay, sure. See you then. Bye.'
As Kevin replaced the receiver, Michael finished stirring the two mugs of cocoa he had been working on and threw the chocolatey teaspoon into a sink that was already overflowing with dirty dishes. They both sat down at the kitchen table, and Michael handed Kevin a steaming mug.
'Thanks,' said Kevin. 'Smells like good cocoa.'
'It's only instant,' Michael shrugged. 'Your mom likes to know where you are after school, huh?'
'Yeah,' said Kevin. 'Doesn't yours?'
'I don't think so,' said Michael. 'But I guess she'd worry if I wasn't here when she got home from work.'
'Yeah, I bet she would,' said Kevin. 'It's just the two of you living here, right?'
'Yeah, that's right,' said Michael. 'My dad left when I was like five.'
'I'm sorry,' said Kevin.
'Doesn't matter,' Michael shrugged. 'You have a dad, huh?'
'Yeah, I have a dad.'
'Brothers and sisters?'
'No,' said Kevin. 'And I don't think that's ever going to change, from what I've picked up.'
'Maybe you'll get to meet my mom later,' said Michael. 'She'll be back in about two hours.'
'I'll be sure to stick around and say hi before I leave,' said Kevin. 'Okay then, Michael – I thought I could take a look at those popul–'
'You can call me Mike if you want,' said Michael. 'And I'll call you Kev, like your friends do.'
'All right, Mike,' said Kevin, smiling slightly. 'I'll get to work on the population statistics, and maybe you can make a start on the –'
'I'm gonna cut pictures out of this electronics catalogue and paste them into the section on business and commerce,' said Michael, 'to show what's gonna be made in the city's industrial district.'
'Um... okay then,' said Kevin. 'All right, let's do this!'
Eduardo, Kylie and Garrett were in an Italian restaurant, sipping coffee, and two of them were shamelessly gossiping about Roland.
'Don't they say long-distance relationships never work?' said Garrett.
'Who says that?' said Kylie.
Garrett shrugged. 'I don't know. People.'
'If they have a solid relationship,' said Kylie, 'it'll survive.'
'What if it doesn't survive?' asked Garrett.
'Then they'll be glad neither one of them sacrificed their dreams for the other,' said Kylie. 'T'Keyah is so right – if she gave up her place at medical school and maybe even couldn't get in somewhere else, or he stayed in New York when he really wants to go, they'd end up resenting each other.'
'Hey, Roland!' Eduardo called, beckoning their friend over as he entered the building. 'We ordered you a panini and a mocha cioccolata.'
'Thanks,' said Roland, sitting down and beginning to pick at the panini. 'By the way, there's a ghost in Professor Solomon's office.'
'Seriously?' said Garrett.
'Yes,' said Roland. 'He went out of the room for a minute, and this ghost appeared and tried to destroy all my confidence.'
'Wow,' said Kylie. 'Maybe that explains the sudden spate of drop-outs.'
'The what?' said Roland.
'Nina told me about it,' said Kylie. 'A lot of people have been dropping out lately, even if they're close to finishing.'
'We have to do something,' said Garrett.
'Right,' said Roland. 'We have to call Egon and get some equipment out here.'
'But that could take days,' said Garrett. 'Kylie was right before about airport security – he can't fly it out here.'
'Maybe he can,' said Roland. 'In situations like this, we usually find as many people willing to help us as condemn us – sometimes even more.'
'It seems like a lot of hassle,' said Garrett. 'Maybe one or two of us should go check this thing out and see if there's anything else we can do.'
'Like what?' Eduardo asked sceptically.
'We won't know that until we get there,' said Garrett. 'I'm going, anyway. Nobody can touch my confidence.'
'Nor mine,' said Kylie, getting to her feet. 'And besides, I can show you the way to the office. You guys could maybe call Egon and see what he thinks. We'll meet later at the hotel.'
'Is this a good idea?' asked Eduardo.
'We'll be fine, sweetie,' said Kylie, stooping to kiss him. 'See you soon.'
She and Garrett made their way out of the restaurant. Eduardo turned to Roland, and said again, 'Is this a good idea?'
'I'm sure they'll be okay,' said Roland.
'But they don't have any weapons.'
'Neither does anyone at the university, and it sounds like all anyone's done is drop out.'
'Yeah, well, this Nina woman ain't exactly gonna mention a sudden rise in suicide rates, is she?'
'They'll be fine,' Roland insisted. 'They're right, aren't they? No one can touch their confidence. Not like mine – I was a sitting duck in there.'
Eduardo raised his eyebrows. 'You mean it got to you?'
Roland sighed. 'No. Well, yes. I mean... I was already having some confidence issues anyway.'
Eduardo nodded, then started concentrating hard on his coffee. Roland watched him, and frowned.
'I was worrying about how T'Keyah really feels about me,' he went on pointedly.
Eduardo looked at him, swallowed a big gulp of coffee, and said, 'Do you want my advice or something? Look, man, only you and T'Keyah know what's going on with you.'
'But I don't know – not really! What if the ghost –?'
'Don't listen to some stupid ghost you just met.'
'Well, I had the same thought myself, before I met him. What if this long-distance idea is just her way of letting me down gently, over a prolonged period?'
'Look,' said Eduardo, 'I don't really know T'Keyah that well, but I don't think she'd be that cruel. If she wanted to break up with you, she would.'
'But that's just what I'm afraid of!' said Roland. 'I just know that someday soon she's gonna turn around and tell me she doesn't need me in her life anymore!'
'Why would she tell you that? Because you can't be with a woman who's smart and has her own life and won't just be a little wifey at home?'
'No, of course not,' Roland said pathetically.
'Right,' said Eduardo. 'Sorry, man – that wasn't about you.'
'Is it anything you want to talk about?'
'No. It wasn't about me either. Anyway, we're talking about you. What else did this ghost say?'
'He said that all my friends hate me.'
'Not true.'
'And he said that I couldn't handle going to Stanford.'
'Bull.'
'And he said my kind-hearted leadership was unimpressive,' said Roland. 'I guess he was talking about ghostbusting.'
'How would it know anything about that?' asked Eduardo. 'It just met you.'
'Maybe he can read minds or something. Or maybe he just read my paperwork. I said I was the team leader on my application... I hope that's okay with the rest of you.'
'Fine with me. I mean, there've been a lot of times when we've really depended on you. It's gonna make a huge difference, you not being there. If you're not there.'
'Yeah?' said Roland, smiling slightly. 'So does that mean you'll still be there?'
Eduardo shrugged. 'I guess so. I mean, I can't do anything else.'
'Oh, I'm sure you can.'
'Yeah, well, maybe. But I'm not the one who needs a confidence boost here. Quit worrying about T'Keyah, man, okay? You might not even like it here. And if you do, you know she wants to keep the relationship going even if you're on opposite sides of the country for a few years. It sounds to me like you guys are pretty okay, Roland.'
'Well,' said Roland, 'I hope so. Anyway, I'll try calling Egon,' and he took out his cell phone.
Kevin and Michael started gathering together the work they had completed.
'You have very nice handwriting, Kev,' Michael remarked.
'Thanks, Mike,' said Kevin.
'I wish I could write like that,' said Michael.
'Oh, I've seen much worse writing than yours,' said Kevin. 'What have you actually written here? Kettle... Toaster... Microwave oven...'
'They're captions for the pictures.'
'Okay, so... what you've basically done is cut out pictures from that catalogue and write one- or two-word labels for them?'
'Yeah.'
'Is this all you've been doing, while I've been sitting here making population graphs and writing up infrastructure specifications?' Kevin asked, somewhat shrilly.
'You've just been colouring!' Michael said accusingly.
'Sure, I coloured the graph, but –'
'You're the first person I've ever had over after school.'
'What?' said Kevin.
'I've never done it before,' said Michael. 'I, um... I enjoyed it.'
'But... you must've had Ella over, at least?'
'No, she's never been here. I've been to her house, and we've been to the mall and the movie theatre and a whole bunch of other places, but she's never been here.'
'You should invite her over one afternoon,' said Kevin, 'make her some beans on toast or something. I bet she'd be really touched.'
'She probably wouldn't want to come,' said Michael.
'What makes you say that?'
'I think she's going off me, Kev. You saw how she didn't invite me to join her geography group earlier, didn't you?'
'Yeah, but that was only because Catherine and Stephanie were physically restraining her.'
'She could've said something though, couldn't she? She could've said, "Yes, Mrs Deeble, I want my boyfriend in my group!" but she didn't. Ella hates me now – that's the only explanation! I just know that someday soon she's gonna turn around and tell me she doesn't need me in her life anymore!'
'I think you're wrong, dude,' said Kevin. 'You just try inviting her back here after school and see what she says.'
'I don't know if I can,' said Michael. 'I mean, even if she does want to come over, the place is such a mess!'
'Oh,' said Kevin. 'Well, you know, Mike –'
Kevin stopped speaking at the sound of the front door opening. A few seconds later Michael's mother appeared in the kitchen, dressed in a blue tabard and looking very weary.
'Hiya, Mikey,' she said. 'Oh, I'm so glad you finally brought a friend home from school! Hi, I'm Rita, Mikey's mom.'
'Hi,' said Kevin, 'I'm Kevin, Mikey's geography group-mate.'
'Oh, you've been doing homework together – how wonderful!' Rita enthused. 'Mikey doesn't usually do homework.'
'Yes, well he hasn't actually done very much today either,' Kevin could not help but say.
'Oh, I'm sure he hasn't,' Rita laughed, clapping her hands together in amusement. 'Thank you so much for coming over, Kevin. I wish I could be here myself when you get back from school, Mikey, but those frozen fish fillets aren't going to sell themselves, now are they?'
'Mom, this mug is dirty,' said Michael, holding out his cocoa mug.
'So it is, darling,' said Rita. 'Well, I guess I'd better take it.'
She cast a wistful look at the overflowing stack of dishes in the sink, added the mug to it, and reached for the dish-washing liquid in a resigned manner. Kevin cast a guilty look at his own used mug.
'Um... I'd better be getting home now,' he said. 'Thanks for having me, Mike. I'll see you tomorrow.'
'Bye, Kev,' said Michael.
'And do feel free to come back any time,' said Rita. 'You're a very nice boy, Kevin.'
'Yeah, well...' Kevin laughed. 'I do my best.'
When Kylie and Garrett entered Professor Solomon's office, one of the two desks was occupied by a middle-aged woman. She was concentrating hard on some paperwork, but raised her head inquisitively when the two strangers barged in.
'Sorry,' said Kylie. 'You must be Professor Albright. We're Ghostbusters. We just happened to be visiting, and we've had reports of a ghost in this office.'
'Reports from whom?' Professor Albright asked sharply.
'A visitor,' said Garrett.
'I've never seen any ghost,' said Professor Albright.
'We think it only targets students,' said Garrett. 'And prospective students. In fact, we think it's responsible for the sudden increase in drop-out rates.'
'Oh,' said Professor Albright, her tone brightening. 'Well, Professor Solomon and I have been wondering what to do about that. All right, you go ahead. Would you like me to leave?'
'Not to seem rude, Professor,' said Kylie, 'but it might help.'
'I was just wishing for an excuse to put this off,' Professor Albright said, throwing down her pen and getting to her feet. 'I didn't get my full lunch break anyway.'
The professor left the room, and all was quiet. Kylie and Garrett waited a for few moments. Then Kylie slumped into Albright's chair, and said, 'So I guess this is a pretty pointless exercise.'
'Maybe one of us should wait outside,' said Garrett.
'I don't know. We've probably talked too much now, and it knows what we're up to.'
'Well, let's give it a few minutes anyway.'
Kylie nodded, and they waited in silence for a few more moments.
'So do you think Roland will get his doctorate here?' Garrett asked at length.
'I hope so,' said Kylie.
'Yeah?' said Garrett. 'You sure sound like you feel strongly about it.'
'I don't know about that,' said Kylie. 'I just happen to think T'Keyah's right. If someone does something like not go to Stanford or not go to Albert Einstein College, to be with a boyfriend or girlfriend, sooner or later the one who made the sacrifice will throw it back in the other one's face.'
'So, you wouldn't give up an opportunity like this for Eduardo?'
'I can't see us getting into that situation.'
'Oh, I get it,' said Garrett, sounding suddenly and inexplicably grumpy.
Kylie stared at him in astonishment. 'What?'
'You go running off with Roland because you're worried about him acting weird, but you never want to talk about feelings and stuff with me!'
'Garrett, what the hell is this?' She was utterly at a loss. 'You were the one who brought up Roland acting weird, and... do you want to talk about your feelings? Because we can if you want to.'
'Oh, I don't know,' Garrett said sulkily. 'Maybe my feelings are wrong.'
'Of course they're not,' said Kylie. 'Is that ghost whispering in your ear or something?'
'No, it's not. I was thinking about this before we even came here.'
'Thinking about what?'
'I might not stay in New York either,' said Garrett, 'and I thought, if I didn't... if you were going to lose touch with one of us... I thought maybe it'd be me.'
'What a weird thing to think,' said Kylie. 'Was that "you" in the singular or the plural?'
'Kind of both, I guess,' said Garrett. 'I mean, Eduardo and Roland never seemed to get close, but you're the link between them. Eduardo's your boyfriend, obviously, and Roland... well, he's kind of like your girl-friend, isn't he? You tell him everything. Or a lot more than you tell me, anyway.'
'Well,' said Kylie, 'don't take this the wrong way, Garrett, but you don't exactly invite those kinds of conversations. I mean, when it comes to personal stuff, it kind of seems like you're looking for a laugh at someone's expense.'
'But I'm not!' said Garrett. 'I don't laugh at... I mean, if I really thought you... okay, I see your point.'
'Listen,' said Kylie. 'I can't speak for the others, but if I told you some of the stuff I tell Roland, it'd be weird because... well, because it'd be like I was saying it to my brother.'
'All right, I get it,' said Garrett. 'I'm not sensitive enough. Whatever – it doesn't matter.'
'Garrett,' said Kylie, 'are you even listening to me? I just said you're like my brother, you idiot!'
Garrett looked up suddenly. 'You... you did?'
'Look... you don't have any brothers or sisters, right?'
'Yeah, that's right.'
'Well, neither do I... so I guess I don't really know that much about it, but I figured... the way you laugh at me, and you try to get a rise out of me, but at the same time you'd do anything to protect me... that's sort of like what a brother does, isn't it?'
'Do I do that?' asked Garrett.
'Well,' said Kylie, 'you know we argue, about vampires or whatever... but you would do anything to protect me, wouldn't you? Like get yourself eaten by a giant plant and end up symbiotically linked to a seed pod, no matter how much you'd made fun of my ideas about the whole thing up 'til then?'
'But... but that was such a long time ago!'
'Yeah, well, I've never forgotten it. And I bet you'd do it again, wouldn't you?'
'So,' said Garrett, in wheedling tones, 'that means you and I have the strongest bond of all, right? Because boyfriends and girlfriends and friends come and go, but family –'
'– you're stuck with,' Kylie finished for him. 'Yes, that's true. But look, this ghost still hasn't shown up. Let's go with your idea of one of us leaving the room.'
'Which one?' asked Garrett.
'I'll go,' said Kylie. 'If it wants confidence, it should have plenty of material in you.'
She got up and walked into Nina's office, shutting the door firmly behind her. Garrett watched her go with a smug smile on his face, then turned his chair to face Professor Solomon's desk, only to see that the ghost had appeared there.
'So,' the ghost said, 'you think you can stop me?'
'Busting ghosts is my business,' said Garrett.
'For now,' said the ghost. 'I wonder why you told your friend you might be leaving.'
'I don't have to explain myself to you.'
'No, you don't, because I know the answer. You haven't spent the last three-and-a-half years learning about the human body so you can spend the rest of your life chasing people and things that have no body... like the skeleton who didn't go to the dance. You like jokes, don't you, Garrett?'
'Some jokes,' Garrett said guardedly.
'What about anatomy jokes? Let's see now... Why can't a nose be twelve inches long?'
At first Garrett said nothing, but he couldn't help thinking about the answer and when he thought he had it, he said, 'Because then it would be a foot?'
The ghost chuckled. 'Very good. What kind of flower grows on your face?'
Garrett was about to reply when Kylie burst into the room, and said, 'Don't get into a riddling contest with him, Garrett!'
'If you want a contest,' said the ghost, 'you must take a turn to ask me a riddle. Shall we try that?'
'No,' said Kylie. 'Come on, Garrett, let's go.'
So saying, she stalked from the room, and Garrett obediently followed her through Nina's office and out into the corridor.
'I guess it's pretty dangerous to try answering a ghost's riddle, huh?' he said sheepishly.
'I don't know exactly what would happen,' said Kylie, 'but you can bet your ass it wouldn't be good.'
'Why did it even start all that, anyway?' Garrett asked. 'I thought it was trying to destroy people's confidence and make them drop out, not trick them with riddles.'
'Maybe it does both. Let's go find the others and tell them what we've found out.'
