The Legend of Green Eyes

(S Meyer owns these peeps)

Chapter Two

"The Legend of Old Green Eyes, the ghost who is said to haunt the battlefield in various forms ranging from a Confederate soldier to a green-eyed panther, has been a part of Chickamauga Battlefield lore since the last shot was fired at the bloody battle that claimed 34,000 casualties Sept. 19-20, 1863. The tales of Green Eyes and other phantom sightings stem from the soldiers who lived through the War between the States." –Civil War Historian Edward Tinney

I'm not sure why I chose history as my minor. I guess I've always been fascinated by times past whether it be ancient Greece or the Civil War. I can let myself get carried away into a totally different world than my own and daydream of what life would have been like for me ages ago. I wonder how I would have looked in a toga or a hoop skirt a la Scarlett O'Hara? I lose myself in a vision of bonnets, petticoats, and bustles while batting my eyelashes at a genteel soldier. The thought makes me chuckle out of my reverie as I amble my way to Brock Hall for my first class of the semester with Professor Carlisle Cullen. He's a new professor that just came here from the University of Georgia. I heard that his family is originally from this area.

I settle into a desk in the middle of the large classroom. The middle is nice and anonymous. I don't want the very back in case it's too hard to see the board or teacher and I definitely don't want to be up in the first row in the front line of fire. Since this is an upper level class I get to avoid the whole lecture hall scenario. That's one nice thing about now being out of my core curriculum. That and now my professors will finally be able to learn my name... Oh my! I internally gasp. Surely he can't be the professor? Remember to take a deep breath girl. Breathe girl! I am positive now that I will have perfect attendance for this class this entire semester. What else does he teach? Maybe I can get him for all my history classes? Dr Blonde Hottie is definitely not what I expected when I signed up for this class. I envisioned the stereotypical history prof: a stuffy, wrinkled curmudgeon in worn tweed rather than this Professor Hotness. He seemed to be in his early 40s although still boyishly handsome with piercing blue eyes, thick longish blonde hair and a lean six-foot physique that hints at nice things under a light blue button-up shirt and tan pants. He could have walked out of a Banana Republic ad. However, I do notice a shiny gold band on his left hand. Oh well. A girl can dream though I'm not the type to go after my professor. That's beyond tacky and cliché. I'm content to drool from afar.

I'm drawn out of my trance by the sound of someone sliding into the chair next to mine. I nonchalantly glace to my left. Whoa! I'm struck my the beautiful boy taking a seat. What is this? Tall hot blonde guy day? An extremely attractive blonde 20ish guy offers me a small smile almost in apology of distracting my concentration at the hands of his not so silent chair squeaking.

"Hello, I'm Jasper," he offers with a perfect smile and hazel eyes that stare expectantly back at me. I make a quick mental note that although he is a babe, I've never been into blondes and the dumb-struck look he must be seeing is more due to being barraged by so much hotness in such a small time frame rather than wanting to jump him in the middle of class. My roomie Alice on the other hand is a total sucker for tall, blonde and babish. I must find out of he's single without giving the wrong signals. Hmmm. I smell an extracurricular project for myself.

"Ahem, hello. I'm Jasper." I quickly come back down to earth for landing.

"Sorry, I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you. Are you a history major or minor?"

"Major," he replies. "And you?"

"Minor."

"Cool. I'd like to eventually get my PhD and have my area of study be the Civil War. I'm obsessed with history in general obviously, but I'm just fascinated by the whole war dynamic. Brother fighting against brother, families being torn apart, and of course there's the fun ghost stories."

I laugh quietly in agreement since I'm familiar with some of said stories due to having a dad who's a history nut and Civil War buff, and then, Dr Cullen calls attention to the class. Yes, I will drool from afar. Sigh.

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After class, Jasper and I chatter on about some of the local silly ghost stories as we leave the history department building. I'm supposed to meet Alice afterward for a snack so I tell Jasper he's welcome to join us since he says he doesn't have another class for an hour. Ah! This could be part one of my evil extracurricular. It's mid-August in Chattanooga so it's hard to get in the spirit of college football and other rites of Autumn. It's sticky and in the mid 80s. I'd rather find an ice cold swimming pool to jump in right now. Sweet ice tea at Coffee Crafters will have to do for now. Alice comes into my line of sight as we corner Douglas onto Vine. She's perched on a bench just outside the cafe and when she spots us, her expressive brown eyes get as big as coffee cup saucers as she takes in my companion. Yes, my devious little plan will work. "Muhahaha!" I mentally cackle to myself.

"Hey Alice! Sorry I'm a little late. Jasper, here, and I got caught up chatting after class. He's in my History of Tennessee with Dr Cullen. Jasper meet Alice, my best friend, and Alice meet Jasper, my new classmate. He's a history major."

Alice snaps out of her ogling to smirk. "I hear that Cullen is a total babe. A DILF, if you will. He can lecture me any day."

"Alice!" I chide. "How on earth does an interior design major already know what a history professor looks like when I, the history minor, had no clue. A little heads up would have been nice. Anyway, attendance in that class won't be a problem for me I'm sure." We giggle like school girls and Jasper clears his throat.

"Oops! Sorry. We can get a little carried away sometimes," I offer sheepishly. "Let's get inside and cool off."

After we order, I choose a small table with three chairs that already has two of them placed close together, so I take the chair farthest away forcing them to sit close and so Alice knows I'm not trying to claim the new man-meat.

Jasper pipes up. "We were just talking about some old ghost stories. Ghosts of Confederate soldiers and such that supposedly lurk the Chickamauga Battlefield. The most famous of these is The Legend of Green Eyes. He's a Civil War soldier who apparently lost his head and roams the fields looking for his body and then there's the version that says the green eyes are that of a ghost panther. I think I like the soldier version better."

"Ooh! I've heard of that one! There's nothing I love more than some ghost stories. I'm sort of into weird stuff like that." Alice blushes. Alice never blushes.

"You'll have to forgive her. She's watched Ghost Hunters a few too many times."

Noticing her blush, Jasper jumps in, "I've always thought it would be cool go out to the battlefield with some equipment and see if there's anything to all of the hype. Of course I wouldn't know where to start. I've never really done anything like that before, but it could be interesting."

"We should make it a project! I'll check into what type of equipment we might need and see if there is anyone around here that has done that sort of thing before. We can be our own version of Ghost Hunters!" Alice is absolutely beaming.

"I don't really know about this. Ghosts aren't really my thing. It creeps me out. What if something bad happens? What if one of our heads starts spinning and we puke blood?" Visions of the Exorcist dance around my head and I shudder.

"Silly Bella! It will be an adventure. Come on! If anything, it's something new to do in this boring town." And with that Alice starts humming the Ghost Busters theme song. "If you've had a dose of a freaky ghost," she sings in her clear soprano and continues humming. I can tell Jasper is completely charmed by this display.

After almost an hour of them good-naturedly teasing me about the spooky ghosts and boogymen that are going to come and get me, we exchange our information with him and I make it a point to say that I'll tag along for their flights of fancy, but they are in charge of setting Project Spook up, thus means them doing the research on how to take such a task. I'm sure there's some sort of equipment that we'll need, right? Don't they usually have some sort of electromagnetic meters they tote around or something? Heck, maybe we'll need to stock up on stakes, garlic and crosses for good measure. Maybe Alice and I can dress as Bill Murray and Harold Ramis for Halloween this year? Why do I get dragged into these things? Because I can't say no to my friends, that's why.

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As we head to our dorm, Alice is practically bouncing up and down with ideas for our little project. She also joyously mentions that this means she'll get to hang out more with 'that hot blonde guy' as she's now dubbed Jasper. Once Alice gets a project and her mind set on something, there's nothing stopping her. I have no doubt that within a week she'll have it all mapped out.

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Later that evening we head to the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house where we've been invited to watch some preseason football. I don't really care about the football, but Alice is going and I don't want to be alone. I guess all this talk of ghosts is getting to me. Once we cross the foyer and head to the den, we spot Rosalie cuddled up next to her new fiance Emmett. Like Rose he's a senior and an EE major. They met because he was the only guy who had the guts to talk to her in one of the junior-level electrical engineering classes they shared. She originally dismissed him as a blockhead and a pig, but later found out that despite his playful and sarcastic demeanor, he's actually quite intelligent. It's hilarious to see them banter back and forth. They're perfect for each other. The pair got engaged right before school year started and plan on marrying soon after they graduate in May. Alice and I will be bridesmaids. They each can dish it out to one another and they both can take it just like amusing puzzle pieces. He did play on the university football team until a knee injury sidelined him permanently at the end of last season.

During half-time, Rose, Alice and I start chatting about 'girly' things so that's Emmett's cue to either tune out or go in search of more beer in the fridge. Alice starts cooing about Babe-raham Lincoln a.k.a. Jasper and how she needs me to set them up. I tell her just to be patient and hang around when I'm heading to or from class and they can get to know each other more through proximity. I don't believe in setting people up. I've been a victim of many friends' good intentions too many times to subject even willing participants to that torture. I still haven't completely forgiven her for making me take Mike Newton to spring formal last year. He got plastered and couldn't keep his hands or his upchuck to himself. I recoil at the tainted memory. My beautiful jade green floor-length silk gown was ruined. Talk of Babe Lincoln meanders into talk of Alice's little ghost project. At the sound of this, Emmett's ears perk up.

"Hey! I want in on that too. Please?" He sounds like such a puppy dog. He says he needs some adventure because he's not going to be playing this season. I swear some guys are never happy unless there is the possibility of bodily harm. Rose rolls her eyes because she knows if the three of us are involved, she'll also automatically get sucked into this project and don't let her fool you. She loves an adventure just as much as Em does. Like I said, they are two peas in an intrepid pod.

Emmett then ushers us to his room to Google 'ghost hunting' on his blue Dell laptop as his roommate Ben shakes his head incredulously and mutters on the phone to his girlfriend and fellow ADPi Angela about Em needing a new hobby and I think I heard the term "nut house" uttered.

"Tell Ang we said 'hi' and that we'll see her tomorrow night for the chapter meeting," Alice blurts before he leaves the room still shaking his head.

Alice, a.k.a. Miss Organization, catalogs a list of items we'll need and Rose mentions that she knows a guy in one of her classes, Eric, who is part of a student club that's dedicated to anything paranormal, alien, fantasy or sci-fi related and plans to consult him the next time they cross paths. She explains that he's the stereotypical engineering geek and a bit out there, but a genuinely nice guy and probably has what we need and will more than likely loan us the equip with a few bats of her eyelashes through her sapphire eyes. No guy can stand a chance when she turns on the charm. Hell, no guy can resist her even when she doesn't unleash it.

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Two days later Rose calls Alice and lets her know that she's secured all the equipment and we just need to let her know when we want to do our outing. My friends are always insisting I need to live a little, so here goes!


The ghost hunting begins next chapter! Reviews make Alice sing the Ghost Busters theme!