Chapter 2

'Look, Veronica. It's not that I don't want you here; I just don't understand why you are. You didn't exactly seem keen back in the theatre.' Alison says as she brings two cups of tea to the table in her kitchen. 'Do you take sugar?' The person opposite shakes her head. Alison takes the sugar back to the kitchen side and takes a seat near the girl. 'So what is it that you want?' Alison picks up her tea and blows it to try and cool it down. 'If I'm going to be completely honest I think the person that you said you saw was someone that I actually know, and if it is the person who I think it is I want to know she is coming after me.' Alison begins to nod; something catches the corner of her eye. 'What is it? What are you looking at?' she tilts her head right and stares at the thin air. 'Is she here, is she here behind me?' Veronica's voice starts to become agitated, she looks behind her shoulder but she doesn't see anything. She was about to ask another question when Alison took her fingers to her own lips. Veronica whispers 'What is she saying? Is she pissed off at me?' Alison looks back at Veronica. 'You ask a lot of questions don't you. She wasn't really saying much, it was more so her face. How did you know her exactly?'
Veronica picks up her cup of tea and takes a sip. 'She's my mother; she died when I was younger.' Alison looks at her, her face begins to tell a story of its own. *FLASHBACK* Alison is sitting in a classroom surrounded by her peer group. The teacher is calling out the register. 'Mundy?' Alison lifts her head up from the desk. 'Here sir.' Her eyes are swollen and red. Her teacher looks across at her. 'Mundy can you stay behind after registration, I would like to have a little word.' He tries to give a reassuring smile. *FLASHBACK* 'Alison, are you alright?' Veronica asks her with a tone of concern to her voice. Alison snaps out of her daydream and looks at Veronica. 'Fine.' She was lying, Veronica didn't know this. 'What I think we should do is just slowly make our way around what has happened and how we can sort this out. She doesn't appear to be talking to me right now, she's just standing there. When she begins to speak to you I will let you and we can start then. If you will excuse me I have got some things to do if you wouldn't mind leaving.' Veronica nods and drinks the last bit of her tea. She stands up, 'Thank you very much Alison, I hope we can sort this out and everything will be okay.'
Once Alison had closed the front door being Veronica she walks back into the kitchen and takes the mugs off the table and puts them into the sink. She lets out a big sigh. 'I know you are here, I can't help you unless you talk to me. I won't tell her. I just want to give her closure, so she can move on.' She turns to face her but she has vanished. She goes up to bed.

'There are some things that I don't tell people, they don't need to know everything that has happened to me in my life. It's got nothing to do with them if I'm going to be completely honest. It's not that I wouldn't like a friend here, one that I can talk to about everything and know it won't get spread around. That is highly unlikely with what I do, everyone just make an automatic judgement about me, which really does piss me off. Since the accident I've tried to just get on with my life, not relying on anyone. It has worked in the past but I suppose I'm just tired of being lonely and not being able to escape the things I see and hear. I get asked if it's a 'cool' thing to experience. It isn't cool at all. I've tried to explain all the negatives about what I do but people don't really listen to me, I don't know why. They must think I'm lying when I say it's the worst thing to have happen to them, I hate the fact that I can see them but no one else can, so they don't believe me. You could say that I'm just tired and want to start again. I'm here for five minutes and that has already gone down the drain.' Alison thinks to herself.

The next morning, once Alison was dressed and had a shower she goes down stairs and grabs a pencil and a piece of paper. She sits at the table and begins to write:
SHOPPING LIST
-eggs
-milk
-bread
-bacon
-cheese
-butter
-washing up liquid
-jam
-smarties

She walks over to her cupboards and looks to see what's inside. She then returns to the table and writes more on the list
-soup
-bleach

She gets up from the table and folds the piece of paper and then placing it into the back of her jeans pocket. Walking over to the living area she picks up hear coat and puts it on. 'Hello.' She turns around. 'I thought it was you, I felt someone walk in. Are you ready to talk to me?' the woman in front of her shakes her head. 'Fine, suit yourself. I have to go; I've got some shopping to do. You know where I am if you need to talk, when you are ready to talk to me about everything. Okay?' she nods her head. 'Make yourself at home if you are staying. If you aren't staying you can let yourself go. I really need to get this shopping before it gets too late. Goodbye.'
Alison walks out of the living room towards the front door; she quickly turns to look back in the room. She had taken a seat on the chair in the corner.

Alison smiles to herself. 'I thought she would stay.'