When I get to the fountain, Jeremy's back is turned. Perfect, I think. I creep up on him. At the last second, I hit his shoulders. Instead of jumping, he just turns and smiles.
"Hey, Emma," he says patiently.
"Hey, Jeremy," I smile ruefully. "I really thought that I had you there." He shrugs.
"I'm pretty hard to scare. That one time in the park was a fluke. It'll never happen again," he replies. I raise my eyebrows.
"That sounds like another challenge."
"Maybe it is," Jeremy replies. I grin and survey the carnage that is the decoration table. The streamers are in a heap, and the suns that we cut out are mixed in with the sunglasses. The balloons are deflated. I bite my lip and put my hands on my hips. I've got my work cut out for me, I think. I look up and take in Jeremy's innocent expression. "Are you ready to start?" I ask.
He makes a face. "Already?"
I shrug. "Sorry. I guess I'm being pushy. We don't know to start yet." When I reach the word pushy, Jeremy's face clouds. His eyes shift over my shoulder and his eyes widen. I shiver and look behind me. There's nothing there, but Jeremy looks transfixed. "Jeremy?" I falter. "Um… are you alright?" He jumps and rubs his eyes.
"Uh… yeah. Sure, I guess we could start." He turns quickly and starts sorting through piles.
Ten minutes later, we've managed to sort out the table. Even though he keeps insisting that he's fine, Jeremy seems preoccupied. He hasn't explained the incident from before, and I doubt that he's going to. I keep stealing glances at him when I'm almost sure that he isn't looking. He's forcing himself to be merry. I make myself laugh at his half-hearted jokes. I try to make conversation.
"So have you been to this kickoff before?"
"Yeah."
"Uh… did you like it?"
"I guess."
"Cool."
"Yep."
Twenty minutes later, the decorations are done, but our conversation has gone absolutely nowhere. I hop down from the table I've been decorating and cross my arms.
"Okay, Jeremy- I've been trying to ignore this for the past half hour, but you really seem out of it. Can I help? Was it something I said? If I'm being too pushy, you can ignore me, but just…" I trail off. "Jer? Are you alright? I… I'm sorry."
He certainly doesn't look alright. His face has gone pale, and he's looking over my shoulder once again. His voice is hoarse when he whispers, "Anna?"
Now I'm getting scared. I reach out and touch his arm. When my fingers make contact, he jumps and blinks hard. For a second, we just stare at each other, fighting a silent battle through the empty air. The world has gone silent. It seems like even the birds can feel the tension in the air. I break first.
"I'm sorry, Jeremy. I just want the truth," I whisper.
He sighs and throws his hands in the air. "Fine, Emma! Do you really want the truth? I see my dead girlfriends when something reminds me of them! I don't know how, I don't why, I just do! Alright?"
His face is completely serious. For some reason, this strikes me as utterly hilarious. I cover my mouth and close my eyes. I can't hold in my laughter any longer. I start to giggle, which turns into a belly laugh, which dissolves in absolute hysteria. I manage to compose myself and I wipe my eyes.
"Ok, Jeremy. I get that you can't tell me the truth. Seriously, do you think that I'm that gullible?" He frowns.
"I wasn't lying."
I study him closely. I've always been able to read people well, and I can always catch someone in a lie. Somehow, Jeremy seems genuine. I sigh. "Let's say that I believed you. What reminded you of your… girlfriend?"
A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. "You said that you were being pushy. Anna said that when we met."
I don't know what to say. What can I say? How do I respond to a boy that claims that he can see dead people? But this isn't just some boy, I argue, this is Jeremy. We don't lie to each other. We promised. I hug myself and stare at the pavement. After what seems like an eternity, I look up and we lock eyes.
"I believe you," I whisper. His face breaks out into a smile.
"So… what now?"
"I guess we test it," I reply. "Would you be comfortable with that?" He nods. "Okay, so what else did Anna say or do?"
He thinks for a moment. "We ran into each other at a school dance once. She said that she was homeschooled, and she told me to humor her." I take a deep breath.
"Okay, I'll try," I reply. "Um, this is my first school dance, so humor me." Jeremy shakes his head.
"No, there's nothing. She's not here."
I sigh. "We can research it. How about tomorrow, after the kickoff?"
"Sounds good," he replies. His eyes widen.
"Is it Anna?"
"Nope, it's Caroline!" I look down on what we still have to hang up and grimace.
"Quick, make it look like we're working!" We spring towards the table and pick up the same sun. I start laughing and drop it at the same time Jeremy lets it go. I dive under the table and pick it up as my cousin reaches the table. I look up and try to rearrange my face into an innocent expression. I smile and stand up as quickly as I can.
"Hey, Caroline!" Jeremy says. "We've been working hard over here. Whew… lots of suns to hang up!" He wipes his brow. It's so obvious. I cover my mouth to hide a smile.
"Um… cool?" Caroline says. "Look, if you guys see Matt, tell him to get his butt over the bandstand. He left everything all over the place!" She starts to storm away when she looks back. She takes in our progress. "And, uh, good luck with those suns." She walks away and we collapse into laughter.
"Lots of suns to hang up!" I wheeze in between breaths. Jeremy swats me with the string.
"Like you couldn't have done better!"
The rest of the day is pretty uneventful. The day heats up as the sun rises, and pretty soon, I've discarded my coat and rolled up my sleeves. Before I know it, I'm waving goodbye to Jeremy and walking home on my own. True to form, Caroline has stayed late to perfect everything and chew out Matt.
"You can just walk home," she had said. "Mom should be home." I had looked down, a little apprehensive about being home alone with Aunt Liz. I had feigned enthusiasm.
"Cool. We'll have fun." I followed this up with a weak smile, almost hoping that Caroline would notice. She didn't. She had murmured something about bringing pepper spray and rushed off to fix some minor injustice. As I left the bustling gazebo behind, I had reflected, Caroline and Aunt Liz are a lot alike. They both get caught up in things, and they both tend to leave, well, me on my own. I looked up just in time for a bright sun ray burst through the clouds and bathed my face in soft yellow light. But at least I'm here. It's so pretty- much better than some lab somewhere. From out of nowhere, homesickness hit me with the intensity of a freight train. I wonder what Mom is doing right now, I had wondered. Probably taking samples from some test, or maybe drafting one of her scientific papers.
Now that I'm almost home, the sun is setting behind the tall, leafy trees that line the sidewalk. The air is cooling down, but it's warm enough for me to drape my coat over my arm. The street is totally abandoned except for me and someone far down the street. I squint and finger the pepper spray in my pocket. Despite myself, I laugh a little. Okay Emma, I scold myself, don't get paranoid now. It's a guy. He's pretty normal looking, right?
He does look pretty average. His hair is brownish-blonde. It's curly, and it's smoothed back haphazardly. He looks amused. A small smile is tugging at the corners of his lips. Unlike me, he looks like he doesn't have a care in the world. I should say hi. Just to be nice. But not nice enough that it's creepy. I smile and call out. "Hello. Nice day, isn't it?"
Although it seems pretty vanilla to me, my comment seems to amuse him to no end. He replies, "It's a bit too… sunny for my tastes. But yes, I suppose some may like it." He has a strong British accent. I remember my conversation with Alex and Isabella and relax a little.
"I guess." The man stops and surveys me. I stop too, and my unease creeps back in. I put my hand in my pocket again and finger the pepper spray. This only makes the man even more amused.
"And what is your name?" He asks.
"Um… Emma. What's yours?" His grin gets wider. He looks to the sky, as if thinking hard.
"I guess you could call me… Nik."
