Clare woke up on the morning to find Eli not laying next to her. She hadn't expected him to stay. But if he did, she wouldn't have minded.

He called us friends.

Clare inwardly smiled to herself as she got out of her bed and walked down stairs. Her mother was pouring herself some coffee when Clare entered the kitchen. She avoided looking her mother in the eye when she wished her a good morning. It wasn't as though they had a fight or they hated each other. The two just needed some space after their talk the other night.

Clare made her self a bowl of cereal and walked into the dinning room. She sat down and ate her breakfast. Clare looked up and admired the crystal chandelier. It sparkled and gleamed and just made Clare feel happy. She had always wanted a crystal chandelier. I many ways Goldsworthy Manor was her dream home. Elegant, beautiful, mysterious, it was like Clare's own little, twisted castle. She never would have imagined actually being able to live in a place quite as amazing. But here she was, eating Fruit Loops under an expense chandelier. Clare chuckled at the thought.

She and her mother were most defiantly not rich people. A few months after Eli's death, the house had gone on the market. No one dared to buy the house. So for 55 years it stayed with out an owner. Until Clare's mother bought it for a more than reasonable price.

"Clare? Would you like a ride to school?" Helen asked quietly as she peered into the dinning room. Clare swallowed her cereal and answered her mother.

"No, but thank you. I promised Adam I would ride the bus with him this morning." Clare smiled kindly at Helen.

"Okay. I won't be home until about 7 tonight." Helen fixed her earrings as she walked into the room. "The office called a few minuets ago. I really wonder how they survived all these years, with out my help." Helen smiled. Clare politely laughed. Clare's mother walked over to her and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Clare."

"I love you too."

With that, Helen left for work.

Clare picked up her mess and dumped it in the sink in her kitchen. She walked up stairs and into her room. She looked at the clock quickly.

6:30 the bright, red light flashed. She only had a half hour before she had to get to the bus stop.

Clare pulled open the door of her closet and glanced at her clothing options.

Growing up, Clare never had a title. She wasn't a Goth, or a prep, or a band geek. She didn't belong to the popular crowd. She was never a cheerleader or class president. She was simply Clare.

Last year Clare decided that she needed a title. So she made a title up for herself. She called herself an "Independent Variable." The title partly came from the fact that she was learning about how to properly conduct an experiment, in science at the time. An "Independent Variable" did not care what others thought. They dressed how they wanted to dress; talked to who they wanted to talk to, and hung out with the people they wanted to hang out with.

Clare put on a floral blue dress and slipped a jean jacket over it. She looked at her mirror and smiled in satisfaction.

She dumped her school books into her back pack. Glancing at Eli's journal she debated on weather or not she should risk bring it to school. After a few minuets of internal arguing, Clare grabbed her notebook and placed it gently into her bag.

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The bus ride with Adam went rather quick. Seen as Adam talked the whole way to school. He talked about is brother and how annoying he has been lately. He talked about his collection of comic books and the new shampoo his mom bought for him. But Clare didn't mind him talking.

As the two entered the school, Adam pulled out something from his back pack.

"I'll see you homeroom. I have to go drop this off to the math teacher." Adam motioned to the green packet in his hand.

Clare nodded. "Okay I'll see you then."

Adam waved as he walked down the hall.

Clare took a deep breath before making her way down the crowed hallway. She dodged muscular football players and kissing couples as she zig-zagged her way through the ocean of people. She sighed in relief when she walked into the door of her homeroom.

She sat down in at an empty desk.

"Um…hey." Clare turned around in her seat to see and dark- blond haired boy smiling at her.

"I'm KC." KC extended his hand and Clare shook it. She knew who he was. He had science and study hall with her. Secretly she though he was sort of cute.

KC and Clare talked for a goon portion of homeroom. He was a nice guy. Clare found out that he played basketball and was a total science nerd. He was also single. Not that Clare wanted a boyfriend or anything.

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Clare and Adam sat down in their seats for social studies. The teacher was always late, so Clare slipped Eli's notebook out of her back pack and opened it.

September 27, 1955

I went to the book store today to see if they had received the new shipment of comic books. They didn't but today, she was there. Julia Hamilton. She sat on the ground, in front of the poems. A book was perched in her lap. Her bottom lip was stuck in between her two sets of teeth. Her blond hair was pulled back, showing off her brown eyes and they danced along the pages of her book. She was a sight to see. I kept my

"Whatcha reading?" Clare stopped midsentence, she looked up and say Adam.

"A uh…book." She stuttered.

"What's it called?" Adam lifted the notebook slightly. He furrowed his eyebrows after he read the front.

"The Thoughts and Poems of Eli Christopher Goldsworthy?" Adam said, it was more of a question.

"Um…yeah." She gulped.

"Did you find that in your house, Clare?" Adam smiled.

Clare nodded.

"That could be worth loads of money." He said.

"I'd never sell it." Clare snapped.

Adam held up his hands. "I was just saying…"

When class started Clare put the notebook back into her bag. She got comfortable in her seat and prepared to listen to her teacher talk.

"Boo!"

Clare jumped when she saw Eli appear in next to her. She quickly looked around, wondering why anyone else wasn't paying attention to the Eli.

Oh, that's right, Eli can control who sees and hears him. Clare thought.

Eli smirked at her and motioned for her to move her notebooks. She place them on her lap. Eli hopped on the desk and moved around so that he was facing her, sitting Indian style. Clare ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook and grabbed a pen. She wrote:

Way to be a cliché ghost, Eli. "Boo" seriously?

Eli chuckled.

"I figured I should at least do that once."

Clare smirked and wrote again.

So what brings you to my lovely school? Stalking me again perhaps?

"Har. Har. No, actually I thought I would wish you a good morning. I left last night a lttle while after you feel sleep."

Ghostly business? Clare scribbled on the paper. She looked up at Eli and smirked.

Eli rolled his eyes.

Clare bit the cap of her pen.

"Something on your mind, Edwards?" Eli asked.

Will you tell me about Julia? Clare wrote slowly on the paper.