'Susannah Simon!'

The hunting cry of Sister Ernestine rung out through the corridor. Geez, what had I done now?

'Hello, Sister,' I said. Everyone's eyes were upon me. I felt mortified.

'Don't you "hello Sister" me, young lady,' she screeched, her bosom waving in front of my face. Her dangling crucifix caught the light glaringly, reflecting into my eyes, so my innocent look wasn't working, with all the squinting I had to do.

'You are violating the dress code!' she yelled in my face, her heavily eyebrowed eyes were in slits of anger, her eyeballs almost hidden behind pouches of fat. I looked down, and realised that I was wearing jeans. Jeans! Damn, they were forbidden to wear to school. How could I have been so stupid?

'That's a detention, Miss Simon. And the Principal wants to see you,' she said nastily. I glared at her retreating back. Her huge posterior was wobbling as she walked.

Charming, really.

~*~

Annoyed, I went to Father Dominic's office. I was about to open the door, when, with a shimmer, the ghost of Bessie materialized before his bookshelf. She looked lost and sad. I couldn't talk to her, because of the receptionist, but I gave her a "don't go" look, and pushed through Father D's door.

The old priest was looking very, very tense and frazzled. His usually dead straight parting in his pure white hair was a little zigzagged, and wrinkles of worry creased his old face. He was reading what looked like an application form or something.

'Father Dom?' I asked softly.

With a jump, he put stuffed the application form away, much like CeeCee had done with her raunchy novel. 'Susannah,' he said, in a weird, rusty voice, 'I-I wasn't expecting you.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'Really?' I asked, 'Sister Ernestine said you were asking for me.'

He looked puzzled. 'Oh-Oh yes, of course. I remember.'

'Father D, are you all right?' I asked with concern. The old guy looked really jaded. His eyes had kind of dark circles beneath them. 'You look like shit.'

Father D smiled, despite my swearing, while usually, he would have lectured me about it.

'Thank you,' he said somewhat sarcastically, staring at his hands. 'Susannah, I have had a word with Jesse,' he said, shifting a little. Oooh, here we go again . . .

'Look, Father,' I began.

'If I may, Susannah,' he said, 'I really wish that, upon any spectral activity, you contact me straight away. I am very disappointed that you haven't been doing so. These four Egyptian ghosts last night, what did they say?'

'One, Father Dom, I was dead tired, so I barely remember,' I pouted, 'Two, hasn't Jesse told you? And three, um, the language they were speaking in? Yeah, that was Egyptian!' I mean, really. He knows my grades in Spanish, you'd think he'd realize I suck at any other language besides English. I mean, seriously. What kind of question was that?

Father Dom winced, as if he had a headache. 'Father D, you are not okay. What's going on that you aren't telling me? I mean, if I have to tell you, you can't keep me in the dark either. It's a two way street. Now, fess up?'

'Headache,' he said shortly. 'If you do not know what happened with our Egyptian friends, you can go, Susannah.'

'I know their names,' I said, trying to be helpful. I mean, the poor guy was sick. It was all I could do.

'You do? You said-'

'Never mind what I said. You didn't ask the right question. The girl was. Naomi. no, Naeemah, yeah. The short dude was.Jafari, I think. The tallest was Amun, and the angry guy, the one who looks like you just called him something really foul, was Khufu. Okay?'

Father Dominic nodded half-heartedly. 'Fine, Susannah. You may go.'

Whoa, what's up his butt?

I left the office, but Bessie had gone.

~*~

'Yo, Suze! I just had an idea!' yelled CeeCee to me on the oval. We were in P.E, playing soccer.

'God, I hate this uniform,' groaned Adam, 'It's giving me a wedgie.'

'Lovely,' said CeeCee with disgust. 'We needed to know that.'

'Precisely why I told you,' grimaced Adam, pulling his shorts down a fraction to reveal the hem of a pair of red boxers.

CeeCee stared momentarily, before jerking to her senses.

I laughed. 'So, what's your big idea, then, Cee?'

CeeCee smiled. 'You know my Aunt Pru? Well, she knows Egyptian. You can ask her stuff. She used to be an Egyptologist, before she went screwy in the head, and became a New Age nonconformist.' I nodded. This was interesting. 'That's why she reckons I was Queen Cleopatra the Seventh in my last life. We're only ever Egyptians in our last lives, according to her. You go up to her today and ask her, see what she says. And you can ask her about your assignment thing. What subject was it for?' she frowned prettily.

'Oh, um, kind of an interest,' I said, 'not an assignment.' CeeCee stared at me.

ZOOM! The soccer ball came from do where, destined to hit my face. Annoyed, I punched it away so hard, it arched through the sky, and careered onto the rode, where it was promptly run over by a speeding car. Everyone laughed. Mr Owen scowled at me.

'Simon, at the rate you're going, we're going to have no P.E supplies!' he snapped. 'Kelly, go and fetch that pancaked ball.'

'But-'

'GO.'

I was laughing like crazy with CeeCee and Adam. Mr Owen was not happy. 'Webb, you get over to that corner, McTavish, you near the goals. And Simon, you stay there. I don't want anymore talking!'

'And I thought PMS only affected girls,' muttered Adam, jogging over to the opposite side of the soccer field. I snorted.