Yep. Totally lied about that due date, so I kind of rushed to finish this section. Sorry about the horribleness of it all.

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"Hey," I commented as the first two partygoers stepped inside my house.

Which was weird, that feeling. People stepping inside *my* house. It'd been that long. Cee Cee and Adam walked in, an interesting pair just by the looks of them. Cee Cee had a light purple raincoat on and Adam looked like he fell into the Gap of Mars. But I still felt that major surge of happiness to see them both.

"I bought bottled water," said Cee Cee, her light freckles dimly visible through the lighting Dopey had set up. She looked around the foyer, and shrugged her raincoat off. "It's pouring outside."

"A sexy kind of pouring," commented Adam, looking very strongly at me. I rolled my eyes.

He took off his blue windbreaker and wrapped it over his arm, wiping the beads of rain off onto the funky rug my mom brought with us from New York.

You could hear the not-too-loud thump of the music going on in our living room, which is really perfect for these kinds of covert-party things.

"My mom thinks carbonation isn't good for your blood, so we only have water. And a lot of health food. I am muchly needing something with powdered cheese. You happen to have any?"

"Of course. And apparently, Adam has decided to bring the Magic Invisible Fruit Snacks tonight," I said, poking at his arm.

"Oh, they're not invisible," he assured me. "They're just hiding. They're anti-social, you know. They don't like the powdered cheese types."

"But hey, anyway, you guys are the first ones here," I said.

"Go us," cheered Cee Cee, dropping the water next to the floor rug and closing the door behind her. I watched the rain drip down from the overhang of the porch.

I checked my watch. "We've got forty-five minutes. You'd swear it was Brad's debutante party or something... he's so antsy about this."

Adam lifted his left eyebrow. "Is there something I should... know about Brad that I can spread around the sophomore class gleefully?"

"I'll let you know when I find something trashy. Mostly, though, it's just been his obssession with Jennifer Love Hewitt."

"That is so passe," said Adam.

We walked into the kitchen together, which had been filled with various bowls of chips and sodas over the past couple hours.

"Feeding an army of 4000?" Cee Cee asked me, eyeing all the forbidden junk food.

"Yes," I said, grinning.

Adam took a seat at the island, as I walked around the kitchen, surveying all the food and finally picking a Dorito out of a leaf-imprinted bowl. "Mm.... preservative goodness. Seriously, if you guys want to see some serious upchuck action tonight, you'll probably get a first-class view of it. I love these things," I admitted.

"Ew," commented Cee Cee, who is not a fan of involuntary bodily functions unless they make her heart beat or let her breathe.

"I might have to excuse myself from that, as much as I would like to watch you... technicolor yawn," added Adam colorfully.

The three of us chatted for a while. We were undisturbed by my three stepbrothers, two of whom were running around the neighborhood, checking for people who were home or not... after all, this was a holiday weekend and most people were up in Tahoe, enjoying the fresh mountain air and expensive country club martinis. They still checked, though... and I kept the music loud enough to be danceable, but low enough that you could scarcely hear it through the outside.

I could hear voices coming in through our house, and the stereo thumping away with the hip music of today. I wondered vaguely if the house was trashed, it'd be my fault.

"So have you heard about Ashley Gaussian?" Cee Cee commented eagerly. She always knows everything that goes around in the school.

I know it's probably not good to participate in gossip, but I figure I already got an advantage, y'know, being a Mediator... my job depends almost entirely on gossip from the ghost world. It's really not all that different from the real world, except for that the people are dead.

"Ooh, what?"

"Don't tell me," said Adam, just as the doorbell rang. One of my brothers rushed to go and answer it, while I listened closer. "She's really a man and she's the father of Debbie Mancuso's baby."

"Actually, no, but close," said Cee Cee.

"Really?" I asked.

"No, but just as interesting. Get this: her dad is having another house built a block away from your house, Suze. Which means, you're probably going to be neighbors with 1 of their 'staff.' Ashley's dad has so many houses here, you wonder if they're, I don't know, trafficking drugs or something. Isn't that kind of creepy?"

"Not for Ashley," said Adam, who was justified in the fact that all of us, being previously viewed as outcasts before I came along and punched it out of the people who said so, could be considered almost like Ashley.

However, Ashley's notorious for being the Sophomore Half-Slut. She kisses a *lot* of boys in the hallways. She wears a lot of yellow and red, and she had perfect hair. But most of the girls hate her because she's a boyfriend-stealer.

Suddenly and without warning (as though you would get a warning for these kinds of things), the phone rang with a shrill tone. I didn't even jump, because I'm used to the sound by now. Adam and Cee Cee looked at the phone with a reasonable amount of surprise.

"God, you'd think World War Three had just come upon us and we were all gonna die," commented Adam. "Suze, do you think you would ever consider hav-"

"No," I answered immediately, sensing what he was about to say. I got off my chair and walked to the phone. Picking it up warily, I instantly noticed my mother's voice on the line.

"Hey, sweetie," she said.

"Oh... Mom. Hello."

Cee Cee's purple eyes widened, and Adam's mouth was stuck in an akward open pose, complete with chewed-up food shot. I coughed a little, and motioned for them to go and tell everybody coming through the door, and Adam acknowledged my hand movements as the international sign for choking, and jokingly moved over to me, ready to perform some dutiful thrusting, which I immediately stopped with a very powerful swap to the side of his head.

"How's everything going?" she asked me conversationally.

I pressed the phone harder to my ear, and pushed my chestnut hair behind my ears. I leaned against the doorjamb nervously, not really sure of what to say. I mean, what could you say? Hey, Mom, the stepbros are throwin' a major party while you're frolicking away in San Luis Obispo with my carpenter stepfather, hope you don't mind that we're just going to trash the house a little, but at least there won't be any BEER!

"Oh, fine, fine. You?"

I was in definite cryptic-girl-mode.

"Hey, look, they have Jell-O..." whispered Cee Cee quietly from around the corner of the kitchen in the hallway. I have exceptional hearing, hence... the good hearing.

"Cee Cee, that isn't Jell-O."

"It isn't?"

"Oh, Andy and I have just been having the *best* time. The view is gorgeous, and we got a great room at the Madonna Inn, which you wouldn't think would happen... we'll take all of you there this summer, maybe. They have this giant fountain in the men's room, and sometimes they actually...." I tuned my mom's voice out a little. I know it was mean, but I had to make sure that nobody was saying anything that could get us into trouble. I mean, I did miss my mom a little. We had always been together, you know, doin' the Rory and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls, except with less tragic romance, until she moved out to California and I stayed with my grandma.

And I really did want to know what was happening, so I tried to keep both ears open.

"I'm pretty sure that's got alcohol in them."

"Ooh, those must be those Jell-O shot things."

"Cee Cee, don't touch."

"I wasn't going to!"

"You were so! I saw you going for the reach!"

"I did not reach! I did no reaching!"

"All right, so, anyway what are your names?" Adam geekily asked the guests at the front door, but quietly, because Cee Cee had asked them to shut up a little. I had to smile.

Probably Dopey's friends, if he had any, were the people. Or Sleepy's. Because I didn't recognize the voices when my stepbrothers had opened the door.

"Hey, uh, do you two mind going back into the kitchen? I can handle it from here." And there was the Dopey himself, embarrassed by the few intellectuals in my sophomore year that happened to be my friends. Sigh. That is just such a dumb-boy thing to say. Handle it. Come on, they're just people.

"Honey, is there anybody else at the house?" my mom's voice broke my train of thought. Adam and Cee Cee quietly stepped back into the kitchen, Adam shooting menacing glares at my flirting brother's back.

"Um, not really," I lied. "Just Cee Cee and Adam."

I heard my mom's not-so-surprised sigh of relief. Oh, come on, I thought. She thinks they're total dweebs. How nice. Good to know my mother is always supportive of my buds.

"And I think Jake's having a couple friends over, but nothing major," I said loudly.

Adam looked at me disapprovingly and made a tut-tut noise. That is my least favorite noise in the world. The tut of disapproval and skepticism and downright snubs. I gave Adam my index finger, because after all, I am a girl and I don't approve of the middle one. I think index is a little less dirty.

"So how has your first day without your mom been going? You homesick yet?"

"Um, well, not really. I think I'm okay. I'll let you know if I have the urge to break down and cry and threaten to kill myself with the bug spray, oh, wait, no, that was fourth grade, Mom!" I told her.

She sighed. "Right, right.... I know it's hard with all those boys in the house, cookie. That's all I'm saying, and I just wanted to call and check up on you. I know you'll be responsible and keep them all in line."

Geez. Where WAS she coming up with all these "cookies" and "honeys" and "sweeties?" I didn't mind, it was just not something that she said. I figured all that time with Andy had turned her into a simpering love fest, and I had to say that I was very happy for her.

And then I started to get a little... well, guilty. My mom always means well for me, and I do want to make her happy. About me, that is. Because the Mediator thing has taken a toll on me being a normal girl, and she always expected that I'd grow out of my "Oh, mom, I'm staying at Gina's house tonight, but we might go out and see a movie, so I'll probably not be at their house, and then we might go to one of Gina's friend's house, so I'll basically not be available to you at any establishment" - phase. I don't know what she thought about all that. Probably that I was in a gang or something.

Please.

I was being attacked by gangs. Of ghosts, but, you know, the dead are just as deadly as the real thing. And what was irritating was that on the old ghosts, none of my Casper jokes were really very funny. I made some good ones about Christina Ricci, but they didn't get those either.

"Yes, I'll be very responsible. More than you think, actually," I coughed up.

Cee Cee eyed me underneath her glasses. "You. Are. So. Bad," she mouthed.

"All right, honey, I've got to go. We made dinner reservations at 8," she giggled a little.

"Oh, well that's nice, Mom. I'll tell the guys you both said hi. Say hi to Andy for me, 'k?"

"Bye, Suze. Love you."

"Love you too."

I then pressed the "off" button and heaved a sigh of pure relief.

"Whooh. That's a rush," I declared.

"Don't go all crazy on us now," said Adam. "Pretty soon you'll be threatening to knit us sweaters, you crazy... bad person."

"Yeah," added Cee Cee.

"So what was all the Jell-O talk about back there? Whadd-I miss?"

"Oh, nothing, really. Cute senior girls came in, totally drunk, with Jell-O shots. They told Jake, even though he was upstairs, that they were going to do naughty and unmentionable things to my ears," said Adam.

"Un-huh," I motioned at Cee Cee. "Seriously, what?"

"Oh, well, pretty much, you'll see for yourself," said Cee Cee.

Sure enough, four senior girls came walking through the kitchen door and looked at Adam and Cee Cee with disdain. "I thought," said one of the girls snottily to Brad, who was standing behind them with a *very* pleased look on their face, "You said there would be a party here. But you took..." she woozed slightly on the spot, "our drinks... away. And put them in a bush. And now, there's only these...." she searched for the words, "losers. Here. Why?"

"Because people like you can't even dress yourselves in the morning, or walk, for that matter, and so therefore that's why we're going to be running the country in the next twenty years and you're going to be on Lower Whacker Drive in Chicago, totally coked out of your mind with bloody snot dribbling down your nose," I said simply.

Because that is just not nice to insult my friends.

Adam grinned at me.

"God, Suze, way to exchange pleasantries," came a voice from behind Brad. Jake, who was smiling at the four girls, who looked at them with "simpering moron" practically written across their faces. "Hey," he nodded at them. "There is a party to be had here.... you're the first."

"Really?" said a blonde, obviously fake. You know, the kind of girls with the one shoulder halter top, in a very bright color, with a black strapless bra, enhancements provided by their local plastic surgeon and Victoria's Secret, hideously blonde highlights, skin that would make a dermatologist scream and run the other way, and really glossy lip gloss. That's saying something.

She tossed her hair and pouted her lips at him. "I bet you that you won't be early... later."

She was trying hard to be sexy, but she was so drunk that she really didn't make any sense. She started to make little "grr-ing" noises as though she were some type of animal, and licking her lips. It was all very confusing, so I disregarded her and turned to Suze and Cee Cee, chomping on some more 3-D Doritos. Tasty.

"Okay," shrugged Jake, who went to the door to open the door for a group of adolescents standing under the porch light, presumably some more from Jake's grade. Some of them even looked familiar. None of them wore Birkenstocks, which was good.

In the next few 30 minutes as we all chatted around the kitchen table and amusedly watched Brad grinding against many girls (none of the drunk ones, I noticed), and saw people come in my front door, I was beginning to feel a very... tingly presence. And it wasn't the Listerine from this morning, either. I had the overcoming sense that I was not going to have a normal evening.

I was so totally Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Except I was more Suze the Ghost-Sender-Backer. Damn. I need to come up with a better name, because Mediator is just too common. I mean, if Father Dom is a Mediator, then I'm like... the Terminator. Or something. Whatever, you know what I mean.

"Well, I might as well boogie while I've got the chance," I thought.

"So, you guys want to go with me and check out the scenery?" asked Adam, eyeing the girls who were walking in and out of the kitchen, grabbing bottles of water from the fridge. Thankfully enough, all of the people here had listened to my brothers and myself when I had called them to tell them *not* to bring any alcohol.

"Oh, I've seen it all before," I mused.

"Ditto," seconded Cee Cee. "There's no scenery to check."

"All right, then." Adam got off his leaning position on the counter, and put on what he thought was his sultry pouty face, and walked off to go clip himself some shrubs.

My sun-challenged friend sighed deeply, and pushed her really light hair out of her face, and her glasses back on her nose.

"I should've brought some paper and a pen. I need to write something, anything, really," she said.

"Bored already?"

"Oh, no," she said quickly. "I just... well, I thought this would work well. For my novel."

I nodded in understanding. "I'll go get you some."

I left Cee Cee there at the island counter while I went off in search of paper in the living room. There was a staggered wall of people dancing and grinding to the music, which was provided by Basement Jaxx at the moment. I sighed in contemplation, and watched as couples moved together as though this were some sort of mass orgy.

Today's teenagers, I tell you. Not that I'd be complaining if I were in the middle of that with some dark, tall, handsome man with a sultry, hot voice in my ear. The lights were sort of dimmed, and the music was at an acceptable throb, pounding enough to match my heartbeat.

People weaved about each other, mingling and talking with cups of soda in their hand, chips in mouth, laughing and joking with each other. Flirting was to be had here, and I remembered that I was on a mission for paper.

Righty-O, Cee Cee Webb.

Suddenly, I was sidetracked as someone tapped at my shoulder and said something to me. I spun around on my new Jimmy Choo black heels, which were, by the way, absolutely to die for.

"Oh, Debbie. Kelly. Hey," I said. "Nice nails," I told the latter.

"Oh, thanks."

She beamed at me.

"Excellent party... how'd you ever get your parents to go away?"

"Stroke of luck," I shrugged.

"Oh, hey," Debbie broke in, eyes brightening. "There's someone we want you to meet. So. Cool. She goes to school in Gilroy, but she's on a weekend trip here to Carmel to visit her aunt and uncle, and they live right next to us. Isn't that the best?"

A girl with dark brown hair and chocolate eyes came forth behind the two popular girls, looking a little shy about all the people around her. She was very beautiful. She definitely had the great teeth going, and her hair was swept up in the back and tucked in by some sparkly blue pins. She also had this sort of glow around her, and I wondered for a moment if she were a ghost.

Obviously not, though, because she seemed to be apparent to the living.

I glanced at what she was wearing.

Nice, though. Bebe black skirt in a double diamond shape, United Colors of Benetton beige peasant shirt, and Guess heels. Again, I do have a knack for fashion. And to top her outfit off, she had a simple single pendant necklace on... which I noticed was from Target. A very nice touch, actually.

"Lauren," she said, holding out her hand.

I shook it, and said, "Suze Simon. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, you're from New York," she said. She had a soft voice not from California and I had to strain to hear her. "It's busy there."

"Yeah, I love it."

Debbie and Kelly watched on with interest as though this were some fascinating scale at Burberry's. I leaned back a little to see how Cee Cee was faring by herself. She's not a party girl, you know. Much to my surprise, a boy had sat down next to her and they were grinning and *smiling* at each other. Well, knock me over with a feather, why don't you?

"Um, yeah. So, Gilroy, Garlic Capital, huh?"

"Yeah," she smiled, and I felt that weird Buffy-tingling again. What was that? I hoped to God that Jesse hadn't come down from the Netherworld. I especially hoped that he wasn't watching me, because I had on what he would not think appropriate, but would just look at very simply and then avert his eyes.

Well, it was just wearing a light blue shift dress from the Gap, but it was stretchy and therefore hugged in some areas. I had to be hugged by something.

"But, um, I was born in Evry, France, so... that is where the accent comes from," said Lauren.

"Oh, cool. You travel a lot?" I asked. I happen to like traveling, although we never get to go because it's just too much of a hassle for my mom if she has to take care of kids while she's on vacation.

"Yes, yes. My father was a businessman so he used to take us everywhere," she told me.

Was? Oy. Poor girl. Hey! Poor me, too.

"My father used to be a lawyer," I told her.

We looked at each other in understanding, like something you would see in movies. Although, my smile was probably because my ghost dad was dead and her dad had most likely lost a job or something.

"Oh, Suze, did you *see* the hot seniors that're here?" Kelly asked, interrupting Lauren and I. "Some of them come from Robert Louis Stevenson, you know... how the hell did you get them here?"

"Just my brothers' immense charm and intellect," I told her. I am such a horrible liar. I'll bet you I'll get some horrible facial twitch on my face from lying so much when I'm older.

"What's Robert Louis Stevenson?" asked Lauren.

"This one school," scoffed Debbie.

She said school like it were a bad word. I knew she only said that because she failed the entrance exam and her parents even *paid* the school and they didn't let her in.

Which was actually, kind of a funny story, according to Sleepy.

"So," I said to Debbie, Kelly, and Lauren, who were looking a little like the three musketeers. They stood arm to arm, and looked like they were ready for some more mingling.

I then took this opportunity to walk quickly away and then down the hallway to find my mom and Andy's office. The silence was soothing. Not only do I get sensory overloads at the mall, but it happens at parties, too. I knew this ghost-business had to be cutting into something. I really had to stop beeing so sulky... although, I have to say, the more I tried not to be popular, the more I was with the school crowd. Crazy.

I walked in into the dark room, sighing slightly. Silver beams of moonlight pierced the shades and grazed against my body. I still felt a prickle of hair standing up on the back of my neck. Wondering if someone other... well, other-worldly had followed me, I slowly turned toward the ajar door. Nothing.

I just heard the faint sound of music. Breathed a little. This was creeping me out. I mean, not the breathing or the faint sound of music... just that prickle at my neck.

You know what I just thought of? You know how it's like this old wive's tale that when you go by a cemetary, you're supposed to hold your breath? Supposedly, the deceaseds' souls are supposed to possess you and make you do weird things after they go up your nose. I've always kind of wondered about that.... I wouldn't know, because you know, I tend to avoid old graveyards for very good reasons. I probably should, for research... eh, but no one ever said I was a dilligent researcher.

I was lost in my thoughts when I heard someone come through the door.

"Ah-ha," I thought comtemptuously. "Gonna kick some ghost booty. Oh, geez, don't tell me I'd rather be kicking ghost booty than boogying my socks off. But I'm not wearing socks. All right, Suze, stop rambling."

I turned around quickly, my eyes flashing to the girl in the doorway.

Lauren.

"Sorry to bother you," she said quietly. "But... um... are you... the mediator? Someone said I could find you here. I mean, not here in your office. In Carmel... I've been looking for you for a while."

I blinked my eyes.

"Me?" I pointed at myself. "Actually, I was thinking about a job change. You know. Like being a Vampire Slayer or something."

Lauren's eyes widened. "Vampires?"

"Uh. Never mind. What do you want? Or, moreover, hello, I'm the Afterlife Travel Agent, how may I help you to your final destination?"

"What?"

"That is what you're looking for, right?"

"Looking for WHAT?"

"Okay, color me confused. What do you need?"

"I have to find my brother. My little brother."

"Uh-huh. So... are you a ghost, or something?"

"WHAT?"

Oh, good, Suze. Go and confuse the girl.

"What's the last thing you... remember doing? Before going to go look for me, I mean." I went to go take a seat on the swirly office chair.

Lauren sat down on the small chair across from me and breathed out slowly. Her mouth opened slightly in frustration.

"I... I don't know. Exactly."

Oh, boy. So confused right now.

"So, tell me vaguely," I said.

"I think... I was doing the laundry. At my place. My little brother was upstairs, sleeping. It was late."

"In Gilroy?" I suggested.

"No..." she said slowly, her voice strangled. "I was in Seattle."

"New York. What were you doing in Seattle?"

"Living there. With my brothers, and my dad."

"Okay. How long ago was this?"

She pursed her glossy lips. Lauren looked worried; very worried.

"Maybe... three months ago."

"Lauren, are you dead or not?" I asked her.

"Um... Suze... I'm not dead."

I sighed. Dead people never wanna be dead.

"Okay. Let me start over. Why are you looking for your brother? Where is he? Why do you think I could find him?" I sat down in the office chair across from me, and motioned for Lauren to sit down on the couch. Her hands were shaking a little, and she sat like a fragile little bird, her arms folded over each other like wings.

"You don't understand how much it means for me to find you. I mean, at first I thought I wouldn't, but..." she breathed heavily. "I did. And I'm looking for my brother. He's been missing for three months."

"What's his name?"

"Jack. Jack Slater."

I blinked. "Oh my God."

----

Okay, so right, I'm evil, and I apologize profusely.