I Can Talk to Ghosts, You Know
Cedric has powers. He can talk to ghosts. Not just human ghosts, either.
"That.... was the corniest movie.... I have ever seen," 2-T droned as he turned off the tv.
"Let's watch it again!" Cedric shouted.
Mike whapped Cedric with a pillow. "No! That movie was stupid!"
"The lizard people reminded me of Penkhan," Do-Wah stated.
B-Bop turned to the ceiling, inadvertantly meeting eyes with Lilly. "You know, they do."
It was 7:00 pm, Zapz Arcade was the current location of our heros (plus Lilly), and the corny movie with Penkhan-like lizard people that was being discussed was Flash Gordon. The group of six were all squished onto a large sofa, Mike being the only one who would rather sit on the floor that with a trio of aliens. Cedric was in the middle of it all, holding an empty bowl that used to contain Cheese Mongers. He giggled his girlish laugh and spoke to himself. "Great, now everytime I see this movie, I'm gonna think of Penkhan. Thanks a lot."
B-Bop sang, a la Mailbox from Blue's Clues. "You're Welcome!"
There was another bundle of laughes, and all was right in the world. Lilly turned herself so that she was resting on her head on the top of the sofa. "That was fun- Hey, maybe we can watch Xanadu next? Whadda you guys think?"
"Frank Sinatra!" Mike cheered.
"Not Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly!" 2-T corrected rudely.
"Yeah, Mike! How could you mix up those two?" Angela began to poke Mike in the head with her good arm; her other arm was still in a sling, numb, useless, and riddled with bullet scars.
"Now-you know something's wrong when the alien knows more about pop culture than the humans, know what I'm saying?" B-Bop laughed.
Lilly chortled. "Mixing up Gene Kelly for Frank Sinatra, how moronic. Well, I still haven't heard any votes for Xanadu, whadda you say, Ced?"
Lilly looked in Cedric's direction, only to see he was asleep. No, wait, he wasn't asleep; his eyes were half open, but his body was limp and lifeless. It was like he was in a trance...
The Higher Being gave the brown-skinned lower being a gentle nudge. "Ced?" She increased the nudges to more frequent jabs. "Cedric? Are you okay?"
"Cedric?" Angela shook his shoulder. "Cedric, wake up."
"Is he okay?" 2-T wiggled out of his relaxed posistion and leaned himself closer to his friend. "He-he's breathing right?"
"Ceeee-dric?" Do-Wah hit him sharply on the head with his fist. No response. "Cedric!"
"Come on, Wake up!" Angela pushed him so hard, he fell over. 2-T caught him and layed him down on the sofa, ushering B-Bop away.
It was like this for a minute, and then he woke up. He shook his head, all the while accepting questions about his health.
As he closed his eyes and tried to clear his head of all thought, he felt Angela's gloved hand brushing his temple. He sighed.
This was gonna take some explaning.
***
"Cedric, more than likely, you had a seizure," Lilly concluded. "You cannot talk to dead people."
"Yes I can!" Cedric accentuated every word, jabbing his thumb into his chest. "It's just that I... caannnn only talk to freshly dead people."
"Oh, jeezlaweez," Mike rubbed his forehead.
"It's true!" Cedric lept to his feet in a fit of anger. "It's true! As soon as dead people die, their ghosts- Idunno- they, like, float through my head or something, and I black out, and-"
Lilly actually laughed! She caught herself laughing, not-quite stopping herself, and said, "Okay then (bfhehhehehhe), what do the Ghosts say?"
"Um... usually not a lot," Cedric rubbed his hands insecurely. "They usually tell me stuff like 'Tell my wife I love them'-"
"Most often asked request on the battlefield," B-Bop countered.
"Learned that from Hollywood Squares last night," 2-T added.
"Um..." Cedric was at a loss for words. His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were becoming pale. "And, they ask me where they are, like they don't know they're dieing, or something-"
"You said you only talk to freshly dead people!" Lilly snapped.
"They can be halfway dead!" Cedric felt something stinging in the middle of his face- he was about to cry. He kept his eyelids open and thrust his face downward. "I remember, there was this one old lady who asked me to turn off her bathwater-"
And with that, B-Bop, 2-T, Mike, and Lilly all erupted into gales of laughter, unaware that Cedric was listening to them.
"IT'S THE TRUTH!" he roared. "I'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT SINCE I WAS A BABY! I'M NOT LYING!" A tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek. "I'm not lying..."
He began to loose control of his breathing, and he fell to his knees in defeat. Angela jumped up to help him, Do-Wah following closely. She stroked his back affectionately. "Oh, Cedric... it's okay. They don't mean anything bad."
"I talked to you."
Do-Wah and Angela jumped back, and the rest stopped laughing.
Do-Wah was confused. "Huh?"
"I talked to Angela..." Cedric tried to speak through his cracking voice. "I talked to her... in and out of my head, after she'd been shot..."
Mike and Lilly gasped, but Angela wouldn't buy it. She put on her favorite tough-girl face and placed her hand on her hip. "But... Cedric, that's crazy, I don't remember that at all-"
"OF COURSE YOU DON'T REMEMBER! YOU WERE DYING!" Cedric had jumped to his feet again and was presently right in front of Angela; a threatening sight it might have been if Cedric was just a little taller. "I remember, you kept fading in and out of view with every beat of your heart! I remember better than you do!"
Cedric stepped back and took two, long, shuddering breathes. "It's hard. I've been able to talk to the dead people ever since I was a baby... I remember seeing Dad dieing... Mom doesn't believe I can talk to dead people either, but I can..."
He took one more breathe, and spoke very, very quietly. "And nobody ever believes me."
2-T gulped audibly, and Lilly (although shaken) thought of an idea.
"Hmm... we won't know for sure if you can talk to dead people unless we go somewhere... where we know there are ghosts..."
"There's a haunted house opening near our school!" Mike cheered.
***
"This house was occupied by Tia Montalban, a descendant of the famous Ricardo Montalban." The tour guide waved his hand towards an ornately designed piano. "Tia Montalban was a virtuoso piano player, and it is often said that her piano can still be heard playing in the middle of the night."
"Not much of a haunted house, is it?" Mike complained to Angela.
"Uh uh," she nodded.
"You feeling dizzy or anything, Cedric?" Lilly asked the black boy.
"No..." Cedric shook his head fiercely and rubbed his eyes. "But something's giving me a headache."
"Well, that might be something." Lilly tugged down the bottom of her University of Arizona t-shirt and continued on the tour.
"This was Tia Montalban's room!" chittered the tour guide. The bedroom was ornately decorated in all manner of laces and gold thread. "This is the only room in the house that has been left in touch, and-"
"AAH!" Cedric suddenly dropped to the floor, clutching his chest in pain. All of the people around him tried to rush to his aid, but Lilly held them back.
"What's wrong, Ced?" Angela pleaded. "Is the ghost talking to you?"
"Ghost?" yelped one of the tourists
"What's she saying?" Mike asked urgently.
Cedric took in a few deep breathes. "She... wants to thank the tour guide guy."
The tour guide guy pushed his way to Cedric, his brow furrowed. "Okay, what's going on here?"
"Ms. Montalbon wants to say thank you for not changing the room," Cedric answered, his eyes half-closed and his breathing even and quiet... he was in another trance. He spoke in monotone. "She's says its okay let people in the house; she likes visitors."
"This boy's speaking to her ghost!" remarked an older woman.
"He's fakin' it!" said an younger, teenaged boy.
"So... that's all she's saying? Thank you?" asked the tour guide.
"No... she wants to tell you there's an old twenty dollar bill under the bed. You can sell it for extra money or something..."
The tour guide jerked back, flabbergasted, and slowly made his way to the bed. He lifted the bedskirt, reached under the bed.... and pulled out a faded twenty dollar bill.
***
Gorgon stepped onto the California mountain, speaking in his native tongue. "Ssspiritsss of my greater ancessstorsss, embue me with thy greatessst powersss. Come hither, and empower me!"
Gorgon roared in ecstacy as his ancestor's spirits flew into his body, making him grow in size and strength. The fire within his chest began to burn stronger, and flames shot out of his mouth with each and every breath. He laughed evilly, making sure his deepend, empowered voice echoed through the high mountains of the desert.
***
Cedric slapped his hand against his ear. "Ow!"
B-Bop looked in Cedric's direction, concerned. "Are you okay, Ced?"
"My head just stung all the sudden," he monotoned, shrugging off the sensation. "Nothing to worry about."
Oh, believe me, Cedric, it's something to worry about. To be continued...
Um, author's notes? Let's see...
Tia Montalban is not real, nor do I think she'll ever be real, because a true Mexican would never name their kid "Tia". Much less a descendant of Ricardo Montalbon. Poor guy, reduced to doing a voice on Kim Possible. YOU CAN DO BETTER, RICKY! You can!
Cedric has powers. He can talk to ghosts. Not just human ghosts, either.
"That.... was the corniest movie.... I have ever seen," 2-T droned as he turned off the tv.
"Let's watch it again!" Cedric shouted.
Mike whapped Cedric with a pillow. "No! That movie was stupid!"
"The lizard people reminded me of Penkhan," Do-Wah stated.
B-Bop turned to the ceiling, inadvertantly meeting eyes with Lilly. "You know, they do."
It was 7:00 pm, Zapz Arcade was the current location of our heros (plus Lilly), and the corny movie with Penkhan-like lizard people that was being discussed was Flash Gordon. The group of six were all squished onto a large sofa, Mike being the only one who would rather sit on the floor that with a trio of aliens. Cedric was in the middle of it all, holding an empty bowl that used to contain Cheese Mongers. He giggled his girlish laugh and spoke to himself. "Great, now everytime I see this movie, I'm gonna think of Penkhan. Thanks a lot."
B-Bop sang, a la Mailbox from Blue's Clues. "You're Welcome!"
There was another bundle of laughes, and all was right in the world. Lilly turned herself so that she was resting on her head on the top of the sofa. "That was fun- Hey, maybe we can watch Xanadu next? Whadda you guys think?"
"Frank Sinatra!" Mike cheered.
"Not Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly!" 2-T corrected rudely.
"Yeah, Mike! How could you mix up those two?" Angela began to poke Mike in the head with her good arm; her other arm was still in a sling, numb, useless, and riddled with bullet scars.
"Now-you know something's wrong when the alien knows more about pop culture than the humans, know what I'm saying?" B-Bop laughed.
Lilly chortled. "Mixing up Gene Kelly for Frank Sinatra, how moronic. Well, I still haven't heard any votes for Xanadu, whadda you say, Ced?"
Lilly looked in Cedric's direction, only to see he was asleep. No, wait, he wasn't asleep; his eyes were half open, but his body was limp and lifeless. It was like he was in a trance...
The Higher Being gave the brown-skinned lower being a gentle nudge. "Ced?" She increased the nudges to more frequent jabs. "Cedric? Are you okay?"
"Cedric?" Angela shook his shoulder. "Cedric, wake up."
"Is he okay?" 2-T wiggled out of his relaxed posistion and leaned himself closer to his friend. "He-he's breathing right?"
"Ceeee-dric?" Do-Wah hit him sharply on the head with his fist. No response. "Cedric!"
"Come on, Wake up!" Angela pushed him so hard, he fell over. 2-T caught him and layed him down on the sofa, ushering B-Bop away.
It was like this for a minute, and then he woke up. He shook his head, all the while accepting questions about his health.
As he closed his eyes and tried to clear his head of all thought, he felt Angela's gloved hand brushing his temple. He sighed.
This was gonna take some explaning.
***
"Cedric, more than likely, you had a seizure," Lilly concluded. "You cannot talk to dead people."
"Yes I can!" Cedric accentuated every word, jabbing his thumb into his chest. "It's just that I... caannnn only talk to freshly dead people."
"Oh, jeezlaweez," Mike rubbed his forehead.
"It's true!" Cedric lept to his feet in a fit of anger. "It's true! As soon as dead people die, their ghosts- Idunno- they, like, float through my head or something, and I black out, and-"
Lilly actually laughed! She caught herself laughing, not-quite stopping herself, and said, "Okay then (bfhehhehehhe), what do the Ghosts say?"
"Um... usually not a lot," Cedric rubbed his hands insecurely. "They usually tell me stuff like 'Tell my wife I love them'-"
"Most often asked request on the battlefield," B-Bop countered.
"Learned that from Hollywood Squares last night," 2-T added.
"Um..." Cedric was at a loss for words. His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were becoming pale. "And, they ask me where they are, like they don't know they're dieing, or something-"
"You said you only talk to freshly dead people!" Lilly snapped.
"They can be halfway dead!" Cedric felt something stinging in the middle of his face- he was about to cry. He kept his eyelids open and thrust his face downward. "I remember, there was this one old lady who asked me to turn off her bathwater-"
And with that, B-Bop, 2-T, Mike, and Lilly all erupted into gales of laughter, unaware that Cedric was listening to them.
"IT'S THE TRUTH!" he roared. "I'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT SINCE I WAS A BABY! I'M NOT LYING!" A tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek. "I'm not lying..."
He began to loose control of his breathing, and he fell to his knees in defeat. Angela jumped up to help him, Do-Wah following closely. She stroked his back affectionately. "Oh, Cedric... it's okay. They don't mean anything bad."
"I talked to you."
Do-Wah and Angela jumped back, and the rest stopped laughing.
Do-Wah was confused. "Huh?"
"I talked to Angela..." Cedric tried to speak through his cracking voice. "I talked to her... in and out of my head, after she'd been shot..."
Mike and Lilly gasped, but Angela wouldn't buy it. She put on her favorite tough-girl face and placed her hand on her hip. "But... Cedric, that's crazy, I don't remember that at all-"
"OF COURSE YOU DON'T REMEMBER! YOU WERE DYING!" Cedric had jumped to his feet again and was presently right in front of Angela; a threatening sight it might have been if Cedric was just a little taller. "I remember, you kept fading in and out of view with every beat of your heart! I remember better than you do!"
Cedric stepped back and took two, long, shuddering breathes. "It's hard. I've been able to talk to the dead people ever since I was a baby... I remember seeing Dad dieing... Mom doesn't believe I can talk to dead people either, but I can..."
He took one more breathe, and spoke very, very quietly. "And nobody ever believes me."
2-T gulped audibly, and Lilly (although shaken) thought of an idea.
"Hmm... we won't know for sure if you can talk to dead people unless we go somewhere... where we know there are ghosts..."
"There's a haunted house opening near our school!" Mike cheered.
***
"This house was occupied by Tia Montalban, a descendant of the famous Ricardo Montalban." The tour guide waved his hand towards an ornately designed piano. "Tia Montalban was a virtuoso piano player, and it is often said that her piano can still be heard playing in the middle of the night."
"Not much of a haunted house, is it?" Mike complained to Angela.
"Uh uh," she nodded.
"You feeling dizzy or anything, Cedric?" Lilly asked the black boy.
"No..." Cedric shook his head fiercely and rubbed his eyes. "But something's giving me a headache."
"Well, that might be something." Lilly tugged down the bottom of her University of Arizona t-shirt and continued on the tour.
"This was Tia Montalban's room!" chittered the tour guide. The bedroom was ornately decorated in all manner of laces and gold thread. "This is the only room in the house that has been left in touch, and-"
"AAH!" Cedric suddenly dropped to the floor, clutching his chest in pain. All of the people around him tried to rush to his aid, but Lilly held them back.
"What's wrong, Ced?" Angela pleaded. "Is the ghost talking to you?"
"Ghost?" yelped one of the tourists
"What's she saying?" Mike asked urgently.
Cedric took in a few deep breathes. "She... wants to thank the tour guide guy."
The tour guide guy pushed his way to Cedric, his brow furrowed. "Okay, what's going on here?"
"Ms. Montalbon wants to say thank you for not changing the room," Cedric answered, his eyes half-closed and his breathing even and quiet... he was in another trance. He spoke in monotone. "She's says its okay let people in the house; she likes visitors."
"This boy's speaking to her ghost!" remarked an older woman.
"He's fakin' it!" said an younger, teenaged boy.
"So... that's all she's saying? Thank you?" asked the tour guide.
"No... she wants to tell you there's an old twenty dollar bill under the bed. You can sell it for extra money or something..."
The tour guide jerked back, flabbergasted, and slowly made his way to the bed. He lifted the bedskirt, reached under the bed.... and pulled out a faded twenty dollar bill.
***
Gorgon stepped onto the California mountain, speaking in his native tongue. "Ssspiritsss of my greater ancessstorsss, embue me with thy greatessst powersss. Come hither, and empower me!"
Gorgon roared in ecstacy as his ancestor's spirits flew into his body, making him grow in size and strength. The fire within his chest began to burn stronger, and flames shot out of his mouth with each and every breath. He laughed evilly, making sure his deepend, empowered voice echoed through the high mountains of the desert.
***
Cedric slapped his hand against his ear. "Ow!"
B-Bop looked in Cedric's direction, concerned. "Are you okay, Ced?"
"My head just stung all the sudden," he monotoned, shrugging off the sensation. "Nothing to worry about."
Oh, believe me, Cedric, it's something to worry about. To be continued...
Um, author's notes? Let's see...
Tia Montalban is not real, nor do I think she'll ever be real, because a true Mexican would never name their kid "Tia". Much less a descendant of Ricardo Montalbon. Poor guy, reduced to doing a voice on Kim Possible. YOU CAN DO BETTER, RICKY! You can!