One Year Later
"Suzie? Come down to dinner!" My mom yells up the stairs.
"I'm working on applications!"I say.
"Oh....well....we'll save you some then." College applications seem to be the only thing that get me out of all family functions. I stare at the essay topic and groan. If you could have dinner with one person, living or dead, who would it be? Technically this should be an easy question for me. I mean, I can have dinner with most dead people. The living are another story, but ghosts? no problem. But how am I supposed to tell them the truth?
If I could have dinner with one person it would be the dead guy I happen to be in love with ,Jesse de Silva. See, he used to haunt my bedroom but then he left "for my own good" and the worst part is he promised to come back, and I know he won't but now he's planted this tiny seed of hope and-
Yah. That would go down really well with the admissions office at NYU.
I haven't seen Jesse in a year. A year and three months actually. Not that I'm keeping track or anything. But since that night on the cliff there's been nothing, nada, zip. But what I'm starting to realize is just because I haven't seen him doesn't mean he isn't there. For example, the first week after he left I always woke up freezing in the morning because Jesse wasn't there to close the windows before the fog came in. But now, at least twice a week I wake up and the windows are closed and usually some book about Plato or Socrates lies discarded on the window seat. This morning was different though. I woke up because Spike was purring, and for a split second I thought I saw him sitting on the edge of my bed looking down at me. Jesse I mean, not Spike. I stared at him for a second, I was afraid to say anything in case he disappeared. But he just reached down to touch my hair, and then he was gone. That's the problem with ghosts. They can disappear. And because of this I'm still trying to figure out whether that was a dream or not
So there I was doodling all over my paper, pretending to write my admissions essay when someone materialized behind me. He walked over and sat on my desk, glancing down at my paper while turning off the radio, which was playing bad Christmas music.
"That's your admission essay? Your name in bubble letters?" he said. I glared at him.
"Don't you have places to be?" I say.
"People to rob?" He asks grinning.
"Shut up Matt." I say, refusing to smile. I'm not encouraging him. "Look, this isn't a good time. I'm in the middle of an essay."
"So I see." he says raising his eyebrows skeptically.
I should probably back up. Matt is the ghost who threatened my life, soul, you name it, last year. After Jesse showed up, he went to Paul, who apparently wasn't much help so he came back to me and apologized. He's been hanging around ever since. I can't figure out what's keeping him here and I don't think he has anymore of an idea than I do. He told me he died in a car accident, and as far as he knows he doesn't have any unfinished business. I mean, he had a message for his little sister, but I gave it to her and he's still here. So basically I'm stuck with him. I don't have the heart to exorcize him or anything, I mean, it's not like he's threatening anyone's life, and to tell you the truth he's kind of grown on me.
Matt waved a hand in front of my face, forcing me back into reality.
"Hey," he said, "What's the matter?"
"What do you mean? Nothings the matter." I said keeping my eyes on my paper. I began to color in the 'S' in my name.
"Oh. Okay. So is that why you've been walking around looking like you've been lobotomized all day?" he said.
"Have not."
"Have too."
"Have not"
"Have too."
"Have no-" I sighed. "Okay so maybe I have."
"So are you gonna tell me or am I going to have to read your diary again?" he asked. I swear to god he's worse than my step brothers. I scowled and then sighed again.
"I saw him this morning." I said quietly. Matt didn't have to ask who "him" was. He stopped grinning.
"Suze...look, you might have seen him, I mean, I have no doubt he visits you while your sleeping and stuff, but... just.... don't get your hopes up. Okay?"
"Your optimistic today." I muttered. He shook his head,
"I'm not trying to rain on your parade or anything, but I don't want you to get all excited because you think he's gonna come back. I mean, what if he doesn't?"
"It wasn't a parade Matt. It wasn't even the Santa Claus float. I'm still trying to decide whether or not it was a dream. And if it was a dream I'm really pathetic."
"Why's that?" he said looking at the cover of my Red Hot Chili Peppers CD.
"Because. It's been a year since I last saw him. I shouldn't be able to remember him that well. I should remember exactly what his eyes looked like and how his scar always used to glow when he was angry and how-" all of the sudden I was crying. Matt stared and me and awkwardly patted me on the back.
"Am I that girl?" I said looking up at him suddenly.
"What?" he said, confused.
"You know, that girl who's obsessed with her boyfriend and can't bear to have him out of her sight for more than five minutes. The really clingy one who looks like she's attached to his arm when they go to the movies?" Matt laughs.
"No Suze, your not 'That Girl'" he says. I shake my head.
"Well then I'm what 'That Girl' would be if she was in love with a dead guy." I say. I wipe away my tears with the back of my hand. "God, at this point I should just pull a Wuthering Heights and wander off into a moor or something."
"Um....Suze...there aren't any moors in California." he says. For some reason this sends me into fresh waves of tears.
"I've gotta...um...go...um....do stuff....uh....bye" he says handing me a box of tissues. And then he disappeared. I shake my head. I'll have to remember that. Crying makes Matt leave. Unfortunately it also leaves me feeling like shit.
"Suzie? Come down to dinner!" My mom yells up the stairs.
"I'm working on applications!"I say.
"Oh....well....we'll save you some then." College applications seem to be the only thing that get me out of all family functions. I stare at the essay topic and groan. If you could have dinner with one person, living or dead, who would it be? Technically this should be an easy question for me. I mean, I can have dinner with most dead people. The living are another story, but ghosts? no problem. But how am I supposed to tell them the truth?
If I could have dinner with one person it would be the dead guy I happen to be in love with ,Jesse de Silva. See, he used to haunt my bedroom but then he left "for my own good" and the worst part is he promised to come back, and I know he won't but now he's planted this tiny seed of hope and-
Yah. That would go down really well with the admissions office at NYU.
I haven't seen Jesse in a year. A year and three months actually. Not that I'm keeping track or anything. But since that night on the cliff there's been nothing, nada, zip. But what I'm starting to realize is just because I haven't seen him doesn't mean he isn't there. For example, the first week after he left I always woke up freezing in the morning because Jesse wasn't there to close the windows before the fog came in. But now, at least twice a week I wake up and the windows are closed and usually some book about Plato or Socrates lies discarded on the window seat. This morning was different though. I woke up because Spike was purring, and for a split second I thought I saw him sitting on the edge of my bed looking down at me. Jesse I mean, not Spike. I stared at him for a second, I was afraid to say anything in case he disappeared. But he just reached down to touch my hair, and then he was gone. That's the problem with ghosts. They can disappear. And because of this I'm still trying to figure out whether that was a dream or not
So there I was doodling all over my paper, pretending to write my admissions essay when someone materialized behind me. He walked over and sat on my desk, glancing down at my paper while turning off the radio, which was playing bad Christmas music.
"That's your admission essay? Your name in bubble letters?" he said. I glared at him.
"Don't you have places to be?" I say.
"People to rob?" He asks grinning.
"Shut up Matt." I say, refusing to smile. I'm not encouraging him. "Look, this isn't a good time. I'm in the middle of an essay."
"So I see." he says raising his eyebrows skeptically.
I should probably back up. Matt is the ghost who threatened my life, soul, you name it, last year. After Jesse showed up, he went to Paul, who apparently wasn't much help so he came back to me and apologized. He's been hanging around ever since. I can't figure out what's keeping him here and I don't think he has anymore of an idea than I do. He told me he died in a car accident, and as far as he knows he doesn't have any unfinished business. I mean, he had a message for his little sister, but I gave it to her and he's still here. So basically I'm stuck with him. I don't have the heart to exorcize him or anything, I mean, it's not like he's threatening anyone's life, and to tell you the truth he's kind of grown on me.
Matt waved a hand in front of my face, forcing me back into reality.
"Hey," he said, "What's the matter?"
"What do you mean? Nothings the matter." I said keeping my eyes on my paper. I began to color in the 'S' in my name.
"Oh. Okay. So is that why you've been walking around looking like you've been lobotomized all day?" he said.
"Have not."
"Have too."
"Have not"
"Have too."
"Have no-" I sighed. "Okay so maybe I have."
"So are you gonna tell me or am I going to have to read your diary again?" he asked. I swear to god he's worse than my step brothers. I scowled and then sighed again.
"I saw him this morning." I said quietly. Matt didn't have to ask who "him" was. He stopped grinning.
"Suze...look, you might have seen him, I mean, I have no doubt he visits you while your sleeping and stuff, but... just.... don't get your hopes up. Okay?"
"Your optimistic today." I muttered. He shook his head,
"I'm not trying to rain on your parade or anything, but I don't want you to get all excited because you think he's gonna come back. I mean, what if he doesn't?"
"It wasn't a parade Matt. It wasn't even the Santa Claus float. I'm still trying to decide whether or not it was a dream. And if it was a dream I'm really pathetic."
"Why's that?" he said looking at the cover of my Red Hot Chili Peppers CD.
"Because. It's been a year since I last saw him. I shouldn't be able to remember him that well. I should remember exactly what his eyes looked like and how his scar always used to glow when he was angry and how-" all of the sudden I was crying. Matt stared and me and awkwardly patted me on the back.
"Am I that girl?" I said looking up at him suddenly.
"What?" he said, confused.
"You know, that girl who's obsessed with her boyfriend and can't bear to have him out of her sight for more than five minutes. The really clingy one who looks like she's attached to his arm when they go to the movies?" Matt laughs.
"No Suze, your not 'That Girl'" he says. I shake my head.
"Well then I'm what 'That Girl' would be if she was in love with a dead guy." I say. I wipe away my tears with the back of my hand. "God, at this point I should just pull a Wuthering Heights and wander off into a moor or something."
"Um....Suze...there aren't any moors in California." he says. For some reason this sends me into fresh waves of tears.
"I've gotta...um...go...um....do stuff....uh....bye" he says handing me a box of tissues. And then he disappeared. I shake my head. I'll have to remember that. Crying makes Matt leave. Unfortunately it also leaves me feeling like shit.
