Chapter Eight

My happiness was short-lived, however, when we were finished eating. That's because it was time to mediate the ghosts of four kids, who looked to be around sixteen to about fourteen or so, and full of mischievous pranks to play on the living (lucky) humans who couldn't see them.

And the only ones, it turned out, who actually wanted help were Madelleon, the sixteen-year-old girl, and her brother Malcom, who was fifteen - and the leader of all the pranks.

They were eager to share their story with Jesse and me when we got back to Jesse's apartment - the easiest location for us to mediate from, since no one but Ms. Finke, Jesse's landlady, ever disturbed us, and even then, it was just so she could bring him cookies or whatever. Seriously, that little old lady gives him cookies. This kind of makes me feel ashamed of myself, since I have never learned to cook:
I am the championess of not being able to cook. The last time I used the microwave, I set it on fire, and the last time I cooked Ramen noodles, they wound up being crunchy and slightly burned.

We all sat down in Jesse's living room, and Madelleon - or Maddie, she preferred to be called - began their story.

"We were driving on that really curvy road next to the sea, the one my parents had always told me not to drive on. I didn't want to drive on it, but my boyfriend wanted me to come and see him - he lives on that road. I told him I was babysitting, but he's a really cool guy, so he just told me to bring the kids along with me. He said that we'd all hang out at his place and play video games and watch movies. I thought it would be okay, just that once, to drive on that road - I really wanted to see Travis, after all - but we crashed, and…and…" She'd been doing well up until that point, but then she started to sob. I patted her shoulder, unsure of what to do.

"He blames himself!" She sobbed harder. "It's…all…my stupid…my stupid fault. He was st-star quarterback, st-straight-A student, everything, and now it's all ruined because I d-d-died!" I hugged her. I felt sorry for her, I really did. Let's face it, if I had not felt sorry for her, I would not have been so touchy-feely. I do not normally hug people, with the exceptions of Jesse and my mom.

"I don't know why I'm here," Malcom said. "Same goes for the rest of us. We don't know why we're here."

"Is there anything you wish for your family to know?" Jesse asked.

"Well, I want to tell my mom and dad and the baby I love them," the fourteen-year-old girl said. Her name was Jennifer. It was really hard to believe she was fourteen.

"Yeah, Jenny. And I'm going to miss the way Matt kept spitting up on you, too," her brother Nathaniel said. "It was way rad." Nathaniel, it had turned out, was actually twelve. He didn't look so old, I realized, once I looked at him up close. He reminded me of David, but only a little. He was more out-going than David was.

"That wasn't funny, that was gross," Jenny said.

"So you want your parents and your younger brother to know that you love them," Jesse said.

"Yes," they said simultaneously.

"Was your younger brother in the car with you that day?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, he was, but that little plastic baby car-seat kept him from getting hurt when the other car hit us. He was in the backseat, right behind Maddie. Maddie and Malcom both died right away; but Nate and I only died after wards, of complications," Jenny said.

"Oh, I see," Jesse said.

Maddie was still crying five minutes later. I had a feeling that she was going to be crying for a while. "Listen, Maddie, what happened, it's not your fault, none of it. Okay? Look, your boyfriend just loves you and misses you. He will be happy again one day and he'll always remember you," I said, trying to calm her down and smooth things out for her.

"But he'll never be happy! He will never move on! He killed himself!" she said.

Oh my God. Why don't I read the obituary section of the newspaper? I mean, I don't even read the front page of the newspaper, but I should really start reading the obits. I mean, it would save Jesse and me a lot of time in the mediation process. If we already knew how our clients had died, we'd be closer to helping them find out what it was that was making them hang around on Earth indefinitely.

"Well then, what concern do you have about him?" I asked. I had not been prepared to deal with the ghost of a girl whose boyfriend had committed suicide. The only similar thing I'd dealt with was a girl who killed herself because her boyfriend dumped her, and then when she'd figured out that she was dead, she decided to try and off her boyfriend. And then there was Maria, who had ordered the hit on Jesse, but I didn't want to think about that.

"I want to make sure he's happy now. I want to see him again, and I want to love him," she said dreamily.

"Then all you have to do is move on. Move on from Earth and go to wherever it is ghosts are supposed to go. All you have to know is that you can see him again on the other side" - I didn't know if that was true, but it sounded good to me, at least - "and that he'll be okay when he sees you."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes. Really," I assured her.

"Tell Mom and Dad I love them," she said, glowing with happiness for the first time since I'd seen her. Then she faded away.

The others decided to leave shortly after, after we made them promise that they wouldn't destroy anything else while they waited for us to find their parents and tell them that their children loved them.

"Excellent job, Susannah. You did well tonight. You did not lose your temper once, and you were very helpful to Madeleon," Jesse said, pulling me into a hug. "Now, let's get you home before you parents get angry."

I didn't even bother to tell him that Mom and Andy wouldn't be mad or anything, since they clearly saw how much Jesse and I adored each other.

Jesse drove me to my house - it was sadly a very short trip - and he told me not to worry about the other three ghosts, since I'd done such a great job with Maddie. I protested, telling him that he didn't have time, but he told me that he would make some time. I didn't want to burst my little bubble of happiness by arguing, so I said good-bye, and went inside.

I didn't have to worry about bursting my bubble of happiness because Brad did it for me.

"Jesus, what are you so happy about?" Brad said. "What, did he propose?"

"Get a life," Jake said. "Can't you see she's happy for once. Jeez, Brad, you're an idiot."

And then the two of them proceeded to get into a fight, and they started rolling around on the floor like a couple of losers, hitting each other. I would like to say that I was touched by Jake's sudden display of brotherly devotion to my happiness, but really, I think he was just looking for an opportunity to jump Brad about the Camaro.

Whatever.

I went up the stairs to my room, but Mom stopped me. "Susie, are you forgetting to say hello to your mother who loves you very much?" she said teasingly.

I smiled. "No, of course not!" I went back down the stairs and hugged my mom.

"Susie," she said. "I want to talk to you, in private."

Great. Just great.