Chapter 2
Danny
Dash called me some mean names, but I just pretended I didn't hear him, and he went away. I wish he'd just go away. I wish everyone would go away and leave me alone. Only Dash seems to know I'm alive, but if hitting you and calling you names is what people do when they know you're alive, I don't want to alive.
I put my face on my bent knees and cried. I don't know why I cried. But I didn't know what else to do.
Someone walked up to me and sat beside me on the grass. "Hey, what's wrong?" the person asked, in a lower voice than somebody in my class, but it sounds different from the teachers.
I paused, wondering whether or not I should trust him. I felt I could. "Dash called me mean names and everybody hates me and I don't have any friends." I mumbled with my head turned down.
"I'm somebody, and I don't hate you." He said.
He doesn't? Is that possible? Or is he lying? I knew you could tell if someone's lying by looking at their face. I looked up so I could see him instead of my knees. He was bigger than Dash and almost as big as Mr. Pierce, the principal. Even though we're both sitting down, he towers over me. But he didn't seem to care that he was bigger and older. He just sits and smiles at me.
I finally worked up the courage to mumble "My name's Danny. What's yours?"
His smile got even bigger. "My name's Mr. Nobody. Let's be friends!"
'Friends'. That sounded like a good word, like 'cookie' or 'story time'. "Okay."
Then the bell rang to go back in. I got up and walked back to my teacher, who was lining up all of the other kids in my class. Mr. Nobody walked with me and stood next to me in line. The teacher walked right by him, not even looking at him.
When we went into class, Mr. Nobody sat in a corner of the room, watching the class. He probably was there before and I didn't notice him. He was so quiet I had to turn my head and look to make sure he was still there.
During playtime he came over to me on the soft rug and played jacks with me using the set that was in the toy bin. The quiet girl in my class, Sam, walked over and sat next to Mr. Nobody.
"Can I play?" she said in a nice voice. Sam doesn't talk much. She likes being by herself a lot. Why does she want to play with me?
"Sure!" I say. Mr. Nobody just smiles one of his large smiles.
We all take turns playing until it's time to go home. Mommy picks me up and drives us home to our house. Mr. Nobody comes along too. He hung around all night until it was time for me to go to bed. It was good to have a friend.
Phantom
So far so good. This kid, Danny…he had a life something like I never had. His mom's nice enough, but I still hadn't met his dad yet. I heard his mom mention him at dinner.
Everybody probably thinks he just has a new imaginary friend. But how can he see me? When he turned his head up at me, I just knew he could see me. I probably learned how to pick up that kind of thing from living with Rick. Nobody else could, not even…was it Sam? She was sweet enough. At least I wouldn't be the only friend this kid had.
Funny. Now that I'm dead, when thing are supposed to end, things are finally how they should be…