Chapter Two: I See Dead People
Disclaimer: Must I put one for each and every chapter? I mean, c'mon. Give me a break. It's the same as the last chapter, by the way.
Suze laced up her green high-tops and shrugged on her denim jacket, grabbing her house keys and a book. She was headed for the park.
True, she had just come back from the park an hour ago, but she hated this house. It smelled like mothballs and dried blood. She especially hated her room. For one thing, it was the smallest room in the house.
Typical, she thought. Mom and Ryan get the biggest room, Charlie gets the one with the twin beds for his dumb friends, and I get stuck with this. Fantastic.
She stood in the front hall and screamed, "Mom! I'm going out!" Jan emerged from the kitchen. "Must you yell, Suze? And you were just out!" she protested.
Suze was about to reply when she saw something that made her stop dead in her tracks.
It was a thin, mousy looking boy who looked like he was about fourteen, but was probably older. He had tan skin, black hair, and large, soulful dark eyes that held a permanent look of terror.
Not to mention he was completely transparent.
A ghost, Suze thought. The ghost must have noticed her staring because his eyes widened and he said, in faint, echoing tones that only Suze could hear, "You can see me!"
Jan noticed her daughter staring off into seemingly nowhere and she threw her hands up in despair. "Oh, Suze!" she groaned. "Not again!"
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Ever since she had turned thirteen, Suze had realized she had a strange gift. She was a mediator, meaning she could see, hear, communicate with and help the dear departed souls of this earth who have returned for vengeance, because of a promise kept, to fulfill their last wishes, or just to annoy the hell out of the first mediator they found.
Lucky Suze. She had only told one person about it: her mother. No one else knew, or was likely to find out.
There were rules to being a mediator. When Suze's father had died, she had found out that the dead chose to return and could not be summoned. She could have had contact with her father, but she hadn't seen him. You can imagine how much that annoyed her.
Another rule was that, it's a mediator's job to help the departed, and only a select few are eligible. Suze didn't know how she was eligible in the least bit. She had punched her last ghostly visitor in the nose.
Suze's favorite rule was that she was allowed to exorcise ghosts, too.
Sometimes being a mediator could be fun, and fill you with a deep sense of self-satisfaction at having helped another. But not usually. Ghosts could be rude, obstinate, and very stubborn.
Still, someone had to do it. The job had to be done. Lucky Suze.
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Suze shook herself awake. "N-no. Nothing's there. I…I thought I saw something. But it was just a shadow," she lied. "I…I'm going out," she said slowly, glancing back one last time at the ghost boy.
She fumbled for the doorknob and left, slamming the door behind her. As she left, she thought she heard a faint, "Don't leave me!" But she ignored it, and ran to the park.
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Johnny was amazed. Someone could see him? Wait. Where was she going? "Don't leave me!" he wailed, watching her glance back one last time before leaving.
Johnny flew, literally, through the walls and followed her to the park. She sat down on the swings and opened her book. She was reading Gone With The Wind. Johnny smiled slightly at the thought of the memory of Ponyboy.
He had been following Ponyboy for the last few weeks. He seemed to be fine. He had written something called The Outsiders for English class. Johnny had read it as he had written it, smiling over his shoulder.
But now…he was so glad he had found someone who could see and hear him. He had to talk to her. Maybe she could help him.
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A few seconds later, Dally appeared. "Hey, Johnnycakes," he said loudly, right in Johnny's ear. Johnny leapt in shock.
"Jeez, Dally, do you have to scare the hell out of me every time?" Johnny demanded angrily. Dally just grinned.
Johnny turned away huffily. He was still angry with Dallas for killing himself in the first place.
"Hey, who's the chick?" demanded Dally, referring to the mediator. "Oh," Johnny said casually. "Nobody special. Just a MEDIATOR."
Dally's eyes widened in shock. "No way!" he shouted. He and Johnny had been searching for someone to help them ever since they had died. Dally was miserable as a ghost, although it did allow him to steal things unnoticed.
He wanted to just go on, not be a ghost anymore. And a mediator, a human who could understand them, could help them go on…
"You think she's up to it?" Dally said, trying to keep his cool. Johnny turned to him, his eyes large with knowing. "Yes," he said quietly. "And anyway, she's our only hope."
Dally knew he was right. He stepped forward and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up and turned towards him…
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What happens? Review and you'll find out…if I don't have too much homework. I'm a freshman in HS! Today was my first day! But you don't care. So just review.