Disclaimer: I'm not Meg Cabot, nor do I own any of the characters I mention.
Author's Note: I was definitely swamped in reviews, thanks so much! I'm glad everyone enjoyed the story. As you guys know, I do have midterms next week, and a cold to top it off. It's actually kind of funny, considering my first midterm is French, like so many of Meg's characters, I take French, but because of my cold, I can't talk. My poor partner…it's an oral presentation, and I can't talk. Ah…he'll just have to deal. Now on to the story! Yes, this is the same heading on Jess's POV. I'm lazy; I copy and pasted it. It's my work I can do that.
P.S. I added more b/c a lot of people thought the two stories were too similar, so I beefed it up enjoy.
I didn't feel like re-writing the author's note, but midterms are almost done, and I felt this was the weakest chapter, so I re did it. Also to answer some of the reviewers, I'm in NJ, most densely populated state in the U.S! My midterms are done, and I did okay. About the Doc thing, it's not Doc the brother, it's Dr. Krantz. Suze stops referring to her stepbrothers as Doc, Dopey, and Sleepy in book 5.Thanks for all the reviews and keep them coming!
I didn't want to talk about.
Would you? I mean I just saw the mangled body of a guy in the middle of a cornfield. Who wants to talk about something like that? I've seen dead bodies before, okay, only once. And yea, there wasn't any flesh. Well I only saw it in a body bag, and so what if it was the body of my boyfriend? It was in a bag, and I still puked. So you can imange why I puked up that lovely pizza I had for breakfast when I saw Ben, naked, in a cornfield. The FBI guy was shocked to see me, but Jess wasn't, which surprised me. I mean I knew why she was there, but she didn't know how the hell I got in the middle of a cornfield next to a body, so after the chaos, the cops and coroner arrived. Jess felt it would be appropriate if we left it to the cops so she borrowed the Fed.'s phone and called Ruth to pick us up.
"God, Jess, bring your new host sister into your chaotic world." Ruth said, she thought I followed Jess into that field, I wish I did, or I wish I hadn't gone into that field at all. If it was only that simple. Instead, I went into that field following a ghost, who disappeared as soon as I found his body, then started puking up the pizza that I had for breakfast. I really wanted a vacation, but of course I get to help out the dead, I hope Jess won't mind me making a phone call to Father Dominic to let him know what's going on. Though I did what Ben asked, so he probably moved on already, so why bother the good father?
"So, it is true? You still have your powers?" CeeCee said to Jess. Her journalistic instinct comes into play anytime she sees a story, and this was a big story, even though none of them with the exception of myself really knew what had happened, and I actually don't even know the half of it. I mean how did the guy end up in a cornfield? Who would want to kill a postal worker? It didn't make sense.
"Well, yea I still have my powers. And no Ruth, I didn't get Suze involved." Jess said, well duh she still had her powers, how else would she end up in a corn field with me, and the second part of the statement was also true, she didn't get me involved. I did that by myself. I always get myself into these types of situations. At least recently I've had my boyfriend to protect me, as girly as that sounds, it's true, he'd never let anyone touch me, he broke the nose of the last guy who tried. CeeCee knew instantly after what Jess said what had actually happened, she's sharp like that, Ruth having no idea about my gift looked totally confused, well I wouldn't expect anything else from someone who didn't know ghosts were real. I continued to stare at the corn out of the window, I didn't feel like talking about it.
"Wait, if you didn't bring Suze along how'd she get there?" Ruth asked, she was totally confused. CeeCee looked at me as if she were about to ask me, "Was it a ghost?" She knew the most about my gift out of my friends, but she didn't want to know too much about it, she just likes to know things. I only nodded at her; I knew what she was going to ask.
"Look not now, I'm not feeling so well." Was all I said Why should I tell Ruth, a girl I knew for about 4 hours, my secret, a secret I haven't even told my own mother about And in truth, I wasn't feeling well. I did just puke.
We turned the corner onto Something Lane. I wasn't paying much attention seeing as how I had a lot going through my head, I mean I've been in Indiana for about 4 hours, and had already had an encounter with the cops. God, I wish Jesse was here, he know what to do, he always does. Ruth pulled into a driveway, I guess this was her house, you could here Adam and Skip playing video games inside, meaning Jess lived next door, I got out grabbed my stuff and headed toward Jess's house.
"We'll got to the mousse later." Ruth yelled after us. I suppose the Mousse is the ice cream place we passed when driving towards the post office. Jess gave her a puzzled look, as if to ask why. It seemed like a nice place to me.
"Welcome to Indiana!" Mrs. Mastriani greeted me. She was a pretty woman that had a certain I'm-so-happy-you're-here type of glow to her. I'm guessing besides Ruth, Jess doesn't have many friends. I know what's that like, I had only one friend back in Brooklyn, now I have many.
"Uh… Mom, this is Susannah Simon, Suze, this is my mother Toni Mastriani." Jess seemed really nervous; she doesn't look like much of the indroductionist type. It was really creepy, I know Jess was dying to ask me a few questions, but obviously didn't want her mom there.
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Mastriani." I said. What else should I have said, it seemed to be fine. Then came the awkward silence, I don't like awkward silences and Jess's mom just kept smiling.
"Uh… Mom, Suze needs to unpack." She just probably wanted to talk to me alone, without anyone overhearing our conversation. I respect that she respects my privacy. It's a nice thing to know. We grabbed my stuff and she led me to her room. Her mother must've pulled out a cot for me, and Jess dumped my stuff on it. I sat on her bed, I knew she didn't want to help me unpack.
"Who's going to inform Ben's family?" I said, if his family was informed than he wouldn't bug me while I was here. I really didn't want to see him again if I could help it, but judging by the look that Jess gave me she had no idea that I was talking about. Great, she finds missing people, but doesn't even know who they are.
"Who's Ben?" She asked. Was she insane? We just saw the guy dead in the cornfield, how could she not know who it was?
"Wait, was Ben the postal worker?" She asked, she figured it out, so I just nodded. "How did you know his name?" She wanted to know. My question is how could she not? It really didn't make any sense, I've learned to always make sure I know the name of the ghost I'm working with, it make it easier to look into their past.
"Aren't you the one who works for the FBI?" I was being sarcastic. It was pretty funny that I knew who the guy was and she is the one working for the FBI. Jesse would've founded it funny, but I'm not sure I he knows who the FBI are, but I guess he has a vague idea. Oh, god. What if they ask me to work for them? Yea, that wouldn't work out to well, I'd actually have to tell my mom. Ha! Like Id actually work for the FBI.
"Let me ask the questions." She said shortly. She was annoyed with me, I really didn't care, and her being short with me only made me annoyed. And when I get annoyed, I tend to do things I don't mean. Like call angry spirits, or punch something.
"How'd you know where the body was?" she asked, it was a reasonable question, only I didn't get to answer because the phone rang.
"Jess, sweetie, it's for you." Her mother called up the stairs. Who would call this early on a Saturday? I mean judging what I've found out already is that she doesn't have many friends, and has a boyfriend. Yet her best friend lives next door, and normally boys don't call this early, I mean it's only a little after noon.
"Hello?" she said, and turned away from me. I really didn't mean to listen in on her conversation, but I couldn't help it, I had no place to go, and she was talking on the phone in her room, but I only heard her side which was pretty much this:
"What about Doc?" Doc? Probably the FBI guy I saw her with earlier.
"What do you mean they're missing? We found the Ben. Weren't the files in his truck?" What files, in what truck? Wait, Ben was a postal workman, he would've been driving a truck, but obviously it wasn't with him. Ah, she wasn't thinking clearly, meaning something big was going on, but what? Oh, god. I got to call Father D if something big id gonna happen, and here all I wanted was a nice peaceful vacation.
"Never mind, Doc, give me a ring when you find something I can do?" She didn't seem like the type that would just sit home and wait for some guy to call to tell her what to do, but maybe I could help.
"What files?" I asked, I didn't know what she was talking about.
"Look, there are some very important files missing, and I need to find out who took them." I was right about the not sitting home thing, because she started dialing someone else. I would've too, and thinking how I would call my boyfriend if this happened to me, she was probably calling hers.
"Maybe I can help. I can found out who took them." She stopped dialing. And looked at me oddly. I could help, but I need to use that phone soon.
"How? Are you involved?" She asked. How could she even think that, then again I did know where the body was, who it was, and got there before the FBI did. That must've look suspicious, I mean why else would seventeen years old girls end up in the middle of a cornfield.
"No, of course not." I told her bluntly.
"Then how?" She asked.
"I'll just ask Ben."
Author's endnote: I hope you enjoyed. I might be able to write more if I don't have school tomorrow, but I think I will. Why couldn't the blizzard have happened tonight? Anyway I love reviews, and will try to get the next chapter up soon.