(A/N OK...
I might rewrite that other chapter. I sort of rushed it wanting to get it out as soon as possible... trust me, I'm going to try really hard to make this chapter much, much better... I hope.
I'm going to try take more breaks in writing and take a bit more time to do things OK? It's going to slow updates but hopefully the next couple of chapters will be better quality)
"Then what is it then?" Lucia asks. I pause, biting the left side of my lip, unsure of how to break it to her. What if my eyes had deceived me and I had just... had a hallucination or something? That ghost couldn't have been... no... It couldn't have... I try to tell myself it's a lie, try to be mature and realistic. It's obviously a stupid, childish misunderstanding- a trick of the light, an illusion. But whatever it was... it was so... real.
"Oh forget it." I swallow down my shock and try to sound less like some sort of paranoid 6 year old and try keep my worries to a minimum. "It was probably just my imagination again." I'm reassuring myself more than anybody else.
They could believe that it was my imagination. I do have a bit of a wild mind. I sometimes surprise myself with what goes on inside my head- you know, those scenes you make up you know will never happen, the worlds you make, the dreams you have- that's normal, right? There's a whole new world in my head, you know... unless you're a science teacher, in that case your head is full of blood and bone and squidgy stuff.
The bell rings nearby then, making me and my friends jump a little. I sigh as some of the shock leaves my body and slouch over a bit.
"So I guess we shouldn't look anymore." I don't look at her, but I can feel Joy walking over to Lucia on my other side. It's weird how your senses tingle randomly like that.
"Who did you think it was- that you saw as the ghost. I promise I won't laugh." Lucia ignores Joys movements and attempts to talk to me, sounding a bit happier now. I'm still acting like a half-dead flamingo, still trying to process everything that has just happened in the last couple of minutes.
"Really, doesn't worry... but I agree with Joy... lets save the ghost hunting for later, okay?" When I finally raise my head to look at my friends, Joy is gone. poof. Probably off to her next lesson- I don't know what she has, but I assume it must be pretty important for her to just dart off like that without a goodbye. Maybe she just felt the situation was a little bit too awkward to handle and just legged it.
Unless she has been... been taken... oh shut up with it! It was just... all in your head. It was probably just a retarded cat slipping up or something... I know 'the ghost' was nothing like a cat, but oh well. It was better than telling myself that the ghost definitely was...
"Aw crap, she's gone." Lucia groans, pulling her bag up her shoulder a little and looking around, just in case Joy is just messing abut and is hiding somewhere. But she's gone all right, to wherever she's going. "Anyway, you OK to go to next lesson now?" Her voice is gently concerned, but still happy as always. I hardly ever see her concerned. She never takes things seriously.
I nod, straightening up a bit and trying my hardest to stretch my lips into a smile. It's obviously a fake one, but if it stops her asking questions, then it's worth it. I tell myself that I might as well go to next lesson- if anything to get the ghost incident off my mind.
"Ok then. Meet me in the library at lunch time, right?" Lucia raises a hand in a wave and begins walking away out of the picnic area through the brick arch in the wall enclosing it. I follow on behind her, (but she is soon gone) my feet dragging lazily through the petals blown across the ground. I don't know why I feel so moody now. Maybe I'm just disappointed in myself.
Breathing another sigh, I walked on to my next lesson with a moody mix of sadness and anger crammed onto my face. I probably look like a really old and ugly pig or something, pink and wrinkly with a squished nose and huge nostrils, because people glance at me as I walk past. I wish they would stop it. I mean, I...
"Excuse me?" Someone taps me on the shoulder and I glance around, my eyes alight with exasperation. "What do you want" I reply rather rudely.
"This fell out of your pocket." The person who tapped me on the shoulder is a young boy about my age. His eyes are piercing blue and he has short, black hair and a horribly gentle voice. I hate boys like this. There always so innocent around girls. Never letting their real personalities shine through. It's terribly annoying when you know the shy kid who sits next to you in science gets detentions every day and is popular for beating up year sevens.
I snatch what he is holding from his hand and ungratefully stomp off into the nearby science block. I don't know why everything is pissing me off so much. I was terrified so much I had been paralyzed a second ago. I go to stuff it back in my pocket, but I pause to look at it when I realize what the small object is, crinkled in my grasp.
It's a small, scruffily folded piece of paper, creased and uneven, almost torn in two from being handled so roughly. I don't remember ever having something like this in my pocket, but then again, I always keep a lot of paper with me to doodle on and stuff. I go to open it, curious, but then the bell rings again, long and high. I must have been dillydallying for so long that I lost track of time.
Rolling my eyes, I put the paper more gently than first intended my pocket and, holding my bag to stop it from whacking against my legs, ran off to my next lesson.
"I heard about the ghost thing"
"You what?" I'm sitting next to Josie in science. Our other teacher is ill, so there's this horrible bald dude with the weirdest shaped ears attempting to teach us from a textbook. The bad men at the back of the room are calling out and fighting, making everyone laugh with rude comments, the girly girls are texting and gossiping, and were just sitting here somewhere in the middle, bored as goldfish. I wish someone could open the blinds and let some of that sun in, because it's ridiculously dark in here.
"Joy told me about it" She sounds a bit nervous now. She knows how easily irritated I am. My voice drops to a raspy whisper as I choke down my anger, and I check that nobody else is listening in with a quick scan of the room and desks around us.
"How much did she tell you?" I ask, worried.
"Just about the white eagle and how you went looking for it and dodged Miss Joss and you..." Josie speaks in a rambling, rolling matter-of-fact way. She pauses, before rushing the last part in an even lower whisper than me. "She also told me you got freaked out because you SAW the white eagle and said it wasn't a ghost or something? I don't know."
I gulp. Damnitt, Joy. Soon the whole school will know about my little moment... after furrowing my brow and narrowing my dark brown eyes, I decide to tell her what I was thinking. Josie is the tiniest bit gullible, and has a bit of an imagination. Maybe she would sort-of believe me...
"Y'know... Ezio? From Assassins Creed?" My voice is so quiet I can hardly hear myself. Josie nods, though. I can't read her expressions, so I have to keep going. I got her into that game in the first place, with my constant ranting about my obsessions. Its a horrible habit I simply can't help.
"The ghost... it looks exactly like him..." I finish, looking like I've just been kicked in the stomach by her. Josie doesn't laugh though, as I expect her too (or comply with my second theory and think this is all a game- before proceeding to make up some ...cough... flamboyant tale she took from somewhere.) She looks confused instead, like I've just told her that I'm actually a pink octopus named George.
"So you're saying we have a mad cosplayer running around our school?" She sounds like she thinks I'm joking, in a nervous, confused sort of way (Put that in your coffee and drink it eh?). It's like when you steal something from someone and then they realize and then look straight at you- and you're unsure of whether to admit or lie. Now I just have images of cosplayers running around the school and going to the canteen and stuff. Ha. Now that would be hilarious.
"No." I swallow, trying to keep my composure. I hate it when people think I'm lying. "He looked exactly like him! I swear it was him!" A desperate expression spreads across my face. Josie looks twice as confused now, her eyebrows slanting at odd angles. I feel like slamming my head into the desk in annoyance a couple of times, maybe even breaking the desk while I'm at it, but instead I just grumble like some sort of pissed obese cat who has just had his food stolen from him- i'm not obese though. Nor am I a fluffy thing with whiskers.
"Hey, I was the one who got you into that game in the first place. I think I know the main character when I see him, hmm?" Worst. Comeback. Ever. Replaying it back in my head now makes me want to slam my head into a fucking brick wall so my nose explodes or something. I sounded so stupid. Josie obviously agreed with me, and began grinning wildly, grey eyes sparkling as much as grey can.
"OK... If you can prove to me your little crush..." she emphasizes the last word, carrying it on for what seems to be an age in this sickly, lyrical tone. I feel my face flushing red with anger, and I growl under my breath. I'm usually quite patient- just not with other people. I can wait for people. I can sit here and wait for something to load. I can wait for the end of the world if I want. Just not for a living, breathing human. "...Actually is the white eagle, and is right here, right now, in this day and age... (oh finally, she's stopped extending that word.) then... I'll do whatever you want." She sounds so uncharacteristically sure of herself; I feel my confidence shrink a little. It doesn't do anything to help my obviously tomato-coloured face.
"...tomorrow. Ill prove it too you. OK?" I bite my lip, holding back from having some sort of teenage hissy fit and knocking poisonous chemicals everywhere. God knows what shit is in this lab. Josie nods and makes an 'hmph' noise, before finally we change the subject. It's quite one sided- just Josie ranting on about what she did today and how stupid our cover teacher is. I'm too busy thinking about how the hell I'm going to prove to her that Ezio is frolicking about the school.
Most people would love to see their favourite fictional characters, and imagine glomping them to the floor the second they lay eyes on them. But when it actually happens, it's scarier than you would first think- when you know every little thing about them and how dangerous they are and how awesome they are and every little detail about their lives and their futures... it's kind of creepy. And if you did get to know them... knowing that sort of thing would be terrible.
The bell goes for the end of the day, and I say goodbye to Josie and set off home. Once again, the walk home is uneventful- unfortunately though, I can see rain clouds gathering in the distance, threatening to put a stop to the lovely springtime weather we have been having for the last week or so. I sigh softly, dragging my feet across the ground again and hunching my shoulders. I don't care how scuffed my shoes get. I just want to drop down on my bed and forget all that has happened today.
I walk down my own pleasant sub-urban street, buildings rising up on both my sides with small, neat little green gardens poking out of their sides. The grey road changes to pebbles before ending with a brick wall. My house is at the end of the street- just an ordinary semi-detached house made of bricks. I walk through the low garden gate and open the white door. It's unlocked, as always.
"Hey, I'm home!" I call out happily, putting down my bag and blazer by the steps not far from the entrance. Oddly enough, there's no reply. I shrug. I guess everyone is upstairs doing something I think to myself. I walk into the kitchen, the door on the wall parallel from the stairs in the hallway. My mum isn't there cooking, nor is my brother stuffing his face. So I walk down to the end of the hallway into the livingroom, the door of which is oddly closed. Nobody is there either.
I decide to entertain myself until everyone comes down and walk over to the TV on one wall of the room. Bending down, I flick on the switch with a click. But there's no red light appearing on the TV. Nothing whirrs or starts up. The whole first floor is silent as the dead. Nothing.
Don't tell me it's another power cut... it was stupid to have another one. Everything had just been fixed up. There should be nothing wrong, it should all be ship-shape and sparkly new. Telling myself it was just the TV playing up, I straighten up and flick on the light switch- nope. Nothing there either. Not even a little flicker of light. My hands curling into fists, I decide to run upstairs like a herd of elephants and see what the hell everyone is doing while the power is out again. They would have probably been downstairs if there had been a power cut. Maybe everyone had gone to sleep or something out of supreme boredom.
I go into my brothers room- nope. The beds unchanged and all is quiet. Same with my own room. And the bathroom. And my nans room- and then up on the third floor it was quiet too. I was starting to get the tiniest bit anxious now. They wouldn't leave and not say anything, would they? Maybe they were just toying with me. Maybe they had just had to pop out in a little emergency? All of the possibilities spiralled in my head, but none made sense.
"Um, Mum, Dad, Dan, Nan, you can come out now!" My voice quivers a little, and I find myself wanting to pinch my arm and check if I'm dreaming. But it's one hell of a vivid dream, if it is one. There's still no reply to my shouts- and I just have to assume that they've gone out. I hop downstairs again and get my phone out of my blazer pocket and quickly navigate the touch screen to phone my mum, just to check. It rings for awhile, but I'm just greeted by that answer phone woman with her toneless, annoying voice. I try phone my dad too, with the same result. The butterflies are having a field day in my stomach now, churning my guts into unpleasant knots. I need another human voice for reassurance, and I go to phone Josie- but just as I am about to press the green phone button, the phone begins to ring by itself.
Its Josie- I wonder why she's phoning me at such a time. I hold the phone up to my ear and I am immediately greeted by a rather feeble, frightened sounding Josie.
"Oh my god Lara, my whole family are gone, just like that, in the blink of an eye. Powers out too. Not a sign of them. Aww help me Lara!" Her voice begins to crack on the last couple of words. So I am not the only one? The fact hits me like a rock in the face and my eyes widen in shock. I have to sit down on the stairs, thanks to my legs shaking and hands quivering... what the hell was going on?
"Josie. The same thing has happened here. The power is all gone. My family is gone too." I try keep my voice steady, but my hands fail to hold the phone straight and my heart is thrumming against my ribcage like a ensnared animal. Josie is sobbing down the phone, but then suddenly, she stops. It's so sudden I swear my heart skips a beat. Josie is a bit of a weird kid. One second she's all happy jolly and then she can completely break down. I don't want her to faint with fear on me or anything.
"...hey Josie, you OK?" I whisper down the phone, almost hesitantly.
"Holy... Ill be right back, OK?"
"Josie wa-"
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep
I've already been cut off.
I pace around the darkening hallway for what seems like hours and hours, biting back my tears and worry with all of my strength. They would have been back by now- or at least told me something through the phone or left a farewell note. I had already been through enough shit over the last couple of days... now this? It seemed everything was against me, I was alone an-
I feel my phone vibrate in my hand suddenly, and stop walking around like a caged tiger to look at it. Josie is calling me once again, to my relief. I wipe at my bloodshot eyes with the back of my hand before answering her again, with a little tap of the screen.
"Um... Lara?" Her voice sounds cautious and quiet in my ear. She's whispering as quietly as possible and I can hear her breath as if she was standing right next to me.
"What's the problem? Are you OK?" My throat is dry as a bone, so I walk off into the kitchen to get a quick drink. When I open the refrigerator the light is off, but when I reach out and touch a bottle of Pepsi, it is still slightly cold. I go and get a glass from a nearby cupboard and pour myself some, as Josie explains slowly what is going on and why she hung up earlier.
"Um... you know you were going to prove to me... about the ghost... and stuff yeah?" I nod, even though she can't see me.
"Well, when I hung up earlier... it was because... the white eagle was in my garden. It was scary but I went outside anyway to look at it, to see if what you had said was actually true. And... and..."
"And what?" I put the glass to my lips.
"Well... you don't have to prove that the ghost is... that the ghost is him anymore."
"Hmm?" I try and mumble through the Pepsi, but just end up making bubbles. I used to always do that when I was a kid, and usually end up spilling it everywhere. I finally take my mouth away to speak to her, seeing as she's fallen quiet on the other end of the phone.
"Are you just playing with me? Prove it." She probably isn't, with the situation as it is. But I just want to make sure anyhow; maybe she thinks I'm lying?
There's the sound of her mumbling a string of hastily spoken words I can't make out, then there's brief pause of silence before I hear anything else. In this pause, I take another gulp of sort-of cold Pepsi from the cup I still hold in my hand.
Then there's a rather familiar sounding Italian voice over the phone.
"...what the hell is going on here...?"
I spat out my Pepsi all down my shirt.
(A/N Once again, please suggest how I can improve. Ill rewrite chapter 2 someday, meanwhile I want to get on with the story... thanks for reading. I tried to take more time over this, but I simply have too much inspiration...)