Chapter 2: I'm Definitely Paranoid

Sam wrapped his fingers around the Space Mountain photo that he had just purchased of him riding with his friends and his dream girl. K.C. had her eyes bulging out of her head and Jackie's mouth was open from screaming. Zack's glasses reflected the glare from the harsh camera light and Riley looked surprised. Sam had caught his breath in the photo from the exhilarating journey and Edie had looked quite giddy as she held onto her lapbar for support. Overall, it was a funny photo and something he certainly wasn't going to forget.

"Oh my gosh," laughed K.C. as she looked at Sam's copy, "I can't get over how funny we all look. Zack-you look like futuristic!" Zack chuckled at his portrait and Jackie flushed at how silly she looked screaming. Riley cleared his throat and asked if the group was planning to stand around or go have more fun.

"Yeah, yeah," mused K.C. as she consulted the map, "Let's see...Indiana Jones sounds cool with me. Oh and so does Pirates of the Caribbean. You guys, anything sound good?"

"I'm up for a rocky road adventure," piped up Riley enthusiastically, "Everyone cool with Indiana Jones?" Everyone agreed and the group set off for Adventureland. They made brief stops when some curious passerby recognized them and asked for their autographs and pictures. Many of the fans were girls who happily threw their arms around their favorite Othersider and demanded a picture with them.

"Riley!" screamed a red-headed girl with bright hazel eyes. She threw her arms around Riley who reddened as he returned the hug. K.C. turned her head as she pretended to have not seen that. The red-head whipped her head toward Edie and narrowed her eyes. "Is she your new member of the team?"

Edie shook her head no. "I just happened to run into them accidentally this morning," she replied lightly. The red-head simply turned her head away from Edie and bounced over to her friends who were shooting identical, curious glances at her. Who was she? What was she doing hanging with them?

"I'm so glad that's over," muttered K.C. under her breath. Riley pretended to have not heard her as they pushed past the slow moving crowd at Adventureland. Sam stayed close to Edie as she rapidly darted past the slower moving people. Suddenly, she put on her brakes and stopped a few feet short of the entrance.

"Forget it gang," Edie warned as she looked up at the long line snaking out of the main queue, "It's 75 minutes long and its not getting any shorter." Riley sighed unhappily and K.C. folded her arms across her chest. What a bummer!

"There's always Pirates of the Caribbean," Jackie pointed out. She began leading the way toward the entrance under the bridge when she too stopped short. Cast members were blocking the entrance way due to glitches with the ride.

"Sorry folks!" apologized one Cast Member, "We are closed right now and we do not know when we'll be back up and running." The group groaned at his words and Jackie grimaced.

"Now what?" K.C. sighed as she leaned up against the fence surrounding the Rivers of America. Zack who had been busy filming most of the time, spoke up.

"How about Haunted Mansion?" he inquired, "The line's really short and its air-conditioned in there." Riley agreed while the rest of the crew reluctantly agreed. Sure it had its benefits, but wasn't it kind of ironic that they were going to ride a fake ghost ride?

"I'm riding with K.C.," Riley announced as he grabbed K.C.'s elbow. Sam shyly stood next to Edie and shared a glance with her. This left Zack with Jackie. He zoomed the camera in on her face and Jackie tried to smile at him. It was rather hard to since Zack was so close to her with his camera.

"Can you maybe back that off of my face," Jackie muttered to Zack as they began heading inside the attraction. Zack blushed behind the lens and apologized profusely as he shut off the camera. She didn't feel like being center stage on Zack's camera today and she couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious of Edie. The shock from her too hot hand and her quiet mildness seemed somewhat foreign. Something about her didn't seem right...

"I can hold your hand if you get scared," Sam offered Edie. She turned to face him as they strode down the hallway lined with morphing paintings. He reddened and stammered, "Um uh, that is, if you want, I mean." Edie smiled at him and shook her head no.

"I'll be fine thanks," she replied politely, "But I appreciate your considerate offer." Sam smiled weakly as he slid next to her in the doom buggy. K.C. folded her arms as she took a seat next to Riley who shrugged slightly. Zack closed up his camera viewer and Jackie cringed as she sat down beside him. She didn't like the Haunted Mansion since she had gone on it as a kid and the hanging ghost host in the octagonal room had frightened her then. She shivered as the doom buggy began the long climb up the staircase.

As the cars carried them through the ride, Riley stifled a yawn and Zack jumped as a ghost figure popped out at him occasionally. Jackie clenched the support bar tightly and wished for the ride to end. She began to let out the breath she had been holding in as their car approached the hitchhiking ghosts.

K.C. patted the top hat of their ghost while Riley shook his head at her. Zack laughed as they had gotten the fat ghost. Sam never got a chance to see the ghost in his car as a powerful sneeze came on. His head jerked downward and Edie turned to face him. Jackie looked away from her ghost and froze at the rapid sight before her eyes. She could see Sam and the fake ghost in the mirror but not Edie. Edie's seat looked empty as if Sam had been sitting alone.

Millions of thoughts crowded Jackie's head. That had to be a trick. Or a terrible hallucination because what she saw couldn't be possible or real. Edie had no reflection. She hated to burst Sam's bubble but there was something horribly wrong about Edie. He needed to know. Jackie tapped him on the shoulder and Sam whipped around.

"Can we talk?" Jackie whispered to him.

"We are talking," Sam replied amusedly, "You don't have to whisper here." Jackie shushed him and waited until K.C. and Edie had gotten ahead of them.

"There's something weird about Edie," she cautioned him, "I just looked over at your car and she had no reflection in the mirror." Sam shrugged at her and offered the idea that she might have known magic tricks.

"I doubt that can be considered weird Jackie," he sighed, "I know we're not investigating right now but I can't call that credible. The mirror could be faulty because its an old ride or she might know magic tricks. That can be explained." Jackie opened her mouth to protest then Sam walked away from her. Zack joined her and reopened the camera.

"What was that back there?" Zack inquired as he looked up at her.

"Nothing," Jackie muttered, "All I can say is, I'm definitely paranoid."