A/N: Hey everyone. Look, I know it's been a while since I updated this, but I've mainly been working on my Lord of the Rings fan fiction, Rowan Whitfoot. But, here's chapter two. Hopefully, more will be up sooner than last time.
Chapter Two
We ran out the doors, the guy following us.
"Did you see it? What was it?" he asked.
"We'll get back to you." Peter said.
"Wait!" the man yelled, but we had already left.
Peter laughed. "Get her. That was your whole plan. Get her. It was scientific." He said to Ray.
"I just got overexcited." Ray said. "But-but wasn't incredible, Pete? I mean, we actually touched the etheric plane. Do you know what this could mean to the university?"
"Yeah, it's gonna be bigger than the microchip. Ray, I'm very excited." Peter was being so sarcastic.
"I wouldn't say the experience was completely wasted." Egon said, walking up to us. "According to these new readings, we have an excellent chance of catching a ghost and holding it indefinitely."
"Well, this is great. If the ionization rate is constant for all ectoplasmic entities, we could really bust some heads!" Ray exclaimed. "...In a spiritual sense, of course." He added.
Peter looked at me. "He's like a child." He said. "He gets overexcited about catching things that scare the living shit out of you."
I shook my head. "Well, Peter, Ray's always been this way. You know that. Like in Biology, in high school. Remember?"
"He blew my eyebrows off because he excited to mix something."
"Exactly. So don't hold it against him."
"They're still growing back." Peter pointed to his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes, and he ran up to the guys, me behind him.
"Spengs," he said. That was always Egon's nickname for Peter. "You serious about this catching a ghost?"
"I'm always serious." Egon told him.
"Egon, I'm gonna take back some of the things I said about you." Peter smiled. Or smirked. But the key word here was some. Peter took a Baby Ruth out of his pocket. Egon reached for it, and Peter pulled it away. "You—" he said, and then gave it to Egon. "You've earned it."
We walked into their office at the university.
"The possibilities are limitless." Ray said. "Hey, Dean Yeager."
The Dean turned, a smirk on his face. That's when I noticed people coming in and out, taking things out of the room. Uh oh. They be in trouble. What am I saying, they're always in trouble.
"I trust you're moving us to better quarters on campus." Peter said.
"No, you're being moved off campus." The Dean said. "The Board of Regents has decided to terminate your grant. You are to vacate these premises immediately."
My eyes widened. "This is preposterous." Peter said. "I demand an explanation."
"Fine. This university will no longer continue any funding of any kind for your group's activities."
"But the kids love us."
The Dean paused before he spoke again. "Dr. Venkman, we believe the purpose of science is to serve mankind. You, however, seem to regard science as some kind of dodge or hustle. Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe. Your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable. You are a poor scientist, Dr. Venkman."
Peter actually seemed hurt. "I see." He said.
"And you have no place in this department, or in this university."
Ray was pacing.
"This is a major disgrace." He said. "Forget MIT or Stanford now. They wouldn't touch us with a 10-meter cattle prod."
"You're always so concerned about your reputation." Peter retorted. I placed a hand on Ray's shoulder. "Einstein did his best stuff when he was working as a patent clerk."
Ray looked at him. "Do you know how much a patent clerk earns?"
"No."
"Personally, I like the university. They gave us money and facilities. We didn't have to produce anything! You've never been out of college. You don't know what it's like out there. I've worked in a private sector. They expect results." Ray shrugged his shoulders.
"For whatever reasons, Ray," Peter got down from where he was sitting, the bottle in his hand. The two walked off, and I followed. I don't like New York. People could snatch you, man. "Call it fate, call it luck, call it karma, I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe that we were destined to get thrown out of this dump."
"For what purpose?"
"To go into business for ourselves."
Ray took the bottle, and took a drink. "You know, this ecto-containment system that Spengler and I have in mind is going to require a load of grand recapitalize. Where are we gonna get the money?"
"I don't know." Peter answered, taking the bottle from Ray and taking a drink. "I don't know."
We walked out of the bank.
"You're never gonna regret this, Ray." Peter said. Ray looked miserably at the manila envelope in his hands.
"My parents left me that house. I was born there."
"You're not gonna lose the house. Everybody has three mortgages nowadays."
"But at 19 percent? You didn't even bargain with the guy!"
"Ray, for your information—"
"FYI." I chimed. Egon just cocked an eyebrow at me, and then continued.
"—for your information, the interest rate alone for the first five years comes to 95,000 dollars."
Ray's shoulders sagged. My eyes widened.
"Will you guys relax?" Peter asked. "We are on the threshold of establishing the indispensable defense science of the next decade: Professional Paranormal Investigations and Eliminations. The franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams!"
Ray shook his head.
"There's office space, sleeping quarters and showers on the next floor, and there's a full kitchen on the top level." The woman said.
"It just seems a little pricey for a unique fixer-upper opportunity, that's all." Peter said. I rolled my eyes. "What do you think, Egon?"
"I think this building should be condemned. There's serious metal fatigue in all the load-bearing members. The wiring is substandard. It's completely inadequate with our power needs. And the neighborhood is like a demilitarized zone." Egon voiced his own opinion. Personally, I thought this place was cool. I liked it.
"Hey!" we heard. It was Ray. "Does this pole still work?" he slid down. Of course the pole still works, stupid. "Wow! This place is great! When can we move in? You gotta try this pole! I'm gonna get my stuff!" Ray ran up some stairs like some happy child that just got candy. He looked at us. "Hey, we should stay here tonight. Sleep here. You know, to try it out!" and then he left the room. The woman walked up to us.
"I think we'll take it." Peter said. The woman smiled.
"Good."
Yeah, good. One more place to get off your hands, huh?
I also thought it was funny when she said good because she looked like a chicken. I held in my laugh. God, I am so bad.