Ghost Slayers

Chapter Forty-seven

By Relm

Pokota was nervous as he looked at himself in the mirror trying to decide what to wear. Earlier in the day he had been blindsided by a simple text that had turned his brain into mush for most of the day. That text message had been from his university crush, the beautiful, sweet and kind Amelia Sailune whom he had not seen since school.

The text hadn't been particularly long or serious. It was just a couple simple sentences. A question, 'I've got two tickets to my sister's opening play tonight. Do you want to come with me?'

Though this wasn't exactly definite date proposal that didn't stop Pokota from staring at his phone with disbelief. He hadn't heard from Amelia in so long that he actually forgot that she had his phone number. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing on his phone. This was partially the reason why Pokota failed to respond right away to the text. His brain was still in denial that he had gotten a text message from Amelia. But even when his mind finally wrapped the idea around his head he couldn't let him respond right away. If he responded too quickly then it showed that he was either too eager or that he had no life. What kind of attractive and successful man was so easily available for a sudden Friday night outing? No he had to make it look like he had to do some rearranging to say yes to her question. Or least that's what he was thinking as he waited to answer.

Truthfully Pokota didn't have a life outside work. Right out of university he had been headhunted by a big corporation that promised him a good steady job with good steady pay. While in school Pokota had played around with the idea of staying in Sailune and not going back to Tarforashia when he finished and this job offer cemented the idea. It wasn't as if Pokota was opposed to going back home, he did love Tarforashia after all but there were many other reasons to stay in Sailune.

The biggest one was that there was no pressure in Sailune. He could and be the person he wanted to be without anyone telling him otherwise. If Pokota had gone back home then he was sure he would get pushed into politics somehow. That was what his father was into and what his father's father had done and his father's father's father and so on. Pokota's family had been the mayor of Tarforashia for several generations. Their family was so trusted in Tarforashia that they wouldn't ever dare vote against someone from Pokota's family in favor of picking another candidate. If Pokota went home he would somehow get roped into being a future mayor of Tarforashia.

Pokota hated politics. He hated the campaigns, learning all the laws, giving speeches, and all the tedious paperwork that had to signed. Watching his father work while growing up had bored Pokota to tears. Pokota wasn't opposed to being a leader and motivating people but being the mayor was more about moderating budgets and small legal feuds than leading. The job just didn't appeal to Pokota.

Amelia was the same way. She didn't want to become a mayor like her father. This was part of the reason why Pokota and Amelia had gotten along so famously. Both of them wanted to break free from their own respect family's businesses and be their own people. However Amelia's profession was more true to her calling than Pokota's. Amelia wanted to help people and that's exactly what she did. Pokota on the other hand wasn't leading and motivating like he wanted.

Pokota had studied accounting and small business in university with dreams of starting his own company. He hadn't decided what sort of company it would be but he knew he wanted to charity work on the side. Then of course Vectek, a huge corporation offered him a job right out of school and he thought it would be a good idea to work there to build up his funds while he decided what he wanted to do.

Years had gone by and still Pokota was working for Vectek. Technically he was billed as being the assistant to the regional manager of finances and equity but really he was a secretary/accountant or 'the office gofer'. Basically he was the errand boy who got what the manager wanted and did the paperwork that no one else wanted to do. Pokota hated the job as it ate up lots of life but once he had gotten settled in it was hard to get out off.

Pokota blamed his job for his lack of a social life. He spent long hours at work and when he got home he was too tired to do anything but eat and sleep. He couldn't even rest on the weekend because he was always worrying about something going wrong at work.

A typical Friday for Pokota was going home, changing into some comfortable clothing, eating some dinner in front of the television and falling asleep on the couch. He was too tired to do anything else. But not so this Friday. After getting that text message from Amelia Pokota was full of nervous energy as he riffled his closet to find something nice to wear.

When you worked in an office having an ample amount of dress wear was a must. So Pokota had all kinds of suits, ties and shoes at his disposal. He had a suit for just about any kind of occasion. But should one wear a suit to an informal possibly pseudo date? Or should one dress more causally? Pokota wrestled with this as he kept rejecting the things he tried on. He soon discovered that his life really did revolve around work. Almost all of his clothing was suits. He had next to no casual wear. Mostly things he wore to bed and old clothing he bummed around in during the weekends. Nothing near respectable enough to wear to an opening of the play whether it was a date or not.

So suit it was by process of elimination. But not a full three piece suit. He opted not to wear a vest or tie but even then that didn't help him make his decision. What colour pants/suit should he wear? And with what colour shirt? Did he go conservative with a classic look or did he go more daring with a more fashion forward style?

The end result had Pokota going with a black suit and a dark blue shirt and black shoes. He had no vest nor did he wear a tie. Though not entirely sure of his outfit Pokota decided enough was enough; he wasn't going to change again. So with his stomach buzzing with bundles of nervous energy he finished getting ready so he could leave.

...

Amelia looked around the streets outside the Sailune theatre nervously as she stood just outside the line to get into the building. She had texted Pokota back and forth a few times to give him the exact time and place she was going to meet him. Amelia had been sure by the responses she had gotten from Pokota that he was definitely going to come but the time of her watch was begging to differ.

The play was going to start in fifteen minutes and Amelia had asked Pokota to show up at the theatre a half before the play started. That way the two of them could sit and catch up before the play started. However Pokota was fifteen minutes late and hadn't messaged Amelia to let her know he was going to be late.

Thinking about her phone Amelia pulled it out of her purse to look it over once more. Still no new messages and no missed calls. She had already texted him a few times enquiring about why he was late and where he was. And since he hadn't responded to those questions Amelia didn't see the point in texting him again.

A thought did come to Amelia's mind as she put her phone away again. Perhaps she was being stood up. It had been awhile since Amelia had talked to Pokota. Perhaps it was too presumptuous to believe that Pokota would be so willing to go see a play with her after all this time. Maybe she had wrong him somehow and forgot and this was how he was paying her back.

This line of thinking had Amelia's brain going off in all kinds of paranoid tangents that were not likely to be silenced until Pokota showed his face. But at ten minutes to show time Amelia was really doubting Pokota would show at all.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Pokota puffed as he came running down the street. "It's murder trying to find parking around here!"

Happy nervous butterflies nipped the paranoid ones out of Amelia's gut as she faced Pokota with the largest of smiles. She was happy to see him but her happy smile turned into one of surprise once she got a good look at Pokota. The Pokota she remembered wore simple casual clothing and was practically the same height as Amelia. This Pokota was taller, broader and dressed in a nice suit. He looked handsome and successful despite the fact that he was huffing and puffing trying to catch his breath. "You've... changed..." Amelia mumbled unconsciously.

"Oh." Pokota shrunk under Amelia's stare. "For the better I'm hoping." He said playfully while rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Yes, yes of course! You look very good, I mean nice. You look very nice. I like your suit." Amelia stumbled her way into that answer. Suddenly she was very flustered and she was sure by the hot feeling in her face that she was blushing.

Pokota was also blushing. "You look really nice too. Very pretty."

Amelia was wearing a dark blue dress that was modest yet flattering. The dress was sleeveless and the hem fell just above her knees. Since it was still quite warm out Amelia had opted for an icy blue wrap instead of a jacket that hung loosely on her arms. Amelia could have taken her sister's advice and went for something that was a bit more revealing but she just didn't feel right about doing that. If Pokota was going to like her as more than a friend it be because she was being herself and not pretending to be something else. "Thank you."

"What do you have there with you?" Pokota wondered looking at the strange contraption in Amelia's large purse.

"Oh that?" Amelia laughed nervously. "It's just something from work."

"Work? Didn't you go off to work for Professor Inverse?"

"Yes that's right." Again nervous laughter bubbled out of Amelia.

"What exactly is Professor Inverse's business again?"

Amelia cringed at this question. She was sure that Pokota knew what she did for a living but clearly if he did he forgot. Amelia wanted to be proud and say that she slayed ghosts for a living but she couldn't. Given that most of the world believed that ghosts didn't exist Amelia was often met with skepticism when she told people what she did for a living. "It's called 'Ghost Slayers'. We go to people's homes and businesses to remove any ghosts haunting them."

"Ghosts... are real...?" Pokota's eyes blinked rapidly as he tried to process what he was hearing.

Amelia nodded solemnly.

"And you've seen them...?"

"Yes."

"Wow... And you think there's a ghost in the theatre?"

Amelia shrugged. "Probably. Lots of dramatic actors and actresses like to haunt the stages they acted on before they died. But usually those ones are just drama queens and are mostly harmless."

More blinking from Pokota. "Is that why you've brought that thing in your purse? Because of the ghosts in the theatre?"

"Oh no. Even if there is ghosts here I'm not going to do anything about them. That's not the reason why I've brought my scanner."

"So what is the reason?"

"It's complicated. It has to do with a case we're working on. There may or may not be an evil book in the theatre and I'm just bringing my scanner to see if it comes up with anything odd."

"Evil book huh? Hopefully it won't attack us. Sounds scary. Maybe you can tell me about it during the first intermission." Pokota suggested as he and Amelia made their way into the theatre. In the back of Pokota's mind he was feeling just a bit jealous of Amelia. If what she was saying was true and ghosts did exist then Amelia's life was far more interesting than his.

"I doubt the book is here. I've been asking my sister repeatedly and swears it isn't here." Amelia waved off any concerns.

"Your sister is the lead actress in this play?"

"Yup. She's the reason why I got the tickets."

"So is she any good?"

Amelia cringed again. "She's very... enthusiastic."

Pokota let out a hearty laugh. "Good play or bad play it's still nice to see you and get a chance to catch up. It's a nice diversion from my humdrum life."

...

As it turned out by the time the first intermission came round it was clear that this play was actually shaping out to be pretty good. Naga was a much better actress than Amelia had originally thought. Clearly the elder Sailune sister was more professional than the last time Amelia had seen her act. She was actually impressed and extremely proud of her sister.

As far as her scanner went Amelia did from time to time pull it out to take readings. However since she was limited to scanning from her seat the readings she got coincided with being in normal room full of people. That and Amelia wasn't even sure what sort of readings she would need to look for when it came to looking for a demonic people eating book.

"Your sister is a pretty good actress." Pokota mused once the curtain went down. "Though that costume she's wearing is way too revealing. I know it has to do a lot with how her character is supposed to be but personally I like it better when a woman dresses a little more conservatively."

"Even if the costume she had to wear wasn't revealing my sister would find some way to make it show off more. That's just the kind of person she is. She loves to show off what she's got."

"I'll bet she's probably obnoxious."

"Well..." Amelia shrugged not really wanting to say the truth out loud.

This answer caused Pokota to laugh. "Okay enough about your sister. Tell me about this evil book you're looking for."

"Well it all started with a job we got at Sailune Publishing..."