"Come on, Elsie, you've got to help me on this!" Highland pleaded. They were walking out of third period and were on their way to lunch.
"Fine, I'll come with you, but I still think you're wasting your time," Elsie said disdainfully.
"Thank you," Highland sighed in relief. Instead of getting lunch, Highland went straight to a table in the back of the lunchroom where he knew Tyrone liked to sit. Elsie promised that she would catch up with him after she got something to eat.
Highland approached the table cautiously. Tyrone was there, but so was his twin sister Melanie. She was over-enthusiastic, over peppy, and overbearing. He would prefer to talk to Tyrone without her there. But Tyrone caught his eye and motioned him over.
"Do you need to talk about something?" He asked in a low voice. Highland gulped and nodded.
"Ooh, is it-?" Melanie started, but Tyrone shot her a look. "Not now, Melanie. Go find Candace and Gretchen, we need to talk alone." Melanie looked disappointed, but the twin walked away without argument.
"How did you know?" Highland asked.
"I can see that you're having trouble. And you wouldn't come to me unless it was pretty serious." He tipped up his baseball cap and took a bite of his sandwich. For all the freshman's mystery and mystique, he was a bit awkward. "So what's going on?"
"I- well, I think my dead friend might be haunting me." He hadn't meant to say it so boldly, but he didn't know how else to say it.
"Hmm. Overland? Jackson Overland? Drowned last winter, didn't he?" Tyrone fished in his backpack and pulled out a large, red journal.
Highland was surprised that Tyrone knew that. "Um, yeah. How-?"
"I make it my business to know these things." Tyrone said casually, opening the journal and flipping through it. Highland saw that it was full of drawings and notes on supernatural phenomena. "Tell me what's been going on, exactly."
Highland related the cave incident in which he lost his leg, the mysterious snowball attacks, and Emma's story and description of Jack's 'return'. Halfway through Elsie joined them, and though she helped in telling the details, it was clear she thought this was silly.
Tyrone nodded as Highland came to a close. "Sounds like he's not completely gone. Some part of him has remained in this dimension because of unfinished business."
Elsie snorted in disbelief. Highland glared at her. "So I'm not crazy then? When I saw him in the cave?"
"Of course not," Tyrone said, "But it's highly significant that that's when you saw him. Your mind was very vulnerable at the time. You were barely conscious. Moments like that are when it's easiest to make contact with the hidden world."
"What about Emma? She claims that she can see him at any time." Highland said, starting to get excited.
Tyrone flipped another page in his journal. "Children are usually more susceptible to the hidden world, because their minds aren't fully developed yet. Luckily, the most common things that reside in that world are benign."
Highland nodded, though only half understanding. "So how do I find him, then?"
"Well, if his sister can truly see him, then you can ask for her help." Tyrone said, marking a page in his book. "If that doesn't work, obtain something he owned and bring it to me for a summoning."
"Great!" Highland said, jumping up. "Then I'll report back tomorrow!"
Elsie looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious, Highland?" she almost shouted. "Jack is gone. You can't just go around pretending he's not! You're really going to waste your time on some supernatural summoning?!"
"If he's out there, I'm not going to just stand by!" Highland retorted. "I'm going to find him!" He picked up his bag and marched out of the cafeteria.
Elsie slammed her fist on the table in anger as she watched him retreat.
"You ought to open your mind, Elsie." Tyrone said. She glared at him, furious for raising Highland's hopes with his nonsense. He saw the look in her eye, but went on. "The hidden world exists, and it's closer than you think it is. One day it's going to slap you in the face. I hope you'll be ready for it." He went back to reading his journal.
Elsie got up from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria.