Chapter 8: Green Ghost

(At Gym class outside…)

Miss Desjardin blew her whistle, pressing the girls to keep going. The whole time the girls sprinted across the field. They were sore, tired, and panting for breath, clearing having been at this for a while. The girls eventually broke into pairs while they continued their suicide drills.

"She can't do this to me." Chris grunted.

"Just let it go, Chris." Sue insisted. "We're almost done."

"Then every day this week? All because of Carrie White? Like hell I will." Chris shouted.

"Keep moving, Hargensen." Miss Desjardin ordered. "Keep running or you're not going to prom."

"Fuck you!" Chris snapped. "This is child abuse."

Miss Desjardin stopped in her tracks, she glared toward the girl. Even Sue, Chris's closest friend, was shocked by her choice of words. Miss Desjardin approached Chris, who merely got right up in her face.

"What did you say to me?" Miss Desjardin asked in concern.

"I'm not going to run another goddamn inch because Carrie White got her period and was too stupid to know what it was. There is no ghost!" Chris replied.

"What?" Sue asked, in disbelief.

"You're suspended. You're out of prom and you're out of my class. Now." Miss Desjardin shouted, turning to leave.

"No." Chris snapped.

"No?" Miss Desjardin whipped around.

"You can't decide that." Chris declared, facing the girls for support. "She can't do this to us."

"Goodbye, Chris. The rest of you, keep at it." Sue replied.

"Someone could die of dehydration. Tina, you have a heart condition, right? If we all stick together, they're not going to suspend all of us. They're not going to keep us all from prom. There would be no prom. Nicki, Lizzy?" Chris in concern.

But sadly, the other girls didn't appear convinced at all.

"Let's go, ladies!" Miss Desjardin called out.

"Heather? This is bullshit!" Chris insisted. "We didn't do anything wrong."

It was then Chris started to realize she's truly alone in all this. Not another girl among the group was budging an inch.

"All right, let's go." Miss Desjardin shouted again.

"Right, Sue?" Chris begged, taking her arm. "You're with me on this, right? Come on."

"Sue." Chris replied.

And almost immediately, Sue pulled her arm from Chris' grip. Her facial expression was more than enough to tell Chris, 'No!'.

"Come on." Sue told the girls.

"Keep going, ladies." Miss Desjardin replied.

Soon Sue and the other girls kept with their sprints, while Miss Desjardin encouraged the group to keep going. It didn't take long for Chris to realize what she had gotten herself into. It wasn't enough that she got suspended from school, but now she won't be going to the prom. And all because of one practical joke against Carrie White.

"This isn't over." Chris shook her head. "This isn't over by a long shot. That's Carrie White."

Chris soon stormed off the field, shedding her tears while the other girls kept exercising. But brewing deep within that sadistic mind of hers, a plot of revenge was slowly developing.

(At Ulmann's class…)

Carrie started toward the reading in class, the ghost paying much attention to the course. Yet she removed the smile that was growing on her face. On one hand, she was getting the knack of her newfound gift performing some as simple as making a ghost. On the other hand, a group of kids and one mysterious teenage boy all wanted to extend a hand of friendship toward her without reason to judge her. As if for the first in a while, she suddenly felt the way almost every other student felt when they're surrounded by friends. Seemed perhaps things were slowly starting to look up.

All right, who's next?" Mr. Ulmann the teacher spoke. "Uh, Carrie."

Soon as her name was called, Carrie looked up to face the teacher.

"Favorite poem. Did you bring one?" Mr. Ulmann asked in concern.

All the kids turned toward her, several of them laughed. The only ones not laughing were Sue, Tommy, and George, who had taken seats along the back of the class to keep tabs over Carrie. To even suggest that Carrie was nervous was without question an understatement.

"Yeah." Carrie murmured.

"Why don't you come to the front of the class and share it with us all?" Mr. Ulmann asked in concern.

Carrie slowly got up from her seat and cautiously made her way down toward the front of the class. Sue,Tommy, and George whose desks are next to Carrie's, could see how uncomfortable she appeared to be. The other students quietly snickered as she approached the front. Soon as she stood at the front of the room, facing the entire class, she kept her eyes on her book and read her poem of choice.

"'This unfrequented place to find some ease, ease to the body some, none to the mind. Times past, and what once I was and what am now o wherefore was my birth from Heaven foretold. Twice by an Angel, who at last in sight of both my parents all in flames... ascended.'" Carrie replied.

"Uh... did you get that?" George whispered to Freddy.

"Okay, uh, that was, uh..." Mr. Ulmann stammered. "Disturbing."

The other kids laughed, especially Tina, who clearly had Mr. Ulmann's ear. Derick, sitting between the students, merely glared toward Mr. Ulmann angrily.

"This is the most you've said all year," Mr. Ulmann continued. "Anything else you wanna add or are you done scaring us for the day?"

"Asshole." Tommy muttered, under his breath.

The other students turned and gasped toward him. There was no doubt everyone heard him, especially the teacher.

"Excuse me, Mr. Ross." Mr. Ulmann spoke up. "Did you say something?"

I said, 'Ghost.'" Tommy lied. "I just thought what I read was a ghost. Didn't you, Mr. Ulmann?"

Carrie hurried back to her desk, trying to avoid further trouble.

"All right, who's next?" Mr. Ulmann asked, looking around. "Uh… Nicki. I mean, Lizzy."

Carris sat back down, keeping her head as low as possible. She pushed some hair in front of her face hoping to stay hidden. She peeked over toward Tommy, who just smiled at her with an assuring wink. Sue and George spotted this right away, immediately realizing what was going on.

"I… the green- Uh, the Green Ghost." Mr. Ulmann replied.

The other students gasped toward him.

Carrie, Sue, Tommy, & George think of ghosts.

"The Green Ghost." Ulmann replied.

The other kids laughed at Mr. Ulmann.

"All right. Shut up!" Mr. Ulmann madly.

The other kids stopped laughing.

"THAT STOPPED LAUGHING AT ME! SHUT UP!" Mr. Ulmann called.

The other kids gasped, groaned, and looked down.

"Sue." Tommy spoke up. "I think Mr. Ulmann has a crush."

"I did so." Sue nodded. "Green Ghost's got a name?"

"I don't know, Sue." Tommy confirmed.

"Green Ghost." Sue replied.

Carrie turned and looked down.

"Green Ghost." Carrie replied.

To Be Continued…