Chapter Five "On Top" (Mid April 1983)

Song Suggestion- "On Top of the World" by Van Halen

Janine Melnitz

One uneventful Spring evening at six forty-seven, a riveting phone call came about a ghost disturbance at an upscale hotel. I was reading a chapter from my computer programming textbook at the time with my yellow highlighter in hand, ready to call attention to the main points. The sun was still shining outside as I peered out the window from my desk, and I longed to be outside. One of my favorite things to do was to watch sunsets because of the lovely mixture of colors, and I enjoyed being outside.

"Hello, Ghostbusters," I uninterestedly answered, fatigued from reading my textbook without not putting my contacts in this morning or putting on my glasses. As a result, I blinked my worn-out eyes several times quickly to refocus them.

"We got one!" I boisterously yelled in my Brooklyn accent, and jumped up from my desk chair before ringing the fire bell. The deafening noise tolled in my ear causing me to feel excitement for my boys, and I could feel the nervous energy from upstairs as they prepared to go on their first case. Moments later, the boys' liveliness was palpable as they slid down the pole and prepared to leave in Ecto-1, and I witnessed them scurry around the firehouse placing their proton packs in the trunk of the car.

"Good luck," I wished them as they opened the car doors and sat down. Ray smiled and thanked me as the others spoke amongst themselves.

Sighing, my watch read that I had three and a half hours until my shift ended. It was eerily quiet in the old firehouse when the boys were away, and I didn't have anything to do. Taking a stroll downstairs, I stretched my legs and arms, and gave my mind a break. I was glad that a client had finally called so that the company would earn some money.

My mind wandered first to the racquetball match that I had scheduled for late tomorrow morning with my friend, Sally, at our health club, and second, the double date with my best friend, Bree, and I were going on to Coney Island that I wasn't thrilled about later on tonight.

Eventually, I decided to finish reading the chapters I had to read for homework and my stomach reminded me that I skipped lunch today by growling loudly.

Halfway into reading a second chapter, the door to the old garage opened screeching, and I looked up from my book, taken aback. Ecto One was moving into the garage quickly, and I could hear my bosses talk animatedly in the car without making out the conversation.

Parking the vehicle, Ray cheered enthusiastically, exited, then he greeted me before opening the trunk. Egon also appeared animated and wore an attractive half grin when he appeared suddenly from the car with some dirt on his face from the battle with the ghost. Finally, Peter emerged from Ecto One with his jumpsuit looking dirty with a wet material on it. Dr.Stantz opened the trunk and grabbed a black box with yellow stripes and thick steam waves coming from it. He was excited, and the case was a success. All of the Ghostbusters were pleased with the case! Egon appeared even more handsome, happier.

"Settle down, you," I demanded from my stomach after it rumbled loudly. Pushing myself out of my chair, I decided to go upstairs to the kitchen to get an apple. At that time, I felt dizzy. Peter and Egon had joined Ray near the trunk of the car talking and laughing. There was a smell coming from the dark smoking box as Ray held it.

"Ok, we will celebrate later," Peter remarked, with enthusiasm, slapping Ray on the back, "go put that in the containment unit."

With that, the conversation ended and the trio dispersed.

Silently, Ray walked toward me with the smoking box and with a huge smile. I coughed at the smoke as he held it up like he had caught a prize fish, and congratulated them on their success. Holding my nose, an odd smell came from the black and yellow trap.

When I noticed that Peter had some kind of thick glaze on his uniform, I wrinkled my nose in disgust. It looked like snot. I stood from my chair to both greet and congratulate them.

"You will never guess what happened? " Peter exclaimed joyfully, taking my left hand in his to twirl me in a circle a couple of times in a row," we caught a ghost!"

The combination of being twirled and not eating caused me to faint. Before I knew it, I collapsed on the floor like a rag doll and then blacked out for a second.

"Janine," I heard a voice from far away and felt someone's hand pat my cheeks gently to wake me up. I slowly opened my eyes to see the firehouse blurry, but two men were kneeling by me, gazing at me with distressed looks-Drs. V. and Spengler.

My head felt like it was spinning, but I opened my eyes again before I questioned them, "Ohh, what happened?"

"Uh, I didn't know my strength, I guess," Venkman replied, with a wry smile, flexing his right arm bicep as a joke, "sorry, Brooklyn."

Disregarding Dr. V., I turned my attention to my crush. Dr. Spengler's expression showed irritation on his long face, and I figured that his reaction was a disapproval of my actions somehow. I was determined not to look frivolous so I attempted to stand up.

My legs collapsed on me again, and I was on my rear on the floor. I gazed up at my two bosses in a daze..

"Venkman, you should be more careful," Egon admonished his closest friend, narrowing his dark brown eyes at Peter.

"So much for not looking foolish," I said sarcastically, still feeling a little loopy, and then noticed that both scientists exchanged perturbed looks.

"Wait, did he just admonish Peter for spinning me," I thought to myself.

"Alright, Janine, would you breathe deeply for me a few times? Spengs, wait a minute and then help Janine up to her desk. I will get her an apple," Peter advised soothingly, and I followed his directions with a wry smile.

It finally dawned on me that I did not eat lunch earlier and that it caused me to faint.

Dr. Spengler offered me his large right hand to help me rise from the floor, and I accepted it gratefully. Grinning, I silently noted the calluses on his hand and decided that they were there because of all of his hands-on work as a scientist.

Zap!

A spark of electricity occurred when we touched.

After Dr. Spengler pulled me up from the floor, I lost my balance and accidentally bumped into him, stunning us both.

"Whoa," I murmured, dizzily, "I apologize, Dr. Spengler."

Egon gently put his hands on my waist to control my balance, then muttered, "No apology needed, Ms.Melnitz. You aren't feeling well. Just stay still to regain your balance for a moment and then we will walk to your desk."

Awkwardly, we stood there. Dr. Spengler's proximity made my heart skip a beat and my body felt warmer. He too seemed a little anxious.

" Ms. Melnitz, are you prepared to go back to your desk," my favorite physicist questioned a half a minute later, with a distressed expression on his face.

"Yes, I think so," I murmured.

Dr.Spengler moved his right hand upwards from my waist to the small of my back to guide me as we moved to my desk, and his warm touch created a wave of shivers down my spine.

"Are you feeling any better," he inquired, pulling my chair from underneath my desk so I could sit down. Chagrined, I admitted to him after I lowered my body onto the seat,

"A little, I realize that I forgot to eat something for lunch."

Dr. Spengler responded protectively, but with an adorable half-smile on his face, "Please take better care of yourself. We need you here, Janine."

Appreciative of his kind comment, I beamed brightly up at him, observing an unexpected half-grin on his lips.

"Damn, he is handsome," I thought as we held each other's gaze for a long beat.

This was the first time that he called me "Janine" and not "Ms. Melnitz," and I liked the sound of his voice when he did so. His voice was deep and husky, and that gave me more chills down my spine.

"Thank you, Dr.Spengler," I responded sincerely.

"Please call me Egon. We don't have to be formal if there aren't clients here," he replied pleasantly.

I did a double-take when he mentioned that I could call him by his first name, but I felt both honored and excited. Ray and Peter requested that I call them by their first names when we were alone a month ago, but it felt special when Egon requested me to do the same.

"If you will excuse me, I have some other matters to attend to in my office."

Dr. Spengler, I mean, Egon, strode behind my desk to his office causing me to squeal a little afterward at our exchange. I didn't have time to process everything because Peter suddenly handed me a washed apple.

Out of nowhere, my boss stood next to me ans said gallantly with much dramatic flair,

" Ms. Melnitz, you are formally invited to eat pizza with us to celebrate our success tonight. I have to get this jumpsuit off and take a shower. Will you place our standard order at our favorite place when you are done eating your apple? Oh, and Ray is paying, so ask him for the money. Are you coming upstairs, Iggy?"

For a minute, Peter waited expectantly at my desk, craning his neck around me to see if the oldest Ghostbuster was still in his office. I began to eat my apple so I wouldn't feel so nauseous.

"Yes, just a moment," Egon replied, raising his voice enough for his friend to hear.

Meanwhile, Ray returned from the basement, practically skipping in delight, and yelling, "We caught our first ghost, J!"

Dr. Stantz was like an overly excited child who just received candy for making straight A's in his classes at school, and it was cute so I grinned at him. Meanwhile, the apple settled my stomach.

"You don't have to yell, " Dr. Venkman drily reminded him, putting his little finger in his ear and shaking it while I took another bite of my apple.

"Congratulations, Ray. That's terrific news," I eagerly congratulated him..

" This should cover the pizza," my brother from another mother stated, pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed me a 20 bill.

"Ok, I'm going to shower now," Ray announced.

"Stantz, you aren't going to get a shower first, man. I was slimed for Christ's sake," Peter replied, outraged.

Ray appeared like he was going to bolt up the stairs like the Road Runner character when the coyote chased him in the old-time Looney Toons cartoons.

"Meep, meep," Dr. Stantz lamented, making the noise the Road Runner would make and he bolted towards the stairs. Just then, Egon came from his office with a PKE meter in his hands, shaking his head silently at his contemporaries silliness, while Peter sprinted after the youngest Ghostbuster.

Dr. Venkman practically trip Ray up the stairs so he would gain headway to the shower. Although Stantz didn't hurt himself, he was down. Laughing at the shenanigans, I commented that Peter had cheated. I felt less woozy after finishing my apple, and threw it away on a wastebasket underneath my desk.

Egon had met Ray on the stairs and offered him a hand to get off the floor, which he accepted. Then they engaged in a conversation as they climbed the stairs to the landing and I began dialing their favorite pizza parlor.

Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on the door so I took the money to pay the pizza delivery person. I still felt a little shaky even though I no longer felt lightheaded, and as I strode to the door, I wondered if it was noticeable.

"Maybe it was just Egon's effect on me?" I thought.

Opening the door, a short, thin male teenager with acne said, in a squeaky voice, "Ghostbusters?"

I nodded.

" One Italian sausage, one supreme and two pepperoni with breadsticks- 16, please," the delivery man read the order from the slip, and then I handed him the money.

"Thank you. Have a good evening," I wished him after I had the pizzas in my arms.

As I brought the massive amount of food upstairs, the smell of the pizzas was driving me crazy with hunger while I climbed the menacing stairscase. I went to the kitchen to find some plates, napkins, and eating utensils after placing them on the table. Ray was the only one sitting at the table until Egon emerged from the lab with a book, Tobin's Spirit Guide, in his hand. He placed it on the table, and he came into the small kitchen area to wash his hands. I observed that Egon was now dressed in the other part of the uniform- khakis and black pants. Secretly, I scanned his body and thought how sexy he looked in it.

"Hmm, I wonder if his butt is firm? It looked pretty solid," I wondered with a slight grin.

"Surely, Egon would freak out if I pinched his ass, I thought to myself, "and that would be the aggressive flirting that would be labeled 'silly' by him most likely."

Opening the fridge, I saw Coca-Cola cans and beer bottles with some take out containers and cheese, fruit and sandwich meat. I asked the two Ghostbusters who were present their drink preference. I noted that I needed to go to the market for them tomorrow because all they had was junk food.

"I'll get them, Janine,thank you," Egon offered after washing his hands carefully and drying them on a towel. He was standing fairly close to me, and I felt the heat from his body. All of the hairs on my neck to stood at attention as it had before when Egon placed his hands on my waist to steady me.

Glancing at Egon casaully, I noticed that his black undershirt strained in his chest area, revealing his muscles, probably from carrying his heavy proton pack. This was the first time I observed that he had some, perhaps because he always wore a button-down shirt and a tie with his lab coat. Consequently, I wondered how it would feel to put my hands on his bare chest and rub them all over his upper body.

"Excuse me, please, Janine," Egon politely requested. I saw that I was blocking the fridge so I moved out of the way and towards the kitchen cabinets to retrieve some plates.

"Oh..sorry, Dr. Spengler," I mumbled, grabbing four plates and extra napkins to take to the table.

"What would you like to drink, Janine," Egon's deep voice inquired from behind me.

"A coke, please," I answered, with a grin, liking the sound of his voice from behind me. My cheeks flushed as I imagined my favorite Ghostbuster placing his hands around my waist again, this time from behind me, pulling me closer to his body and whispering sweet compliments in my ear. Egon would spin me around and give me a passionate kiss. Although I had an active imagination, I shocked myself with it. Usually, I didn't do this amount of daydreaming unless I was going to bed. Sigh.

When Peter emerged from the bathroom dressed in jeans and a Yankees t-shirt, Ray scolded him for taking so long in the shower.

"I was slimed, Raymond, besides I won fair and square," Dr. V. responded pointedly. The youngest Ghostbuster grunted an inaudible answer as he went into the shared bathroom. Meanwhile, I set a place for everyone at the table, and Egon handed Peter a beer bottle..

"I'm not sure about fair," I smarted off to my boss as he sat down. Peter shook his head and told me to stay out of it with a laugh.

The delicious smell of New York-style pizza filled the air, making my stomach rumble in protest again, but I questioned, "Slimed?

"Oh, the ghost we caught covered me in this gooey, snot-like material," Peter replied, irritated by the memory. He sat down by Egon at the table, " it was so disgusting."

I sat next to my boss, which gave me a good view of Egon across from me.

Wrinkling my nose, I showed my disdain for the story.

"Venkman, I need your jumpsuit so I can test the slime later," His serious friend said, sitting to the left of him.

"Relax, big guy. I'll get it for you later."

" Were you slimed because you tried to tell the ghost one of your corny jokes, " I commented to Dr. Venkman in a slightly harsh voice afterward.

"Ha, ha, hilarious, Janine," he retorted with a snort.

Peter took a long sip from his bottle and elucidated, "this green Slimer charged at me angrily after it heard Ray call it 'ugly little spud' on the Walkie talkie. I was like a fly trapped in ointment after it. I felt funky."

Unsuccessfully, I tried to stifle my laugh after that comment by putting my hand over my mouth. I did not want to look unintelligent to Egon by giggling at everything; however, it did not work. He raised an eyebrow quickly as I burst out laughing but put it back down just as fast. I loved how he did that because it made him look extraordinarily sexy.

"I think I would have paid money to see it," I remarked with a big, luminous smile.

" Yeah, you and every woman that I have wronged in my life. I can't wait for Ray to eat. I have to feed Ms. Melnitz before she faints again, and we have to find a new snarky secretary," Pete announced, opening a box of pizza. He winked at me as he heard my stomach grumble noisily.

We dug into our food, and I enjoyed it. Casually, I inquired about the events at the hotel.

"Can't start without Ray, " Peter replied enthusiastically, "but it is super exciting."

We chewed in silence for a while.

"Why Brooklyn," Peter dramatically commented, noticing my attire, "You dressed a little more casually today. Would you happen to have a date after work tonight?"

I had worn a denim skirt, and a low cut red blouse with black heels tonight and I felt his gaze on me suddenly. Dr. Venkman fluttered his eyelashes at me and blew me a kiss.

"Ugh," I groaned, audibly, "I almost forgot about it. I lost a bet with my best friend, so I have to go on a blind date so she can have a date with someone she likes. Don't flirt with me, Dr. V.. You are making me ill."

Chuckling, Peter took a bite out of his pizza and continued to flutter his eyelashes at me. I focused on my pizza instead and secretly glanced at Egon, whose expression didn't change with my admission. He was consumed with the book in front of him. Sigh.

"What are you doing?"

"I think we are going to Coney Island," I replied to Peter, turning to face him.

No one said anything for a while.

"Is she single, your best friend," Peter inquired, wide-eyed and expectant.

"Uhm, yes, but she isn't your type," I answered, rolling my eyes upward, then taking a bite of the pizza in my hand.

"What's my type, Brooklyn," he demanded, instigating an argument with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Beer, pizza, and friends, what a fantastic combination," Ray stated cheerfully, taking a seat next to me and grabbing a box of pizza.

"Your type, Dr. V., is a woman who is beautiful on the outside and hollow on the inside. One who probably doesn't have a lot of opinions, a trophy wife type, submissive," I answered him evenly, meeting his brown eyes with mine.

Ray cleared his throat and glanced at Egon, who smirked.

"Dead on, Janine," he whispered to me, with a glint of mischievousness in his two colored eyes.

"Every man wants a woman who is submissive," Peter countered with a sly smile and looked at his friends. Ray laughed, but Egon was silent still as he read his book, disregarding the comment.

"I don't mean sexually. I mean, someone who wants to be told what to do and what to think," I replied, turning a dark shade of pink, " that's not my best friend."

Peter laughed loudly.

"Fair enough. Ok, Ray, Janine asked about the hotel case. Let's tell her about our big night," he requested.

Dr. Stantz began to tell the story with interjections from Peter mostly and occasionally, Egon. He spent most of the time reading while he ate slices of pizza and breadsticks. For someone so thin, Egon ate a lot of food. The case was a pretty exciting one that held my attention as Ray explained it. Once I felt someone's eyes on me for a few seconds, but I wasn't sure whose, while I ate. I hope it wasn't anyone but Egon's.

"We forgot to order a calzone," Peter complained, opening another box of pizza.

"How do you eat so much? I ate two slices, and I'm full," I asked, attempting not to look at the boys eating like it had been days since their last meal. My stomach was so full I could vomit.

"Still growing, J. Didn't you have any brothers growing up?"

Shaking my head, I mentioned that my brother-in-law didn't eat like them either.

"It didn't catch up with my parents until their fifties," Ray mentioned, taking a sip of beer afterward and giving me a boyish grin that I liked.

When the phone rang, I popped up to get to it in time. Technically, I was still on the clock.

"Thank you for calling Ghostbusters; this is Janine. How may I help you?"

I listened for an answer, replied, and covered the phone receiver with the palm of my hand, then said, "Dr. Venkman, it's for you. It's Sarah."

Peter moved quickly to the phone and took it from me with a sly smile. He also had a twinkle in his eyes, and I rolled my eyes. It was almost a quarter to nine, and there was only an hour and fifteen minutes until my shift was over.

"Must be Sarah, that coed is crazy about him, " Ray admitted, commenting to Egon, who nodded.

"Wait, Dr. Venkman dated coeds as a professor at Columbia?"

They both glanced at me with a surprise like this was a natural occurrence of events.

"Oh yeah," Ray laughed and answered, " they were lining up in our office. Spengler and I always had enough volunteers for our experiments because I used to tell them a bullshit line about how he only dated girls that helped us out."

" You didn't, bad big brother," I exclaimed teasingly, looking from him to Egon in disbelief. Ray was chewing on a breadstick and nodded while the latter didn't pick up his head unphased.

"We had to have Venkman come in during our sessions to keep them involved. Then we, really me, gave them his phone number, so he always had a date. All of these gorgeous young women were not interested in us at all. It was quite depressing," Ray explained, pointing his index finger to himself and Egon.

My mouth was agape as I listened to his explanation, and Peter asked me why I appeared to be shocked.

"Sarah?" Ray inquired.

"Yes," Peter answered, faking false modesty, "am I that irresistible to women, Janine?"

Both Ray and Egon's eyes were turned on me, and I could feel their gaze on my face. My face dropped, and my cheeks started to feel hot.

" Oh shit," I thought, "if I tell him the truth I'm going to get fired."

I didn't answer but instead said, snarkily, "Your friends here ran quite the scam for you to get dates."

"No, they needed volunteers, Janine. I didn't know what they were doing at first anyway. They needed volunteers for their experiments, " Dr. Venkman replied, sneakily.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I looked down at my Coke can.

"Do you think you are a ladies' man," I inquired, trying not to laugh but realizing I was taking a risk with my job. I couldn't help myself from starting this line of questions and then noticed that Ray and Egon waited to see Peter's reaction expectantly.

"Are you saying I am not?"

"I can't answer without getting fired, so I'm shutting my mouth," I replied, feeling my face turning red and meeting Peter's eyes reluctantly.

"Oh," Ray stated energetically, amusedly, "that was a BIG no, Venkman."

After we looked at each other for a second, Peter laughed and stood up to return to the fridge for a beer.

"Fair enough," Dr. Venkman laughed, "I'll take you off the list."

"Oh, thank God," I replied before thinking my answer through. Peter was still my boss after all, and I started to apologize. Ray burst out in laughter.

"I knew you would keep it interesting here, Janine, even before you proved to Spengler that a woman knew that computer programming language. Most girls that I have met from Brooklyn have a great sense of humor, and this whole conversation is fucking hilarious," he replied, thoughtfully, then started to howl in laughter, very loudly.

"That came out wrong, Dr. Venkman, " I apologized, feeling remorseful and embarrassed. I felt my face turning red and hot again.

Peter was still chuckling, but he stopped for a second, suddenly looking severe at me. He then winked with his brown eyes shining, saying, "Congratulations, you made it into the club, kid."

Ray again started to laugh hysterically, and even Egon smiled a little bit when I checked for his response.

"Am I fired?"

"No, not at all," Peter remarked, still laughing, hysterically.

"Ok, then I'm going downstairs before I am," I stated, then stood up abruptly even though Ray and Peter protested. Before I headed downstairs, I grabbed the empty pizza boxes and placed the trash in the garbage.

"Thanks for the pizza, Ray," I said, walking down the stairs.

"You are welcome, J," Ray answered and smiled that boyish grin on his face. He was my second favorite ghostbusters, after the brilliant and handsome Egon Spengler, of course.

About five minutes before my shift ended, my crush strolled up to my desk to retrieve his PKE meter again. I hadn't noticed it was left there because I was applying red lipstick onto my lips using a compact mirror when he suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Have fun at Coney Island, Janine," he remarked, taking his PKE meter off my desk and standing awkwardly in place for a second.

"Thanks," I replied, with a smile, then paused before inquiring, " Egon, is Peter going to fire me?"

"No, when he said 'welcome to the club,' it was an admission that he thought of you as a friend. Peter doesn't say that too many women because he views them as... Uhm... conquests," he elucidated, gazing down at me with the corners of his mouth upturned faintly, "good night."

Then my crush withdrew, leaving me to wonder to myself, "Was he paying attention to me earlier?"

"That was a nice surprise," I thought afterward with a big smile and replaced the cap on my lipstick and closed my compact. I took my purse out of my desk's bottom drawer and put my items back in there. Next, I stood up and walked out of the firehouse, checking my watch and noticing that I only had eleven minutes to make it to the subway. It was time to start speed walking, but I couldn't help but grin about Egon's attention to me today.

"I'll see you on Monday, " I shouted in my nasal accent upstairs from the bottom of the stairs at Ray and Pete.

Egon acted in such a caring manner towards me, which I didn't expect at all, and I replayed the incident where I fainted while riding the subway as I waited for my stop. I felt a warmness overwhelm my body and heart as I recalled the incident and his kindness.

--

Dr. Peter Venkman

Although Egon thought he was hiding that he was attracted to Janine, he wasn't for someone who knew him well. Janine had pulled back on the amount and intensity with her flirting, but she was interested in him. When the two were together, it was like watching a movie where a shy, insecure nerd attempts to avoid the beautiful woman even though he felt enchanted by her. Then fate continues to bring them together despite his fears.

Egon might not display his attraction to Janine as visibly as some men, but there were signs of it as I continued my observations about their interactions.

First, I found that his eyes focused on her, absentmindedly, often when she didn't notice with a look of longing on his usually expressionless long face. He often admired her well-built legs with a blush, too. Also, my close friend instantly paid attention when Janine entered the room we were in, although he hid it pretty well by standing up to stretch or retrieve an item. Thirdly, he became very defensive whenever Stantz and I teased Iggy about Janine's crush on him. If he wasn't interested in Janine at all, he would have completely ignored her and shut down. On occasion, our dear theoretical physicist would go out of his way to ask her to do something that he had usually done in the past, like type his notes for him. Finally, I observed that he left his PKE meter on her desk only to retrieve it later at least twice a week and sometimes thrice.

I think Janine's confidence, openness, and assertive personality scared but also thrilled him. She was just the type of woman that Egon needed to pull his head out of the clouds and enjoy his life.

Egon Spengler

Happily, I ran tests on the slime and created detailed notes on my findings as I listened to the radio later that night. Today was a great day as we caught our first ghost successfully, giving us a glimpse of the future and creating a feeling of confidence in our new business. I sang with Van Halen as it played on the radio in the wee hours of the morning and felt like anything was possible.