Kara walked out of the Physics room with her face still heated. She was shocked that she had been so hostile and felt bad for snapping at Isabella and Brenna. Maybe being feisty towards Jack had opened up a part of her that she had been trying to push into a little box so that she wouldn’t be judged. Oops.
She reached the end of the hallway and turned towards the water fountains. As she rounded the corner, she saw a little boy with shaggy blonde curls leaning against the wall. She paused, shaking her head to make sure she wasn’t imagining things, but he was there. That was odd, he looked way too tiny to be a high schooler. She had heard of a disability that made adults look like little kids… maybe that was it.
He saw her watching him and grinned. His grin stretched wider and wider, until the corners of his mouth cracked as the smile continued to grow. Blood gushed from the rips in his face.
Just as Kara was about to run and help him, a terrible feeling overcame her. She doubled over and clutched her stomach and the back of her neck at the same time, crying out in alarm. The cold ache didn’t spread slowly as it usually did when a ghost was present, it hit her like a brick: sudden and painful.
She hadn’t noticed it. She hadn’t known he was a ghost. That hadn’t happened since she was eight years old. Kara had always been able to discern the living from the dead, but somehow this one confused her. The image of this little boy was so solid, with no hint of translucence. His curly hair even seemed to move when he did. The ghosts were always translucent to some extent, but this young boy’s appearance only occasionally glitched in and out of focus. He was different from the rest. He looked alive.
This was not normal, and Kara had fed him her fear: She had acknowledged him. It was always worse when you acknowledged ghosts; they never left you alone once you did. She watched in horror as the boy mimicked her, bending over to clutch its stomach, grinning that terrible grin all the way.
Despite his wicked grin, he was emanating the emotion of fear. He was so, so afraid. There was also a hint of relief coming from the child, but it was shrouded by his terror. Why was he afraid of her?
Kara tried to calm herself and her nausea; her stomach hurt like hell. I know what to do, she reminded herself.
She ripped her gaze away from the young boy as blood began to dribble out of his nose, accenting the pool of blood already forming at his feet. Kara gagged in revulsion and slapped a hand over her mouth as she remembered her theory on ghosts. When they had recently died, their soul portrayed its death more frequently than it portrayed its alive and healthy persona. This little kid may have just died.
Kara took a shaky breath and looked around, purposefully not looking at the kid. Thankfully she was in a rarely used hallway, so no one was there to see her display. She just needed to start walking. Walk.
It’s just another ghost; I see them every single day. But she didn’t see them every day at school. Jack was right, something was definitely changing. Oh crap. Jack.
“Shit shit shit shit,” she whispered, frantically pulling her phone out of her pocket. The world was spinning, so she had to blink hard a few times to focus on her screen.
Thank goodness she had gotten Jack’s number yesterday. Was he seeing a ghost too? If Kara couldn’t even handle this one, he would do a lot worse. Chances were he wouldn’t be alone when the terror struck either. If he were under pressure, he might give away their secret, ending both of their lives. It would be like putting a tattoo on their foreheads that read ‘Mentally Unstable’.
ARE YOU OK? she texted him, forcing herself to keep her back to the ghost as she awaited his answer.
YEAH,WHAT’S UP? he texted back. Thank goodness he had an apple watch that he could respond on quickly.
MEET ME IN THE ART WING. NOW.
Jack responded with a thumbs up. Kara was relieved he didn’t question her text. She hoped he assumed that she had something important to say if she were bothering to text him. Yesterday, Jack had been overthinking things per-usual, and had said that they needed a meeting spot in the school in case they needed to talk during the day.
Thank God for his stupid genius brain, she thought.
The art wing was stinky and no one, not even snooping teachers, would step foot in there. It was being remodeled on the weekends, making it inaccessible during the day. The only thing stopping students from entering the old hallway was the hastily slapped up caution tape. The workers knew kids wouldn’t skip class to hang out in a nasty hallway anyways, so they didn’t bother putting an officer in front of it. That made it the perfect meeting spot.
Kara quickly schooled her expression as she rounded another corner. Suddenly she was surrounded by students —living students— so she couldn’t let her pained expression show. She half walked, half ran, to the otherside of the school. She moved as quickly as possible to get there, fearing the worst. Her hands began trembling and she couldn’t keep the world in focus. Everything around her was pulsing in time with her heartbeat.
She wasn’t afraid for herself anymore, she was worried about Jack. She had given herself a mental pep talk on her way to the art wing, reminding herself that she had seen worse. This wasn’t about her; she had just been caught off guard because the ghost was inside. She had seen child ghosts before. As troubling as that was, she wouldn’t let herself freak out again. Yet despite what she was telling herself, she was still so out of it.
Kara made it to their meeting spot before Jack did. She quickly glanced around to make sure no one was looking, before stepping over the caution tape and walking into the abandoned hallway. Pushing aside huge sheets of plastic hanging from the ceiling, she made her way further into the construction area. She stopped between the ceramics room and the painting room, where she was certain she couldn’t be seen by prying eyes.
She wrapped her shaky arms around herself, and waited for what felt like an eternity for Jack to arrive. Eventually the sheets rustled, and she prayed it was him and not someone else. Jack stepped around a dust-covered sheet, grimacing as he frantically wiped his hands on his shirt, acting as if he were covered in dirt. She looked him over for any signs of insanity as he did so.
“God it reeks in here,” he complained, wrinkling his freckled nose when he spotted her.
She rushed over to him and grabbed his arm. “Did you see one?” she asked.
He shook off her tight grasp. “A ghost?” he asked, surprised by her urgency.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Did you give us away?”
“What? No. You already told me I can’t do that, why would you think I did?” he asked, stepping back. He narrowed his eyes in defiance.
Kara breathed a shaky sigh of relief. He didn’t see a ghost. He didn’t give them away. Thank God.
Just like that, she felt all of the adrenaline rush out of her, leaving her empty and weak. She started to tremble and hugged herself again, not having the energy to push the sticky strand of hair out of her face. Her head began to pulse and that horrible twisting pain ached in her stomach again. She was overcome by that frigid heatwave a person gets right before they throw up. Her entire body broke into a sickening sweat, but she was freezing cold and dizzy. She could practically feel her face paling.
“Woah,” Jack said, looking her up and down. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I was stupid, caught off guard. I’m sorry I called you here, I overreacted.” Kara’s words didn’t match her persona. Her teeth started chattering as she spoke. “I—uh,” she swooned a little, then cleared her throat. She couldn’t will her eyes to focus on him. “I thought you might have seen one too.”
Jack reached towards her, worried she might pass out on him. He gripped her shoulders to steady her as she blinked heavily. “You’re not okay. What’s going on?” he asked, alarmed. He searched her dark blue eyes for an answer. Her short hair was getting in the way of his examination. He had to push some of it off of her pale cheeks; they were freezing, but she was very sweaty. What the hell?
A dazed laugh escaped her lips. “I don’t know,” she said, her whole body starting to pitch forwards.
Jack caught her in his arms, wrapping her up tightly so that she wouldn’t hit the floor. “Woah. Um, is this normal?” he asked as he held her, awkwardly shifting his weight to support the two of them.
She shook her head against his chest, slowly leaning deeper and deeper into his embrace. Most of her weight was on him now. “No it’s not. I don’t know what’s going on,” she murmured, feeling sleepy.
“Kara. Kara!” Jack said, louder when she didn’t respond. He started to panic when she stayed limp. “You need to talk to me. I don’t know what’s happening.”
“Sit. I need to sit,” she said, slowly blinking her blurry eyes.
“Uh, okay.”
Jack attempted to lower both of them to the ground smoothly. It didn’t work out so well, and it ended with Kara half lying on top of him. The whole situation was very awkward for Jack. He barely knew her, and he was practically twice the size of her, so it was all a little weird. He resituated and leaned Kara’s limp form against the wall, crouching in front of her.
“Hey,” he said sternly, getting right up in her face, pushing her sticky hair away again as he held her chin in his palm. She blinked back at him lazily, her eyes unfocused. “If you don’t snap out of this, I’m going to have to slap you. Tell me what happened.”
Kara tried to stop the room from spinning. She took two deep breaths, fighting through the abdominal pain. She reached out a hand, needing to clutch something to channel her pain into.
“Ow,” Jack complained, as she gripped his hand. Her short nails were digging into his palm. “Okay, now speak.”
Kara willed the world to come back into focus, and it finally did, accompanied by a splitting headache. “I just saw a ghost,” she said, trying to shrug it off. “I didn’t realize it was a ghost at first. I always know if what I’m seeing is a ghost or a person, but this one wasn’t the same. I honestly thought it was a little boy, not a dead kid. Even when it made eye contact with me, I didn’t know it.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
“That doesn’t sound so strange,” he said, not understanding.
“No, you don’t get it. You may not be able to tell if what you’re seeing is a ghost or not yet, but I can. I never make a mistake. Never, and I have years of experience. Sure they freak me out a little when I see them, but this one was different. Something about him was not the same as the rest,” she tried to explain. “Have you ever noticed that the ghosts you see are translucent?”
“Yeah…” he said, not sure what she was getting at.
“Well, this one wasn’t at all. It flickered in and out of existence, like it was trying to hold onto life or something, but it was completely solid; barely see-through at all. It wasn’t a normal ghost. I’ve never seen one that looked that alive before.”
Her gaze met his, and the two of them exchanged a worried look. Jack wasn’t experienced enough to know what a normal ghost looked like, but he believed Kara that something was off that day. She definitely wasn’t acting like herself. From the little he knew about her, he could tell that she was not one to give into fear easily. She couldn’t be after the childhood she’d had.
“Anyways, I’m a big girl. I shouldn’t have involved you. I’ve seen far creepier dead people than this one, but for some reason this kid got to me,” Kara shook her head, trying to clear the fog. “I’m sorry I texted you, I just thought you might have seen one too. And if it bothered me this much, I was worried about how you would handle it… especially since I told you there wouldn’t be any ghosts in the school.”
As she had been talking, reality had come back into focus. She was extremely embarrassed about acting vulnerable in front of Jack. She was the one who was supposed to help him through his panic attacks, not the other way around. She didn’t even have panic attacks anymore.
“Hey, it’s okay that you texted me, I get it,” he said. “That is super weird that you didn’t know it was a ghost. Yesterday when we were talking, you acted as if seeing one is nothing. You’re telling me that this doesn’t usually happen?”
Kara’s face flamed with embarrassment. “No, it doesn’t. I’m sorry, really. I don’t know what came over me.”
“No, it’s alright. I’m glad I came, you looked like you were gonna pass out for a second there,” he said, trying to slow his heartbeat from the fear she had infused in him. He watched her wearily as she took another shuddering breath and wiped the cold sweat off her upper lip. Once he was convinced that she wasn’t going to die or something, he attempted to pry her fingers out of his palm.
Kara faintly realized she should let go, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Once Jack had freed his hand from hers, she slowly opened and closed her fingers, working out the stiffness. The bell that signified the start of Third Period rang, the noise making both of the high schoolers jump. They had forgotten where they were.
“Oh shoot, I’m sorry,” she cursed, leaning her head against the wall. “I made you late.”
Jack waved away the apology. “It’s fine, this is more important. Can you stand?” He stood and watched Kara as she attempted to do the same.
“Yes, of course I can stand,” she scoffed. Sadly, her body did not want to work with her confidence. As she stood, she clenched her teeth and hissed out a breath. The stabbing pain in her stomach felt ten times worse when she moved.
“Ah,” she gasped, leaning forward to put her hands on her knees. Every breath she took felt like a slice through her abdomen.
Jack stopped her, slowly lifting her forearms up until he could see her eyes. He felt her leaning on him again as he examined her for wounds. “What hurts?” he asked, realizing she never told him why she was in pain.
Kara shook her head. “My stomach,” she gasped out.
“Why?” he asked, alarmed.
“I don’t know. The pain started when I realized the little boy was a ghost.”
“Do you usually feel pain when you see a ghost?” he asked, the fear in his voice making it obvious that he hoped the answer was no for both of their sakes.
“No, they never hurt me, remember? Maybe it’s just a coincidence,” she said, wincing.
“Yeah, maybe,” he said, but it was clear that he didn’t believe it.
“I doubt it will happen again. Like I said, he wasn’t a normal ghost. I’ve never seen one look so real before. Maybe ghosts that look like that will make me feel weird, I don’t know.” Kara took a few shallow breaths, the pain making her dizzy again. “Um — I’m sorry… can I—”
She wanted to lean on Jack again, because his strong frame had held her up better than she was able to do. Though she was embarrassed to ask, her legs weren’t. She closed her eyes and kept leaning into his hands until he caught on.
“Oh, yeah, of course,” he said, releasing her arms to pull her close.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled against him. She literally felt like jello; she could barely control her limbs. “I’m usually not like this, I swear.”
Jack laughed. “I believe you. But it’s alright, I’ve got you,” he said, trying to make his voice soothing. It was uncomfortable for both of them.
He hugged her tighter to make sure she wouldn’t slip. She fit perfectly in his arms, and it wasn’t difficult for him to hold her up at all. Her small frame was not too heavy for the chiseled football player.
“Just stay here for a minute and see if the pain goes away,” he offered, looking up at the ceiling and grimacing at how un-smooth he was being.
“Okay,” she agreed. Her voice was muffled by his shirt, because her forehead was turned so it was straight against his chest. They both laughed at her funny voice, but Kara quickly stopped. “Ow, no laughing.”
“No laughing,” he agreed, smiling despite himself as he peered down at the top of her head.
Kara stayed there for two very long minutes that felt like an eternity of awkwardness. Finally, the pain started to dull. She was thoroughly freaked by what had happened, but decided to dismiss it as a weird fluke. Jack had been there for her, and from here on out, she would be there for him.
Jack’s mind was elsewhere when he felt Kara start to return his hug. She squeezed him tightly, and he returned the strong embrace.
“Thanks Jack,” she said, looking at the floor.
“Of course. Are you feeling better?”
“Yup! Fit as a fiddle,” she tried to release him, but his arms went stiff. “Um, Jack, you can let go now.” But he didn’t listen. That’s when she realized his whole body had gone still.
Kara let go completely, and pushed against his chest a little to put some distance between them. He still didn’t move. She looked up at him. “Jack, what?” but as she asked, she saw the terror in his eyes.
“Awe shit,” she grumbled.
She wiggled her way around so she could see what he was looking at. It was like he had forgotten he was holding onto her; he was completely frozen in fear. Kara was afraid of this, and that’s why she had texted him in the first place. Not for his help, but so she could help him. This is how it was supposed to be.
Kara continued to maneuver herself until she was completely turned around, her back against his chest. He still wouldn’t let her go, his hands were locked together around her waist. She saw what he was looking at and sighed in relief. It was just a ghost. A normal looking, translucent, non-creepy ghost. No death wounds were showing, just some good old fashioned farm clothes on an old man. She figured he wouldn’t even bother them even if he realized they had the power of sight — which he probably would, considering the way Jack was staring. This man looked peaceful and was simply walking in circles in the hallway.
Kara gently patted Jack’s arms that were resting on her hips. “Alright Jack,” she said, soothingly. “You’re okay. This is a normal, everyday ghost.” She felt his chest rise and fall with a deep breath.
“Uh huh,” he whispered.
“It’s really not that bad,” she consoled. “You’ll get used to seeing them, and now is the perfect time to pretend you don’t notice him. If we were in a hallway around other kids, you would have been caught by now and taken to the nurse. That can’t happen, so try to relax. Close your eyes or look away.”
“Okay,” he said, quietly.
“You can let me go now,” she said, straining against his grip.
Jack’s arms fell to his side, and Kara stumbled forward. “Sorry,” he mumbled, distractedly.
Kara brushed herself off. “It’s alright.” She turned to face him. “Now look at me,” she commanded.
It took Jack a moment, but he eventually ripped his wide eyes away from the ghost and made eye contact with Kara. She seized up a little when his vibrant eyes met hers. She kept forgetting how icy-blue they were.
“Good. Now keep looking at me; we’re going to turn around.”
Jack obeyed, and as Kara started walking back towards the rest of civilization, Jack followed, staring at the back of her head.
“Good job,” she appraised. “Now don’t look back, just keep walking away. They can’t touch you, so even if they were angry, there is nothing to worry about.” Even though she said it, she wasn’t so sure she believed it anymore. Her stomach was still pulsing with a dull ache, and so was her head, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
Kara held back a construction sheet to let Jack pass, and he looked like he was concentrating as he moved around it. “Okay Jack, you’ve got the turning away part down, which is the hardest thing to do. Now you just need to hold your head high and try to school your expression into something less fearful.”
He obeyed, taking a deep breath and standing up straight. He walked like Kara had always seen, with a confident gait and an air of recklessness.
It’s so weird how his appearance can change so suddenly, she thought, moving in front of him so she could see his face.
“You still look terrified! C’mon Jack, you don’t have as much time as I did to perfect your ‘I’m okay’ face, but you need to try your best. Focus, Jack!” She shouted these last two words in his face, making him jump in surprise.
He bit back a laugh at the shout, her sudden gusto pushing his fear away. “You sound like my coach,” he told her. Even though she was being strict, it worked. He no longer looked like he was about to pee his pants, and his natural flush was returning to his face.
“I am your coach,” she said, smiling at him. “Your ghost coach!”
“How very amazing for you,” he said, sarcastically.
“Thank you, I know I am amazing.”
Jack laughed, then he appeared worried again. “Is it gone?”
She put out a hand, signaling for him to pause as she slowed down and turned around. The old farmer was nowhere in sight. She beamed up at Jack. “Turn around,” she said, gently. “You did it. You walked away.”
Jack looked backwards and sighed in relief. “Such a small thing seems like such a big deal. I don’t know how you do this all the time by yourself.”
“Well, usually it’s not as bad for me as it was today. I’ve been pretending I can’t see ghosts for so long that it comes naturally to me. What you just did was the first step, but I still want to practice with you out in public, so we can see if you can become good enough to fool the ghosts into thinking you’re normal,” she said.
Jack nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
“We’re about to go back out there, are you ready?” she asked.
“Are you?” he contradicted, raising his eyebrows. Her fiasco was much more dramatic than walking away from a ghost.
“Of course I’m ready,” she snapped, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him, defying his concern.
Jack grinned. Kara was back to acting how she usually did around him, but he didn’t mind. That meant she was feeling better. “I’m ready too,” he responded, smiling his goofy smile.
He liked that she didn’t try to please him all the time like most girls did. She had a mind of her own, and she wouldn’t let him take it from her even if he tried. Albeit, he was still surprised she acted differently around everyone else. He liked this Kara; the real Kara.
He appreciated her being kind, but he wished she wouldn’t be so kind when girls were jerks to her, because he knew they could be to people who would just take the insults and smile. Being nice may mean no enemies, but she needed to be able to speak her mind around others as well, otherwise people would view her as ‘simple’ just like Isabella had said, and not want anything to do with her. Jack was learning that there was so much hidden in the shell of a so-called ‘simple person’. If only others would take a moment to notice, they could see that too.
“Good,” Kara said. “Then we should go to Third Period. It’s not even halfway done yet.”
Jack groaned. “I don’t wanna,” he complained.
Kara turned around and started walking away. A tuft of her short hair was sticking straight out off the back of her head. Jack smiled.
“Fine, do what you want. I need to go, otherwise my anxiety about who’s in my class is going to get the better of me.” She slapped a hand over her mouth and turned back to Jack. “If you tell anyone what I just said, I’ll stop helping you,” she said, wide eyed. She hadn’t meant to admit her fear.
“I won’t,” he said, laughing. “And I don’t wanna go, but it doesn’t mean I’m not going. What’s your third period class?”
“History with Mr. Adams,” she said, as she started walking again.
“Really? Mine too,” he said.
Kara smiled. “Nice. Boring class with a boring person.”
“Hey! I’m not boring!”
“You’re right. Not boring, just stupid,” she concluded as the caution tape came into view.
Jack glared at her. “I don’t like you,” he stated.
“Good. The feeling’s mutual,” she agreed. Whatever had happened in the art wing was just because Kara had felt sick. It had been super awkward, and he was just helping her out because he was being a good person. Just like how she was helping him learn about ghosts because she was a good person.
If friendship bloomed out of their relationship, Kara wouldn’t be mad, but she didn’t want to push it. If their personalities aligned, then so be it. If not, then they would just coexist in a small world with a big secret.
“Okay, hold on,” Jack said, stopping Kara as they reached the tape.
“What?” she asked, scowling at him.
He reached towards her face, making her flinch. His lips twisted in disgust as he wiped away some beaded sweat from her forehead. “That’s nasty,” he said. “You’re all sweaty.”
Kara quickly reached up to her face, being rewarded with a pasty cheek. “Ew,” she agreed.
“Your face is soaked and still green. Maybe you need to school your expression,” he commented.
“Wait, seriously?” She felt better, so she was surprised that she still looked sick. Kara ran her hands over her forehead and through her hair to spread out the sweat, shaking her head a little. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her racing pulse.
Jack nodded in approval. “You look better now.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped over the caution tape. “Let’s just go.”
Jack snorted loudly when he saw the back of her head again. He’d forgotten to fix her hair.
Kara whirled around, frustrated. “What?” she demanded.
Jack’s mouth twitched, the fact that she was glaring at him not helping him contain his sideways grin. “Your hair… uh…”
She quickly reached up and tucked her blonde locks behind her ears, flushing. “What?” she asked, more self-conscious this time. “Did I fix it?”
“Here — just hold still.” Jack took a step towards her and she stiffened. But he just reached over her shoulder and smoothed down her rebellious chunk of hair. She watched his face as he concentrated on her head. Finally he nodded, satisfied with his handy work.
“Better?” she asked, quietly. He was standing really close.
“Yeah,” he said, grinning. “Now we can go.”
Kara nodded curtly, then spun on her heel and walked away.
When the two of them got to the history room, they glanced at each other. This was going to be awkward. Jack put on his mastered douche smile and knocked on the door. Dylan, a quiet senior, opened the door and gaped at both of them. Jack sauntered into the room with Kara lagging behind him.
“Thanks,” she whispered to Dylan, who gave her a small smile.
Mr. Adams stopped his lecture when he saw them and sighed, crossing his arms in annoyance.
“How very nice of you two to finally show up,” he said, making Kara blush while Jack just shrugged and smiled.
The whole class turned around and stared at them with stunned faces. No one would have ever dreamed of seeing the two of them together. Jack’s football friends were in the room, and they exaggerated their surprised expressions, staring at Jack with questioning smirks, purposely trying to embarrass him.
Kyle wiggled his eyebrows at Jack and asked very suggestively, “Where have you been?”
He completely ignored Kara, acting as if she weren’t part of the joke. Her face heated at the knowledge that no one expected to ever see her with a popular guy, because that wasn’t where she belonged. She assumed every high schooler in the room was wondering the same thing: Did he nail her? She huffed in frustration, annoyed to be thought so little of. Jack was the one the attention was on, she was just the object.
Jack walked between the rows of chairs until he reached his friends. “Nowhere. Kara and I just got here at the same time. Coincidence,” he said, sitting down in the seat Kyle had saved for him.
“I’m surprised you even know her name,” Kyle said, smirking. “You’re terrible with names.”
That comment made her feel a little better about yesterday.
Jack just shrugged, facing the front of the room, not paying any attention to Kara. She felt awful that he didn’t bother defending her. Shame and anger struggled with each other to be the emotion she felt most.
There were some seats open in the back, so Kara quietly took one of those. She had thought maybe Jack would have wanted to sit by her, but of course not. They weren’t really friends when it came to their ‘real’ lives. Both of them were in two different circles. Actually, Kara was in no circle, making it hard to be positive that she would ever even have a close friend at all. Especially a friend as trendsetting as Jack. She reminded herself that it was easier to be seen as dull and simple. She had enough to worry about with the ghosts, she didn’t need to be noticed on top of that.
After class, Kara left the room as quickly as she could. Thankfully there was no homework assigned during class, but she wasn’t thinking about that. During the lecture, she had become angrier and angrier at Jack. He had ignored her the entire period, reverting back to his usual self, acting as if she did not exist. Even when someone up front said something about Kara “getting around,” Jack had acted like he hadn’t even heard it. He hadn’t looked back at her once.
Jack of all people should not have been treating her like dirt. The second he didn’t need her help, he was pretending she didn’t exist. It was Kara’s senior year, and she was tired of taking this shit from people. She stormed out of the room and walked briskly down the hallway, heading to Calculus.
“Kara, wait!” Jack called after her.
She ignored him, not willing to listen to that jerk. She just walked faster.
“Hey, slow down,” he pleaded when he caught up to her.
Heads turned to watch Jack run after Kara, everyone clearly wondering why he would bother. Kara continued to give him a taste of his own medicine, and pretended he wasn’t next to her. She stared straight ahead, her fury evident on her face.
“What’s the matter with you?” he asked, annoyance laced through his words.
Kara whipped around to face him. “What’s the matter with me?” she asked, her seething tone making Jack take a step back in surprise. The honest confusion written all over his face made her even more upset. “Seriously?” she scoffed, then turned away. “Asshole,” she muttered.
Jack didn’t follow Kara as she stormed off. He stood in place, clenching and unclenching his fists, wondering what he had done wrong.
Kyle had watched the performance between Kara and Jack. After she left, he grabbed Jack and dragged him in the opposite direction.
“What are you doing man?” Kyle asked. “Why are you suddenly interested in her? There’s nothing impressive about that. You could get any girl in our school, and you choose that one.” Kyle paused, cocking his head as he looked back at Kara. “Her face is fine, but she’s pretty flat.”
Jack stared at Kyle in disbelief. “Are you seriously talking about her looks?”
“Um, yeah. You don’t need to hit that, especially if she’s not falling at your feet. Why bother?” he asked.
Jack shoved Kyle away. “That’s low dude, even for you. Girls aren’t just tools to use however you want.”
Kyle laughed, thinking Jack was joking. “What’s gotten into you? You don’t seriously like her, do you? Since when did she become your friend? And since when does Jack Ridan chase after girls?”
“Go away Kyle, and stop being a douche,” Jack growled. He walked away, leaving Kyle standing in stunned silence.
The rest of the day passed like any other. Kara went through small talk during lunch, sitting with some of the volleyball girls. She pretended she liked them, just like they pretended they wanted her there. At least she had people to sit with. The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur, a similar pattern to the last three years of her life.
Kara didn’t see Jack again until Eighth Hour. She was walking to her study hall when she noticed him a ways ahead of her in the hallway. Her chest tightened in anger when she saw him, and she planned to ignore him as she passed. She could feel her face getting red, she was so mad. But then she saw a ghost standing right in his path.
Three in one day, inside the school. That was insane. Kara usually saw one or two of them per day, but that was mostly on the way home after school. They were showing up more frequently than before.
This particular ghost was bleeding from its head. Her best guess was that he had crashed his car and bled out before an ambulance could arrive. (It had become a game of hers to guess how certain ghosts had died.) She noticed that the skin on his face was peeling off, which was disgusting. For some reason, this ghost felt like showing the image of how he died, not how he lived. At least he was translucent. Her neck ached as she neared the ghost, his emotion of confusion filling her at the same time.
Kara would have simply averted her gaze and passed the ghost with all the other high schoolers, and it probably wouldn’t have noticed her standing out. Sadly, Jack was now her problem too, and he was bound to give them away.
Jerk or not, she had to help him. She glanced over at Jack, and sure enough he had frozen in the hallway, staring straight at the ghost. Teens were starting to look over at him, wondering why he had stopped walking. The fear on his face was so evident that Kara knew she had to get him out of there. She sighed dramatically, then marched over to him.
“C’mon,” she grumbled, grabbing his arm and turning him around with a little more force than necessary. “You’re being way too obvious. Knock it off.”
“Easier said than done, Kara,” he said, in a high pitched voice. “I just started seeing ghosts three days ago, and this one’s bleeding all over the place. Why is it bleeding?”
“Okay,” she sighed. Kara had planned on ignoring him the rest of the day, and she had almost made it. Too bad. “Calm down, it’s not alive. They sometimes appear looking the way they did when they died. I have theories on why, but I don’t know for sure. It’s just how it works.”
“That’s bull!” he shouted, unable to contain his fear.
“Jack, stop it,” she hissed, leaning in close. “People are going to start asking questions. If you can’t calm down, at least lower your voice.”
Jack didn’t respond, which Kara took as a reluctant agreement. She tried to make her tone more soothing, pushing her anger away for now. Getting him out of there was more important. “You don’t see it, you don’t see it,” she murmured.
“I don’t see it,” he said, quietly.
“That’s right,” she appraised. “Pretend you don’t see it, that’s easier.”
“Okay,” he agreed, taking in a shaky breath.
She let go of his arm when she was sure he wasn’t going to freeze again. “And we’re walking, and we’re walking,” she whispered.
Jack chuckled to himself.
“What?” she asked.
“Now you sound like a tour guide,” he said, a half grin returning to his face. She couldn’t help smiling back.
Kara giggled. “I guess I do. But I mean, whatever works.”
They both started to laugh, making some heads turn their way. When Jack’s smile faded, it left him with a grim expression.
“Are you alright?” she asked, sincerely concerned. She could yell at him later.
He nodded slowly. “I will be, but I don’t think I can stay here anymore. I’m barely holding it together, Kara.” He held up his hands, showing her how much they were trembling.
“Um…” she looked around, trying to decide what to do. “Okay, let’s leave. My eighth hour is a study hall anyways.”
“Good, mine too,” he said, relieved that Kara was willing to get out of there with him. “Are you going to skip practice?” He sounded really hopeful; she couldn’t say no.
“Sure. I don’t think I can face Isabella and Brenna again today anyways,” she said.
“Why?” Jack asked, frowning.
“Oh nevermind, let’s just go.”
The two teenagers walked right out the front door, not even bothering to get passes this time.
Nora Cardinal’s novel excerpt won 2nd place for Fiction in our 2022 Literary Awards.
Nora Cardinal grew up in Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin. She was raised in a small town but has never failed to supply big dreams. Her goal has always been to ensure that everyone around her knows they are worthy, no matter how big or small. She is very energetic and can be counted on to put a smile on anyone’s face. She wrote her first kids chapter book at age ten, and the sequel was self-published when she was a freshman in high school.
Nora grew up outdoors, camping, swimming, tubing, skiing, and playing with family. Her passions lie in reading, writing, dancing, acting, singing, and volleyball. Since reading has always been Nora’s escape from the real world, she started writing so that her words could help others get through the tough times in life. She is nineteen years old and wants to become an entrepreneur. Until then, she will be going to college while coaching competitive dance teams, teaching yoga, and, of course, writing. This is a sneak peek at one chapter out of a young adult series that will be published by summer or 2023 through “Written Dreams Publishing Company”.
