[Not Just Any Other] Ghost Story

Chapter 2

If her aunt was going to let her into her life, then the least Sarah could do was humor her--even if Jane's idea was completely bonkers. Jumping on a bicycle she found in the tool shed, the next morning Sarah pedaled down the same road she'd arrived on less than a day earlier.

Jane had already left for work hours ago teaching first grade at the one and only elementary school in town, but they'd arranged to meet up during her lunch break. What Sarah didn't expect was jet lag to hit her quite as hard. So with just ten minutes to get there and taking the bare-bones directions she'd been given ("it's a tiny town so there's no way you could get lost!"), she dodged potholes and slippery leaves to avoid being late.

She'd almost forgotten about the house on the corner until it came into view. There was nothing special about it, really. Big, dark, and looming, yes. But it was just walls and a roof--

HONK! The blare of a horn and the screeching of tires snapped Sarah's attention back to the road and the car she'd almost rolled in front of, which was now stopped in the middle of the intersection.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," she yelled, feeling her heartbeat thumping like crazy in her chest. "I'm sorry. I'm okay," she babbled while waving at the driver to go on, avoiding eye contact and turning to get away as fast as she could.

Damn, she could have died!

Thankfully, the rest of her trip was less eventful. As Jane had promised, that road led straight into the quaint downtown, which was straight out of a WB series. The central square held everything important: city hall, fire department, library, and--what mattered to Sarah now--the high school.

After leaning the bike against a tree since she couldn't see any racks, she headed for the main entrance when a wall of something cold and wet hit her.

"What the fuck?" Sarah asked, throwing her hands in the air and jumping back even as the liquid dripped down her face and the front of her shirt.

"Whoops, sorry. Didn't see you there, emo Taylor Momsen," cooed a girl from an open window above eye-level as she shook the last drops out of her reusable bottle. "Don't worry. It was just water."

"Are you crazy?" yelled Sarah, as other kids gathered around the girl. "What kind of person just dumps stuff out the window without looking?"

Although the girl just laughed, a boy standing behind her appeared more concerned. "That wasn't cool, Ever," he said with a frown. Leaning out the window, he called down, "Hey, are you okay?"

Sarah smirked. "Do I look okay? I'm fucking drenched."

"C'mon, Caleb. She's not your problem," Ever said to the boy, trying to coax him away.

But he ignored her and instead wiggled out of his sweatshirt. "Here," he said to Sarah as he held the folded up top out the window. "Put this on."

"No, keep it," Sarah said, but it was too late. He'd already tossed the shirt to her. Reaching out, she caught it before it hit the ground. "Nice toss."

He smiled. "I'm the varsity quarterback," Caleb boasted as the muffled voice of an adult sounded from behind him. "Oh, shit. Class is starting. I gotta go. You good?"

Sarah was still awkwardly holding the balled-up sweatshirt. "Uhm, yeah. But how can I give this back to you?" she asked.

He paused for a moment, looking in the distance. "Are you in town for a while?"

"Yeah, but--"

"Then I'll find you," he said and ducked away before she could say anything else.

"Well, that was weird," Sarah muttered to herself as she unfolded the longsleeve hoodie. On the front, the words PILGRIM PRIDE were written in big white letters. "You've got to be kidding me."