[Not Just Any Other] Ghost Story

Chapter 10

"So you don't really know anything about that house either?" asked Sarah once they were back in the car and on their way to the secret after-party. Her first secret after-party. Actually, her first any type of after-party.

Venus laughed. "Of course not. As if I'd care," she dismissed the follow-up, ignoring the elaborate lie she had just told and proving quite the opposite.

For the second time that night, Sarah wished she could just dissolve into thin air and she turned, fighting back tears. Why was everyone in this town so rude to her? She took several deep breaths to calm herself. Well, not everyone. So far, Caleb had been the only kid her age who'd made a real effort to be friendly and in a few minutes, she'd get to ditch these jerks and hang out with him for the rest of the night.

That realization made her feel loads better, and Sarah spent the remainder of the trip to Bedlam Woods watching the blur of trees go by. Eventually, Bennett turned onto a narrower road that wasn't even paved as they continued deeper into the forest.

Up ahead, an orange glow flickered, its source mostly hidden behind the thicket of trees until they arrived at a clearing. On one side, parked cars were squeezed into a corner like overpacked sardines, leaving no room for one to leave without another getting out first. On the other side, a large bonfire roared, throwing sparks into the air as if releasing a thousand fireflies to the heavens.

Around the pyre, hundreds of teenagers stood and sat with cups and bottles in hand while chatting, flirting, and playing.

"Party time!" yelled Bennett as he locked up his car and grabbed Sonja's hand, pulling her toward the action.

Venus and Bess also broke off to join a group of kids fooling around with a volleyball, leaving Sarah on her own. Taking the cue from other new arrivals, she got in line at the keg. A few minutes later, she was sipping warm and foamy beer out of a red, plastic cup.

Happy that she had something to hide behind while checking out the party, Sarah slowly drank and walked as she searched for Caleb. But unless he was hiding behind one of the scraggly elms or under a hawthorn bush, he wasn't there.

Maybe he's running late, she thought, gulping down another mouthful of mostly bitter foam.

And while that was a perfectly reasonable explanation, her mind wouldn't let her leave it at that.

What if his parents caught wind of his plans and stopped him from going out? Was that even a possibility for someone like Caleb? The most popular guy in school could usually get away with anything and he probably had his parents bend to his every will, so that probably wasn't it.

Sarah frowned as her eyes darted between the kids scattered around the bonfire, all laughing and talking without a care in the world. And here she was, standing all alone, drinking cheap-ass beer by herself, pining for a guy she'd talked to three whole times.

What a sad-sack loser she was!

Yeah, that was more like it. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe Caleb was here and he was just avoiding her. But then why would he invite her in the first place?

Sarah's head began to pound from all the theorizing, but just then, the beat of actual drums took over. Someone had turned on music and whether through bluetooth speakers or a car stereo, they were blasting it through the clearing at maximum volume. But as an electric guitar joined the percussion, something even stranger happened.

It was as if the kids had been waiting for this moment. Everyone except Sarah, that is, because she had absolutely no idea what was going on. The others, though, jumped up from where they'd been sitting and ran closer to the bonfire. As the vocals on the recording started, they began to sing along. And while different groups belted out the individual stanzas of the weirdly perverted classic 'Cum on Feel the Noize,' the whole crowd joined in with the chorus.