Who Killed Sarah Foster?

13. Cool?

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It was a brand-new day. And Leah woke with brand-new strength and determination. Two ghosts later and years of trying to harness her powers later, she guessed she was ready for the job.

And here there was an agenda this time, as well.

When Michael died, she knew it was suicide and they all knew the reason was his depression. And even then, she was only nine when it happened and she didn't have that much of an interest in knowing the reason for her brother's death because one, she didn't know what all these complex feelings were yet, and two, she was terrified of ghosts back then and three, her brother was dead but he was right in front of her and hence she was super overwhelmed by everything that was happening. Back then, she was still not sure what had happened to her and why she was able to see and do things no one had ever even heard of.

As for Paul Jackson, the i***t had gotten drunk and went swimming in the school pool where he drowned and died. At least that's what the decades old newspaper stacks in the library told her and Paul had most of the things figured out on his own because his funeral was held where his ghost was and he got enough details about himself from the school bulletin and the words of the guests at his funeral. That was one of the perks of having ones' funeral held at where their ghosts are: they get information about themselves and the more they learn about their past life, the more their personality stabilizes. So Leah really didn't have much work to do with Paul except for bring back the memories nobody knew about him.

But none of these was the case for Sarah. Leah had seen the broad gloved hands latched around her neck, strangling the light out of her eyes, the life out of her body.

And as far as she knew, they didn't know who the murderer was.

So, Leah wanted to find out who did something like that to this harmless young girl who was relatively nicer than most cheerleaders s***h jocks her age.

Was he Max Harris? She wondered. She had seen him exchanging saliva with Sarah's best friend Kelly Nelson. She guessed it wasn't a woman so Kelly didn't make the list. But if he didn't want to be with Sarah anymore and wished to be with Kelly, he could have done it without killing her off so that was not a solid motive.

Leah had to do some digging. And she knew just the person who could help. Even though he would obviously ask a million questions. But she realized even when he was mad, angry or disinterested, Calum Foster always had the heart and patience to listen to what the person in front of him had to say. He listened and paid heed no matter how unlikely or irritating he found it.

So, she decided Calum Foster was who she had to look for once she got to school.

But before that, she had to go find a newly deceased ghost. And make a deal with her. It was mandatory to do so. And she was late for school because she had slept in so she had to deal with it, hiding from the eyes of others. And there was the teeny chance that hell had broke loose. But she was counting on Paul Jackson to not let that happen though she had lil to nil faith on that hooligan because he really couldn't care less about what happened to anyone but him.

With all these overwhelming thoughts in mind, Leah held her head up, motivated and determined, and picked up her pace on the way to the school.

The death of Sarah Foster had an impact on the school. For once, there were no hierarchies or status quo. Everyone from nerd Chemistry lab partner to her rival in the cheerleading squad cried. There was silence, speech only in whispers and mumbles. The whole school was in mourning.

The whole atmosphere contradicted with Leah's mood. She was ready for the challenge that lay ahead, determination spilling off of her.

As soon as she entered the school gates, she was hit with the heavy atmosphere, the gloom and grief suffocating. And somehow, she found it relaxing.

She knew the atmosphere was one of mourning but she found it relaxing. She didn't know why she felt so. And she didn't know this was a sign of her starting to get more comfortable in the world of the dead than the living. And she had been actually making this transaction for a while now. And it was something her paternal grandmother Janet had foreseen and tried to prevent. But it was happening nevertheless and Leah needed someone who could keep her rooted to the living world.

"Leah!"

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes darting to the parking lot. The once sad bystanders were now watched the school star quarterback jog towards the freak.

Leah cleared her throat and turned around and speed-walked towards the school building but obviously her short legs couldn't take her much distance before he caught up to her.

"Why are you running away?"

"Because you are going to bombard me with questions and I really don't have the time for that." She said, looking at her phone. She had twenty minutes before the first bell. "How about we make an appointment at that secluded desk in the school library during lunch time? I will probably be having answers to most of your questions by then."

Calum blinked, trying to interpret what she had just said, and also shocked because this was probably the first time she had talked so much. It was probably more than all of the words she had spoken to him before combined.

"Cool?" She asked impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground waiting for the slow sloth to give her a reply so that she could hunt down the ghost of his sister.

He nodded, still wide eyed.

She turned on her heels and quickly entered the building and walking a bit before she realized something.

Where was Paul?

He welcomed her every single day.

Was he with her? Trying to contain her? But where?

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