Water and Ghosts

Chapter 2

The hallway created a T. There was only one door to the right, with zero to the left. That one door leads to my room.

My very spacious room.

The door that I saw on the back wall, when I first reached the top of the stairs, leads to a bathroom. The door on the back wall of my room also leads to this bathroom. The doors are opposite each other, and in the middle is everything I need.

The foot of the bed was on my right when I walked into the room, with a little space between it and the wall on the right. The nightstand on the left holds an alarm clock, a glass of water, and a framed photo of five year old me with my parents and another frame holding a picture of me from a couple months ago. Dad must have sent it to Grandma Colette.

Across from my bed, on the left when I walked in, the wall juts out in a rectangle. The closet.

There’s also a bookshelf in the back right corner filled with frames with no pictures in them, a mini globe, and a couple of books. There’s a bean bag in front of it, one that will make a good reading chair. There’s a fountain in the back left corner, making little noise as the water drips from the spout into the pool of water.

“Why is there a fountain in here if the floor is carpet?” I ask, astounded. Dad always told me to keep water away from carpet floors.

“Well, dear, with your powers you should be able to get any spilled water out of the carpet, right?” Grandma Colette walks over to my nightstand, grabs the glass of water, and holds it up.

“No—“ I hold out my hand as if I could stop her.

Then she pours the water onto the carpet.

I reach out with my mind, taking hold of the liquid, holding out my hands in a way that you would think I was holding an invisible ball. 

Most of the water stops and gathers into a sphere, and it rises when my hands do. I move my hands apart, like cracking an egg, and the water splashes back into the glass.

“Now the rest,” Grandma Colette says, satisfied. I reach out again, pulling the droplets into the air and placing them into the glass.

Cool.

“We will start your training tomorrow after school. Your clothes and stuff can go in the closet, and your books and other trinkets in your office. I’m going into town in an hour; I figure we can get you some Harbor Village accessories and you can meet some people.” Grandma Colette winks and walks out the door, closing it behind her.

I stare after her for a moment before shrugging. Okay.

I wheel my suitcase into the relatively small closet. I hang my shirts and fold my pants, placing all of my understandings in separate drawers. I put my shoes in a line in front of the dresser and my socks in the drawer above them. Then I make my way to my office.

The office is dark; wooded walls, carpet floor, a black desk and a black bookshelf against the back wall. There are lanterns that hang from the walls and a light that hangs from the ceiling. It’s not a chandelier, exactly; it’s only one, super long, cylindrical light. It’s more like the lights my dad would buy me; the ones I put on the headboard of bed and could move around so that I could read at night. It was like a flashlight I didn’t have to hold.

It’s super cool.

The books I brought go on the bookshelf, and I start placing my baubles in their places. 

My mom’s diary is with my books. I’ve reread it so many times I’ve practically memorized it. But they’re her words, scribed by her hand. I could never leave it behind.

I have an A that my father carved for me years ago, a recipe book that I have created over the years as I experimented, multiple necklaces— a gold A, a light blue water droplet, a gold star, and a silver wave—, and a glass hourglass that holds ocean water.

The last thing is a silver compact-looking thing. It has a small keypad on the top that is used as the key to open it. It’s a family heirloom, passed down to all the Elementals in my family. Once unlocked, it opens and sprouts an holograph depicting a bunch of different things. You can tell it to show you a map and it will. If you ask aloud where the closest coffee store is, it will show you and, sometimes tell you. Because I inherited it from Mom, her voice is the one that spills from it whenever the Magic Compass, as I call it, speaks.

I put that in the middle of the desk before walking out. I put the suitcase in the corner of my closet before making my way downstairs.

“Oh, good, you’re ready early,” Grandma Colette says before I’ve even reached the bottom. “Come, Aqua. We must take you shopping.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” I say quietly, laughing, and follow Grandma Colette to the left. She leads me to a door I hadn’t noticed before. She opens it before stepping aside.

Taking the hint, I slip into the hallway and follow it to the only double doors at the end. Through those, I enter the garage. 

Sitting right in the middle is a single white car; big enough for four people with a small trunk, it fits Grandma Colette’s personality. I walk forward and slide into the passenger seat, and Grandma Colette takes the wheel. She slides out of the garage and onto the street, driving towards the shops.

It takes a lot less time to get from Grandma Colette’s house to the store part of town than it took for me from the latter to the former. Plus, I’m a lot less tired.

Grandma Colette parks on the side of the street. I climb out of the car, slamming the door shut. Then Grandma Colette leads me out onto the streets.

There’s so many things to see; there are many people walking and talking and smiling at my grandmother. There are the stores with signs three stories up.

Grandma Colette leads me into a*****e with its double doors flown open. The sign above pronounces that it’s Top and Bottom Clothing.

I’m overwhelmed. The store I always went to never had so many clothes.

We make our way over to the Junior Girl’s section, and Grandma Colette makes a motion: have at it. So I step forward.

“Find anything you need or want, dear,” Grandma Colette says behind me. “I’m going to wander around.”

Panic rises in me, but I squash it down and smile and nod. I can handle finding clothes on my own.

I just have to hope nobody tries talking to me.

I sift through the shirts, finding a couple. I go through jeans and skirts, dresses, and eventually make my way across the aisle to look at shoes. I’m trying to find clothes in all types of colors, not just blue. I know the people here don’t know that I’m an Elemental, but if I wear nothing but blue and water stuff it’ll be a dead give away.

I probably spend an hour in the clothes section and another half hour slowly walking through the isles of shoes. I end up picking out a pair of running shoes, since I know I’m signed up for cross country at school, a pair of black slip ons, and a type of shoe called a Converse. It’s black with white, and I figure it will match with most everything I picked out. They remind me of the shoes my mom had in her closet. I’m just glad that they have them here, where things are so different.

I start walking back towards the cashier area, and am relieved to find Grandma Colette talking to a couple with their son. I walk up behind Grandma Colette and nudge her shoulder.

“...thinking some type of pasta… Oh, my! You got a good haul, dear! Valerie, Miles, this my granddaughter, Aqua. Aqua, these are my friends, Valerie, Miles, and their son Nigel. You two will be going to school together. They’re going to come over for dinner, along with a few other people I plan to find.”

I wonder if my grandmother is under the impression that I am a social person and that a party is exactly what I want or need. I’m going to have to find a way to tell her that she is so wrong and that the opposite is true.

But for now, I smile at the strangers and say, “nice to meet you all.”

“You as well, Aqua,” Valerie says. “I’ve heard all about you from Colette, of course.”

I continue to smile and blush. I have no idea what to say to that.

“Indeed,” Grandma Colette says. “Well, Flemming family, we shall see you tonight.”

We say our goodbyes, to my relief. The son, Nigel, smiles shyly at me. He’s got short blond hair and his brown eyes glint with curiosity. I smile back before turning away and walking towards the cashier.

“A party?” I whisper to my grandmother. She just looks at me wickedly and takes the stuff from my hand, buying it for me.

If she’s going to buy my clothing and stuff for me, then I guess the least I can do is attend this party in my honor.

Wonderful.

Fifteen. That’s how many people come to my grandmother’s house to meet me. Out of all fifteen, there are two older couples my grandmother’s age, five younger couples, including Valerie and Miles, and one kid my age: Nigel.

I helped Grandma Colette cook dinner after I put away all of my new stuff. We made pasta in a cheesy sauce with ham, Caesar salad, and I arranged a fruit bowl. Grandma Colette told me to be creative, so I built a fruit pyramid. Apples at the bottom with cut mangoes surrounding it, the strawberries, then raspberries and blackberries, then grapes, then blueberries, with a single pear to top it off.

I had a lot of fun making it, and the guests have a lot of fun looking at it.

“Very impressive,” Nigel said as he snuck up next to me, grinning at the tower. He and his parents were the first guests to arrive.

Once everyone had arrived and was sitting at either the dining table or the kitchen counter, I served dinner. I brought out the pasta and asked each guest, in turn, if they would like some. Grandma Colette said it was the best way to make sure I met everyone.

It took like twenty minutes, but I finally got down to just Nigel and I. Let him serve his own plate before doing my own, and then gesturing for him to follow me. Dutifully, he did.

I lead him to the family room, where there are only two single-seated couches. I sit in one and Nigel sits in the other. 

“You’ll have to tell me if my cooking is terrible,” I say to him, feeling a little more relaxed when he smiles. We both take a bite of the pasta.

“This is super good, Aqua!” He says. 

“Thank you.”

We sit in silence for a couple minutes, eating our dinner. Sighing, I swallow and ask, “So we’re going to be going to school together?”

Nigel perks up. “Yeah. Do you have your schedule?”

I nod, pulling the folded piece of paper out of my pocket. Grandma Colette gave it to me after we got home. I hand it over to Nigel.

He scans it, a smile taking over his lips. “We have three classes together,” he says, handing the schedule back to me. “Magic Invention, ELA, and math. Second, fifth, and sixth periods.”

I smile at him, feeling relief. At least my first class of the day has someone I know.

“So, you’re doing cross country?” He asks. “And wilderness?”

I nod. “Running I sometimes find nice, and wilderness will teach me things that normally only experience could.”

Nigel looks at me weirdly. “That’s cool. I think I’m just going to stick to Spirits and journaling.”

I sit up a little straighter. “Spirits?” I question.

“Yeah, we learn about ghosts and nymphs and stuff like that. I’ve been taking it for three years, now, so we’re going more into depth on how ghosts are formed and stuff. It’s super cool.”

“It sounds interesting,” I say, smiling.

“I’ve always found it so. I’m not the biggest fan of spirits— it’s unnatural— but there is no denying that it’s fascinating.” Nigel smiles back, his brown eyes lit up.

“That is cool. And what exactly is Magic Invention? Exactly what it sounds like?” 

Nigel laughs. “Yup. Mrs. Turner is the best teacher— she teaches us about what has already been inventive and gives us most of the class period to work on anything. She’s got a bunch of ingredients, and if you ask beforehand you can completely miss her class. If you’re inventing, say, a potion that needs a flower she doesn’t have, she’ll give you a pass and you can go get that flower during the time her class is.”

I’m grinning, looking forward to it already. Nigel nods like he agrees.

I finish my food at the same time that he finishes his, so I take both of our plates and put them in the sink to wash later. Then I start walking upstairs, with Nigel following. I lead him to my room, and am surprised when he makes his way straight to the beanbag chair in the corner.

He notices the look in my eyes and explains, “before Colette turned this room into your’s, it was a hangout room that I used whenever my parents came over.” Nigel makes a face. “Which is all the time, so expect to see me a lot.”

I laugh, bouncing onto my bed to sit down and talk to him. “Do you live nearby?” I ask curiously.

He nods. “Just down the street. If you’re okay with it, I’ll probably walk you to and from school. I always cut through Colette’s backyard. It’ll take us less than ten minutes.”

I brighten up. “We get to walk? Oh, thank goodness. I can’t drive, nor do I want to ask anyone to take me.”

Nigel laughs, throwing his head back. He’s got a somewhat high voice, but his laugh is deep. His frame is lean and his skin is tan, most likely from the beach. He’s only a little taller than me, I noted when we walked up here. 

“So,” I say, “I’m guessing my grandmother is the mom of the town?”

Nigel doesn’t spare a beat. “One of many.”

I groan. “Lovely.”

Nigel smiles a small smile. “Not one for social activities, are you?”

I shake my head sadly. He smiles wider. 

“Me neither. That means we can ditch the parents and go do our own thing whenever there are parties.”

My outlook on this new life has brightened up considerably. “I would like that.”