The Spirit Seer

The Spirit Seer Chapter 3

"I totally can't believe I failed my science test. Bai, how did you do?" Becca asks me at lunch a few days later.

"90%, it wasn't my best, but still an A. So, I’m not sweating about it."

Becca was smart when she focused, but she didn't do that very well. She tended to suddenly find more important things to do when it was time to study. She also got distracted easily.

"Dang I need to study with you next time. You can be a bit of a slave driver when it comes to focusing, but apparently I need that."

Talk about understatement. I think silently.

"Um...thanks I think." I'm not sure whether I should take that as a compliment, or an insult. It could go either way.

"Why don't we come over to your place after school Bai, and then we can all study together?" Rachel suggests.

My heart beats faster, and my palms get sweaty. It makes perfect sense for my two best friends to come to my house, but the thing is; I don't let people come over.

My mother is there, and she talks to thin air. I know she's talking to ghosts, but nobody else does. People know I'm her daughter and if my friends really thought about it they would too, but I am so normal that people tend to forget. And that’s how I like it. I like it when they don't link me to crazy. That's why I act the way I do. I have worked hard for people to take me seriously and not think of me as the crazy lady’s daughter.

Fortunately, I've mostly been able to keep my friends distracted from the idea of coming over. But every year it gets a little harder. I think they know that I am keeping them away at this point. They just don't know why. And I can’t ever tell them. I like my friends they are fun, but they would never understand the ghost thing. They may not write me off the moment I start backing up my mom’s crazy, but it’ll only be a matter of time. And they are also gossips, so if they think I’ve lost it, then the whole school will know within twenty-four hours. I can’t even contemplate going there.

"Um, well as much fun as that would be I don't know if it'll work, my house is way boring. Why don't we just go to your house Rach?"

They look at me, and I avoid their eyes, while I plaster what I hope is a pleasant smile on my face. I hate being dishonest with them, but they would just never understand.

"I guess we can do that." She finally says. I sense some disappointment in her voice, but there isn’t anything I can do about it.

"Cool, I can't wait.” I sigh in relief. I got out of it again one more time. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up. Eventually, they will figure out that I’m hiding something. I don’t know what I’m going to do then.

My friends continue to talk and my mind wanders. I notice two girls arguing on the other side of the quad. I can't hear what they're saying, because it's too far away. They are gesturing wildly at each other. I wonder if it's going to end up in a real fight, but soon one of the girls storms off in a huff. And it's all over.

I look away and come face-to-face with a ghost. I look away quickly. Crap, hopefully he didn't notice that I noticed him.

I put my head down, and my bangs fall into my eyes slightly. Hidden behind my shield of bangs, I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. Unfortunately, unlike most ghosts, he's coming closer to me. I keep the corner of my eye on him, and once he gets closer I realize it's the same ghost from math class the other day.

Ohmigod, this can't be happening. I lament silently to myself.

How did I manage to make eye contact with the same ghost twice? I am usually so careful.

But it's not like he knows I can see him, he might suspect, but I'll just have to prove him wrong. If he comes closer, and I don't acknowledge him, then he will have to realize there's no way I could see him. I just have to focus and pretend he doesn't exist.

"Hey, you, I know you can see me. You have looked me in the eye twice now. That just doesn't happen. You have to be able to see me. I've heard about your kind. I need your help." The ghost says.

It takes all my will to not react to him. I ignore him the best I can. I can’t believe I just let a ghost know I can see him. What if he doesn’t leave me alone? How long can I possibly keep this up when he’s in my face? It’s been hard enough all these years when the ghosts didn’t know I could see them. What happens now if they find out? I have worked so hard, I can’t lose it all now.

I take a deep breath to keep from losing it. I have to keep it together. Losing it now would tip my hand to the ghost and just draw attention to me. That is the last thing I want right now. Maybe it’ll be ok.

He doesn’t know anything for sure. Maybe if I keep up my oblivious act he will get the message eventually. I just have to stay strong. I can’t let him get to me. I have more to lose, so I won’t slip up again.

"Hey girl, I know you see me. Don't ignore me. Would you look at me? I need your help."

Once again, I ignore him with all my will. Why won't he just leave me alone? I just want to be a normal sixteen-year-old girl. Is that too much to ask?

"Bailey, you in there?"

Just ignore it. I tell myself.

Wait, how did the ghost know my name? He doesn't, I look up and all my friends are looking at me expectantly. Oops, that was one of my friends who had been trying to get my attention.

"Huh...what...sorry, what did you say?"

Rachel frowns. "Really Bai, can't you focus. You keep zoning out on us these days. Are we that boring?"

Kind of, sometimes, but I would never tell them that. They are my best friends. "No, of course not. I'm just tired, I was up late studying. "

"Ok, we'll let you off the hook this time. So, we are all coming to my place after school yes?"

I smile. "Wouldn't miss it."

That seems to appease her. I really need to focus better. I am starting to make my friends feel bad and I don't want to do that. I hate this. I hate this mess I've created for myself. My friends feel bad and I am constantly lying to them. What kind of friend lies to their friends all the time? Not a very good one that’s for sure.

"This isn't over. I know you can see me, and I'm going to keep on it until you help me." The ghost says before he disappears.

I sighed in relief. He is gone, but that little proclamation sounded quite ominous. I hope I'm free from the ghost, but unfortunately, something tells me it’s just the beginning.

~~~~~

I soon discover that I was very right. Turns out I'm not free from him. The mystery ghost has come back every day at lunch.

I like to think of him as Letterman. I'd estimate he's a year or two older than me. He has on a Letterman jacket. (Hence the nickname.) … It's one of the ones from my school so he went here. His hairstyle isn't that old, so he couldn't have been dead more than a few years at the most. But I don’t remember him, so he has to be from before I started high school.

That's about all I have been able to discern about him from covertly watching him and trying but failing to ignore him. The truth is I'm curious. I don't want to get involved and ruin my hard-won normalcy, but I am curious about the ghost that is so determined. I can’t help it. And I don’t think there is a person alive who wouldn’t be curious about the ghost following them around. And yes, I realize how odd that sounds even to me, which is why I keep it to myself.

Every day at lunch he comes and tries to get me to break. But I have been ignoring ghosts in every aspect of my life for years. He doesn't know what he's gotten himself into. I am a rock and I will not break.

Today he is interacting with my friends. Not that they know it. He sat on Rachel's lap a few minutes ago and stroked her hair. All while she was telling a story. She had no idea that some ghost was sitting on her lap.

It took everything I had, not to squirm and reveal that I can see him.

Then he was making funny faces at me behind my friends. I was trying to be a good friend and look at them, but it was hard not to glance up at him. I finally had to avert my eyes and stare down at my lunch just to keep from blowing my cover.

Now he's gyrating behind Becca. I bite my lip to keep from laughing. Ok, he can be funny sometimes. I think Letterman and I would have really gotten along when he was alive. He is funny and not afraid to act silly. He’s also really cute, and if the jacket is anything to go by I get the feeling he was popular. But I have to stay strong and not reveal that I can see him. It’s too bad I didn’t meet him before he became the pestering ghost.

"Seriously? Not even that made you c***k a smile? Tough room…I have my work cut out for me, don't I?" Letterman says.

You got that right buddy. I wanted to tell him to give up, because he was no match for my hard-won will, but I can't talk to him without revealing I can see him. So, I had to keep my smart mouth shut. It was really hard not to bicker back at him. Who knew the hardest thing about avoiding this ghost would be to not goad him.

"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to step up my game."

Whaaa??? What was that? I ask silently.

Ok, I'm officially nervous. What could that sneaky ghost be planning? I don't know, and that freaks me out. The only way I've been able to hide what I can do this long is control. But with Letterman, he is an unknown. I can't possibly know what he has in store or make a plan for it. And I don't like that at all.