The Ungrateful Dead

by Rose Cooper

  Anna looked down at her shoes, shoving her hands in her pockets. She had a lump in her throat the size of a bowling ball.

  “I know you were just trying to protect me. I’m not mad.”

  Anna lifted her head to meet Eden’s gaze. “Really?”

  “Really. But we’ll figure out what to do about all that later. Right now we have this delicious-looking cupcake waiting to be delivered.”

  Anna couldn’t help but smile as she eyeballed the cupcake. Who could resist a chocolate cupcake with fudge frosting loaded with colorful sprinkles? “So that’s…it?”

  “Yep.” Eden smiled at her creation. “And don’t touch!” She playfully slapped Anna’s hand away.

  “Oh, come on. What harm would a finger of frosting do?”

  “A lot.” Eden’s voice took on that serious tone she had whenever she talked about her craft. “See those sprinkles?”

  Anna nodded.

  “Those are actually memories of each of us.”

  Anna’s eyebrows shot up. “Huh?”

  “Okay, so the pink sprinkles represent the memories of you. The yellow ones are the memories of me. And the red sprinkles are Lucy, and the green are Olivia, and so on. So as long as he eats all of it, he will have all those memories of us again. Otherwise, there will be huge holes and none of the memories will make any sense.”

  “So he’ll remember everything up till the night of the accident?” Anna asked, staring at the sprinkles.

  “Yeah. Are you sure you want him to know about your secrets?”

  “Can he remember me without my secrets?”

  Eden shook her head. “Nope. Doesn’t work like that. I can’t just pick and choose. He either remembers or he doesn’t.”

  “Okay then.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Are you sure this will work?”

  “Absolutely. Piece of cake. Literally.”

  Anna groaned. “So when are you giving it to Johnny?”

  Eden held the cupcake in front of Anna. “I’m not giving it to him. You are.”

  Anna’s eyes grew big. “Wait…why me?”

  “I’m sure he’d rather get a cupcake from you than me. Plus, he might think you know how to bake.”

  “Ha-ha, very funny.” Anna grabbed the cupcake. The first bell was going to ring any minute. “Fine. I’ll give it to him at lunch.”

  Eden winked. “Great. Can’t wait!”

  Anna’s stomach churned, but why, she wasn’t sure. She should be excited that Johnny would remember her, really remember her and their friendship. Shouldn’t she?

  “That cupcake looks amazing, Johnny.” Tabitha batted her eyes as she leaned against the locker next to his. He was grabbing books out of his locker. Next to him was a beat-up backpack, and next to that was a white paper plate with a chocolate cupcake.

  “We can get our own cupcakes, Tabitha. C’mon.” Harper grabbed Tabitha’s elbow. School was out and she wanted to leave, not hang around while Tabitha made googly eyes at Johnny. She had no idea what the fascination with Johnny was and why every girl seemed to melt just being around him. But whatever it was, she was immune to it.

  “You want it?” Johnny offered. “I have to cut back on sugar. Getting ready for our big game coming up.”

  “Really?” Tabitha said. “You’re giving me your cupcake?”

  “It’s just a cupcake,” Harper muttered.

  Tabitha either didn’t hear her or ignored her comment. She kept talking to Johnny.

  “Really, I couldn’t take it,” Tabitha said, giggling. “Unless you insist.”

  Johnny nodded to the cupcake. “Go ahead. I’m sure Anna wouldn’t mind.”

  “What does Anna have to do with it?” Tabitha retracted her hand as if the cupcake were poison.

  “She’s the one who made it for me. She’s great, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah, freakin’ fantastic,” Tabitha grumbled.

  “What?”

  Tabitha plastered a plastic smile on her face. “I said yeah, she’s fantastic.”

  Johnny tossed a novel into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “So, you want it? I gotta get to practice.”

  “I’ll be outside,” Harper said. She couldn’t hide her irritation as she walked away, feeling sick from the PDG—public display of grossness. She stopped mid-step. Or maybe she was feeling sick for other reasons. She looked down at her hands, loaded with rings. Each of her fingers had fallen off and had had to be reattached. Luckily, she’d scrounged together eight rings, and was using them to conceal the reconnection lines.

  Her legs felt as if they were falling asleep. She wiggled her right, then her left. Nothing. They were beginning to feel like deadweight.

  Harper continued walking until she got to the parking lot and stood in front of the Academy library with her arms crossed. She wasn’t going to wait around all day for Tabitha. A few more minutes and she’d be outta there.

  Her back felt tight, as if she could feel her muscles knotting. Had she really been that tense lately? She swiveled her head from front to back, and was rolling out her shoulders when she heard an awful crack.

  “What the—”

  She brought her hand up to her neck, feeling along the skin until she touched a rough area. It felt jagged. Then her hand dipped into a hollow spot that felt like a hole. It didn’t hurt, so she stuck her finger in to further explore. Her finger touched something squishy. Something…stringy?

  She pulled her hand away quickly and dug in her purse for her compact mirror. She gasped as she saw that her neck was split open. Had it torn from her simple gesture when she was stretching?

  She pushed her head slightly to the other side, trying to balance everything out and make it look straight. The jagged pieces attached, but a very visible line was showing. Much more noticeable than any of the lines on the eight fingers she had had to reattach.

  “Good God! I’m turning into Frankenstein.” Harper attempted to dab powder from her compact over the line, but it did nothing to conceal the rupture. If anything, it stuck to it and made it look even more unnatural. And even more visible.

  “Why didn’t I wear a turtleneck today?” she mumbled, tugging up the collar of the green flannel shirt she’d worn instead.

  Harper let out a sigh and looked to make sure no one was paying any attention to her. She had to leave before Tabitha saw her. Or anyone else, for that matter. She took off at a sprint. Or rather, that’s what she was going for. Instead it looked more like a hop as she tripped over her own feet. Luckily, she stopped herself from falling. Still, her legs felt heavy, and it took every ounce of energy she had to drag herself down the sidewalk. There was no way she could make it back to Anna’s house.

  She really didn’t want to, but she texted Anna.

  Need a ride home.

  Good luck.

  I’m serious. I can barely walk.

  Maybe you should ask your BFF for help.

  You want her to know my secret?

  Harper could practically hear the sigh from Anna as there was a longer-than-normal pause between texts.

  Where are you?

  Down street from library.

  Eden and her dad will pick you up.

  Harper heard a click-clack of heels echo across the parking lot. Her first instinct was to look over her shoulder, but she was afraid of losing her head. Literally.

  She limped over to a nearby house, hiding along the bushes on the side. Tabitha was walking toward the parking lot, her head down, her eyes focused on her phone. Harper’s phone, which was still on vibrate from school, went off in her hand. It was a text from Tabitha.

  Where are you?

  I left. You were taking too long.

  Whatever.

  She could practically hear Tabitha seething on the other end. That girl wasn’t used to someone telling her no or ditching her. But she’d get over it.

  She texted Anna. Her hands were shaking.

  You need to help me, Anna. Please.

  A few minutes later came Anna’s r
esponse.

  Come up to my room when you get back to the house. Maybe I have a necklace that will help.

  Harper felt a wave of relief wash over her.

  OK. Thanks. But you’re not gonna, like, accuse me of stealing it or something?

  Don’t be ungrateful, just shut up and wear it.

  When Harper had arrived home after school, Anna had given her a black velvet choker necklace. Harper had scurried off to try it on, and now Anna was downstairs in the living room brainstorming with Eden. Anna’s mom was outside looking at the gutters with Winston. Apparently there were leaves in the gutters and it was going to cost a fortune to get them cleaned because the house was so huge. In any case, her mom was preoccupied, which meant now was the perfect time to plan her next step with Eden.

  “Why do you look so nervous?” Anna watched as Eden paced across her living room floor, wearing a path in the rug.

  Eden bit her bottom lip. “I’m not nervous. I’m just…thinking.”

  “That’s just as bad.”

  Eden stopped pacing as Harper rushed into the room.

  “You guys need to figure out what’s going on with me before I’m forced to wear any more of this so-called jewelry.” She looked straight at Anna. “It doesn’t even sparkle!”

  “Get out of here.” Anna threw a pillow at Harper but she caught it in midair.

  “Really? You could have seriously decapitated me or something.” Harper threw the pillow to the side. “So are you going to help me or not?”

  “Not,” Eden giggled.

  “This isn’t funny!” Harper tried to cross her arms, but her wrist bent at an abnormal angle.

  “It kinda is,” Anna joked. “Now will you please just leave?”

  “Not until you agree to help me.”

  “Fine! Now go.”

  “Okay, all right, I’m leaving.”

  As Harper stormed off, Millie popped into the room, appearing beside Anna.

  “Okay.” Millie clapped her hands together. “So what’s this plan to get rid of Tabitha and how can I help?”

  “What if there was a way to fix both of my problems at once?” Anna asked.

  “Go on,” Eden said.

  “Yeah. What if we could get Tabitha to move out and back home with her mom, and get Harper to finally vacate her body and move on?”

  “I’m up for it,” Millie said. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Well…,” Anna asked slowly. “What if we make sure Tabitha is around to see Harper break a leg off, or reattach an ear or something?”

  “But if she says something—” Eden started.

  “No one will believe her,” Anna said.

  “Plus,” Eden said, “I could always do a spell to make her forget what she saw.”

  “No, that would defeat the whole purpose of this,” Anna pointed out. “She has to remember so she’ll go running for the hills. Or the city. You know.”

  “How will that get rid of Harper?” Millie asked.

  “I’ve noticed that she has more of these incidents when she’s outside,” Anna told them. “The sun must speed up the process or something. So if we can keep her outside, maybe she’ll just keep falling apart until she has no other choice but to leave?”

  It was as good a plan as any. Anna only hoped it would work.

  What is this? Anna blew a dozen layers of dust off the top of the long, skinny box. She was amazed how many secrets the Manor library held. Each time she visited, she discovered things she had somehow missed before. It was almost as if things kept…appearing.

  Anna sat on the floor with the box, lifting the lid.

  A Ouija board.

  She grabbed the heavy board and set it with a thump on the floor in front of her. She’d seen Ouija boards before, but she’d never seen one like this. It was made of solid wood, not cardboard. It was in good condition—it looked new, in fact—but at the same time, it felt like something that had been around a long time. It was decorated with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0 to 9, and the words YES and NO. She had never played with one before. Who really believed in all that spirit stuff?

  “I guess I do now,” Anna said to herself.

  The heart-shaped wooden planchette, which was designed to move over the board and indicate messages from spirits, was large and heavy. Anna ran her hand along the surface.

  Anna moved the empty box to the side and a piece of paper fluttered out, settling by her feet.

  A warning.

  This is not a game. This could have serious consequences.

  Always use in numbers.

  Never invite unwanted spirits in.

  It was handwritten in ink. The curly letters and dips gave it an ominous feel.

  The library door was suddenly thrown open. “Hey, sis.”

  Anna nearly jumped out of her skin. She quickly pushed the board under the chair behind her.

  “What’s going on?” Tabitha walked into the room and looked Anna up and down.

  “Nothing.” Anna stood with her arms crossed. She knew Tabitha wouldn’t be in here, let alone speak to her, if she didn’t have a motive.

  “Nothing, huh?” Tabitha tilted her head, looking suspiciously at Anna.

  Anna watched her eyes survey the room. Please don’t notice the box. Please don’t notice the box.

  Maybe it was the silent plea that somehow alerted Tabitha, but her glance fell to the floor and settled on the box. A smile broke out across her face as her eyes darted between Anna and the box.

  “What’s that?” Tabitha pointed.

  Anna shrugged as Tabitha crossed the room. She picked up the empty box with a look of disappointment. Then her gaze flicked to the chair. And to the board underneath.

  “Oh, look!” Tabitha feigned surprise. “A Ouija board.” She picked it up. “I haven’t played with one of these since fourth grade.”

  “I wasn’t playing with it,” Anna mumbled.

  “Sure. Of course you weren’t. You were just getting it ready. For your next little slumber party. Right?”

  Anna wished she could slap the sarcastic tone right out of her.

  “You know, silence is the same as admitting guilt.”

  “What do you want, Tabitha?”

  “Your mom wants to talk to you. She’s on the back patio. She asked me to come and find you.”

  Great. Anna walked out of the room, leaving Tabitha alone with the Ouija board.

  • • •

  Anna found her mom on the patio, but she wasn’t alone. Winston occupied the chair next to her. When Anna stepped outside, he stood up. “You can have my seat, Annabel. I’ve got some pruning to take care of.” He headed off toward the garage.

  She could feel her mouth twist into a scowl. She hoped her mom didn’t notice.

  “Sit, sit. Let’s chat.” Her mom beamed. There was a plate with crackers and grapes on it, and some little napkins that said Celebrate!

  Anna sat and glared.

  “What’s wrong, honey?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Annabel.” Her mom made her name sound like a warning.

  “Fine. I don’t like them living here.”

  “Honey, this is their new home now.” She frowned and glanced toward the cemetery. “Isn’t it beautiful out here?”

  “It’s a cemetery, Mom.”

  “But it’s landscaped so beautifully. And it’s so peaceful.”

  “Because it’s a cemetery.”

  “You know why I like doing the hair and makeup over there for Winston?”

  Anna shook her head. She looked down at her hands as she tore a napkin into tiny pieces. The napkin was just like her life.

  “Because,” her mom started, waiting for Anna to look up. “Sometimes the dead are more pleasant than the living.”

  Anna snorted. “That’s so morbid, Mom.”

  “But it’s true. They are quiet. They don’t complain and they sit very still.” Her mom chuckled.

  “And they don’t tip,” Anna pointed out. />
  “It’s not always about the money. You have to enjoy what you do.”

  Her mom patted her arm once and leaned back. “It will get better. You’ll see. Everyone just needs time to adjust.”

  “Yeah, right,” Anna muttered.

  The corners of her mom’s mouth curved down. “I know it was always me and you. It will still always be me and you. But now we have Winston and Tabitha. You should get to know her better.”

  “You barely know her either.” Anna’s stomach churned.

  “I know, but I’m trying to make time and change that.” Her mom sighed. “Maybe your new friend Eden isn’t such a good friend for you. Tabitha has told me stories. You should try to hang out more with her friends. Like Harper.”

  Anna stared at her. “Are you serious? You’re going to believe whatever she tells you?”

  “She has no reason to lie, honey.”

  Anna couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed her chair back and ran up to her room.

  Anna lay on her bed listening to music and feeling sorry for herself until it was dark. No one had called her for dinner. They probably hadn’t even noticed she wasn’t there. She opened her door and headed downstairs. The whole place was silent. Eerie. Her footsteps echoed in the hallways.

  When she went into the kitchen, Winston was pouring himself a cup of tea. “Hey there, Annabel.”

  “Hey,” she said, opening the refrigerator. She took out a cheese stick and an apple. Maybe she’d make herself a cup of instant soup.

  “Now, Annabel, just because we have a housekeeper now doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pick up after yourself.”

  “Housekeeper?” Anna clutched the apple. She was always the last to know. Her mom had never hired someone to clean up after them.

  “Just because someone is getting paid to clean the Manor doesn’t mean you should get careless. I don’t want Tabitha learning these behaviors from you, either.”

  Anna’s mouth fell open. She snapped it closed before any comments came tumbling out that she would regret later.