by Alicia Rades
Luckily, my headache subsided as the day went on, but it returned at lunch. I pushed my chicken patty away from me, suddenly losing my appetite. The sad thing was, I really liked the school’s chicken patties.
“You okay, Crystal?” Emma asked from across the table. She giggled and shifted in her chair like she’d already forgotten the question. Her eyes darted to Derek’s, who had a blank expression on his face and didn’t seem to notice. It was obvious she was trying to play footsy with him under the table. I didn’t mind so much since I was used to it.
“I’m just not hungry,” I told her. “My headache is back. Want my chicken?”
“Crystal Frost is turning down her chicken patty?” Emma teased.
I nodded.
“Mm.” She smiled down at my sandwich like she’d just won a pot of gold. “After I finish mine.”
“Want my tater tots, Derek?” I offered since they were his favorite.
An emotion I couldn’t read flickered across his face, but he didn’t say anything.
“Derek?” I asked a second time.
He blinked a few times before answering. “Uh, no.”
“What?” Emma asked exaggeratedly. “Since when does Derek Johnson turn down tater tots?”
Derek’s eyes shifted between mine and Emma’s. After a brief pause, he spoke. “I just think she should eat, is all.” He gestured toward me when he said “she.”
“Well, yeah, but you never turn down tots.” Emma leaned into Derek and clung to his arm. She looked up at him with big brown eyes. “Are you okay? You’re not getting sick, too, are you?”
Derek shrugged her off. “I’m fine,” he assured her before his expression changed to a more cheerful one and he fixed his gaze on me. “Do you want to hang out after school? Maybe at your house?”
“That’s a good idea.” I smiled. It might actually make me feel better. “I don’t know what we’ll do, but if your guys’ parents are okay with it, we can walk home together after volleyball practice.”
“Right. After volleyball,” Derek said. “Sounds good.”
Practice resumed like it had the last few days with me playing co-manager with Derek. We didn’t really talk much, and I didn’t mind since I still wasn’t feeling well. We just ran around trying to keep the balls on the court. I was happy to see Emma kill her jump serve since it was something she’d been working on.
“Did you see how well I did at practice today?” Emma asked on the walk back to my place. She held Derek’s hand and leaned into him.
“I did. It was awesome. I’m falling behind, though, thanks to my stitches,” I complained.
“Oh, don’t say things like that,” Emma encouraged. “You had an awesome jump serve last week.”
“Yeah, one. Most of the time, I can’t make it over the net. I’m thinking I’ll just practice my normal serves. I’m not sure I’ll ever get a jump serve down.”
Emma wrinkled her nose in thought, which made her look like a chipmunk. “I don’t know. I guess do whatever works for you. You’re pretty good at serving either way.”
We reached my house, and I pushed inside only for the smell of Teddy’s delicious cooking to hit my nose. “You’re not at Roger’s?” I asked as I stepped into the kitchen. The smell of garlic bread filled my senses.
“Nah, his wife’s out of town for the weekend, and he had to watch the kids. We didn’t want to do wood working with little ones running around.”
“I hope you don’t mind if Emma and Derek stay for supper.” I glanced back at both of them while I spoke.
“It’s fine. I’ll just put in some more garlic bread. There’s enough spaghetti to go around.”
“Thanks,” I told him before turning back to the living room.
“Where’s your mom at?” Derek asked as he and Emma trailed behind me.
“It’s mid-October,” I pointed out. “Everyone’s getting ready for Halloween, so the shop’s staying open later. I never know when she’ll be home this time of year.”
“Hey,” Emma said as she took a seat on the couch. “Maybe we should decide on a time to go shopping again for our Halloween costumes. Derek and I are thinking about going to the festival as Pikachu and Ash.” Emma cuddled into him when he took his seat.
I settled into the other chair. “I don’t know what I’ll go as yet.”
“Well, keep thinking on it,” Emma smiled. “It’s going to be a blast!”
My mom arrived home a few minutes later while Emma and I were discussing my costume ideas. All of Emma’s ideas were so not my style, like being a belly dancer or a cheerleader.
“I’m not going as a half-naked mermaid,” I insisted about her latest suggestion. “It sounds like food is ready anyway.”
Emma bounced up from the couch. “Oh, good. I’m hungry.”
We all gathered around and dug into Teddy’s delicious spaghetti and garlic bread.
“Mrs. Frost,” Derek broke the silence.
My mother’s eyes brightened when she looked up. “It’s Simmons now, but yeah?”
“Oh, right. I keep forgetting.”
“No problem. What is it?”
Derek looked like he had something important to ask, but then he relaxed. “Do you have any ideas for Halloween costumes?”
My mother immediately launched into the list of costumes they carried in the shop this year. I’d already heard the list, but I listened anyway in case it sparked any ideas. I liked the thought of dressing up as an over-the-top psychic, kind of in the same style of gypsy my mom dressed up as. It intrigued me, like I had one night a year to truly show off who I was, but I was also scared it would only upset me since my gift had been fading recently. Who knew if I’d even be feeling well enough in the next few weeks to go anyway? My headache still hadn’t eased.
I reached for another slice of garlic bread and noticed my friends’ expressions. They were both staring at my mom, completely engrossed with her costume ideas. I locked my eyes on Derek as I pulled back from the tray of bread. It had sounded like he had something important to ask my mom before, like he had changed his mind at the last second. If my abilities were working, I may have been able to scrape by with a hint as to what was on his mind, but my powers seemed pretty much useless at this point. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what was bothering him.
Derek and Emma both called it a night at the same time. Emma hadn’t brought any overnight stuff, so I figured we weren’t having a sleepover.
Derek cleared his throat. “Uh, Emma? Will you walk me home?”
Emma’s eyes lit up. “Of course.” Then she turned to me. “We’ll see you on Monday. Have a good weekend with Robin and all of that.”
“See you guys,” I called as they left my house.
That night, I retreated to my bedroom—my headache easing slightly—and thought about how normal my day seemed. After the last week, it was relaxing for things to be back to normal, although I knew deep down that they weren’t, not really. I still had the mystery of the shadow ghost to figure out. What did he want, anyway?
I sent out a short plea to my father that night, asking him to help me find answers. Then I crawled into bed and fell asleep.
Chapter 9
On Saturday morning, I borrowed my mom’s car and drove to the city to visit Robin. Even though I’d seen him on Sunday and Thursday, I missed him terribly. I wanted him to wrap me in his arms and tell me everything would be okay.
To some degree, I wanted to believe that it would be, but on the hour drive to Robin’s, I couldn’t put the shadow ghost out of my mind. Since Emma, Derek, and I held that séance, I hadn’t felt that tingling sensation anymore, the one that made it feel like someone was watching me. Granted, my headache had persisted afterward, but at least today I felt fine, which probably meant my headache was just from stress and not a ghost.
But I still couldn’t stop wondering what the ghost wanted and why he wasn’t interested in contacting me anymore. Had that surge of energy at the séance somehow prevented him fr
om coming back?
I was thinking too hard. I reached over to the radio to turn it on, and then I cranked up the volume to drown out my thoughts.
I had blasted music long enough and loud enough that I was able to nearly forget my troubles by the time I reached Robin’s dorm. He met me in the commons area, and I flung my arms around him the second I saw him.
“Miss me?” he asked with an amused laugh.
“Yes!” I told him without pulling away.
“How are you feeling?” He drew away from me and brushed my blond hair out of my face to inspect the stitches along my hairline. “It looks like it’s healing well.”
“Mom’s taking me to get the stitches out tomorrow.”
“And your headache?”
I shrugged. “It comes and goes. I feel fine right now.”
Robin smiled and placed a kiss on my forehead. “That’s good to hear.”
Then he took my hand and led me to his dorm room. His roommate, Joe, sat in the corner at his desk and clicked through items on his computer. He mumbled a half-hearted greeting as we entered the room. I didn’t know Joe very well and didn’t know what exactly he did on his computer, whether he was studying or gaming, but I did know he was attached to the thing and hardly ever left the room except for class. I’m sure that was the only reason Mom and Teddy let me visit Robin.
We didn’t stay in the room long since there wasn’t much to do there. We started with a walk around the wildlife reserve next to campus before we found our way to the basement of Robin’s dorm where they had a pool table.
“You suck,” Robin teased before sinking his pool ball in a corner pocket.
“I’m trying to let you win,” I joked back.
His brows shot up. “Is that what you’re doing? You’re looking into the future to see how to set up my shot perfectly?”
I forced a laugh, but inside, my heart sank. An unexpected thought made its way into my mind. I pushed it away as soon as I realized what I was thinking, but it came back just as quickly. What if my abilities never return? I wasn’t sure I wanted them when I first found out I was psychic. Was my accident perhaps a blessing? Could this be my ticket to leading a normal life, the life my mother wanted for me?
Except, I still had a mission with the ghost. Could I abandon that? It didn’t matter how much I worried or how many questions I asked right now anyway. There was nothing I could do about it. This shadow ghost was just going to have to find another psychic to help him. I didn’t let myself visibly react when I realized how painfully selfish that sounded, but what other choice did I have than to let this mystery go?
Robin missed a shot, and he gestured for me to take my turn.
He’d lined up my next shot perfectly. I situated myself behind the ball and lowered my body to the pool table for a better perspective. I wet my lower lip in concentration and then thrust the pool stick forward. The ball sank into the pocket perfectly. I jumped in excitement and couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.
“That was awesome!” Robin cheered.
Though we’d played pool several times together already, something about sinking that ball felt so normal. Maybe losing my abilities wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Mom and Teddy drove me to get my stitches out on Sunday morning.
“So,” I teased from the back seat. “When do we get to make your next medical run?”
My mother twisted around in her seat. “You mean for the baby?”
I nodded. “For my little sister.”
“You mean your little brother.” A mischievous grin spread across my mother’s face, and I knew she was only teasing me. “It’s next week, but you know, I’m not sure I want to know anything unless there’s something wrong.” She turned to Teddy in the driver’s seat.
“If that’s what you want,” he agreed, squeezing her hand. “I don’t mind being surprised.”
“It’s going to be a girl,” I said, ruining the surprise for him, although I knew at this point I was only guessing.
I returned home afterward with a new scar along my hairline. Luckily, it was easy to hide behind my hair.
Emma noticed straight away on Monday. “Oh, yay! You got your stitches out.”
I fell into step beside her at our corner on the way to school. “How bad is the scar?”
“Not bad at all. At least now you can get back to volleyball practice! We can see how good your jump serve is.”
“Probably not very,” I admitted. “I’ll just be glad to be on the court again.”
“You’re feeling well enough to play again, right? How have your headaches been?”
I shrugged. “On and off. I haven’t had one in a few days.” We reached the school just then and headed to our lockers.
Lunch was quiet on Monday between our group of three. My headache had returned mildly, and Derek seemed oddly quiet. After a few attempts at starting conversation, Emma gave in to the silence.
At volleyball practice, I was so excited to get back into things that I was the first one out of the locker room. After stretching and running a couple of laps, Emma found her way to me to team up for other warmup exercises.
“Have you seen Derek?” she asked, gazing around the room in hopes of spotting him.
I followed her shifting eyes. “No. He’s not here?”
“I haven’t seen him. He seemed awfully quiet at lunch today, too. I mean, you’re normally quiet, but Derek and I never run out of things to talk about. He didn’t text me much this weekend, either. Do you think he’s sick or something?”
“I don’t know. He’d tell you if he was, wouldn’t he?”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Emma twisted her mouth in uncertainty. “I’ll text him after practice.”
“I’m sure he’s fine,” I told her, but unfortunately, I had no way of truly knowing that.
I returned home that night to find Teddy in the kitchen. No surprise there.
“How was work?” I asked, dropping my backpack onto one of the kitchen chairs. I only asked to make small talk.
Teddy turned from the stove and shrugged. “It was everyday police work.”
“Sounds boring.” I pushed my way around the counter. “Mind if I help?” I didn’t typically ask to help Teddy with dinner—I guess I was afraid of ruining it—but I honestly didn’t have anything better to do.
“Sure, Kiddo.”
I inched closer to the stove. “What are you making?”
“Baked chicken and mashed potatoes.”
“Oh? What can I help with?”
“Mm,” Teddy thought. “Can you peel and cut the potatoes?”
“Sure.”
I spent the next several minutes scrubbing, peeling, and cutting up potatoes. Just when I placed the pot on the stove, the doorbell rang. Teddy’s hands were dirty from the chicken, so I offered to get the door. When I opened it, I found Emma standing behind it, only something was wrong. Her eyes were red and bloodshot like she’d been crying. An indescribable pain shot through my heart when I saw the expression on her face.
“Emma, what’s wrong?”
She swallowed, and her bottom lip quivered. Her silence lasted only a split second before she broke down crying and flung herself at me into a hug. “Derek br—broke up wi—with me.”
I held onto her tighter once I decoded her words through her sobs. “Oh, my god. What happened?”
Emma drew away and buried her hands in her face. She didn’t respond.
“Come on. Let’s go to my room and talk.”
I led Emma to my room, but it was like she didn’t really know what was happening. I sat her on my bed, and her shoulders shook along with her sobs. I wasn’t sure if she realized I’d moved her.
I took a seat at my desk chair next to her. “Emma, what happened between you two?”
“I don’t know,” she wailed, throwing her body onto my bed and burying her face in my pillow.
I didn’t say anything for a long time and figured it best if I just let her
cry it out. Finally, she lifted her head and wiped the tears away.
“After practice, I texted him, but he didn’t text back, so I went over to his house to see what was up. I thought maybe I could make him some soup or something if he was sick.” She paused for a second and began picking at the ends of her dark curls. “He was like, ‘What are you doing here?’ I was like, ‘Well, you weren’t at practice. I wanted to make sure you were okay.’ Then—you’re not going to believe this—but he said I was too clingy.”
Well, okay, I didn’t expect Derek to come out and say something like that, but truthfully, Emma was pretty clingy.
“He’s like, ‘Why would you need to check up on me? You’re so clingy.’ I was like, ‘I was just worried,’ and the next thing I know, he’s like, ‘You’re so annoying. I don’t know why I’m with you. Let’s break up.’”
My mouth hung open in shock. Derek called Emma annoying? But I thought he loved her!
“Wow,” I finally said. “Emma, I’m sorry.”
“It’s awful,” she cried, falling back down onto my pillow. “We’ve always been best friends, all three of us. Now what’s going to happen? We’ll never be able to hang out just the three of us again. You’ll have to choose between us!”
That thought made it feel like a brick had fallen on my stomach. Uh oh. I was going to be right in the middle of this, and I didn’t even know what had happened!
“Emma, it’s okay,” I assured her. “You’re still my best friend.”
She looked up at me. “I am?”
“Of course you are.”
“Maybe you can talk to Derek for me,” she suggested, sitting up in the bed. “Maybe ask him where I went wrong. When I tried to ask, he just slammed the door in my face.”