Misguided Ghosts

Chapter Thirteen

Thirteen - Tay

School was certainly eventful. I lost track of the amount of double takes that people did when I walked past them and the wide-eyed stares; the disbelief that I was still alive. Perhaps the most memorable "oh-my-god-you're-alive" reaction was in my chemistry class, when my teacher, Mr Nicolson, screamed and dropped his test tube of "highly dangerous stuff" (his exact words) and the lab had to be evacuated for half an hour.

I got through the lessons easily enough, guessing and surprisingly getting things right as I went along, as well as picking up two months' worth of notes to catch up on everything that I'd missed. But it was what was waiting at the end of the day that I'd really been looking forward to. I'd found out by checking my student pigeon-hole in my form room that there was swimming training on. I didn't have my kit, but I headed in the direction of the pool at the end of the day.

I stood on the balcony above the pool, watching the various swimmers tear up and down the lanes, occasionally stopping and taking their pulses. I spotted Hayley and Evie easily before the session started, when they were both struggling to get their swimming hats on. They both had matching sombre expressions and they didn't say one word to anyone, let alone each other. I felt a pang of sympathy for them and I wanted nothing more than to go over and hug them both and tell them how sorry I was for leaving them, but then I remembered who I was. I was the girl who'd woken up on the night that their best friend had died.

As the end of the training session drew to a close, I gathered up my things to leave, but a scream stopped me.

"OH MY GOD! TAY! IT'S TAY!"

A girl roughly the same height as me ripped off her hat and sprinted up to the balcony and pulled me into a huge hug. I hugged her back tightly, a smile spreading its way across my face. I didn't care that she was still sopping wet - I was just so pleased to see her.

She let me go long enough to shout, "JARED! IT'S REALLY HER!"

A tall, lanky boy, with a flop of golden blonde hair and shining dark blue eyes also tore his way up onto the balcony and joined our hug.

I pulled away and grinned at them both, wiping away the tears that trickled down my face.

"You're back!" The girl cried, clapping her hands over her mouth. Her wet brown hair was hooked over one shoulder and fell roughly to her solar plexus. About two-thirds of the way down, her hair gradually faded out to a honey-blonde and her chocolate brown eyes shone with warmth. "I can't believe you're back!"

"I know," I laughed. "I would have called, but things have been kind of hectic,"

I frantically tried to remember her name. Jared and.... Jared and... Char! That was it. Char. Jared smiled and ruffled my hair.

"It's good to have you back, Tay-Tay," He smiled, using his own personal nickname for me.

"Good to be back, Jay-Jay," I said, hugging him once more.

I waited in the lobby while Char and Jared got changed, looking at a photo that hug on the wall. It showed the swim team at our last meet, which we'd won in a colossal victory. I spotted myself easily, with my arm around Char, who had her arm around Jared. But it was the girl that stood to the left of me that caught my attention. In a previous lifetime, I had been that girl. I had my arm around Emilie, the pair of us grinning like fools as gold medals hung from our necks. I shook my head and smiled, turning away from the photo.

Char and Jared left their respective changing rooms within minutes of each other, their eyes shining with excitement. We fell into step easily, as if my waking up from a coma was just another regular thing.