Michael's Ghost Girl

Darkness

Spring had arrived, and, most importantly, the skateboard competitions would soon be starting. The boys were busy now, not only with school, but with the important tasks of choosing decks, designs, wheels, and bearings. Hours were spent scouring the skateboard shops for suitable accessories, the internet was consulted for competitions being held, and which ones they should choose to compete in. Saturdays were spent working on skateboards, making sure the wheels were balanced, and then trips were made to the skate park to try out the new boards.

Anya would come and go, saying hello to them, fetching food and then leaving. She did not understand Dewey and his friends' obsession with something that could seriously injure them, but she knew it was important, so she said nothing. They still got together after school and studied, but she and Dewey had taken to going to dinner by themselves sometimes. They had both been accepted at Dartmouth on full scholarships, and when they were alone the subject would change from skateboarding to majors, and classes, and moving to a strange new city together.

Thea and her brothers were getting ready for the competitions, too. Rather than build her skateboard herself, her brothers built it for her, and in return, she painted unique designs on theirs that could not be found in the skate shops. 

 Sometimes she felt Michael had made a fool of her, other times she admitted she may have made a fool of herself. It was pointless to try to get someone interested in her who clearly wasn't. At least she had tried. She and Michael had skating in common, they went to the same school, they liked the same kind of music; in other words, she thought she and Michael would make a good couple. But except for the first day at the skate park, Michael had proved to be unreachable and she didn't understand why. And she knew for a fact that there was no one at school, though she knew she was competing for Michael's affections, she did not know who her competition was.

If he was a jerk, that would be one thing; but he seemed to be a really nice guy. As long as she just contented herself with just being his friend, they got along. He didn't mind helping with homework; if it was just the two of them coming home from the skate park or the library, he'd buy her burgers and fries if he had enough cash. But whether she pushed gently, or pushed hard, he would not respond to her. When she had gone to his house to talk to him, he had lost it, and had pushed her up the street and told her not to come back. And that nonsense about a murderer in that house—that was the lamest excuse ever.

When she consulted her brothers they all told her the same thing. "If he likes you, Thea, he'll come around. Remember that movie, "He's Just Not That Into You?" Well, maybe he's not. Why don't you forget about him for a while and find someone else, someone who really likes you?" But she had always been sure of herself and now he had her doubting herself. She'd tried speaking to him, not speaking to him, then, in desperation, going to his house and confronting him. Nothing had worked.

She pushed a bare, red-painted toe against the floor of the porch, pushing herself in the porch swing her father had hung. What was going on with the story about the house Michael has so angrily pointed out to her? He was so insistent that a part of her was inclined to believe him, but rationally she knew it was nonsense. A murderer living in his neighborhood? That was crazy. Michael claimed that he'd been attacked and that same person had grabbed his little sister, and he'd had to rescue her. Michael didn't seem the type to lie, but that seemed like an awful exaggeration to her. If this person was so dangerous he would have been arrested a long time ago—right?

She decided that she'd take advantage of Short Round's willingness to talk, especially when he was the subject. She'd distract him and direct the subject to Michael, and ask him about the old house and if anyone really lived in it. She hated taking advantage of a friend, but this had been eating at her for months. Michael still talked to her, but there was a distance growing between and she was desperate for a way to close it.