The Exhibit

Normal

Onyx 🤐
I walked with the others back to the museum. I was so glad to be back in human form.

I could actually FEEL my skin. And I didn't feel like I was part of the air, which was a relief.

As we neared the museum, I heard someone say "God, it's brutal out here."

I looked around and realized what they were talking about.

The outside of the building was all dirty and littered with weird things, but no trace of the pirates except for a few things that were destroyed.

I expect it to be normal because we had gotten rid of the pirates.

We made it to the museum and sure enough, it was pretty normal!

Behind me, Hannah, Josie, and Kendra all erupted into cheers.

I turned around and smiled at them, high-fiving them. "We did it!!" exclaimed Hannah.

Kendra's smile disappeared. "Well, JOSIE and I did it; you didn't want to get dirty."
She fake-pouted. "Well, I still get SOME credit, eh?"

Josie slapped her on the arm and we entered the museum.

It was exactly the way it was when we arrived.

We found our class standing there, getting into their groups.

The teacher didn't even notice us, so we all decided to go to the other exhibits, avoiding the vacant pirate exhibit of course.

The next morning

PI went to school and met up with Josie, Kendra, and Hannah, who were all standing at the entrance.

I waved to them and they waved back. "So," I said, shouldering my tan corduroy backpack. "Everything's back to normal for sure?"

All three girls nodded. "As far as I can see," Hannah replied. "I drove past the museum on my way home from volleyball practice yesterday and it was like pirates never existed."

Kendra said, "Yes, and I walked past the graveyard and it looked fine."

"No zombies?" asked Josie.

I elbowed her s and she chuckled. "I can't believe everything's actually ORDINARY after everything that's happened," I said.

"Yeah, but we'll always know what REALLY went down," reassured Hannah.
Kendra and Josie nodded.

"We cannot tell anyone though," warned Kendra. "I'm afraid if we do we might somehow bring back the power-hungry pirates."

We all agreed on keeping it a secret. It would never see the light of day.

There would never be a headline saying, "Pirates from centuries ago BACK for revenge?!"

There would never be stories being passed down to their kids about our group defeating them, although that was the type of attention I wanted.

But at least the memory remained in our heads.

We would always reminisce about the days when we slew pirates and for me, being a spirit that can pass through walls. Quite adventurous.

So next time,—IF there was a next time—always trust your gut.