The Ghost of Sherman Oaks // Paxton Hall-Yoshida

3.

Chapter 3: S1E3

Saturday, August 11th

I sit on the porch wing on my front porch, my book in hand as I wait for Paxton to show up. My dad left for work a few minutes ago, but I don't feel like being inside right now, so I sit with my bag, ready to be picked up.

Becca texted me a bit ago, letting me know Paxton would be here soon and that he's just picking his friend up first, cause he's closer. It's nearly one now, which means Becca will be done with work soon, thankfully. I love the girl but I'm not enjoying being pawned off on her brother.

I've got one headphone in, the beatles playing quietly in the background of my thoughts. I'm still confused about the book I found in Paxton's box, though I'm not sure why it matters so much. It's probably just a journal, a diary at worst.

Honk honk

The noise startles me out of my thoughts and I turn immediately, the earbud ripping out of my ear as I move. There's a red jeep sitting in my driveway.

Paxton climbs out of the driver's seat quickly, walking up the steps to my porch.

"Morning, Aurora." He says politely, grabbing my duffle from the swing beside me. "Becs got held up at work for another hour so she wanted us to take you to lunch with us. Is that cool?"

"Yeah, sure." I stumble over my words, a bit startled by the offer.

"Great, you're riding shotgun." He says. I follow him to the car, and much to my surprise, he swings the passenger door open for me. I scramble into the annoyingly tall car immediately whilst he puts my stuff in the trunk of the jeep before climbing into the driver's seat himself.

"Whose this?" Someone asks, making me jump. Paxton chuckles at my reaction as I turn to face the person in the back seat. Marcus, who sits behind me in history, looks at me curiously. "Do I know you from somewhere?" He asks, narrowing his eyes at me.

"I get that a lot." I tell him, offering my hand awkwardly over the seat back. He shakes it firmly, which I find entertaining. "I'm Ghost, nice to meet you. I sit in front of you in history class."

"Oh, really? That's a cool name, bro." Marcus tells me with a smile.

"Thanks. My real name is Aurora but my friends call me Ghost. I'm not sure why, though."

"Oh, cool." He compliments as Paxton pulls out of my driveway and onto the road. I turn back to the front quickly, recognising that the conversation with Marcus is over as he goes back to looking at his cellphone.

"We're just gonna go to Ruby's for a quick lunch, that cool with you? We can go wherever you want-" Paxton starts awkwardly, making Marcus chuckle in the backseat. I cut him off, not wanting to embarrass him in front of his friend.

"Ruby's is fine, I like it there." I tell him.

"Good, great. That's great." He stammers, glancing in the rear view mirror as he stops at a light. "Becca won't be home till three so if you want to hang out with us, that'd be cool. We were gonna do the history homework together."

"Sure. Sounds great. Becs and I are probably just gonna chill and talk later, so I should get my homework done."

"Do you have it with you?"

"Yeah, on my laptop." I say as we pull into the parking lot at Ruby's. It's a small, cantina-like place with a checkered floor. It's like a little diner, but more fun. The waitresses all have on funky headbands and poodle skirts, which is fun.

We take a seat together at one of the booths in the back, me sitting beside Paxton and Marcus across from us. The waitress walks up after a moment, seeming shocked to see us. It's one of the girls Devi is friends with at school, the theater nerd. Eleanor, I think, is her name.