You Did Good

Seven

"Where's Lorraine?" Benji asks, pulling the spirit box from the side pocket of his bookbag as they enter the living room downstairs.

"You have a weird obsession with that girl." Renata turns her nose up. "She's, like...a teenager. That's kind of gross."

"Get your conceited head out of your ass, Renata."

"Hey!" Seth warns.

He holds his hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying. Don't be so judgmental. I'm not romantically interested in her. I'm paranormally interested in her. She's telling us things about this house that I couldn't find online."

"You have a weird thing for spooky shit, and I'm not sure I like it." She grimaces.

"She said she needed to answer a phone call." Seth rolls his eyes at the two of them. "I'm sure she'll be back later to answer your unnatural curiosities."

"You can't say that this isn't interesting."

"I'm not saying it isn't." He declares. "I'm just saying that you have a fascination with this stuff that surpasses the normal."

"Can we just try this again?" His dislike for their skepticism is evident as he glares at them. In his hand, the antennae of the spirit box glimmers in the darkness. "This is the room that people report seeing Phoebe in."

Renata rolls her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

He sits himself on the windowsill, throwing his legs out in front of him. The others stand in front of him, letting him lead the way. Outside, a dog barks. Inside, the static screams.

"Is there anyone here with us?"

Static.

"If Phoebe is here, will you talk to us, please?" He asks. "We just want to know about you a little. Ask a few questions."

More static.

"Renata, why don't you ask?" Seth nudges her with his elbow, earning a glare from her. "What? You're the one with the ghost smell thingy. Maybe whatever is here will talk to us if you're the one asking the questions."

"What if we get the evil spirit the housekeeper warned us about?" She questions. She pulls her jacket tighter around her in comfort. As much as she doesn't believe anything Benji has said, she doesn't want to risk angering anything unholy.

Benji smirks. "I thought you didn't believe in this stuff?"

"I don't." She scowls.

"Then what? Are you scared that you're wrong?"

"No."

"Then do it." He holds the contraption out to her. "Prove to us what you already know: that ghosts aren't real."

Seth and Benji watch her as she stares at the box, waiting for her to make a move. Her fingers twitch by her sides as she continues staring at it, a million thoughts visible in her facial features.

Stepping forward, Seth lightly touches her shoulder. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to, you know that, right?"

The contact of his hand on her shoulder knocks her out of her trance. "And prove Benji right? Are you kidding me?" She snatches it out of his hand, severely displeased. "Alright, how do I do this?"

"Ask open ended questions." Benji reaches forward, dialing the spirit box into the settings he wants. "And be patient. Good spirits are usually very weak and can take a while to answer."

"Then no different than talking to you?"

"Bite me."

"Okay, okay." She pushes him away. "I got it."