Playing the Orpheum, the dream of their lives that was finally coming true. It was supposed to be their big break and make Sunset Curve famous. It would change their lives overnight. Well, thanks to a couple of tampered hot dogs, their lives did cha...
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Avery's pov
"Did you miss me?" Caleb yells into the crowd making the crowd scream and cheer. "I did too!" He yells again, an evil smile on his face as the crowd laughs, not knowing the despicable man underneath that purple cape. "Welcome to the party of your dreams," he says, lowering himself onto the floor. "From the Egyptians to the Druids, to the person sitting next to you, we've all wondered, where do we go when that final light is snuffed out? Allow me to show you," he says before he starts to sing an undoubtedly catchy song.
After a verse, he steps onto the stage as ghosts dressed in different colored dresses and suits play instruments, dance, and sing with him. A moment later, three men in bright pink suits walk up to our table and put three cakes in front of our faces before dancing away with them as Caleb walks up to our table and dances with his cane as he's belting the lyrics to his song.
Caleb leans forward, looking at me and winking before grabbing our table cloth and swirling it around then lifting it off the table, revealing a beautiful woman dressed in the same bright pink the men were just wearing. The woman dances on the table then kicks her foot out toward my face but Caleb grabs her foot, stopping it from hitting me as he stares me down, never breaking song or his act.
After that, there's women dressed in the same leotards on all the tables, all wearing different colors, dancing and jumping off of them to join Caleb on the stage before he yells out into the crowd.
"Long live the dead!" He yells before two women dressed in blue leotards lifted a sheet then dropped it, showing that Caleb had disappeared, making everybody gasp and cheer but me.
Luke eventually notices that I'm not clapping or standing and pulls me to stand up so I slow clap, still in shock that Willie works for him.
"This is so cool," Reggie says, waving at Marilyn Monroe who was staring at him.
"Luke, I recognize him," I say, leaning closer to him so only he hears it. "He's the guy that bumped into me outside The Orpheum the night we went on a walk."
"Wait," Reggie says, making me lean forward so that I can see him. "Isn't he that magician dude that died a horrible death doing one of his tricks?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't really bring that up when we meet him," Alex says, leaning back slightly with his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, but you should come back when he shows one of his movies," Willie says, diverting the conversation to something different than Caleb's death. "I mean, for Titanic, he literally floods the entire place. The guy's got skills."
"Alright, cool, but he can just wave his arms and make ghosts visible to lifers?" Luke asks, moving to sit on the table.
Willie shrugs and smiles at how impressed everybody is. "Told you, the guy's got skills."
"So, where'd he go?" Reggie asks looking around.
I turn around to look around and see him standing beside me. Since I wasn't expecting it, I bring my hand up and hit him across the face then bring that same hand to my face to cover my mouth as Luke, Alex, and Willie yell my name for hitting him.
"Found him," I hear Reggie say but I can't take my eyes off of Caleb's.
"I am so sorry, Mr. Covington," I mumble through my sweater's sleeve.
"Call me Caleb, please," he says through a smile, his voice smooth like whiskey.
"Sorry, Caleb. You scared me," I say, correcting myself, not knowing what else to say.
He pats my back and pulls a chair up to our table so that he has a place to sit. "Welcome to the Hollywood Ghost Club," he says to the boys as I watch his every move. "Enjoying the show?"
"Yo, that was- I mean- did you- like," Luke says, stuttering at a loss of words.
"I know," he says, smiling mischievously.
"This is Alex, Luke, Reggie, and Avery," Willie says to Caleb, introducing us.
"Yeah, it's really nice to meet you," Alex says, his smile as wide as it has been in a while.
"The pleasure is mine," Caleb says, smiling back at Alex. "Nothing warms my heart more than sharing this magic with new friends. Please, sit. Sit." We all sit in the seats we had before as Caleb sits next to me.
"Thank you for the invite," Alex says, clearing sucking up to him.
"Of course. Of course!" Caleb responds, now sounding genuinely happy. "Now, my friend Willie tells me that you have some magic of your own," Caleb says, starting the conversation we've all been waiting for.
Alex stares at him blankly then clears his throat. "Well... Willie and I?" He ask, pointing beside him to Willie, an entertained smile plastered onto Willie's face. "I mean, I wouldn't really call it magic, but, I mean-"
Willie places a hand on Alex's back and leans toward him slightly. "Oh no, he means your ghost abilities. You know, to be seen by everybody when you play with Julie," Willie says, making me smile knowing he waited until Alex got flustered to tell him.
I see Luke and Reggie look between Willie and Alex before he looks at me and I just shrug with a teasing smile on my face.
"No, totally," Alex says, his voice deepening. "Right. No, 'cause when you said it, I was like, 'is that what he said?' 'Cause-"
Caleb shrugs and waves his hand, dismissing the mistake before I decide I should talk instead of just sitting here like a fool. "Yeah, but we can't really wave our arms and do all this magic shit," I say, waving my arms around like a mime before putting them in my lap in embarrassment before I feel Luke grab my hand.
"Well, I've had some practice," Caleb says, a joyful smile on his face. "Our gifts are so rare, so special. It's not often I come across other spirits who possess similar talent. It's no surprise we found each other," he says, looking directly at me when he said the last part. "If you'll forgive me, I gotta go pay the bills if you know what I'm saying. I'll be back later to chat" he says, placing his hands flat on the table and standing up before walking away.
