Confessions of a Wannabe Ghost Hunter

Chapter 4

Ouch. I had been all wrong about Ben, and now I was feeling guilty. I mean, I couldn't help but drool a little over him. He was my type. But damn. Having a boyfriend? Maybe I should have seen that coming. 

But hey. It was cool. It actually made me feel more relaxed about meeting him this morning. I could totally be chill now knowing he was gay, and that I was about to meet his boyfriend. Hey. I was going to have to make some friends if I was going to make this college thing bearable. Maybe they could be my best new buds? I'd never had that many in high school. Just the kid down the street and we'd grown apart. She dumped me when she became a cheerleader and I didn't' fit her new image. Being an only child was hard maybe too. But then, no siblings to torture or be tortured by. I could settle looking for a new family. A new college fam maybe.

So, I was hopeful sitting on the steps of the student union, waiting for Ben to show up with his special guy. The breeze blowing across my knees was making it seem almost too cold for shorts. The autumn weather was starting to edge into my summer vibe. For loving black so much, I actually enjoyed sitting in the sun, getting rays. I guess that's why I dug going to school on the West Coast. It was so different, with seasons that were so much warmer than I was used to. But every once in awhile, it would remind me, maybe I should dress in layers more often. 

Leaves were falling around me, as I was situated under a maple tree on the steps, enjoying the patch of sunshine. I was trying to not give in to the tanning mentality that so dominated this campus. Pasty complexion and straight black hair was my normal, dyed so much more so than my regular brown hair. You knew my hair was dyed black, right? I was going to add burgundy tinting before I left, but I never got around to it. Now, I was stuck with just black for now. Maybe soon, I'd find that time to do it. 

Anyway, I was lost in these thoughts when Ben walked up with who must be his boyfriend. Not quite what I expected. Ben's beau had glasses, dark complexion and brown eyes. He was a bit skinny and had a nice build to himself. He had some shape under his grey t-shirt that had Wonder Woman on it. He looked ordinary, except with a comic book vibe. But he smiled pretty genuine. He almost didn't seem like Ben's kind of guy. Really super ordinary with a geek touch. 

He smiled. "Hi, I'm Antonio. You can call me Tony." 

"Hey, I'm Melissa. Melissa Turner."

"That was quick introductions," Ben chimed in.

"Easier to get it out of the way," said Tony. "You know, so we can get to the cool stuff of talking investigations and welcome Melissa into the X-Files."

"X-Files?" What was he talking about?

"Oh, don't mind Tony. He just likes watching all the old sci-fi shows. X-Files dealt with a lot of paranormal and unexplained stories, aliens, ghosts..."

Tony continued. "Chupacabra, big foot. Black ooze. Though, I really liked Mulder the best." 

"He's your type, I know." Ben agreed, waving away Tony's comment. "But hey, let's get Melissa all clued into what we do in our group. Should we head over to the mansion? I'm not sure if she knows the campus yet."

"Actually, I'm not familiar with much of the history or the layout so much. I could use a helpful tour. All I had was a quick runaround at orientation."

Tony asked, "You didn't check out this place when you arrived?"

I shook my head. "I'm not the exploring type. I know where my dorm is, where to get food, and where my classes are. I did a little reading from the pamphlet about the college. It said the land was donated by a family to start a college. Like one hundred years ago or something."

Ben bent over, whispering it to me, like it was the biggest secret over. "Yes, but there's more. We'll tell you as we walk over there." 

"Okay." I said, walking next to them on the path as they took off to the East side of campus. 

It was a beautiful day, with only a slight breeze. The sycamore trees continued to line the main path through the campus with shade that helped keep the temperature down. Every once in a while a leaf fell. It was going to be gorgeous when they all came down and blanketed the campus. 

Ben started to talk as we walked. "The campus used to be the home to Mary Ann Langston, a wealthy heiress that came from the East Coast. It's rumored her husband died suddenly, leaving her as a widow and lots of money. So, she came out West, and settled down in our little town in the Cascade mountains not far from the coast. It was enough away from most people to give her privacy."

"Did she ever marry again?" I asked. 

"No. In fact, many talked about how she seemed to mope around, pining away for the husband she lost."

"So, all she did was be alone with herself?"

"Not exactly. She would have visitors. Arts. Musicians. Poets. Sometimes, she's have a group of them entertain her, and she held salons to help educate herself and some of her neighbors. I'm guessing that's where the idea for a college came from."

"Maybe she stopped being lonely and sad when people brought art and music around."

"Maybe that too. But however she dealt with her grief, she started to have more and more salons and gatherings of people for learning. The house got too small for them. So, she started to build a little lecture hall nearby. From there, she just started to add more buildings. I think the original lecture hall got torn down and turned into the student union."

They moved from the main quad down a side path. More trees loomed around them with grass on either side. She did at least enjoy the little paths that meandered through the campus. It was almost mediative. 

Ben continued as they took another path by a hedge of bushes to their right. "Eventually, people in the area came here for the entertainment and lectures that seemed to be entertaining in the early 1900s. Mark Twain even came and gave one of his famous lectures."

"I bet that must have been cool to listen to. Of all the people from over one hundred years ago, I think I'd like to hear him speak. He had wicked humor."

"That's true. Oh, here we go," Ben agreed.

The hedge gave way to a wrought iron fence on my right, and I could look through to a large house beyond. "Wow, is that it?" I could see the impressive large, white house with columns on the porch, a wide long lawn, and a brick path leading up to the door. 

"That's it. Impressive, isn't it?" Tony said.

We got to the gate, and saw that it was open. We turned onto the brick path leading to the front door. As I walked up the path, I looked up the white facade of the house. It looked like those old roman revival houses meant to impress as you walked up to it, and it was working. There were lace curtains in the windows, and the dark trim highlighted the three story height. The boards of the porch steps creaked under my feet as we got up to the door. The double doors were wide open, likely for tours. The stand-up sign outside mentioned it was open for the public for self-guided viewing until five o'clock. 

I took a quick look at my watch. "Hey, we should hurry. It's 4:30pm, and it says it closes at 5pm."

"Don't worry about nothing," Ben mentioned. He walked up the steps like he owned the place. "We got connections."

Tony bumped into me as we went through the doorway three across. "Sorry about that. You okay?" I nodded, so he went on. "We know the curator. We practically live here sometimes. In fact, it probably is one of the most inviting buildings that I know."

We walked into the an impressive landing. It had a burgundy floral throw rug with stairs leading up to our immediate right. A door lead from either side, and the entry way was decorated with a small table with a vase of fresh roses. Another door was across where we entered, and that's where a woman came sweeping in. "Oh, you're both here already. Did you bring your new member?"