Call Spirits in Your Past **Book Two**

Chapter 20 (Thursday)

Verspri's growing frustration only made Ana grin wider. "Go. In. Dumb. Nail!" he shouted, pounding the hammer against the shingle. The nail just tilted sideways. He growled at it. "This is stupid."

Ana started laughing, and he glared at her. "This is not funny."

Ana laughed louder, lying on her back on top of the roof. "I'm not...laughing...at you," she gasped between giggles.

Suspicious, he twisted around.

"--Eep," Dryda's head disappeared. He waddled around--he didn't dare rise from his awkward crouch, in case he fell off the roof--and peered over the edge.

"Dryda?" he hissed. "Wait, who's below you?"

"I am," came Teremki's voice. His hand appeared around Dryda's ankle.

Ana had stopped laughing--mostly--and crouched at his side. "What are you two doing?" she giggled. "One moment Dryda's staring at me with terrified eyes and the next she isn't there. It's like a little boat bobbing on the waves."

"Or whack a mole, except pop up a mole," Verspri said.

"What's whack a mole?" Ana asked.

Verspri raised an eyebrow. "You don't know what whack a mole is?" he shook his head.

Dryda grabbed the edge of the roof and started pulling herself up again. "Wait, Teremki I'm not--" she dropped back down again, hanging by her fingers.

"Sorry!" Teremki exclaimed. "I kicked a rock!"

Ana resumed laughing.

Since Ana didn't seem to be helping, Verspri grabbed Dryda's wrists and tried pulling her up. But he mostly ended up tilting forward. "Help me!" he hissed, and Ana finally moved behind him and pulled on his shoulders.

"Sorry, you just should've seen them before." She called down, "why didn't you just use the ladder?"

"Because there wasn't one!" Teremki called back.

They dragged Dryda onto the roof, and she sprawled out beside them, gasping. "I have never been so worried for my life."

"Actually that was really hilarious," Ana said.

"Now what about Teremki?" Verspri pointed down at him.

Dryda rolled onto her side, blinking slowly. "What? Oh, I don't even need to be up here. We just had to tell you something."

Verspri gaped. "Then why didn't you just shout or something?"

"We did. But you were being too loud."

Ana giggled again, and Verspri swung around. "What is wrong with you?"

Her eyes went round. "Nothing. Your behavior is just making it near impossible to keep a straight face," her cheek twitched and a snort escaped her lips.

Verspri squinted between her and Dryda. "Please tell me it's not just me who thinks she's acting weird."

Dryda got to her feet, dusting herself off. "It's probably the bubbles," she said. "Teremki and I restarted it, so now it's spreading to her and Kwayo."

Verspri furrowed his eyebrows. "Bubbles? And what does this have to do with Kwayo?"

"The telepathy," Ana whispered, awed.

Dryda nodded, then grimaced. "Sorry, Verspri."

"You should probably hurry," Teremki called. "Kwayo's going...weird too."

"Okay," Dryda shot one last look at Verspri, then clambered to the edge of the roof. She crawled backwards, feet then knees then torso inching off the ledge until she hung by her fingers. She dropped to the ground.

"Wait for me!" Ana said, and walked off.

"No!" Verspri, Teremki and Dryda all shouted at once.

Verspri glanced over the edge, relieved to see that they'd caught her. But then they helped her to her feet and sprinted down the street, without even a word to him. He frowned, glancing back at the un-nailed eaves. "Don't mind me," he muttered, "just sitting here fixing a lame roof," he picked up the hammer again, working the prongs beneath one of several bent nails. "I didn't want to be part of your lame telepathy anyway," the nail popped out and he nearly fell backwards. He glared at it. He glared off at where the others had disappeared, too. "Same with your lousy drawings of the future."